e Civil Wars and the sons of such; and the present
House, as the lineal representative of the Parliamentarians in those
wars, could hardly have done less, especially as there was a
saving-clause of which moderate Royalists would have the benefit, and
as the electors were sure to interpret the saving-clause very
liberally. For there was not even the same guardedness in the
qualifications of the electors themselves. It was proposed, indeed,
by the Committee to disfranchise all "that have been actually in arms
for the late King or his son against the Parliament or have
compounded for his or their delinquency" with an exception only in
favour of manifest penitents; but this was negatived by the House by
ninety-three votes (Lord Ancram and Mr, Herbert tellers) to fifty-six
votes (Scott and Henry Marten tellers). Thus, active Royalists of the
Civil Wars, if they might not be elected, might at least elect; and,
as another regulation disqualified from electing or being elected all
"that deny Magistracy or Ministry or either of them to be the
Ordinances of God "--viz. all Fifth Monarchy men, extreme
Anabaptists, and Quakers--the balance was still towards the
Royalists. In short, as finally passed, the Bill was one tending to
bring in a Parliament the main mass of which should consist of
Presbyterians, though there might be a large intermixture of Old
Royalists, Cromwellians, and moderate Commonwealth's men. To such a
Parliament it might be safely left to determine what the future form
of Government should be, whether Commonwealth continued, restored
Kingship, or a renewal of the Protectorate. The present House had not
itself decided anything. It had not decided against a continuance of
the Commonwealth, should that seem best. It had only assumed that
possibly that might not seem the best, and had therefore removed
obstacles to the free deliberation of either of the other schemes.
The revival of the Solemn League and Covenant might seem to imply
more; but the phraseology of a document of 1643 might admit of
re-interpretation in 1660.--A special perplexity of the present House
was in the matter of the Other House or House of Lords. They were now
sitting themselves as a Single House, notwithstanding that the
Long Parliament, of which they professed themselves to be a
continuation, consisted of two Houses. This was an anomaly in itself,
nay an illegality; and there had been a hot-headed attempt of some of
the younger Peers to remove