511), except only the
clause therein declaring any other marriages than as these prescribed
to be illegal. Of Cromwell's own Ordinances from Dec. 1653 onwards
all were preserved that, I suppose, he really cared for. Thus, of his
_eighty-two_ first public Ordinances, passed between Dec. 1653
and the meeting of his First Parliament Sept. 3, 1654,
_thirty-six_ were expressly confirmed; which, as most of the
rest were Excise or Customs Ordinances or Orders for temporary
occasion, means that substantially all his legislation on his
entering on the Protectorate was to remain in force. More
particularly, I may note that Nos. 7, 16, 24, 30, 31, 32, 33, 50, 54,
58, 60, 66, 67, 69, 71, 81, and 82, in our List of his first
eighty-two Public Ordinances (Vol. IV. pp. 558-565) were among those
confirmed. These included his Ordinances against Cockfights and
Duels, his Ordinance for Reform of the Court of Chancery, his various
Ordinances for the incorporation and management of Scotland, and his
various Church-Establishment Ordinances for England and Wales, with
his two commissions of Triers and Ejectors. Among contemporary
ordinances of his also confirmed, over and above those in the main
list of Eighty-two, were that for setting up Lectures in Scotland,
that in favour of Glasgow University, and that for the better support
of the Universities of Scotland--this last, however, limited to the
Universities alone by the omission of what related to "the
encouragement of public preachers" (Vol. IV. p. 565: footnote). The
most noticeable Ordinances of Cromwell's _not_ confirmed are
those relating to Treasons--No. 8 in the List of Eighty-two, and its
appendages Nos. 12 and 49. Altogether, the Parliament had handsomely
cleared Cromwell in respect of his Interim Dictatorship and what was
past of his Protectorate, and he had every reason to be satisfied.
But, besides this all-comprehensive Act of retrospection, several of
the other Acts presented for his assent at the same time must have
been very much to his mind.--There was an Act for settling lands in
Scotland upon General Monk, with similar Acts for settling lands in
Ireland on Fleetwood, Dr. Owen, Sir Hardress Waller, and other
persons of desert; there were several Naturalization Bills in favour
of a great number of foreigners and English aliens; there was "An Act
for limiting and settling the prices of Wines"; and there was "An Act
against Vagrants, and wandering, idle, dissolute Persons."