The first parliament of the reign of Charles I., in 1625, has been severely censured on account of the penurious supply which it doled out for the exigencies of a war in which its predecessors had involved the king. Nor is the reproach wholly unfounded. A more liberal proceeding, if it did not obtain a reciprocal concession from the king, would have put him more in the wrong. But the Puritans in parliament formed a majority, and were determined not to vote money without a redress of what they deemed to be grievances. The king finding he could not obtain the supplies he required from the House of Commons, determined to rule without a parliament, and to raise money by some other means. Hence the contests between the king and the parliaments, which were often called and soon dissolved. This served only to aggravate the embarrassments of the crown. Every successive House of Commons inherited the feelings of its predecessor, otherwise it would not have represented the people. The same men, for the most part, came again to parliament more irritated and difficult of reconciliation with the sovereign than before. Even the politic measure, as it was fancied to be, of excluding some of the most active members from seats, by nominating them sheriffs for the year, failed of the expected success because all ranks partook of a common enthusiasm. In 1642, July 12th, the parliament voted and declared the necessity of recourse to arms, and on the 29th of the same month, Moses Treswell was apprehended for attempting to enlist men into the king’s service, after having been forbidden to do so by the corporation. The citizens supposing that this act would be deemed a declaration against their sovereign, ordered a double watch to be set in every ward, and a provision of all military stores to be made. They received a letter from the parliament thanking them for their great services in sending up Captain Treswell, and exhorting them to raise the militia, and to prevent anyone from levying troops within their jurisdiction without consent of parliament. Soon afterwards, the king issued proclamations requiring the assistance of his subjects against the rebels, but no regard was paid to them in Norwich. On the other hand, the magistrates ordered a general muster of the trained bands and volunteers, and put the city into the best state of defence, fearing an attack from the gentlemen of Norfolk and Suffolk who had declared for the king. As a further proof of their zeal they sent fifty Dragoons for Colonel Cromwell’s regiment, which composed part of the troops under Lord Grey of Wark, raised for the preservation of the peace in the associated counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, and Huntingdonshire. As soon as these had marched, the magistrates raised a hundred more dragoons, and to mount them, gave orders for seizing the horses of those citizens who favoured the cause of the king, and who were called malignants. On March