These latter had their estates given back to
themselves or their heirs on the Restoration. It does not seem that those
who were fined, except in a very few cases had any return made to them.
There have been few civil wars ancient or modern wherein the unsuccessful
have been so tenderly treated. Yet sufferings of the poorer classes among
the Royalists must have been very great. Next to the arbitrary conduct of
the King and those immediately about his person, was the provocation which
the Parliamentarians thought that the established church had given,
firstly because many of the bishops and clergy maintained an extreme
theory of the Divine Right of Kings, which is said first to have been
taught in this country by Archbishop Cranmer. If this opinion were really
accepted as more than a mere figure of flattering oratory, it made those
who complied with it mere slaves to the sovereign, however tyrannical or
wicked he might prove himself. The second ground of resentment was that
they thought Archbishop Laud and many of the bishops and clergy, concealed
Roman Catholics, "disguised Papists," as the common expression ran. We do
not believe this charge with regard to Laud or most of the others so
rashly accused. We are _quite sure_ it was not so if their writings are to
be taken as a test of their feelings. Whatever may have been the truth,
there is no doubt that even the more tolerant of what may be called the
low-church party feared the worst. As early as 11th February, 1629, Oliver
Cromwell, who was then member for Huntingdon, made a speech in which he
said, "He had heard by relation from one Dr. Beard ... that Dr. Alablaster
had preached flat Popery at Paul's Cross, and that the Bishop of
Winchester (Dr. Neale), had commanded him as his Diocesan, he should
preach nothing to the contrary."[16] So inflamed, however, were men's
minds that as soon as the Parliamentary party was strong enough, Laud was
indicted for high treason and beheaded.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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