The paper which accompanied the letters to the two houses,—­1. granted a free and general pardon to all persons, excepting such as might afterwards be excepted by parliament; ordaining that every division of party should cease, and inviting all who were the subjects of the same sovereign to live in union and harmony; 2. it declared a liberty to tender consciences, and that no man should be disquieted or called in

[Footnote 1:  Lords’ Journ. xi. 4, 5, 6.]

[Sidenote a:  A.D. 1660.  May 1.]

question for differences of opinion in matters of religion which did not disturb the peace of the kingdom, and promised moreover the royal assent to such acts of parliament as should be offered for the full granting of that indulgence:  3. it alluded to the actions at law to which the actual possessors of estates purchased by them or granted to them during the revolution might be liable, and purposed to leave the settlement of all such differences to the wisdom of parliament, which could best provide for the just satisfaction of the parties concerned:  lastly, it promised to liquidate the arrears of the army under General Monk, and to retain the officers and men in the royal service upon the same pay and conditions which they actually enjoyed.  This was the celebrated declaration from Breda, the royal charter on the faith of which Charles was permitted to ascend the throne of his fathers.[1]

Encouraged by the bursts of loyalty with which the king’s letters and declaration had been received, his agents made it their great object to procure his return to England before limitations could be put on the prerogative.  From the Lords, so numerous were the Cavaliers in the upper house, no opposition could be feared; and the temper already displayed by the Commons was calculated to satisfy the wishes of the most ardent champions of royalty.  The two houses voted, that by the ancient and fundamental laws of the realm the government was and ought to be by king, lords, and commons; they invited Charles to come and receive the crown to which he was born; and, to relieve his more urgent necessities, they sent him a present of fifty thousand pounds, with ten thousand pounds for his brother the duke of York, and five

[Footnote 1:  Lords’ Journ. xi. 7, 10.]

thousand pounds for the duke of Gloucester.  They ordered the arms and symbols of the commonwealth to be effaced, the name of the king to be introduced into the public worship, and his succession to be proclaimed as having commenced from the day of his father’s death.[1] Hale, the celebrated lawyer, ventured, with Prynne, to call[a] upon the House of Commons to pause in their enthusiasm, and attend to the interests of the nation.  The first moved the appointment of a committee to inquire what propositions had been offered by the long parliament, and what concessions had been made by the last king in 1648; the latter urged the favourable opportunity of coming to a mutual