an unexpected point. But the Republicans had
done themselves no good by their style in the main
discussion, A miscellaneous assembly always resents
the ungenerous, and the sneers at the existing composition
of the Other House had seemed ungenerous. “They
have gone through wet and dry, hot and cold, fire
and water; they are the best officers of the best army
in the world; their swords are made of what Hercules’s
club was made of”: such were the terms
in which one speaker defended the military veterans
of the Other House; and they were received with cheers.
Nor did the next step of the Republicans improve their
position. Having observed what a considerable
proportion of Thurloe’s majorities consisted
of the members from Scotland and Ireland, Cromwellians
nearly to a man, they tried to sweep these from the
House in anticipation of future votes. First,
they raised the question about the Scottish members,
contending that their presence in an English Parliament
was unconstitutional, that the de facto incorporation
of Scotland with the Commonwealth had never been legally
consummated, &c. On this subject, the House having
first negatived the proposal that the Scottish members
should withdraw during the debate, it was decided,
March 21, by a majority of 211 (Thurloe one of the
tellers) to 120 (Vane one of the tellers), “That
the members returned for Scotland shall continue to
sit as members during this present Parliament,”
A like vote, March 23, retained the Irish members.
The Republicans had again lost character by this piece
of tactics. Not only was it offensive to Scotland
and Ireland; but to many disinterested English members
it seemed a mean attempt to depreciate, for a mere
party purpose, those great achievements of recent
years which had made the British Islands, as if by
miracle, one body-politic at last. On the 28th
of March the principal debate came to an end in this
two-claused Resolution: “That this House
will transact with the persons now sitting in the
Other House, as an House of Parliament, during the
present Parliament; and that it is not hereby intended
to exclude such Peers as have been faithful to the
Parliament from their privilege of being duly summoned
to be members of that House.” The final
division was 198 to 125; but there had been a preceding
division on the question whether the words “when
they shall be approved by this House” should
be inserted after the word “Parliament”
in the first clause. This very ingenious amendment
of the Anti-Cromwellians had been rejected by 183
votes to 146, the tellers for the Cromwellian majority
being the Marquis of Argyle and Thurloe, and for the
minority Lord Fairfax and Lord Lambert.—Thus,
at the end of the second month of the Parliament, the
victory was clearly with Thurloe and the Government.
The Protectorship had been recognised; and the Other
House also had been recognised, rather grudgingly
indeed, and not by the desired name of “The House
of Lords,” but with a proviso that seemed to