Note 254 — Chapter VIII

Bishop Hall's account in his Hard Measure would seem to imply that the King had not seen the paper before it was brought under the notice of the Upper House by Lord-keeper Littleton, but it is clearly stated (Parl. Hist., ii. 993) that what Littleton did in this matter was by his Majesty's command. "The Jesuitical faction," says a letter of the day, "according to their wonted custom, fomenting still jealousies between the King and his people, and the bishops, continually concurring with the Popish lords against the passing any good Bills sent from the House of Commons thither; and their last plot hath been their endeavour to make this Parliament no Parliament, and so to overthrow all Acts past, and to cause a dissolution of it for the present, which hath been so strongly followed by the Popish party, that it was fain to be put to the vote, and the Protestant Lords carried it to be a free and perfect Parliament as ever any was before. This did so gall the bishops that they made their protestation against the freedom of the vote, and the Parliament; and in their protestation have inserted such speeches as have brought them within the compass of treason, and thus the Council of Achitophel is turned into foolishness. The Earl of Bristol and his son have been chief concurrents with them in this and other evil councils, for which they have been impeached and branded in the House of Commons."—State Papers, Letter of Thomas Smith to Sir J. Pennington, dated York House, 30th Dec., 1641.

There are allusions to these proceedings in other letters (State Papers) which all blame the bishops for want of wisdom.