INTRODUCTION.
April 20, 1653. The Lord General, having interrupted
the Parliament, by an act of military violence, frequently
described and censured in the ensuing pages, (fn. 1) proceeded to
disperse the Council of State, unmoved by the just rebuke
of their President Bradshaw. (fn. 2) He next convened a council
of officers, with whose professed concurrence he nominated
a legislative assembly, (fn. 3) who might afford to his sovereignty
in possession, at least, the semblance of a Parliamentary
authority. The debates in that assembly, are probably lost
irrecoverably, if they were ever reported. From the journals, I select a summary of the Parliamentary proceedings.
Footnotes
| 1 |
See vol. ii. pp. 397, iii. 56, 73, 98, 177, 209. |
| 2 |
See Mr. Godwin's " History of the Commonwealth," (1827,) iii.
456–458. |
| 3 |
See vol. ii. p. 67, note; iv. p. 499. |