|
|
14 March.
Estado, 949. |
37. Memorial presented to his Holiness setting forth the advisability
of making Dr. Allen a Cardinal.—14th March, 1587.
The reasons why it is important for the service of God and
religion that the elevation of Dr. Allen should not be delayed. In
the first place the imprisonment of the queen of Scotland, the leader
of the cause who was recognised by all Catholics, and directed the
negotiations for the conversion of England, which has had the effect
of encouraging the heretics and casting down the Catholics, and has
snapped the thread of the internal negotiations which were carried
on by the Queen. Many have therefore lost heart and even the
faithful are divided, as there is no one fit person whom they can all
acknowledge as their leader.
If the enterprise can be undertaken speedily it will be necessary
that some preparations be made beforehand, which will be suspicious
if undertaken by other hands, and will have no force or authority if
he be simply a private individual. If, on the other hand, it be
needful to defer the enterprise, his prompt elevation will be even
more necessary, as it will be a balm to the wound, and will confirm
the afflicted flock in the faith, when they have proof that his
Holiness sympathises with them and is thinking of a remedy for
their distress.
Promptness is also necessary in order that his authority may be
firmly established and his elevation known to all, great and small,
by the time the expedition arrives.
It is also desirable that he shall have attended one of the sittings
of the sacred college, and have made the acquaintance of the members
and know something of the ceremonial.
Personally Dr. Allen possesses all the qualities which can be
desired. He is unbiassed, learned, of good manners, judicious, deeply
versed in all English affairs, and the negotiations for the submission
of the country to the church, all of the instruments of which have
been his pupils. So many amongst them have suffered martyrdom
that it may be said that the purple of the cardinalate was dyed in
the blood of the martyrs he has instituted.
His Majesty assures his Holiness, on his responsibility, that the
prompt elevation of Dr. Allen is necessary in the interest of the
affairs of England, and that, if it be delayed, important evils may
result, whether the enterprise be undertaken at once, or deferred.
He also assures him that personally Dr. Allen is extremely fit for
the position, and for these reasons he begs his Holiness to trust to
his recommendation, as he (the King) is so deeply interested in the
success of the undertaking, and is well versed in English affairs,
owing to his own reign and residence there, and to the fact that he
has necessarily had to keep in constant touch with them. The
enterprise has been discussed often before, but God has mysteriously
been pleased to ordain that it should be undertaken in the time of
his Holiness.
His Holiness very justly says that he will allow no consideration
of time to stand in the way of so great a cause as the cry of the
flock of Catholics for a leader, who shall, as far as possible, supply
the Queen's (of Scotland) place, whilst raising up from out of the
queen of England's subjects a powerful and open enemy to her, and
at the same time greatly and fitly rewarding a man who deserves so
well of the Holy See.
His Holiness need have no anxiety with regard to his maintenance,
as the abbacy which his Majesty gives him is sufficient for the
wants of a poor Cardinal, and it is not advisable at first that there
should be much ostentation. When the time arrives for greater
splendour to be desirable, his Majesty will provide accordingly ; his
Holiness having no responsibility but to promote him. His Holiness
and his Majesty will thus share between them the merit, which God
will acknowledge, for it is His service alone which moves them to
elevate this man.
|
The reply of the Pope, written by Cardinal Carrafa in Italian, is
appended to the above memorandum, and runs as follows :—
His Holiness replies that as soon as his Majesty is ready for the
enterprise, his Holiness will be ready to create Dr. Allen a Cardinal.
He does not consider it desirable to do so unless the enterprise is
carried out simultaneously, in consequence of the declaration which
would have to be made if he were created a Cardinal out of season
and in contravention of the constitution. (fn. 1)
(Signed)
Antonius Cardinalis Carrafa,
By order of his Holiness. |
15 March.
Paris Archives,
K. 1566. 73.
French. |
38. Charles Arundell to Secretary Idiaquez.
Following my previous course I have omitted no effort to
effectually serve the interests of his Catholic Majesty in these parts,
as you will have been fully informed by Señor Mendoza. It will
be impertinent and tedious for me to reiterate my services, of which
you have ample knowledge, but I cannot refrain solacing my poor
spirit by writing you a few words about myself, so that when you
see the smoke afar off you may the more easily guess at the heat of
the fire which is hidden deep at the bottom of my seared heart.
Pray weigh me not by my power, utterly broken now, as you know,
but rather look to my affection to you, which is, perhaps, not second
to that of any person of my quality. I know from Mr. Englefield
and Señor Mendoza how careful you are for my welfare. Notwithstanding
the state of our miserable country, I am not utterly
despairing that some marvel be not reserved for my master the
King, in whom the hope of all our patriots rests, to bring us the
happiness to which we look forward, both on his own account, and
because of the will of the late queen of Scotland ; besides which
the most favourable opportunity possible now presents itself for his
obtaining his inheritance, and for fully avenging all the wrong and
injury committed against him by the most monstrous and barbarous
creature of her sex that ever bore crown or sceptre. If I tried to
say how Catholics in England and abroad are doomed, so to speak,
to a perpetual longing worse than death itself for the day to come,
I should far exceed the limits of a letter.—Paris, 15th March 1587. |
16 March.
Estado, 949. |
39. Count De Olivares to the King.
When Juan Agustin Pinelo, the Pope's banker, tells me that his
Holiness says (as he does to everyone) that he is going to give your
Majesty a million, I try to discover, in case it be possible to get the
contribution for the Flanders business, what arrangements could be
made to anticipate the payment. He made great difficulties about
paying it in various different places instead of only one. I have
given the papers about the succession to Cardinal Deça, upon whose
secrecy I can depend. I have not moved in the matter hitherto, but
I will make a commencement to-morrow. I tremble, however, at
the Pope's lack of secresy. Your Majesty's order that the matter
should be kept secret I presume applies to myself, and shall be
obeyed ; but, as I have frequently written, it is impossible to impose
secresy upon his Holiness, besides which I much doubt that he will
give the brief without consultation. Those whom he will consult
are sure to raise difficulties out of envy of your Majesty's greatness.
I do not propose, however, to begin by asking the Pope for anything,
because (amongst other reasons) nothing can be got from him until
he feels certain that the enterprise is really to be carried through.
I shall first give him an account in your Majesty's name of the right
which it is ascertained your Majesty has (to the English crown),
and promise him great moderation in asserting it with his concurrence ;
and shall then express a hope that his Holiness will
extend his help and favour to the claim. I shall afterwards be
governed by his attitude.
With regard to Allen's hat I gave the Pope the statement of
reasons enclosed, but neither my efforts nor those of Caraffa have
persuaded him to grant it at once. When we pressed him with the
argument that, even if the enterprise were not affected the elevation
of Allen was necessary in order to sustain the English Catholics, be
replied that this was a good reason why he should have promoted
him last Christmas, without seeing that he thus threw the blame
upon himself. The news has arrived here that your Majesty had received
about the last plot against the queen of England, which they
wanted to lay at the door of the French ambassador in England. (fn. 2)
This gave an opportunity for the French ambassador here to say
that it was a good juncture for your Majesty and the king of France
to unite in the enterprise against the queen of England. I thought
well to hint to the Pope that some stratagem might be hidden
under this, with the object of discovering whether any negotiations
were being carried on relative to such an enterprise between his
Holiness and your Majesty, and in such case to try to frustrate it,
and to give the king of France and the queen of England a pretext
for arming, to your Majesty's prejudice. As I had not time to
speak to the Pope personally about it, I conveyed it to him through
Rusticucci, (fn. 3) from whom I have not received any reply. I will
continue to work in this direction, because if the suspicion turns
out true my action will justify itself, and if not it will make the
Pope shy of the French.
I have diverted Cardinal Mondovi from the sending of that
Scottish bishop, (fn. 4) and have persuaded him to close his ears to the
praises the Scotsmen are singing of their King. He has agreed to
make use of that Jesuit, Edmund Hayhoe, who is the kind of person
we want, as the Pope is the man who will seize upon any branch.
Father Robert (Persons) here, thinking from what has passed
that Allen's elevation is still distant, is worrying me to death to get
the Pope to make him archbishop of Canterbury, which he says
will in a great measure make up for the want of the cardinalate.
He greatly exalts the dignity of the office and urges the desirability
of the hat going with it. I have not countenanced this as it would
divert the Pope from the matter of the cardinalate.
I venture to remind your Majesty of the condition imposed by
the Pope in case Italian troops are to be sent on the enterprise. (fn. 5)
I await your Majesty's instructions as to the time when Allen is
to begin to write something, as to his going and the pretext for it,
the announcement of the enterprise in the consistory, and the course
to be pursued by the nuncio in France. I will only remark again
that your Majesty must give up all hope of secresy from the
moment the Pope signs the warrants for the money, however much
he may swear to say nothing. The worst of it is he cannot help it.
Other Popes might drop hints but he simply lets it all out, whether
he wants to or not. As it is impossible to deny what he says,
seeing its probability and the quality of his person, I have to adopt
the course of saying that I am writing all he says to your Majesty,
without further discussion. His reputation as a man of his word
is so small that people think it is nothing but talk.—Rome, 16th
March 1587. |
17 March.
Paris Archives,
K. 1566. 74. |
40. Advices from Scotland.
As the despatches were being closed the following advices from
Scotland came to hand, dated 17th March. The ship that brought
them arrived on the 21st.
When the execution of the Queen was known in Scotland the earl
of Morton had crossed the English border on the west, with a
number of troops, and had burnt many towns and villages, taking
much plunder. He had been joined by gentlemen of the province,
and especially those of the name of Graham, who have much
influence there. Some of them have accompanied the Earl into
Scotland.
The King says he is not sorry for what the earl of Morton has
done, but only that anyone but himself should have been first to
break the peace with England. He has given orders for the whole
country to be ready with the men they are obliged to provide, and
await instructions which may be sent to them at any moment. If
any ambassador from England crosses the border, he is to be
instantly hanged. All the nobility are ready to serve the King in
the war, except the earl of Angus, who has not yet declared
himself. |
19 March.
Estado, 949.
Latin. |
41. William Allen to the King.
Exhorts him to undertake the enterprise against England, his
unhappy country. The catholics are all clamouring for him, and
he urges him to crown his glorious efforts in the holy cause of
Christ by punishing this woman, hated of God and man, and
restoring the country to its ancient glory and liberty. He vindicates
Philip's claim to the crown after the queen of Scotland, as a
descendant of the house of Lancaster ; and pronounces a fervent
blessing on the enterprise, for which he foretells complete success.
(Signed, your faithful servant and subject. William Allen.)—
Rome, 19th March 1587. |
18 March.
Estado, 949.
Italian. |
42. Document headed "Considerations why it is desirable to carry
through the Enterprise of England before discussing the
Succession to the Throne of that country, claimed by his
Majesty."
Delivered by Melino to Count De Olivares, 18th March 1587.
The evils and obstacles that might result from it:—
It must be presupposed that this matter cannot be communicated
to his Holiness without its reaching the ears of other persons, by
some channel or another, either through the natural want of secrecy
in this Court, the facility with which his Holiness usually communicates
his affairs, the talk of officials or ministers, who are much
given to divulge such matters, and finally because his Holiness will
probably not venture to decide the matter privately, and without
taking counsel, the case being so important.
By whatever means the matter became public, great prejudice
would thereby be caused, not only to the enterprise, but to his
Majesty's claim to the succession, for the following reasons :
The Pope himself, or various Cardinals, might perhaps conceive
suspicions of his Majesty's proceedings regarding this enterprise ; and
the result of such vain thoughts and discourse might be that the
Pope would help less liberally in favour and money, on the assertion
that his Majesty was forwarding the enterprise mainly out of regard
to his individual advantage. For the same reason the other
Christian Catholic princes might be moved to jealousy, for reasons
of State, of the greatness of Spain, particularly the king of France,
who with very good grounds would, with his friends, try to frustrate
the affair. The Italian princes would do the same, especially the
seigniory of Venice, who, we are informed by Moosignor Bergamo,
the new nuncio in France, are already somewhat jealous. The
princes of the house of Guise and Lorraine also will be much
displeased, although they might easily be induced to join in the
enterprise if the suspicions of France be not aroused.
The same will happen with the Scots, who will be of the greatest
importance in the enterprise, and they may be easily brought over
to our side if this claim of his Majesty is kept secret. Cardinal
Farnese and the other friends of the prince of Parma's children, who
are likewise descended from the house of Portugal, might also be
disturbed if this question were discussed at the present time,
although we have never heard from them that they would make
any claim.
It is obvious that the queen of Scotland also might have her
suspicions aroused, and doubt if due consideration were being paid
to her person and cause. There would certainly be no lack of
politicians of the party of the French and Scots to persuade her
that such was the case, and the same may be said of the English
Catholics both at home and abroad, as they have no leader to direct
them.
The very fact of this Spanish claim being made would greatly
aggravate heresy in England, as his Majesty's participation in this
enterprise would thereby become odious to all other princes, heretics
and Catholics alike, with the idea that Spain wishes to dominate all
Europe, and so the cause of the heretics would be more favourably
regarded, on the ground that the enterprise was undertaken for
reasons of state, and not for the sake of religion. This would draw
them close to the Scots, and the English Catholics themselves would
take the oath under such circumstances, which would be a grave
prejudice. France also would be drawn to them and influence would
be brought to bear upon the Pope and other princes ; besides which
the Scotch and French party in Paris and elsewhere, who have
hitherto secretly opposed the proceedings of Messieurs Allen and
Melino, would find good reason in these circumstances to arouse the
suspicions of the Queen of Scotland, the English Catholics, and other
princes, by saying that all the aid that Mr. Allen has received, and
is receiving, from his Majesty, either for himself or the seminary, has
been given simply with this object. This would arouse great
prejudice against him, and his dignity is not yet sufficient to allow
him to defy such calumny successfully. Many other difficulties and
obstacles would spring therefrom, which would probably spoil the
whole design, or at least would render it immensely more difficult.
|
The advantages which would result from the King's succession
not being mentioned until the enterprise be carried through :—
First.—Inasmuch as the whole world is now of opinion that his
Majesty is to undertake the enterprise in order to restore the Catholic
faith, to avenge the open and intolerable injuries against himself, and
especially against God's church, and the multitude of martyrs, all
good Catholics in Christendom would favour it with their prayers,
blessings, writings, and other aids ; so that those who, for state or
other reasons, or jealousy of the power of Spain, were averse to it, will
not venture to oppose it. His Majesty's friends will be better able to
work in favour of the enterprise, as, for instance, the Pope with the
king of France, who may not be pleased with the affair, and get him
to remain quiet, with the princes of the house of Lorraine, and other
French Catholics ; whilst Allen's negotiations with the English
Catholics and neutrals will be also more effectual, as he can assure
them by letters, books, &c. that the only object entertained here is
to reform religion and punish those who have deserved punishment.
This will greatly encourage them in England. When the enterprise
shall have been effected, and the whole realm and the adjacent
islands are in the hands of his Majesty, and the fortresses and strong
places powerless to oppose him, then will be the proper time to deal
with the question, because if the Queen of Scotland be dead, as she
probably will be, as the heretics, having her in their hands, and in
the belief that the enterprise is in her interest, will kill her, there
will be no other Catholic prince alive whose claims will clash with
those of his Majesty ; whereas if she be alive and married to his
Majesty's liking, the question of his Majesty's succession can be
taken in hand with her authority and the claims of the House of
Lancaster asserted.
The man who might be the cardinal of England, and the leader
and head of them all, could easily bring the others to decide what
might be desirable, through Parliament, if the new Bishops, who are
principal members thereof, were by his side as well as the lay nobles
(most of the present ones being heretics would probably be destroyed
in the war, and those created in their places by his Majesty would be
favourable).
His Majesty would have much greater reason for his claim then,
as the descendant of the house of Lancaster, seeing the disqualification
of the other 'claimants, the bull of Pius V., and the will of the
queen of Scotland. He would have the advantage of a just cause,
of having restored religion, and finally the votes of the estates of
the realm, confirmed by his Holiness, who, it may be supposed,
would not then interpose difficulties, which he might do now in
order not to displease other princes. Finally, everything consists in
the enterprise being effected now that so good an opportunity exists,
and that the forces of England and Ireland should be in his Majesty's
power, whilst some great and important Englishman should be there
to manage the people, and satisfy other princes, this being the most
important point of all for the success of the affair, which has already
been prejudiced by the delay that has taken place.
Note.—Melino, although a servant of the Guises, had been won
over to the Spanish side by Allen and Olivares, but it will be seen
by the above document that he still had a leaning to the policy of
his nominal master, Guise, who would have preferred to see his
cousin James Catholic king of England. |