Third Protectorate Parliament
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Parliaments of England 1604–1705 | ||||||||||
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List of parliaments of England | ||||||||||
The Third Protectorate Parliament sat for one session, from 27 January 1659 until 22 April 1659, with
Events
After the death of Oliver Cromwell his son Richard Cromwell succeeded him as Lord Protector of the Protectorate on 3 September 1658. As a civilian, Richard did not have the full confidence of the Army, particularly as the administration had a perennial budget deficit of half a million pounds and the Army was owed nearly nine hundred thousand pounds in back pay. His only option was to call a Parliament in the hope that it would cement his position by general recognition of the ruling class and by raising new taxes to pay the arrears owed to the Army.
The Third Protectorate Parliament was summoned on 9 December 1658 on the basis of the old
in January 1649 and the dismissal of the Rump Parliament by Oliver Cromwell in 1653.The Protectorate faction was led by the Secretary of State
"The proposition of restoring the Parliament met with great opposition from many of those that had tasted the sweetness of power and profit under the late usurpation of the Cromewells, and who feared a more equal distribution of things; and therefore they everywhere affirmed that there was not a sufficient number of members left to make up a Parliament".[1]
An informal committee of key generals and republican parliamentary members met at Henry Vane the Younger's home at Charing-Cross; representing the army were John Lambert, Col John Hones, Col. Kelsey, Col. Berry, and representing Parliament were Sir Henry Vane, Sir Arthur Haslerig, Major Saloway and Edmund Ludlow.
"The things demanded by those of the army were: 1. To be secured by an act of indemnity for what was past; 2. That some provision of power might be made for Mr. Richard Cromwell, as well as for the payment of his debts, and future subsistence in a plentiful manner, they having promised to take care of him in these particulars; 3. That what should stand in need of regulation both in the law and clergy, should be reformed and amended; 4. That the government of the nation should be by a representative of the people, and by a select senate (chosen in part by the military faction)".[2] Difficulties arose from mistrust between Parliament and the army, making effective working between the two houses problematic.
The issues came to a head when Parliament attempted to impeach Major-General
The Grandees intended to keep Richard Cromwell as Lord Protector under Army control, without calling another parliament. Their position was undermined, however, when it became clear that the Army's rank and file still harboured support for the "Good Old Cause" of the Commonwealth, and still wanted to have their arrears of pay settled. This groundswell of support forced the Grandees to allow Richard Cromwell to re-call the Rump Parliament less than a month after the dissolution of the Third Protectorate Parliament.
There were two Speakers during the Third Protectorate Parliament and two Deputy Speakers. Chaloner Chute served as Speaker from 27 January 1659 until 14 April 1659, with two deputy speakers: Sir Lislebone Long from 9 March 1659 until 14 March 1659, and Thomas Bampfield from 16 March 1659 until 14 April 1659. Thomas Bampfield was Speaker from 15 April 1659 until 22 April 1659.
The Third Protectorate Parliament was preceded by the Second Protectorate Parliament and followed by the return of the Rump Parliament.
Composition
The constituencies and distribution of seats, in England and Wales, for this Parliament reverted to being the same as in the Long Parliament. However the Scottish and Irish constituencies (see list in the First Protectorate Parliament article) remained unchanged.
Constituencies
Abbreviations: Boro' const. – Borough/Burgh constituencies, Shire const. – County/Shire constituencies, Univ. const. or const'ies – University constituencies, Total Const. – Total constituencies, Con. (or Const.) – Constituencies
Table 1: Constituencies and MPs, by type and country
Country | Boro' const. |
Shire const. |
Univ. const. |
Total const. |
Boro' MPs |
Shire MPs |
Univ. MPs |
Total MPs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
England | 200 | 38 | 2 | 240 | 400 | 76 | 4 | 480 |
Wales | 13 | 13 | — | 26 | 13 | 14 | — | 27 |
Scotland | 9 | 20 | — | 29 | 10 | 20 | — | 30 |
Ireland | 6 | 13 | — | 19 | 6 | 24 | — | 30 |
No. of constituencies | 228 | 84 | 2 | 314 | ||||
Members returned | 429 | 134 | 4 | 567 | 429 | 134 | 4 | 567 |
Table 2: Number of seats per constituency, by type and country
Country | Borough constituencies | Shire constituencies | Univ. const'ies | Total const. |
Total MPs | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 MP | 2 MPs | 4 MPs | Con. | MPs | 1 MP | 2 MPs | Con. | MPs | 2 MPs | Con. | MPs | |||
England | 4 | 194 | 2 | 200 | 400 | — | 38 | 38 | 76 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 240 | 480 |
Wales | 13 | — | — | 13 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 13 | 14 | — | — | — | 26 | 27 |
Scotland | 8 | 1 | — | 9 | 10 | 20 | — | 20 | 20 | — | — | — | 29 | 30 |
Ireland | 6 | — | — | 6 | 6 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 24 | — | — | — | 19 | 30 |
No. of constituencies | 31 | 195 | 2 | 228 | 34 | 50 | 84 | 2 | 2 | 314 | ||||
Members returned | 31 | 390 | 8 | 429 | 34 | 100 | 134 | 4 | 4 | 567 |
Notes: (1) Monmouthshire (1 borough and 2 county seats) included in England, not Wales. (2) Dublin City and County treated as a county constituency (2 seats).
See also
Notes
This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2014) |
- ^ The Memoirs of Edmund Ludlow, Lieutenant-General of the Horse in the Army of the Commonwealth of England 1625-1672 Edited with Appendices of Letters and Illustrative Documents by C. A. Firth, M.A., in two volumes. v. II p. 74. published 1894, Clarendon Press, Oxford
- ^ The Memoirs of Edmund Ludlow, Lieutenant-General of the Horse in the Army of the Commonwealth of England 1625-1672 Edited with Appendices of Letters and Illustrative Documents by C. A. Firth, M.A., in two volumes. v. II p. 75. published 1894, Clarendon Press, Oxford