Proceedings of the English Parliament – serie

Further debates on the continuation of the parliament, as well as the end of the impeachment of Lord Strafford, an attempt to rescue him, and his execution.This volume contains the debates on the passage of the Act of Continuance that assured the parliament that it would not be adjourned, prorogued, or dissolved in conjunction with the Strafford business. On May 10th that act was passed by royal commission, as was the act of attainder against the Earl of Strafford, thus concluding with his impeachment trial and assuring the continuance of parliament. Strafford was beheaded on May 12th and the subsidy bill, providing further relief for the King's army, passed into law on the 13th. On May 11th, in between the passage of the attainder and the execution of Strafford, the Scottish treaty passed the Upper House. Debate on the treaty began in the lower House immediately and by June most of the articles had been hammered out. The conclusion and the passage of the treaty will be published in Volume V.Also contained in Volume IV are the materials relating to a plot to gain control of a demoralized army and to attempt a rescue of Strafford. The extent of the "army plot" has to a certain extent remained a question in the minds of historians. The accounts in Volume IV will shed new light onthis puzzling matter.Maija Jansson is Director of the Yale Center for Parliamentary History

Volume 5 of Proceedings in the Opening Session of the Long Parliament covers the period from 7 June through 17 July 1641, during which time the Act of Pacification with Scotland was finalized; this is the penultimate volumeof text in the edition.Volume 5 of Proceedings in the Opening Session of the Long Parliament covers the period from 7 June through 17 July 1641 and is the penultimate volume of text in the edition. Volume 6 will contain the proceedings from 19 July to the recess on 9 September 1641. The last volume of the edition will contain the comprehensive index and various appendixes and tables.In the summer months of 1641 as parliamentarians prepared for a recess and reunions with families from whom they had been long separated, their accomplishments were apparent: important bills had been passed, impeachments were drafted, Strafford was beheaded and peace with Scotland was on the verge of becoming a reality. Much of the business introduced in the course of the daily meetings since the convening of parliament in November 1640 was touched upon in the last months of summer before the adjournment in September. The effort to complete what was earlier begun is apparent in the topics of debate listed in the Orders of Business for each day. The finalizing of the Act of Pacification with Scotland was the work of these months. The disbanding of troopson both sides, the organizing of the disposition of their weapons, and the settling of the complicated financial arrangements relating to almost all aspects of the peace were a major part of the work described in this volume andcontinued in volume 6. Maija Jansson is Director of the Yale Center for Parliamentary History

This volume reflects again the superb organization of the parliamentary body that met during these years.This last volume of Proceedings in the Opening Session of the Long Parliament covers the period from 19 July through 9 September 1641. Both houses were by now growing thin as weary lords and commoners began to leave Londonfor families in the countryside, knowing they would be back in the city by October. The king left for Edinburgh in August, not to return until autumn.In closing up for the recess the parliamentary body lost nothing of the work started, even while negotiating the final arrangements for peace with Scotland. The reader is again struck by the committee structure and the means for handling personal and somewhat private naturalization bills while at the same time keeping on track the major public bills regarding episcopacy and the nature of the Council and courts.Maija Jansson is Director of the Yale Center for Parliamentary History.

This final volume of the edition includes the Appendix materials [Lists of Members by family name and constituency, Lists of Officials by family name and office, Lists of Committees, Table of Bills, and Chronological Table of Speeches] and the comprehensive Index.Volume 7 is the last volume of the edition of Proceedings in the Opening Session of the Long Parliament compiled by the Yale Center for Parliamentary History and edited by Maija Jansson.It will contain all of theAppendix material referred to in the earlier volumes. It will also contain the Lists of Members, both by family name and constituency, the List of Committees, Table of Bills, List of Petitions, List of Joint Conferences and Reports, and the Comprehensive Index to volumes 1 through 6.Maija Jansson is Director of the Yale Center for Parliamentary History.