Ⅵ.查爾斯一世(16251649)與議會(huì)?

Charles I (1625-1649) and the Parliament

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查爾斯一世與議會(huì)的關(guān)系一開(kāi)始就是災(zāi)難性的。他象父親一樣認(rèn)為他的統(tǒng)治權(quán)是上帝賦予的--"君權(quán)神 授"。任何人都不能挑戰(zhàn)君權(quán)。這種不可更改的立場(chǎng)激化了與議會(huì)的沖突。議員們?cè)絹?lái)越同情清教徒。查爾斯鼓勵(lì)一種思想流派在英格蘭教會(huì)內(nèi)發(fā)展，清教徒以為這種思想與古老的羅馬天主教義很接近。因?yàn)檫@種教義希望恢復(fù)一些古老的中世紀(jì)教會(huì)習(xí)俗給予主教極大尊重和權(quán)力。

Charles I’s relations with the Parliament were from the start disastrous. He, like his father,

thought of his right to rule as God-given---“The Divine Right of Kings”. His prerogative rights should not be challenged by anyone. This was an inflexible stand, and it encouraged confrontation with Parliament, whose members had become increasingly Puritan in sympathy. Charles encouraged the growth of a school of thought within the Church of England which Puritans believed to be very close to the old roman Catholicism. It wished to restore some of the old medieval Church’s customs, and gave the bishop of the Church great respect and power.

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伊麗莎白時(shí)期，清教主義一直是神職人員要求的改革方向，當(dāng)這些人被斯圖亞特王族罷職后，他們離開(kāi)英國(guó)國(guó)教。結(jié)果清教主義很快變成全國(guó)上下群眾性的社會(huì)運(yùn)動(dòng)，并以簡(jiǎn)樸穿戴，很高的道德標(biāo)準(zhǔn)和平均主義而聞名。因?yàn)榍褰掏揭恢甭暦Q羅馬天主教威脅了英國(guó)，他們也因此被尊為民族主義者。查爾斯一世個(gè)人對(duì)宗教的觀點(diǎn)證實(shí)了清教徒的懷疑：在皇宮內(nèi)又開(kāi)始信仰天主教了!在英國(guó)當(dāng)時(shí)的時(shí)代環(huán)境下，任何容忍天主教和崇拜歐洲天主教國(guó)家文化的行為都被認(rèn)為是發(fā)瘋。

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Puritanism in Elizabethan times had been a reform tendency of Elizabeth’s churchmen. As these men were removed from their positions by the Stuarts, they left the Church of England. Puritanism, as a result, quickly became a mass movement of communities up and down the country, noted for simple dress, high moral standards and very egalitarian attitudes. As the Puritans had always been the most outspoken about threats to England from Roman Catholicism they were also respected nationalists. Increasingly Charles I’s personal views on religion confirmed Puritans suspicions: Catholics were again worshiping?at Court! The climate of the times was such that toleration of Catholicism and admiration of European Catholic countries culture was regarded as madness.

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1625 年查爾斯一世召集他的第一屆議會(huì)，他要求議會(huì)把通常進(jìn)口稅收給他，議會(huì)只批了一年而非終生。 國(guó)王的反應(yīng)是解散議會(huì)，并且征收關(guān)稅，提高強(qiáng)迫貸款額，并威脅要把那些拒付的人投進(jìn)監(jiān)獄。1628 年由 于缺錢(qián)，他又召集議會(huì)(第三屆議會(huì))，他發(fā)現(xiàn)自己面對(duì)約翰·艾略特領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的強(qiáng)大反對(duì)勢(shì)力。正是這屆議會(huì)上國(guó)王被迫接受了《民權(quán)請(qǐng)?jiān)笗?shū)》--被視為第二個(gè)《大憲章》，它禁止任意逮捕和關(guān)押，沒(méi)有議會(huì)同意不得增稅；在私房?jī)?nèi)不得安置士軍住宿；不得根據(jù)軍事法審判任何人。一年后查爾斯又解散了議會(huì)。他設(shè)法通過(guò)各種財(cái)政措施(如 1635 年把船稅擴(kuò)展至所有內(nèi)陸城鎮(zhèn)和縣)在未召集國(guó)會(huì)情況下又過(guò)了 11 年，直至當(dāng)他試圖把高教派禮儀(英國(guó)國(guó)教祈禱書(shū))強(qiáng)加于蘇格蘭教會(huì)的?1640?年。

Charles I called his first Parliament in 1625. When he asked Parliament to vote him the usual import duties, it granted them for one year only instead of for life. The King responded by dissolving Parliament, collecting the customs duties, raising a forced loan and threatening those who refused to pay with imprisonment. Forced once more by shortage of money to call another Parliament (his third Parliament) in 1628, he found himself faced by a powerful opposition led by

Sir John Eliot. It was at this Parliament that the King was forced to accept the Petition of Right, regarded as the second Magna Carta, which forbade arbitrary arrest and imprisonment and requested that no taxes should be raised without consent of Parliament; no more billeting of soldiers in private houses; and no person be tried by martial law. But a year later Charles dissolved Parliament. He managed by various financial measures (e.g. Ship-money was extended to all inland towns and counties in 1635) to survive for 11 years without calling another until 1640 when, having tried to impose his High Church practices ( the English Book of Common Prayer ) on the

Scottish Church, a rebellious Scottish army marched into England.

造反的蘇格蘭軍隊(duì)開(kāi)進(jìn)英格蘭，在紐伯恩蘇格蘭人打敗了皇家軍隊(duì)，查爾斯被迫在里本與蘇格蘭人簽訂條約。根據(jù)條約，蘇格蘭人應(yīng)放棄一切敵對(duì)行動(dòng)，而查爾斯則每天支付 850 鎊作為蘇格蘭軍隊(duì)的生活費(fèi)，直至雙方的矛盾解決。

The Scots defeated the royal forces at Newburn, and Charles was forced to conclude a treaty with the Scots at Ripon, by which it was agreed that the Scots should abstain from all acts of hostility and Charles should pay 850 pounds a day for the maintenance of the Scottish army, until the differences between them and the King should be settled.

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查爾斯缺錢(qián)又怕蘇格蘭人第二次入侵，只得召集第五屆議會(huì)，也叫長(zhǎng)期國(guó)會(huì)(1640-1660)。議會(huì)立即命令逮捕國(guó)王最殘忍也最能干的大臣斯特拉福德和勞德。然后長(zhǎng)期議會(huì)采取一系列措施限制王權(quán)，同時(shí)擴(kuò)大自己的權(quán)力。《民兵議案》提議將軍事指揮權(quán)由君主轉(zhuǎn)給議會(huì)。《大抗議書(shū)》強(qiáng)烈要求對(duì)教會(huì)進(jìn)行徹底改革，包括限制主教權(quán)力，用議會(huì)批準(zhǔn)的大臣取代國(guó)王的樞密大臣。1641 年，當(dāng)國(guó)王與下議會(huì)激烈爭(zhēng)斗時(shí)，不滿 的愛(ài)爾蘭天主教徒利用此局勢(shì)襲擊占領(lǐng)他們領(lǐng)土的英國(guó)人。成千上萬(wàn)人被殺，英格蘭國(guó)內(nèi)抗議不斷，人們 認(rèn)為查爾斯一直支持愛(ài)爾蘭天主教徒。經(jīng)過(guò)長(zhǎng)時(shí)間的猶豫，查爾斯于 1642 年開(kāi)始行動(dòng)。他率領(lǐng)一群武裝人員沖到下議院逮捕皮姆和其他四位議員,最終無(wú)功而返。彼時(shí)戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)已不可避免。

Charles, being still in want of money and fearing a second invasion of the Scots, called his fifth Parliament, sometimes called the Long Parliament (1640-1660). Immediately Parliament ordered the arrests of the King’s most ruthlessly efficient ministers, Strafford and Laud.

Then a whole series of measures were introduced by the Long Parliament limiting the authority of the Crown while increasing its own. The Militia Bill proposed the transfer of military command from the Crown to Parliament, and a Grand Remonstrance urged radical reforms in the Church, including the limitation of the power of bishops, and the replacement of the King’s counselors by ministers approved by Parliament. While the King and the Commons were at each other’s throats in 1641, discontented Irish Catholics took advantage of this situation to attack the settlers who had taken their land. Thousands were killed and the outcry in England was heightened by a belief that Charles had backed the Irish Catholic side. Having hesitated too long, Charles began to

take action in 1642. Leading a party of swordsmen, he marched to the Commons to arrest Pym and four other Members?but in vain. War was now inevitable.

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