I об Constitutional IIistorjj. [chap,
parliament, it were well that it should be ended before the day
Argnments of meeting : the duke had refused to come to Northampton if
addressed 1
to him. he should there meet the chancellor ; he was implored to set
that feeling aside ; there would be no fear of a riot ; the bishop
had undertaken to keep his men in order, and the peace would
be duly kept : it was unreasonable in Gloucester, and even if
he were king it would be unreasonable in him, to refuse to meet
a peer; the king and council were determined that Gloucester
should have his rights ; he could not insist on Beaufort’s
removal from office, but, if anything were proved against
Beaufort, he would of course be dismissed. If Gloucester
refused to attend the council, he must come to the parliament,
and in that assembly the king would execute justice without
respect of persons. Whether the duke complied with the
request does not appear ; but the matter was not settled when
The parlia- the parliament, which is called by the annalists the parliament
Bats, Feb.- of bats or bludgeons, met ’. The chancellor opened the pro-
Ceedings with a speech, in which he made no reference to the
quarrel2 ; for ten days the two parties stood face to face,
nothing being done in consequence of their hostile attitude.
On the 28th of February the commons sent in an urgent prayer
Bedford and that the divisions among the lords should be reconciled3, and
mediate. Bedford and the peers solemnly undertook the arbitration;
on the 7th of March Gloucester and Beaufort consented to
abide by that arbitration, and to make peace on the terms
which should be prescribed. The charges of Gloucester against
Iiis uncle were stated ; he had shut the Tower of London against
him, had purposed to seize the king’s person, had plotted to
destroy Gloucester when visiting the king, had attempted the
murder of Henry V when prince of Wales, and had urged him
to usurp his father’s crown. The bishop explained his conduct
as impugned in the first and third charges, and denied the
truth of the rest. The arbitrators determined that Beaufort
1 Gregory, j>. 160.
2 Rot. Parl. iv. 295. The speaker was Sir RicliardVeriioii; the grant
was made June ɪ. Cf. Amundesliam, i. 9, 10; Chron. Giles, pp. 8, 9.
The clergy, April 27, granted a half tenth and a farthing in the pound;
Wilk. Cone. iii. 461, 462. 3 Rot. Parl. iv. 296; Ordinances, iii. 187.
107
Bedford's arbitration.
XVIII.]
ghould solemnly deny the truth of the charges of treason Pacification
against Henry IV, Henry V, and Henry VI, whereupon Bedford nation of
ghould declare him loyal : he should then disavow all designs March 14’26.
against Gloucester, who should accept the disavowal ; and they
should then take, each other by the hand1. This was done
and recorded on the 12th of March2; on the 14th, Beaufort
resigned the great seal, and the treasurer, bishop Stafford,
prayed to be discharged of the treasurership. John Kemp,
bishop of London, became chancellor, and Walter, lord Hunger-
ford, treasurer1. On the 20th the parliament was prorogued,
to meet again on the 29th of April. In the second meeting, Money
grants of tunnage, poundage, and the subsidy on wool were
granted4, extending to November, 1431 ; the council had been
already empowered to give security for loans amounting to
£40,000. On the I st of June the parliament separated. The
king had during the latter days of the session received from
his uncle Bedford the honour of knighthood.
Bedford stayed sixteen months in England. Beaufort, before Bcaufort
the duke left, appeared from time to time at the council board5 ; the council,
at the end of the year he lost his brother the duke of Exeter ;
the representation of the family devolved on John, Edmund
and Thomas, sons of the eldest brother, John Beaufort; of these
John, the earl of Somerset, was a prisoner in France. The
bishop probably thought that he might bide his time. He had
undergone a personal discomfiture, but the council might be
trusted not to allow duke Humfrey to have his own way. The
Chancelloi' Kemp too, now archbishop of York, was a resolute
defender of constitutional right. In contemplation of his
return to France, Bedford held a council in the Star Chamber
on the 8th of January, 1427 g. The chancellor, as spokesman
1 The articles are given by Hall, Chr. pp. 130, 131 ; and Beaufort’s
answers, pp. 131134; then the arbitrament, pp. 135-138; they are not
stated in the rolls of parliament. See also Arnold, Chr- pp. 287, 300.
2 Kot. Parl. iv. 297.
s lb. iv. 299 ; Amundesham, i. 9 ; Bymer, x. 353.
4 Rot. Parl. iv. 302.
5 Beaufort was a member of the council, Nov. 24, and Bec. 8, 1426, and
March 8 and 10, 1427 ; Ordinances, iii. 213, 221, 226, 255.
6 Ordinances, iii. 231-242.