178 Constihitlonal History. [chap.
was given to Warwick, and the duke of York himself became
higlɪ constable. But the royal party was not yet intimidated ;
the private feuds which divided the lords were not merged in
the public quarrel ; lord Cromwell was at enmity with Warwick :
Freparations the elections even required careful attention on the-part of the
mentrl'a^ new government, and the duke had some trouble in obtaining
a parliament which would be likely to warrant his proceed-
ings1. The circumstances, however, of the session bore some
it meets, analogy to those of the last parliament. The estates met on
j"'y i455∙ the 2⅛ 0f July; on the ɪoth the chancellor declared the causes
of the summons : the sustenance of the royal household, the
defence of Calais, the war against the French and Scots, the
employment of the thirteen thousand archers voted in 1453,
the preservation of peace in the country, the procuring of
ready money, the protection of the sea, and the pacification
of Wales2. Five committees of the lords addressed themselves
to the several points3 : the next day Sir John Wenlock was
York and chosen speaker ; the duke of York presented a schedule giving
the Nevilles . . .
declared his account of the recent struggle, and the king declared him
Iojal $$ , ð
and the Nevilles to be loyal4. On the 24th an oath of
θatiɪ of allegiance to Henry was laid before the lords ; it was taken
allegiance ,
taken. by the two archbishops, the dukes of York and Buckingham,
eleven bishops, six earls, two viscounts, eighteen abbots, two
priors, and seventeen barons ; and orders were given for it to
be taken by the absent members5.
Second On the 31 st the parliament was prorogued, and before the
Henrvand day of meeting, November 12, the king was again insane,
teetoɪatə The formalities observed in. 1454 were again adopted: on the
Richard, I ʒth the commons asked for the nomination of a protector :
Nor. 1455 on tjιe ɪʒfɪɪ f]ιey repeated the request, and the chancellor
undertook to consult the lords ; the lords agreed and nominated
1 The duchess of Norfolk wrote to John Paston praying him to vote for
her candidates; Letters, i. 337: the Norfolk nominees were returned; ib.
339, 340. On the 5th of July the king wrote to the sheriff of Kent about
the i busy labour’ which had been spent in that county in order to in-
fluence the elections, and ordered him to proclaim that the election was
free according to the laws; Ordinances, vi. 246 ; Rot. Parl. v. 451.
a Rot. ParL v. 278 ; Stow, ρ. 400.
3 Rot. ParL v. 279. 4 ɪb. v. 280. 5 ɪb. v. 282.
XVIIi.] Second Protectorate of YorJc. 179
the duke of York : on the ɪ 7tI1, in answer to the speaker’s
inquiry as to the result of the proposal, it was announced that
the royal assent was given to the nomination made by the
loi ds ɪ. The duke under protest accepted the office; and the
king by letters patent on the 19th made the formal appoint-
ment, to continue until the duke should be relieved of his
charge by the sovereign himself in parliament, or the prince
should come of age. On the 22nd the king vested the ‘ politique The govern-
rule and governance ’ in the hands of the council, of which the m the «mu-
duke was chief. He ordained ‘that his council shall provide,
commyne, ordain, speed and conclude all such matters as touch
and concern the good and politique rule and governance of this
his land ; ’ he was himself to be informed of all matters that
concerned his person. The council accepted the responsibility,
protesting that the sovereignty must always remain in the
royal person2. On the 13th of December the parliament was
again prorogued to January 14, 1456; on which day it met3.
On the 25th of February the king had recovered4, and, under Henry’s
the influence of Margaret, at once relieved the duke from his FebruSy,
office of protector5. What little else was attempted in the ɪ456'
session may be learned from the petitions ; Warwick’s appoint-
ment as captain of Calais was completed6 ; duke Humfrey was
declared to have been loyal7 ; the questions arising on the other pro-
imprisonment of Thomas Yonge were referred to the councils, jarimment.
and provision was made for the household9; no taxation seems
to have been asked for; a new act of resumption was passed'cι.
The few statutes enrolled are important only as being the last
attempts at legislation made during the reign. Probably the
1 Rot. Pail. v. 284-289, 453; Rymer, xi. 369, 370.
2 Rot. Parl. v. 289, 290.
3 Rot. Parl. v. 321 ; Ordinances, vi. 274.
4 Feb. 9, J ohn Booking wrote to Sir John Fastolf, that the king was in-
clined to continue the duke as chief counsellor, but the queen was opposed
to it ; Paston Letters, i. 378.
5 Rot. Parl. v. 321, 322; Rymer, xi. 373. 6 Rot. Parl. v. 341.
7 Rot. Pari. V 335. This was proclaimed on the 31st of July, 1455,
having been for seven years opposed by the king and council ; Whetham-
stede, i. 181 ; Stow, p. 400.
8 Rot. Parl. v. 337.
9 A sum of £3934 19s. 4^d. was assigned ; Rot. Parl. v. 320.
10 Whethamstede, i. 250; Paston Letters, i. 377; Rot. Parl, v. 300 sq.
N 2