1

THE

PARLIAMENTARY

OR

CONSTITUTIONAL

History of England,

From the earliest TIMES,

TO THE

Dissolution of the Convention Parliament that
reftored King CHARLES II.

Together with an

APPENDIX

OF

Several Matters relative to the foregoing History, which
were either omitted in the Course of it, or have been
fent in to the Compilers since the Publication of the
former Parts of this Work.

From the Meeting of the Parliament, after a short Adjournment, Novem
ber 6, to the Dissolution of it, December 29, 1660.

ated for J. and R. TONSON, and A. MILLAR, in the

Strand; and W. SANDBY, in Fleet-street.

MDCCLXIII.

;

THE

EDITORS to the READER.

T

HE Conclufive Part of this long and tedious Work, brings it down to the Period we at first intended. - We cannot, without Pain, look back on the Rocks and Precipices, nor the barren Plains and inhospitable Mountains, we have passed over to gather these Anecdotes, during a Course of more than twelve Years Peregrination. And when we acquaint our Reader that we have gone through all our antient Monkish Historians, as well as Modern ones; the Parliament Rolls and Records; the Journals of the House of Lords in Manufcript, those of the Commons in Print, Page by Page; add to these whole Cart-Loads, as we may well call them, of old Pamphlets and printed Speeches of the Times, he will not think the Allegory used above to be unjust.

We entered upon this History, at first, with a View that it might all be comprized in Three or Four Volumes at most; and, indeed, the first Five hundred Years of Parliamentary Proceedings in this Kingdom are contained in Four: But then the latter Reigns, as those Times are much nearer our present Age, afford a greater Light, and have VOL. XXIII.