THE LIFE AND TIMES OF OLIVER CROMWELL.

Evening Star, Issue 3325, 16 October 1873, Page 2

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF OLIVER CROMWELL.

The Rev. Mr M'Kenzie delivered ft lecture on the above subject in the lower hall of the First Church, on Tuesday evening ; Mr Moore, president of the Young Men’s Christian Association, being in the chair. There was a large attendance, and the lecture was received in a manner that showed it was appreciated. Some members of the choir gave valuable assistance in varying the entertainment. The rev. lecturer commenced by expressing a hope that his lecture would not have the moving, soothing, and satisfying effect that a certain speaker’s had, whose discourse was moving, because the people soon began to move out; soothing, because those that remained went to sleep ; and satisfying,- because he was never asked back again. With regard to llis subject, i£ had many things tp recommend it, : altFougli'perhaps not 1 the‘freshness of novelty. It was an old and oft-repeated tale, hut many' loved to ruminate on the stirring events of the past; pf those times which helped to form the character pf our groat nation, We were now reaping the golden fruits of many a bitter conflict between our fathers, and of their self denying efforts in tl>e cause of civil and religious liberty. Their exploits should secure our attention' and sympathy, and specially the scenes in the life of Oliver Cromwell. Various and conflicting opinions were held as to the character of that great man; the deep-seated prejudice (originated in the sycophants of royalty) which for years after his time branded as a traitor anyone who defended the name of Cromwell, had not even yet died out. Few literary men had attempted to remove the odium which attached to his memory, until of late years his biograper appeared- -the greatest writer of the present age, Carlyle—who wrote down the calumnies of ages and raised him to the position to which he was justly entitled. Although he (the lecturer) could not sympathise with all that Carlyle had written, still he considered wo lay under a debt of obligation for this wip-k ; -f t specially % it was founded upon Cromwell’s letters ihd speeches—the best proof of his noble and upright character. Oliver Cromwell was bom in April, 1599, at Hunting don; the site of the house, since twice rebuilt, being still pointed out. His parents were of the substantial gentry class. It appears they had enough to live upon without entering into business, until their family increased, when they purchased a ftyCV/pry of which Oliver, at the-death of his father, became pqsstsssop. The parents were pious, Gfod-fearilig people; 'the-mother the more prominently so ; and the’ demoted affection subsisting between here and Oliver was pue of ihg ipgij] features of his character. In the flush'qfVigtory aipl trio pf hjs ftpne slip still held her place. Of his early days we j(IlW but little, save that he was at schoo} for only a short timo; butlps character was funned by the events of the stern times ill which he lived. A war was going on in France between Popery and Protestantism ; dark and terrible deeds were being enacted by the Komau Catholics, in the name of religion and peace; the more thoughtful and reflecting men of England were apprehensive of dark days in store for tbeir own country. Some accuse him of being" at this time profligate and addicted to Vicious 'courses, but r these detractors bring no proof of it': rib 1 evidence worthy of the jianje; apd even if time, we shbuld •not’for'gefc the position jn which Oliver' was’plated 1 , and the strange times in winch hg lived, 'Loft at the age of eighteen, by the death of his father, the head of the family, what wonder if he were not free from the vices of the age ? At twenty-one he married the daughter of a knight, who proved to him a great source of happiness. For a long series of years these two lived quietly on their farm at St. Ives, nothing occurring to mar the peacefulness of their happy home ; and Imre Cfomyvgll's religious opinions took a change. He became a NQivqqnfqrrrrist, op Purjtan, to USg the term contemptuously applied tq tlqe sect by the Church of England. They were of ah austere and gloomy cast of ideas, shqwn jn their manners, and even by the cut of their hair. Cromwell gave in his adherence with all the intenseness of his fervid temperament. He has been branded as a hypocrite, and he (the lecturer) must allow, not without some appearance of foundation for the statement, but we must allow for the manner of speech of the times. His intense religious convictions came out in his private letters, where his heart spoke the sentiments of simple and earnest piety. Doubtless he had failings, but if impartially judged as compared with his compeers, the result would be in his favor. He at length entered Parliament, and the new scope afforded by politics roused the dormant energies of his soul. King Charles had just entered on his career of infatuation—his attempted despotic aiid unconstitutional rule—against the strenuous advice’of hi? 'friendp. The best men in the country were becoming impatient of his illegalities, and could submit no longer. Numbers resolved to leave their native country, and every week ships sailed with them to America, to escape the obnoxious taxes levied by the monarch. It is said that Cromwell and John Hampden were on board a vessel about to sail, when a royal warrant stopped their departure ; and the services of these two great men afterwards largely contributed to the future results. The King, finding the House of Commons would not supply him with funds, dissolved his third Parliament, but, after a long period of this unsatisfactory state of affairs, the pent-up feelings of the nation broke forth._ The King, to obtain money for himself, levied a tax called ship-money, and Hampden’s refusal to pay this in his case was the spark which was required to ignite the smouldering materials. Charles, blind to his own interests and the weal of his subjects, proceeded in his stubborn, intractable course; Cromwell joined the Parliamentary army, and in war, as in everything else his enthusiasm and confidence carried him’through with success. His soldiers, also, wore jacked men, of Christian principles, full of faith in their cause : nothing could withstand 1 their advance. Charles might well say, as ‘

stated, “ Who will bring me this fellow CroM* well, alive or dead ?” His army defeated, dispersed, and himself deserted, what could the hapless monarch do ? He (the lecturer) believed CromWell wished to come to a settlement with the King ; but wh&t-trust could be reposed in one who had so often proved full of duplicity and double-dealing ? The Scotch Presbyterians at length gave him up to the English Parliament, and they, not knowing what to do with him—not daring to let him retire to the Continent, where he would have been continually fomenting efforts for his restoration—decided at a meeting of 135 members, constituted a high court of justice, that he should die. England could well wish that that page had never appeared in her history ; but it was the voice of the nation which had warranted the act. Cromwell then took the title of Lord Protector of the Commonwealth, and his arbitrary proceedings might incline us to think him as despotic as Charles, but we must remember that in those rough times a strong hand was required to guide the helm of State. On the Continent, and even in the city of Rome, his influence was felt; his success as a soldier, and power as a ruler commanding the admiration of the world. The closing scenes of his life showed the truly Christian spirit of the man, and his deeds still speak to the people of his country in the liberty which they enjoy, their privileges, and the Constitution. Ho stood up to show that a monarch may pot tamper with the liberties of his subjects. All honor to memory of Oliver Cromwell!