proviso, required by his
Highness, that, while "having lived peaceably" since Worcester would
suffice for the miscellaneous Royalists of 1650-51, who were indeed
nearly the whole population of Scotland, the less pardonable
_Hamiltonians_ of 1648 would have to pass much stricter tests.
In _Ireland_, though Protestants generally were to be qualified,
there was to be like caution in admitting such as, though faithful
before March 1, 1649-50, had afterwards opposed the Commonwealth or
the Protector. These disqualifications affected both voting and
eligibility; but eligibility was restricted still farther. Ineligible
were to be all atheistic persons, scoffers at Religion, unbelievers
in the divine authority of the Bible, or other execrable heretics,
all profaners of the Lord's Day, all habitual drunkards or swearers,
and all who had married Roman Catholics or allowed their children to
marry such. For the rest, all persons of the voting sex, over the age
of twenty-one, and "of known integrity, fearing God, and of good
conversation," were to be eligible. One farther exception had been
made in the original _Petition and Advice_; to wit, all in holy
orders, all ministers or public preachers. "There may be some of us,
it may be, who have been a little guilty of that, who would be loath
to be excluded from sitting in Parliament," Cromwell had said
laughingly while commenting on this clause; and it had accordingly
been defined as excluding only regular pastors of congregations. He
had procured an important modification of another clause of the same
Article. It had been proposed that the business of examining who had
been duly elected, and the power of suspending members till the House
itself should decide, should be vested in a body of forty-one
commissioners to be appointed by Parliament; but, Cromwell having
pointed out that this would be a clumsy process, and that the
commissioners themselves might be "uncertain persons," and might
"keep out good men," it was agreed that the judgment of the House
itself, with a fine of L1000 on every unqualified person that might
take his seat, would fully answer the purpose.--Article V. related to
the Second House of Parliament, called simply "the other House." It
was to consist of not more than seventy nor fewer than forty persons,
qualified as by the last Article, to be nominated by the Protector
and approved by the Commons House, twenty-one to be a quorum, and no
proxies allowed. Vacancies w