ABSTRACT
A fundamental divergence of view as to the limits of the royal prerogative, the rights of Parliament, and the independence of the Law-Courts, had led, in the late reign, to those serious disputes between the King and his subjects which have been recounted. A committee of the Privy Council for foreign affairs was set up—a plan which conferred additional authority on Buckingham, while it placed no restrictions on his policy. Charles I and Buckingham reckoned that, before Parliament should meet again, they would be able to confront it from the vantage-ground of diplomatic and military success. Buckingham’s project of a great Protestant league had made little progress. A few days before the dissolution, it was known that war had been actively renewed in France. The fatal strain came at last, and from a quarter where it was least expected—from north of the Tweed; and the scottish rebellion gave back to England her parliamentary system.
