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6 THE RESTORA TION IN ENGLAND. 1666
CHAP, the first session of the Long Parliament, that he was un-
1. willing to make the monarchy too strong, and that he might,
if he had chosen, have restored the Star Chamber and obtained
for the king a revenue sufficient to make him independent of
parliamentary grants. 1 Ardent whigs may hold that he should
have imposed more definite restrictions on the royal power,
that he should never have allowed any departure from the
assurances given at Breda, and that he should have secured
religious toleration, or perhaps better still should have rebuilt
a national Church on the broad basis of comprehension. It is
cheap criticism to say that he was too much of a lawyer to be
a great statesman; that he was something of a pedant and
more of a bigot; that he lacked flexibility in action and width
of outlook; and that he failed to make the best use of his
unique opportunities for reconstruction. And it is only fair
to remember that he was not an absolute ruler free to carry
out his own will, that he was always surrounded by hostile intriguers
who sought to effect his downfall, and that he could
never rely upon the whole-hearted support of a selfish master,
When account is taken of the difficulties of the task and ol
the conditions under which it was carried out, and when a fait
estimate is made of the substantial and durable work accomplished
in the Restoration settlement, it is difficult to dispute
the contention that Edward Hyde deserves a place among the
great constructive statesmen of English history.
The first duty imposed upon the monarchy was to hold an
even balance between the two sections of the coalition, the
cavaliers and the presbyterians. Hyde had no love for presbyterians,
and no intention of making permanent concessions to
them in ecclesiastical matters; but he needed their support to
settle the great outstanding questions of life and property, and
he was compelled to treat them well until circumstances should
enable him to dispense with their support. Hence great care
was needed irf the formation of a privy council. Four members
of the council which had attended Charles beyond the
seas, Hyde, Ormonde, Colepeper, and the secretary Nicholas.
had returned to England with the king. Of these, Colepeper
died within a few weeks. To conciliate Monk seats in the
1 Clarke, Life of James //., i., 393; see also Welwood, Memoirs, p. 122;
Burnet, History of My Own Time (ed. Airy), i., 277.