Humble Petition and Advice

Infobox document
document_name=Humble Petition and Advice


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date_created=1657
date_ratified=May 25, 1657
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purpose=originally to offer crown to Cromwell

The Humble Petition and Advice was the second, and last, codified constitution of England. It came about largely as a result of the rise of the New Cromwellians. They in themselves were an expression of strong latent support for monarchy and the English traditional constitutional limits on its power, a desire to lose the military overtones of the earlier Protectorate and the increasingly small level of control Cromwell was able to exert due to ill health and frustration with a lack of revolutionary ideology amongst his subjects. The Humble Petition and Advice wanted to offer hereditary monarchy to Oliver Cromwell, assert Parliament's control over issuing new taxation, provide an independent council to advise the king and safeguard 'Triennial' meetings (every three years) of Parliament among other things. These had the effect of limiting, not increasing, Cromwell’s power. Cromwell refused the Crown, however, on the 8 May 1657. This may have been because he feared disaffection in the Army, was distressed by allegations of dynastic/personal ambition, did not genuinely accept that a monarchy was necessary in England, or because he feared re-instating the monarchy on the basis that he believed it had been judged by God in the period following the English Civil War.

Cromwell instead accepted a modified Humble Petition and Advice, which remained in force as Britain's constitution throughout the remainder of the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell and during the brief jurisdiction of his successor Richard Cromwell. Under the new constitution, Cromwell was to remain Lord Protector for life and could now choose his own successor. He was required to call triennial Parliaments, which were to consist of two chambers: the elected House of Commons and a second chamber, or Upper House (referred to only as the "other house"), of between forty and seventy persons nominated by the Protector but approved by Parliament, with the right to veto any legislation passed in the Lower House. The Council of State was to become the Protector's privy council, consisting of 21 members chosen by the Protector and approved by Parliament.

References

*'May 1657: To His Highness the Lord Protector of the commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland; and the Dominions thereto belonging; The humble Petition and Advice of the Knights Citizens and Burgesses now assembled in the Parliament, of this Commonwealth.', Acts and Ordinances of the Interregnum, 1642-1660 (1911), pp. 1048-056. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=56599&strquery=1048. Date accessed: 30 April 2007.
*'June 1657: To His Highness the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and the Dominions and Territories thereunto belonging; The Humble Additional and Explanatory Petition and Advice, of thø Knights, Citizens, and Burgesses now Assembled in the Parliament of this Commonwealth.', Acts and Ordinances of the Interregnum, 1642-1660 (1911), pp. 1182-186. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=56616&strquery=humble%20petition. Date accessed: 30 April 2007.
*This article incorporates text under a Creative Commons License by David Plant, the British Civil Wars and Commonwealth website http://www.british-civil-wars.co.uk