Strafford

Thomas Wentworth, Earl of (1593-1641), an English statesman. He was a native of London. He was educated at Cambridge and in the law courts of London. He entered English politics in 1614 as a member of Parliament for Yorkshire. He was a man of undoubted ability. He made a reputation at first by taking a stand stoutly against the disposition of the Stuart kings to override the rules of Parliament and exercise arbitrary authority. He even permitted himself to be thrown into the debtors' prison of Marshalsea rather than pay his share of a contribution demanded illegally by King Charles. Later, however, we find him successively a baron, a viscount, and an earl, the successor of the infamous Burlingame, the king's right hand man in the exercise of authority not permitted by the laws of England. When the Civil War came on, the final test of strength between the people and royalty, Thomas Wentworth, or Strafford as he was now called, was impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors. This course proving too dilatory, he was condemned to death by a parliamentary vote or bill of attainder. In spite of his promise of protection, the selfish king not only failed to interfere, but actually gave his written consent. Strafford was executed on Tower Hill, May 11, 1641.

Aside from his fatal error in espousing the cause of excessive royal power, Strafford was an enlightened administrator. While lord-lieutenant of Ireland, he sought, indeed, to render Charles as absolute "as any prince in the whole world could be," but he also introduced the cultivation of flax. He brought spinners from France and Holland, thus giving Ireland a start in the linen industry.

Robert Browning's powerful tragedy of Strafford is a literary study of this eminent man. It is a fine piece of reading, but it lacks stage qualities. It is not seen and heard to advantage. A painting known as Strafford Going to Execution represents the unfortunate earl kneeling beneath the prison window of Archbishop Laud. The prelate extends his aged hands through the bars in benediction while the guards wait.