Committee of Both Kingdoms
The Committee of Both Kingdoms, (known as the Derby House Committee from late 1647), was a committee set up during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms by the Parliamentarian faction in association with representatives from the Scottish Covenanters, after they made an alliance (the Solemn League and Covenant) in late 1643. When the Scottish army entered England by invitation of the English Parliament in January 1644 the Parliamentary Committee of Safety was replaced by an ad hoc committee representative of both kingdoms which, by parliamentary ordinance of 16 February, was formally constituted as the Committee of  Both Kingdoms. The English contingent consisted of seven peers and 14 commoners. Its object was the management of peace overtures to, or making war on, the King. It was conveniently known as the Derby House Committee from 1647, when the Scots withdrew. Its influence long reduced by the growth of the army's, it was dissolved by Parliament on 7 February 1649 (soon after the execution of Charles I on 30 January) and replaced by the Council of State. A sub-committee on Irish affairs met from 1646 to 1648. The sub-committee spent, in Ireland, money raised by the  Committee of Both Houses. Creation. On 9 January 1644 the Estates of Scotland sitting in Edinburgh arranged for a special commission to go to London with full powers to represent the Scottish Estates. The special commission had four members: The four Scottish commissioners presented their commission from Scottish Estates to the English Parliament on 5 February. On 16 February, so that the two kingdoms should be "joined in their counsels as well as in their forces", the English Parliament passed an ordinance ("Ordinance concerning the Committee of both Kingdoms") to form a joint "Committee of the Two Kingdoms" to sit  with the four Scottish Commissioners. The ordinance named seven members from the House of Lords and fourteen from the House of Commons to sit on the committee and ordained that six were to be a quorum, always in the proportion of one Lord to two Commoners, and of the Scottish Commissioners meeting with them two were to be a quorum. The seven members appointed from among the House of Lords were: The fourteen members appointed from the House of Commons were: David Masson states that the Earl of Essex, the Lord General, was opposed to the formation of the committee  as it was constituted because "there can be no doubt that the object was that the management of the war should be less in Essex's hands than it had been". Administration. The Committee met in Derby House at three o'clock every day of the week—including Sundays. Attendance in 1644 was patchy, since before the enactment of the Self-denying Ordinance, many of the members of the Committee had commands in the field. Warwick, for example, was the Lord High Admiral. The more active and influential members on the Committee were Lord Wharton and Henry Vane the Younger, and  Lord Warriston for the Scots. The Committee had to accommodate several factions within its ranks, and jealousies and personal animosities between some of its members, such as Waller and Essex. It was also subject to control by Parliament (though the need to pass legislation or resolutions through both Houses meant that the Committee could control matters day by day without much interference). Its greatest achievement was the establishment of the New Model Army, and the maintenance of this army and other forces in the field until King Charles was defeated in 1646. The Committee provided a continuity of policy and  administration which the King could not match. Dissolution. On 27 April 1646, Charles left Oxford and surrendered to the Covenanter army outside Newark. A few days later, they withdrew north to Newcastle, taking the king with them despite the furious objections of the English. In July, the Committee presented Charles with the Newcastle Propositions, which included his acceptance of a Presbyterian union between the kingdoms. Once Charles rejected the terms, it left the Covenanters in a difficult position; keeping him was too dangerous since many Scots, regardless of political affiliation, wanted him restored to the throne. On 28 January 1647 , they handed Charles over to Parliament in return for £400,000 and retreated into Scotland. The Committee was now dissolved but its English members continued to sit as the Derby House Committee, dominated by Holles and moderate MPs, many of whom were Presbyterian. Internal political conflict was exacerbated by economic crisis, caused by the war and a failed 1646 harvest. By March 1647, the New Model was owed more than £3 million in unpaid wages; led by Holles, Parliament ordered it to Ireland, stating only those who agreed to go would be paid. When regimental representatives or Agitators supported  by the Army Council demanded full payment for all in advance, it was disbanded but the army refused to comply. In response, Holles and his allies formed a new Committee of Safety and attempted to raise a new army commanded by Edward Massie. On 21 July, eight peers and fifty-seven Independent MPs left London and took refuge with the New Model; on 6 August, the army occupied the city, dissolved the Committee and issued a list of Eleven Members who they wanted removed from Parliament. Sources. Attribution