Selected quad for the lemma: act_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
act_n	council_n	parliament_n	privy_a	2,717	5	9.7040	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61421	Authority abused by the vindication of the last years transactions, and the abuses detected with inlargements upon some particulars more briefly touched in the Reflectons upon the occurrences of the last year : together with some notes upon another vindication, entituled, The third and last part of the magistry ans government of England vindicated / by the author of the Reflections.	Stephens, Edward, d. 1706.	1690 (1690)	Wing S5421; ESTC R15552	30,141	48

wicked Courses hereafter But above all the Judges and Bishops who betray'd also their own Professions ought to be made Examples What special Reasons there may be to mitigate any part of the Punishment in any of them they being not many belongs to the Parliament to consider But in general they ought to be good and weighty On the other side when the Offenders are many and the Grime and Punishment Capital it is usual and reasonable to punish only the Principals and most notorious and to pardon all the rest as in cases of Rebellion and Insurrections because of the Evil Consequence of taking away the Lives of so many Persons whereof perhaps many were missed by the Principal of them and might prove good Men afterward In such cases they are all to be looked upon as one Body and the taking off the Heads and Principals of them is a kind of a capital Punishment of that Body of Men. But when the Crime and Punishment are of a lower Nature as Misdemeanors which being very various the Punishment is more discretionary as Fine or Fine and Imprisonment both according to the nature of the Crime it is not so nor is there any reason it should For a Pecuniary Punishment may be inflicted on many without any Inconvenience And in the present Cases it may be proportioned according to the Rates assessed upon the Criminals in some of the late Taxes and some Disabilities might very properly be made part of the Punishment But in these discretionary Punishments divers things are to be taken into consideration And one or two I will mention on the side of Mercy 1. The Example of our Heavenly father now in our own ease who hath shewed Mercy and sent so great a Deliverance notwithstanding the sinful and wicked state of the Nation 2. The Papists and the wicked Examples of those late Popish Kings have been the principal Corrupters of the Manners of the Nations and therefore if they who have been mislead by them suffer not so deep as otherwise they ought it is but reasonable So much for Punishment of Criminals and now for Preferment The Vindicators think it an Invasion upon the Kings own Liberty to deny him the use of such Persons as through the Temptations and Snares of a Court were guilty of Compliance in things blamable c. if their great Parts and Acquaintance with Affairs of State make them necessary I have known some persons cry'd up for notable cunning and shrew'd Men whom when I have hapned to understand more neerly I have found to be Men of Craft indeed but such as did consist not so much in greater Knowledge of Business than other Men had as in the use of a greater Latitude in Acting than some other Men would use And such Persons may be so far from being necessary to a Prince that they may be dangerous As I remember one of those cunning Men I mention'd being apply'd to by three Persons then of good Credit for his Advice in a Cause easie to have been relieved in Chancery as it was afterwards by his Cunning involv'd them all and some others for Witnesses in a notorious Forgery Subornation and Perjury Parts without Fidelity which is inconsistent with Compliance in Blamable things ought not to recommend any Man to a Prince's Service This I say to shew the Insufficiency of his Argument in that part Nor am I so rigorous as not to agree with him in the former as he states the Case only the person ought to be very necessary and the Prince to be very cautious how far he relies upon him Nay I will go further with him and suppose the Person stand accused or even impeach'd in Parliament I would not deny him the use of such a person in due time that is when he hath been try'd and either cleared and acquitted or for some special good cause legally pardon'd Otherwise that which those persons say is an Invasion upon the Kings Liberty to deny him is an affront to the Government tends to the Subversion of the Constitution and to the disparagement of the present Cause both of the King and Kingdom makes it look like a matter of Trick and Violence and not as I take it to be of clear and necessary Justice The Protection and Employment of Criminals being one of the great Grievances of former Reigns and as pernicious to the Kings as to the People And if this be the Case of any person now employed he cannot be a a good Man or worthy of any Favour at all if he would desire his own Security at the rate of so great an Inconvenience both to the King and to the Government and especially under our present Circumstances and not rather willingly retire for some time and if innocent modestly put himself upon a fair Tryal or if Guilty of any thing considerable humbly submit and beg Pardon And this is the truest Wisdom in such case For they who obstinately stand out in such cases do usually bring mischief to themselves or the King and the more highly they carry it out among Men the more they provoke the Judgments of God upon themselves of Excision or in some remarkable manner according to the Nature of the Crime All Courts and Judicatures ought to maintain their Authority and so much the more when notoriously violated or when there are any attempts to evade or oppose it And especially at this time when we are either doing Justice and Equity against the late King himself or plainly playing Tricks with him and exposing the Iniquity of our own Hearts There is but one thing more which I think worth my taking notice of in this Pamphlet for Trifles I have passed over good store all along and that is what he saith pag. 32. that The Calling or Dissolving of Parliaments is ordinarily one of the most mysterious Problems of State and one of the truest Touchstones of Skill in the Art of Government To Men of ill Designs or who understand not the true Constitution of this Government it may be so indeed But to honest and understanding Men nothing is more easie It was the Law of this Nation before Magna Charta or any Statute now in Force was made and it is still the Law That Parliaments be held once a year or oftner if need be And I will tell this Gentleman in the Words of King James I. that which will effectually explain this Mystery and solve the Problem A King says he governing in a setled Kingdom leaves to be a King and degenerates into a Tyrant as soon as he leaves off to rule according to his Laws And a little after Therefore all Kings that are not Tyrants or Perjured will be glad to bound themselves within the Limits of their Laws And they who perswade them the contrary are Vipers and Pests both against them and the Commonwealth Speech 21. March 1609. This most ancient Institution is not more ancient than wise useful and necessary and of a just proportion to the other parts of the Constitution The Commons in the Counties are represented by the Grand Jury who are to enquire and present what is amiss there and the Lords by the Free-holders who are the Judges And as the Counties have their Court once in a Month the Kingdom their Courts of Common Law for private and ordinary matters four times in the year that is in effect once in a Quarter so the whole State had and still ought to have their Session for Publick and Extraordinary matters concerning the whole Kingdom once in the year The great business of this is to enquire into and inspect the Actions of the Great Officers Privy Counsellors and Judges c. and of the King himself if he do any thing contrary to Law and the common Interest of the Nation to interpret their own Laws where there is occasion and resolve other Difficulties to receive and hear Petitions redress Grievances and give Relief c. And this is an Institution as much for the Honour Safety and Ease of the Prince as for the Security and Commodity of the People For if the Prince act as he ought to do by Advice of Privy Council and of such persons as in their several Places are by Law to advise him The Parliament being to convene within the year must needs be such a Check to them that they will rarely dare to propose any thing mischievous or illegal and more rarely be able to bring it to effect and whatever it be the King is secure and the Counsellor or Officer to answer for it Now an Institution of so great Antiquity so agreeable to the other parts of our Constitution of so great Importance in the Government secured by two several Acts of Parliament in the Reign of that wise and magnanimous Prince Edw. 3. still in force besides others ought not certainly to be eluded with vain Pretences of Reason of State and abused as it hath been by the whole last Race of our Kings to their own hurt and to the great disturbance and almost Dissolution of a most Noble Constitution to gratifie ill Men by long Intermissions abrupt Prorogations and Dissolutions and by long Continuances for no other reason but to corrupt the Members to betray their Trust As by Law they ought to be assembled once a year so ought they also by Law to fit effectually till all Grievances be redressed and business dispatch'd before their Departure v. 4. Inst p. 11. For if our Kings by their Oath be obliged to Govern according to Law they are certainly obliged to it in this particular it being the chief part of the Government Parliamentum departiri non debet dummode aliqua Petitio pendeat indiscussa vel ad minus ad quam non fit determinatum Responsum Et si Rex contrarium permittat perjurus est saith the Ancient Modus tenendi Parliament of which Mr. Selden allows some Copies he had seen to be as ancient as Edw. 3. Tit. of Hon. p. 611. But this is not a place to insist more largely upon this matter nor indeed doth it need it FINIS