Selected quad for the lemma: act_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
act_n	death_n	king_n	treason_n	2,352	5	9.2422	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A63182	The triall of Mr. John Gibbons, in Westminster-Hall, before the High-Court of Justice, beginning July 18. 1651	Gibbons, John, d. 1651.	1652 (1652)	Wing T2200A; ESTC R203889	21,228	22

border of Treason what ever is laid to my Charge And whereas Major Adams charges me of being at severall meetings presently after the late Kings death I did not see them not nine months after the death of the King And after I came acquainted with Alford and all that ever he layes to my Charge is going down to Gravesend but he did not say whether he or I carried the Commissions or Letters he speaks of it is hard for me to remember what the discourse was a year and half since but I dare say he doth most falsly charge me that I should bid him shew kindnesse to Mason that so he might represent the Presbyterian Party considerable to the King and that I should bid him disburse some Money and pay all the Charges and if it was not paid him by the Company again I would this to the best of my remembrance is all false Capt. Far who is another of the Witnesses who went along with me and Alford did declare it in the face of the Court that he knew no such thing and that Major Alford was the man that invited him to Gravesend and so I doe protest he did me or else I had never gone For Letters I doe not remember that ever I touched any nor did Major Alford in the least swear positively I did onely he saith either he or I did deliver them Alford doth not swear that ever I wrote that ever I saw them open or ever heard them read All this my Lord was done above a year and half ago and I hope if there shall be any thing found done amisse in that Journy the Acts will clear me for that it is said if a man be not Indicted within a year he is not to be Arraigned or questioned All that Maj. Huntington says is He saw me at Master Loves when the Instructions were read but whether I heard them he could not swear but he saw me go out of one room into another and since he sayes I met him in the street and asked him if he would not go to M. Loves to hear Newes and when we came there after Prayer half an hour Will Drake pulled a Letter out of his Pocket neither swore he what it was nor that I heard it read My Lord upon the whole I do say among all the ten Witnesses there is not one that doth say or swear that ever I wrote Letter sent Letter or received Letter that ever I collected Money paid Money or received Money or that ever I discoursed any thing prejudiciall to the State not any one Witnesse doth say any one thing to my Charge done for more then this year and half besides Major Adams and all that ever he swears is being present at Letters read he neither sayes I heard them or ever discoursed any thing concerning them So my Lord except it be one single Witness there is nothing laid to my Charge done this year and half so my Lord the utmost that the whole proof against me doth amount unto is but hearing of Letters read at the second hand and all this but in the utmost were but misprision of Treason if fully proved but being but one single Witnesse to swear this I cannot imagine it will ever hurt me For Potter Jekell Far or Alford who knew as much by me as Adams did not say any such thing and all that Adams did say is but hearing of Letters he doth not say that ever I sent means to the King though I never did this yet I have weakned my self and opened my purse to help the State About the time the Kings Scots were agreed I furnished my Brother with a considerable sum of money and sent him into Ireland to doe the States service where he gained a Command under my Lord and did very good service for the State My Lord had I ever such a mind to the War in Scotland I could have sent my Brother thither and not into Ireland Thus my Lord I have gone as far as I can in making my appeal to the Court being utterly unable to make any defence I do hope there wil be no advantange taken by my Ignorance but you will be pleased to take my condition into your consideration and yet grant me both time and Councell and give me a Copy of my Charge and the depositions of the Witnesses which is no more favour then was allowed to the Archbishop of Canterbury and Deputy of Ireland I crave leave of your Lordship and the Court that I may not suffer for want of experience nor that my ignorance may be made use of to work my ruine and destruction From my youth I have studied the Scripture but never have studied the Lawes in my life and therefore all that I have to help my self with is from the Scripture where I find that ignorance hath constantly the Plea at the Bar of Heaven and so I am certain should have at the Bars of all the Courts of Justice Abimelech that committed a very great sin in taking another mans wife from him he pleaded his integrity and God did spare him because he knew it not God hath alwayes been wonderfull tender of the life of a man and that in the time of the most strictest Lawes so much care did he take to preserve the life of man that he provided Cities of refuge to flie unto if any killed a man by accident or unawares Murther is a great crying sin yet were it done unawares God made a City of refuge to flie unto that the man might be safe out of danger of the revenger My Lord whatsoever I have done amiss I do profess it is out of ignorance I never knew I broke any of the Acts of Parl. nor that I offended the Laws of England therefore I hope my ignorance shall have the plea at your Bar as I am sure it shall have at the Bar of God I have often heard that the Law of England is the Law of Mercy and that there is no Law in the world looks with more tenderness and compassion upon a mans life therefore I say as David concerning the sword of Goliah There is none like that give it me the same I do say this day no Law is like to our English Laws therefore let me enjoy thē I know the benefits advantages hereby is wonderful great I do verily believe I am before a Court that are fully perswaded that the strict-beholding eye of God looks upon them and beholds all your intentions and the thoughts of your heart towards me and sees whether you do deny me any help or advantage that may save my life Therefore I earnestly beseech your Lordship and this Honourable Court to look upon the Laws of England and see whether there be not some helps some City of refuge to flie unto where I may be out of danger of all that I am here charged with My Lord this is the first time that ever I was brought upon a

and positively sworne against by severall other of the Witnesses none but he doth say that I was present at the reading of any Letters of the Fight at Dunbar nor none but Adams sayth I was present at M. Loves house when any monies was debated nor none but Adams sayth I was a constant man at Meetings thatever I invited any to a Meeting I hope your Lordship and the Court will consider that though there are ten Witnesses produced against me besides severall questions asked Capt. Potter at the Bar concerning me yet many of them neither said nor swore any thing that touched me at all and of those that doe reach me in their T●stimony not any two did agree in proving the same Fact As concerning the particular T●stimony of M. Harvey unto which no one Witness but himself either say or swore the least tittle of it to be true being struck with wonder and amazed to hear these things given in against me which m● heart never thouvht no● my tongue never spake I doe both bef●re your Lordship and this High Court and the presence of all the people lay it before the righteous God to plead my Cause and judge between me a Prisoner at Bar and M. Harvey that falsly accused me I did further desire that this Appeal might be set upon Record and meet me before the Tribunall seat of Christ and that both your Lordship and them that sit in this Honourable Court might follow this my Appeal to the Judgement Seat and there witnesse it before the presence of the Lord against me when I am p●eading for mercy if ever I spake or heard these things which he hath accused me of My Lord I shall go further and did offer unto the Court that if in all England they could find a man that would say any of these things M. Harvey accused me of then I said more particularly if any whom I had most frequently convers'd withall or any of those that kept my company would say they ever heard me say any of these words the next time I came before this honourable Court I would come and plead Guilty And I doe now say if it please your Lordship and the Court to give me time I shall be able to produce Witnesses I shall make it appear M. Harvey is as unfit to be a Witnesse in any Court of Record as he was unfit to be a Justice of Peace in Essex where he was Indicted for many and notorious offences If I might have time I should produce witnesses that M. Harvey was the Originall reporter of some of those things he accused me of And concerning Major Corbets Testimony I know little in it but that I shall call God to witnesse I knew not Mason I did then in the face of the Court declare how much he had wronged me for that I had acquainted the Committee who examined me that I both knew Mason and told them the place and how I came to know him besides there is a Copy of my Examination abroad that doth confirm the same that Corbet came to me more like a Murtherer then like a Christian and because I did call God to witnesse against these untruths he charged me withall he did in effect judge my Soul to the Devill and my Body to the Gallowes and so he left For which unchristian carriage of his I both complained to M. Price Clarke to the Warden in the Fleet my Keeper and some others My Lord I am charged with being a Solicitor and represented as a man that had nothing else to do but follow such businesses as here I am accused of which is a life so unlike an English man and so ill-becoming a Christian that I have all the dayes of my life walked a contrary course if it were necessary multitudes of Witnesses will testifie the same for me I was entertained by my Master to waite upon him in his Chamber after he was gone to the House I had constant occasions to go into the City either to lay out pay or receive Money so much experience had I gained as I entred upon a Merchants Trade dealt with many and severall merchantable Cōmodities having a wife children then living that was the Trade I resolved to follow My Wife dying I went over to France some little time after with my Master and carried many Merchantable Commodities with me where I found library to encrease my experience my Master returning to England where he stayed not a year but we 〈◊〉 back again into France I was left behind to wait upon my Lady my imployment in my Ladies service is sufficiently known to be such as daily lead me to go into the City the 19th of July 1650. my Lady went from the City there was a necessity one man she must leave behind in London which fell to my portion and my businesses called me daily into the City sometimes to go to Councell sometimes to shew Bills of Exchange sometimes to pay Monies sometimes to lay out Money and buy severall things which both my Master and Lady did daily send for to me there was some Letters that came constantly every week from my Lady some out of France to one M. Charboners whose house was in Tower-street I missing these Letters often on the Monday went on the Tuesday for them which was the day that we met at the Club which was the main reason of my being so constantly there where I met for no other end then to see the faces of my Friends and to discourse of the Newes of the Town most of what ever I heard there discoursed on I found in the printed Books nothing doe I know was ever said or done there prejudiciall to the State but since it is looked upon as a Crime I would I had never come there Concerning my Master were it necessary I would here make a Declaration that he never left me to do any businesse but to wait upon his Lady and to provide buy and send those things into France that were necessary for him For Letters I never received any from him but such as might have lookt all the world in the face neither think I I need say much to clear this for that the State have seen most of those Letters that my Master sent before they ever came to my hands My Lord this is all I can say being unwilling to trouble the Court any longer but must declare how much I am amazed to be Indicted by so high a Charge of Treason as I dare say never lookt any such man as I am in my condition in the face till now and doe fully perswade my self that your Lordship will rather pity my ignorance and sad condition then look upon me as a man either fit for Plots or any such matter I am Charged with I doe protest that if I would make a Declaration of every Act I have done of every Word I have said of every line I have Written I never knew it came up to the