Selected quad for the lemma: act_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
act_n	king_n	law_n	prerogative_n	3,673	5	10.4433	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A89426	A fourth word to the wise, or A plaine discovery of Englands misery, and how the same may be redressed; set forth in a letter written by a prisoner in the Fleete to Commissary Generall Ireton, and published by a friend of his and lover of his country for Englands good.	Musgrave, John, fl. 1654.	1647 (1647)	Wing M3148; Thomason E391_9; ESTC R201553	18,152	23

so corrupted While I was writing this my letter Judge Ienkins Vindication was brought unto me wherein he condemnes and would ani●ilate the whole proceedings Orders and Ordinances of this present Parliament ever since the Kings departure as illegal and not binding for want of the Kings consent I and if God permit to set forth and discover the vanity and wickednesse ●●●eof at large for the present I desire him to read the Abusions of the ●●●mon Law written by Andrew Horne in the time of King Edward the 〈◊〉 in his mirrour of Justice The first and chiefe Abusion of the law 〈◊〉 Horne an approved Authout is that the King is set above the Law ●●●eas he ought to be subject to it as it contained in his oath I would ●●ly then know of Judge Jenkins if the King be under and subject to the law how he or any other is to be proceeded against for transgressing the law where his consent is not if the same be necessary as the cause sins 〈◊〉 ●on With Horne Judge Fortescue afterwards Chancellour to King ●●●ry 6. agreeth who telleth us that England is a kingdome political and sayth Adtutelam legis subditorum corum co●porum Rex est erectus h●●● prestatem à populo effluxam ipse habet quo ei non licet potestate alia suo popula ●●●nari Forteseue folio 32. The King is made for the defence of the law of is subjects and of their bodies and goods whereunto hee receiveth the power of his people so as he cannot governe his people by any other power Then he tells you how the Kings of Egypt first lived not after the licenti●●● manner of after Kings but keep themselves as private persons in subjection to the law as also did the Ethyopian Kings order their lives according to the lawes assigning neither reward nor punishment otherwise then law appoynted And with Fortescue concurre the two great Maximes of the Common law often cited by Cook and other Sages of the Law 1. The Common law hath so admeasured the Kings prerogative that it cannot take may the inheritance of any 2. Nihil tam proprium est imperti quam legil●● vivere There is nothing so proper to ruling as to live by laws Now if the body politick which is the people or the representative body the Parliament could not without the Kings consent act then by his prerogative he might hinder the due execution of the law contrary to the first approved Maxime the statute law confirmeth the same Marl. Br. chap. 5.52 Hen. 3. Magna Charta In singulis teneatur tam in his quae ad Regem partinent quam ●lies Magna shal be holden for good as well in those things that appertain to the King as to others So as all pretence of prerogative against the execution of the law or administration of justice is taken away And indeed it may be sayd the people give lawes to the King but the King cannot give any law to the people without their consent so as Regality in it selfe is good and for the good of the people and what ill custome or ●●d lawes are brought in the same bee by our own default and not the Kings for the people are the law-makers The next Abusion of the law that Horne cites is that we have not a Parliament every halfe yeare that is to say Parliament men changed and elected anew and no strangers but res●nts according to the Common and Statute law which done would prevent much faction oppression partiality and injustice I may adde a third abuse as the King by his prerogative imprisoned so for the Parliament whether by Lords or Commons to imprison before the party bee brought to their Barre vnlesse for want of Baile is against the common law for by the common law before conviction no man having baile may be imprisoned either for Felony or Treasonn Cook 2. part Instit. fol. 189. And so the same is a disfranchizing of the Subject of his Free-hold and Birth-right And however it cannot be justified to keep any in prison longer then the next Goal-delivery after the party be committed Herein Scotland is praise-worthy no Prisoner there longer detained for debt then one yeare and to be provided for at the Plaintifes charge if the prisoner be not able to maintain himselfe and no prisoner for any contempt or felony beyond the next ordinary Sessions which is commonly every quarter of a yeare and sometimes oftner There wants nothing to make that people happy but a free tolleration of exercise of religion whereby every man may serve God in the way he is perswaded is most approveable and not be compelled to live by anothers or a blind and implicit faith Romanist-like they have there lawes pleaded and recorded in their owne na●ive tongue and no such delay of justice nor the like excessive and exorbitant fees as with us for indeed though it be said in our law we wil sell justice to no man yet have we neither processe nor proceedings recorded but in an unknown tongue and bought at a deare ra●e oftentimes driven to spend more in one Terme besides our travell then the thing in question is worth But no more of this subject for the present I will return again to speak a little concerning my selfe and so I have done Sir I have been here a prisoner this 18. moneths and was committed upon a fa●se report as refusing to answer interrogatories since the Speaker presented my Petition and procured it to be committed though never yet taken into examination by the Committee is 18. moneths a thing never heard of before that a Parliament Committee whereof there be 29. Parliament men in 18 moneths not to meet together about a businesse of so great and generall concernment not one man that sits in the House in the right of our Country once in all that time to speake one word in our Countries behalfe nor do me the favour as to present a petition for me unlesse I would decline and betray my Countries cause which if I would have done sundry of them and others of the house whom I can name would not onely have undertaken the presenting of my petition but likewise promised me to procute me my liberty there names I will forbeare for the present to mention for I take no pleasure to discover their shame unlesse they force me to it but this I may say and truly our case and condition now is as b●d as the Brittaines were of old when they writ to Action the Romane thus to Actius thrice Consul the Sighes of the Brittaines the barbarous enemy bo●tes us to the Sea the Sea beates us back to the enemy we are either murdered or drowned I leave the application to you and say no more but this if you will present this my petition to the house procure us justice and an impar●iall speedy tryall upon the hazard of my life I will undertake to prove our charge and make good what I write having said