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	power_n	supreme_a	2,786	5	9.2054	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A75399	The ansvver of the Commons, to a petition, in the name of thousands wel-affected persons inhabiting the city of London, Westminster, borough of Southwarke, and hamlets, and places adjacent.	England and Wales. Parliament. House of Commons.	1648 (1648)	Wing A3289B; Thomason E468_27; ESTC R205391	15,650	16

pl ase to enact is necessary but you omit that we are called by the Kings Writ without which we could not come together nor be sent And we are not called to redresse grievances but to present them for you may very well know the course that all Parliaments at least the House of Commons have taken in this kinde which is to Petition the King for redresse and after advice for provision of safety That which you say that the King was at most but the chief publique Officer of this Kingdome is contrary to the professions of this House in this present Parliament divers Acts of former Parliaments and the knowne Law and it s a title no age in this Kingdome ever heard of Could you imagine that the Supreame Governour is but an Officer there being no power to command Him all being His Subjects Looke into the Scripture were the Kings there Officers to any and hath the King of England lesse power then God allowed the Kings of his owne people or have the people of England greater power then the people of God had It s true Kings are Ministers of God but Rulers of the people and there is nothing more absurd then that he who is the Ruler of all should be intitled only an Officer to all It s true the function of a King is profitable to all and He watches for the good of all but it no way agrees to His calling to be an Officer in that sense that is to be subordinate to any and cannot stand with His Supremacy which we have sworne to defend And against what you say All the Laws of our Kingdome tell us the King is accountable to none but God onely and this hath been so knowne a truth as this House thought none had been ignorant of it and this House hath never pretended to any such power Ed. 2. R. though it hath sometimes contributed to the ends of some Trayterous usurpers against their lawfull Kings being over-awed by terrour of Armies and thereby no lawfull Parliaments And you are exceedingly deceived in that you say that all authority is derived from the people for God gives the King His Authority and in the Scripture you find no authority derived from the people to their Judges or Kings that being from the Lord and it pleases God to call himselfe a King and the Saviour of the world to be typified by Kings Psal 82. and the Scripture cals Kings Gods and if all power had been derived from the people those titles had been very incompatible to their Office And if you cannot finde any proofe of such a derivation in Scripture it s too dangerous a precipice to put our selves on by running into so grievous a sin as Rebellion upon imaginary stories and we are very sorry that you had an ill ground in taking up Armes and a worse intention to turne them against your King The Law of the Land as your selves expresse making it Treason to raise War against the King and that being so without all exception and no plea against it you may assure your selves that this House had no such power as you meane for there would not have been such a Law for the King and none for it if it were so And therefore you see how you were deceived and what need there is both of Peace and of an Act of Oblivion in regard of His Majesty and the pardon of Almighty God for the many evils you have fallen into by this mistake C You say you considered the manifold oppressions brought upon the Nation by the King His Lords and Bishops You very well know that in the many Remonstrances of this House to the King we still protested that though we represented our grievances to Him it was with no thought to cast any blemish upon His Majesty but that we knew they were the faults of His Ministers and we must have censured our selves if we should have spoken evill of our Soveraigne and must therefore blame this your expression of oppression by the King And to let you see your fault looke on the Ship-money in whom was the fault there though we say it were an oppression was it not in such as advised the King that by Law He might doe it and these were the sworne Judges You know the great assistance this House hath had from the Lords this Parliament and therefore you do not well to charge the Lords with oppression in generall if any Lords have done amisse it is not the fault of others nor of their order or condition and it hath been a grievous crime among the people that whenever there was any offence committed by any person they would forthwith reproach all men of the same calling a course as foolish as uncharitable to accuse the Government for the persons faults yet this appeared to be the greatest cause of complaint against the Bishops that some of them had done amisse and you must acknowledge that our engagement was to remove such oppressions as were breaches of Law not to fight against the Law it selfe nor to usurpe a power over the people And it seemes you are perswaded that our Laws are oppression and how then could this Parliament proceed to judge any persons guilty of offences against Laws if the Laws themselves were more criminall then the persons And you would hereby make us guilty of the blood taken for breach of Law at your owne importunity for no man can be punished by the Law but for offending against the King and you say you fought to take away the King and then there is no Malefactor and so would have us destroy men by that Law you say you fought to take away And we assure you we know no better condition to restore the Kingdome unto then to be governed by the Lawes established whereby they are the freest people of the world and were so in all ages past And when you professe the cause of your assisting us was to destroy the Law you make your selves more guilty of blood then the Kings party who say they fight for it In that you say that for the continuance of that power that had opprest you it was evident the King intended to make War It s true the King did raise Forces but this House never said that it was to continue the power that opprest the people for all the world knowes that in the matters complained of as oppressions He had clearly quitted them long before And this House declared that War tended to the dissolution of Government in regard the Laws in time of hostility have not their force but that doth not dissolve our Allegeance to the King nor destroy any of His rights You say you know the safety of the people to be above all Law but you are very much deceived in the application of that sentence which though wisely said by the Philosopher is no Canonicall Scripture nor of any validity to dispence with our obedience where the word of God requires it

wealth 23. That you would not have followed the example of former tyrannous and superstitious Parliaments in making Orders Ordinances or Laws or in appointing punishments concerning opinions of things supernaturall styling some blasphemies others heresies when as you know your selves easily mistaken and that divine truths need no humane helpes to support them such proceedings having been generally invented to divide the people amongst themselves and to affright men from that liberty of discourse by which corruption and tyranny would be soon discovered 24. That you would have declared what the businesse of the Lords was and ascertaine their condition not derogating from the liberties of other men that so there might be an end of striving about the same 25. That you would have done justice upon the capitall authors and promoters of the former or late Wars many of them being under your power Considering that mercy to the wicked is cruelty to the innocent and that all your lenity doth but make them the more insolent and presumptuous 26. That you would have provided constant pay for the Army now under the Command of the Lord Generall Fairfax and given rules to all Judges and all other publique Officers throughout the Land for their Indempnity and for the saving harmelesse all that have any wayes assisted you or that have said or done any thing against the King Queen or any of His party since the beginning of this Parliament without which any of His party are in a better condition then those who have served you nothing being more frequent with them then their reviling of you and your friends The things and worthy Acts which have been done and atchived by this Army and their adherents however ingratefully suffered to be scandalized as Sectaries and men of corrupt judgements in defence of the just authority of this honourable House and of the common liberties of the Nation and in opposition to all kind of Tyrannie and oppression being so far from meeting an odious Act of Oblivion that they rather deserve a most honourable Act of perpetuall remembrance to be as a paterne of publique vertue fidelity and resolution to all posterity 27. That you would have laid to heart all the abundance of innocent blood that hath been spilt and the infinite spoile and havock that hath been made of peaceable harmlesse people by expresse Commissions from the King and seriously to have considered whether the justice of God be likely to be satisfied or his yet continuing wrath appeased by an Act of Oblivion These and the like we have long time hoped you would have minded and have made such an establishment for the generall peace and contentfull satisfaction of all sorts of people as should have been to the happinesse of all future generations and which we most earnestly desire you would set your selves speedily to effect whereby the almost dying honour of this most honourable House would be againe revived and the hearts of your Petitioners and all other wel-affected people be fresh renewed unto you the Freedome of the Nation now in perpetuall hazard would be firmely established for which you would once more be so strengthened with the love of the people that you should not need to cast your eyes any other wayes under God for your security but if all this availeth nothing God be our Guide for man sheweth us not a way for our preservation The Answer of the Commons to a Petition in the name of thousands welaffected persons c. A THis House is very well pleased with your desires of Peace and hopes that when you are satisfied the waies by you propounded for obtaining it are not conducing to that end but tending to the encrease of such meanes as may make the War endlesse and the troubles of this Kingdome infinite your right affections will follow right reason and they therefore are willing to informe you of those mistakes which were the cause of those Propositions which you have framed in order to Peace And first we cannot but take notice of what you say that you engaged on our part against the King You know we raised Armes at first and engaged such as assisted us for King and Parliament and you know both we and you tooke * May 1641. a Protestation to defend the Kings Person Honour and Estate and you know both you and we are the Kings Subjects and ought by the duty of our Allegeance to adhere to Him and defend Him and we cannot make War upon Him nor on our fellow Subjects His adherents without breach of our Allegeance All which might sufficiently informe you that we have made no avowed War against the King but against His evill Councellors and we beleeved if we should have told you that we intended to make War against the King you would not have aided us at all knowing it high Treason as you professe you doe which was the reason the engagement was for King and Parliament Next we wish that you would keepe your selves within the bounds of obedience and not presume to anticipate our Councels and prevent our proceedings as you doe by telling us what you expect our resolutions to be we are contented to receive information of your grievances from you but must not be schooled or Magistrated by you although in the beginning we gave way to some such Petitions in regard of the distempers of your minds whereby the Lords and many of our owne Members were over-awed yet this House cannot approve that such courses are agreeable to Law or Reason B Where you say that you had not engaged on the part of this House but that you judged this House the supreame authority of England is very strange to us your selves as we beleeve as well as we having according to the common duty and the Law of the Land acknowledged before God that the King is the onely Supreame Governour of this Realme over all persons and in all causes and bound our selves by Oath to defend that His Supremacy and we alwayes call our selves His Commons and His House of Commons and make Petitions to Him for His grace and favour styling Him as He is our most gratious Soveraigne and Leige Lord and the experience of all times and the opinion of all men of sound judgement Divines and Lawyers being that this Kingdome is a Monarchy and so acknowledged in many Acts of Parliament and this House was instituted by the Kings Predecessors All Townes sending Burgesses by their Grants And you know you ingaged for the Lords as well as for this House We beleeve your mention of our Supremacy is but a pretence and that you meane to assume the power you say is in the people and exclude this House as well as King and Lords It is true the Members of this House were chosen by the people of the severall Countries and Townes that sent us to represent their Petitions to the King not themselves against the King and our consent to such things as the King shall