Selected quad for the lemma: act_n
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A45914
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An Enquiry, or, A discourse between a yeoman of Kent and a knight of a shire upon the prorogation of the Parliament to the second of May 1693
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1693
(1693)
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Wing I220; ESTC R11876
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18,751
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14
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Ways to make the Constitution of Parliaments useless and the Crown wholly independent upon the People in Parliaments for Supplies and Aids Such were the Inventions of Loan-Money Privy-Seal-Money Knightcod-Money Coat and Conduct-Money Arbitrary Fines without Juries for Encroachments upon the King 's Wastes Ship-Money Billet-Money oppressing Monopolies and illegal Patents upon Trades almost without number Such also was the Commission passed the Great Seal to impose by pretence of Royal Authority an Excise tho the Illegality and Oppression of it were so manifest that a sufficient number of Persons could not be suddenly found to put it in Execution All Projects were imbraced that had but an appearance of supplying the Crown that they might avoid the necessary Settlement of successive Parliaments The last most dangerous and desperate of their Designs of that kind was upon some pretence from Ireland or Scotland to get an Army and settle Martial Law that might raise such Money as a Council should think fit and make Proclamations and Orders of State to be as binding to the Subject as Acts of Parliament Yet even that was imbraced as appears by the Journals of the Commons in Parliament Monsieur Burlemach there openly confessing that he had received thirty thousand Pounds which was sent over Seas to hire German Horse to be the Foundation of the Standing Army here I could tell you Neighbour that during all these Transactions which lasted divers Years their Counsels and Endeavours were to divert the King from admitting the Legal Course of Parliaments The Petitions and Cries of the Subjects to restore them could not be heard and Agreements were made between the King and several Persons of greatest Abilities and Influence in order to the arriving at absolute Power that there should there should be no more Parliaments during his Life Nevertheless about the Year 1639. the King's Wants of Money being extreamly pressing they resolved to make use of a Parliament for Supply but without a Thought of doing the Kingdom Right in restoring the due Succession of Parliaments and the Exercise of their Legal Authorities and therefore as sooon as they were met they procured the King to demand of them their giving up their Legal Fundamental Privilege of considering in the first Place and redressing the Peoples Grievances and the King so positively insisted in denying them their Right and Privilege therein that within twenty days they were dissolved contrary to the known Intentions and Ends of our Constitution The Failure of the Peoples Expectation at that time and the long Interruption of the legal course of Parliaments raised great Discontents and loud and general Cries of the People for Parliaments the Consequences whereof were such as I dread and abhor to remember yet it was universally agreed That the want of the Legal Course of successive Parliaments and the Designs of interrupting and preventing their meeting and sitting were the great occasions of all the Confusion Blood and Mischief that afterwards happened And no doubt but the Parliament then took the only wise and necessary course to prevent all the impending Mischiefs and Dangers both to the King and People when they laboured with the help of the best Lawyers of England to declare and secure the Observance of the antient Laws for annual successive Parliaments and to provide for their certain meeting and holding them notwithstanding all possible Designs and Contrivances against them Which was done to the great Satisfaction of the People by that notable Act of the 16th of Char. I. Yeom Sir let me be so bold as to ask you whether that Act for ascertaining Parliaments did not occasion or some way promote the Tumults and Wars that ensued Kt. You may easily be satisfied from what was written in those times of the Falshood of such Suggestions and that the King Lords and Commons passed that Act with great Unanimity and that King often glory'd in having passed that Act for the Security of his People but I believe you confound the Act for Triennial Parliaments with another Act for making the Parliament then in being in a manner perpetual for they were not to be dissolved or prorogued but by their own Consent declar'd by Act of Parliament That Act did in truth derogate from the King's Prerogative in dissolving Parliaments and whatsoever Mischiefs might or did thereupon ensue ought to be imputed to the Alteration made thereby of our Constitution or Monarchy not to the just and strict Observance of our Laws and Statutes for which the Act for Triennial Parliaments made Provision Yeom Sir I know there is a common Mistake about those Acts of Parliament and that occasion is taken by some from the Confusions in Government that soon after happened to impose upon the People false Notions about the Authority of Parliaments and to frighten them from demanding and insisting upon their constant successive Elections as the Laws appoint 'T is notorious that those who design Arbitrary Power are always busy in such Matters and in unworthy Reflections upon Parliaments But pray Sir let us pass by that dark time of the Civil War and see what the same sort of Men have done about Parliaments after the Return of K. Charles II. Kt. They pursued the same Designs of subverting our Constitution as to Parliaments but took Measures quite different from those before used to effect it They remembred the ill Success of all Projects and Monopolies and Pretences of Prerogative to supply the Government with Money They had found and felt by Experience that a free Parliament could not be awed and that the People in the Intervals of Parliament would not be forced to pay Taxes that were not legally imposed upon them yet there was an absolute necessity for the Crown to be supplied with Aids from the People without which it could not subsist great part of the Crown-Lands being wasted and squandered awny in the two preceding Reigns 'T was therefore resolved to attempt that by Fraud which they could not compass by Force and in order thereunto they took the Advantage of the present Temper of the People which carried them without considering what the Consequences might be to every thing that was agreeable to the Court They recommended such to be chosen Members of the House of Commons whose Fortunes had been most impaired in the late Wars and whose Dependance upon the Court might incline them to a Compliance with whatever should be demanded of them and these good-natur'd Loyal Gentlemen repealed the Act of the 16th of K. Charles I. for Triennial Parliaments whilst a few worthy Patriots laboured in vain to defend it 'T is true they pretended in the Act by which this Statute was repealed to ascertain the frequent holding of Parliaments yet it left the King at liberty to continue the same Parliament as long as he pleased and that King did accordingly continue that same Parliament near eighteen Years which time they could not be said truly to represent the People of England many of those who
know that it is the King 's undoubted Prerogative to issue out all legal Writs in the Administration of the whole Government and Writs for calling Parliaments being established by Law all Kings by their Prerogative called the Parliaments tho it was not in their Power to change a Word or Syllable in the form of those Writs yet the times of sending out such Writs and of their Returns within the Limits of the Law and the Place of the Parliament's meeting were at the King's Discretion from whence it might be said to be their Prerogative alone to call them I must further tell you that it ought to be remembred that by our English Constitution Parliaments are and always were to be holden within the compass of certain times being the Foundation and Essence of the Government and that it is not in the Power of the Royal Prerogative to refuse the calling these Parliaments successively as the Constitution intends The being or not being of such Parliaments is not trusted to the Crown but the Direction only of some Circumstances about holding them is left to the Royal Prerogative But there is also a general Trust placed in the Crown by our Constitution to call Parliaments upon Occasions and Emergencies when the Safety and Welfare of the Kingdom require it and for that reason when a positive Statute enacted that a Parliament should be holden once every Year at least these words were therein added And oftner if need be Now the calling and dissolving such occasional Parliaments is trusted wholly by our Laws to the Royal Prerogative the Kings are the only Judges of the necessity of holding such Parliaments subject always to the Oath of the Crown to preserve the Laws and Liberties of the Kingdom The Prerogative of the Kings is so absolute about the calling such occasional Parliaments that it were highly injurious both to the King and Kingdom to attempt to take it away or diminish it by any Act of Parliament 't is as necessary to the common Good and Safety to maintain this Prerogative of the Crown about Occasional Parliaments entire as it is to prevent the extending the like Prerogative to Parliaments in general and a certain prevention of that Mischief was the only Aim and honest Intention of the Promoters of the late Bill Yeom Sir you so well distinguish the Powers and Prerogatives of the Crown that I cannot imagine what could be said to shew that this Bill encroached upon any of them I have found by Experience that those who clamoured most against it for taking away the King's Prerogative could say very little when they were pressed to speak particularly I my self after my Country-manner asked one of them the other day whom I heard clamouring What Royal Prerogative the Bill took away Tell me said I what Act of Royal Power possible to do any good to the Crown or Kingdom was proposed by the Bill to be restrained Is it a Royal Prerogative to have the very Being of Parliaments the Use of their Authorities and the Constitution it self absolutely at the King's Will against which alone the Bill provides That the People should never consult or provide for the Safety of their Estates Liberties and Lives unless their Kings please Hereupon the Gentleman grew angry and said I talk'd like a base Commonwealths-man Truly Sir it appears to me that some amongst us hate our Laws and Liberties but not daring to say so they cover their Malice with Pretences of advancing the Power of the Crown These Men are better at railing than reasoning and talk only in Generals as if they were the only Friends to King William tho they have another Person in their Hearts and Intentions when they seem so careful for the Power of the Crown and cry out that this Bill lessens the Power and Dignity of the Regal Office Pray Sir what was said to shew the Falshood of that Suggestion Kt. This Suggestion against the Bill appeared to be so far from Truth that those who objected it could neither give an Instance of any Power belonging to the Regal Office which the Bill restrained nor of any one Act proposed by it to be done by the Kings unto which they are not obliged by Law and the Duty of their Office without any such bill 'T is a wonder that any secret Enemies of our Laws and Liberties should have the Confidence to insinuate that the Regal Office would be lessened by a constant successive electing and holding of Parliaments in a legal Course not to be interrupted by evil Ministers or ill Princes the contrary being indeed manifest that the Honour Greatness and Glory of the Crown can never be in any other manner supported much less advanced and augmented It cannot but be clear to every Man that by such a certain Succession of Parliaments the Greatest and Wisest of the Kingdom should constantly hold their Consultations to advance the King's and his Kingdom 's Interest Honour and Greatness and be enabled to discover all Unfaithfulness Failures and Defects in the Administration of the Government which may any way derogate from the Security Potency and Honour of the King In like manner all the Forces of the Kingdom which are some hundreds of thousands may be applied to the King's Service and every Man of them employed as shall most conduce to the Kingdom 's Safety and Honour And to compleat the Prince's Glory all the Treasure and Wealth which these Islands have gathered in many Ages from both the Indies and all the Peoples Lands Goods and Interests would be subject to be charged as the Wisdom of such great Councils should think fit for the Maintenance and Prosecution of any Just and Glorious Design But 't is notorious that none of these high Powers and Authorities can be exercised by the English Kings in any other manner than by such a constant Succession of Parliaments as the Laws intend and therefore 't is evident that this Bill proposed the highest Advancement of the Regal Office by making Provision for the certain holding of such successive Parliaments within the times limited by Law Pray Country-man let me advise you to read your Chronicles at home of our Kings and you shall find that all those Princes were most Great and Glorious who governed by the Counsels of legal successive Parliaments and that those who declined it lost the Honour and Power of the Nation and rendred themselves and their People unhappy Yeom These things being so clear pray Sir let me be so bold as to ask you what hath made so many Favourites of our Princes disswade them from observing the Laws for constant successive Parliaments and how came our Princes so readily to follow those Counsels Kt. I could easily tell you if it were fit to speak plain but in short the Favourites Power with their Princes is restrained and lessened by a due course of Parliaments their Corruptions would be liable to be examined and their high ambitious Designs defeated And for the Princes