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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	call_v	king_n	law_n	3,185	5	4.7509	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A48472	The picture of the Councell of State, held forth to the free people of England by Lieut. Col. John Lilburn, M. Thomas Prince, and M. Richard Overton, now prisoners in the Tower of London for bearing testimony to the liberties of England against the present tyrants at White-Hall, and their associates, or, a full narrative of the late extrajudiciall and military proceedings against them ; together with the substance of their severall examinations, answers, and deportments before them at Darby-house, upon March 28 last.	Lilburne, John, 1614?-1657.; Prince, Thomas.; Overton, Richard, fl. 1646.	1649 (1649)	Wing L2155; ESTC R10562	40,210	29

and by the Order of the Councel of State appointed by authority of Parliament Jo. Bradshaw President Note that we were committed upon Wensday their fast day being the best fruits that ever any of their fasts brought out amongst them viz. To sinite with the fist of wickednesse For the illegallity of this warrant I shall not say much because it is like all the rest of the warrants of the present House of Commons and their unjust Committees whose Warrants are so sufficiently anatomized by my quondam Comrade M. John Wildeman though much degenerated his Books called Truths Triumph and the Laws subversion being Sir John Maynard's Case truly stated and by my self in my late plea before the Judges of the Kings Bench now in print and intituled The Laws Funerall that it is needlesse to say any more of that particular and therefore to them I refer the Reader But to go on When we had read our Warrants we told Mr. Frost we would not dispute the legality of them because we were under the force of Guards of armed Musketiers So some time was spent to finde a man that would go with us to prison Captain Jenkins as I remember his name being Captain of the Guard and my old and familiar acquaintance was prevailed with by us to take the charge upon him who used us very civilly and gave us leave that night it being so late to go home to our Wives and took our words with some other of our friends then present to meet him in the morning at the Angel Tavern neer the Tower which we did accordingly and so marched with him into the Tower where coming to the Lieutenants House and after salutes each of other with very much civility the Lieutenant read his Warrants and Mr. Walwin as our appointed mouth acquainted him that we were Englishmen who had hazarded all we had for our Liberties and Freedoms for many yeers together and were resolved though Prisoners not to part with an inch of our Freedoms that with strugling for we could keep and therefore we should neither pay Fees nor chamber-rent but what the Law did exactly require us neither should we eat or drink of our own cast or charges so long as we could fast telling him it was our unquestionable right by Law and the custom of this place to be provided for out of the publick Treasure although we had never so much money in our pockets of our own which he granted to be true and after some more debate I told him we were not so irrationall as to expect that he out of his own money should provide for us but the principall end of our discourse with him was to put words in his mouth from our selves he being now our Guardian to move the Parliament or Councel of State about us which he hath acquainted us he did to the Councel of State who he saith granted the King or former times used to provide for the Prisoners But I say they will not be so just as he was in that particular although they have taken off his head for tyranny yet they must and will be greater Tyrants then he yea and they have resolved upon the Question that he shall be a Traytor that shall but tell them of their Tyranny although it be never so visible But let me tell them that saying of Mr. John Cook their Solicitor general in his Book called the Kings case stated is most true That in condemning the King for tyranny they have already past Sentence against themselves when they tyrannize But I say and will make it good upon my life before competent Judges that they are greater Tyrants then the King was and the Ring-leaders of them better deserved his punishment of losse of their heads then he did for he never made such professions of Libertie and Justice to the People as they have done but always maintained the people had no share in Government and that for his misgovernment he was accountable to none but God and yet I will justifie it their actions are as wicked as his yea I will maintain it that the cruel tyrant Duke D'Alva so much mentioned in Edmond Grimstons generall History of the Neather-Lands lib. 9. who with his High Court of Justice or Counsell of State put above eighteen thousand to death under pretence of Justice in less then five yeers fol. 435. 462. was more excusable then the Leaders of these men Yea bloudy Qu. Mary in comparison was a Saint to these men who never went about to burn or hang the Martyrs but for transgressing a Law in being yea and let them enjoy open tryals according to Law but these men would hang us for Traitors although we have transgressed none of their Laws yea and in the night contrary to Law in a close room examine us against our selves without producing face to face either prosecutor accuser or witnesse yea or so much as laying any crime unto our charge our chiefest Adversaries being our Judges Wherefore Hear O heavens and give ear O earth So now I have brought the Reader to my old contented lodging in the Tower where within two or three days of our arrivall there came one M. Richardson a Preacher amongst those unnatural un-English-like men that would now help to destroy the innocent and the first promoters in England as Cromwels beagles to do his pleasure of the first Petition for a personal Treaty almost two yeers ago and commonly stile themselves the Preachers to the seven Churches of Anabaptists which Richardson pretending a great deal of affection to the Common-wealth to Cromwel and to us and prest very hard for union and peace and yet by his petition since this endeavours to hang us telling us men cryed mightily out upon us abroad for grand disturbers that sought Cromwels bloud for all his good Service to the Nation and that would center nowhere but meerly laboured to pull down those in power to set up our selves And after a little discourse with him being all four present and retorting all he said back upon those he seemed to plead for before severall witnesses we appealed to his own conscience to this effect whether those could intend any hurt or tyranny to the people that desire and earnestly endeavoures for many years together that all Magistrates hands might be bound and limited by a just law and rule with a penalty annexed unto it that in case they out-stripe their rule they might forfeit life and estate therefore and that all Magistrates might be chosen by the free people of this Nation by common consent according to their undubitable right and often removed that so they might not be like standing waters subject to corruption and that the people might have a plain easie short and known Rule amongst themselves to walk by administred in their own Countries but such men were all we and therefore justly could not be stiled disturbers of any but onely such as sought to rule over the people by their absolute

power of the whole Parliament to execute the Law they can give no power to you their Members to meddle with me in the case before you For an Ordinary Court of Justice the proper Administrator of the Law is the only and sole Judge in this particular and not you Gentlemen no nor your whole House it self And therefore if you be honest men and will be as good as your words oaths and promises which are to maintain the Laws in reference to the peoples Liberties I challenge at your hands the benefit of the Law and not to be past upon otherwise in any kinde For with your favour Mr. Bradshaw the fact that you suppose I have committed for till it be judicially proved and that must be before a legall Judge that hath cognisance of the fact or confessed by my self before the Judge it is but a bare supposition is either a crime or no crime a crime it cannot be unlesse it be a transgression of a Law in being before it was committed acted or done For where there is no Law * Rom. 4. 15. See the 4. part of the L. Cooks Institutes ch 1. High Court of Parl fol. 37. 38. 39. 41. See also my printed Epistle to the Speaker of the fourth of April 1648. called the Prisoners plea for an Habeas Corpus p. 5 6. and Englands Birth-right p. 1. 2. 3. 4. and the second edition of my Epistle to Judge Reeves p. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. and M. John Wildmans Truths Triumph p. 11. 12. 13. 14. and Sir John Maynards Case truly stated called The Laws Subversion p. 9. 13. 14. 15. 16. 38. there is no Transgression And if it be a Transgression of a Law that Law provides a punishment for it and by the Rules and method of that Law am I to be tryed and by no other whatsoever made ex post facto And therefore Sir if this be true as undoubtedly it is then I am sure you Gentlemen have no power in Law to convene me before you for the pretended crime laid unto my charge much lesse to fetch me by force out of my habitation by the power of armed men For Sir let me tell you The Law of England never made Colonels Lieutenant Colonels Captains or Souldiers either Bailisss Constables * See the Petition of Right in the 3. C. R. and my Book called the peoples Prerogative p. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 56. c. Yea I say that is the Generall take away by Martiall Law the life of Laughorn c. now in time of Peace the Courts of Justice being open he murders him or them and ought to die therefore or Justices of Peace And I cannot but wonder that you should attach me in such a manner as you have done considering that I have all along adhered to the Interest of the Nation against the common Enemy as you call them and never disputed nor contemned any Order or Summons from Parliament or the most irregularest of their Committees but always came to them when they sent for me although their Warrant of Summons was never so illegall in the forme of it and I have of late in a manner de die in diem waited at the House dore and was there that day the Votes you have read past till almost twelve a clock and I am sure there are some here present whose Couscience I beleeve tells them they are very much concerned in this Book row before you that saw me at the dore and stared wishfully upon me as they went into the House and I cannot but wonder there could be no Civil Officer found to summon me to appear but that now when there is no visible hostile enemy in the Nation and all the Courts of Justice open that you that have no power at all over me must send for me by a hundred or two hundred Armed Horse and Foot as though I were some monstrous man that with the breath of my mouth were able to destroy all the Civil Officers that should come to apprehend me Surely I had not endeavoured to fortifie my house against you neither had I betaken my self to a Castle or a defenced Garrison in hostility against you that you need to send a hundred or two hundred armed men to force me out of my house from my wife and children by four or five a clock in the morning to the distracting and afrighting of my wife and children Surely I cannot but look upon this irregular unjust and illegal hostile action of yours as one of the fruits and issues of your new created Tyranny to amuse and debase my spirit and the spirits of the People of this Free Nation to fit me and them for bondage and slavery This being the very practise of the Earl of Strafford before you as M. Pym in his declaration against him doth notably observe And Sir give me leave further to tell you that for divers hundreds of men that have often been in the field with their swords in their hands to encounter with hostile enemies and in their engagements have acquitted themselves like men of valour and come out of the field conquerours for these very men to put themselves in Martial Array against four Mise or Butterflyes taking them captives and as captives lead them through the streets me thinks is no small diminution to their former Martial Atchievements and Trophies And therefore to conclude this I do here before you all protest against your power and Jurisdiction over me in the case in controversie And also doe protest against your Warrant you issued out to apprehend me And against all your martial and hostile acts committed towards me as illegal unjust and tyrannical and no way in Law to be justified Further telling you that I saw most of the Lord of Strafford's arraignment and if my memory fail me not as little things as you have already done to me were by your selves laid to his charge as acts of Treason For which I saw him lose his head upon Tower-hill as a Traytor And I doubt not for all this that is done unto me but I shall live to see the Laws and Liberties of England firmly setled in despite of the present great opposers thereof and to their shame and confusion and so M. Bradshaw I have done with what I have now to say Upon which M. Bradshaw replied Lieut. Col. Lilburn you need not to have been so earnest and have spent so much time in making an Apologetical defence for this Councel doth not go about to try you or challenge any jurisdiction to try you neither doe we so much as ask you a question in order to your tryal and therefore you may correct your mistake in that particular Vnto which I said Sir by your favour if you challenge no Jurisdiction over me no not so much as in order to a tryal what do I here before you or what do you in speaking to me But Sir seeing I am now here give me leave to say