Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	king_n	law_n	read_v	3,266	5	6.5822	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A88240	The prisoners plea for a habeas corpus, or an epistle writ by L.C. Joh. Lilburne prerogative prisoner in the Tower of London the 4. of Aprill, to the Honourable Mr. W. Lenthall Speaker of the House of Commons. In which is fully proved, that the judges are bound by law and their oaths to grant a habeas corpus to any prisoner ... and to deny it ... is to forsweare themselves, for which they may be in law indicted for perjury, and upon conviction, are for ever to be discharged of their office, service and councell. In which is also declared the usurpation of Mr. Oliver Crumwell, who hath forcibly usurped unto himselfe the office of L.G. in the Army, for almost 12. moneths together, and thereby hath robbed the kingdome of its treasure, under pretence of pay, which he hath no right nnto [sic], and by the power of the said office hath tyrannized over the lives, liberties, and estates of the freemen of England ... all which John Lilburne will venture his life according to the law of the land to make good, unto which he hath annexed his epistle which he writ to the prentices of London the 10th of May 1639 ...	Lilburne, John, 1614?-1657.	1648 (1648)	Wing L2165; Thomason E434_19; ESTC R202789	26,710	17

consideration in Easter Tearme followin● with one unanimous consent that if the party imprisonned be in Law not bailable yet we oug●● say they upon complaint to send the Kings Writ of a Habeas Corpus for the body and t●● cause And if in the returne no cause nor no sufficient cause appeare then we doe as we ough● set him at liberty otherwise upon removing the body the matter appeare to be of Eccelsiasticall cognizance then we remit him againe and this we ought to doe in both cases say they And in the 22 Article the Clergy complains that some of the temporall Iudges are grown to such an innovating humor upon their jurisdiction given them by Law that they have delive●ed certaine lewd persons fined and imprisoned by them for greivous crimes to the● treading th● Kings supreame Ecclesiasticall authority under their feet unto which the Iudges answer W● doe not neither will we in any wise impunge the Ecclesiasticall authority In any that pe●taines unto it but if any by the Ecclesiasticall authority commit any man to prison upo● complaint unto u● that he is imprisoned without just cause and if they will not certifie unto us 〈◊〉 the particular cause but generally without expresing any particular cause whereby he it ma● appeare unto us to be a matter of Ecclesiasticall cognizance and his imprisonment just 〈◊〉 we doe and ought to deliver him and this is their fault and not ours and although some 〈◊〉 us have dealt with them to make some such particular Certificate to us whereby we may be able to Iudge upon it as by Law they ought to doe yet they will by no meanes doe it and there●●re their error is the cause of this and no fault in us for if we see not a just cause of the parties imprisonment by them then we ought and are bound by Oath to deliver him And they ●ll conclude that the Iudges doing what they ought and by their Oaths are bound to doe they ●●e not nor ought no to be questioned therefore ●nd that a Habeas Corpus is not by law to be denied to any prisonner whatsoever his crime be ●y whomsoever committed I further make appeare thus First a man in execution for debt is by the Law of the Land not bailable and yet a Habeas Corpus cannot nor ought to be denied h 2 H. 5 ch 2 and 11 H. 6. chap. 10. to him Secondly a man excommunicated is not baileable by Law and as Law a Habeas Corpus cannot nor ought not to be denied to ●● i 2 part insti fol. 614 615 616. such and soe for all offences whatsoever And among o●● remedies against unjust imprisonment the Law of the Land 〈◊〉 this remedy amongst many others as the Writ de homine pag●●●do and the Writ de odia ●t atia and the Writ ponendo ●●idlium and the Writ of false imprisonment and an action of ● k See 2 part insti fol. 42 43 53 55. 187. case upon a false returne made upon such a Habeas Corpus Thirdly It is against the Iudges Oath to deny it in which Oath he sweares to do equall Law 〈◊〉 execution of right to all people rich or poore without having regard to any person and that ●●y deny to no man common right by the Kings letters nor none other mans nor for no other ●●se and in case any letters come to you contrary to the Law that ye doe nothing by such letters notifie the King thereof and proceed to execute the law not ●standing the l See his Oath at large printed in Pultons coll of statuts fol. 154. and my late booke called the peoples prerogative pag. 10. letters But a Habeas Corpus is part of the Law of the Land which 〈◊〉 Iudges ought to grant to all men that demand them by whom over committed although their crimes be unbaileable There●●re the Iudges denying of it to any man whatsoever that craves against their Oath by doing of which they forsweare them●●lves and so are liable to be indicted for perjured persons upon conviction of which they for ever 〈◊〉 their places and are for ever to he uncapable to be Counsellers c. as appeares by an act of ●arliament of the 11 H. Rot Parl. no 28 m. not printed in the statute booke but is printed in the 3 〈◊〉 instituts fol. 224 22. Fourthly To deny a Habeas Corpus is against Magna m bide 2 part insti fol. 53. 55. ●●●arta and the Petition of Right made in the third of the King ●●d the act that abolished n both which you may read in the people perrogative page 1 2 3 23 24 25. the Starre-Chamber made in the 〈◊〉 of the King yea against your own declarations as appeares part dec pag 6 8. Fifth To deny it is to rob the people of their declared and un●●●ed birthright viz. the Law of the o 1 part bo● dec page 7.38 39 77 201 278 459 650. 660 845. Land and so to deny all the ends wherefore we fought in the late Warr● against 〈◊〉 King which was principally to preserve our Laws and liber●● Sixtly To deny it is to contemne the declared authority of Parliament who in all their 〈◊〉 Protestations Vows Covenants and Declarations have sworne Vowed promised and ●●lared they will maintaine unto the people their Laws and Liberties and againe and ●●i●e imprecated the wrath and vengeance of Heaven to fall upon them when they doe ●i p See and compare together 1 part bo decl p 17. 18 214 264 266 267 340. 462 464. 466. 473 588 666 673 690. 750. not solemnly declaring they have no aimes at themselves but wholly at the publique But Habeas Corpus is an essentiall part of their Laws and liberti●● And therefore to deny it is to contemne the Parliaments auth●rity And for then to suffer it is to render them a company forsworne men and so never fit hereafter to be trusted But if it shall be objected that if you should maintaine the la●● you could not now or in your by past straights preserve yo●●selves and the Kingdome against the King To which I answer there is a great disproportion in reaso● and so adjudged by your selves q 1 part bo●● decl 205 266 276 687 690 700. betwixt that Law whic● concernes a single person the King who had so much caused the Laws to be broken as in yo● first Remonstrance you declared before this Parliament as he did and his prorogative and b●twixt that law that concernes millions of people that never had a hand in being guilty in a● such thing viz. all that are or hereafter shall be in the Kingdome And besides though the people in assisting you against the King suffered you in the time open and denounced warre to doe and did themselves many things that were not consonant to th● strickt letter of the Law of England walking then in that great extremity by that rule of rig●● reason that vniversall

right take him now to be lievt Gen. to the Army when as indeed and in truth he is no such thing rightfully for at the ●andellising of the present Generalls Army by the self denying alias cheating Ordinance no member of either House was to have any Office in the Army yet at the speciall desire of divers ●est petitioners in London who now are by Cromwell christened Levellers the General his Councell of War the Parliament by speciall Ordinance made Mr. Cromwell Lievt Gen. of the ●se of that Army for six moneths reserving still for ought I ever could hear the sole making of Generall Officers of the Army in their own hands and never gave it in the least to the Generall and after the expiration of the six moneths continued him by an other speciall Ordinance for six moneths longer but I could never heare that after the expiration of that six moneths they redeemed it againe And if they did which I confidently believe the contrary yet I am sure a●●●t a yeare agoe he and a● I remember all the rest of the Colonells in the Army that were lately made members of the House were by speciall Ordinance taken from their commands in the Army so that I am confident I may safely and positively cal him a palpable usurper of his pre●●● place and Office of Leivt Gen. of the Army and if so then he is no better then a Robber and a Theif in forcing money from the Parliament and People as he hath done for his pay and ought in equity and justice at least to make restitution of every penny he hath taken since he 〈◊〉 cashiered and hereafter to retire out of the Army that Soldier being no better then a foole that will obey him and take no more Nay he is not only a Theife a Robber and usurper but he is an absolute murderer too which I will maintain upon my life to prove him to be at the Kings bench bar and there or at the Assises in ●●ertford sheire he may and ought by the declared law of England to be indicted and ought in justice law and conscience to loose his life for that wilful malicious premeditated and forethought of ●urther that he committed upon the Soldier of my brother Col. Robert Lilburnes Regiment for Mr. Cromwell being indeed and in truth no Officer but a palpable usurper had not the least shaddow or colour to meddle to adiudge the Soldier to death or cause him to be shot for any pretended marshal crime whatsoever but. Secondly if Mr. Oliver Cromwell should prove himself an Officer of the Army then which I am confident he never can iustly or legally doe yet that would doe him no good to save his life † For I am sure the Earl of Strafford was generall of an Army in Ireland by legall Commission and did but doe that which many generalls there before him had done and by Martiall law caused the Lord Mount-Norris to be condemned to dye and by this Parliament he was therefore strongly impeached of treason and amongst other things lost his head therefore and yet the Lord Mount Norris i● alive to this day but the Soldier condemned by Cromwell an Vsurper is shot to death in the time of full peace Ergo he undeniably deserves to dye for that murder for it being done in a time of peace and not of warre although an Army be up in in the Kingdome and all the ordinary Courts of justice free and open where law and iustice i● d● spenced and administred according to its usuall manner where only and alone all Soldiers as well as all other Englishmen that are no Soldiers ought by the law of this land to be punished and no where else the law having made particular provision therefore yea almost for every crime that in time of peace is imaginable a Soldier can commit all which is fully proved in the 11. pag of the forementioned Plea of A. B Citizen of London and in my forementioned book called the Peoples prerogative pag 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51. but especially pag 53 54 and in the 55 56. pages thereof you may read my letter which I sent to Windsor to the Generall the 23. Decemb. 1647. by way of challenge to all the Officers in his Armie to dispute that point with them before the Generall viz. that it now being time of peace he nor his Counsell of War cannot by Marshall Law put any man whatsoever Souldier or other to death but it is absolute murther And is so declared by your own authoritie in your premitive puritie and virginitie in the 3. part of the Lord Cooks institutes chapter of murder fol. 52. Where he positively declares it hath in law been often so resolved and there gives strong and undeniable reasons for it and I am sure the Earle of Strafford paid for it to the purpose And therefore Mr. Speaker I doe absolutely conclude Mr. Oliver Cromwell to be a murderer with which I now charge him and require you as you will hereafter answer it to a quaint your house that J doe hereby require him at their hands as a murderer of a Souldier of Co. Ro. Lilburnes Reg. neer Waire this last Winter 15. No. 1647. called Rich. Arnell And that they forthwith commit him as a murderer to prison without Baile or Mainp●ise according to the law of the land and I Iohn Lilburne am ready to enter into securitie according to Law to prosecute him and to make good the charge upon my life against him by way of indictment according to the known law of the land either at the Kings bench bar in Westminster Hall or else at Hartford Assises Sir you may please to remember that at your open barr the 19. of Ian. last I delivered a formall impeachment against him and his sonne in Law the pretended Comissary Gen. Ireton being the very same things but in a farre transcendent nature that they positively accused Mr. Hall is c. of reason for And I offered before you all as you very well know upon my life to make it good and am still ready and willing to doe it but the justice you did the kingdome was to commit me to prison for my f●ithfulnesse and therefore truly Sir J must in good earnest tell you that my urgent oppressing necessitie and your Sir Henry Vaine and Cromwels unparraleld cruelties toward me are so great and transcendent that unlesse I speedily injoy and really possesse some effectuall justice from you J must be compeld to throw all care and feare aside and pluck up the same resolution in reference unto you that I did towards the Bishops after they had caused to give me upon the 18. of Aprill 1638. with knotted cords 500. stripes in lesse then 2. houres time and set me upon the pillorie imediatly after and there put a gag in my mouth for an houre and a halfe to the almost renting my iawes in sunder and imediatly after this in the