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A45081
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A serious epistle to Mr. William Prynne wherein is interwoven an answer to a late book of his, the title whereof is inserted in the next leafe. By J. Hall, of Grays-Inne.
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Hall, John, 1627-1656.
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1649
(1649)
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Wing H359A; ESTC R216816
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22,967
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36
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liberty Notwithstanding they often brought Laws to make a Dictator who had an unlimited power Nor have you Reason to storme with this Parliament for voting the exclusion of part of their Members whereof your selfe were one that had concurred in dangerous and destructive pernicious Votes And now you may see how unsound your Proposition was and how utterly the State of the whole Syllogiâ—me is altered for if you will but take along with you what hath been said you will find their was an huge deal of Equivocation and Fallacy in the words of Parliament and whole Realme and therefore the whole ought thus to be conceived That by the Fundamentall Laws of the Nation what Tax is Imposed by the Câ—mmons of the Realme in a free and fâ—ll Parliament by Act of Parliament and none other is lawfull But this Tax of 90000. l. per mensem was thus Imposed Ergo it ought c. The Proposition is manifest out of what hath beeâ— said to the Assumption for the present I shall say thus much That since King and Lords are no essentiall parts of it and that they make up the customary number we have no Reason to disavow them on that Tophick some other Reason then must we search and see whither they were either lawfully called or else since their calling some act either done by themselves or others have in Law dissolved them But for the Legallity of their Assembling your self are so far from denying that you found some Arguments upon it I further justifie that they immediatly were entrusted by the people and that the Kings did put them into a course not give them Authority for if it had then must all power Immedidately flow from the King which we have deny'd and therefore though the Right of the people were at that time câ—og'd with that load there is no Reason but they might when they could shake it off and restore themselves to those Priviledges nature endowed them with And therefore they must necessarily remain anauthoritative Body after the decollation of the King as not sitting by him But it is a question according to the word of the Law whither they ever can be dissolved or no the King not being alive to dissolve them Howsoever you can distinguish a King in the abstract and concret and know that it is not his Personall presence adds any thing to them for otherwise your own books must rise up against you and all their actions since the Kings deâ—ertion will prove un-Parliamentary We must see if there be any thing that in Law dissolved them since they are in origine a lawfull Assembly and that must either be by the King themselves or some externall power By the King it must be either by some act of his and that I think you are not ready to say or by his remotion and that we have just now answered if by themselves why â—it they or shew me an Act or Ordinance of theirs why they should not if from externall â—â—rce externall force I say may violate it but cannot dissolve it since the Speaker declar'd his opinion two years agoe that nothing could dissolve this Parliament But an Act of Parliament which you cannot produce either in your own sence or mine And now we see what miracles you have perform'd how according to your manner you have esâ—oygn'd from the question for it is not the Recitall of a many Impertinâ—nt Presidents with any slavish head that has but the pâ—tience to collect may muster up to wearinesse But a right stating and deduction of things and a Generall view of the question in its whole latitude that must convince and enforce in these cases For producing authorities though it may be of excellent use in proving matter of fact or that things were so yet it is not of much concernment when matter of right or reason falls under dispute For whosoever do's rightly converse with the writings Records of former times cannot buâ— know that since a many things are spoken out of the sence and interest of the times A many things through decourse of affaires are altered from their Primitive reason a many things imperfectly related and circumstances of great light often omitted they are not at all authoritative to after times save where a cleer and undeniable analogy of reason do's apply and enforce them But least you may thinke I fraudulently elude the strength of your arguments by these generall avisos I care not much if I put them I meane the strength and heart of them for you are very fatall in setting down things at length into a Catalogue briefly overthrowing those that are not Immediatly Implicitly or perempâ—orily answered in the former pages and putting the others to no other trouble but a bare rehersall as things that carry their confutations in their bowells Your First Reason is The Parliament is dissolved by death of the King 2. Or supposing it in being yet the Lords aâ—â—ented not 3. Suppose the Commons alone coâ—ld Impose a Tax yet now the House is neither full nâ—r free if you will give every man leave to be Judge of his own liberty they can the best tell what they think of theirs anâ— they have declar'd themselves free from any feare or Restraint and certainly it is one shrewd signe of it in that they have performed that under that which you call aw which none of their Predecessors in all their pretended lâ—â—erty and fullnesse could ever atchieve and if you say they are not full and free because all their Members doe not actually sit For my part I hold them freer as being eas'd of so oppressive an humour that so long Rendred their Counsells abortive or unprosperous yet in poiâ—t of reason I see not why he should be entrusted with the liberty of a Country that is an enemy to it Or admitted into a Counsell whose ruine he is both by his iâ—terest and opinion obliged to endeavour Though the tendernesse of the Parliament is such that they Reâ—dmit all such as they can either with surety or safety and the obstinacy of the absent Gentlemen is such that they refuse to comply with the ways of providence and come into action rather suspending themselves then being suspended 4. Though it should oblige those places whose Knights Citiâ—ens Burgesses sit yet it cannot those whose c. sit not Now ouâ— of all your Presidents find me one that shall warrant this distinction for that of the writ of wast will not doe for upon the same reason the County oâ—Durâ—am or such Burroughs as have no Members to sit for them are not tyed by any act of Parliament as not consenting to it and for any thing I see the same reason should hold in those Counties or places whose Representatives should be for some unquestionable crime thrust out of the House Nay why may not this extend to absent Members But I pray Sir consider that the House of Commons must be considered as a collected body and
A SERIOUS EPISTLE TO Mr. WILLIAM PRYNNE Wherein Is interwoven an Answer to a late Book of his the Title whereof is inserted in the next leafe By J. HALL of Grays-Inne PROV. 6. 2 and 3. Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth thou art taken with the words of thy mouth Do this now my sonne and deliver thy self when thou art come into the hand of thy friend go humble thy selfe and make sure thy friend LONDON Printed for John Place and are to be sold at his Shop at Furnifolds-Inne gate 1649. To him that will Read THat this Book hath come later from the presse then either stands with the Celerity of the Adversary or duty and obligation of the Author it will be hoped you will be enclin'd to Forgive when yov once are assur'd that a Treatise of almost ten-times the bignesse of this might have come abroad in the time this was a making ready Notwithstanding all clamours and expostulations and therefore the Author may promise himself so much Justice as to be Rescued from the savagenesse of their opinions who dam all things not immediatly falling under their concern or complying with the pettishnesse of their own Humour A LEGALL VINDICATION Of the Liberties of ENGLAND AGAINST ILLEGALL TAXES And pretended Acts of Parliament Lately enforced on the People OR Reasons assigned by WILLIAM PRYNN of Swainswick in the County of Somerset Esquire why he can neither in Conscience Law nor Prudence submit to the New Illegall Tax or Contribution of Ninety Thousand pounds the MONTH Lately â—mposed on the Kingdome by a pretended Act of some Commons in or rather out of Parliament To Mr. WILLIAM PRYNNE of Swainswick Greeting Mr. PRYNNE YOu will scarcely believe what an high obligation you have lately put upon all men that can but the lest discover between good and evill in Books and how much you were likely to have further indeered your self to them By the continuance of your patience and silence For whereas you were Accustom'd usually once a week to great them with a small Trifle of some twenty or thirty sheets and thereby either incurre their indignation or laughter you have been of late graciously pleased to withdraw your benevolences of that nature and â—o put them in hopes that you would no more lend an hand to the Multiplication of evill Things Nor any more beare a part in the variety of those hideous Noyses which doe now distract and deafen Europe But indeed this is but a friendly Congresse and we must be free and open your silence to me was very Omnious and full oâ— bad signification nay I must confesse to you far more dreadfull then the opening of the mouth and speaking For having found and Experimented that your Nature was such that it could no more forbeare scribling then a Paralytick his shaking or one bit with a Tarâ—â—tula his dauncing I began to feare and tremble lest either you were in lâ—bour with some great voluminous work which like a Leviathan would swallow up all the Paper and be a means to raise Ballads and Pamphlets from three farthings to a penny a Sheer or else that you were intended shortly to depart this world as the volentary slipping of Fistula's and Issues betoken Death to the party and so not live a while to survive your Progeny and see the Memory of them lost among Men But indeed I was of late doubly undeceived for I both found to my amazement that you were alive as also that your late Book was but eight sheets which indeed for that very cause I should have bastardiz'd and disclaimd for being yours But that I therein found that a many profuse and impertinent dashes did absolutely Characterize it yours and besides I saw abundance of Quotations which I suppose no other Man would upon that occasion have plac't there Now finding your Book as I said so short and withall so little to the question a kindly Itch and lechery presently Tickled me to answer it the rather because I suppose I might gratifie you in giving you an occasion to write again as also make your opposition to the present Government more known and famous a thing I know you coveâ— as also be a procatartic cause of some further sufferings which I knew could not but be very acceptable because I have observd your Genius more especially delighted in persecution and opposition to the present power and therefore I could never blame you for precipitating your self into a heady action as being willing to permit every man to follow his own Inclination and I knew you were led very strongly this way Nor indeed was I insensible of some advantage on my side No man lying so open so unguarded so easy to be beaten by his own Weapons as you Besides you most times take iâ—â— ayms strike cleare besides your enemy So that besides these small encouragements I saw I needed not be halfe so long as you and this is somewhat with the judicious and I needed but once state the questition and all your Arguments would fall in pieces and for quotations I knew it was either transcribing of yours into my Margent which is as much concern'd in them as yours or else to follow Cervantes his advice and take tâ—e first Catalogue of Authors I met and own them But then againe upon second thoughts I began to demurre as considering you a person very dreadfull and terrible as well by your Roman constancy in writing for you never yet permitted any Adversary to have the last word nor any power so long as you had pen and inke to put you to silence as by the Reputation you have of a various learning multiplicity of Reading Not to mention your numerous Prints whereby you have not like Tostat three sheets for every day in your life but almost three volumes so that it is pitty that you were not either borne of German parents to haue written in high-dutch that you might have outdon the reputation of the greatest of their Authors who are commonly valued at the rate of their boldnesse and prolixity Notwithstanding upon a third dispute with my selfe I found all these were chimera's and could cause no Real affrights as for your pertinacy in Answering Responding Rejoyaing Anti quâ—rying Reviewing c. However it â—ad wrought upon some other men I resolv'd it should not doe on me untill you forsook your custome of un-weaving the web at the wrong end never approaching to the heart of a dispute as I shall presently instance and this was a favour which as being a stranger to you I suppos'd you would hardly conferre on me although you had ability and possibility either given you by nature or belieu'd of you by men For the fame of your Learning I found that it had rather invaded the minds of the multitude and possessed the weak inconsiderate swallowers of all Books and interested it selfe in those people who had before interested themselves in those opinions which you