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	see_v	time_n	2,784	5	3.3358	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A76367	Bellamius enervatus: or, A full answer to a book entitled A plea for the commonalty of London. Which is as the authour Mr. Bellamy cals it; a vindication of their rights (which have been long withholden from them) in the choyce of sundry city officers. As also a iustification of the powerent the Court of Common-Counsell in the making of acts, or by-laws, for the good and profit of the citizens, notwithstanding the negative voyces of the Lord Major, and aldermen. / Refuted by Irenæus Lysimachus:.	Lysimachus, Irenaeus.	1645 (1645)	Wing B1819; Thomason E281_8; ESTC R200040	31,464	46

London hath anciently been commended for and summes it all up in Sir Edward Cooks words who cals it the Chamber of the King the Heart of the Common-wealth the Epitome of the Kingdome All this wee grant and blesse God for onely wee desire that this place which hee cals the heart of the Common-wealth may never bee sick at the heart of those diseases and distempers which such members thereof as himself strive to breed and to cherish in it But now hee comes to prove his Proofes to wit that they enjoy these their Priviledges de Jure as given and bestowed on them not usurped by them and those priviledges hee tels you are these two First To have the power to choose their own chiefe Governour and subordinate Officers among themselves Secondly To have also the power to make such Laws which are or shall bee for their own welfare and best accommodation For proofe of the first of these which is the Cities power in choosing their own chiefe Governour and subordinate Officers among themselves hee produceth many Charters granted in the time of Richard the first King John Edward the second and Henry the eighth as you may see in his book at large I must confesse it is a fine and easie thing to prove what no body denies onely let mee observe thus much from his proofes if the City can prove they have a power by Charter to choose their own chiefe Governour the Lord Major as I do not deny but they may yet ought they by that Charter and are bound when they doe choose to choose a Lord Major indeed and not a Sword-bearer in stead of a Lord Major I say they ought to choose themselves a Lord Major and therefore to grant him the power of a Lord Major to dispose of the Sword that is given him according to his best ability and understanding for the good of the City but not to choose him to bee no more then the City Sword-bearer to lay down his Sword in Common-Counsell when they list and not to take it up againe till they will give him leave as Mr. Bellamy would have it to bee although they should injoyn him to sit all day or all night hee being never so old weak and unable to sit or never so much tyred with impertinences and such frothy speeches as this is or though hee hath never so much necessary occasion to use the same Sword at the same time either in the Court of Aldermen the seat of Justice or else-where for the necessary good and safety of the City The next Priviledge of the City that hee goes about to prove is that they have also the power to make such Laws as shall bee for their own welfare and best accommodation And this hee proves by the Charter of Edward the third in the fifteenth year of his Reigne where indeed hee draws a knife to cut his own throat for I doe not know how hee could have pickt out any Charter which doth invest the Lord Major and Aldermen with a negative voyce and put the power of making Laws into their hands more then this Charter of Edward the third I will relate the Charter it self in Mr. Bellamies own words it runs thus Wee have granted further for us and our Heires and by this our present Charter confirmed to the Major and Aldermen of the City aforesaid That if any Customes in the said City hither to obtained and used bee in any part difficult or defective or any thing in the same newly happening where before there was no remedy ordained and have need of amending the same Major and Aldermen and their Successed with the assent of the Commonalty of the same City may adde 〈◊〉 ordaine a remedy meet faithfull and consonant to Reason for the common pr●s● of the Citizens of the same City as oft and at such time as to them shall bee thought expedient Wee will consider in this Charter but two things First to whom the Charter itselfe is confirmed Secondly how the power of this Charter must bee used First to whom it is confirmed it speaks plainly that it is granted to the Lord Major and Aldermen of the City without so much as naming any interest that the Commons have in the grant of it Whence I conclude that the Lord Major and Aldermen of the City of London were thought fit by the same King that granted this Charter to bee intrusted with the absolute power of the Charter to use it for the Cities Good even as Counsell is given to the Head to use for the benefit of the whole body Secondly Wee are to observe how the power of this Charter which is the power of making Laws must bee used Read the words of the Charter and they tell you thus The Lord Major Aldermen and their Successors have a power thereby given them to make or mend what Laws they see necessary with the assent of the Commoners From whence it will necessarily follow that the Active power of making Laws nay of proposing Laws otherwise then by way of Counsell rests wholly in the hands of the Lord Major and Aldermen and no more power is left in the Commoners but to assent or to dissent from those Laws that shall seem good to bee made by the Lord Major and Aldermen and by their assent to ratifie or by their dissent to hinder them So that now where lies the Negative voyce If the Commoners in regard of the greatnesse of their number shall out-vote the Lord Major and Aldermen which at all times they easily may and thereupon undertake to make or mend a Law then is the very Charter it self absolutely and apparently broken For it doth not say wee have granted to the Commons that by the consent of the greater part of the Common-Councell nor yet by the consent of the Lord Major and Aldermen much lesse without their consent that they to wit the Commoners shall have power to make or mend a Law But it faith wee have granted to the Lord Major and Aldermen to make the Law by consent of the Commoners So that it must needs follow that the Lord Major and Aldermen must either use their power to the making of a Law or else let the Commons consent what they will though they have a power to consent they have no power by consenting to make a Law And I would faine know whether that Law can bee said truely to bee made by the Lord Major Aldermen and their Successors which is onely carryed by the Plurality of the voyces of the Commoners and thereupon made though contrary to the consent of the Lord Major and Aldermen as Mr. Bellamy would have them to bee and I would fain know whether the proper meaning of this Charter must not needs bee thus that the Lord Major and Aldermen who being chosen by the City are intrusted with the care and charge of the welfare of the same shall have therefore power to make or mend Laws for the Cities good onely

judge it as thou find'st it I am not the City Advocate to plead their Rights rather their Champion to defend them from wrong I take not upon mee to argue their Cause but to answer Arguments already made against them Vnder that Notion consider mee compare mee and censure mee only shut not thy Eyes against any cleare light that shall appeare in mee since to bee wilfully ignorant ought to bee reckoned among sins of knowledge Farewell Bellamius Enervatus OR An Answer to a Plea for the Commonalty of LONDON And first to the Proem THe discontent that breeds in some kinde of spirits because they cannot doe what they would makes them next to doe they cannot tell what The occasion of this Mr. Bellamies speech first spoken since published to throw up all enclosures of Order in the City of London by shuffling the Cards and taking away all notes of distinction between the Head and Members thereof did not principally arise from any just claime that hee could make to the Priviledges which he pleades for but as himself confesseth hee was put upon this motion because hee had been crost by the Lord Major and Aldermen a little before in a former motion Hee tels you that upon the 16th of January last he made a motion that a certain obstruction in the Court of Common-Counsell might be removed which was caused by the Lord Majors using his Priviledge of taking up the Sword and so dissolving the Court for the present when hee saw good without their consents The redresse whereof hee tels you he prest with much earnestnesse and Prometheus-like stole fire from heaven to quicken this creature of his own making for he us'd the Arguments of the Lords and Commons in Parliament made to the King for the continuance of their sitting as long as they saw good in Parliament to the Lord Major for the continuance of his sitting as long as they saw good in Common-Counsell But this not taking such offect as hee hoped for was yet the Spur that prickt him forward upon another designe that since hee could not court them out of their Priviledges hee would labour to force them And * Read his own Proem at the latter end thereupon it was that he indevoured 1. By the Charters of the City 2. By Records witnessing their power in the practise of them 3. By Equity and Reason to extend the Commoners Rights a little further and since it could not bee yeelded that the Lord Major in Common-Counsell must sit still as long as they list they will now both make him sit when they list and which is worse Act what they list Throughout which passage give mee leave to make these Observations First what Equity there was in his first motion upon the sixteenth of January Secondly What were the Arguments that hee backt it with Thirdly What reason there was that upon the deniall of that first motion hee should now fall upon this For his first motion upon the sixteenth of Janary it first argues a great deale of weaknesse in the Lord Major that he doth not know when to sit still and when to rise for the Cities good unlesse Mr. Bellamy tell him Secondly it much asperseth the Lord Majors integrity that hee would not of himself sit as long to do the City or Kingdom service as Mr. Bellamy would have him Thirdly it wrests the Sword it self out of the Lord Majors hand it being given him to dispose according to Law in his own best judgement which notwithstanding must now during the time that a Common-Counsell will sit though it bee all day and all night and never so much occasion to use it in the City bee surrendred as it were into the hands of Mr. Bellamy till hee please that the Lord Major shall take it up againe As touching the Arguments brought by Mr. Bellamy to back this motion there are two things in them considerable 1. whos 's they are 2. what they are First Whose they are hee tels you they are the same which the Lords and Commons used to his Majesty for the continuance of this present Parliament all that is his in them is the Application to fit those Arguments which were made by them for the Kingdom to serve his turn for the City For Answer to which if I dare trust my memory I shall acquaint you with an old story of a certain Recorder of your own City who had a Malefactor indicted and convicted of murder before him the Malefactor was called Skillman the Recorder being somewhat facetious hearing such a name thus quibbled upon it Thy name saith hee to the Prisoner is Skillman take away S and it is Killman take away K and it is Illman thou hast an ill name which may half hang thee and an ill cause which will quite hang thee This sudden flash being favourably smiled upon by the Court a certain Magistrate of the Countrey took speciall notice of put it up in his table-Table-book and the next time hee sate upon the Bench made this use of it There was a malefactor brought before him and convicted for stealing a horse his name was Johnson Hee presently asks him his name the other answers his name was Johnson Johnson saith hee take away S and it is Killman take away K and it is Illman thou hast an ill name which may half hang thee and an ill cause which will quite hang thee If this were but a Fable the Morall is good I will make no other Application of it to Mr. Bellamy but thus to let him know that all Arguments will not serve at all turns nor is it any Plea for him that hee hath brought the Arguments of the Lords and Commons unlesse hee can make them as fit for himself as they made them for themselves and therefore we will look no further whose Arguments they are but wee will come in the next place to see what they are And here hee tels you the particulars which hee insisted upon were these three 1. the raising of Monies for the Kingdomes Cities occasions 2. The Repayment of those monies so raised by the Parliament Common-Counsell 3. The redresse of the grievances of the City Kingdome These three hee tels you the Common-Counsell cannot effect as they should doe without the power of continuing together till such time as these be throughly considered upon All which wee easily grant but would faine know how these Arguments back his Motion hee brings us Arguments to prove why the Common-Counsell should sit till the necessary businesse of the City bee effected and therefore makes a motion that they may sit as long as they themselves list whereby they doe not urge for a power to sit while the necessary businesse of the City is effected but while such trouble-Courts as himself shall please to tire out the Lord Major and Aldermen with as impertinent speeches as hee hath done here with one of almost an houre long to no purpose at all unlesse it bee to make divisions