Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	act_n	law_n	parliament_n	2,185	5	6.6353	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A87147	The royall quarrell, or Englands lawes and liberties vindicated, and mantained, against the tyrannicall usurpations of the Lords. By that faithfull patriot of his country Sr. John Maynard, a late member of the House of Commons, but now prerogative prisoner in the Tower of London. Being a legall justification of him, and all those other Lords and aldermen, unjustly imprisoned under pretence of treason, and other misdemeanours; the proceedings against them being illegall, and absolutely destructive to Magna Charta, and the petition of right. Also his protest against the Lords jurisdiction over him, and his appeale unto the Common Law, for tryall, proved both reasonable, and legall. / By Sirrahnio, an utter enemy to tyrannie and injustice.	Harris, John, fl. 1647.	1648 (1648)	Wing H861; Thomason E426_11; ESTC R204576	14,368	16

estate or condition he be should be put out of his Land or Tenements nor taken nor imprisoned nor disherited nor put to death without being brought to answer by due processe of Law And in the five and twentieth yeare of Edward the third it was enacted That no man should be before-judged of life or Limbe against the forme of the great Charter and the law of the Land c. And by the great Charter and other the Lawes and Statutes of this Realme No man ought to be adjudged to death but by the lawes established in this Realme viz. either by the customes of the same Realme or by acts of Parliament And the Stattut of the 42. Ed 3. Chap 3 saith thus It s assented ●nd accorded for the good governance of the Commons that no man be put to answer without presentment before justices or matter of Record or by due processe or writt originall according to the old law of the Land And the Statut of 25 Ed saith That no man shall be taken by Petition or suggestion made to the King or his Councell unlesse it be by indictment or presentment of his good and Lawfull people of the same neighbour hood where such deeds be done in due manner or by processe made by writt originall at the Common Law see the Statute of 37 of Ed 3. c. And the Stattute of the 1 and 2 of Philip and Mary Chap. 10. expresl● saith That all treasons shall be tryed according to the course of the Common Law And ●y ●he Statute of the first of Ed 6. C. 12. and 5 and 6 of Ed 6. C. 11. It is enacted that no man shall be accused and adjudged for treason without the testimony of two sufficient witnesses according to the forme of the Law All which Lawes and customes are claimed and challenged as the Englishmans inheritance by the Parliament held in the 3-yeare of our present King in the Petition of Right See F●… P●…s collections printed cum privilegio 1640. pag 1431 1432 1433 1434. Now let us examine whether our Grandees have made good their late resolutions of ●●● fifteen The Law saith no man shall be taken by Petition or suggestion made to the King or his Councell and the Parliament calls ●hemselves the Kings grand Councell And yet L Col. Lilburne and Mr. Wildman upon the single information of Mr. Mastersons have since been committed one to the Tower the other to the Fleet and no legall crime laid to their charge nor no witnesses appearing or being examined whereby the least coulourable crime could be made out against them 2. The Law saith no man shall be adjudged or condemned or otherwise destroyed but by judgement of his Peers or the Law of the Land nor no man shall be put to death without being brought to answer by due processe of Law and further No man ought to be adjudged to death but by the lawes established in this Realme viz. either by the customes of the said Realme or by act of Parliament c. But contrary to these Lawes they haue imprisoned Sr. Iohn Maynard a Member of the House of Commons and detained him in Prison twenty weeks without shewing any cause more then their will and pleasure and also contrary to Law and equity have transferred him up to the Lords to be tryed for his life giving and acknowledging the Lords a ju●risdiction over the Lives and estates of Commoners notwithstanding that by the Great Charter it is provided that no Commoner shall be adjudged for life or limbe any otherwise then by the judgement of his Peers or equals viz. men of his owne condi●ion Now that you may clearely understand the state of Sr. Iohn Maynards case in relation to his commitment and contest with the Lords I will in every particular give you an account according to that certaine information which I have received together with my own knowledge being an observer of most passages therein But first-be pleased to take notice That Sr. Iohn Maynard was one of the eleven Members which was accused by the Army and the very gentleman against whom L. G. Crumwell confessed at Colbrook that they had nothing but only desired that he might be put in among the rest because he was a busie man against him and his friends and of this both my selfe and many more are witnesses 2ly Take notice that though the greatest number of the eleven impeached members had liberty to travell yet he was commanded to be taken into custody during pleasure and it pleased them to keep him prisoner twenty weeks without shewing any cause but after that they had brought their designes about and got the strength of the City into their hands then they cast about how to make him an example of their fury Iustice I cannot call it to affright the Citizens and finding that by no legall course this could be effected they combined together to frame Articles of impeachment against him and transferred him to the House of Lords to try him by Ordinance hoping that Sr. Iohn would have submitted to the Lords jurisdiction over him a Commoner and yeelded to their judgement which if they could have effected doubtlesse such is the malice of his implacable enemy L. G. Crumwell should have been death that so he might have been made a President for such proceedings by Ordinance against the Lives of men and then by the very same rule L. Col. Lilburne Mr. John Wildman or any other whatsoever that shall appeare an enemy to their tiranny or injustice might in the same manner have been accused by the Commons and adjudged by the Lords who are parties in tyranny and injustice and by this meanes no man be left free but all men be made vassals to the corrupt wills of knaves and Persidious Parasites 2ly But to come close to the matter There hath been and at this time is three parties in the House of Commons first a Royall party 2. A Reall party 3. An hypocriticall party or if you please thus a Party for the King a party for the Scotch Presbytery and a party for party Royall partly reall Independency For the Royall or Kingly party they have been crushed by the power and prevalency of the two other parties and those that have remained have been forced to shrowd themselves under the maske of Presbyteratus though Royall not reall ones For the second though it is to be feared there were too few Reall Presbyters namely men meerely godly and conscientious and that sought the good of their Country yet by the assistance of those seeming Friends the Royall Presbyters they were enabled to hold the third party to hard meat and maugre all the secret machinations of their opposers did with a high hand keep up their owne interest which the Royall Independent party grieving at and repining at subtilly closing with those reall Independent Members and secretly infusing Principles of dislike unto the deportment of that party into them they never left insinuating till they

for any crime whatsoever that can be laid unto my charge any other way then by the declared and expressed rules of the known and established Laws of the land as is undeniably evident by the expresse words of the Petition of Right which being an English man I Challenge as my Birth Right and inheritance and I rather presume to make this addresse unto this Honourable House because I find upon Record that in the case of Sir Simon De Berisford this Honourable House have engaged never to iudge a Commoner againe because it s against the Law of the Land he not being their Peer or Equall This I humbly leave to the consideration of this Honourable House and take leave to rest Tower February 4. 1647. Your Lordships most humble Servant Iohn Maynard Notwithstanding which letter it appeares the Lords thought Sir John Maynard had but jested when indeed he was in good earnest and being called into the House desired that forasmuch as the Lords assumed to themselves the title of the supream judicature and so ought to be an example unto all other Courts and forasmuch as all other Courts did sit open for all to heare and see that therefore the doores might be opened there being a Lady and Gentlewomen his wife and children and many other worthy Gentlemen at the doore which desired to hear what he had done or for what he was in such a manner accused and proceeded against or words to that purpose To whom answer was returned that it had not been the custome of that House to open the doores since this Parliament to whom Sir John replyed That he was sorry their Lordships had forgot their own honour so much and not observed the custome of their predecessors * See Sir Edw. Cooks 2. part inst which is published for good Law to the whole kingdome by the speciall authority of the present House of Commons Who in his exposition of the first cha of the Statute of Marlebridge fol. 103 ●04 expresly saith That all causes ought to be heard ordered and determined before the Iudges of the Kings Courts openly in the Kings Courts whether all persons may resort And in no Chambers or other private places for the Iudges are not Iudges of Chambers but of Courts and therefore in open Court c. informer Parliaments And he further said my Lords here are many antient and honourable families whom both for former relation and their own vertues I highly honour and it s my grief of heart to heare what the people report concerning you they say my Lords that you act like a Councell Table or High Commission therefore I beseech your Lordships as you tender your own honour let the doores be open●ed and doe not give me cause to wish for the Councell Table againe rather then to see you make good the sayings of the people by such proceedings against me After some other words they commanded him to kneele and heare his charge which he refused and told them that would argue delinquency neither could he receive any charge from them for severall reasons which was contained in a paper which he desired might be read but they refused and commanded him to withdraw which being done after some debate they fined him 500 l. for refusing to kneele at their barre and immediately they called him in and told him that they had fined him and that he must kneele down and heare his charge to which he answered That he did so highly honour their Lordships that he would fall prostrate on his face and let them tread on him Then they told him he must kneele he answered them that he had a very prostrate soule and he would kneele to pray for them that their honours might be preserved and that iustice might run from them as a streame c. which having said he againe rose and came toward the doore offering to take leave of their Lordships but they told him he must heare his charge and commanded it to be read which was done accordingly but when the Cleark began to read Articles Sir John enterrupted him and said my Lords the very first word destroyes all that you have to doe there is the very heigth of illegallity in that word Articles for my Lords there is but two legall wayes to try a man for his life viz. either by Bill of Attainder or Indictment but because the summe of what he spake in relation to that point is contained in his Protest which he left in the House I shall omit that and give you the copie of it verbatum The Plea and Protest of Sir John Maynard Knight of the Bath and a late Member of the Honourable House of Commons delivered by him at the Lords Barre February 5. 1647. THe life of a freeborne man of this Kingdome is not to be tryed but by Bill of Attainder and not to be condemned but either by Act of Parliament upon the said Bill or by the way of an Indictment at the Common law Articles are no Bill for Attainder for a Bill of Attainder must passe both Houses and cannot become an Act of Parliament without the Kings assent By an Ordinance of the 15. of Ianuary last both Houses have resolved and declared to the Kingdome that they will make no further addresses or applycation to the King And therefore sit hence there can be no proceeding by Bill of Attainder to bring on an Act of Parliament I doe pray the benefit of the law of the land the enioyment whereof is declared by the said resolution of the 15. of Ianuary to all the people of this Kingdome Febru 5. 1647 Iohn Maynard After they had locked him into their House and forced him though at their doore to stand till they had read his charge though by him many times interrupted and asking whether they were reading a charge against the Earle of Pembroke which he said was an honest Gentleman and as innocent as he was he was perswaded and answer being returned by the Lievtenant of the Tower that it was a charge against Sir Iohn Maynard he publiquely speake unto them That he neither heard nor took notice of what they did nor said and for his part he protested against all their proceedings as altogether against Magna Charta and the Petition of Right and that he wish't now for the Councell Table againe rather then such proceedings So having made an end of reading his Charge they dismissed him and sent him to the Tower as their prisoner and ordered him fourteen dayes hence to be brought before them againe but to what end no body knowes for let them bee assured they shall never be able with their twenty thousand men to keep up their pretended jurisdiction over Commoners and thereby destroy all our antient lawes and liberties for certainly if we would not be subiect to the unlimited power of the King who was their Creator we will never submit unto six or seaven Lords who are but his Creatures And now having given