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
A94429	To his Highness the Lord Protector, &c. and our general. The humble petition of several colonels of the army.	Saunders, Thomas, Colonel.; Okey, John, d. 1662.; Alured, Mathew.	1654 (1654)	Wing T1369A; Thomason 669.f.19[21]; ESTC R205535	4,759	1

War or Peace even this shall depend upon the will and pleasure of the single person for he sh●ll not only have a challenge of a share in the Legislative Power but an absolute Negative Voice to all Bills containing any thing in them contrary to the matters contained in the Government under which pretence a corrupted single Person may under a colour of Right prevent any Bill passing into a Law by averring that somthing therein is contraryto the Government But if See the Government Article 24. any Bill whatsoever pass into a Law without the single Persons consent it must be by the Parliaments Declaration against him that he is obstinate and will not consent to the Bill though he cannot satisfie them why he should not and how probable it is that the Parliament shall dare to declare in such manner against him that hath the Command of thirty thousand men obliged to him for their pay and preferment we conceive every considerate man may judg And besides how dangerous a clog this will be upon the Power of Parliaments when no Law can be made without the single Persons consent without hazard of a War by so declaring against him as must render him odious to the people which is not to be supposed will be born by him And how little less this is in effect then an absolute Negative Voice the opposing whereof in the late King cost so much blood is not hard to j●dg And if the single Person should attempt the highest Tyranny upon the People such is the Power vested in him and in such a manner that the Parliament cannot execute Justice upon him according to his Demerits unless it shall be supposed that contrary to nature he shall assent to have Justice done upon himself for the Parliament cannot by the Government make a Law to take away the Command of the Militia from the single Person without his own consent and how then can they proceed to higher Acts of Justice against him if cause be But indeed the Power vested in him renders him able to protect himself from Justice as the late King might have done speaking as men if he had See the Remonstrance of Novemb 1648. From S. Albons been guarded by a standing Army payed and preferred by him and the honest People without any formed Forces or Arms as now And this we conceive to be of perpetual prejudice to the Publike Interest for which we engaged For the power of punishment and the subjection of every person unto Justice is that essential part of Publike Interest which is the Fence and Guard of all the rest in the depraved estate of mankinde And in regard of our former asserting that Ancient Freedome of our Country that no moneys should be levied upon them but by Parliaments We sadly apprehend the evil See the Government Article 27. consequences that may ensue upon the Power of the said Protector and his Councel to levy upon the people so much moneys as will maintain a Fleet and an Army of 30000. men and 200000 l. per annum over and above that the way of levying the same must not be altered but by the consent of the succeeding Protectors Now having in our deepest thoughts conscientiously weighed the Premises calling to minde our former Declarations to the People with our Protestations and Appeals to God in our streights That we did in the integrity of our hearts seek only the security of the Publike Interest of Right and Freedome and not the advancement of our selves or any particular party or interest and considering that we have born up the Name of God in our Undertakings and have done all in his Name and finding in our apprehensions the Publike Interest of Right and Freedome so far from security that the first Foundations thereof are unsetled and the Gates are open that may lead us into endless troubles and hazards the Government not being clearly setled either upon the bottom of the Peoples Consent Trust or Contract nor a Right of Conquest the honest People of England not being conquered nor upon an immediate divine designation and our ears being filled daily with taunts reproaches and scandals upon ●he profession of honesty under colour that we have pretended the Freedomes of our Country and made large professions against seeking our private interests while we intended only to set up our selves These things thus meeting together do fill our hearts with trouble and sadness and make us cautious of taking upon our selves rashly any new Engagements although none shall more faithfully serve your Highness in all just designs then your Petitioners And we are hereby enforced to make this humble Address and to pray your Highness most serious thoughts of that high price of blood and treasure which the Commonwealth hath paid for it 's Right and Freedom which was naturally and morally due unto it before and of the accompt that must be given to the dreadful God for all the blood we have shed and that we can be deemed no better then Murderers if the integrity of our hearts in the prosecution of the just ends of the War do not render us justifiable therein and to the intent that the whole Publike Interest contended for may be certainly secured to the People and our Consciences discharged in that great duty That a full and trulyfree Parliament may without any imposition upon their Judgments and Consciences freely consider of those Fundamental Rights and Freedomes of the Commonwealth that were the first Subject of this great Contest which God hath decided on our side according as the same have been proposed to the late Parliament by the General Councel of the Army in the Agreement of the People which remains there upon Record That by the assistance and direction of God they may settle the Government of the Commonwealth and the wayes of Administration of Justice and secure our dearly-bought freedome of our Consciences persons and estates against all future attempts of tyranny and such a settlement will stand upon a Basis undoubtedly just by the Laws of God and man and therefore more likely to continue to us and our Posterities And in your Highness prosecution of these great ends of the expence of all the blood and treasure in these three Nations your Petitioners shall freely hazard their lives and estates in your just defence And shall ever pray c. THOMAS SAUNDERS JOHN OKEY MATTHEVV ALLURED This Petition was subscribed and owned by these three and had been by many more Colonels of the Army if the Lord Protector had not upon search of Col. Allureds Chamber taken it away and imprisoned him for two daies whereby any further Subscriptions were prevented

To his Highness the LORD PROTECTOR c. and our GENERAL The humble Petition of several Colonels of the Army SHEWETH THat as Members of the Army we have solemnly declared not without Appeals to God for our sincerity therein that we did engage in judgment and conscience for See the Decl. of June 14. 1647. the just Rights and Liberties of our Country and not as a Mercenary Army Yet our high estimation and tender regard of and great confidence in your Highness who hath engaged with us in the same Quarrel hath made us attend in silence your Councels and Determinations to the utmost extremity But finding you to have been of late upon transactions of highest moment whereupon the life or death of a good cause and the Publike Interest of the Commonwealth doth depend and that the price of our blood is brought to the utmost Crisis of danger we hold our selves obliged in conscience and duty to God our Country and your self to testifie to your Highness the integrity of our hearts in adhering to that old cause mentioned in our Publike Declarations and Engagements to the Parliament and People and humbly to minde your Highness of the Tyranny against which we engaged and of the Fundamental Rights and Freedomes we intended to redeem out of the Tyrants hands with the price of our blood And in this we shall confine our selves to that whereunto the whole Army by their General Councel agreed not only before but also after that high exemplary Justice done upon the late King for his Tyranny and Oppression And in order to bring him to Justice we then declared his Tyranny to consist in his opposition of the Supreme Trust of Parliaments concerning the Peoples safety in their See the Remonstrance from S. Albons Novem 16. 1648. p. 14 15 16 17 18 19. absolute command of the Militia when they judged it necessary and of their purses to raise moneys and of their Power to call all Officers of Justice and Ministers of State to accompt he pretending that none of these Powers might be exercised without him and that the Peoples chosen Trustees in Parliament could not provide for the peoples safety and welfare but at and according to his pleasure and that whatsoever he did either with the Militia which he challenged or whatsoever mischiefs against the people neither Parliaments or any Power on earth could call to an accompt attach or meddle with his Sacred Person And we then also declared that the Publike Interest of Right and Freedome originally contended for by us were constant successive Parliaments to be freely and equally P. 14 19. chosen by the People as their Representors for all matters of Supreme Trust and concernment both for safety and welfare and that those Parliaments should have the Supreme Power and Trust in all civil things whatsoever in making Laws Constitutions and Offices and removing of any publike grievances and in giving final judgment concerning War or Peace and the whole safety and welfare of the People And that nothing should be imposed upon or taken from the People but by their Parliaments and if any attempts be made otherwise that the People should not See p. 8. be bound thereby but free And that no person whatsoever should be exempt from accompt unto or punishment by the Peoples Parliaments That principle of the Kings unaccomptableness being the grand root of Tyranny and declared by us to be begotten by the blasphemous arrogancy of Tyrants upon their servile Parasites Now our Consciences bearing us witness that we have dipt our hands in blood in this cause and that the blood of many thousands hath been therein shed by our means we tremble and fear before the Lord in the sence of that accompt we must render for all that precious blood if we should by silence give away the freedome purchased for our Country at so dear a rate or be instruments to subject the people unto the same or the like kinde of thraldome from which God hath delivered then by so many signal providences little less then Miracles We having therefore seriously and sadly considered the present great transactions and the Government in the settlement whereof our assistance is required and are pressed in our Consciences to declare to your Highness in all humbleness and soberness of minde that we sadly resent the dangerous consequences of establishing that Supreme Trust of the Militia at least for the space of two years and an ha●f of every three years in a single Person and a Councel of his own whom he may controul by a Negative voice at his pleasure And also that during the Session of Parliaments the single Persons interest therein shall be paramount to the interest of Parliaments and this Power to be over such a Militia as the late King durst not claim that is to say A standing Army which may in a short tract of time by the policy of any Single Person that shall succeed be made wholly Mercenary and be made use of to destroy at his pleasure the being of Parliaments and render all the blood and treasure expended in this cause not only fruitless but us and our Posterities under an absolute Tyranny and Vassallage both in our consciences persons and estates the danger being beyond comparison higher if any such single person be corrupt then it could have been to have allowed the late Kings Claim to that Aneient Militia which was to command the Country to Array the Arms being in the Countryes own custody and themselves or men of their own chusing to bear them who had no particular interest to oblige them to obey any of the Kings illegal commands against themselves and their Country whereas a standing Army under a single person which in time cannot rationally be supposed to be otherwise then Mercenary will have an interest of subsistance and preferment in opposition to the Commonwealths Interest to oblige them to his commands And many late examples have evidenced to the whole world That such a commander of the Militia will at his pleasure be Master of all Parliaments Freedomes and resolutions and of all our Birth-Rights now purchased by our blood especially considering that according to that which is imposed upon the present Parliament no Parliaments shall ever dare to propose any thing against a single persons Command of the Militia if he should refuse during their Session to dispose the same as they shall advise So that whatsoever provisions are seemingly made either for just liberty of conscience or for securing the property of our persons or estates they are all made void secretly in this and subjected only to the mercy and will of any succeeding single person whose heart may be corrupted with ambition covetousness lust pride or desire of Domination And upon the same accompt we are sensible that the next greatest Part of the Publike Interest engaged for which is the Legislative Power in Parliaments to make or repeal Lawes constitute Offices and to make