Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	authority_n	king_n	parliament_n	1,836	5	6.6012	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26019	Reasons against agreement with a late printed paper, intituled, Foundations of freedome, or, The agreement of the people vvhereby it doth appear, that the particulars proposed in the said paper are not foundations of freedome, but of tyrannie and slaverie to the people, being destructive to religion, laws, liberty, and government, against our Covenant and protestations, and very dangerous and unsafe for the kingdom / by William Ashhurst ...	Ashhurst, William, 1617-1680.	1648 (1648)	Wing A3977; ESTC R16829	11,283	16

Judges is not the Reason as good and much more strong that those multitudes who cannot be judged may erre and do evill by how much they are Acted by fancy and as they are possessed by others And according to their sudden and present Apprehensions rather then by principles Reason or Judgement neither are they bound by those Considerable Interests to seek the good and tranquilitie of the Kingdom that usually those have who are called to be Judges and especially they are not so obliged in duty to God because the Magistrates are called by God to be Judges therefore they must judge righteously as they will answer it to him upon highest penaltie The losse of their souls I might further shew that by the Morall Law the Law of nature and the positive Laws of God Judgement doth wholly rest in the Magistrate But this point being only for the more abundant clearing yet not of absolute necessity to this Reason I will insist no further upon it there being enough to demonstrate That if no man ought to be punisht for opposing any Law or Order of this Representative if they break this Agreement and that every man may be his own Judge whether they have broken this Agreement or no then although there may be a colour yet there is really no Authority in this Representative And if not in this which is to be made the Supream then much lesse have any inferiour Judicatories that shall act under them and so that great Ordinance of God Magistracy whereby he preserves humane society shall be taken out of this Kingdom Reason 9 Because this Paper allows a Toleration of Popery only with a restriction to the Magistrate that he shall not instruct or direct it publikely But both he and all the people that will may professe and practise it in their houses which is a large step to introduce the publike profession of it especially seeing that by gaining thus much this just plea will lie for the freedome of it That there is no reason to except Popery when those that are guilty of Atheisme the denyers of God or any Person in the Trinity The greatest blasphemers and cursers of God with those that professe any heresie or errour have their liberty and are not excepted and therefore by these principles in Justice Popery must likewise go out free although it may be judged no policy to speak it out at this time When I consider this together with the other parts of this Paper which only tends to divide those who have adhered to the Parliament and Kingdome in this cause and see what care is taken to the end we might be the better destroyed that nothing be proposed which might divide the common Enemy amongst themselves but they must remain intire and united which I did intend for a distinct Reason against the Paper This is a plain discovery to me that the whole was made and contrived by some Jesuite with the advice of some of the Kings old Counsellors although it is possible that some honest men may be coosened into the acting of it for them But to return to the point Here we have a Magistrate that hath neither compulsive nor restrictive power in matters of Religion but both he and the people are freely left to be of any Religion that they please or of no Religion if they please yet the Magistrate if it stand with his discretion shall have a Toleration to instruct and direct in a publike way all that will be instructed and directed by him for all are left to their liberty in matters of Faith Worship or Discipline whereby he is at liberty to instruct according to truth or in an error so that for the present it be not Popery yet in truth the best contrivance to build up Popery at last upon the ruines of Religion by Atheism and prophanenesse which the more it is considered the more it will be abhorred by all honest and godly men in the Kingdome If I had more patience I might say much more upon this Reason but I think this is enough Reason 10 Because it will leave Ireland to the Rebls and the Protestant party and Forces there to misery and ruine not only by our distractions but because the managing of the War of Ireland is in this Parliament wherein the new Representative will have no Authoritie Reason 11 Because it tends to divide us from Scotland the particulars held forth in this Agreement being directly contrary to the declared principles both of that State and Church and destructive to all the faithfull in that Kingdom both Ministers and people that have adhered to us in this Cause Reason 12 Because it destroies the Cause for which we have fought wherein so many Noble and Gallant Gentlemen and others have not only hazarded but lost their lives The quarrell first beginning upon the Kings imposing on the Power and Priviledges of Parliament and interrupting their proceedings Afterwards those that joined with the King in this Warre although it was so foul an act destructive to the Liberties of the Kingdome that they professed the contrary yet it was apparent that they did fight to destroy this Parliament Therefore to join with others to take away this Parliament by a forcible Agreement is to do the enemies work and give them the Cause And is against the great Trust which hath been and is given by the Parliament to all the Souldiers that have had or have Commissions from them wherein they are specially intrusted to fight for The preservation of this Parliament And when all Souldiers do well consider that without the Authority of this Parliament their taking up Arms were Treason and their killing of men were murther and that it is the Authority by which they have endemnity and present pay and security for their Arrears and that as the change of Authority would make many questions in other things so would it do in these It being also evident that as the Parliament cannot well be without their Forces so they cannot be without the Parliaments Authority Upon all these considerations the Souldiers have reason to be against this Paper which proposeth by Agreement to take away the Cause they have fought for Reason 13 Because although there were a quiet possession of all that is desired in this Paper yet it were not like to stand long the interests of all that are most considerable obliging them to be against the keeping of this Agreement For instance In reason all Kings will be against it for they and their Heirs and Successors are utterly excluded out of this Government The Peers will be against it there being likewise an exclusion of the House of Peers The Souldiers will be against it because it offers forcibly to take away the Parliament they have fought for whose Authoritie gave them a being as Souldiers and under whose Authoritie they act The Magistrates or people of that quality capeable of government will be against it because it leaves at the best

but the colour of a Magistrate with no power but such as is alterable and revokeable at the pleasure of any multitude The faithfull and conscientious Ministers will be against it for as it gives them no protection countenance incouragement or assistance by the Magistrate so it leaves all their people to the practise and profession of Blasphemy Atheisme Heresie Errour and prophanenesse without controll And it is like that most of the Religious and discreet people will be against it because it neither provides for increase of piety nor give security for the injoyment of Liberty or Property nor hopes of Union which might bring a settlement and peace And what sorts of people are left whose interest it would be to preserve this Agreement I leave any one to consider whether they will not be only such who because they cannot bring themselves within the protection of the Laws establisht and present Government will possibly sign this Agreement that so they may bring the Law and Government to their wils and corrupt interests for so indeed they do that subscribe this Agreement No obedience being to be given to this Representative but in their keeping this Agreement and there being no other Judges thereof but the Subscribers who in the result of all have the Law in their own wils Upon all which grounds there is no hope that this Agreement if it were made as is desired would either preserve it self or that any who were most considerable could be obliged to keep it so as nothing could be expected from it but to be a foundation for new confusion I will close these Reasons with this profession That I am far from arguing that this Parliament should not in this manner be taken away out of any base or low end that I might still continue a Member of it for I dare and do appeal to God who is the searcher of all hearts that I know no outward thing to befall me that I should account my self more happy in then to be legally discharged from that Service But in this way to tear up the very foundations of all Government and to rear up so miserable a thing in the room It behooves every true hearted Englishman that sees it to be sensible not for his own but for the Kingdoms sake and that really set me on work at this time I shall now onely adde some short generall observations upon severall particulars I finde at the end of this Paper prepared already for this new Representative wherein are desires to this purpose That no mans life be taken away but for Murther That no man be Imprisoned for Debt That no Tythes be paid That there be no restriction which is no Regulation of Trade That there be no Lawyers nor Law but new Rules in English to be made by the new Representative And twelve men in every Hundred to be Judges of all causes who are likewise intended to supply the Offices of all Mayors Sheriffes Justices of Peace Deputies c. These are the desires of them who labour for a new Representative instead of Parliaments And it seems they hope to choose such a Representative as will grant them all Indeed if these must be had I agree there is a necessity by some means or other to take away this Parliament for I beleeve that they would never grant such things as the making of Laws in the favour of Treasons Burglaries Felonies Sodemy Buggery Rapes and such like abominations from which the punishments of death is by these men desired to be taken off especially considering that the many good Laws which have been made under highest penalties as now they stand do not hinder nor deterre men from those foule offences which are daily and frequently committed in all parts of the Kingdom and therefore there rather appears need of stricter provision against them But when the new Representative shall take these things into consideration they may finde that there will be no need to take away any penalties from Malefactor by a Law to keep them from Justice if they do but grant the Hundred Courts as is desired who can but sit seldome and thereupon all Mayors Sheriffes Justices or Peace c. who are Officers ever ready and by whose Authority the Malefactors are apprehended examined committed and brought to Justice being taken away the Offendors are like to go free without any such Law Especially when these Hundred Courts act the parts not onely of all the Lawyers but of all the Judges in the Kingdome And all this Justice to be done and lye in the brests of twelve men in every Hundred who may be chosen of men that can neither write reade nor have any Estates responsable if they should be found guilty of Briberie or any other high misdemeanors by this means we are like to have Justice at all adventure be it right or wrong If I should go over the rest of the afore-mentioned particulars I should not keep my word for there is so much to be said against every of them that I could not be short nor is it very necessary to be done for in the bare reading of them it doth too much appear that they are working to a universall Licentiousnesse as well in the Civil State as in matters of Religion by which liberty all truth and every mans property with the Government which is the band of humane society will be destroied I had thought to have closed here but I cannot conclude without a word upon that particular proposed that no Tythes be paied because I beleeve that taking away the Ministers of the Gospel with their maintenance lies at the bottome of it I say so upon this ground Because I did yet never speak with any man who was for the taking away Tythes from Ministers without as good maintenance first provided in a-setled and certain way which I could never yet hear propounded but he was for the taking away the Ministers themselves and therefore they will not allow that the Ministery is an office ordained by God although nothing be more clear in his Word but call them State Ministers or as this Paper publick Ministers as though they were onely by some politique or civill constitution and might be taken away at pleasure then which nothing can be more contrary to the truth neither is it onely clear that there are those in the Church of Christ whose office it is to be Ministers of the Gospel but likewise that by an Ordinance of Christ They that preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel And however it be of a Divine right that Ministers should have a maintenance yet the proportion distribution use and enjoiment of it is from and by a civill right whereupon they hold and possesse their Tythes by the Laws of the Kingdome and have as legall a Freehold in their Tythes as any man hath to his Land And the Law doth provide full as good a remedy to the Minister for recovering his right of the Tythes