Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A Word B Word C Word D Occurrence Frequency Band MI MI Band Prominent
cause_n call_v great_a time_n 3,256 5 3.2291 3 true
View all documents for the selected quad

Text snippets containing the quad

ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A88244 Regall tyrannie discovered: or, A discourse, shewing that all lawfull (approbational) instituted power by God amongst men, is by common agreement, and mutual consent. Which power (in the hands of whomsoever) ought alwayes to be exercised for the good, benefit, and welfare of the trusters, and never ought other wise to be administered: ... In which is also punctually declared, the tyrannie of the kings of England, from the dayes of William the invader and robber, and tyrant, alias the Conqueror, to this present King Charles, ... Out of which is drawn a discourse, occasioned by the tyrannie and injustice inflicted by the Lords, upon that stout-faithful-lover of his country, and constant sufferer for the liberties thereof, Lieut. Col. John Lilburn, now prisoner in the Tower. In which these 4. following positions are punctually handled ... Vnto which is annexed a little touch, upon some palbable miscarriages, of some rotten members of the House of Commons: which house, is the absolute sole lawmaking, and law-binding interest of England. Lilburne, John, 1614?-1657. 1647 (1647) Wing L2172; Thomason E370_12; ESTC R201291 90,580 119

There are 5 snippets containing the selected quad. | View lemmatised text

Ambassage the most and impious that ●ver was sent by any Christian Prince unto Maramumalim the Mo●●● intituled The great King of Africa c. Wherein he offered to render u●to him his Kingdome and to hold the same by tribu●● from him as his Soveraign Lord to forgoe the Christian faith which he held va●● and receive that of Mahomet But leaving him and his people together by the cares striving with him for their ●●●r●es and freedomes a● justly they might which at last brought in the French amongst them to the almost utter ruine and destruction of the whole Kingdome and at last he was poysoned by a Monk It was this King or Tyrant that enabled the Citizens of London to make their Annuall choyce of a Mayor and two Seriffes Martaine 59. The Kingdome being all in broyles by the French who were called in to the aid of the Barons against him and having got footing plot and endevour utterly to extinguish the English Nation The States at Gl●cester in a great Assembly caused Henry the third his sonne to be Crowned who walked in his Fathers steps in subverting the peoples Liberties and Freedomes who had so freely chosen him and expelled the French yet was hee so led and swayed by evill Councellors putting out the Natives out of all the chief places of the Kingdome and preferred strangers only in their places Which doings made many of the Nobility saith Daniel folio 154. combine themselves for the defence of the publick according to the law of Nature and Reason and boldly doe shew the King his error and ill-advised course in suffering strangers about him to the disgrace and oppression of his naturall liege people contrary to their Lawes and Liberties and that unlesse he would reforme this excesse whereby his Crown and Kingdome was in imminent danger they would withdraw themselves from his Councell Hereupon the King suddenly sends over for whole Legions of Poictonions and withall summons a Parliament at Oxford whither the Lords refuse to come And after this the Lords were summonedto a Parliament at Westminster whither likewise they refused to come unlesse the King would remove the Bishop of Winchester and the Poictonians from the Court otherwise by the common Counsell of the Kingdom they send him expresse word They would expell him and his evill Councellors out of the land and deale for the creation of a new King Fifty and six yeares this King reigned in a manner in his Fathers steps for many a bloody battell was fought betwixt him and his people for their Liberties and Freedomes and his sonne Prince Edward travelled to the warres in Africa The State after his Fathers death in his absence assembles at the New Temple and Proclaim him King And having been six yeares absent in the the third yeare of his reigne comes home and being full of action in warres occasioned many and g●eat Levies of money from his people yet the most of them was given by common consent in Parliament and having been three years out absent of the Kingdom he comes home in the 16. year of his reign And generall complaints being made unto him of ill administration of justice in his absence And that his Judges like so many Jewes had eaten his people to the bones ruinated them with delays in their suits and enriched themselves with wicked corruption too comon a practice amongst that generation he put all those from their Offices who were found guilty and those were almost all and punished them otherwise in a grievous manner being first in open Parliament convicted See Speed folio 635. And saith Daniel folio 189. The fines which these wicked corrupt Judges brought into the Kings Coffers were above one hundred thousand marks which at the rate as money goes now amounts to above three hundred thousand Markes by meanes of which he filled his empty coffers which was no small cause that made him fall upon them In the mean time these were true branches of so corrupt a root as they flowed from namely the Norman Tyrant And in the 25. yeare of his reigne he calles a Parliament without admission of any Church-man he requires certain of the great Lords to goe into the warres of Gascoyne but they all making their excuses every man for himselfe The King in great anger threatned that they should either goe or he would give their Lands to those that should Whereupon Humphry Bohun Earle of Hereford High Constable and Roger Bigod Earle of Norfolk Marshall of England made their Declaration That if the King went in person they would attend him otherwise not Which answer more offends And being urged again the Earle Marshall protested He would willingly go thither with the King and march before him in the Vantguard as by his right of inheritance he ought to doe But the King told him plainly he should goe with any other although himself went not in person I am not so bound said the Earle neither will I take that journey without you The King swore by God Sir Earle you shall goe or hang. And I sweare by the same oath I will neither goe nor hang said the Earle And so without leave departed Shortly after the two Earles assembled many Noblemen and others their friends to the number of thirty Baronets so that they were fifteen hundred men at Arms well appointed and stood upon their own guard The King having at that time many Irons in the fire of very great consequence judged it not fit to meddle with them but prepares to go beyond the Seas and oppose the King of France and being ready to take ship the Archbishops Bishops Earles and Barons and the Commons send him in a Roll of the generall grievances of his Subjects concerning his Taxes Subsidies and other Impositions with his seeking to force their services by unlawfull courses c. The King sends answer that he could not alter any thing without the advice of his Councell which were not now with them and therefore required them seeing they would not attend him in this journey which they absolutely refused to doe though he went in person unlesse he had gone into Fra●c● or Scotland that they would yet do nothing in his absence prejudici●●l to the peace of the Kingdom And that upon his return he would set all things in good order as should be fit And although he sayled away with 500. sayle of ships and 18000. men at Armes yet he was crossed in his undertakings which forced him as Daniel saith to send over for●more supply of treasure and gave order for a Parliament to be held at York by the Prince and such as had the managing of the State in his absence wherein for that he would not be disappointed he condescends to all such Articles as were demanded concerning the Great Charter promising from thence-forth never to charge his Subjects otherwise then by their consents in Parliament c. which at large you may reade in the Book of Statutes for which the Commons of
your perill and see that you ha●e there this Writ Witnesse Edw Cook 20. Nov. and the Tenth Yeare of Our Raign This is the usuall forme of the Writ of Habeas Corpus in the Kings-Bench vide Mich. 5. Edw. 4. Rot. 143. Coram Rege Kesars Case under the Test of Sir John Markeham REX Vicecom London salutem Praecipimus vobis quod habeatis Coram Justiciariis nostris apud Westm ' Die Jovis prox post In the common pleas for any man priviledged in that Court the like in the Exchequer quinque Septiman Pasche corpus A.B. quocunque nomine censeatur in prisona vestra sub custodia vestra detent ut dicitur una cum die causa captionis detentionis ejusdam ut iidem Justiciar nostri visa causa illa ulterius fieri fac quod de jure secundum legem cons●etudinem Regni nostri Angliae for et faciend habeatis ibi ●oc breve Test c. THE King to the Sheriffes of London greeting We command you that you have before Our Justices at Westminster upon Thursday next five weekes after Easter the Body of A. B. by what Name soever he be called being detained in your Prison under your custody togetherwith the day and cause of his Caption to the end that Our said Justices having seen the cause may further doe that which of right and according to the Law and Custome of Our Realm of England ought to have done or have there this Writ Witnesse c. The like Writ is to be granted out of the Chancery either in the time of the Term as in the Kings Dench or in the vacation for the Court of Chancery is offici●● just●●ia and is ever 〈◊〉 and never adjourned so as the subject being wrongfully imprisoned may have Justice for the liberty of his person as well in the Vacation-time as in the Terme By these Writs it manifestly appeareth that no man ought to be imprisoned but for some certain cause and these words Ad subjiciend re●ipiend c. prove that cause must be shewed for otherwise how can the Court take order therein according to Law And this is agreeable with that which is said in Holy Histd●y sine ratione ●ihi videtur mittere vinctum in carcerim cau as ●jus non signifit 〈◊〉 But since we wrote these things passed over too many other Acts of Parliament see now the Petition of Right Anno tertio Caroli Regis resolved in full Parliament by the King the Lords Spirituall and Temporall and the Commons which hath made an end of this question if any were Imprisonment doth not only extend to 〈◊〉 imprisonment and unjust but for detaining of the prisoner longer then hee ought where hee was at the first lawfully imprisoned If the Kings 〈◊〉 come to the 〈◊〉 deliver to the prisoner If he detain him this detaining is an imprisonment against the law of the land c. But look upon 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Warrant● 〈…〉 committed and 〈◊〉 committed 〈…〉 and you 〈◊〉 not find one legall one amongst them all Now for the second thing before spoken of in the manner of his tryall which is That it ought by Law to have b● publike in the presence of all that had a mind to have heard it 〈◊〉 any restraint of any This I find to be claimed by Mr. Pryn at the tryall of Colonell Nat. Fines in the 11. page of his relation thereof which he desired That they might have a publike hearing and that the do●e might be set open and none excluded that would come in the which he saith ●e desired the rather because the Parliament the representative Body of the Kingdome had ordered a fair and equall tryall which he conceived as he told the Councell of Warre was to be a free and open one agreeable as he saith to the proceedings of Parliament and all other Courts of Justice in the Realm which stand open to all and from whence no Auditors are or ought to be excluded To which Mr. Dorisla answered that it was against the stile conrse of a Court-Marshall to be publike and open and therefore it might not be admitted upon any tearmes Unto which Mr. Will. Pryn replyed that hee was a common-Lawyer and by his profession his late Protestation and Covenant bound to maintain the fundamental laws of the kingdome and liberty of the Subject which he told the Councell of Warr they themselves had taken vp Armes c. to defend and maintain And saith he by the Lawes and Statutes of the Realm all Courts of Justice ever have been are and ought to be held openly and publikely not close like a Cabinet-Councell Witnesse all Courts of Justice at Westminster and else-where yea all our Assizes Sessions wherein men though indicted but for a private Fellony Murder or trespasse have alwayes open tryals He goes on and in the 12. page thereof tells him that not only Courts of common-Law but the Admiralty and all other Courts proceeding by the Rules of either of the civill or canon-Law the proceedings have ever been publike and the Courts open and even in 〈◊〉 proceedings by Martiall Law before a Conncell of Warre at the G●●●d-Hall of London at the tryall of Mr. Tompkin● 〈◊〉 and others it was publike and open in 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of Parliament and the whole City no come●s 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And he positively tels the Councell of Warre a little further that it was both against the laws and subjects liberty as he humbly conceived to deny any prosecutor o● subject an open tryall And he gives divers reasons there for it he goes on and in the 13. page saith That the Parliament when it sits as a Conncell to consult debate or deliberate of the great and weighty affaires of the Kingdome is alwayes private and none but the Members or Officers of either House admitted to their consultations and debates But saith he as the Parliament is a Court of Justice to punish Malefactors so the proceedings of both or either House are alwayes publike as appears by the late Tryall of the Earle of Strafford in Westminster-Hall and infinite other presidents of antient and present time To which I may adde the Tryall of William Laud late Archbishop of Canterbury And this practice is suitable to what we read in Scripture that among the Iewes the Iudges sate openly in the City Gates the most publike place of all And truly he or they that will not suffer Justice to be executed and administred openly bewrayes their own guiltinesse and do thereby acknowledge that they are ashamed of their cause For saith Christ John 3. 20 21. Every one that doth evill hateth the light neither cometh to the light least his deeds should be reproved or discovered but he that doth truth cometh to the light that his deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God But so far were the Lords from this just way of permitting Lieutenant Col. Lilburn a publike tryall that the
both on him and all that had a finger in furthering of his usurpation vers 23 24 45 53 54 for afterward the Tyrant tha● they had set up destroyed them all for their pains and in the end had his scull broke to pieces with a piece of a mill-stone thrown from the hand of a woman And after many miseries sustained by the people of Israel for their revolt from their loyalty to GOD their LORD and KING Yet in their distresse hee took compassion of them and sen● them Samuel a just and righteous Judge who judged ●hem justly all his dayes But the people of Israel like foolish men not being content with the Government of their Soveraign by Judges who ou● of doubt took such a care of them that he provided the best in the world for them would reject their Liege Lord and chuse one of their own nam●y a King that so they might be like the Pagans and Heathens who ive without God in the world which Act af theirs God plainly declares was a rejection of him th●t he should not reign over them 1 Sam. 87. and chap. 10. 19. Bu● withal he desc●●beth vnto them the behaviour of the King vers 11 12 13 14 16. which 1 Sam. 8. 7. and 10. 9. is that he will rule and govern them by his own will just Tyrant like for saith Samuel he will take your Sons and appoint them for himselfe for his Chariots and to be his hor●em●n and ome shall run before his Chari t s and he will take by his Prerogative your Fi●lds and your Vineyards and you● Oliveyards eve● the hest of them and give them to his Servants and he will take your men-servants and your maid-servants and your goodliest young-men and your Asses and put them to his worke c. And saith Samuel you shall cry out in that day because of your King which ye shall have chosen unto you but the Lord will not hear you in that day And Samuel in the 12. C●ap●er gives them positively the reason ofi● which was that although GOD in all their straights had taken compassion on them and sent them deliveries and at the last had by himself set them free on every side so that they dwelt sately Yet all this would not content them but they would have a King to reigne over them when s●●h Samu●l the ●ord your God was your King therefore chap. 1● 19. saith Samuel ye have this day rejected your God who himself saved you out of all your adversities c. yea and in the 19. ver of the 12. chap. the People acknowledged that they had added unto all their sins this evill even to ask a King Whereb we may evidently p●rceive that this office of a King is not in the least of Gods institution neither is it to b● given to any man upon earth Because none must rule by his will but God alone And therefore the Scripture saith He gave them a King in his anger and took him away in his wrath Hosa 13. 11. In the second place for the proofe of the minor Proposition which is That Charles R. received his Crown and Kingdome by contract and agreement and hath broken his contract and agreement I thus prove And first for the first part of the position History makes it clear that WILLIAM THE CONQVEROVR OR TYRANT being a Bastard subdued this Kingdome by force of Armes Reade Speeds Chronicle folio 413. There being slain in the first Battell betwixt him and the English about sixty thousand men on the English party As Daniel records in his History fol. 25. And having gained the Country he ruled it by his sword as an absolute Conqueror professing that he was beholding to none for his Kingdome but God and his sword making his power as wide as his will just Tyrant like giving away the Lands of their Nobles to his Normans laying unwonted taxes and heavie subsidies upon the Commons insomuch that many of them to enjoy a barren liberty forsook their fruitfull inheritance and with their w●ves and children as out-lawes lived in woods preferring that naked name of freedome before a sufficient ☞ maintenance possest under the thraldome of a Conquerar who subvert●ed their Lawes disweaponed the Commons prevented their night meetings with a h●avi● penalty that every man at th● day closing should cover his fi●e and depart to his rest there by depriving them of all opportunity to consult together how to recover their liberties collating Office●s all both of command and judicature on those who were his 〈◊〉 made saith Daniel page 46. his domination such as he● would have it For whereas the causes of the Kingdome were before determined in every Shire And by a Law of King Edward Seg●ier all matters in question should upon speciall penalty without further deferment be finally decid●d in the Gemote or Conv●●●ions held monethly in every Hundred Now he ordained That four times in the yeare for certain dayes the same businesse should be determ●ned in such place as he would appoint where he constituted Judges to 〈◊〉 to that purpose and others from whom as from the bosom● of ●he Prince all litig●tors should have justice And to make them ●s miserable as slav●s could be made He ordered that the Laws should be practised in French A● P●itions and businesses of C●urt ●n French that so the poor miserable people might be gulled and cheated undone and destroyed not onely at his will and pleasure but also at the will and pleasure of his under Tyrants and Officers For to speak in the words of Martin in his History page 4 He enacted and established strict and severe Lawes and published them in his own language by meanes whereof many who were of great estate and of much worth through ignorance did transgress● and their sm●llest offences were great enough to entitle the CONQVEROR to their lands to the lands and riches which they did possesse All which ke seized on and took from them without remorse And in page 5. he declares hat he erected sundry Courts for the administra●i●n● his ●ew Lawes and of Justice and least his Iudges sh●uld bear to● great a sway by reason of his absence he caused them all to follow his Court upon all removes Whereby he not only curbed th●ir disp●si●ions which i●cited them to be great but also tired out the English N●tion with extraordinary troubles and excessive charges in the prosecution of Suites in Law From all which relations we may observe First from how wicked bloudy triviall base and tyrannicall a Fountain our gratious Soveraignes and most excellent Majesties of England have sprung namely from the Spring of a Bastard of poore condition by the Mothers side and from the p●rnitious springs of Robbery Pyracie violence and Murder c. Howsoever fabulous Writers striv● as Daniel saith to abuse the credulity of after Ages with Heroicall or mircaulous beginnings that surely if it be rightly considered there will none dote upon those kind of Monsters Kings bu●
Feb. 12. 1645. in the annihilating his unjust Sentence in the Star-Chamber Reade his printed Relation thereof page 1 2 ● and the last Which forced him to deliver in at their Bar his legall and just Plea and Protestation against their usurping jurisdiction over Commoners which you may reade in The Freemans freedome vindicated page 5. 6. Vpon which they commanded himto withdraw and then pag. 7. make an Order to commit him in these words Die Jovis 11. June 1646. IT is this day ordered by the Lords in Parliament assembled That Lieut. Col. John Lilburn shall stand committed to the Prison of Newgate for exhibiting to this House a scandalous and contemptnous Paper it being delivered by himselfe at the Barre this day And that the Keeper of the said Prison shall keepe him safely untill the pleasure of this House be further signified and this to be a sufficient Warrant in that behalfe John Brown Cler. Parl. To the Gentleman-Usher of this House or his Deputy to be delivered to the Keeper of Newgate I cannot hear that he either at this time misbehaved himself either in word or gesture towards them but gave them as much respect at this time as if he had been one of their own Creatures But away to Newgate he goes and Iune 16. 1646. directs his appeale to the Honurable House of Commons which you may read in the fore-mentioned booke pag. 9 10 11. Which appeale the House of Commons read approved of and committed to a sp●ciall Committee which Committee met and examined his businesse and as I am informed from very good hands made a vote to this eff●ct That his proceedings with and protestations against the Lords delivered at their barre and his appeale to the House of Commons was just and legall which they in justice ought to beare him out in which Report Collonel Henry Marti● that couraragious and faithfull Patrio● of his Country as Chairman of that Committee is to report to the House But immediately after the reading of this Appeale to the House out comes the fore-mentioned booke in prynt which it seemes did somthing startle the Lords who had let him lie quietly in Newgate till then without so much as sending him the Copy of any charge But upon this they send a Warran● againe for him which as I finde it in the 4. page of the Just man in Bonds thus followeth Die Lunae 22. Junii 1646 ORdered by the Lords in Parliament assembled that Lieutenant Collonel Iohn Lilburne now a prisoner in Newgate shall be brought before their Lordships in the High Court of Parliament to morrow morning by 10. of the clock and this to be a f●ffici●●● Warrant in that behalfe Iohn Browne Cler. Parl. To the Gentleman Usher of this House or his Deputy to be delivered to the Keeper of Newgate or his Deputy And accordingly the next day Lieutenant Collonel Lilbur●● was brought up to their barre and being called into the House was commanded to kneele which he refused to do for what reasons he is best able ●● declare which I hope he will not faile to do assoone as he enjoyes the liberty and priviledge to have pen inke and paper which by law he cannot be debarred of neither can it justly be denyed to the greatest Traytor in England And surely the Lords give a cleere demonstration to the whole Kingdome to judge that their own consciences tell them that he is an honest and a just man and their dealing with him is base wicked illegall and unjust that they dare not suffer him to enjoy pen inke and paper to declare the truth of his cause to the world which they have most unjustly and unrighteously kept from him by speciall Order for above three moneths together So that by the paw a man may judge of the whole body that is to say by their Lordships dealing with him a wise man may easily see what they would do to all the Freemen of England if their power were answerable to their wills which would be to make them as great slaves as the Pesants in France are who enjoy propriety neither in life liberty nor estate if they did not make us as absolute vassals as the poore Turks are to the Grand Seigneour whose lives and estates he takes away from the greatest of them when he pleaseth Therefore O all ye Commons of England marke well and eye with the eye of Jealousie these Lords the sons of pride and tyranny And not onely them but all their associats or Creatures especially in the House of Commons if any such be there for assure your selves enemies they are and will be to your liberties and freedoms what ever their specious pretences are to the contrary it being a Maxim in nature that every like begets its like Therefore trust them not no more then you would do a Fox with a Goose or a devoureing Wolfe with a harmelesse Lambe what ever they say or sweare having so palpably and visibly in the case of Mr. Lilburne broken all their Oathes Protestations Vowes and Declarations to maintaine the Lawes of the Land and the Liberties of ●he People But let us returne to their 2. summoning him to their Barre who being commanded to kneele refused and withou● any more discourse or so much as shewing him any legal charge they Commanded him to withdraw and for this cause alone he behaving himselfe this time also respectively enough saving in the Ceremony of kneeling they commit him close prisoner to Newgate A true Copy of their Warrant thus followeth Die Martis 23. Junii 1646. ORdered by the Lords in Parliament assembled that Iohn Lilburne shall stand Committed close prisoner in the Prison of Newgate and that he be not permitted to have pen inke or paper and none shall have accesse unto him in any kinde but onely his Keeper untill this Court do take further Order To the Keeper of Newgate his Deputy or Deputies Iohn Browne Cler. Parl. Exam. per Rad. Brisco● Cler. de Newgate And so from this 23. of June to the 11. of July then ensuing he was locked up close and neither his Wife Children Servants Friends Lawyers or Councellers permitted to have accesse unto him nor they never sent him word what they intended to do And all this while the Lords are picking matter against him having none it seemes when they first summ●ned him to their barre to grownd the least pretence or shaddow of a Charge against him and knowing his resolution to stand to his liberties they lay provocations upon him cōmit one act of injustice with a high hand upon the neck of another to provoke him to let some words fall or do some actions to en●nare himselfe that so they might have some coulor for their fu●ure proceedings with him And divers bookes coming out in his behalfe by some as it seemes who wished him well which to the purpose nettles the Lords for their cruelty towards him Serieant Finch as one of his Majesties Councel preferrs certaine Articles against
judicative power nor a legislative power inherent in him as is strongly undeniably and unanswerably proved before in pag. 43 44 46 47 60 61. And therefore away with the pretended power of the Lords up with it by the roots and let them sit no longer as they do unlesse they will put themselves upon the love of their Country to be freely therby chosen as their ●ōmissioners to sit in Parliament for I am sure in right all their actions now are unbinding and unindivalid which becomes you O all ye Free-men or Commoners of England out of that duty you ow to your selves yours and your native Country throughly and home to set forth by Petition to your own HOVSE of COMMONS and to desire them speedily to remove them before the Kingdome be destroyed by their crosse proud and inconsistent interest for little do you know what Scotch-ale divers of them are now a brewing Read the Histories of William the Conqueror and you shall easily find that the pride and contention of those English-men that were called Lords amongst themselves was no small cause of the losing of this Kingdome to that Tyrant for saith Speed fol. 409. After the Normans had slain King Harold and overthrown his Army the two great Earles of Yorkshire and Cheshire Morcar and Edwine coming to London where the Londoners c. would gladly have set up Edgar Atheling the true Heire to the Crown to have been their Captain Generall to have defended them from the powerfull Norman Invaders who now was exceedingly fleshed with his victory and now likely to over-run the whole Land yet such was the pride and baesenesse of these two great Lords that the misery distresse and fearfull estate of their native Country could not disswade from their ambition plotting secretly to get the Crown to themselvs which hindered that wise and noble design and totally lost their native Country O COMMONS OF ENGLAND therefore beware of them and have a jealous eye over them and take heed that when it comes to the pinch they serve you not such another trick again For I am sure their interest is not yours nor the publikes neither is it consistent with their ends that you should enjoy Justice or your undeniable and just rights liberties and freedomes And well to this purpose saith Daniel pag. 36. That after the Bishops and the Clergy had shewed their aversnesse to the erecting of that probable meanes that was propounded to hinder the theevish invader the Nobility considering they were so born and must have a King and therefore considering of his power made them strive and run head-long who should bee the first to pre-occupate the grace of servitude and intrude them into forraign subjection So that the poor Commons like a strong vessell that saith hee might have been for good use were hereby left without a stern and could not move regularly trusting and resting it seemes too much upon those Lords which I call the broken Reeds of Egypt by whom they were undone But for the further clee●ng of the Originall of the House of Peers pretended power I shall desire the understanding Reader to read over a little Treatise printed in Anno 1641. called The manner of holding of Parliaments in England in the 28. pag. hee saith King Harold being overcome William the 1. King and Conqueror having obtained the Soveraignty according to his pleasure bestowed Dignities and Honours upon his companions and others Some of them so connext and conjoyned unto the Fees themselves that yet to this day the possessors thereof may seem to be inabled even with the possession of the places only as our Bishops at this day by reason of the Baronies joyned unto their Bishoprickes enjoy the title and preheminence of Barons in highest Assemblies of the Kingdome in Parliament he gave and granted to others Dignities and Honours together with the Lands and Fees themselves hee gave to Hugh Lupas his kinsman a Norman and sonne to Emma sister to the Conqueror by the Mother the Earldome of Choster Adconquirendum Angliā-per Coronam that is in English to conquer and hold to himself and his Heires as free by the Sword as the King of England held it by his Crown to HANNVSRVFVS then Earl of Britain in France the Earldome of Richmond It a lib●re honorifice ut e●ndem Edwinus Comes antea tenue●at that is in English as freely and honourably as Edwine Earle held it before And the Earldome of Arundel which Harrold possessed he granted with a fee unto Roger of Montgomeny And in page 33. the same Author declares That Kings sometimes not regarding the Solemnities of Ceremonies and Charters have only by their becks suffered Dignities and Honours to be transferred So that by what Iam able to gather out of ancient Histories William the Conquerour absolutely subdued the Rights and Priviledges of Parliaments held in England before this time The manner of holding of which as the same Author in his first page declares was by the discreet sort of the Kingdome of England rehearsed and shewed unto the Conquerour which as hee saith he approved of And the same doth John Minshew say in his Dictionary published and printed at London July 22. 1625. fol. 526. his words are these In England the PARLIAMENT is called for the debating of matters touching the Common-wealth and especially the making and correcting of Lawes which Assembly or Court is of all other the highest and of greatest authority as you may read in Sir Thomas Smith de Re. Angl. lib. 2. cap. 1. 2. Cambd. Brit. Compt. Juris fol. 1. And see the Institution of this Court Polydor Virgil lib 11. of his Chronicles refer●eth after a sort to Henry 1. yet confessing that it was used before though very seldome You may find saith he in the former Prologue of the grand Customary of Normandy That the Normans used the same meanes in making their lawes In a Monument os Antiquity shewing the manner of holding this Parliament in the time of King Edward the sonne of King Etheldred which as the Note saith was delivered by the discreeter sort of the Realm to William the Conqueror and allowed by him This writing began thus Rex est Caput c. See more saith he of the course and order of this Parliament in Compt. Juris fol. 1. c. And VOWEL alias Hooker in his Book purposely written of this matter Powels book called the Atturneys Academy Read Mr. William Prynnes first part of the SOVERAIGNE POWER OF PARLIAMENTS AND KINGDOMES printed by the authority of this present Parliament pag 42 43 44. William the Conqueror having as to me is clearly evident subdued Parliaments their power authority priviledges and jurisdiction did set up by the absolute law of his own will for his Compceres Couzens and Connsellors such men who had most pleased him in vassalizing and enslaving this kingdom and the people thereof in whose steps severall of his successors after him did tread So that the kingdome was