Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	court_n	justice_n	law_n	3,065	5	4.7299	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A40615	The full proceedings of the High Court of Iustice against King Charles in Westminster Hall, on Saturday the 20 of January, 1648 together with the Kings reasons and speeches and his deportment on the scaffold before his execution / translated out of the Latine by J.C. ; hereunto is added a parallel of the late wars, being a relation of the five years Civill Wars of King Henry the 3d. with the event of that unnatural war, and by what means the kingdome was settled again.	Charles I, King of England, 1600-1649, defendant.; Chamberlayne, Edward, 1616-1703. Present warre parallel'd.; J. C.	1654 (1654)	Wing F2353; ESTC R23385	51,660	194

the world in this one particular Give me leave to acquaint you that it is a thing of no small importance which you go about I am sworn to keep the peace according to the duty which I do ow to God and to my Land and I will here perform it to the last breath of my Body you shall therefore do wel first to satisfie God and afterwards the Land by what Authority you do this If you do it by an usurped Authority you cannot defend it God who sitteth in the Heavens will call you and all those who have conferred this power on you to give him an account of it Satisfie me in this and I shall answer you for otherwise I should betray the Faith committed to me and the liberties of my people Wherefore consider of it and I shall be willing to answer you For I do professe it is as great a sin to resist a lawfull Authority as to submit unto a Tyrannicall or any other unlawfull Authority wherefore resolve me in this particular and you shall receive my Answer L. President The Court expecteth that you should give them a finall Answer and will adjourn untill Munday next If you cannot satisfie your self although we tell you our authority our authority will satisfie our selves And it is according to the authority of God and the Kingdome and the peace of which you speak shall be preserved in the administration of Justice and that is our present work King I give you this for my answer you have not shown me any lawfull authority which may satisfie any reasonable man L. President It is onely your apprehension we are fully satisfied who are your Judges King It is not my apprehension nor yours which ought to determin this L. President The Court hath heard you and disposed of you accordingly as their discretions have thought expedient The Court adjourneth to the Painted chamber untill Munday at ten of the clock in the morn-ning and from thence hither Some thing that was ominous ought not to be passed by in silence when the Charge was read against the King the silver head of his staff did fall off which he much did wonder at and observing no man so officious to assist him he stooping towards the ground did take it up himself As the King returned looking on the Court he said I fear not thee meaning the sword As he came down the stayres the people who were in the Hall cryed out some of them God save the King but the greater part Justice Justice The second dayes proceeding against the King January 22. c. THe Cryer having thrice pronounced his Oyes and silence cōmanded after that the Judges were called and every one did particularly answer to his Name Silence was again commanded under pain of imprisonment and the Captain of the Guards was ordered to apprehend any that should endeavour to make a tumult At the comming of the King into the Court there was a great shout and the Court commanded the Captain of the Guards to apprehend and imprison those who should make either a noise or tumult The Court being sat the Sollicitor turning to the President said May it please your Lordship my Lord President In the former Court on Saturday in the Name of the Commons of England I exhibited and offered to this Tribunal the charge of high Treasons and other grievous crimes against the Prisoner with which I did charge him In the Name of the People of England and his charge was read and his Answer demanded My Lord It pleased him at that time to return no answer at all but instead of answering he questioned the Authority of the High Court My most humble motion to this High Court in the Name of the People of the Kingdome of England is that the Prisoner may be compelled to give a positive answer either by way of Confession or Negation which if he shall refuse that the subject of his Charge may be taken for granted and the Court proceed according to Justice L. President Sir you may remember that on the last convention of this Court the cause was expounded to you for which you were brought hither and you heard the charge against you read it being a charge of High Treason and other grievous crimes against the Kingdom of England you heard likewise that it was required in the name of the people that you should answer to your charge that there should be a proceeding thereon as should be agreeable unto Justice you were then pleased to move some scruples concerning the authority of this Court and you desired to be satisfied in your knowledge by what authority you were brought hither you severall times did propound your questions and it was often answered to you that it was by authority of the commons of England Assembled in Parliament who did judge it requisite to call you to an account for the great and grievous crimes of which you are accused After that the Court did take into their serious consideration those things which you objected and they are fully satisfied in their authoritie and do conceive it requisite that you should admit it they therefore require that you give a positive and a particular Answer to the charge exhibited against you they do expect that you should either confesse it or deny it If you shall deny it it will be proved in the behalf of the Kingdome the whole World doth approve of their Authority So that the kingdome is satisfied and you ought thereby to be satisfied your self you ought not therefore to waste time but to give your positive answer King It is true that when I was last here I moved that question and indeed if it were onely my businesse in particular I should have satisfied my self with that protestation which I then interposed against the lawfulnesse of this Court and that a King cannot be judged by any superiour jurisdiction on earth but my own interests are not onely involved in it but the liberties also of the people of England and pretend what you will I doe indeavour more for their liberties then any whatsoever For if Power without laws can make laws and change the Fundamentall laws of the Kingdome I know not what subject in England can be secure of his life or of any thing which he doth call his own Wherefore when I came hither I expected particular reasons that I might understand by what law and what Authority you would proceed against me I should then perceive what most especially I have to say unto you for the affirmative is to be proved which seldome the Negative is capable of but because I cannot perswade you thus I will give you my Reasons as briefly as I can The Reasons for which in conscience and duty which I ow first unto God and afterwards to my people for the preservation of their lives their liberties and their fortunes I believe I cannot answer until I am satisfied of your legality of it All proceedings against any

man whatsoever President Sir I must interrupt you which I would not do but that which you do agreeth not with the proceedings of any Tribunal of Justice you enter into a controversie and dispute against the Authority of this Court before which you appear a prisoner and are accused as a great Delinquent If you will take upon you to controvert the Authority of this Court we cannot give way unto it neither will any tribunal of Justice admit it you ought to submit unto the Court and to give an exact and direct Answer whether you will answer to your charge or not and what is the answer that you make King Sir I know not the formalities of the law I know the law reason although I am no professed Lawyer I know the law as well as any Gentleman in England and I am more eager for the Liberties of the people of England then you are and if I should believe any man without he gives me Reasons for what he saith It would be absurd but I say unto you that the Reason which you give is no wayes satisfactory L. President Sir I must interrupt you for it cannot be permitted to you in this manner to proceed you speak of law and reason it is fit that there should be both law and reason and they are both against you Sir the Vote of the Commons of England Assembled in Parliament is the reason of the Kingdome and they ordained this law according to which you ought to Reign Sir It is not lawfull for you to dispute against our Authority This again hath been told you by the Court Sir Notice will be taken that you contemn the Court and this contempt of yours will be recorded King I know not how a King can be interpreted to be a Delinquent but by any law that I ever heard all men whether Delinquent or what you will may lawfully make objections against their Processe this is that which I require and I again desire that my Reasons may be heard If you deny this you deny Reason L. President Sir you have objected something to the Court I will declare unto you their opinion Sir It is not lawfull for you or any man else to dispute against this Subject It is Decreed you ought not to dispute against the jurisdiction of this Tribunal If you shall yet do it I must intimate unto you that they are above objections They sit here by Authority of the Commons of England and all your Predecessors and you your self are bound to be accountable to them King I deny that shew me one example L. President Sir you ought not to interrupt but attend whilest the Court speaks unto you This Subject is not to be disputed by you neither will the Court permit that you should object against the jurisdiction of it they have considered of their jurisdiction and do approve it King Sir I say that the Commons of England were never a Court of Judicature and I would fain know how they came to be made so now President Sir It is not permitted to you to proceed in those discourses Then the Secretary of the Court did read as followeth Charls Stuart King of England you have been accused in the Name of the People of England of High Treason and other grievous Crimes The Court hath determined that you shall answer to your Charge King I will answer as soon as ever I shall understand by what authority you do these things President If this be all that you will speak Gentlemen you who brought the prisonner hither take him back again King I demand that I may be permitted to exhibite my Reasons why I answer not unto the Charge and give me time to perform this President Sir It is not for prisonners to demand King Prisonners Sir I am no ordinary prisonner President The Court hath considered of their own jurisdiction and they have also confirmed their jurisdiction If you will not answer we will give order that your Default be recorded King You have not yet heard my Reasons President Your Reasons are not to be heard against the Supream Jurisdiction King Shew me that jurisdiction in the world where Reason is not to be heard President Sir We shew it you here the Commons of England the next time you are brought hither you shall understand further of the pleasure of the Court and peradventure their finall sentence King Shew me where the House of Commons was ever a Court of Judicature in that kind President Serjeant take away the Prisonner King Sir Remember that the King is not suffered to declare his Reasons for the Libertie and Immunities of his Subjects President Sir That Freedome of speech is not permitted to you how great a friend you have been to the Laws and the Liberties of the people let England and all the world judge King Sir By your leave I have alwayes loved the Liberty the Immunities and Laws of the subjects If I have defended my self by Arms I have not taken them up against the people but for them President You must obey the Decree of the Court you give no answer to the Charge against you King Well Sir And so was he brought to the House of Sir Robert Cotton and the Court was adjourned to the Painted Chamber untill Wednesday following at twelve of the clock at what houre they intended to adjourn again to Westminster-hall where all whom it doth concern are commanded to be present The third dayes proceedings against the late King at the High Court of Justice Tuesday Jan. 23. 1648. THe Cryer according to the Custome having with his Oyes commanded silence and attention the King being sate Mr. Atturney Generall turning to the Lord President spake in these words May it please your Lordship This is now the third time that by the great grace and favour of this High Court the prisoner hath been brought to the Bar and yet by reason of his refusall to put in his Answer there is yet no issue joyned in the cause My Lord I did at the first exhibit a Charge against him containing the highest practices of Treason that were ever wrought on the Theater of England That a King of England trusted to keep the Lawes of England and who had taken an Oath so to do and had tribute paid him for that end should be guilty of so wicked a design as to subvert our Laws and introduce an arbitrary and tyrannicall Government and set up his Standard of Warre against his Parliament and his people and I did humbly pray in the behalf of the people of England that he might speedily be required to make an answer to his charge But my Lord instead of making an answer he did then dispute the Authority of this Tribunal and your Lordship being pleased to give him a further day to put in his answer which was yesterday I did move again that he might be required to put in a direct and positive answer to his charge either by

King my Father and in my own Reign before the beginning of these unhappy tumults and they will have a just cause to doubt if they shall be so happy in any new Government In that time it will most evidently appear that I onely took up Arms to defend the Fundamentall Laws of this Kingdome against those who opposed my power and totally would have subverted the ancient Government Having so briefly declared my Reasons to you for which I could not submit to your pretended Authority without violation of the Trust which God hath committed to me for the safety and liberty of my people I expect from you either clearer Reasons to convince my Judgement by demonstrating to me that I am in an Error and then surely I shall be ready to give you an Answer or else that you suspend your present proceedings This I had determined to have spoken in Westminster Hall on Monday the two and twentieth of January but against Reason I was prohibited to pronounce my Reasons In the year 1648. English style 1649. vulgar style The End The Speech of King Charls upon the Scaffold at the gate of White Hall immediately before the execution January 30. ABout ten in the morning the King was brought from Saint Jameses Court he did walk on foot through the Park with a Regiment of Foot one half before him and the other behind him their Colours flying and their Drums beating his private guard of Partisan with some of his Gentlemen did go immediately bare headed before him and some part of them behind him but those who were next of all unto him behinde were Dr. Juxon and Colonel Thomlinson to the last of whom the care and charge of his Person was committed these two being barehead did talk with him all along the Park and as you go up the stairs into the Gallery and so into the Cabanet chamber where he used to lye in which place he continued at his Devotion and refused to dine because he that morning had taken the Sacrament onely about one hour before he came forth he drank a Glasse of Claret wine and did eat a crust of bread about twelve of the clock at Noon From thence he was accompanied by Doctor Juxon Col. Thomlinson and other Officers formerly appointed to be his Guard and with the private Guard of Partizans with musquetiers on either side through the banquetting house at the farther end on the outside whereof the Scaffold was erected near unto the Gate of White Hall The Scaffold was hung round with black and the floore was covered with black the ax and the Block laid on the middle of the Scaffold There were severall Companies of Foot and Troops of Horse placed on the one side of the Scaffold and the other and multitudes of people that thronged to see so rare a spectacle were very great The King was no sooner come upon the Scaffold but he looked very earnestly on the Block and asked Col. Hacker if there were no higher and then spake thus directing his speech chiefly to Colonel Thomlinson I Shall be very little heard by any of the people I shall therefore speak a word or two to you who are here Indeed I could hold my peace very well if I did not think that my silence would make some men think that I did submit to the guilt as well as to the punishment but I conceive it is my duty First unto God and afterwards to my Countrey to vindicate my self as an honest man a good King and a good Christian I shall begin first with my Innocency Introth I think it not very needfull for me to insist long upon this for all the world knows that I never did begin Warre with the two Houses of Parliament and I call God to witnesse to whom I must shortly make my account that I never did intend to incroach upon their priviledges they began with me It was the Militia they began upon they confessed that the Militia was mine but they thought it fit to have it from me and to be short if any man will look to the Dates of Commissions of their Commissions ormine and likewise to the Declarations will finde clearly that they began those unhappy troubles not I so that as for the guilt of these enormous crimes which are laid upon me I hope in God that God will clear me of them I am in charity I will not and God forbid that I should lay it upon the two-Houses of Parliament there is no necessity of either I hope they are free from the Guilt for I do believe that evill instruments between them and me have been the chief cause of all this bloodshed so that by way of speaking as I find my self clear of this I hope and I pray God that they may too yet for all this God forbid that I should be so ill a Christian as not to say that Gods judgements are just upon me Many times he does inflict Justice by an unjust Sentence this is ordinary I will onely say that an unjust Sentence * That I suffered to take effect is punished now by an unjust Sentence upon my self This is to shew you as I have said how far I am an innocent man Now for to show you that I am a good Christian I hope there is a good man * who will bear witnesse with me that I have forgiven all the world and even those in particular who have been the chief causers of my Death who they are God knows I do not desire to know I pray God forgive them But this is not all my Charity must go further I wish that they may repent for indeed they have committed a great sin in that particular I pray God with Saint Stephen that this be not laid to their charge nay not onely so but that they may take the right way to the peace of the Kingdome for my charity commands me not onely to forgive particular men but my charity commands me to indevour to the last gasp the peace of the Kingdome This Sirs I do wish with all my Soul and I do hope there are some * who will carry it further that they may indeavour the peace of the Kingdome Now Sirs I must show you both how you are out of the way and I will put you into a way First you are out of the way for certainly all the way in which as yet you have gone as I could ever find out by any thing is in the way of conquest certainly this is an ill way for conquest Sirs in my opinion is never just except there be a good just cause either for matter of wrong or to defend a just Title and if in the prosecution of the quarrell you shall go beyond this it will make that unjust at the end which was just at the beginning But if it be onely matter of conquest therein it is a great robbery as a pirate said to Alexander that he was a great robber and that