great Power and Trust in so few hands was look'd upon as a great Obligation to those Lords and a great Security to that King so long as their Interests stood united in their new Conquest yet in the next Age when the heat of that Action was over their Interests divided and the Obligation forgotten it proved to the succeeding Kings so great a Curb and Restraint to Sovereignty that nothing fell more intimately into their Care than how to retrench as much as they durst the Power of that Nobility which they began to suspect and was like in time to mate even Monarchy it self Though others foresaw the mischief in time yet none attempted the Remedy untill King John who no sooner began to reign in his own Right for by the way he practis'd a little in his Brother's time and by that Experience found Mat. Paris his Words true of the Barons viz. Quot Domini tot Tyranni But he bethought himself to frame his Counsel of such a Constitution as he might have Credit and Influence upon it To be short he was the first that durst restrain the tumultuary access of the Barons to Council he was the first that would admit of none but such as he should summon and would summon none but such as he thought fitting and besides he would send out Summons to several of the Commons or lesser Tenants mixing them with the Nobles and engaging them thereby to his Interest and whereas before the Council consisted of the Nobility and Clergy he erected a third Estate a Body of the Commons or lesser Tenants which might in some measure equal the rest and be faithful to him All which appears in the Clause Rolls and Patent Rolls of the sixth Year of this King and in vain before that time shall any Man seek either for Summons or Advice of the Commons in any of these great Councils King John having put this Cheque upon the Councils considers next how to ballance the unequal power of the unruly Barons and first he tampers with the Bishops and Clergy sain he would have drawn them into his Party at least to his Dependency but that Tryal cost him dear In the next place therefore that he might create new Dependances and new Strength to himself he becomes a great Patron and Founder or at least Benefactor to many considerable Corporations as Newcastle Yarmouth Lynn and others insomuch that he is taken notice of by Speed and other of our Chroniclers and stiled particularly the Patron of Corporations Thus you see not only when but for what Reason the Institution of the House of Commons was first thought upon and indeed according to their old or first Constitution their Attendance in Parliament or as we say their serving in Parliament was look'd upon rather as an easier Service due to the King than otherwise as a Priviledge granted to the People as may be seen not only in the Case of the Burgesses of St. Albans in temp Ed. 2. recited by the Worthy Dr. Brady against Petit but also by many other good Authorities too long for this place But begging your Pardon for this long Story I now proceed to the second Parenthesis in which he makes no Scruple to accuse his present Majejesty and his late Sacred Father of breaking the Law in adjourning proroguing and dissolving Parliaments Indeed Cousin I know nothing that reflects more truly upon the Constitution of our Government than that it suffers such pestilent seditious Men as our Author seems to be to live under it For nothing sure is more evident in the whole or any part of the Law whether Statute common or customary than that the Kings of England ever since the first Parliament that ever was call'd have had and exercis'd the same Power in adjourning proroguing and dissolving them as his present Majesty or his Father of Blessed Memory ever did And that you may have Plato's own Authority against himself I must anticipate so much of his Discourse as to inform you That in p. 105. you will find these very Words That which is undoubtedly the King 's Right or Prerogative is to Call and Dissolve Parliaments Nay more so great was the Authority and Prerogative of our Kings over the House of Commons according to their old Constitution That they have in their Writs of Summons named and appointed the particular Persons all over England who were to be returned to their Parliaments sometimes have order'd that only one Knight for the Shire and one Burgess for a Corporation should be sent to their Parliaments and those also named to the Sheriffs and sometimes more as may be seen by the very Writs of Edw. 2. and Edw. 3. fully recited by the aforesaid Dr. Brady from p. 243. to p. 252. Besides Sir what is more reasonable and equitable than that our Kings should enjoy the Power of Adjourning Proroguing and Dissolving that their Council or Parliament when and as often as they please since our Kings alone in Exclusion to all other mortal Power in England whatsoever enjoy â—olely the Prerogative of Calling or Assembling these their Parliaments when and where they alone shall think convenient Mer. I confess we generally say That it is a great Weakness in a cunning Man to raise a Spirit which afterwards he cannot lay and that in such case the Spirit tears him in pieces first who rais'd him And I think we have had the Misfortune to see somewhat very tragical of this kind in the beginning of our late Troubles if it were not possibly the great Cause of his late Majesty's fatal Catastrophe But truly excepting that case I never heard the King's Authority in proroguing or dissolving Parliaments question'd before Trav. Well Sir go forward to the twenty fifth Page for all between is nothing but quacking and ridiculous Complements or Matter as little worth our notice Mer. He tells us there that it remains undiscovered how the first Regulation of Mankind began that Necessity made the first Government that every Man by the Law of Nature had like Beasts in a Pasture Right to every thing That every Individual if he were stronger might seise whatever any other had possessed himself of before Trav. Hold a little Sir that we may not have too much Work upon our Hands at once I think he said before at Page 22. That he would not take upon him so much as to conjecture how and when Government began in the World c. This Cousin I cannot pass by because it seems to be the only piece of Modesty which I observe in his whole Treatise And I should commend him for it much but that I have great reason to suspect that he pretends Ignorance only to cover his Knavery and thereby leave room to introduce several other most false and pernicious Principles which we shall endeavour to refute First therefore I shall take the Liberty not only to conjecture but to tell him plainly when and where Covernment began and how also it continued
we must believe that there ever hath been such and ever will whilst Men have different Judgments that is to say if we mean those as in all Charity we ought to do who following their Opinions give sometimes Counsel which in truth may be prejudicial rather than advantageous for us witness our Author himself whom supposing to be as in great Charity we may an honest Man hath yet given Counsel even undesir'd and unauthoriz'd more pernicious to our Government and Happiness than the worst of our evil Counsellors could ever have invented As to the Pensioner Parliament I must confess till of late days I never knew it was a Crime for a Parliament Man to hold an Imployment from the King nor a fault in the King to endeavour to â—oâ—â—en the Rancor of a virulent Member any more than in an indulgent Father to hire by fair Words and Promises a froward and perverse natur'd Child to live peaceably and decently in the Family amongst the rest of his Brethren since the Design both of the Pater Patrioe and Pater Familias is no other than to procure to himself and Family a quiet and happy Life For the Judges and Divines if their great Worth and Learning and most exemplary Lives did not speak plainly and loud enough in their Behalf they would not want better Pens than minâ— to defend their Cause But I think their Sphere is much above the noise much more the danger of this barking Mongrel When â—e nam'd the busie and designing Papist I was in great hopes that he would have added the Presbyterians too and then we might have come betimes to the Cause of our Misfortunes But since he has thought fit to leave them out I shall also let them alone till occasion requires For his French Councels I know them no more than himself does and in my Opinion had our Author had any Wit in his Anger he might have forborn in this place to have revil'd the Divines and Judges of our Land the King's Council and Parliament it self that is to say all that we hold under the King sacred and religious amongst us especially since he tells us immediately that these are not the Causes of our Misfortunes the finding which out is I think one main Design of his Politick Search Mer. Very well Sir The next thing is We have plaid handy dandy with Parliaments and especially the House of Commons the only Part which is now left entire of the old Constitution by adjourning proroguing and dissolving them contrary to the true meaning of the Law Trav. That 's enough I have only to remark his two Parenthesises In the first he tells us That the House of Commons is the only part that is now left entire of the old Constitution Pray Cousin Have you heard what is become of the House of Peers or Do you know how it comes to be less entire than ever it was I am perswaded you cannot tell me Mer. I imagine his Meaning may be that their Estates are not so great as formerly they have been or that the House of Commons depended more upon them formerly than now they do Trav. For the first it is false there being as great Estates now in the House of Lords as generally ever there were And for the dependance of the Commons upon the Lords that is to say wearing their blew Coats making up their Lords-train waiting upon them to the House of Lords and making a Laâ—e for them to enter and such like as he tells us pag. 135. Let him endeavour to reduce the House of Commons to this old Constitution if he can and he will soon see how far the Commoners will think themselves oblig'd to him for it If not why does he talk of an old Constitution But Sir with his good leave and the Commoners too I take the House of Commons to be the latest Addition to that Assembly which altogether we call a Parliament I do not remember to have heard any News of a House of Commons as it is now understood untill several Years after the Norman Conquest that is untill the end of the Reign of Henry the Third at soonest But though some contend for the eighteenth of Henry the First But the House of Lords hath subsisted and been a Court of Judicature even before the Roman Conquest 1700 Years ago Witness amongst many other Passages the Dispute between King Cassibelaunus and Androgeus Duke of the Trinovantes Whose Son or Nephew having slain the Son of the King Cassibelaunus commanded the Duke to surrender him in order to his Tryal that he might suffer such Punishment as the Noblemen or Lords of the Kingdom should judge most â—it Commotus Rex Androgeo mandavit â—t nepoleâ— suum sibi redderet paratum â—alem sententiam subire qualem Proceres regni judicarent So we read of Vortegern the British King Vortegernus excitatus perstrepentium vocibus super statu publico in medium consulit Sententias Magnatum So of the Malm. l. 1. Saxon Ethelwulphus Cum concilio Episcoporum ac Principum concilium salubre ac remedium uniforme f. 22. affirmavi c. So Edmundus Rex Anglorum â—â—m concilio consensu Optimatum meorum c. Besides many hundred of such Instances proving the Existence of a Court of Lords from the Conquest of Will the First untill the end of Hen. the Third are to be found in Eadmerus and other good Authors But it being none of my business to defend in this place the Prerogatives of the House oâ— Lords I shall not offer any thing further concerning them But since our Author troubles himself so much about the old Constitution of the House of Commons and detracting from the House of Lords calls the Lower House the only entire part of the old Parliaments I shall beg leave to mind you what was the Cause and Design of their first Institution as I find it in the best Histories of those Ages and by that you will easily perceive their Antiquity as also which was the eldest Constitution William the Conquerour P. 57. 154. 211. called by Eadmerus and others William the Great having master'd the Power and the Fortune of the English Nation what he retain'd not in Providence as the Demesnes of the Crown or reserv'd not in Piety for the Maintenance of the Church the rest of his Kingdom he divided amongst such of his principal Lords as sailed hither with him in the Barque of his Adventures giving to some whole Countries to others considerable parts of it so as in the County of Norfolk for instance there were not above threescore Chief Lords or Owners and half of them not very considerable as appears by Doomsday And as the Estate so the Council of the Kingdom was entrusted into few Hands none being employed in the publick Councils but only these great Lords and Peers who were Conciliarii nati born to that priviledge and came thither without Leave and without Summons And although at first this
and let us know why in reason we should not comply with our Authors Popular Government since he tells us that our present state inclines to Popularity Trav. Most willingly But in the first place in all changes of Government we must consider what inconveniences we find under the present constitution and what way we propose to our selves to have them prevented by an alteration otherwise we shall never be able to assign any reason for a change at any time I must therefore desire you to tell me frankly what fault you find grievances according to the cant of our Dissenters in our Monarchy as at present Established Merch. Truly Cousin I have oftentimes thought seriously with my self what those grievances should be And though I was once carried a little away with the stream and cried Liberty and Property and Grievances of the Nation with some others of the wide mouth'd pack yet to deal plainly with you I could never be satisfied from them nor from my own observation what those grievances were in particular Trav. I believe it indeed but however since our Author who is a knowing man assâ—res us that our disease is so desperate that we have no hopes but in a desperate cure Pray let us both though no State Physicians lay our heads together and think with our selves what our sickness may be especially since the beginning of every cure proceeds from the true knowledge of the distemper For my part I do assure you I will assist you what I can in finding out the one and for the other we will leave it to our betters First then I should think that as all diseases shew themselves by some Symptoms upon the natural body so the distempers of the body politick must be also visible and will discover themselves either in our liberties properties or our Religion We will begin with our Liberties and pray Cousin think with your self whether you want any such civil liberty as you could wish for or know to be given under any other Government upon earth Mer. Trouble not your self for that for except I could have somewhat granted particularly to my own person I am so far from wishing our Subjects more liberty in general that I really think we have too much Trav. What mean you by too much Mer. I mean Sir amongst other things that men especially of late have taken to themselves the liberty of reflecting upon or calumniating the Government and our Governours as also to slander one another with so much bitterness and cunning that we are ready to be destroy'd before we know any thing of the matter And yet they keep so within the compass of the Law that the Scrutiny of a Jury can never reach them Nay I have heard say that some are so excellent at it that they will talk you an hour together within a hairs breadth of Sedition and Treason dance upon the low rope with children ty'd to their feet and naked swords in their hands and upon the high rope hanging only by their toes or nape of the neck Trav. Right but I have seen some of them hang with the rope round about their necks and indeed I never wonder'd at it Mer. Yes men who are only impudent bold fellows and have not the skill to cut a feather very often dance themselves into that noose But to be serious really Cousin methinks that calumniating is a most pernicious liberty for in my opinion men should either accuse judicially or not at all In the first case the accused hath we suppose a fair Trial at which he may make his defence and if he prove innocent will be freed But in the latter a man is condemn'd and executed too before he hears of his accusation It is like killing a man with those invisible subtle poisons which work their effect even whilst you are reading the complementing Letter which conveys them your reputation and good name is gone your acquaintance gaze upon you with a different air than formerly you find a coldness in your friends neglect in your relations and disrespect from all And at length the poyson having crept through those with whom you might have occasion to converse you find your self generally condemn'd before you know of what or by whom you were accused and in truth Brinvillers were more tolerable in any Government than these pestilent Calumniators Trav. Indeed Cousin you have spoke a great deal of reason and I am perswaded that the immediate cause of our distractions proceeds from the malicious Calumnies of a few knaves who know they lye dispers'd amongst a great many fools who think they speak truth The Publisher of the divine Machiavels Prince is very just in this particular telling us that in all good Governments Calumniators ought to be restrain'd and punish'd by the strictest severity Qui Rempublicam recte instituere velit ferri nullo modo debent calumniae sed puniendi sunt calumniatores Quodsi hisce rebus in Republica non rectè prospectum sit multa mala patrantur unde seditiones turbae ortum habent And concludes with the story of Furius Camillus who having gain'd a great deal of honour amongst the Romans for the good service which he had done in freeing them from the imminent danger of the Gauls Manlius Capitolinus envying above all his great reputation endeavour'd by all means to lessen his credit But finding the Senate and Nobility firm in their good opinion concerning Camillus he then apply'd himself to the Commonalty who being ever the most susceptible of false impressions were continually plied with the false aspersions of the envious Manlius insinuating amongst other things that the vast sum of money which was supposed to have been paid the Gauls remained yet in a great measure in the possession of Camillus and the Senators who appropriating to their use what was said to have been paid their enemies instead of Governours and Protectors became themselves the greatest enemies the people had by endeavouring to support their own luxury at the expence of the peoples misery Whereas if that mony were again distributed as in justice it ought amongst the poor Citizens it would make their present condition much more easie than otherwise it was like to be in a great many years Interest is the great wheel that moves all the world either to good or evil actions The Commonalty thus iniâ—cens'd by Manlius were now work'd up to that point which he desir'd and ready either for rebellion or any other insolence which their Incendiary should suggest In the mean time the Senate perceiving this growing mischief to obviate any farther disturbance they create a Dictator on purpose to examine into the whole matter and punish the offender where-ever he should find the offence He appoints therefore a day to Manlius who attended with vast multitudes of the credulous Commons is ask'd by the Dictator where or with whom that vast sum of money was lodg'd But Manlius unprovided to answer a question which it seems he