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A32140
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The speeches of the Kings Most Excellent Majesty in this great court of Parliament with all the speeches of the right honourable the Lord Digby and the Lord Faukeland and the speeches of Sir Benjamin Rudyer.
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England and Wales. Sovereign (1625-1649 : Charles I); Charles I, King of England, 1600-1649.; England and Wales. Parliament.
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1641
(1641)
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Wing C2820; ESTC R26011
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6,483
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16
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THE Speeches Of the KINGS Most excellent Majesty in this GREAT COVRT Of PARLIAMENT Printed Anno 1641. His Majesties first Speech in Parliament the third of November 1640. My Lords THE knowledge I had of the desires of my Scottish Subjects was the cause of my calling the last Assembly of Parliament wherein had I been beleeved I sincerely thinke that things had not falne out as now We see But it is no wonder that men are so slow to beleeve that so great a sedition should bee raised on so little ground But now my Lords and Gentlemen the honour and safety of this Kingdome lying so neerely at the stake I am resolved to put my self freely and cleerly on the love and affections of my English Subjects as these of my Lords that did wait on me at York very well remember I there declared Therefore my Lords I shall not mention mine own interest or that support I might justly expect from you till the common safety be secured though I must tell you I am not ashamed to say those charges I have been at have been meerly for the securing and good of this Kingdome though the successe hath not been answerable to my desires Therefore I shall onely desire you to consider the best way both for the safety and security of this Kingdome wherein there are two parts chiefly considerable First the chastising out of the Rebells And secondly the other in satisying your just grievances wherein I shall promise you to concur so heartily and cleerly with you that all the world may see my intentions have ever beene and shall be to make this a glorious and flourishing Kingdome There are onely two things that I shall mention to you First the one is to tell you that the Loan of money which I lately had from the City of London wherin the Lords that waited upon me at Yorke assisted me will onely maintaine my Army for two months from the beginning of that time it was granted Now my Lords and Gentlemen I leave it to your considerations what dishonour and mischiefe it might be in case for want of mony my Army be disbanded before the Rebels be put out of this Kingdome Secondly the securing the calamities the Northern people endure at this time and so long as the treaty is on foot And in this I may say not onely they but all this Kingdome will suffer the harm therefore J leave this also to your consideration for the ordering of these great affaires whereof you are to treat at this time J am so confident of your love to me that yor care is for the honour and safety of the Kingdome that I shall freely and willingly leave to you where to begin onely this that you may the better know the state of all the affairs J have coÌ„manded my L. Keeper to give you a short and free account of these things that have happened in this interim with this protestation that if this account be not satisfactory as it ought to be J shall whensover you desire give you a full and perfect account of every particular One thing more J desire of you as one of the greatest meanes to make this a happy Parliament That you on your parts as J on mine lay aside all suspition one of another as J promised my Lords at York Jt shall not be my fault if this be not a happy and good Parliament His Majesties second Speech in Parliament Novem. 5. 1640. My Lords I Do expect that you wil hastily make relation to the House of Commons of those great affairs for which I have called you hither at this time and for the trust I have reposed in them and how freely I put my selfe on their love and affections at that time and that you may know the better how to doe so I will explain my selfe concerning one thing I spake the last day I told you the Rebels must be put out of this Kingdome it 's true I must needs call them so so long as they have an Army that do invade us although I am under treaty with them and I under my great Seal do call them subjects and so they are too but the state of my affairs in short is this it 's true I did expect when I did will my Lords and great ones at York to have given a gracious answer to all your grievances for I was in good hope by their wisedoms assistances to have made an end of that businesse but I must tell you that my subjects of Scotland did so delay them that it was not possible to end there therefore J can no wayes blame my Lords that were at Rippon that the treaty was not ended but must thanke them for their painâ— industry and certainly had they as much power as affections I should by that time have brought these distempers to a happy period so that now the treaty is transported from Rippon to London where J shall conclude nothing without your knowledge and J doubt not but by your apprâ—â—â—ation for J do not desire to have this great work done in a corner for J shall lay open all the steps to this mis-understanding and causes of the great differences between Me and my Subjects of Scotland And I doubt not but by your assistance to make them know their duty and also by your assistance to make them return whether they will or no. His Majesties Speech to both the Houses Ianuary 25. 1640. My Lords THe Knights Citizens Burgesses the principall cause of my comming here at this time is by reason of the slow proceedings in Parliament touching which is a great deale of inconvenience Therefore I think it very necessary to lay before you the state of my affairs as now they stand thereby to hasten not interrupt your proceedings First I must remember you that there are two Armies in the Kingdome in a manner maintained by you the very naming of which doth more clearly shew the inconvenience thereof then a better tongue then mine can expresse Therefore in the first place I shall recommend unto you the quicke dispatch of that businesse assuring you that it cannot rest upon me In the next place I must recommend unto you the state of my Navie Forts the condition of both which is so well known unto you that I need not tell you the particulars only thus much they are the walls and defence of this Kingdome which if out of order all men may easily judge what incouragement it will be to our enemies and what disheartning to our friends Last of all and not of the least to be considered I must lay before you the distractions that are at this present occasioned through the cause of Parliament for there are some men that more maliciously then ignorantly will put no difference between reformation and alteration of government Hence it commeth that divine Service is irreverently interrupted and Petitions in an â—ll way given in neither disputed nor denied But I will
pressed by both Houses to give way to his because I will avoyd the inconveniency of giving so great discontent to my People as I conceive this Mercy may Produce therefore I doe remit this Particular Cause to both the Houses But I desire them to take into their Consideration the inconveniences as I conceive may upon this occasion fall upon my Subjects and other Protestants abroad especially since it may seeme to other States to be a severity which Surprise having thus represented I thinke my selfe discharged from all ill consequence that may ensue upon the execution of this Person His Majesties Letter to the Lords on the behalfe of the Earle of Strafford sent by the PRINCE My Lords I Did yesterday satisfie the Justice of the Kingdome by passing of the Bill of Attainder against the Earle of Strafford but mercy being as inherent and inseparable to a King as Iustice. I desire at this time in some measure to shew that likewise by suffering that unfortunate man to fulfill the naturall course of his life in a close imprisonment yet so that if ever he make the least offer to escape or offer directly or indirectly to meddle in any sort of Publique businesse especially with mee either by Message or Letter it shall cost him his life without further Processe This if it may be done without the discontentment of if People will bee an unspeakable contentment to me To which end as in the first place I by this Letter doe earnestly desire your approbation and to endeare it the more have chosen him to carry it that of all your House is most deare to me So I desire that by a conference you will endeavour to give the House of Commons contentment Likewise assuring you that the excuse of mercy is no more pleasing to mee then to see both Houses of Parliament consent for my sake that I should moderate the severity of the Law in so important a case J will not say that your complying with mee in this my intended mercy shall make mee more willing but certainly 't will make me more cheerfull in granting your just grievances But if no lesse then his life can satisfi◠m◠People I must say fiat justitia Thus againe recommending the consideration of my intentions to you I rest Whitehall the 11. of May 1641. Your unalterable and affectionate friend CHARLES R. If hee must dye it were charity to Reprieve him till Satterday May 11. 1641. THis Letter all written with the Kings own hand the Peeres this day received in Parliament delivered by the hand of the Prince It was twice read in the House and after serious and sad consideration the House resolved presently to send 12. of the Peers Messengers to the King humbly to signifie that neither of the two intentions expressed in the Letter could with duty in them or without danger to himselfe his dearest Consort the Queen and all the young Princes their Children possibly bee advised With all which being done accordingly and the reasons shewed to his Majesty Hee suffered no more words to come from them but oft of the fulnesse of his heart to the observance of Iustice and for the contentment of his people told them that what he intended by his Letter was with an if if it may be done without discontentment of his people if that cannot bee I say againe the same that J writ fiat justitia My other intention proceeding out of charity for a few dayes respite was upon certaine information that His Estate was so distracted that it necessarily required some few dayes for settlement thereof Whereunto the Lords answered their purpose was to be Suitors to his Majesty for favour to be shewed to his innocent Children and it himselfe had made any provision for them that the same might hold This was well liking to his Majesty who thereupon departed from the Lords at His Majesties parting they offered up into his hand the Letter it selfe which he had sent but Hee was pleased to say my Lords what I have written to you I 〈◊〉 content it be Registred by you in your House In it you may see my mind I hope you will use it to my honour This upon returne of the Lords from the King was presently reported to the House by the Lord Privy Seale and ordered that these Lines should goe out with the Kings Letter if any Copy of the Letter were dispersed FINIS