Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A81508
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A discourse betvveene a resolved, and a doubtfull Englishman.
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1642
(1642)
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Wing D1572; Thomason E128_41; ESTC R212775
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9,525
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9
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A DISCOURSE BETVVEENE A Resolved and a Doubtfull Englishman Resolved HOw now neighbour how are you now minded have you brought in your plate and mony for assistance of the Parliament against the opposers of their and our priviledges Doubtfuil I am not yet resolved yet I am sure I beare as good affection to my Country and to the Parliament and am as much an enemy to their opposers as you are were I satisfied of some scruples begotten in me not by my own fancy but by expressions of the Parliament it selfe which if you did observe as I doe I beleeve it would somewhat stagger your resolution Resol What may those scruples be I see no cause at all Doubt The Parliament have declared the King to be the head of his great Councell the Parliament which to my understanding argues him to be a very considerable part thereof and you and I and all men see that no act of Parliament is ever made but by the Kings assent and if he assent not it is no act nor passes as a Law to binde the people which proves to me that he hath in all things a negative voice which also the King claimes by the fundamentall Lawes of the Kingdome Resol By which rule If the Common-wealth be prejudiced by any new invented mischiefe and upon debate thereof in Parliament the Lords and Commons both Houses agree upon a remedy yet if it sutes not with the Kings minde the remedy shall not take place nor no Law passe for removall of the mischiefe Nay by this rule if former Kings in former Parliaments have obtained Lawes for advance of Prerogative and to the prejudice of the peoples liberty the people are likely to lie long enough under the burthen for Kings are not likely to remit any part of their Prerogatives nor to passe any Law against themselves though both Houses should conceive the same never â—o just and reasonable and so the Kingdome shall for ever remaine under prejudices and intollerable grievances without hope of remedy Doubt I pray what remedy have you Resol Suppose the King should himself lay a foundation for arbitrary Government and for that end strengthen himselfe by making a party throughout the Kingdome suppose he should raise forces within and hire forces from abroad and thinking his force sufficient should call a Parliament as hoping to overawe them to make Lawes sutable to his ends but yet upon debate betwixt both Houses they should conclude upon Lawes quite contrary and destructive to his ends when doe you thinke the King would assent to those Lawes Doubt Never Resol And so the Parliament shall have no meanes to preserve themselves and the whole Kingdome Doubt The Parliament hath but the King is the Head thereof and till his understanding and conscience be satisfied what can they doe The King claimes not a power of making Lawes without them but denies them any power without him which being granted as necessarily you must grant it he being Head of the Parliament me thinkes you should answer your selfe and abate of your resolution Resol You nor all the world shall ere perswade me that there is any prescribing for prejudices in Government and such by which the whole Kingdome shall be in danger to be destroyed as of necessity it must be when one man hath a legall power to binde their hands which I cannot yet beleeve our forefathers were wiser then so they have not spent their blood so freely in opposition of ambitious Princes to preserve unto us the name only of freemen leaving us without a just meanes to preserve our selves in all causes where the King would not assent and though they had it had been only the error of their iudgements and cannot conclude as by any their constitutions which tend to our ruine or enslaving The people of England are a free people and so acknowledged to be by all the world and where they finde any thing in their government any way tending of it selfe or interpreted and made use of by polititians to their preiudice in any kinde whatsoever those things the Parliament hath full power to alter or remove and to breake through all opposition wherein the people are to give them all aide and assistance for though evill and preiudiciall lawes and customes had confirmed for thousands of yeares there is no pleading for their continuance against the minde of the Parliament the minde of the Parliament being the minde of the whole Kingdome and is so to be taken and esteemed and is never otherwise to be knowne but by the Parliament only and now it comes to my minde I pray tell me what place the King hath in Parliament Sure I am that untill very lately the Kings claime of being a part of the Parliament hath not been heard amongst us indeed since he hath absented himselfe from White Hall for there was his residence whilst the Parliament sate the Parliament being the Parliament compleate and the King the King and that he endeavoured to make voide all their proceedings and to frustrate all their endeavours to preserve the Kingdome from the like ruine which is brought upon Ireland and to beget a doubting in the people of the power of Parliaments lest they should yeeld occdience to the Ordinance of the Militia the only meanes to give check to his designes I say till very lately it was never heard that the King was a part of the Parliament nor never had been I beleeve but that it was the only way to stagger the mindes of men and I see it is the only cause that you and many others well affected to their Countrey doe not contribute that assistance which the iustnesse of the cause and necessity of the time doe require The King is the highest Magistrate A Magistrate and Officer of the Kingdome he is but that any Magistrate hath any place in Parliament by vertue of his Magistracy I doe not conceive The Kings Office is chiefly to oversee that Officers or Magistrates or Judges doe performe their duties according to Law The businesse of the Parliament is to oversee all Magistrates and to take an accompt of them all without exception as they shall see cause and to place and displace as concernes the welfare of the people Doubt The King hath of right belonging unto his Prerogative the power of calling of Parliaments without his Writ they meet not and therefore I conceive he hath a negative voice for did hee doubt their compliance with him or had hee not liberty of assent or dissent hee would certainly never call Parliaments being not to bee called but only by him and are likewise dissolvable at his pleasure all which the KING claimes and affirmes to bee his undoubted right and I doe do not heare or see any expression directly from the Parliament that doth contradict the same or to my understanding prove it to be otherwise or that they doe challenge so great power over all Magistrates whereof the King you say is one or that
doe proceede to doe the works of the supreame power which were it not their right they would not doe and therefore for us to trouble them in your behalfe which perhaps when we have prevailed with them to declare their power you would have one pretence or other to hold your monies which I feare is too deere to you to part withall though the Kingdome should perish for want thereof and am no whit doubtfull but the Kingdome will in short time be fully setled without your aide to the perpetuall shame of you and such as you are Doubt I beleeve you will finde your selves deceived I confesse you are most of you truely honest and sincere lovers of your Country but indeede if you well consider you shall finde you are not principled to deale with those polliticke adversaries you have you are too apt to slight their power their friends and meanes to doe you mischiefe and you are too too confident of your owne you doe not see far enough into the affaires of State and warre you looke onely at the present and seeing no want you thinke there never will be any you thinke to dispatch your worke in short time and so apply your selves to your trades and getting of moneyes whereas your Adversaries resolve it should be a businesse of yeares for so they gaine their ends though it be seaven yeares hence it should serve their turne They know you must be wasted and poore and friendlesse before they shall effect their designes of making you slaves and therefore it behooves you to free your selves from this too much conceit of your owne force and meanes and not so slightly to reject that use you may yet make of men of my condition but as willingly incline to give us satisfaction as we being by your procurement satisfied shall be ready to joyne heart and hand with you in any thing that you shall make appeare to be just and howsoever you are confident that the Parliament will doe nothing but what is just yet it will be much more profitable for the Kingdome that the Parliament be pleased to argue the reason of their just power before they use it and for your selves in acting the power which they oftentimes put you in trust withall upon sundry occasions it will be much more pleasing to your selves and any that are to be commanded by you when you shall be furnished with sufficient arguments to prove the things you doe or command to be just rather then violently to compell men upon their power not yet manifested fully Resol If we should petition the Parliament would you joyne with us therein Doubt Truly for my part I will and I beleeve many more that as yet have done no service for the Parliament for I conceive so much good will come thereof that either a good peace will soon follow thereupon or a more resolute prosecution of the War for if men were once setled in their judgements concerning those usefull points in Government then would every man see who it is that is the cause of all and be able to discourse of all the differences and see plainly wherein they were injured and be enraged with just anger against the Authors and maintainers thereof Whereas whilest they continue divided in their understandings and affections and unsatisfied in the true state of the cause of this War it will be prosecuted so coldly as you will be continually wasted and vexed to see the unavoidable miseries that will fall upon you and all your posterity Resol Give me your hand I see my error but doe you conceive there are many in the Kingdome so ingenuous malignants as you are that would gladly be satisfied Doubt I verily beleeve the greatest number that you call Malignants are such and that you will soon perceive if you can prevaile with the Parliament for satisfaction concerning their power and to punish all opposers Resol Well I le about it instantly for I see apparently it is the only meanes to unite all sorts of men into one resolved association against all tyranny and oppression and that without union the polititians will destroy us all our money and plate and horse and ships and strong holds and all our ammunition will not doe us so much good as unity amongst our selves all our petty differences in Religion fomented by our Machivilian adversaries of purpose to divide us must be laid aside and we must be united as one man against whomsoever shall oppose the just and supreame power of Parliament I see we have not been used to deale with such policies we must advance our spirits and hundred fold yet before we shall be able to reach their designes and we must give our heads no rest till we be able to meet them at every turne and not only so but to prevent them with stratagems and to circumvent them with policies Doubt You make me glad to heare you thus resolved and if you and your friends make progresse therein all the world will not be able to wrong you and one maine thing you must ever have in minde and that is you must be extreamly mistrustfull for in a civill War as this is there will bee such jugling such treachery and continuall betrayings that you will be perpetually abused except you be extreamly jealous I might perhaps better say watchfull and where in any man without exception great or small you finde the least abuse never cease till you have gotten him our of all imployment let no excuse nor no pretence serve the turne to re-admit him but punish him to the full if you doe not this to extremity you shall be perpetually bassled and slighted and shall never master those whom you imploy nor have any use of them but waste of time and money and they in the end will master you therefore looke to it in time and call him no more Malignant that hath given you this Councell Resol I will not but my friend my brother We had need I see of such heads amongst us and I shall endeavour to procure your satisfaction to the full that our cause and us may deserve your continuall counsell and assistance of which I make no doubt And so for this time fare ye well FINIS