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A38224
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Depositions and articles against Thomas Earle of Strafford Febr. 16. 1640; Proceedings. 1641-02-16
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England and Wales. Parliament. House of Commons.
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1641
(1641)
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Wing E2571A; STC 25247; ESTC S100074
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16,100
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48
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divers of the said Ships and goods of the Scots to be stayed seized and molested to the intent to set on the said warre XXI That the said Earle of Strafford shortly after his speeches mentioned in the last precedent Article to wit in the fifteenth yeare of his Majesties Reign came into this Realme of England and was made Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and continued his government of that Kingdome by a Deputy At his arrivall here finding that his Majesty with much wisedome and goodnesse had composed the troubles in the North and had made a Pacification with his Subjects of Scotland he laboured by all meanes to procure his Majesty to breake that pacification incensing his Majesty against his Subjects of that Kingdome and the proceedings of the Parliament there And having incensed his Majesty to an offensive warre against his said Subjects of Scotland by Sea and by Land and by pretext thereof to raise Forces for the maintenance of that warre he counselled his Majestie to call a Parliament in England yet the said Earle intended if the said proceedings of that Parliament should not be such as would stand with the said Earle of Straffords mischievous designes hee would then procure his Majestie to breake the same and by wayes of force and power to raise monies upon the said Subjects of this Kingdome And for the incouragement of his Majesty to hearken to his advice he did before his Majesty and his Privie Councell then sitting in Counsell make a large Declaration that he would serve his Majesty in any other way in case the Parliament should not supply him XXII That in the moneth of March before the beginning of the last Parliament the said Earle of Strafford went into Ireland and procured the Parliament of that Kingdome to declare their assistance in a warre against the Scots And gave directions for the raising of an Army consisting of 8000. foot and 1000. horse being for the most part Papists as aforesaid And confederating with one Sir George Radcliffe did together with him the said Sir George trayterously conspire to imploy the said Army for the ruine and destruction of the Kingdome of England and of his Majesties Subjects and of altering and subverting of the fundamentall Lawes of this Kingdome And shortly after the said Earle of Strafford returned into England and to sundry persons declared his opinion to be that his Majesty should first try the Parliament here and if that did not supply him according to his occasions he might then use his Prerogative as he pleased to levie what he needed and that he should be acquitted both of God and man if he tooke some other courses to supply himselfe though it were against the will of his Subjects XXIII That upon the thirteenth day of Aprill last the Parliament of England met and the Commons house then being the representative Body of all the Commons in the Kingdome did according to the trust reposed in them enter into debate and consideration of the great grievances of this Kingdome both in respect of Religion and the publike Libertie of the Kingdome and his Majesty referring chiefly to the said Earle of Strafford and the Archbishop of Canterbury the ordering and disposing of all matters concerning the Parliament He the said Earle of Strafford with the assistance of the said Archbishop did procure his Majesty by sundry speeches and messages to urge the said Commons house to enter into some resolution for his Majesties supply for maintenance of his warre against his Subjects of Scotland before any course was taken for the reliefe of the great and pressing grievances wherewith this Kingdome was then afflicted Whereupon a demand was then made from his Majesty of twelve Subsidies for the release of Ship-money onely and while the said Commons then assembled with expressions of great affection to his Majesty and his service were in debate and consideration of some supply before resolution by them made He the said Earle of Strafford with the helpe and assistance of the said Archbishop did procure his Majesty to dissolve the last Parliament upon the fifth day of May last and upon the same day the said Earle of Strafford did treacherously falsely and maliciously endeavour to incense his Majesty against his loving and faithfull Subjects who had been members of the said house of Commons by telling his Majesty they had denied to supply him And afterward upon the same did treacherously and wickedly counsell and advise his Majestie to this effect viz. that having tryed the affections of his people hee was loose and absolved from all Rules of government and was to doe every thing that power would admit and that his Majesty had tryed alwaies and was refused and should bee acquitted both of God and man and that Hee had an Army in Ireland meaning the Army above mentioned consisting of Papists his dependants as is aforesaid which Hee might imploy to reduce this Kingdome to obedience XXIV That in the same moneth of May He the said Earle of Strafford falsly treacherously and maliciously published and declared before others of his Majesties Privie Councell that the Parliament of England had forsaken the King and that in denying to supply the King they had given him the advantage to supply himselfe by other waies and divers other times he did maliciously wickedly and falsly publish and declare that seeing the Parliament had refused to supply his Majesty in the ordinary and usuall way the King might provide for the Kingdome in such waies as hee should hold fit and that he was not to suffer himselfe to be mastered by the frowardnesse of the people And having so maliciously slandered the said house of Commons hee did with the helpe and advice of the said Arch-bishop of Canterbury and the Lord Finch late Lord Keeper of the great Seale of England cause to bee printed and published in his Majesties name a false and scandalous book intituled His Majesties Declaration of the pauses that mooved him to dissolve the last Parliament full of bitter and malicious invectives and false and scandalous aspersions against the said house of Commons XXV That not long after the dissolution of the said last Parliament viz. In the monethes of May and June hee the Earle of Straffard did advise the King to goe on rigorously in leavying the Ship-Money and did procure the Sheriffes of severall Countries to be sent for for not levying the Ship-mony divers of which were threatned by him to be sued in the Starchamber and afterwards by his advice were sued in the Starchamber for not levying the same and divers of his Majesties loving Subjects were sent for and imprisoned by his advice about that and other illegall payments And a great loane of a hundred thousand pounds was demanded of the City of London and the Lord Major and the Aldermen and the Sheriffes of the said City were often sent for by his advice to the Councel Table to give an account of their proceedings in raising of Ship-mony and
to be put out of possession of divers Lands and Tenements being his free-hold in the Countrey of Mago and Rosecomen in the said Kingdome and divers other of his Majesties subjects to be also put out of possession and disseized of their free hold by colour of the same resolution without legall proceedings whereby many hundreds of his Majesties subjects were undone and their families utterly ruinated VIII That the said Earle of Strafford upon a Petition of Sir Iohn Gifford Knight the first day of February in the said 13 yeare of his Majesties Reigne without any legall processe made a Decree or Order against Adam Viscount Lofts of Elie a Peere of the said Realme of Jreland and Lord Chancellor of Jreland and did cause the said Uiscount to bee imprisoned and kept close prisoner on pretence of disobedience to the said decree or order And the said Earle without any authority and contrary to his Commission required and commanded the said Lord Viscount to yeeld unto him the great Seale of the Realme of Ireland which was then in his custody by his Majesties command and imprisoned the said Chancellor for not obeying such his command And without any legall proceedings did in the same thirteenth yeare imprison George Earle of Kildare a Peere of Jreland against Law thereby to enforce him to submit his title to the Mannor and Lordship of Castle Leigh in the Queenes Countie being of great yearely value to the said Earle of Straffords will and pleasure and kept him a yeare prisoner for the said cause two moneths whereof he kept him close prisoner and refused to enlarge him notwithstanding his Majesties Letters for his enlargement to the said Earle of Strafford directed And upon a Petition exhibited in October 1635. by Thomas Hibbots against dame Mary Hibbots Widdow to him the said Earle of Strafford the said Earle of Strafford recommended the said Petition to the Counsell Table of Ireland where the most part of the Counsell gave their vote and opinion for the said Lady but the said Earle finding fault herewith caused an order to be entred against the said Lady and threatned her that if shee refused to submit thereunto he would imprison her and fine her five hundred pound that if she continued obstinate he would continue her imprisonment and double her fine every month by month whereof she was enforced to relinquish her estate in the land questioned in the said Petition which shortly was conveyed to Sir Robert Meredith to the use of the said Earle of Strafford And the said Earle in like manner did imprison divers others of his Majesties Subjects upon pretence of disobedience to his orders and decrees and other illegall command by him made for pretended debts titles of Lands and other causes in an arbitrary and extrajudiciall course upon Paper Petitions to him preferred and no other cause legally depending IX That the said Earle of Strafford the sixtenth day of Febr. in the 12. yeare of his now Majesties Reigne assuming to himselfe a power above and against Law tooke upon him by a generall Warrant under his hand to give power to the Lord Bishop of Down and Connor his Chancellor or Chancellors to their severall Officers thereto to bee appointed to Attach and Arrest the Bodies of all such of the meaner and poorer sort where after citation should either refuse to appeare before them or appearing should omit or deny to performe or undergoe all lawfull decrees sentences and orders issued imposed or given out against them and them to commit and keepe in the next Goale untill they should either performe such sentences or put in sufficient Baile to shew some reason before the Counsell Table of such their contempt and neglect and the said Earle the day and yeare last mentioned signed and issued a Warrant to that effect and made the like Warrant to send to all other Bishops and their Chancellors in the said Realme of Ireland to the same effect X. That the said Earle of Strafford being Lord Lieutenant or Deputy of Jreland procured the Customes of the Merchandize exported out and imported into that Realme to be farmed to his owne use And in the ninth yeare of his now Majesties Reigne he having then intrest in the said Customes to advance his owne gaine and lucre did cause and procure the native commodities of Jreland to be rated in the booke of Rates for the Customes according to which the Customes were usually gathered at farre greater values and prices then in truth they were worth that is to say every hide at 20. shillings which in truth was worth but five shillings every stone of Wooll at thirteene shillings foure pence though the same ordinarily were worth but five shillings at the utmost but nine shillings by which meanes the custome which before was but a twentieth part of the true value of the commoditie was inhansed sometimes to a fift part and sometimes to a fourth and sometimes to a third part of the true value to the great oppression of the subjects and decay of Marchandize XI That the said Earle in the ninth yeare of his now Majesties Reigne did by his own will and pleasure and for his owne lucre restraine the exportation of the commodities of that Kingdome without his licence as namely Pipe-staves and other commodities and then raised great summes of money for licensing of exportation of those commodities and dispensation of the said restraints imposed on them by which means the pipe-staves were raised from foure pound ten shillings or 5 pound per thousand to ten pound and sometimes eleven pound per thousand and other commodities were inhanced in the like proportion and by the same meanes by him the said Earle XII That the said Earle being Lord Deputy of Ireland on the ninth day of Ianuary in the thirteenth yeere of his Majesties Reigne did then under colour to regulate the Importation of Tobacco into the said Realme of Ireland issue a Proclamation in his Majesties name prohibiting the importation of Tobacco without licence of him and the Counsell there from and after the first day of May Anno Dom. 1638. after which restraint the said Earle notwithstanding the said restraint caused divers great quantities of Tobacco to be imported to his owne use and fraughted divers ships with Tobacco which he imported to his owne use and that if any ship brought Tobacco into any Port there the said Earle and his Agents used to buy the same to his owne use at their owne price And if that the owners refused to let him have the same at under values then they were not permitted to vent the same by which undue meanes the Earle having gotten the whole Trade of Tobacco into his owne hands he sold it at great and excessive prices such as he list to impose for his owne profit And the more to assure the said Monopoly of Tobacco he the said Earle on the 23. day of February in the thirteenth yeare aforesaid did issue another Proclamation commanding that