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
enter into no more particulars but shew you a way of remedy by shewing you my cleare intentions and some mark that may hinder this good work I shall willingly and cheerfully concur with you for the reformation of all innovations both in Church and Common wealth and consequently that all Courts of Iustice may be reformed according to Law For my intention is clearly to reduce all things to the best purest times as they were in the time of Qu. Elizabeth Moreover whatsoever part of my revenue shall bee found illegal or heavy to my subjects I shall be willing to lay down trusting in their affections Having thus clearly and shortly set down my intentions I wil shew you some rubs and must needs take notice of some very strange I know not what tearme to give them Petitions given in the name of divers Counties against the established government of the Church and of the great threatnings against the Bishops that they will make them to be but a Cipher or at least taken away If some of them have incroached too much upon the Temporalty if it be so I shall not be unwilling these things should be redressed and reformed as all other abuses according to the wisedome of former times so farre I shall goe with you no farther If upon serious debate you shall shew that Bishops have some temporall authority not so necessary for the government of the Church and upholding Episcopall jurisdiction I shall not be unwilling to desire them to lay it downe but this must not bee understood that I shall any way consent that their voyce in Parliamen should be taken away for in all the times of my predecessors since the Conquest and before they have enjoyed it I am bound to maintaine them in it as one of the fundamentall institutions of this Kingdome There is one other rock you are on not in substance but in service and the forme is so essentiall that unlesse it be reformed will split you on that rock There is a Bill lately put in concerning Parliaments The thing I like well to have frequent Parliaments but for Sheriffes and Constables to use my authority I can no wayes consent unto But to shew that I defire to give you content in substance as well as in shew that you shall have a Bill for doing thereof so that it doe not trench neither against my Honour neither against the ancient prerogatives of the Crowns concerning Parliaments ingeniously confesse often Parliaments is the fittest means to keep correspondency between Me and my people that I doe so much desire To conclude now all that I have shewn you the state of my affaires my owne cleare intentions and the rockes I would have you shun To give you all contentment you shall likewise find by these Ministers I have or shall have about mee for the effecting of these my good intentions which shall redouble the peace of the Kingdome and content you all Concerning the conference you shall have a direct answer on Munday which shall give you satisfaction His Majesties Speech to both Houses of Parliament in the Lords House at the passing of the Bill for a Trieniall Parliament the sixteenth of November 1640. MY Lords and you the Knights Citizens and Burgesses of the House of Commons you may remember when both Houses were with me at the banquetting House at Whitehall I did declare unto you two rocks I wished you to eschew this is the one of them and of that consequence that I think never bill passed here in this House of more favour to the Subjects then this is and if the other Rock bee as happily passed over as this shall be at this time I doe not know what you can ask for ought I can see it this time that I can make any question to yeeld unto Therfore I mention this to shew unto you the sence that I have of this Bill and obligation as I may say that you have to me for it for hitherto to speake freely I have had no great incouragement to doe it if I should look to the outward face of your actions or proceedings and not look to the inward intentions of your hearts I might make question of doing it Hitherto you have gone on in that which concernes your selves to amend and yet those things that meerly concernes the strength of this Kingdom neither for the State nor my own particular This I mention not to reproach you but to shew you the state of things as they are you have taken the Government all in pieces and I may say it is almost off the hinges A skilfull Watchmaker to make clean his watch he will take it a sunder and when it is put together it will goe the better so that he leave not foorth not one pin in it Now as I have done all this on my part you know what to do on your parts and I hope you shal see cleerly that I have performed really what I expressed to you at the beginning of this Parliament of the great trust I have of your affections to me and this is the great expression of trust that before you do any thing for me that I do put such a confidence in you His Majesties Speech to both the Houses of Parliament February 3. 1640. HAving taken into my serious consideration the late Remonstrance made unto me by the House of Parliament I give you this answere That I take in good part your care of the true Religion establish d in this Kingdome from which I will never dâ—part as also for the tendernesse of my safety and security of this State and Government It is agaiâ—st â—y minde that Popery or Superstition should any way increase within this Kingdome and will restrain the same by putting the Lawes into execution I am resolved to provide against the Iesuits and Papists by setting foorth a Proclamation with â—ll speed commanding them to depart the Kingdome within one month which if they faile or shall returne they shall be proceeded against according to the Lawâ—s Concerning Rosettie I give you to understand that the Queene hath alwayes assured mee that to her knowledge hee hath no Commission but onely to entertaine a personall correspondence betweene her and the Pope in things requisite for the exercise of her Religion which is warranted to her by the Articles of Marriage which give her a full Liberty of Conscience yet I have perswaded that since the misunderstanding of the persons condition gives offence shee will within a convenient time remove him Moreover I will take a speciall care to restâ—ne my Subjects from resorting to Masse at Denmark house Saint James and the Chappel of Ambassadors Lastly concerning John Goodman the Priest I will let you know the reason why I reprived him that as I am enformed neither Queene Elizabeth nor my Father did ever avow that any Priest in their times was executed meerely for Religion which to mee seemes to be this particular case yet seeing that I am