Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A56351
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The speech or declaration of John Pym, Esq. &c.
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Pym, John, 1584-1643.
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1641
(1641)
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Wing P4294; ESTC R479151
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10,303
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16
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THE SPEECH OR DECLARATION OF JOHN PYM Esq c. MY LORDS MAny dayes have beene spent in maintenance of the Impeachment of the Earle of Strafford by the House of Commons whereby he stands charged with High Treason And your Lordships have heard his Defence with Patience and with as much favour as Iustice would allow We have passed through our Evidence and the Result of all this is that it remaines clearly proved That the Earle of Strafford hath indeavoured by his words actions and counsells to subvert the Fundamentall Lawes of England and Ireland and to introduce an Arbitrary and Tyrannicall Government This is the envenomed Arrow for which he inquired in the beginning of his Replication this day which hath infected all his Blood This is that Intoxicating Cup to use his owne Metaphor which hath tainted his Iudgement and poisoned his Heart From hence was infused that Specificall Difference which turned his Speeches his Actions his Counsels into Treason Not Cumulative as he exprest it as if many Misdemeanours could make one Treason but Formally and Essentially It is the End that doth enforme Actions and doth specificate the nature of them making not onely criminall but even indifferent words and actions to be Treason being done and spoken with a Treasonable intention That which is given to mee in charge is to shew the quality of the offence how hainous it is in the nature how mischievous in the effect of it which will best appeare if it be examined by that Law to which he himselfe appealed that universall that supreame Law Salus populi This is the Element of all Lawes out of which they are derived the End of all Laws to which they are designed and in which they are perfected How farre it stands in opposition to this Law I shall endevour to shew in some Considerations which I shall present to your Lordships all arising out of the Evidence which hath beene opened The first is this It is an offence comprehending all other offences here you shall finde severall Treasons Murthers Rapines Oppressions Perjuries The Earth hath a Seminary vertue whereby it doth produce all Herbs and Plants and other Vegetables There is in this Crime a Seminary of all Evills hurtfull to a State and if you consider the Reasons of it it must needs be so The Law is that which puts a difference betwixt good and evill betwixt just and unjust If you take away the Law all things will fall into a confusion every man will become a Law to himselfe which in the depraved condition of humane nature must needs produce many great enormities Lust will become a Law and Envy will become a Law Covetousnesse and Ambition will become Lawes and what dictates what decisions such Lawes will produce may easily be discerned in the late Government of Ireland The Law hath a power to prevent to restraine to repaire evills without this all kind of mischiefes and distempers will breake in upon a State It is the Law that doth intitle the King to the Allegeance and service of his people it intitles the people to the protection and justice of the King It is God alone who subsists by himselfe all other things subsist in a mutuall dependence and relation Hee was a wise man that said that the King subsisted by the field that is tilled It is the labour of the people that supports the Crowne If you take away the protection of the King the vigour and cheerefulnesse of Allegâ—â—â—â— will be taken away though the Obligation remaine The Law is the Boundary the Measure betwixt the Kings Prerogative and the peoples Liberty Whiles these move in their owne Orbe they are a support and security to one another The Prerogative a cover and defence to the Liberty of the people and the people by their Liberty are enabled to be a foundation to the Prerogative but if these bounds be so removed that they enter into contestation and conflict one of these mischiefes must needs ensue If the Prerogative of the King overwhelme the Liberty of the people it will be turned into Tyranny if Liberty undermine the Prerogative it will grow into Anarchy The Law is the safegard the custody of all private interest Your Honours your Lives your Liberties and estates are all in the keeping of the Law without this every man hath a like right to any thing and this is the condition into which the Irish were brought by the Earle of Strafford And the reason which hee gave for it hath more mischiefe in it than the thing it selfe They were a Conquered Nation There cannot be a word more pregnant fruitfull in Treason than that word is There are few Nations in the world that have not bin conquered and no doubt but the Conqueror may give what Lawes he please to those that are conquered But if the succeeding Pacts and Agreements doe not limit and restraine that right what people can be secure England hath been conquered and Wales hath been conquered and by this reason will be in little better case than Ireland If the King by the Right of a Conqueror gives Laws to his people shall not the people by the same reason be restored to the right of the conquered to recover their liberty if they can What can be more hurtfull more pernitious to both then such propositions at these And in these particulars is determined the first Consideration The second Consideration is this This Arbitrary power is dangerous to the Kings Person and dangerous to his Crowne It is apt to cherish ambition usurpation and oppression in great men and to beget sedition and discontent in the People and both these have been and in reason must ever be causes of great trouble and aâ—teration to Princes and States If the Histories of those Easterne Countries be perused where Princes order their affaires according to the mischievous principles of the E. of Strafford loose and absolved from all Rules of Government they will be found to be frequent in combustions full of Massacres and of the tragicall ends of Princes If any man shall looke into our owne Stories in the times when the Lawes were most neglected he shall find them full of Commotions of Civill distempers whereby the Kings that then reigned were alwayes kept in want and distresse the people consumed with Civill warres and by such wicked Counsells as these some of our Princes have beene brought to such miserable ends as no honest heart can remember without horrour and earnest Prayer that it may never be so againe The third Consideration is this The subversion of the Lawes And this arbitrary power as it is dangerous to the Kings Person and to his Crowne so is it in other respects very prejudiciall to his Majesty in his Honour Profit and greatnesse and yet these are the gildings and paintings that are put upon such Counsels These are for your Honour for your Service whereas in truth they are contrary to both But if I shall take off this
under the Whip and the Pillory and such servile Engines as were frequently used by the Earle of Strafford they may have the dregs of valor sullennesse and stubbornnesse which may make them prone to Mutinies and discontents but those Noble and gallant affections which put men on brave Designes and Attempts for the preservation or inlargement of a Kingdome they are hardly capable of Shall it be Treason to embase the Kings Coyne though but a piece of twelve-pence or six-pence and must it not needs be the effect of a greater Treason to embase the spirits of his Subjects and to set a stamp and Character of servitude upon them whereby they shall be disabled to doe any thing for the service of the King or Common-wealth The fifth Consideration is this That the exercise of this Arbâ—trary Government in times of sudden danger by the invasion of an enemy will disable his Majesty to preserve himselfe and his Subjects from that danger This is the only pretence by which the Earle of Strafford and such other mischievous Counsellours would induce his Majesty to make use of it and if it be unfit for such an occasion I know nothing that can be alledged in maintenance of it When warre threatens a Kingdome by the comming of a forraine Enemy it is no time then to discontent the people to make them weary of the present Government and more inclineable to a Change The supplies which are to come in this way will be unready uncertain there can be no assurance of them no dependence upon them either for time or proportion And if some money be gotten in such a way the Distractions Divisions Distempers which this course is apt to produce will be more prejudiciall to the publique safety than the supply can advantagious to it and of this we have had sufficient experience the last Summer The sixt That this crime of subverting the Lawes and introducing an Arbitrary and Tyrannicall Government is contrary to to the Pact and Covenant betwixt the King and his people That which was spoken of before was the legall union of Allegeance and Protection this is a personall union by mutuall agreement and stipulation confirmed by oath on both sides The King and his people are obliged to one another in the neerest relations He is a Father and a childe is called in Law Pars Patris He is the Husband of the Common-wealth they have the same interests they are inseparable in their condition be it good or evill He is the Head they are the Body there is such an incorporation as cannot be dissolved without the destruction of both When Iustice Thorpe in Edward the thirds time was by the Parliament condemned to death for Bribery the reason of that judgement is given because he had broken the Kings Oath not that he had broken his owne oath but that hee had broken the Kings oath that solemne and great obligation which is the security of the whole Kingdome If for a Iudge to take a small summe in a private cause was adjudged Capitall how much greater was this offence whereby the Earle of Strafford hath broken the Kings Oath in the whole course of his government in Ireland to the prejudice of so many of his Majesties Subjects in their Lives Liberties and Estates and to the danger of all the rest The Doctrine of the Papists Fides non est servanda cum Haereticis is an abominable Doctrine yet that other Tenet more peculiar to the Iesuits is more pernicious whereby Subjects are discharged from their oath of Allegeance to their Prince whensoever the Pope pleaseth This may be added to make the third no lesse mischievous and destructive to humane society then either of the rest That the King is not bound by that oath which he hath taken to observe the Lawes of the Kingdome but may when he sees cause lay Taxes and Burthens upon them without their consent contrary to the Lawes and Liberties of the Kingdome This hath beene preached and published by divers And this is that which hath beene practised in Ireland by the Earle of Strafford in his government there and endevoured to be brought into England by his Counsell here The seventh is this It is an offence that is contrary to the end of Government The end of Government was to prevent oppressions to limit and restraine the excessive power and violence of great men to open the passages of Iustice with indifferency towards all This Arbitrary power is apt to induce and incourage all kinde of insolencies Another end of Government is to preserve men in their Estates to secure them in their Lives and Liberties but if this Designe had taken effect and could have beene setled in England as it was practised in Ireland no man would have had more certainty in his owne then power would have allowed him but these two have been spoken of before there are two behind more important which have not yet beene touched It is the end of Governement that vertue should be cherisht vice supprest but where this Arbitrary and unlimited power is set up a way is open not onely for the security but for the advancement and incouragement of evill Such men as are aptest for the execution and maintenance of this Power are onely capable of preferment and others who will not be instruments of any unjust commands who make a conscience to doe nothing against the Lawes of the Kingdome and liberties of the Subject are not onely not passable for imployment but subject to much jealousie and danger It is the end of Government that all accidents and events all Counsells and Designes should be improved to the publique good But this Arbitrarie Power is apt to dispose all to the maintenance of it selfe The wisdome of the Counsell Table the Authority of the Courts of Iustice the industry of all the Officers of the Crowne have beene most carefully exercised in this the Learning of our Divines the Iurisdiction of our Bishops have beene moulded and disposed to the same effect which though it were begun before the E. of Straffords Imployment yet it hath beene exceedingly furthered and advanced by him Vnder this colour and pretence of maintaining the Kings Power and Prerogative many dangerous practises against the peace and safetie of this kingdome have beene undertaken and promoted The increase of Popery and the favours and incouragement of Papists have beene and still are a great grievance and danger to the Kingdome The innovations in matters of Religion the usurpations of the Clergie the manifold burdens and taxations upon the people have beene a great cause of our present distempers and disorders and yet those who have beene chiefe Furtherers and Actors of such Mischiefes have had their Credit and Authority from this That they were forward to maintaine this Power The E. of Strafford had the first rise of his greatnesse from this and in his Apologie and Defence as your Lordships have heard this hath had a maine part The Royall