Selected quad for the lemma: concern_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
concern_n	common_a	counsel_n	great_a	4	3	2.0729	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A58019	A general draught and prospect of government in Europe, and civil policy Shewing the antiquity, power, decay, of Parliaments. With other historical and political observations relating thereunto. In a letter.	Rymer, Thomas, 1641-1713.	1681 (1681)	Wing R2426; ESTC R219765	30,328	97

they All the Acts and Laws run in his name and are called Caesars Laws and Caesars Constitutions Where the Emperor and the Empire are named he constantly has the precedence In the publick Ordinances and Recesses every thing from him are stiled Precepts and Commands from the States merely obedience and prayers though he cannot wag a finger without their consent They every where speak of and own in him a fulness of power vollncommenheit And this they give also to the King of the Romans at the same time to show the emptiness and vanity of it As both are call'd Heads of the Empire though the latter has no power at all during the Emperors life They and all the world salute him by the Title of Imperial Majesty And the German Style will not allow Majesty to any other Kings die Koniglicher Wurde not die Koniglicher Maht the Kings Worship not Majesty Yet after all Aeneas Sylvius says in Germ. c. 43. Imperatorem Regem Dominum vestrum esse fateamini precario tamen ille imperare videtur nulla ejus potestas est The shadow and flourish onely were in the Emperor but the jura Majestatis the vis imperii the essentials of Majesty were always reserv'd and exercis'd by the common Assembly as by the particulars may more plainly appear 1. One of the Rights of Soveraignty is to be above the Law and to give Laws to the people Neither of these Royalties belong to the Emperour he may be call'd to account for violating the Laws In the Golden Bull the Forms and Proceedings against him are stated ` T is there said to be the Custom and accordingly setl'd and agreed for Law that the Electors may Impeach the Emperor in the Assembly of the States and the Count Palatine of the Rhine as Chief Elector is to be the President or Judge For the Legislation or making Laws the Emperor proposes the States are free which Propositions they will proceed upon When an Act is to be passed the Electors have six Votes the Princes six the Cities two the Emperor has but one the last Vote Without a Majority he can do nothing They can Decree without him if he is absent The Ordinances are to be confirm'd by his Seal and Subscription but if the States persist he must of necessity comply Even Charles the Fifth in vain contested that point as may be seen in Sleidan I. 4. These Sanctions are regularly subscribed by Caesar and by some of the States for the Empire and are Enrolled at Mentz in the Chancery of the Empire The several Members of the States are sworn to be true to the Emperor and to the Empire and are said to be Subjects of the Emperor and of the Sacred Empire 2. In matters of Religion in all times the head of the State had the Supreme direction as it was said of Tiberius Deûm munere summum Pontificem summum hominem esse And the first Christian Princes before the Papal Tyranny usurpt upon them were always the chief Pontifs and receiv'd the Pontifical Habit from that Colledge But upon the Reformation in Germany Anno 1555. both the Emperor and Pope were excluded and their Pontifical Supremacy abrogated In the point of Religion the Emperor was not consider'd as the Chief and Head of the Empire but as a party for by joyning himself to the Roman Catholicks he made their cause and concern his own It was therefore agreed and concluded that the States onely should determine in matters of Religion and that with a tender hand in an amicable way onely 3. War and Peace are transacted in the name of the Emperor but in effect all is reserv'd to the States He must at the least have the consent of the Electors Yet any Prince of the Empire may levy Souldiers may make Leagues and associations without any bodies leave 4. For Jurisdiction and the last Appeal the Civilians say the Emperor is fons omnis Iurisdictionis but here it is far otherwise The Princes in causes touching their Life their Honour or their see always claim'd their Priviledge das fursten-recht they call it to be try'd by their Peers the Princes of the Empire The common Pleas were tryed by the Emperor and attended his motion till by the increase of Suits that Judicature was no longer Sufficient the Judges grew corrupt and many other inconveniencies appearing the States in their Assembly at Franckford An. 1489. ordered a place certain for the decision of those ordinary causes whereupon the Imperial Chamber at Spires was erected All the Process and Decrees of the Court ran in the Emperors name and are under his Seal and it is call'd Caesars Court. But it is also call'd the Court of the Empire The Emperor onely named the President by the States were the rest of the Judges appointed and the other Officers of the Court by the Elector of Mentz Arch-Chancellour of the Empire The States likewise execute the sentence They visit and reform the Court by their Commissioners and to these visitors are the Appeals not to the Emperor Yet some voluntary referenccs that were made to the Emperor and his Privy-Council and to their Arbitration gave them opportunity of late to usurp a Jurisdiction 5. Taxes are all Levyed in the Emperors Name but in truth nothing of that nature can be done without the Assembly of the States Nor is the Emperor trusted with the Money in his Exchequer the States keep it till it be employ'd they have their several Treasuries Sometimes the several Circles keep their respective Money sometimes a publick Treasury is agreed upon and one or more Pfenning-Meisters PennyMasters appointed Anno 1495. They ordered seven Treasurers one to be named by the Emperour and six by the States These swear to the States And if any be by special Oath or obligation bound to the Emperor or other particular State he is uncapable of that trust These are accountable to the States onely If the occasion for which the Tax was rais'd be taken away the Money cannot be diverted to other uses but by the consent of the States 6. The chief Magistrates are none of them made by the Emperor The Count Elector Palatine is Vicar or Protector of the Empire and has the charge of it in the Emperors absence The Three Ecclesiastical Electors who are chosen by their Chapters are of course the Arch-Chancellours of the Empire The States appoint the Reichs-Skak-Meister or Reichs-Psenning-Meister the Treasurer of the Empire Sometimes they leave the general to be nam'd by the Emperor and the ten Circles appoint their several Directors or Counsel for him For the other particulars as the inspection and care of Coyning Money the hearing and sending Ambassadours c. the Emperour has no great matter of advantage above the other States On a common account where the concern is general the States must be consulted and nothing can be done without their consent and approbation The Electors are in possession and exercise a particular Soveraignty in

some points of greatest moment They are the Trustees and Representative of the whole Empire in their Election of the Emperor And hereupon they undertake likewise to loosen his power or tye it up short and make what Capitulations they please with him And thereby would assume to themselves more than the other States will ever be content to allow them But the Emperour singly besides the name and pomps and empty Titles has very little of the substantial Soveraignty entrusted with him The Investiture of the great fiefs belongs to him This is a Prerogative goodly in show and were of moment could he lay any conditions or charge on the person invested but nothing is left to his will he cannot deny nor delay the lawful Heir Nor does the Fee for want of Heirs Escheat to the Emperor but to the publick Patrimony He grants Priviledges where a third person or the Publick is not injur'd He founds Universities grants Fairs makes Denizens c. He Creates Kings Princes Dukes Marquises Counts Poet-Laureats Doctors c. He gives onely the bare Titulary honor of Prince but not the qualifications he cannot make him capable to sit and Vote amongst the other Princes of the Empire So that here the States are not subject to that imposition which the Roman Senate once suffer'd under Tarquinius Priscus who created an hundred new Senators to the end he might be sure of a Court-party by his Creatures and have a majority of Votes in the House In short the Germans seem to have observ'd the rule in Politicks That he who is the most high in name and dignity should in real power be the least considerable Yet in the last age the States gave way to several innovations which prov'd of mischievous consequence afterwards It had anciently been the Custom for the Assembly of the States to send for the Emperor to come to them upon occasion so Hincmar tells us of Charles the Great Rogatu ipsorum in Concilium veniebat quotiescunque voluntas esset ut ad eos veniret similiter quoque quanto spacio voluissent cum iis consisteret c. Ep. 3. c. 35. Upon their Message to him he came to the Assembly as often as they had a mind he should come to them and in like manner he stayed so long with them as they desired And this custom continued as may be seen in Lehem l. 7. c. 80. and c. 113. till under Maximilian And then the States began to go to the Emperor This Maximilian likewise upon pretence of sudden occasions that admitted not delays would now and then be acting single and usurping in several particulars the power that of right could only be exercised by the States Therefore the States An. 1500. to take off these pretences and prevent all attempts of this kind and partly peradventure for their own ease substituted in their absence a Committee which they call'd the Regiment and the Members Regents This Regiment was an Epitome of the whole Empire and was endued with all the powers and Soveraignty accordingly It consisted of Twenty persons who were chosen out of the several Orders of the States and took an Oath to be true to the Emperor and to the Sacred Empire The Emperor or his Proxie was their President but lest this might give too great advantage to the Emperor an Elector was added as a joynt-president with the Emperor or his Proxie No person of dependance on or particular obligation to the Emperor was capable of being a Member The Emperor had no more Vote than any one of the Twenty Regents nor could determine ought unless the majority were for him These were not simply to consult but had the execution also This Constitution held for some years And then the Annual Assembly returned and resumed their power and acted again But in case of sudden necessity left another expedient for the Emperor They constitute for him a Councel consisting of Eight persons Four chosen by the Electors and Four by the other States These were sworn to be true to the Emperor and to the Empire Scweren der Keyserlichen Majestat und dem heiligen reichs getreu c. But Charles the Fifth coming to Reign he was upon the new Model immediately He restor'd the Regiment but the conditions altogether different Now it consisted not of Twenty but Twenty two persons He as Emperor would have Two Votes added thereby in effect to be Master of Five Votes Two as Emperor One as President One for Austria and One for Burgundy The former Regiment might according to the old custom send for the Emperor to come to them Now it was order'd that Caesar might call them to what place he had a mind Formerly if the Emperor came not they might proceed without him now Charles the Fifth forbad them to make Leagues and Allyances or do ought in his absence The Oath was alter'd and the Members were only sworn to the Emperor and said to be the Councel of the Emperor whereas the former was called the Councel of the Empire In the former constitution the Elector in the name of the Empire subscribed their Ordinances here with the Electors subscription is joyned that of the President in the name of the Emperor In short the former was constituted by the States and entrusted with their power to be a check upon the Emperor this was formed by Caesar to quiet the people and entertain them with a show whilst he the more insensibly made his advances to invade their ancient Rights and usurp all the power into his own hands The next project in case of Emergencies was the Assembly of the Deputies This consisted of the Six Electors Six other Princes and Two Cities to which were after added Four Princes more This continued till An. 1606. with some effect Afterwards it prov'd of little consequence Court-artifice prevailing and the Ferdinands found a way to manage the Deputies and render them as unprofitable to the publick as Charles the fifth had made the Regiment The second Ferdinand called what Deputies he knew would Vote for him the rest he excluded and supplyed their place with others who he understood were entirely at his devotion as he told my Lord Digby Ambassadour with him An. 1621. Lundorp Tom. 2. Amongst these projects may be mentioned the Councel of the Emperours Court and the Privy-Councel These also that they might show as if the Empire had the interest in them were at the first sworn to the Elector of Mentz as Arch-Chancellour of the Empire Which Oath came after some time to be omitted Thus we have seen that the Custom of the Empire was to have a yearly Assembly these at the end of their Session always appointed the time and place for their next meeting If necessity for them sooner then was the Emperor to call an Assembly extraordinary which happening frequently the States for their ease appointed the Regiment and other expedients This gave a President for the Emperors to devise something of the like nature