Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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A37728
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A brief representation of the Quakers case of not-swearing and why they might have been, and yet may be, relieved therein by Parliament.
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Eccleston, Theodor, 1651-1726.
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1694
(1694)
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Wing E141; ESTC R26092
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4,027
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8
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reasonable to secure the Subject from perpetual Imprisonment by a King without Tryal than it is to secure one Subject from Imprisoning another till Death for not giving an Answer in Chancery or Exchequer upon Oath Does it belong to Parliaments to secure other Subjects in their Estates Liberties and Properties And is it Unparliamentary to secure the Quakers from Sequestrations against their whole Estates Because they dare not comply to a Circumstance of the Law when as they understand it 't is against an express Command of Christ Surely no. And therefore their Relief in Parliament is a fitting Case to be there tenderly taken notice of and provided for May it not then be well worth the while for this present Parliament to Relieve these Distressed People and afford their Suffering Case Redress That thereby their Causes may the sooner come to an Issue whether they Sue for Just Debts or are Sued Whereby many Unjust and Vexatious Suites by Injurious and Litigious Persons may be prevented which have often tended rather to the Quakers Ruin and others Damage than Recovery of their Right As to the Fourth Objection That 't will tend to let them into the Government For Answer thereto Barr that as hard as you please only don 't let the Supposal of that from which so easily and so willingly they may be excluded be a hindrance to that ease and benefit the Government may so easily afford them But now while you have opportunity by the Station Providence hath placed you in pray be you of such Noble Generous Spirits as to Relieve them tho' they differ from you in the Construction of a Text they esteem plain and positive on their side and from which they dare not swerve having therein the Concurrence of many * Chrysosâ—… c. Swâ—…by's Appâ—… the Kingâ—… Walter 〈…〉 his Declâ—…on Acâ—… Monumeâ—… Vol. 1. 〈…〉 new Edâ—… Young's 〈…〉 Exam. folâ—… old Edit 〈…〉 abundanâ—…thers Ancient Fathers and Martyrs and since them the Mennists and of late Francis Osbourne Esquire in his Political Reflections 7th Edition p. 319. who treating of Judicial Cases calls Not-swearing a Yielding a Sincere and Faithful Obedience to the Precept of our Saviour Swear not at all which says he the Corrupt Glosses of Expositors labour much tho' all in vain to elude And Swinderby in his Appeal to the King complaining of the Errors of the Papists say thus As Christ forbids Swearing so says he the Pope justifieth Swearing and compels Men to Swear Which no Man can rationally say is only spoken of Swearing in Communication for his Complaint is against justifying Swearing and compelling Men to Swear which cannot be pretended to mean other than solemn Swearing for no Age that we read of did ever Authorize Prophane Swearing much less compel to it Since therefore not only Prophane Swearing but also Solemn Swearing was early complained of by Protestants let it not seem strange to any that the Quakers now scruple Swearing and for ease therein have often sought Relief in Parliament the proper place Seeing then they believe they have the Authority of Christ's Command and the Apostles Exhortation and the Martyrs Doctrine on their side tho' divers of you are not so perswaded Yet let the World behold your Justice and Willingness according to your Power to do Good to all the Honest and Industrious People you both Represent and Govern By Enacting That their Solemn Affirmation shall be accepted in Lieu of an Oath and all that falsifie therein shall be Punished Equally with Perjured Persons It having been made appear to a Committee of this Parliament Dec. 2. 1692. that they are Exposed to great Hardships as aforesaid and not themselves only but others also which was the Case of a Member or two of this present Parliament So that upon the whole Matter the said Committee were of Opinion and did Report it to the House That the Quakers ought to be Relieved according to the Prayer of their Petition then newly Presented to the House Wherefore as Liberty hath been given them to declare their Allegiance to the Government without Swearing for which Ease they are sincerely thankful so be pleased to add to that Kindness their Relief in the Matter of Oaths between them and other Subjects as well as between the Government and them Signed in Behalf of the said People Theodor Eccleston London Dec. 22. 1694.
A BRIEF REPRESENTATION OF THE Quakers Case OF Not-Swearing And why they might have been and yet may be Relieved therein by PARLIAMENT 'T IS a certain truth That among Christians and Protestants especially there are divers particular things about Religion conscientiously scrupled by some as unlawful that others esteem Orthodox And therefore 't is not to be wonder'd that the Quakers differ from many others tho' not from all in this Case of Oaths they believing they are absolutely forbid to Swear in any Case by that positive Command of Christ Matth. 5. 34. and the Earnest Exhortation of his Apostle James 5. 12. And that this is undeniably their Christian Perswasion is evidenced by their Sufferings these many Years for not Swearing And therefore their Case may be worth the Charitable notice of the Government by Law to Relieve them therein And not for their Religious Perswasion to continue them and their Families exposed to Ruin who among their Neighbours cheerfully pay to the Support of the Government and by their Trades and Industry according to their Capacities advance the National Stock It may therefore be humbly offer'd ' That 't is not the Interest of the Government to refuse them Relief Their Industry in Trade both at Sea and Land bringing Profit to the Government as well as others The Station they stand in as Merchants Farmers Manufactors Improvers of Lands and Stocks is advantagious to their Neighbours as truly as others And as it seems not the Interest of the Government in general that they should be any ways discouraged in their Honest Industry so neither is it the Interest of an Eminent part of the Government that they should not be Reliev'd viz. The Judges For the frequent Suites that are brought against Quakers before the Chancery and Exchequer Judges are no doubt very troublesome and burthensome by the difficulty of getting at a Just Issue for want of Swearing whereby Justice is delayed and their Causes often held very long And no doubt when Just Judges see the Quakers wrong'd and abused and can't Relieve them 't is irksome to them So that 't is humbly conceiv'd 't would be a great ease to those Courts to have the Quakers Reliev'd in this Case of Oaths Neither is it without Advantage to the King 's other Courts to be able to use the Evidence of one who is now a Quaker that perhaps was not so some Years ago when he was a Witness to a Bill Bond Book-debt or Deed of Indenture or when he was Steward or Trustee or Servant either to Persons of Quality or to others of Trade or Estate Nor may their Testimony be unuseful to Coroners in Case of Unnatural Deaths nor inconvenient in Cases of Trespass or Felony c. And it is further proposed That it is not the Interest of the Subject to continue them unrelieved For it is not the Interest of those the Quakers are indebted to Because tho' such may sue and harrass the Quakers in Person and Estate yet they may long want a Decision of their Debt or Claim as to the right of it for want of an Answer upon Oath It is not the Interest of those they are concern'd with in any doubtful Case because of the Difficulty to come to Tryal And for those that owe Money to the Quakers to be allowed to fly into Chancery for a Refuge to obstruct paying just Debts is such an Injury as 't is hoped no one that is rational will countenance or desire should be continued upon them And may it not then be asserted That 't is no Honest Man's true and just Interest to have the Quakers denied Relief no not the Gown-men of VVestminster-Hall whose few Fees from the Quakers as Plaintiffs might suggest tho' unduly that they have no long-tail'd Debts to sue for nor Titles to recover but if they so suppose it 's a mistake for 't is rather their despair of relief and their well-known inability to pursue a Cause that is their common determent to begin So that of all Causes that crowd those Courts few are brought by the Quakers tho' they may need it as much as others to the great Loss of the Learned in the Law as well as the Poor Injured Quaker And one might think 't were great pity an Industrious People should be kept liable to all Injurious Suites and so much barr'd from Sueing for their Rights be their Cause never so reasonable just or necessary Seeing their Relief is to them so needful so harmless to all and so useful to the Government and their Neighbours Let 's a little consider the common Objections which may be sum'd up in short thus First Objection How shall we then be at a Certainty Secondly Why should the Laws be alter'd for them For Thirdly 'T would be to rase old Foundations Fourthly And let them into the Government Which it's hoped will not be difficult to answer one by one and that to reasonable satisfaction And to the First viz. The Doubt of Certainty It may be rationally affirmed That whosoever is bound to tell the Truth especially against Mens own Interest where the Temptation if any mainly lyes such are either so bound by the Law of God or the Laws of Men or both Now the Obligations by the Law of God are binding on good Men whether they give Answers on Oath or on their Solemn Affirmation in the fear of God and Knaves are only bound by the Penal Laws of Men which if made equally severe to those that give fallacious Answers as well without Oath as by Oath would be equally effectual and binding both to them that give Answers without Swearing and to them that Swear The Second Objection That 't would be an Alteration of the Law Not of the Substance of the Law but of a Circumstance and if that hath no detriment in it but that the Alteration be really an Amendment and a conveniency to an Honest Industrious People pray why should it not be done What Sessions of Parliament is there that passes but some Law or other is made for the ease security or relief of the Subject If Foreigners are too hard for our Sea-faring People out goes an Act of Navigation to prevent it If our Poor at Home want Silk to Work with how soon is it granted notwithstanding the same Act to come over Land and not directly in Shipping from the places of it's produce as the said Act before did enjoin And shall the Ease of Trade be so soon granted against a positive Statute and the Ease of Conscience be so long denied in this as positive a Command of Christ at least really so believed and accepted And for the Third Objection That 't is to rase old Foundations Answer No as 't was said 't is rather to mend them a proper Work for Parliaments Did not Parliaments Abrogate Popery with all its Claim of Antiquity Did not a Parliament make the Act of Habeas Corpus against the Claim of Prerogative And was it more