A BRIEF MEMENTO To the present UNPARLIAMENTARY JUNCTO Touching their present intentions and Proceedings to Depose and Execute CHARLES STUART their lawful KING By WILLIAM PRYNNE Esquire a Member of the House of Commons and Prisoner under the Armies Tyranny who it seems have leavyed Warre against the Houses of Parliament their quondam Masters whose Members they now forcibly take and detain Captives during their lawless Pleasures Proverbs 24.21,22 My Son Fear thou the Lord and the King and meddle not with those who are given to Change for their calamity shall RISE SUDDENLY and who knoweth the ruin of them both Gal. 1.10 If I yet pleased men I should not be the Servant of Christ LONDON Printed Anno Dom. 1649. Die Veneris 20. Augusti 1647. An Ordinance for declaring all Votes Orders and Ordinances passed in one or both Houses since the force on both Houses July 26. until the sixth of this present August 1647. to be null and void WHereas there was a visible horrid insolent and actual force upon the Houses of Parliament on Monday the 26 of July last whereupon the Speakers and many Members of both Houses of Parliament were * And yet never a Member forcibly imprisoned or secluded the House as above 200. are now by the Army forced to absent themselves from the service of the Parliament and whereas those Members of the House could not return to sit in safety before Fryday the sixth of August It is therefore declared by the Lords and Commons in Parliament assembled that the Ordinance of Monday the said 26. July for the repealing and making void of the Ordinance of the 23. of the said July for the setling of the Militia of the City of London being gained by force and violence And all Votes Orders Ordinances passed in either or both Houses of Parliament since the said Ordinance of the 26 of July to the said sixt of August are null and void and were so at the making thereof and are hereby declared so to be the Parliament being under a force and not free Provided alwaies and be it Ordained that no person or persons shall be impeached or punished for his or their actions by or upon or according to the aforesaid Votes Orders or Ordinances unless he or they shall be found guilty of contriving acting or abetting the aforesaid visible and actual force or being present at or knowing of the said force did afterwards act upon the Votes so forced or were guilty of entring into or promoting the late Ingagement for bringing the King to the City upon the terms and conditions expressed in his Majesties Letter of the 12. of May last John Brown Cler. Parliamentorum A brief Memento to the present Vnparliamentary Juncto touching their present intentions and Proceedings to depose and Execute CHARLS STUART their Lawfull King of ENGLAND c. GENTLEMEN IT is the observation of King Solomon Prov. 25.11 That is word spoken in due season is like Apples of gold in pictures of silver And seeing I and above two hundred Members more being forcibly secluded from you by the Officers of the Armies unparalell'd violence upon our Persons and the House cannot speak my mind freely to you in or as a free and legal House of Commons I held it my duty freely to write my thoughts unto you onely as private Persons sitting under an armed horrid visible force consulting in the House without your Fellow Members advice or concurrence about the speedy deposing and executing of KING CHARLS your lawfull Soveraign onely to please the General Officers and Grand Councel of the Army who have unjustly usurped to them the Supreme Authority both over the King and Parliament or rather of the Jesuits and Popish Priests among or near them by whose Counsels they and you are now wholly swayed and whose trayterous designs you really execute in most of your late Votes and Actings I have onely a few words and Considerations to impart unto you Dictum sapienti sat est First I shall mind you that by the a Cook 3. Institut c. 1. p. 5 6. 12 13. 7 Reports Calvius Case 10 11. Stanfords Pleas of the Crown l. â—… c. â—… Common Law of the Realm the Statutes of 25 E. 3. c. 2. 26 H. 8. c. 13. 1 Ed 6. c. 12. 1 El. c. 6. 13. El. c. 2. and all other Acts concerning Treason * See Rastal Tit Treason it is no lesse than High Treason for any man by overs act to compass or imagine the death of the King or of his eldest Son and heir though it be never executed much more if actually accomplished That many have been arraigned condemned executed for such intended Treasons in former ages as the Earl of Arundel and others by Judgement in Parliament 21 R. 2. Plac. Coronae Nu 4.6,7 and the Gunpowder Traytors 3 Jacobi c. 1 2 4. to omit others whose Examples should be your Admonitions the heads and Quarters of some of them yet hanging on the House where now you meet and sit 2ly That in the * 3 Iac. c 4. 7 Iac. c. 6. Oath of Allegiance which you have all taken ought to take Immediately before your admission into the Commons House as Members You do truly and sincerely professe testifie and declare in your Consciences before God and the World That our Soveraign Lord King Charls Is lawfull and rightful King of this Realm and of all other his Majesties Dominâ—ons and Countries And that the Pope neither of himself nor by any authority of the Church or See of Rome or by any other means * See Prynne the Member reconciled to Prynne the Barrester p. 18 19. Nor with any other hath any power or authority to depose the King or to dispose of any of his Majesties Kingdoms or Dominions or to discharge any of his Subjects of his Allegiance and Obedience to his Majesties Person State or Government And that notwithstanding any sentence or Declaration of Deprivation made by the Pope c. or any absolution of the said Subjects from their obedience you will bear true Allegiance to His Majesty His heirs Successors and him and them will defend to the uttermost of your power against all attempts and conspiracies whatsoever which shall be made against his or their Crown and Dignity by reason or colour of any such sentence or Declaration * That is by the Pope or any other Person or persons whatsoever or otherwise And you therein further swear that you do from your hearts abhor detest and abjure as impious and Heretical that damnable doctrine and position that Princes which be excommunicated or deprived by the Pope may be deposed or murthered by their Subjects or any other whatsoevâ—r And that you do believe and in conscience are resolved that neither the Pope * Therefore not the Westminster Juncto nor any person whatsoever hath power to absolve you of this Oath or any part thereof and that all these things you did plainly and
of both Houses made in pursuance of the foresaid Oaths Protestations the solemn League and Covenant Remonstrances Declarations of both Houses and the Treaty when the houses were full and not under the Armies force or violence And if their proceedings the whole Parliament of 21 R. 2 were declared i 1. H. 4. c. 3. null and void and the King worthy to be deposed for such proceedings then let Serjeant Thorp and other Lawyers now acting with you consider and inform you what punishment you deserve for such breach of faith privilege of Parliament and usurpation of a monopoly of Parliamentary power to your selves whiles sitting under the Armies force and most Members forced thence in which case you ought not to sit vote or conclude any thing but onely to k As the House did in the case of the five Members Exact Collection p. 35 to 56. adjourn till the force removed and all the Members may freely meet in full Parliament as is clear by that memorable Record of 6 E. 3 Par apud Ebor. n. 1. 2. Dor. claus 6. E. 3. m 4. 6 E. 3. apud West Parl. 2. n 1. 13 3 Parl. 2. n. 4. 15 E. 3. n. 5. 17 E. 3. n. 26. 18. E. 3. n. 1. 25. 20 E. 3. n. 5. 21 E. 3. n. 4. 22. E. 3. n. 1. 25 E. 3. n. 1. 29 E 3. n 4. 36 E. 3. n. 1. 37 E. 3. n. 1. 42 E. 3. n. 1. 50 E. 3. n. 1. 51 E. 3. n. 3. 1 R. 2 n. 1. 3 R. 2. n. 1. 4 R. 20 n. 1 5 R. 2 parl 1. n. 1. parl 2 n 1. 6 R. 2. parl 1. n. 1 Parl. 2. n. 1. 8 H. 4. n. 28. 30. 54. 9 H. 4. n. 1. 13 H. 4. n. 1. and many more rolls where the Parliament when any considerable number of the Members of either House were absent was constantly adjourned and refused to sit or-do any thing though not under any force till the houses were full much more then when under the Armies sword it being against Magna Charta as the l Matthew Parts p. 882 885 888. Dan. P. 172. Barons declared in Parl. Anno Dom. 1257. in the reign of K. H. the third for a few Members to sit when the rest are absent 6ly Consider that though many of the Kings of Judab and Israel were extraordinary sinfull Idolatrous bloody tyrannicall and great oppressours of their people yea shedders of Priests of Prophets and other good mens innocent blood not onely in the wars but in peace yet there is not one President in the old Testament of one King ever judicially impeached arraigned deposed or put to death by the Congregation Sanhedrim or Parliament of Judah or Israel That those who slew any of them in a tumultuous or treacherous manner were for the most part slain themselves either in a tumult or else put to death by their children who succeeded to the Crown or by the people of the Land 2 Chron. 23.14,15,21 c. 24.25,26 c. 25.3,4 c. 33.24,25 that the Israelites after their revolt from Reho boam had never any one good King or good day almost among then but were over run with idolatry prophanesse tyranny invaded by enemies involved in perpetual Wars Civil or Forein and at last all destroyed and carried away Captives into Babylon as the Books of Kings and Chronicles will inform you That the rule in the Old Testament is not to take any wicked Kings from their Thrones and behead them but n Prov. 25.5 Take away the wicked from before the King and his Throne shall be established in righteousness And the rule in the New Testament o Rom. 13.1,2 c. Tit. 3.1,2 1 Pet. 3.13,14,17 1 Tim. 2.1,2,3 To be subject to Kings and the Higher Powers and to submit unto them even for Conscience and the Lords sake and to make Prayers Supplications and Intercessions for them that under them we may lead a peacable and quiet life in all Godliness and honesty for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour not to depose or shed their blood for which there is no precept nor president in the Gospel but only of the bloody Jewes who with p wicked hands crucified Jesus Christ THE KING OF THE JEWES by birth right and Lord of Glory whom they rejected and disclaimed for their King before they crucifyed him Acts 2.23 c. 13,14,15 John 19.12 to 23. Mat. 27.27 Luk. 23.38 which brought speedy and exemplary desolation upon their whole Nation ever since till now And is not this plain way of God the safest for you and the Army Saints to follow yea the short cut to Peace and settlement Ruminate upon it and then be wise both for your souls good and the Kingdomes too 7thly Consider that you now meet and sit under the armed force and violence of a mutinous Army who have leavyed Warre against the Houses to dissolve them imprison'd many of your Members forcibly secluded more and driven away almost all from the Houses That till the removal of this horrid force and re-assembling of all your scattered Members with freedom and safety in the Houses all you Vote Act Order or Ordain by the Armies own Doctrine in their Remonstrance of August 18. and the Declaration and Ordinance of both Houses made at the Armies instance August 20. 1647. is null and void even at and from the time it was voted acted ordered ordained and so declared by your selves even by this unrepealed Ordinance and by former Parliaments too as 21 R. 2. c. 12. 1 H. 4. c. 3. 31 H. 6. c. 1. 39 H. 6. c. 1. And however you may take upon you the name and power of the Houses of Parliament and unvote vote order and ordain what you please yet take it for an infallible Truth that none of the secluded and absent Members none of the Counties Cities and Boroughs for which they serve See the Protestation Dec. 11. 1648. not those for whom you serve and represent nor yet the Kingdoms of England Scotland and Ireland who have as great yea greater shares and interests by far than your selves in the Person of the King as their lawful Soveraign and are engaged by Oathes Protestations Covenants and all the premises to protect his Person and Crown with their lives and estates against all violence and danger nor yet his Queen Children and Allies in forein parts of what Religion soever will ever own you in your present condition and constitution to be a legal English Parliament but rather a Conventicle or Juncto nor any thing you vote order or ordain to be r See A Collection c. p. 93 221 222 225 253. valid And therefore whatever you vote Order or Ordain concerning the Treaty the deposing or executing the King the Disinheriting or Banishing the Prince dissolving the present Parliament setting up a new confused Representative or new form of State-Government only to please the Officers and Army or rather those Jesuits