Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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A63199
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The tryal of the Lord Russel
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1683
(1683)
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Wing T2227A; ESTC R219712
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60,366
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40
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with Mr. Sheppard L. Ch. Just Read the Statute of 25 E. 3. c. 2. My Brothers desire to have it read Cl. Cro. Whereas divers Opinions have been before this time in what Case Treason shall be said and in what not The King at the Request of the Lords and of the Commons hath made a Declaration in the manner as hereafter followeth That is to say when a Man doth compass or imagine the Death of our Lord the King or of our Lady his Queen or of their eldest Son and Heir or if a Man do Violate the Kings Compagnion or the Kings eldest Daughter unmarried or the Wife of the Kings eldest Son and Heir or if a Man do levy War against our Lord the King in his Realm or be adherent to the Kings Enemies in his Realm giving to them Aid and Comfort in the Realm or else where and thereof be proveably attainted of open Deed by People of their Condition And if a Man counterfite the Kings Great or Privy Seal or his Mony and if a Man bring false Mony into this Realm counterfite to the Mony of England as the Mony called Lushburgh or other like to the said Mony of England Knowing the Mony to be false to Merchandise or make Payment in deceit of our said Lord the King and of his People and if a Man Slea the Chancellor Treasurer or the Kings Iustices of the one Bench or the other Iustices in Eyre or Iustices of Assise and all other Iustices designed to hear and determin being in their Places during their Offices And it is to be understood that in the Cases above rehearsed that ought to be Iudged Treason which extends to our Lord the King and his Royal Majesty L. C. Just My Lord That which is urged against you by the Kings Council is this You are excused by the Indictment of compassing and designing the Kings Death and of endeavouring to Raise an Insurrection in Order to it That that they do say is that these Counsels that your Lordship hath taken are Evidences of your Compassing the Kings Death and are Overt Acts Declaring the same and upon that it is they insist your Lordship to be Guilty within that Statute L Russel It is in a Point of Law and I desire Counsel Mr. Att. Gen. Admit your Consultations and we will hear them L. Ch. J. I would set your Lordship right for probably you may not apprehend the Law in this Case If your Counsel be heard they must be heard to this That taking it that my Lord Russel has consulted in this manner for the Raising of Forces within this Kingdom and making an Insurrection within this Kingdom as Col. Romsey and my Lord Howard have deposed whether then this be Treason we can hear your Counsel to nothing else L. Russel I do not know how to answer it The point methinks must be quite otherwise that there should be Two Witnesses to one and the same time Mr. Att. Gen. Your Lordship remembers in my Lord Staffords Case there was but one Witness to one Act in England and another to another in France L. Russel It was to the same point Mr. Att. Gen. To the general point the lopping point Sir Geo. Jeff. There was not so much Evidence against him as there is against your Lordship L. C. J. My Lord if your Lordship will say any thing or call any Witnesses to disprove what either of these Gentlemen have said we will hear your Lordship what they say But if you contradict them by Testimony it will be taken to be a Proof And the way you have to disprove them is to call Witnesses or by asking Questions whereby it may appear to be untrue Mr. Sol. Gen. If you have any Witnesses call them my Lord. L. Russel I do not think they have proved it But then it appears by the Statute that Levying War is Treason but a Conspiracy to levy War is no Treason if nothing be done 't is not Levying War within the Statute There must be manifest Proof of the matter of Fact not by inference Mr. Att. Gen. I see that is taken out of my Lord Coke Levying War is a distinct branch of the Statute and my Lord Coke explains himself afterwards and says 't is an Assuming of Royal Power to Raise for particular puposes Just Wythins Unless matter of Fact be agreed we can never come to argue the Law L. Russel I came in late Mr. Sol. Gen. Pray my Lord has your Lordship any Witnesses to call as to this matter of Fact L. Russel I can prove I was out of Town when one of the Meetings was but Mr. Sheppard can't recollect the Day for I was out of Town all that time I never was but once at Mr. Sheppards and there was nothing undertaken of viewing the Guards while I was there Colonel Romsey Can you swear positively that I heard the Message and gave any Answer to it L. C. Just To Colonel Romsey Sir did my Lord Russel hear you when you delivered the Message to the Company were they at the Table or where were they Col. Romsey When I came in they were standing at the Fire side but they all came from the Fire-side to hear what I said L. Russel Colonel Romsey was there when I came in Col. Romsey No my Lord. The Duke of Monmouth and my Lord Russel went away together and my Lord Gray and Sir Thomas Armstrong L. Russel The Duke of Monmouth and I came together and you were standing at the Chimney when I came in you were there before me My Lord Howard hath made a long Narrative here of what he knew I do not know when he made it or when he did recollect any thing 't is but very lately that he did declare and protest to several people That he knew nothing against me nor of any Plot I could in the least be questioned for L. C. J. If you will have any Witnesses called to that you shall my Lord. L. Russel My Lord Anglesey and Mr. Edward Howard My Lord Anglesey stood up L.C. J. My Lord Russel what do you ask my Lord Anglesey L. Russel To declare what my Lord Howard told him about me since I was confined L. Anglesey My Lord I chanced to be in Town the last Week and hearing my Lord of Bedford was in some Distress and Trouble concerning the Affliction of his Son I went to give him a Visit being my old acquaintance of some 53 years standing I believe for my Lord and I were bred together at Magdalen Colledge in Oxon. I had not been there but a very little while and vvas ready to go avvay again after I had done the good Office I came about but my Lord Howard came in I don't know whether he be here L. Howard Yes here I am to serve your Lordship L. Anglesey And sat down on the other side of my Lord of Bedford and he began to comfort my Lord and the Arguments he used for his Comfort vvere My Lord
Ferguson that was the person he kept company with the Reverend Dean and the rest of the Clergy of the Church of England they were not fit to be trusted with it but this Independent Person Ferguson he gives notice of the coming of the persons and in pursuance of this notice they all come they come late in the Evening not in the posture and quality they use to go for you find they had not so much as a Coach Is it probable they came to tast Wine Wherefore did they go up into a room Wherefore did they order Mr. Sheppard that none of the Boys should come up but that the Master must fetch the Sugar and Wine himself wherefore you may perceive the Action they were upon there were only to be such persons as had an affection for such a cause You find pursuant to what Col. Romsey says that there was a direction to take a view of the Guards that Sir Tho. Armstrong comes back and makes this Report says he I have taken notice they are in such an idle careless posture that it is not impossible to surprize them This Mr. Sheppard he does not come nor does he appear to you to come here out of any vindictive humor to do the Prisoner at the Bar any hurt In the next place we have my Lord Howard he comes and positively tells you after he had given an account for you observe there were two parts to be acted in this horrid Tragedy there was first the Scoundrel sort of People were to be concerned to take away the Life of the King and the Duke the Great Persons were to head the Party in the Rising they put themselves in proper postures each of them consenting to something of the Surprize in as much as you observe that Sir Thomas Armstrong and some other Persons might not be trusted They come and resolve themselves out of a General Council and they meet in a particular Council of Six looking upon themselves as the Heads of the Party And I must tell you many of them we live not in an age of such obscurity but we know them how fond have they been of the applause of the people As that person encouraged himself yesterday they were Liberatores Patriae that could Murder the King and the Duke My Lord I must take notice that this noble Lord is known to have an intimacy with him you observe with how much tenderness he is pleased to deliver himself how carefully he reports the Debates of the particular Consults of the persons to be intrusted in the management he tells you that Noble Lord the Prisoner at the Bar was pitched upon and Algernoon Sidney a man Famous about the Town for what To call in Parties from some of his Majesties other Dominions persons we know ripe enough for Rebellion to assist Pursuant to this you find persons sent of a Message for some to come over whereof some are in hold So that for all dark and obscure sort of matters nothing can be better brought to light than this of taking all matters together with the concurring Circumstances of Time and Place Gentlemen I must confess this Noble Lord hath given an account by several Honourable persons of his Conversation which is a very easie matter Do you think if any man had a design to raise a Rebellion against the Crown that he would talk of it to the Reverend Divines and the Noble Lords that are known to be of Integrity to the Crown Do you think the Gentleman at the Bar would have so little concern for his own life to make this Discourse his ordinary Conversation No it must be a particular Consult of Six that must be intrusted with this I tell you 't is not the Divines of the Church of England but an Independent Divine that is to be concerned in this they must be persons of their own complexion and humour For Men will apply themselves to proper Instruments Gentlemen I would not labour in this case for far be it from any man to endeavour to take away the Life of the Innocent And whereas that Noble Lord says he hath a vertuous good Lady he hath many Children he hath Vertue and Honour he puts into the Scale Gentlemen I must tell you on the other side you have Consciences Religion you have a Prince and a mercifull one too consider the life of your Prince the life of his Posterity the consequences that would have attended if this Villany had taken effect What would have become of your Lives and Religion what would have become of that Religion we have been so fond of preserving Gentlemen I must put these things home upon your Consciences I know you will remember the horrid Murder of that most pious Prince the Martyr King Charles the First How far the Practices of those persons have influenced the several Punishments since is too great a secret for me to examine But now I say you have the Life of a merciful King you have a Religion that every honest man ought to stand by and I am sure every loyal man will venture his Life and Fortune for You have your Wives and Children Let not the Greatness of any man corrupt you but discharge your Consciences both to God and the King and to your Posterity L. C. J. Gentlemen of the Jury the Prisoner at the Bar stands indicted before you of High Treason in compassing and designing the Death of the King and in declaring of it by Overt Acts endeavouring to raise Insurrections and popular Commotions in the Kingdom here To this he hath pleaded not Guilty You have heard the Evidence that hath been against him it hath been at large repeated by the Kings Counsel which will take off a great deal of my trouble in repeating it to you again I know you cannot but take notice of it and remember it it having been stated twice by two of the Kings Counsel to you 't is long and you see what the parties here have proved There is first of all Col. Romsey he does attest a Meeting at Mr. Sheppards House and you hear to what purpose he says it was the Message that he brought and the Return he had it was to enquire concerning a Rising at Taunton and that he had in Return to my Lord Shaftsbury was that Mr. Trenchard had failed them and my Lord must be contented for it could not be at that time You hear that he does say that they did design a Rising he saith there was a Rising designed in November I think he saith the 17 th upon the day of Qu. Elizabeths Birth You hear he does say There was at that Meeting some Discourse concerning inspecting the Kings Guards and seeing how they kept themselves and whether they might be surprised and this he says was all in order to a Rising He says that at this my Lord Russel was present Mr. Sheppard does say that my Lord Russel was there That he came into this Meeting with the Duke