Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	according_a	law_n	nature_n	1,115	5	5.3946	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A96658	Jus regium coronæ, or, The King's supream power in dispensing with penal statutes more particularly as it relates to the the two test-acts of the twenty fifth, and thirtieth of His late Majesty, King Charles the Second, argu'd by reason, and confirm'd by the common, and statute laws of this kingdom : in two parts / auctore Jo. Wilsonio J.C.	Wilson, John, 1626-1696.	1688 (1688)	Wing W2921A; ESTC R43961	44,210	87

20th Aug. ' 53. and several the like and every of them with this or the like clause Any Law Statute Custom Usage Act Ordinance and in the matter of the Purchasers of Sir John Stawel's Estate or Judgment to the contrary notwithstanding And Lastly When they had play'd the Game into Oliver's hand was his Instrument of Government set to any other Measures His Ordinances of the 26th Decemb. ' 53. 20th March 53. 16th May ' 54. 2d and 9th June ' 54. and several others carry the same or like Clauses In all which did they not more than imply That the Power of Dispensing was inseparably incident to the Supream Authority in whose hand soever it were Object But may some say we know what they were they had no Right nor could better be expected from them But now we have a Gracious King Sworn to defend the Laws c. Answ Very well But then why do we doubt him in that defence The Law says He can do no wrong and shall we presume he will do it But does there nothing more lie under the Word Sworn For fear there should I give it this further Answer That when the Promise is not annext to the Authority as in the case of a Soveraign Prince but a voluntary condescention that he will ordinarily govern by such a Rule his Estate is not thereby made conditional and tho' he be oblig'd in Honour to the performance yet the Authority ceases not if he fail in it for the People still owing him an absolute Subjection that Prior Subjection cannot be dissolv'd or lessen'd by any Subsequent Act of Grace The King is to all Intents and Purposes 7 co Calvin's Case King before Coronation and consequently without that Oath which he makes at his Coronation Nor does he promise more at that time than he was Morally pre-oblig'd to do it being no other than a Free Royal Promise to discharge that Duty honourably which the Laws of God and Nature had requir'd of him without that Promise To bring the case home Did those Lords and Commons make and vary Laws according to the present condition of their Affairs Had they the patience of untying any Knot their Sword was capable of cutting Shall Men that had not the least face of Right make and unmake break and dispense with so many known Laws to support a Rebellion And shall it be doubted whither a rightful King may pass by one single Law for the preventing or suppressing another Shall it be confest Their Nobles broke the Band of Government their Prophets Prophesy'd falsly their Priestlings Sanctify'd those Ordinances and a foolish People lov'd to have it so And yet be said The King is out of his way when yet he keeps within his own Circle and does no more than what the Law of Reason the Law of the Land as well as his Prerogative warrant him the doing The Matter of this first Test falls properly in I 'll examine it a little and leave every unbia'st Man to his own Judgment wherein nevertheless tho' it may be beyond my skill to make the deaf Adder hear I hope I shall offer some reason yet why he should not hiss SECT V. The Case of the Test 25 Car. 2d stated And that his Majesties granting Commissions to certain Persons not qualify'd according to that Act and retaining them in his Service is warrantable by the Law of Reason and the Laws of this Land c. THe Case upon this Matter will fall to be thus His late Majesty King Charles the 2d in the 25th of his Reign passes an Act of Parliament whereby all Persons not taking the Oaths of Supremacy and Allegiance c. and Subscribing the Declaration therein specify'd after the manner and according to the time by the said Act limited which for brevity Men call the Test shall be ipso facto disabled to hold any Office Civil or Military within the Kingdom of England c. and the said Office void c. Notwithstanding which I conceive and doubt not but to prove That his Majesties granting Commissions to such or such Persons not qualify'd according to the said Act is no more than what is warrantable by the Law of Reason and the Laws of this Land. I shall begin with the Law of Reason and whither we take the Argument Ab Honesto ab utili Or à tuto I conceive every one of them makes for me For 1. What Honour is it to be King of a People that He cannot command What Profit to have useless Persons that take up room but bring no Honey to the Hive Or what safety when instead of an Enemy from abroad He cannot say He is secure at home How must that Prince have behav'd himself where His People fear him not for him What assistance can He expect from them and have no reputation with them Or what common safety to the whole when neither dare trust one another And what must the consequence of this be with the people The People who take nothing by a true Light but as it is foisted on them through false Opticks Veresimile is the same with them as Verum and if it but look like it 't is the same as if it were so It naturally follows That Conflatâ magnâ Invidiâ seu bene Tacitus seu malè gesta premunt having gotten a malicious Opinion by the end let the Prince do well or ill they 'll be sure to traduce him Whereas the Staves of Beauty and Bands go together but where there are Jealousies and Divisions there can be no Honour Profit or Safety to Prince or People The Form of Government is that which actuates and disposes every part and Member to the common good of the whole and as those Parts give Strength and Ornament to that whole so they receive from it again Strength and Protection in their several Stations Whereas if this mutual Interchange of Concord and support be broken it cannot be but the whole must fall in pieces for want of that common Ligament that kept it together From whence I infer That as to restrain his Majesty from making use of any part of his Subjects for the common defence of the whole is a breach of that mutual Interchange so the granting those Commissions being a support of it were for the Honour Profit and Safety of the King and Kingdom and consequently as far as they have any force warrantable 2. The King is bound to defend his Subjects according to the best of his skill and that because Subjection and Protection are Relatives And who now shall be Judge of that skill Himself or the People Who shall order a Battel the General or the Army Who Prescribe the Physician or the Patient Or judge of the Helm the Pilot or the Ships-Crew And is it not stronger on the King's side Soveraignty is a Commission granted by God to the Prince who is the Soul that informs and actuates that incompacted Body the People and whose Office it

Ports The Patronage of all Bishopricks To appoint a Chancellor Treasurer c. and all other Regalities within that Kingdom as fully as Himself or any of His Progenitors ever had them And these Letters Patents 9 R. 2. were authoriz'd by Parliament Assensu Praelatorum Ducum Procerum Communitatis Angliae in Parliamento 4 Inst 357. But what became of it They were Inseparable Regalities and it fell to nothing So 4 years after the King by the same Authority gave the Title of Duke of Acquitaine to His Unkle John of Gaunt and that also came to nothing For that was one of the Titles and Stiles of the Crown and could not be granted All which may be resolv'd into this That a Kingdom without full Regalities is but the burthen of a Night-Mare Men think they have something when in Truth it is nothing but an unweildy weight And as the Crown it self is entire so also ought the Descent to be as entire The same Rich. the 2d devis'd certain Treasure to His Successors upon condition to observe all the Acts c. at a Parliament held the 21. of His Reign 4 Inst 42. and it was held unjust and unlawful because it restrain'd the Liberty of the Kings His Successors And on the same ground is it that the King cannot grant a judicial Office 1 R. 3.4 so as it shall not be void against His Successor Nor priviledge of Sanctuary for Treason 1 H. 7.26 to bind His Successor And the Cessavit before mentioned was good during the King's Life but not against His Successor Nor was it so much the Death of the King that vacated them as that the power of granting them being an inseparable Incident of the Crown that also descended to the Successor together with the Crown To bring this home King Charles the 2d made this Act He had the Entierty of the Crown in Him and might have as well dispenst with it as Queen Eliz. did with Hers of the 1st of Her Reign for the Common Prayer in the English Tongue And if the same Crown be now descended to His Majesty why may not He rather dispense with this Statute as being an Act of His Brother's not His own Or if otherwise how is it the Crown of England Suppose King Charles 2d had given up His Crown as once in His Reign there wanted very little of the asking it would it have bound this King I conceive not Daniel 's Hist of Engl. f. 120. Ibid. 138. Rich. 1st resign'd it to the Emperor King John what in him lay subjected it Hen. the 3d granted to Monfort and his Complices all His Regal Power Ibid. 177. and absolv'd His Subjects of their Obedience ac si in nullo nobis tenerentur if He infring'd the Charter then made them Rich. 2d gave it up And Ed. 6. did what He could to have turn'd it out of the right Channel But what became of all The first and the third broke thro' it in their own time and the right Heirs of the others found it no bar to them and all the Regalities of the Crown came back with it as being impossible it could subsist without them In short the same weight requires the same Shoulders Nor will it be said of Monarchy as of the Sea what it loses in one place it gains in another No That only can wrestle a Fall with Time that keeps it self entire in all its parts For the first diminution is but a step to dissolution as may be seen in Buildings take off any considerable Pillar and the Fabric leans There may 't is true be a kind of Majesty yet remaining in mighty Ruines but Men rarely come near them for fear of being involv'd in them In a word we have a memorable instance of this in our late Murder'd Sovereign King Char. I. He had made more Concessions than might have been thought possible to have been askt but that nothing was impossible for the Men of that time to attempt but when they came to touch that Quick of His Regalities He chose rather to trust Providence with His Kingdoms than save His Life and them with the acceptance of an embas'd Crown or stain His Memory with a Precedent so inglorious Nor can I quit the Argument with a greater authority And therefore to conclude this first part and for the Reasons aforesaid I conceive His Majesty may well dispense with Penal Statutes and more particularly with this Statute POSTSCRIPT WHat has been the common wont to the Reader sutes better with this Matter to give it here and that is The occasion of what I have Written which lies thus His Majesty through the greatest of Difficulties and the repeated but fruitless Attempts of an Exclusion had by the Death of His late Royal Brother King Charles the Second come at last to the Crown nor was it scarce on His Head when a double Rebellion did more than threaten it Upon this The King sole Judge of the danger of the Kingdom and in what manner to avoid it being little other than necessitated either to trust those few He had try'd or those many others that had been for Excluding Him grants Commissions to certain Persons not qualify'd according to the said Statute 25th Car. 2d With a Non Obstante to that Statute This begat some Popular Disputes touching the King's Dispensing Power and those a Desire in me of satisfying my own Judgment and being confirm'd my self I thought it my Duty to strengthen others In short It was Written about Easter 1686 and has but lately come to my Hands again by which means I wanted the advantage of rivetting it with that Solemn Judgment in point in B. R. in the Case of Godwin vers Sir Edw. Hales upon this Statute which was not till the Trinity Term following However finding That so great a Foundation for a further Superstructure I went on with the Argument upon that other Test Act 30. Car. 2d as it severally respects a Peer of the Realm and a Member of the House of Commons and finisht it with this That the King might lawfully dispense with that Statute also But this being out of my Hands and having little to recover it by but some imperfect Notes I thought fit to Publish this First Part for the present with assurance nevertheless of that Second Part to follow it though neither of them had been further thought on but that the same Dust being rais'd anew it was but Charity to keep it from blinding the People FINIS