Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	act_n	king_n	law_n	5,822	5	4.7877	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B01385	An answer by an Anabaptist to the three considerations proposed to Mr. William Penn, by a pretended Baptists, concerning a magna charta for liberty of conscience.		1688 (1688)	Wing A3275A; ESTC R224289	11,692	18

An Answer BY AN ANABAPTIST TO THE Three Considerations Proposed to Mr William Penn By a pretended BAPTIST CONCERNING A MAGNA CHARTA FOR Liberty of Conscience Allowed to be Published this 10th Day of September 1688. LONDON Printed and Sold by Andrew Sowle at the Three Keys in Nags-Head-Court in Grace-Church-Street over-against the Conduit 1688. An Answer BY AN ANABAPTIST TO THE Three Considerations c. YOU desire All your Dissenting Brethren to Consider and then Answer 〈◊〉 have Consider'd but I cannot tell ●ther you suppose all Dissenters are 〈◊〉 Brethren or that all are your ●●hren who dissent from you If first It seems probable to me you have been either Educated in ●ange Soyl or have forgotten 〈◊〉 Brothers Dialect so that I can●● discern that you are any other●● a Baptist then only in Masquerade therefore am shy of owning the ●●tion But if all that dissent 〈◊〉 you must therefore be reckon'd 〈◊〉 Brethren then I am in that ●●ber and because I think Mr Penn not have so much leisure as my at present to attend upon your ●●es I intend to be in the first Rank your Respondents I consider also that though you have proposed but Three Considerations yet you have bolted out a Mulitude of Questions which administer an occasion for as many more to be retorted To your first Question Then What Validity or Security can any pretended or designed future New Law or Charter have when we see so many of the present Laws we already have may be and are by the Dispensing Power Dispensed with So many of the present Laws The Grievance then with you may lie rather in the Number than in the Dispensing Power His Majesty might with your leave perhaps have dispensed with some Persons and some Penalties too but not with so many altogether One would think by that you would not have Quarrel'd at the Dispensing Fower tho the Act for levying Twelve Pence a Week had never been Prosecuted so as the Twenty Pound a Month had been Levied nor if the Conventicle Act had been Dispensed with so as the Thirty fifth of Queen Elizabeth had been rigorously Executed I cannot tell how many but all the Laws that are Dispensed with are Penal Laws of a like nature for matters Ecclesiastical Uniformity Sacraments Oaths and Tests are the Subject of them all If this be your Grief you must be either a Conforming Baptist or such a strange sort of a Baptist as in my Forty Years Conversation among them I have never met with But to come more close to your Question What Validity can a New Law have seeing so many of these we have already are Dispensed with I Answer with a like Interrogation I grant that the King may do what his Royal Pleasure is with his own Does it thereupon follow that He may do so likewise with what is mine If I acckowledge and thankfully accept His Dispensing with a Penalty to which I am Obnoxious because I take a Liberty in matters of meer Religion which I am not allowed by Statute Laws Is it of necessry consequence that I therein acknowledge He may also impose a Fine upon me for lawfully using a Liberty when granted to me by Law It s hoped the designed New Charter for Repeal of such Penal Laws as are inconsistant with the Doctrines of Christianity will according to His Majesties Declaration both maintain the National Religion as it is now 〈◊〉 stablished by Law and provides 〈◊〉 such a Christian Liberty as may s● Ease and Secure the Consciences P●●sons and Properties of all that 〈◊〉 Live Soberly Righteously and God in this present Age whether they 〈◊〉 Conformists or Non-conformists 〈◊〉 the National Religion And a G●●● remains valid tho a Penalty may 〈◊〉 dispensed with But what if the New Law 〈◊〉 have no more Validity or Sec●●● then these Old Ones that are D●●●sed with The Dissenters will 〈◊〉 be in so much a better Case by a New Law as that they will then be Se●●● by Law whereas till that be done 〈◊〉 are always subject to be Ruin'd 〈◊〉 colour of Law. But why are you Querulous at the Dispensing Po●● in this particular case wherein it Exercised The King declares his Opinion That Conscience ought not 〈◊〉 constrained nor People forced in m●●● of meer Religion This Principle the ground of his Dispensation H●● you not lately observed T●●t d●● Gentlemen who being in Comm●●● would not Execute these ●●r● L●●● and were therefore for a s●as●● 〈◊〉 aside are now returned again 〈◊〉 their former Stations with R●●●on and the Love of their ●●●bours Have you not Re●● the Ap●●logy for the Church of England 〈◊〉 relation to the Spirit of Pers●●●● for which she is accused How 〈◊〉 former Errors are ext●●●ed by 〈◊〉 stances pag. 4. That ●ho t●● 〈◊〉 Parliament of the Church of 〈◊〉 did not perform what 〈…〉 mised by some Leading M●●● ●●ters in procuring them a Bill of yet there was little or nothing against them for about Nine 〈◊〉 but they had their Meetings al●● as publickly as regularly as the ●●●h of England had their Churches ●●ou not remember a Vote of the 〈◊〉 of Commons in 1680. whereby it Resolved That the Prosecution of ●●stant Dissenters upon the Penal 〈◊〉 was at that time Grievous to the ●●●ct ●●all the Justices that did not Exe●●● these Laws gain Esteem by it the Church of England excuse her from the charge of Severity by not Executing these Laws for 〈◊〉 Years together Shall the Com●●● in Parliament Vote the Execution ●●em a Grievance And may not King extend his Compassion to●●ds his Dissenting Subjects and say shall not be Executed To make a signal Act of Grace the ground groundless Jealousie and cause Contention to say no worse of it ●●ghly Disingenuous and discovers ●●●ry froward and perverse Dispo●●n But let us consider your next 〈◊〉 of Questions Have we or can we have any higher ●●er here in England then King ●●ds and Commons in Parliament As●●led The Laws that are now Dispen●●● with and rendred useless were they made by that Power Can your New ●●rter be made by any higher or other ●●er Do you think there is any Tempo●● Spiritual Power here in England a●●● the Dispensing Power And can you 〈◊〉 it appear to us To these Questi●●● you desire Mr Penn would let his Brethren and you know his Mind honestly In his stead I Answer We have no Law Makers but King Lords and Commons in Parliament Assembled but yet we are in England as well as in other parts of the World under a Law to God and thereby each Man is obliged to preserve within his own Breast the Answer of a good Conscience from which no Law of King Lords and Commons can absolve him and hence it is that we have many Fundamental Maximes of Law grounded upon the Law of God and common Reason of Mankind as well respecting the Soveraigns Prerogative as the Right of the Subject not written in Acts of Parliament but in

and cannot a King pardon it by his Dispensing Power or Authority Royal What will nay what can your n●w Charter then signifie when it either is or may be according to your own Doctrin Invalidated Disannlled or Annihilated in an instant Ans If there should be raised by my Querest or any other like him such a perverse Spirit and behaviour in any Party of Men as to prevent the Nations selted enjoyment of these Priviledges we now have as Men and Christians by his Majesties Prudence Justice and Clemency who can tell indeed what the sad Consequences of it may be But if Duty Reason and common Interest prevail here is nothing offer'd that should cause any Man to slack his utmost diligence and endeavours to arrive at the Settlement proposed by a New Charter For what do these Queries tend to or what of any weight do they contain For First Does William Penn or any party of Dissenters propose any such Methods to be persued as may advance Prerogative to that degree as to Invalidate or Annihilate all our Laws Secondly Is not the National Religion as it is Stiled in 〈◊〉 first place to be maintain●● 〈◊〉 as well secured as any 〈◊〉 new Law can make it with 〈◊〉 a Liberty for consi●●cion D●●ters from it in the worth●● 〈◊〉 Expl●●ing of all Li●●●ness as may free th●● 〈◊〉 future inconveniency upon 〈◊〉 of Religion Thirdly Is any thing 〈◊〉 that by a new Cha●ter 〈◊〉 power should be given to 〈…〉 for choosing of Sheriffs tha● he has or that the penalti●● a Sheriffs making false 〈◊〉 shall be less then now they 〈◊〉 or any thing else to retur● Case worse then it is You take it for granted I 〈◊〉 which I do not know nor you● neither as I suppose that the 〈◊〉 Forfeiture who shall make a 〈◊〉 turn is no great matter or that the King can pardon or di●●●● with The Case of S● Sam●●nardiston whe●ein he had a Ver●●● Eight Hundred Pounds damage against a Sheriff for a false Retur● inform you otherwise and ●●●●ly a new Charter will not ma●● Penal then now it is but if it 〈◊〉 ever happen notwithstanding Charter as it has heretofore ●ap●● notwithstanding our old Charter 〈◊〉 Knights and Burgesses should 〈◊〉 duly chosen the same Fa●e ●●●tend such a Parliament as di●● of 38 H. 6. ●ow come to your second Con●●●●on wherein you pray Mr 〈◊〉 to consider What his New ●●●ter can signifie so long as there High Commission Court or a high mission for Ecclesiastical Affairs 〈◊〉 Cannot those Commissioners 〈◊〉 any of your and our Preachers ●●hers or Ministers to Task when ●●●se Cannot they when they 〈◊〉 a mind to it suspend Mr Pen ●●●corge Whitehead Mr Alsop ●●●obb Mr Mead or Mr Bowyer 〈◊〉 as the Bishop of London c. ●ot the Court when they will or 〈◊〉 think fit or be commanded sus●●● silence or forbid any or all the ●●●ing Ministers to Preach any 〈◊〉 in their Meetings if they will 〈◊〉 Read any Declaration or Order 〈◊〉 ever that the King shall set forth require them to Read Remember Magdalen Colledge Men Re●●ber also that Sawse for a Goose is ●ay be Sawse for a Gander ●●s The case of Magdalen Col●●●● is published at large you may ●●d it if you please and Answer 〈◊〉 you can especially the para●ase in Edwards the Sixth time 〈◊〉 pray what is that to a New ●●●ter If wrong Judgment was ●●●n by the Court as you per●●●s suppose in that case do you ●●●e no difference between Dis●●●ing with a Law and wrong ●●●gment given against a Law if 〈◊〉 such should be in Westminster 〈◊〉 or the Ecclesiastical Court. ●f the Dissenters you name or you who pretend to be a Baptist be of the Clergy of England in the Eye of the Law and hold Ecclesiastical Affairs and Benefits they or you may for Mis-behaviour be suspended from them by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners But why do you fancy that a New Charter by which it is expected that Penalties for matters of meer Religion will be repealed should be made to signifie nothing by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners which now are I can easily fore-see that a New Charter may make that Commission in the cases you mention to signifie nothing but I cannot imagine how that Commission should make a New Charter insignificant As to the silencing of Dissenting Ministers its evident as the Law now is their reading or not reading the Kings Declaration in their Meetings will not prevent it if the King withdraw his Favour nor is there any cause to give the Ecclesiastical Commissioners any trouble about them for as the Laws now are there are other Ecclesiastical Courts which with the aid of the Justices at their Sessions are sufficiently impowred to Censure Fine Imprison Banish or Hang them for their Non-conformity to the Religion Established by Law. You exhort us to see before we Leap whether the Words in the Orders set forth in the Gazett for contempt of his Majesties Authority will run no further then just Mr Penn will have it And ask Can he stop the Current of it when he pleases and says If he could we are not sure he would for formerly he had no great kindness we know for us Baptists and other Dissenters and if he could and would we are not sure of his Life how long therefore it will be the greatest piece of Weakness and Folly in the World for us to Dance after his and the Jesuits Pipe alone contrary both to all common Sence and Reason and our own general Interest Ans How do you make out your Inference That to do as you say is the greatest piece of Weakness and Folly I take it to be altogether as great folly to Dance after your Pipe in Company contrary to common Sence Reason and Interest as after Mr Penn and the Jesuites alone surely in this you take the Dissenters to be very forgetful of what their Senses so lately testified when under the feeling Prosecution of Penal Laws and to be unreasonably ignorant of their Interest in desiring those Penal Laws may be Repealed in Parliament and a due Liberty of Conscience Established in their room But for what cause do you reflect upon Mr Penn I take it as a certain Evidence that all Pamphlets on this Subject that are interlaced with personal Reflections asserted on Surmises without proof are designed to promote Factions Dissentions rather then to Unite in one common Interest and heal our uncharitable Divisions I have known Mr Penn for many Years and have been credibly informed by others that from his Age of Seventeen Years he has been an ●●mate Associate with the most ●●●nent of Dissenters that when 〈◊〉 was of Christ Church Colledge in Oxford he was fined for his 〈◊〉 from the Religious Ceremonies 〈◊〉 the Colledge He suffered 〈◊〉 Hardships in his Fathers Family 〈◊〉 that account has been a con●●●● Advocate these Twenty Years 〈◊〉 the Liberty we enjoy and hope 〈◊〉 to have confirm'd I have 〈◊〉 of