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	year_n	yield_v	35	3	7.0966	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A88246	The resolved mans resolution, to maintain with the last drop of his heart blood, his civill liberties and freedomes, granted unto him by the good, just, and honest declared lawes of England, (his native country) and never to sit still, so long as he hath a tongue to speake, or a hand to write, til he hath either necessitated his adversaries, the house of Lords, and their arbitrary associates in the house of Commons, either to doe him justice and right, by delivering him from his causelesse and illegall imprisonment, and out unto him, legall and ample reparations, for all his unjust sufferings or else send him to Tyburne: of which he is not afraid, and doubteth not if they doe it, but at and by his death, to doe them (Sampson like) more mischief, then he did them all his life. All which is expressed and declared in the following epistle, written by Lieut. Coll. John Lilburne, prerogative prisoner in the Tower of London, to a true friend of his, a citizen thereof, Aprill 1647.	Lilburne, John, 1614?-1657.	1647 (1647)	Wing L2174; Thomason E387_4; ESTC R201493	61,516	44

power of the honourable house of Commons and looke upon it in its constitution at the greatest and legall best interest that the Commons of England ●ath and of all the Committees thereof that legally and ●ustly derive their power therefrom and act according to the Law and just customes of Parliament within their bounds unto all whose commands so farre as the established law of England requires me I shall yield all cheerfull and ready obedience but having the last yeer very large experience of the arbitrary and illegall proceedings of some Committee or Committees of the House of Commons and the Chair-manor Chair-men thereof and fearing to meet with the like now again● by way of prevention I amnec●ssitated humbly to declare unto this honourable Committee that in the dayes of the Star-Chamber I was there sentenced for no other cause but for refusing to answer to their interrogateries or questions and upon the 4. of May 1641. the honourable house of Commons whereof you are Members upon the report of Mr. Francis Rouse made these ensuing Votes Resolved upon the question That the sentence of the Star Chamber given against John Lilburn l●illegall and against the the liberty of the Subject and also bloody wicked cruell barberous and tyrannicall Resolved upon the question that reparations ought to be given to Mr. Lilburn for his imprisonment sufferings and losses sustained by that illegall sentence Here is your own iust and legall Votes in my own case to condemne as illegall and uniust all inquisition proceedings upon selfe accusing interrogatories and your Votes are sutable to the ancient and fundamentall lawes of this land as appeares by the 29. chap. of Mag●a Carta and the 5. E. 3 9 and 25. E. 3.4 and 2● E. 3.3 and 37. E. 3.18 and 42. E. 3.3 the words of which last cited Statute thus followeth Item at the request of the Commons by their Petitions put forth in this Parliament to eschew the mischiefes and dammages done to divers of his Commons by false accusers which oftentimes have made their accusations more for revenge and singular benefit then for the profit of the King or of his people which accused persons some have been taken sometime caused to come before the Kings Counsel * * Which the Parliament is by writ otherwise upon grievous paine against the law It is assented and accorded for the good governance of the Commons that no man be put to answer without presentment before Iustices or matter of record or by due processe and writ originall according to the old Law of the land and if any thing from henceforth be done to the contrary it shall be void in the Law and holden forerrour All which forementioned good Lawes are all and every of them confirmed by the Petition of right made in the third year of the present King Charle● which expresly saith no man ought to be adjudged but by the lawes establ●shed in the Realme and not otherwise which Petition of right you your selves in this present Parliament have in every point confirmed as appeares by the Statute that abolish●th the Star-Chamber and by the Statute that abolishe●h ship money and you your selves with your hands lifted up to the most high God have often sworne vowed pro●●●ted and d●e●●red you will maintaine preserve and defend the fundamentall lawes of the land and square you actions accordingly and imprecate the wrath and vengeance of the great God of Heaven an dearth to fail upon you when you cease to performe what there you sweare to and declare And therefore honourable Gentlemen what thoughts soever of ind●gnation and displeasure you have towards me I hope you will be so tender of your owne honours and reputations that you will not in the least endeavour to deale with me contrary to the true intent and meaning of the for●●entioned good and iust lawes But if you should I cannot nor shall not willingly stoop unto ●●y tryall that is contrary to the pattern of the forementioned honest iust and good lawes and if you please to let me ●●ioy the benefit of them J shall be ready to ioyne issue with you whensoever you please without craving any mercy pity or compassion at your hands and legally to answer whatsoever J have said or done But under the favour of this honourable Committee I die humblie conceive it will neither b●lu● nor honourable for the house of Commas to pun●sh me either for a pretended or reall crime committed by me in a bard tedious provoking and u●iust imprisonment while my case is depending before themselves and I by themselves extr●amly delayed in receiving iustice and right therefore I make it my humble suite unto this honourable Committee to represent myiust desire to the honourable house of Commons that they would first adiudge my cause betwixt the house of Lords and me which hath been dependant before them about this 8 moneths and either according to the lawes and constitutions of the land iustifie we or condemn me and then in the second place when they have done righteous and true iudgement in this then I desire them if they have any reall or pretended crime or crimes to●ay to my charge committed by me in my present hard uniust and extraordinary provoking imprisonment whilst J am managing my buslnesse before them that then they would proceed according to law with me and according thereunto to punish me without mercy or compassion which proposition I hope is so rationall that in iustiece it cannot be denied me So humbly taking leave of your honours I subscribe my selfe A true and faithfull servant to the honourable House of Commons to be commanded by them according to law and justice but no further John Lilburne From the outward Court of Wards 8. day of February 1646. And having concluded my paper now Mr. Corbet said I if you please le ts goe to the question well then said he will you renounce this booke or no Sir said I I had rather give you leave to hough ●e in ten thousand peeces then renounce any act of mine done by me upon grounded mature and deliberate consideration and therefore Sir somethings before hand premised J shall give you a possitive and satisfactory answer to the question And therefore in the first place I desire you and all here present to take notice that I doe not return you an answer to your question our of any opinion that J am bound in duty or conscience unto your Authority to doe it because you command me to doe it for I know J am actively only to obey you in lawfull things which this is not in the least for by law no man what ever is bound to betray himselfe Nor secondly J doe not return you an answer to it as though I were bound by any law in England thereto for I have before punctually proved it to your faces out of my paper that it is altogether unlawfull by the law of the land to presse or force me to answer

more ripe understanding so that I am now able to speak without being dictated unto what I should say and therefore if you please to give me leave to speak my own words in my owne manner and forme well and good if not I have no more to say unto you Sir saith he the question is but short therefore you are commanded to give a possitive answer to it unto which I replyed Sir if you will not let me speak my owne words in my owne way I will neither tell you whether I will owne it or disavow it and with that he took his pen and writ part of what I said and read it to me Sir said I what you have writ is not full what I said and therefore if you please to give me pen inke and paper I shall write what I said my selfe and set my hand unto it which he refused but divers of the Parliament men pressed him to keep me to the question Vnto which I said Gentlemen if you please to give me leave to speak well and good if not lets come to an issu● and command me out of doores for I will not answer you till I have free liberty to speak upon which one or two of the Committee said let him speak but saith Mr. Corbet if after you have liberty for to speake will you returne a possitive answer to the question yea Sir said I that I will well then speak said he speak Sir said I what I have to say is in the first place in reference to the house of Commons for apprehending with my selfe that my carriage and speeches this day before the Committee may be represented to the honourable House of Commons to my detriment and dammage I therefore judge it convenient for me to fortifie my self as wel as I can and therfore I desire humbly to declare that I own the constitu●ion of the honorable house of Commons as the greatest best and legallest interest that the Commons of England have for the preservation of their Rights and Liberties and I doe not only owne their constitution but also I honour their authority and power and the power and authority of all Committees legally deriving their power therefrom and shall readily and cheerfully yeeld obedience to all their commands provided they act according to the rules of justice and to the good knowne lawes of the hand but not otherwise And in the second place I desire to speake a few words of my thoughts of this Committee but I was exceedingly interrupted not only by the Chairman but also by other Members of the House and very much pressed to give an answer to the question which made me say Mr. Corbet if you please to let me goe on in my own way well and good if not I have no more to say to you for I came not hither of my owne head to make a complaint unto you of my own but I was sent for by you as I conceive in a criminall way to answer something before you in which regard it behoves me to stand upon the best guard that either law reason or judgement can furnish me with and being that I apprehend I am so much concerned in my present appearance before you it exceeding much concernes me to be very considerate and wise in managing my businesse before you therefore i● you please let me goe on to speak out what I have to say and I thinke in conclusion I shall give you as possitive an answer to the question as you desire So up stepped a welsh Gentleman one Mr. Harbert as I remember his name desired Mr. Corbet to let me speak on for saith he you hear him promise to give you a possitive answer to your question Well then saith Mr Corbet but will you as soone as you have spoken give a possitive answer to the question Yea Sir said I and clapt my hand upon my breast upon my credit and reputation will I then goe one saith he Well then Sir said I two words concerning this Committee and that at present I have to say is this that I looke upon this Committee as a branch deriving its power from the House of Commons and therefore honour it and I looke upon you in the capacitie you fit here as a Court of justice and I conceive you look upon your selves in the very selfe same capacity but in case you do not I have no more to say unto you neither if ye be not a Court of Justice doe I conceive have you in law any power at all to examine me But none of them replying upon me made me take it for granted they took themselves for a Court of justice and therefore I went one and said if you so doe that is own your selves for a Court of justice then I desire you to deale with me as it doth become a Court of Justice and as by law you are bound which is to let me have a free open and publique hearing For Gentlemen you have all of you taken the Covenant in which you have lifted up your hands to the most high God and sworne to maintaine the lawes of the Land And it is the law of the land that all Courts of Justice ever have been are and ought to be held openly and publiquely not close like a Cabinet Counsell from whence no Auditers are or ought to be excluded * See Mr. Pryns relation of Colonell Fines his tryall pag. 11. 12 13. and Regall Tyranny discovered pag. 81. 82. 83. and therefore as you would not give cause to me to Judge you a company of forsworne men I desire you to command your doore to be opened that so all the people that have a mind to heare and see you and beare witnesse that you proceed with justice and righteousnesse may without check or comptrole have free accesse to behold you they behaving themselves like civill men But here arose a mighty stir by some Parliament men who declared fiery indignation in their very countenances against me but especially a Gentleman that sa●e on the left hand of the forementioned Gentleman in the fur jacket who pressed vehemently to hold me close to the question and keep to their Committee proceedings but truly I conceived the Gentleman to be but a very young Parliament man and one that neither had read nor understood the lawes of England and therefore Sir said I to him to stop your mouth I tell you I blesse God I am not now before a Spanish Inquisition but a Committee of an English Parliament that have sworne to maintaine and preserve the lawes of the Kingdome and therefore Mr. Corbet I know you are a Lawyer and know and understand the lawes of the Kingdome and I appeale to your very conscience whether my desire of an open and publique hearing be any otherwise then according to Law sure J am Sir it was the constant practise of this very Parliament at the beginning thereof that in all their Committees whatever where they

and I was fairely promised I should have but the hundred of the present bookes in controversie and I was fairely promised I should have them but as yet I have found no performance at all though truly I doe conceive there was is many books carried away by him as stood me in about twenty or thirty pounds for there was the greatest part of a thousand of my bookes called London Charters the printing of which with the paying for the copies of the originall Charters c. which I had out of the Record office in the Tower cost me almost twenty pounds besides a great many of severall oth●● sorts And at my withdrawing the people eryed out they never would answer to close Committees any more being the doores by law ought to be open which they never kn●w before Now friend I know you are acquainted very well with some able and honest Lawyers and therefore I pray doe me the favour as inquire of them whether all these things laid together it be not an act of Fellony in the forementioned Whittaker c thus forceably to enter my house and without any reall or pretended warrant to take away my good●● but if it be not fellony I desire to know of them what effectuall course I may take in saw to obtaine my just and legall satisfaction for this illegall wrone and making these catch-poule Knaves who art as bad if not worse then the Bishops Rookes and Catch-poules examples to all their fellow Knaves and Catch-poules Thirdly I desire to know whether by law any free mans house in England can be broken open or forceably entered under any pretence whatever unlesse if be for fellony and treason or a strong and grounded suspition of fellony or treason or to serve an execution after judgement for the King Fourthly if any person or persons whatever shall indeavonr to break open or forece●bly enter my house or any other free men● of England upon any precence what ever but the forementioned 〈◊〉 some other that is expresly warrantable by the known law whether according to law or no I may not stand upon my owne defence in my owne house being my Castle and Sanctuary and kill any or all of those that so illegally though under specious authoritive pretences shall assault me Fiftly whether in law it be not as great a crime in the foresaid whittaker c. for cably to enter my house and carrie away my own goods fawfully come by under a pretence of a warrant signed by a single Member of the House of Commons commonly called a Chair-man of a Committee As for Sir William Beacher Clark of his Majesties Privie Counsell Old Sir Henry Vaine a Privie Counceller and it I mistake not then Secretary of State and Mr. Laurance wh●tt●ker that old corrupt Monopolizer now Member of the House of Commons by vertue of Regall or Councell-Board authoritie to sench the pockets or break open the study doors of the Earle of Warwick the Lord Say Mr. Hambden Mr. Pym Mr. C●ue or any other of those that was so served after the breaking up of the short Parliament for which by this present Parliament as I am credibly informed from knowing and good hands Sir Wiliam Beacher was committed to the Fleet Mr. Laurance Whittaker to the Tower and old Sir Henry Vaine who as it is credibly said was this principall actor in this b●sinesse and was in this present House of Commons strongly moved against againe and againe and in all probability had smarted soundly for it if it had not been for the interest that his Son young Sir Henry had in Mr. Iohn Pym and the rest of his bosome associates who as it plainly now appeares for ends besides the p●bli●●e had use to make of him against the Earle of Strafford who was one of the chiefe men that stood in their way and hind●ed them from possessing themselves of those high and mighty places of honour and profit that is now too much apparent they then aspired unto and therefore truly when I seriously cast my eye upon their continued serious of actions especially of late my conscience is overcome and J am forced to thinke that there is a great deale of more truth in many of the charges fixed upon them in those two notable Declarations of the Kings then at the first reading of them I conceive there was the first of which is the 12. of August 1642. and begins book Decl 1. pan pag. 514. some notable passages of which Mr. Rubard Overton and my selfe have published in the 6 pag. of out late discourse called The Out-Cry I of Oppressed Comm●ns unto which I shall desire toad one more and that is of their partialli●y in judgement which the K●ng chargeth them with ibim page 516 That they threw out of their house some Monopolizers as unfit to be Law-makers because their principles was not fit for the present turns of the powerfull party there and kept in other as great Monopolizers as those they threw out because they did comply with them in their ends and the King instances Sir Heary Mildmer and Mr. Laurance Whittaker both of whom for all their transgressions still fit in the hou●● And if it be an act of treason to exercise an Arbitrary and tyrannicall power for so it was charged upon the Earle of Strafford c. then I will maintain it M. Laurance Whittaker is guilty of it for he hath severall times done it unto the free men of England yea upon mean particular as at large you may read in my book called Innocency and Truth justified to the apparent hazard of my life and being for which I will never forgive him tell he hath acknowledged his fault and made me leg●ll and just satisfaction the which if he do not the speedier seeing by his unreasonable priviledge as he is a Parliament man that by law I cannot meddle either with his body or goods I will by Gods assistance seeing I have no other re●edy pay him with my pen as well as ever he wa● paid since his eyes was open cost it what it will and therefore I now advise him if he love his owne reputation without any more adoe to acknowledge his fault by giving me legall satisfaction The King second Declaration is an answer to the two Houses Declaration of the proceeding of the Treaty at Oxfo●d 1643. and in the second part book decl pag. 100. printed Anno 1646. where in pag. 10● he chargeth them poss●●vely that the maintenance and advancement of Religion justice liberty propriety and peace are really but their stalking ho●ses and neither the g●ound of their watre nor of their demands and I for my part must ingeniously protest and declare unto you that the dealings of both houses with me and others of the Kingdomes best friends is such that as sure as the Lord lives I should sin against my own soule if I should not really beleeve this particular charge of his Majesties to be most undeniable true and just

highest nature and to punish him or them that is not in the hundred degree so guilty and yet this is my case where if here I could not defend my selfe although I believe I should be able to give them good store of strong and pulling reasons which now I will not communicate to you but yet they would goe one and presse me to plead to the indictment I should desire to see and know whether or no my Iury of twelve men of my equalls were all legall men or no yea and something more besides And in the first place if I were indicted for treason I might by law except against 35. Jury men without tendering any reason for it see the 32. H. 6. folio 26. ●4 H. 7. folio 19. Stam. Pleas Crowne folio 158. Cockes 3. part Institutes folio 24. and 27. and then I might except against so many as I could declare bore me a particular mallice * See 28 E. 3.13 ● H. 6.29 for pre-judgement is a good challenge by the law for the common law of the land i● that a Iury man must be in different and impartiall before he be sworne see Stanfords Pleat of the Crowne lib. 3. folio 158. and Britt●n in his discourse of the lawes of the Land folio 12. and 25. l. 3. chap. 3 12. Ass plea. 30. Br● Challenge 42 101.120.142.1●6 And so within the compasse of malicions men against me would come all the Presbyterians that have taken the League and Covenant in the second Article of which b●d●●● part fol. 415. they have iliegally and unjustly sworne to destroy and extirpate all Heretique●● one of which they iudge me to be because I will not take that ilegall Oath nor be conformable to their Scotch Antichristian Presbytery and so have sworne to destroy me before I be legally convicted which is wicked and unlawfull For a man bound by an Oath before to doe that which he is to doe upon the indictment evidence and proofe thereof is partiall and not in different see Cookers pare institutes libr. 1. chap. 12. sect 234. pag. 156. who saith expresly I ●ers must be me● without all exceptions And by the Statutes of 2. H. 5.3 and ● H. 6.19 It is inacted that ●o person shall be admitted to passe in any inquest or Iury upon tryall of the de●th of a man or i● any inquest betwixt p●●ty or party in Plea reall nor in plea personall whereof the debt or the dam●age declared amount to forty makes if the same person or Jurer have not lands or tenements of the year●ly va●● of forty shillings alwayes provided that the party to be tryed doe make his challenge And by the Statute of 17. Eliz chap. 6. It is inacted that is all cases where any l●rers to be returned for tryall of any issue or issues ioyned in the Kings be●ch Common pleas and the Exchequer or before 〈◊〉 isg●ates of Assize shall every one of them have estate of free holdin lands I e●iments or Heredi●●ments to the yearly value of 4. l. at the least and the Sheriffe or other Ministers unto whom the me●ing of the Pa●nell shall appertaine shall not returne many such pannell any person unlesse be ●●y dispend foure pound by the yeare at the least of free hold out of ●●●ient demesue within the County where the issue is to be tryed upon paine to forfeit for every person so returned in any such p●●●ll that cannot dispend 4. l. free hold 20 s. It is true that by the Statute of the 33. H 8.13 it is in●cted That every person and persons being the Kings naturall Subject borne which either by the name of a Cuizen or of a froe 〈◊〉 or a●● other name doth inioy and use the liberties and priv●ledge of any City Burrough or T●●●●●porate where be dwelleth and m●k●th his abode being worth in moveable goods and substance to the cleare value of 40 l be from henceforth admitted in tryall of m●rthers and●el●nies in every 〈◊〉 and Gaole delivery kept and holden in and for the liberty of such Cities ●urrought and Town●●●● p●rate albeit they have no frethold provided alway that this act doe not extendin any 〈◊〉 of wise to any Knight or Esquire dwelling abidi●g or resorting in or to any such City c. And I by vertue of having been à Lieutenant Colonel ●m an Esquire as may easily be proved one of the Herauld of Armes Office and therefore in what place soever I am or shall be tryed 〈◊〉 lawfully make ●y exceptions against every man of my lury that is not worth in free land 〈◊〉 ●lper annum And besides if none of these will doe me good I have this last remedy that I am con●ident I shall legally and fully prove any charge whatever that in that booke I lay upon the Parliament in generall or any member of it in particular if I may from them injoy the benefit of the law and then I pray what doe they gaine or I loose by owning and arowing the 〈◊〉 booke But if you thinke that by owning of my booke they are thereby so exasperated that I 〈◊〉 the hazard of being destroyed by them by an act of power and will to which I answer by that law neither you no● any man in England is safe but liable to be destroyed at their pleasure jo● the lesser part of themselves are liable by that law every houre to be destroyed by the Vo●● of the Major part and then the Major part are liable every houre to be destroyed for acompany of Tyrants and forsworne perjured men for●re king all their Oaths which they have taken is ●antaine the law of the Kingdome and l●ke absolute Tyrants have made their will a law by any company or multitude of men stronger then themselves which if they should goe this way to work they would every houre be justly in feare of but if they should be so farre be stuped and b●fo●ted as to run the hazard of their owne deserved ruine by destroying me by an act of power is cold blood by the law of their owne will I for my owne particular should be no loose● by ●y translation from an earthly death to an eternall life and therefore I feare not their malice nor care not a straw for the worst they can doe to 〈◊〉 being notwithstanding the feare of your selfe and other of my friends resolved so to provoke them that they shall either be necessitated forced out of meer fear or shame to do me justice right by making hearing my report now in the hands of slugg●s● Mr. Henry Martin whose pris●ner principally I n●w a● judging my case and setting me free at liberty and giving me legall reparations for my illegall and unjust sufferings ●relse out of meere madnesse surie and revenge to send me to Ryturne to be ●id of me of which I am not in the least afraid and doubt not but if God should so ●orsake them and the Devil ●o fure lead them as there to hang me but at and