Selected quad for the lemma: england_n
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A35045
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A letter to a freind [sic] shewing the illegall proceedings of the two houses of Parliament and observing God's aversenesse to their actions, which caused the authours returne to the king and his alleagiance.
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Cowley, Abraham, 1618-1667.
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1645
(1645)
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Wing C7; ESTC R13193
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10,170
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22
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the opinion raised this Parliament that the two Houses are above the King and therefore the King ought and must passe such Bills such Acts as they resolve and offer to Him That say the Lawyers is totally false and against all reason law and practice in all ages And in considering thereof they have not beene led by the Pamphlets published this Parliament on either side because such like Schoole-Disputants rather endeavour to maintaine their Position and side then to discover truth therefore the Lawyers grounded their judgement upon bookes formerly written upon precedents of moderate times when the Kings Prerogative and Subjects Liberty both knew and kept their proper bounds The Parliament say they of the 24 Hen. 8. cap. 12. Declares That the Realme of England is an Empire governed by one Supreame Head and King having the Dignity and estate of the Imperiall Crowne unto whom a body politique compact of all sorts and degrees of people by the name of the Spiritualty and Temporalty beene bound and owe next to God a naturall and humble obedience being by Gods goodnesse endued with plenary whole and entire power authority and Iurisdiction within His Realme This body politique no doubt is the two Houses of Parliament and doubtlesse then the two Houses owe this naturall and humble obedience and then sure if the Servant be not greater then his Master to whom he owes his obedience the Creature then his Creatour then the two Houses that as appeares by their owne act for the continuance of this Parliament are called by the King and by Him dissolve able are not above the King that is their breath and gives life to all their Actions And if the King be by God endued with plenary power entire authority and Jurisdiction Consider from whom can the two Houses have their power their authority and Jurisdiction to be above that given by God In Caudries case in the 5 Report fol. 10. the King is said to be the Vicar of the Highest King ordained to governe and rule the Kingdome and people The Parliament in the 25 Hen. 8. acknowledged the Jurisdiction of Kings to be immediately from God The Statute of the 26 of Hen. 8. cap. 1. declares the King to be the onely Supreame Head in Earth under God of the Church of England and that he hath Power to redresse and reforme all Errors and abuses in the Church In the 26 Hen. 8. cap. 3. the Parliament declares that the King is the onely Supreame Head under God of the Church of England having the whole Governance tuition and defence thereof and of His Subjects And consonant to that is our Statute 1 Eliz. and in our Oath of Alleagiance ordained by Act of Parliament we and especially the Members of the House of Commons acknowledge and sweare That the Kings Highnesse is the onely Supreame Governour of the Realme both in Ecclesiasticall and Temporall causes And our Lawyers say that the King being the Supreame Governour cannot have any Governour naturall or politique as the two Houses above him and as he is the onely Supreame Governour must needs be above all other Governours either naturall or politique By the same Oath we sweare allegiance to Him and His Heires and Successours which must needs be to his Naturall capacity for his Politique cannot have Heires And in the case of the Dutchy of Lancaster Plowd 213. It is resolved that the body politique of the King cannot be severed from his naturall body And then it is ridiculous to thinke much more to say that the politique capacity of the King is included in the two Houses of Parliament when his naturall is absent and dissenting to what they doe If the two Houses could make a Law or Ordinance to binde the Subject without the Kings assent why should not all the Bils that passed both Houses but had not the Kings assent why should not they be good and valid and binde the Subiects ' they had the Votes of both Houses when full and entire they had more consideration more circumstance all necessaries but the Kings assent to the making of a law yet these Bils in all ages have beene held naught and invalid And shall the votes of the two Houses uponmotion of a worthy Member though not a 5th part of either House be present and without the Kings assent shall they make a good Ordinance to repeale five Statutes in the Reignes of Edw. 6. and Queene Eliz. as in the Ordinance for the Directory and the Booke of Common Prayer all which have stood unquestioned these 100 yeares and in which time we have had 20 Parliaments in which our now Parliament-mens Fathers and Grand-fathers were Members and I beleive as wise as honest and as Religious as their Sonnes and Grand-children and they approved they practiced and followed that Liturgy The Parliament 1 Jacob cap. 1. prayes the Kings Royall assent to a Bill without which nothing say they can be compleate and perfect nor remaine to posserity And Cowell who writ about 40 yeares since speaking of the regality of the King comprised under the title of Prerogative There is not one faith he that belonged to the most absolute Prince in the world which doth not also belong to our King onely by the custome of this Kingdome he maketh no lawes without the consent of the three Estates Lords spirituall Lords temporall and the Commons though HE MAY QUASH ANY LAVV CONCLUDED BY THEM Then how shall the Votes and Ordinances of a small part of the House be good when against Magn. Char. against the Petition of Right against our Allegiance and Protestation Yet must we venture our lives to murther our brothers and fellow Subjects or they us or both to maintaine what they vote though against Law contrary to the Gospell and without Precedent But the two Houses doe but endeavour to take the King from His Evill Counsellours to bring him to his Parliament where he ought to be present resident or else they may force him yea eradicate three eares of Wheate to destroy one of tares For that say the Lawyers there is no precedent no booke unlesse writ within these two yeares But Master Hooker alias Vowell who writ about the beginning of Queene Elizab. is much quoted by Master Pryn writing the manner of holdings of Parliaments as we may see in Hollinshead 2 part fol. 121. saith that the King is Gods Anointed his Deputy and Vicar on earth the Head of his Realme the Cheifest Ruler on whom wholly and onely depends the Government of the Estates of the Realme That the King ought to be personally present in Parliament three daies in every Parliament first on the day of appearance secondly on the day when the Speaker of the House of Commons is presented the third when the Parliament is prorogued And for other daies saith the Booke he is at his choice to come or not to come And it appeares by the Statute of 33 Hen. 8. cap. 21. That if the King be
absent from the Parliament he might alwaies give his Royall assent by Commission under the Great Seale and by that it seemes he had liberty to be absent if he would When Rich. 2. refused to come to his Parliament the Lords that threatned to depose him onely averred that by an old Ordinance of Parliament if the King absented himselfe forty daies then they might every man returne quietly to his owne house and that they would doe so if he came not but they pretend no law to raise armes to compell the King to come And surely had there beene any colour to justifie it they would not have omitted it and if there had beene any law or precedent though by Popish Parliaments since Ric. 2. time to raise armes or make lawes without the Kings assent Master Pryn's Zeale to the Cause and hatred to the King would have found it before now Since therefore that the two Houses cannot without the Kings assent make a new nor abrogate an old law cannot without the Kings assent raise armes to execute a person condemned by Parliament with the Kings assent as in Hu. De le Spencers case but they must have a pardon for it In what case are we that have without the Kings assent nay contrary to his expresse Command contrary to Mag. Char. contrary to our Petition of Right 30 Car. by armes taken the 20th part of every mans estate imprisoned their persons imposed new loanes and new impositions hanged Citisens and Gownemen contrary to the Priviledges of Parliament executed even Members of the Parliament by Martiall law and at the Parliament doore while the Houses of Parliament were sitting the Kings Bench as we pretend open at Westminster the Gaole-delivery for London and Middlesex in the Old Baily Nay contrary to our Petition of Right our Statute made this Parliament have we not in the Kings name because we could not in our owne pressed our fellow Subjects and by armes compelled them to fight Contrary to their sworne allegiance and vowed Protestation which is to maintaine the reformed Protestant Religion expressed in the Doctrine of the Church of England Yet we fight to turne out the Liturgy and prayers ordained by the whole Church of England and which we have long knowne to make roome for the extemporary and unknowne prayer of a single man and him often unlearned sometimes debauched and this according to the Kirke of Scotland not of England to defend the Kings Royall Person His Honour His Estate yet we iustifie them that fight against him that permit nay licence libellous Pamphlets against him and his honour that robbe his Exchequer by receiving and keeping from him his Revenew to maintaine the Priviledges of Parliament yet hale the Members to prison nay to execution by Martiall Law to Maintaine the lawfull Rights and Liberties of the Subject yet fight to have our Estates Liberties and Lives taken away by Votes Ordinances and Martiall law and against the Kings command We have protested to preserve the peace of England Scotland and Ireland yet fight here among our selves to annihilate and breake the Cessation of Armes and the peace there and send for the Scots hither to robbe murder and if God be not better to us then we to our selves utterly subdue and inslave us to set up and enrich themselves By what law can the Scots prescribe us a Church government by what law have they our Homagers a voice in the settling of our Militia and the lawes of our Nation To conclude we fight to save a few close-Committee men our State-actours that have perswaded and voted us and inforced the poore common souldiers to commit rapine bloud-shed Sacriledge and Rebellion to protect them who with Shimei reviled and flung stones and dust at David by their Declarations and Pamphlets who by their Remonstrances and Votes endeavoured to discover with Cham the nakednesse of their father who following the Counsel of Achitophel have in the sight of all Israel lyen with Davids Concubines by usurping his Authority and Royall power We fight to secure them whom an act of oblivion cannot and therefore must have the Militia at their sole dispose that the swords and lives of the poore souldiers may protect whom the law cannot justify We fight to make London an Independent City to make the Maior Aldermen and Common-Councell a third House of Parliament and give them the Tower of London with the Militia of the City and Suburbs lest the King being but Gods Vicar on earth their only supreme Governour and Soveraigne Lord as severall Acts of Parliaments have declared lest he should rebell against them his native his locall and his sworne Subjects We fight to abolish the ten Commandements the Creed the Epistles and Gospells because not consistent with the Scots Presbyteriall Discipline What one act of Charity or Mercy have these reformers of Religion done Where have they offered to the King to part with any thing of any pretended right liberty or priviledge to settle a peace in this Church and Common-wealth Nay which of these is not greater in estate and wealth in power and authority then he was before the Civil Warre beganne or shall be after the Warre ended Have not the Earles of Warwicke Manchester and others that you know much inriched themselves and freinds by the harvest of this Warre Have not their Chaplaines Burges Sedgewicke Case Peters and others treble revenues and in-comes to preach Doctrines answerable to the occasion of raising money men or Armes or crying no Treaty no Peace Doctrines sutable to their Church and practice that have in cold bloud murdered many poore Protestant English-Irish for being on the Kings side While on the other part the King not delighting in bloud hath pardoned divers whom the law condemned nay he hath proclaimed pardon to all that would take it and to purchase Peace he hath offered to part with his right to divide his Militia putting it into the power of twentie men whereof he to name ten and the two houses ten Commissioners He desires and offers that Popery may be supprest according to Law and not Papists murdered because Irish He is willing that both Church and Common wealth should be rectified according to law and according to law he offers to have all persons to be tryed by law He commiserating his oppressed Subjects the distracted Church and ruined Common-wealth hath offered and desired a Cessation from Armes but cannot obtaine it and then shall wee not beleive him the true father that would save the child God would not have his Temple built by a man of bloud though even David nor would Christ have his Church reformed with the bloud of Christians The King of peace cannot delight in warre Upon these Considerations Cosen I am resolved to leave their party that have misse-led me and my poore Country-men to our ruine and I will now lay hold of the Kings mercy and pardon offered by his Proclamation and by a hearty repentance I hope to expiate the bloud the treason and sacriledge I have countenanced by my former opinions and supported by my purse and perswasions And I doe heartily wish that my poore Country-men and Neighbours that by an illegall presse are forced from their Wives and Children from their parents and freinds to fight against the English Protestant Religion and Liturgy to set up a Scotch Directory against their King to pay a tribute to their fellow Subjects against their Protestation to protect such as have seduced and deceived them and their nations that have raised this unnaturall warre upon pretences feares and jealousies and by the murther of many thousand English Christians keepe themselves from a legall triall that they may still sit quietly voting at Westminster and eate the fat of the land Cosen I doe heartily wish that both you and the rest of my poore Country-men would consider and weigh these things and that God would give you relenting hearts truly penitent for these horrid sinnes and then I would not doubt but you and they would end this warre for 't is in your powers by returning to the English Protestant Religion and Liturgy to your sworne alleagiance to your Anointed King and then to your owne vines and figge-trees And no doubt but both you and they shall receive from God and the King the blessings due to the blessed peace-makers which is heartily prayed for by him that will lead you the way Fleet-streete May 15. 1645. A. C. FINIS