Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	council_n	lord_n	privy_a	4,231	5	10.1951	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A38261	The proceedings in the House of Commons, touching the impeachment of Edward, late Earl of Clarendon, Lord High-Chancellour of England, Anno 1667 with the many debates and speeches in the House, the impeachment exhibited against him, his petition in answer thereto : as also the several weighty arguments concerning the nature of treason, bribery, &c. by Serj. Maynard, Sir Ed. S., Sir T.L., Mr. Vaughan, Sir Rob. Howard, Mr. Hambden [sic], and other members of that Parliament : together with the articles of high-treason exhibited against the said Earl, by the Earl of Bristol in the House of Lords on the 10th of July, 1663 : with the opinion of all the learned judges therein.	England and Wales. Parliament. House of Commons.; Clarendon, Edward Hyde, Earl of, 1609-1674.; Vaughan, John, Sir, 1603-1674.; Seymour, Edward, Sir, 1633-1708.; Littleton, Thomas, Sir, d. 1681.; Hampden, Richard, 1631-1695.; Maynard, John, Sir, 1602-1690.; Howard, Robert, Sir, 1626-1698.; England and Wales. Parliament. House of Lords.	1700 (1700)	Wing E2683; ESTC R3660	65,855	176

and so seem to say fare him well Upon all which Motions Ordered That Sir Tho. Cliff Comptroler of the King's Household be sent to the King to desire the Ports may be stopped December 4 The Lord Fitzharding makes Report from the King that the Message for stopping the Ports being delivered him he had taken Care accordingly A Message from the Lords to desire a speedy Conference From which Mr. Solicitor Reports We attended the Lords at the Conference which was delivered by the Duke of Buck. who said to this purpose That the Lords had Commanded him to deliver to us that Scandalous and Seditious Paper sent from the Earl of Clarendon desiring us to present it to you and to desire you in convenient time to send it to them again for it had a Stile which they were in love with and desired to keep it Which said Paper was read and is as follows viz. TO THE Right HONOURABLE THE LORDS Spiritual and Temporal IN Parliament ASSEMBLED The humble Petition and Address of Edward Earl of Clarendon May it please Your Lordships I Cannot express the unsupportable Trouble and Grief of Mind I sustain under the Apprehension of being Misrepresented to Your Lordships and when I hear how much of Your Lordships time hath been spent upon the mention of me as it is attended with more publick Consequences and of the differences of Opinion which have already or may probably arise between Your Lordships and the Honourable House of Commons whereby the great and weighty affairs of the Kingdom may be obstructed in the time of so general a dissatisfaction I am very unfortunate to find my self to suffer so much under two very disadvantageous Reflections which are in no degree applicable to me The First from the greatness of my Estate and Fortune collected and made in so few Years which if it be proportionable to what is reported may very reasonably cause my Integrity to be suspected The Second That I have been the sole Manager and chief Minister in all the Transactions of State since the King's return into England to August last and therefore that all Miscarriages and Misfortunes ought to be imputed to me and my Councels Concerning my Estate Your Lordships will not believe that after Malice and Envy hath been so inquisitive and so sharp sighted I will offer any thing to Your Lordships but what is exactly true and I do assure Your Lordships in the first place That excepting from the King's Bounty I have never received nor taken one Penny but what was generally understood to be the just lawful Perquisites of my Office by the constant Practice of the best Times which I did in my own Iudgment conceive to be that of my Lord Coventry and my Lord Elsmore the Practice of which I constantly observed altho' the Office in both their Times was lawfully worth double to what it was to me and I believe now is That all the Courtesies and Favours which I have been able to obtain from the King for other Persons in Church or State or in Westminster-Hall have never been worth me Five Pounds So that Your Lordships may be confident I am as innocent from Corruption as from any disloyal Thought which after near Thirty Years Service of the Crown in some Difficulties and Distresses I did never expect would be objected to me in my Age. And I do assure Your Lordships and shall make it very Manifest That the several Sums of Money and some Parcels of Land which His Majesty hath Bountifully bestowed upon me since his return into England are worth more than all I have amounts unto so far I am from advancing my Estate by indirect means And tho' this Bounty of his hath very far exceeded my Merit or my expectation yet some others have been as fortunate at least in the same Bounty who had as small pretences to it and have no great Reason to envy my condition Concerning the other Imputation of the Credit and Power of being chief Minister and so causing all to be done that I had a mind to I have no more to say than that I had the good fortune to serve a Muster of a very great Iudgment and Vnderstanding and be always joyn'd with Persons of great Ability and Experience without whose Advice and Concurrence never any thing hath been done Before His Majesty's coming into England he was constantly attended by the then Marquess of Oumond the late Lord Culpeper and Mr. Secretary Nicholas who were equally trusted with my self and without whose Ioynt Advice and Concurrence when they were all present as some of them always were I never gave any Councel As soon as it pleased God to bring His Majesty into England he Established his Privy Council and shortly out of them he Choose a Number of Honourable Persons of great Reputation who for the most part are still alive as a Committee for Forreign Affairs and Consideration of such things as in the Nature of them required much Secrefie and with these Persons he vouchsafed to Ioyn me And I am confident this Committee never transacted any thing of Moment His Majesty being always present without presenting the same first to the Council-Board and I must appeal to them concerning my Carriage and whether we were not all of one Mind in Matters of Importance For more than two Years I never knew any Differences in the Councils or that there were any Complaints in the Kingdom which I wholly impute to His Majesty's great Wisdom and the intire Concurrence of his Councellours without the Vanity of assuming any thing to my self and therefore I hope I shall not be singly charged with any thing that hath since fal'n out amiss But from the time Mr. Secretary Nicholas was removed from his Place there were great Alterations and whosoever knew any thing of the Court and Councils know well how much my Credit hath since that time been diminished tho' His Majesty graciously vouchsafed still to here my Advice in most of his Affairs nor hath there been from that time to this above one or two Persons brought to the Council or preferr'd to any considerable Office in the Court who have been of my intimate Acquaintance or suspected to have any kindness for me and most of them most Notoriously known to have been very long my Enemies and of different Iudgment and Principles from me both in Church and State and have taken all opportunities to lessen my Credit with the King and with all other Persons by Mis-representing and Mis-reporting all that I said or did and perswading Men I have done them some prejudice with His Majesty or crossed them in some of their Pretensions Tho' His Majesty's Goodness and Iustice was such that it made little Impression upon him In my humble Opinion the great Misfortunes of the Kingdom have proceeded from the War to which it is Notoriously known that I was always most averse and may without vanity say I did not only foresee but declare the Mischiefs we

to the payment of which his Majesty was not in strictness bound And afterwards received great Summs of Money for procuring the same VI. That he received great Summs of Money from the Company of Vintners or some of them or their Agents for Inhauncing the Prizes of Wines and for freeing them from the payment of legal Penalties which they had incurred VII That he hath in a short time gained to himself a greater Estate than can be imagined to be gained lawfully in so short a time and contrary to his Oath he hath procured several Grants under the Seal from His Majesty to himself and Relations of several of His Majesty's Lands Hereditaments and Leases to the disprofit of His Majesty VIII That he hath Introduced an Arbitrary Government in His Majesty's Forreign Plantations and hath caused such as complained thereof before His Majesty and Councel to be long Imprisoned for so doing IX That he did reject and frustrate a Proposal and Vndertaking approved by His Majesty for the preservation of Mevis and St. Christophers and reducing the French Plantations to his Majesty's Obedience after the Commissions were drawn for that purpose which was the occasion of our great Losses and Damage in those Parts X. That he held Correspondence with Cromwell and his Complices when he was in Parts beyond the Seas attending His Majesty and thereby adhered to the King's Enemies XI That he advised and effected the Sale of Dunkirk to he French King being part of His Majesty's Dominions together with the Ammunitions Attillery and all sorts of Stores there and for no greater value than the said Ammunitions Artillery and Stores were worth XII That the said Earl did unduely cause Hii Majesty's Letters Patents under the Great Seal of England to one Dr. Crowther to be alter'd and the Enrolement thereof to be unduly rased XIII That he hath in an Arbitrary way examined and drawn into question divers of His Majesty's Subjects concerning their Lands Tenements Goods Chattells and Properties determined thereof at the Council Table and stopped Proceedings at Law by Order of the Councel-Table and threatned some that pleaded the Statute of 17 Car. 1. XIV That he hath caused Quo Warranto's to be issued out against most of the Corporations of England immediately after their Charters were Confirmed by Act of Parliament to the intent he might require great Summs of Money of them for renewing their Charters which when they complyed withal he caused the said Quo Warranto's to be Discharged and Prosecution therein to cease XV. That he procured the Bills of Settlement of Ireland and received great Summs of Money for the same in most corrupt and unlawful manner XVI That he hath deluded and betrayed His Majesty and the Nation in all Forreign Treaties and Negotiations relating to the late War and betrayed and discovered His Majesty's secret Councils to his Enemies XVII That he was a principal Author of that fatal council of dividing the Fleet about June 1666. The Clerk having read them a second time it was moved That in regard the Articles were many they might be referr'd to the Committee to see how far they were true because Fame is too slender a ground to bring a Man upon the Stage Sir Fran. Goodr. Seconds it because new matter was now added to what was formerly charged Viva voce in the House Sir Rob. How Suppose the Earl of Clarendom Innocent and yet Charged and Imprisoned which is the worst of the Case he afterwards appears Innocent and is discharged receiving no more hurt than other Subjects have done Namely * D. Buck. one great Man lately Object But why should you Commit him Answ. For proof whether the Articles be true or not Suppose Men for self preservation will not venture to come not knowing how they may trust themselves and so you have no Proof He very guilty and You not able to proceed is the Inconveniency greater for an Innocent Person if he prove so to suffer a few days than for you to loose your Repuation for ever If this Man be not brought to his Tryal it may force him to fly to that which he Councelled that is that we may never have Parliament more Sir Fra. Goodr. I am not against proceeding but unsatisfied to do it without Witness it being like Swearing in Verbo Magistri Sir Iohn Holl. That the Committee undertake to make good the Charge otherwise examine Witnesses Mr. Vaugh. You admit the Accusation to be matter for a Charge if the Committee find proof if you intend to make this a distinct Case I leave it to you but if this be to settle the Course of the Proceedings of the House I am against it for this is ordering a way of Proceeding in the Earl of Clarendon's Case which shall not be a general Rule Tho' I cannot say one of the Articles to be true yet I know them to be a full Charge if made good and you are prescribing a Course neither proper nor ever practised A Witness who speaks without Outh is subject to Damage not so upon Oath because the Law compells him And whereas it hath been said if Witnesses attest before the House of Commons what Judges dare middle in 't I answer such Judges as meddled in the Case of Sir Iohn Elliot c. and the Ship Money Sir Rich. Temp. A Grand Jury is capable to present upon their own knowledge and are Sworn to keep the King's Council and their own and I believe there is not one Article of the Accusation but will be made good Sir Rob. How As I am sensible of the danger of publishing Witnesses beforehand so I would have every one satisfied therefore take the Articles one by one and according as you shall find what your Members may say for the Truth you may be induced to proceed or not Sir Tho. Osb. The House ought to have something to induce their belief which they have had from several Members and I know how some will be made good Sir Tho. Littl. What Article Members of the House do not offer you matter to induce you to believe you may lay it aside therefore hear what shall be said and proceed accordingly Mr. Iohn Tr. You connot expect Witnesses will appear before you Lords will not nor can you expect Commoners should for when you are up and gone nothing can protect a Commoner if this Information be not Judicial At last the Question was put whether to refer it to a Committee Yeas 128. Noes 194. 322. Then the first Article was read to see what would be said to induce the House to Impeach The First Article read Sir Rob. How Lord Vaugh. Heard from Persons of Quality That it would be proved The Second Article was read Lord St. Ioh. Persons of great Quality have assured him to make it good and if they perform not he will acquaint the House who they are The Third Article read Mr. Ed. Seym. Sufficient Persons will make it good with this Addition When he received