Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	edward_n	john_n	king_n	15,663	5	4.3627	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A76365	A plea for the commonalty of London, or, A vindication of their rights (which hath been long with-holden from them) in the choice of sundry city officers. As also, a justification of the power of the Court of Common-councell, in the making of acts, or by-laws, for the good and profit of the citizens, notwithstanding the negative votes of the Lord Major and aldermen. Being fully proved by severall charters granted to this City, by sundry royall kings of England, confirmed by Act of Parliament, and by records witnessing the particulars in the practise of them. / In a speech delivered in Common-councell, on Munday the 24th of February, 1644. By John Bellamie.	Bellamie, John, d. 1654.	1645 (1645)	Wing B1816; Thomason E1174_3; ESTC R208882	15,067	36

and Commoners members of this Court of Common-Councell and I being by this Court added to that Committee thought it therfore my duty according to the best of my abilities to give an accompt to this Court whom it chiefely concernes how in my judgement I conceive the right and truth therein doth stand and for methods sake I shall deliver what in this I have to speake under these three heads First That this City by those favours and bounties which we and our predecessors have received from sundry Royall Kings of England is now invested with many excellent immunities franchises and priviledges Secondly Who are the proper recipients of those favours or to whom the power of using and maintaining those favours and priviledges granted to us by our Royall Kings of England is committed Thirdly The reasons or arguments wherefore those persons unto whom this power is committed should carefully and conscionably maintaine and use those priviledges with which they are intrusted For the proofe of the first I have a large and a pleasant field to walk in and truly I want both time to recount them all they are so many and words to set forth the worth of them they are so excellent When I throughly view them I know not well whether I should more magnifie the grace and favour of those royall Princes in giving us so many priviledges or admire our own happinesse in the injoyment of them But I must only doe in these as men usually doe in a curious garden pluck here a flower and there an herb which are most pleasing to their sences and most usefull for their service and when I have done the best I can I must leave many behind me for want of time and skill to collect and improve them for the common good But my hope and desire is that some more able and skilfull hand will shortly set them forth in their use and lustre before your Lordship and this Court I can no way cast my eye but it beholds many witnesses of this truth for that we are here at this time in the capacity of a City Councell to consult upon debate about and determine of such things which doe or may concerne the common good this pleades this proves our priviledge That Emblem of Authority which ere while was borne before your Lordship and now presents it selfe within your view is another argument to prove your power and in it the power of this City whose head under his Majesty your Lordship is Very much hath been anciently written by many Authors in the praise and commendation of London but it hath been lately as truly so fully summed up together by that learned Lawyer Sr Edward Cook sometime Recorder of London and after Lord Chiefe Justice of England in his fourth part of Institutes p. 247. In these three expressions 1. Camera Regis 2. Rei Publicae Cor. 3. Totius Regni Epitome The Chamber of the King the heart of the Common-wealth the Epitome of the whole Kingdome But my Lord I must come to the proofe of these proofes for it is not sufficient to shew that we are thus and that your Lordship is possest of such a power for this and more then this may be by usurpation and without warrant But that which is my part to prove is That your Lordship and this City is invested with a just and a full power thus to be and thus to doe and that by the free and cleere grants of sundry royall Kings of England manifested in their severall and respective Charters which by their grace and favour they have granted to us Those pleasant flowers and usefull herbs which I shall now endeavour to present you with are such as will chiefely make a flourishing and populous City to be truly happy which are these two First To have the power to choose our own chiefe Governour and subordinate Officers amongst our selves Secondly To have also the power to make such Laws which are or shall be for our own welfare and best accommodation London was anciently governed both before the conquest in the time of the conquest and for about 120 yeares after the conquest which was untill the first yeare of Richard the first by Port graves or Port-greeves Richard the first appointed the first Major of London which continued for about 24 yeares untill the 14th yeare of King John And King John was the first King of England that gave us the power to choose our chiefe Governour viz. the Major amongst our selves as the words of the Charter in the 16 yeare of his raigne makes it plaine the words are these Know ye that We have granted to our Barons of our City of London that they may choose unto themselves a Major of themselves And that Charter of Henry the third in the 37 yeare of his raigne gives us the like power in these words We grant also unto the said Citizens that they may yearely present to our Barons of the Exchequer We or our Heires not being at Westminster every Major whih they sholl choose in the City of London to the end they may be by them admitted as Major And that Charter of Edward the second in the 12th of his raigne confirmeth to us the same power of choosing the Major with this addition also of choosing both the Sheriffs I say of choosing not only one but both the Sheriffs and that in these words That the Major and Sheriffs of the City aforesaid may be chosen by the Citizens of the same City according to the tenour of the Charters of our Progenitors sometimes Kings of England to that end made Et nullo alio modo Which Charter hath reference to the Charter of King John in the first yeare of his raigne in these words And further We have granted to the Citizens of London that they may make of themselves Sheriffs whomsoever they will and may remove them when they will And the same Charter of Edward the second gives us the power of choosing the Chamberlaine Common Clarke and Common Serjeant in these words And that the Chamberlaine Common Clarke and Common Serjeant of the City afore-said be chosen by the Commonalty of the same City and amoved at the pleasure of the same Commonalty The same Charter gives the choice of the Masters of the Way-house to the Commonalty in these words And that the Weights and Beames for weighing of Merchandizes betwixt Merchant and Merchant Whereof the issues growing and the knowledge of them pertaine to the Commonalty of the City afore-said remaine to be kept at the will of the same Commonalty in the custody of two good and sufficient men of the same City expert in that office to be hereunto chosen by the Commonalty afore-said and that they be not in any otherwise committed to any others but to such as shall be so chosen And in the 22th of Henry the eigth this is granted to the Major Commonalty and Citizens of London conjunctim I might tire out my selfe and weare out your

soule diffuseth it selfe into all the Members of the body to make them fit for action as into the feet to walke into the hands to worke O suffer us I pray you to doe that which God which nature and which all our Royall Kings in all their Charters have granted to us and doth require of us that is that in our places we may act our parts And then you will easily see that as in the Naturall body the head cannot walke without the feet nor work without the hands nor can your Lordship and those worthy Aldermen though the head and chiefe of this great Councell yet act nothing without the concurrent power of us your hands and feet for to assist you The soundest and best of bodies are subject to diseases and those maladies in the most noble parts are ever most dangerous if therefore there breeds an ulcer or tumor in the head and cause it so to swell as it hinders the necessary and naturall motion of the rest of the Members and thereby endangereth the life of all Oh then blame not I beseech you blame not the feet if they run forth to seek a remedy nor yet the hands if they apply it for every Member as it tenders it 's owne well-being ought to seeke the welfare of the whole body And if the distemper be in the head as sad experience daily proveth no member of the body can then be well at ease But I fore-see an objection that may here be made against a part of what I have before spoken which is this That the choyce or election of some City-officers have been time out of mind in the power of others and not in the Commonalty as one of the Shrieves to be chosen by my Lord Majors Prerogative and the common Clark and common Serjeant by the Court of Aldermen I shall give to this objection a two-fold answer First that which our Saviour Christ gave to the Pharisees in the case of divorce they then pleading as these now prescription for it and saying that time out of mind even ever since Moses daies it had been so True saith our Lord Christ Moses for the hardnesse of their hearts suffered them to give a bill of divorce and to put away their wives but from the beginning it was not so The same say I 't is confest that a great while the choice of these and some other City-Officers have been suffered to run along in these Channels of pretended Prerogative and unwarranted custome but from the beginning it was not so therefore as our Saviour Christ said in that case What God hath joyned together let no man put asunder So say I in this what God and what the Charters of our City hath joyned together let not man let not not your Lordships pretended Prerogative let not unwarranted custome either put or keepe asunder The second Answer I give to this objection is this That this power hath either been given from the Commonalty by their owne consent or els taken away from them by usurpation if by usurpation then it behoves this Court the only representative body of this City to use all good meanes to regaine what hath been so long unjustly taken from them But if given away by consent as I will not deny but our fore-fathers in their times might be perswaded upon specious shews and faire pretences and peradventure in their esteeme upon solid reasons to make over a part of their power into the hands of the L d Major and Aldermen who knew better for their owne advantage how to use it then they to keepe it yet I hope if reason and just cause require the power of this Councell may reassume it again into the hands of the Commonaltie as it did in the like case upon the 21. of June 1643. reassume the sole power of choosing the Chamberlain and Bridge-masters into the hands of the said Commonalty I come now to the third and last head I am to speake to viz. The reasons or arguments wherefore those persons unto whom this power is committed should carefully and conscionably maintain and use those priviledges with which they are entrusted I will insist only upon two Arguments to presse this First from that dammage and losse which our Predecessours have under-gone for mis-using and non-usage of those Priviledges and Immunities which by the favour and bounty of former Princes have beene bestowed on them Secondly from that obligation of a sacred Oath by which we all as free men of this City stand bound for to maintain them The omission and misusage of Priviledges have been exceeding detrimentall to our Predecessours and may be of as dangerous a consequence unto us but before I prosecute this Argument give me leave to acquaint you how carefull one of the Kings of England was to preserve this City from losse and danger in this respect I reade that Edward the third in the first yeare of his raigne made provision for this City that our Liberties should not be seized into the hands of the King for any persionall Trespasse of any one minister of Justice in this City but did ordaine that such a minister of Justice should be punished according as the quality of his Trespasse should require But if the City it selfe which is only represented in this Court shall so farre undervalue or slight the grace and favour of our Royall Princes as not to use or to misuse such graunts and priviledges as they are pleased in their bounties to invest us with then as this neglect and non-usage or misusage of our priviledges hath made our Predecessours to pay deare for it So we may also mourne under the losse of it and smart for it For in the same Edward the 3. daies in the 15. yeare of his raigne it cost this City 1000. marks for not fully using those free Customes and Liberties which had been formerly granted to them where observe that it is not sufficient to use some of our free Customs and Liberties but we must use them all yea and fully use them in that way and manner as in which they were granted to us by our Charters else as then so now the non-usage or mis-usage of them may occasion a mulct or fine to be imposed on us For there is no man that is any whit conversant in our City Charters but can easily and truly testifie that not once or twice but 10. if not 20. times this City hath been forced to receive a pardon for non-usage and mis-usage of their priviledges and for City-Officers to be chosen and not by the persons appointed by Charter to choose them is a plain mis-usage of power and priviledge Therefore my Lord if your Lordship will by your Prerogative still choose one of the Shrieves and the Court of Aldermen will still choose the common Clarke and common Sergeant Why I beseech you may you not as well share the choice of all the City-Officers amongst your selves but if you will grant us of the