Laiety by Sequestrations Decimations and otherwise ensued whereof we of the Loyal Party were not only Witnesses and Spectators but therein we were fellow Sufferers Now the Writs of the King suffered Violence of which Mr. Fitzherbert in his Preface to his Natura Brevium saith that they be the Foundations whereupon the whole Law doth depend of the which Writs and Processes as be appointed in the Law it is said in St. Jermin in his Book Written by way of Dialogue called Doctor and Student Fol. 64. a. That the King as Sovereign and Fountain of the Law is bounden of Justice to Grant them to every Person that will Complain be his Surmise true or false Yet in stead of Carolus Secundus Dei Gratia c. Vicecomiti c. was used The Keepers of the Liberties of England by Authority of Parliament To the Sheriff of c. But those who had built this Babel by their Divisions and Jealousies one had of another were in time brought to strange Confusions The Writs were to run no longer in the Name of the Keepers c. But all Writs and Process were issued forth in the Name of Oliver their General The Independent though the Younger now prevailed against the Presbyterian the Elder Brother whath the Elder had hunted after the Younger now catched for himself And now also it may be observed that a House of Commons singly Assumed to themselves the Title of and were stiled the Parliament of England though his Sacred Majesty King Charles the First had before truely told them in his Speech to them 3. Car. that none of the Houses of Parliament joint or Separate had any Power either to Make or Declare a Law without his Consent CHAP. V. Sheweth about what time the Kings Writs were first framed for the induction of the Commons into the Parliaments of England FRom the Norman Conquest untill some time in the Reign of H. 3. Parliaments were holden by the King and his Barons Spiritual and Temporal in whose days it is thought the Kings Writ for Election of Kinghts c. was first framed and that the Commons were reduced to a House by the Advice of the Bishops to the King in the heat of the Barons Wars It was thought expedient then to frame a Writ for their Induction that they might allay and lessen the Pride and Power of the Peers who had waged War so many years against the Crown However least they should arrogate too much Authority to themselves they never could so much as exhibit an Oath nor impose a Fine or inflict Punishment upon any but their own Members until the time of the late Usurpers when they were grown to that height of Impudence that the King himself and Lords Spiritual and Temporal were Excluded by them of whom as well before the Norman Conquest as since the Ancient Parliaments of England consisted only without them For it is true the People were wrought under by the Sword of the first William and his followers to a Subjected Vassallage Division and Power had Mastered them none of their old Nobility and Heads were left either of Credit or Fortunes what he Detained not in Providence as the Demeans of the Crown or reserved in Piety as for the Maintenance of the Church he parted and divided amongst those Strangers that Sailed along with him in the same Bark of his Adventure leaving the Natives for the most part as may be seen by his Survey called Domesday Book now in the Exchequor in no better a condition than Villenage To supply his Occasions of Men Money or Provisions he Ordered that all those who injoyed any fruit of his Conquest should hold their Lands proportionably by so many Knights Fees of the Crown And permitted them to Enfeofle their followers with such parts as they pleased of their own Portions which to ease their charge they did in his and his Sons time This course provided him the Body of his War the Money and Provision was by Hidage Assessed on the Common People at and with the consent of their Lords who held in all their Seigniories such right of Royalty that to their vassals as Paris saith they were quot domini tot Tyranni and in time provided to the Kings so great a Curb and restraint of Power that nothing fell into the Care of Majesty after more than to retrench the force of Aristocracy that was like in time to strangle the Monarchy Though others foresaw the Mischief betimes yet none attempted the remedy until King John whose overhasty undertakings brought in the mentioned broiles of the Barrons Wars there needed not before this Care to Advise with the Commons in any Parliamentary or Publick Assemblies when every Man in England by Tenure held himself to his great Lords Will whose Presence was ever required in their Parliaments and in whose Assents his dependant Tennants consent was ever included from what is aforesaid the Commons of England or rather they whom the Commons shall Elect to future Parliaments and are properly said in Parliament Assembled to be the Representatives of all the Commons of England may take notice that Anciently was in use only one Writ of Summons to Parliament by which the King Summoned the Lords Spiritual and Temporal separately to come to his Parliament at a certain Day and Place appointed in the Kings Writ And of latter times with the reasons for the one and the other there hath been an Additional Writ framed which is sent to every Sheriff of England and Wales for Election of Kinghts c. for the Parliament in the Kings Name and when sent it is called the Kings Writ and is directed to his Subordinate Officer the Kings Sheriff For the truth is the King by his Writ giveth the very Essence and Form to the Parliament which is to be Summoned when he pleaseth to be Adjourned Prorogued and Dissolved when he pleaseth And in all good times of Government before and since the Conquest it was ever in the Kings power and was and is his Priviledge Royal Prerogative and Regality to Grant or Deny such Petitions as he pleaseth and all Acts of former times and some of latter time were and are in form of Petitions CHAP. VI. Sheweth the difference between Parliamentary Priviledges and the Priviledges of the King and sheweth how at first Kingly Government was constituted by God himself and that by Gods Law also the Legislative Power and the Power of the Militia was given to the King and that in these highest Points of the Kings Prerogative the Law of England is agreeing with the Law of God and that God is vindex sui Ordinis the avenger of his own Ordinance THE Speaker uf the House of Commons on the first day of every Parliament is usually Presented to the King and in the Name of the Commons of England he humbly Prays his Majesty would be Graciously Pleased to Grant them their Liberties and Priviledges which is a strong Argument that their Priviledge their
amongst the rest he gave him a special charge to shew kindness not unto Chimham only but unto all the Sons of Barzillai the Gileadite charging him that he let them be of those that Eat at his Table rendring this for reason for so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom thy Brother Absit be it far from me I do not mention this matter as if I would thence infer that King David was obliged to have done this Honour to Barzillai and his Sons No! Cujus est dare ejus est disponere he that hath the power to give Honour or Reward hath also the disposing power to give to whom what and when he pleaseth and the very words of Barzillai and why should the King recompence it me with such a reward manifest that good old Barzillai thought it his bounden Duty to do what he had done And as appears by the preamble of the Statute of 11th H. 7th ca. 1. Every Subject of this Realm of England by Duty of Allegiance is bound to serve his Prince and Soveraign Lotd in his Wars for the defence of him and the Land against every Rebellion Power and Might reared against him and with him to enter and abide in service in Battel And Sir Edward Coke also in the 7th parr of his Reports Fol. 7. b. 8. a. saith that all Subjects are bound to go with the King in War infra extra regnum both within and without the Kingdom CHAP. IX Herein you have a Subject defined you have Ligeance defined and is shewed that the King hath two Capacities the one Natural and the other Politick that the body Politick cannot be separated from the Body Natural that Ligeance is due to the Natural Body of the King that the Kingdom of England admits of no interregnum and that the Disherison of the Right Heir of a Kingdom is wont to be the beginning of Civil Wars NOW whosoever is born under a natural Ligeance due by the Law of Nature is a Subject And it is neither caelum Heaven nor solum the Soil that makes the Subject but Ligeance which is of as large extent and Latitude as the Royal Power and Protection of the King is which Allegiance or Ligeance is a true and faithful Obedience of the Subject due to his Soveraign and is or ought to be an incident inseperable to every Subject because Ligeantia est vinculum fidei the bond of Faith est quasi Legis essentia est ligamentum quasi ligatio mentium quia sicut ligamentum est connexio articulorum juncturarum c. As the Ligatures or Strings do knit together all the Joints of all the parts of the Body so doth this Ligeance joyn together the Soveraign and all his Subjects quasi uno ligamine as in one knot or tye In some Acts of Parliament Subjects are called Leige Subjects or Leige People and again in some Acts of Parliament the King is called Leige Lord of his Subjects so that I may further say Ligeantia est quid quodamodo reciprocum a certain Reciprocal thing hence it is we say Protectio Regis tiahit subjectionem subditi subjectio subditi trahit protectionem Regis The Protection of the King doth draw or attract the Subjection of the Subject and the Subjection of the Subject doth draw or attract to it the Protection of the King So that this Ligeance is the mutual Bond and Obligation between the King and his Subjects whereby Subjects are called his Leige Subjects because they are bound to Obey and Serve him as well in times of War as in times of Peace and he is called their Leige Lord because he is to maintain them in their just Rights and Liberties by the power of the Sword times of War and by the Legislative power to defend them in times of Peace from Injuries and Oppressions Now the King is said to have Two Capacities one Natural the other Politick one framed of God the other by the Policy of Man one subject to Infirmities the other not And the Estate Royal or Politick doth not confound the capacity of his Body Natural but their Capacities remain distinctly as in other Persons that have double capacity as a Bishop or a Dean c. Plow 234. a. and the Body Politick of the King may not be disjoyned or separated from his Body Natural Plow 230. a. 242. b. So that when the King is Sworn to his Subjects as he is at his Coronation he taketh Oath in his Natural Person for the Politick Body is immortal and invisible nay the Politick Body hath no Soul for as is aforesaid it is framed by the Policy of Man and therefore the King cannot be said to Swear in his Politick Capacity In likewise when at the Assizes by the Judge of the Goal delivery at the Sessions of the Peace by the Justices or the Commissioners of the Peace when at or in the Leet by the Steward there the Subject is or shall be Sworn to the King to bear Faith and true Allegiance to his Majesty his Heirs and Successors then the Subject is Sworn to bear Faith and true Allegiance to the Natural Body of the King And accordingly in all Indictments of Treason when any intend or compass mortem destructionem Domini Regis which must needs be intended and understood to be of his Natural Body for his Politick Body is Immortal and not subject to Death the Indictment always concludeth with contra Ligeantiae suae debitum contrary to the Duty of their Allegiance and therefore Ligeance is due to the Natural Body of the King And Sir Edward Coke says this Ligeance or Faith of the Subject is proprium quarto modo to the King a degree beyond the Grammarians Superlative omni soli semper to every King to the King alone and always to the King And it will be material and not contrary to Sir Edward Cokes meaning to add these words de jure to every of his omni soli semper And so Ligeance will be due as it is to every King that is so de jure of Right to him alone that is so and always to him that is King de jure of Right Thereby every King de facto and Usurper will be excluded and the greater safety will be secured to the King and to the Subject too for the Disherison of the Right Heir of a Kingdom is always wont to be the beginning of Civil Wars But however Sir Edward Coke omitted those words de jure yet his meaning was without question the same as if those words had been added because C. 7. 10. b. he saith that the King holdeth the Realm of England by Birthright upon which Succession is ever attendant and in the same place he saith that the King in individuo moritur but not in genere which is as much as to so say that the Natural Body of the King is subject to Death but the body Politick of the King dyeth not And therefore
of this damned Thesis or Position then we are all presently fellows at Footbal and Over Milk will presently be as good as Swasey Cream and whatever gets uppermost will be King In the time of Edward the Second about 400 years since this separation of Soveraignty from the person of the King and manner of abstracting the Person of the King from his Office was found out by the Two Spencers the Father and the Son who to cover their Treason invented this damnable opinion that Homage and the Oath of Allegiance were rather by reason of the Kings Crown than his Person upon which as may be seen in C. 7. 11. a. b. were inferred these Execrable Consequences First If the King did not demean or behave himself well his Liege People were bound by their Oath to remove him Secondly Because the King might not be reformed by suit of Law that ought to be done by asperty Thirdly That his Liege People are bound to govern in aid and default of him All which detestable opinions were then condemned in two Parliaments the first was by an Act made in the time of Edward the Second called Exilium Hugonis De Spencer the Banishment of Hugh Spencer the last was by an Act made in the First year of Edward the Third the first Chapter Let all take notice that by the Laws of our Realm of England all Power Soveraignty Homage Allegiance and Subjection is commanded and required as properly due to the Natural Body of the King And that therefore it was said by Glanvil who was Chief Justice in the time of Henry the Second Dominus Rex nullum habere potest parem multo minus Superiorem Our Lord the King can have no Peer or Equal much less can he have any Superior within his Realms or Dominions And Bracton qui sub Henrico tertio viginti annos summi Justiciarii munere defunctus est that for Twenty years together was Chief Justice in the time of Henry the Third saith that Omnis quidem sub Rege ipse sub nullo nisi tantum sub deo every Man is under the King and he is under none but God alone And Non potest Regi necessitatem aliquis imponere quod injuriam suam corrigat amendet cum superiorem non habeat nisi deum satis erit ei ad paenam quod Dominum expectet ultorem nor saith he can any Man put a necessity upon the King to correct and amend his injury unless he will himself since he hath no Superior but God it will be sufficient punishment for him to expect the Lord for his Avenger neither hath he hereby other Priviledge than what by God Himself is given to Kingly Majesty as may be seen in the 8th chap. of Ecclesiastes 2 3 and 4th verses I Counsel thee to keep the Kings Commandment and that in regard of the Oath of God be not hasty to go out of his sight stand not in an Evil thing for he doth whatsoever pleaseth him and where the word of a King is there is Power and who may say unto him What doest thou Yet I observe that once heretofore the Miter may be said Sawcily to have Oretopped the Crown in the 20th year of King Henry the Eight we read in Mr. Howe 's Chronicle Fol. 541. that the Kings Marriage came on to be argued in open Court at the Black Fryers then the King and Queen were Summoned and Ascited to appear but there may be seen what the opinion of wise Men in those times was thereupon which was that it was a strange sight and the newest device that ever was read or heard of before in any Region Story or Chronicle a King and Queen to be constrained by Process compellatory to appear in any Court as Common Persons within their own Realm and Dominion to abide the Judgments and Decrees of their own Subjects being the Royal Diadem and Prerogative thereof However this was the less wonder then because the Pope did then send as Legate into England the Cardinal Campejus to debate the Controversie delegated to him and the Cardinal of York for the publication of the invalidity of the Kings first Marriage at the instance of the King himself as may be seen in Guicciardin's History Fol. 756. But as we may see in Stanf. 153. a. The King of England hath no Peer in his own Land Realm or Dominion and therefore he cannot be Judged or called to account for his Actions by his People Nay it may be there seen that Parliaments are Assembled for the profit of the King and his People and the People are Summoned thither by the Kings Writ ad consulendum c non ad consedendum solum multo minus ad supersedendum to consult of the certain difficult matters c. not only there to Sit together much less to Sit upon their Lord the King in Judgment CHAP. XIII Sheweth that no Action lyeth against the King but in place thereof Petition must be made unto him and that due circumstances observed the Subject shall have his remedy against the King by way of Petition as readily as one Subjct may recover against another Subject by way of Action in any of the Kings Courts for that all his Majesties Subordinate Officers are Sworn to do Justice between the King and his Subjects which if they do not they are Answerable for the injury not the King IT is said C. 11. 72. a. b. That the King being the Lieutenant of God solum hoc non potest facere quod non potest injuste facere which is agreeable to a Maxim in our Law that the King can do no wrong therefore as we may see in Mr. Stanford prer 72. b. In place of Action against the King for the dignity of his Person Petition must be made unto him in the Chancery or in Parliament for no Action did ever lie against the King at the Common Law but the party is driven to his Petition which is all the remedy the Subject hath when the King Seizeth his Lands or taketh away his Goods from him having no Title by order of his Laws so to do And this Petition is called a Petition of Right because of the Right the Subject hath against the King by the Order of his Laws to the thing he sueth for by Petition And it may be sued as well in the Parliament as out of the Parliament and if it be sued in the Parliament then it may be Enacted and passed as an Act of Parliament or else to be Ordered in like manner as a Petition that is sued out of Parliament And suit by Petition can be to none other than only to the King for no such suit shall be made to the Queen the Consort of the King or to the Lord Prince for these Personages have no such Prerogative Further plainly shewing and declaring the manner of suing by Petition and where and in what cases it lyeth and where not and that due circumstances observed by him