man is obliged to ansvver Questions against himself But if notwithstanding this present Convention of Lords may lawfully send for any man and if he will not answer Questions against himself may judge it a Contempt and without any legal Process or Judgment of his Peers may Fine him more than he is worth and Imprison him till he has paid that Fine Magna Charta the Petition of Right and all the Lavvs made to secure our Liberites and Properties are become Useless and Insignificant things And every Man in England enjoys his Liberty and Estate not of Right or by Law but at the Will and Pleasure of these Lords Hence it is men stick not openly to say It is not the Duke of Buckingham the Earl of Salisbury the Earl of Shaftsbury the Lord Wharton and Doctor Cary only but all the Laws Rights and Liberties of England are Imprisoned vvith them And there is not any one Lord Gentleman Citizen or Person vvhatsoever in England But by the same Rule may be Imprisoned the next hour So that their Case extends it self to the whole People of England and what they suffer they suffer as their Martyrs I Pray God deliver the King and Kingdom from the Calamitous Consequences that these things seem to Usher in and bring deserved shame upon such Actions and Principles as for the Advantage of perticular Persons or little Factions tend to the Ruine of the People and Government So Prayes Sir Your Affectionate and humble Servant J. E. The Publisher to the Reader SIR WHilst the Alies of our New Tripple League are thus securing the Protestant Religion and the Rights and Liberties of the Nation the French King that great Enemy of the Protestant Religion Liberty and Property the Disturber of Christendom who for his Pride and Lust which he calls his Glory hath already destroyed at least Seven hundred thousand Men and Burnt and laid Desolate whole Courtries goes on Triumphant both by Sea and Land having already 165 Ships of War and about 40 more upon Stocks which certainly will be the best Navy in the World He has lately beat the Dutch Fleet in the West-Indies and is like speedily to be Master of Sicily He has thus Early in the Year taken Valenciâ—ns and Cambray and just now there is certain News come he 〈◊〉 so Worsted the Prince of Orang's Army that its thought all the Spanish Netherlands must speedily fall into his hands without much Opposition How dreadful an Aspect this hath upon England you and all men may judge I do not think it at all strange of find some men but little concern'd for the Preservation of the Protestant Religion and the keeping out of Popery and others as little for the Maintenance of the Laws Rights and Liberties of the Nation in opposition to Arbitrary Povver but I hope there are none so rechlesly stupid as to be unconcern'd when they see themselves like to lose not only the Protestant Religion and all the Rights and Liberties of the Nation with all their own Estates and Possession but the Land and Soil of the Nation it self And this seems to be our present Case for the wisest men here do think matters are brought to this narrow Issue That either we must speedily have a Nevv Parliament or certainly become a French Conquest For France is now become so prodigiously Powerfull that the most United Wisdom Riches and Strength of this Nation will scarcely be able to preserve it out of their ravenous Hands And I Appeal to all Mankind whether we be like to find the like Wisdom and Faithfulness in a Gonvention of Men imposing themselves upon us as a Parliament the far greatest part of which consists either of French or Court-Pentioners Indigent or Out-law'd persons Children Fools or such as are Super-annuated as in a Parliament freely chosen by the whole Nation to preserve it from so eminent a Danger And whether such a Parliament would not have much more the Command of the Hearts and Affections the Purse and Persons of the whole People than its possible for this Convention to have during the continuance of which as a Parliament And consequently the Kings Great Council the French has arrived to this excessive Greatness and poor England to this miserable State Therefore it seems to be the indispensable Duty of every English-man to use his utmost Endeavour to move his Majesty not only to Discharge these Four Worthy Lords but to answer their Great Request by Galling a Nevv Parliament before it be too late to provide for the Safety of the King and Kingdom FINIS
A NARRATIVE OF THE Cause and Manner OF THE Imprisonment OF THE LORDS NOW Close Prisoners in the Tower Of LONDON PSAL. 37 Fret not thy self because of him vvho prospereth in his vvay because of the man vvho bringeth vvicked devices to pass For yet a little vvhile and the vvicked shall not be yea thou shalt diligently consider his place and it shall not be Amsterdam 1677. A NARRATIVE OF THE Cause and Manner of the Imprisonment of the LORDS Now Close Prisoners in the Tower of London c SIR IN your last you commanded me to give you an enact account of the opening and proceeding of the Parliament You knovv you may freely command me to serve you in any thing I am able but you likevise knovv that I am no Courtier nor Member of Parliament and therefore I Wonder you should apply your self to me on this occasion since you have so many Friends as vvell at White-Hall as in both Houses vvhich could give you a more particular Relation But lest you should think I say this to excuse my self from serving you I shall as vvell as I can give you an account both of vvhat I my self have observed in this matter and vvhat I have received from common Fame ON Thursday the 15th of February the Parliament as they call themselves or the Convention as I hear others generally call them Met And at the same time a vast number of People filled Westminster Hall the Court of Requests the Painted Chamber the Lobbies and all places near the Parliament House that the like was never before seen upon the Meeting of This or any Other Parliament in our Memory I being one of the Number was more than ordinarily curious to find out and observe the temper of that great Body of People and what it was they did desire or expect and upon the strictest Enquiry I could make I found that except a few Persons who were engaged thereto by their Interest or Dependance they did earnestly desire and expect they should declare themselves to be No Parliament When the King was come the Commons were sent for up to the Lords House Where I made a shift to crowd in and hear The King and my Lord Chancellour made each of them a Speech worthy your Consideration Copies whereof I have hear sent you As soon as the Speeches were made and the Commons withdrawn a Bill was offered to be Read But the Duke of Buckingham desired to be heard first who after a most ingenious and modest Preface told their Lordships That in his Opinion the Question before their Lordships was not what they were to do but Whether they could do any thing as a Parliament It being very clear to him that the Parliament was Dissolved For which Opinion he gave his Reasons which because they are the Sum of all that was said to prove the Dissolution I shall give you as good and as brief an account of them as I can He spake to this purpose Viz. That the last Prorogation being for 15 Months was contrary to two Printed Statutes the 4th and 36th of Ed. 3 which he proved to be in force at this time that require Annual Parliaments and being so was illegal and that they could not meet by virtue of an illegal Prorogation and therefore were Dissolved For there being no legal Day for their Meeting they could never Meet unless it were by chance and an accidental Meeting of the King Lords and 500 Commons could not make a Parliament nor could the Kings Proclamation help the matter For a Proclamation was not of more force than a Prorogation and if a thing were illegal when first commanded it could not be made legal by a second Command And he said No body could pretend that the Kings Proclamation could make that a legal Parliament which was not so before And having answered all Objections of the Kings power to dispence with some Laws and such other as seemed to carry any colour of making the Prorogation legal and having shew'd the great Inconveniencies that did arise from the long Sitting of Parliaments how the very Nature of this House of Commons was changed for now they did not look upon themselves as a Assembly that are to return to their own Homes and become private men again as by the Laws of the Land and the antient Constitution of Parliaments they ought to be but they look upon themselves as a standing Senate and a number of men pickt out to be Legislators for the rest of their whole Lives He told their Lordships The matter was now brought to this Dilemma Either the Kings of England were bound by those Statutes mentioned of Ed. 3. Or else the whole Government of England by Parliaments and by Law is absolutely at an End For if the kings of England have Power by an Order of theirs to invalidate an Act made for the Maintainance of Magna Charta they have also Power by another Order of theirs to invalidate Magna Charta it self And if they have Power by an Order of theirs to invalidate an Act made for the maintainance of the Statute De tallagio non concedendo they have Power also when they please by an Order of theirs to invalidate the Statute it self De Tallagio non concedendo and then they may not only without the help of a Parliament raise what Money they please but also take away any man's Estate when they please deprive every one of his Liberty or Life as they please This he told their Lordships was a Power which no Judge nor Lawyer will pretend the kings of England have and yet this Power must be allowed them or else they that were met there that day could not act as a Parliament For they were then met by virtue of the last Prorogation and that prorogation is an Order of the king's point blank contrary to the two Acts of Edvv. 3. for the Acts say That a Parliament shall be holden once vvithin a year And the Prorogation sayes A Parliament shall not be held within a year but some months after And this I conceive is a plain contradiction and consequently the Prorogation is void He further added That noting could be more dangerous to a king or a people than that Laws should be made by an Assembly of which there can be a doubt whether they have power to make Laws or no And said It would be unexcusable in them because there is for it so easie a Remedy a Remedy which the Law requiers and the Nation longs for The Calling of a Nevv Parliament And he shew'd the great Advantages that would acrue to the King their Lordships and the People by frequent and successive Nevv Parliaments That without this all they could do would be in vain the Nation might languish a while but must perish at last they should become a burthen to themselves and a prey to their neighbours and therefore mov'd That their Lordships would humbly address themselves to the king to Call a Nevv
Parliament that so they might unanimously before it be too late use their utmost endeavours for his Majesties service and for the honour the safety the welfare and the glory of the English Nation No sooner had the Duke ended his Speech but the Lord Fretchvil mov'd to have him call'd to the Bar and theâ—e proceeded against as should be thought fit The Lord Salisbury said That vvas to take avvay the Freedom of Parliament And maintain'd the Duke in his assertion with great Reason After him the Lord Alisbury argued against the Dissolution and against the Duke's being call'd to the Barr. The Lord Arundel of Trerice seconded the Lord Frechvil's motion The Lord Halifax said The Parliament was not in his Opinion Dissolved but that it was so far from a Crime in the Duke to move it that it deserved Commendation because this was a proper place for the motion and the Determination of it would be of advantage which way soever the House should determine it The Lord Berkshire spoke against calling to the Barr and made a jest of it The Lord Shaftsbury said The calling the Duke to the Barr were to take away all liberty of speech in Parliament he very judiciously opened the state of the case with relation to the Dissolution He shewed That by the common law there ought to be Annual Parliaments That divers Statutes had provided for Annual Parliaments That we have right to our laws and These are the laws that preserve our Rights That these are the only laws by which the King is bound to call any Parliament That the King is bound by his Oath to keep the laws and that it is a great crime in any to endeavour to make him break his Oath That t is dangerous to remove Old Landmarks That many Inconveniences have ever been the conseqences of long Parliaments And after many Arguments and answering all Objections to the contrary he concluded the Prorogation was illegal The Marquess of Winchester said The Parliament was not Dissolved but thought the Duke who moved the business deserved thanks The Marquess of Dorchester carried on the debate of the Dissolution and argued against it After this which was about an hour the debate of the Dissolution was continued about four hours the Lord Chancellor undertaking to answer the Arguments which were or should be urged for it This the Lords understood to be an implied lience to shew the reasons of their opinion and accordingly a good number of Lords urged unanswerable Reasons to prove the Prorogation illegal and that they could not by law Sit and Act as a Parliament And all this while there was no reflexion upon any of the Lords for their opinnion for the Commons were still sitting and upon debate of that matter and the Court Church and Popish Lords could not tell what would be the Issue of the Question amongst them But as soon as they had notice that the Commons were up and had not suffered any Question to be put upon it but had run the Debate upon a Question that had no ground either in law or Reason which they had not determined neither but had adjorned to the next day They from this took right measures to conclude that the major part of the Commons were unwilling to part with their Seats and thereupon took confidence to shew them that they had the major part of the Lords too and having so in both Houses they need not fear to do whatsover they had a mind to and therefore without offering any colourable answer to the reasons and arguments that had been urged they put this question Whether this debate should be laid aside and it was carried in the Affirmative As soon as this Question was carried the lord Treasurer moved that it might be considered what to do with those lords that had asserted That the Parliament vvas dissolved The Duke of Ormond moved that the Duke of Buckes might be questioned The lord Treasurer moved That the Earl of Salisbury of Shaftsbury and the lord Wharton might be questioned The motion of these Lords as I thinke I have been told was seconded by the Duke of York and some of the lords called upon them to withdraw but they continved in their places as others of the lords declared they ought to do The Debate continued 〈◊〉 hours whether they should be questioned divers lords urging That it was against the Priviledge of Speech to which every Peer had right to question them And the Lord Privy Seal made along and most ingenious and judicious Speech to that purpose He said It was an Essential Priviledge of all Courts that every one of the Members of any of them should have Liberty to propose and debate any matter that concerned themselves as a Court or their own Jurisdiction And this liberty is not only grounded upon the Law of England but Reason has so clearly declared it to all Men that it is allowed for Law in All Countries much more ought to be allowed for Law in England where we boast our selves to be a Free People and much more to every Member of the House of Lords which is a constitutive part of the Legislative Power And indeed nothing is more plainly provided for in the Law of England than this Ask the Judges and they will tell you They are not Questionable for their Opinion delivered in Court tho over-rul'd by their Brethren as contrary to Law And shall not a Member of the high Court of Parliament have as much Liberty as the Judges of every Inferiour Court in England claims He said There were many Records and Acts of Parliament which did declare it to be the right of the Peers To Propose and Debate any thing vvhich they thought to be for the Good of the King and Kingdom And by the standing known Rules of the House if any Motion be made that gives Offence the Proposer ought immediately to be questioned or not at all and no Man is to Answer for any thing that has been Debated and a Question put upon it for by entering into the Debate they allow it to be Disputable and give Licence to the Lords to speak their Opinions of either side And should they Invade this Liberty and break these Rules as in Questioning these Lords they should do they should not Act is a Parliament but as an Arbitrary Assembly and there could be no Safety for any Member of Parliament For whatsoever was Proposed by aâ—y 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Major Vote went against him he and those of his Opinion might be questioned and then no New law could be made nor Inconvenient one altered or abrogated For no law can be made or altered but it must be proposed by some body and none could dare to propose it lest the House should not be of his Opinion and then he could not be secure He added That this was the Case of every Lord there For suppose the Major Vote had been That the Parliament vvas Dissolved he believed they would not
you according to my best Information an exact account of the Opening of this Sessions and particularly of the Proceedings against those truly Noble LORDS who durst speak what they knew to be Right and for their Countrys Good though it was never so unpleasing to a Faction they knew to be but too too prevalent nor would they desert their Country and Recant what they had so bravely Asserted and Maintained though they could not but foresee That the Alies of the Nevy Tripple League Viz. Bishops Court and Popish Lords who had already broke thorow the Antient Rules and Practice of Parliament and all the Lavvs of England would according to the New Court Word go Thorovv-Stitch and stick at nothing to remove them out of the way who had so bravely shewed them the Illegality of all their Proceedings and the unavoidable Mischiefs if not utter Ruine they would bring upon themselves and the whole Kingdom if they did continue to Act as a Parliament when they were so plainly Dissolved by Law The strangeness of these Proceedings is become the publick Discourse of the Town and it is Observable That the very Courtiers themselves confess That this Treatment of the LORDS is Prodigiously strange and Unpresidented and that it hath too much made good what was so often told to the Members of both Houses before their last Meeting both in Discourses and Printed Papers That if they vvould Presume to Sit upon such an Iellgal Foundation they should be forced to do all manner of arbitrary things to support themselves Others say that this their very first Act is such that supposing they had been a Parliament they had by it destroyed their own very Being for by taking away Freedom of Debates they not only take away the Right of the House of Peers but the Priviledge of the Commons also and utterly destroy the very Essentials of Parliament nay by consequence the Rights and Liberties of all other Courts Councils and Societies whatever For nothing can be transacted in any publick Assembly but it must first be Proposed and Debated and who will ever propose or debate any thing though of never so great Use and Benefit to the Publick if this Liberty be denyed For if the Major part may Imprison the Minor only for proposing and debating then it will follow that if an Assembly or Court consist of a Hundred Persons Fifty one may Imprison Fourty nine for maintaining an Opinion contrary to theirs And of those Fifity one Tvventy six may Imprison Tvventy five by the same reason And so the Major number may Imprison the Minor till they come to Tvvo and of those tvvo let but the Stronger Imprison the Weaker and then according to this Rule neither Law Right or Reason is to be heeded but only Number and all Government must unavoidably dissolve it self into absolute Force and Tyranny From vvhich Wretched State I pray GOD for ever Keep this KINGDOM And it 's generally said that the manner of the Imprisonment of these four Lords is as Notorious as the Imprisonment it self for they are denyed the Liberty of having their Friends to Visit them a thing which the Law of England allows as a Right to Fellons Murtherers nay to Persons Convicted of High Treason For the Law of England knows no such thing as Close Imprisonment in any Case what ever but that of Spies taken in War or Traytors taken before the rest can be apprehended And even in those Cases the Close Imprisonment ought to continue but for a few Dayes But here Lord are thus committed for insisting upon Law Reason and the Rights of the Nation and that in the presence of the King and all the Peers of England Men further say That their being Committed during the pleasure of the King and the House is all one as being committed during Life For if the King and House will not Release them they cannot be Released But such Commitments directly tend to the utter Subversion of the Laws and Liberties of English-men For the Law of England knows no such thing as Imprisonment during the Kings Pleasure or for Life But only in a few particular Cases provided for by express Statutes But these Lords are not Committed for transgressing any Statutes but for bravely standing for and claiming to themselves and the whole Kingdom the Benefit of divers Statutes So that many here do believe That the Commitment of these four Worthy Lords was design'd not only as a Punishment to them for so bravely opposing the present Current but as the only fit Means to carry on the Designes of the Nevv Tripple-League Such as Vnder pretence of Securing the Protestant Religion by Act of Parliament To declare it Lawful for our Kings to be Papists As is done in a Bill the Lords lately sent down to the Commons and I do not hear of any one Bishop but did readily agree to it And such as The Lords assuming to themselves an Original Iurisdiction over the Commons of ENGLAND As they lately did in the Case of Dr. Cary against whom they acted as Arbitrarily and laid as excessive a Fine as ever the High Commission Court and Star-Chamber did in such a Case as will appear by the Order for his Commitment a true Coppy where of taken out of the Lords Journal I have here sent you Die Jovis primo Martij 1676. WHereas Dr. Nicholas Cary being on Tuesday brought to the Bar and there required by this House to Discover his knowledge concerning the Author of a Book or Paper Entituled The Grand Question concerning the Prorogation of this Parliament for a Year and three Months Stated and Discussed And whose Servant that Person is who delivered the said Book or Paper to him He the said Nicholas Cary refused to discover his knowledge thereof Upon consideration had thereof the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament Assembled do Order and Adjudge the said Nicholas Cary for his said Contempt committed in the Face of this Court be and he is hereby Fined to the King's Majesty the Sum of One thousand Pounds and further That he the said N. Cary shall be and remain a Close Prisoner in the Tovver of London not to be Delivered thence till he have paid his Fine In this Order and Judgment it may plainly be seen what they would be at It is not the Liberty of those four Lords only but of all the People of England that is struck at by some men and they are kept in Prison for the better carrying on of that Design Our Laws are the Banks and Buttresses of our Liberties and our only Fence against Arbitrary Povver And if they be taken away no man is secure a moment Magna Charta the Petition of Right and divers other the known Lavvs and Statutes of this Realm do expresly say That no man shall be taken imprisoned or disceized of his Freehold or any othervvise destroyed vvithout due process of Lavv and Judgement of his Peers And by the Common Law of England No