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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	john_n	king_n	lord_n	19,972	5	4.1650	3	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A88212	The legall fundamentall liberties of the people of England revived, asserted, and vindicated. Or, an epistle written the eighth day of June 1649, by Lieut. Colonel John Lilburn (arbitrary and aristocratical prisoner in the Tower of London) to Mr. William Lenthall Speaker to the remainder of those few knights, citizens, and burgesses that Col. Thomas Pride at his late purge thought convenient to leave sitting at Westminster ... who ... pretendedly stile themselves ... the Parliament of England, intrusted and authorised by the consent of all the people thereof, whose representatives by election ... they are; although they are never able to produce one bit of a law, or any piece of a commission to prove, that all the people of England, ... authorised Thomas Pride, ... to chuse them a Parliament, as indeed he hath de facto done by this pretended mock-Parliament: and therefore it cannot properly be called the nations or peoples Parliament, but Col. Pride's and his associates, whose really it is; who, although they have beheaded the King for a tyrant, yet walk in his oppressingest steps, if not worse and higher.	Lilburne, John, 1614?-1657.; Lenthall, William, 1591-1662.	1649 (1649)	Wing L2131; Thomason E560_14; ESTC P1297; ESTC R204531	104,077	84

souls they have freely adventured their lives and so carried themselves in all their actions towards you that all their adversaries are not able nor ever were to lay in law my crime to their charge for the redresse of all the foresaid grievances and yet the best recompence you your selves give unto them is to toffe and tumble them yeer after yeer from Gaol to Gaol without laying any crime unto their charge denying them the benefit of their Birth-right the Law of the Land keeping thousands of pounds of their own from them and endeavouring in their long imprisonments to starve and murder them their Wives and Children by being worse then the King was to your Members who allowed them three foure and five pounds a man weekly notwithstanding their own great estates to live upon in allowing them never a penny to live upon endeavouring to protect all those unrighteous men that contrary to Law have endeavouted to murder and destory them and take away their lives and beings from the earth And all this is my own case and sufferings from you your selves Therefore Hear O Heavens and give ear O Earth and the righteous God and all just men judge betwixt ●● And therefore if there be any truth or resolutions in you to stand to any thing that you say and declare I challenge at your hands the benefis of all your Declarations and Remonstrances which are all of my side and particularly the notablest of Declarations of the 6 of May 1643 and 17 April 1646. which was made before my contest with the Lords in which you declare 2 par Book De. fo 95. 879 that although the necessity of war have given some disturbances to loyall proceedings stopped the usuall course of justice 〈◊〉 the Parliament for the preservation of this right to impose and require many great and unusual payments from the good Subjects of this Kingdom and to take extraordinary wayes for the procuring of monyes for their many pressing occasions It having pleased God to reduce our affaires into a more 〈◊〉 condition then heretofore We do declare that we will not nor any by colour of any authority derived from us shall interrupt the ordinary course of Justice in the severall Court of Judicatures of this Kingdom not intermeddle incases of private interest otherwhere determinable unlesse it be in case of male administration of Justice wherein we shall so provide that right be done and punishment inflicted as there shall be occasion according to the Law of the Kingdom and the trust reposed in us Therefore seeing that you that stile your selvs the fountain and conserva●●ry of the Law first par Book Declar. pag. 272 have declared in answer to the Kings Complaint against scandalous pamphlets which was the originall pretence of the Lords quarrelling with me that you know the King hath wayes enough in his ordinary Courts of Justice to punish such seditious 〈◊〉 and Sermons as are any way prejudiciall to his rights honour and authority pag. 208. and if the King the Superior or Creator of the Lords must be tyed in this case to the ordinary Courts of Justice according to the Laws of the Kingdom then much more the Lords the creature or inferiour to the King And therefore I hope you will not be angry with me for refusing obedience to the illegall commands of the single Lords the inferious or hinder me from obtaining Justice according to Law upon those that most barbarously executed them upon me seeing you and the Lords themselves have taught me and all the people of England disobedience to the illegall commands of the King the greater as cleerly appears by your Declarations of July the 12 July 26 1642. 1 par Book Decl. p. 201. 458. 483. The words of which last are That the Lords and Commons in Parliament do Declare That it is against the Laws and Liberties of the Kingdom that any of the Subjects thereof should be commanded or compelled by the King to attend him at his pleasure but such as are bound thereunto by speciall service And if any Messengers or Officers shall by colour of any command from his Majesty or Warrant under his Majesties hand arrest take or carry away any of his Majesties Subjects to any place whatsoever contrary to their wils that it is both against the Law of the Land the Liberty of the Subject and it is to the disturbance of the publick Peace of the Kingdom and any of his Majestie 's subjects so arrested may lawfully refuse to obey such Arrests and Commands To the same purpose you also were and declare in pag. 93. 95. 112. Therefore seeing the Law of the Land is so often by you declared to be the undoubted Birth-right of me as well as the greatest Lord in England or Parliament man whatsoever I earnestly crave and challenge at your hands as much for my self as you did at and from the hands of the King for the Lord Kimbolton and the five Members Sir John Hothan and the Lord Maior Pennington Alderman Foulke Col. Vean and Col. Manwaring viz. the benefit of the Law of England in the ordinary Courts of Justice which is not to be taken or imprisoned pass'd upon nor condemned but by due Processe of Law before a Justice of Peace according to the Law of the Land and not to be imprisoned but for a particular crime in Law expressed in the Commitment by those that have power in Law to commit me nor to be tried or condemned but by presentment c. before a Jury of twelve men of my Peers or equals of the same Neighbourhood where the fact was committed which is as you declare by Sir Edward Cook in 4 part Institutes fol. 41. the ancient and undoubted Birth-right of all the Subjects of England and to have my remedy at Law against all those that shall deal with me contrary to Law And that you challenged all these things for them before-mentioned you may read in your own Declarations pag. 7. 38. 39. 41. 53. 67. 77. 101. 123. 140. 162. 201. 203. 208. 210. 245. 277. 278. 459. 660. 845. All which I cannot doubt but you will grant unto me because it cannot rationally enter into my brest to conceive that you your selves can judge it consonant to Justice to set me and thousands and ten thousands of the people of the Kingdom to fight at your command for the preservation of our birth-right the Law and then for you to deny it unto us and deprive us of it and to recompence us with slavery which we are in when we lose the benefit of the Law Surely this cannot in honour and justice become you that call your selves the Conservators of the Law But if you shall avowedly deny me the benefit of the Law you frustrate your end in making Judges to be in Westminster Hall to execute the Law and put a mock upon the people and dissolve the whole frame and constitution of the civill Policy of the Government of this

and our wise just and long winded ●arliament are willing thershould so do or else almost in nine years time they would have given some satisfactory effectuall answer in those multitudes of Petitions that have year after year been preferred to them complaining of these unsufferable and destroying grievances and yet they can assume to themselves a stile of the Conservators of the Leberties of England in the firs● year of Freedom but I wonder where it is for my eyes can see none at all in any kind but rather more bondage then ever witnesse now their Treason-trap c. So English cloath being so great a drugg there that little profit could I expect by my adventure unless I laid out in the return most of my mony in such Commodities as are monopolized by new Patents Ordinances against the Laws and Liberties of England and if I so did when they come here if the Monopolizers catch them they are all lost so here is our Freedom but yet notwithstanding I did order my factor to lay out the most of my mony there in such commodities only being resolved as soon as I could here of the ships arrival in the river of Thames to boord her with half a dozen lusty resolved blades and with my own hand to give the chief Monopolizer's a b●ace of pistoll bull●ts in his guts or a prick with my Rapier or dager in case he came to take away my goods from me and then to run the hazard of a tryal at common Law to see whether by the Law of God and of England I could not justifie the preservation of my self and my goods from any that come to rob me of them and rather kill him or them that would assault me and them then suffer him or them to take away by force my livelyhood and so by consequence the life of me and my family but the counsell of States robbing me of my liberty by my close imprisonment in the Tower hath frustrated my marchandizing hopes yea and it may be thereby break me to the bargin but if they do when they have seriously cast up their gains by it they will not be six pence the richer though my wi●● and ●●tle babe● may be much more the poorer But to turn back again to my coming out of the North besides the thoughts of my future substance in some honest industr●●●● calling or other I spent some time at Westminster to see and satisfie my own understanding how the t●●e sail of things stood at the helm I mean with the three great me● of the Army viz. FAIRFAX CROMWELL and IRETON and whether I could finde out they had any real tho●●hts to prosecute their OWN AGREEMENT that so we might have a new equal and just representativ● which I upon my principles now they had laid Kingly Government aside look'd upon as the only and alone earthly sal●● to heal and cu●e the wounds of this dist●acted and dying Nation and to make it flourish once again in peace Trade and all kinde of outward prosperity and without which our wounds could never be hea●ed ●r cured by any other means that could be invented o● conti●●●d looking in my own thoughts upon the then smal sitting remnant of the last Parliament as a quite contrary inte●est to the peoples good or welfare distributive Justice and universall righteousness being their bane and that which would be the unavoydable ruine by reason of that horrible g●ilt they have contracted by their self-seeking unjust wayes upon themselves th● great bug-bear the King being now gone they would be necessarily l●d for the supportation of themselves in the evill of their wayes and continuance of their intended perpetual Greatnesse to court support and make much of the chief Supporters of all the remaining corrupt Interest in England as the Priests and their robbing Tythes the banc of industry the Laywers and their monopolizing pleadings and all their old and base inslaving corruptions in the execution of the Laws as bad in a manner as the old bondage of Egypt and of old and illegall Charter-mongers the inhaunsers engrossers and Monopolizers of Trade and all the base bondages thereunto belonging the peoples freedoms and liberties being the onely thing now dreaded by them ●● the only engine to pull down all the steps they have long laid for their elective Kingship and the single injoyment amongst themselves alone and their vassals slaves and creatures of all the great places thereunto belonging and thereupon depending which yet they must not immediately do but go about it gradually and first get the power of seeming legall authority into a narrower compasse then it was in their purged House of Commons that so that might rule counsel and direct their mock Parliament and the Councel of the Army ●ight rule that by means of which what with the service of Irelan● c. they might so mo●●lize their Army that it in due time might totally become slavish by obeying without dispute what ever their great Officers command them and so unanimously elect and impose upon the people their present generall for their King as the onely fit able and best deserving man in England for that soveraign Place provided under-hand he would ingage too high and mighty Oliver and his Son in law Henry Ireton to be sure to do a● they would have him and in his Kingship to promote those that they would have advanced that so one of them might not fail after his decease to succeed him and so in time with their long continued power and wils keep it in their Line as the onely deserving Family in this Nation who saved it from its enemies for their own ends in the day of its distresse whose battels it fought pretendedly for the Liberties of England crying out Jehu like 1 Kings 10. 16. Co●e See my zeal therefore in cutting off the Kings head c. and razing out his Family And undoubtedly it is of the Lord for he hath prospered me in it and so he did Judas in betraying Christ and no●e hath been able to stand before me When as alas all this successe may be no more but the rod of God to chastise a then more wicked Family designed by God to that destruction for the transgressions sin or blood thereof Yet for all this the heart may be no more upright then John's was which vantingly lifted up by his great su●c●ss took no beed at all to walk in the Law of JUSTICE TRUTH and OBEDIENCE the Lord God of Israel with all his heart but followed after MANS INVENTIONS and DEVICES JEROBOAM'S wickedness to win the golden calfs in DAN and BETHEL for which wickedness and pride of his spirit after all his success in fulfilling the express will and command of God in cutting of from the earth Ahabs family for the transcendent wickedness thereof yet God begun to plague him and in those daies cut ISRAEL sho●● ye and afterward for the pride and wickedness of his posterity unto whom to the

juster or better way of tryall and they 〈◊〉 to provide for our weale but not for o●r woe ● par book Doc. p. 150. and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doe what they list but what they ought 1 par ●ook dee p. 172. 205. 214. 266. 267. 〈◊〉 494. 497 499. 656. 660. 666. 696. 706. 707. 〈◊〉 2 par fol. 95. Declarat 17 March 164● p. 6. 21 28 27. For all the idle pratings of any new upstart ' SONS OF BELIAL amongst us such as the Author of the late abominable Book called the DISCOVERER which is commonly reported to be partly Master Frosts Secretary to the 〈◊〉 call●d the 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 and p●incipal●y that Apostate IOHN CAN law if 〈◊〉 and now of the Parish of B●w whose conscience by that appeares so bread 〈◊〉 it will without doubt lead him to worship with the Turks Alkeron if it were in 〈◊〉 and fat livings to be got by so doing But let all men in Authority and great place● 〈◊〉 value thei own heads and lives Remember Dudly and Epsons punishments Privy Co●cellors to H●n●y the● eve●●● for proceeding by the rules of their discretion i● 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 laying aside the tryals by Juries of twelve men the ancient and undoubted birthright of the Subject 4 part inst fol. 41. for which they lost their heads as Traytors for subvert●ng the fundamentall Liberties of the people although they had an Act of Parliament viz. 11 Hen. 7. ch● 3. recorded 4 par inst ●ol 40 made by as unquestionable power in Law as ever was in being in England in a free and full Parliament c●●sisting of King Lords Spi●ituall and Tempor●ll and Commens to authorise and beat them out in what they did of whom you may read most excellently in Cooks inst viz. 2 par fol. 51 4 par fol. 41. 197 198. 199. And in my musing with my self of their conditionn my thoughts were something to this purpose the actions done and acted by them were either crimes or no crimes crimes as to men they could not be unlesse they were transgressions of a knowne and declared law in being in the Nation before their acts were done for saith the Spirit of Truth Where there is no Law there can be ●● transg●ession Rom. 4. 15. and if so then to punish them for their acts or facts any other wayes or by any other rules manner or methods then is by those Laws against which they had transgressed is expressed and pres●ibed is very grand injustree and the most righteous and justest men in the world under such practises can never be safe or secure but are alwayes liable in liberty estate and life to be levell●d and destroyed by the will mallice and pleasure of the present s●aying grand faction in which condition a man differs nothing from a brute beast but in shape But the High Court of Justice erected to try them was a pretended Court of Justice not knowne to the visible and declared law of England being in its constitution altogether against all the English Rules of justice No nor in being when their facts were committed And therefore had no pretence at all being but a new constitution to meddle with Judging of their facts committed before it had a being or was brought forth into the world Besides the erection of it I mean a High Court of Justice to try men for siding with the King in the late warrs against the Parliament is a meer and cleer giving away and surrendring up the legallity of their cause in o the Kings hands telling the people in effect hereby its true we have waged warre against the King but if his sword had been as long as ours he might easily if he had pleased have hanged us all by the rules of Justice for transgressing ● l●w in being But we having by the chanc● of war prevailed against him alass we have no law of our sides by the rules of which we can hang any of his party but must be forced to take away their lives by the rules of our own wills and power by rules of pretended Law m●de after their facts committed and for the demonstrating of this unto all that have adhered unto us we Erect a New High Court of Justicely new rules never known in England to try them that so our friends that have adhered to us may see where they are and betimes provide for their own safety and never trust or beleeve OUR DECLARATIONS AND REMONSTRANCES ANY MORE for though we formerly told you we had the Law of our sides yet by our setting up this High Court of Justice to be both parties Jury and Judges we plainly tel you there was no such thing but that then what we told you was lyes and falshood● and that you should beleeve us no more for though then we told you we would maintaine the Law especially of Liberty and Propriety and that it was ● transcenden● wickednesse in us to destroy it and by our votes at our wills and pleasures to disposeor levell all the peoples estates liberties and properties yet now we iell you we never in our hearts intended any such thing but that our designe was totally if we did overcome never to keep any of our promises but absolutely to destroy all Law and by our absolute will by all manner of new erected engins to debase and breake the peoples Spirits and to dispose of their liberties estates and lives by the absolute rule of their own wills and as a cle●● demonstration to your understanding that we never intended otherwise we erect this HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE composed of suck 〈◊〉 we know will obey and execute the absolute dictats of our wills ●e they 〈…〉 without ever examining whether our commands be consonant to law reason eq●ity justice or conscience being of as absolute implicite faith in belcl●ering of us because we have promised they shall ●aign with us or under us as ever any papish in the world were believing the Pop● Thirdly Admit this had been an unquestionable representative of the people Parliament who by ve●●●● th●●●●f hath had a power to levy what mony they had judged conven●●nt upon the peopl● b●●●neral tax for the common safety of the Nation which act both by law and reason ●h●y may do yet they cannot in law equity or reason lay all tha● tax upon th●ee o● four men alone and make them bear all the charges of the publick ev●n so although the Parliament may erect Courts of Justice for the good of the people to administer Law in ●esinitely to all the people of England alike without exe●p●ion of per●ons yet they can neither by Law nor Reason erect a Court of Justice on purpose to try three or four individual persons and no more because it is against common equi●y ●● Englishmen o● people being all born free alike and the liberties thereof equally intasted to all alike and therefore in common equity and justice three or four individual persons ought not to be burthened with an iron yoake when

severall A●pli●●tions to some of their Judges and some Parliament men for them and particularly with Colonel Temple Governour of the Fort near Graves End and del● with him upon their own Principals as the most probablest to doe the Prisoners good and to save their lives which I confest● I much laboured for and my Discourse with him 〈◊〉 to this ●ffect at the House doore Sir I beseech you let me a●k you one question What 's that saith he It is whether you think you● House intend in good earnest to ●ake away the lives of the Lord Capel c or whether they have only caused them to be condemned in terrorum without all controversie said he they intend to take away their lives and it is but just they should and doe not you believe so No indeed Sir doe I not and ●● you please I will give you some part of my Reasons therefore I pray let me have them Well then Sir said I to say nothing of the Jurisdiction of the Court by which they were tryed which is very questionable to me no● of the power of a Parliament to erect such a one nor yet of the questionablenesse of the legality of your single House nor of the clearnesse of the letter of th● Law o● their sides which now the King being g●ne might put you o●● of feare of the future power of these men and make you now 〈◊〉 at your mercy and you out of fear of present hurt by them seriousl● to we●g● the Qua●●ell betwix● you and the● in an equall and just balance which if you do I am sure you will 〈◊〉 it very disp●●eable in Law and something in Reason too considering many of you● late actions especially if you consider you● ever avowedly nor throughly stated your Cause but begun it upon Commissions for King and Parliament force ●● people to take the Oath of Allegiance and Supremacy Protestation and two Covenants ●● all which you force the people to swear to maintain the Kings Person Crown and Greatnesse and this 〈◊〉 the Wars begun letting all Writs and Processe of Law 〈◊〉 in his Name and thereby your selves m●ke him as it were Alpha and Omega to the p●ople yea and in severall of your Declarations fince the quarrell you call him the fountain of Honour and averr he can do no wrong See 1 part Book Decl. pag. 199. 304. All which doings of yours are enough to make men si●● with the King especially those that have great Estates if it be for nothing but safetie's s●ke alone But I will la● all these aside and argue with you more closely upon principles that you cannot dispute against 1. And therefore in the first place The Law of England p●●lished by your selves saith expresl● No man of England in things concerning lif● shall be judged tw●●● for one fact but if once judiciall● tryed and acquitted he never more by Law can be questioned again for that crime though indeed and in truth he be never so guilty of it and though it be never so criminous in it self otherwise there would never be end nor safety And for the proof thereof I then ●ired ● YERS Case at the Sessions of the Peace holden at Norwich in the 32 yeer of Q●een Elizabeth and the Judge● opinions thereupon which is notably recorded in Cooks 3 put Institutes chap. 104. of falsifying of Attainders fol. 230. And my own Case at Oxford which was to this effect Being at the Fight at Brainford which was upon the 12 of Novemb. 1642 taken prisoner in Arms against the King and his party I was carried captive to Oxford Castle where not long after my arrivall the Lord Dunsmore the Lord Matrevers the Lord Newark and the Lord A●d●ver came to the Castle to me from the King as they said and proffered me from himself great matters so I would crave his ●●don for the treason I had committed against him in being in arms against him and fo●sake the traiterous Parliament and return to my obedience as they called it to the King but being then as able in my own thoughts as any private man in England to argue the equi●● and Justice of the Parliaments Cause I was then knowingly ingaged in by the hopes of the performance of their many gallant promises to make people of England free and happy their then only declared a●m and end ●nd in whose quarrell I would then have laid down a thousand lives if I had had them and for the greatest part of an hour together by din● of Argument grounded upon Law and Reason sc●●ning and 〈◊〉 all 〈…〉 of Honour Riches and Greatnesse I ●eld them in play so ho●ly that they ●●ll 〈…〉 with me and gave up their disputing bu●●lers t●●eatning to hang me 〈◊〉 for a grand Traitor without any more adoe At which I laughed and desired their 〈◊〉 to tell me which way they would go to work to take away my life now they had given me quarter Well say they We have two strings to our bow And in the first place we will arraigne you for a Traytor for being the chief or Generall of the Preuti●●t that c●●e d●●● to Westminster and White Hall and forced the House of P●ers and drove away the King from his Parliament and so begun the Warrs Unto which I replyed Al●sse my Lords you will be far mistaken there And I cannot but wonder that your Lordships should so undervalue your own Honours and Reputations as so much as once now to mention this Why Sirrah said one of them Why my Lord Because your Lordships may remember that the 3 of May 1641. the King caused Warrants to issue out to apprehend me as a Traytor for this very thing and others depending upon it and as a traytor I was apprehended by his Messengers one of which that night kept me prisoner as a Traitor and the next morning I being 4 of May 1641 as a Traytor I was brought by him to White Hall where a● I remember old Sir Henry Vane and Mr. Nicholas were appointed by the King himself to carry my Impeachment to the House of Peers at whose B●r I that day appeared not then understanding their Jurisdiction and was there that day in your way arraigned for my life and one Littleton the Lord Keepers Kinsman swore most bi●terly against me but upon further examination of witnesses and hearing with patie●●● my own Defence for my self I was by your who●e House who look●d upon them●elves as the highest Judicatory in England honourably and nobly 〈◊〉 a● 〈◊〉 ●●nocent and f●●e of the Kings accusation of which my Lords said I then let me plainly tell y●u if I were guilty you were a company of ●●righteous and unjust Judges for freeing me from that Accusation but my Lords being judicially tryed therefore and acquitted by your selves who if my memory fail me not I ●aw all at that Tryall and by your whole House then extraordinary 〈◊〉 as ever I saw i● who judge your selves the highest Judicature in England

distruction Again how can Law be maintained when the free execution of Justice in the ordinary course thereof shall be hindered by you which you in your Declaration 23 of October 1642. 1 par Book Declar pag. 656 call the soule and life of all-Laws which ordinary course of Jestice you in your first Remonstrance page 7 call the common birth-right of the Subject of England And therefore 1 par Book Decl. pag. 660 you own it as your duty to use the best of your endeavours that the meanest of the Commonalty may enjoy their own birth-right freedom and liberty of the Lawes of the Land being equally intitled thereunto with the greatest subject and if so how can you in justice and honour or conscience deprive and ebereave me of my birth right the benefit of the Law of the Land in the ordinary course of Justice in the Judicatures thereof who have done no actrons either by Sea or Land but what doth become an honest true-bred Englishman and constantly in the midst of many deaths maintaining the Laws i and Liberties of my Native Country which actions are consonant to the Authority of Parliament and for the service and benefit thereof and therfore I ought not to be molested and troubled therefore especially by you who in your Declarations in the case of the Five Members declare 1 par Boo. Decl. pa. 39. you are very sensible that it equally imports you aswell to see Justice done against them that are criminous as to defend the just rights and Liberties of the Subjects and Parliament of England but if you shall stop my proceedings at Common Law against Master Wollaston the Jaylour of Newgate for keeping me there against Law by the Lords Order You are so far from punishing the criminous that you justifie the wicked and condemn the righteous break all your Oaths Protestations and Covenants that you have taken to maintain the Laws and Liberties of the Kingdom and dissolve the whole frame and constitution of the Civill Policy and Government of this Kingdom into the originall Law of Nature which crime you taxe the King with 1 par Book Decl. pag. 690. yea and thereby become destructive to the being of the Common-wealth and the safety of the people the preservation of which is the chief end of the Law the institution of all Government as you declare in your Declarations of the 6 of May 1643 17 April 1647. 2 part Book Decla fol. 95. 879. For the Illustration of which I desire to observe this Method First I averre that the House of Lords have not the Least Jurisdiction in the world over me in the case in controversie betwixt us and I am ready upon my life to make this good by the Laws of the Kingdom against all the Judges and Lawyers in England but I conceive I have already so fully done it in my three pleas against the Lords that they are unanswerable viz. First in my Plea before the Committee of the House of Commons where Master Henry Martin had the Chaire 6 Novemb. 1646. And Secondly in my Plea the 20 of October 1647. before another Committee of the House of Commons where M. Iohn Maynard had the Chaire And Thirdly in my Plea before the Judges of the Kings Bench the 8 of May 1648. all three of which I desire to communicate unto your consideration And if the Lords by Law have no originall Jurisdiction over me then no power to summon me nor no power to try me nor commit me Wherefore M. Wollaston by Law ought to have refused to have received my body or detained it in prison by vertue of their illegall warrant which being both illegall in the power that made it in the forme of drawing it up he is liable to make me satisfaction in Law for executing it which at present I illustrate out of your own Declarations which are the most unanswerable arguments against you that I can use Acts 17 26. Titus 1. 12. And first in your Declaration of the 17 of January 1641. 1 par Book Decl. pag. 38. 39. where speaking of the Five Members you say his Majestic did issue forth severall warrants to divers Officers under his own hand for the apprehension of the persons of the said Members which by Law he cannot do there being not all this time any legall charge or accusation or due processe of Law issued against them or any pretence of charge made known to the House of Commons all which are against the Fundamentall Liberties of the Subjects and the Rights of Parliament Whereupon we are necessitited according to our duty to declare That if any person shall arrest M. Ho●●● Sir Arthur Haslerig Master Pym Master Hamden Master Strode or any of them or any Member of Parliament by pretence or colour of any warrant issuing out from the King onely is guilty of the breach of the Liberty of the Subject and of the Priviledges of Parliament and a publick enemy to the Common-wealth and that the arresting of the said Members or any of them or any Members of Parliament by any Warrant whatsoever without a legall proceeding against them and without consent of that House whereof such a person is a Member is against the Libertie of the Subject and a breach of Priviledge of Parliament and the person which shall arrest any of these persons or any other Member of the Parliament is declared a publick enemy of the Common-wealth Yea and upon the 15 of January 1641 you voted and ordered a Charge to be brought in against Mr. Atturney General Herbert to require of him satisfaction for his great injury and scandal that particularly be had done to the said Mr. Hollis c. and generally to the publick Justice of the Kingdom in so illegally accusing the foresaid five Gentlemen without due processe of Law as appears in your first part Book Declarat pag. 53. And therefore in your Petition of the 2 Feb. 1641. 1 part Book Decl. 67. you rel the King It is your duty to tell him of the injustice done unto the five Members for impeaching them without due processe of Law and to require reparations for them And therefore in your second Petition of the same month 1 par Book Decl. pag. 76. 77. you tell the King again notwithstanding all your importunity the said five Members and the Lord Kimbolton still lie under that heavie charge of Treason to the exceeding prejudice not onely of themselves but also of the whole Parliament And whereas by the expresse Laws and Statutes of this Realm that is to say by two Acts of Parliament the one made in the 37 and the other in the 38 year of the reign of your most noble Progenitor King Edward the 3 it s said If any person whatsoever make suggestion to the King himself of any souls committed by another the same person might to be sent with the suggestion before the Chancellor or Keeper of the great Seal Treasurer and the great Councel there to finde

of June 1646. He gets an Order to passe the Lords House To summon me up to the Lords Bar to answer to such things as I stood Charged before their Lordships with concerning the writing the foresaid Letter or plea and when I came to their Bar they dealt with me like a Spanish Inquisition in examining me against my selfe which forced me then at the Bar to deliver in my plea in Law to prove that by the Laws of England they had no Jurisdiction over Commoners to try them either for life limb liberty or estate which you may read in my Printed Book called The Freemans freedom vindicated which plea and protestation made them mad and for which they sent me to Newgate from whence upon the 16 of June I sent my appeal for Justice to the House of Commons against them which made the Lords madder whereupon they upon the 12 of June 1646. issurred 〈…〉 bring me to their Bar again where in contempt of their Jurisdistion 〈…〉 to kneel for which they committed me to the foresaid Wollastone 〈◊〉 of Newgate to be kept close Prisoner without pen inke or paper the 〈…〉 or any other friend which was with rigour sufficiently exercised upon me till the ●● of July 1646. which day they issued our another Order to bring me again to their Bar at which when I came in the height of contempt of their Jurisdiction I marched in amongst them with my bat or not only refused to kneel at these Bar But also with my fingers stops both my ears when they went about to read my ●●tended Charge for all which they fined me 4000 l. to the King and forther sentenced me to be a prisoner seven yeares or during their pleasure in the T●●er of London to be for ever disfranchised of being capable to bear any 〈…〉 Military or Civill Government in Church or Common-wealth and accordingly I was committed to the Tower where I was in the nature of a close prisoner divorced from the society of my Wife till the 16 of September 〈◊〉 Whereupon a strong warre was made upon the Lords and their Jurisdiction by the Authors of those two notable Books called Vane plebis and Royall and I also paid them prety well my self in my two large books Called Londons Liberty in chaines discovered and Londons Charters and by a large 〈◊〉 of my Wives and accompanied at the delivery of it with divers of 〈…〉 friends I got my business to the examination of a Commities of the House of Commons before whom I appeared and pleaded the 9th November 1646. and had fair play but waited month after month and 〈◊〉 get no report of it made by reason of the swoy and power that Mr. Denail 〈◊〉 Sir Philip Stapleton the rest of their Associates had bene in the House of 〈◊〉 who were then strong confederates with the Lords in their unjust 〈◊〉 and my then professed enemies in keeping me from Justice the 〈…〉 of the Law and my right whereupon I was compell'd and necessitated by a hard long and almost starving imprisonment to engage against them which I did to the purpose as you may read in my Books called The oppressed ●●● oppressions declared The out-cryes of oppressed commons The resolved man resolution and Rash-Oaths And then the Army turned up the chief of 〈…〉 heels by a trick of Hōr●● Porus alias An IMPEACHMENY And the● up got Mr. Oliver Cromwall my pretended friend with whom and in whose quarrel for the Liberties of the Common-wealth as he pretended at his earnest follcitation of my wife in London to send for me from the 〈◊〉 then at Crowland and by his message delivered unto me for that end by his brother-in-law Major Desborough near Sir Will. Russels in Cambridg-shire I engaged against the Earl of Manchester c. and was one of the first ●vidences that gave in my testimony against him before Mr. Lisle then 〈◊〉 to that committee where Manchesters impeachment did then depend but alass Mr. Oliver impeached him only for this end as the fequel fully 〈◊〉 not in the least for Justice-sake but only to get him c. out of his command that so he might get in a friend of his own into it that he could rule and it may be in time himself both of which he hath compleatly done but I say Mr. Oliver by the help of the Army at their first Rebellion against the Parliament their Lords and Masters was no sooner up but like a most perfidious base unworthy man he turned my enemy and Jaylor and was as great with Manchester in particular as ever yea and the House of Peers were his only white Boyes Being more then his drudges and more conformable to his will then the House of Commons it self and who but Oliver that before to me had called them in effect both tyrants and usurpers became their Proctor where ever he came yea and sot his son Ireton at work for them also insomuch as at some meetings with some of my Friends at the Lord Whartons lodgings he clapt his hand upon his breast and to this purpose professed as in the sight of God upon his conscience That the Lords had 〈…〉 a right to their Legislative and Jurisdictive power over the Commons as he had to the coat upon his back and he would procure a friend viz. Mr. Nath. 〈◊〉 should argue and plead their said right with any friend I had in England and not only so but did he not get the Generall and councell of War as Windsor about the time when the Votes of no more Addresses were to pass to make a Declaration to the whole Kingdom declaring the legall Rights of the Lords House and their fixed Resolutions to maintain and uphold it which as I remember was sent by the General c. to the Lords by Sir Hardiasse VValler and to indear himself the more unto the Lords in whose House without all doubt he intended to have fate himself he required me evil for good and became my enemy to keep me in prison out of which I must not stir unless I would stoop and acknowledge the Lords jurisdiction over commoners and for that end he set his Agents and Instruments at work to get me to doe it And it became the above-board work of him and his son-in-law after a little under-hand working to make all means gone about in the Army for my liberty ineffectuall or a seate to me so that I was pinched and forced for my own preservation to fall about Olivers eares and his Sons both to discover their depth of 〈…〉 by themselves and agents in their base dealing with me who was them almost destroyed in prison by their villany as you may partly read in my Books called The Juglers discovered Jonah's cryes out of the Wholes holly The Peoples Prerogative My additionall Plea before Mr. John Maynard of the House and my Whip for the present House of Lords But to fill up the measure of his malice against me after by my

the Kings Bench-Bar to try me for my life unto whom if I stooped I was sure to be gone being already prejudged Again I shall also acquaint you with the severall Discourses Mr. Hollan●● Mr. Hunt c. had with me about these Businesses and the large proffers I had from them yes and from Mr. Alexander Rigby as the mouth of Sir Henry Mild may the 〈◊〉 Agent who had Commission as he said to proffer ●●e and my Comrades ●●ge places and preforments so we would sit still and let the Grandces goe on with their work Which I with detestation refused at the house doore the very FORENOON I was adjudged a Treytor and thereupon the same day in the Afternoon the Votes of Treason past against me c. and my Second part of Englands New-chairs discovered And seeing the Businesse of Scro●●'s men is wrongfully father'd upon me who never will incite Souldiers nor others to declare upon any thing else but our printed Agreement of the 1. May 1649. and that when they do draw their Swords against their General c. they shall throw away their Scabbards and rather fight with him then treat with him without either resolving to give or take Quarter yet I say seeing this is put upon my sco●e I hope I shall evidently make it appear comparatie compara●●● That I am able to give 99 in the handred to any Champion the Generall hath in England and from Scripture Law Reason and their own Declarations to make their action appear more just 〈◊〉 the Generals severall Rebellions against the Parliament his Creators and extraordinary good Benefactors or his Rebellion and the Parliaments against the King in the love Warrs And lastly I shall shew the falseness and malignity of the late DISCOVERERS designe of fathering upon me c. all the erronicus tenents of the poor Diggers at George hill in Su●rey laid down in their late two avowed Books called The true L●vellors Standard and The new law of Righteousnesse to which they have have annexed their names The R●ad●r● taking notice of which alone may be an answer to all that abominable lying late Book called The DISCOVERER And so Mr. SPEAKER thanking you for some late kindnesses in your House I received from you I take leave to subscribe my self An honest and true bred free Englishman that neve●● in his life feared a Tyrant nor loved an Oppressor JOHN LILBURN From my close unjust and causelesse Captivity without allowance the legall right of all men in my case in the Tower of London this 8. of June 1649. The first yeer of England's declared Freedom by the lying and false pretended Conservators thereof that never intended it FINIS * 1 Part. Book Dec. pag. 172 195 214 281 342 464 494 497 498 663 666 673 750. * Was this wicked and illegall in the King and can your denying my wife as in my present imprisonment you have don so much as to see me or speak with me or bring me food to preserve me alive be legall just and righteous in you Let God and all righteous men judge betwixt you and ●● in this particular † As particularly that old guilty Traytor Sir Henry Vane who was one of the principall men that passed that bloody murdering Sentence in the Star chamber against me in the yeer 1637 and whose power by his crafty Machiavel Sons interest young Sir Henry kept me above eight yeers together in suit in the House of Commons that I could not get one dram of Justice or reparation against my Star-chamber Judges although the purfuing of that Suit one way and other cast me above a thousand pound Yet at lest when I got a● Ordinance for 3000 li. for reparation me from those that did me wrong but from the Common-wealth's Sequestrations yet in the passing of that Ordinance steps up John Blackston in the House one of Vane's creatures for the many thousand pounds sake of the Common-wealths money he hath helps him to and he gets all confideration of interest for the forbearance of the money cut off so that it would be many yeers before the whole sum abhorted would come in onely there was a thousand or fifteen hundred pounds worth of wood feld of Sir Henry Gibs in Brandsborth Park which Sir Henry Vane by his pounds in the Knights absence and mine both gets an Order to possesse although he hath no right unto it so that my 3000 l. will be well nigh this ten yeers before the annuall rent of the Lands allotted will bring it in which will scarce be Use for the Principall Of all which usage when I come out of the North to the Citie immediately after the execution of the King ● comp●●ined to Sir Arthur Hasterig then my familiar friend and begg'd of him to deliver a Message for me to Lieut. Gen. Cromwel in which I acquinted him step by step how old 〈◊〉 Henry Vane had without cause for this twelve yeers together sought my bloud and had got a good part of it and I knew that Litus Gen. Cromwel had by his son's similiarity with him been of late the staffe and stay of the old Traytor and therefore I desired him to tell him I thought 〈◊〉 had been out-folling enough betwixt Cromwel and me already occasioned by himself but for my part I desire to have no more jarring betwixt us and therefore did earnestly intreat him to let old Henry Vane and me alone instand or sall●y our selves For seeing he would never give over the pursuing of my lifes I must be forced to have much to his for I told Sir Arthur I was resolved either to impeach him or indict him for a Traitor in betraying all the North of England to the Earl of Newcastle and sending his Magazine of Arms to him to Newcastle from Raby Castle assuring him moreover that if L. G. Cromwel would yet protect him for all his greatnesse ● would try another fall with him cast i● what it would but as if it were the highest treason in the world for any 〈◊〉 in England but he that is a Parliament man to say that blacks the eye of any man in that House old Sir Henry and young Sir Henry Vane are both endeavoured by King Nol to be brought in againe to the House having been formerly excluded for three quarter Cavaleers and to be 〈◊〉 Members of the New Councell of State and King Nol by his Beagles at the Counsel of War 〈…〉 Vote to passe to desire him to get a saw made by the House to authorize that bloudy and 〈◊〉 Councell to hang poor peal-garlick or any other that they should judge worthy of 〈◊〉 so that here was a fine morse-trap for old and young Vane to catch poor John in not obtained 〈◊〉 doubt of the greatest engagement in the World to be King Nols Slaves Vassals to ingage with him and drive on any interest be would have them for his so seasonable help of them at this 〈◊〉 great time o● need against furious Iohn as they call him who in Feb. last offered a 〈◊〉 of Parliament where S. Arthur then sate Chairman upon his life upon the Authority of that own Ordinances to prove old Sir Henry his son Sir George Vane both Traytors to ●●y them to transport their souldiers for Ireland out of their states their trayterous Confederates in the County of Durham 50000l and earnestly begd of S. Arthur the Committee to 〈◊〉 the House herewith but the next news I hear King Olivers paws was laid upon poor Iohn● 〈◊〉 he and his Cozen Prince Arthur come to burn their fingers before they and John hath 〈…〉 Oliver thanke himself and leave Trayterous old Sir Henry Vane and his wicked sons to 〈…〉 their own legs without the help of his Crutches the next time

I am acquitted thereby my Lords by the Law of England from any more question about that 〈◊〉 although it should be granted I was never so guilty of it Unto which they replyed to my remembrance in these words A pox on you for a cunning subtill Rogue are you so cunning in the Law that we cannot lay hold of you here but yet for all your parts we will have you to the gallows for leavying Warr upon the traiterous commands of the Parliament against the King● And here ●aid they wee are sure the ●aw will reach you Whereupon I was immediately a●ter laid in●●●tons and brought to the Bar before the Lord Chief Justice Heath Sir Thomas Gard●ed Recorder of London c. and by Indictm●●t a●●o●ding to the rules of the Common Law a●r●igned for a traytor for levying War in Oxf●●dsh●●e against the King But my Plea to the businesse of W●stminst●r and the P●enti●●● was admitted for good law That being once judiciall●●●ed and acqui●ted I could no more be troubled therefore neith●r indeed was ● But according to the punct●li●es of the Law they gave me all the lair play in the world that the Law would allow me s●ffering me to say for my self at the Bar what I pleased releasing me of my close imprisonment and i●ons and allowed me pen ink and paper which the Jaylor kept from me upon my pleading before the Judge such usages being altogether contrary to law and that no such usage ought to be exercised in the least upon any prisoner whatsoever that w●● 〈◊〉 bea●●ly rude in his imp●●lonment and that no supposed ●raitore● 〈◊〉 by law could be put to any pa●● or torm●nt before co●riction And truly Colonel Te●●le I shou●d be very sorry and blush for shame 〈◊〉 considering my ●●rong zeal in the Parliaments cause to see the day that the Parliament of England a● least th●se that so stile themselves that hath pretended so much righ●●●●ness and justice should be no more just to the Covaliers against whom they have fought for injustice and and oppression in denying them the benefit of the Law ●h●n they are in their power and mercy then the Kings Jadges were to me and other of your prisone●● when their lives were in their power and mercy in the hight of War and of their 〈◊〉 prosperity and yet granted us the benefit of Law in all things we claimed it in as Capt. Vivers of B●n●ury arraigned with me can witnesse as well as my self Now Sir to make application the Parliament not long since when in its po●e● it was more a●un●●ntly unquestionable then now it is after its new force cond●●●●ed CAPEL HAMBLETON HOLLAND c. to banishment for the very 〈◊〉 now to their charge an● th●refore in Justice and Law cannot a second time cause them to be adjudged to die for the ve●y same things It s nothing to me nor to the King●om for you to say that when that J●dgment pass'd they had so many friends sitting in the House as over-voted the honest Common-wealth's-men to the pr●judice thereof for the maj●r part is Parliament or else th●re ●s no parliament Therefo●e Sir I reason thus E●ther that wherein that Judgment pass'd was a parliament or no Parliament ●if a Parliament then their judgment ●s to themselves especially was binding and the benefit of it they ought not to deny to them whose live● are cons●rved in it 〈◊〉 it were unjust in it self ●● to the Nation But if you or any other man shall say it was no Parliament as having forfeited their trust in treating with the King again and so their Judg●●nt not valid then with much more confidence say I this that now fits is no Parliament and so by consequence the High Court of Justice no Court of Justice at all and if for then to execute them upon their Judgment is absolute Murder But I would fain see that honest and valiant man in your House that du●st pretest against them for no Parliament But Sir besides this mark the consequence of it to all we Parliamenteers that have acte● under you and by vertue of your commands by these Proceedings First You have sold the Bishops Lands and given them th●● bought them as they suppose good security for their quiet enjoyment of their P●rchas●s I but within a little wh●le after part of the very same Parliament alters their mindes and being becom●th ma●or part by forcible Purgations illegall new Recruits or by any other ●ricks ●●●●vi●es and they vote all those barg●ins are unjust and the Purchasers ought to lose both ●e●r Land and M●n●y where is then that stable security of Parliaments And yet such doings would be as just as your present dealings with CAPEL c. whose preceden● 〈◊〉 a precedent for that and much more of the same nature B●t secondly The sam● Parliament that condemded Capel c. to B●nishment pass'd mul●itudes of Compositions with severall Cav●lier● as guilty of T●eason in the 〈…〉 of it ●s they And by the same rule●o● now cond●●n CAPEL 〈◊〉 after you have judged them to banishment you ●●y adjudge all the compounding C●v●●eers to ●●●ange● after you have adjudged them to composition and so put the Kingdom by 〈…〉 people desperate in an everlasting flame that never will have end bec●●se 〈◊〉 is ●o certainty in any of your proceedings but are ●s changeable as the wind th●● 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thirdly and most principally it is a common maxim● in Law and Reason both and so declared by your selves 1 part Book Declarat page 281. That those that shall guide thems●lves by the judgment of Parliament ough● what-ever happen to be secure and free from all account and penalties B●t divers honest men as you now judge them ●ave acted and gu●ded themselves by the judgment of Parliament as they account y●u in taking away the King's life and y●t by your dealings with CAPEL c. they are liable to be hanged as ●rayt ●s 〈…〉 a major part of your very House by force or other 〈…〉 shall vote that act 〈◊〉 and all the Actors therein Traitors So that Sir if I have any judg●●n● in ●●e by his very single act towards them you shake the v●ry to●ndation of the validity of all the Parliam●nts Decrees and Judgments at once and m●ke 〈◊〉 all the Se●uri●y and ●ndemnity that those in ●q●●ty ought to enjoy that have acted by you commands a●d guided themselves by the judgment o● Parliament By mea●● of which you will finde in time you have demolished your own Bulwarks an destroyed your own Fences And for time to come for my part I shall be a tho●sand times more wary how I obey all your Commands then ever I was in my life se●ing yo● are so fickle and unstable that no man knows rationally where to find you or fixedly to what to hold you But if you shall object as some do That that judgment of B●nishment was onely in ●●ference to the peace with the King and that being broke yo● are absolved