Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	king_n	reign_n	year_n	19,019	5	5.1234	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A90251	Vox plebis, or, The peoples out-cry against oppression, injustice, and tyranny. Wherein the liberty of the subject is asserted, Magna Charta briefly but pithily expounded. Lieutenant Colonell Lilburne's sentence published and refuted. Committees arraigned, goalers condemned, and remedies provided.	Overton, Richard, fl. 1646.	1646 (1646)	Wing O636A; Thomason E362_20; ESTC R201218	54,600	73

try me or any Commoner whatsoever in any criminall cause either for life limb liberty or estate But contrary hereunto as incroachers and usurpers upon my freedomes and liberties they lately and illegally endeavoured to try me a Commoner at their Barre For which I under my hand and seale protested to their faces against them as violent and illegall incroachers upon the Rights and Liberties of me and all the Commons of England a copy of which c. I herewith in print send you And at their Barre I openly appealed to my competent proper legall Tryers and Judges the Commons of England assembled in Parliament For which their Lordships did illegally arbitrarily and tyrannically commit me to prison into your custody Which Protestation and Papers and matters therein contained doe falsly and scandalously and maliciously charge the Peeres in Parliament with tyranny usurpation perjury injustice and breach of the great trust in them reposed and are a high breach of the Priviledges of Parliament And are high offences against the Lawes and Statutes of this Kingdome and doe tend to the great scandall of the said Peeres and the authority with which they are intrusted to stir up differences between the said Peeres and other the Subjects of this Realme Natha Finch Vpon which Articles he refusing to hear them read as concerning their proceedings against him to be illegall and that as a Commoner of England they had no jurisdiction over him they proceeded to sentence him as followeth Iuly 10. 1646. JT is to be remembred that the 10. day of Iuly in the 22. Year of the Raign of our Soveraign Lord King Charles Sir Nath. Finch Knight His Majesties Serjeant at Law did deliver in before the Lords assembled in Parliament at VVestminster certain Articles against Lieutenant-Colonell Iohn Lilburn for high Crimes and Misdemeanours done and committed by him together with certain Bookes and Papers thereunto annexed Which Articles aad the said Bookes and Papers thereunto annexed are filed among the Records of Parliament The tenour of which Articles followeth in these words Which Articles being by the command of the Lords then and there assembled in Parliament read It was then and there that is to say the said 10. day of July by their Lordships ordered That the said John Lilburn be brought to the Bar of this House the 11. day of the said July to answer the said Articles That thereupon their Lordships might proceed therein according as to Justice should appertain At which day aforesaid the 11. day of July Anno Dom. 1646. the said John Lilburn according to the said Order was brought before the Peers then assembled and sitting in Parliament to answer the said Articles And the said John Lilburn being thereupon required by the said Peers in Parliament to kneel at the Bar of the said house as is used in such Cases and to hear his said Charge read to the end that he might be inabled to make defence thereunto The said John Lilburn in contempt and scorn of the said high Court did not only refuse to kneel at the said Bar but did also in a contemptuous manner then and there at the open Barre of the said House openly and contemptuously refuse to heare the said Articles read and used divers contemptuous words in high derogation of the Justice Dignity and Power of the said Court And the said Charge being neverthelesse then and there read the said John Lilburn was then and there by the said Lords assembled in Parliament demanded what Answer or Defence he would make thereunto the said Iohn Lilburn persisting in his obstinate and contemptuous behaviour did peremptorily and absolutely refuse to make any Defence or Answer to the said Articles and did then and there in high contempt of the said Court and of the Peers there assembled at the open Bar of the said House of Peers affirme that they were Usurpers and unrighteous Judges and that he would not answer the said Articles and used divers other insolent and contemptuous speeches against their Lordships and that high Court Whereupon the Lords assembled in Parliament taking into their serious consideration the said contemptuous carriage and words of the said John Lilburn to the great affront and contempt of this high and honourable Court and the Justice Authority and Dignity therof It is therefore this present 11. day of Iuly ordered and adjudged by the Lords assembled in Parliament That the said Iohn Lilburn be Fined And the said Iohn Lilburn by the Lords assembled in PARLIAMENT for his said contempt is Fined to the Kings Majesty in the summe of two thousand pounds And it is further ordered and adjudged by the said Lords assembled in Parliament That the said Iohn Lilburn for his said contempts be and stand committed to the Tower of London during the pleasure of the said House And further the said Lords assembled in Parliament taking into consideration the said contemptuous refusall of the said Iohn Lilburn to make any Defence or Answer to the said Articles did declare That the said Iohn Lilburn ought not thereby to escape the Justice of the House But the said Articles and the Offences thereby charged to have been committed by the said Iohn Lilburn ought thereupon to be taken as consessed Wherefore the Lords assembled in Parliament taking the premises into consideration and for that it appeares by the said Articles That the said Iohn Lilburn hath not onely maliciously published severall scandalous and libellous passages of a very high nature against the Peers of Parliament therein particularly named and against the Peerage of this Realm in generall But contrived and contemptuously published and openly at the Barre of the House delivered certain scandalous Papers to the high contempt and scandall of the Dignity Power and Authority of this House All which offences by the peremptory refusall of the said Iohn Lilburn to answer or make any Defence to the said Articles stands confessed by the said Lilburn as they are in the said Articles charged It is therefore the said Day and Year last above-mentioned further ordered and adjudged by the Lords assembled in Parliament upon the whole matter in the said Articles contained I. That the said Iohn Lilburn be Fined to the Kings Majesty in the summe of two thousand pounds II. And that he stand and be imprisoned in the Tower of London by the space of 7. years now next ensuing III. And further that he the said Iohn Lilburn from henceforth stand and be uncapable to bear any Office or Place in Military or in Civill-Government in Church or Common-Wealth during his life Die Sabbathi 11. Julii 1646. ORdered by the Lords in Parliament That Iohn Lilburn being sentenced by this House shall for his high Contempt and Misdemenors done to this High Court according to the said Sentence stand committed to the Tower of London for the space of 7. Years next after the date hereof And that the Lieutenant of the said Tower of London his Deputy or Deputies are to keep

the Parliament or any other that sits in the Lords house by Writ Et non ratione nobiliatis can be a tryer of a Lord of the Parliament or challenge this priviledge of tryall in case of Treason Fellony or other capitall offence But a Noble-man of the Parliament shall not have this priviledge either upon an Indictment of Praemunire or upon an Appeale of Fellony at the suit of the party or in any Civill-Action either concerning the right of Lands or of other Possessions or in any personall Action brought by a Common-person against a Lord of the Parliament as appeares unto us by the Bookes of 1. H. 4. f. 1 13. H. 8. f. 12. 10. E. 4. fol. 6. This tryall of Noble-men by their Peers at the Kings Suit is not upon Oath as in the case of common persons for the Peers are not sworn before the Lord Steward before whom this tryall must bee had but they are to be charged by the Lord Steward super fidelitatibus ligeantiis Dom. Regi debitis that is upon their faith and allegeance due to the King and if they acquit the Peer or Noble-man upon whom they passe the Entry is Willelmus Comes E. cateri Antedicti pares inst●nter super fidelitatibus ligeantiis dicto D●m Regi debitis per praefarū Senescallū ab inferiori usque ad supremum separatim examinati dicunt quod Wil. Dom. Dacre nox est Culp and so was the Entry in the case of the Lord Dacres 26. H. 8. Spilmans Reports and Cookes Instit 3. part p. 30. If a Noble-man be indicted of Treason Felony or Murder and cannot be found he shall be outlawed by the Coroners of the County and in case of Clergy no Noble-man shall have more priviledge then a common-person where it is not specially provided for them by Act of Parliament as by Stamford pl. Cor. p. 130. is made manifest out of all which we gather that a Nobleman hath this priviledge of tryal as well per lege terra as by this Charter and that anciently legale judicium parium or lawfull tryall of Peers for all manner of persons aswell Noblemen as Commons was vere-dictum duodecim proborum legalium hominum de vicineto a verdict of 12. good and lawfull men of the Neighbour-hood that is of the Commons of England so still remains saving only in this excepted case by the Great Charter which shewes that there can be no legale judicium or lawfull judgment but it must be per legem terrae or according to the Law of the Land which is the other branch of this judgment as to the Commons of England Now to prove that legale judicium parium or lawfull judgment of a mans Peers or Equals is by verdict of 12. men and not otherwise for the word Peers vinvocally signifies both Let us consult both the judgment of Parliaments in this point and the fundamentall lawes of the Land And first for the opinions of Parliaments in this point we finde that by the statute of 25. E. 3. c. 4. None shall be taken by petition or suggestion made to our Lord the King or to his Councell unlesse it be by indictment or presentment of his good and lawfull people of the same neighbour-hood 42. E. 3. c. 3. It is assented and accorded for the good governance of the Commons that no man be put to answer without presentment before Justices or matter of Record or by due processe and Writ originall according to the old law of the Land and if any thing be done frō henceforth contrary it shall be void in law and holden for errour and to say one word for all there are above 50 statutes now in print and in force that warrant this tryall or legale judicium parium suorum or tryall by a mans Equals or Peers made since the Great Charter in severall cases the citing of which statutes for prolixity we avoid And that this manner of tryall was the old law of the Land wee are here to make it appear that this manner of tryall is according to the law of the Land and that there is none other wherein we are to observe this distinction that this legale judicium or lawfull judgment is two-fold The one is of the matter of Fact The other is of matter of Law That which is of matter of Fact is to be tryed per legale indicium parium or a lawfull tryall of a mans Peers That which is of matter of Law is to be tryed by the Judges or Justices of the Land authorized thereunto by the Kings lawfull Commissions To prove that there is no other lawfull Judgment of our Peeres or Equals As touchiug the matter of Fact we are to examine the foundation of this Common-wealth and the originall constitutions thereof We find that King Alfred having reduced this Kingdome of England into an Entire-Monarchy divided it into 38. Counties and each County into severall Hundred and Mannors The Counties were put under the government of Earles who substituted under them Viscounts or Sheriffes for the quiet government of the people the Hundreds and Mannors subordinately under the severall Lords of them The Sheriffes had two Courts to wit the Sheriffes-Tourn and the County-Court The first for offences against the peace of the Land The latter for entry and determination of civill-causes between party and party In the first indictment or presentment of offences was made per-Enquest that is by Juries In the second the Free-suiters that is men of the neighbor-hood The like was done in the leets or viewes of Frankepledge and Hundred-Courts in the Hundreds The like proceedings was in the Leets and Court-Barons of Mannors in those Courts There was no condemnation or judgment given but by the Enquirie of good and lawfull men of the neighbor-hood This every book of the Law tells us for more particular satisfaction read Horn f. 8. and fore-ward These Courts were formed after the modell of the greater Courts of the Realme the Kings-Bench and Common-pleas where greater jurisdiction was as to the matter to be enquired of but no variation originally in the manner of proceeding only the jurisdiction of the Court of Kings-Bench and Common-Pleas in tryals of actions ad dampnum 40. s. flowed over the whole Kingdome The other Courts were confined to their severall limits and might not exceed 40. s. damages these were the originall Courts of the Kingdome and the legale judicium parium or lawfull judgment of Peers was only tryall by Jury of Equals before this great Charter From which tryals this clause is inserted into it and by an inviolable right of law continues in force even to this day as every free subject of England by experience knowes and as every book of our law proves into us the verdict of the Jury in criminall causes being the judgment of Attainder and in civill causes a condemnation as Stamford pl. Cor. p 44. and ali other bookes prove And to leave every man without

goods which law is since confirmed by the statute of 14. E. 3. c. 9. with some inlargement as to under-keepers of prisons and the penalty of the law and that Gaolers having done this have been hanged for it you may read 3. E. 3. 8. Northampton Fitzh pl. Cor. 295. and else-where but this for a taste to them Wee now come to shew what fees are due to them The Mirrour of Justice p. 288. tells us that it is an abusion of the law that prisoners or others for the to pay any thing for their Entries into the Goale or for their going out this is the common-law there is no fee due to them by the common law See what the statutes say The State of Westm 1. c. 26. saith that no Sheriffe or other Minister of the King shall take reward for doing their Offices but what they take of the King if they do they shall forfeit double to the party grieved and be punished at the will of the King Under this word Minister of the King are encluded all Escheators Coroners Gaolers and the like soe Sir Edward Cook 2. part of his Instistitutes p. 209. affirms and agreeable is Stamf. pl. Coron 49. a. Nay by the statute of 4. E. 3. c. 10. Gaolers are to receive theeves and felons taking nothing by way of fees for the receipt of them so odious is this extortion of Gaolers that very theeves and felons are exempt from payment of fees And we find in our Law-bookes that no fees are due to any Officer Gaoler or minister of Justice but only those which are given by Act of Parliament for if a Gaoler will prescribe for any fees the prescription is void because against this Act of Parliament made 3. E. 1. being an Act made within time of memory and takes away all manner of pretended fees before and wee are sure none can be raised by colour of prescription since and therefore we find by the bookes of 8. E. 4. f. 18. That a Marshall or Gaoler cannot detain any prisoner after his discharge from Court but only for the fees of the Court the Court being not barred by this statute of Westm 1. afore-mentioned and if he doe he may be indicted of extortion and agrecable to this is the book of 21. H. 7. f. 16. where amongst other things it is held for law that if a Gaoler or Guardian of a prison takes his prisoners upper garment Cloak or money from him it is a trespasse and the Gaoler shall be answerable for it this is a note for the Gentleman-Porter of the Tower so that we may undeniably conclude that there is no fee at all due to any Gaoler or Guardian of a prison from the prisoner but what is due unto him by speciall Act of Parliament And if a Gaoler or Guardian of a Prison shall take any thing as a fee of his prisoner he may and ought to be indicted of extortion and upon conviction to be removed from his office And if his prisoner by constraint menasse or dures be enforced to give him money he may recover that money against the Gaoler again in an Action of the case to be brought against him as his Bayliffe per accompt rendre And it is fit to be remembred also that whilest prisoners are in custody having nothing of their own to maintain them being either despoyled of their estates or goods by plunder sequestration long lying in prison or otherwise That the prisoners in all the Kings prisons should be maintained at the Kings charge out of the Kings Revenues according to the old law of the Land Bracton said thus Prisones imprisonati antequam convicti fuerint de terris suis desseisiri non debent nes de rebus suis quibuscunque spoliari sed dum fuerint in prison● debent de proprio in omnibus sustentari doneo per judicium deliberati vel condemnati fuerint which we English thus Prisoners detained in prison ought not to be disseised or put out of their lands and free-holds nor spoyled of their goods before they be convicted but they ought to be maintained of their own goods and estates in all things they want untill by judgment they are either acquitted or convicted Nay we say further that if prisoners have not whereof of their own to live theyought to be maintained according to their qualities out of the Kings revenue and at his charge whose prisoners they are and this is according to the fundamentall lawes of the Land and is a liberty inheritable belonging to the free-born subjects of England but if wee look into the prisons of these said times Oh! what horrible oppressions extortions cruelties and most unchristian-like tyrannies are exercised and practised upon the free-born subjects of England in all prisons within the kingdome by these sons of Belial these ravening Harpies and tormenting Gaolers whom we may properly call the Divels Deputies that rack even the very bowels and feed upon the very livers of their prisoners sucking away the very blood that should give life to their bodies from them what lamentable cryes sighes and groanes doe wee hear from every corner of this kingdome especially of this City from the poor starved oppressed life-wearied prisoners shut up inclosed in the Dungeons and Prisons in all places What horrible lamentations imprecations and curses are uttered and sent up to God Almighty in anguish of mind and bitternesse of spirit by these poor prisoners their wives and children not onely against their tormenting Gaolers but also against those Priests of the body politique those Country-Committees who have turned the wives and children of poor prisoners a begging and sent them up to sterve in Prisons and Dungeons under the hands of mercilesse Gaolers with their distressed Husbands and Parents having not only their goods and free-holds taken away from them which by law should be their support in prison but what also they beg or borrow is extorted from them by these ravening mercilesse and oppressing Gaolers and their Ministers We therefore the free-born people of England having seriously weighed and considered with our selves that by these lordly powers and sentences executed upon us by that sentence of the house of Peers upon Lieut. Col. John Lilburn a free-born English-man and one that hath so often with his sword in his hand for the redemption and reviving of our declining liberties adventured his lite in the field against the Royall intruders and out of hatred and detestation to the execrable and odious oppressions of Cōmitteemen Gaolers and other inferiour Ministers of this present State having an earnest desire and resolution to enjoyour liberties which with our dearest bloods and with the losse of so many lives of our dear brethren and vast expence of treasure wee have purchased and being of nothing so much affected and enamoured as to live under the happy and flourishing estate of this ever renowned Parliament the most honourable Commons whom we have chosen intrusted for us to sit at Westm.