the further proof of this Sovereign Imperial Monarchy There are yet other Regalities and Prerogatives which the Common Laws of England have ever allowed and never doubted but to be inherent in their Kings And hence it is that the King cannot be said to be a Tenant because he hath no Superior but God Almighty And if the King and a common Person joyn in a Foundation the King shall be the Founder for the thing being entire the Kings Prerogative shall be preferr'd That he shall have the Escheat of all Lands whereof a person attaint of High Treason was seiz'd of whomsoever they were holden That there is no Occupant against the King nor shall any one gain his Land by priority of Entry for Nullum tempus occurrit Regi That half Blood is no impediment to the descent of the Lands of the Crown as was seen in the Case of Queen Mary who was but of half Blood to King Edward 6. and Queen Elizabeth to both for the quality of the Person alters the Descent That the accession of the Crown purges all Attainders as may be seen in the respective Cases of Henry 6. and Henry 7. whose Attainders were no other than a present disability which upon their assuming the Royal Dignity were ipso facto void That the word King imports his Politick Capacity which is never in minority and never dies but extends to all his Successors as well Kings as Queens That he is King before Coronation for besides that the Law suffers no interregnums he holds it by inherent Birth-Right the Coronation being but a Royal Ornament and outward Solemnization of the Descent and not unlike the publick Celebration of Matrimony between a Man and a Woman which adds nothing to the substance of the Contract but declares it to the world That the Ligeance of his Subjects is absolute and indefinite and due to the natural Person of the King by the Law of Nature which is immutable and part of the Law of the Land before any Municipal or Judicial Law and that an Act of Parliament cannot bar the King of the Service of his Subject which the indelible Law of Nature gave him it being a part of the Law of the Land by which subjection is due to him And therefore the Statute That no man notwithstanding any non obstante shall serve as Sheriff above one year bars not the King from dispensing with it And William Lord la Ware altho disabled by Act of Parliament was nevertheless called to Parliament was nevertheless called to Parliament by Queen Elizabeth by Writ of Summons for she could not be barr'd of the Service and Counsel of any of her Subjects Add to this That all Restrictions upon his Sovereign Liberty are void and therefore Publick Notaries made by the Emperor claiming to exercise their Offices in England were prohibited as being against the Dignity of a Supreme King And with this agrees the Statute-Law of Scotland made in the Parliament of the 5th of King James the Third cap. 3. In short when King John had subjected his Crowns of England and Ireland to Pope Innocent the Third and had become his Feodary under the annual Acknowledgment of one thousand Marks to the Pope and his Successors and when afterwards the Arrearages thereof were demanded the Parliament of that year answered That no King can put himself or his Realm in Subjection without their Assent And how far that Assent reach'd we have it in the 42 of Edward the Third where in full Parliament it was further declar'd That they could not Assent to any thing in Parliament that tended to the Disinherison of the King or his Crown whereunto they were Sworn which is no more than what the Statute that prescribes the Oath of the Kings Justices has in it viz. Ye shall not Counsel nor Assent to any thing that may turn him the King in Damage or Disinherison by any manner way or colour And to the same effect are the several Oaths of the Lord Chancellor and Lord Treasurer You shall not know nor suffer the Hurt or Disinheriting of the King or that the Rights of the Crown be decreased by any means as far as you may lett it In a word to omit many others All such things whereof no Subject can claim Property as Treasure-trove Wreck Estrays c. belong to the King by his Prerogative which extends to all Powers and Preheminences which the Law hath given the Crown and is a principal part of the Law of the Land and is called by Bracton Libertas Privilegium Regis both words signifying the same thing i. e. The Kings Prerogative And by Britton Droit le Roy The Kings Right And in the Register Jus Regium which is the same and Jus Regium Coronae The Royal Right of the Crown And since it has not been wound up so high as to endanger the strings what reason is there to wish it let down so low as to render it profanable by the People When the Philistines return'd the Ark of God which they had taken the men of Beth-Shemesh must be prying into it and he that has a mind to know the effect of their curiosity may read it in Samuel God slew one hundred and fifty thousand of them But enough of the Common-Law we 'l in the next place consider what the Statute-Law in further affirmance of the Common-Law saith to this matter And here it cannot be thought saith Sir Edw. Coke that a Statute made by the Authority of the whole Realm will recite a thing against the Truth I 'll begin with that of Richard 2. commonly call'd the Statute of Premunire in which it is declared That the Crown of England hath been ever so free that it is in no earthly subjection but immediately subject to God in all things touching the Regality of the same Crown and to none other In like manner the Statute of H. 8. against Appeals to Rome saith That by divers sundry old Authentick Histories and Chronicles it is manifestly declared and expressed that this Realm of England is an Empire and so hath been accepted in the world governed by one Supreme Head and King having the Dignity and Royal Estate of the Imperial Crown of the same unto whom a Body Politick compact of all sorts and degrees of people divided in terms by names of Spiritualty and Temporalty have bounden and owen to bear next to God a natural and humble Obedience And near the middle of the said Statute it is further called the Authority and Prerogative of the said Imperial Crown And in the 25 of the same it is called The Imperial Crown and Royal Authority recognising no Superior under God but only your Grace And in the following Chapter besides the frequent use of the word Imperial the Kings thereof are stiled Kings and Emperors of this Realm
and then thus altered viz. By the Assent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and at the special instance and request of the Commons and in the fifth of the same King By the Advice and Assent of his Lords Spiritual and Temporal and at the request of the Commons which so continued without any variation in substance until the 18th of Henry 6. at what time it became as we have it now viz. By the Advice and Assent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and the Commons Besides if the Lords Spiritual were not a third Estate what is the reason that at the making of the Statute of Praemunire that the Commons having declared that they would stand to the King in the defence of his Liberties and praying that all the Lords as well Spiritual as Temporal severally and all the Estates of Parliament might be examined how they thought of that matter The Lords Temporal being so demanded answered every one by himself and in like manner the Lords Spiritual severally examin'd answered by themselves which affords me a double Argument 1. That by all the States of Parliament there must be necessarily intended more than two if it were for no other reason than mere propriety of Speech 2. That the King could not make up that other or third Estate because he is desired to examin all the States severally which he could not do if he had been one of them himself so in the 40th of Edw. 3. which I should have named first when the King asks advice of his Parliament Whether King John could have subjected the Realm as what in him lay he did The Prelates by themselves the Dukes Earls and Barons by themselves and the Commons by themselves answered That he could not From which nothing seems clearer to me than that the Lords Spiritual are one Estate distinct from the Lords Temporal or otherwise what needed they have been examin'd by those several names of Spiritual and Temporal or as severally answer'd by the same appellations 5. And now if yet there remain'd any doubt we have one Act of Parliament clear in point where the question being whether the making of Bishops had been duly and orderly done according to Law the Statute says which is much tending to the slander of all the State of the Clergy being one of the greatest States of this Realm And so having found Three Estates without the King I think in good manners we ought to spare him I have hitherto offered some Reasons nor without their Authorities I come now to somewhat more direct if yet those of the 40th of Edw. 3. the 16th of Rich. 2. and the 8th of Qu. Eliz. last mentioned could be thought otherwise I 'll begin with the Statute of H. 8. where this Kingdom is called an Empire governed by one Supreme Head and King unto whom a Body Politick compact of all sorts and degrees of People divideth in Terms and by names of Spiritualty and Temporalty been bounden and who can believe that the Authority of a Parliament should utter any thing in Parables or under double meanings contrary to the common sense of the express words or that there was ever intended by the words divided in Terms and by names of Spiritualty and Temporalty so many mere words and no more However to take off all doubt Sir Edw. Coke says The High Court of Parliament consisteth of the Kings Majesty sitting there as in his Royal Politick Capacity and of the Three Estates of the Realm viz. the Lords Spiritual the Lords Temporal and the Commons And so Cowel The word Parliament in England we use it for the Assembly of the King and the Three Estates viz. the Lords Spiritual Lords Temporal and the Commons And Title Statute he saith it signifieth a Decree or Act of Parliament made by the Prince and the Three Estates unto whom as I said before they are subordinate in the Legislation and of no Power of themselves but joyned to their Figure have the full strength of their places which in short we may thus farther demonstrate under the familiar instance of a Dean and Chapter of whom the Dean is no part but Caput Capituli the Head of them And now if any one shall demand why this term of the Three Estates does not so frequently occur to us of Ancient time I answer That before the Commons were brought in there was no thought of it and since that time no dispute of it until of late where many a worse twig was even learnedly made use of to stilt and bolster a Ricketed Cause· However it is not too late that the Point is cleared now And so we have it in the Act for Unifermity of Publick Prayers made the 14th of this King where the Form of Prayer for the Fifth of November is thus entitled A Form of Prayer with Thanksgiving to be used yearly on the Fifth day of November for the happy deliverance of the King and the Three Estates of the Realm c. And with this agrees the Kingdom of Scotland of which Mr. Cambden in his History of Britain says That their Supreme Court is their Parliament which consisteth of Three Estates The Lords Spiritual the Lords Temporal and the Commons for Cities and Burghs of which the King is Directus totius Dominus And so a Parliament of that Kingdom reckons them It is ordained by the King by Consent and Deliverance of the Three Estates And the Act of asserting the Kings Supremacy over all Persons and in all Causes Ecclesiastical and the late Indictment against Argile and the Acts for the Acknowledging and Asserting the Right of Succession to the Imperial Crown of Scotland And that other for ratifying all former Laws for the security of the Protestant Religion agree in point with it Nor is it strange they should inasmuch as neither their Langue nor their Laws especially such as are criminal as may be seen by comparing their Regiam Majestatem with our Glanvil De Legibus written in Henry the Second's time much differ from ours And the Union of the two Crowns in the Person of King James is called An Union or rather a re-uniting of two Mighty Famous and Ancient Kingdoms yet anciently but one And that the Laws of Ireland a distinct Realm or Kingdom from both say nothing of this matter I take it to be for the same reason that the Romans made no Law against Parricide They never dreamt it SECTION VII Admitting what has been before offer'd wherein has our present King merited less than any of his Royal Ancestors with a short recapitulation of Affairs as they had been and were at his Majesties most happy Restauration and that he wanted not the means of a just Resentment had he design'd any I Have hitherto shewn that the Crown of England c. is Supreme Sovereign and Imperial nor will it be from the purpose now to demand Wherein has our present King less merited than
The same Game playing over again Prognostications c. The ill consequence of such Impressions The examples of Cade Tyler and others Holy League in France Solemn League and Covenant at home c. New Trains to the old Fuel Our Saviours advice to his Disciples touching the leven of the Pharisees What that and they were made applicable unto our selves 210 Sect. X. A Close from the whole by way of Enquiry Whether an Exclusion of his Royal Highness the Duke of York may be of more advantage or disadvantage The advantage propos'd and whether an Act for security of Religion may not be as safe as a Bill of Exclusion The moral impossibility of introducing the Romish Religion tho the Prince were of that Persuasion The reason why the Kingdom follow'd the Reformation under Edw. VI. Qu. Mary Qu. Elizabeth That the case cannot be the same at this day The Crown of England an ancient Entail with the danger of Innovations Objection That such things have been done So has a King been murder'd More particularly answered in Edw. IV. Qu. Mary and Qu. Eliz. all three excluded by Parliament yet came to the Crown No man changes but in hopes of better The advantages of continuing as we are It is a bar to Pretenders The same as to Competitors Disorders avoided No new Family to be provivided for The indignity of a Repulse avoided Suppose Scotland and Ireland be of another Opinion the former of which has by Parliament asserted the Right of Succession of that Crown notwithstanding any Religion c. Lastly all occasions of Jealousie taken away Objection answer'd Disadvantages that have attended the laying by the Right Heir Examples from old Rome and Vsurpations at home The Revolt from Rehoboam our loss of France With a conclusion from the whole More particularly as it relates to his Royal Highness 236 A DISCOURSE OF MONARCHY c. SECTION I. That Monarchy or the Supreme Dominion of one person was primarily intended by God when he created the World That it is founded in nature As consonant to the Divine Government And of Divine Institution Acknowledg'd by Heathens as well as Christians GOvernment is of that absolute necessity if not to the being at least to the well-being of every thing that without it nec domus ulla nec civitas c. nor House nor City nor Nation nor Mankind nor Nature nor the world it self could consist inasmuch as the stronger would devour the weaker and the whole run back again to its first Chaos and therefore the eternal Wisdom when he had created the world and stockt it with living Creatures according to their kinds as if he had done nothing while there yet wanted something more excellent to govern it made man Sanctius his animal mentisque capacius altae Deerat adhuc qui dominari in caetera possit Natus homo est A creature not only capable of it and that he might the better go thro with it furnish'd out accordingly Cognati retinebat semina coeli but primarily design'd to it and however last in act yet first in projection for says the Text Let us make man c. And God created man after his own likeness c. and blessed them and said Increase and multiply c. and have dominion c. and over every thing that moveth upon the earth by which what other can there be rationally understood but the supreme Sovereignty or Dominion of one for if God Almighty had intended otherwise how easie had it been when he created our first Parents to have form'd a multitude and given them a joynt Commission to have govern'd one another or at least bade 'em gone together and agree among themselves but he foresaw it would not be and therefore to avoid confusion the inseparable companion of a multitude created but one and erected an exemplary Monarchy in him Neither will this less appear if we consider that the very laws of nature lead us to a Monarchy Natura commenta est regem saith Seneca de Clem. As among all irrational creatures who having least of reason are wholly govern'd by sense we find some one that has a preheminence above the rest of its kind And thus Birds have their Eagle Beasts their Lion and among them also every Flock its vir gregis the Fish of the Sea their Leviathan a King over the children of Pride for so Job calls him and the shout of a King may be found among Bees Rege incolumi mens omnibus una est Amisso rupere fidem Nor is it more founded in nature than consonant to the Divine government of God and a lively image and representation of him who as sole Monarch ruleth and guideth all things Look up to Heaven and we find an Hierarchy among Angels and one Star differ from another in glory yet every of them paying this homage to the Suns sovereignty that they veil their faces at his least appearance Take back again to Earth and this little world of man has but one Body and all the members of this body but one head whereon depends the will motion and sense and the greater world but one God He ruleth over the Angels than whom he made Man only inferior they over Men Men over Beasts the Soul over the Body Man again over Woman and Reason above Affection by which means every good commanding over what is less good by a certain combination of Powers all things are kept in their order whereas were there a duplex Principium of equal power as the Ancients fabled the commands must be contrary and consequently thereby either ruine one another or at least by their continual jarring disturb the harmony of the whole and therefore it is observable that albeit God who comprehended the whole system at once and unblotted nature thro all her Meanders and to every days work but that of the second said And behold it was good yet until he had put to his last finishing hand i. e. made man and giv'n him his Commission of having dominion It is not said And God saw all that he had made and they were very good and by that Divine Commission have Kings ever since reign'd there being no power but what is appointed of God who according to the similitude of his heavenly Kingdom hath given unto them the Scepters of their earthly Principalities Nor need we go far for examples we find it every where for such was Abraham taken and acknowledged by the Inhabitants when they call'd him Principem Dei and albeit Heaven be the Throne of God yet we meet with another of his on this Earth his Foot-stool for so we find it express'd Solomon sate on the Throne of the Lord as King And in like manner the Queen of Sheba God set thee on his Throne to be King for the Lord thy God As also David is called his King and his Anointed He giveth strength to his King c. and