Selected quad for the lemma: judgement_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
judgement_n	according_a	good_a	law_n	1,772	5	4.6269	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61421	Authority abused by the vindication of the last years transactions, and the abuses detected with inlargements upon some particulars more briefly touched in the Reflectons upon the occurrences of the last year : together with some notes upon another vindication, entituled, The third and last part of the magistry ans government of England vindicated / by the author of the Reflections.	Stephens, Edward, d. 1706.	1690 (1690)	Wing S5421; ESTC R15552	30,141	48

speaking of And now to return to our merciful Vindicator He makes me think of the vulgar Observation of March that it comes in like a Lion and goes out like a Lamb and he shews himself a right March Bird. Our Laws were not severe enough with him at the beginning to punish the Author of the Reflections whom yet he dares not charge with any want of kindness to his Majesty v. p. 2. But he must fetch a Precedent as far as Venice to shew the heinousness of his Crimes in prying into Secrets of State to be no less than what is punishable with Death But when he comes to King James's Counsellors c. how is the Lion changed into the Lamb But alas it is only to those good People So kind to them that one would think that this Vindicator had had some hand in the Letter and Bill of Pardon for King James which was found in the Speakers Chair But to the Author of the Reflections he presently turns Lion again at least puts on the Lions Skin If he but complain for the just and necessary Assertion of our present Settlement that not one of King James's Instruments has been brought to condign Punishment how does this Lion roar and storm at this as a Revengeful Spirit that would drench the World in Blood c. But the truth is it seems but a Copy of his Countenance a meer personated Fury to please some body But what their Sentiments are who were to be pleased with this is not hard to be understood They were it seems not only for Pardon but for Preferment too for those honest Gentlemen as such as do deserve the return of our Gratitude Sure this Writer had a mind to try his Skill in Oratory and after the Example of Carneades try what he could add to his Oration against Justice And I should have thought that Carneades had got a new Set of Scholars amongst us since the late Revolution For since I wrote the last Period I met with another Vindication so like this that I dare presume the Authors of both are pretty near of Kin. Only I find this vast difference between him and them What he did innocently only for a Tryal of Skill to shew his Wit and Oratory and what an ingenious Man might be able to say on an ill Subject these Men do in good earnest that is strain all their Faculties to the utmost in a real opposition of Justice Nay those who not long since strain'd all their Wit and Parts and the Law it self to take away Mens Lives under pretence of Justice contrary to Law now strain all to exempt the most notorious Criminals deserving the greatest Severity from condign Punishment by an Indefinite Act of Oblivion and Vniversal Indempnity wherein I must confess they act very uniformly before in suppressing and now in opposing of Law and Justice and always for their own Interest So it must be or if we suppose them to believe that there is any such thing as Justice at all it must be granted that they have different Sentiments concerning the Crimes than we imagine or however than we have And this is plainly the Truth The one in effect will admit no Crime in King James precedent to his Departure And the other will admit none in his Ministers Officers or Instruments That which we take to be Justice in that case he calls Vengeance and Revenge and those who are for it Blood-hounds Bellowers for Vengeance Hot-headed Animals c. What we take to be great and notorious Crimes he reputes Points Justifiable or at least doubtful wherein the Justice of inflicting Punishments can never be vindicated and begs the Readers Pardon for the Impropriety of calling them Punishments though he will not name their proper Term. And a little after Actions done in the last or former Reigns about which the World hath been so much divided if Lawful or not And if this be not sufficient to declare his Sentiments concerning his proposed Indefinite Act of Oblivion and universal Indemnity he tells us plainly Lastly It s consistent with and promotive of the Truest and Highest Justice that is for King James For in most of the Cases the thirteen Heads he had mentioned before viz. The Heads Voted 23 Jan. to be Crimes for which some Persons may justly be excepted out of the Bill of Indemnity the Law is doubtful And to punish Opinion in matters of Law is as unjust as to prosecute Mistakes in matters of Religion is unchristian So that here we have a Vindication not indeed of the last Years Transactions but what is more of the Transactions of the last or former Reigns And if this be good my Opinion which according to this Lawyers Judgment is not punishable being in matter of Law is That King William hath no good Title but he 's a meer Usurper and we have catch'd at an advantage against an Innocent Man upon a timerous Flight or Departure to keep him from his Right My Opinion in this matter I have publish'd in Print more than once and therefore will not repeat it here But this is so evident a Consequence of what he saith that it is his Opinion that I know not with what Colour or Pretence he could deny it if he would Other Consequences of his Discourse I take no notice of because not pertinent to my present purpose But I think I may reasonably recommend it to the consideration of the Dissenters as that which may in some things afford as proper Topicks for them as for any sort of People of this Nation that I know and may be alledged with much more reason for them than for his Party of Criminals Veritas praevalebit one time or other By what hath been said I suppose it is very evident that the Authors of The last Years Transactions Vindicated and of the three Parts of The Magistracy and Government of England Vindicated are near of Kin at least in their Principles and Sentiments of the present Government under King William and Queen Mary and of their Right and Title thereunto and in the General Scope of these Writings as near as in their Titles And therefore this last coming so opportunely to my hand it doth not only confirm my Opinion of the former but gives me a fair occasion to consider the matter of both so far as concerns my Subject with one and the same Labour And therefore before I proceed to speak of the Punishment of the Criminals in our Case this Gentleman being a Lawyer gives me occasion to consider of the Law by which they may be punished For if there be no Law for it he is in the right That they are not properly Punishments but Violence where the Justice of the thing is not clear and undoubted And so much by the way I hope he will give me leave to say of the Executions of Stephen Colledge my Lord Russel Colonel Sidney Sir Thomas Armstrong c. that they were Violences that is

in plain English most deliberate wilful and wicked Murders being committed under Colour and Pretence of Law of most of which Judgment hath been reversed by Authority of Parliament and that I think it differs not much in the fight of God whether a Man have his Hand or his Tongue dip'd therein And I doubt not but the great and good Sir Matthew Hale would have been of the same Opinion which this Gentleman who gives him those deserved Characters will find some Reason to believe if he please to peruse but The Account of the Good Steward concerning the Gift of Elocution But to the business The Votes of 23 Jan. have enumerated thirteen Heads of Crimes for every one of which some Persons may be excepted out of the Bill of Indemnity Against all Punishments of these our Lawyer takes Exception as Punishments never declared or promulged and which by the Standing Laws and Common Justice of the Realm could not be inflicted That is to say They are neither Treason Felony nor Misdemeanours For for all those there are Punishments declared and to be inflicted by the Standing Laws and Common Justice of the Realm I must add Nor Crimes punishable by any Statute And this is the least that these Words can imply So that we must suppose that they are nothing like any of those we meet with in the Impeachments Indictment Articles c. against those Flatterers and Evil Counsellors and Instruments of Princes which my Lord Coke mentions in his Chapter of Flattery or any others to be found in our Records Books of Entries Reports or Statutes not so much as those concerning the High-Commission Court 17 Car. I. But the contrary of all this is so well known to all who have looked into the Records and Books aforesaid that it is as needless as improper for this Paper to offer to recite them But in stead of that I will shew him that which is more that is That the Parliament may declare those things to be Treason the punishment whereof is sufficiently known which never were nor can now by the Ordinary Judges though in the late Reigns they are believ'd to have exceeded their Bounds be judged such and that by the express Words of the Statute 25 E. 3. And because that many other like Cases of Treason may happen in time to come which a man cannot think or declare at this present time it is accorded That if any other Case supposed Treason which is not above specified doth happen before any Justices the Justices shall tarry without any going to Judgment of the Treason till the Cause be shewed and declared before the King and his Parliament whether it ought to be adjudged Treason or other Felony Besides for such Crimes as are of their own Nature great Crimes and not meerly by some positive Law of the State there is neither Law nor Reason why the Legislative Authority in any State should not order and inflict such Punishments as they deserve And among those may doubtless be reckoned all such as have a direct tendency to the Subversion of the Laws and Government of any State● But Treason against the Kingdom as well as against the King may be found in our Books of Law and History And now I know not what most to admire in this Gentleman his profound Skill in the Law the Modesty of his Assertions or his Honesty and Conscience I cannot but think him a very proper Person to have been one of the Servants of former Crowns one of the last Kings Ministers Officers or Instruments of Justice He was certainly well qualify'd for lit and his Zeal for their Vindication discovers that he had some concern of his own in it And so confident a Gentleman and so qualify'd one would think should get in somewhere now at least into the Parliament and no doubt but set up by the Faction and a great stickler there one of those who are recommended by our Vindicators not only for Pardon and Indemnity but for Favour and Employment to our present King And no doubt but he will be well served by them as well as he was the last Year I cannot let this pass without some further Reflection It is not at all besides the Design of my Writing and no great Digression from that particular matter I am now upon Our other Vindicator tells us that His Majesty came a Stranger to England and but darkly informed of the true Arcana of the last two Reigns and of the Practices and Principles of particular Men it being so much their interest to vail them from his View Whence it is to be suppos'd that at his coming to the Government the Representation made him of Persons and Things could not but receive a Tincture of the many different Principles and Interests of those who made them Considering which it 's no wonder that in such a Maze of Business and Mist of various Representations his Majesty's Bounty might happen to to be misplac'd in some one or other page 29. I know not any thing more truly and reasonably said by that Writer It was indeed a great Disadvantage his Majesty was under being unacquainted with the Principles and Interests of Persons And as that was just Cause both of Caution in the Choice and of Excuse of him from any ill Choice upon the recommendation of others so doth it aggravate the Fault of such recommendations and recommend the Service of such as detect them I shall therefore for the more comple at Detection of some ill Men to what I have before observed add this for Confirmation 1. That the Persons concerned in these Vindications are Men of dangerour Principles in respect of the present Government For if these Crimes be not punishable by Law then are all they who invited the Prince of Orange to come in with an Army and all that associated with him Traytors and he himself an Invader and Usurper 2. They are Men of Arbitrary Principles and so dangerous to the Nation and the true ancient Constitution of this Government For if these Crimes be not punishable by Law our English Monarchy is gone and we are already fallen into a French or Turkish Tyranny 3. They are dangerous Persons to be employed or trusted in respect of their Genius Men of smooth voluble Tongues and of Confidence to impose any thing Of which I could add divers Instances to those I have noted before But I will add only this because it may serve also for another purpose He tells us If the thirteen Heads c. had been reduced into a Law one third at least of the Nation had been involved who with their disoblig'd Relations and Dependents is not so contemptible a Flock c. Now if every one of this third part had but one Relative or Dependent they would make two thirds if two they would make the compleat number of the Nation but if many of them have 10 20 100 as many certainly have they would far exceed the number of