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	law_n	see_v	1,604	5	3.6203	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A56223	Observations upon some of His Majesties late answers and expresses	Parker, Henry, 1604-1652.	1642 (1642)	Wing P412; ESTC R21815	39,600	50

are fallen Calumny and Envie herselfe would never have attempted to obtrude upon us such impossible charges of Treason and Rebellion against our most sacred Councell from the mouthes of Popish Prelaticall and Military Courtiers The King sayes 'T is imp●obable and impossible that His Cabinet Counsellours or his Bishops or seuldiers who must have so great a share in the misery should take such paines in the procuring thereof and spend so much time and run so many hazards to make themselves slaves and to ruine the freedome of this Nation how strange is this wee have had almost 40 yeeres experience that the Court way of preferment has beene by doing publicke ill Offices and we can nominate what Dukes what Earles what Lords what Knights have been made great and rich by base disservices to the State and except Master Hollis his rich Widow I never heard that promotion came to any man by serving in Parliament but I have heard of trouble and imprisonment but now see the traverse of fortune The Court is now turned honest my Lord of Straffords death has wrought a sudden conversion amongst them and there is no other feare now but that a few Hypocrites in Parliament will beguile the major part there and so usurpe over King Kingdome and Parliament for ever sure this is next to a prodigy if it be not one but let us consider the Lords and Commons as meere Counsellors without any power or right of Counselling or consenting yet wee shall see if they be not lesse knowing and faithfull than other men they ought not to be deserted unlesse we will allow that the King may cause whither he will admit of any counsell at all or no in the disposing of our lives lands and liberties But the King sayes that he is not bound to renounce his owne understanding or to contradict his owne conscience for any Counsellors sake whatsoever 'T is granted in things visible and certaine that judge which is a sole judge and has competent power to see his owne judgement executed ought not to determine against the light of nature or evidence of fact The sinne of Pilate was that when he might have saved our Saviour from an unjust death yet upon accusations contradictory in themselves contrary to strange Revelations from Heaven he would suffer Innocence to fall and passe sentence of death meerly to satisfie a bloud-thirsty multitude But otherwise it was in my Lord of Straffords case for there the King was not sole Judge nay he was uncapeable of sitting as judge at all and the delinquent was legally condemned and such heynous matters had beene proved against him that his greatest friends were ashamed to justifie them and all impartiall men of three whole Kingdomes conceived them mortall and therefore the King might therin with a clear conscience have signed a warrant for his death though he had dissented from the judgement So if one judge on the same bench dissent from three or one juror at the barre from a eleven they may submit to the major number though perhaps lesse skilfull then themselves without imputation of guilt and if it be thus in matters of Law a fortiori 't is so in matters of State where the very satisfying of a multitude sometimes in things not otherwise expedient may proove not onely expedient but necessary for the setling of peace and ceasing of strife For example It was the request of the whole Kingdome in the Parliament to the King to intrust the Militiae and the Magazine of Hull c. into such hands as were in the peoples good esteeme Conscience and understanding could plead nothing against this and if it could have beene averred as it could not for the contrary was true that this would have bred disturbance and have beene the occasion of greater danger yet Where the people by publique authority will seeke any inconvenience to themselves and the King is not so much intressed in it as themselves 't is more inconvenience and injustice to deny then grant it what blame is it then in Princes when they will pretend reluctance of conscience and reason in things behoofull for the people and will use their fiduciarie power in denying just things as if they might lawfully do whatsoever they have power to do when the contrary is the truth and they have no power to do but what is lawfull and fit to be done So much for the ends of Parliamentary power I come now to the true nature of it publike consent we see consent as well as counsell is requisite and due in Parliament and that being the proper foundation of all power for omnis Potestas fundata est in voluntate we cannot imagine that publique consent should be anywhere more vigorous or more orderly than it is in Parliament Man being depraved by the fall of Adam grew so untame and uncivill a creature that the Law of God written in his brest was not sufficient to restrayne him from mischiefe or to make him sociable and therefore without some magistracy to provide new orders and to judge of old and to execute according to justice no society could be upheld without society men could not live and without lawes men could not be sociable and without authority somewhere invested to judge according to Law and execute according to judgement Law was a vaine and void thing it was soon therefore provided that lawes agreeable to the dictates of reason should be ratified by common consent and that the execution and interpretation of those Lawes should be intrusted to some magistrate for the preventing of common injuries betwixt Subject and Subject but when it after appeared that man was yet subject to unnaturall destruction by the Tyranny of intrusted magistrates a mischiefe almost as fatall as to be without all magistracie how to provide a wholsome remedy therefore was not so easie to be prevented 'T was not difficult to invent Lawes for the limitting of supreme governors but to invent how those Lawes should be executed or by whom interpreted was almost impossible nam quis custodiat ipsos custodes To place a superiour above a supreme was held unnaturall yet what a livelesse fond thing would Law be without any judge to determine it or power to enforce it and how could humaine consociation be preserved without some such Law besides if it be agreed upon that limits should be prefixed to Princes and judges appointed to decree according to those limits yet an other great inconvenience will presently affront us for we cannot restraine Princes too far but we shall disable them from some good as well as inhibit them from some evill and to be disabled from doing good in some things may be as mischievous as to be inabled for all evils at meere discretion Long it was ere the world could extricate it selfe out of all these extremities or finde out an orderly meanes whereby to avoid the danger of unbounded prerogative on this hand and to excessive liberty on the other and

Parliament the King 'T is true the King abjures any intention of making Warre against his Parliament but what he intends against the malignant party in or out of Parliament is not exprest and the King abjures invasive Warre against them but whether he think not himself first invaded already is not exprest and the specifying of a faction in Parliament of some few malignants secures none for none can plead force and none ought to plead folly in Treasons of this nature and the major part of the Houses can neither plead absence or dissent and those which can must not be their own purgators Besides the act of Sir John Hotham is disputable the King adjudges it Treason the Parliament adjudge it no Treason and the King has not declared whether he will refer this to the tryall of the sword only or to some other tryall and if so To what kinde of tryall the judgement of a Parliament shall be submitted If we call another Parliament to judge of this so we may appeal in infinitum and why another should be cleerer then this we cannot imagine If we could constitute a higher Court for this appeal so we might do in infinitum also but we know no higher can be imagined and if we appeal to a lower that were to invert the course of nature and to confound all Parliaments for ever if we call all the Kingdom to judge of this we do the same thing as to proclaim Civill Warre and to blow the Trumpet of generall confusion And if we allow the King to be the sole supream competent Judge in this case we resigne all into his hands we give lifes liberties Laws Parliaments all to be held at meer discretion For there is in the interpretation of Law upon the last appeal the same supremacy of power requisite as is in making it And therefore grant the King supream interpreter and t is all one as if we granted him to be supream maker of Law and grant him this and we grant him to be above all limits all conditions all humane bonds whatsoever In this Intricacy therefore where the King and Parliament disagree and judgement must be supream either in the one or other we must retire to ordinary justice And there we see if the King consent not with the ordinary Judge the Law thinks it fit that the King subscribe rather then the Judge And if this satisfie not We must retire to the principles of Nature and there search whether the King or Kingdom be to be lookt upon as the efficient and finall cause and as the proper Subject of all power Neither is the oath of supremacy indangered hereby for he that ascribes more to the whole universality then to King yet ascribes to the King a true supremacy of power and honour above all particulars Nor is our allegiance temerated For when the Judge on the Bench delivers Law contrary to the Kings command This is not the same thing as to proceed against the Kings person upon any judgement given against him The King as to His own person is not to be forcibly repelled in any ill doing● nor is He accountable for ill done Law has only a directive but no coactive force upon his person but in all irregular acts where no personall force is Kings may be disobeyed their unjust commands may be neglected not only by communities but also by single men sometimes Those men therefore that maintain That all Kings are in all things and commands as well where personall resistance accompanies as not to be obeyed as being like Gods unlimitable and as well in evill as in good unquestionable are sordid flatterers And those which allow no limits but directive only And those no other but divine and naturall And so make all Princes as vast in power as the Turk for He is subject to the directive force of God and natures Laws and so allow subjects a dry right without all remedy are almost as stupid as the former And those lastly That allow humane Laws to obleage Kings more then directively in all cases where personall violence is absence and yet allow no Judges of those Laws but the King Himself run into absurdities as grosse as the former I come now to those seven doctrines and positions which the King by way of recapitulation layes open as so offensive And they run thus 1. THat the Parliament has an absolute indisputable power of declaring Law So that all the right of the King and people depends upon their pleasure It has been answered That this power must rest in them or in the King or in some inferiour Court or else all suites must be endlesse and it can no where rest more safely then in Parliament 2. That Parliaments are bound to no precedents Statutes are not binding to them Why then should precedents Yet there is no obligation stronger then the Justice and Honor of a Parliament 3. That they are Parliaments and may judge of publike necessity without the King and dispose of anything They may not desert the King but being deserted by the King when the Kingdom is in distresse They may judge of that distresse and relieve it and are to be accounted by the vertue of representation as the whole body of the State 4. That no Member of Parliament ought to be troubled for treason c. without leave This is intended of suspicions only And when leave may be seasonably had and when competent accusers appear not in the impeachment 5. That the Soveraign power resides in both Houses of Parliament the King having no negative voyce This power is not claimed as ordinary nor to any purpose But to save the Kingdom from ruine and in case where the King is so seduced as that He preferres dangerous men and prosecutes His loyall Subjects 6. That levying forces against the personall commands of the King though accompanied with his presence is not levying warre against the King But warre against His authority though not person is warre against the King If this were not so The Parliament seeing a seduced King ruining Himself and the Kingdom could not save both but must stand and look on 7. That according to some Parliaments they may depose the King T is denyed That any King was deposed by a free Parliament fairly elected To stand in comparison with these I shall recite some such positions as the Kings papers offer to us And they follow thus 1. THat regall power is so derived from God and the Law as that it has no dependence upon the trust and consent of man and the King is accountable therefore to God and His other Kingdoms not to this And it is above the determination of Parliaments and by consequence boundlesse 2. That the King is supream indefinitely viz. As well universis as singulis 3. That the King has such a propriety in His Subjects Towns Forts c. As is above the propriety of the State and not to be seized by the Parliament though for the publike safety 4. That so farre as the King is trusted He is not accountable how He performs So that in all cases the Subject is remedilesse 5. That the being of Parliaments is meerly of grace So that the King might justly have discontinued them and being summoned they are limited by the writ and that ad consilium Only and that but in quibusdam arduis And if they passe the limits of the Writ they may be imprisoned That if the King desert them they are a voyde assembly and no honour due to them nor power to save the Kingdom That Parliamentary priviledges are no where to be read of And so their representation of this whole Kingdom is no priviledge nor addes no Majesty nor authority to them That the major part in Parliament is not considerable when so many are absent or dissent That the major part is no major part Because the fraud and force of some few over-rules them That Parliaments may do dishonourable things nay treasonable Nay That this hath been so blinded by some few malignants That they have abetted treason in Sir John Hotham Trampled upon all Law and the Kings prerogative And sought to inslave the whole Kingdom under the Tyranny of some few And sought the betraying of Church and State And to the same erected an upstart Authority in the new Militia and levyed warre upon the King under pretence that He levies warre upon them That Parliaments cannot declare Law but in such and such particular cases legally brought before them That Parliaments are questionable and tryable elsewhere These things we all see tend not only to the desolation of this Parliament but to the confusion of all other And to the advancing of the King to a higher power over Parliaments then ever He had before over inferiour Courts Parliaments have hitherto been Sanctuaries to the people and banks against Arbitrary tyranny But now the meer breath of the King blasts them in an instant and how shall they hereafter secure us when they cannot now secure themselves Or how can we expect justice when the meer imputation of treason without hearing tryall or judgement shall sweep away a whole Parliament nay all Parliaments for ever And yet this is not yet the depth of our misery For that private Councell which the King now adheres to and preferres before Parliaments will still inforce upon our understandings That all these doctrines and positions tend to the perfection of Parliaments And all the Kings forces in the North to the protection of Law and liberty I finde my Reason already captivated I cannot further FINIS