THE LORD FINCH HIS SPEECH in the house of Commons the 21 of December 1640. Hee being then Lord-Keeper Printed in the Yeere 1641. THE LORD FINCH HIS SPEECH in the house of Commons the 21 of December 1641. Hee being then Lord-Keeper Master Speaker I Doe first present my most humble thanks to this Honourable Assembly for this favour vouchsased mee in granting me admittance to their presence and do humbly beseech them to believe it is no desire to preserve my selfe or my fortune but to deserve the good opinion of those that have drawne me hither I doe professe in the presence of him that knoweth all hearts I had rather goe from dore to dore and crave Daobulum Bellizario with the good will of this assembly then enjoy all the Honours and Fortunes I am capable of I doe not come hither with an intention to justifie my words my actions or opinions but to make a plaine and cleare narration of my selfe and there humbly to submit to the wisedome and Justice of this House my selfe and all that concernes me But this House will not take words but with cleare and Ingenious dealing And therfore I shall beseech them to think that I come not hither with a set or studied speech I come to speake my heart and to speake it clearely and plainly and then to leave it to your clemency and justice and I hope if any thing shall slippe from me to work contrary to my meaning and Intention disorderly or ill placed you will bee pleased to make a favourable Construction and leave mee the liberty of explanation if there shall be any but I hope there shall be no cause for it I hope for my affection in Religion no man doubteth me What my education was and under whom I lived for many yeares as well known eI lived neere thirty years in the Society of Grayes-Inne and if one that was a Reverend Preacher there in my time Doctor Sibs were now living he were able to give Testimony to this House that when a party ill affected in Religion sought to tyre and weary him out he had his chiefest encouragement and help from me I have M. Speaker bin now 15 yeares of the Kings Councell from the first houre to this minute no man is able to say that ever I was either Author deviser or consenter to any project It pleased the King my gracious Master after I had served him divers yeares to preferre me to two places first to be chiefe Justice of the Common Pleas and then Lord Keeper of his Great Seale I say it in the presence of God I was so farre from the thought of the one and the ambition of the other that if my Master the King his Grace and goodnesse had not beene I had never enjoyed those Honours In all that time I may speake it with a Confidence these hands never touched bribe nor reward these eyes were never blinded with guist I took heed to these affections common to man which are aptest to mislead a Judge Friendship and hatred neither in the owne nor the other have I adhered Those that know me know me farre from a vindicative nature I cannot know M. Speaker what particulars there are by which you have an ill opinion of mee and therefore I shall come very weakely armed Yet these that either in my owne knowledge or such knowledge as is given me and not from any of this house I shall speake somewhat that I hope being truth and accompanied with clearenesse and ingenuity will at the last proceed some allay in that ill opinion which may perhaps be conceived of me M. Speaker I had once the honour to sit in that place from the first time I came hither to the unfortunate houre I went out I doe appeale to all that were then if I served not you with candor Ill office I never did to either of the Houses but did ever wish the good of both For that last unhappy day I had my share of griefe in it and I hope there are some doe remember no man within the wals of this House did expresse more Symptomes of Sorrow then I did After an adjournment for two or three dayes it pleased his Majesty to send for me to let me know hee could not so resolve of things as he desired and therefore was desirous there might be an adjournement for some few dayes more I protest I did not then discerne in his Majesty and I believe it was not in his thought to think of the dissolving of the Parliament but was pleased to command me to deliver his pleasure to the House for an adjournment for some few dayes and forthwith upon the delivery of the mesuage to come and wait upon him He likewise commanded me if questions were offered to be out upon my Allegiance I should dare to doe it How much then did I in all humblenesse reason with his Majestie is not for me here to speake only thus much let me say I was no Authour of any councell in it I was onely person in receiving Commission I speake not this as any thing I now produce or doe invente or take up for mine owne excuse but what is knowne to divers and some Honorable persons in this House to be most true All that I will say for that is humbly to beseech you all to consider that if it had beene any mans cause as it was mine betweene the displeasure of a gracious King and the ill opinion of an Honorable Assembly I beseech you lay altogether lay my first actions and behaviour with the last I shall submit with your honorable and favourable constructions For the shipping businesse my opinion in that cause hath layne heavy upon me and I shall cleerely and truely present unto you what every thing is with this protestation that if in reckoning up mine owne opinion what I was of or what I delivered any thing of it he displeasing or contrary to the opinion of this House that I am farre from justifying of it but submit that and all other my actions to your wisedome and goodnesse Master Speaker the first Writs that were sent out about shipping businesse I had no more knowledge of it and was as ignorant as any one member of this House or any man in the Kingdome I was never the Authour or deviser of it and will bouldly say from the first houre I did never advise or councell the setting forth of any ship Writs in my life Master Speaker it is true that I was made chiefe Justice of the common Pleas some foure dayes before the Ship-writs went out to the Ports and Maritine places as I doe remember the 13 of October 1634 they doe beare test And I was sworne chiefe Justice the 16 of October so as they went out in that time but without my knowledge or privity the God of Heaven knowes this to be true Master Speaker afterwards his Majesty was pleased to command my Lord chiefe Justice of the Kings Bench that then was Sir Thomas Richardson and chiefe Baron of the Exchequer that now is and my selfe then chiefe of the Common Pleas to
take into consideration the president then brought unto us which we did and after returned to his Majesty what we had found out of these Presidents It is true that afterwards his Majesty did take into consideration that if the whole Kingdome were concerned that it was not reason to lay the whole burthen upon the Cinque Ports and Maritine Townes Thereupon upon what ground his Majesty tooke that into his consideration I do confesse I do know nothing of it His Majesty did command my Lord chiefe Justice that now is my Lord chiefe Baron and my selfe to returne our opinions whether when the whole Kingdome is in danger and the Kingdome ingenerall is concerned it be not according to Law and reason that the whole Kingdome and his Majesty and all interessed therein should joyne in defending and preserving thereof This was in time about one 1634. In Michaelmas Terme following his Majesty commanded me to goe to all the Judges and require their opinions in particular He commanded me to doe it to every one and to charge them upon their duty and allegiance to keepe it secret Master Speaker it was never intended by his Majesty so professed by him at that time and so declared to all the Judges that it was not required by him to be such a binding opinion to the Subject as to hinder him from calling it in question nor to be binding to themselves but that upon better reason and advise they may alter it but desired their opinions for his owne private reason I know very well that extrajudiciall opinion of Judges ought not to be binding But I did think and speake my heart and conscience freely my selfe and the rest of the Judges being sworn and by our oaths tyed to Counsell the King when he should require advise of us that we were bound by our oaths and duties to returne our opinions I did obey his Majesties command and doe here before the God of heaven avow it I did never use the least promise of preferment or reward to any nor did use the least menacy I did leave it freely to their owne consciences and liberty for I was left the liberty of my owne by his Majesty and had reason to leave them the liberty of their owne consciences And I beseech you be pleased to have some belief that I would not say this but that I know the God of heaven will make it appeare and I beseech you that extravagant speeches may not move against that which is a positive and cleere truth Master Speaker in the discourse of this as is between Judges some small discourses sometimes yet never any cause wherein any Judges conferred that were so little conference as betweene me and them Master Speaker against a Negative I can say nothing but I shall affirme nothing unto you but by the grace of God as I affirme it to be true so I make no doubt of making it appeare to be so This opinion was subscribed without Solicitation there was not any man of us did make any doubt of subscribing our opinion but two Master Justice Hutton and Master Justice Crooke Master Justice Crooke made not a scruple of the thing but of the introduction for it was thus That whereas the Ports and the Maritine Townes were concerned there according to the Presidents in former times the charge lay on them So when the Kingdome was in danger of which his Majesty was the sole Judge whether it was not agreeable to Law and reason the whole Kingdome to beare the charge I left this case with Judge Crooke The next Terme I spake with him he could give me no resolution because he had not seene the writs in former times but did give his opinion that when the whole Kingdome was in danger they of the defence ought to be borne by all So of that opinion of his there was no need of a Solicitation I speake no more here than I did openly in my argument in the Chequer Chamber This is the naked truth for Master Justice Hutton he did never subscribe at all I will onely say this that I was so far from pressing him to give his opinion because he did aske time to consider of it that I will boldly say and make it good that when his Majesty would have had him sometimes sent for to give his opinion I beseeched his Majesty to leave him to himselfe and his conscience and that was the ill office I did The Judges did subscribe in November or December 1635. I had no conference nor truly I thinke by accident any discourse with any of the Judges touching their opinions for till February 1636 there was no speech of it for when they had delivered their opinions I did returne according to my duty to my Master the King and delivered them to him in whose custody they bee in In February 1636 upon a command that came from his Majesty by one of the then Secretaries of State the Judges all assembled in Grayes-Inne we did then fall into a debate of the case then sent unto us and we did then returne our opinion unto his Majesty there was then much discourse and great debate about it Mine opinion and conscience at that time was agreeable to that opinion I then delivered I did use the best arguments I could for the maintainance of my opinion and that was all I did It is true that then at that time Master Justice Hutton and Master Justice Crooke did not differ in the meane point which was this When the Kingdome was in danger the chargd ought to be borne by the whole Kingdome But this point whether the King was the sole Judge of the danger they differed So as there was betweene the first subscription and this debate and consultation some 15. monthes differance It is true that all of them did then subscribe both Justice Hutton and Justice Crooke which was returned to his Majesty and after published by my Lord Keeper my predecessor in the Stat-chamber For the manner of publishing it I will say nothing but leave it to those whose memories will call to mind what was then done The reason of the subscription of Justice Hutton and Justice Crooke though they differed in opinion grew from this that was told them from the rest of the Judges That where the greater number did agree in their vote the rest were involved and included And now I have faithfully delivered what I did in that businesse till I came which was afterwards to my argument in the Exchequer Chamber for the question was Ascire facias issued out of the Exchequer in that case of Master Hampdens of which I can say nothing for it was there begun and afterwards rejourned to have advice of all the Judges Master Speaker among the rest according to my duty I argued the case I shall not trouble you to tell you
what my argument was I presume their are Copies enough of it only I will tell you there are foure things very briefly what I then declared First concerning the matter of danger and necessary of the whole Kingdome I professe that there was never a Judge in the Kingdome did deliver an opinion but that it must be in a case of apparant danger When we came to an argument of the case it was not upon a matter or issue but it was upon a demurrer Whether the danger was sufficiently admitted in pleading and therefore was not the thing that was in dispute that was the first degree and step that led unto it I did deliver my selfe as free and as cleare as any man did that the King ought to governe by the positive Lawes of the Kingdome that he could not alter nor change nor innovate in matters of Law but by common consent in Parliament I did surther deliver that if this were used to make a further revenue or benefit to the King or in any other way but in case of necessity and for the preservation of the Kingdome The judgement did warrant no such thing My opinion in this busines I did in my conclusion of my argument submit to the judgement of this House I never delivered my opinion that mony ought to be raised but Ships provided for the defence of this Kingdome and in that the writ was performed And that the charge ought not to be in any case but where the whole Kingdome was in danger And Master Justice Hutton and Master Justice Crooke were of the same opinion with me I doe humbly submit having related unto you my whole carriage in this businesse humbly submitting myselfe to your grave and favourable consures beseeching you not to thinke that I delivered these things with the least intention to subvert or subject the common Law of the Kingdome or to bring in or to introduce any new way of government it hath beene farre from my thoughts as any thing under the heavens Master Speaker I have heard too that there hath bin some ill opinion conceived of me about Forrest businesse which was a thing far out of the way of my study as any thing I know towards the Law But it pleased his Majesty in the sicknesse of Master Noye to give some short warning to prepare my selfe for that imployment When I came there I did both the King and Common-wealth acceptable service for I did and dare be bold to say with extreame danger to my selfe and fortune some doe understand my meaning here in ran through that businesse and left the Forreâ—â— as much as was there A thing in my judgment considerable for the advantage of the Common-wealth as could be undertaken When I went downe about that imployment I satisfied my sulfe about the matter of perambulation There were great difficulty of opinions what perambulation was I did arme my sulfe as well as I could before I did any thing in it I did acquaint those that were then Judges in the presence of the noble Lords with such objections as I thought it my duty to offer unto them If they thought they were not objections of such waight as were not fit to stirre them I would not doe the King that disservice They thought the objections had such answers as might well induce the like upon a conference with the whole Country admitting me to come and conferre to with them the Country did unanimously subscribe It fell out afterwards that the King commanded me and all this before I was chiefe Justice togo into Essex and did then tell me he had beene enformed that the bounds of the Forrest were narrer then in truth ought they to be and I did according to his command I will here professe that which is knowne to many I had no thought or intention of enlarging the bounds of the Forrest further then that part about it which there was a perambulation about 26 Edward 4. I desired the Country to confer with me about it if they were pleased to doe it and then according to my duty I did produce these Records which I thought fit for his Majesties service knowing them to discharge themselves as by Law and Justice they might doe I did never in the least kind goe about to overthrow the charter of the Forest And did publish and maintaine Charta de Forestâ— as a sacred thing and no man to violate it and ought to be preserved for the King and Common-wealth I doe in this humbly submit and what I have done to the goodnesse and Justice of this House FINIS