Selected quad for the lemma: justice_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
justice_n	king_n	law_n	lord_n	10,591	5	4.0028	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A91957	The case of Major Edmond Rolph, truely stated.	Rolph, Edmund.	1648 (1648)	Wing R1890; Thomason 669.f.13[8]; ESTC R210880	5,260	1

preserved Being thus cruelly hurried to the Gatehouse I was as tyrannically used there having a sentence of close imprisonment passed upon me by reason of which my Wife Friends and Chirurgions was kept from me to the hazard of my utter ruine where had not the Honorable House of Commons timely interposed I had certainly perished Two moneths I have remained a prisoner without either legall Warrant legall crime or legall accuser And now in order to the further prosecution of their design not only to ruine me but also to blast the repute of the Army and all other wel-affected persons they have framed an Indictment upon the said scandalous informations and have ordered the same to be transmitted to the next Assizes held for the County of Southampton Now to the end that you may not be left unsatisfied touching the absolute illegality of my imprisonment and the invalidity of the Charge I shall offer unto your view these following Considerations grounded upon the Laws and Customs of this Realm 1. If a suggestion be made to the King or his Councel of any crime committed the party ought to be sent with his suggestion to the Lord Chancellor or to the Iustices of the one Bench or the other there to find sureties to prosecute his suggestion as appears in the Statute of the 38 of Edward the third chap. 9. And forasmuch as by the great Charter the Petition of right c. It is enacted That no Freeman shall be taken or imprisoned or be diseised of his freehold or liberties c. or be any other way destroyed c. but by the lawful judgment of his Peers or by the Law of the Land viz. by Indictment or Presentment before Iustices or matter of Record or Writ original according to the old Law of the Land Sir Ed. Cook in his Exposition on the 29 chapter of Magna Charta tells us That by the Law of the Land a man can be taken and imprisoned before Prosentment or Indictment but two ways first either by the Kings Writ or secondly by due proceeding and Warant either in deed or in Law without Writ which Writ must proceed from some Court of Record and the Warrant from some lawful Iudg or Iustice of the Peace or else it cannot be legal And if this be the Law of the Land as cannot be denyed then sure I am that there hath not been one legal step in all the proceedings against me For first my Accusers were never sent to any legal Iudg or Iustice to be examined or constrained to put in security as by Law is directed neither was there ever any legal Writ from any Court of Record or legal Warrant from any lawful Iudg or Iustice issued out for my Attachment or Imprisonment neither was I to this day though I have been a Prisoner two moneths ever so much as sent for or examined or had any particular crime layd to my charge being only committed for high Treason during pleasure contrary to all Law and particularly contrary to the Declarations of Parliament who have declared it to be against the rules of Iustice for any man to be imprisoned upon a general Charge when no particulars are proved against him Generals being no Crimes in Law Besides I stand committed during their pleasure when by Law all commitments ought to be in order to a tryal at Law But leaving this I shall proceed to examine the matters laid to my charge viz. That I should say that to my knowledge the Governour had received Letters intimating that the Army desired the King should be removed out of the way by Poyson or otherwise c. To this Master Osbourn offereth to depose and Master Dowcet saith that I did in a jeering manner aske him why the King came not down according to appointment and that I should likewise say That I stood under the new Platform with a Pistol ready to receive him And this the Lords contrary to Law have adjudged Treason although it be enacted in the Stattute of the 25. of Ed. 3. that in no time to come any thing be adjudged Treason but what is litterally contained in the said Statute Now all offences which are contained in that Statute may be divided into six heads The first concerning death which is either the compassing or imagining the death of the King Queen or Prince and declaring it by some overt deed or a killing or murthering some Officer of Justice in their places doing their offices as the Chancellor Treasurer Justices of the one Bench or the other Justices in Oyer c. The second kind of Treason is the carnal knowing of the Queen the Kings eldest Daughter or Princes wife The third is levying War against the King The fourth is adhereing to the Kings Enemies within or without the Realm and declaring it by some overt act The fifth is the counterfeiting the great Seal the privy Seal or Kings Coyn. The sixt is bringing in counterfeit money to the likenes of the Kings Coine now without an offence be under one of these heads it is no High Treason And certain I am there is none of these crimes laid to my charge neither is there any proofe offered of any such thing against me For first Osbourne doth not charge me with any design to poyson the King but that I should report that the Governor had Letters intimating that the Army desired it So that herein if what he had pretended were true as it is false and scandalous I did neither compass nor imagine the death of the King as having done no overt deed tending to that end and therefore cannot in the least be adjudged guilty of Treason by vertue of any Law of the Kingdom and where there is no Law there is no transgression 2. If what M. Osbourne did give in charge were Treason yet M. Osbournes single Testimony were no sufficient evidence whereby I can be concluded guilty Since by Law there must be two lawful witnesses sworn to prove each particular as appears by the 5. and 6. of Ed. 6. Chap. 11. The words of the Statute are these No person or persons after the first day of June next comming shall be Indicted arraigned condemned convicted or attainted for any of the Treasons or Offences aforesaid or for any other Treasons that now be or hereafter shall be perpetrated committed or done unless the same offender or offenders be thereof accused by two lawful accusers face to face c. Now it is cleerly evident that there is not one lawful accuser that appears against me for if those things which they lay to my charge were Treason and I really guilty yet they knowing thereof and concealing the same for some moneths hath made them equally guilty It being Treason by the Law for a person or persons to conceal a Treason as appears in the Statute of the 1. of Ed. 6. Chap. 12. and 5. 6. of Ed. 6. Chap. 11. So that they being persons concluded under the same guilt cannot in the least be taken as legal witnesses for if that were allowable no man could be secure for if the single evidence of a guilty person should be valid in Law to conclude innocent men guilty what man might not a malicious desperate villain destroy by an envious accusation therefore the Law requires legal accusers as providing against this evil And for what M. Dowcet seems to affirm is of the same nature with that of M. Osbournes namely of words spoken and not of deeds done and comes not in the least under the guilt of Treason if it were true but it will be sufficiently proved that there is no truth in it The Premises considered and Circumstances duly weighed I hope all men will cease to judg before the time especially those who shall be called judicially to consider of the premises as knowing that it is against the Law of God Nature or Nations yea Conscience it self for any man to pass a Censure Sentence or Judgment without good and cleer grounds for the same especially when by such an unconsiderate act the life of the innocent may be destroyed Gatehouse August 23. 1648. Edmond Rolph