Selected quad for the lemma: nation_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
nation_n	england_n	law_n	statute_n	1,497	5	9.0809	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A41261	Fiat justitia & ruat cœlum, or, Somewhat offer'd in defence of the imperial crown of England and its successor in answer to a speech pretended to be spoken in the honourable House of Commons, upon the reading the bill against the D. / by a true Englishman.	True Englishman.	1679 (1679)	Wing F845; ESTC R35675	8,199	6

World your Proselytes Now to perform this mighty task thus I begin First I grant that there is a great evil that will ensue upon it but not half so great as the good that may come by it and therefore as long as 't is no otherwise it will be allowed by the whole Nation and they 'll easily forget a trifling ill of taking the Sight of a private Prince from him or so when they see it is a so far greater good that is consequent thereupon And that it is so is very plain for we shall secure our Estates and that by onely taking away the Duke's i.e. killing him for to take away his Estate according to this Gentleman is to kill him and worse admitting that he is an English-man But it may be this Demonstrator fancies him no English-man since he went into Flanders but that he has alter'd his Nature with his Religion Truly that would be an excellent Demonstration if he could make it But I find he is a very young Demonstrator for if you observe his Demonstration goes off in a bare opinion and does not at all compel our assent But if he cannot demonstrate so well yet he can put Cases like Littleton Thus if the King be a Lunatick in an Elective Monarchy and cannot do the Kingdom any good the Subjects may choose another as in the case of Portugal therefore by parity of reason if a King's Heir be so mad as o be of any Perswasion different from the People in an Hereditary Government as in England the People may choose another Heir to serve the Kingdom for that is the main reason why he must be turn'd out to wit because he cannot serve the Nation A Very fine expression for one that speaks for the King and like a Lawyer too Now as to the point of Law it seems very strange that it should be Rebellion to rise up against the King and yet no offence to dis-inherit him It was indeed Enacted in the 13th of the Queen That whosoever should affirm that the Laws and Statutes did not bind the Right of the Crown and the Descent Limitation Inheritance or Governance thereof should be guilty of High Treason and not onely of a Praemunire as this Rhetorical Lawyer in his merciful Ignorance lessens the guilt But the Act is expired and no other since made that I hear of if there were I know of no man that would be so sottishly mad as to offend against it for it is not the question now whether the King and Parliament can politically but whether they can Morally do what this Gentleman proposes without any violence to Justice and Religion The 35th of H. 8. limits the Crown to Edward Mary Elizabeth and their Lawful Heirs because they were of Inheritable Blood and for lack of such Issue that then the King H. 8. might dispose of it by Will or Letters Patents for the avoiding I humbly conceive of strife that might arise among those that should afterwards pretend any Right but it was never designed by him or any other that a Lawful Heir should be excluded from succeeding nor is there any reason in it let who will go about to demonstrate opine or say it That Heathen I am sure would have made a better Christian as he was a better Lawyer than our Orator who more agreeably to the intent of all Laws said Fiat justitia ruat Coelum A SPEECH in the House of COMMONS Upon Reading the Bill against the D. WE have now the weightiest matter under our Consideration that ever came before us therefore we ought with the highest Zeal to speak our minds boldly for the King and Kingdom for as the matter is of no less importance than to secure our Religion to Posterity so much the rather should we apply our selves to manifest that we will not be discouraged by any séeming opposition whatsoever But as the Lord Chancellor lately told us This is the Time so I must repeat it That it is indeed the Time that is to say the Moment which if we should suffer to slip from us it may never be in our power to regain and then our Children may be bound to Curse us for I must tell you That it will be utterly impossible ever to secure the Protestant Religion under a Popish Successor unless you do totally disable him to inherit these Protestant Countries and the Tyranny of the Sée of Rome will infallibly steal upon us For to think to restrain a King under the power of a Penal Law thereby to secure Religion is no more than to bind Sampson with Cords who as soon as 't is said The Philistins are upon thee will break them all in pieces and carry the Gates away with him and leave you open to the invasion of the Enemy nothing therefore can be able to secure us but to clip his Locks For if the Papists do at this time design to subbert our Religion under a Protestant Prince how much more will they design against us under a Popish Successor What will not the Priests and Iesuits undertake to procure our Destruction when they shall have the favour of the Prince and are secured that the Laws and Statutes made against them shall not be put in Execution for 't is Coleman's Maxim That if the Popish Religion stood upon an equal foot with the Protestant the Popish Religion would get the better as they would manage it and then our Estates could never be secure no nor our very Lives and Protestants would be discouraged and hardly dare to speak their minds and Massacres may be as frequent and as great here as they were formerly at Paris So that 't is clear we can never restrain him The Lord Chancellor in his Spéech tells you That when His Majesty shall happen to dye we shall have a convenient time to settle Religion and the Nation Let me ask you Must we act with the Successor or without him if we act with him he will never consent to any thing we shall do against him if without him we act as a Commonwealth and that he will never suffer but perhaps will send his Guards and turn us out of Doors and what will become of us then One Reason laid down to us likewise is That it is impossible for a Successor to raise Money but by Consent of Parliament that point may be easily answered by us There are many small Burroughs and Towns who choose us where there are but few Voices how easie is it to purchase those Votes by Money if he should lay out Ten or Twenty thousand pound for the purchase they would soon give it him again and then the whole Nation will be ruin'd without Redemption The Spéech of the Lord Chancellor is only a Fig-leaf to cover our Nakedness or rather Leaf-Gold to flatter us or like a Mother who having a froward Child and upon necessity must do something to pacifie it she gives it any thing she hath but lets it kéep it no longer than she pleases Now I have shewn you the necessity of this Bill let us next consider that the good which will come by it is far greater than the evil that can ensue upon it which I will thus demonstrate If we give way to a Popish Successor we give away Religion and have Popish Tyranny for a recompence And then consequently our Estates will be taken away and for an English man to lose his Estate is worse than to lose his Life since he must continue in perpetual Bondage and be worse than a Captive slave and shall be Priest-ridden every day therefore in my opinion it is far better for us to resolve to maintain our Religion and to secure our selves by opposing any violence that shall be offered to us from abroad than to be in danger of having our Throats cut every moment by those that shall be amongst us Now let us consider whether this may be effected by Law or out of necessity I will put the Case That if a Prince be born to a Kingdom who is either Lunatick or otherwise disabled to do the Kingdom any good shall not the Subjects in this Case procéed to choose another who may preserve the Kingdom when otherwise i● must of necessity perish as lately in the Case of Portugal they chose another to succéed because of the disability of the former And shall not we then disable the Duke who cannot possibly do the Nation any service his Principles being so contrary and destructive to the Laws Statutes and Constitutions of this Government as nothing but ruine can ensue thereby Now as to the Point of Law I must say that as for a private person to rise against his Prince is Rebellion so on the contrary when there is an Act of Parliament to disable him and that upon such good grounds and reasons as we have heard read against him this day we shall be justified by all the World in opposing his Claim and we have had Presidents of this kind heretofore And it was enacted in Quéen Elizabeths time That those who durst any way dispute that the King and Parliament could not appoint a Successor should be guilty of a Praemunire FINIS