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A89176 A mis-led King, and a memorable Parliament. 1643 (1643) Wing M2251; Thomason E90_1; ESTC R16635 15,308 17

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A mis-le● King and a memorable PARLIAMENT THis present occasion so opportunely befitting me I am resolved to treat of that which hath been omitted and slipped out of memory long since concerning divers and sundry changes and alterations in England in former times Nor will it be any wayes burthensome to write of that whereby every good and carefull Reader may learne to avoid diversities of miseries and the danger and feare of cruell death I will therefore speake of that which hath laine hid in the darksome shade of forgetfulnesse concerning men who have been led away by the deceitfull path o● Covetousnesse and have come to a most shamefull and ignominious death a famous example to deterre all men from practising those or the like courses ABout the yeare of Christ 1386. at such time as Richard the second of that name then in prime of his youth swayed the Imperiall S●●●●er of our Realme there flourished famous in his Court certaine Peeres though some of them not of any honourable descent yet favoured by fortunes by name Alexander Ne●il Archbishop of Yorke Robert Vee●e D. of Ireland Michael de la Poole Earle of Suffolke then Lord Chancellour Robert Tressilian Lord chiefe Justice of England and Nicholas Brambre sometimes Major of London These men being raised from mean estates by the speciall favour of the King and advanced to the degree of privie Counsellours were the men who had the only rule of the Common-wealth which they under the King governed for some small space with carefull diligence meriting thereby deserved commendations But not long did they thus steere the Ship of the Kingdome for many of them being of inferiour ranke by birth not having their veines dignified with the streames of noble blood they were the sooner enticed with the fibidinous baits of voluptuousnesse and infected with insatiable itch of avarice insomuch that despising the authority of the King and neglecting the commodity of the Realme but onely desiring to keep up the Revenues of the Kingdome so wrought that by their policie the King is impoverished the Treasury exhausted the Commons murmure at the multiplicity of Tenths Levies and Subsidies the Peeres repine to see themselves disgraced and their inferiours honored and in a word the whole Kingdome endures an universall misery The Nobility seeing the miserable estate wherein the Kingdome lay blee●ing as it were to death urged their King to summon a Parliament which was done shortly after In which amongst many other Acts the afore-named Michael de la Poole is dismist of his Chancellorship and being accused of divers and many points of injustice as Bribery Extortion and the like he was soon cast into the Castle of Windsor and all his lands which were of no small Revenue were consiseated to the King Neither did the Parliament here give over but provided further for the whole State by the mutuall consent of the King and Prelates Barons and Commons with an unanimous conjunction they constitute and give plenary and absolute power to certaine Commissioners as well of the Spiritualty as Temporalty for the ordering and disposing of the publique affaires according as shall seem best and most necessary for the desperate estate of the Common-wealth to depresse civill dissentions and to pacisie and appease the grudgings of the people Of the Spiritualty were chosen the Archbishop of Canterbury the aforenamed Bishop of York the Bishop of Ely lately made Chancelor of England the Bishop of Winchester Bishop of Hereford Lord Treasurer Bishop of Exeter Abbot of Waltham and the Lord Iohn of Waltham Of the Laity were elected the Duke of York the Earle of Arundel the Lord Goltham the Lord Scroop and Iohn Devoureux Knight these as men eminent in vertue were chosen by the generall Suffrage and sworn to carry themselves as dutifull and obedient subjects in all their actions And it was further enacted That if any should refuse or disobey the Ordinances so made for publick good the punishment of his first offence should be the cosiscation of his goods and for the second the losse of life Thus disposing of all things for the best the Parliament being dissolved euery man returned to his owne house Soon after the afore-named Chancelor with others of their consederates being moved with implacable fury against the Statute of the late Parliament they buzzed into the Kings eares that the Statutes lately enacted were very prejudiciall to the honour of his Crowne and much derogatory to his Princely Prerogative insomuch that he should not have power without the consent of the new-appointed Commissioners to doe any thing befitting a King no not so much as to bestow a largesse a principall meanes to gain the peoples love upon any though never so well deserving By these and other the like impious instigations with which the Divel as never unmindful of the end of those who by their lives do prove themselves did continually supply them they practised to annihilate and disanull these Acts of the Parliament which seemed any wayes to abbreviate or curb their usurped authority And first by their serpentine tongues ambitious projects flattery painted out with glosing discourses and covered over with the shadow of vigilan●●● for the good of the Kingdome they so be witched the noble inclination of the youthfull King whom they induced to beleeve that all the ill they did was a generall good that he began to distalte and at last to abhorte the last passed Acts as treacherous plots and most wicked devices Next they studied how to ingrosse all or the most part of the wealth and riches of the Kingdome into their own coffers and to the same end dealt so cunningly yet pleasingly with the King that hee gave to the D. of Ireland Iohn of Bloys the heir of the Dutchy of Britaine and his ransome to others Townes to others Cities to others Lands to others Money amounting to the summe of 100000 Markes to the great impoverishment both of King and Kingdome neither did these King-eaters and Realm-devourers any thing regard it but setting unskilfull and insufficient Captaines and Governours over Townes and Forts so obtained gave occasion to the enemies of the Crowne to surprise them and dispossesse the King of them Thirdly vilifying the dignity of the King contrary to their allegeance they drew the King to sweare that with all his power during his life hee should maintain and desend them from all their enemies whether forraigne or domestick Fourthly whereas it was enacted by the last Parliament that the King at certain seasonable times and when his leasure would permit him should sit at Westminster with his Councell there to consult of the publique affaires through the perswasions of the aforesaid Conspirators hee was drawne into the most remotest parts of the Realme to the great disparagement of the fidelity of those honorable grave and faithfull Peeres late made joynt Commissioners in whose hands the whole safety and prosperity of the Common-wealth did recide And when as the Lord Chancelour the
keep the passages undiscovered upon pain of death and so they had licence to depart And that which is worse they caused the King to sweare That in his proper person with his whole power he should take revenge of the Duke of Glocester of the two Earles and their adherents by causing them to bee put to death But God inspired into the hearts of the aforesaid Duke of Glocester the Earles of Arundel and Warwicke the spirit of valour and magnanimity who seeing the heap of ills that daily did arise by the practices of those cospirators they set almost in every part of the Kingdome intelligencers who should apprehend all Messengers and intercept all letters of the Kings or that went under the Kings name and should send them to the Commissioners And thus did they come to have intelligence of the whole plot of the conspirators all their Letters being indorced with Glory bee to God on high on earth peace and good will towards men and by comming to the knowledge of each circumstance they found that the Kingdome was at the point of destruction according to that Evangelicall saying Every Kingdome divided against it selfe shall be dissolved Wherefore they sought for a remedy every man according to his ability levied a power for the preservation of the King and Kingdome all which forces being united amounting to the number of 20000. fighting men and couragiously resolving to frustrate all the intended designes of the conspirators and to open the nut by cracking the shell they divided their Army committing part of it to the Earle of Arundel who by night marched away with his Forces and pitched his tents neer to London there fortifying himself in the Forrest adjoyning till such time as he had gained more convenient time and greater force by the comming of his consorts On the other side the conspirators intending to prevent their purposes by power of a certaine Spirituall Commission and by vertue of certaine Letters Patents in the hands of the Conspirators though nothing to the purpose yet to blind the people they caused to be proclaimed throughout the whole Citie of London that none upon paine of the forfeiture of all their goods should neither sell give or communicate privatly or publickly victual armour or any other necessaries to the Army of the Earle of Arundel but should barre them of sustentation comfort or help as Rebels to the King and countrey But on the other side they began to feare when they were denied their hoped-for aid by the Major and Communalty of the Citie of London And againe they were troubled at the rising of the Commoners to invade them Wherefore they counselled the King to absent himsent from the Parliament which was to begin at Candlemas next according as the King and Commissioners had appointed it and not consult of the affaires of the Kingdome nor of his owne Estate commodity or discommodity unlesse the Duke of Glocester the two Earles of Arundel and Warwicke with the rest of the Commissioners would sweare That neither they nor any in their name should accuse them or urge any accusation against them Not long after it happened that the King with the aforesaid five Conspirators came from his Mannor at Sheeve to Westminster to Saint Edmonds Tombe for the solemnizing of a Pilgrimage The Major and Aldermen of the Citie of London met him on horseback sumptuously attired honoring him very much And when they came to the Mewes they descended from their horses and went bare-foot to the Tombe of S. Edmond where as the Chaplaine of the Commissioners with the Abbot and Covent met them with a stately Procession In the mean time the three Noble-men viz. the Duke of Glocester and the Earles of Arundel and Warwicke having mustered their Troopes on the fourteenth of November in the same yeare at Waltham Crosse in the County of Hertford and from thence sent for the Commissioners that were there at Westminster in Parliament with the King sending an accusation in writing to the King against the aforesaid Conspirators viz. the Archbishop of Yorke Duke of Ireland Earle of Suffolke Robert Trisilian and Nicholas Brambre wherein they accused them of high treason which their appellation they did offer to maintain and that they were willing to prosecute the same and to prove it to be true they caused also the rest of the Commissioners to subscribe as parties to their appellation When these things came to the eares of the King he sent unto them requiring to know what their request was and what they wished to have been done They returned answer thus That they did desire that the Traytors which were alwayes about him filling his eares with false reports and did daily commit insufferable crimes and injuries might be rewarded with condigne punishment And likewise craved that they might have safe liberty of going and comming to his grace When the King heard their request he gave them is Royall consent and commanded them to appeare at Westminster and the King sitting on his Throne in the great Hall the three aforesaid Peeres Appellants with a great troop of Gentlemen entred making three lowly obeysances on their bended knees they reverenced the King and drawing neere the cause of their comming being alledged they there againe appealed the Archbishop Duke of Ireland Earle Treasurer and Brambre of hightreason according as they had done before at Waltham Crosse but they betaking themselves to the private corners of the Palace even as Adam and Eve from the presence of God not having the heart to appeare to justifie themselves The King called forth the Appellants to prove and prosecute the Appellation prescribing them a day and place for the triall which was to be on the day after Candlemas day and in the mean time the King commanded them upon their Honours not any party to molest the other untill the next Parliament The Duke of Ireland under the guide of his grand Captaine the Divell marching into Cheshire Lancashire and Wales raised a new power amounting to the number of 6000 fighting men from thence marched towards London with his Army with a furious intent and resolution to performe his bloody designe And whilst these plots were laid the Appellants being suddenly advertised thereof raised a great power and joyning with them the Earle of Derby and the Earle of Nottingham and other Commissioners marched with long and wearied marches into a field neere a village called Whitney at a place called Lockeford Bridge In which field the Duke of Ireland was with his Army having a river on the one side of them whereas they stood ready prepared to give an overthrow to the Appellants and displaying the Kings Standard contrary to the Lawes of the land When they saw the Army of the Appellants march down from the mountaines like a Hive of Bees and with such a violent fury fear benummed them and they were so amazed that when they should give the assault God not suffering the effusion of blood they stood