Selected quad for the lemma: power_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
power_n	king_n	parliament_n	sovereign_a	5,223	5	9.3738	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A88219	London's liberty in chains discovered. And, published by Lieutenant Colonell John Lilburn, prisoner in the Tower of London, Octob. 1646.; London's liberty in chains discovered. Part 1	Lilburne, John, 1614?-1657.; Lilburne, Elizabeth. To the chosen and betrusted knights, citizens and burgesses, assembled in the high and supream court of Parliament.; England and Wales. Parliament.	1646 (1646)	Wing L2139; Thomason E359_17; Thomason E359_18; ESTC R9983	57,117	77

and may justly be called Simeon and Levi brethren in evill and wickednesse whose tyrannicall mystery wants an Anatomy the beginning of which this is The last reason why I publish this is because that although the fundamentall Lawes of England be rationall and just lawes and so pleasant and delightsome to the people these Prerogative-Monopolizing Patentee-men of London have done as much as in them lies to pervert them and to turn them into Wormwood and Gall And though they be the common birth-right and inheritance of every particular individuall freeman of England yea of the meanest Cobler and Tinker as well as of the greatest Gentleman or Nobleman And therefore justly doth the King call the Law The Birth-right of every subject of this Kingdome Book Declar. 312. and in pag. 328. he saith The Law is the common inheritance of his people And in pag. 385. he calls the Law The common Birth-right of his Subjects to which onely they owe all they have besides And therfore are bound in the defence of it to bee made MARTYRS for it And in pag. 28. he sath The Law is not onely the inheritance of every subject but also the onely security he hath for his life liberty or estate And the which being neglected or disesteemed under what specious shewes soever a great measure of infelicity if not an irreparable confusion must without doubt fall up them The meanest of which he saith p. 650. are born equally free and to whom the Law of the Land is an EQUALL INHERITANCE with the greatest Subject And that the wealth and strength of this Kingdome is in the number and happinesse of the people which is made up of men of all conditions and to whom in duty without Distinction he acknowledgeth he oweth an EQVALL Protection And he in pag. 140. 163. passeth a most superlative high commendation upon those golden expressions of Mr. John Pyms speech against the Earle of Strafford and published in print by a speciall order of the House of Commons which are That the Law is the SAFEGVARD the CVSTODY of all private interests Your honours your lives your liberties and estates are all in the keeping of the Law And without this every man hath alike right to any thing And therefore saith he the Law is that which puts a difference betwixt good and evill betwixt just and unjust If you take away the Law all things will fall into a confusion every man will become a law unto himself which in the depraved condition of humane nature must needs produce many great enormities Lust will become a law and envy will become a law covetousnesse and ambition will become lawes and what dictates what divisions such lawes will produce may easily be discerned And in this very language doth the Parliament speak in their declarations Book Declar. pag. 6. where they speak with a great deal of vehemency and bitternesse against the bold and presumptuous injustice of such Ministers of Justice as before this Parliament made nothing to breake the lawes and suppresse the liberties of the Kingdom after they by the Petition of Right c. had been so solemnly evidently declared Yet they obstructed amongst abūdance of other grievous crimes there enumerated the ordinary course of Justice which they there pag. 7. call the COMMON BIRTH-RIGHT of the Subjects of England And in pag. 38. they speaking of the Kings dealing with the five accused Members who by his Majesties Warrant had their Chambers Studies and Trunkes sealed up Which action they say is not only against the priviledge of Parliament but the common liberty of every Subject And in the same page they say His Majesty did issue forth severall warrants to divers Officers under his own hand for the apprehension of the persons of the said members which by Law he cannot do there being not all this time any legall charge or accusation or due PROCESSE of law issued against them nor any pretence of charge made known to that House whereof they were Members All which are against the fundamentall lawes and liberties of the Subject c. And in pag. 458 459. they declare That in all their endeavours since this Parliament began they have laboured the regaining of the ancient though of late yeares much invaded rights lawes and liberties of England being the Birth-right of the Subjects thereof And therefore pag. 660. they own it as their duty to use their best endeavours That the meanest of the Commonalty may enjoy their own Birth-rights freedome and liberty of the law of the land being equally as they affirm intitled thereunto with the greatest Subject And in pag. 845. they declare that to be assaulted or seised on without due Processe or Warrant is against the legall priviledge of every private man but the Prerogative-Monopolizing arbitrary-men of London as though they had an absolute deity-Deity-power in themselves and were to be ruled and governed by nothing but the law of their own will And as though they were more absolute and soveraigne in power then either the King or Parliament divided or conjoyned dis-franchising the greatest part of the Commons of London of their Liberties Trade and Freedomes at their pleasure which is granted unto them not onely by God and the great Charter of Nature and Principles of Reason but also by the Fundamentall Lawes and Constitutions of this Kingdome by which lawes and by no other is London as well as the rest of England to be governed And therefore Arbitrary Irrationall and Illegall it is for them or any of their brother-hoods Monopolizing Corporations and Companies by the authoirty of any pretended Royall Patent Proclamation or Commission whatsoever to assume unto themselves a power to destroy annihilate and make voyd the Fundamentall lawes of the Land which yet notwithstanding they daily doe And sure I am by the Petition of Right the King of himself can neither make an oath nor impose 6 pence upon any of his people nor imprison nor punish any of them but by the Law by the Statutes of Magna Charta chap. 29. 2. E. 2.8 5. E. 3.8.9 The King shall neither by the great Seal nor little Seale disturb delay nor deferre judgment or common right And though such commandements doe come the Justices shall not therefore leave to do right in any point But yet notwithstanding they meerly by their illegall prerogative both frame oathes absolutely-destructive to the publick law of the kingdome impose arbitrary fines and illegall levies and payments of moneys and act illegall imprisonments and punishments yea and at their pleasure seise upon the goods of free-men All which is constantly practised in their Patentee-Monopolizing Companies Corporations and Fraternities So that to speak properly really and truly their Brotherhoods are so many conspiracies to destroy and overthrow the lawes and liberties of England and to ingrosse inhance and destroy the trades and Franchises of most of the Freemen of London But if it should be objected That these things are the ancient

to get me my liberty For then all my friends and acquaintance would conclude that the Lords had set his Masters and him on to murder me as the Earle of Northampton and the Earle of Sommerset set Sir Gervis Elvis the Lieutenant of the Tower and Weston his servant to murder Sir Thomas Overbury in his imprisonment in the Tower of London for which act they were both deservedly and justly hanged which might hazard at the least either the pulling down or breaking open the prison to see what was become of me Therefore I wished him to be advised what he did for I assured him I would improve all the interest I had in the world to effect it For before I will be murdered I would sell my life at as deare a rate as it was possible for me to sell it at And at another time I turned him to the Parliaments Declaration 2 N. 1642. Book Declar. pag. 722.723 Where speaking of the difference betwixt the King and themselves in answer to something said by him about the interpretation of the Statute of 25. E. 3. that they would take away his power from him they demand a question How that doth appeare And they answer Because we say it is treason to destroy the Kingdome of England as well as the King of England and because we say that the King of England hath not a power to destroy the lawes and people of England And what is that interpretation of that Statute that no learned Lawyer will set his hand to That treason may be committed against the Kings Authority though not directed against his Person Doe there want say they presidents or Book-cases to make this good Or is it not that they cannot see wood for trees that look after presidents to prove this which at length is acknowledged in his Majesties Proclamation of the 18. of June Is it then that interpretation of the Statute that the raising of force in the maintenance of his Majesties Authority and of the Lawes against those that would destroy both it and them is no treason though such acts of traitors and rebels should be in pursuance of his Majesties personall commands and accompanied with his Presence And have we cited no presidents to this purpose What are those then of Alexander Archbishop of Yorke Robert de Veere Duke of Ireland and the rest in the time of Richard the second which we caused to be published whose levying of Forces against the authoriy of the Parliament and to put to death divers principall members of both Houses by the Kings expresse command which he promised to accompany with his presence was by two Acts of Parliament judged Treason And the Act of such levied forces to suppresse them was judged good service to the Common-wealth These presidents are said to be grounded upon repealed Statutes and wee have indeed heard it said so twice but wee never heard the Statute that repealed them cited once And whether the Parliament of the eleventh of Richard the second was a more forced Parliament then that of the twenty first of Richard the second which repealed the Acts thereof And whether that of the first of Henry the fourth which repealed that of the twenty first of Richard the second and all the acts thereof and revived that of the eleventh of Richard the second and all acts made therein was ever yet repealed And consequently whether those two acts of the eleventh of Richard the second and the first of Hen the fourth doe not still stand in force None that are acquainted with the Records and History of that time can deny or so much as doubt But doe we need Presidents in this case Is it not a known Rule in Law That the Kings illegall commands though accompanied with his presence doe not excuse those that obey him And how then say they shall it excuse Rebels and Traytors and how shall it hinder the Kings Courts and Ministers to proceed against them judicially if they submit or by force if they make opposition with force If the King might controll all the Courts in Westminster Hall and the High Court of Parliament it selfe and make it good by force what were become of the known legall government of this Kingdome or what a Jewell had we of the Law or what benefit of being Governed according to Law if all Lawes might by force be overthrown and by force might not be upheld and maintained Now Mr. Brisco said I if the Kings commands and power cannot overthrow the Law much lesse can the Lords commands who are farre inferiour in power unto him their absolute earthly Creator and Master from whom they have derived all that they have and therefore cannot be above him For it is a maxime in Nature and Reason That there is no Being beyond the power of Being And another Maxime it is That every like begets its like but not more And therefore impossible it is that their power should be above the power of their begetter or Improver the King Again Mr. Brisco said I if here by the confession of the Lords themselves for they joyned in the making of this very Declaration it be a known Rule in Law That the Kings illegall commands though accompanied with his presence doe not excuse those that obey him then much lesse are you your Master Wollaston nor his Masters the Sheriffes of London excusable for executing the Lords illegall and barbarous Warrants and Orders upon me which they doe not accompany with their presence to see put in execution Therefore Mr. Brisco assure your selfe that if I live I will turn all the stones in England that possibly I can turne but I will have justice satisfaction and reparations from you and all your masters for executing the Lords illegall Orders and Commands upon me At which hee told me he and his Masters were Officers and must execute the commands the Lords gave them without the disputing the illegality of them Wel then said I by the same Rule if the Lords who have no legall authority over me send you a Warrant to hang strangle or stab me or cut off my head in prison although I have had no legall triall according to the Law of the Land you will put it in execution And as well said I may you doe that as to doe to me as you have done and besides I know no Ground they had to receive mee a prisoner upon the Lords Warrant at all especially considering according to Magna Charta the Petition of Right c. none of their Warrants of commitments of me have either legall beginning or legall conclusions And excellent to this purpose are those Golden expressions of the most worthy Lawyer Sir Edward Cook in his exposition of the 29. chap. of Magna Charta in his 2. Part. Instit fol. 52. Where expounding what is meant by per legem terrae that is the law of the land having spoken of divers things he comes to speak of Commitments and saith Now seeing no man