Selected quad for the lemma: state_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
state_n	council_n	king_n	privy_a	1,162	5	9.8102	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A63117	Free thoughts concerning officers in the House of Commons	Trenchard, John, 1662-1723.; Trenchard, John, 1662-1723. Short history of standing armies in England.	1698 (1698)	Wing T2112A; ESTC T40180	4,169	4

King had but twenty more Places in his disposal or dispos'd of those he had to the best advantage the Liberty of England had bin at an end I wou'd not be understood quite to exclude Parliament-men from having Places for a Man may serve his Country in two Capacities but I would not have it to be a Qualification for a Place because a poor Borough thinks a Man fit to represent them that therefore he must be a Statesman a Lawyer a Soldier an Admiral and what not If this Method shou'd be taken in a future Reign the People must not expect to see Men of Ability or Integrity in Places while they hold them by no other tenure than the Disservice they do their Country in the House of Commons and are sure to be turn'd out by every prevalent Faction on the other side They must then never expect to see the House of Commons act vigorously for the Interest either of King or People but some will servilely comply with the Court to keep their Places others will oppose it as unreasonably to get them and those Gentlemen whose Designs are for their Country's Interest will grow weary of the best Form of Government in the World thinking by mistake the Fault is in our Constitution I have heard of a Country where the Disputes about Offices to the value of Thirty Thousand Pounds per annum have made Six Millions ineffectual what by some Mens prostitute compliance and others openly clogging the Wheels it has caus'd Want and Necessity in all kinds of Men but themselves Bribery Treachery Profaneness Atheism Prodigality Luxury and all the Vices that attend a remiss and corrupt Administration and an universal neglect of the Publick It is natural to run from one extreme to another and this Policy will at last turn upon any Court that uses it for if they shou'd be resolv'd to give all Offices to Parliament-men the People will think themselves under a necessity to obtain a Law that they shall give none which has been more than once attempted in our own time Indeed tho there may be no great Inconvenience in suffering a few Men that have Places to be in that House such as come into them naturally without any indirect Means yet it must be fatal to us to have many for all wise Governments endeavour as much as possible to keep the Legislative and Executive Parts asunder that the former may be a check upon the latter Our Government trusts the King with no part of the Legislative but a Negative Voice which is absolutely necessary to preserve the Executive One part of the Duty of the House of Commons is to punish Offenders and redress the Grievances occasion'd by the Executive Part of the Government and how can that be done if they shou'd happen to be the same Persons But in my Opinion in another thing of no less Importance we have deviated from our Constitution for tho we were in a Capacity of punishing Offenders yet we do not know legally who they are The Law has been always very tender of the Person of the King and therefore has dispos'd the Executive Part of the Government in such proper Channels that whatever Errors are committed they are not imputed to him but his Ministers are accountable for them His Great Seal is kept by his Chancellor his Revenue by his Treasurer his Laws are executed by his Judges his Fleet is manag'd by his Lord High Admiral who are all accountable for their Misbehaviour And formerly all Matters of State and Discretion were debated and resolv'd in the Privy Council where every Man's Opinion might be known and he was answerable for it The late King Charles broke this most excellent part of our Constitution by settling a Cabal or cabinet-Cabinet-Council where all Matters of Consequence were debated and resolv'd and then brought to the Privy Council to be confirm'd The first footsteps we have of this Council in any Christian Government were in Charles the Ninth's time of France when resolving to massacre the Protestants he durst not trust his Council with it but chose a few Men whom he call'd his Cabinet-Council and considering what a Genealogy it had 'tis no wonder it has been so fatal both to King and People To the King for whereas our Constitution has provided Ministers in the several Parts of the Government to answer for Miscarriages and to skreen him from the Hatred of the People this on the contrary protects the Ministers and exposes the King to all the Complaints of his Subjects And 'tis as dangerous to the People for whatever Miscarriages there are no body can be punish'd for them for they justify themselves by a private Direction from the King and then we have run it so far that we can't follow it The Consequence of this must be continual Heart-burnings between King and People and no one can see the Event FINIS