Selected quad for the lemma: war_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
war_n	great_a	king_n	scot_n	2,247	5	9.2324	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A96507	Truths triumph, or Treachery anatomized, being an impartiall discovery of the false, and treacherous information of M. Masterson, pretended minister of Christ at Shoreditch, against L.C.J. Lilburne, and I. Wildman, at the Lords Barre, January 18. 1647. concerning a meeting of severall honest men, in East Smithfield, Ian. 17. &c. In relation to which information, the said L.C. Lilburne stands committed to the Tower, and J. Wildman to the Fleet. With a true narrative of all the passages and discourses that passed at the said meeting, / as it was delivered at the Bar of the House of Commons, by J. Wildman, Ian. 19. 1647. Iohn VVildman.	Wildman, John, Sir, 1621?-1693.	1648 (1648)	Wing W2173; Thomason E520_33; ESTC R206186	24,304	20

made of the 1. of H. 4. c. 10. whereby that uncertain proviso was repealed and it was inacted that in times to come nothing should be esteemed treason but what was litterally contained in the Statute of 25. E. 3. c. 2. And in the 1. of Ma. S● 1. this was confirmed that nothing should be adiudged high Treason pettie Treason 〈◊〉 Misprision of Treason but what was declared and expressed in the 25. of Ed. 3. c. 2. This wo● expressed saith Cook 3. part instit p. 24. excludedeth all implications or inferences whatsoever See Cooks 3. part instit p. 9. Now nihill relictum est arbitrio iudicis neque parliamenti there is no constructive nor i●terpretative treason by arguments a minori ad maius or a simili either from the like fact 〈◊〉 from the lesser to the greater Neither is there any intentionall treason saving against th● Kings life If persons should conspire to levie Warre it were no treason for by the Statu● there must be levying warre in facto actually before it be treason Now in my humble opinion the King by consequence or influence cannot iustly decla● the act of any man to be treason according to this statute unlesse it be contained in the expresse letter thereof and I humbly offer these reasons 1. This Statute is a declarative Law and should it be taken by equity or construction th● implyes a contradiction 2. This is a penall law and such can admit of no construction or i●ferences Penalties are to perswade to the keeping of known lawes not of Lawes coniectura● ambiguous and to be taken by consequence which perhaps the most learned Lawyers may n● imagine to be intended by them and much lesse the people Doubtlesse they are to concer● that in case they obey the statutes according to the Letter they are not lyable to any penal● And J find that the Parliameut in the 13. of Eliz. did exactly observe this law that nothing should by vertue of the statute be interpretative treason They might have very plausibly have impeached those of treason which brought the Popes Buls from Rome to stir up the people to mutiny and rebellion and to take away the Queens life but this fact was not contained in the preceeding statute and therefore the persons not iustly guiltie of treason seeing they transgtessed no declarative law yet that Parliament declared it to be treason for the time to come during the Queens life for any person to bring such Bulls from Rome to stirre up the people to mutiny Thus every Parliament may declare what crimes they please to bee treason but by common reason or light of nature those statutes must referre only to future obedience a reall crime committed before the making of a statute cannot be a breach of that statute because it was not extant in rerum natura Now let honest hearts which J understand be too many that are troubled at my restraint upon pretence of treasonable practises set them J say be satisfied from their own reason Let them iudge whether a loving peaceable discourse with honest men at a meeting to which J was invited wherein the sole purpose and intent of our hearts was to unite all wel minded people in matters of common concernment that the distractions of the nation might be healed and those clouds of blood diverted which are now impending Jn which discourse it was laid down as the principle maxime that the authoritie of the Commons in Parliament must be preserved and freed from contempt Whether this discourse J say can be either by the letter of the law treasonable or by construction if that should be admitted and malice it self made Judge Quest But some may yet inquire whether J cannot imagine for what crime the Parliament should suspect me Answer I must professe J reckon their restraining my person inter arcanu imperij amongst the mysteries of state and its opus Herculium a work for Hercules in my opinion to find the suspected Crime yet I have ercted in my self a new Jnquisitiou office for that purpose and J shall give you a copy of some of the examinations taken Interro 1 Were not you suspected for promoting the large petition Answer This was not objected against me by the informer neither could it be said that I had either subscribed or procured any to subscribe it but suppose I had gained 10000. subsribers to that Petition doublesse Petioners cannot be found in the Parliaments catalogue of sinners sure I am I have seene their names in red Characters for Saints in their Kalender in the yeare 1642. when the Lords would not concurre in the Ordinance for setling the Militia the Petitioners of Surrey and Hartford shire which in effect desired leave to protest against those Lords which would not agree to the votes of the Commons those Petioners J say were accounted amongst not the lowest order of Englands worthyes and many thousands of poore about London which petitioned against the Malignant faction and desired that those Peeres which concurred with the Commons in their happy votes mght be desired to sit and vote with the Commons as one intire body though the language of the petition was threatning saying they should be inforced to lay hold on the next remedie which was at hand to remove the disturbers of their peace c. these Petitioners were accounted gallant English Champions and their petitions sent by the Commons to the Lords at a conference and such Constables were checked as attempted to disturb the people which met in great multitudes to subscribe petitions against things established by law and a Justice of the peace committed to the See 1. part book decl ●p●ge 547 548. Tower for executing a warrant from the Lords for seting watches under p●etence of avoiding Tumults to hinder the peoples resorting in great mnltitudes to the House to preferre petitions t See first book decl pag. 532. yea the Lords and Commons both in their Remon of May 26. 1642. acknowledged it to be their duty to receive petitions these are the words we acknowledge that we have received petitions for the removall of things established by law and we must say and all that know what belong to the course and practise of Parliaments wil say that we OVGHT to do so u See first parr book dec p. 720. and upon the late London petition in Novem. last the Commons declared that it was the people● right to petition and their right to iudge of Petitions whence it is clearly to be inferred that it is the peoples right to petition for whatsoever seemes good to them though it be really evill otherwise it were not the Parliaments right to judge of their petitions certainly it is not the Parliaments right to walke contrary to common equity or to reject the good desires of the people promoted questionles the Armys eye could not with patience reade in the petition● of the bil of scandalous sinners An order to suppresse a petition was the

in them and the removall of such a particular grievance is not worth blood or the hazzarding of a warre by continuing our divisions Unto this J added present necessitie did now call upon every man to stirre up all his strength in endeavouring such an union of the people in the principles of common right and freedom I told them that they felt by sad experience that trading was decayed and the price of food so excessive that it would even rend any pittifull heart to heare and see the cryes and teares of the poore who professe they are almost readie to famish and while our divisions continue and there be no settlement of the principles of freedome and iustice trading will but more decay every day Rumours and feares of Warre and the Army comming now into the City makes M●rchants unwilling to trust their goods in the City and exchange beyond sea falles and there will be no importing of goods and then there will be no exporting and so the staple commodities of the Kingdome which maintaines the constant trade will not tend to the advantage of the labourers and then most of the poore in the Kingdom which live by spinning carding c. will be ready to perish by famine Upon this occasion I told them what I heard at my Inn at the Sarrazens head in Friday street viz. that some Clothiers of Wiltshire came in who professed that trading was so dead that some of them who set at work formerly a 100. did not now set at work above a dozen or the like and that the poor did gather together in troops of 10. 20. 30. in the Roades and seized upon Corne as it was carrying to market and devided it among themselves before the owners faces telling them they could not starve and hereupon J inserted that in probabilitie a suddain confusion would follow if a speedie settlement were not procured But J further told them that J conceived no other probable way of preventing a new warre with the Scots and other forraigners but by uniting the people in the principles of common right and freedome wherein all are equally concerned and J said I believed it was intended that the large Petition should be sent into all parts of the Kingdome that if it be possible all might joyn in those desires And if God should be so propitious to this Nation then the Scots would dispaire of any Partizens or assistants amongst us and so would be more catious in adventuring to ingage in warre against us Now having thus convinced them of the necessity and their duty to put forth their utmost vigor in endeavouring the settlement of their freedomes I also attempted to demonstrate to them that there was no legall iustifiable way wherein they could seek for their freedomes or redresse of their common grievances but by petitioning this honourable House I told them there was no other visible Authority to whom they could seek or which is intrusted by the people with power to redresse their grievances or to make or repeale Lawes for the vindication clearing and securing their native rights and liberties and therefore their interest was involved and bound up in the interest of this house and though some Members of this House did not as we feared so intend pnblique good as we could wish yet if this visible authority was not supported and preserved from contempt a generall confusion would follow and the nation be laid wast desolate and by these or words to this effect the scruples were cleared After this there was occasion offered accidentally to discourse of the Lords Legislative or lawgiving power both of the rights and of the mischieses which have ensued upon their exercise of it and there I spake my opinion I told them I conceived they had no legall right to such a co-ordinate power in making Lawes with this Honourable House and I induced for a proof the Declaration of this House wherein you have given us a transcription of the Kings Oath out of the Records and averre that the King is sworn to passe and confirme by his authority such lawes as the people shall chuse * See their Rem of May 26. 1642. book decl pag. 712. 713. It was but a formality that lawes have bin carried to the King for his assent for it was wont usually to be done the last day of the Parl. and so his passing the Bills or lawes dissolved the Parl. and therfore observe when the King passed any Bill since this Parl. there is a proviso in the Act that the passing that Bill shall not dissolve the present session of Parl. See a little book of the manner of holding parl pag. 54 55. See the Arm. decl of Iune 14. 1647 book decl pag. 43. or as in the old translation the folkes or Commons shall chuse whereby the Lords are totally excluded from any interest in or right to the Legislative power seeing they neither professe themselves to be Commoners personally or to represent the Commons And thence J inferred that it was further evident from that Oath that the King himself had no right to the Law-making power for this Honourable House hath asserted and proved that he hath no legall power to dissent from the laws that you make then its irrational to imagine that there need be any assent or that it should be of any validity and hence J concluded that there was no colour of the Lords right to that power They are created Lords solely by the Kings will and sit by vertue of his pattent and the King himself being not intrusted with any share in that supream lawgiving power his pattents cannot invest the Lords with that power or trust And I yet further added that the law giving power is arbitrary in its own nature and to estate an arbitrary power in any whatsoever during life is inconsistent with freedome and with a iust government of a people by written lawes and renders any * State wheresoever it is no other then a Tyranny and the people no better then Vassalls but much more is it incompatible with a shadow of freedome to have such an arbitrary power discend in any Line from Generation to Generation forever Yea I told them that I conceived this was contrary to the common light of nature the very end of Government and the expresse words of the Scripture It s said Rom. 13. 4. That the Magistrate is the Minister of God for good now that implyes that persons which are intrusted with such power ought to be so qualified and accomplished that they may be sutable to exercise and improve their power for good otherwise the very end of Government is subverted Now how is it possible that there should be any assurance that a father furnished and compleated with all excellencys shall have an heire indowed with the least abilitie or capacitie of governing what 's more common then that the wisest Salomon may have an unworthy Rehoboam for his successour no man can promise that