Selected quad for the lemma: war_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
war_n	high_a	king_n	treason_n	3,672	5	9.5249	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A96856	The triall, of Lieut. Collonell John Lilburne, by an extraordinary or special commission, of oyear and terminer at the Guild-Hall of London, the 24, 25, 26. of Octob. 1649. Being as exactly pen'd and taken in short hand, as it was possible to be done in such a croud and noise, and transcribed with an indifferent and even hand, both in reference to the court, and the prisoner; that so matter of fact, as it was there declared, might truly come to publick view. In which is contained all the judges names, and the names of the grand inquest, and the names of the honest jury of life and death. Vnto which is annexed a necessary and essential appendix, very well worth the readers, carefull perusal; if he desire rightly to understand the whole body of the discourse, and know the worth of that ner'e enough to be prised, bulwork of English freedom, viz. to be tried by a jury of legal and good men of the neighbour-hood. / Published by Theodorus Verax.	Lilburne, John, 1614?-1657.; Walker, Clement, 1595-1651.	1649 (1649)	Wing W338; Thomason E584_9; ESTC R203993	161,048	170

under favour I crave but one word more heare mee out I know very well and I read in your own law books such a prerogative as that in cases of Treason no Counsell shall plead against the King hath been sometime challenged to be the Kings Right by Law but let me tell you it was an usurpt prerogative of the late King with all other arbitrary Prerogatives and unjust usurpations upon the peoples rights and freedoms which has been pretended to be taken away with him And Sir can it be just to allow me Counsell to help me to plead for my estate the lesser and to deny me the help of Counsell to enable me to plead for my life the greater Nay Sir can it be j●st in you Judges to take up 7 years time in ending some suits of law for a little Money or Land and deny me a few dayes to consider what to plead for my life Sir all these pretences of yours were but all the prerogatives of the Kings will to destroy the poore ignorant and harmlesse people by which undoubtedly died with him or else only the name or title is gone with him but not the power or hurtfull tyrannie or prerogative in the least Therefore seeing all such pretended and hurtfull prerogatives are pretended to be taken away with the King by those that took away his life I earnestly desire I may be assigned Counsell to consult with knowing now especially no pretence why I should be denied that benefit and priviledge of the law of just and equitable law of England having put my selfe upon a Triall according to the priviledges thereof And it was declared to me at Oxford upon the Triall of my life there after I was taken prisoner fighting against the King and his partie even almost to handi●gripes and to the sword point and to the but● end of our Musquets being in person one of that little number that for many hours together at B●●inford fought with the Kings whole Armie wher 's in the manner without any Articles or composition I was taken a prisoner and immediatly thereupon arraigned at Oxford where notwithstanding all this it was declared to me by Judg Heath to be my right by the law of England to have Counsel assigned me to help me in point of law I had it granted I confesse he is my best Authority that I have and I am sure he was a Judg of the law or else I had never pleaded to him he was upon hisoath to doe justice and right and he was an able and understanding Lawyer and yet did allow me an hostile enemie counsell to help me army right by law before ever any proofe to matter of fact was produced and I beg but the same legall priviledg from you from whom I have more cause to expect it● Lord Keble Were you there indicted for Treason L. Col. Lilb Yes that I was for the highest of Treasons by the letter of the law for actuall levying war against the King Judg Thorp And yet for all that you know it was no Treason so did he too for you know that you had committed no Treason at all in obeying the Parliaments command for what you have done was done by the Parliaments speciall authoritie and command and you had your commission to justifie you in your hostile actions and he knew it well enough your Act was no Treason though he did offer you counsell or else he durst not allow you counsell L. Col. Lilb I had nothing to justifie me in that Act but the equitable sense of the law the letter of it being point blank against me and on the Cavalliers side by which if they had prevailed they might have hang'd both you and me for levying War against the King notwithstanding ou● Parliament Commissions and this I know Sir you know to be law in the letter or punctillioes of it Judg Thorp It was no Treason in you and he that assigned you counsell knew it was no Treason and this arraignment of you was as illegall as his assigning you counsell L. Coll. Lilb Sir by your favour he was a Judge of the law by legall Authority being made by the King in whom by law that power was invested and he looked upon himself as a legall Judg and so did I too and as a legall Judg he arraigned me for doing that act that by the expresse letter of the law was Treason and as a legall and honest Judge according to his duty in law he allowed me Councell Judg Jerman For that matter that you talke of they knew it was no Treason and therefore gave you more priviledges th●n was their right by law very well knowing that whatsoever was done to any of you that did fight for the laws religion and liberties of their Country there might be the like done to others that were prisoners in the Parliaments power and this was the truth of it and you know it very well and therefore it is nothing to us nor in law his willingnesse L. Col. Lil. Vpon my letters after the first day of my Tryall that Declaration of l●x tal o●is was made as clearly appears by the words and date of it now in print which the Reader may peruse in the 1. part of the Parliaments Declarations p. 802 803. Judg Thorp I wonder they did not proceed in the prosecution of the Indictment and find you guilty of Treason and so to execution L. C. Lil. Vnder-your favour thus I appeared at the Bar I pleaded to my indictment not guilty I made exceptions against my indictment and my selfe and the other 2 Gentlemen arraigned with me had Counsell assigned us as our right by law And the Judges most fairly rationally further told us Because we will not surprize you wee will give you a weeks time to consider with what Counsel you please in Oxford to choose to come unto you what to plead for your lives whatsoever other priviledges you can claim by the liberties of the law of England you shall enjoy them to the utmost Vpon which premise I spoke in open Court to the Judg shewing him the irons upon my hands in which I was arraigned and told him My Lord by the lawes of England no prisoner for any crime soever that behaves himselfe civilly and peaceably in his imprisonment ought to be put in irons or to any other pain or torment before he be legally convicted and therefore I desire as my right by law that my irons may be taken off And I said further My Lord I am shut up a close prisoner in my chamber denyed the use of pen ink and paper which is contrary unto law especially in the time of my Triall Why sayes he you shall be released from your irons from your close imprisonment and have the use of pen inke and paper and Capt Lilburn I tell you you shall enjoy whatsoever other priviledge you can challenge as your right by law for the law of England is a law of

as a Traytor before the Lord Chief Justice Heath for levying Warre at the Command of the then Parliament against the person of the King and when I came before him in the Guild-Hall of Oxford he told me there being present with him as his fellow Judge Mr Gardiner sometimes Recorder of the City of London now Sir Thomas Gardiner and others that sat by a speciall Commission of Oyer and Terminer from the King the which Commission I did not so well then understand as I hope I do now And my Lord Chiefe Justice Heath stood up in the face of all the Court in the face of all the Country present there told me Capt. Lilburne you are brought here before us for High Treason for leavying Warre in Oxfordshire against your Soveraigne Lord and King and though you be now in a Garrison and were taken in Armes in open hostility against the King yea Sir and I must now tell you in such hostility that we were but about 700. men at Branford that withstood the Kings whole Army in the field about five houres together and fought it out to the very Swords point and to the Butt end of the Musket and thereby hindred the King from his then possessing the Parliaments Train of Artillery and by consequence the City of London in which very act I was taken a prisoner without Articles or capitulation and was by the King and his party then lookt upon as one of the activest men against them in the whole company yet said Judge Heath we will not take advantage of that to try you by the rules of arbitrary Marshall Law or any other arbitrary waies but we will try you by the rules of the good old Lawes of England and whatsoever Priviledge in your Tryall the Lawes of England will afford you claim it as your Birth-right and Inheritance and you shall injoy it with as much freedom and willingnesse as if you were in Westminster-Hall to be tryed amongst your own party and this we will do for that end that so at London your friends shall not have any just cause to say we murdered you with cruelty or denied you the benefit of the Law in taking away your life by the rules of our own Wills Nay further said he Capt. Lilburn it is true I am a Judge made by my Soveraigne Lord the King according to his right by † See the 27. of Hen. 8. chap. 24. Law and soin a speciall maner am his Servant and Councellor and am to act for his good benefit and advantage And yet notwithstanding it is by the known Laws of this Land my duty to be indifferent and free from partiallity betwixt my Master and you the prisoner and I am specially bound unto it also by my Oath and therefore you shall have the utmost Priviledges of the Law of England which is a Law of mercy and not of rigor and hath the life of a man in tenderest and highest * See the 2. part Inst fo 28. 30. 42 43. 53. 315. 316. 591 3. part fo 34. estimation and therefore it is the duty of a Judge by Law to be of Councell with the Prisoner in things wherein by his ignorance he falls short of making use of the benifit of the Law especially when he is upon the tryall of his life Yea to exhort him to answer without fear if he perceive him daunted or amazed at the presence of the Court yea it is my duty to carry my self with all fairness and evenness of hand towards you And wherein that there shall seeme any mistakes to appear in circumstances or formalities to rectifie you For it 's my duty to help you and not to use any boisterous or rough language to you in the least to put you in fear or any wayes prevent the freedom of your defence and according to the Lawes of England this is my duty and this is the Law And accordingly he gave me liberty to plead to the errors of my Indictment before ever I Pleaded not Guilty yea and also became willing to assigne me what Councell I pleased to nominate freely to come to prison to me and to consult and advise with me and helpe me in point of Law This last he did immediatly upon my Pleading to the Indictment before any fact was proved all which is consonant to the Declared Judgement of Sir EDWAD COOKE that great Oracle of the Laws of ENGLAND whose Bookes are Published by speciall Orders * Which Orders are dated May 12 1641. Iune 3. 1642. you may at large read at the last end of his 2. part Institutes and Authority of Parliament for good Law who in his 3. part Institutes Chapt. Of high Treason fol. 29. 34. compared with fol. 137. 230. asserts the same Truly Sir I being now come before you to answer for my life and being no professed Lawyer may through my own ignorance of the practick part of the Law especially in the Formalities Nisities and Puntillios thereof run my selfe with over-much hastinesse in snares and dangers that I shall not easily get out of And therefore being all of a sudden bid to hold up my hand at the Barre I cannot chuse but a little demurre upon it and yet with all respect to you to declare my desirablenesse to keep within the bounds of Reason Moderation and Discretion and so to carry my selfe as it doth become a man that knowes what it is to answer for his life And therefore in the first place I have something to say to the Court about the first Fundamentall liberty of an Englishman in order to his triall which is that by the Lawes of this Land all Courts of Iustice alwayes ought to be free and open for all sorts of peaceable people to see behold and heare and have free accesse unto and no man whatsoever ought to be tried in holes or corners or in any place where the gates are shut and bar'd and guarded with armed men and yet Sir as I came in I found the gates shut and guarded which is contrary both to Law and Iustice Sir the Lawes of England and the Priviledges thereof are my Inheritance and Birth-right And Sir I must acquaint you that I was sometimes summoned before a Committee of Parliament where Mr. Corbet and severall others have had the Chaire and there I stood upon my right by the Lawes of England and refused to proceed with the said Committee till by speciall order they caused their Dores to be wide thrown open that the people might have free and un-interrupted accesse to heare see and consider of what they said to me although I think the pretence that I am now brought before you for be the very same in substance that I was convened before Mr. Corbet for which was about Bookes and I am sure there I did argue the case with him and the rest of the Committee soundly out in Law proving that they were bound in Law and Iustice freely to