the way and the Fears of such as may be call'd to an accompt will make 'em set all kind of Engines at work First they will put a high Value upon their own Deserts and arrogate to themselves the Single Merit of the many Millions which the whole Nation has both freely paid and Granted They will produce Presidents of other Ages and show long Lists of Grants obtain'd under former Reigns but at the same time they will take care not to mention how such Proceedings have been always Resented and often Punish'd in this Kingdom They will endeavour to blast the Reputation of such as would enquire into their Actions and tho perhaps there are no other possible Ways and Means left to supply the State but by making 'em disgorge and but by bringing them to a Restitution yet they will pretend that all Motions leading thereunto and all Inquiries of this nature are nothing but the Effects of Discontent and the Result of Faction And because in all their Doings and Councils they have never had any view but their own private Profit they will do their best to perswade the World that no man acts upon Principle that all is sway'd by particular Malice and that there is not left in the Kingdom any Party of men which consult the Publick Good They who are conscious of their Guilt and apprehensive that the Justice of the Nation should take notice of their Thefts and Rapine will try to give all things a false Turn and to fill every place with false Suggestions Sometimes they will accuse Innocent Persons that so by putting the People upon a wrong Scent they may avoid the Pursuers and scape unpunish'd At other Seasons they will boast of the Number of their Friends and Adherents thinking to awe both the Court and Country with an Opinion that their Party is too Strong and too Powerful to be resisted And that the knowledge of their Crimes may never reach the Prince's Ear they will endeavour to engross him to themselves by misrepresenting all others that are not of their Cabal either as disaffected to his Person or as Enemies to Kingly Government Thus they did heretofore and tho there were truly but two Parties in England consisting of those who would promote male-administration because they got by it and of those who desir'd things might be well Govern d that they and such as they represented might be eas'd which two sides were heretofore distinguish'd by the Names of Court and Country Party to which likewise they could have put an end whenever they had pleased to have minister d less occasion of Complaint yet they will revive old Names of Distinction giving odious Appellations to the best Patriots pretending there are dangeroes Factions form'd so to frighten the World with Phantoms of their own Creation These false turns they will give and these wrong Suggestions they will make in order to drive all Power into what they call their own Party as if any Prince could be safe that should rely upon so narrow and Rotten a Bottom And when their Actions shall hereafter come to be examin'd in that Place to which our Constitution has intrusted the Inquiry into and the Punishment of such Offences 'T is probable That up will rise some Arrogant Man more Zealous for Himself than for his Master and cry All that we have given among one another we have deserved by our Seruices and Labours in the State what Projects have we not set afoot and what summs have we not procur'd Did not the Ministers in King Charle s's Reign give away the Crown Lands Recal those Grants and we are ready to surrender ours Resume all or none 'T is next to Demonstration that these Clamours arise from a Dis ontented Party who would disturb the Government they who lookinto our Proceedings act out of Malice because of the great thing we have done against France what if such a one got a hundred thousand pound at once did he not save the Nation If we are us'd thus what Encouragement will there he to serve Princes For my part I will never meddle more in your Business All this tends to lessen the Monarchy invade the Prerogative and to set up a Doge of Venice I Sir perhaps there may be added and the Majority are of this Opinion By this high Bearing and these false suggestions heretofore well meaning Persons have been frightned from reaching at great offenders and even the best Patriots by seeing with what warmth and Zeal the smallest Corruptions are defended have been wearyed into Silence And this has made some of our Kings believe that either the Offenders were grown above the Laws or that the People consented â—o those things which they did not think fit to punish But wise Princes see through all this They know that an honest and faithful Minister will be contented with moderate Favours That very often nothing but the ill Contrivance of the Aid belongs to those he employs and that the Gifts come from the free Affections of the Subject That Patterns to Rule by are to be sought for out of Good nor loose Reigns That Inspections which look too far backward produce nothing That a few may complain without reason but that there is occasion for Redress when the Cry is universal That no Military Action or other Merit can give a Man a just Title to Rob the Publick That even good Ministers are thought no more on when they are out and that certainly Bad ones may retire without being mist That absolute Power is not a Plant that will grow in this Soil and that Statesmen who have attempted to cultivate it here have pull'd on their own and their Masters Ruin A wise Prince likewise does not care to see Corrupt Officers so earnest to save one another for 't is always at his cost Nor does he like that his Ministers when attack'd should be able to protect themselves in their Crimes by the Power of a 〈◊〉 for they who are strong enough to bear down the Law may presume in time to think they subsist by their proper Strength and that they stand upon their own Legs and so come at last to slight his Authority Bad Men have ever given a false Colour to their Proceedings and cover'd their Ambition Corruption and Rapine with the pretence of their Masters Service They make him believe their Greatness advances him whereas truly it tends to his diminution and he is often weak for want of that Wealth and Power which they share among one another Their Riches has frequently brought Envy upon the Prince but we can hardly meet with an Instance of any who in his Distress has been assisted from the Purses of his Ministers for they are commonly the first who fly from his Misfortunes And tho they pretend that his Power is rever'd in them and that they make him Strong by the Benefits he lets them bestow yet a Wise King sees through all this Artifice and knows That he who would reap
way to Inquiries of this nature and not thought it inconsistent with their Royal Dignity and Honor to resume even their own Grants when they have been represented by the whole Body of their People as hurtful to the Common-wealth In Democratical Governments War did commonly unite the minds of men when they had Enemies abroad they did not contend with one another at home which produc'd one good effect that then the Administration of Affairs was left to the best and ablest Hands They chose for their mutual Strivings for setting afoot Factions and dangerous Brigues times of the profoundest Peace and at such seasons men grown Popular by wicked Arts ambitious Pretenders light Orators and the worst sort of Citizens had the most sway and Authority among the People which occasion'd Phocion to utter these memorable words to one of this stamp I am at present against War tho it puts the Power into my Hands and tho such turbulent and naughty Spirits as you are govern all things in times of Peace But notwithstanding it has thus happen'd in some Commonwealths it has prov'd otherwise in mix'd Governments where the several parts of the Constitution have their distinct Powers Rights and Priviledges And particularly in this Kingdom it has been seen that mens minds have been most disunited when there was the greatest need of Concord Among us heretofore foreign Wars instead of allaying Factions for the present have set 'em in a higher Flame and contrary to antient Prudence when we wanted the best the worst men have got to be at the Head of business All which did chiefly proceed from the Necessities to which our Princes were reduc'd by their Expeditions abroad For War occasions Taxes Taxes bring Want Want produces Discontent and the Discontents of the People were ever the best Materials for designing and ambitious men to work upon when the People is griev'd and sullen Parties are easily form'd when Parties are form'd at first they let themselves be advised and ruled by such as have true Publick Zeal and Virtue but of those they grow quickly weary and then they fall into the hands of such as only make a false Profession of it and in a little time they are entirely directed by Persons whose sole drift is to build their own Fortunes upon the Ruins of their Country in the mean while the strength and number of their Party makes these leading men powerful and gives 'em such weight that they must be courted preferr'd and bought often they must have one half to procure the other and so considerable do they grow that if they are suffer'd they presently invade all Offices and Employments in which when they are securely planted they likewise give to one another all the Lands and Revenues of the State And our Histories shew that in former times Princes reduc'd to streights by War have been forc'd to wink at this and to permit these busie men then thought necessary to do all engross all Rob the Publick share the Crown Lands and in short to commit what other waste they please Thus as in Commonwealths the worst men are most powerful in times of Peace under Regal Governments they are strongest and ablest to do hurt in times of War But whereas in Common-wealths Peace has brought sundry Mischiefs in the Government by Kings it often produces good order and better Administration for several of our Princes whose Necessities compell'd 'em to endure the Rapine of their Ministers in time of War have in times of Peace divested those Publick Robbers of their unlawful and outragious Plunder We have now upon the Throne a King willing and able to correct the Abuses of the Age Willing from the wisdom of his Mind and the goodness of his Temper Able from that Power and Strong Interest which his Courage and his other numberless Virtues have procur'd Him in the Hearts and Affections of his People Men readily obey and follow him whom they reverence for which reason some Philosophers have placed the Original of Power in Admiration either of surpassing Form great Valour or Superior Understanding Heroick Kings whose high Perfections have made 'em awful to their Subjects can struggle with and subdue the Corruption of the times A Hercules can cleause the Augean Stable of the â—ilth which had not been swept away in thirty years Princes whom their Effeminacy Weakness or Levity have rendred contemptible may fear Idols of their own making and stand in awe of Men become terrible only by greatness derived from them They may be affraid to pull down Ministers and favorites grown formidable by the united Councils of their Faction by the Number of their Followers and strength of their Adherents and so let male-administration proceed on as thinking it too big to be amended but magnanimous Kings who have the People of their side need entertain no such Thoughts and Apprehensions they know that these Top-heavy buildings rear'd up to an invidious height and which have no solid Foundation in Merit are in a Moment blown down by the breath of Kings Good Persons indeed grown great and popular from the â—ame of their real Worth and Virtues may perhaps be dreadful to bad Rulers but bad Men let 'em have never so much seeming Greatness and Power are very rarely dangerous to good Princes The Cabals of a Party the Intreagueâ— of a Court nor the Difficulties some may pretend to bring upon his affairs never terrify a Wise and Stout King bent to reform the State who has the love of hiâ— People and whose Interest is one anâ— the same with Theirs We have neveâ— yet heard of a Tumult raised to rescue â— Minister whom his Master desired to bring to a fair Accompt On the contrary to see upstarts and worthless Men inrichâ— with Spoils of a Country has been thâ— Occasion of many popular Seditions which wise Kings have appeased by a just and timely Sacrifice None are so able to mend what is amiss in State as Kings who enjoy their Crown from the Subjects Gift May be it has been sometimes thought harsh in those who were born in Purple to look into abuses with a Stricter Eye than their Predecessors But Elected Kings are presum'd to come in upon the Foot of Reformation and so are justifyed by the Voices of all Mankind in pursuing the Ends for which they were called by the People If therefore such Kings are severe in looking into their Accompts If they are frugal of the Publick Money If they examin into the Corruption of their Officers If they enquire into the sudden and exorbitant Wealth of those who have had the handling of their Treasure If they rigorously punish such as in breach of their Trust and contrary to their Oaths have converted to their own use what belongs to the State If they abandon and resign into the hands of Justice such as have robb'd them and the Publick If they resume what has been obtain'd fraudulently by surprize and upon wrong suggestions and If they take back
Grants shall be brought to the Principal Secretary or to one of the King's Clerks of his Grace's Signet for the time being to be at the said Office of the Signet pass'd accordingly And be it also ordained and enacted That one of the Clerks of the said Signet to whom any of the said Writings signed with the King 's most gracious Hand or the Hand of any other aforesaid or any of them fortune to be deliver'd may and shall by Warrant of the same Bills and every of them within the space of eight days next after he shall have receiv'd the same unless he have Knowledge by the said Secretary or otherwise of the King's Pleasure to the contrary make or cause to be made in the King's Name Letters of Warrant subscrib'd with the Hand of the same Clerk and sealed with the King's Signet to the Lord Keeper of the King 's Privy Seal for further Process to be had in that behalf And that one of the King's Clerks of the said Privy Seal upon due Examination had by the said Lord Keeper of the said Privy Seal of the said Warrant to him addressed from the Office of the said Signet as afore may and shall within the space of eight days next after he shall have receiv'd the same unless the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal do give them Commandment to the contrary make or cause to be made by Warrant of the foresaid Warrant to the said Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal Address from the Office of the Signet aforesaid other Letters of like Warranty subscribed with the Name of the same Clerk of the Privy Seal to the Lord Chancellor of England Lord Keeper of the Great Seal Chancellor of the Dutchy of Lancaster Chancellor of the King's Land of Ireland Treasurer and Chamberlains of the Exchequer and Chamberlains of any of his Counties Palatines or Principality of Wales or other Officer and to every of them for the writing and ensealing with such Seals as remain in their Custody of Letters Patent or Closed or other Process making due and requisite to be had or made upon any the said Grants according to the Tenor of the Warrant to them or any of them directed from the Officer of the Privy Seal as is afore specified These Cautions show how carefully our Constitution has provided that nothing shall be done which may turn in Despendium Regis aut Regni But here some flattering Lawyers will affirm That these Methods are Directive not Coerceive Or as Hobart says †Hobart's Reports Colt and Glover P. 146. That these kind of Statutes were made to put Things in ordinary Form and to ease the Sovereign of of Labour but not to deprive him of Power according to this Maxim of the same Judge That * Lord Sheffeild ver Ratcliffe p. 335. Dare Prerogativam est nobile Officium Judicis Debitum And truly heretofore Westminster-hall did so order it that these Fences intended to keep the Publick Revenues from the Hands of Spoilers were all broken down and that all these Statutes were evaded For the Force of all these wholsome Laws was enervated by Clauses afterwards incerted into the Letters Patents viz. Ex certa Scienta mero motu Gratia speciali Ex certa Scientia was very antiently made use of but the words became more necessary afterwards to defeat the 1st of Henry IV. where 't is enacted †Rot. Parl. 1 Hen. 4. Num. 98. That the true and express Value of the thing to be granted shall be incerted in the Letters Patents otherwise the Grant to be void So that these words suppose the King to have certain knowledge in every Circumstance of the thing he is to give away which happens very rarely to be the Case But notwithstanding these words if certain Proof can be made that the King was misinform'd by false Suggestion no Lawyer will say the Grant is good Ex mero motu imports the Honor and Bounty of the King who Rewards the Patentee for Merit without his Suit These words suppose the King to be truly appris'd of the Person 's Merit and were brought in to obviate the 4th of Henry IV. whereby it was enacted * Rot. Parl. 4 Hen. 4. That no Lands should be given but to such as deserv'd them and if any made Demands without Desert that he should be punish'd And to the same purpose were added the words Ex Gratia speciali yet more to denote that the Gift proceeded meerly from the King's Favour and not at the Party's Sollicitation But besides all this because anciently it seem'd a Fundamental that the Crown-Lands were not alienable and because all along Parliaments had complain'd of these Alienations as looking upon 'em to be illegal the Lawyers of old Times endeavour'd to secure and cover all by a Clause of Non Obstante to be incerted in the Patents These Clauses of Non Obstante were not known in our original Constitution Mathew Paris says they grew rife in the Reign of Henry III. Anno Dom. 1250. * Mat. Paris p. 810. Sprsimque jam tales Literae in quibus inserta est haec detestabilis adjectio Non Obstante Priore Mandato vel haec Non Obstante Antiqua Libertate Suscitabantur Then he goes on Quod cum comperisset quidam vir discretus tunc Justitiarius scilicet Rogerus de Thurkeby ab alto ducens suspiria de praedictae adjectionis appositione dixit Heu heu hos ut quid dies expectavimus Ecce jam civilis Curia exemplo ecclesiasticae Coinquinatur a Sulphureo fonte intoxicatur But this Clause grew more necessary after the 11th of Henry IV. when it was plainly and directly enacted * Rot Parl. 11 Hen. 4. Num. 23. That all manner of Heriditaments which from thenceforward should fall into the Crown should not be alienated but remain to the King And this last Law being positive unrepeal'd as we know of and still in force as much as Magna Charta and the Doctrin of Non Obstantes seeming to be condemn'd by The Ast declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject in these Words That the pretended Power of Suspending of Laws or the Execution of Laws by Regal Authority without Consent of Parliament is Illegal That the pretended Power of dispensing with Laws or the Execution of Laws by Regal Authority as it hath been assum'd and exercis'd of late is Illegal There will arise a Question how far the Grants made since the passing this Act 1 Gul. Mar. are valid by the Laws as they stand at present For we may argue thus It was enacted 11 Hen. IV. That the Crown-Lands should not be granted away However the Practice was otherwise and the Grants were supported by Clauses of Non Obstante But these Non Obstantes or the dispensing with Laws in force being declar'd Illegal it should follow that the Grants of Crown-Land made for these last ten Years are void in Law and revokable at the King's Will and Pleasure
be that they meditated something else and bore ill will towards the present Government Indeed the Ambition of Mankind consider'd it was a wonder in former Reigns to see Persons the most conspicuous for Understanding deep Reach and Experience employ their time with their Books in making Gardens or in Building and that they should not rather seek those Dignities to which their Birth and Superior Abilities did in a manner give 'em a just Right Why did they let the chief Offices of the State be polluted by mean Hands Why did they suffer others to ruin that Country which was in their Power to save And why all this Philosophy in so light and busie Times Why has there been now and then a kind of a Press issu'd out for Ministers so that as it were the Vagabonds and Loyterers were taken in Why have some Men been condol'd by their Friends for having been drawn in to take a Great Place and why have others been universally Congratulated when turn'd out tho with Marks of Displeasure when all this happen'd it could not be without a Reason there must have been some Strong Inducements that should move the Prime Persons of a Nation to shun Employments attended with Power and Profit No doubt in former Reigns it was Because they did not like the Administration of affairs nor the Persons with whom they were to be ioyn'd Because they perceiv'd dark Designs carry'd on against our Liberties and that they were not willing to mix in desperate Councils nor to participate in the Blame of what they should not be able to hinder Because they saw the Prince Robb'd by those about him his Crown Lands all shar'd and given away and his Treasure wasted and Because they saw Things done that would bear no Inquiry and that could never be justifyed before the People They knew that our Laws put little Difference between a Minister who contracts actual Guilt himself and him who permits others to commit a Crime which by the Authority of his Office he might have prevented Therefore when bad Things were in Agitation and when destructive Advices were promoted Some have refus'd Employments others have laid down White Staves the Secretaries Seals the Privy Seal the Great Seal and other Offices of high Trust rather than Act against their Masters true Interest and the Constitution of their Country And for these Reasons in former Reigns the Ablest and Greatest Persons in the Nation and sometimes whole Parties of Men have refus'd to meddle in the Employments and Business of the State But when these Errors may be corrected which a few commit at the Expence of the whole Kingdom when things will bear a right Administration when the Nations Money may be frugally manag'd when the Thefts upon the Public can be look'd into and Punish'd when those Servants may be call'd to an Accompt who have broken their Trust and in their Offices consented to the Plunder of their Master When true Order is promoted When that Thrift can be set afoot which will ease the People in their Taxes When the pleasant Work of doing Good is to be perform'd and When they have not before their Eyes the frightful and heavy Task of supporting ill Conduct All Persons will embrace the Government All Parties will cheerfully come in and the best Men will be the most Eager to assist the state with their Purses Councils Endeavours and Affections And thus we hope to have fully answer'd their Arguments who would deter a Prince from looking into their Corruptions by making him believe that thereby he will injure his only Friends and who would narrow his Interest by confining his Favours to their Party A King never wants Assistance who will look into abuses and their Faction whose Interest it is to protect Male-administration will be found very weak when He is earnest to have what has been amiss amended because but a few are Gainers by Misgovernment and a Multitude are injur'd by it But as all Seasons are not proper for Physick so all Times are not fit for purging the Body Politick Times of Action and War are not so convenient for such Councils as tend to correct Abuses in the State Perhaps during the late War some Things may have been done in England which the King in his high wisdom may think necessary to animadvert upon now when He is at leisure from His Business in the Field And no doubt when He goes upon so good a Work He will be assisted by all the best Men of all Parties and by the whole Body of His People The Writer of these Papers has constantly endeavour'd to make his Studies tend to the Service of the Publick and his Aim has been to incite in Young Gentlemen a Desire of being acquainted with the Business of the Nation and this knowledge lying under abundance of Rubbish his Scope has been to remove this Rubbish and to dress up crabbed Matters as agreeably as he can and to give as it were short Maps of Things which others will not take the Pains to travel through themselves In order to which he has devoted his Hours of Leisure to Inquiries into the Trade and Revenues of this Kingdom And not serving his Country in an Active Life he hopes to make his Solitude and Contemplation of some use so as to show himself not altogether an unprofitable Member of the Commonwealth And the Parliament having last Sessions Constituted Commissioners for Inquiring into and Taking an Accompt of all such Estates both Real and Personal within the Kingdom of Ireland which have been Forfeited for High Treason by any Person or Persons whatsoever during the late Rebellion within that Kingdom And the House of Commons as appears by their Printed Votes having directed that the Grants of the Crown Revenue in England should be laid before 'em And it being Notorious that almost all the Land remaining in the Crown of England at the Revolution and that much the largest Share of the late forfeited Estates in Ireland are now got into Private Hands And the People at this time lying under a great Variety of New Taxes And the Necessities of the State being very pressing And the Publick lying under many heavy Engagements and the Honor of the Nation being in a manner at Stake to make good several Deficiencies All Ways and Means of Raising Money being likewise difficult to the last Degree It appearing also reasonable to consult the Land Interest and at last to give the Landed Gentlemen some Ease who have born the chief Burthen of the War And no Fond being large enough to come in the Room and Place of Land except the late Forfeitures in Ireland And all Men thinking it but just and fair that the War in Ireland should pay some part of its Expence Our Debts likewise being so immence that every thing should be look'd into and all possible Thrift thought upon Mankind also abhorring to behold a Few inriched with the Spoils of a whole Country and to see Private
Heruli who was Proclaim'd King of Italy And thus an End was put to the Roman Dominion after it had continu'd under Kings in a Common-Wealth and under Emperors about 1228 Years reckoning from the first Foundation of the City And now to recapitulate the Reasons of this Great Peoples Ruin First their Luxuries extinguish'd antient Honour and in its room introduc'd irregular Ambition Ambition brought on Civil Wars Civil War made Single Persons too considerable to remain afterwards in a private Condition so that the Foundation of their Destruction was laid in the Century wherein Caesar invaded their Liberties However they might have continued a Powerful and Flourishing Nation for many Ages if the succeeding Princes had imitated either Caesar or Augustus But many of those that follow'd assum'd to themselves unlimited Athority and when bad Emperors came they pulled down what had been building up by the Wisdom of all their Predecessors They seiz'd upon that Treasure which the Frugality of preceeding Times had set aside for urgent Occasions They accounted the Publick Revenues to be their own particular Property and to be dispos'd of at their Pleasure such as were Lavish squandred away among their Minions and Favourites that which was to maintain the Dignity of the State When their Profusion had reduc'd them to Necessities they fell to laying exorbitant Taxes and to Pillage the Remote Provinces when those Provinces were harrass'd and exhausted by continual Payments they became weak and unable to resist Foreign Invasions In those naked and defenceless Provinces the Barbarians nested themselves and when they were grown Strong and Powerful from thence they made Irruptions into Italy till at last they came to Invade and Conquer Rome it self the very Head and Seat of the Empire From this brief Account of the Roman Affairs perhaps it will appear That to let Ministers Wast the Publick Revenues or to suffer any Negligence and Profusion of the like Nature is of dangerous Consequence both to the Prince and People SECT III. Of Resumptions Grotius Prolegom in Hist Goth. Vand. c. THE Southwestern Parts of the Roman Empire were invaded and possess'd by that Torrent of People which antiently issu'd out of Scanzia a very large Tract of Land bounded on the North and East by the Sea and on the West and South by the Botnick Bay and Baltick Sea as likewise by Rivers which empty themselves into the Botnick Bay and the Russian or White Sea These Nations when they first left their Native Soil for a great while had no certain Seats but travers'd from one Region to another till at last they came to fix themselves in those Provinces they had intirely Conquer'd Of these the Visigoths and Ostrogoths were the most considerable The Ostrogoths to whom all Pannonia had been assign'd by the Romans extended their Territory far and wide till they seiz'd Italy it self under Theodorick The Visigoths seiz'd on Part of Gaul Planting themselves in Aquitaine and having cantoniz'd in other parts of the Country there they continu'd for some time They likewise form'd a Dominion in Spain which lasted above Three hundred Years reckoning from Athlaufus the Son of Alarick who by consent of the Roman Emperor Honorius was settled in the Borders between Gaul and Spain to Roderick who was totally subdued by Tariff the General of Vlit Miramamoliâ— the Moor. Part of these Visigoths fix'd themselves likewise in this Kingdom of Britain for from the Antient Scanzian were deriv'd the * Vid. Sheringham Discept de Orig. Gentis Angl. Jutes Gutes or Getes who nested in part of Germany and were afterwards call'd Saxons and who from Germany came and took Possession of this Island Of the same Scanzian or Gothick Race were likewise the Danes who about Two hundred Years before the Norman Conquest invaded England planting Colonieâ— and gaining such Footing here from time to time that at last they wholly Master 's both the Saxons and the Natives From this Soil likewise barren oâ— Provisions but fertile in producing Men did spring the Normans who under the Conduct of Roul left their own Soil first touching upon our Coast and finding no Reception here they were content upon Terms to depart and carry the Terror of their Arms elsewhere which they did into France where by their Valour they obtain'd that Tract of Land which from them was call'd Normandy from whence in One hundred and Twenty Years they came and in one Battle Conquer'd England Thus by these Swarms from the North of Men seeking new Seats the best part of Europe came into the Possession of a rough Warlike People whom the Luxuries of Asia Greece and Rome had neither corrupted nor refin'd And these new Inhabitants chang'd every thing introducing in all Places new Customs other Manners Languages different ways of making War new Laws and new Forms of Government And these several Branches springing from the same Stemm it must follow that the Fruit they bore would be near of a Tast by which we mean that in their Manners Laws and principally in their Politick Government they must of consequence as indeed they did very much resemble one another And whoever looks into the Antient Constitutions of England France Spain Denmark and Sweeden will find that all these Nations had one and the same Form of Government and tho' they might vary in some Circumstances yet they all agreed in certain Fundamentals which were That the People should have their Rights and Priviledges That the Nobles or Men of chief Rank should have some Participation of Power and That the Regal Authority should be limited by Laws 'T is true the German Emperors have some shadow of and pretend Succession to the Roman Empire but whoever contemplates their Laws Constitution and Form of Government will find all strongly impregnated with the Gothick Tincture However he who considers the Migrations of these Men will perceive that the Governments which they establish'd were the necessary and unavoidable Consequence of their Expeditions and that People seeking new Seats could not properly put themselves under any other Form For so vast a Design as that of leaving one's own and invading a remote Country must fall into some Bold and Great Mind that could first conceive and then be able to go through with such an Undertaking and he who was thus qualified with Courage and Conduct easily obtain'd Supream Authority over all the rest from whence came That these People chose to be govern'd by Kings But the first Expence of this Expedition being very great and he who projected it not being able to bear it all himself he Associated to him certain of his Principal Countrymen who had likewise Followers and Dependants of their own These in Consideration of what they contributed towards the Common Design were not only to share in the Conquer'd Lands but in these Lands to enjoy certain Powers and Priviledges and to have Names of Honour by which they were to be distinguish'd and set above the rest From whence came
he did resume * Dan. p. 105. Daniel says that after his second Coronation which was at Winchester he not only resum'd the Mannors he had sold to the Bishops of Winchester and Durham but whatsoever other Sales he had made of the Demayns of the Crown Alledging that it was not in his Power to alien any thing appertaining to the same whereby his State was to subsist * Graft Chron. p. 90. Grafton says That after his second Coronation he call'd a Parliament by the Authority whereof he resum'd again all Patents and Annuities Fees and other Grants before his Voyage by him sold and granted and caused the Parties to be contented with such Revenues and Profits as they had received of the said Offices or Lands in the time of his Absence And spar'd not for any sufficiency of Writing that by him before was made But to confirm this Authors may be produc'd of more Antiquity than either of these * Hen. de Knyghton Col. 2408. N o. 40. Knyghton says Post ejus Coronationis solennia quicquid prius leviter datum aut graviter venundatum fuerat repetiit nomine commendati fructus perceptos pro sorte computans cessante pacto titulo instrumento quocunque †Brompton says Denique quod * Chron. Johan Brompt Col. 1259. N o. 10. cum ipse iter versus orientem arriperet regnum ipsum multipharie sciderat ad integritatem satagebat pristinam revocare Quicquid enim ab illo tunc fuerat datum vel ponderose venundatum sub nomine repetiit commodati Regiarum possessionum emptoribus dicens Non decet sublimitati Regiae foenerari Illi autem emptores mox regio metu attoniti nulla habita quaestione de sorte non percepta confestim omnia resignarunt In Two Years of this Reign viz. Ann. 1195 and 1196 there were actually rais'd in this Kingdom Eleven hundred thousand Marks which is more than was really levied in any Two Years of the Late War for if we consider the value of Money in those times and the Proportion it bore with other Commodities Eleven hundred thousand was more then than Eleven Millions are now Hubert the Archbishop of Canterbury writing to the King for leave to quit the Ministry shews * Ro. Hovedon pa. 767 768. Quod infra biennium proximo praeteritum adquisierat ad opus illius undecies centena Millia Marcarum argenti de Regno Angliae The raising this vast Summ is an evident Sign how willing the People of England have in other Ages been to give Aids and Subsidies to Martial Princes After Richard King John was Elected This was a Reign of Civil War Taxes and Profusion and the Character Robert the Clerk gave of this Prince to Miramamolin the Moor was very true and Remarkable * M. Paris p. 244. Potius fuit Tirannus quam Rex potius Subversor quam Gubernator Oppressor suorum fautor aliènorum Leo suis subditis agnus alienigenis rebellibus qui per desidiam suam Normanniae ducatum alias multas terras amiserat insuper Angliae regnum amittere vel destruere sitiebat Pecuniae extortor insatiabilis possessionum suorum naturalium invasor destructor But these Wastes were look'd into in the Reign of Henry III. King John's Son and Successor not by the Prince himself who was no better a Manager than his Father but by the Barons Knyghton says That after Lewis and the French were driven away * Knyghton Col. 2429. N o. 40. Omnes Alienigenae ejecti erant de Anglia omnia Castella quae Rex Johannes donaverat tradiderat in Custodiam Alieâ—igenarum fuerunt reseisita in manu Regis This King laying open his Necessities to the Barons and his Council said The Crown-Revenues would scarce afford him Meat and Drink To whom they answer'd He might be Rich out of his own if he would set some Bounds to his Liberality and look into his own Affairs and into the Proceedings of some of his Officers They nam'd no body to hlm â—ut he understood whom they meant and call'd several of his Ministes to Accompt and brought them to Restitution The Words of the Historian in this place are very Observable when the King had laid open his Wants * M. Paris p. 376. Tunc Consilarii Regis responderunt Si pauper es tibi imputes qui Honores Custodias ac dignitates vacantes ita in alios transfers a Fisco alienas quod nec in divitiis auri vel argenti sed solo nomine Rex debeas appellari Nam antecessores vestri Reges magnifici in omni divitiarum gloria ditissimi non aliunde sed ex Regni redditibus emolumentis Thesauros impreciabiles congesserunt At Rex ab eis instructus quos nominatim exprimere tutum forsitan non esset coepit a Vicecomitibus Ballivis aliisque Ministris suis de redditibâ—â— rebus omnibus ad Fisci commodum spect antibus ratiocinium exigere Et quoslibet dâ— fraude convictos a suis Officiis deponens exegit ab eis pecuniam suam etiam cum usuriiâ— tenens coarct abat eos donec reddereâ— debitum universum This Prince was the first who brought Strangers into his Councils and the management of his Business Poictevins and Britons to whom he gave all the Power and among whom he lavish'd all his Crown-Revenue and the * Ibid. p. 386. Treasure of the Kingdom Invitavit pâ—latim tot Pictaviensium Legiones quod â—â—tam fere Angliam repleverunt quorum Râ—â— agminibus quocunque pergebat vallatus inceâ—sit But in 1234 he was compell'd by his Barons to Banish these Strangers Yet he return'd quickly to the same bad Measures insomuch that his Brother Richard Earl of Cornwal told him That he Rob'd his own Country to give it to Strangers and the Kingdom 's Enemies In this Loose Reign the * Ibid. p. 733. 747. Money of England was corrupted But nothing anger'd the People more than the immoderate Wealth he bestowed upon Foreigners namely his Brothers by the Mother and particularly to his Poictevins * Ibid. p. 850. Eschaetas Reditus vacantes Alienigenis ignotis illiteratis scurrilibus penitus indignis non destitit distribuere ut sic suorum naturalium corda insanibilius sauciaret While Things were thus Govern'd Private Men inrich'd themselves with the Publick Spoil as for Example John Mansel * M. Par. p. 859. who brought his Estate to Four thousand Marcs per Annum But at last at a Parliament Held at Oxford * Ibid p. 973. Peter of Savoy William de Valence and the Bishop of Winchester the King 's half Brothers with the other Foreigners were Banish'd Vbi statutum erat †Knyghton Col. 2445. N o 40. quod ad Terras suas quas in partibus transmarinis habebant transfretarent And that immoderate Wealth they had gather'd here was not permitted to be carry'd away but was ‖ M. Par. 973. Seiz'd upon
seem tedious but curious Persons may perhaps receive Satisfaction to see the Sence of their Fore-fathers upon this Point And we take it that the Wisdom and Gravity with which these Acts are penn'd and the Exactness and Care which the House of Commons from time to time show'd in this whole Transaction will prove no unpleasant peice of History He has done impartially and taken notice of what may make against as well as for his present Argument that the Reader may have the whole before him And in this Transcript he has follow'd the best Copies of Records he could procure such as have been sign'd and examin'd at the Tower in which he believes there is no material Error and that they are according to the Original Records except in Orthography or spelling Words wherein all Transcribers of Records mistake and differ with one another But as to the French Records both in this and the following Section the Author has examin'd them all at the Tower by the Rolls As to what was done upon Resumptions before the Reign of Edward the Second he has therein follow'd the best Ancient Writers of our English History whose Authority may be rely'd upon because most of such as he has cited wrote of Things done near or in their own Times But for their Ease who do not care to read much and to help the Memory of others he will recapitulate in a few Words the several Resumptions afterwards he will make some few Observations upon the Whole and examine what Effect these Acts of Resumption produc'd as to enlarging the Crown-Revenue and then conclude this long Section 1 st A Resumption was made by William Rufus 2 dly A Resumption by Henry the First 3 dly A Resumption agreed to by King Stephen 4 thly A Resumption actually made by Henry the Second 5 thly A Resumption by Richard the First 6 thly A Resumption by Edward the Second 7 thly Resumptions made by Richard the Second 8 thly Resumptions made by Henry the Fourth particularly of the Lands belonging to Windsor-Castle 9 thly Three Resumptions made in the Reign of Henry the Sixth 10 thly Four Resumptions made in the Reign of Edward the Fourth 11 thly One general Act and other particular Acts of Resumption in the Reign of Henry the Seventh 12 thly An Act of Resumption of â—ivers Offices Annuities and other Things in the Reign of Henry the Eighth Upon the whole Matter these Observations may be made 1 st From the forecited Records it appears that the People of England have in no Age thought it reasonable that the Crown-Revenue should be alienated 2 dly That not only under the Reigns of weak and unfortunate Princes but when there has been upon the Throne martial and active Kings this Nation has all along insisted upon Resumptions 3 dly It appears from the said Records that very few of the said Resumptions did look farther backward than the Reign of the present Prince 4 thly That the People have been most provoked when the Crown-Lands have been given away to Foreigners 5 thly That the House of Commons in their Bills of Resumption made very few Savings as to the Interests of Private Men. 6 thly That it appears from the said Records that very small Things were look'd into and that in the Three Râ—sumptions made by Henry the Sixth it does not appear there were Savings for any large Grant 7 thly That in some of their Bills the House of Commons insisted upon Penalties to be inflicted upon such as should procure Grants of the Crown-Revenue 8 thly That by the Profusion of some Princes the Crown-Revenue was reduc'd from Fifty Six Thousand Nine Hundred Sixty Six Pounds to Five Thousand Pounds per Annum 9 thly That Edward the Fourth invited his Parliament in his Speech from the Throne Anno 7. to make an Act of Resumption 10 thly That in the many Acts made to this Purpose every following Act was penn'd with stricter Clauses and to reach more than the former did 11 thly That the Act made the 28 H. 6. provides that the Lands so resumed should be for the Expences of the King's Houshold 12 thly That some of these Resumptions as that of 3 and 4 of Edw. 4. extended not only to the Crown-Revenue but also to what was the King's own Patrimonially namely to his Dutchy of York and Earldom of March. And that Anno 7 all was resumed which belong'd to Richard Duke of York the King's Father the 30 th of December Anno 39. Hen. 6. The â—ame 13 Edw. 4. 13 thly That in these Acts of Resumption the Sallaries and Wages are taken away of all superfluous Offices which requir'd no Attendance and Execution and which were newly erected 14 thly That some of these Acts establish that the Lands so resumed should continue in the Crown 15 thly That it will appear to any who will look into the volumenous Savings and Exceptions which were brought in by the King to the said Acts that many of the Grants in those Ages made for Lands or Pensions were only for Term of Life or Term of Years and to return to the Crown 16 thly That in many of the Savings as to the Interest of private Men where there is something left there is something resumed 17 thly That most of these Acts not only resume the Crown-Lands but revoke all unnecessary Pensions 18 thly That the 33 Henry 6. resumes the Land pass'd away from the Crown even by Authority of Parliament 19 thly That in all these Acts except 28 Henry 6. the Lands in Ireland are comprehended 20 thly As every subsequent Act was more strictly penn'd than that which went before so the Exceptions and Savings brought in by Edward the Fourth Henry the Sixth were at last few and frugal became every Time more moderate than the other so that in the End both Prince and Parliament agreed that a Resumption was necessary and would be greatly beneficial to the Kingdom But now as to the Effects which these Acts of Resumption produc'd it appears manifestly that they were put in Execution and that the Savings and Exceptions were not such as to defeat the Designs of the Parliament which some People pretend to suggest and 't is likewise evident that the Crown-Revenue was thereby very much increased For the Records plainly show that the whole Income of the Crowne Annis 28 and 29. Hen. 6. was reduc'd to Five Thousand Pounds per Annum Edward the Fourth who succeeded was an expensive Prince Richard the Third his Brother a frugal Man indeed but his Reign was too short to make any great Improvements in his Revenue and yet we find Henry the Seventh his Successor Master of more ready Money than ever any King of England was either before or since his Time This Prince had not many Aids from his People * Answer to the Reasons for Foreign Wars â— 51 Sir Robert Cotton enumerates them But one Aid upon Land viz. Anno 19. Out of their Goods and Lands
Value if it cannot be given away without great Damage to the Crown if by reason of such Gift he is hindred from paying his just Debts or from having wherewithal to defray the Charges of the Government or to provide for the Kingdoms Defence or if by this and other Gifts he must be driven through the failing of his own Revenue to lay heavy Burthens upon the People 't is the Duty of the Lord Treasurer to represent the whole Matter honestly and impartially to the King and to hinder the Grant from proceeding any further And as a Tie upon him he takes the following Oath Ye shall swear That well and truly ye shall serve the King our Soveraign Lord and his People in the Office of Treasurer and ye shall do right to all manner of People Poor and Rich of such Things as toucheth your Office And that King's Treasure truly ye shall keep and dispend And truly ye shall counsail the King and his Counsel ye shall layn and keep And that ye shall neither know nor suffer the King 's Hurt nor his dis-heriting nor that the Rights of his Crown be distressed by any means as far forth as ye may let And if ye may not let it ye shall make knowledge thereof clearly and expressly to the King with your true Advice and Counsel And ye shall do and purchase the King's Profit in all that ye may reasonably do as God you help and the Holy Evangelists It was hardly possible to devise a more binding Oath And the Words Ye shall well and truly serve the King our Soveraign Lord and his People in the Office of Treasurer are an Evidence that our Forefathers took themselves to have some kind of Interest in what was call'd the Crown-Revenue If the Grant meets with no Objection at the Treasury the King signs a Warrant directed to the Attorny or Sollicitor-General who is another Great Officer impowering him to prepare a Bill containing such a Grant And if the Grant be of Mony appropriated by Act of Parliament or of Lands annex'd to the Crown by Act of Parliament or if the Grant be any ways illegal or prejudicial to the Crown it is the Attorny or Sollicitor-General's Duty to advertise thereof After Mr. Attorny has pass'd it it goes to the Signet the Custody whereof is in the Secretary of State who being a Minister in high Office is presum'd by the Laws to be watchful for the King 's Good and to inquire into all Matters relating to the Weal Publick He is presum'd to be apris'd of the Persons Merits to whom the Grant is to be made and likewise to understand either the Affluence or Want in the King's Coffers and the general Condition of his Revenue And having an Allowance for Intelligence he is presum'd to know the Discourses and Opinions of the People and how such Grants are relish'd If therefore the Person suing out the Grant has no Merit at all or at least no sort of pretention to so great a Reward or if he knows the Publick to be press'd with Wants and Debts or if he hears that the People murmur at the Taxes which Profusion introduces and Clamour to see the Nations Mony wasted by his Duty as Privy Councellor and by his Oath he is bound faithfully and plainly thereof to inform the King From the Signet it should go to the Privy Seal who is likewise another Great Officer who being near the Person of the King is presum'd to know the Condition of the Kingdom and therefore the Law has made him another Check He takes this Oath Ye shall as far forth as your Cunning and â—â—â—cretion sufficeth truly justly and evenly execute and exercise the Office of Keeper of the King 's Privy Seal to you by his Highness committed not leaving or eschewing so to do for Affection Love Meed Doubt or Dread of any Person or Persons c. So that if the Lord Privy Seal finds that through Corruption in other Offices or that by Power Importunity or partial Favour a Grant tending greatly to the Publick Damage and to the Diminution of his Prince's Revenue has pass'd so far as to his Office he ought to stop it there and is bound in Duty and by his Oath to lay the whole Matter before the King From the Privy Seal it goes to the Great Seal in the Custody of the Lord Keeper or Lord Chancellor of England who is accompted the Kingdom 's as well as the King's Officer and there the Grant is compleated upon which score in the Eye of the Law this Great Minister is most look'd upon his Oath is the same with that of the Lord Treasurer He swears Well and truly to serve the King and his People in the Office of Chancellor truly to Counsel the King not to suffer his Hurt or Dis-heriting nor that the Rights of the Crown be distress'd by any Means as far forth as he may let And if he may not let it he is to make it clearly and expresly known to the King with true Advice and Counsel And in all that he may he is to do and purchase the King's Profit So that more than any other as the highest Officer and as the last Check the Laws presume him to consult for the King 's good Therefore if the Grant be exorbitant if it be made to an undeserving Person if it notoriously surpasses the Merits of the Suitor if it was obtain'd upon wrong Suggestions if it occasions Obloquy to the Government or Discontent among the People if the King's Debts are many and clamorous if the Nation labours at the same time as the Gift is made under heavy Taxes and if the Grant tends greatly to the Hurt and Impoverishment of the Crown with all which Matters the Law presumes so great a Minister in the State to be acquainted he is bound in Duty and by his Oath not to fix the Great Seal to the said Grant but thereupon faithfully and impartially to advise the King And Chancellors who have acted otherwise and who contrary to the Trust of their Office have ventur'd to pass outragious Gifts Douns Outrageuses as the Records call 'em whereby the Crown has been impoverish'd have been heretofore as we shall show by and by question'd impeach'd and attainted in Parliament These were the ancient Steps in Passing Grants from the Crown which were afterwards inforc'd by a positive * Anno 27 Hen. 8. Cap. 11. Law in the Reign of Henry the Eighth a Prince jealous enough of the Regal Authority 'T is true by the Suggestion in the Preamble it looks as if the Act were made to preserve the Fees belonging to the Clerks of the Signet but bringing in Fees to Officers being never the Object of a Parliaments Care we ought to conclude that the House of Commons gave that fair Colour in the Reign of a Suspicious and Arbitrary Prince to the Regulations they intended to make as to Passing Grants from the Crown First the Law directs That the King's
But 't is left to the Gentlemen of the Long Robe to determin in this Point However tho' this Doctrin of Non Obstantes invented perhaps first to enlarge the Prerogative for the People's benefit and made use of afterwards to extend it to the King and People's Damage may have heretofore receiv'd Countenance in Westrninster-hall there is another Place where in no Age it has met with Favour And the Reasons why so many Resumptions have been made might be First That it gave Offence to the Legislative Authority to see the Ministers make use of this dispensing Power Secondly That it appear'd the Suggestions were wrong upon which the Grants were grounded That is that the Soveraign did not proceed Ex certa Scientia namely that he was surpris'd and misinform'd in the value of the Thing given That he did not proceed Ex mero motu but that the Gift was wrested from him by his importunate and undeserving Courtiers That he did not proceed Ex Speciali Gratia but was rather induc'd to bestow the Favour through the necessity of his Affairs to quiet some great Man or to please some powerful Party And in all probability upon such or the like Accompts Parliaments have look'd into Grants and the best Princes have not thought it dishonorable to join in Revoking what had been thus Extorted from them And as to the distinction which the Lawyers make between Directive and Coercive Admit the Forms by which the Law has directed all Grants shall pass should be only Directive to the Soveraign and devised for his greater Ease and Safety yet without doubt they are Coercive to his Ministers No Law-givers ever intended that a solemn Law made upon mature Deliberation and prescribing a Rule in high Affairs of State should have no effect at all But the 27 Hen. VIII which Chalks out to the Secretary Lord Privy Seal and Lord Chancellor the regular Steps they are to make in passing Grants would be of no sort of signification if they may pass per Saltum and by immediate Warrant without being enter'd in the several Offices When Parliaments advise the Prince 't is humbly submitted to his Wisdom whether or no he thinks fit to approve of their Councils But when by a written Law they give Advice and lay down Rules and Directions in Matters of State for the Ministers to walk by and observe without doubt they intend Advice so solemnly given should be follow'd Hitherto we have mention'd the Cautions Provisions Restrictions and Forms which our Ancestors establish'd and made use of to preserve the King's Revenue by which the Publick was to be supported But notwithstanding all this the Wickedness of Men was either too Cunning or too Powerful for the Wisdom of the Laws in being And from time to time Great Men Ministers Minions and Favourites have broken down the Fences contriv'd and settled in our Constitution they have made a Prey of the Common-wealth plum'd the Prince and converted to their own Use what was intended for the Service and Preservation of the State We shall therefore proceed to show That to obviate this Mischief the Legislative Authority has all along interpos'd with Inquiries Accusations and Impeachments till at last such dangerous Heads were reach'd For as Courts have been watchful to Rob the Prince so antiently the Barons and afterwards Parliaments from time to time have been as vigilant to prevent his Ruin showing in the progress of their Councils great Wisdom mixt with Duty and Temper join'd with Courage The first Great Person whom we find question'd since the Norman Government was Ranulphus Bishop of Durham who bore the Office of what we now call * Dugdale Series Chronica p. 1. Lord Treasurer of England in the time of William Rufus This Man had been the Principal Instrument of the Profusion and of what is its Consequence those Extortions that disgrac'd the Reign of Rufus Of whose times William of Malmsbury speaking says None were then Rich but such as dealt with the Exchequer * Will. Malms p. 123. Nullus Dives uisi Nummularius This wicked Minister was brought to Punishment by Henry I. who cast him into Prison and loaded him with Chains Matthew Paris says †Mat. Paris p. 56. De Communi Consilio Gentis Anglorum posuit eum Rex in vinculis Malmsbury gives him this Character * Wil. Malms p. 123. Radulphus Clericus ex infimo genere hominum Lingua Assiduitate provectus ad summum Expilator Divitum Exterminator Pauperum Confiscator alienarum Hereditatum Invictus Caussidicus cum verbis tum rebus immodicus nec aliorum curaret odium dummodo complaceret Dominum It seems he was a little insolent Fellow who by his fluent Tongue and cringing at Court had got Power enough to do much hurt in England A mischievous Tool against the Publick as well as an Oppressor of private Men Subtle to invent Wickedness and Bold to put it in Execution and one who would stick at nothing to raise himself Matthew Paris speaking of him says he was †Mat. Paris p. 56. Homo perversus ad omne Scelus paratus quem Rex constituerat Procuratorem suum in Regno ut evelleret destraeret raperet disperderet omnia omnium bona ad Fifci Commodum comportaret We have thus painted out this Statesman in the Colours as he is represented by those two Venerable Writers And he so much resembles several bad Ministers who in the Ages since have succeeded both to his Post and Power that one would think they had chosen to take him for their Pattern In the 5 of Edward II. Pieres de Gaveston was accused in Parliament for having given the King ill Council and for having cheated the King of his Treasure and sent it beyond Sea and for having Estranged the King's Heart from his People so as he slighted their Councils and for having remov'd all faithful Ministers and plac'd only his own Creatures or Foreigners about the King and for having caus'd the King to grant Lands Tenements and Offices to himself and his Heirs and to divers other People insomuch that by his Wealth he was become dangerous to the great damage and injury of the King and his Crown For which he was Banish'd the Realm so as if he return'd he should be treated as an Enemy to the King Kingdom and People But take the Words of the Record because 't is very curious Rot. Ord. 5. Edw. 2. Num. 20. Purceo qe conue chose est per le examinement de Prelatz Countes Barouns Chivalers autres bones Gentz du Roialme trovez qe Pieres de Gaveston ad Malmeuez mal Conseillez nostre Seignour le Roy lad enticee a malfaire en divers Manieres deceivances en accoillant a lui toute le Tresor le Roi lad esloigne hors du Roialme en attreant a lui royal Poer royal Dignite come en aliaunce faire de Gentz par sermentz
in it if you will take in all the Grants since the Restoration of King Charles the Second But few are so short sighted as not to see into this Artifice such as are for making their Resumption so large desire none at all and would engage a great many different Titles to oppose it If it could possibly consist with the Rules of Justice if to do so would not produce unspeakable Disorders if it would not utterly ruin a great number of Families no doubt the Publick labouring under so many Debts and Difficulties such a general Resumption would be advisable all which are strong Objections to the making it so extensive To which may be answer'd that the same Inconveniences will happen by resuming the Irish Forfeitures we shall therefore try to shew how the Cases differ But to clear these Points we must repeat some things that have been laid down in the foregoing part of this Discourse That the Kings of this Realm have always prescribed a Power of alienating the Crown-Revenue by their Great Seals That it would not have been convenient in the beginning of this Constitution to have bound up the Prince's Hands from all kind of Alienations for then by Forfeitures and Attainders in process of time the King would have been Lord of the whole Soil That however Parliments by Petitions Bills or Acts of Resumption have all along laid in a claim of the People's Interest in this Revenue especially when the Grants were become exorbitant That the Wasts committed upon the Crown-Revenue produced at last viz. 11. Hen. 4. a positive Law porhibiting these sort of Alienations That the force of the Law was evaded by Clauses of non obstante incerted in the Letters Patents That these Clauses seem condemn'd by the late Act for declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subjects When King Charles the 2d came in the Doctrine of the Court was sow a little that you may reap much and they who were then intrusted with the Nation 's Purse were themselves for diving into the Princes Pocket And at the same time the Doctrine of Westminster Hall was to advance the Prerogative as high as possible thus the King was perswaded to give away the greatest part of his Crown Lands and by the Proceedings of Westminster Hall the People were encouraged to think such Grants were good in Law the Courtier begg'd and the Citizen bought so that immediately he was in a manner divested of all and yet they who had suffer'd for him and his Father were few of 'em the better for all this immoderate Bounty These Liberalities of his were not bestow'd as the Recompence of antient Merit but were often the Price of Treachery and the Rewards of Vice And as Cyrus observ'd that in Camps the most worthless Souldiers are the busiest to get Plunder so the same thing may be said of a Court expos'd to Spoil the worst Men in it are the most ravenous and generally make the best Advantages The Observation we have now made did apparently hold true as to King Charles's Court however ill-gotten Goods seldom thrive and very little of what was thus obtain'd remains with the first Possessors but is now dispers'd into a Multitude of Hands Though what he did was so prejudicial to the Crown yet such was then the flourishing Condition of our Affairs that we could bear a great deal of ill Management Besides some were glad enough to see a young Prince necessitated to depend upon his People who was apprehended to meditate arbitrary Power But whatever govern'd the Councels of those times certain it is that there was no actual Bar put in the Way of his destructive Bounty 'T is true as we have noted in the third Section 't was complain'd of but all ended in an Address which had very little in it of the Spirit which our Ancestors had shewn upon the like Occasions Leave was given at the beginning of that Reign to bring in a Bill of Resumption A Bill was twice read to regulate and restrain such Alienations and an Address was thereupon made but no consequence following upon all this the People of England had reason to believe that the Parliament acquiesced in what was done at Court The matter did not only Sleep then but was not as we can find afterwards reviv'd and for many Years it was hardly mention'd in the House of Commons insomuch that Estates though so newly deriv'd from the Crown came in a short space of Time to bear almost an equal value with any other sort of Land But if as in ancient times such a Proceeding of the Court had been complain'd of from Sessions to Sessions if as heretofore the Ministers that procured the Grants had been impeach'd if Bills of Resumption had been frequently offer'd though rejected such Motions would have been some Warning to the Nation the Purchasers would have look'd about 'em every Man must have known the Hazzard he was to undergo and he can only accuse himself who will run into it when before hand he is acquainted with the Danger But the Legislative Authority continuing so long silent in the matter and the Lawyers of those times making no Objection to Titles of this Sort depending upon their Ex certa Scientia mero Mortu Gratia speciali and yet more upon their Clauses of non obstante the People were induced to think they might as safely make these as any other Sort of Purchases Hence it was that what belong'd to the Crown but so lately came to be a matter of Publick Traffick among the People insomuch that the whole Fortune of very many Families is therein embark'd What Cato said is indeed true if rightly distinguish'd that there ought to be no praescription against the Publick Plut. vit Cat. Neâ— Mortales contra Deum immortalem nec privatos contra Rempublicam praescribere posse This holds without doubt when private Men get fraudulently or by Force into Possession of what belongs to the Publick and at the beginning were Possessores mala Fide which length of time ought not to purge But in a mixt Government if one Part of the State suffers the other Part to alienate what the whole have an Interest in and if the said Part had power and Opportunity to make an Opposition and yet made none it implies such a Consent as according to the Law of Nations and the Rules of Justice ought to indemnifie to all Intents and Purposes the Possessor bona fide and the Purchaser upon a valuable Consideration Grotius Dc Jure Belli ac Pacis l. 2. Cap. 6. n. 10. speaking upon Alienations says * Inconsulto vero Populo Rex id non potest si maneamus inter terminos naturales quia juris temporarii quale est Regnum electorum aut lege succedentium ad Imperium effectus nisi temporarii esse non possunt potuit tamen Populi ut expressus consensus ita tacitus consuetudine introductus qualem nunc passim vigere cernimus id