pleas'd notwithstanding that the great Officers should take an oath in Parliament to do Iustice. Now for the Parliament of Westminster in the 17th year of the King the King had three markes and a half for every sack of Wooll transported and in his 18th he had a 10th of the Clergie and a 15th of the Laity for one year His Majestie forbare after this to charge his Subjects with any more payments untill the 29th of his reigne when there was given the King by Parliament 50 for every sack of Wool transported for six yeares by which grant the King received a thousand markes a day a greater matter then a thousand pounds in these dayes and a 1000l a day amounts to 365000l a year which was one of the greatest presents that ever was given to a King of this land For besides the cheapenesse of all things in that age the Kings souldiers had but 3d. a day wages a man at armes 6d a Knight but 2s In the Parliament at Westminster in the 33th year he had 26s 8d for every sack of Wooll transported in the 42th year 3 dismes and 3 fifteens In his 45th year he had â—0000l of the Laity and because the Spiritualty disputed it and did not pay so much the King chang'd his Chancellour Treasurer Privy Seal being Bishops and placed Lay men in their roome COUNS. It seems that in those dayes the Kings were no longer in love with their great Chancellors then when they deserved well of them JUST No my Lord they were not and that was the reason they were well served and it was the custome then and in many ages after to change the Treasurer the Chancellour every 3 years and withall to hear all mens complaints against them COUNS. But by this often change the saying is verified that there is no inheritance in the favour of Kings He that keepeth the figge-tree saith Solomon shall eate the fruit thereof for reason it is that the servant live by the Master JUST My Lord you say well in both but had the subject an inheritance in the Princes favour where the Prince hath no inheritance in the Subjects fidelity then were Kings in more unhappy estate then common persons for the rest Solomon meaneth not that he that keepeth the figge tree should surfet though he meant he should eat he meant not he should break the branches in gathering the figs or eat the ripe and leave the rotten for the owner of the tree for what saith he in the following chapter he saith that he that maketh hast to be â—ich cannot be innocent And before that he saith that the end of an inheritance hastily gotten cannot be blessed Your Lordship hath heard of few or none great with Kings that have not used their power to oppresse that have not growne insolent and hatefull to the people yea insolent towards those Princes that advanced them COUNS. Yet you see that Princes can change their fancies IUST Yea my Lord when favorites change their faith when they forget that how familiar soever Kings make themselves with their Vassals yet they are Kings He that provoketh a King to anger saith Solomon sinneth against his own soul. And he further saith that pride goeth before distruction and a high mind before afall I say therefore that in discharging those Lucifers how dear soever they have been Kings make the world know that they have more of Iudgement then of passion yea they thereby offer a satisfactory sacrifice to all their people too great benefits of subjects to their king where the mind is blown up with their own deservings and to great benefits of Kings conferr'd upon their Subjects where the mind is not qualified with a great deal of modesty are equally dangerous Of this later and insolenter had King Richard the second delivered up to Iustice but three or four he had still held the love of the people and thereby his life and estate COUNS. Well I pray you go on with your Parliaments IUST The life of this great King Edward drawes to an end so do the Parliaments of this time wherein 50 years raigne he never received any affront for in his 49th year he had a disme and a fifteen granted him freely COUNS. But Sir it is an old saying that all is well that ends well Iudge you whether that in his 50th year in Parliament at Westminster he received not an affront when the house urged the King to remove and discharge from his presence the Duke of Lancaster the Lord Latimer his Chamberlaine Sir Richard Sturry and others whom the King favoured and trusted Nay they pressed the King to thrust a certain Lady out of Court which at that time bare the greatest sway therein IUST I will with patience answer your Lordship to the full and first your Lordship may remember by that which I even now said that never King had so many gifts as this King had from his subjects and it hath never grieved the subjects of England to give to their King but when they knew there was a devouring Lady that had her share in all things that passed and the Duke of Lancaster was as scraping as shee that the Chancellour did eat up the people as fast as either of them both It grieved the subjects to feed these Cormorants But my Lord there are two things by which the Kings of England have been prest to wit by their subjects and by their own necessities The Lords in former times were farre stronger more warlike better followed living in their Countries then now they are Your Lordship may remember in your reading that there were many Earles could bring into the field a thousand Barbed horses many a Baron 5. or 600. Barbed horses whereas now very few of them can furnish twenty fit to serve the King But to say the truth my Lord the Iustices of peace in England have oppos'd the injusticers of war in England the Kings writ runs over all and the great Seal of England with that of the next Constables will serve the turn to affront the greatest Lords in England that shall move against the King The force therefore by which our Kings in former times were troubled is vanisht away But the necessities remain The people therefore in these later ages are no lesse to be pleased then the Peeres for as the later are become lesse so by reason of the trayning through England the Commons have all the weapons in their hand COUNS. And was it not so ever IUST No my good Lord for the Noblemen had in their Armories to furnish some them a thousand some two thousand some three thousand men whereas now there are not many that can arme fifty COUNS. Can you blame them But I will onely answer for my self between you and me be it spoken I hold it not safe to mantain so great an Armory or Stable it might cause me or any other Nobleman to be suspected as the preparing of some Innovation IUST Why so my
Commissioners which because one of the Aldermen refused to pay he was sent for a souldier into Scotland He had also another great subsedy of six shillings the pound of the Clergy and two shillings eight pence of the goods of the Laity and four shillings the pound upon Lands In the second yeare of Edward the sixt the Parliament gave the King an aid of twelve pence the pound of goods of his Naturall subjects and two shillings the pound of strangers and this to continue for three yeares and by the statute of the second and third of Edward the sixt it may appear the same Parliament did also give a second aid as followeth to wit of every Ewe kept in severall pastures 3d of every weather kept as aforesaid 2d of every sheep kept in the Common 1d ob The House gave the King also 8d the pound of every woollen cloath made for the sale throughout England for three years In the third and fourt of the King by reason of the troublesome gathering of the poly money upon sheep and the tax upon cloath this act of subsedy was repeal'd and other relief given the King and in the seventh yeare he had a subsedy and two fifteens In the first yeare of Queen Mary tunnage and poundage were granted In the second yeare a subsedy was given to King Philip and to the Queen she had also a third subsedy in Annis 4. 5. Eliz. Reg Now my Lord for the Parliaments of the late Queens time in which there was nothing new neither head money nor sheep money nor escuage nor any of these kinds of payments was required but onely the ordinary subsedies and those as easily graunted as demanded I shall not need to trouble your Lordship with any of them neither can I inform your Lordship of all the passages and acts which have passed for they are not extant nor printed COUNS. No it were but time lost to speak of the latter and by those that are already remembred we may judge of the rest for those of the greatest importance are publick But I pray you deal freely with me what you think would be done for his Majesty If he should call a Parliament at this time or what would be required at his Majesties hands IUST The first thing that would be required would be the same that was required by the Commons in the thirteenth yeare of Hen. the eight to wit that if any man of the commons house should speak more largely then of duty he ought to do all such offences to be pardoned and that to be of record COUNS. So might every Companion speak of the King what they list IUST No my Lord the reverence which a Vassall oweth to his Soveraigne is alwaies intended for every speech howsoever it must import the good of the King and his estate and so long it may be easily pardoned otherwise not for in Queen Elizabeths time who gave freedome of speech in all Parliaments when Wentworth made those motions that were but supposed dangerous to the Queens estate he was imprisoned in the Tower notwithstanding the priviledge of the house and there died COUNS. What say you to the Scicilian vespers remembred in the last Parliament IUST I say he repented him heartily that used that speech and indeed besides that it was seditious this example held not The French in Scicily usurped that Kingdome they neither kept law nor faith they took away the inheritance of the Inhabitants they took from them their wives and ravished their daughters committing all other insolencies that could be imagined The Kings Majesty is the Naturall Lord of England his Vassals of Scotland obey the English Laws if they break them they are punished without respect Yea his Majesty put one of his Barons to a shamefull death for being consenting onely to the death of a Common Fencer And which of these ever did or durst commit any outrage in England but to say the truth the opinion of packing the last was the cause of the contention and disorder that happened COUNS. Why sir do you not think it best to compound a Parliament of the Kings servants and others that shall in all obey the Kings desires IUST Certainly no for it hath never succeeded well neither on the kings part nor on the subjects as by the Parliament before-remembred your Lordship may gather for from such a composition do arise all jealousies and all contentions It was practized in elder times to the great trouble of the kingdome and to the losse and ruine of many It was of latter time used by King Henry the eight but every way to his disadvantage When the King leaves himself to his people they assure themselves that they are trusted and beloved of their king and there was never any assembly so barborus as not to answer the love and trust of their King Henry the sixt when his estate was in effect utterly overthrown and utterly impoverished at the humble request of his Treasurer made the same known to the House Or other wise using the Treasurers own words He humbly desired the King to take his Staffe that he might save his wardship COUNS. But you know they will presently be in hand with those impositions which the King hath laid by his own Royall Prerogative IUST Perchance not my Lord but rather with those impositions that have been by some of your Lordships laid upon the King which did not some of your Lordships fear more then you do the impositions laid upon the Subjects you would never disswade his Majesty from a Parliament For no man doubted but that his Majesty was advised to lay those impositions by his Councell and for particular things on which they were laid the advice came from petty fellows though now great ones belonging to the Custome-House Now my Lord what prejudice hath his Majesty his Revenue being kept up if the impositions that were laid by the generall Councell of the Kingdome which takes off all grudging and complaint COUNS. Yea Sir but that which is done by the King with the advice of his private or privy Councell is done by the Kings absolute power IUST And by whose power it is done in parliament but by the Kings absolute power Mistake it not my Lord The three Estates do but advise as the privy Councell doth which advice if the King imbrace it becomes the Kings own Act in the one and the Kings Law in the other for without the Kings acceptation both the publick and private advices be but as empty Egg shels and what doth his Majesty lose if some of those things which concerns the poorer sort to be made free again and the Revenue kept up upon that which is superfluous Is it a losse to the King to be beloved of the Commons If it be revenue which the King seeks is it not better to take it of those that laugh then of those that cry Yea if all be conten to pay upon moderation change of the Species Is it
not more honourable and more safe for the King that the Subject pay by perswasion then to have them constrained If they be contented to whip themselves for the King were it not better to give them the Rod into their hands then to commit them to the Executioner Certainly it is farre more happy for a Soveraigne Prince that a Subject open his purse willingly then that the same be opened by violence Besides that when impositions are laid by Parliament they are gathered by the authority of the Law which as aforesaid rejecteth all complaints and stoppeth every mutinous mouth It shall ever be my prayer that the King embrace the Councel of Honour and safety and let other Princes imbrace that of force COUNS. But good Sir it is his Prerogative which the King stands upon it is the Prerogative of the Kings that the Parliaments do all diminish IUST If your Lordship would pardon me I would say then that your Lordships objection against Parliaments is ridiculous In former Parliaments three things have been supposed dishonour of the King The first that the Subjects have conditioned with the King when the King hath needed them to have the great Charter confirmed The second that the Estates have made Treasurers for the necessary and profitable disbursing of those sums by them given to the end that the Kings to whom they were given should expend them for their own defence for the defence of the Common-wealth The third that these have prest the King to discharge some great Officers of the Crown and to elect others As touching the first my Lord I would fain learn what disadvantage the Kings of this Land have had by confirming the great Charter the breach of which have served onely men of your Lordships rank to assist their own passions and to punish and imprison at their own discretion the Kings poor Subjects Concerning their private hatred with the colour of the Kings service for the Kings Majestie take no mans inheritance as I have said before nor any mans life but the Law of the Land according to the Charter Neither doth his Majesty imprison any man matter of practice which concerns the preservation of his estate excepted but by the law of the land And yet he useth his prerogative as all the Kings of England have ever used to for the supream reason cause to practise many things without the advice of the law As insurrections and rebellions it useth the marshall and not the common law without any breach of the Charter the intent of the Charter considered truely Neither hath any Subject made complaint or been grieved in that the Kings of this land for their own safeties and preservation of their estates have used their Prerogatives the great Ensigne on which there is written soli Deo And my good Lord was not Buckingham in England and Byron in France condemned their Peers uncalled And withall was not Byron utterly contrary to the custome priviledges of the French denyed an advocate to assist his defence For where lawes forecast cannot provide remedies for future dangers Princes are forced to assist themselves by their Prerogatives But that which hath been ever grievous and the cause of many troubles very dangerous is that your Lordships abusing the reasons of state do punish and imprison the K. Subjects at your pleasure It is you my Lords that when Subjects have sometimes need of the Kings prerogative do then use the strength of the Law and when they require the law you afflict them with the prerogative and tread the great Charter which hath been confirmed by 16 Acts of Parliament under your feet as a torn parchment or waste paper COUNS. Good Sir which of us do in this sort break the great Charter perchance you mean that we have advised the King to lay the new impositious IUST No my Lord there is nothing in the great Charter against impositions and besides that necessity doth perswade them And if necessity do in somewhat excuse a private man à fortiori it may then excuse a Prince Again the Kings Majesty hath profit and increase of revenue by the impositions But there are of your Lordships contrarie to the direct Letter of the Charter that imprison the Kings Subjects and deny them the benefit of the Law to the Kings disprofit And what do you otherwise thereby if the impositions be in any sort grievous but Renovare dolores And with all digg out of the dust the long buried memorie of the Subjects former intentions with their Kings COUNS. What mean you by that IUST I will tell your Lordship when I dare in the mean time it is enough for me to put your Lordship in mind that all the Estates in the World in the offence of the people have either had profit or necessity to perswade them to adventure it of which if neither be urgent and yet the Subject exceedingly grieved your Lordship may conjecture that the House will be humble suitors for a redresse And if it be a Maxime in policy to please the people in all things indifferent and never suffer them to be beaten but for the Kings benefit for there are no blows forgotten with the smart but those then I say to make them Vassals to Vassals is but to batter down those mastering buildings erected by K Henry the 7. fortified by his Son by which the people the Gentry of England were brought to depend upon the King alone Yea my good Lord our late dear Soveraign Q. Eliz. kept them up to their advantage as wel repaired as ever Prince did Defend me spend me faith the Irish Churle COUNS. Then you think that this violent breach of the Charter will be the cause of seeking the conformation of it in the next Parliament which otherwise could never have bin moved IUST I know not my good Lord perchance not for if the House presse the King to graunt unto them all that is theirs by the Law they cannot in Iustice refuse the King all that is his by the Law And where will be the issue of such a contention I dare not divine but sure I am that it will tend to the prejudice both of the King and Subject COUNS. If they dispute not their own liberties why should they then the Kings liberties which we call his Prerogative IUST Among so many and so divers Spirits no man can foretell what may be propounded but howsoever if the matter be not slightly handled on the Kings behalf these disputes will soon dissolve for the King hath so little need of his Prerogative so great advantage by the Lawes as the fear of imparing the one to wit the Prerogative is so impossible and the burthen of the other to wit the Law so weighty as but by a branch of the Kings Prerogative namely of his remission and pardon the Subject is no way able to undergo it This my Lord is no matter of flourish that I have said but it is the truth
and unanswerable COUNS. But to execute the Laws very severely would be very grievous IUST Why my Lord are the Laws grievous which our selves have required of our Kings And are the Prerogatives also which our Kings have reserved to themselves also grievous How can such a people then be well pleased And if your Lordship confess that the Lawes give too much why does your Lordship urge the Prerogative that gives more Nay I will be bold to say it that except the Lawes were better observed the Prerogative of a Religious Prince hath manifold lesse perils then the Letter of the Law hath Now my Lord for the second third to wit for the appointing of Treasures and removing of Councellors our Kings have evermore laught them to scorn that have prest either of these after the Parliament dissolved took the money of the Treasurers of the Parliament and recalled restored the Officers discharged or else they have been contented that some such persons should be removed at the request of the whole Kingdom which they themselves out of their Noble natures would not seem willing to remove COUNS. Well Sir Would you notwithstanding all these arguments advise his Majesty to call a Parliament IUST It belongs to your Lordships who enjoy the Kings favour are chosen for your able wisedome to advise the K. It were a strange boldnesse in a poor and private person to advise Kings attended with so understanding a Councell But be like your Lorpships have conceived some other way how money may be gotten otherwise If any trouble should happen your Lordship knows that then there were nothing so dangerous for a K as to be without money A Parliament cannot assemble in haste but present dangers require hasty remedies It will be no time then to discontent the subjects by using any unordinary wayes COUNS. Well Sir all this notwithstanding we dare not advise the King to call a Parliament for if it should succeed ill we that advise should fall into the Kings disgrace And if the King be driven into any extremity we can say to the King that because we found it extremely unpleasing to his Majesty to hear of a Parliament we thought it no good manners to make such a Motion IUST My Lord to the first let me tell you that there was never any just Prince that hath taken any advantage of the successe of Councels which have been founded on reason To fear that were to fear the losse of the bell more then the losse of the steeple and were also the way to beat all men from the studies of the Kings service But for the second where you say you can excuse your selves upon the Kings own protesting against a Parliament the King upon better consideration may encounter that fineness of yours COUNS. How I pray you IUST Even by declaring himself to be indifferent by calling your Lordships together and by delivering unto you that he heares how his loving subjects in generall are willing to supply him if it please him to call a Parliament for that was the common answer to all the Sheriffes in England when the late benevolence was commanded In which respect and because you come short in all your projects because it is a thing most dangerous for a King to be without treasure he requires such of you as either mislike or rather fear a Parliment to set down your reasous in writing which you either mislike or feared it And such as with and desire it to set down answers to your objections And so shall the King prevent the calling or not calling on his Majesty as some of your great Councellers have done in many other things shrinking up their shoulders and saying the K. will have it so COUNS. Well Sir it grows late I will bid you farewell onely you shall take well with you this advice of mine that in all that you have said against our greatest those men in the end shall be your Iudges in their own cause you that trouble your self with reformation are like to be well rewarded hereof you may assure your self that we will never allow of any invention how profitable soever unlesse it proceed or seem to proceed from our selves IUST If then my Lord we may presume to say that Princes may be unhappy in any thing certainly they are unhappy in nothing more then in suffering themselves to be so inclosed Again if we may believe Pliny who tels us that 't is an ill signe of prosperity in any kingdome or state where such as deserve well find no other recompence then the contentment of their own conseiences a farre worse signe is it where the justly accused shall take revenge of the just accuser But my good Lord there is this hope remaining that seeing he hath been abused by them he trusted most he will not for the future dishonour of his judgement so well informed by his own experience as to expose such of his vassals as have had no other motives to serve him then simply the love of his person and his estate to their revenge who have onely been moved by the love of their own fortunes and their glory COUNS. But good Sir the King hath not been deceived by all IUST No my Lord neither have all been trusted neither doth the world accuse all but believe that there be among your Lordships very just and worthy men aswell of the Nobility as others but those though most honoured in the Common-wealth yet have not been most imployed Your Lordship knows it well enough that three or 4 of your Lordships have thought your hands strong enough to beat up alone the weightiest affairs in the Commonwealth and strong enough all the Land have found them to beat down whom they pleased COUNS. I understand you but how shall it appear that they have onely sought themselves IUST There needs no perspective glasse to discern it for neither in the treaties of Peace and Warre in matters of Revenue and matters of Trade any thing hath hapned either of love or of judgement No my Lord there is not any one action of theirs eminent great or small the greatnesse of themselves onely excepted CO. It is all one your Papers can neither answer nor reply we can Besides you tell the King no news in delivering these Complaints for he knows as much as can be told him IUST For the first my Lord whereas he hath once the reasons of things delivered him your Lordships shall need to be well advised in their answers there is no sophistry will serve the turn where the Iudge the understanding are both supreme For the second to say that his Majesty knows and cares not that my Lord were but to despaire all his faithfull Subjects But by your favour my Lord we see it is contrary we find now that there is no such singular power as there hath been Iustice is described with a Balance in her Hand holding it even and it hangs as even now as ever it did in any Kings dayes for singular authority begets but generall oppression COUNS. Howsoever it be that 's nothing to you that gave no interest in the Kings favour nor perchance in his opinion and concerning such a one the misliking or but misconceiving of any one hard word phrase or sentence will give argument to the King either to condemne or reject the whole discourse And howsoever his Majesty may neglect your informations you may be sure that others at whom you point will not neglect their revenges you will therefore confesse it when it is too late that you are exceeding sory that you have not followed my advise Remember Cardinall Woolsey who lost all men for the Kings service when their malice whom he grieved had out-lived the Kings affection you know what became of him as vvell as I. IUST Yea my Lord I know it well that malice hath a longer life than either love or thankfulnesse hath for as we alwaies take more care to put off pain than to enjoy pleasure because the one hath no intermission with the other we are often satisfied so it is in the smart of iniury the memory of good turns Wrongs are written in marble Benefits are sometimes acknowledged rarely requited But my Lord we shall do the K. great wrong to judge him by common rules or ordinary examples for seeing his Majesty hath greatly enriched and advanced those that have but pretended his service no man needs to doubt of his goodnesse towards those that shall performe any thing worthy reward Nay the not taking knowledge of those of his own vassals that have done him wrong is more to be lamented than the relinquishing of those that do him right is to be supected I am therefore my good Lo held to my resolution by these 2 besides the former The 1 that God would never have blest him with so many years and in so many actions yea in all his actions had he paid his honest servants with evill for good The 2d where your Lordship tels me that I will be sorry for not following your advice I pray your Lordship to believe that I am no way subject to the common sorrowing of worldly men this Maxime of Plato being true Dolores omnes ex amore animi erga corpus nascuntur But for my body my mind values it at nothing COUNS. What is it then you hope for or seek IUST Neither riches nor honour or thanks but I onely to seek to satisfie his Majesty which I would have been glad to have done in matters of more importance that I have lived and will die an honest man FINIS The Authors Epitaph made by himself EVen such is Time which takes in wast Our Youth and Ioy 's and all we have And payes us but with age and dust Which be the dark and silent grave When we have wandred all our wayes Struts up the story of our dayes And from which Earth and Grave Dust The Lord shall raise me up I trust Chief Other degrees Other degrees Seeing Touching Hearing Smelling Tasting Situation for Safety Plenty Multitude of Inhabitants Religigion Academies Courts of Justice Artificers Privledge The first devises of Rome to allure strangers as is Sanctuarie Triumps Huband men Merchant Gentry Two things Sâ— W. Raleigh accused of