Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	day_n	king_n	month_n	2,745	5	7.4480	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A55894	A seasonable question, and an usefull answer, contained in an exchange of a letter between a Parliament-man in Cornwell, and a bencher of the Temple, London	Parliament-man in Cornwall.; H. P., Bencher of the Temple.	1676 (1676)	Wing P35; ESTC R5471	14,823	24

been and that you must not assemble again or hold Parliament for above a year then following and you did separate your selves and never held Parliament within the year and this by the act and judgment of the Law hath Dissolved you there hath been a failer of any such act in law as could continue you in the Commission and Authority whereunto the People hath chosen you in the Form that the laws hath prescribed The King declaring under the name of proroguing you that all the 〈◊〉 you had begun should be void and that you should not meet in parliament the next insuing year as the law required I say that declartion of the kings could not in any construction of law be an Act of continuance of your power and commission you had from the people the execution whereof was thereby wholly defeated likewise there was no Act of your own by adjournment of your house to continue you and therefore your Authority was wholly superseded and discontinued I know nothing that can be pretended to prevent your discontinuance but the kings will that you should sit again 3 months after the year expired but his prevention of your sitting for above a year having contrary to the law and his trust first discontinved you his Will cannot give or renew those Parliamentary powers that the people gave you in return of the legall writ The Lord Cooke sayth 3. Part. Instis. Chap. Parl If you sit again you are a severall Parliament from vvhat you vvere if you be a Parliament every distinct session being in lavv a severall Parliament And your former Authorities being Ceased by a failer of continuance you can have none but what the kings will vest in you and I need not tell you that the king cannot chuse for the people their Representatives To me it seemes playn that the king having not continued you nor you continued your selves nor having set or held Parliament for above a year the law hath dissolved you and Judged you for none I have not time to write you all the talks of the Town upon this question some have invented a new fashion prorogation for the king to prorogue without day and call the Parliament again by proclamation but their mouths must be stopped if they be only told That such a practise or use of prorogation hath no foundation in any Statute Custome usage or Reason of Law and the king cannot change the lawes and customes or introduce new I take a prorogation Sine die if any such be made to be as void in law as a writ of summons of a Parliament would be that named no day for their sitting And there can be no pretence of Antiquity for such prorogations the words of Adjornment and Prorogation having been used in differently for the same thing about 400. years if not more They were so taken in the state of 13. E. 4. n. 42. and how long after I cannot find but it would have been a plain contradiction in termes to have said then the Parliament is adjorned Sine die that is it was appointed to meet at another day without a day It s a sign that men are sore pinched when they will assert contradictions rather then submit to truth I ought to tell you one thing more that is said in this case they pretend a president that the king hath prorogued above a year they say that in the great plague in the 7. of Eli. that Parliament was prorogued for a year and three dayes what then say they therefore the king might do it now Such arguers shew themselves pittifull Logitians lack-lerning lavvyers and degenerate English men Is it a logicall arguments to say that what ever any king of England hath once or oftner done may be lawfully done by any other king An English king Rich. 2. by pretence of Royall authority cut many a worthy mans throat and murdered his Unkle the Duke of Gloster An other king Iohn sold this kingdom to the Pope May it therefore be lawfully sold and have any lawyers learned so little as not to know that there is no President to be alledged against an express Statute or not to know A Transgression of a statute even by the king if silently passed over and never brought into Judgment is not in the meaning of the law to be called apresident There 's no use of presidents unless it be to shew the usage where there is no statute in the case or to serve the construction of a statute where the meaning is doubtfull but where so many statutes are plaine and express as in this case 't is in vain to alledge what hath been done and connived at without Questioning it as a president to warrant the present breach of those statutes or rather to anull them forever And they must also as much degenerate from English men as from Logick and Lavv who shall assert that the kings of England may acquire a right or power to themselves and their successors for ever by their Ancestors transgressing any statute made to bound the Regall power All true English have alwayes maintained with their blood that our kings were limmitted by the laws and that they broke their oaths if they did not carefully see to the execution of them And in dayes of yore they have been so far from allowing the son and succesor of a king to break any of the laws because his father did so before him they have rejected the father because he kept not within the limmits of the law and taken the son upon his promise not to walk by his fathers Example Sir I have told you my thoughts upon the Question being satisfied that the kings will being declared upon record that you should not hold Parliament within the time limmited by law you were thereby dissolved and the Authorities given you by the people did thereby cease and return into the People and the kings will that you should afterwards hold Parliament again being not agreeable to law could not revive your power And in my poor opinion if you now assume to your selves to exercise Parliamentary powers becaus the king will have ' it so you must pass this fatall Judgment against the old English government That the king may lawfully prorouge you for 40. years if he please and may refuse for ever to hold a Parliament and if such a Judgment seemingly passed in Parliament against our Fundamentall lawes and liberties shall ever be left to the interpretation of any successors to our gracious king who shall intend a Tyranny he shall claim by that record to be our absolute master and neither Lords nor Commons to have any right to provide in Common Counsel for the defence of the Realm and their own good government and wellfare unless be please In fine our innocent babes shall hereafter read in that record that you Judged your selves and them to be perfect slaves all prostitute to the will of the king Doubtless if it be granted that the People have no right to parliaments but at the kings will we shall never have any king after this that will tell us as king Iames did in his speech to the parliament held March 19. 1603. That he vvas not ashamed to confess it his principle honnor to be the great servant of the Common vvealth and that he knevv himself to be ordained for the people and not the people for him I shall not advise you to come or stay I have herein delivered my one soul as becomes Your Fithfull and Affestionate Friend H. P. FINIS

A Seasonable QUESTION AND AN Usefull ANSWER CONTAINED In an Exchange of a LETTER between a Parliament-Man in Cornwell and a Bencher of the Temple London Printed in the Year 1676. as vve can vve shall yeild up to the Kings pleasure all the Lavvs vvhereby the Rights and Inheritances of the King and Subjects ought to be distinguished and determined Truly Sir these are edged Tooles not to be played with I would not come 200 miles to put my Neck in a noose An honest Old Cavalire whispered tother day to me That he supposed this prorogation came from French Counsels not only to prevent the Parliament from stoping in time the French Kings increase of povver at Sea and Land but to lead his Majesty in obscure undifcerned paths to the mount of absolute povver The French knovving too vvell that vvhensoever the English People shall discover their Liberties and Lavvs to be invaded such fires vvill be kindled as they may run avvay in the smoak and vveshall not be able to contest vvith them either the povver of the Sea or the equallity of trade But whosoever advised the prorogation Pray Sir let me know whether it be a Dissolution You may perhaps save me a scurvy winter Journey and Mony in my Pocket and I assure you we are all very poor and I do not expect to be paid for secret serviec I know you can resolve this question as well at least as my Lord Chancellor If it be but a doubtful point I should think I had best stay at home none but an undoubted parliament being able lawfully to deside the case His Majesty out of parliament is no competent Judge for himself in this point and if we should declare our selves to be a parliament legally continued by the Prorogation according to the Kings will though not according to the Lawes I should tremble to be assistant in such a sad doom of England that the meeting of our Parliament and the benefit of our laws are of the kings Grace and not of right to be injoyed only when as he pleaseth Neither should I think such a resolution to be of any authority because we should be parties and Judges and give sentence to continve our selves in power You must not Sir deny me your whole thoughts of this great affair I have come to parliament twice or thrice to provide against the multitude of mischiefs and grievancs that threaten our ruine but did but verifie the proverb That I came ninescore miles to suck a Bull you know we have not been suffeerd to do anything of moment for several Sessions but I shall fool my self more if I should now come 200 miles to sit gravely and prepare my self for the Gallowes when soever the subjects shall demand right against us or the Crown shall descend to any whose interest shall lead him to call in question what we shall do You know Sir you and I were Confessors of old under his Majesties father and narroly escaped being Martyred for the Protestant Religion the Lawes of the land and the Priviledges of Parliaments as we belived we carried as many of those Declarations in our Pockets as we had shillings of his Coyning whilst we fought under his Banner and should not I Sir be an impudent Knave if I should now come and sit in parliament to declare that his majesty may of right take away from his subjects the benefit of their principle fundamental Laws about their meeting in Parliament when and as long as he pleaseth and if he will never suffer a Parliament to sit to claim one of the priviledges we swore to maintain I long for your Opinion Sir upon the whole matter I would neither disobey any lawfull command of his Majesty nor diminish the just English regall Power I would not crop a leaf of any flower of the Crown yet I make as much conscience not to betray my Country or easily yeeld up the Antient lawes and Government of England by parliament to the kings Will to make English freemen tenants at will to the king of their lawes their parliaments their liberties and lives I am resolved to be an honest man and thy faithfull friend and hearty servant The Benchers ANSWER SIR YOu demand my Opinion in a Question of the greatest moment that ever was moved since England was established under civil Goverment the absolute ruin for our age or the safety of all the ancient English liberties and excellent Laws depend upon the right resolving your Question Whether this Parliament be actually Dissovled by the last Prorogation for 15 months He that will clearly answer you ought first to consider whether a prorogation ordered and continued beyond a year can be made to agree with our lawes and statutes concerning holding of parliaments which by the way are the birth-right of English men It seemes you have been told of two statutes which enact That a Parliament shall be holden every year doutbless they in ended those printed statutes of the 4. of Ed 3. Cap. 14. and that of the 36. Ed. 3. Cap. 10. where it is enacted That for maintenance of the statutes and redress of divers mischiefs and grievances vvhich dayly happen a parliament shall be holden every year as an other time vvas ordayned These are most taken notice of because they are printed and were re-inforced by that notable Act of the 16 of the late King which provided effectually for the summoning and electing a parliament every 3 year without the Kings concurent asent if he neglected or refused two years together to summon a parliament according to those statutes of Edvv. 3. And although this parliament hath repealed that statute and taken from the people that excel●ent meanes to secure their right of parliaments yet they have left us to the force of the antient laws in the case and in the same Act of repeale 16 Car. 2. they have declared and acknowleged those lawes of Ed. 3 to be still the lawes and statutes of this Realm and they have enacted no clause or article that derogates from them or abates their force Those latter clauses of that Act which seem to be enacting being as my brethren of the robe speak nugatory and insignificant only praying the King not to intermit the holding of parliaments above 3 years at the most but to call them as often as there shall be occasion which in plainer English is an humble motion that he would not neglect his duty to put the laws in execution longer than two years but that he would call parliaments as oft as ocasion did require and that Act was to commence from the end of this parliament what ever was intended by that Act it doth neither weaken the force of those two antient printed statutes nor of any other unprinted for annual parliaments this Act being only affirmative and consistent with the other And I ought to tell you that there are 4 more at least to thesame porpose That of the 1. Ri. 2. number 95. in