eligendum deputandum Milites pro hujusmodi Comitatibus ad interestendum Parliamento ought to be free in chusing and deputing Knights to be present in such Parliaments for each respective County and to declare their Grievances and to prosecute such Remedies thereupon prout eis videretur expedire as to them should seem expedient Yet the King ut in Parliamentis suis liberiùs consequi valeat suae temerariae Voluntatis effectum that he might in his Parliaments be able more arbitrarily to accomplish the effects of his head-strong will did very often direct his commands to his Sheriffs ut certas personas per ipsum Regem nominatas ut Milites Comitatuum venire faciant ad Parliamenta sua that they should cause to come to his Parliaments as Knights of the Shire certain Persons named by the King which Knights being his Favourites he might lead as often he had done quandóque per minas varias terrores quandóque per Munera sometimes by various Menaces and Terrors and sometimes by Gifts to consent to those things as were prejudicial to the Kingdom and exceeding burthensome to the People and especially to grant to the King a Subsidy on Wool for the term of his Life and another Subsidy for certain Years thereby too grievously oppressing his People I shall descend from that unfortunate Prince to King 23 H. 6. cap. 15. Hen. 6. and there in the 23d year of his Reign almost 256 years ago a Statute was made intituled Who shall be Knights for the Parliament The manner of their Election The Remedy where one is chosen and Pulton's Stat. fol. 349. another returned In the Body of which we read That every Sheriff after the delivery of the Writ to him made shall make and deliver without fraud a Precept under his Seal to every Mayor and Bailiff or Bayliffs or Bailiff where no Mayor is of the Cities and Buroughs within his County reciting the Writ commanding them if it be a City to chuse by Citizens of the same City Citizens and if a Burough Burgesses to come to the Parliament and such Officers as aforesaid shall return Lawfully such Precept to the same Sheriff by Indentures between them of such Elections and the Names of the Citizens and Burgesses so chosen and thereupon every Sheriff shall make a good and Rightful Return of every such Writ and of every Return by such Officers as aforesaid And every Sheriff at every time that he does contrary to this Statute or any * 3 E. 1. other Statutes for the Election of Knights Citizens and Burgesses shall incur the pain contained in the Statute of 8 H. 6. which is to 8 H. 6. cap. 7. forfeit 100 l. to the King and suffer Note The difference of the Value of 100 l. then and 100 l. now for K. H. 8. left to his Two Daughters by his Will no more than 10000 l. a piece who were afterwards Queens of England a Years Imprisonment without Bail or Mainprize and moreover shall forfeit and pay to every Person so chosen Knight Citizen or Burgess and not duly returned or to any other Person who in default of any such Knight Citizen or Burgess will sue 100 l. more to be recover'd by Action of Debt against the said Sheriff or his Executors The publick Detestation and Abhorrence of pack'd Returns of Knights Citizens and Burgesses to Parliament or Administrators with his or their Costs in such case dispended inwhich Action the Defendant shall not wage his Law nor have any Essoign allowed And in the same manner at every time that any Mayor and Bailiffs or Bailiff or Bailiffs where no Mayor is shall return other than those who be chosen by the Citizens and Burgesses of the Cities or Buroughs where such Elections shall be made they shall incur and forfeit to the King 40 l. and moreover 40 l. to the Person so chosen and not returned to be recovered in manner as aforesaid by such Person chosen or any other who in their Default will sue for the same One would imagine that after such an Act as this was made it should scarce ever be attempted by any to invade our Liberties especially in a point that so nearly concerns the Salvation of all our Interests For as the old Lord Treasurer Burleigh who was accounted the greatest Statesman that ever this Nation had was often heard to say That England could hardly ever be ruined unless it were by her own Parliaments so we need never to fear that Parliaments will undo us unless we suffer ourselves to be cozen'd into Slavery by being cheated out of our Best and Highest Rights I mean †Prince of Orange's Declaration our Entire Freedoms of Electing such for our Representatives with whom we can with confidence trust our Religion Lives Honours Liberties Estates and Posterity But if the Nation shall at any time hereafter be so careless as to permit a pack'd House of Commons to be put upon her she may then indeed be given up as an easie Prey to the Arbitrary Pleasure and Lust of those contriving Managers of her Ruin and what will still add Weight and Aggravation to her Misery as she falls with Scorn so she will fall unpitied to all Christendom Thus was that weak Prince King Henry the Sixth 23 H. 6. 38 H. 6. call'd the Coventry Parliament imposed upon by his evil Councellors and Favourites but fifteen years after the making of this last mentioned Statute and what were the miserable Effects thereof you shall hear the Parliament of the next Year following at Westminster declare in these words That divers seditious and evil disposed Persons having no regard 39. H. 6. cap 1. Rastalls Stat. fol. 287. to the Dread of God nor to the Damage of the prosperous Estate of the King nor his Realm sinisterly and importunely did labour with the King to summon a Parliament to be holden at his City of Coventry the 20th day of the Month of November the 38th year of his Reign only to destroy certain of the great Nobles faithful and lawful Lords and Estates of the King's Blood and other of the faithful Liege-people of the Realm of England for the great Rancour Hatred and Malice which the said Seditious Persons of long time have had against them And of their greedy and insatiable Covetousness to have the Lands Hereditaments Possessions Offices and Goods of the said Lords and faithful Liege-people by which sinister labour certain Acts Statutes Ordinances against all good Faith and Conscience in the said Parliament were made finally to destroy the said lawful Lords Estates and Liege-people and their Issues as well Innocents as other and their Heirs for ever which Parliament was unduly summoned and a great part of the Knights for divers Counties of this Realm and many Burgesses and Citizens for divers Buroughs and Cities in the same appearing were named Returned and accepted some of them without due and free Election some of
FREEDOM of ELECTIONS TO PARLIAMENT A Fundamental Law and Liberty OF THE English Subject AND SOME PRESIDENTS Shewing the Power of the House of Commons To inflict Punishments on Those who have been Guilty of Misdemeanours either in Elections or Returns In a Letter to a Member of PARLIAMENT According to the Constitution of the English Government and Immemorial Custom All Elections of Parliament-men ought to be made with an Entire Liberty without any sort of Force or requiring the Electors to chuse such Persons as shall be named to them and the Persons thus freely Elected ought to give their Opinions freely upon all matters that are brought before them having the Good of the Nation ever before their eyes and following in all things the Dictates of their Conscience P. of Orange's Declaration London Printed for Dan. Brown at the Black-Swan and Bible without Temple-Bar and Tim. Goodwin at the Maiden-head over-against St. Dunstan's Church in Fleet-street 1690. SIR ACcording to your Commands I have now sent you out of my little reading a true Information of what Punishments the House of Commons have inflicted upon such Persons who by fraud force or bribery have violated the Ancient Liberties and Freedoms of the Commons of England in making undue Returns of Members to serve in Parliament And what I have here done in pure Obedience I hope you will receive with all friendly Candor and Benignity but you will give me leave first I hope to say something concerning our undoubted Right to the Freedom of Elections I find it Sir very clear that it hath been accustomed of old times to have Free Elections and that this was a Fundamental Law and Liberty of England For the Statute of Westminster the first which was made above four hundred years ago by the Assent An. Dom. 1274. of the Archbishops Bishops Abbots Priors Earls Barons and all the Comminalty of the Realm thither summoned provideth That Elections should be freely and duly made without any disturbance whatsoever but I will give it you in its own words Because Elections ought to be Free the King Rastall's Stat. fol. 15. 3 E. 1. cap. 5. commandeth upon great Forfeiture That no Great Man nor Other by force of Arms nor by malice or menacing shall disturb any to make Free Election For it was a Right and Liberty which the good People of England had confirmed to them fifty years An. Dom. 1224. before as appears by the 9th Chapter of the Statute of Magna Charta Anno 9. Hen. 3. which says That the City of LONDON shall have ALL the Old Magna Charta 9 H. 3. cap. 9. Liberties and Customs which it hath been used to have And then it does immediately follow Moreover We will and grant That ALL other Cities Burroughs Towns and the Barons of the Five Ports and all other Ports shall have all their Liberties and Free Customs Liberties are here taken for Priviledges such as my Lord Coke says of Right the People had before And in his Comment upon the abovementioned 2. Inst fol. 168 169. Chapter of Westminster 1. he bids us see the Statute of 7 H. 4. which says That for Knights of the Shires 7 H. 4. cap. 15. for the Parliament in full County a free and indifferent Election shall be made notwithstanding any Prayer or Commandment to the contrary This Statute was made at the grievous Complaint of the Commons being interrupted of their Free Election 4 Inst fol. 10. by the King's Letters Patents by pretext of an Ordinance in the Lords House in 46 Edw. 3. but for Rot. Parl. 46 E. 3. n. 13. the future it was to be sine prece without any Prayer or Gift and sine proecepto without Commandment of the King by Writ or otherwise or of any other And he says this was an Act but declaratory of the Ancient Law and Custom of Parliament There were two Mischiefs before the making of this 2. Inst 169. Statute as my Lord Coke observes 1. For that Elections were not duly made 2. That Elections were not freely made And both these were against the ancient Maxim of the Law Fiant Electiones ritè liberè sine interruptione aliqua And again Electio libera est for before Regula 7 H. 6. 12. ◠this Act in the irregular Reign of H. 3. the Electors had neither their free nor their due Elections for sometimes by force sometimes by menaces and sometimes by malice the Electors were framed or wrought to make Election of Men Unworthy and not Eligible so as their Election was neither due nor free This Act briefly rehearseth the Old Rule of the * Note Common-Law is general Prescription and that Prescription is before 1 R. 1. who was elder Brother to King John Father to H. 3. Common-Law for that Elections ought to to be free wherein both the said Points are included 1. It must be a due Election and 2. It must be a free Election This Statute doth enact That no Man upon grievous Forfeiture shall disturb any to make free Election and is excellently penned in two respects First For that generally it extendeth to all Elections that is to say to every Dignity Office or Place elective be it Ecclesiastical or Temporal of what kind or quality soever The Act is penned in the Name of the King viz. The King commandeth and therefore the King bindeth himself not to disturb any Electors to make free Election as in the like Case upon a Statute made in the Reign of the said King the Act saying Rex Westm 2. 13 E. 1. cap. 1. 2 Inst 332. perpendens c. the same bound the King Now that Electors might make free and due Elections without displeasure or fear thereof by this Act of Parliament as a sure defenee the King commandeth the same upon grievous forfeiture And this Act extends to All Elections as well by those that at the making of this Act had Power to make them as by those whose Power was raised or created since this Act. Grievous Forfeiture That is the Disturbers Nota benè to be punished by grievous Fines and Imprisonments Thus far the Learned Chief-Justice Coke And it is observed says the same Great Man that 4 Inst 1. when there is best Appearance there is the best Success in Parliament Therefore there was a special Act of Parliament made on purpose in the 5th R. 2. to command all Rast Stat. 140. 5 R. 2. cap. 4. and singular Persons and Communalties which from thenceforth should have the Summons of the Parliament to come to the Parliament in the manner as they were bounden to do and had been accustomed within the Realm of England of old times And if any person so summoned be he Archbishop Bishop Abbot Prior Duke Earl Baron Banneret Knight of the Shire Citizen of City Burgess of Burgh or other singular Person or Communalty should absent himself and come not at the said Summons except he
her That Queen Mary's first Parliament wherein She and Idem fol. 820. Col. 2. her Council grounded and wrought a great part of their Tyranny and wherein they meant to overthrow whatsoever King Edward had for the Advancement of God's Glory brought to pass was of no force or Authority For she perceiving her Enemies stomach could not be emptied nor Her malice spewed on the People by any good Order she committed a great Disorder She by Force and Violence took from the Commons their Liberty that according to the Ancient Laws and Customs of the Realm they could not have ☞ their Free Election of Knights and Burgesses for the Parliament for she well knew that if either Christian-men or true English men should be elected it was not possible that to succeed which she intended And therefore in many places divers were chosen by force of her Threats meet to serve her malicious Affections wherefore that Parliament was no Parliament but may be justly called a Conspiracy of Tyrants and Traytors for the Great Part by whose Authority and Voices things proceeded in that Court by their Acts most manifestly declared themselves so the rest being both Christians and true English-men although they had good wills yet were not able to resist or prevail against the multitude of Voices and Suffrages of so many evil false to God and Enemies to their Country Also divers Burgesses being orderly chosen and lawfully returned as in some places the people did what they could to resist her purposes were disorderly and unlawfully put out and others without any Order of Law in their places placed But it was meant at the first and First Constitution Sir Simonds D'Ewe's Journ fol. 170. Col. 2. 13 Eliz. 1571. of Parliament as is observed by a Learned Member in Sir Simonds D'Ewes Journal That Men of every Quarter and of all sorts should come to the Commons House and that they should be Freely Chosen And therefore he says In Queen Mary's time a Idem Ibid. Col. 2. Council of this Realm not the Queens Privy Council did write to a Town to chuse a Bishop's Brother and a great Bishop's Brother he was indeed whom they assured to be a good Catholick Man and willed them to chuse to the like of him some other fit Man The Council was answer'd That they were prohibited by Law And then he goes on ' If all Towns in England had done the like in their Choice the Crown had not been so wrong'd and the Realm so robb'd with such ease at that Parliament of Queen Mary's and Truth banished as it was And he adds What hath been may be there is no impossibility And accordingly it happened in the same 13th year of Queen Elizabeth that a Burgess by Bribery had got to be Elected but what His and the Corporations Punishments were for such foul dealings I will now set down as the first Precedent 1. Forasmuch as Thomas Long Gentleman returned one of the Burgesses for the Burrough of Westbury Sir Sim. ut sup fol. 182. Col. 2. in the County of Wilts for that present Parliament being a very simple Man and of small Capacity to serve in that Place did in open Court confess That 10 May 13 Eliz 1571. Vid. 4 Inst 23. he did give to Anthony Garland Mayor of the said Town of Westbury and unto one Wats of the same Town the Sum of Four Pounds for that place and room of Burgesship It was Ordered by the House That the said Anthony Garland and the said Wats should forthwith repay unto the said Thomas Long the same Sum of Four Pounds And also that a Fine of Twenty Pounds be assessed upon the said Corporation or Inhabitants of the said Town of Westbury for the Queens Majesties Use for their said lewd and slanderous Attempt And that the said Thomas Long his Executors and Administrators should be discharged against the said Anthony Garland and Wats their Heirs Executors and Administrators of and from all Bonds made by the said Thomas Long to any person or persons touching the discharge of the exercise of the said room or place of Burgesship in any wise And on the 11th of May it was Ordered That a Pursuivant be sent with Letters from the House to Anthony Garland Mayor of the Town of Westbury in the County of Wilts and Wats of the same Id. Ibid. Town for their personal appearance forthwith to be made in the House and also to bring with them all such Bonds as Thomas Long Gentleman lately returned one of the Burgesses for the same Town standeth bound in unto Them or either of them or unto any Other to their Use And also to answer unto such Matters as at their coming shall be objected against them by the House 2. In the Parliament of the 18th Jacobi primi the 2. The Mayor of Winchelsea's Case Journ Dom. Com. 18 Jac. 1. Mayor of Winchelsea for misbehaving of himself at the Election of Parliament-men for that Town and for making a False Return was complained of and therefore it was upon the Question Resolved That the Mayor of Winchelsea had committed a The Judgment of the House against him Contempt and Misdemeanour against that House and therefore shall stand committed to the Serjeant till Saturday morning then making his Submission there at the Bar to be discharged of any further Punishment there But he was to make his further Acknowledgment in N. B. the Town before the New Election 3. Anno 20º of King James the First Dr. Harris Minister of Blechingly who had misbehaved himself by 3. Dr. Harris ' s Case Journ Dom. Com. 20 Jac. 1. Preaching and otherwise with respect to Election of Members of Parliament there and being complained of in the House and referred to a Committee The Committee was clearly satisfied That it was a High and Great Offence and they are of Opinion he should be called to the Bar as a Delinquent to be admonished and to confess his Fault there and in the Country and in the Pulpit of his Parish-Church on Sunday seven-night before the Sermon The Doctor was brought to the Bar and kneeled the House agreed with the Committee and Mr. Speaker pronounced Judgment upon him accordingly 4. In the same year of the same King upon the 4. The Mayor of Arundel ' s Case Journ Dom. Com. 20 Jac. 1. Report of Mr. Glanville concerning the Burrough of Arundel because the Mayor had misbehaved himself in the Election by putting the Town to a great deal of Charge not giving a due and general warning but pack'd a number of Electors It was Resolved 1. That a Warrant be sent for the Mayor he not being then in Town And 2. That three Members shall set down the Charges and the Mayor shall pay them 5. Anno 20º King James the First Mr. Glanville 5. The Case of Ingray the Under-Sheriff of Cambridgshire Journ Dom. Com. 21 Jac. 1. reports the Misdemeanour of the Under-Sheriff of