Selected quad for the lemma: justice_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
justice_n	according_a	law_n	power_n	2,633	5	4.9144	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A83701	A disclaimer and answer of the Commons of England, of and unto a scandalous libell, lately published against the Parliament, and espcially the House of Commons and their proceedings: intituled The remonstrance of the Commons of England to the House of Commons assembled in Parliament, and falsely suggested to be preferred to them by the hands of the speaker. Wherein the malicious cavills and exceptions by the libeller taken to the proceedings of Parliament are detected and summarily answered, and the sottish ignorance and wicked falsehood of the libeller cleerely discovered, and the justice of the proceedings of this Parliament and House of Commons evinced and manifested.	England and Wales. Parliament. House of Commons.; White, John, 1590-1645, attributed name.	1643 (1643)	Wing E2573; Thomason E100_23; ESTC R12060	28,839	39

be setled for Law by Act of Parliament the Houses of Parliament must necessarily be Judges thereof and that the King is excluded without whose Royall assent the Act cannot be of force is as senslesse an Assertion as it is groundlesse and so is his Suggestion that this may be a perpetuall Convocation when the Divines are to consult of a few speciall matters only and report their Conclusions and reasons to the Parliament and then to end which cannot be a worke of many weeks or months at most Ob. Sixtly He saith That under the colour of freedom of preaching seditious Sermons are preached daily in the hearing of many of the House of Commons who traduce the Kings sacred Person slander his Governement and in expresse tearmes in courage the maintaining and continuing of this unnaturall and unchristian warre and yet none are punished for it Which makes him feare that this is and long hath beene made by some to be the principall engine to kindle this fire of hell to the just scandall of all good men and slander of our Religion this Doctrine comming so neare to that of the Jesuites Sol. If there were any truth in this charge and this man were guided by any good spirit he would rather turne Informer against such Preachers and hearers in a right way by complaining of it to the Parliament or either House as well yea rather then insert it in this Libell and in such a generall manner without certainty or particularity and we believe the Sermons thus clamoured against are printed for most if not all preached before the House of Commons or in the Church where many of them usually heare are published and of these we can judge and must conclude that this report of them is a loud lie like the rest of this fellows scandalls Indeed we know that many wicked Priests Malignant against the Parliament and the good and safety of the Kingdome have preached sundry seditious Sermons tending to the maintenance and continuance of this unnaturall and unchristian civill-warre against the Parliament and excepting such and others of the like spirit as this Libeller is we are confident there is no man especially if he love the King and Parliament but desires there may be an honourable end and buriall of these contentions Ob. 7 Divers worthy and painfull Preachers have been committed to prison by the House of Commons for delivering their consciences freely and religiously and preaching obedience to their Soveraigne These things tend mainly against the maintenance and propagating of the true Protestant Religion Sol. If this man had informed himselfe of the causes for which Preachers have beene committed by the House of Commons by the Articles exhibited and proved there against them he could not be so wicked as we conceive as to publish so notorious a lie as this is For we find upon search that the Ministers by them committed have publickly preached to stirre-up the Subjects to sedition to take up Armes against the Parliament and Kingdome and to corrupt the King and us with the leaven of false flattering Doctrine of absolute Power in the King to doe what he list with us our estates and lives to pusse-up the King above what is meet and to draw us into a willing and conscientious slavery Doctrines destructive to the Kingdome and contrary to the constitution thereof and our Lawes and contrary to Gods command given us to stand fast in the liberty wherof he hath made us free Gal. 5.1 And considering the endeavours of the House of Commons to remove the Papists Bishops and scandalous Ministers and other rubbish that hindred the prapogating of the true Protestant Religion and to plant faithfull orthodox painfull labourers in this Church which is so notorious to us all Malice it selfe cannot deny but that their waies tend unto the maintenance and propagating of our Religion Ob. Secondly touching the maintaining the Lawes hee charges the House of Commons with these particulars First That they assume to themselves power by a bare Vote without Act of Parliament to expound or alter a Knowne Law where that House formerly assumed no such power but in order towards the making of a new Law nor did the House of Peeres challenge any such thing but they having the power of judicatory as Iudges have proceeded according to the Rules of the Knowne Lawes and upon their Honours are answerable for the Iustice of their Iudgements as other Courtes are upon their Oathes Sol. It is plaine that this fellow erres through grosse ignorance of the proceedings of Parliament and of all the Records thereof in which there is nothing more frequent and familiar in all Ages then to find the House of Commons declaring the Law and complaining that the King hath done things against the Law First Judging and determining by Votes and then claiming the Lawes and the Rights of the people and of their House and the Lords in like manner and that in generall as well as particular cases and not to leade the Reader at this time higher This appeares in the Petition of Right wherein the Commons first declare and expound the Lawes concerning these Rights therein claimed and usurped upon by the King 2. The Lords joyn with them in that Declaration And lastly the King gives his Assent to this Declaration before and without which these things were Law the Statute being declaratory of former not introductive of new Law And the Kings Assent was had only to stop the mouthes of cavilling Court and Innes of Court Sycophants and Flatterers the Moth of Kings and Kingdomes against those Laws and the rest of this charge is a grosse lie and groundles imputation Ob. 2 He saith That the Parliament makes their owne Orders and Ordinances to be as Law and compell them to be observed and with a stricter hand which may bind their Members but not have the force of Laws till by the Kings Assent they be confirmed Sol. Besides the two causes here admitted that they may make binding Orders First in order to making of new Laws Secondly To bind their owne Members it is most evident that the Orders and Ordinances of Parliament are binding and are to be obeyed First where they are in pursuance of the Lawes in being for to them principally belongs the care of preserving the Lawes and of inforcing obedience unto them and of giving strength and vigour unto them by the King and his ordinary Judges and ministers of Justice neglected or abused Such was the late Order of the House of Commons for the pulling downe of Crucisixes and Popish Images according to 3o. and 4o. Edw. 6 ti Cap. 10. revived 1o. Iac. Cap. 2. And against Innovations in Religion imposed upon the Subject against Law as bowing at the Name of Iesus which is idolizing a Name against the Law of God and without any Law of man and they deceive their own souls and endeavour to deceive others that pretend they doe it to worship the Person of Iesus for

he be an English man or Subject of England and he party to it we are confident the Parliament would gladly assent to a dissolution of it their attendance upon the publike service being extreamely burthensome and prejudiciall to their private estates and advantages Ob. 5 He saith That we never intended that the House of Commons should have such a latitude of power as to imbarke us all in a civill warre to the destruction of us and of our posterity Sol. When we chose our Knights and Burgesses for the Parliament we entrusted them with all the power we could invest them withall to doe whatsoever in their wisdome they should thinke meet and to use all meanes even warre or whatsoever should to them seem convenient or necessary for the safety or preservation of our Religion Lawes and Liberties and we hold it infinitly better to endure for a time a civill warre and the effects of it then to loose our Lawes Liberties and Religion and with our posterity to be inslaved perpetually to the personall wils of our Kings and to the base spirits of wicked Councellors that pervert and seduce them from their people We never received prejudice from any free Parliament from the beginning of this Kingdom hitherto but we have in all ages suffered from our Princes when contrary to their Oath Office and trust they have followed their personall wils and forced the illegall issues therof upon us and forsaken or neglected the Lawes and the counsels of Parliament and we never found any meanes to relieve us against such sufferings but by our Parliaments which as we respect the happinesse of our selves and of our posterity we will love and adhere unto Ob. 6 He saith We were further off from having any thoughts that by any of their Votes they would or could draw us into any acts of disloyalty or disobedience against our naturall liege Lord to whom by the laws of God and man we owe and will pay allegiance and fidelity Sol. We could never heare of neither doth this false Libeller expresse any particular Vote of the House of Commons by which any man can be justly said to be drawne into any act of disloyalty or disobedience against the King if he had we should have bin able to give our sence of it But the deceitfull are conversant in Generals We have seen and considered his preparatives and by it we see what Physitian we have if this Mountebanke should be entertained that so impudently thrusts himselfe into office before he be called Now let us follow this wild-Goose on in his chace Who nextly offers divers things to the consideration of the House of Commons Object And first he saith We are resolved with our lives and fortunes to maintain the true Protestant Religion established by the lawes in our Church and to maintaine our well setled government under a Monarchy according to the Knowne Lawes of this Land and to maintaine the just Priviledges of our Parliament without which our Lawes can hardly be continued and in asserting of this we have the daily Protestation of both Houses and His Majesties Declaration and we hold our selves bound in Feverence to his Person and in Christianity to beleeve that he will faithfully performe his word with his people and that we have this further assurance thereof that he hath descended so low from his Throne as to acknowledge some errours that have slipt him in his past government and to undertake not to give way to the like hereafter and that we wish that the House of Commons would with the same Ingenuity acknowledge their errours and amend them Sol. This man though he assume our Name is farre from our sense We dare not limit the holy one of Israel the holy Scriptures is the adequate object of our Faith and Religion and not our Lawes and if any thing concerning Religion be established by our Laws which is not warranted by the holy Scriptures or that is defective and comes not up to the perfect rule of Gods Word we desire our Laws may be amended by the Parliament and all the Worship of God and Discipline of the Church formed in all things according to the patterne given of God least the divine Curse lye upon us and our Land for adding to the Word or diminishing ought from it and the Scriptures reject every thing in the Worship of God meerely for this cause because he hath not commanded it because it never came into his mind and countes it vaine Worship vaine Inventions if it be mens precepts or not part of his Law a Ier. 19.5 Lev. 10.1 Mat. 15.9 Psal 119.113 Deut. 12.32 Secondly we cannot allow of the Epithite given to our Lawes limiting them to knowne Lawes for be they knowne or unknowne to us we leave the declaring and determining of them to Courts of Justice especially the most high Court the Parliament and this is certainely knowne Law and hath ever beene so The King hath beene in all Ages held and pronounced by our Lawes ignorant of them as we for the most part of us are and therefore were never by our Lawes intrusted with it And it is neither Law nor reason That Delinquents against the Law should expound or declare the Law as now adayes they presume to doe for if that shall be permitted they would be sure to escape There is certainely a Snake hid under this greene Grasse knowne Lawes for our parts we resolve with our lives and fortunes to maintaine our Religion according to the Word of God the only rule and judge of it whatsoever our Lawes be concerning it for so our God hath commanded and to maintaine our Lawes as they are or shall bee declared and determined in our Courts of Justice the onely certaine way to know them by and not to allow of any thing our King or Delinquents shall pretend to be Law though the same be ever so much cried up for knowne And we are as covetous to have Reall ground to confide in his Majesties Protestations as any can be and are onely troubled and shaken that we cannot so fix upon them as we would by the wayes of government and actions that under these Protestations from the beginning of his Majesties Reigne hitherto have run and doe runne cleane contrary unto them Can the admitting of Masse and Masse-Priests against the Law in the Queenes Houses and elsewhere and the open exercise of that abominable Idolatry now in Redding every day and in Yorke and the permitting of the holy Scriptures to be burnt in contempt of God under the Gallowes and elsewhere in Redding the Arming of Papists and confiding in them and the persecuting of the strictnesse of Religion under the Names of Puritans and Round-heads consist with the maintaining of the true Protestant Religion Can the Illegall taxes Impositions Contributions Pillaging Plundring consist with the maintenance of the Lawes Liberties and Properties of the Subject Quid verba audio cum sacta videam We should receive more satisfaction

if that were a reall intention and true they would worship him represented by any other name as Christ Saviour Messias Sonne of man c. and to say it is in their liberty to worship him under one name and not another is as grosse a deceit and pronounces it a will-worship and voluntary an invention of man which God abhorres as I have shewed before and so indeed they worship their owne fancy and invention and not the person of Christ whose worship must only be according to his own rule And lastly they may make Orders and compell obedience unto them that are for the safety defence and preservation of the King and Kingdome * They be chosen ad faciendum con●entiendum his quae cōtigerint ordinari super arduis urgentibus negotijs regem statum defensiorē regni ac ecclefiae con●…nent The very words of the Writ by which they be called not to trouble this short Treatise with any more manifests and proves this most clearly Ob. Thirdly He saith The House of Commons takes themselves so farre above the reach of the Lawes that by their Orders and Ordinances they injoyne the Iudges and ministers of Iustice to forbeare contrarie to their Oathes to proceed in their ordinarie courses when they please Sol. We are troubled more with the ignorance and folly of this man then with any knotty matter of difficulty to answer his scandalous Pamphlet We have observed that for a superiour Court to enjoyne and prohibit the proceedings of an inferiour Court is as common as Ergo in the University Schooles and Judges and ministers so enjoyned or prohibited are bound by their Oathes to surcease and obey and the House of Commons have done this in all Ages and is clearly a Court Superiour to any inferiour and the Judges and Officers of inferiour Courts are under them by Law and to obey the commands and injunctions of the House of Commons to them is that which the Law requires and their Oathes oblige them unto Ob. Fourthly He saith The Parliament makes an Ordinance to put the Militia of the Kingdome into such hands as they please to conside-in without the King and expressely against his Command Fiftly That they possesse themselves of the Navy-Royall and appoint Admirals and other Officers by Sea without the King and use the Ships against the King himselfe Sixtly That they take the Castles Forts and Ports and places of greatest strength in the Kingdome and keepe them against the King himselfe and this will appeare to have been done by designe for the pretence at first was the preservation of the Kingdome against some forraigne enemies where none have appeared for many moneths and such in truth never were and by meanes hereof a warre for the Parliament against the King himselfe was raised for the preservation of the King Sol. Such as have any knowledge of the Constitution of this Kingdome which is a Politicke and not an absolute Monarchy cannot but discerne the apparant ignorance and malice of this Accuser In this Kingdome * Sir Iohn Davies rep Epist fol. 2. Consuetudines regni the people originally agreed Laws such as they found by experience to be good for them which were therefore called the Customes of the Kingdome Customary Law Common Law not imposed upon them by Charters of Princes or by Act of Parliament but assumed by them upon their experience of the fitnes of them for them and are not written as Charter and Parliament Laws be then they chose one from among them to be their King for the defence of their Lawes bodies and goods and for these purposes only they gave him power to governe them and he cannot governe them by any other power or rule a Fortes de leg Ang. 〈…〉 and for the preservation of the Lawes against the Incroachments of the King and abuse of his power and trust which through humane frailty or evill and wicked Councels and flatteries of Court Parasites he might fall or be drawn into and for the making of such new Laws as should be requisite And for the better preservation of the peace and safety of the Kingdome they ordained a generall and great Councell of the whole Kingdome anciently called Michel Simoth Michel Gemot Wittenage Mote magna Curia the great Court commonly called the Parliament or the Common-Councell of the Kingdome and invested them with all power for the good of the Kingdome and people and ordained that the making of new Laws by them for honours sake the Kings Royall assent should be given unto them and for this purpose they ordained the King should take an Oath to preserve the Laws and governe by them and assent to such new as his Parliament should find to be for the common good and should tender unto him a Remonstrance of Parl. 2●… May 1642 and reply of Parliament to the answer thereof And between an absolute Monarchy and this Politick there are these differences First In an absolute Monarchy the Kings personall will is the Law and his personall Command to be submitted unto to doe it or to suffer willingly what punishment he pleases to impose for not doing it which is not a power fit for any but God whose wisdome is infinite and will infinitely holy and good who cannot erre nor do any wrong and from whom proceeds no command that is not for his peoples good Deut. 6.24 10.13 Soveraign power of Parliamēt ●… c. But the Politick Kings personall Command or will if it be not according to the Law ought to be disobeyed and rejected and if any shall instrumentally serve such personall will to punish him that so disobeyes he that is so offended by such officious servant of the Kings may have his remedy and recover Recompence for such injury and the Kings personall illegall command shall not afford his instrument any protection or defence b Hos 5.10 11 12. God will punish obedience to such illegall cōmands This is so obvious to any versed in our Laws or observing the ordinary practice of thē in ordinary Courts as nothing almost can be more Secondly An absolute Monarch cannot be controlled in any thing he doth by his Subjects but a Politick Monarch may by the Laws distributed in his Courts be controlled and his actions if against Law defeated made void and nothing more usuall in our ordinary Courts of Justice then to overthrow his Pattents and Grants and to discharge Subjects imprisoned by his Command and for the Houses of Parliament or either of them being extraordinary Courts to overthrow and make void all his illegall Acts that have bin carried-on with abused power to the prejudice of the publike with which the ordinary Courts durst not meddle or were by base cowardise and feare betrayed to comply withall as in the case of Ship-mony Impositions Knighting money c. And if that Politick Monarchy should by wicked Councels beseduced to do or attempt things dangerous to the safety of

cannot see it to be lesse then Treason to joyne with the Parliament in this War yet such as have any understanding in the Laws know that to joyne with an Inferiour Court in executing the Processe thereof to bring Delinquents to Justice with the greatest force and power of men if it cannot be otherwise done is lawfull though the King joyne with these Delinquents in resisting the same and endeavour to protect them against it and that it is so far from Treason as that it is Treason in such as raise Force against such Processe and to protect such Delinquents from the Courts of Justice as was judged in Parliament in the cause of Alexander Bishop of Yorke Robert de-Leere Duke of Ireland and others in the time of Rich. 2d. and confirmed after by Statute in the first Yeare of Hen. 4●… Ob. Ninethly he saith That to all the Commanders and Officers of their Army the Parliament gives large and even profuse entertainement and rewardes but out of our purses Sol. We doe not beleeve neither can this false accuser prove this charge that any other entertainements or rewards have been given by the Parliament then were given by the King before this War nor so much as the King hath given sithence and what is here imputed to the Parliament falsely may justly be said of the Kings Army who have free booty and we are delivered over as a prey unto them who make the Proverbe that goes of the Great Turke true in England That where he sets his foote no grasse will grow where the Kings Army goes they take away Plow and Cart-horses cut the Harnesse and use all the wicked cruell meanes they can to destroy Tillage and bring in a famine and the miseries attending it upon us Further for the Liberty of our Persons and proprieties of our estates this Libeller objects that we have little hope of this Ob. First Because the Parliament takes away the Kings Treasure intercepteth his Revenue possesseth his Houses of accesse and pretend all is for his owne service and if any attend or assist him they are condemned as Malignants Popish Evill Councellours and enemies to the State Sol. To this we must answer for the Parliament That if they had taken any of the Kings Treasure the King now upon his Articles of Treaty wherein he demands satisfaction for all he hath any colour or pretence to demand of them The King would have demanded it but he demands no such matter by which this seemes to us an apparent grosse lying imputation and we cannot judge better of it But we heare of the Jewels of the Crowne with which the King is but trusted and which by our Laws are to goe with the Crowne in Succession that they are imbessel'd and sould away a dangerous effect of the evill Councells given unto his Majesty Secondly for his Revenue it is true they have seised on some part of that for the necessary maintenance and support of his owne Children whom he hath left in the power of the Parliament and to them the same hath been disposed according to the proportions of allowance his Majesty hath alwayes set out for them and in no other and without it they might have starved otherwise and if they have seized upon any more of his Revenue it is not considerable in quantity nor fit they should let him have that to maintaine his War against his Parliament and people which is his only for the publike good protection and safety of his people and by our Laws ought to be so imployed Thirdly for his Majesties Houses we know none the Parliament hath medled withall but the Castle of Windsor and that is before answered in what hath been said concerning the Castles and Forts of this Kingdome Fourthly for condemning such as attend or assist him it is not true that any one of his attendants that are bound by speciall service to be with him have been meerely for that condemned as Malignants Popish Evill Councellours or Enemies to the State but such as having no speciall oeconomicall obligation to attend him or have assisted him in this unnaturall War or are Popish or give him wicked and destructive Councell and foment this War and Viper-like endeavour to rend out the bowells of the Countrey that bare and nourished them have been and are justly accounted Malignants and Enemies to the State and their courses evidence them to be such to all indifferent lookers on or that shall heare any true report thereof Ob. Secondly he saith That the House of Commons have by Messages endeavoured to perswade our Bretheren of Scotland to joyne with them in their Rebellion against their Soveraigne and that by Votes of their House Sol. If this Libeller had once proved by any reason or Law that any thing done by the Parliament in opposition of the Kings present courses against his Parliament and people were Rebellion he had laid some foundation whereupon he might have presumed to build so bold an inference but neither he nor any other that we have seen or heard of hath as yet been able to doe that And the Politick constitution of the Kingdome is cleerely against it and the like being done by our Brethern the Scots against his Majesties like proceedings with them hath been by his Majesty and the Parliament judged and declared to the World in an Act of Parliament made lately to deserve no such Imputation and that Judgement and Declaration this Libeller himselfe if he be an English-man is a party to though now he give himselfe the lye If our Bretheren the Scots in taking up Armes and coming into this Kingdome so armed and taking the Fort and Port of New-Castle and Timnoth Castle into their possession to maintaine their Lawes Religion and Liberties against the wicked Councellours that induced his Majesty to endeavour to infring the same were well done and nothing therein done amisse let all the world judge of the proceedings of our Parliament in the same case De similibus idem iudicium And whom have the Parliament called in to their assistance surely no Forraigners nor Papists as the King seduced by evill Councell hath done but our Bretheren interessed in the cause as well as we and of the same Religion Ob. Thirdly he faith The Parliament did a greater Act of barbarous hostility against the King in his owne Person and excuses it by saying it was not their fault but the Kings and his Councellours that he went in Person into the Battle which he did with that Kingly courage at will adde to his honour and their shame while the World endures which action of theirs is become odious to God and man and their excuse for it ridiculous Sol. If the King should appeare in Armes to hinder the Justice of his Inferiour Courts were it an act of barbarous hostility to execute the Processe of such Court notwithstanding and would it argue Kingly courage or adde to his honour or the shame of the Court that awarded that Processe