Selected quad for the lemma: justice_n
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A88256
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To every individuall member of the Honourable House of Commons: the humble remembrance of Lieutenant Col. John Lilburn.
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Lilburne, John, 1614?-1657.
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1648
(1648)
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Wing L2184; Thomason E461_36; ESTC R205207
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8,888
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8
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the said John Lilburne for his extraordinary wrongs sufferings and losses thereby susteined and the long time hitherto elapsed without any satisfaction The Lords and Commons assembled in Parliament doe ordain And be it hereby ordained by the said Lords and Commons and by Authority of the same That the said John Lilburne shall have and receive the summe of three thousand pounds out of all or any the Mannours Mesuages Lands Tenements and Hereditaments whereof he the said late Thomas Lord Coventry or any other person or persons to or for his use or in trust for him was or were seized in see-simple or see-raile or other wise at the time of the saide sentences or decrees or of either of them in the said late Court of Star-chamber or fince within the Kingdome of England or Dominion of Wales any Order or Ordinance heretofore made by either or both Houses of Parliament for the imployment of the estate of the said late Thomas Lord Coventry to the contrary hereof in any wise notwithstanding And for the more speedy levying of the said summe of three thousand pounds It is further Ordered and Ordained That the severall and respective Sheriffs of the several and respective Counties within England and Wales wherein any of the said Lands Tenements or Hereditaments doe lye shall forthwith upon sight and by vertue of this Ordinance cause an inquisition to be made and taken by the oathes of twelve or more Iawfull men where the same lands do lye and what the same are and do contain and of the clear yearly value thereof over and above all charges and re-prises and after such inquisition so made and taken the said severall and respective Sheriffs shall deliver unto the said John Lilburn true copies in Parchment of the same inquisitions by them taken and shall then also deliver unto the said John Lilburne the said Lands Tenements and Hereditaments which shall be so comprised or mentioned in the said inquisitions To have and to hold to him the said John Lilburne and his assignes without impeachment of wast and untill he shall have received out of the issues and profits thereof to be estimated according to the yearly valews contained in the said inquisitions the said summe of three thousand pounds together with all reasonable charges and expences to bee sustained from henceforth for obtaining the said summe of three thousand pounds And all and every the said severall and respective Sheriffs and all other person and persons whatsoever that shall any waies act or assist in obedience to this Ordinance according to the true intent and meaning thereof shall bee therfore defended and kept harmlesse by the authority of both Houses of Parliament Be pleased further to take notice That after the foresaid Ordinanance was once read it came to a debate in your House for to be read the second time which was carried in the negative by majority of voices and I cannot but apprehend that there were divers in the House unsatisfied in the Ordinance it self in regard the House was divided upon the debate and Vote which I cannot but apprehend must flow from one of these two considerations Frist Either because that the whole reparations is fixed upon the Lord Coventries estate singly who had many co-partners in the sentences and who also it may be supposed hath explated his crime by his death Or else secondly Because in some mens thoughts some of my late actions have or are been so evill in themselves that they may seem to them to over ballance the merrits of all my ancient sufferings To the first of which besides the reasons contained in the foregoing Petition I humbly crave leave to offer these unto your juditious consideration First I have by almost eight years dear-bought experience found the interest of some of my forementioned potent Judges who yet fit in both Houses of Parliament to be too strong for me to grapple with and the only cause in my apprehension that hath al this while kept me from my own and the refore my own interest which compels me strongly to endeavour by all just waies and means to attain to my just end reparations necessiates me as much as I can to wave the fixing upon them Secondly I continually finde amongst the greatest part of my Judges an apprehention in their own spirits that in conscience and equity there ought to be fauour shewed to those of my Star-chamber Judges that have joyned with the Parliament and Kingdome rather then to those that have fought and contested against them both and that seeing the later are able enough in estates to make satisfaction it ought in conscience and equity soly to lye upon their heads and I being not to guide or command my Judges but rather to be in this guided and commanded by them and to acquiese in their reasons they give me especially when my own understanding tels me they most conduce to the obtaining my main end which is justice in the possessing of my own Now these things considered and conjoyned to the reasons laid down in my foregoing Petition I submissively conceive as things now stand in Law equity and conscience no juster object can be found for you to fix my reparations upon then the reall estate where-ever it is to be found of the late Thomas Lord Coventry who was the principall actor in this bloody tragidy and who was not lesse eminent in cruelty then in place being Judge of the highest seat of mercy the Chancery which ought to abate the edge of the Law when it is too keen Now for the chief Judge of mercy to degenerate into a savage cauelty not heard of amongst the barbarians nor to be read of in the histories of the bloodyest persecutors how trancendently hainous and punishable is it And though he be dead yet justice lives and whatsoever is become of him his estate ought to make satisfaction according to the rule of his own court of Star-chamber he that suffers not in his body must suffer in his purse And therfore I may justly expect my reparations out of his reall estate that he was possessor of at his death where ever I can now finde it whether it be in the possession of the present Lord Coventry or others and you may there as righteous judges fix it for these reasons First Because the said Tho. late Lord Coventries real estate in equity if not in the eye of the Common law ought to satisfy his debts though dead though now it be in the possession of the present Lord Coventry c. and in reason and conscience there is at least as much equity that it should repair injuries especially of so high a nature as mine is of and the rather if it be considered that the late Lordkeeper Coventry had besides his real estate a very considerable personal estate at his death which I desire not to medle with although it be descended to his heires c. Secondly Because the estate now in the hands of the
To every individuall Member of the Honourable House of COMMONS The Humble Remembrance of Lievtenant Col. JOHN LILBURN Honoured Sir September 4. 1648. VOuchasafe to take notice and seriously to consider That the first week this present Parliament sat which is now almost full eight years agoe I presented a humble Petition to the House of Commons for justice and right against the cruel Judges of the high Commission Court and the Starchamber and I had the honour the same day it was presented to be one of the first prisoners in England that was set at liberty by this Parliament and also received a speedy full faire and canded proceeding in the hearing and examining of my tyrannicall sufferings but by reason of multiplicity of publicke businesse c. I have not as yet been able to attain to the full end of my legall and just expectation and right viz. Reparations for my long sad and tormenting sufferings by the foresaid unjust and unrighteous Judges Be pleased also favourably to take notice That upon the first of August last there was an humble Petition presented to the Honourable House of Commons subscribed by many thousands of honest Citizens c. humbly to desire you to put me in the full possession of all your by past just Votes about my foresaid sufferings upon reading and debating of which Petition as inanswer to that particular of it your House were pleased to make this insuing Order Die Martis 1. Augusti 1648. Lord Carre Sir John Maynard Sir Peter Went worth Col. Bossell Col. Ludlow M. Copley M Holland IT is referred to this Committee or any five of them to consider how Col. John Lilburne may have such satisfaction and allowance for his sufferings and losses as was formerly intended him by this House Henry Elsing Cler. Dom. Com. unto which said Committee at there first sitting I presented a Petition the Copy of which thus followeth To the Honourable the Committee of the House of Commons appointed to consider of Lievt Col. Lilburns busines in reference to the Starchamber The humble Petition of Lievtenant Col. John Lilburn SHEWETH THat besides your Petitioners sufferings by reason of his banishment into the low Countries he was I committed by D. Lamb Gwin Aylet 1637. and afterwards had 3 years imprisonment in the common Gaole of the Fleet being whipt from Fleet-bridge to Westminster and enduring the cruel torment of above 500 stripes with knotted Cords afterwards being set in the Pillory for the space of two houres and by James Ingram Deputy Warden of the Fleet gagged tearing his Jawes almost in peeces without Order which sentence was given by Lord Keeper Coventry Earle of Manchester Lord privy Seal Lord Newburgh Sir Henry Vane Senior Lord Chief Justice Brampston and Judge Jones And after the barbarous execution of this sentence being April 18. 1638. The said Lord Coventry Arch Bishop of Canterbury Bishop of London Earle of Manchester Earle of Arrundell Earle of Salisbury Lord Cottington Lord Newburgh Secretary Cooke and Windebanke passed another sentence in effect for the Starving of your petitioner and for the tormenting of him with Irons upon both hands and legs night and day and by keeping him close in the common Gaole of the Fleet from the speech of any of his friends all which was executed with the greatest cruelty that could be for the space of almost three years together to the apparent hazard of his life both by starving him which was with all art and industry severall waies attempted and also by severall assaults made upon him by the said Wardens men instigated thereunto by the said deputy Warden to the mayming wounding him whereby to this day he is totally deprived of the use of two of his fingers All which with much more too tedious to be hear inserted was fully proved by sufficient witnesses before a Committee of your House whereof M. Francis Rouse had the Chaire upon whose report made May 4. 1641 Your House Voted That the sentence in the Star-chamber given against the said John Lilburne and all the proceedings there upon was illegall and against the liberty of the Subject and also bloody wicked cruel barbarous and tyrannicall and that he ought to have good reparations therefore which Votes by reason of multiplicity of businesse in your House cost your Petitioner some years of importunate and chargeable attendance to git them transmitted to the Lords which was obtained in Febr. 1645. The 13. day of which Moneth your Petitioners whol cause was effectually opened at the Lords Barre by his learned Councel M. Bradshaw and M. John Cooke and there every particular again proved upon Oath by testimony of people of very good quality whereupon they concurred in all things with the House of Commons saving in the matter of reparation but upon the delivery of a true narrative the Copy whereof is hereunto annexed which your Petitioner with his own hands in the same moneth delivered unto every individuall Lord they made a further decree that your petitioner should have 2000 li reparations out of the estates of the said Lord Cottington Sir Francis Windebank and James Ingram for the reasons alledged in an Ordinance which they passed in April 1646. and transmitted to your House where it hath lain dormant eversince and is now referred to the consideration of this honourable Committee Now forasmuch as by the judiciall Lawes of God which are the pure lawes of right reason he that wilfully hurteth his neighbour is bound to the performance of these five things First If it be a blemish or wound like for like or to redeem it with money thereby to satisfie him for his wound Secondly For his pain and torment Thirdly For the healing Fourthly For his losse of time in his calling Fiftly For the shame and disgrace all which are to be considered according to the quaility of the person damnified which reparations are to be paid out of the best of the goods of him that damnified him and that without delay And as the Law of God so the Lawes of this Nation doth abhorre and hath severely punished above all persons Judges manytimes with the losse of their lives and estates who under colour of Law have violated their Oaths and destroyed the lives liberties and properties of the People whom by law they should have preserved as may be instanced by the 44 Judges and Justices hanged in one yeare by King Alfred divers of them for lesse crimes then hath been done in this case of your petitioner As may be read in the Law book called the Mirrour of Justice translated and re-printed this very Parliament and by Justice Thorpe in Edw. the thirds time who was destroyed for the violation of his Oath for taking small sums of money in causes depending before him as appears in Cooks Institutes And by the Lord Chief Justice Trisillian c. who in full Parliament in Rich. the seconds time was attached as a Traitor in the forenoon had his throat cut at Tyburne