felt the effects of this popular Doctrine which the Archbishop had instilled into the peoples heads For they growing weary of his Government that was partly Arbitrary and Tyrannical withdrew their Obedience from him and elected Lewis Son to the French King which how they could do and not be guilty of Rebellion I am not able to understand but however it was not as my Pamphleteer would have it more easily consented to by Philip his Father because King John had been condemned and attained for Treason in his Brother Richards time because he was pardoned all his Crimes by that King as * Vit. R. 1. f. 176. M. Paris will inform him but because he stood attainted for the Murder of †M. Paris f. 281. M. Westm f. 275. Duke Arthur for which he had in France been try'd by his Peers and condemned But King John dying in the midst of these Troubles his Son Henry the Third being then under Age was advanced to the Throne by the Loyal endeavours of the Earl Marshall and the Legate Walo with several other Great Men who Westminster the usual place of Coronation being in the hands of Lewis and the Rebel Lords before the great Altar in the Conventual Church at Gloucester annointed and solemnly crowned him sayes the ‖ Est Henricus Johannis primogenitus in regem inunctus solenniter coronatus M. Westm f. 277. Historian And tho' from the Speech which was made to that party of the Nobility that was there then by the Earl Marshall 't is pretended that Henry was Elected yet I dare say if any one do but imparâ—â—â—ly consider the Tenor of it he will find that the Design of it was rather to persuade those present to return to their Duty and acknowledge him for their King whom God and Nature had designed for that great Charge for he begins his Discourse to 'em thus ** H. Knighton l. 2. c. 15. f. 2426. Ecce Rex Vester which he certainly then could not be if their Election were necessary to make him such and amongst the rest of his Arguments sayes to 'em thus hunc igitur libeat regem dicere cui ipsum regnum debetur You ought to choose him to whom the Kingdom is due which surely it can be to none if it be not Hereditary and what puts all out of doubt that the Kingdom was not then and if not then I am sure never since Elective is the Ansvver of Hubert de Burgh that great both Statesman and Souldier to Lewis vvhen he summon'd him to deliver up Dover to him since his Master for vvhose use and service he had so long and valiantly defended it vvas dead ††Si Dominus meus mortuus est habet filios filias qui ei succedere debent M Par. vit H. 3. in prin If my old Master sayes he be dead he has left behind him Sons and Daughters which ought to succeed him A thing he never vvould have asserted had he not thought there had been a Divine Right somevvhere else than in the people Henry the Third being gone the vvay of all Flesh his Eldest son Edward succeeded him a Prince of most extraordinary hopes and vvhose Life let the World see it vvas not deceived in him this Prince at his Fathers death vvas absent in the Holy Land in pursuit of Honour there yet notvvithstanding in a great Council held at London ‖‖ Edwardum absentem Dominum suum Ligeum recognoverunt paternique Successorem honoris ordinaverunt Tho. Walsingh vit E. 1. f. 43. he was recognized and acknowledged to be their Natural Liege Lord and Lawful Successor to his Fathers Throne We meet not here vvith any thing like Election vvhich no doubt vve should not fail to do if there vvere any such thing practised But because we are told page 6 that whether Edward were the Eldest Son of his Father or no remains a doubt in History I shall endeavor notwithstanding the pretences of the House of Lancaster to the contrary whose Interest it was as the Foundation upon which the Justness to their Claim to the Crown was founded to have it thought otherwise assure him from one that had as good an Opportunity and great Reason to know as any man that Edmund was six years younger than his Brother Edward For says M. Paris who lived in the Time of Henry the 3 d. and was very great at Court * M. Par. 488. Edward was born the 15th day of May An. 1239. at Westm and upon S. Marcellus's day An. 1245 †M. P. f. 654. Queen Elianor presented the King with another Son who by his Command was called Edmund and tho' it was sometimes said he was put by for his Deformity yet 't is well known how notoriously false that Scandal is For he had his Name Crouch back not because he was crooked but by reason of a Cross he used as did all those that took upon them the Croisado to wear upon it The next was that Unfortunate Prince Edward 2. who suffering himself to be too much guided by his Minions fell at length into some arbitrary and irregular Courses that brought the hatred and ill will of his Subjects to that degree upon him that by the disloyal and ambitious Practices of his lustful and lascivious Queen and undutiful and unnatural Son he was at last deprived both of his Crown and Life an Action so inhumane barbarous and detestable and every way so unjustifiable that I cannot but wonder with vvhat Brow and Conference any man can bring that as an Instance of the Power of Parliaments At this rate the blackest Villanies that Hell can invent may be defended if it be but as sucessful as 't is impious Besides should we but once allow it lawful for Subjects when they think fit to depose and murder or as then 't is call'd bring to Justice their Princes we shall not only undermine the very Foundations of all Government but give a fatal Blow even to Christianity it self And well might the poor Prince solace himself in the midst of all his almost insupportable Afflictions with the hopes of having his Son whose Wickedness he was ignorant of Reign after For it would be no doubt no small comfort to him to think that those Men who in Contempt and open Defiance to the Laws of God and Nature had proceeded to perpetrate so horrid a Crime that a Heathen of the true Roman Stamp would have blush'd at the thoughts of should not yet so far forget themselves as to reject every Branch of that Tree at whose Root they had struck so great a Blow Surely from Times so disturbed and unsettled as these Men of either Honesty or Common Sence will not offer to bring Presidents to direct themselves by After a long and Glorious Reign Edward the Third who after the Death of Edward the Black Prince had in Parliament created Richard of Burdeaux Earl of Chester and Prince of Wales in a short
Law ever since I cannot but wonder this Gentleman should go about to call in question the Judgment of so Many and so Great Lawyers by his Impertinent Cavils for 't was upon this Precedent that the Lord Keeper Bacon did advise Q. Elizabeth not to Repeal that Statute wherein she was made Illegitimate Nor was it upon the Account of any Attainder that the House of York forbore so long time to pursue their Claim to the Crown but want of Interest And when he tells us The King of France was the more inclined to send over his Son Lewis because King John was Attainted of Treason and so uncapable of taking the Crown he must certainly have forgot himself or he would not have made use of an Instance granting it to be true so contrary to his Purpose For it seems the English when he came to the Crown had but a very slender Opinion of such a Bar or else they would never have admitted him But the King of France was glad of any Pretence tho never so Ridiculous So that we see the Judges were not without Precedent to direct their Proceedings by and such a one if the Story be true as had the Approbation of the whole or greatest part of the Kingdom But that Objection which has most shew of Force is drawn from the Recognition of Richard the Third's Title which he takes a great deal of Pains to set off to the best Advantage But I think he might have spared his Pains if he had but considered that those Men that to Advance an Usurper to the Throne had contrary to their Knowledge declared all the Late King's Children to be Bastards would scarce stick at Declaring contrary to all Right and Justice which they had already so notoriously violated an Attainder of Treason to be of sufficient Force to debar the Issue of the Duke of Clarence who were not in a Condition to assert their Title for the Crown without considering the Truth of it And it is considerable that all those Acts made in Contradiction of one another were never heeded or esteemed by either Party or ever deter'd either the Heads of 'em from pursuing their Claim or the People from assisting them in it the End of all such Statutes was to vanish into Smoak and come to nothing and for the most part never to have the Honour of a Repeal Besides a Thing done in Tempestuous and Turbulent Times is not to Guide and Direct our Actions now especially since we have the Sense of so many several and different Parliaments and therefore the more Remarkable to the contrary wherein it is declared That the Succession of the Crown of England is inseparably Annexed to Proximity of Blood and That a Title of this Sublimity and Grandeur is not at all Impeachable even by Act of Parliament And besides the Parliament of 39. H. 6. doth make their Declaration to the manifest Prejudice of the King in Possession who was Ordained also by the same Accord then made to Reign over them during his Life and whom for that Reason it must be presum'd they would have favoured if they had found but the least colour so to have done And if the Actual Possession of the Throne as has been so often Recognized by our Antient Parliaments which were neither over-aw'd by a prevailing Faction nor seduced by the plausible Pretences of designing Demagogues be by the Law of God and Nature invested with the Soveraignty it does most evidently follow that the Heir Apparent or Next of Blood is by the same Laws entituled to the Crown and consequently the People have no more Right to Dis-inherit the One than to Depose the Other and doubtless it is the same Sin As to cause the Abortion of an Embryo and to take away the Life of a Child already Born are both alike Murder for both have an equal Right to Life tho they differ in the Time of the Enjoyment of it And so have the Possessor and the Heir to the Throne only One is actually Master of it and the Other in due Time must and ought so to be But to affirm sayes this Gentleman that the King and Parliament have not a Power to Change the Direct Order of Succession is to deny the Government a Power to Defend it self To this I Answer 'T is much more likely that altering the Course of the Legal Descent of the Crown is the more probable way of bringing us into Anarchy and Confusion Besides acording to his Notion of Self-preservation a Prince that Governs not according to the pleasure and good liking of the People may be Deposed or else they would be deprived of a power of preserving themselves A very peaceable Notion I assure you and such as would render every Government where it was admitted most extreamly Happy But it ought to be proved That the admitting of a Popish King would be an Infallible Cause of the Ruin of us all or else I much fear this adored principle of Self-preservation will not Justify the Exclusion of his R.H. For nothing less than absolute Necessity will authorize a Man to kill his Enemy as when he endeavours by violence to Rob him of his Life and 't is then only he can lawfully Kill him se Defendendo But that he should be allow'd to destroy any that out of a Groundless Jealousie he apprehends may do him a Prejudice is the Highest Degree of Madness and Destructive of all Humane Society For if it were allowed for one to Kill all he is afraid of we could expect nothing but Murders and Massacres nothing but unavoydable Confusion and Ruin 'T is convenient I grant to bind such as we have just Ground to be apprehensive of to their good Behaviour and tye up their Hands according to the Laws of the Land And certainly one would think this would be sufficient Security in the Case of his R.H. if too many of those that so zealously stickle for the Bill had not a deeper Design than that they give out even to Lay the Axe to the Root of Monarchy it self 'T is that they aim at and have such a Thirst to destroy under this specious pretence and set up their adored Idol their beloved Common-Wealth And if they had not this colour for their Proceedings I am very much afraid they would be guilty of some what worse Nor am I in this at all Uncharitable since this Gentleman has pag. 19. given a very excellent Hint to Justify such a Design For he tells us That the Crown is not a bare Inheritance but an Inheritance accompanying an Office of Trust that if a Mans Defects render him incapable of the Trust he has also Forfeited the Inheritance Can any thing be more full and plain May not upon this account the King in Possession be Removed as well as an Heir secluded So true is that Observation That all the Pamphlets writ upon this Subject tho they begin with the Duke yet constantly End with the King
to be Hereditary But our Pamphleteer by a strange way of arguing would make us believe that during the Heptarchy because they were governed by divers Laws that therefore their Rule of Succession must be divers as if because France Spain Moscevia Denmark and Sweden are governed by different Laws that therefore they ought not to be Hereditary however it seems he is convinced that some of those Royalties in the Heptarchy were not Elective and if he would but please to read over the History of those times and not rely too much upon Indexes he would be convinced that the Crown in them all did constantly descend to the next Heir unless he were unjustly put by either by some potent Neighbour or powerful and popular Rebell At length seven Kingdoms were united under Egbert and his posterity who succeeded him successively by Hereditary Right and so far are the Historians from constantly mentioning as we are with a great deal of confidence told pag. 1. that we hear not one word of it in any Historian of Account till Edgar had put himself at the Head of his Brother King Edwy's Subjects and had forced him to divide the Kingdom with him and truly I cannot but admire the impudence or at least ignorance of our Author in telling us that Egbert came to the Kingdom of the West Saxons by Election and that he was no way related to Brithric the last King when I dare confidently affirm that there is not one * M. West f. 145. Rex Brithricus filiam Offae Regis Merciorum in conjugium accepit cujas affinitate fultus Egbertum solum regalis prosapiae superstitem quem regni sui utilitatibus futurum metuebat hostem in Franciam fugavit Idem f. 155. defuncto itaque Rege Brithrico successit ei Egbertus in regnum 36 annis qui ex regali illius gentis prosapiâ originem ducens multa potenter regna suo adjecit imperio H. Huntingd. lib. 5. Flor. Wigorn. f. 563. An. 802. R. de Hoveden Annal. p. priore f. 413. Historian but sayes he was next Heir and only remaining Branch of that Royal Stem and that upon Brithric's death he succeeded him in his Kingdom without the least mention of any Election and I am sure a man can scarce look into any of the Monkish Writers but he shall find a †M. Westm f. 166. cum multis aliis Genealogy of this Egbert one of whose direct Ancestors was Brother to the great Ina King of the West Saxons who was descended in a direct Line from Cerdie the first King of that people in England but these kind of shifts whether ignorant or malicious I determine not are very frequent To Egbert succeeded his Eldest Son ** M. West f. 155. cui sc Egberto succedens Aethelulphus filius ejus 20 annis 5 mensibus imperavit Ethelwolf not by Election but Birth-right who out of a mistaken Devotion went to Rome and carrying his youngest Son †M. West f. 158. Alfred whom he loved above any of his Children with him and designing if possible to make him his Successor he prevailed with the Pope to Anoint and Crown him King which certainly was a very preposterous way of going about it if it had been in the peoples power to chuse their King for then the most natural way had been to make his Address to them that had the power in their hands ‖ Ibidem exorta est contra Regem praedictum magnatum quorundam conspiratio ita quod factâ conjuratione ab Aethelbaldo filio regis primogenito quod à Româ repatrians nunquam reciperetur in Regnum causa erat quod filium juniorem Aelfredum quasi aliis a sorte regni exclusis in Regem Romae secerat Coronari but however this Action of the Fathers so much alarm'd the Eldest Son Ethelbald that rather than he would so unjustly be deprived of his undoubted Right he resolved to deprive his Father of his Kingdom and upon this specious pretence raised so strong a Faction against him that the Father to bring him again to his Duty was forced to share his Kingdom with him and this Prince wisely considering that if he did not contribute toward the avoiding of it his death might be the occasion of a great deal of Bloodshed amongst his four Children by ††M. Westm f. 159. Aethelulphus de suo transitu ad vitam Universitatis cogitans nè filii ejus post obitum suum inter se disceptarent haereditariam scribere imperavit Epistolam in quâ regni inter filios Aethelbaldum Aethelbertum divisionem procuravit c. paulò postea Aethelberto filiorum secundo Regnum Cantiae cum Sussexiâ concessit filius ejus primogenitus Aethelbaldus in West-Saxiâ pro patre regnavit his Will in his life-time he ordained That his Lands should be distributed amongst his two younger Sons and Daughter but his ** H. Huntingd. Hist l. 5. f. 348. Aethelbaldo filio suo reliquit praedictus Rex nobilissimus sc Aethelusphus Regnum Haereditatium Westsexe Adelbricto filio suo alii reliquit Regnum Cantiae Estsexe Sudsexe Hereditary Kingdom of the West Saxons he bequeathed to his Eldest Son Ethelbald and the Kingdoms of Kent Essex and Sussex to his Second Son Ethelbert to be held in Fee of his Elder Brother and upon his death his Eldest Son Ethelbald succeeded him according to his Fathers Will he dying issueless Ethelbert as next in Blood sate upon the Throne and so his two younger Brethren Ethelred and Alfred by right of Inheritance and according to proximity of Blood successively came to the Crown Upon the whole matter it may be I think reasonably concluded not insisting upon the silence of History from these two particulars that the Kingdom was nothing less than Elective first because it is irrational to think that Ethelmolf would have pretended to have appointed and nominated a Successor if the Crown had not gone then by Birth-right And in the next place I cannot conceive why Alfred who was a kind of * Flor. Wigorn. fol. 587. Quo sc Aethelred supra memoratus Aelfredus qui usque ad id tempus venientibus fratribus suis fuerat secondarius totius regni gubernacula divino concedente nutu cum summâ omnium illius regni accolarum voluntate confestim suscepit Vicegerent to all his other Brethren should wait their Death before he took upon him the Government for if the Choice of the people had been sufficient to entitle him to the Crown he had never wanted that since he was their †Asser Menevens in vit Alfred f. 7. Quod sc Regnum etiam vivente fratre suo si dignaretur accipere facillimè cum omnium illius gentis accolarum potuerat invenire Darling all along especially if the Unction and Coronation by the Pope be considered for that though of no force or efficacy in it self yet might have been easily improved into
but for the most part very shallow pretences Ethelred being dead †Fl. VVgorn f. 616. M. VVestm f 203. Canutus by the terrour of his Arms having the greatest part of the Island at his devotion forced them to acknowledge and receive him for their King which they being under an apparent Force could not choose but do which notwithstanding this Gentleman is pleas'd to call an Election but how ridiculously I leave to every man of sense to judge but however the City of †Soli Cives Londinenses pars Nobilium qui tunc temporis ibidem permanebant Edmundum filium Regis ferreum latus in Regem unanimiter exclamaverunt M. Westm ubi supra London and that part of the Nobility that was there stood firm to Edmond Ironside Eldest Son and Heir to the deceased King and received him for their Sovereign as they were in Duty bound but at length these two Princes being grown weary of the War after a Duel sought between them to avoid the effusion of more Blood they came to this ‖ M. Westm f. 205. Conclusion That the Kingdom should be divided betwixt them each peaceably to enjoy his share But upon the Death of Edmund the * M. VVestm ubi supra Fl. VVigorn f. 618. Verum illi restante Deo falsum perhibuerunt testimonium fraudulentes mentiti sunt existimantes illum sibi mitiorem esse propter mendacium eorum se ab eo praemium sumpturos magnum ex quibus falsis testibus quidam post non longum tempus ab eodem rege sunt interfecti Dane being resolved to admit of no Co-parter in the Government of this Island summons all the Great Men and very cunningly as if he had been ignorant of the matter demands of them whether or no by the Agreement made betwixt him and the late King it was Provided That the Sons or Brethren of Edmond should succeed him during his Canutus's Life but he was answered by 'em That they were ignorant of any Provision made for his Brethren at any time but this they were sure of That Edmund on his Death-Bed had recommended the Care and Protection of his Children to him till they came to Age capable of the Government of his Kingdom but sayes Florence of Worcester God knows they bore false Testimony and ly'd falsely but they thought by this means to intitle themselves to some great reward or at least to a Room in his Favours and Affections but after by this means he had obtained the Crown they found themselves mistaken for he wisely considering that such Time-serving Polititians as had betray'd their true Master's Interest would no longer be true to his than it stood with their convenience therefore he soon found means to cut most of 'em off a true and just reward for their disloyalty Canutus being dead and having appointed his youngest Son Hardicanute for his Successor by his Will it seems Princes in those days took upon them the disposing of their Crowns without asking the consent of the people his Second †M. VVestm f. 209. VV. Malmesb l. 2. c. 12. f. 76. Flor. VVigorn 622. Son Harald as having the advantage by seniority of Birth laid claim to the Crown asserting that he being Elder Brother and Legitimate which by the by was false but however it serv'd his turn for the present it was not in his Fathers power to rob him of his Birth-right to determine therefore the justness of his Title a great Council was assembled where the business viz. who had the greater Right to the Crown was very warmly debated on both sides and was at length decided in favour of Harald he having the greatest part of the Nobility and the City of ‖ Qui jam penè in barbarorum mores propter frequentem convictum transiverant VV. Malmsb ubi supra London which was then by the long continuance of the Danes there degenerated into barbarism and tho' this Gentleman would make us believe this was an Election yet I am persuaded it was nothing less because the point in Controversie was who had the most Right and best Title to the Crown besides if we may give Credit to the ** Brompton f. 932. Historian who sayes Placitum magnum de regni Successione apud Oxonium factum est it was only a bare pleading and arguing the justness of Harald's pretences ††quafi justus haeres sc Haraldus regnare nec tamen ita potenter ut Canu'us quia justior haeres expectabatur Hardicanutus which how it could be and yet the Kingdom be Elective I cannot conceive F. VVigorn ubi supra who by the corruption and partiality of the Judges got the day notwithstanding all the endeavors of Q. Emma and Earl Godwin who objected Harald's illegitimacy and the Will of the deceased King so far were they from endeavouring to make any court to the people for the procuring of theirs that they only desired their assent to the justness of his Title which certainly in an Elective Monarchy no man can pretend to but Harald being sensible how unjustly he had obtained the Crown used a great deal of Address and Cunning to cut off all his Competitors and it was the hard Fortune of poor Alfred to fall into his cruel hands by the treachery of Earl Godwin and was presently after most barbarously murder'd and yet our Pamphleteer has the impudence to tell us That the Nobility after the expulsion of the Danes proceeded to Elect him which is as notoriously false as a great many more of his Forgeries But Harald Harefoot being dead to make some amends for their former undutiful carriage they send to * M. VVestm ' f. 110 Fl. Wigorn. 623. Hardicanute then at Bruges an offer of the Crown which he before had been unjustly deprived of which he accepts and comes immediately into England to be Crowned so that all this while we find not so much as one pretence of believing this Kingdom to be Elective After his death the English grown weary of the Danish slavery at last resolve to return to their Duty and restore the Saxon Line to the Crown it had so long been contrary to all Law and justice kept from the possession of in order to which they enter into a joint * Bromptâ—â— 934 Association and resolve to stand by one another as the modern phrase is with their Lives and Fortunes in depriving for ever the Danes of that Government they had no pretence or right to but what the Sword gave them Nor can this be any Argument for the Power of Parliaments in disposing of the Succession for what was done by the Great Council then was but their Duty since they were bound in Conscience upon the first opportunity to endeavour the ejection of an Usurper and the Restauration of the true Heir to the Throne of his Fathers In pursuance to this Resolution it not being well known what was become of Ironside's Children or if it
propter consuetudinem regni quod se habet in contrarium so that at a Parliament holden ** Coke 1 Inst f. 245. a. Anno 20 H. 3. for that to certifie upon the King 's Writ that the Son born before Marriage is a Bastard was contra communem formam Ecclesiae Rogaverunt omnes Episcopi magnates ut consentirent quod nati ante Matrimonium essent legitimi sicut illi qui nati sunt post Matrimonium quantum ad Successionem haereditaniam quia Ecclesia tales habet pro legitimis omnes Comites Barones una voce responderunt Quod nolunt leges Angliae mutare quae hucusque usitatae sunt approbatae but how it can reasonably be extended to Normandy I cannot understand for then William had been excluded But to go on William having conquer'd this Island which he pretended to upon the account of the Confessor's donation upon his Death-bed bequeathed the Kingdom of England to his Second Son William his Eldest Son Robert being then in actual Rebellion against him but Rufus being too wise to rely upon his Fathers Will which was contrary to all Right and Justice ††M. Par. vit W. 2. in prin P. Virg. lib. 10. Posts away out of Normandy immediately into England seises upon his Fathers Treasure and very ** In pecuniâ dispergendâ neque segnis neque parcus omnem Thesaurum patris Wintoniae accumulatum in lucem proferens Monasteriis Aurum Ecclesiis Parochianis Argenti Solidos quinque unicuique provinciae libras centum egenis dividendas misericorditer assignavit M. P. ubi supra liberally bestowes it amongst the people giving Gold to the Monasteries five shillings to every Parish Church and a hundred pound to to every Province to be destributed amongst those that were needy and in want promises over and above an emendation of the hard Laws his Father had imposed upon his Subjects and a speedy redress of the Grievances which then the People groan'd under by which specious pretences and by the assiduous endeavours and great interest of * M. Par. vir G. 2. in prin P. Virg. l. 10. Lanfranck Archbishop of Canterbery for the Clergy in those days had no small influence upon Affairs he so far prevailed with the generality of people that according to his Fathers will which was very much urged in his favour he was received with the Shouts and Acclamations of the Croud where he was immediately proclaimed and soon after Crowned King but in spight of all their endeavours they were not able to corrupt the Loyalty of some stout and generous †M. Paris ubi supra M. Westm f. 231. Normans who as in duty they were bound resolved to stand firm to Robert to whom by the Laws of God and Nature supposing the Conqueror had lawfully enjoy'd the Crown the Royalty was due but their brave undertaking was rendered uneffectual by the policy of William who found means to take some of them off and by the assistance of the ‖ Sim. Dunelm anno 1088. fol. 214. English to reduce the rest And here this Gentleman takes occasion to observe that the Conqueror by his absolute Victory did not so wholly break the English that all the Old Laws and Customs were destroy'd because they wanted not hands to use those Weapons which were put into 'em for the defence of Rufus and thence I suppose infers that the Conqueror came not to the Crown so much by Arms as Consent of the People but how senseless and rediculous a pretence this is I leave to himself to judge since a sure and faithful ** Ut commilitonibus Normannis qui in bello Hastingensi patriam secum subjugaverant terras Anglorum possessiones ipsis expulsis manu distribuat affiuenti modicum illud quod eis remaneret subjugo poneret perpetuae servitutis M. Par. in vit W. 1. in prin Historian will inform him that William having left the English Hostages in safe Custody in Normandy return'd into England to destribute the Lands of the English amongst his Norman Souldiers that had assisted him to subjugate that Country which he did very liberally having expell'd the owners out of their possessions and that little he was pleas'd to leave to some of 'em he put under the slavish Tenure of perpetual Villenage which certainly he never could have done had he not both obtained and governed the Kingdom Jure gladii But to return from whence I have digressed Rufus and his Brother Robert came to this Agreement at the length that the latter ††Propter manifestum jus quod habuit ad Regnum possidendum Roberto singulis annis tria millia Marcarum Argenti daret ab Anglia quis corum diutius viveret Haeres eslet alterius si absque filio moreretur Hoc autem per duodecem magnates juratum suit utrinque M. Westm f. 236. because of the manifest right he had to enjoy the Crown should have a yearly Pension of three thousand Marks out of the Revenue of England and he that surviv'd the other if he died without Children should be Heir to the deceased Brother and so far were they from thinking this Agreement stood in need of the Ratification of a Great Council that there was but Twelve of their Principal friends on each side Sworn to see it duly observed But Robert being absent in the Holy Land at Rufus's death the great men of the Kingdom were mightily afraid of being long without a King it seems they were of opinion that Robert had a right to govern which Henry his Younger Brother wisely perceiving resolved to take time by the Fore-top and improve this Opportunity to the Supplanting of his Brother and Advancement of himself therefore to win the Affections of the Great Men he was very liberal in making them ‖‖ P. Virg. lib. 11. partim dando partim grandia pollicendo munera c. Presents and promising larger Rewards the usual and most prevailing Rhetorick of Competitors representing to 'em his Brother's Cruel Disposition and that he himself was their own Country-man and born after his Fathers coming to the Crown which gave a reasonable pretence to expect to be prefer'd before Robert and having bound himself by Oath to make a full Restitution of all their Ancient Laws and confirm them by his Charter and abrogate such severe ones as his Father had made they did * In ipsum consentirent in regem unanimiter consecrarent M. Par. vit H. 1. in princi pio unanimously consent to consecrate him King and I cannot see how this that was managed with so much Bribery and Corruption can properly be call'd an Election however I think we need not wonder to find this King publickly owning the consent of the people to be the foundation of his Advancement to the Throne for he must either acknowledge that or openly profess himself an unjust Usurper since he had no other way to entitle himself to it but
time after left the Crown to this Young Prince another of our unfortunate Kings †P. Virg. lib. 19. 20. and so far is it from being true that his Title to the Crown was questioned by John of Gaunt the great Duke of Lancaster that he was at the latter end of his Father's Reign intrusted with the Lieutenancy of the Realm and after his Death was Protector to the Young King during his Minority which certainly had never been if John of Gaunt jure propinquitatis had claim'd the Crown it being dangerous to put so great a Trust and Power into the hands of a Competitor Nor was ever the Succession confirm'd to him by Parliament any otherwise than I have mentioned Neither can Polydore's Regem dicunt if you leave out this Gentleman 's disingenuous Addition of by their Common Suffrages for there is no such thing in the Original signifie any more than that he was proclaimed King But it would be well for this unhappy Prince if he might but as quietly quit as he enter'd into the Throne but alas it fell out quite otherwise For King Richard being made Prisoner by his Cousin Henry of Lancaster a Parliament was Summoned by him in the King's Name in the one and twentieth year of his Reign to meet at Westminster An action certainly illegal in it self for if the Kings Summons were necessary as it appears it was I would gladly know how it can be pretended in this Case that this Parliament did convene by his Authority for tho' the Writs were issued out in his Name yet was he so far from consenting to it that if it had lay'n in his power he would have prevented it But this Assembly or Parliament call it what you will being got together I would fain be inform'd upon what Law or Authority I mean Legal they grounded their following Proceedings for if the Breath of the Kings Nostrils was necessary to give them their Being it is a little irrational to suppose they could thence derive a Lawful Power to destroy the Author of their Life besides how can it be supposed they could proceed justly to pass a Final Sentence upon Him whose concurrance was absolutely required to give birth to any Law which might concern his meanest Subjects tho' they thought it ne're so convenient and why should we believe it in the Power of the Estates of the Realm to impose any thing upon the King when he could bind them to observe nothing without their consent first obtained and yet our Pamphleteer is not ashamed to avouch this as a President of Parliamentary Power in the Point of Succession But if we do but examine the matter a little more narrowly we shall find it makes very little for his purpose unless it be his Design and a man must have a great deal of Charity to believe it is not to instruct the people how to proceed in case their King will not do as they would have him for we shall find that tho' they usurped the exorbitant Power of Deposing Richard yet did they not pretend to the power of Electing who they pleas'd but thought themselves in duty bound to submit to him to whom by Right of Blood the Crown did belong And this evidently appears from Henry Duke of Lancaster's manner of laying Claim to the Crown for no sooner was the Throne void by the pretended voluntary Resignation of King Richard but Henry first having fortified himself with the sign of the Cross stood up and made his demand of the Crown in his Mother-Tongue in this form of Word as I have extracted them out of the * Rot. Parl. 1 H. 4. memb 20. Parliament Roll In the Name of the Fader Sonne and Holy Gost I Henry of Lancastre challenge this Rewme of Ynglonde and the Corone with all the Membres and the Appurtenances al 's I that am descendit by ryght line of the blode comyng fro the gude Lord King Henry therde By this you may see vvhat it vvas he laid the stress of his Claim on and thorghe that Right that God of his Grace hath sent me He it seems acknovvledges God and not the people for the Author of his Right with the help of my Ryn and of my Friendes to recover it the which Rewme was in point to be ondone for defaut of Governance and undoyng of the gude Lawes After which Chalenge and Claim says the Record as well the Lords Spiritual as Temporal all and all the States there present being severally and all interrogated what they thought of the aforesaid Challenge and Claim The above-named States with all the Commonalty without any difficulty or delay unanimously agreed that the aforesaid Duke should reign over them And this being the Naked Truth of the matter I cannot imagine with what propriety of Speech this can be called an Election or what reason this Gentleman had for to say that the above-mentioned Title was the least of all insisted on when it appears from the Roll as I have faithfully translated it that no other was so much as mentioned And thus we have heard how the poor and unfortunate Prince Richard the Second from whose Actions if they be but examined with an impartial Eye we cannot conclude him to have been either very insufficient or evil if we soberly weigh the Imputations that were objected against him we shall find nothing of any truth or at least any moment was in a tempestuous Rage deprived of his Right and upon what Grounds Henry 4. mounted his Throne But how justly even in the Opinion of some at that time you will best be inform'd from Thomas Merks Bishop of Carlisle a wise and Learned man and of no less Courage who when it was moved in Parliament what should be done with King Richard He boldly stood up and spoke to this Effect as it is set down by * Bak. Chron. f. 158. Sir Richard Baker and since it is so much to the purpose I hope the reader will not be displeased with the length of it My Lords The matter now propounded is of marvellous Weight and Consequence wherein there are two points chiefly to be considered The First Whether King Richard be sufficiently put out of his Throne The Second whether the Duke of Lancaster be lawfully taken in For the First How can that be sufficiently done when there is no Power sufficient to do it The Parliament cannot for of the Parliament the King is the Head and can the Body put down the Head You will say the Head may how it self down and may the King resign It is true but what force is in that which is done by Force And who knows not that King Richard's Resignation was no other But suppose he be sufficiently out yet how comes the Duke of Lancaster to be lawfully in If you say by Conquest you speak Treason For what Conquest without Arms And can a Subject take up Arms and not be Treason If you say by Election of the State you
speak not Reason For what Power hath the State to elect while any that is living hath Right to succeed But such a Successor is not the Duke of Lancaster as descended from * So call'd from a Cross he used to wear upon his Back Edmund Crouchback the Elder Son of King Henry the Third tho' put by the Crown for Deformity of his Body For who knows not the Falseness of this Allegation Seeing it is a thing notorious that this Edmund was neither the Elder Brother nor yet Crook-back'd but of a goodly Personage and without any Deformity And your selves cannot forget a thing so lately done who it vvas that in the Fourth year of King Richard vvas declared by Parliament to be Heir to the Crovvn in case King Richard should die without Issue But why then is not that Claim made because Silent Leges inter Arma what disputing of Titles against the stream of Power But however it is extreme injustice that King Richard should be condemned without being heard or once allowed to make his Defence And now my Lords I have spoken thus at this time that you may consider of it before it be too late for as yet it is in your Power to undo that justly which you have unjustly done Thus spoke that Loyal and Good Prelate but to little purpose though there was neither Protestation nor Exception made against this Speech which certainly there would have been had there not been as much Truth as Boldness in vvhat he said And tho' Henry the Fourth did afterwards get the Inheritance of the Crown and Realm of England setled upon himself for Life and the Remainder entailed upon his four Sons by Name and the Issue of their Bodies yet that cannot at all make for my Adversaries purpose since it amounted to no more than a Confirmation of him in the Throne or if it did vve may vvell suppose that a Prince that vvas conscious to himself hovv unjustly he had gain'd his Crown would not be very unwilling to take such a way tho' in derogation to his Prerogative to secure himself if possible tho' not out of an Opinion that they could give him a better Right than they had but because 't is natural to suppose they would upon any occasion be ready to defend what they so solemnly had enacted Come we next to Henry the Fifth who this Gentleman says was Elected But how notoriously false that Assertion of his is will appear from hence that first there was no Parliament called till after his Coronation and in the next place that if the Act of Parliament made in the Seventh Year of Henry the Fourth had so great a Force and Vertue as he says it had it was needless nor can he prove any such thing from that careless and negligent Historian Polydore For Concilium Principum with him does not always signifie a Parliament as any one that has read him which I dare say he never did will perceive nor does his Phrase creare Regem import any more than the King's Coronation besides 't is most untrue which he affirms that Allegiance was never sworn before his Time till after a King was Crowned For the contrary appears from King John and Edward the First Nay 't is undeniably true that the Kings of England have exercised all manner of Royal Jurisdiction precedent to all Ceremony or any Formality whatsoever and that the Death of one King has in that very Moment given Livery and Seisin of the Royalty to the next Heir and by vertue of that Richard the First as a Mark of his Sovereignty immediately on his Father's Death restor'd the Earl of Leicester to his whole Estate Henry the Fifth being dead he was without any Opposition admitted to the Throne although but an Infant but in the Thirty Ninth Year of this King in open Parliament Richard Duke of York the true and rightful Heir to the Crown of England and France made his Challenge and Demand of it as being next Heir to Lionell Duke of Clarence Elder Brother to John of Gaunt from whom descended the House of Lancaster but to this Claim of his it was answered by the King's Friends That the same Crowns were by Act of Parliament Entailed upon Henry the Fourth and the Heirs of his Body from whom King Henry the Sixth did lineally descend * Rot. Parl. 39 H. 6. n. 10. c. The which Act say they as it is in the Record is of Authority to defeat any manner of Title made to any Person To which the Duke of York answerably replies That if King Henry the Fourth might have obtained and enjoyed the said Crowns of England and France by title of Inheritance Descent or Succession he neither needed nor would have desired or made them to be granted to him in such wise as they be by the said Act the which taketh no place nor is of any Force or Effect mind that against him that is Right Inheritor of the said Crowns as it accordeth with God's Laws and all Natural Laws And this Claim and Answer of the Duke of York is expresly acknowledged and recognized by this Parliament to be Good True Just Lawful and Sufficient and 't is agreed that Henry shall hold the Crown during his Life and the Duke of York in the mean time to be reputed and proclaimed Heir Apparent So that we have here as much as can be desired a Parliament not only declaring that a Title to the Crown ought to derive it self only from the Laws of God and Nature and not from any Civil Sanction and acknowledging in at the Bargain that it is beyond the Reach of any Humane Legislative Power to debar and exclude any one that justly claims by such a Right But to â— proceed upon Edward the Fourth's coming to the Crown a Parliament conven'd in the first year of his Reign does acknowledge and recognize his Title in these words as the * Rot. Parl. 1 Ed. 4. n. 8. c. Record has it Knowing also certainly without doubt and ambiguity that by Gods Law and Law of Nature He h. e. Edward the Fourth and none other is and ought to be true right-wise and natural Liege and Sovereign Lord. And that he was in Right from the Death of the said Noble and Famous Prince his Father very just King of the same Realm of England So here again we have another Parliament of the same mind with the last and I doubt not but we shall meet with more of 'em e're we have done When King Edward the Fourth was droven out of his Kingdom by Henry the Sixth 't is true the Crown was again entail'd if it may be properly so call'd upon him and his Heirs c. but still the proceeding was grounded upon the same Bottom with the former Here our Pamphleteer is pleased to make this drowsie Observation that both the Families of York and Lancaster claim'd a Title by Act of Parliament 't is true the latter did because they
had no other that would carry Water but as false that the former ever did for they as you have seen before founded their pretences upon the sound Bottom of Divine and Natural Law Besides Richard Duke of York challenged the Crown as his just Right before any Act pass'd in his favour nor was it the want of a Parliamentary Title which he stood in need of that kept him off but because he had not Power and Interest enough to assert the justness of his Title and therefore 't is no wonder he deferr'd the making of his Claim so long for to have done it sooner would but have riveted the Usurper more firmly in his Throne But Edward having regain'd his Kingdom as quickly as he lost it left it at his death to his unfortunate Son Edward the Fifth who was soon deprived both of that and his Life by his barbarous inhumane and ambitious Uncle Richard Duke of Gloucester who having persuaded some and forced others to believe or at least seem to believe that all his Brother Edwad's Children were Bastards did by a kind of pretended Election and at the instance of all the Great Men take or rather usurp the Crown But that the mystery of that subtle Transaction may be fully discovered I shall transcribe that Petition and Election as they call it out of the Parliament Roll as much as is necessary and opitomize the rest and then I will leave the Reader to judge how dis-ingenuously not to call it worse tho' according to his Custom this Gentleman would insinuate as if in the midst of their highest flatteries and courtship to him they tell him only of this great and sure Title by Act of Parliament An untruth if he had had the least grain of Modesty he could not have had the confidence to assert but by this time I suppose you know what a man I have to deal with But I hope the Roll will convince him and make him asham'd of his dis-ingenuity * Rot. Parl. tent apud Weâ—im die Ven. 23 die Jan. 1 R. 3. In this Petition and Election but that Election imports not what he would have it I hope will evidently appear from the sequel they set forth the many Grievances and Oppressions the Kingdom groan'd under through the dissolute Government of the late King Edward the Fourth they say farther That the King was never married to his pretended and reputed Queen or if he was that upon the account of a Precontract to another Lady that Marriage was unlawful and ipso facto void and so either way all his Children were illegitimate They say farther That George the late Duke of Clarence being attainted of High Treason and his Blood corrupted by reason thereof his issue are debarred or all Right and Claim to the Crown But the reasonableness and lawfulness of this Position I shall take the Liberty to examine hereafter Over this I give you the Words of the Record in English We consider that you be the undoubted Son and Heir of Richard late Duke of York very Inheritor of the said Crown and Dignity Royal and as in Right King of England by way of Inheritance how then can the Parliament challenge a power of Election in the modern sense of the words and that at this time the premises duly considered there is none other person living but You only that by Right may Claim the said Crown and Dignity Royal by way of Inheritance And then they go on in a most abject way of Flattery to recount his excellent Parts and extraordinary Qualifications for the Government Wherefore say they these premises by us diligently considered we desiring effectually the Peace Tranquillity and Weal-publick of this Land and the reduction of the same to the ancient honourable Estate and Presperity and having in your great Prudence Justice Princely Courage and excellent Vertue singular Confidence have chosen in all that in us is and by this our Writing choose you High and Mighty Prince our King and Sovereign Lord to whom we know of certain it appertaineth to be chosen From whence it appears that what they call Election amounts to no more than a Ceremony or formality of acknowledging their Prince Therefore they desire him as his true Inheritance which 't is impossible in an Elective Kingdom the Royalty can be to accept of the said Crown and Dignity according to this Election of the Three Estates Surely then the King vvas none They add soon after Albeit that the Right Title and Estate which our Sovereign Lord the King Richard the Third hath to and in the Crown and Royal Dignity of this Realm of England be just and lawful as grounded upon the Laws of God and of Nature mind that and also upon the ancient Laws and landable Customes and therefore not upon any Statute but Common-Lavv of this said Realm and so taken and reputed by all such persons as be Learned in the abovesaid Laws and Customes yet nevertheless Here once for all take notice of the true Reason of the Parliaments medling vvith the Succession for as much as it is considered that the most part of the people is not sufficiently Learned in the abovesaid Laws and Customes whereby the Truth and Right in this behalf of likelyhood may be hid and not clearly known to all the people and thereupon put in doubt and question And over this how that the Court of Parliament is of such Authority and the people of this Land of such a Nature and Disposition as experience teacheth that Manifestation and Declaration of any Truth or Right made by the Three Estates of this Realm Assembled in Parliament maketh before all other things most Faith and Certainty and quieting of Mens Minds removeth the occasion of all Doubts and Seditious Language And therefore at the Request and by the Assent of the three Estates of this Realm the King cannot be one that is to say the Lords Spiritual 't is they are one of the Estates and Temporal and Commons of this Land Assembled in this present Parliament and by Authority of the same be it pronounced decreed and declared That our said Sovereign Lord the King was and is the very undoubted King of this Realm of England c. as well by right of Consanguinity and Inheritance as by lawful Election Consecration and Coronation And since the two latter as all the World knows do give no new right but are only Ceremonies and bare Formalities of State I can see no reason why what they call Election which certainly must not be strain'd to Propriety should be reputed any other because it not only is joyned with the rest without any Distinction but likewise Election in the usual Sence is incompatible with an Hereditary Monarchy such as this is over and over proved to be To all which the King assented in these words Et idem Dominus Rex de assensis dictorum trium Statuum Regni Authoritate praedicta omnia singula Praemissa in Billa
Nature and this Realm Cons Rot. Parl. 1. E. 4. Rot. Parl. 1. R. 3. 1 Jac. c. 1. if we may give Credit to the Declarations of so many Parliaments of different Humours and Tempers So that it will prove no very hard Matter to make good what I undertook in the Third place to wit That an Act to Exclude his R.H. would be utterly Unlawful and ipsofacto void because contrary to all Laws Divine Natural and Humane and so it ought to be adjudged when ever it comes to the Question before the Reverend Judges For the Laws of God Nature are the Rays and Emanations of the Divinity they are Undeniable Eternal and Immutable and therefore cannot be Altered or Impeached by any Humane Power or Authority but only by the God of Nature it self who did Originally ordain them and so many and plentiful are the Instances of Statutes expounded void because contrary to the Law of Nature that it would be loss of time to take notice of or enumerate any of them no doubt upon this ground it is that those two great and learned Dectors of the Law Jason and Angelus do positively aver that tho the Eldest Son of a King be either a Fool or a Madman either of which qualifications are as pernicious to the Government every whit as being a Papist yet can he not be excluded from Succession And I doubt not it may be made evidently appear that Succession of the Crown to the next Heir of the Blood Royal is so Fundamental and Primary a Constitution of this Realm so antient and received a Custome that against it There never hath been nor ought to be any dispute as †His Argument of the Case of the Postnati pag. 36. the Lord Chancellor Egerton will inform us and if we look into our Antient Records we shall find more than one Parliament declaring that Jura Sanguinis nullo Jure civili dirimi possunt And it is held by several great Lawyers that a Prerogative in Point of Government cannot be restrained or bound by Act of Parliament And surely then much less can such an Act he of any force in so high a case as this of Succession for certainly if this were once allowed the Government would cease to be Hereditary and degenerate into an Elective One And 't is not to be question'd but such a Power as enables the Parliament to break off one link may give them a sufficient Authority to shatter in pieces the whole sacred Chain and totally exclude the present Line and together with that Monarchy which I pray God may not be the bottom of too many Men's designs let them gild over their proceedings with never so specious and popular Pretences and no doubt out of a provident Foresight of the Calamity and dismal consequence of such designes it was that the Lords and Commons did declare That they could not assent in Parliament to any thing that tended to the Disinherison of the King Rot. Parl. 42. E. 3. Num. 7. and the Crown which this Bill of Exclusion evidently does whereunto they were sworn no tho the King himself should desire it But what comes more home to the point is the answer of Richard Duke of York to the Kings Friends who urged an Act of Parliament against him who told them That such an Act was to take no place Rot. Parl. 39. H. 6. Numb 10 c. nor was of any force or effect against Him the Right Inheritor of the Crown as it accorded with God's Laws and all Natural Laws And this Answer of the Duke's is by express Act of Parliament then assembled recognized and acknowledged to be Good True Just Lawful and Sufficient so that in effect we have an ingenuous and full Declaration as can be that the Right of Succession is absolutely unimpeachable by any Humane Power and that the Kings of England in possession their Heirs and Successors in reversion have an indefeasible right to the Crown which they cannot be deprived of by any Authority less than that which invested them therewith Besides 't is a Maxim of our Law That as the King never Dyes which is meant of that Political Capacity which in that very Moment one King Expires is Superadded to the Body Natural of the Next Heir whereby he immediately becomes King And this Political Capacity being of that Sublimity that it is no wayes subject to any Human Imbecilities of Infamy Crime or the like it draweth all Imperfections and Incapacities whatsoever from that Natural Body where with it is Consolidate as it were Consubstantiate so the Crown once gain'd takes away all Defects removes all manner of Bars and Lets laid in the way to the Succession For 't is impossible to hinder the Descent to the Next Heir because that being removed beyond the Reach of a Mortal Arm must go exactly in that Course prescribed by God and Nature and being joyn'd to and indivisible in one Royal Person thereby this later Capacity being added to the former purgeth eo instante all Obstructions of what Nature soever And tho his Natural Body before this Union was subject to the Lash of the Law yet upon the Conjunction of this Political and Immortal Capacity with it they grow inseparable And consequently by reason of those Divine Perfections inherently and indubitably annexed to that Coalition the Prince what ever Crimes he might have formerly been guilty of is now placed above Humane Justice and answerable solely to God Almighty to whom and none other he owes Subjection And thus it has been expresly resolved by all the Judges of England in the Case of Two Princes who were as much Disabled as an Act of Parliament could â—o it The First was when Henry the Sixth by the Assistance of the Great Earl of Warwick re-assumed the Crown for Edward the Fourth had pass'd an Act to disable him from all Regiment and attaint him of High Treason But notwithstanding all this the Judges were of Opinion That in the same Moment that Henry Re-assumed the Crown the said Parliamentary Incapacities were to all Intents discharged and avoided not because as our Pamphletier pag. 17. would have us believe Edward was not Lawful King For if either Right of Blood or an Act of Parliament could give him a Just Title there 's no doubt to be made but he had One But for this very Reason That the Crown once gain'd taketh away all Defects The next Instance is of Henry the Seventh who being once possessed of the Throne the Reversal of his Parliamentary Attainder was unanimously agreed by the Judges to be unnecessary for That the Crown takes away all Defects in Blood and Incapacities by Parliament And that from the Time the King did assume the Crown 1 H. 7.4 Fitz. Parl. pl. 2. Plowdens Com. 238. Co. 1. In. stit 16. a. the Fountain was cleared and all the said Attainders and Corruptions of Blood and other Impediments absolutely discharged And this being constantly received for
of Stephen to receive Duke Henry as their Natural and Lawful Sovereign And accordingly upon Stephen's Death Henry being both lov'd and fear'd by every one came very calmly to the Throne and he having sufficiently experienc'd what an alluring Temptation a Diadem is and that Men of Pride and Ambition make no Conscience of breaking through all Obligations and Ties that may obstruct their Advances to so glittering a Bait thought the only way to secure the Crown without Dispute to his Eldest Son Henry was to set it upon his Head before his Death but before that time came he had sufficient cause to repent his Choice of this unfortunate Course However this my Antagonist would have thought an Election of the Young Prince to succeed his Father without which he could not pretend to it but if he do but look upon that very Author †Gervas H. 2. f. 1412. Ipsâ die Henricum filium suum qui eadem septimanâ de Normanniâ militem fecit statimque stupentibus cunctis mirantibus in Regem ungui Praecepit coronari coronatus itaque novus rex ex praecepto patris sui succepit fidelitates he has quoted he will find if he have any remains of Modesty in him what Reason he has to blush at his Disingenuity for he will there find that the great men were afraid they were call'd to give an account and suffer the King's Censure for several unjustifiable Neglects they had been guilty of surely either this Council was very far different from what we call a Parliament now or the Times are strangely alter'd with 'em but when they found 't was only to assist at the Coronation of Young Henry they were right glad they all the time being filled with Wonder and Amazement they being so far from pretending to any power of Election that they only look'd on and then sware Fealty Besides ‖ M. Paris vit H. 2. Anno. 1170. M. Paris tells us that the King having call'd his Bishops commanded them to set the Crown upon young Henry's head without taking any notice of any others as if there had been none present but they which he certainly would never have done if so solemn a Ceremony as an Election had been necessary Henry was succeeded by Richard his Eldest Son living at his Death without any provision made in his Fathers life time in order thereto from the consent of the people unless he will call an Article of Peace between King Henry and the King of France one and certainly he must mean that if any thing when he sayes his Father was glad to get the Succession confirm'd to him but by this it was only * Provisum est etiam quod Comes Richardus acciperet Homagia hominum de omnibus terris Patris sui citra mare ultra M. Paris f. 151. Provided That Richard should receive Homage from all his Fathers Subjects but for all this he tells us That he was again Elected after his Fathers Death which to mee seems very strange for one would have thought one Election would have serv'd his turn but 't is like the rest of his incoherent Discourse besides I cannot believe King Richard would afterwards have taken upon himself to declare his Nephew †Flor. Hist Anno 1190. M. Paris vit R. 1. An. 1190. 〈◊〉 his Heir unless he had known that the Kingdom was Hereditary for in an Elective Monarchy there can be no such thing But notwithstanding King Richard being kill'd at Chalize he was most unnaturally put by his Right by his Uncle ‖ M. Paris An. 1199. in vit Johan John who immediately seized upon his Brothers Treasure and retaining all his Servants and Stipendiary Souldiers in their former Condition he comes into England after having very generously distributed his Money amongst those that he thought were capable of doing him any Service and having first sent several of his Principal Friends thither who made the people swear Allegiance to him tho' at first he met with some rubs in his way from some Loyal and Brave Persons who adhered to Arthur as their Natural Liege Lord as the ** M. Paris ubi supra Historian expresses it alledging that according to the received Custom Arthur the Son of the Elder Brother ought to succeed into that Hereditary Patrimony his Father Geofry should have enjoy'd had he outliv'd his Brother King Richard but having call'd a Council of all those ††M. Paris ubi supra Qui ejus Coronationi interesse debuerant Archbishop Hubert made such a Speech to 'em as he sayes truly would have startled the Convocation in 1640 but it sounded as strangely to those then present to hear him assert That no one could have any Title to the Crown Nisi ab universitate Regni unanimiter electus and to run on at so notoriously false and extravagant a Rate but he being a very Potent Man both the King and the rest were forced to hear him patiently but with no small concern that a man of his incomparable Wisdom and so considerable a Pillar of the Common-wealth should openly maintain so strange a Doctrine but none were so deeply touched as those good and honest men who being fully persuaded of the justness of Arthur's Title were extreamly surprized to find a Clergy-man and Archbishop the principal *** Aut fraudandi Arthurum optimum Adolescentem avito regno aut contra jus fasque Johannem regem creandi authorem esse Pol. Virg. lib. 15. in princ Actor in depriving the poor Prince of that Hereditary Kingdom which by Birth-right was his due contrary to all Law and Justice setting the Crown on John's Head But the business being over the Achbishop was asked why he would in the face of the Sun offer to deliver such false Principles upon which the Good Man not well knowing how to give an handsome Reply ventures upon defending or at least excusing one Lye by another telling them †††Respondet se praesagâ mente conjecturare a quibusdam oraculis edoctum certificatum fuisse quod ipse Johannes Regnum Coronam aliquando foret corrupturus in magnam Confusionem praecipitaturus ne habeat liberas habenas hoc faciendi ipse Electione non Successione Haereditariâ eligi debere affirmabat That his mind did not only forebode it but he was inform'd in a Dream from God that one day this John would prove a very ill Prince and therefore he delivered that Doctrine tho' false that John remembring by what Tenure he held his Crown might have a Check upon him to prevent his running out too far in his Extravagancies so that he having acknowledged what he then delivered to be false the contrary must needs be true for there is no medium betwixt them and all this consider'd you may see how much Reason you have to admire the Gentleman's Candor and Sincerity in relating this Transaction But King John had not enjoy'd the Crown long but he