Selected quad for the lemma: kingdom_n
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A35045
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A letter to a freind [sic] shewing the illegall proceedings of the two houses of Parliament and observing God's aversenesse to their actions, which caused the authours returne to the king and his alleagiance.
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Cowley, Abraham, 1618-1667.
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1645
(1645)
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Wing C7; ESTC R13193
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10,170
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22
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the opinion raised this Parliament that the two Houses are above the King and therefore the King ought and must passe such Bills such Acts as they resolve and offer to Him That say the Lawyers is totally false and against all reason law and practice in all ages And in considering thereof they have not beene led by the Pamphlets published this Parliament on either side because such like Schoole-Disputants rather endeavour to maintaine their Position and side then to discover truth therefore the Lawyers grounded their judgement upon bookes formerly written upon precedents of moderate times when the Kings Prerogative and Subjects Liberty both knew and kept their proper bounds The Parliament say they of the 24 Hen. 8. cap. 12. Declares That the Realme of England is an Empire governed by one Supreame Head and King having the Dignity and estate of the Imperiall Crowne unto whom a body politique compact of all sorts and degrees of people by the name of the Spiritualty and Temporalty beene bound and owe next to God a naturall and humble obedience being by Gods goodnesse endued with plenary whole and entire power authority and Iurisdiction within His Realme This body politique no doubt is the two Houses of Parliament and doubtlesse then the two Houses owe this naturall and humble obedience and then sure if the Servant be not greater then his Master to whom he owes his obedience the Creature then his Creatour then the two Houses that as appeares by their owne act for the continuance of this Parliament are called by the King and by Him dissolve able are not above the King that is their breath and gives life to all their Actions And if the King be by God endued with plenary power entire authority and Jurisdiction Consider from whom can the two Houses have their power their authority and Jurisdiction to be above that given by God In Caudries case in the 5 Report fol. 10. the King is said to be the Vicar of the Highest King ordained to governe and rule the Kingdome and people The Parliament in the 25 Hen. 8. acknowledged the Jurisdiction of Kings to be immediately from God The Statute of the 26 of Hen. 8. cap. 1. declares the King to be the onely Supreame Head in Earth under God of the Church of England and that he hath Power to redresse and reforme all Errors and abuses in the Church In the 26 Hen. 8. cap. 3. the Parliament declares that the King is the onely Supreame Head under God of the Church of England having the whole Governance tuition and defence thereof and of His Subjects And consonant to that is our Statute 1 Eliz. and in our Oath of Alleagiance ordained by Act of Parliament we and especially the Members of the House of Commons acknowledge and sweare That the Kings Highnesse is the onely Supreame Governour of the Realme both in Ecclesiasticall and Temporall causes And our Lawyers say that the King being the Supreame Governour cannot have any Governour naturall or politique as the two Houses above him and as he is the onely Supreame Governour must needs be above all other Governours either naturall or politique By the same Oath we sweare allegiance to Him and His Heires and Successours which must needs be to his Naturall capacity for his Politique cannot have Heires And in the case of the Dutchy of Lancaster Plowd 213. It is resolved that the body politique of the King cannot be severed from his naturall body And then it is ridiculous to thinke much more to say that the politique capacity of the King is included in the two Houses of Parliament when his naturall is absent and dissenting to what they doe If the two Houses could make a Law or Ordinance to binde the Subject without the Kings assent why should not all the Bils that passed both Houses but had not the Kings assent why should not they be good and valid and binde the Subiects ' they had the Votes of both Houses when full and entire they had more consideration more circumstance all necessaries but the Kings assent to the making of a law yet these Bils in all ages have beene held naught and invalid And shall the votes of the two Houses uponmotion of a worthy Member though not a 5th part of either House be present and without the Kings assent shall they make a good Ordinance to repeale five Statutes in the Reignes of Edw. 6. and Queene Eliz. as in the Ordinance for the Directory and the Booke of Common Prayer all which have stood unquestioned these 100 yeares and in which time we have had 20 Parliaments in which our now Parliament-mens Fathers and Grand-fathers were Members and I beleive as wise as honest and as Religious as their Sonnes and Grand-children and they approved they practiced and followed that Liturgy The Parliament 1 Jacob cap. 1. prayes the Kings Royall assent to a Bill without which nothing say they can be compleate and perfect nor remaine to posserity And Cowell who writ about 40 yeares since speaking of the regality of the King comprised under the title of Prerogative There is not one faith he that belonged to the most absolute Prince in the world which doth not also belong to our King onely by the custome of this Kingdome he maketh no lawes without the consent of the three Estates Lords spirituall Lords temporall and the Commons though HE MAY QUASH ANY LAVV CONCLUDED BY THEM Then how shall the Votes and Ordinances of a small part of the House be good when against Magn. Char. against the Petition of Right against our Allegiance and Protestation Yet must we venture our lives to murther our brothers and fellow Subjects or they us or both to maintaine what they vote though against Law contrary to the Gospell and without Precedent But the two Houses doe but endeavour to take the King from His Evill Counsellours to bring him to his Parliament where he ought to be present resident or else they may force him yea eradicate three eares of Wheate to destroy one of tares For that say the Lawyers there is no precedent no booke unlesse writ within these two yeares But Master Hooker alias Vowell who writ about the beginning of Queene Elizab. is much quoted by Master Pryn writing the manner of holdings of Parliaments as we may see in Hollinshead 2 part fol. 121. saith that the King is Gods Anointed his Deputy and Vicar on earth the Head of his Realme the Cheifest Ruler on whom wholly and onely depends the Government of the Estates of the Realme That the King ought to be personally present in Parliament three daies in every Parliament first on the day of appearance secondly on the day when the Speaker of the House of Commons is presented the third when the Parliament is prorogued And for other daies saith the Booke he is at his choice to come or not to come And it appeares by the Statute of 33 Hen. 8. cap. 21. That if the King be
A LETTER TO A FREIND Shewing The illegall proceedings of the two Houses of PARLIAMENT And observing GOD's aversenesse to their Actions Which caused the Authours returne to the KING and His Alleagiance LONDON Printed in the yeare M. DC XLV A Letter to a Freind shewing the illegall proceedings of the Two Houses of PARLIAMENT Cosen YOu know how earnestly and with what charge I opposed the illegall demands of Ship money and loanes how I hated Court Monopolies and arbitrary Justice in the Star-chamber Councell Table and Marshalls Court how I abhorred the exorbitance of the High Commission all which the King readily rectified in the begining of this Parliament You know with what cheerefullnesse I tendred my purse my person being unserviceable for the Reformation of Religion the suppressing Popery the establishment of our liberties and properties the removing of evill Counsellors the reducing the King to his great Counsell the Parliament and the uniting of the Sister Countries in a Brotherly Union You remember how willingly we declared and protested that for the safety of the Kings person the defence of the Houses of Parliament the Protestant Religion established the Lawes Liberty and Peace of the Kingdome we would live and dye with the Earle of Essex And this being first commanded by the houses of Parliament then seconded by the Pulpit carried the face of Law and the voice of Religion so that with us was all Israel from Dan to Beersheba We possest all the walled Cities while the King like David in the mountaines had not a Towne to retreate to We had thousands of the choice men strongly armed while the King had only a handfull of out law'd Cavaliers as we call them and them naked not a musket scarce a sword among them We had all the Crowne revenue all the City plate to bodkins and thimbles even talents of gold and silver and the King scarce enough to buy his dinner Our magazines swelled with Armes Ordnance and Ammunition of all sorts while the King the Houses having seized his wanted all And lest he should have supplies from beyond-Sea we possest all his navie all his Port-Townes and left him not a Cock-boate not a Haven And better then all these we had the advantage of a just Cause fighting for God and reformation of Religion as our Preachers taught us for the defence of the Kings Person our Lawes the properties and liberties as the two Houses told us of Subjects and these backed with the pious Fastes and humiliations of Sanctified Congregations with humble and earnest prayers for successe And could so just a Cause so piously mannaged by such religious Patriots can such miscarry or want successe Especially while on the other-side the Kings small Army was unarmed Idolatrous and Popish Cavaliers their Cause justifying of Idolatry Popery Superstition maintenance of Bishops Rebellion against the Parliament and Subversion of the fundamentall lawes their prayers if any for successe but supplications out of a Popish Liturgy And what can such Armies such Persons such a Cause such Prayers expect but destruction Thus both Pulpit and Parliament misse-led me untill of late I considered the successe of both sides and do you weigh them indifferently and then tell me where we can boast a Victory For if we consider the Battailes we most bragg of those at Keinton Alresford Lansdowne Yorke Newbury we shall finde the successe such as if heaven rather intended both sides vanquished then us Victors On the other side examine the Actions at Runawaydowne Newbury Newarke Cropready Lestishiell Pontfract and elsewhere weigh the disproportions and disadvantages the Kings Armies fought with and then view their successe and you will finde it so farre beyond the expectation of reason as it is scarce within the reach of our beleife Inquire what plenty of Men Armes Ordinance great Townes and strong Holds the King now hath and so many have we lost Consider how many thousands of men how many armies my Lord of Essex my Lord of Manchester and Sir William Waller have lost how much treasure they have exhausted how our navy is decayed how many of our ships and men drowned while we had no enemy at Sea but heaven Nay how many of our Ships with their lading have the windes siding against us carried in to the Kings aide and our destruction And can these argue lesse then Gods displeasure against our proceedings These ill successes made me looke backe upon our State Actors that sit at the helme and direct all things and among them even those that were best reputed of for Reformation and integrity to the Common-wealth as Master Hampden that first raised Armes against the King when as we thought out of danger you shall finde him shot in Chalgrove field where the yeare before he had first taken up his Armes You may see Patriot Pym whom the people for his Speech applaud like Herod like Herod eaten up of Lice The Lord Brooke armed as Death could not enter him and at a distance danger could not reach breathing out threats against the Church is before the Church with a single bullet shot in the eye My Lord Say whom heaven cannot hurt if the plot hold hath one Sonne scorned for being a Coward in so good a bad Cause his other Sonne condemned to be hanged for being honester then his Father in delivering Bristol Sir John Hotham and his sonne whom the Houses justified for treason against the King the Houses to maintaine their priviledge execute first the Sonne then the Father by a Court of Warre for thinking to be honest And as if the same method were to be observed for the whole House they are hanging young Waineman to come to my Lord his Father The Earle of Essex whom the first yeare they salute with Hosanna's passe votes for his thanks and trophies but now decrie and as much as they dare scorne and neglect him Warwicke Manchester like Tinker Fox and rag-man Phips must now be squeezed as orenges to make sauce for the Juncto palates they are rich Others there be deserve observation While I contemplated these great active men and their misfortunes I could not thinke them lesse then farthing sparrowes which fall not without the Divine Providence therefore strictly examined our Cause by the rules of Law and Gospell and in a matter of this consequence I have taken the best opinions both of Divines and Lawyers and of both the most moderate yet such as were rather engaged on ours then on the Kings side All the Divines agree our Kings to have their power from God and therefore Saint Peter commands obedience to Kings as to the Supreame Saint Paul to the higher powers for there is no power but from God and therefore saith he pay ye tribute And they observe that these commands were to Christians the obedience commanded to be given to Pagans to heathenish Kings as the Romans those of Pontus Asia Bithynia c. The Divines observe that Saint Peters Epistle was to Strangers