Selected quad for the lemma: law_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
law_n	court_n	judge_n	king_n	8,575	5	4.2268	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A29267	To the right honourable, the supreme authority of this nation, the Commons assembled in Parliament an appeal in the humble chain of justice against Tho. Lord Fairfax, general of the English army, raised, and declared to be raised, for the propogation and defence of impartial justice, and just liberty in the nation / by Captain William Bray ...	Bray, William, 17th cent.	1649 (1649)	Wing B4301; ESTC R170764	10,631	20

Nation but not so as unnaturally and unreasonably to exclude themselves after their Successes and Deliverances from justice and right The disadvantages of Arbitrary power to reside in any person over all or any of the people may become at length to be so setled as that it will be a personal Interest in him and his Creatures and a pretended Prerogative against the Publick Interest of common right peace and safetie and at length this Maxime will be brought in in time That the General can do no wrong even as it was said that The King can do no wrong which as Mr. Solicitor Cook saith in King CHARLES his Case is Blasphemy against the great God of Truth and Love for onely God cannot erre because what he wils is right because he wils it And it is a sad thing saith he to consider that learned men for unworthy ends should use such art to subdue the people by transportation of their senses as to make them beleeve that the Law is That the King can do no wrong In these times of confusion evill apostacie and warring unto bloud which cryes I have weighed much with my self what is the onely way to compose our differences amongst our selves and make a compleat reconciliation and I finde nothing so likely as a mutuall Agreement amongst the People by making of just Laws agreeable to the Law of Nature which is undemonstrable which needs no demonstration were it not for corruption and interests It is as Mr. John Cook saith in his book against the King the unanimous consent of all rationall men in the world written in every mans heart with the pen of a Diamond in Capital Letters and a Character so legible that he that runs may read And it is nothing else but the policie of Polititians to live honourably by the ruines and warrings of the people to keep off an insisting upon Laws of Settlement and Agreement and to insinuate into corruption and interests that are strongest and most prevalent that so they may keep themselves in the power of the Sword without reason in War and after War O sad end of War to the People But now every drop of blood and injustice will be recorded in mindes of just men England hath eys the people thereof will not be deluded after so much blood And for my part I cannot but think that all impartiall men whether Presbyterians or Independents or any else under any other name that are not choaked by preferments from the present Power or in expectation of Honour by favour and promise would have impartial justice and an equall distribution according to principles amongst the people And I hope there be many impartiall men that have places of Honour who for their Countries sake would willingly adventure but it is not common Dominion and Avarice are the great gods of the world But when Polititians do wave the Agreement of the People in the Laws of Nature and Reason then we may justly fear a Designe for it is because they would not have the people see nor understand for then they know they could not do what they please and continue in the Throne they could not get Persons to be esteemed more then Principles But I shall shew unto this Honourable House how his Excellency the General of the English peoples Armie hath dealt with me as well as with other of the people and how such actions are the paths of former Powers And I shall shew of what a dangerous consequence the actings of the Generall are and how consonant to the late Kings actings amongst the people And indeed Mr. Solicitor Cook saith That if any of those that tried the King shall turn Tyrants or consent to set up any kinde of Tyrannie by a Law or suffer any unmercifull domineering over the consciences persons and estates of the free people of this Land they have pronounced sentence against themselves Master Solicitor Cook hath these several Arguments against the Kings Tyranny and Policies cited in King Charls his CASE First The King when there ever was a spirit of Justice stirring and discovered in the House he sends the Black Rod and dissolves the Parliament and so the Parliament men were fain to go home with a flea in their ear and tell the Free-holders in the Country of the bravery of the King and Lords So the Generall c. when he saw the spirit of Justice stirring in the Armie amongst the free people and Souldiery of this Nation that had adventured their bloud he dissolved their Generall Councell of two Officers and two Souldiers of every Regiment c. Secondly If the people clamour for another Parliament then there goes out another Summons yet a way made to make all fruitlesse by a negative voyce that the people cannot save themselves without him and must cut their own throats if commanded so to do So if any of the people in the Armie claim and clamour for their Rights even for their indisputable rights of Petitioning then presently there is an Order from the Generall and some other Officers or a Command and negative Voice to hinder the same Whereas they charged Hollis and Stapleton for overthrowing the Rights and Liberties of the Subjects of this Nation in arbitrary violent and oppressive wayes and endeavoured by indirect and corrupt practices to delay and obstruct Justice to the great dammage and prejudice of divers of the poor Commoners of England petitioning for the same Thirdly Another means he had to put some others between him and the Peoples hatred by a pretended prerogative to be the sole Judge of Chivalry and to have the sole power of conferring Honours that so he might be sure to have two against one to stand for his Prerogative against all right and reason And so What gaping and depending upon the Generall after Places of Honour and Profit What undermining any one that is out of favour though without cause and what snares there are and have been laid for the casting out of those that have appeared conscientiously stedfast to their principles for the Rights of the People Let all rational men judge Fourthly Another means he had to delude the People to make the People beleeve That he had committed all Justice to the Judges and distributed the execution thereof into severall Courts and that the King cannot so much as imprison a man without Law or reason But see what a mockery this was to Justice If the King have a minde to have any publick spirited men removed out of the way this man is kill'd the murtherer known a Letter comes to the Judge and it may be it shall be found but Man-slaughter So when the Lord did though with much temperance as I appeal to the world make me to own things that are just according to their own former words and actions as after appears in my Case then I was presently a mark to shoot at and though this hath not extended to murther mee as yet yet it hath extended as much

as in him lay to dis-repute mee and undoe mee snatch mee off by force from the common Cause of the Nation and unmercifully make mee lyable to Insurrections and Invasiens if any shall be Fifthly For matter of Libertie if the King or any Courtier sends a man to Prison if the Judge set him at libertie then he puts him out of his Place which is saith hee a temptation too heavie for those that love money and Honour more then God So if any one appears out of a reall affection to Justice for any one that is extremely oppressed then there is suspicion and jealousie and as the new Colonell John Reynolds said to one If hee should speak for mee he should prejudice himself Sixthly The King pretended a Prerogative That he might avoid any of his Grants and so might cozen and cheat any man by a Law and the ground thereof That the Kings Grants shall be taken according to his intention And by this means the Kings Grants have been like the Divels Oracles taken in any contrary sense for his own advantage Whereas Master Solliciton Cook saith All the Judges in England cannot make one Case to be Law that is not Reason But the General though he hath joyned in many good things hath made void his own solemn Engagements to the Souldiers and People hath imprisoned and cashiered those that have appeared consciencious to their Principles and used divers arbitary and oppressive wayes to make himself and his Creatures absolute and unlimited tending to the extreme prejudice of many of the Common-Weal viz. Officers and Souldiers of this Nation as appeared by his actions of Cashierement of Captain Ingram and then the Life-guard my self and divers others in the Engagement equally concerned and so he goes on to an absolute will divided interest and conquest over many of those that have engaged in England's bloud and appear for England's Libertie and at length may over all others contrary to the Declarations of the Army in opposing the Parliament in the Declaration of the fourteenth of June 1647 in the Volume pages 40 41 42. But Conquest or Power makes a Title amongst Wolves and Bears but not amongst men as Master Sollicitor Cook saith against the King What a sad thing is it that after our Engagements double and treble Engagements against Absolutenesse Tyranny Conquest Arbittarinesse the same things must be done amongst our selves And now I appeal to you for Judgement and Justice that may appear without partiality to the understandings of all unbiassed men I shall onely hint unto you the businesse of Warre in a few words viz. if I had deserted the Regiment at the time of the Agreement of the People I had been a perfidious fellow to my Principles and the Nation and Armie and by that means the Nations interest in that Regiment had been the Kings for there were some Lords in the Quarters courted them to it But this Honourable House and all rationall people may see how inhumanely I was used After my being apprehended in the Field I was six weeks in custody at Windsor or thereabouts I was justifiable in my grounds and reasons which did relate to the Engagement of the Army The Agreement of the People and the Generals just Authority And I was declared justifiable by Lieutenant Generall Cromwell as many can witnesse and Commissary Generall Irevon told one in private viz. Mr. Sexbye that there was nothing against me I was appointed my Command again under the notion of an holy Fast and of their desiring an union and imbracing one another in love oh sad hypocrisie but it was to juggle me out of my right Reason and Justice being for me as doth after appear that what Reason and Justice could not do Power should After that the Generall seemed to be dis-satisfied though Commissary General Ireton said That God did incline the hearts of the Generall and Generall Councell to desire a union and embrace one another in love his very expressions as many were witnesse and so I had Lieutenant General Comwels Letter to Newcastle But that Apostate my deadly enemy Henry Lilburn having influence in the Generall when I came from Newcastle two hundred and ten miles from London got me presently suspended my Command after some five or six weeks stay suspension or confinement there a Commission was sent from the Generall for another to have my place I had some losse also by the tedious journey Lieutenant Colonel Henry Lilburn had also broken open my Trunk and seized upon my Commission and kept it I was fain after all this to return to London I had been four or five months or thereabouts strook out of the Muster-Rols of the Armie without cause When I came to London I made my appeal to the General and his Counsell of War and delivered it to himself to be heard and for justice but I spake to the air I could not get it granted After that I made many private Addresses by my self and others He told me It was his pleasure I offered to refer it to some Parliament-men to hear the businesse I could not have that granted I offered to refer it to some consciencious Officers of the Armie in private I could not have that granted Which actions were under correction contrary to the solemn Engagement of the Armie the Articles and Discipline of War and all manner of Christian Society and reason amongst men Oh unreasonablenessel And at length all that I could get from the Generall was but twenty pound out of the contingent moneys And the truth of it was it was extreme grievous to me to bring Odum upon the Generall and others with continuall hope of his and others resurrection or standing for Principles of Justice and Freedom to the People But now I see it is of such an extension as a continued design to disparage dishonor and destroy me and consequently others I hope I shall be excused in the eyes of all rationall men that I now speak Though for enemies to me and Apostates I care not what they say After all this injustice and dissatisfaction when others would have wrought upon these things and used it as an argument to me to revenge my own wrongs and publique injuries another pretending for the King and Justice insinuatingly politiquely and privately That if I would I might be a Colonell against the Grandees But the Lord made me to abhorr such motions and the Lord kept me firm stedfast and sincere in the times of temptations wrongs apostasies and danger to the Nation the Army and this House and so to their persons though my person have been tossed like a Tennis-ball by them And I raised a Troop against the bloody Insurrections and in constancy to my Principles and by the Generals own privitie unto whom I did in my affections and civility go for that end And when I was dismissed out of the County of Kent I have ever since kept up my Troop in order to the Freedom Justice and Peaceable