Selected quad for the lemma: law_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
law_n	king_n	know_v	power_n	6,767	5	5.0443	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A90246	A remonstrance of many thousand citizens, and other free-born people of England, to their own House of Commons. Occasioned through the illegall and barbarous imprisonment of that famous and worthy sufferer for his countries freedoms, Lievtenant Col. John Lilburne. Wherein their just demands in behalfe of themselves and the whole kingdome, concerning their publike safety, peace and freedome, is express'd; calling those their commissioners in Parliament, to an account, how they (since the beginning of their session, to this present) have discharged their duties to the vniversallity of the people, their soveraigne lord, from whom their power and strength is derived, and by whom (ad bene placitum,) it is continued.	Overton, Richard, fl. 1646.; Walwyn, William, 1600-1681.	1646 (1646)	Wing O632B; Thomason E343_11; ESTC R200951	15,088	21

THE LIBERTY of THE FREEBORNE ENGLISH-MAN Conferred on him by the house of lords Iune 1646. IOHN LILBURNE AETAT SVA 23 An o 1641 G Glo fecit Gaze not vpon this shaddow that is vaine But rather raise thy thoughts a higher staine To GOD I meane who set this young-man free And in like straits can oke deliver thee Yea though the lords have him in bonds againe 〈◊〉 LORD of lords will his Just cause maintaine A REMONSTRANCE OF Many Thousand Citizens and other Free-born PEOPLE OF ENGLAND To their owne House of COMMONS Occasioned through the Illegall and Barbarous Imprisonment of that Famous and Worthy Sufferer for his Countries Freedoms Lievtenant Col. JOHN LILBURNE Wherein their just Demands in behalfe of themselves and the whole Kingdome concerning their Publike Safety Peace and Freedome is Express'd calling those their Commissioners in Parliament to an Account how they since the beginning of their Session to this present have discharged their Duties to the Universallity of the People their Soveraigne LORD from whom their Power and Strength is derived and by whom ad bene placitum it is continued Printed in the Yeer 1646. A REMONSTRANCE OF Many Thousand Citizens and other Free-borne People of England to their owne House of COMMONS WEE are well assured yet cannot forget that the cause of our choosing you to be Parliament-men was to deliver us from all kind of Bondage and to preserve the Common-wealth in Peace and Happinesse For effecting whereof we possessed you with the same Power that was in our selves to have done the same For wee might justly have done it our selves without you if we had thought it convenient choosing you as Persons whom wee thought fitly quallified and Faithfull for avoiding some inconveniences But ye are to remember this was only of us but a Power of ●●ust which is ever revokable and cannot be otherwise and to be imployed to no other end then our owne well-being Nor did wee choose you to continue our Trust 's longer then the knowne established constitution of this Commonly-wealth will justly permit and that could be but for one yeere at the most for by our Law a Parliament is to be called once every yeere and oftner if need be as ye well know Wee are your Principalls and you our Agents it is a Truthe ●he you cannot but acknowledge For if you or any other shall assume or exercise any Power that is not derived from our Trust and choice thereunto that Power is no lesse then usurpation and an Oppression from which wee expect to be sreed in whomsoever we finde it it being altogether inconsistent with the nature of just Freedome which yee also very well understand The History of our Fort-fathers since they were Conquered by the Normans doth manifest that this Nation hath been held in bondage all along ever since by the policies and force of the Officers of Trust in the Common-wealth amongst whom wee always esteemed Kings the chiefest and what in much of the former-time was done by warre and by impoverishing of the People to make them slaves and to hold them in bondage our latter Princes have endeavoured to effect by giving ease and wealth unto the People but withall corrupting their understanding by insusing false Principles concerning Kings and Government and Parliaments and Freedoms and also using all meanes to corrupt and vitiate the manners of the youth and strongest prop and support of the People the Gentry It is wonderfull that the failings of former Kings to bring our Fore-fathers into bondage together with the trouble and danger that some of them drew upon themselves and their Posterity by those their unjust endevours had not wrought in our latter Kings a resolution to rely on and trust only to Justice and square dealing with the the People especially considering the unaprnesse of the Nation to beare much especially from those that pretend to love them and unto whom they expressed so much hearty affection as any People in the world ever did as in the qulet admission of King James from Scotland sufficient if any Obligation would worke Kings to Reason to have endeared both him and his sonne King Charles to an inviolable love and hearty affection to the English Nation but it would not doe They choose rather to trust unto their Policies and Court Arts to King-waste and delusion then to Justice and plaine dealing and did effect many things tending to our enslaving as in your First Remonstrance you shew skill 〈…〉 manifest the same to all the World and this Nation having been by their delusive Arts and a long continued Peace much softened and debased in judgement and Spirit did beare far beyond its usuall temper or any example of our Fore-Fathers which to our shame wee acknowledge But in conclusion longer they would not beare and then yee were chosen to worke our deliverance and to Estate us in naturall and just libertie agreeable to Reason and common equitie for whatever our Fore-fathers were or what ever they did or suffered or were enforced to yeeld unto we are the men of the present age and ought to be absolutely free from all kindes of exorbitancies molestations or Arbitrary Power and you wee choose to free us from all without exception or limitation either in respect of Persons Officers Degrees or things and we were full of confidence that ye also would have dealt impartially on our behalf and made us the most absolute free People in the world But how ye have dealt with us wee shall now let you know and let the Righteom GOD judge between you and us the continuall Oppressours of the Nation have been Kings which is so evident that you cannot denie it and ye your selves have told the King whom yet you owne That his whole 16. Yeeres reigne was one continued act of the breach of the Law You snewed him That you understood his under-working with Ireland his endeavour to enforce the Parliament by the Army raised against Scotland yee were eye-witnesses of his violent attempt about the Five Members Yee saw evidently his purpose of raising Warre yee have seen him engaged and with obstinate violence persisting in the most bloody Warre that ever this Nation knew to the wasting and destruction of multitudes of honest and Religious People Yee have experience that none but a King could doe so great introllerable mischiefes the very name of King proving a sufficient charme to delude many of our Brethren in Wales Ireland England and Scotland too so farre as to fight against their own Liberties which you know no man under heaven could ever have done And yet as if you were of Counsell with him and were resolved to hold up his reputation thereby to enable him to goe on in mischief you maintaine The King can doe no wrong and apply all his Oppressions to Evill Counsellors begging and intreating him in such submissive language to returne to his Kingly Office and Parliament as if you were resolved to make us beleeve

hee were a God without whose presence all must fall to ruine or as if it were impossible for any Nation to be happy without a King You cannot fight for cur Liberties but it must be in the Name of King and Parliament he that speakes of his crueldes must be thrust out of your House and society your Preachers must pray for him as if he had not deserved to be excommunicated all Christian Society or as if yee or they thought God were ● respect of the Persons of Kings in judgement By this and other your like dealings your frequent treating and tampering to maintaine his honour Wee that have trusted you to deliver us from his Opressions and to preserve us from his cruelties are wasted and consumed in multitudes to manifold miseries whilst you lie ready with open armes to receive him and to make him a great and glorious King Have you shoke this Nation like an Earth-quake to produce no more then this for us Is it for this that ye have made so free use been so bold both wich our Persons Estates And doe you because of our readines to comply with your desires in all things conceive us so sottish as to be contented with such unworthy returnes of our trust and Love No it is high time wee be plaine with you WEE ar● not nor SHALL not be so contented Wee doe expect according to reason that yee should in the first place declare and set forth King Charles his wickednesse openly before the world and withall to shew the intollerable inconyeniences of having a Kingly Government from the constant evill practises of those of this Nation and so to declare King Charles an enemy and to publish your resolution never to have any more but to acquite us of so great a charge and trouble for ever and to convert the great revenue of the Crowne to the publike treasure to make good the injuries and injustices done heretofore and of late by those that have possessed the same and this we expected long since at your hand and untill this be done wee shall not thinke our selves well dealt withall in this originall of all Oppressions to wit Kings Yee must also deal better with us concerning the Lords then you have done Yee only are chosen by Us the People and therefore in you onely is the Power of binding the whole Nation by making altering or abolishing of Lawes Yee have therefore prejudiced 〈◊〉 in acting so as if ye could not make a Law without both the Royall assent of the King so ye are pleased to expresse your selves and the assent of the Lords yet when either King or Lords assen● not to what you approve yet have so much sense of your owne Power as to assent what you thinke good by an Order of your owne House What is this but to blinde oureyes that Wee should not knew where our Power is lodged nor to whom to apply our selves for the use thereof but if We want a Law Wee must awaite till the King and Lords assent if an Ordinance then Wee must waite till the Lords assent yet ye knowing their assent to be meerly formall as having no root in the choice of the People from whom the Power that is just must be derived doe frequently importune their assent which implies a most grosse absurditie For where their assent is necessary and essentiall they must be as Free as you to assent or dissent as their understandings and Consciences should guide them and might as justly importune you as yee them Yee ought in Conscience to reduce this case also to a certaintie and not to waste time and open your Counsells and be lyable to so many Obstructions as yee have been But to prevaile with them enjoying their Honours and Possessions to be lyable and stand to be chosen for Knights and Burgesses by the People as other the Gentry and Free-men of this Nation doe which will be an Obligation upon them as having one and the same interest then also they would be distinguished by their vertues and love to the Common-wealth whereas now they Act and Vote in our affaires but as intruders or as thrust upon us by Kings to make good their interests which to this day have been to bring us into a slavish subjection to their wills Nor is there any reason that they should in any measure be lesse lyable to any Law then the Gentry are Why should any of them assault strike or beate any and not be lyable to the Law as other men are Why should not they be as lyable to their debts as other men there is no reason yet have yee stood still and seen many of us and some of your selves violently abused without repairation Wee desire you to free us from these abuses and their negative Voices or else tell us that it is reasonable wee should be slaves this being a perpetuall prejudice in our Government neither confisting with Freedome nor Safety with Freedome it cannot for in this way of Voting in all Affaires of the Common-wealth being not Chosen thereunto by the People they are therein Masters Lords of the People which necessarily implyes the People to be their servants and vassalls and they have used many of us accordingly by committing divers to Prison upon their owne Authority namely William Larner Liev. Col. John Lilburne and other worthy Sufferers who upon Appeale unto you have not been relieved Wee must therefore pray you to make a Law against all kinds of Arbitrary Government as the highest capitall offence against the Common-wealth and to reduce all conditions of men to a certainty that none hence-forward may presume or plead any thing in way of excuse and that ye will leave no favour or scruple of Tyrannicall Power over us in any what soever Time hath revealed hidden things unto us things covered over thick and threefold with pretences of the true Reformed Religion when as wee see apparently that this Nation and that of Scotland are joyned together in a most bloody and consuming Warre by the Waste and policie of a sort of Lords in each Nation that were male-contents and vexed that the King had advanced others and not themselves to the manageing of State-affaires Which they suffered till the King increasing his Oppressions in both Nations gave them opportunity to reveale themselves and then they resolve to bring the King to their bow and regulation and to exclude all those from managing State-affaires that hee had advanced thereunto and who were growne so insolent and presumptuous as these discontented ones were lyable to continuall molestations from them either by practises at Counsel-table High-Commission or Starre-chamber So as their work was to subvert the Monarchiall Lords and Clergy and there withall to abate the Power of the King and to Order him but this was a mighty worke and they were no wise able to effect it of themselves therefore say they the generallity of the People must be engaged and how must this be