that I am pressed by both Houses to give way to his because I will avoid the inconveniency of giving so great discontent to my people as I conceive this Mercy may produce therefore I do remit this particular Cause to both the Houses But I desire them to take into their consideration the inconveniencies as I conceive may upon this occasion fall upon my Subjects and other Protestants abroad especially since it may seem to other States to be a severity which surprise having thus represented I think my self discharged from all ill consequence that may ensue upon the execution of this person His Majesties Letter to the Lords on the behalf of the Earl of Strafford sent by the PRINCH My Lords I Did yesterday satisfie the Justice of the Kingdom by passing of the Bill of Attainder against the Earl of Strafford but mercy being as inherent and inseparable to a King as Justice I desire at this time in some measure to shew that likewise by suffering that unfortunate man to fulfill the naturall course of his life in a close imprisonment yet so that if ever he make the least offer to escape or offer directly or indirectly to meddle in any sort of Publique businesse especially with me either by Message or Letter it shall cost him his life without further Processe This if it may be done without the discontentment of my People will be an unspeakable contentment to me To which end as in the first place I by this Letter do earnestly desire your approbation and to endear it the more have chosen him to carry it that of all your House is most dear to me So I desire that by a conference you will endeavour to give the House of Commons contentment Likewise assuring you that the excuse of mercy is no more pleasing to me then to see both Houses of Parliament consent for my sake that I should moderate the severity of the Law in so important a case I will not say that your complying with me in this my intended mercy shall make me more willing but certainly t' will make me more cheerfull in granting your just grievances But if no lesse then his life can satisfie my People I must say fiat justitia Thus again recommending the consideration of my intentions to you I rest Whitehall the 11. of May 1641. Your unalterable and affectionate Friend CHARLES R. If he must dye it were charity to Reprieve him till Saturday May 11. 1641. THis Letter all written with the Kings own hand the Peers this day received in Parliament delivered by the hand of the Prince It was twice read in the House and after serious and sad consideration the House resolved presently to send 12. of the Peers Messengers to the King humbly to signifie that neither of the two intentions expressed in the Letter could with duty in them or without danger to himself his dearest Consort the Queen and all the young Princes their Children possibly be advised With all which being done accordingly and the reasons shewed to his Majesty He suffered no more words to come from them but out of the fulnesse of his heart to the observance of Justice and for the contentment of his people told them that what he intended by his Letter was with an if if it may be done without discontentment of his People if that cannot be I say again the same that I writ fiat justitia My other intention proceeding out of charity for a few dayes respite was upon certain information that His Estate was so distracted that it necessarily required some few dayes for settlement thereof Whereunto the Lords answered their purpose was to be Suitors to his Majesty for favour to be shewed to his innocent Children and if himself had made any provision for them that the same might hold This was well liking to his Majesty who thereupon departed from the Lords at His Majesties parting they offered up into his hands the Letter it self which he had sent but He was pleased to say my Lords what I have written to you I shall content iâ— be Registred by you in your House In it you see my minde I hope you will use it to my honour This upon return of the Lords from the King was presently reported to the House by the Lord Privy Seal and ordered that these Lines should go out with the Kings Letter if any copy of the Letter were dispersed FINIS
THE KINGS MAIESTIES SPEECHES In this Great and Happy Parliament Novemb. 3. 1640. Printed Anno 1641. His Majesties first Speech in Parliament the 3. of November 1640. My Lords THe knowledge I had of the desires of my Scottish Subjects was the cause of my calling the last Assembly of Parliament wherein had I been beleeved I sincerely think that things had not faln out as now we see But it is no wonder that men are so slow to beleeve that so great a sedition should be raised on so little ground But now my Lords and Gentlemen the honour and safety of this Kingdom lying so nearly at the stake I am resolved to put my self freely and cleerly on the love and affections of my English Subjects as these of my Lords that did wait on me at York very well remember I there declared Therefore my Lords I shall not mention mine own interest or that support I might justly expect from you till the common safety be secured though I must tell you I am not ashamed to say those charges I have been at have been meerly for the securing and good of this Kingdom though the successe hath not been answerable to my desires Therefore I shall onely desire you to consider the best way both for the safety and security of this Kingdom wherein their are two parts chiefly considerable First the chastising out of the Rebels And secondly the other in satisfying your just grievances wherein I shall promise you to concurre so heartily and clearly with you that all the World may see my intentions have ever been and shall be to make this a glorions and flourishing Kingdom There are onely two things that I shall mention to you First the one is to tell you that the Loan of money which I lately had from the City of London wherein the Lords that waited on me at York assisted me will onely maintain my Army for two moneths from the beginning of that time it was granted Now my Lords and Gentlemen I leave it to your considerations what dishonour and mischief it might be in case for want of money my Army be disbanded before the Rebels be put out of this Kingdom Secondly the securing the calamities the Northern people endure at this time and so long as the treaty is on foot And in this I may say not onely they but all this Kingdome will suffer the harm therefore I leave this also to your consideration for the ordering of these great affairs whereof you are to treat at this time I am so confident of your love to me and that your care is for the honour and safety of the Kingdom that I shall freely and willingly leave to you where to begin onely this that you may the better know the state of all the Affairs I have commanded my Lord Keeper to give you a short and free accompt of these things that have hapned in this interim with this Protestation that if this accompt be not satisfactory as it ought to be I shall whensoever you desire give you a full and perfect accompt of every particular One thing more I desire of you as one of the greatest means to make this a happy Parliament That you on your parts as I on Mine lay aside all suspition one of another as I promised my Lords at York It shall not be my fault if this be not a happy and good Parliament His Majesties second Speech in Parliament the Novemb. 5. 1640. My Lords I do expect that you will hastily make relation to the House of Commons of those great affairs for which I have called you hither at this time and for the trust I have reposed in them and how freely I put my self â—n their love and affections at that time and that you may know the better how to do so I shall explain my self concerning one thing I spake the last day I told you the Rebells must be put out of this Kingdom its true I must needs call them so so long as they have an Army that do invade us and although I am under treaty with them and I under my great Seal do call them Subjects and so they are too but the state of my Affairs in short is this It s true I did expect when I did will my Lords and great ones at York to have given a gracious answer to all your grievances for I was in good hope by their wisedomes and assistances to have made an end of thaâ— businesse but I must tell you that my Subjects of Scotland did so delay them that it was not possible to end there Therefore I can no wayes blame my Lords that were at Rippon that the treaty was not ended but must thank them for their pains and industry and certainly had they as much power as affections I should by that time have brought these distempers to a happy period so that now the treaty is transported from Rippon to London where I shall conclude nothing without your knowledge and I doubt not but by your approbation for I do not desire to have this great work done in a corner for I shall â—ay open all the steps of this mis-understanding and causes of the great differences between Me and my Subjects of Scotland And I doubt not but by your assistance to make them know their duty and also by your assistance to make them return whether they will or no. His Majesties Speech to both the Houses January 25. 1640. My Lords THe Knights Citizens Burgesses The principall cause of my coming here at this time is by reason of the flow proceedings in Parliament touching which is a great deal of inconvenience Therefore I think it very necessary to lay before you the state of my affairs as now they stand thereby to hasten not interrupt your proceedings First I must remember you that there are two Armies in the Kingdom in a manner maintained by you the very naming of which doth more cleerly shew the inconvenience thereof then a better tongue then mine can expresse Therefore in the first place I shall recommend unto you the quick dispatch of that businesse assuring you that it cannot rest upon me In the next place I must recommend unto you the State of my Navy and Forts the condition of both which is so well known unto you that I need not tell you the particulars onely thus much they are the Walls and defence of this Kingdom which if out of order all men may easily judge what incouragement it will be to Our enemies and what dishearing to our friends Last of all and not of the least to be considered I must lay before you the distractions that are at this present occasioned through the cause of Parliament for there are some men that more maliciously then ignorantly will put no difference between Reformation and alteration of government Hence it cometh that divine Service is irreverently interrupted and Petitions in an ill way given in neither disputed nor denied But I will enter
into no more particulars but shew you a way of remedy by shewing you my cleer intentions and some mark that may hinder this good work I shall willingly and cheerfully concur with you for the Reformation of all Innovations both in Church and Common-wealth and consequently that all Courts of Justice may be reformed according to Law For my intentions is cleerly to reduce all things to the best and purest times as they were in the time of Queen Elizabeth Moreover whatsoever part of my Revenew shall be found illegall or heavy to my Subjects I shall be willing to lay down trusting in their affections Having thus cleerly and shortly set down my intentions I will shew you some rubs and must needs take notice of some very strange I know not what tearm to give them Petitions given in the name of divers Counties against the established government of the Church and of the great threatnings against the Bishops that they will make them to be but a Cipher or at least taken away If some of them have incroached too much upon the Temporalty if it be so I shall not be unwilling these things should be redressed and reformed as all other abuses according to the wisdome of former times so farre I shall go with you no farther If upon serious debate you shall shew that Bishops have some Temporall Authority not so necessary for the government of the Church and upholding Episcopall Jurisdiction I shall not be unwilling to desire them to lay it down but this must not be understood that I shall any way conseâ—t that their voyce in Parliament should be taken away for in all the times of my Predecessors since the Conquest and before they have enjoyed it I am bound to maintain them in it as one of the fundamentall Institutions of this Kingdom There is one other Rock you are on not in substance but in service and the form is so essentiall that unlesse it be reformed will split you on that Râ—ck There is a Bill lately put in concerning Parliaments The thing I like well to have frequent Parliaments but for Sheriffes and Constables to use my Authority I can no wayes consent unto But to shew that I desire to give you content in substance as well as in shew that you shall have a Bill for doing thereof so that it do not trench neither against my Honor neither against the ancient Prerogatives of the Crownes concerning Parliaments Ingeniously confesse often Parliaments is the sittest means to keep correspondency between Me and my People that I do so much desire To conclude now all that I have shewn you the state of my Affairs My own cleer intentions and the Rooks I would have you shun To give you all contentment you shall likewise finde by these Ministers I have or shall have about me for the effecting of these my good intentions which shall redouble the peace of the Kingdome and content you all Concerning the conference you shall have a direct answer on Munday which shall give you satisfaction His Majesties Speech to both Houses of Parliament in the Lords House at the passing of the Bill for a Trieniall Parliament the sixteenth of November 1640. MY Lords and you the Knights Citizens and Burgesses of the House of Commons you may remember when both Houses were with Me at the Banquetting House at Whitehall I did declare unto you two Rocks I wished you to eschew this is the one of them and of that consequence that I think never Bill passed here in this House of more favour to the Subjects then this is and if the other Rock be as happily passed over as this shall be at this time I do not know what you can ask for ought I can see at this time that I can make any question to yeeld unto Therefore I mention this to shew unto you the sence that I have of this Bill and obligation as I may say that you have to me for it for hitherto to speak freely I have had no great incouragement to do it if I should look to the outward face of your actions or proceedings and not look to the inward intentions of your hearts I might make question of doing it Hitherto you have gone on in that which concernes your selves to amend and yet those things that meerly concernes the strength of this Kingdom neither for the State nor my own particular This I mention not to reproach you but to shew you the state of things as they are you have taken the Government almost in peeces and I may say it is almost off the hinges A skilfull Watchmaker to make clean his Watch he will take it a sunder and when it is put together it will go the better so that he leave not forth then one pin in it Now as I have done all this on my part you know what to do on your parts and I hope you shall see cleerly that I have performed really what I expressed to you at the beginning of this Parliament of the great trust I have of your affections to me and this is the great expression of trust that before you do any thing for me that I do put such a confidence in you His Majesties Speech to both the Houses of Parliament February 3. 1640. HAving taken into my serious consideration the late Remonstrance made unto me by the House of Parliament I give you this answer That I take in good part your care of the true Religion established in this Kingdome from which I will never depart as also for the tendernesse of my safety and security of this State and Government It is against my minde that Popery or Superstition should any way encrease within this Kingdome and will restrain the same by causing the Laws to be put in execution I am resolved to provide against the Jesuits and Papists by setting forth a Proclamation with all speed commanding them to depart the Kingdome within one Moneth which if they fail or shall return then they shall be proceeded against according to the Laws Concerning Rosettie I give you to understand that the Queen hath alwayes assured me that to her knowledge he hath no Commission but onely to entertain a personall correspondence between her and the Pope in things requisite for the Exercise of her Religion which is warranted to her by the Articles of Marriage which give her a full Liberty of Conscience yet I have perswaded her that since the misunderstanding of the Persons condition gives offence she will within a convenient time remove him Moreover I will take a speciall care to restrain my Subjects from resorting to Masse at Denmark house Saint James and the Chappel of Ambassadors Lastly concerning John Goodman the Priest I will let you know the reason why I reprived him that as I am enformed neither Queen Elizabeth nor my Father did ever avow that any Priest in their times was executed meerly for Religion which to me seems to be this particular case yet seeing