Selected quad for the lemma: parliament_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
parliament_n	honourable_a	house_n	petition_n	3,157	5	9.0634	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A87146	A lash for a lyar: or, The stayner stayned. Being an answer to a false and scandalous pamphlet, entituled The triumph stayned. Lately published by Mr. George Masterson, (pretended preacher of the Gospell at Shore-ditch.) Wherein is contained a cleere discoverie of the said Mr. Mastersons treachery and falshood, there being no lesse then xxj. lyes in the compasse of one sheet of the said pamphlet, as appeares by the testimony of many honest men, given under their hands, and presented to the Parliament, Febr. 21. 1647. / Written by Jah: Norris, a hater of treacherie, and an opposer of tyrannie and injustice.	Harris, John, fl. 1647.	1648 (1648)	Wing H860B; Thomason E428_8; ESTC R204606	15,030	18

would not have you believe it you must not suppose c. It seems you dare not affirme he did not speak so much but you are loath the People should believe he did and therefore you charge them not to believe it But you proceed to weaken the Peoples beliefe and asperse the manner of the delivery of Mr. Wildmans language at the Barre which you say was with such stumbling interfeering and down-right Halting fye Mr. Masterson the eloquence of the Genr. is well knowne only his exact care to relate the truth made him pause at severall periods to recollect things though you might powre out your falshoods without feare or wit Know you not that the best part of Oratory is Deliberation and it was not timidity that caused Mr. Wildman to take such deliberation but he remembred the saying in the Scripture A wise man weigheth his words in the ballance but the foole speaketh rashly And believe me Mr. Masterson if you had followed his example and beene more ready to heare then offer the sacrifice of Fooles I am confident you would have been taken if not for a better Statesman yet for a better Preacher have kept up your repute in the world of being wise though not honest but truly now you have discovered your want of both But you come at last to the catastrophe of all namely that There was no need of witnesses for hee appeared I le spare your Greeke for you have but a little selfe condemned c. For what I wonder All your Information against him amounts not to a crime according to Law and if not by what will you condemne him Doe not you passe a Sion sentence upon him I beseech you and canonize him among your bundle of Hereticks pray do not excommunicate him And then he will be so farre from condemning himselfe that it will be above the reach or power of your selfe or all your Seminaries whose interest he is an enemy to to condemne him In the last place you seeme to take exception at his wonder that he should be committed without Witnesses and that the witnesses should not be called in And here you take upon you to domineere as if you had got the victory before you have begun the fight First you begin to question the truth of Mr. Wildmans relation touching your Witnesses acknowledgement that nothing was spoken at the Meeting but what tended to advance the Parliaments honour c. Upon this you begin to run division and in the first place you take upon you to aske a question Whether the two persons which the Informer brought as pretended witnesses confesse this It is not yet evident that they have by Oath proved the contrary but suppose one of them did confesse it before Witnesse surely that is su●●icient to cleere the truth in that particular and to demonstrate to the world that truth is not so strong on your side as you would make them believe And I am so satisfied in the truth in this particular that I shall make bold to wipe off that staine from the face of Truths triumph and returne you scoffe with this advantage Truth now has got a Staine but 't is your Lye Be spots her robe of godlike Majesty In the second place you proclaime the Chastity of one of your witnesses It seemes you suspect the other for a Strumpet hee is true Roman you say but how shall we know it He is but Secretary yet neither to the Parliament nor us for he never declared what or how much he could witnesse to be true of your Bloody dangerous Information O but he 's valiant too the man is not yet borne that ever darst tamper with him about it marke J beseech you either Mr. Masterson was never borne and therefore a Monster or else Mr. Wilison is a Coward now which of these will you believe one is a Lye for a certaine Mr. Masterson without doubt hath tampered with him about it or else hee had never given him that learned Certificate under his hand to support his weake credit with the people But what will you say Mr. Masterson if your witnesses did acknowledge what Mr. Wildman affirmes without tampering withall and to a man of as much credit and valour as any of those you so much boast of This I will undertake when you dare to make good and truly then if your Witnesse will say one thing and sweare another I shall hardly thinke him either valiant or honest but only one of your Disciples that can alter his tone as occasion is offered But waving the rest I come now to the pleasantest part of the story viz. the certificate which methinks savours of the Priest for sure I am it was the product of nothing lesse then spleen and inveteracy which no witnesses should be fraught withall But I desire the reader to observe how impertinent this is to the proving of Mr. Mastersons relation true he gives us a certificate as he pretends wherein Mr. Willison affirmes he spoke not such and such words but I conceive it would have been more authentique if he had got Mr. Willison and his other wittnesse to attest under their hands that this relation or information of Mr. Masterson was true for truly priests are grown to that passe now that it is not safe to believe any thing they say without two or three wittnesses But by this time I thinke if you cast up your account you have little reason to insult over Triumphant truth especially when you shall have weighed this following testimony not of one but of many men both valiant and faithfull who have done more for truths vindication in the face of authority then either your selfe or your witnesse dare do in a private vestry to asperse her To the Honourable the chosen and be trusted Knights Citizens and Burgesses in PARLAMENT Assembled the humble Petition of divers well-affected Free-born people of England inhabiting in and about EAST SMITHFIELD and WAPPING and other parts adjacent Sheweth THat as this Honourable House was chosen by the people to redresse their grievances so we conceive it our native right to meet together to frame and promote Petitions for your better information of all such things as are by experience found burthensome and grievous to the Common-wealth That accordingly this honourable House hath declared that it ought to receive Petitions though against th●ngs established by law That in the use of this our native and acknowledged right we together with Lieutenant Col. Iohn L●lburne and Mr. John Wildman were met together in East Smithfield upon the 17. of January last and discoursed upon these ensuing perticulars viz. Some scrupled the very pettioning this house any more As a thing from wh●no● notwithstanding their having hazarded th●i● lives for their freedoms they had hitherto received nothing but reproaches ●●d injuries and were answered by one of the persons before named to this effect That it was their duty alwaies and their wisdom in this juncture of time

to use their utmost diligence to procure the settlement of the Common-wealth and that war famine and confusion could no other way in probability be prevented And it was generally concluded that the most visible interest of the people was to uphold the Honour of this House and to preserve it from contempt 2. There was likewise an occasionall discourse about the right of the Lords to the Law giving power And herein was debated the danger of such an Arbytrary Authority as that in its own nature residing in any persons during life and much more of its descending as an inheritance from Generation to Generation and something was added from our sad experience of the mischiefs which have ensued hereupon In particular it was declared how their exercise of that claime might be charged in reason with all the precious bloud that hath been spilt in the late war because the King had never had opportunity to levy an Army against the People and Parliament if the Lords ●●d not deferred so long after many solicitations by the Commons to passe the Ordinance for setling the Militia 3. It was also accidentally wondred at why Lieutenant Generall Cromwell and Commissary Generall Ir●t●● should now of lite urge that no more addresses should be made to the King whereas they had formerly pleaded that he might be brought in even with his negative voice Whereupon Col. Lilburn related a story That a member of the House of Commons having information from a credible person that the King had promised Lieut. Generall Cromwell a blew ●●bo●d with a George and the Earldome of Essex besides other places of honour and profit to his Sonne Com. Gen. Ireton resolved rather to become another Felton then to suffer his Country to be so betrayed But the Gentleman b●ing disswaded by friends and intelligence her of being sent to the Lieut. Generall a Fast ensued at the Head quarters and so he concurred with the House in the la●● Votes against the King Neverthelesse in Mr. Wildmans opinion he was necessitated into s●●h a turn because the Scots have bid Higher for the King then he had done his offer was rejected and they reli●d on 4. Some consideration was had about proportionable assistances towards the charge of Printing our Petitions 5. It being among other things enquired whether there were any truth in this rumour That the Lords sent to Lieu Col Lilburne and offered him 3000. l to desist in the large Petition now abroad The Lieut Col. answered that it was a false groundlesse report and that he knew no occasion for it unlesse it were because a Lord had sent to tell him he would send him a toke● of his love if he thought it would be accepted To which he answered That he would not be eng●ged ●r any Pattente Lord and some other words to that effect 6. There was a relation made by a person that some poore people in the Country aid meet together in Companies and did violently take away the corne as it was going to Market saying that it was their great necessity caused them so to do where upon we fearing lest the calamity might be more generall did ask how wee should best preserve our selves in case of such Tumults because we bore the names of Round-heads Independants c. for adhering to the Parliament and were satisfied by Lieut. Col. Lilburne to this purpose Friends The only way for you to be secured is to promote this Petition to the House that so when the people come to be informed by the Petition of your real intentions to the common good of the whole Nation as well as to your own you will be thereby safer then those which have Blew Ribons in their hats that being the Generals colours and the moderne badge of protection 7. It was lastly delivered as from a good hand That some Lords were willing their Law-giving power should not descend as an inheritance to their posterity and that they were willing to part with their priviledge of freedom from arrests This being the sum and principall matter of what passed at the aforesaid meeting as we are ready to attest upon our oaths if we shall be thereunto called And understanding that our said deare Friends Lieut. Col. Iohn Lilburne and Mr. Iohn Wildman who are therefore deare to us because they have manifested themselves faithfull to the Publique stand committed by this House ●n relation to the said Meeting as Treasonable and seditions practise●s against the State We cannot but be extreamly troubled not only in regard of their particular suffering our own equall concernment especially upon the consequence thereof as tending in a great measure to the disinfranchisement infranchisement of the Nation from whom the liberty of complaining must then be taken away when most cause is given them to complaine Wherefore your Petitioners do most humbly pray may be forthwith enlarged c. That L-C. Lilourne and Mr. Iohn Wildman And your Petitioners shall pray c. Ia. Worts Rog. Sawyer Hen. Gidiag Tho. Chapman Valent Elsing Dennis Liddall Geor. Browne Ed. Pardo Tho. Goddad Tho. Cullet Tho. Williams Iohn Merihust Mich. Reeve J. North I. Wells Ed. Floyd Rob. Bagesse Rob. Levite A. Dedm●n Now let the Reader-judge whether sounds the most like truth whether is the most authentique the testimony of a single Priest and two other pretended Witnesses which are not in the least visible or this which we affirme and justifie by such sufficient visible testimony this fore-going Paper being in the name and under the hand of the Subscribers sent into the House in a letter after a fortnights attendance to get it in the nature of a Petition But to trace you a little further in the next place to fill up the measure of your wickednesse you take upon you to comment upon a Letter which you say was sent by severall Gentlemen into Kent The maine thing that you seeme to startle at was this viz. That after seven yeares wayting for Iustice and Freedome they meaning the men of London will receive no denyall in their requests And here you take upon you to Catechize us what no denyall Though all authority joyn'd with all the Representative reason of the Kingdome should vote against your Petition c. Truly though we are not bound to answer you in this particular yet might such a resolution be justifiable from the example of the importunate Widow and the unjust Iudge And I thinke the visibility of evident ruine to this Nation for want of the establishment of Iustice and Freedome might well excuse if not justifie the most vigorous demands of the performance of that duty from those which had received power from us unto that end and yet neglected it But to draw to an end for I am weary of tracing you in your laborinth of folly It were to be wished that you made use of the counsell which you give Mr. Wildman viz. Not thus to absent your selfe from that people which pay so deare for your company cannot you be content with the Appearances of those goodly Angels and comfortable dispensations which you fleece your Flocke of but you must ramble from the fold and like a greedy VVolfe worrie other mens Sheepe The man you speake of is none of your Canonicall cut hee can he content to be a law unto himselfe and strive not to bee a law to others and in that hee hath had sufficient discovery of the comelinesse and all sufficiency of Christ which is formed in him And in his behalfe whose soule J am confident sorrowes for your sinne I shall offer up this Petition viz. That the Lord would cause his Spirit to Evangelize or Preach a Gospell of peace and pardon and to make out himselfe in such precious and glorious discoveries That your soule may be enamoured with his glory and confounded with the apprehension of your creature actings and in that Spirituall rapsody may be penitently inforced to cry out You have sinned betrayed innocent blood Math 27. 4. Have mercy upon me O God according to thy loving kindnesse according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions c. Psal. 50. 1. FINIS Mark 13. 9 10. 20 ly

by George Masterson c. now if it be an account to a sillable it is not only the summe or sence but the totum or whole of the matter But if you please to call to mind you may remember that you affirmed at the Commons Barre that Mr. Lilburne did say that they used the name of the Parliament in the Petition but at a cloake or colour till they could heighten the spirits of the people to rise and cut their throats but it seems your conscience hath given your tongue the lye in that particular and in many more or else your witnesse will not stand to you in it and now therefore you go about to mince the matter and flam us off with a story of a Cock and a Bull I cannot omit your subtill aspersing the Parliament by your publishing this relation of yours for let any rationall man put all that you have set down and laid unto the charge of those gallant men into the evenest ballance and weight them against the stricktest Law and all will not amount to so great a crime as deserves the name of misdeameanour muchlesse of treasonable and destructive especially Mr. Wildman to whom he layes nothing And what indignity do yea put upon the Parliament that they should upon such an Information commit men to prison no no Mr. Masterson certainly this is not an account to a sillable for it is notoriously known that your information was stuffed with such dangerous and inveterate premeditated charges as that honourable house could not but apprehend great cause of feare and your impudent persisting being once engaged enforced you to speake that then which now you shame to own and truly when men consult with rage not reason they are often hurried to such extreames as not only occasion danger but shame also The next falshood is but a pretended one namely Curat of Windham and pretended Gentleman of the life Guard c. for the first I dare affirme that it is but a pretence there neither being nor ever was the least colourable ground for any such aspersion he might as well and better affirme that you George Masterson was not only a pretended but a reall rebell in Linne Regis when it was kept against the Parliament and that now though you were a Presbyterian you are now a seeming Independant and a reall hipocrite And for the second They at know him can testifie that he was more then a pretended Gentleman of the Life Guard and only discerted them when they discerted righteousnesse and though not in the fighting dayes yet Mr. Masterson know he hath undergone as evident hazards in fights as most of those and that he is so much of man that he dare cudgell your Canonicall Coate into better manners and then you will have little reason to surfeit your spleen or make your selfe merry c. But to passe that by you carpe exceedingly at his saying that he was devoted to suport the Authority and honour of the House of Commons And because it is so evident to all the world you wave i● and only fall upon some single expressions spoken in relation to his own imprisonemt and these you would enforce as so many arguments to prove that he did not really desire or endeavour to support the Authority aforesaid As if Mr. Masterson should say Mr. Wildman doth indeed by promoting that Petition endeavour to invest the house of Commons with the supreame and sole law-giving power but because according to the present state of affaires he will not yeeld to be imprisoned upon the lying malitious information of a single Priest contrary to the Parliaments own declarations and the established Law of the Land viz. without having a legall ●●ime laid to his charge or a legall Mitimus which the law of the land directs therefore he do's not endeavour to support the Authority of Parliament believe it a good conclusion an Orthedox observation but if you raise no truer conclusions for the instruction of your Parrish then you do for the Information of the kingdome truly you will scarce deserve the tenth of the Piggs much lesse of the proffits of those which you exercise your trade amongst I meane of Preaching not of Informing for I believe you will be found a man of so corrupt a memory that the Parliament will doe by you as you said Mr Wildman would do by L. G. Crumwell namely never trust a Priest more for your sake and truly if they consider all they have little reason for if ever they did any thing whereof the Kingdome have cause to complaine sure I am you and your brethren were the promoters and procurers of it But you proceed and take upon you to frame two reasons why your witnesse were not called in which you say was because Mr. Wildman confessed many things which L. C. Lilburne denied c. which is a most notorious falshood for they did neither of them differ as touching the passages at the meeting in any thing but only L. C. Lilburne did declare more at large what he himselfe had spoken at the meeting then Mr. Wildman did he mentioning nothing of Mr. Lilburne at the Barre but only that passage concerning L. G. Gru●well being promised to be made Earle of Essex c. In the next place you beginne to heigthen your conceipt with an argument of satisfaction in the houses drawn from Mr. Wildmans Timidity Tremblings and Astonishment though he were not astonished well he might have been to consider that a man of Mr. Mastersons coate and profession should dare in the face of the supreame Authority to affirme such notorious falshoods But this is only a mistake for it was Mr. Masterson that was astonished and conscience staring in his face forc't him to such an extasie that he had forgotten what he had the day before so avowedly declared ad unguem so that the House was enforced to wring that out of him by questions which he had before given in as matter of charge But on the contrary Mr. Wildmans confidence and constancy mixt with respect and civility did so clearly appeare to the whole House that many of them were surprized with delight and others with admiration Neither would hee have voluntarily gone to the House if he had feared the Informer or any crime he could lay to his charge and at the Barre related more concerning the Meeting then the Informer could say against him But Mr. Wildmans constancy and courage in strugling with opposite Powers though in those whose frowne would create another soule in the Informer is to all that know him so evident That your scandalous report of his demeanour herein cannot blemish his honour but render your selfe an absolute Cretian i. e. Alwayes a Lyer In the next place you begin with a charge tell us we most not suppose that Mr. Wildman delivered all that at the House of Commons which fills up the best part of seaven Pages As if you should say I know it but I