Selected quad for the lemma: parliament_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A56182
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The contra-replicant, his complaint to His Maiestie
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Parker, Henry, 1604-1652.
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1643
(1643)
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Wing P400; ESTC R22502
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28,940
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31
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wherein so many Papists are predominant That though the Parliament might submit yet a faire Accommodation it could not obtaine except the King would equally condescend thereunto That if the Petitioners had found out a more safe and honourable Accommodation then the Parliament had yet discovered for that was possible the Parliament would embrace it That if none such could be found out the affections and Judgements of the Parliament ought not to becensur'd or distrusted That it behooved the Petitioners to addresse themselves by the like petition to the King if no want of affection to peace were apparent in the Parliament as certainly none was In contradiction and opposition to all the severall poynts in this Aâ—alysis what the Replicant hath set forth wee shall now see in the same order 1. The great contrivers of our sad divisions which abuse the weake reason of the people to keepe up an unfortunate misunderstanding between King and Subject are not named by the Replicant but they are clearely pointed out to be the Chiefe Lords and Commons in Parliament for he saith Every new Vote of late hath been a new affliction and he makes Pennington and the Citty Lecturers to be but Iourney-men Rebels under them and even this Hellish slander he venteth under the name of the Petitioners whom he stiles the most considerable persons of the Citty and at the same time affirmeth that the people generally are of honest affections And the Answer to the Petition in which the words he saies are softer then oyle though the matter of it be poison of Aspes he attributes only to some Chiefe Engineers of mischiefe in the House though it carry in it the Authority of the whole House Here is a wonder beyond all wonders A few factious persons in Parliament over-awe the major better and wiser part in Parliament and by a few factious Instruments in Citty and Countrey abuse the major better and wiser part there also into the most miserable distempers and calamities that ever were and though the honest generality begin to grow wiser and are instructed by the sence of their miseries and by other advertisements from loyall Papists and Prelates and other pious Courtiers and souldiers to shake off their few Tormentors Nay and though the King himself has not onely publisht the most eloquent and subtill Declarations to disabuse the people that ever were himselfe being the most beloved and honoured Prince that ever was for his indulgence to Liberty and Religion but haâ—h also advanced a most puissant and victorious Army to releeve these undeceived wretches yet the incantation holds no humane force either of Armâ—s or Artâ— can dissolve it The miracles of Moses had an impression of divine vertue upon them and did therefore triumph overall the Egyptians spels buâ— in this case Mr Pym with I know not what infernall engines distorts and wrests all the Orbes of a Kingdome from their naturall motions and yet no divine Art can resist him 'T was never beleev'd before that any but God could work contrary to nature but now it must be beleeved But is it so apparent that the Parliament is averse from peace yet saies the Replicant For withdraw the fuell and the fire is soon extinguisht Let the Parliament not foment the ill humour by supplyes of men Armes and Ammunition and the wound will heale of it selfe In the petition nothing but an Accommodation safe and honourable was pretended but now we see a meere submission is intended in this replication T is not prooved That the Armes of the Parliament are unjust 't is not prooved that it may be safe for the Kingdome to prostrate and subject Parliamenâ—s to the discretion of that faction which now has bereav'd us of the Kings presence and favour yet because the Replicant will take upon him to condemne Parliaments we must also allow of his Judgement But ' its further say'd by the Replicant that even Accommodation it selfe is not pleasing in Parliament witnesse that spâ—ech of one I like not daubing and that of another I hatâ—â—â—â— name of Accommodation Hee which hates the name of an Accommodation as it has beeâ— used of late to signifie a totall submission may love a true Accommodation in it selfe and he that likes not the daubing of those which under the colour of Accommodation ayme at nothing but division and dissention amongst the people may more heartily affect a safe and honourable agreement then the Replicant himselfe Can the Parliament expresse zeale to peace better then by contracting all its rights and priviledges into one compendious proposition for the setling of union To purchase true peace the Parliament desires nothing but to retain the meere being of a Parliament that is to be the supreme Court of King and Kingdome And if it can stand with the essence of such a Court to be arraign'd tryed and sentenced by a faction of Papists Prelates Delinquents and Souldiers the Parliament will submit to that Condition also 2. When we expresse our feares of the Kings party and therefore deny submission thereunto as dangerous and dishonourable the Replicant tels us further we are required not to submit to our fellow subiects but to the King only and he tels us further that the Lawes are the best security and those we shall enioy and to claime any higher securitie is to assume the power of Kings How farre the Lawes of the Land have been sufficient to preserve to Parliaments and the beâ—ter part of loyall Protestant subjects their rightfull portion and interest in the Kings favour for these 17. yeares last past is knowne to all The Lawes of Scotland could not secure the better and greater part there The Lawes of Ireland have not saved the Brittaines and Protestants from Massacres there and yet certainly both those Kingdomes are intitled to Lawes of as ample benefit and vigour as ours now is But what speake we of Common Lawes when even at this instant such a free subjects house is burnt and plundered by the Kings party in derision and despight of the Kings owne Proclamation and particular Placard granted for the safegard of himselfe and his family As our Judges preyed upon us heretofore in matters of State and Divines oppressed us in matters of Religion so our Martialists now have a power of spoyling above the generall Law or any particular protection If the King thinke fit to grant safety to such a person or such a Towne it must be provided alwayes that such a Dutch or Scotch Commander who conceives himselfe more skilfull in war then the King give his approbation withall for my part I conceive it more honourable for the King to say that he cannot then that he would not save his people from all those cursed indignities and cruelties which have been multiplyed upon us during this warre and before by his adherents As for Lawes therefore we must take notice that they may be imployed either to the benefit or prejudice of any Nation and that
we know our slanders and calumnies cannot deceive him wee submit our selves and our cause to his revenging hand But thou wilt say the Kings party in this warre are good Protestants and we are Anabaptists c. The tyranny and superstition of Bishops has driven some of our tender and stricter protestants into utter dislike of Ceremonies and that pompous or rather superstitious forme of Church discipline which has beene hitherto used in England Some of us desire an alteration of some things in our Lyturgy by advice of a learned and uncorrupt Synod others perhaps scruple Church musick and any set forme of divine service to be imposed of necessity liking better the single order of Scotland What new Creed is there in all this or what change of Religion were this if there were any great numbers of men so opinionated But it is well enough knowne to our Adversaries that there is not one man of both Houses of Parlialiament that is violent against all publick set formes of prayer or that forme which is now in use or that desires any alteration of Doctrine in Essentialls nay nor of Discipline except in things very few and inconsiderable And it is well knowne that the Parliament as it would loosen the rigour of Law in some scruples for the ease of tender consciences so it abhors utterly all licentious government in the Church and all by-wayes of confusion In the City the King has instanced in Pennington Ven Foulk and Mannering as notoriously guilty of Schisme and doubtlesse they were named for want of worse try these men now by the old Creed or by the nine and thirty Articles nay examine them concerning the Common prayer Book and it will soon appeare how farre they are strayed into Brownisme or any other Schisme it will appeare how they are wounded in schismatick and all protestants in them and the true Religion in us all it may be they have not put pluralities or the Parliamentary Votes of Bishops into their Creed it may be they have reserved no implicite faith for Convocation acts and Canons which the Replicant may perhaps judge very irreligious but they hope this never had any anathema pronounced against it in the old Church by any Councell before Antichrists dayes Let not railing passe for impleading and condemning and we will all be tried in the same manner and if any new Creed be found amongst us differing in substance from the old let our adversaries themselves give and execute sentence upon us If Brownists could be as well distinguisht and nominated in our Army as papists are in the Kings or were really as many and as far countenanced we would distrust our cause whereas we now beg no otherwise the blessing of God upon our Armies then as we are enemies both to Popery and Brownism Dares our Replicant make such a prayer no somtimes he owns Papists and somtimes he seemingly disowne them speaking of the Kings party once he saies As for the establisht religion we will become suiters to you that you will severely punish all persons whatsoever that transgress against it Papists certainly have transgrest against our religion if the rebellion in Ireland be a transgression or if the instant taking up of arms here against the parliament be a transgression yet see at the same time when they call us to punish the papists they themselves arm enable papists to punish nay to destroy us is this all the ingenuity we shall expect well to our law notion it is argued in the next place that a Papist fighting for the King though in a notion of Theology he may be accounted an enemy quatenus a Papist yet in understanding of Law hee was accounted the Kings friend as to his fighting Priest squires Doctrine just hee that fights for the King or rather at the Kings command let the cause be what it will he is the Kings friend When Saul gave a furious command to fâ—ll upon the Priests of Iehovah amongst all his servants he had no entire loving freind but Doeg so when his unnaturall rage â—ncited him to take away the life of Ionathan the whole Armâ— that defended Ionathan were his foes and if it had proceeded to parties as it had if Saul had had as many Idumeans in his service as King Charles now has those onely which had been the execrable instruments of the Kings Tyranny had been the Kings friends and had fought for their King so those six hundred men which adhered to David out of a pious intent to preserve his innocent soule from the bloudy hands of Saul and his three thousand impious murderers and the Keilites also if they had been faithfull to David as they ought to have been were guilty of Treason and drew their swords against their master But I expect now that the Replicant insist upon the Iustice of the Kings cause as not taking armes to master the Parliament but to defend themselves against the Parliament this if it could be proved would over-rule all but it being in question and as resolutely denied by one side as affirmed by the other the Replicant must evince by reason all that he expects to gaine from us 'T is not so probable that a Parliament should invade a King as a King a Parliament 'T is not so probable that a Parliament should be misled and have ends to enrich it selfe by oppression as a King 'T is not so probable that that Army which consists all of Protestants should be so adverse to the reformed Religion as that which admits and favours all Papists and Delinquents T is not so probable that that Army which is raised and payed by Parliament that is by the flower of all the English Nobility and Gentry should fight for Arbitrary government and against propriety liberty and priviledge of Parliament as that which hath nothing considerable but rapine and pillage to maintaine it If many evidences of facts many pregnant proofs and many lively circumstances of time and place did not absolve the Parliament of trayterous conspiring against the Kings Crowne Dignity and person and convince Digby Percy Iermin and divers of the Kings and Queens party of conspiring against the priviledges of Parliament and the lives of many of our noblest Pariament men If all other arguments did faile the very invitation of Papists to the Kings Standard the rising of the Papists with such generall consent now that all Ireland is almost lost to the papists and some hopes were else to recover it would sufficiently assure me that religion and liberty stand in more danger of the Kings party than of the parliaments I could not with more cleare and cheerfull confidence die for the truth of the protestant Religion then for the Iustice of the parliaments cause in this warre noscitur ex Comite c. Let the papist plead for the Delinquent and the Delinquent for the papist those ends which have so closely cemented and kindly incorporated both together make a sufficient