Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n
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A78646
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His Majesties answer to the XIX propositions of both Houses of Parliament
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England and Wales. Sovereign (1625-1649 : Charles I); Charles I, King of England, 1600-1649.
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1642
(1642)
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Wing C2123; ESTC R25986
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17,539
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16
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advise Vs to call a Nationall Synode which may duely examine such Ceremonies as give just cause of Offence to any We should take it into Consideration and apply Our Self to give due satisfaction therein That We were perswaded in Our Conscience that no church could be found upon the Earth that professeth the true Religion with more purity of Doctrine then the church of England doth nor where the Government and Discipline are joyntly more beautified and free from Superstition then as they are here established by Law which by the grace of God We will with Constancie maintain while We live in their Purity and Glory not onely against all Invasions of Popery but also from the Irreverence of those many Schismaticks and Separatists wherewith of late this Kingdom and Our City of London abounds to the great dishonour and hazard both of Church and State For the suppression of whom We required your timely and active assistance We told you in Our first declaration printed by the advice of Our Privie Councell That for differences amongst our selves for matters indifferent in their own nature concerning Religion We should in tendernesse to any number of Our loving Subjects very willingly comply with the advice of Our Parliament that some Law might be made for the exemption of tender consciences from punishment or prosecution for such Ceremonies and in such cases which by the judgement of most men are held to be matters indifferent and of some to be absolutely unlawfull Provided that this ease should be attempted and pursued with that modestie temper and submission that in the mean time the Peace quiet of the Kingdom be not disturbed the Decencie comelinesse of Gods Service discountenanced nor the Pious Sober Devout actions of those reverend Persons who were the first labourers in the blessed Reformation or of that time be scandaled and defamed And We heartily wish that others whom it concerned had been as ready as their dutie bound them though they had not received it from Us to have pursued this caution as We were and still are willing ready to make good every particular of that Promise Nor did We only appear willing to joyn in so good a Work when it should be brought Us but prest urged you to it by Our Message of the 14. of Feb. in these words And because His Majestie observes great and different troubles to arise in the hearts of His People concerning the Government and Liturgie of the Church His Majestie is willing to declare That He will refer the whole consideration to the wisdom of His Parliament which He desires them to enter into speedily that the present distractions about the same may be composed but desires not to be pressed to any single Act on His part till the whole be so digested and setled by both Houses that His Majestie may cleerly see what is fit to be left as well as what is fit to be taken away Of which We the more hoped of a good successe to the generall satisfaction of Our People because you seem in this Proposition to desire but a Reformation and not as is daily preached for as necessary in those many Conventicles which have within these nineteen moneths begun to swarm and which though their Leaders differ from you in this opinion yet appear to many as countenanced by you by not being punished by you few else by reason of the Order of the House of Commons of the 9 th of September daring to do it a destruction of the present Discipline and Liturgie And We shall most cheerfully give Our best assistance for raising a sufficient maintenance for preaching Ministers in such course as shall be most for the encouragement and advancement of Piety and Learning For the Bills you mention and the Consultation you intimate knowing nothing of the particular matters of the one though We like the Titles well nor of the manner of the other but from an Informer to whom We give little credit and We wish no man did more Commonfame We can say nothing till We see them For the 11 th We would not have the Oath of all Privie Councellors and Iudges straitned to particular Statutes of one or two particular Parliaments but extend to all Statutes of all Parliaments and the whole Law of the Land and shall willingly consent that an enquirie of all the breaches and violations of the Law may be given in charge by the Iustices of the Kings Bench every Terme and by the Iudges of Assize in their Circuits and Iustices of Peace at the Sessions to be presented and punished according to Law For the 17 th We shall ever be most ready and We are sorry it should be thought needfull to move Us to it not onely to joyn with any particularly with the States of the united Provinces of Which We have given a late proof in the Match of Our Daughter for the desence and maintenance of Protestant Religion against all designes and attempts of the Pope and his adherents but singly if need were to oppose with Our life and fortune all such Designes in all other Nations were they joyned And that for Considerations of Conscience far more then any temporall end of obtaining accesse of strength and reputation or any naturall end of restoring Our Royall Sister and her Princely Issue to their Dignities and Dominions though these be likewise much considered by Us. For the 18 th It was not Our fault that an Act was not passed to cleer the Lord Kymbolton and the five Members of the House of Commons but yours who inserted such Clauses into both the Preamble and Act perhaps perswaded to it by some who wish not that you should in any thing receive satisfaction from Vs as by passing the Preamble We must have wounded Our Honour against Our Conscience and by another Clause have admitted a Consequence from which We could never have been secured by declaring That no Member of either House upon any Accusation of Treason could have his Person seized without the Consent of that House of which he is a Member though the known Law be That Priviledge of Parliament extends not to Treason and if it did any Member the House being for a short time adjourned and so their Consent not being so had how treasonable soever his Intentions were how cleerly soever known and how suddenly soever to be executed must have fair leave given him to go on and pursue them no way how Legall soever after the passing such a Clause being left to prevent it To conclude We Conjure you and all men to rest satisfied with the Truth of Our Professions and the Reality of Our Intentions not to ask such things as deny themselves That you Declare against Tumults and punish the Authours That you allow Vs Our Propriety in Our Towns Arms and Goods and Our Share in the Legislative Power which would be counted in Vs not onely breach of Priviledge but Tyranny and Subversion of Parliaments to deny to you And when you shall have given Vs satisfaction upon those Persons who have taken away the One and recalled those Declarations particularly that of the 26 th of May and those in the point of the Militia Our just Rights wherein We will no more part with then with Our Crown lest we inable others by them to take that from Us which would take away the other and declined the beginnings of a War against Vs under pretence of Our Intention of making One against you as We have never opposed the first part of the 13 th Demand so We shall be ready to concur with you in the latter And being then confident that the Credit of those Men who desire a generall Combustion will be so weakned with you that they will not be able to do this Kingdom any more harm We shall be willing to grant our generall Pardon with such Exceptions as shall be thought fit and shall receive much more joy in the hope of a full and constant happinesse of Our People in the true Religion and under the Protection of the Law by a blessed union between Us and Our Parliament so much desired by Vs then in any such increase of Our Own Revenue how much soever beyond former Grants as when Our Subjects were wealthiest Our Parliament could have setled upon Us. FINIS
If the 1.2.3.4.5.9.10.15.16.19 Demands had bin writ printed in a tongue unknown to Vs and Our people it might have been possible We they might have charitably beleeved the Propositions to be such as might have bin in Order to the ends pretended in the Petition to wiâ— the establishing of Our Honour and safety the welfare security of Our Subjects Dominions the removing those Iealousies Differences which are said to have unhappily fallen betwixt Vs Our people and procuring both Vs and them a constant course of Honour Peace happinesse But being read and understood by all We cannot but assure Our Self that this Profession joyned to these Propositions will rather appear a Mockery and a Scorne The Demands being such as We were unworthy of the trust reposed in Vs by the Law and of Our descent from many so great and famous Ancesters if We could be brought to abandon that power which onely can inable Us to perform what We are sworn to in protecting Our people and the Laws and so assume others into it as to devest Our self of it Although not onely Our present Condition which it can hardly be were more necessitous then it is and We were both vanquisht and a Prisoner and in a worse condition then ever the most unfortunate of Our Predecessours have been reduced to by the most criminall of their Subjects And though the Bait laid to draw Vs to it and to Keep Our Subjects from indignation at the mention of it the promises of a plentifull and unparaleld Revenue were reduced from generals which signifie nothing to deer and certain particulars since such a Bargain would have but too great a resemblance of that of Esaus if We should part with such Flowers of Our Crown as are worth all the rest of the Garland and have been transmitted to Vs from so many Ancestours and have been found so usefull and necessary for the welfare and Security of Our Subjects for any present necessity or for any low and fordid Considerations of Wealth and gain And therefore all men knowing that those Accommodations are most easily made and most exactly observed that are grounded upon reasonable and equall Conditions We have great Cause to beleeve that the Contrivers of these had no intention of setling any firm Accommodation but to increase those Iealousies and widen that division which not by Our fault is now unhappily fallen between Vs and both Houses It is asked That all the Lords and others of Our Privy Councell and such We know now what you mean by such but We have cause to think you mean all great Officers and Ministers of State either at home or beyond the Seas For care is taken to leave out no Person or place that Our dishonour may be sare not to be bounded within this Kingdom though no subtile Insinuations at such a distance can probably be beleeved to have bin the cause of Our distractions and dangers should be put from Our Privy Councell and from those Offices and imployments unlesse they be approved by both Houses of Parliament how faithfull soever We have found them to Us and the Publike and how far soever they have been from offending against any law the only rule they had or any others ought to have to walk by We therefore to this part of this Demand return you this Answer That We are willing to grant that they shall take a larger Oath then you your selves desire in your 11th Demand for maintaining not of any part but of the whole Law And we have and do assure you That We will be carefull to make election of such persons in those places of trust as shall have given good testimonies of their abilities and integrities and against whom there can be no just cause of exception whereon reasonably to ground a diffidence That if We have or shall be mistaken in Our election We have and do assure you that there is no man so near to Us in place or affection whom we will not lâ—ave to the Justice of the Law if you shall bring a particular charge and sufficient proofs against him And that We have given you the best pledge of the effects of such a promise on Our part the best security for the performance of their dutie on theirs a Trienniall Parliament the apprehension of whose Justice will in all probabilitie make them warie how they provoke it and Us warie how We chuse such as by the discoverie of their faults may in any degree seem to discredit Our election But that without any shadow of a fault objected onely perhaps because they follow their conscience and preserve the established Laws and agree not in such Votes or assent not to such Bils as some persons who have now too great an Influence even upon both Houses judge or seem to judge to be for the publike good and as are agreeable to that new Vtopia of Religion and Government into which they endeavour to transform this Kingdom for we remember what names and for what Reasons you left out in the Bill offered Us concerning the Militia which you had your selves recommended in the Ordinance We wil never consent to the displacing of any whom for their former merits from and affection to Us and the publike We have intrusted since We conceive That to do so would take away both from the affection of Our servants the care of Our service the Honour of Our Justice And We the more wonder That it should be askt by you of Us since it appears by the 12th Demand That your selves count it reasonable after the present turn is served that the Iudges and Officers who are then placed may hold their places quam diu se bene gesserint And We are resolved to be as carefull of those We have chosen as you are of those you would chusâ— and to remove none till they appear to Us to have otherwise behaved themselves or shall be evicted by legall proceedings to have done so But this Demand as unreasonable as it is is but one link of a great Chaine and but the first round of that Ladder by which Our Iust Ancient Regall Power is endeavoured to be fetched down to the ground For it appears plainly that it is not with the persons now chosen but with Our choosing that you are displeased For you demand That the persons put into the places and imployments of those who shall be removed may be approved by both Houses which is so far as to some it may at first sight appear from being lâ—sse then the power of nomination that of two things of which We will never grant either We would sooner be content that you should nominate and We approve then you approve and We nominate The meer nomination being so far from being any thing that if We could do no more We would never take the paines to do that when We should onely hazard those whom We esteemed to the scorn of a refusall if they