Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	kingdom_n	law_n	parliament_n	3,975	5	6.2994	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A60118	The Justice of the Parliament, in inflicting of punishments subsequent to offences, vindicated and the lawfulness of the present government asserted : with some animadversions upon the second vindication of the magistracy and government of England.	Shower, Bartholomew, Sir, 1658-1701.	1689 (1689)	Wing S3651; ESTC R15074	22,626	35

THE JUSTICE OF THE Parliament In Inflicting of PUNISHMENTS Subsequent to OFFENCES VINDICATED And the Lawfulness of the Present Government ASSERTED With some ANIMADVERSIONS upon the Second Vindication of the Magistracy and Government of England LONDON Printed for Richard Baldwin near the Black Bull in the Old Baily 1689. THE JUSTICE of the PARLIAMENT In Inflicting of PUNISHMENTS Subsequent to OFFENCES VINDICATED c. I. I Hapned two days since to meet a Sheet called A Second Vindication of the Magistracy and Government of England and upon perusal found it to be a weak Effort to justifie what had been before writ in the behalf of the Government and its Ministers for the Condemnation and Execution of my Lord Russel It does particularly take notice of a Half sheet entituled A Justification of the Act which reverses that Noble Lord's Attainder And I must needs own that if impudent downright Affirmations of Law and Facts passes for Argument and Proof he has effectually performed what he arrogantly undertakes which is the refuting the Reasons and Authorities of that and the other more Learned late Prints which have been published to do Right to the Name and Memory of a Person whose Character is very well described by one of those worthy Gentlemen who attested in his Favour at his Trial That he was one of the best Sons one of the best Fathers and one of the best Masters one of the best Husbands one of the best Friends and one of the best Christians we had II. I shall not presume to obtrude a Defence in the behalf of Sir R. A. and Mr. H. I shall not do them so much Injustice as to impose on them so ill ad Advocate And therefore the Province I do assign my self principally is to expose the Weakness and Fallacies of that Part of the Sheet which relates to the Justification and shall not meddle with the rest farther than is necessary to make good the Authorities and Positions from which the Justifier infers that Noble Lord was so far from being guilty of a Legal Treason that the Kings Judges and Counsel in subserviency to a Predestination of the State for removing him right or wrong out of the way were forced to call such Vertues Treason as in a more just and grateful Age would have deserved Statues Triumphs and other Demonstrations of Honour paid by the Romans and other Nations to their Patriots and the Assertors of the Liberties of their Country III. Our Author observes pag. 2. That Sir R. A. calls the Sentence and Execution a Murder and if so he is sure that he is bound in Conscience to prosecute an Indictment against the Judges Recorder the Grand and Petit Jury c. But he concludes that nene of these shew any fear of it The Justifier and all that have writ on the same Subject did also in effect tho' not perhaps in express Terms concur in that Opinion and for my part I do not see how it can deserve a more soft and gentle Appellation Our Author says indeed The Persons that were concerned in it are as safe as under an Act of Indempnity My Temper and Disposition always inclines me to Mercy and tho' I must allow in the Speculation that the Executing of Justice upon Offenders is as great a Duty as shewing them Mercy yet I find a very great difference in the Practice the Exercise of Acts of Mercy being much more pleasing and agreeable than of Justice But if I had the Honour of being a Member of Parliament I should think that this natural Tendency of my Mind ought not to make me forget that Acts of Indempnity and all Humane Laws and Sanctions must be consistent with the Statutes and Ordinances of God himself and where he in his Sacred Word has been pleased to declare himself in such Cases neither the Parliament nor any other Political Constitution can exert its Authority There must therefore be some Account taken for the innocent Blood that has been spilt in this Kingdom of late Years There neither is nor ever was any Municipal Law in the World more careful to preserve the Lives of the Subject than the Law of England but 't is not to be denied that this Law hath suffered extremely in its Reputation both at home and abroad and particularly in that excellent Part of it Trials by Juries because it hath been the Instrument and Property tho' a forced and unwilling one of its own and the Churches Enemies to take away the Lives of this Noble Lord and others who they thought willing or able to obstruct or disappoint their Designs of introducing Popery and Tyranny And shall there be nothing done to vindicate the Reputation of our Law and to make it appear to the World that the Fault was not in the Law it self but in those wicked and corrupt Ministers and Judges who had the distribution of it The Occasion and Inducement of the Statute of 25 E. 3. was that corrupt Judges did adjudge Crimes Treason that were not really so great But our Modern Judges have exalted themselves beyond those they have condemned a Man of Treason that was not only innocent of the Crime but was eminent for his Vertues and indeed for no other Crime than discharging his Duty For I do conceive that 't is a Duty incumbent upon every Subject to support and defend the Government he lives under and to oppose all Motions and Steps towards the Change and Alteration of it that have not the Concurrence of the Legislative Authority I think this Proposition will be allowed as a Principle and then I am sure my Lord R. is to be both justified and applauded for all that he transacted For what other Charge was he guilty of than this King Charles the Second who was a Concealed Papist and by so much the more Dangerous had in conjunction with His Brother who was an Owned one and by so much the more Generous formed a Project to extirpate the Protestant Religion and establish their own in these Kingdoms and as previous and necessary thereto there was a necessity to destroy the Laws and to change the whole Frame of the Government for both as they then stood and were constituted were such a strong Guard and Defence to the Protestant Religion and were so particularly calculated against the return of Popery that it was in vain to attempt any thing either to the prejudice of the one or in favour of the other so long as the Laws and the Government continued Tho' there were formerly I know several good Protestants that were incredulous of this Design yet the Transactions of the State after and that King 's owning himself a Romanist at his Death has abundantly satisfied all unprejudiced Men of the Truth of it since My Lord R. was one of those that had so early and so large a Prospect in this Matter that his Reason fully convinced him at that time of what every one has been since convinced of Then the Treason

of my Lord R. resolves into this That he being upon good and rational Grounds determined in the belief that King Charles the Second and the Duke of Y. had conspired to abolish the Church of England and to subvert the Laws and the Government and observing the Counsels Measures and all the Proceedings of the Court to be correspondent to that End and to have a direct and natural tendency towards it He did joyn with one Judas but with divers other Great and Worthy Personages to consider how to preserve our Religion our Government and our Laws in that time of danger and distress For before the date of any of the pretended Treasonable Practices objected to him it ought to be remembred 1. That the Fountain of all our Laws and Liberties our High Court of Parliament was polluted by Court-bribery and Subornation 2. That it had been frequently and abruptly broke up and dissolved before it could perform any of the Trusts or Duties it owed to the Country 3. That there was an infamous Declaration ordered to be read in all Churches solemnly in the time of Divine Service against the Proceedings of the House of Commons which could have no other aim than to render that part of the Constitution obnoxious to the People and to make them believe it was become impracticable and unsafe for the Government to assemble them 4. That there was a mortal Wound given to the Privilege and Rights of Parliament by the Trial of Fitzhrrris in the Kings-Bench being under an Impeachment and by the Encouragement and Welcome given to the Addresses and Abhorrences of the Mobile importing a Condemnation of Parliamentary Proceedings 5. That there had been Witnesses tampered with if not actually suborned to swear divers Noblemen and Gentlemen out of their Lives 6. That there was a bold and open Incroachment on the Charter and Franchises of the City of London which usher'd in that general Desolation which succeeded on all the Corporations of England The extorting the Charters from all Cities and Burroughs by Quo Warranto's and involuntary Surrenders which divers were forced to make to save their Lands and their Charitable Donations which they were threatned should be otherwise seised did effectually encompass the Design of overturning the Government For all Writers in Politicks do agree in this Proposition That when the Legislative Power is removed or altered from that Place State or Position in which it was setled upon the Original Constitution that Government is dissolved And I think it very clear that by the Destructions of the old Charters and the Establishment of our Cities and Burroughs under the new the King had in effect usurped the whole Legislative Authority For he had before a Power over two Parts of it which were Himself and the House of Lords because he could prefer what Number he pleased of his own Creatures to be Members of that House who should vote as He should order and direct and he had now got the House of Commons under his Girdle by the Powers he reserved in the New Charters to model and change the Magistracy and the Officers who had the Conduct of the Elections and the right of returning the Persons Elected In these violations of our civil Rights some Persons as I have the Charity to believe did ingage and concur through Inadvertency not seeing through that Scheme which had been concerted between the two Brothers for the bringing about their design and these withdrawing from their Counsels when it appeared bare-faced and their being so instrumental and assisting to the late Revolution and the setling us in our present Condition of Happiness seems to Attone for past Errors 7. It must not be forgot that originally in Scotland the Priviledges of the Subject were greater and the Prerogatives of the Crown not so large as in England and yet there the old Constitution was so demolished that there hardly remained the Ruines of the ancient Government but it might be said jam seges ubi Troja fuit and there was avowedly exercised an Arbitrary and Despotick Jurisdiction The Duty and Obligation of the King was as great to govern the People of Scotland according to their Laws as to govern us according to our Law and therefore we might conclude we should receive the same fate and the same measures of Justice whenever the King should think it as safe and as feasible There were these and several other palpable steps and advantages towards Popery and Arbitrary Power antecedent to any of the Facts charged on my Lord Russell And was it not every English Man's Duty as well as Interest to endeavour a stop to the Course of those Counsels which were so directly aimed and levelled at our Church and Government And was there the least Proof that my Lord Russell's Consent or Privity extended any further IV. In Page 3. He bestows large Commendations on the Person that was the Kings Sollicitor at that time and excuses the Council by saying That every Advocate is to do his utmost and a failure had deserved the worst of Names c. I do acknowledg that in all times Lawyers have allowed themselves too great a Latitude when they Act meerly as Council and 't is an Opinion that has obtained among us That we ought not judicially to be called to an Account for any thing we offer or press in favour of our Clyent or against his Advesary so we have it in our Instructions and though I must always have a deference to the Memory of my Lord Coke and must own my Obligations to his Learned and Painful Works yet I cannot without the highest degree of Indignation consider his Conduct when he was Attorney General against Sir Walter Raleigh in his Tryal nor can I forgive my Lord Bacon for his vehement and partial streining of Law and Fact against his Patron and Benefactor the Earl of Essex in his first Tryal upon the Articles exhibited against him for miscarriages in Ireland But let it not pass for Authentick Doctrine That a Council is a Criminal or that he does not perform his Duty if he does not impose false Law upon the Court and false Facts and false Consequences deduced from the Facts upon the Jury which was plainly done in the Case of my Lord Russell as has been already and shall be in this again further evinced As to the then Sollicitor's Character if his Actings as Counsel against this Honourable Lord and some other Persons be put in a Parenthesis 't is as great as any Man of the Profession of the Law but if he were my Father I must condemn his Deportment in those Cases and some others whilst he was Sollicitor to the two last Kings V. In the same Page our Author says That the World guesses that he who wrote the Reply viz. Sir R. A. did write the half Sheet called the Justification and says 't is really sportive to read the Justifier commending the Defender and Replyant doing the same good Office for the