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<DATE>2007-05-22</DATE>
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<NAME>Angela Berkley</NAME>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>AN
INQUISITION
AFTER
BLOOD.</P>
<P>To the PARLIAMENT <HI>in &s;tatu quo nunc,</HI>
AND
To the ARMY Regnant;
Or any other whether Royalli&s;t, Presbyterian, Inde|pendent
or Leveller, whom it may concern.</P>
<Q><LG>
<L><HI>Blood</HI> is a crying &s;in, but that of Kings</L>
<L>Cryes loude&s;t for revenge, and ruine brings.</L>
</LG></Q>
<P>Printed in the Yeer, 1649.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB REF="2">
<PB N="1" REF="2">
<HEAD>AN
INQUISITION
AFTER
BLOOD.</HEAD>
<P>_THE &s;cope of this &s;hort di&s;cour&s;e is to
make &s;ome re&s;earches after Truth,
and to rectifie the world according|ly
in point of opinion, &s;pecially
touching the fir&s;t <HI>Author</HI> and Ag|gre&s;&s;or
of the late ugly war in <HI>Eng|land,</HI>
which brought with it &s;uch an
inundation of blood, and &s;o let in
&s;o huge a torrent of mi&s;chiefs to ru&s;h upon us. There
be many, and they not only Presbyterians and Indepen|dents,
but <HI>Cavaliers</HI> al&s;o, who think that the King had
taken the guilt of all this blood upon him&s;elfe, in regard
of that Conce&s;&s;ion he pa&s;&s;ed in the preamble of the
late Treaty at the <HI>I&s;le of Wight;</HI> The aime of this Pa|per
is to cleere that point, but in &s;o temperate a way, that
<PB N="2" REF="3">
I hope 'twill give no cau&s;e of exception, much le&s;&s;e of
offence to any: the blood that's &s;ought after here, &s;hall
not be mingled with <HI>gaule,</HI> much le&s;&s;e with anie ve|nome
at all.</P>
<P>We know there is no Principle either in <HI>Divinity, Law,</HI>
or <HI>Phylo&s;ophie,</HI> but may be wre&s;ted to a wrong &s;en&s;e;
there is no truth &s;o demon&s;trative and cleere, but may
be &s;ubject to cavillations; no Tenet &s;o plaine, but per|ver&s;e
inferences may be drawne out of it; &s;uch a fate be|fell
that preambular Conce&s;&s;ion His Maje&s;ty pa&s;&s;ed at
the Tran&s;actions of the late Treaty, in that <HI>he acknow|ledg'd
therein that the two Hou&s;es of Parliament were nece&s;|&s;itated
to undertake a war in their owne ju&s;t and lawfull de|fence,
&amp;c. and that therefore all Oaths, Declarations, or o|ther
public In&s;truments again&s;t the Hou&s;es of Parliament,
or any for adhering to them, &amp;c. be declared null, &s;uppre&s;&s;ed,
and forbidden.</HI></P>
<P>'Tis true, His Maje&s;ty pa&s;&s;ed this grant, but with
this weighty con&s;ideration, as it had reference to two
ends.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, to &s;moothen and facilitate things thereby to
ope a pa&s;&s;age, and pave the way to a happy peace, which
this poor Iland did &s;o thir&s;t after, having been &s;o long
glutted with civill blood.</P>
<P>Secondly, that it might conduce to the further &s;ecu|rity,
and the indemnifying of the two Hou&s;es of Parle|ment,
with all their in&s;truments, a&s;&s;i&s;tants, and adherents,
and &s;o rid them of all jealou&s;ies, and fear (of future dan|gers)
which &s;till lodg'd within them. Now touching
the expre&s;&s;ions and words of this Grant, they were not
his owne, nor did he give order for the dictating or
penning thereof; the King was not the <HI>Author</HI> of them,
but an <HI>A&s;&s;enter</HI> only unto them: nor was He or his Par|ty
accus'd, or as much as mentioned in any of them, to
<PB N="3" REF="3">
draw the lea&s;t guilt upon them&s;elves. Be&s;ides, He pa&s;s'd
them as he doth all Lawes aud Acts of Parlement, which
in ca&s;e of ab&s;ence another may do for him in his <HI>politic</HI>
capacity, therefore they cannot prejudice his <HI>per&s;on</HI> a|ny
way. I am loth to &s;ay that he conde&s;cended to this
Grant,
<Q>&mdash;C&ugrave;m &s;trict a novacula &s;upra,</Q>
When the razor was as it were at his throat, when ther
was an Army of about thirty thou&s;and effect if Hor&s;e and
Foot that were in motion again&s;t him, when his Per&s;on
had continued under a black long lingring re&s;traint, and
dangerous menacing Petitions and Papers daily obtru|ded
again&s;t him. Moreover, His Maje&s;ty pa&s;s'd this
Conce&s;&s;ion with the&s;e two provi&s;os and re&s;erva|tions,</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, that it &s;hould be of no vertu or validity at all,
till the whole Treaty were intirely con&s;ummated.</P>
<P>Secondly, that he might when he pleas'd inlarge and
cleer the truth with the re&s;ervedne&s;s of his meaning here|in,
by public Declaration: Now the Treaty being confu|&s;edly
huddled up, without di&s;cu&s;&s;ing, or as much as recei|ving
any Propo&s;ition from him&s;elf as was capitulated,
(and reciprocal Propo&s;als are of the e&s;&s;ence of all Treaties)
it could neither bind him, or turne any way to his di&s;|advantage:
Therfore under favour, ther was too much
ha&s;t us'd by the Parlement, to draw that hipothetick
or provi&s;ional Conce&s;&s;ion to the form of an Act &s;o
&s;uddenly after in the very heat of the Treaty, with|out
His Maje&s;ties knowledge, or the lea&s;t intimation of
his plea&s;ure.</P>
<P>Add hereunto, that this <HI>Grant</HI> was but a meer pream|bular
Propo&s;ition, 'twas not of the e&s;&s;ence of the Treaty
it &s;elf: And as the Philo&s;ophers and Schoolemen tell
us, there is <HI>no valid proof can be drawn out of Proemes, In|troductions</HI>
<PB N="4" REF="4">
or <HI>Corallaries</HI> in any &s;cience, but out of the
po&s;itive a&s;&s;ertions and body of the Text, which is only
argument-proof; &s;o in the Con&s;titutions and Lawes of
England, as al&s;o in all accu&s;ations and charges, forerun|ning
prefaces and preambles (which commonly <HI>weak</HI>
cau&s;es want mo&s;t) are not pleadable: and though they
u&s;e to be fir&s;t in place, like gentlemen-U&s;hers, yet are they
la&s;t in dignity, as al&s;o in framing, nor had they ever the
force of Lawes, but may be term'd their attendants to
make way for them.</P>
<P><HI>Be&s;ides, ther's not a &s;yllable in this preface which re|peales
or connives at any former Law of the Land, there|fore
tho&s;e Lawes</HI> that &s;o &s;trictly inhibit Engli&s;h Subjects to
rai&s;e armes again&s;t their liege Lord the King, <HI>and tho&s;e
Lawes</HI> &egrave; contrario, <HI>which</HI> exempt from all dangers, penalties
or mole&s;tation any Subject that adheres to the per&s;on of the
King in any cau&s;e or quarrell what&s;oever, <HI>are &s;till in force.</HI></P>
<P>Furthermore, this <HI>introductory</HI> Conce&s;&s;ion of the Kings,
wherein he is contented to declare, That the two Hou&s;es
were nece&s;&s;itated to take Armes for their defence, may be
&s;aid to have relation to the <HI>nece&s;sity, &agrave; parte p&ograve;&s;t,</HI> not <HI>&agrave; par|te
ant&egrave;: &s;elf-defence</HI> is the univer&s;all Law of Nature, and
it extends to all other creatures, as well as the rationall:
As the &s;luent Roman Orator in that &s;entence of his,
which is accounted among the Critiques the excel|lente&s;t
that ever drop'd from him; <HI>E&s;t enim haec non &s;crip|ta,
&s;ed nata Lex, quam non didicimus, accepimus, legimus,
ver&ugrave;m ex natura ip&s;a arripuimus, hau&s;imus, expre&s;simus,
ad quam non docti, &s;ed facti, non in&s;tituti, &s;ed imbuti &s;umus,
ut &s;i vita no&s;tra in</HI> &amp;c. For this (meaning &s;elf-defence)
is not a written, but a Law born with us; A Law which
we have not learnt, receiv'd or read, but that which we
have &s;uck'd, drawn forth, and wrung out of Nature her
&s;elf; A Law to which we are not taught, but made unto,
<PB N="5" REF="4">
wherewith we are not in&s;tructed, but indued withall,
that if our lifes be in jeopardy, &amp;c. we may repell force
by force. Therefore when the Hou&s;e of Parliament had
drawn upon them a nece&s;&s;ity of &s;elf-defence (and I could
have wi&s;h'd it had been again&s;t any other but their own
Soveraign Prince) his Maje&s;ty was contented to ac|knowledge
that nece&s;&s;ity. As for example: A man of war
meets with a Marchant man at Sea, he makes towards
him, and a&s;&s;aults him; The Marchant man having a good
&s;tout ve&s;&s;ell under him, and re&s;olute generous Seamen,
bears up again&s;t him, gives him a whole broad &s;ide, and
&s;hoots him 'twixt wind and water; &s;o there happens a
furious fight betwixt them, which being ended, the
Marchant cannot deny but that the man of war, though
the fir&s;t A&s;&s;ailant, was nece&s;&s;itated to fight, and that ju&s;t|ly
in his own defence, which nece&s;&s;ity he drew upon
him&s;elf, and &s;o was excu&s;able, <HI>&agrave; po&s;teriori,</HI> not <HI>&agrave; priori;</HI>
As the Civilians &s;peak of a clande&s;tine marriage, <HI>Fieri
non debuit, &s;ed factum valet;</HI> It ought not to have been,
but being done 'tis valid: whereunto relates another
&s;aying, <HI>Multa &s;unt quae non ni&s;i peracta approbantur.</HI> There
are many things which are not allowable till they are
pa&s;&s;'d.</P>
<P>The Kings of <HI>France</HI> have had &s;undry civill warrs, ma|ny
bloudy encounters and cla&s;hes with their Subjects,
&s;pecially the la&s;t King <HI>Lewis</HI> the thirteenth, which turn'd
all at la&s;t to his advantage; among other Treaties upon
that of <HI>Loudu<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">,</HI> he was by force of Article to publi&s;h an
Edict, <HI>Dons lequel le Roy approuvoit tout le pa&s;&s;&eacute; comme ay|ant
e&s;t&eacute; fait pour &s;on &s;ervice,</HI> &amp;c. Whrein the King approv'd
of all that was pa&s;&s;'d, as done for his &s;ervice, &amp;c. and
the&s;e conce&s;&s;ions and extenuations are u&s;uall at the clo&s;e
of mo&s;t civill warrs; but there was never any further ad|vantage
made of them, then to make the adver&s;e party
<PB N="6" REF="5">
more capable of grace and pardon, to enable them to
bear up again&s;t the brunt of Lawes, and &s;ecure them more
firmly from all afterclaps; They were pa&s;&s;'d in order to
an <HI>Act of Abolition,</HI> to a generall pardon, and con&s;equent|ly
to a ree&s;tabli&s;hment of Peace; now, <HI>Peace and VVarr</HI>
(we know) <HI>are like VVater and Ice, they engender one ano|ther:</HI>
But I do not remember to have read either in the
French &s;tory, or any other, that &s;uch Royall Conce&s;&s;i|ons
at the period of any inte&s;tin war were ever wrung &s;o
hard, as to draw any inference from them, to ca&s;t therby
the guilt of blood or indeed the lea&s;t &s;tain of di&s;honor
upon the King; For Royall Indulgences and grants of
this nature are like nur&s;es brea&s;ts, if you pre&s;&s;e them
gently there will <HI>milk</HI> come forth, if you wring them
too hard you will draw forth <HI>blood</HI> in lieu of milk: And
I have ob&s;erved, that upon the conclu&s;ion of &s;uch Trea|ties
in France, both parties wold hugg and mutually em|brace
one another in a gallant way of national humanity;
all rancor, all plundrings, &s;eque&s;tration, and impri&s;on|ment,
wold cea&s;e, nor wold any be pro&s;ecuted, much le&s;&s;e
made away afterwards in cold bloud.</P>
<P>Touching the Comencer of this mon&s;trous war of
ours, the world knows too well, that the fir&s;t man of
bloud was <HI>Blewcap,</HI> who &s;hew'd Subjects the way, how
to pre&s;ent their King with Petitions upon the pikes
point, and what vi&s;ible judgements have fallen upon him
&s;ince by &s;uch confu&s;ions of di&s;cord and pe&s;tilence at
home, and irreparable di&s;honour abroad, let the world
judge. The Iri&s;h took his ri&s;e from him: and whereas
it hath been often &s;ugge&s;ted, that his Maje&s;ty had fore-knowledge
thereof, among a world of convincing argu|ments
which may cleer him in this particular, the Lord
<HI>Maguair</HI> upon the ladder, and another upon the Scaffold,
when they were ready to breath their la&s;t, and to appear
<PB N="7" REF="5">
before the Tribunall of heaven, did ab&s;olutely acquit
him, and that <HI>&s;pontaneou&s;ly</HI> of their own accord, being
un&s;ought unto, but only out of a love to <HI>truth,</HI> and the
di&s;charge of a good con&s;cience: But touching tho&s;e c<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">u|entous
Iri&s;h warrs, in regard there was nothing where|of
more advantage was made again&s;t His late Maje&s;ty,
to imbitter and poi&s;on the hearts of his Subjects again&s;t
him then that Rebellion, I will take leave to wind up the
main cau&s;es of them upon a &s;mall bottome.</P>
<P>1. They who kept intelligence and complied with
the <HI>Scot,</HI> in his fir&s;t and &s;econd in&s;urrection.</P>
<P>2. They who di&s;mi&s;s'd the fir&s;t Iri&s;h Commi&s;&s;ioners
(who came of purpo&s;e to attend our Parlement with
&s;ome grievances) with &s;uch a &s;hort unpolitic har&s;h an|&s;wer.</P>
<P>3. They who took off <HI>Straffords</HI> head, (which had it
&s;tood on, that Rebellion had never been) and afterwards
retarded the di&s;patch of the Earl of <HI>Leice&s;ter</HI> from going
over to be Lord-Lievtenant.</P>
<P>4. La&s;tly, they who hindred part of that disbanded
Army of 8000. men rais'd there by the Earl of <HI>Strafford,</HI>
which His Maje&s;ty, in regard they were &s;ouldiers of for|tune,
and loo&s;e ca&s;heer'd men, to prevent the mi&s;chiefs
that might befall that Kingdome by their in&s;olencies,
had promi&s;ed the two Spani&s;h Amba&s;&s;adors, the Mar|que&s;&s;es
of <HI>Velada</HI> and <HI>Malvezzi,</HI> then re&s;ident in this
Court: which &s;ouldiers ri&s;e up fir&s;t of any, and put fire
to the tumult to find &s;omething to do.</P>
<P>They, I &s;ay, who did all this, may be ju&s;tly &s;aid to
have been the true cau&s;es of that horrid In&s;urrection in
Ireland; and con&s;equently 'tis ea&s;ie to judge upon the ac|count
of who&s;e &s;ouls mu&s;t be laid the blood of tho&s;e
hundred and odd thou&s;and poor Chri&s;tians who peri&s;hed
in that war: and had it been po&s;&s;ible to have brought o're
<PB N="8" REF="6">
their bodies unputrified to England, and to have ca&s;t
them at the lower Hou&s;e door, and in the pre&s;ence of
&s;ome Members, which are now either &s;ecluded, or gone
to give account in another world, I believe their no&s;es
would have gu&s;h'd out with blood for di&s;covery of the
true murtherers.</P>
<P>Touching this la&s;t fire-brand of war, which was thrown
into <HI>England,</HI> who they were that kindled it fir&s;t, the con|&s;ciences
of tho&s;e indifferent &amp; unbla&s;&s;ed men are fitte&s;t to
be judges, who have been curious to ob&s;erve with impar|tiall
eyes, the carriage of things from the beginning.</P>
<P>I confe&s;&s;e 'twas a fatall infortunate thing, that the King
&s;hould put &s;uch a di&s;tance 'twixt his Per&s;on and his Par|liament,
but a more fatall and barbarous thing it was,
that he &s;hould be <HI>driven</HI> away from it, that there &s;hould
be a de&s;perate de&s;igne to &s;urprize his Per&s;on, that <HI>Ven</HI>
with his <HI>Myrmidons,</HI> and <HI>Bourges</HI> with his Bandogs, (for
&s;o they call'd the riffraff of the City they brought a|long
with them) &s;hould rabble him away, with above
four parts in five of the Lords, and neere upon two parts
in three of the Commons: Yet 'tis fit it &s;hould be re|membred,
what reiterated Me&s;&s;ages his Maje&s;ty &s;ent
from time to time afterward, that he was alwaies ready
to return, provided there might be a cour&s;e taken to &s;e|cure
his Per&s;on, with tho&s;e Peers &amp; others who were riot|ed
away from the Hou&s;es; 'tis fit it &s;hold be remembred,
that there was not the lea&s;t motion of war at all, till
<HI>Hotham</HI> kept his Maje&s;ty out of his own Town <HI>King&s;ton</HI>
upon Hul, where being attended by a few of his meniall
Servants, he came only to vi&s;it her, which act of <HI>Hotham's</HI>
by &s;hutting the gates again&s;t him was voted warrantable
by the Hou&s;e of Commons, and it may be call'd the fir&s;t
thunderbolt of war: 'Tis fit it &s;hould be remembred,
that a while after there was a compleat Army of 10000.
<PB N="9" REF="6">
effect if Hor&s;e and Foot inrolled in and about London to
fetch him to his Parliament by force, and remove ill <HI>Coun|&s;ellors</HI>
from about him, (long before he put up his Royall
Standard) and the Generall nam'd to live and die with
them: and very ob&s;ervable it is, how that Generalls Fa|ther
was executed for a Traytor, for but attempting &s;uch
a thing upon Queen <HI>Elizabeth,</HI> I meane to remove ill
Coun&s;ellors from about her by force. 'Tis al&s;o to be
ob&s;erved, that the &s;ame Army which was rais'd to bring
him to his Parliament, was continued to a clean contrary
end two yeers afterwards to keep him from his Parle|ment.
'Tis fit it &s;hould be remembred, who <HI>interdicted
Trade</HI> fir&s;t, and brought in <HI>Forraigners</HI> to help them, and
who&s;e Commi&s;sions of Warre were neere upon two
moneths date before the Kings. 'Tis fit it &s;hould be re|mebred
how his Maje&s;ty in all his Declarations and
public In&s;truments made alwaies deep Prote&s;tations, that
'twas not <HI>against his Parliament</HI> he rai&s;ed Armes, but
again&s;t &s;ome &s;editious <HI>Members,</HI> again&s;t whom he had
onely de&s;ired the common benefit of the Law, but
could not obtaine it. 'Tis fit to remember, that after any
good &s;ucce&s;&s;es or advantage of his, he &s;till Courted
both Parlement and City to an Accommodation;
how upon the Treaty at <HI>Uxbridge,</HI> with much importu|nity
for the generall advantage and comfort of his people
and to prepare matters more fitly for a peace, he de&s;ired
there might be freedom of trade from Town to Town,
and a Ce&s;&s;ation of all Acts of Ho&s;tility for the time, that
the inflamation being allayd, the wound might be cur'd
the &s;ooner: all which was denied him. 'Tis fit to remem|ber
how a Noble Lord at that time told the Parlements
Commi&s;&s;ioners in his Maje&s;ties Name, at the mo&s;t un|happy
rupture of the &s;aid Treaty, <HI>that when he was at the
highe&s;t he wold be ready to treat with them, and fight with
<PB N="10" REF="7">
them when he was at the lowe&s;t:</HI> 'Tis fit the pre&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="3 letters"> Army
&s;hold remember how often both in their Propo&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="3 letters">, and
public Declarations they have inform'd the world, and
deeply prote&s;ted that their principall aime was to re|&s;tore
his Maje&s;tie to honor, freedom and &s;afety, where|unto
they were formerly bound, both by their own Pro|te&s;tation
and Covenant, that the <HI>two Commanders</HI> in
chief pawn'd unto him their &s;oules thereupon. Let them
remember, that &s;ince he was fir&s;t &s;natch't away to their
cu&s;tody, he never di&s;pleas'd them in the lea&s;t particular,
but in all his Overtures for Peace, and all his Propo&s;iti|ons
he had regard &s;till <HI>that the Army &s;hold be &s;atisfied:</HI> let
it be remembred, that to &s;ettle a ble&s;&s;ed Peace to pre&s;erve
his Subjects from rapine and ruine, and to give content|ment
to his Parlement, he did in effect freely part with
his Sword, Scepter, and Crown, and ev'ry thing that
was per&s;onall to him: Let it be remembred with what an
admired temper, with what prudence and con&s;tancie
with what moderation and man&s;uetude hee compor|ted
him&s;elfe &s;ince his deep afflictions, in&s;omuch that tho&s;e
Commi&s;&s;ioners and others who re&s;orted unto him, and
had had their hearts &s;o aver&s;e unto him before, return'd
his Converts, crying him up to be one of the &s;anctified&s;t
per&s;ons upon earth: and will not the blood of &s;uch a
Prince cry aloud for vengeance?</P>
<P>Let it be remembred, that though there be &s;ome Pre|cedents
of depo&s;ing Kings in this Kingdome, and el&s;e|where,
when there was a competition for the right Title
to the Crown by &s;ome other of the <HI>blood Royall,</HI> yet 'tis a
thing not only un&s;ampled, but unheard of in any age,
that a King of England who&s;e Title was without the lea&s;t
&s;cruple, &s;hold be &s;ummon'd and arraign'd, tryed, con|demn'd,
and executed in his own Kingdom, by his own
Subjects, and by the name of their own King, to whom
they had &s;worn Alleagiance.</P>
<P><PB N="11" REF="7">
The meane&s;t Bari&s;ter that hath but ta&s;ted the Laws of
the Land can tell you, that it is an unque&s;tionable funda|mentall
Maxime, <HI>The King can do no wrong,</HI> becau&s;e he
acts by the mediation of his Agents and Mini&s;ters, he
heares with other mens eares, he &s;ees with other mens
eyes, he con&s;ults with other mens braines, he executes
with other mens hands, and judges with other mens con|&s;ciences;
therefore his Officers Coun&s;ellors or favorits
are puni&s;hable, not <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 word"></HI> and I know not one yet whom he
hath &s;par'd, but &s;acrificed to Ju&s;tice. The Crown of
England is of &s;o coru&s;cant and pure a mettall, that it can|not
receive the lea&s;t taint or blemi&s;h; and if there were
any before in the per&s;on of the Prince, it takes them all a|way
and makes him to be <HI>Rectus in C<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">r<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">a.</HI> This as in many
others may be exemplified in <HI>Henry the Seventh,</HI> and the
late <HI>Queen Elizabeth:</HI> when the fir&s;t came to the Crown
'twas mention'd in Parlement, that the <HI>attainder</HI> might
be taken off him, under which he lay all the time he liv'd
an Exile in France; it was then by the whole Hou&s;e of
Parlement re&s;olv'd upon the que&s;tion, that it was unne|ce&s;&s;ary,
becau&s;e the Crown purg'd all. So likewi&s;e when
<HI>Queen Elizabeth</HI> was brought as it were from the <HI>Scaffold</HI>
to the <HI>Throne;</HI> though &s;he was under a former attainder,
yet 'twas thought &s;uperflous to take it off, for the Crown
wa&s; lieth away al &s;pots, and darteth &s;uch a brightne&s;&s;e, &s;uch
re&s;plendent beams of Maje&s;ty, that quite di&s;pel al former
clouds: &s;o that put ca&s;e King <HI>Iames</HI> died a violent death,
and his Son had been acce&s;&s;ary to it (which is as ba&s;e a lie
as ever the devil belch'd out) yet his acce&s;&s;e to the Crown
had purg'd all. This bu&s;ine&s;&s;e about the play&s;ter which
was applied to King <HI>Iames,</HI> was &s;ifted &amp; winnow'd as nar|rowly
as po&s;&s;ibly a thing could be in former Parlements,
yet when it was exhibited as an Article again&s;t the Duke
of Buckingham, 'twas term'd but a <HI>pre&s;umption</HI> or <HI>mi&s;de|meanure</HI>
<PB N="12" REF="8">
of a high nature: And 'tis &s;trange that the&s;e new
accu&s;ers &s;hold make that a <HI>parricide</HI> in the King, which
was found but a pre&s;umption in the Duke, who in ca&s;e it
had been &s;o, mu&s;t needs have been the chiefe&s;t Acce&s;|&s;ary.</P>
<P>And as the antient Crown and Royall Diadem of
England is made of &s;uch pure allay, and ca&s;t in &s;o dainty
a mould, that it can receive no taint, or contract the lea&s;t
&s;peck of enormity and foulene&s;&s;e in it &s;elf, &s;o it doth en|dow
the per&s;on of the Prince that weares it with &s;uch
high Prerogatives, that it exempts him from all &s;orts of
publique blemi&s;hes, from all Attainders, Empeachments,
Summons, Arraignments and Tryalls; nor is there or
ever was any Law or Precedent in this Land, to lay any
Crime or capitall charge again&s;t him, though touching
civill matters, touching propertie of <HI>meum</HI> and <HI>tuum,</HI> he
may be impleaded by the meane&s;t va&s;&s;all that hath &s;worn
fealty to him; as the Subjects of France, and Spain may
again&s;t their Kings, though never &s;o ab&s;olute Mo|narchs.</P>
<P>In the Con&s;titutions of England, there are two incon|troulable
Maximes, whereof the meane&s;t mootman that
hath but &s;aluted <HI>Littleton</HI> cannot be ignorant: the fir&s;t is,
<HI>Rex in &s;uis Dominiis ne&abque; habet Parem, nec Superiorem.</HI> The
King in his own Dominions hath neither Peer, or Supe|rior.
The other is <HI>Satis habet Rex ad poenam quod Deum ex|pectet
ultorem:</HI> 'tis puni&s;hment enough for a King that God
will take revenge of him. Therefore if it be the Funda|mentall
Con&s;titution of the Land, that all ju&s;t Tryalls
mu&s;t be by <HI>Peers,</HI> and the Law proclaimes the King to
have none in his own Dominions, I leave the world to
judge, what capacity or power tho&s;e men had to arraigne
the late King, to be in effect his Accu&s;ers and Judges; and
that an exorbitant un&s;ampled Tribunall &s;hold be erected,
<PB N="13" REF="8">
with power and purpo&s;e to <HI>condemn</HI> all that came before
it, to cleer none, and that &s;entence of death &s;hold pa&s;&s;e
without conviction or Law upon Him that was the head
and protector of all the Lawes. La&s;tly, that they who by
their own confe&s;&s;ion repre&s;ent but the Common <HI>people,</HI>
&s;hould a&s;&s;ume power to cut off Him who immediately
repre&s;ented God,
<Q><L>&mdash;Cui dabit partes &s;celus expiandi</L>
<L>Iupiter?&mdash;</L></Q>
Well, we have &s;een &s;uch portentous things, that former
Ages never beheld, nor will future Ages ever be witne&s;&s;e
of the like: Nay, po&s;terity, after a Century or two will
hold what is now really acted to be but <HI>Romances:</HI> And
now with thoughts full of con&s;ternation and horror;
with a heartfull of amazement and trembling for the fla|grant
and crying &s;ins of this forlorn Nation, which hath
drawn &s;uch an endle&s;&s;e warr, and an unheard of &s;lave|rie
upon it &s;elf, I will conclude with this &s;hort prayer,
which carrieth with it as much of univer&s;all charity, as
of particular: <HI>God amend all, and me fir&s;t.</HI></P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
