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<DATE>2007-10-25</DATE>
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<NAME>Elspeth Healey</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<STC T="T">669.f.22[33]</STC>
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<VID>163616</VID>
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<DIV1 TYPE="document">
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<HEAD>The Golden Speech of Queen ELIZABETH TO HER LAST PARLIAMENT, 30 <HI>November, Anno Domini,</HI> 1601.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="note">
<P>THis Speech ought to be &s;et in <HI>Letters of Gold,</HI> that a&s;well the Maje&s;ty, prudence and virtue of this Royal Queen might in general mo&s;t exqui&s;itely appear; as al&s;o that her Religious Love, and tender re&s;pect which &s;he particularly, and con&s;tantly did bear to her Parliament in unfeigned &s;ince|rity, might (to the &s;hame, and perpetual di&s;grace and infamy of &s;ome of her Succe&s;&s;ors) be nobly and truly vindicated, and proclaimed, with all grateful recognition to God for &s;o great a Ble&s;&s;ing to his poor people of <HI>England,</HI> in vouch&s;afing them heretofore &s;uch a gracious Prince&s;s, and magnanimous Defendor of the Reformed Religion, and heroick Patrone&s;s of the liberty of her Subjects in the freedom and honour of their Parliaments; which have been under God, the continual Con&s;ervators of the Splendour, and wealth of this Common-wealth again&s;t Tyranny, and Oppre&s;&s;ion.</P>
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<DIV2 TYPE="speech">
<OPENER>The 30. of <HI>November,</HI> 1601. her Maje&s;ty being &s;et under State in the Council-Chamber at <HI>White-hall,</HI> the Speaker, accompanied with Privy Councellors, be&s;ides Knights and Burge&s;&s;es of the lower Hou&s;e to the number of eight-&s;core, pre&s;enting them&s;elves at her Maje|&s;ties feet, for that &s;o graciou&s;ly and &s;peedily &s;he had heard and yielded to her Subjects de&s;ires, and proclaimed the &s;ame in their hear|ing, as followeth:
<SALUTE><HI>Mr.</HI> Speaker,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_WEE perceive your coming is to pre&s;ent Thanks unto Us; Know, I accept them with no le&s;&s;e Joy, than your Loves can have de&s;ire to offer &s;uch a Pre&s;ent, and do more e&s;teem it, than any Trea&s;ure of Riches; for tho&s;e We know how to prize, but Loyalty, Love, and Thanks, I account them invaluable: and though God hath rai&s;ed Me high, yet this I account the glory of my Crown, that I have Reigned with your Loves. This makes that I do not &s;o much Rejoyce, that God hath made Me to be a Queen, as to be a Queen over &s;o Thankful a Peo|ple, and to be the mean, under God, to con&s;erve you in Safety, and to pre&s;erve you from Danger; yea, to be the In&s;trument to deliver you from di&s;honour, &s;hame, and infamy; to keep you from &s;ervitude, and from &s;lavery under our Enemies, and cruel tyranny, and vile Oppre&s;&s;ion intended again&s;t Us: for the better with&s;tanding whereof, We take very acceptably your intended helps, and chiefly in that it manife&s;teth your loves, and largene&s;s of heart to your So|veraign. Of my &s;elf I mu&s;t &s;ay this, I never was any greedy &s;craping gra&s;per, nor a &s;trict fa&s;t-holding Prince, nor yet a wa&s;ter; My heart was never &s;et upon any worldly goods, but only for my Subjects good. What you do be&s;tow on Me, I will not hoard up, but receive it to be&s;tow on you again; yea, Mine own Properties I account yours, to be expended for your good, and your eyes &s;hall &s;ee the be&s;towing of it for your welfare.</P>
<P>Mr. <HI>Speaker,</HI> I would wi&s;h you, and the re&s;t to &s;tand up, for I fear I &s;hall yet trouble you with longer Speech. Mr. <HI>Speaker,</HI> you give Me thanks, but I am more to thank you, and I charge you, thank them of the Lower-Hou&s;e from Me, for had I not received know|ledge from you, I might a fallen into the lap&s;e of an Error, only for want of true information. Since I was Queen, yet did I never put My Pen to any Grant but upon pretext, and &s;emblance made Me, that it was for the good, and avail of my Subjects generally, though a private profit to &s;ome of my ancient Servants who have de&s;erved well: But that my Grants &s;hall be made Grievances to my People, and Oppre&s;&s;ions, to be priviledged under colour of our Pattents, Our Princely Dignity &s;hall not &s;uffer it. When I heard it, I could give no re&s;t unto my thoughts until I had reformed it, and tho&s;e Varlets, lewd per&s;ons, abu&s;ers of my bounty, &s;hall know I will not &s;uffer it. And Mr. <HI>Speaker,</HI> tell the Hou&s;e from me, I take it exceeding grateful that the knowledge of the&s;e things are come unto Me from them. And though among&s;t them the principal Members are &s;uch as are not touched in private, and therefore need not &s;peak from any feeling of the grief, yet We have heard that other Gentlemen al&s;o of the Hou&s;e, who &s;tand as free, have &s;poken as freely in it, which gives Us to know that no re&s;pects or intere&s;ts have moved them other then the minds they bear to &s;uffer no dimi|nution of our Honour, and our Subjects love unto Us. The zeal of which affection tending to ea&s;e my People, and knit their hearts unto Us, I embrace with a Princely care farre above all earthly Trea&s;ures. I e&s;teem my peoples love, more than which I de&s;ire not to merit; And God that gave me here to &s;it, and placed me over you, knows that I never re&s;pected my &s;elf, but as your good was concer|ned in Me: yet what dangers, what practices, and what perils I have pa&s;&s;ed, &s;ome, if not all of you know, but none of the&s;e things do move Me, or ever made me fear, but it is God that hath delivered Me. And in my governing this Land, I have ever &s;et the la&s;t Judgement day before mine eyes, and &s;o to rule, as I &s;hall be Judged and an&s;wer before a higher Judge, to who&s;e Judge|ment-Seat I do appeal in that, never thought was cheri&s;hed in my heart that tended not to my peoples good. And if my princely bounty have been abu&s;ed, and my Grants turned to the hurt of my people contrary to my will and meaning, or if any in Authority under Me have neglected, or converted what I have committed unto them, I hope God will not lay their culps to my charge. To be a King, and were a Crown, is a thing more glorious to them that &s;ee it, than it is plea&s;ant to them that bear it: for my &s;elfe, I never was &s;o much inticed with the glorious name of a King, or the royal authority of a Queen, as delighted that God hath made Me his In&s;trument to maintain his Truth and Glory, and to defend this Kingdom from di&s;honor, damage, tyranny, and oppre&s;&s;ion. But &s;hould I a&s;cribe any of the&s;e things unto my &s;elf, or my &s;exly weakne&s;&s;e, I were not worthy to live, and of all mo&s;t unworthy of the mercies I have received at Gods hands: but to God only and and wholly all is given and a&s;cribed. The cares and trouble of a Crown I cannot more fitly re&s;emble, than to the Drugges of a learned Phy&s;itian, perfumed with &s;ome Aromatical &s;avour, or to bit|ter Pils gilded over, by which they are made more acceptable or le&s;&s;e offen&s;ive, which indeed are bitter and unplea&s;ant to take; and for mine own part, were it not for con&s;cience &s;ake to di&s;charge the duty that God hath laid upon Me, &amp; to maintain his Glory, and keep you in Safety, in mine own di&s;po&s;ition I &s;hould be willing to re&s;igne the place I hold to any other, and glad to be freed of the Glory with the Labors: For it is not my de&s;ire to live or reign longer, than my life &amp; reign &s;hall be for your good. And though you have had and may have many mightier and wi&s;er Princes &s;itting in this Seat, yet you never had, nor &s;hall have any that will love you better.</P>
<P>Thus Mr. <HI>Speaker,</HI> I commend Me to your loyal Loves, and yours to my be&s;t care, and your further Councels; and I pray you Mr. <HI>Controullor,</HI> and Mr. <HI>Secretary,</HI> and you of my Councel, that before the&s;e Gentlemen depart into their Countreys you bring them all to ki&s;&s;e my Hand.</P>
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<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed by <HI>Tho. Milbourn,</HI> and are to be &s;old at his Hou&s;e in <HI>Jewen-</HI>Street.</P>
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