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<DATE>2010-06-29</DATE>
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<NAME>Megan Marion</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<BIBNO T="oclc">33150749</BIBNO>
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<HEAD><FIGURE>
<FIGDESC>blazon or coat of arms</FIGDESC>
</FIGURE>&leaf; By the King.</HEAD>
<P><HI>_WEe haue (before this time) made knowen to</HI> our Subiects vpon diuers occa&s;ions, that we haue receiued &s;o great contentment in their generall conformitie &amp; &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion to all &s;uch cour&s;es, as might be&s;t e&s;tabli&s;h the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of this Crowne, ac|cording to the right of our Succe&s;&s;ion, as it would euer nouri&s;h in vs an earne&s;t de&s;ire to &s;hewe our &s;elues carefull in all things, to pre&s;erue their greate&s;t affection, and to an&s;were that expectati|on, which (by their ioyfull maner of receiuing vs) Wee perceiued they had conceiued of our gouernment. Whereof, as we well know, that Princes cannot yeeld, more generall, more cleare, or profitable proofe to their people, then by redre&s;&s;ing abu&s;es, wherewith they finde their Subiects iu&s;tly grieued, either in con&s;titution, or admini&s;tration of their Lawes in beeing, or by &s;eeking to e&s;tabli&s;h newe Lawes for them, agreeable to the rules of Iu&s;tice, when&s;oeuer time doth di&s;couer any defects in the former Policy, or when ac|cidents in the State of any Common wealth require new ordinances: So &s;eeing both the&s;e things (which are of &s;o great moment in a State) haue accu&s;tomed to bee con&s;idered and or|dered (as in this, &s;o in other well gouerned Common wealths) by a Lawfull a&s;&s;embly of the three E&s;tates of the Realme, commonly called The Parliament; We were de&s;irous to haue &s;ummoned them long &s;ince for that purpo&s;e, if the Infection (reigning in the City of London and other places of our Kingdome) would haue permitted the Concour&s;e of &s;o great a multi|tude into one place, as that A&s;&s;embly mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily bring with it. Which great Contagion being now by the goodne&s;&s;e of God abated, and likely (as we hope) to be &s;hortly quite extin|gui&s;hed in and about the &s;ayd City, Wee haue re&s;olued to hold a Parliament at our Citie of We&s;tmin&s;ter, as &s;oone as we &s;hall finde, that the &s;ame may be done without the perill afore|&s;aid. In which, as God doth know, that we haue nothing to propound for &s;ati&s;faction of any priuate de&s;ire, or particular profite of our owne, but meerely and onely to con&s;ult and re&s;olue with our louing Subiects of all tho&s;e things, which may be&s;t e&s;tabli&s;h the Publike good, with the generall &s;afety and tranquillity of this Realme: (on which it hath plea&s;ed God to multiply &s;o many ble&s;&s;ings) &s;o to the intent that this a&s;&s;embly of our Parliament (being grounded vpon &s;o &s;yncere an intent on our part) may be matched with a like integritie on theirs, And as it is the fir&s;t in our Raigne, &s;o to be found not onely worthy of the High Title it beareth, to be the Highe&s;t Coun&s;ell of the Kingdome, but al&s;o to be a Pre&s;ident for hereafter of the true v&s;e of Parliaments, We haue bethought our &s;elfe, of as many wayes and meanes, as
<PB REF="2">may be, to preuent tho&s;e inconueniences, which dayly ari&s;e and multiply by the peruerting of tho&s;e ancient good orders, which were deui&s;ed by the wi&s;edome of former times to bee ob&s;er|ued in calling of Parliaments.</P>
<P>Among&s;t which, becau&s;e there is no one point of greater con&s;equence, then the well chu&s;ing of Knights and Burge&s;&s;es, who as they doe pre&s;ent the body of the third E&s;tate, &s;o being eligible by multitude there are often many vnfit per&s;ons appointed for that &s;eruice: And where it is &s;o well knowen to euery priuate man of wit and iudgement (much more to Vs who haue had &s;o long experience of Kingly Gouernment) how ill effects doe follow, when &s;uch as haue to doe in matters of Commonwealth, &s;hall come to that great and Common Councel, with other then publike minds, &s;yncere, and voyd of any factious humour or depen|dencie: We doe hereby &s;traightly charge and admoni&s;h all per&s;ons intere&s;&s;ed in the choi&s;e of Knights for the Shires, Fir&s;t, that the Knights for the County be &s;elected out of the princi|pall Knights or Gentlemen of &s;ufficient hability within that Countie wherein they are cho|&s;en: And for the Burge&s;&s;es, that choice be made of men of &s;ufficiency and di&s;cretion without any partiall re&s;pects, or factious combination, which alwayes breed &s;u&s;pitions, that more care is taken to compa&s;&s;e priuate ends, then to prouide for making good and whole&s;ome Lawes for the Realme. And becau&s;e it is no more po&s;&s;ible to drawe &s;ound Coun&s;els and re|&s;olutions from incon&s;iderate or in&s;ufficient &s;pirits, then to haue a &s;ound or healthfull body compo&s;ed of weake and imperfect members: We do likewi&s;e admoni&s;h all per&s;ons to whom it doth appertaine, That &s;eeing the dealing in cau&s;es of Parliament, requires conueniencie of yeeres and experience, there may be great heede taken by all tho&s;e that will be accompted louers of their Countrey, That both Knights and Burge&s;&s;es may be cho&s;en accordingly, without de&s;ire in any particuler men to plea&s;e parents or friends, that often &s;peake for their children or kinne, though they bee very young, and little hable to di&s;cerne what Lawes are fit to bind a Common-wealth, To the con&s;ultation whereof tho&s;e per&s;ons would be &s;elected principally, of who&s;e grauity and mode&s;t conuer&s;ation men are like&s;t generally to conceiue be&s;t opinion.</P>
<P>Next and about all things, concerning that one of the maine Pillars of this E&s;tate, is the pre&s;eruation of Vnitie in the profe&s;&s;ion of &s;incere Religion of Almighty God: We doe al&s;o ad|moni&s;h, that there be great care taken, to auoyd the choice of any per&s;ons either noted for their Super&s;titious blindene&s;&s;e one way, or for their turbulent humors other wayes: becau&s;e their di&s;orderly and vnquiet Spirits, will di&s;turbe all the di&s;creet and mode&s;t proceeding in that greate&s;t and graue&s;t Councill. Further wee doe command, that an expre&s;&s;e care bee had, that there be not cho&s;en any per&s;ons Banquerupts or Outlawed, but men of knowen good behauiour and &s;ufficient liuelyhood, and &s;uch as are not onely taxed to the payment of Sub&s;idies and other like charges, but al&s;o haue ordinarily payed and &s;ati&s;fied the &s;ame, Nothing being more ab&s;urd in any Common wealth, then to permit tho&s;e to haue free voices for Lawe making, by who&s;e owne Actes they are exempted from the Lawes protection. Next, that all Shiriffes be charged that they doe not direct any Precept for electing and re|turning of any Burge&s;&s;es to or for any ancient Borough towne within their Counties, be|ing &s;o vtterly ruined and decayed, that there are not &s;ufficient Re&s;iants to make &s;uch choice, and of whom lawfull election may be made, Al&s;o to charge all Cities and Boroughes, and the inhabitants of the &s;ame, that none of them &s;eale any Blanckes, referring or leauing to any others to in&s;ert the names of any Citizens or Burge&s;&s;es, to &s;erue for any &s;uch Citie or Bo|rough, but that the Inhabitants of euery &s;uch Citie or Borough, doe make open and free Election according to the Lawe, and &s;et downe the names of the per&s;ons whom they choo&s;e, before they &s;eale the Certificate.</P>
<PB REF="3">
<P>Furthermore We notifie by the&s;e Pre&s;ents, that all Retournes and Certificats of Knights, Citizens and Burge&s;&s;es, ought and are to be brought to the Chancery, and there to be filed of Record. And if any &s;hall be found to be made contrary to this Proclamation, the &s;ame is to be reiected as vnlawfull and in&s;ufficient, and the Citie or Borough to be fined for the &s;ame. And if it be found that they haue committed any gro&s;&s;e or wilfull default and contempt in their Election, Retourne, or Certificate, That then their Liberties according to the Lawe, are to be &s;eized into our handes, as forfeited. And if any per&s;on take vpon him the place of a Knight, Citizen, or Burge&s;&s;e, not being duely Elected, Retourned, and &s;worne according to the Lawes and Statutes in that behalfe prouided, and according to the purport, effect and true meaning of this our Proclamation, Then euery per&s;on &s;o offending to bee fined and im|pri&s;oned for the &s;ame.</P>
<P>Wee doe al&s;o hereby giue warning to the Lords and others that are to &s;erue in this Par|liament, to haue &s;peciall care, (as they tender our di&s;plea&s;ure) That they admitte none to haue the name or countenance of their &s;eruants &amp; attendants, during the Parliament, &s;eeing &s;uch que&s;tions of Priuiledge haue in times pa&s;t con&s;umed a great part of the time appoynted for the Parliament, wherby the &s;eruice for the Realme hath bene hindered, and the Subiects drawen to great charges and expences, by attending much longer then otherwi&s;e needed.</P>
<P>Hauing at this time bene the more carefull to &s;et downe a particular Order &amp; forewarning for preuenting of the&s;e &s;euerall abu&s;es afore mentioned, that thereby there may ari&s;e at that Publike and &s;olemne meeting, &s;uch a Comely proportion and laudable Sympathy betweene the honourable, iu&s;t, and nece&s;&s;arie Lawes that are to be made and e&s;tabli&s;hed at this Parli|ament, and the commendable di&s;cretion, with all other wi&s;e and vertuous qualities meete for &s;uch per&s;ons as are to be the members and a&s;&s;i&s;ters of Vs, in &s;o honourable, lawfull, and nece&s;&s;ary an Action, as may both put Vs, and all our good Subiects in a &s;ure expectation of a happy i&s;&s;ue to follow thereupon: Wee doubt not but the&s;e our Directions thus made ma|nife&s;t, &s;hall be duely ob&s;erued, according to the important con&s;equence thereof, and the perill of our heauie di&s;plea&s;ure to all tho&s;e that &s;hall offend in the contrary.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE>Giuen at our Honour of Hampton Court, <DATE>the eleuenth day of Ianuary, in the fir&s;t yeere of our reigne of England, France and Ireland, and of Scotland the &s;euen and thirtieth.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
<CLOSER>God &s;aue the King.</CLOSER>
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<P>&leaf; Imprinted at London by Robert Barker, Printer to the Kings mo&s;t Excellent Maie&s;tie. Anno 1603.</P>
</DIV1>
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