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<DATE>2014-08-11</DATE>
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<NAME>TCP Staff (Michigan)</NAME>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B140512.apex.</ITEM>
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<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>THE PEOPLES RIGHT BRIEFLY <HI>ASSERTED.</HI></P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for the Information of the Commonalty of <HI>England, France,</HI> and all other neighbor Nations, that groan under the oppre&s;&s;ion of Tyrannical Government. 164<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">.</P>
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<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB REF="2">
<PB N="3" REF="2">
<HEAD>The Peoples Right briefly a&s;&s;erted.</HEAD>
<P>_IT is the Judgment of Ancient, and the be&s;t of Mo|dern Writers. That the Body of a People, repre|&s;ented in a Convention of elected E&s;tates, have a true and lawful power to de&s;po&s;e of things at plea&s;ure, for their own Safety and Security; and in order to that, to de&s;po&s;e of the King o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Prince, if he neglect his Duty, or act contrary to that end for which he was at fir&s;t ordained; for that Kings are con&s;tituted for the Peoples good, not the People made for a Kings plea&s;ure, is a thing granted by all rational men.</P>
<P>That therfore Kings have been, and ju&s;tly may be layd a&s;ide, or otherwi&s;e cen&s;ured, when they <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ail of that Duty, Hi&s;torians will give Examples in all Kingdoms; and Political Writers &s;ufficient Rea&s;ons for &s;uch Examples: Of which multitude it is not needful to gra&s;p all; but &s;uch as have happened in tho&s;e King|doms which are neere&s;t to <HI>England,</HI> both in Seituation and Con&s;titution of Government. Nor is it probable that &s;uch Examples had been &s;o frequent, had it not been generally thought a thing con&s;onant to the Laws of Nature and Rea&s;on.</P>
<P>The Kingdom of <HI>France</HI> hath heretofore, not only in the boa&s;t of her own Writers, but con&s;ent of others, been e&s;teem|ed a Government of the be&s;t Con&s;titution, (though of late years it hath lo&s;t, in a high degree, the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">u&s;t Liberty of the Nati|on,) and hath abounded with Examples of this kinde. It is not therefore incident only to tho&s;e Kingdom<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, where the King is apparently Elective, but Hereditary al&s;o, as <HI>France</HI> is accounted. For the People never lo&s;t, nor gave away their &s;upream Power of making Election, when need required, even in &s;uch Kingdoms. For though i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">heritance in the Crown were tolerated, to avoyd <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">itious Cont<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ions, Divi&s;ions, Inter|regnums, and other inconveniences of Elections; yet when greater mi&s;chi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">fs happe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ed, as Tyr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nny in Government, the
<PB N="4" REF="3"> People did &s;till, retain to them&s;elves a power of curing th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> Malady; namely, of expelling tho&s;e Tyrants, and choo&s;ing good Kings in their room.</P>
<P>The Parliaments of <HI>France</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Almonius</HI>) had &s;o &s;upream an Authority, that not only all Laws were by them made and e&s;tabli&s;hed, Peace and War decreed, Tributes impo&s;ed, and Offices conferred; but <HI>Kings</HI> al&s;o were by the &s;ame Authority, for Riot, Sloth, or Tyranny, layd a&s;ide, thru&s;t into Mona&s;teries, or otherwi&s;e puni&s;hed; and &s;ometimes, by that Power, whole Royal Families were deprived of Succe&s;&s;ion to the Crown&punc; even as they were at fir&s;t advanced by the People. So that (&s;aith he) <HI>By who&s;e approbation they were at fir&s;t preferred, by their di&s;like they were again reiected. But before we come to particu|lar I<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;tances, let us con&s;ider the Rea&s;ons.</HI></P>
<P>Who&s;oever con&s;idereth that Kings and all Governors were in&s;tituted for the peoples happine&s;s, and made by their con&s;ent, mu&s;t needs acknowledg that end, to be fir&s;t and e&s;pecially look|ed into: And becau&s;e Kings, as men, may &s;tray from their right way, and fail of their Duty; therefore Laws were made for a Bridle to them: which were indeed no Bridle, if therewere no power to apply them, and &s;ee the Execution done: Which hath made divers of the learned political Writers (for it is not the voyce of one) to wonder, that in Legitimate kingdoms (for we &s;peak not of barbarous Tyrannies) any man &s;hould be &s;o &s;otti&s;h, as to think or &s;ay, that private men &s;hould be enabled by the Law to &s;ue the <HI>Prince</HI> for a &s;mall quantity of Land or Goods: and yet that the Repre&s;entative Body of the whole <HI>People</HI> have not power to lay the Law again&s;t him for <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">arricide, ma&s;&s;acring of the People,</HI> and Trea&s;on (for that is their word) again&s;t his whole Country, and the Being of the Laws them&s;elves: that the Law &s;hould u&s;e any &s;everity in &s;mall things: and give im|punity, with ab&s;olute licen&s;e, in the greate&s;t and mo&s;t hemous of|fences. And upon that point of a <HI>Kings</HI> offe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ding again&s;t his <HI>Peo|ple</HI> and Country, it is that <HI>Bartolus</HI> &s;peaks, when he proveth the whole <HI>People</HI> to be &s;uperior to the <HI>King,</HI> and Prop<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ietary Lord of the kingdom: whereas the <HI>King</HI> is but as Steward and Admini&s;trator of it.</P>
<P>Therefore (&s;aith he) <HI>A King may commit Trea&s;on again&s;t
<PB N="5" REF="3"> the People, and be a Traytor and R<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">bel to his Country: and may ju&s;tly be depo&s;ed, and further puni&s;hed, by that Lord again&s;t whom he hath offended, which is the People, and tho&s;e who repre|&s;ent them. And if the King</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>go &s;o far as to Arms and Force, tho&s;e Repre&s;enters are to call the People to Arms, and proceed again&s;t him, in all points, as again&s;t a publique enemy.</HI></P>
<P>Hence came that old &s;aying of wi&s;e men, That in the Nature of Man there are two Mon&s;ters, Anger and Lu&s;t: and that it is the Office of the Law to bridle the&s;e two, and &s;ubject them to the rule of Rea&s;on. <HI>He therefore that would</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Buchanan) let loo&s;e a King, or any other Man, from the curb of the Law, doth not let loo&s;e one Man, but two Monsters, to affront Rea&s;on.</HI> To the &s;ame purpo&s;e <HI>Ari&s;totle</HI> concludeth, <HI>that he, which o|beyeth the Law, obeyeth God and the Law: but he that ab&s;olutely obeyeth a Kings will, obeyeth a Man, and a Bea&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>The <HI>Law</HI> is more powerful then the <HI>King,</HI> as being the Co|vernor and Moderator of his lo&s;ts and actions: But the whole Body of the people are more powerful then the <HI>Law,</HI> as being the parent of it. For the <HI>People</HI> make the Law, and have power when they &s;ee cau&s;e, to abrogate or e&s;tabli&s;h it. Therefore &s;ee|ing that the <HI>Law</HI> is above the <HI>King,</HI> and the <HI>People</HI> above the <HI>Law:</HI> it is concluded as a thing out of que&s;tion, by <HI>Buchanan, Iunius,</HI> and many others, that the <HI>People</HI> of right have power to call in que&s;tion, and puni&s;h a <HI>King</HI> for tran&s;gre&s;&s;ing the <HI>Law.</HI></P>
<P>If you look after examples, you may find many in almo&s;t all the legitimate <HI>Kingdome</HI> that are known. Certain it is that the <HI>French,</HI> by authority of their publike Convention or <HI>Parlia|ment,</HI> depo&s;ed <HI>Childerike</HI> the fir&s;t, <HI>Sigibert, Theodorik<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">,</HI> and <HI>Chil|derike</HI> the third for their Tyra<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ny and unworthine&s;s, and &s;et up &s;ome of another Family in their <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">oms&punc; &s;ome of them for being too much governed by wan<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">on and wicked Favourites, e&s;teeming it all one, whether him&s;elf were extream vicious, o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> ruled by them that were &s;o. By the &s;ame Repre&s;entative autho|rity, in conventions of the whole people (which were not much unlike the <HI>French</HI> or <HI>Engli&s;h Parliaments</HI>) were two <HI>Emperors</HI> of <HI>Germany</HI> depo&s;ed, <HI>Adolp<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">us</HI> and <HI>Wence&s;la<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s,</HI> though not &s;o much b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">d <HI>Princes,</HI> as not good enough: The like hath been
<PB N="6" REF="4"> done i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>Denmark,</HI> and in <HI>Sw<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">thland,</HI> with divers other <HI>King&punc; doms</HI> in <HI>Europe,</HI> as <HI>Hungary, Spain, Portugal, Bohemia,</HI> te&s;tified by good and authentick Hi&s;torians.</P>
<P>But in the <HI>Kingdom of Scotland</HI> their own Hi&s;torian <HI>George Buchanan</HI> expre&s;&s;eth in plain terms, that he could name above a d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> n <HI>Kings</HI> of <HI>Scotland,</HI> who&punc; for their bad Reigns, were either condemned to perpetual impri&s;onment: or el&s;e by ban|i&s;hment, or voluntary death, (which &s;ome of them cho&s;e) e&s;caped the ju&s;t puni&s;hment of their offences.</P>
<P>But lea&s;t (&s;aith he) <HI>any man &s;hould think I produce only old and ob&s;olete examples of Kings long ago, &s;uch as were</HI> Culenus, Evenus, Ferchardus, <HI>and the like, I will in&s;tance one in the memo|ry of our Fathers.</HI> James <HI>the third was by the General Con&s;ent of Parliament declared to be iu&s;tly &s;lain for his cruelty, and wick|ed Raign; and it was ordered for the future, That none of tho&s;e who had any hand, or gave a&s;&s;i&s;tance in his death, &s;hould ever be que&s;tioned, or tainted with any ignominy. That thing therefore</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>which being already done, was iudged by the State to be well, and iu&s;tly done, was doubtle&s;ly propo&s;ed as exemplary for the future.</HI> This <HI>James</HI> the third was &s;lain in <HI>Cha&s;e,</HI> after a Battel, in which he was vanqui&s;hed; where <HI>Buchanan</HI> expre&s;|&s;eth. That the State made one War again&s;t him to de&s;troy his wicked Councel; but the &s;econd War was to de&s;troy the King him&s;elf, as being incorrigible.</P>
<P>This Re&s;traint of Regal Licen&s;e the &s;ame Author confidently prai&s;eth in his Nation, as a thing not only good and whole&s;om for the People, but profitable for the Kings them&s;elves, and ad|vantagious to their Po&s;terities, alledging that for a main Rea|&s;on, Why the Crown of <HI>Scotland</HI> hath continued the longe&s;t of any Crown in one Family, whereas other Crowns in <HI>Europe</HI> have been often changed from one race to another.</P>
<P><HI>England</HI> hath not wanted examples in this kind, though they have not been &s;o frequent as in <HI>Scotland;</HI> two of the greate&s;t note were <HI>Edward</HI> the &s;econd, and <HI>Richard</HI> the &s;econd, who&s;e unfortunate Raigns are &s;o generally known, and have &s;o often upon this &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">d occa&s;ion in pre&s;ent been produced <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s in&s;tances, that it were needle&s;s to dwell upon the particulars of them; therefore I only name them, and forbear al&s;o particularly to re|late
<PB N="7" REF="4"> how f<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">r &s;ome other dev<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ing Princes, as <HI>King Iohn,</HI> and <HI>Henry</HI> the third, have been re&s;trained by Parliaments; and how much the be&s;t of <HI>Englands</HI> Princes, &s;uch as <HI>Edward</HI> the fir&s;t, <HI>Edward</HI> the third, and <HI>Henry</HI> the fifth, have freely yeelded to the Controul of that high Court, and thought it no di&s;hon<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">r to them.</P>
<P>Examples al&s;o of this kind have happened, and are averred by good Authors, concerning the Popes them&s;elves; namely, that the Cardinals, upon &s;ome &s;pecial occa&s;ions, may, without the con|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ent of the Pope, call a Councel and judg him by it, if by any great and notor<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ous &s;in he become a &s;c<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ndal to the Univer&s;al Church, and be incorrigible, &s;ince Reformation is as nece&s;&s;ar<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> in the Head, as in the Members; if contrary to his Oath he re|fu&s;e to c<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ll a Geneneral Councel, &amp;c. But certain it is, that &s;ome of them have been depo&s;ed by authority of a Councel&punc; This is (&s;aith <HI>Bald<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"></HI>) in ca&s;e the Pope <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">very ab&s;tinate: For first, Exhortations mu&s;t be u&s;ed; &s;econdly, more &s;evere remedie<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&punc; and la&s;t of all, plainforce; and where no wi&s;dom can prevail <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">y Councel, force of arms mu&s;t be th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> remedy to cure him&punc; <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> there|fore by confent of almo&s;t all the learned men, and many exam|ples in <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">act, it appear, that a Councel may ju&s;tly depo&s;e a Pop<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> who calleth him&s;elf <HI>King of Kings,</HI> and challengeth a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;uperiority above the Empero<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, as the Sun is above the Mo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">, and more then that, an authority <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> depo&s;e <HI>Kings</HI> and <HI>Emperors</HI> when he &s;ees cau&s;e: Who may not as well g<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, that the pub|like Councel of a <HI>Kingdom</HI> may lawfully put down, and puni&s;h their <HI>King</HI> for extremily of mi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> government&punc;</P>
<P>Concerning this power of the people in re&s;training wicked Princes, <HI>Iunius,</HI> in his book <HI>Contra Tyrannos,</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> a not able inference upon a place in the Prophet <HI>Ierem<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ah,</HI> where the Prophet in the eleventh <HI>Chapter,</HI> and fourth <HI>ver&s;e,</HI> expre&s;ly de|clareth to the <HI>Kingdom</HI> of <HI>Iudah,</HI> that for the impiety and cru|elty of <HI>King Mana&s;&s;es,</HI> the people were carryed away captive by the <HI>A&s;&s;iyrians;</HI> upon which pl<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">c<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> (&s;aith he) very learned Expo&s;itors &s;uppo&s;e (for we mu&s;t not think that they were un|ju&s;tly puni&s;hed) the people w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">r<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> guilty for not re&s;i&s;ting the im|piety and cruelty of their <HI>King.</HI></P>
<P>But where this power of re&s;i&s;ting a <HI>King&punc;</HI> Within the Realm
<PB N="8" REF="5"> of <HI>Judah,</HI> lay, whether in the &s;eventy <HI>Princes,</HI> or more General A&s;&s;emblies of State, (being a Government far different from ours,) I make no Judgment. For the <HI>Kings</HI> of <HI>Iudah</HI> raigned in a very ab&s;olute way, as far as we can perceive, and exerci&s;ed a very Tyranny, being that Government which God gave them in his di&s;plea&s;ure, for not being content to be honored with Gods immediate Government, admini&s;tred by his in&s;pired <HI>Prophets;</HI> but de&s;iring a <HI>King</HI> as the Heathen had. But the Li|mitation of Monarchy is better under&s;tood now by people in their own Countries, and by their own Laws, and therefore by Engli&s;h men in <HI>England,</HI> who&s;e ju&s;t Liberties cannot be alto|gether unknown to tho&s;e that are wi&s;e in their neighbor Nati|ons, who al&s;o have title to the &s;ame (or very like) Liberties. Neither can it be denyed (in this l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">te &s;ad and bloody tryal&punc; but that the <HI>Parliament</HI> of <HI>England,</HI> if they had a lawful pow|er to proceed in this War, have al&s;o a ju&s;t power to de&s;po&s;e of that Victory which God hath put into their hands, as they &s;hall think be&s;t for the future &s;ecurity of the whole people, whom they repre&s;ent: Nor is that &s;ecurity, by the Laws of Rea&s;on and Nature, to be made &s;lightly, which hath co&s;t the lives of&punc; &s;o ma|ny thou&s;ands, and &s;o va&s;t an expence of Trea&s;ure for the pur|cha&s;e of it: And though they long &s;uffered with patience the pre&s;&s;ure of Tyranny heretofore, and moved more &s;lowly to a Vindication then &s;harp nece&s;&s;ity &s;eemed to require, (as being not more afflicted with the &s;ence of their wounds, then grieved to di&s;cover the hand that made them,) yet wi&s;e men will &s;o cen|&s;ure of their pa&s;t &s;ufferings, and pre&s;ent actions, as neither to think the ju&s;t Rights of Engli&s;h Freedom le&s;&s;ened by any length of patience, nor the <HI>King</HI> made more excu&s;able by any continuance and increa&s;e of his offences.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
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