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<DATE>7-9-09</DATE>
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<NAME>John Latta</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<BIBNO T="umi">99864605</BIBNO>
<VID>168546</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>BEHEADED
Dr. John Hewytts Gho&s;t
Pleading, yea crying for
EXEMPLARIE JUSTICE
AGAINST
The Arbitrarie, <HI>Un-exampled Inju&s;tice</HI> of his late
<HI>Judges</HI> and <HI>Executioners</HI> in the <HI>New High-Commi&s;sion,</HI>
or <HI>Court of Ju&s;tice,</HI> &s;itting in
<HI>WEST MINSTER-HALL.</HI></P>
<P>Conteining his <HI>Legal Plea, Demurrer,</HI> and <HI>Exceptions</HI> to their
<HI>illegal Juri&s;diction, Proceedings, and bloody Sentence</HI> again&s;t him;
drawn up by <HI>Coun&s;el,</HI> and left behinde him ready ingro&s;&s;ed; the
<HI>Substance</HI> whereof he <HI>pleaded</HI> before them by <HI>word of mouth,</HI> and
would have tendred them <HI>in writing</HI> in due <HI>form of Law,</HI> had he
not di&s;cerned their <HI>peremptory Re&s;olution</HI> to reject and <HI>over-rule,</HI>
before they heard them read,</P>
<Q><BIBL>Gen. 3. 10.</BIBL>
<P>The voyce of thy brothers BLOUD CRYETH UNTO
ME from the ground.</P></Q>
<Q><BIBL>Exod. 21. 14.</BIBL>
<P>If a man come pre&s;umptuou&s;ly upon his neighbour to &s;lay
him with guile, thou &s;halt take him from mine Altar, that he may die.</P></Q>
<Q><BIBL>P&s;, 94. 20, 21, 23.</BIBL>
<P>Shall the throne of Iniquity have fellow&s;hip with
thee, which frameth mi&s;chief by a Law? They gather them&s;elves to|gether
again&s;t the &s;oul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent
bloud: But the Lord &s;hall bring upon them their own iniquity, and
&s;hall cut them off in their own wickedne&s;s: yea, the Lord our God
&s;hall cut them off.</P></Q>
<Q><BIBL>Prov. 28. 17.</BIBL>
<P>A man that doth violence to the bloud of any per&s;on,
&s;hall flee to the pit, Let no man stay him.</P></Q>
<P><HI>LONDON</HI>
Printed in the Year of our Lord, 1659.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="plea">
<PB REF="2">
<PB N="1" REF="2">
<HEAD>The Plea and Demurrer of John Hewytt, Dr. of
Divinity, to the Juri&s;diction and Proceedings of
the Commi&s;&s;ioners in pur&s;uance of an Act, for
the &s;ecurity of the Lord Protectors Per&s;on, &amp;c.
and to the Sentence of Death pronounced again&s;t
him by them.</HEAD>
<P>_THis Defendant &s;aith, That he is by Birth a
<HI>Freeman of England,</HI> and that it is the un|doubted
antient in&s;eparable <HI>Birthright,
Privilege,</HI> and <HI>Inheritance</HI> of every <HI>Engli&s;h
Freeman</HI> both by the Common Laws, Franchi&s;es, Great
Charters, Statutes and U&s;ages of this Land, ratified
from Age to Age by the Votes, Re&s;olutions, Decla|rations,
Judgements of the High Court of Parliament,
and other publike Courts of Ju&s;tice, the Oathes of the
Kings of <HI>England</HI> and their Ju&s;tices, and by manie other
&s;olemn publick Confirmations, Prote&s;tations, Oathes,
Vowes, and Covenants:<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Cooks 2 In&s;tit. p. 45, to 57. Magna Charta of King John, H. 3. &amp; E. 1. c. 29. 25 E. 1. c 1. 28 <HI>E.</HI> 1. c. 1. 5 E. 3 c. 9. 25 <HI>E.</HI> 3. n. 26 &amp;c. 4. 28 E. 3. c. 3. 42 <HI>E.</HI> 3. c. 23. 2 H. 4. rot. Parl. n. 60 the Petition of Right, 3 Ca|roli.</NOTE> That no Freeman of Eng|land
may or ought to be taken or impri&s;oned, or di&s;&s;ei&s;ed, or
di&s;inherited of his Freehold, Liberties, or Free Customs; or to
be outlawed, exiled, or any way de&s;troyed, pa&s;&s;ed upon, dealt
with, or forejudged of life or limb, or put to death, upon any
accu&s;ation what&s;oever, but by the lawfull Judgement of his
Peers, or by the Law of the Land; and that he &s;hall not be put
to an&s;wer without Pre&s;entment before the Ju&s;tices, or thing of
Record, or by due proce&s;s of the Law, or by writ original, ac|cording
to the old Law of the Land;<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">25 E. 3 c. 2. 26 H. 8. c. 13. 33 H 8. c. 20. 35 H. 8. c. 1. 1 Ed. 6. c. 12. 1, &amp; 2 Phil. &amp; Mar. c. 10, 11. 5 <HI>E</HI> 6. c. 11. 1 Eliz: c 6 5 Eliz. c. 11. 13 Eliz. c. 1. 14 Eliz. c. 1. 18 Eliz. c. 1. 27 Eliz. c. 2. 1 H. 4. c. 14.</NOTE> And that all trials
hereafter to be had, awarded, or made for any Tre<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="blotted" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;on, &s;hall
be had and u&s;ed <HI>only</HI> according to the due order &amp; cour&s;e of the
Common Laws of this Realm, and <HI>not otherwi&s;e,</HI> upon In|quest
and pre&s;entment by the Oaths of 12 good and lawfull men
upon good and probable evidence and witne&s;s; And that
<PB N="2" REF="3">
<NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">5 E. 1. c. 21. 2. Cooks 2 In|&s;tit p. 526, 527 28 <HI>E.</HI> 3. rot. Parl. n. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. 29 <HI>E</HI> 3. rot. Parl. n. 29, 30. E 3. co<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">am re|ge, rot. 92. Cooks 3 In&s;tit p. 52. 42 E. 3. c. 1. 3.</NOTE> <HI>if any thing be done to the contrary of the Premi&s;es, it
&s;hall be void in Law, redre&s;&s;ed, and holden for errour, and
nought: And if any Statute be made to the contrary, that &s;hall
be holden for none.</HI> And moreover this Defendant &s;aith,
that in the Parliament of 2. <HI>R.</HI> 2. rot. Parl. n. 47. the
Commons petitioned the King and Lords, that the
<HI>Con&s;table and Mar&s;hall of England</HI> (then encroaching
upon this Priviledge of the Commons, by holding
Pleas of <HI>Trea&s;on</HI> and <HI>Felony</HI> before them after the cour&s;e
of Martial Law) <HI>might from thenceforth &s;urcea&s;e to hold
Pleas of Trea&s;on and Felony before them, done within the
Realme, and that the &s;ame may be determine, <HI>only</HI> before the
Kings Justic<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="missing" EXTENT="1 letter">s, according to the Great Charter;</HI> which was
then a&s;&s;ented to: And that upon the like petitions of
the Commons in the <HI>Parliaments</HI> of 1 <HI>H</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">. and 2. <HI>H.</HI> 4.
rot. Parl. n. 89. it was <HI>a&s;&s;ented to, and enacted by the King
and Lords, that the Kings liege people</HI><NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg">Cooks 4. In&s;tit. p. 124, 125.</NOTE> <HI>&s;hould not be put
to an&s;wer before the Con&s;table or Mar&s;hall in Courts of Chi|valry,
for any thing done within the Realme, but that (as
before in the times of his Progenitors) the &s;ame might be tried
&amp; determined <HI>only before his Ju&s;tices in his Courts, as
it ought to be according to the Common Law of the
Realm, &amp; in no other place or manner.</HI> &V;pon which Con|&s;iderations
many of the Kings loyal Lords, Gentlemen and other
&s;ubjects in the general in&s;urrection of the Villains &amp; other Re|bels
again&s;t the King, in the 5th year of</HI> Richard <HI>the 2d.
having inflicted divers puni&s;hments upon the &s;aid villains and
traytors without due proce&s;&s;e of the Law, and otherwi&s;e then
the Lawes and u&s;ages of the Realme required; though they
did it out of no malice prepen&s;ed, but out of meer loyalty to the
King, and to appea&s;e and cea&s;e the pre&s;ent mi&s;chief, and out of
ignorance of the &s;aid Lawes and u&s;age, in which if they had
been learned, yet at that time they ought not to have tarried
the pro<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="blotted" EXTENT="1+ letters">&s;s of the Law in tho&s;e puni&s;hments of their good di&s;|cretion;
yet tho&s;e puni&s;hments and executions of them in a
&s;ummary way being contrary to, and not warranted by the
Laws and u&s;ages of the Realme, they were enforced for their
future indemnity again&s;t the King and his heires, and the
<PB N="3" REF="3">
heires, wives and friends of tho&s;e they puni&s;hed, to petition the
King and Parliament, for a general pardon by act of Parlia|ment,
to &s;ecure and indemnifie them&s;elves;</HI> which was gran|ted
them, in 5. <HI>R. 2. Parl.</HI> 1. ch. 5. el&s;e they might have
been impeached and puni&s;hed for the &s;ame, as well as
King <HI>Richard</HI> the &s;econd him&s;elf; who in the <HI>Parlia|ment</HI>
of 1 H. 4. rot. Parl. n. 44 (wherein he was enfor|ced
to re&s;igne his Crown, &amp; then depo&s;ed for his mi&s;|government)
was among&s;t other Articles impeached of
this in particular by that Parliament, <HI>for that again&s;t the
great Charter</HI> (ch. 19.) <HI>and his Coronation Oath, be &s;uffered
many of his Li<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">ge people to be maliciou&s;ly accu&s;ed, apprehen|ded,
impri&s;oned, and tried before the Constable and Mar&s;hall
of</HI> England <HI>in their military Court, for words &s;ecretly &s;po|ken,
or acts privately done, to the &s;candal of his Royal Per&s;on,
where they were enforced to acquit them&s;elves by duell;
whence the destruction not only of the Nobles and Great Men,
but likewi&s;e of all and every the per&s;ons of the Commons of the
Realm might probably have en&s;ued.</HI> And this Defendant
further &s;aith, that one <HI>Peter Burchet</HI> of the <HI>Temple</HI> in
the 13th year of Queen <HI>Elizabeths</HI> Reign, having wil|fully
&s;tabbed that famous Sea-Captain <HI>John Hawkins,</HI>
for not being of his opinion in Religion, (<HI>Bur|chet</HI>
being per&s;waded in Con&s;cience, that it was lawfull
for him to kill every one who was not of his opinion)
the <HI>Queen</HI> being much incen&s;ed again&s;t him for this
horrid fact, <HI>commanded him to be forthwith tried and execu|ted
for it by Martial Law:</HI> But her Judges and Councill
informing her, <HI>that he could not be &s;o tried by law, it being
done not in an Army, but in time of peace, when her Courts of
Law and Ju&s;tice were open; thereupon &s;he de&s;i&s;ted from this
way of Tryall; After which he was tried according to Law,
for this and his murdering his keeper in the Tower,</HI> as Mr.
<HI>Camden</HI> records in his <HI>Annals of Queen Elizabeth,</HI> p. 242.
243. And whereas in the Parliament of the 4th. of
King <HI>James</HI> holden at <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter,</HI> there was &s;ome
kind of motion made; <HI>that to extirpate and reforme the
inveterate evil cu&s;tomes, di&s;orders, fewds, bloud&s;heds, thefts
<PB N="4" REF="4">
and &s;poiles wherewith the wor&s;t &s;ort of Inhabitants near the
borders and limits of both Realmes of</HI> England <HI>and</HI> Scot|land
<HI>were infected and inured;</HI> that they might be tried
by a <HI>&s;ummary Proceeding,</HI> by way of <HI>Martiall Law,</HI> or
by the Lawes of the Kingdome into which they fled to
purcha&s;e their impunity: This Parliament was &s;o
farre from approving thereof, that they &s;pecially ena|cted,
in this ca&s;e (even of the&s;e wor&s;t &s;ort of men)
<Q><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">4 Iacob. ch. 1.</NOTE> That in regard of &s;ome difference and inequality in
the Laws, Trials, and Proceedings in ca&s;es of life, be|tween
the Ju&s;tice of the Realm of <HI>England</HI> and that of
the Realme of <HI>Scotland,</HI> it appearing to be mo&s;t con|venient
for the contentment and &s;atisfaction of all
his Maje&s;ties Subjects, to proceed with all po&s;&s;ible &s;e|verity
again&s;t &s;uch offenders in their own country,
ACCORDING TO THE LAWES OF THE
SAME, WHEREUNTO THEY ARE BORNE
AND INHERITABLE; and by and before the na|turall
borne &s;ubjects of the &s;ame Realme; by whom
their Murders, Felonies, Rapes, &amp;c. &s;hould be in|quired
of, heard and determined before his Maje&s;ties
Ju&s;tices of A&s;&s;ize, or Commi&s;&s;ioners of Oyer and
Terminer, or Goal delivery, by good and lawfull men
of the 3. Counties therein &s;pecified, and <HI>none other.</HI>
And that at all &s;uch Trials the Jurie then and there
&s;worne, &s;hall have in their power and election, accor|ding
to their con&s;cience and di&s;cretion upon their
Oathes, to receive and admit only &s;uch &s;ufficient
good and lawfull witne&s;&s;es upon their Oathes, either
for or again&s;t the party arraigned, as &s;hall not ap|pear
to them, or the greater part of them to be unfit
and unworthy to be witne&s;&s;es in that cau&s;e, either
in regard of their hatred and malice, or their favour
and affection either to the party pro&s;ecuting or to the
party arraigned, or of their former evil life and con|ver&s;ation.</Q>
Which common, equal, indifferent Ju&s;tice
allowed to the wor&s;t Malefactors, as their <HI>birthright</HI>
and <HI>inheritance</HI> by this Parliament and Act, this De|fendant
<PB N="5" REF="4">
now onely craves, and hopes you cannot in
Law or Ju&s;tice deny him; nor proceed again&s;t him by
way of Martial Law. And &s;o much the rather, becau&s;e
&s;ince this Statute, King <HI>Charles</HI> in the 3d. year of his
Reign, by the <HI>advice of his Coun&s;ell</HI> (to &s;uppre&s;&s;e the
In&s;olencies of <HI>Souldiers</HI> and <HI>Mariners</HI> then billeted in
&s;undry parts of the Realm) having i&s;&s;ued out <HI>Commi&s;&s;i|ons</HI>
to &s;undry per&s;ons of quality, in time of peace, <HI>to
execute Martiall Law upon tho&s;e Soldiers and Mariners, and
other di&s;&s;olute per&s;ons (only) joyntng with them, for Murther,
Robbery, Felony, Mutiny, and other outrages committed by
them, by &s;uch &s;ummary cour&s;e and order as is agreeable to
Martiall Law, a<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="blotted" EXTENT="1+ letters"> is u&s;ed in Armies in time of Warre; to
proceed to the triall and condemnation of &s;uch offenders, and
then to cau&s;e them to be executed and put to death, according
to the Law Martiall; By pretext whereof &s;ome of the &s;aid
&s;ouldiers and &s;ubjects were put to death by &s;ome of the &s;aid
Commi&s;&s;ioners, when and where, if by the Lawes and Statutes
of the Land they had de&s;erved death, by the &s;ame Lawes and
Statutes al&s;o they might, and by <HI>no other</HI> ought to have been
Judged, (before the Kings Iu&s;tices) and executed.</HI> Upon
Complaint of the&s;e <HI>Commi&s;sions,</HI> as <HI>illegal,</HI> in the Par|liament
of 3. <HI>Caroli,</HI> they were, after a full debate by
both <HI>Hou&s;es, voted to be again&s;t Law;</HI> And in the <HI>Petiti|on
of Right</HI> it &s;elf, it was then prayed by the <HI>Lords and
Commons,</HI> a&s;&s;ented to by the late beheaded King
him&s;elf, and enacted by this Law, <HI>That hereafter no Com|mi&s;&s;ions
of <HI>like Nature</HI> may i&s;&s;ue forth to any per&s;on or per|&s;ons
what&s;oever, to be executed as afore&s;aid, lest by colour of
them any of his Majesties Subjects be de&s;troyed or put to death,
<HI>contrarie to the Laws and Franchi&s;e of the Land:</HI>
which the Lords and Commons then prayed, and the King gran|ted,
confirmed by Act of Parliament, <HI>as their Right and
Liberty according to the Lawes:</HI></HI> which Act &s;tands
yet in its full force. Upon con&s;ideration of which late
Excellent Law, the la&s;t long <HI>Parliament,</HI> in the ca&s;es of
the <HI>Lord Connor Magwire</HI> and <HI>Mac-mohun,</HI> and the Court
of <HI>Kings Bench</HI> wherein they were tried by their &s;pecial
<PB N="6" REF="5">
order, in <HI>Michaelmas</HI> and <HI>Hilary</HI> Terms 20 <HI>Caroli,</HI> were
&s;o ju&s;t, punctual and honorable, in confining them|&s;elves
to the rules of Law and Ju&s;tice; that though
the&s;e were principal <HI>Con&s;pirators,</HI> and <HI>Actors</HI> in the
late mo&s;t <HI>horrid, barbarous, bloody Trea&s;on, Rebellion and
Ma&s;&s;acre in Ireland,</HI> and taken in its pro&s;ecution; yet
they were &s;o far from trying them by <HI>Mar&s;hal Law</HI> in
a <HI>Council of Warre,</HI> or, <HI>High Court of Ju&s;tice,</HI> even in a
time of <HI>open warre</HI> both in <HI>England</HI> and <HI>Ireland,</HI> that
they a&s;&s;igned the &s;aid <HI>Maguire</HI> Coun&s;il, to argue again&s;t
the very <HI>Juri&s;diction</HI> of the <HI>Kings Bench it &s;elf; whether
he, being a Peer of</HI> Ireland, could in point of Law or
<HI>ju&s;tice</HI> by the <HI>Statute</HI> of 35 <HI>H 8. ch.</HI> 2. <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="blotted" EXTENT="1 word"> any <HI>other Act,</HI> be
<HI><GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">uted of his Trial by his Peers, and tried by a Jury of good and
lawfull men of the County of</HI> Middle&s;ex, <HI>for a Trea&s;on com|mitted
in</HI> Ireland, <HI>being &s;ent a Pri&s;oner from thence again&s;t
his will?</HI> Which was there<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">See Mr. Prynnes Ar|gument thereof.</NOTE> publickly argued at the Bar
by Coun&s;el <HI>pro &amp; contra;</HI> and then by the <HI>Judges,</HI> and
overruled at la&s;t again&s;t him, before he was put to
plead <HI>guilty</HI> or <HI>not guilty</HI> to his <HI>Indictment:</HI> after which
they both were admitted to take both their <HI>peremptory</HI>
and legal <HI>challenges</HI> to the Juries returned; (<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">32 H. 6. f 26. 14 H. 7. f 19. Brook Chal|lenge, 86, 211, 217. Stam|fords Pleas l. 3. c. 7 Cooks 3 In&s;tit. p. 27.</NOTE> <HI>according
to Law, admitting &s;uch challenges even in Ca&s;es of high
Trea&s;on;</HI>) and all ju&s;t Exceptions to the Witne&s;&s;es
produced; and had a mo&s;t fair and <HI>free triall;</HI> being
<HI>found guilty by the Jury,</HI> before any Judgment pa&s;&s;ed a|gain&s;t
them, Which Ju&s;tice he humbly craves in his Ca&s;e,
of le&s;s hainou&s;ne&s;s and importance than theirs, being
a native <HI>Engli&s;h free-man,</HI> and they onely <HI>Iri&s;h</HI> Rebells;
becau&s;e this his inherent <HI>Birthright</HI> and <HI>Liberty can</HI>
<NOTE N="e" PLACE="marg">1 <HI>E</HI> 6. c. 12. 1 &amp; 2 Phil. &amp; Mar. c. 10, 11. Cooks 3 In|&s;tit. c. 1, 2.</NOTE> <HI>neither be forfeited by him for any real or pretended <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="blotted" EXTENT="1 span">
or offence what&s;oever, nor yet be denied or deferred to him</HI>
(after all the premi&s;ed Laws, Statutes, Charters,
Judgments, Re&s;olutions, Pre&s;idents) without the highe&s;t
inju&s;tice; And he further &s;aith, that to proceed again&s;t,
trie, condemn, execute him in this <HI>high-Court</HI> without a
legal <HI>Indictment, Pre&s;entment, and Trial by the Oaths of
twelve good and lawfull men</HI> according to the due order
<PB N="7" REF="5">
and cour&s;e of the Common Laws of this Realm (and
that in <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter Hall</HI> it &s;elf, the place of Law &amp; pub|lick
Ju&s;tice, in time of Peace, when and where all other
Courts of Ju&s;tice are open) or in any other form by
way of <HI>Martial Law,</HI> or otherwi&s;e than a ju&s;t Jurie of his
Equals, is not only illegal, erroneous, &amp; again&s;t all Rules
of Ju&s;tice (the Commi&s;&s;ioners them&s;elves being both his
grand and pettie Jurie, and his Judges likewi&s;e; if not
parties intere&s;&s;ed, to whom <HI>he can take no peremptory nor
legal challenges,</HI> which the<NOTE N="f" PLACE="marg">Cook's 3 In|&s;tit. f. 27. Brook Chal|lenge 217.</NOTE> <HI>Law allows him if tried by a Ju|ry,
in ca&s;es of high Trea&s;onat this day;</HI>) but al&s;o <HI>wilfull</HI> and
<HI>malicious Murder</HI> by the Laws of <HI>England,</HI> being again&s;t
<HI>Magna Charta, c. 29. and done by &s;uch power and &s;trength as he
this Defendant cannot defend him&s;elf again&s;t,</HI> as is re&s;olved in
Sir <HI>Edward Cook's 3 In&s;tit. p. 52. &amp;</HI> 224. (printed by &s;pe|cial
<HI>Order</HI> of the <HI>Hou&s;e of Commons,</HI> dated 12 <HI>May,</HI> 1641.)
and long before in <HI>Andrew Horn</HI> his <HI>Mirrour of Ju&s;tices,
c. 5, p.</HI> 296, 297. who records, that our noble King <HI>Alfred,</HI>
cau&s;ed no le&s;s than 44. of his Ju&s;tices to be hanged in
one year <HI>as Murderers,</HI> for condemning and executing &s;ome
of his people without a legal Indictment and Trial by a &s;worn
Jury; and others of them for offences not capital by the known
Laws of the Land, and without clear and pregnant Evidence.
And this Defendant likewi&s;e &s;aith, that the Commons
them&s;elves &s;itting at <HI>Westmin&s;ter,</HI> after the <HI>late Kings</HI> Exe|cution,
in their printed <HI>Declaration</HI> of 17 <HI>Martii,</HI> 1648.
(expre&s;&s;ing <HI>the grounds of their proceedings against the &s;aid
King, and for &s;ettling the pre&s;ent Government in way of a Free
State,</HI> to which many in pre&s;ent power and <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="2 letters">tting here
were a&s;&s;enting and gave their Votes) did thereby faith|fully
<HI>promi&s;e</HI> and <HI>engage</HI> to the whole <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Nation;
<HI>That the good old Laws and Customes of</HI> England, <HI>The Bad|ges
of our Freedom,</HI> (the benefit whereof our Ancestors en|joyed
long before the Conque&s;t and &s;pent much of their bloud to
have confirmed by the great Charters of their Liberti<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="2 letters">) which
have continued in all former Changes, and being duly execu|ted
are the mo&s;t ju&s;t, free, and equal of any other Laws in the
world; &s;hall be duly continued and maintained; the Liberty,
<PB N="8" REF="6">
<HI>Property and peace of the Subject being &s;o fully pre&s;erved by
them;</HI> adding, that <Q>if the&s;e Laws &s;hould be taken
away, all indu&s;trie mu&s;t cea&s;e, all mi&s;erie, bloud and
confu&s;ion would follow; and greater calamities, if
po&s;&s;ible, than fell upon us by the late Kings mi&s;-go|vernment
would certainly involve all per&s;ons, under
which they mu&s;t inevitably peri&s;h.</Q> And moreover,
the <HI>General Council</HI> of the <HI>Officers</HI> and <HI>Army</HI> them&s;elves
(whereunto mo&s;t Officers and Souldiers in pre&s;ent
power and &s;ome Commi&s;&s;ioners here &s;itting were par|ties)
in the <HI>Declaration</HI> of their Engagements, Remon|&s;trances,
Repre&s;entations, Propo&s;als, De&s;ires, and Re|&s;olutions
for &s;ettling the Parliament in their ju&s;t Pri|vileges,
and the Subjects in their Liberties and Free|doms
(printed by their own Orders and reprinted all
together by Order of the <HI>Lords</HI> in <HI>Parliament, 27 Se|ptember
1647) pag.</HI> 11, 36, 37, 38, 39. (e&s;pecially in their
<HI>Declaration</HI> and <HI>Repre&s;entation</HI> tendered to the <HI>Parlia|ment</HI>
concerning the ju&s;t and fundamental Rights and
Liberties of the Kingdom, 14 <HI>May</HI> 1647) do profe&s;s
and declare. <Q>That they were not a meer mercinarie
Armie, hired to &s;erve any arbitrarie power of State,
but called forth and conjured by &s;everal Declarations
of Parliament, to the defence of their own and the
peoples ju&s;t Rights and Liberties, and that they took
up Arms in Judgment and Con&s;cience to tho&s;e Ends,
and have &s;o continued them, and are re&s;olved, accord|ing
to the Parliaments ju&s;t de&s;ires in their Declarati|ons,
and &s;uch principles as they have received from
their frequent informations, and their own common
&s;en&s;e concerning tho&s;e fundamental Rights and Li|berties,
to a&s;&s;ert and vindicate the &s;ame again&s;t all ar|bitrarie
power, violence and oppre&s;&s;ion, and again&s;t
all particular parties and intere&s;ts what&s;oever; that
&s;o all the free-born people of this Nation may &s;it
down in quiet under the glorious admini&s;tration of
ju&s;tice and righteou&s;ne&s;s, and in full po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of
tho&s;e fundamental Rights and Liberties; without
<PB N="9" REF="6">
which we can have little hopes (as to humane con&s;i|derations)
to enjoy any comfort of life, or &s;o much
as life it &s;elf, but at the plea&s;ure of &s;ome men <HI>Ruling
according to will and power.</HI> That they de&s;ire the
e&s;tabli&s;hment of &s;uch good Laws, as may duly and
readily render to every man their ju&s;t Rights and
Liberties. And more particularly, in their Propo&s;als
to the Commi&s;&s;ioners of Parliament in order to the
clearing and &s;ecuring of the Rights and Liberties of
the Kingdom, <HI>Augu&s;t 1. 1647. Sect. 10. p.</HI> 114. they
propo&s;ed, That the Rights and Liberties of the
Commons of <HI>England, May be cleared and vindi|cated
from any other Iudgment, Sentence, or Pro|ceeding
again&s;t them other than by their Equals, or
according to the Law of the Land.</HI></Q> And this De|fendant
finally &s;aith, that by the <HI>Instrument of Govern|ment</HI>
it &s;elf 16 <HI>December 1653. Artic.</HI> 6. and the <HI>Oath</HI>
therein pre&s;cribed to, and accordingly taken by his
Highne&s;s, <HI>Oliver Cromwell Lord Protector,</HI> he is limited
and &s;worn; <Q>not to alter, &s;u&s;pend, abrogate or repeal
the Laws, and to govern the&s;e Nations according to
the Laws, Statutes and Cu&s;tomes; cau&s;ing Ju&s;tice and
Law to be equally admini&s;tred: whereunto he is like|wi&s;e
obliged and &s;worn again, by his <HI>Oath</HI> pre&s;cribed
in the late printed <HI>humble Petition and Advice.</HI></Q> Neither
doth that pretended <HI>Act,</HI> by which you here &s;it as Com|mi&s;&s;ioners
to trie this Defendant (made by no <HI>legiti|mate,</HI>
nor free <HI>Parliament</HI> of <HI>England,</HI> and that when near
one hundred and fiftie Members thereof were <HI>cau&s;le&s;ly</HI>
and <HI>forcibly</HI> &s;ecluded) authorize you (as he humbly con|ceiveth)
to proceed again&s;t him for any Crime therein
&s;pecified, <HI>to Conviction</HI> or <HI>final Sentence,</HI> but <HI>onely as in
Ca&s;es of high Trea&s;on, and mi&s;pri&s;ion of Trea&s;on, <HI>and ac|cording
to Ju&s;tice;</HI></HI> and that you cannot do but onely
by proceeding again&s;t him by a lawfull Indictment and
Trial by a Grand and Pettie Jurie, according to the
great Charter, Laws, and Statutes of the Land, and
the late <HI>Petition of Right,</HI> which this new Act cannot
<PB N="10" REF="7">
repeal or null. All which this Defendant is readie to
averr, ju&s;tifie, and make good, when and where this <HI>high
Commi&s;&s;ion Court,</HI> or his <HI>Highne&s;s the Lord Protector</HI> &s;hall
appoint: which being a meer matter of Law, wherein
both the liberties and lives of all the Free born people
of <HI>England</HI> are &s;o univer&s;ally, highly, and equally con|cerned,
as well as the libertie and life of this Defendant,
proper only to be debated before, and re&s;olved by
the <HI>Judges of the Law,</HI> or the <HI>high Court of Parliament;</HI>
This Defendant thereupon humbly praieth, That <HI>it
may be referred to, openly argued by his learned Coun&s;el, before
all the Judges, or a Parliament, &amp; by them determined:</HI> and
in the mean time humbly demandeth the Judgement of
this <HI>High Commi&s;&s;ion;</HI> Whether they may, can, or ought
in point of <HI>Law</HI> and <HI>Justice,</HI> to proceed again&s;t, con|demn,
or execute this Defendant, upon anie <HI>illegal ac|cu&s;ation</HI>
or <HI>Impeachment</HI> what&s;oever, here exhibited or
read again&s;t him, without a legal Indictment, Pre&s;ent|ment
and Trial by a Jurie of his Equals? Or can take
anie further connu&s;ance of the <HI>Charge</HI> again&s;t him, for
the premi&s;ed Authorities &amp; Rea&s;ons; which he in all
humilitie referreth to, and imploreth you to take into
your &s;adde&s;t con&s;iderations, and that in the Name and
dreadfull pre&s;ence of the Omni&s;cient, Omnipotent,
Soveraign<NOTE N="g" PLACE="marg">Gen. 18. 25</NOTE> <HI>Judge of all the Earth,</HI><NOTE N="h" PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 25. <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">0.</NOTE> <HI>before who&s;e glo|rious
Tribunal you mu&s;t all ere long appear,</HI> (&s;tript of all
Earthlie Honors, Pomp, Guards, and Power,) <HI>to give
a &s;trict acount of all your Actions, whether good or evil,</HI> and
of your proceedings in this verie Cau&s;e; when this his
<HI>Plea</HI> and <HI>Demurrer</HI> will ri&s;e up in judgement again&s;t,
and condemn you, in ca&s;e you willfully <HI>prejudge, mi&s;|judge,</HI>
or <HI>reject</HI> it now, without due and full examinati|on
according to Law, Ju&s;tice, Con&s;cience: And if the
Con&s;ideration of this terrible day of account and ju&s;t
retribution before Chri&s;ts own Tribunal, &s;hall not
prevail with you to admit of this his <HI>Legal Plea</HI> and
<HI>Demurrer,</HI> (as being after your deaths, perhaps manie
years yet to come, and no waies endangering the lo&s;s
<PB N="11" REF="7">
of your Lives, Lands, Honors or E&s;tates in this pre&s;ent
world,) He &s;hall then humbly intreat you for your
own future indemnitie (he hopes, without offence)
&s;eriou&s;ly to con&s;ider; That in the Parliament of 11 R.
2. c. 1. 5. 21 R. 2. c. 11, 12. <HI>Tre&s;ylian</HI> chief Ju&s;tice of
the Kings Bench, <HI>Belknappe</HI> Chief Ju&s;tice of the Com|mon
Pleas, <HI>John Care, Iohn Holt, Roger Fulthorpe, Willi|am
de Burgh</HI> Judges, and <HI>Iohn Locton</HI> the Kings Serjeant,
were all <HI>impeached of high Trea&s;on, condemned, and &s;ome of
them executed as Traytors and Enemies to the King &amp; Realm,
the re&s;t perpetually bani&s;hed, their Lands and E&s;tates confi&s;ca|ted
to the King, and all acce&s;s of their wives, children or others
to them during their exile, prohibited by Judgement &amp; Act of
Parliament,</HI> only <HI>for delivering their opinions (through me|naces
and fear of death at</HI> Nottingham Ca&s;tle) <HI>under their
hands and Seals, again&s;t the Law of the Land; That the
Lords and Commons who procured the Commi&s;&s;ion in the Par|liament
of 10 R. 2. for the better Government of the Realm,</HI>
and moved the <HI>King to con&s;ent thereto, de&s;erved to be puni|&s;hed
as Traytors, by capital pain of death:</HI> That &s;o by co|lour
of the&s;e their opinions, <HI>Robert de Veer</HI> Duke of
<HI>Ireland, Nicholas Brambre,</HI> Knight, <HI>and others of the Kings
ill Coun&s;ellers,</HI> might take occa&s;ion to <HI>de&s;troy and take a|way
the lives of the Lords who procured and executed that
Commi&s;&s;ion, and others of the Kings people, by undue and illegal
Indictments and proceedings, without any lawfull Trial by
their Peers, as Traitors to the King.</HI> And the &s;aid Sir
<NOTE N="i" PLACE="marg">Henry de Knyghton de Event. Angliae l. 5. p. 2718, 2726, 2727, 27, 28.</NOTE> <HI>Nicholas Brambre</HI> for <HI>enforcing the Judges, with others
of the Kings ill Coun&s;ellors, to deliver their opinions against
Law, and for his beheading, executing 22 Pri&s;oners of</HI> New|gate,
(<HI>impeached and indicted of felony, or &s;uspition of felony)
at</HI> Foul-<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="blotted" EXTENT="1 letter">oke <HI>in</HI> Kent <HI>by regal and tyrannical power incroa|ched
by him, without warrant, or due proce&s;&s;e of the Law, a|again&s;t
the Great Charter and &V;&s;age of the Realm of</HI> Engl.
<HI>was in the &s;ame Parl. condemned for high Trea&s;on, &amp; beheaded
at Tower-hill on the &s;ame block, with the &s;ame Axe he had
prepared to cut off the heads of others he intended there to
execute as his Enemies.</HI> And that in the la&s;t Parliament
<PB N="12" REF="8">
of King <HI>Charles,</HI> the<NOTE N="k" PLACE="marg">Their Im|peachments are entred in the Iournals of the Lords and Commons Hou&s;e.</NOTE> two <HI>chief Ju&s;tices, Bramp&s;ton,</HI>
and <HI>Finch,</HI> the <HI>chief Baron Davenport, and all the rest of
the Judges and Barons,</HI> except two, were by the whole
Hou&s;e of Commons, and &s;ome of the Commi&s;&s;ioners
here &s;itting, and Coun&s;el pleading again&s;t this Defen|dant,
<HI>impeached of high Trea&s;on, di&s;-Judged, and put to fines
and ran&s;oms, for that they had trayterou&s;ly endeavoured to
&s;ubvert the fundamental Laws and Government of the Realm
of England, and in&s;tead thereof to introduce an arbitrary and
tyrannical Government again&s;t Law; which they had declared
by trayterous words, opinions and judgements in the ca&s;e of
Ship-money,</HI> again&s;t Mr. <HI>John Hampden;</HI> Which judge|ment
and opinions concerned only the propertie of
the Subjects goods, not the hazard of their lives, inhe|ritances
and forfeiture of their e&s;tates, as your pre&s;ent
proceedings doe, being of a more high and dangerous
con&s;equence; In which Parliament, by the like Im|peachment
and pro&s;ecution;<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">See Canter|burie &amp; Straf|fords printed Trials.</NOTE> <HI>William Laud</HI> Archbi|&s;hop
of <HI>Canterburie,</HI> and <HI>Thomas Earl of Strafford</HI> Lord
Deputie of <HI>Ireland,</HI> were condemned and executed by
Judgement of Parliament, and &s;ome here pre|&s;ent,
as <Q>Traitors, guiltie of High Trea&s;on, for
that they endeavoured traiterou&s;ly to &s;ubvert the
Fundamental laws, and e&s;tabli&s;hed government of
this Realm, and in &s;tead thereof to bring in and
&s;et up an arbitrarie and tyrannical power, again&s;t
Law. To prove which Charge, their arbitrarie pro|ceedings
contrarie to the Laws and great Charters of
<HI>England,</HI> both at the Coun&s;il Table, in the High
Commi&s;&s;ion, Star Chamber, and el&s;ewhere were gi|ven
in Evidence again&s;t them; and more particular|ly,
the Earl of <HI>Strafford</HI>'s proceeding again&s;t the Lord
<HI>Mount-Norris</HI> in <HI>Ireland,</HI> by a Council of War in time
of Peace, and condemning him to death therein
without any legal Indictment and Trial by his Peers,
again&s;t the great Charter &amp; Laws of the Land, though
he did not execute him thereupon:</Q> And whether
your pre&s;ent proceedings of like nature again&s;t this
<PB N="13" REF="8">
Defendant, in ca&s;e you reject or over-rule this his <HI>Plea</HI>
and <HI>Demurrer,</HI> and condemn and execute him by pretext
of an <HI>illegal Act</HI> (made by no free and lawfull Parlia|ment
of <HI>England,</HI>) for offences not trea&s;onable by the
known Laws and Statutes of the Land, nor legally
proved again&s;t him by any one Witne&s;s produced in
Court before his face, without con&s;ulting the pre&s;ent
<HI>Judges</HI> of the Land (who refu&s;e to join or &s;it with you
in this new illegal way of Trial) will not much more
involve you in the <HI>Crime</HI> and <HI>guilt</HI> of the verie &s;elf &s;ame
<HI>high Trea&s;ons,</HI> for which they were thus anciently and
lately impeached, condemned, executed by <HI>Judgment of
Parliament,</HI> and &s;o expo&s;e you to the like <HI>capital cen|&s;ures,</HI>
forfeitures, confi&s;cations of your real and per&s;o|nal
E&s;tates, as they underwent, in future <HI>Parliaments,</HI>
<Q>by your endevoring to &s;ubvert all the premi&s;ed funda|mental
Laws and e&s;tabli&s;hed legal proceedings in the
Land, and to introduce and &s;et up a meer arbitrarie
and tyrannical power contrarie to Law, to the endan|gering
not onely of the properties, but lives, liberties,
and Inheritances of all the Noblemen, Gentlemen,
Clergie-men, and other Freemen of <HI>England</HI> by &s;uch
exorbitant, <HI>martial</HI> proceedings, after all the&s;e Sta|tutes,
Judgments, with the late <HI>Remon&s;trances, Declara|tiions,</HI>
Leagues, Covenants, and &s;olemn Oaths of the
Lord <HI>Protectour</HI> him&s;elf and others again&s;t them, yea
after the many years Wars and heavie Taxes impo&s;ed
on the Nation for the maintaining and inviolable pre|&s;ervation
of the&s;e fundamental Laws, Liberties, and
Rights again&s;t all arbitrarie <HI>Commi&s;&s;ions</HI> and proceed|ings
what&s;oever; he humbly &s;ubmits to your own im|partial
Re&s;olutions and con&s;ciences.</Q> And thereupon
this Defendant praies his Di&s;mi&s;&s;ion from any &s;uch
further proceedings again&s;t him without a lawful <HI>Ju|ry
and Trial by his <HI>Peers.</HI></HI> And that you will be plea&s;ed
after deliberate con&s;ideration of the premi&s;es to rever&s;e
and recall that <HI>arbitrary, unrighteous, bloudy Sentence of
Death,</HI> you have newly pa&s;&s;ed again&s;t him, without
<PB N="14" REF="9">
anie lawfull Indictment, Pre&s;entment, Trial, Confe&s;|&s;ion
or Conviction of Trea&s;on, which &s;trikes at the
Root of the Fundamental Laws, liberties, franchi&s;es
of all Engli&s;h Free-men, and cuts off all their necks
at one &s;troke, tran&s;cending all the arbitrarie, tyran|nical
proceedings of <HI>Strafford, Canterbury,</HI> and the late
<HI>King Charles</HI> (whom &s;ome of your &s;elves have impea|ched,
cen&s;ured, condemned, decapitated as the <HI>very wor&s;t,
and greate&s;t of Tyrants</HI>) le&s;t it become a mo&s;t pernicious
fatal pre&s;ident to po&s;teritie, to others, or your own
de&s;truction, and render you as execrable to all &s;uccee|ding
generations, as anie formerly guiltie of the
like exorbitant proceedings.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Ju&s;t and Legal Exceptions to the Cau&s;e and Manner
of the Illegal Judgement given against Dr Iohn
Hewytt; humbly tendred by him to the con&s;ide|ration
of tho&s;e Commi&s;sioners who denounced it.</HEAD>
<P><HI>THat it is &s;pecially enacted by the Statute of</HI> West|minster
<HI>the 1. ch. 12. and accordingly re&s;olved in</HI>
Brook <HI>Pain 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, and the
Year-Books therein abridged, by</HI> Stamfords <HI>Pleas of the
Crown, l. 2. c.</HI> 60. Dyer, f. 205. a. 300. b. Cooks 2.
In&s;titutes, p. 177, 178, 179. <HI>and</HI> 3. In&s;titutes, <HI>p.</HI> 217.
That no man ought by Law to be condemned, or put to death in
ca&s;e of Trea&s;on or Felony, for &s;tanding mute, or refu&s;ing to
plead, or put him&s;elf upon his Trial, or for challenging more
<PB N="15" REF="9">
than 36. of the Jurie peremptorily; but only in the&s;e ca|&s;es.</P>
<P>1. <HI>When and where the per&s;on accu&s;ed and arraign|ed,</HI>
is a<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">We&s;t. 1. c. 12. Stamford, l. 2. c. 60. f. 149. b. Cooks 2 In|&s;tit. p. 177. 179</NOTE> Notorious Traytor or Felon, and openly of evil name,
and defamed thereof: <HI>But Dr.</HI> Hewytt <HI>is no &s;uch per&s;on</HI></P>
<P>2. <HI>When and where the</HI> Trea&s;on <HI>or</HI> Felony <HI>for which
he &s;tands accu&s;ed, is</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Cooks 2 In&s;tit. p. 177. Stamford, f. 150. a.</NOTE> notorious, evident, certain, or at
lea&s;t very probable, and already found upon Oath again&s;t him
by the Pre&s;entment, or Indictment of an hone&s;t lawfull Grand-Iury
of his Equals, of the &s;ame County wherein he is arraign|ed,
or confe&s;&s;ed by him&s;elf: <HI>All which Circum&s;tances and
Evidences of Guilt were wanting in Doctor</HI> Hewytts
<HI>ca&s;e.</HI></P>
<P>3. <HI>When and where the Judges,</HI><NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Stamford, l. 2. c. 60. f. 150 a.</NOTE> for the better &s;atis|faction
of their con&s;ciences, and di&s;charge of their duties, doe
(<HI>as they ought by Law,</HI>) fir&s;t openly examin the Evi|dence
and Witne&s;&s;es, which prove the per&s;on arraigned guilty
of the Fact of Trea&s;on or Felonie for which he &s;tands indicted,
before they proceed to give Iudgement again&s;t him for not plea|ding,
or &s;tanding mute. <HI>Which was not done in this
ca&s;e, there being neither Witne&s;&s;es nor Evidence pro|duced
in open Court to prove him guiltie.</HI></P>
<P>4. When and where there is a <HI>legal Indictment</HI> found
again&s;t the partie arraigned, which being read openly
to him in Court, the <HI>Traytor</HI> or <HI>Felon</HI> thereupon, doth
either<NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg">Stamf. l. 2. c. 60 Cooks 2 In&s;tit. p 177, 178.</NOTE> <HI>wilfully or maliciou&s;ly &s;tand mute, refu&s;ing to an&s;wer
or plead</HI> thereunto, (which the<NOTE N="e" PLACE="marg">Stamford f. 150. b. 43 A&s;&s;. 30. Fitz. Co|rone, 225. 8 H. 4. 2. Cooks 2 In&s;tit. p. 178. 21 E. 3. 18.</NOTE> <HI>Iury</HI> there impannelled
to trie him, <HI>are by Law to enquire of, finde and return upon
Oath:</HI>) Or, <HI>peremptorily challengeth above 35 of his Iury,
without any legal cau&s;e or exceptions;</HI> Or el&s;e ob&s;tinately
<NOTE N="f" PLACE="marg">Cooks 2 In|&s;tit. p. 178.</NOTE> <HI>refu&s;eth to put him&s;elf upon a Legal Tryal <HI>by God and
his Country,</HI> being a Iury of hone&s;t, lawfull men of the
County then and there pre&s;ent,</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">11 H. 4. c. 11 Cooks 3 In|&s;tit. p. 32, 33.</NOTE> <HI>retorned by the Sheriff alone,
not Iu&s;tices or others, for to try him; to whom by Law he
may take both his legal and peremptory Challenges</HI>) &s;aying,
That he will be tried, <HI>only by God and the Bench;</HI>
or, <HI>by God and the Court,</HI> or <HI>Judge;</HI> or<NOTE N="g" PLACE="marg">4 E, 4 11. 7 <HI>E.</HI> 4 29. Brook Pain 14.</NOTE> <HI>by God
and the Virgin Mary,</HI> or <HI>Holy Church:</HI> there being
<PB N="16" REF="10">
no pre&s;ident extant in Records, or Law-books, of
any <HI>Traytor</HI> or <HI>Felon</HI> hitherto condemned to die, <HI>for
&s;tanding mute, or not pleading, onely for refu&s;ing to <HI>be tried
by God and the honourable Bench, Judges, Court
Alone,</HI></HI> without any Indictment or Jurie; and for
earne&s;tly importuning the Court and his Judges,
<HI>that he may be tried onely by God and his Coun|trey,
and on an Indictment by a Jury of his E|quals
according to Law, <HI>casting him&s;elf wholly upon &s;uch
a Trial, after a lawfull Pre&s;entment and Indictment</HI></HI> fir&s;t
<HI>found again&s;t him by a Jury.</HI> The onely rea&s;on rendered in
and by the forecited <HI>Statute</HI> and <HI>Law-books</HI> of all Judg|ments
hitherto given again&s;t any <HI>Traitour</HI> or <HI>Felon,</HI> for
&s;tanding mute, and refu&s;ing to plead, being this,
<Q><NOTE N="h" PLACE="marg">W. 1. c. 12. 3. In&s;tit. p. 217. 2. In&s;tit. p. 179. 8 E. 3. Itin. Nort. Fitz. Corone. 359. 14 H. 4. 7. Brook. Pain. 14, 15.</NOTE> Becau&s;e he peremptorily refu&s;eth to &s;tand to and be
tried by <HI>the Law of the Land, and a due and law|full
Triall by a Jury of his Equals, according to
the cour&s;e of the Common Law, and the great
Charter.</HI> But Dr. <HI>John Hewytt</HI> is now <HI>condemned</HI> to be
<HI>executed</HI> as a Traitour by the <HI>High Court of Ju&s;tice,</HI> con|trarie
to all former Pre&s;idents, Statutes, Law-books,
and the onely legal rea&s;on in former times of all
Judgments rendered again&s;t any per&s;ons in &s;uch ca&s;es;
even for his frequent, earne&s;t, importunate demanding
and peremptorie ca&s;ting of him&s;elf, upon a due legal
Trial by God and his Countrie, and an indifferent
Jurie of his Equals, according to the common, Sta|tute
Laws and great Charter of <HI>Englaud,</HI> after a legal
Pre&s;entment and Indictment to be fir&s;t found again&s;t
him: and for refu&s;ing to waive this his legal Trial
(to the publick prejudice of all other <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Free|men)
and ca&s;t him&s;elf whollie and &s;olie upon a new
kind of arbitrarie Trial, contrarie to Law, <HI>By God
and the Bench, Court, and the Commi&s;&s;ioners</HI>
them&s;elves, (who would be both <HI>his Grand</HI> and <HI>Petty
Jury</HI> as well as <HI>Judges</HI>) without and before any legal
Pre&s;entment, Indictment, or Jurie impannelled or re|turn'd
to trie him.</Q> Therefore he humblie conceives
<PB N="17" REF="10">
this Judgment denounced again&s;t him upon this rea|&s;on
&amp; ground alone, to be mo&s;t erroneous, illegal, un|ju&s;t,
repugnant to all former Pre&s;idents, &amp; to one this
verie Week at the <HI>Se&s;&s;ions</HI> in the <HI>Old Baily</HI> by Judgment
of &s;ome of his Judges at <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter</HI>) and of very dan|gerous
con&s;equence. Whereupon he humbly praies the
<HI>&s;u&s;pen&s;ion</HI> &amp; <HI>rever&s;al</HI> thereof as unju&s;t, and meerlie void in
Law, by the Statutes of 25 <HI>E. 1. cap. 2. &amp; 42 E. 3 c.</HI> 1.
le&s;t the Execution of him for a Traitour upon this
Judgment and ground, &s;hould prove <HI>wilfull Murder,</HI> and
a &s;hedding of <HI>innocent bloud</HI> in the account both of
God and man.</P>
<P>What therefore the Prophet <HI>Jeremiah</HI> alleged to the
<HI>Princes</HI> of <HI>Judah,</HI> in a like ca&s;e, when they re&s;olved him
at fir&s;t <HI>to be worthy of death,</HI> without a legal hearing or
trial, <HI>Jerem 26. 11, 14, 15. As for me, bebold, I am in your
hands, to do unto me what &s;eemeth good and meet unto you:
But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, <HI>ye &s;hall
&s;urely bring innocent bloud upon your &s;elves, and
upon this City, and upon the Inhabitants thereof:</HI></HI>
Whereupon the <HI>Princes</HI> and <HI>People,</HI> upon &s;econd and
better advi&s;ed thoughts altered their former bloudie
Sentence, &s;aying; <HI>This man is not worthy to die; for he
hath &s;poken unto us in the Name of the Lord our God. And
the hand of</HI> Ahikam <HI>was with</HI> Jeremiah, <HI>that they &s;hould
not give him into the hand of the People to put him to death.</HI>
Shall be my Allegation to tho&s;e who have pa&s;&s;ed this
unju&s;t Sentence of Death again&s;t me; and if it pro|duce
not the like effect for their rever&s;al thereof, and
my pre&s;ervation from its violent bloudie Execution, as
it did in this Prophets ca&s;e; I &s;hall then earne&s;tly pray
to God, that it may not draw down from Heaven that
heavie Sentence of wrath upon them, nor that &s;ad
Judgment upon the whole Land of <HI>England</HI> which
this Prophet denounced again&s;t <HI>Jehojakim, Jer. 20. 17,
18, 19. But thine eys amd thine heart are but for thy cove|tou&s;ne&s;s,
and <HI>for to &s;hed Innocent Bloud,</HI> and for op|pre&s;&s;ion
and violence to do it. Therefore thus &s;aith the Lord
<PB N="18" REF="11">
concerning</HI> Jehojakim; <HI>They &s;hall not lament for him, &s;ay|ing,
Ah my brother, or ah &s;i&s;ter, ah Lord, or ah his glory:
But he &s;hall be buried with the burial of an A&s;s, drawn and ca&s;t
forth beyond the gates of</HI> Jeru&s;alem. And that which the
Prophet <HI>Joel</HI> threatened to <HI>Egypt</HI> and <HI>Edom, Joel</HI> 3. 19.
Egypt <HI>&s;hall be a de&s;olation, and</HI> Edom <HI>a de&s;olate Wilderne&s;s,
for their violence again&s;t the children of</HI> Judah, <HI>becau&s;e
they have &s;hed Innocent Bloud in the Land.</HI> And
that again&s;t all Rules of Law and Ju&s;tice, in that they
intitle, The High Court of Ju&s;tice, which will not
palliate, but<NOTE N="i" PLACE="marg">Eccle&s;. 3 16, 17. P&s;al. 94. 20, 21, 23.</NOTE> <HI>aggravate</HI> the Inju&s;tice acted in it, and
make it more dete&s;table both to Man and God him&s;elf,
who averrs this for an undoubted truth;</P>
<P><HI>Gen.</HI> 9. 5, 6. Surely your bloud of your lives, will I
require; at the hand of everie Bea&s;t will I require it,
and at the hand of everie mans brother will I require
the life of man. <HI>Who &s;o &s;heddeth Mans Bloud, by
Man &s;hall his Bloud be &s;hed;</HI> for in the Image of God
made he Man.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
