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<DATE>2009-09-05</DATE>
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<NAME>Mona Logarbo</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B090111.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<STC T="W">S4852AA</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">51784672</BIBNO>
<VID>175075</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
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<DIV1 TYPE="speech">
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<HEAD>A SPEECH AGAINST PENSIONERS,</HEAD>
<P>WIthout Doubt the la&s;t Parliament had g<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="missing" EXTENT="1 letter">eat Matters in Agitation, and the Enquiry they made about the Pen&s;ioners of the preceeding Parliament was no &s;mall one, but rather one of the chief things they had in hand; for had they been permitted to have perfected that, it had been a good Recompence for the di&s;appointment which the Nation &s;u&s;tained in their other Expectations, by the &s;ud|den Prorogation: And without all que&s;tion, nothing is fit|ter for the Thoughts of a Parliament, than to take into Con&s;ideration how to puni&s;h them that had p<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="missing" EXTENT="1 letter">oved the Pe&s;t, and had almo&s;t (if not altogether) ruin'd the Nation; and how to prevent the like mi&s;chief for the future.</P>
<P>The Name of a Pen&s;ioner is very di&s;ta&s;tful to every <HI>Eng|li&s;h</HI> Spirit; and all tho&s;e who were Pen&s;ioners <HI>I</HI> think are &s;ufficiently de&s;pi&s;ed by their Country men: And therefore I mention only two or three things that will ly at their doors; before I offer my Advice what is to be done.</P>
<P>Breach of Tru&s;t is accounted the mo&s;t infamous Thing in the World, and this the&s;e Men were guilty of to the highe&s;t degree; Robbery and &s;tealing our Law puni&s;hes with death, and what de&s;erve they who Beggar and take away all that the Nation has, under the preten&s;ion of di&s;po&s;ing of the Peoples Money for the Honour and Good of the King and Kingdom: And if there were nothing more than this to be &s;aid, without doubt they de&s;erve a high Cen&s;ure.</P>
<P><PB N="2" REF="2"><!-- PDF PAGE 2 -->
Be&s;ides the giving away &s;uch va&s;t Sums, without any co|lour or rea&s;onable pretence: There is this great mi&s;chief will follow upon it; Every man very well knows that it has put the KING into an extraordinary way of Expence; And therefore when he has not &s;uch great Supplyes. it mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity bring Him Into great Want and Need: And &s;hall not only give Him an ill Opinion of all Parliaments that do not &s;upply Him &s;o extravagantly, but perhaps put Him to think of ways to get Money that otherwi&s;e would never have entred into His Thoughts; &s;o that whatever ill may happen of this &s;ort, the&s;e Pen&s;ioners are an&s;werable for it.</P>
<P>Furthermore, they have laid us open to all our Enemies, whoever will invade may not doubt to &s;ubdue us: For they have taken from us the Sinews of War, that is Money and Courage, all our Money is gone, and they have exhau&s;ted the Trea&s;ure of the Nation: And when People are poor, their Spirits are low, &s;o that we are left without a defence, and who mu&s;t we thank for bringing us into this de&s;picable Condition, but the&s;e Gentlemen, who notwith&s;tanding this, have the Face to &s;tyle them&s;elves His Maje&s;ty's Friends, and all tho&s;e who oppo&s;e their practices are factious and Sedi|tious. They have brought it to that pa&s;s, that Debates can not be free; if a Gentleman's Tongue happen to ly a little awry In his Mouth, pre&s;ently he mu&s;t be called to the Bar; or if that would not do, when&s;oever any Gentleman that has a true <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Spirit happens to &s;ay any thing that is bold, pre&s;ently away to tell His Maje&s;ty of it, and often times more than the Truth: And thus they endeavoured to get an ill Opinion in His Maje&s;ty of his be&s;t Subjects. And their Practice was the more abominable, becau&s;e their Words and Actions gave the occa&s;ion to force tho&s;e &s;mart Expre&s;&s;ions from the Gentlemen that &s;poke them, for their hone&s;t hearts were fired with true Zeal to His Maje&s;ty and Countrey&punc; when they beheld the Impudence and fal&s;ene&s;s of the&s;e Pen&s;ioners.</P>
<P><PB N="3" REF="2"><!-- PDF PAGE 2 -->
As for Example, We find that in or about the 10th. year of <HI>Richard</HI> 2; of <HI>England.</HI> it was endeavoured to get a Cor|rupt Parliament; for the <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Story &s;ays, <HI>That the King &s;eat far the Ju&s;tices and Sheriffs; and enjoined them to do their be&s;t. that none &s;hould be cho&s;en Knights and Burge&s;ses, but &s;uch as the King and his Council &s;hould name; but we find it could not be effected.</HI></P>
<P>The next that occurs to my thoughts, is that in the 4th year of <HI>Henry</HI> 4th. the Parliament that was called at <HI>Coven|try,</HI> named the Lay-mens Parliament, for <HI>the Sheriffs were appointed that none &s;hould be cho&s;en Knights or Burge&s;&s;es, that had any skill in the Laws of the Land.</HI></P>
<P>The next that I remember, is that in <HI>Henry</HI> 4's time, in the year 1449 or 50, when <HI>the Duke of</HI> Suffolk <HI>was accu&s;ed by the Commons, and committed to the</HI> Tower, <HI>the King di&s;&s;olved that Parliament, not far unlike our Ca&s;e of my Lord D&mdash;,</HI> but it differs in this, <HI>that</HI> Suffolk <HI>was committed to the</HI> Tower, <HI>as of Right he ought, but we were denyed that Ju&s;tice again&s;t D&mdash; only</HI> Henry <HI>made the ca&s;e thus far even, that he &s;et</HI> Suffolk <HI>at Liberty after he had di&s;&s;olved that Parliament. Soon after a Parliament was called, wherein great care was taken in choo&s;ing of Parliament Men that &s;hould favour</HI> Suffolk: <HI>But they &s;o far failed of their Purpo&s;e. that his Appearance at the Parliament gave great di&s;ta&s;te to the Hou&s;e of Commons; and they were &s;o far incen&s;ed, that they began the Parliament with a fre&s;h Accu&s;ati|on again&s;t him and others;</HI> So that you may &s;ee that it is not alwi&s;e in the power of the Court continually to corrupt the Members of Parliament.</P>
<P>In the time of <HI>Henry</HI> 8th, about the 20th Year of his Reign when the Parliament was active again&s;t Pluralitys. and Non Re&s;idence; <HI>There was an Act pa&s;&s;ed to relea&s;e to the the King all &s;uch Sums of Money as he had Borrowed at the Loan, in the</HI> 15th <HI>year of his Reign;</HI> it's &s;aid that it was much oppo&s;|ed, but the rea&s;on that is given why it pa&s;&s;ed is. <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 word"> the Hou&s;e was mo&s;tly the Kings Servants, but it gave great di&s;|turbance
<PB N="4" REF="3"><!-- PDF PAGE 3 -->to the Nation:</HI> And this is the only ca&s;e that I can remember that comes any thing near to our Pen&s;ioners; but <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 word"> cannot find that they or any Parliament took Money to Votes So that we mu&s;t conclude that there was never any Pen&s;ion<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="3 letters"> in Parliament till this Pack of Blades were got together.</P>
<P>Therefore Sir, what will you do? Shall the&s;e Men E&s;|cape, &s;hall they go free with their Booty: Shall not the Na|tion have Vengeance on them, who had almo&s;t given up the Government. It was they who had perverted the ends of Parliament: Parliaments have been and are the great R<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">|fuge of the Nation, that which cures all its Di&s;ea&s;es, and heals it Sores: But the Men had made it a Snare to the Nation, and at be&s;t had brought it to be an Engine to give Money; It therefore the&s;e go away unpuni&s;ht, we countenance what they have done, and make way to have Pen&s;ioners in every Parliament; but for be any &s;uch Thought from any Man that &s;its within the&s;e Walls: And having &s;aid this, I will in the next place humbly offer my Thoughts what is to be done.</P>
<P>In the fir&s;t place <HI>I</HI> do propo&s;e that every man of them &s;hall on their knees confe&s;s their fault to both Hou&s;e, and that to be done at the Bar one by one.</P>
<P>Next, That as far as they are able, that they refound all the Money they have received for &s;ecret Service. Our Law will not allow a Thief to keep what he has got, by &s;teal<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="3 letters"> but of cour&s;e orders Re&s;titution, and &s;hall the&s;e proud Rob|bers of the Nation, nor re&s;tore their ill gotten Goods?</P>
<P>And la&s;tly, I do propo&s;e that they be Voted incapable of &s;erving in Parliament for the Future, or of injoying any Office Civil or Milit<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">ry, and order a Bill to be brought i<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter"> to that purpo&s;e: For it's not fit, that they who were &s;o fal<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="2 letters"> and unju&s;t in that Tru&s;t, &s;hould ever be Tru&s;ted again. The Sir is my Opinion, but if the Hou&s;e &s;hall incline to any <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 word"> that way, I &s;hall readily comply, provided a &s;ufficient ma<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="2 letters"> of Infamy be &s;et on them, that the People may know w<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="2 letters"> Bought and Sold them.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
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