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Show 686 England's Prefent interejl Co;!fidet'd. Vox). !6]). hecaufe rb,zt Sbortnefs w:ll not Juffer fo mud~ l>tfaJ, tU to ·givc Kn:n'Jltd.~e ~ to aU the People of England, of theft Preftms rn rt ramg : We thcl'l'jo~c cnCh:~ ph J. joyr1 all Perfons, of what Eflare foevtr tb_ey b~, tbutthty,_ and cvuy n} them, a1 much as in rbcm U, jhall_upbold ~tnd marntatn theft ..tlrll~les grant~d by our Soveroign Lord the King, tn all Po~nts: .lind allthofc tbat tn ~/IY Poznr_ c{o.re· ft_/1 or brcall, or in any Manner herc~fur Procure, Cou'1/t(..._ or tn. any wife Af., fe 111 to Rcjifi or Erttlk tbofo Ordma_nces, or go tJbout 11, by Word or Du4, 0 cnly or privily, by any M_ann~r oj Pre~e'!ce or Co!o11r ; We,_ tbc riforcjtud lrcbbijhops, by our .Autboruy m tim Wramg exprrffc~, do txcotJIJIUIAlcote and .Accurfe, and from rbc Eody of our Lord ]efm C)Jrijl, and froiiJ ull tbe Company Of Heaven, and from all tbe S11cramenrs of Holy Ch11rcb dofcqnrjlcr and exclude. f We may here fee, that in the obfcurefi Times o . Popery, they w~re not left without a Senfe of JWl:ice. and a Care of Freedom; aod that even l'a~ ifts, whom many think no Friends to Liberty an.d Property, under dreadful ~enJlties enjoyn an inviolable Obfervance of rh1s Great Chtlrrer, by w4tch . they are ~onfii:med. And though ,I am no R.o'~an Ct~tbolick, and as 11rrle vatue their other Curfes pronounc d upon Re(tgtous D_ifftmeu, yer I declare ingenioufly, I wQuld nO[, for the Wor~d, :tncur thts Curft, as every M~n drferveJty dorb, that offers Violence to the Fundamental Freedo_ms rl~erehy, repeated and confirmed. And that any Church, or Chu~cb. Ojjctrs tn dur Age, 010uld have fo little Re,•ercnce to Law, ExcomJnumc.a~Ton or CJ:rfc, :ls to be the Men th:lt either Yore or countenJnce fuch. Sev.enttes, JS ~1d P~fi~ ::~nee to the Curfc, and tear this Memorable Charr_er tn Pteces, by Dtn:ettmg, Freemen of England of their Preebe>l4s, ~iber11es ~nd Prof!e_rrtes, wuhout .1aries, or meerly for the in?f!enfive Exerct~e of theu Conictence to God in Matrers of Religion, U a CIVIl Sort of Sacnlege. . I know it is ufually objefied, That a great Part of the Ch,trter H fP.ent on the Behalf of the Roman Church, and otbe,. TbingJ, nOw abo!ijh'd; ttnd if one Pllrl of the Great Charter mrty be repta!'d, or invalidated,. why nottbe otber? But to this I anfwer, That the True Fundamentals m the (barter, are r.ot rhe lcfs firm or forceable, or inviol:lble for that ; becaufe they. i:lo not fiand upon that .A.fl, thpugh it was in Honour oft~~m, but t~e .A.ncttnt and Primitive Injlitution of the Kingdom~ lf the Pett/Jon of Rtg/11 were rc;peat• d, the Grtllt ChNrter were nev~~thelefs in Force, .it no~ being rhe <?rlginal Eftablifltment, but a Declarauon and Confirmation of t~ar Ettabhfhmenr. Bur rhofe Things that are abrogable, or abrogated m.the Orear Chllrtcr were never a PJrt of the Fundament:tls, bot hedg'~ in by the . Clergy, '::~nd allowed by r~e B.arons upoo prefent Emergency. Befides, th~t which I have hirherto matnramcd to be the Common and Fundamental Law of the Land, is fo reputed, and fmher ratified, by the Petition of _Rig/11, ~ Car. r. which W:!S long tmce the Cburcb of Rome _loft her Share. tn rhe Great C/)(trter. Nor did it relate to Matters of Faah and Worfh1p, bur Temporalities only; the Civil Intereft. or Propriety of the Church. B?t with what Pretence to Mercy or Juihce, can the Proreflant Cb11rch reram . the En.glijb Pllrt of the Charter, without confcrming to. Rome, and ye~ now cancel the &glijh Parr it felf to every Free-bOrn Englijhman thlt w1ll not conform to her? Bur no more of this at this Time .; only gi\•e me Le~ve t.p remind a Son of A8:ivc MeR in our Tim~. that the crue~ Infringers of r_he People's Liberties, and Violatcrs of thefe' Noble Laws, ditl nor e~c:~pe wuh bare Excommunications and Curfts; for fuch was the Venerable fJ\:eem -our Ancefiors had for rhefe. G.reat Privileg~~· acd .4eep Sollicirude to P.refervc them from theJ)ef:~cings of Time-, or Ufiirpatton of Power, rhat K1Rg.i:l/~ fred executed Forry. Jvdges for warping from the p\A CiCtlt La'I(S of the Re:1lm. Hubert de Burgo, Chief Jufiice of E11gland, in"''rhe Time of Etloo: t. wasfentenced by his Peers in. open Parliament, for adrifill? ~he King ttcmn.f~ the Gretll Charter. Thus the Speneerr, both Fa:rher·:lnd Son, for their Ar bitrary Uu!c and,_ Evil Counfdto Edw. 2. were exiled the Realm. No bert Succefs had the Aaions of Trefilinn atd B(/lmap: And as for E111't/n'2nd !JJ;Jky, though Perfons of Quality, in the TimeofKin!WJrnry the ever;~~ Vo.L. I. England's Prefent IntereH Conjiaer'J. 687 the moft ignominious Death of our Country, fucb as belongs co Theft and 6 .Murder, was har~ly Satisfa8:ion enough co the Kingdom, for their Vn- 1 7)· char.rerall Proceedwg. I ~all thu~e t~ deliver it in the Words ot Chief ~ Julh.ce Coo~, a Man, whofe Learning 1n La.w hJth, not without ReJfon, p obramed htm J yenerable Charatter of our Englijh Nation.• There wa1 (fauh he). an .118 of l!ar!Jamen~ made in the 1 ub T!,IT of King H_enry the. Sro_emh, W~tcb bad a Fa1r F!arrtr~ng Pr_umble,pruending to avo1d Jrvers Mifcbtt{s, whrcb were Firfi, To the h1gh Difp!eifure of Almighty God. Secondly, The Great Let of the Ummon Law. And, Thirdly, The Great Let of !he Wealth of this £_and. .lin~ the Purven of thor Jif!tend>td, in tbe Execrmon~ contrary, Ex D1ametro, vtz. To the high Difpleafure 1Jf Almighty God, and tOt Great Let, nay, the utter Subvtrjion of rbe Ummon Law aad t.be Great Let of the Wealth of thH Land, :~s hereafrer fhaii appear: the Subllance of which AEl follows in thefe Words. ' T HAT from htnceforrb, ttl wtll ]11jlicet of A./fiZ!, a1 ]11jlices of the Pe~ce, Ill every Cou_nry, 11pon Information for tbt King, before them maJt, wubout 11ny_ Findmg. or !'refe'!ring by Twelve A-len, (hall bave full Power and. ii11thoray, by r~e1r Difcreu"n, to hear and determine aU OJfi:nur, Ill Rtots, unlaoof"J .Affemblres, &c. committed dnd done againji.A.tl or ~lriTIJ((_ made, alld nor rtpea/1d, &c. ' • By Pretext of this Law, Empfon dnd Dudley did tommir upon the St~hje!l znfufftrahle Preffure and D_pprtjjiont; nnd ther~fore thir Starurt wtU jufliJ, foon nfrer tbt Dectaft oj Hen. 7· repellled at the next Parliamem, by the ·Stature of 1 Hen. 8. chap. 6 • A good Caveat, fays .he, tiJ Parliamenu, to leave all Caufes to be meafur'd by tbe Golden and Strait Mctwand 4 the Law, nnd not to rbe uncertain and crooked Cord of Difcretion. He goes on, It u almofl incredible to /orifee, when dtt} Maxim, or FJJ7Jdamtntal LafQ of thir R:_ea!m i.s alteret/ (ttl e/ftwhtre hath been obfervtd) what dangerom Inconvemences do foNow: Which mofl exprtjly appear1 by tlJis Moft Unjuft and Strange Aft of the llth of Hen. 1· FOr hereby nor ~;n/y Empfol! anJ Dudley tbcmfelvu, but fuch Juflicu oj Peace (CorruptlUen) m they cau .. Jtd to be autbiJriztd, commilltd mojl Gnevous and Heavy Oppreffions and EJt~ aOimrs : Grinding the Faces of the PoorSubjeffs by Penal Laws (he they never fo ohfolere or unjit for the Time) by Information only, without any Prejrnrment or Trin! by Jury, Being the Ancient Birthright of the Subjett; burt~; hear and determine the fame by their Di(cretions; injlifling j11ch Penalty tU the Statutes, not repealed, impofed. Theft, and other like Of!RreJ}iiJnt and Ex- 11{/ion.r, by the .Mtan.r of Empfon and Dudley, tJrtd their lnjtrumenrs, brouglJt infinittTreafure totbt King's Coffers, whereof t!u King himfelf, at the End, with Great Grief and CompunEHon Repented, tU in another Place wt have ohftrved. Tbil Statute of the I IlbofHen. 7· we have reched, 11nd foewed tbe ju{i Jn.;. conveniences thereof; to t6e End that the like fo~u!d Never btrelljttr he nt· tempted in any Court of Parliament; and that others mitbt avoid the Ftmfu! End of thoJe two Time-Servers, Empfon and Dudley, Qui eorum veftigiis infiftant, exitus perhorrefcant. Tbrn mucb Chief Jufiict Cook. I am fure, there is nothing I have offer'd in Defence of Eng lifo Law-Doa~ rine, that rifeth higher than the Judgment and Language of thi• Grear Man, the Prefcrvation Jnd Publication of whofe Labours, became the Care of a Great PJtliament. And it is faid of no inconfiderab!t Lawyer, that hefhould thus e;<prefs himfelf in our Occafion, viz. The La.ws '!{Engla_nd wue_nev;r the Ddlatts of an1ConqueroYt Sword, or the Pinetta of any Ktng ofthu ]\'at ion; or, (f:tith he) to fpeak impartially trnd freely, tbt Ref11lts of any Par• liament that ever far in this Land. Thus much for the Nature of Eng lifo -Rig btl, and the Re3fon and Jufiice for their inviolable Maintenance. I Ch3llnow offer fome mQre Gener3l Con- . .fiderations, |