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The Parliaments Right and Iurisdiction to impose Taxes and Contributions on the Subjects for the necessary defence of the Realm, Laws, Liberties without the King, in case of the Kings wilfull absence from, and taking up Arms against the Parliament and Kingdom, briefly vindicated from the calumnies against it.
THe severall grand Objections of consequence made by the King and others against the Parliaments pretended usurpations upon the just Rights and Prerogatives of the Crowne, being fully examined and refuted in the Premises, so far (I hope) as to sa∣tisfie all ingenuous men, in point of Divinity, Policy, Law, Rea∣son, Conscience. I shall next proceed to the remaining materiall Accusations which concerne the Subjects onely, in regard of Property and Liberty: wherein I will contract my Discourse into a narrow compasse; partly because the debate of the fore-going Differences between the Kings Preroga∣tive and the Parliaments Soveraigne Jurisdiction, hath in some sort over-ruled the Controversies betwixt the Subjects and both Houses, representing them: partly be∣cause these accusations are not so universally insisted on, as the former which con∣cerne the King; the justnesse of them being generally acknowledged, willingly submitted to by most, except such, who calumniate and traduce them, either out of covetousnesse onely to ••ave their Pur••es, or from a groundlesse Malignity against the Parliament, or out of a consciousnesse of their owne Delinquencies, subjecting them to the Parliaments impartiall Justice, or out of some particular interests which concern them in their gains, honours, preferments, or such who by their restraints for not paying Parliamentary Assessements, hope to save their purses for the present; or to gaine favour and preferment by it for the future. If these private sinister ends were once laid by, this second sort of accusations would speedily vanish, especially with men of publike spirits, who prefer the Common-weale before their owne parti∣cular interests.
The first of these Cavillatory Objections* 1.1 against the Parliaments proceedings is, That both Houses, without the Kings* 1.2 Royall Assent, have contrary to Magna Charta, the Petition of Right, the Statutes De Tallagio non concedendo, and other Acts, by their Ordinances onely imposed late Taxes on the Subjects, amounting to the twentieth part of their estates, and since that monethly or weekly Assessements, to maintaine a war against the King; a grand incroachment on the peoples Properties, contrary to all Law and Iustice.
This Objection seems very plausible and cordiall to covetous Earth-worms, be∣ing politikely contrived to Court the close-handed niggardly party, by those who are guiltiest in themselves of that they thus object against others. But it will easily receive an answer,* 1.3 as to the Parliament, and recoyle with infinite disadvantage on those that make it.