A remonstrance of the un-lawfulnesse of the warre, undertaken by the pretended Parliament of England, against their soveraign, and of the in-justice of the alteration of the ancient gouvernment and fundamentall laws of the kingdome

CHAP. II.

The Kings supreamacy in generall shewed by the statutes of the land.

I Could both from Saxon and divers other lavves and antiquities shevv the Kings of En∣gland to have ruled more absolutely, and to have anciently exercised a larger jurisdiction, then hath of later yeares been exercised or chalenged by their successours: but because many immunities and priviledges have been granted to the subjects since their times; I vvill therfore confine my selfe to such statutes as have beene made since the giving of the great charter. And to avoyd tediousnesse I will omit many statutes wherin the King is by both houses collectively taken acknowledged to be su∣preame:

for they frequently in the statutes stile him Our gracious soveraigne Lord the King. Our dreadfull soveraigne Lord the King. I will likewise omitte many others wherin they acknowledge themselves to be his subjects, and that when they were in their site, relation, order, and union, in which posture the fuller Answerer fancies them to be coor∣dinate: for such expressions run through divers sta∣tutes, Most humbly beseech your most excellent Majesty your faithfull and obedient subjects the Lords spirituall and temporall, and the commons in this your present Parliament assembled. In their most humble wise shewen unto your Royall Majesty your loving subjects the Lordes spirituall and temporall, and the Commons of this present Parlament assembled. I will only alledge such statutes as have been made on purpose to declare to whome supreamacy and all power and jurisdiction belong: for there hath beene divers actes of Parliament made to that ende upon severall occasions wherein the Kings suprea∣macy hath been acknowledged and confirmed vnto him. In the foure and twenty yeare of Henry the eight an act was made that no appeales should be used but within the Realme: the reason alled∣ged in the Statute is because the King alone is the only supreame head of the realme, and is furnished with plenary and intire power to doe all actes of justice. Where by divers sundry old authenticke Histories and Chronicles it is manifestly declared and

expressed that this Realme of England is an Empire, and hath so beene accepted in the world, governed by one supreame head and King, having the dignity and Royall estate of the imperiall crowne of the same: unto whome a body politique, compact of all sortes and de∣grees of people divided in tearmes and by names of spiritualty and temporalty beene bounden and owen to beare next to God a naturall and humble obedience, he being also institute and furnished by the goodnesse and sufferance of Almighty God with plenary, whole, and intire power, preheminence, authority, preroga∣tive, and jurisdiction, to render and yeald justice and finall determination to all manner of folck resiants or subjects within this his Realme. This cleare testi∣mony of the Kings supreamacy, is thus eluded by the fuller Answerer. [Answer.] Wee see then sayth he, what is meant by governed by one supreame head, such a one as is able to doe all actes of needfull justice, which the King in his naturall capacity can not doe (he can not make a law) it must therefore be understood in his full and intire politique capacity, which takes in law and Parliament; nor can it be sayd that by those wordes a body politique compact of all sortes and de∣grees the Parliament is properly meant, but the King∣dome at large. The summe of his Answer is this, [Reply.] that in this Statute by the King not the King alone, but the King and the two houses of Parliament are to be understood, and so although he would have the Kings power to be lesse, yet to make him a∣mends

he will have his name to signify more then it did before. But this is nothing else but the evapo∣ration of his owne braine; for if in any place the word King could signify the King and the two houses of Parliament, yet in this it must of necessity signify the King alone:* 1.1 these words having the dignity and Royall estate of the Imperiall crowne of the same, can have reference to no other. Besids in this Answer he contradicts his owne Principles: for if the two hou∣ses be coordinate with the King, and have power ra∣dically in themselves, not derived from him, they can not be comprehended under his politique ca∣pacity. Whereas he sayth the King can not make a law, and inferre from thence that the King alone without taking in the two houses hath not intire and plenary jurisdiction, his inference is very infirme; for it doth not diminish Majesty, but redounds to the glory of it,* 1.2 to give lawes to the people by the counsell and assent of wisemen: It hath been, and is for the most part the practice in absolute Monar∣chies, to make lawes that shall binde posterity by generall consent and agreement, which yet doth not deprive the Monarch of his power, or derogate any way from the plenitud and intirenesse thereof. But I shall speake more of this when I come to ans∣wer their objections. Whereas he sayth that by a bo∣dy politique compact of all sortes and degrees, not the Parliament, but the kingdome at large is properly meant, I know not why he should adde this, except it

vvere to fill up more roome, for no man vvill say that the tvvo houses alone are properly to be meant, yet I say the tvvo houses are comprehended under the kingdome at large, and are representative thereof in Parliament, and representatives can not be the head vvhen the kingdome at large, vvhose representatives they are, is but the body. But here the fuller Answerer hath a little overshot himselfe; for if by the body politique the Kingdome at large be understoode then is the King major universis greater then all the people collectively taken by his owne confession.

In the first yeare of Queene Elizabeth another Acte vvas made, vvherein she is declared supreame head of the Realme in all causes as wel Ecclesiasti∣call as Temporall, and an oath injoyned to be taken by divers both Ecclesiasticall and Lay persons, wherein they were to acknowledge hir suprea∣macy, and to promise faith and true allegiance: the oath was this, I A. B. do utterly testify and declare in my conscience, that the Queens Highnesse is the only supreame governour of this Realme, and of all other hir Highnesse dominions and countries, as well in all Spirituall or Ecclesiasticall things or causes, as Tem∣porall, and that no forraine Prince, Person, Prelat, State, or Potentate, hath or ought to have any juris∣diction, power, superiority, preheminence, or au∣thority Ecclesiasticall or Spirituall within this Realme, and therefore I doe utterly renounce and for∣sake

all forraine jurisdictions, powers, superiorities and authorities, and do promise that from henceforth I shall beare faith and true allegiance to the Queens Highnesse, hir heires, and lawfull successours, and to my power shall assist and defend all jurisdictions, pri∣viledges, preheminences, and authorities, granted or belonging to the Queens Highnesse, hir heires, and successours, or united and annexed to the imperiall crowne of this Realme; so helpe me God and the con∣tents [Answer. 1] of this booke. They answer, first, that this Statute was made to exclude a forraine power, and therefore all that can be collected out of it is that the Queene was above all forreiners, but not above the two houses. It is no matter wherefore the Statute was made, [Reply.] the Queene is there positively de∣clared to be the onely supreame governour of the Realme, the wordes of a Statute, whatsoever the end was, are the law, and are pleadable in their usuall and grammatcall sence to all purposes. But was the oath framed onely to exclude a forraine power, are they sure of that? When God shall make inquisi∣tion for blood, and call the reverent Divines, the fuller Answerer, the Treatiser, and the rest of their Complices, to account for all the murders, oppres∣sion, and injustice, whereof they have been the authours and abettors by stirring up the people to rebellion, and teaching them lies, they will be found to have broken the oath of alleagiance, now his Majesties rights have beene invaded by the two

houses, as well as if they had beene invaded by a forraigner: For the Statute was made as well to declare who was the supreame governour of the Realme, as to declare who was not; The Pope chalenged no superiority over the Queene in Tem∣porall matters, and yet in the oath the Queene is acknowledged the supreame governour of the Realme as well in Temporall as in Ecclesiasticall causes: This had been very superfluous, and a kinde of Excrescence in the oath if it had beene composed and given onely to exclude the Pope; and I wonder the Reverent Divines and the rest attributing so much to other Parliaments should attribute so little to that as to imagine them not able to frame a Statute in wordes and tearmes sutable to their ends and intentions; for surely their inven∣tion was much straitned if they could not declare the Popes authority to be voyd otherwise then by calling the Queene the onely supreame governour of the Realme, which was neyther true nor a fitte expression, if the two houses had beene coordinate with hir: neyther had they sufficiently excluded a forraine power by this Act, which, they say, was the onely end was aymed at: for the Pope claimed supreame jurisdiction over all in Ecclesiasticall cau∣ses, as well over the two houses as over the Queene, yet in this Act provision is made for none but the Queene; by the title of the Statute all ancient juris∣dictions are restored to the crowne, but there is no

restauration of dignity or jurisdiction to the people or to their substitutes in Parliament, so that the Pope hath yet an interest in the Kingdome, notwith∣standing any thing enacted in this statute, if their [Answer. 2] assertion were true. Secondly they answer, that the Queene is declared to be supreame in respect of perticular persons, but not in respect of the people collectively taken, or their substitutes in Parliament. The Queene is declared in the oath to be supreame governour of the Realme, [Reply.] and the Realme includs the people collectively taken, besids supreamacy can not admit of that distinction, for they that have any above them or coordinate with them are not [Answer. 3] supreame, although they be greater then any one in particular. Thirdly they answer that the Queens su∣preamacy was to be understood in curia non in ca∣mera in hir courtes and not in hir privat capacity. The Queene by communicating hir authority to hir courts did not part with it hir selfe; [Reply.] M^r. Lambart in his discourse upon the high courtes of justice almost at the end of his booke speaks punctually to this exception, Thus have I sayth he run along our courtes of all kindes, and have sayd (as I was able) severally of these lay and mixed courts of record, deri∣ving them from the crowne their originall, and draw∣ing by one and one (as it were so many roses) from the garland of the Prince; leaving neverthelesse the garland it selfe undespoyled of that hir soveraigne vertue in the administration of justice: or as Bracton

sayth well; Rex habet ordinariam jurisdictionem, & omnia jura in manu sua, quae nec ita deligari pos∣sunt quin ordinaria remaneant cum ipso Rege: And therefore whatsoever power is by him committed over unto other men, the same neverthelesse remaineth still in himselfe in so much as he may take knowledge of all causes unlesse they be felony, treason, or such other, wherein because he is a party, he can not per∣sonally sit in judgement, but must performe it by his delegates. The Kings authority then is as well in his person in regard of his private, as in his courtes in regard of his politique capacity, and according to the Acts of Soveraigntie and Majesty onely in his person; for a delegate power can not be supreame: not but that it is the same authority whereby he acts himselfe in person, and his judges in his courtes, but because it is not all the same authority, but restrained in his Iudges by commission, write, or law.

In the first yeare of Edward the sixt an Act was made wherein the King is acknowledged to be the supreame head of the Church and Realme, and that all power and authority was derived from him. whereas the Archbishops and Bishops and other Spi∣rituall persons in this Realme do use to make and send out their summons,* 1.3 citations and other processe in their owne names in such forme and manner as was used in the time of the usurped power of the Bishope of Rome, contrary to the forme and order of the sum∣mons and processe of the common law, used in this

Realme. Seeing that all authority of jurisdiction Spiri∣tuall and Temporall is derived and deducted from the Kings Majesty as supreame head of these Churches and Realmes of England and Irland, and so justly ac∣knowledged by the cleargy of the sayd Realmes, and that all courtes Ecclesiasticall within the sayd two Realmes be kept by no other power or authority eyther forraine or within the Realme but by the authority of his most excellent Majesty. Be it therefore further enacted, &c. Is it not evident from hence that the two houses of Parliament are subordinate to the King and that they have their power by derivation from him, who is the fountaine of all authority? These words seeing that all authority of jurisdiction Spirituall and Temporall is derived and deducted from the Kings Majesty, as supreame head of these Churches and Realmes of England and Irland, doe clearely intimate the two houses to have no autho∣rity radically in themselves, and to be no way coor∣dinate with the Kings Majesty in the rights of sove∣raigntie.

For conclusion of this Chapter I will adde one Act more made in the first yeare of King Iames, vvherein the tvvo houses of Parliament collectively taken made an humble recognition of their faith and obedience to him. We your most humble and loyall subjects the Lordes Spirituall and Temporall, and the Commons in this present Parliament assem∣bled, doe from the bottome of our heartes yeald to the

Divine Majesty all humble thankes and prayses not onely for the sayd inestimable benefits and blessings above mentioned, but also that he hath further in∣riched your Highnesse with a most Royall progeny of most rare and excellent gifts and forwardnesse, and in his goodnesse is like to increase the happy number of them, and in most humble and lowly manner doe beseech your most excellent Majesty, that (as a me∣moriall to all posterities amongst the records of your high courte of Parliament for ever to endure of our loyalty obedience and hearty and humble affection) it may be published and declared in this high court of Parliament, and enacted by authority of the same, that we (being bounden thereunto both by the lawes of God and man) doe recognize and acknowledge (and there∣by expresse our unspeakable joyes) that immediatly upon the dissolution and decrease of Elizabeth late Queene of England the imperiall crowne of the Realme of England and of all the Kingdomes, Dominions, and Rights belonging to the same, did by inherent birth∣right, and lawfull and undoubted possession, descend and come to your most excellent Majesty, as being li∣neally, justly and lawfully next and sole heire of the blood Royall of this Realme, as is afore sayd, and that by the goodnesse of Almighty God, and lawfull right of discent under one imperiall crowne, your Majesty is of the Kingdomes of England, Scotland, France and Irland, the most potent and mighty King, and by Gods goodnesse more able to protect and governe us your

loving subjects in all peace and plenty then any of your noble progenitors. And thereunto we most humbly and faithfully doe submit and oblige our selves, our heires, and posterities, for ever, untill the last drop of our bloods be spent: And do beseech your Majesty to ac∣cept the same as the first fruictes of this high court of Parliament, of our loyalty and fayth to your Ma∣jesty and your Royall progeny and posterity for ever. This is a farre different straine from that which the present pretended Parliament have used to his Ma∣jesty, who although bound both by oath and duty to have beene as respectfull and obedient towards him, yet have they themselves after many insolences committed against his person most audaciously and unadvisedly taken away his life, and procured others by diffamatory libells to blast his credit, who according to the trust reposed in them, cease not to traduce him, and by malicious aspersions to staine his chiefest vertues, creeping like snailes over the sweetest flowers, and leaving behind them their slime and filthinesse.

Notes

• * 1.1

  35. H. 8. cap. 1.
• * 1.2

  Argum. l. 8. c. de legi∣bus.
• * 1.3

  1. E. 6. cap. 2.