An humble examination of a printed abstract of the answers to nine reasons of the House of Commons, against the votes of bishops in Parliament. Printed by order of a committee of the honourable House of Commons, now assembled in Parliament.

5. ANS. to the fifth REASON.

No such exception was ever heard of in the Diets of Germany, the Corteses of Spaine, or the three Estates of France, where the Prelates Vote in all these points with the Nobility and the Commons.

EXAMEN.

What exception hath beene taken to Bishops in other Kingdomes, is unknowne to me, and perhaps to the Answerer also: Unlesse he have seene all the Records and Journals of all those Kingdomes. Nor doe I believe that the House of Commons had any Reference to other Nations, nor doe intend to bee presidented by them. As if, because Bishops have this priviledge elsewhere, therefore this must bee a Reason sufficient for the continuing their possession of it here. Nay, every Nation hath its proper Lawes and Customes, and though it be no shame to borrow any thing that is better than our owne, for the publike Weale; yet it is no Answer to a Rea∣son drawne from experienced inconveniency at home, to say that this Reason was never heard of in forraigne States.

But yet I thinke, if the matter were throughly examined, it will appeare that in those Kingdomes, Bishops have a kind of Soveraignty over their se∣verall Territories, and are Temporall Governours as well as spirituall Pastors. And, by the fundamen∣tall Constitutions of those several Empires or King∣domes,

those Bishops doe make one of the Estates of the Kingdome without which a Law cannot passe: Sure I am, it is so in Germany, and I beleeve so or the rest, although with some difference: for they may make a third Estate, and yet not bee secular or soveraigne Governors over their severall Ditions.

Now, all know that it is farre otherwise with the Bishops of England: and therefore this plea will not be of any force to breake the strength of this Reason of the House of Commons, till the Prelates can translate our Lawes and Government into that of those Kingdomes from whence these presidents are impertinently borrowed.