The excellencie of a free-state: or, The right constitution of a common-wealth.: Wherein all objections are answered, and the best way to secure the peoples liberties, discovered: with some errors of government, and rules of policie. Published by a well-wisher to posterity.

The Original of all Just Power is in the People.

THose Men that deny this Position, are fain to run up as high as Noah and Adam, to gain a pre∣tence for their Opini∣on: alledging, That the primitive or first Governments of the World were not instituted by the con∣sent and election of those that were governed, but by an absolute Authority invested in the persons governing. Thus th•••• say our first Parent ruled, by a 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Power and Authority in himself onely, as did also the Patri∣archs before and after the Flood too, for some time, becoming Princes by vertue of a paternal right over all the Fa∣milies of their own Generation and Ex∣traction: so that the Fathers, by reason of their extraordinary long Lives, and the multiplicity of Wives, happened to

be Lords of Kingdoms or Principalities of their own begetting.

And so some deriving the Pedigree or Government of this Paternal Right of Soveraignty, would by all means con∣clude, That the Original of Govern∣ment, neither was nor ought to be in the People.

For answer to this, consider, That Ma∣gistracy or Government is to be consi∣dered, as Natural, or as Political: Natu∣rally he was a true publick Magistrate or Father of his Country, who in those Patriarchal times ruled over his own Children and their Descendants. This Form of Government was only tempo∣rary, and took an end not long after the Flood, when Nimrod changed it, and by force combining 〈◊〉〈◊〉 of di∣stinct Families into one Bod•• 〈◊〉〈◊〉 sub∣jecting them to his own Regiment, did, by an Arbitrary Power, seated in his own Will and Sword, constrain them to submit unto what Laws and Conditions himself pleased to impose on them.

Thus the Paternal Form became changed into a Tyrannical. Neither of these had (I confess) their Original

in or from the People, nor hath either of them any relation to that Govern∣ment which we intend in our Position.

But secondly, There is a Govern∣ment Political, not grounded in Nature, nor upon Paternal Right by Natural Generation; but founded upon the free Election, Consent or mutual Com∣pact of men entring into a form of civil society. This is the Government we now speak of, it having been in request in most ages, and still is: whereas the other was long since out of date, being used onely in the first age of the World, as proper onely for that time.

So that to prevent all Objections of this nature, when we speak here of Go∣vernment, we mean onely the Political, which is by Consent or Compact; whose original we shall prove to be in the peo∣ple. As for the Government of the Israelites, first under Moses, then Joshua and the Judges; The Scripture plainly shews, that they were extraordi••nary Governours, being of God's immediate institution, who raised them up by his Spirit, and imposed them upon that peo∣ple; whose peculiar happiness it was in

cases of this nature, to have so infallible and sure a direction; so that their Go∣vernment was a Theocracie, (as some have called it) having God himself for its onely Original: and therefore no wonder we have in that time & Nation, so few visible foot-steps of the peoples Election, or of an institution by Com∣pact. But yet we finde after the Judges, when this people rejected this more immediate way of Government by God, (as the Lord told Samuel, They have not rejected thee, but me) and de∣desired a Government after the manner of other Nations; then God seems to forbear the use of his Prerogative, and leave them to an exercise of their own natural Rights and Liberties, to make choice of a new Government and Go∣vernour by suffrage and compact.

The Government they aimed at, was Kingly: God himself was displeased at it, and so was Samuel too; who, in hope to continue the old Form, and to fright them from the new, tells them, what Monsters in Government Kings would prove, by assuming unto themselves an Arbitrary Power, (not that a King might

lawfully and by right do what Samuel describes, but onely to shew how far Kings would presume to abuse their power; which no doubt Samuel foresaw, not onely by Reason, but by the Spirit of Prophecie.) Nevertheless the people would have a King; say they, Nay, but there shall be a King over us: whereupon, saith God to Samuel, Hearken to their voice. Where we plainly see; first, God gives them leave to use their own natu∣ral Rights, in making choice of their own Form of Government; but then indeed, for the choice of their Governor, there was one thing extraordinary, in that God appointed them one, he vouch∣safing still in an extraordinary and im∣mediate manner to be their Director and Protector: but yet, though God was pleased to nominate the person, he left the confirmation and ratification of the Kingship unto the people; to shew, that naturally the right of all was in them, however the exercise of it were superseded at that time, by his Divine pleasure, as to the point of nomination: for, that the people might understand it was their Right, Samuel calls them

all to Mizpeh, as if the matter were all to be done anew on their part; and there by lot, they at length made choice of Saul, and so immediately by pro∣claiming him with shouts and acclamati∣ons: and then having had proof of his valour against the Amorites, they meet at Gilgal, and proclaim him King once a∣gain, to shew that (naturally) the vali∣dity of the Kingship depended wholly upon the peoples consent and confirma∣tion. And so you see the first and most eminent evidence of the institution of Political Government in Scripture doth notoriously demonstrate, that its origi∣nal is in or from the people; and there∣fore I shall wave any further instances in cases of the like nature out of Scripture, which are not a few. Onely let it be re∣membred, that Peter in his first Epistle, calls all Government the Ordinance of man, (in the Original, the creation of man, a Creature of a mans making) to shew, that in all its forms it depends onely upon the will & pleasure of the people.

We might insist farther to evince the Truth of this by strength of Reason; but let this serve to assert the right of the

thing; and as for the rest, every man will easily believe it very consonant to reason, if he reflect upon the matter of fact, and consider, that it hath been the unanimous practice of all the Nations of the World, to assert their own Rights of Election and Consent (as often as they had opportunity) in the various turns of institution and alteration of Govern∣ment. In Italy of old they had most Free-States, and few Princes; now all Princes, and no Free-States. Naples, after many Revolutions, is under Spain, Rome under a Pope, and under him one Senator, in stead of those many that were wont to be; Venice and Genoa have Senators and Dukes, but the Dukes are of small power; Florence, Ferrara, Mantua, Parma, and Savoy, have no Senators, but Dukes only, and they absolute; Burgundy, Lorain, Gas∣coin, and Britany, had once Kings, then Dukes, but now are incorporated into France: so all the Principalities of Ger∣many that now are, were once imbodied in one entire Regiment: Castile, Aragon, Portugal, & Barcelona, were once distinct Kingdoms, but now united all to Spain, save Portugal, which fell off the other

day: France was first one Kingdom un∣der Pharamond, afterwards parted into four Kingdoms, and at last become one again: England consisted of Free-States till the Romans yoked it, afterwards it was divided into seven Kingdoms, and in the end it became one again. Thus you see how the world is subject to shiftings of Government: and though it be most true, that the power of the Sword hath been most prevalent in ma∣ny of these changes, yet some of them have been chiefly managed (as they ought) by the peoples Consent; and e∣ven in those where the Sword hath made way, the peoples consent hath ever been drawn and taken in afterwards, for cor∣roboration of Title; it having been the custom of all Usurpers, to make their in∣vestitures appear as just as they could, by getting the Communities Consent ex post sacto, and entring into some compact with them, for the better establishing themselves with a shew of legality: which act of all Tyrants and Usurpers, is a ma∣nifest (though tacite) confession of theirs, That de jure the original of all Power and Government, is and ought to be in the people.