tick, or the moft Pious Conftitutions: Male pofita eft Lex, que tumultuarie pofita eft, was one of thofe pofitions of Aritotle, which hath Never been fince contradicted; and was an advantage, that, being well managed, and ftoutly infifted upon, would, in fpight of all their Machinations, which were not yet firmly and folidly formed, have brought them to a temper of being Treated with. But I have fome cause to believe, that even this Argument, which was Unanswerable for the Rejecting that Bill, was applied for the Confirming it; and an opinion that the violence, and force, used in procuring it, render'd it abfolutely Invalid and Void, made the Confirmation of it lefs confider'd, as not being of strength to made that Act good, which was in it Self Null. And I doubt this Logick had an influence upon other Acts of no lefs Moment than these but it was an Erroneous and Unskilful fuggeftion; for an Act of Parliament, what Circumftances foever concurr'd in the contriving aud framing it, will be allways of too great reputation to be avoided, or to be declared Void, by the fole Authority of any Private perfons, or the Single power of the King Himfelf. And though the Wisdom, Sobriety, and Power, of a future Parliament, if God fhall ever blefs the Kingdom with another Regularly Conftituted, may find caufe to declare this, or that Act of Parliament, Void; yet there will be the fame temper requifite to fuch a Declaration, as would ferve to Repeal it. And it may be Then, many men, who abhorr'd the thing when it was done, for the Manner of doing it, will be of the Civilians opinion, fieri non debuit, factum valet; and never confent to the Altering of that, which they would never have confented to the Establishing of; neither will that fingle Prefident of the Judges in the cafe of King Henry the Seventh, when they declared the Act of Attainder to be Void by the Acceffion of the Crown (though if he had in truth been the perfon, upon whom the Crown had Lineally and Rightfully defcended, it was good Law ) find, or make, the Judges of another Age parallel to them, till the King hath as ftrong a Sword in his hand, and the People as much at his devotion and difpofal; and then the Making, and Declaring Law, will be of equal Facility, though, it may be, not of equal Juftice. How much foever the King's Friends were, for the reasons aforefaid, dejected upon the paffing thofe two Acts, it is certain, They who thought they got whatfoever He loft, were mightily Exalted, and thought Themfelves now Superior to any Oppofition: And what returns of duty and acknowledgement they made to the King for that Grace and Favour, is to be remember'd in the next place. THE fame day thofe two Acts were by his Majefty's Com miffion miffion paffed, and as foon as a very fhort Meffage of thanks for that favour, as much importing the Safety of both Kingdoms, of England and Ireland, was confented to, an Ordinance for the fettling the Militia was agreed on by both Houfes, and, together with a lift of the Names of fuch Perfons, as for the prefent they meant to Confide in, was immediately fent to the King for his Approbation; the which, being the most Avowed foundation of all the Miseries that have followed, will be here neceffary to be inferted in the very terms and form it was agreed upon, and prefented; and was as followerh. An Ordinance of both Houses of Parliament for the order- An Ordiing of the Militia of the Kingdom of England, and Do-nance agreed minion of Wales. on by both Houses for Settling the "WHEREAS there hath been of late a moft dangerous Militia. "and defperate defign upon the House of Commons, which we have juft caufe to believe to be the effect of the bloody "Counfels of the Papifts, and other ill affected Perfons, who "have already raised a Rebellion in the Kingdom of Ireland, "and, by reafon of many difcourfes, we cannot but fear "they will proceed, not only to ftir up the like Rebellion, "and Infurrection in this Kingdom of England, but also to "back them with Forces from abroad; for the fafety there"fore of his Majefty's Perfon, the Parliament, and Kingdom, "in this time of imminent danger, it is ordain'd by the King, "the Lords, and Commons, now in Parliament affembled, "That fhall have power to affemble, and call together all and fingular his Majefty's Subjects within the "County of as well within Liberties, as without, "that are meet and fit for the Wars, and them to Train, Exer"cife, and put in readiness, and them, after their Abilities, and "Faculties, well and fufficiently, from time to time, to caufe "to be array'd, and weaponed, and to take the Muster of "them in places moft fit for that purpose. And cc "fhall have power within the faid County to nominate, and appoint fuch perfons of Quality, as to him fhall feem meet, "to be his Deputy Lieutenants to be approved of by both "Houses of Parliament: and that any one, or more of the "faid Deputies, fo affign'd and approv'd of, fhall in the abfence, or by the Command of the faid have "Power and Authority to do and execute within the County time, "time, as he fhall think fit for that purpose. And "his Deputies, Colonels, and Captains, and other Officers, "fhall have further Power and Authority to Lead, Conduct, "and Imploy, the perfons aforefaid, array'd, and weaponed, as well within the County of as within any "other part of this Realm of England, or Dominion of Wales, "for the fuppreffing of all Rebellions, Infurrections, and In"vafions, that may happen, according as they, from time to ર time, fhall receive directions by his Majefty's Authority, "fignified unto them by the Lords and Commons, affembled "in Parliament. And it is further Ordain'd, that fuch, as "fhall not obey in any of the Premifes, fhall answer their "neglect and contempt to the Lords and Commons, in a Par"liamentary way, and not otherwise nor elsewhere: and "that every the Powers, granted as aforefaid, fhall continue, "until it fhall be otherwife order'd, or declar'd by both Houfes "of Parliament, and no longer. This to go "alfo to the Dominion Wales. A fecond Act of the fame day, and the only way they took to return their thanks and acknowledgment to the Queen for her interceffion, and mediation in the paffing thofe Bills, was the opening a Letter they intercepted, which was directed to her Majesty. The Lord Digby, after their Majefty's going to Windfor, when he found in what umbrage he stood with the powerful and prevailing Party, and that they were able to improve his going through a Town in a Coach and fix horfes to a Warlike appearance, and fo to expose him to the fury of the People, at leaft to the power of the Counties, to be fuppreffed, as they had done by their Order, or Proclamation of the twelfth of January, before remember'd, and appointed to be read in all Market Towns throughout England; concluded for his own fecurity, and to free the King's Councils from the imputation of his evil influence, to remove himself into fome parts beyond the Seas: and fo, by the King's leave, and by his licence, was tranfported into Holland, from whence he writ fome Letters to his friends at London, to give them an account where he was, and for supplying himself with fuch accommodations as he stood in need of. Amongst these Letters there was one to his Brother in Law Sr Lewis Dives, which, by the treachery of that person, to whofe care it was intrufted for conveyance, was brought to the House of Commons: and it being averred, "that it came "from the Lord Digby, whom they looked upon as a Fugitive, they made no fcruple of opening it; and finding another in it directed to the Queen, after a very little paufe they did the like; for which they made no other excufe (when upon a Meflage a Meffage from the King they fent her the transcript, for the Original they still kept) than, "that having opened the other "Letters, and finding in them fundry expreffions full of afpecc rity, and malignity to the Parliament, they thought it very "probable, that the like might be contained in that to her "Majefty; and that it would have been difhonourable to her "Majefty, and dangerous to the Kingdom, if it should not "have been opened: And they befought the King to per"fwade her Majefty, that fhe would not vouchfafe any countenance to, or correfpondence with, the Lord Digby, or cc any other of the Fugitives or Traytors, whofe offences were "under the examination and judgment of Parliament. IN that Letter to the Queen were these words, "If the King betake himself to a fafe place, where he may avow "and protect his Servants (from rage I mean and violence; "for from justice I will never implore it ) I fhall then live in impatience, and in mifery, till I wait upon you. But if, "after all he hath done of late, he fhall betake himself to the "eafieft and complyanteft ways of accommodation, I am "confident, that then I fhall ferve him more by my abfence, "than by all my induftry. And in that to Sr Lewis Dives, were these words : "God knows, I have not a thought to "make me blufh towards my Country, much lefs criminal; "but where Traytors have fo great a fway, the honestest thoughts may prove moft Treasonable. Which gave those, that thought themselves concern'd, fo great offence, that within two days after, they accufed him of High Treafon; and finding no words in the Letter would amount to that offence, they accused him of levying War against the King; which could have relation to no Act of his, but what was before mentioned at Kingston upon Thames, when to the terrour of the King's Subjects, he was feen there in a Coach with fix Horfes. Though this extravagancy of theirs feems to be directed against a particular perfon, I could not omit it in this place, being accompanied with those circumftances. And it may be, pofterity may look upon the fevere profecution of a young Noble man of admirable parts, and eminent hopes, in fo implacable a manner, as a moft pertinent inftance of the Tyranny, and Injuftice of that time, not poffible to end, but in fo much wickedness as hath fince been practifed. is by the Com mons. A THIRD Act of that day was the carrying up an Im- The Attur peachment to the Lords against the King's Atturney General, ney General "for maliciously advifing and contriving the Articles upon impeach'd "which the Lord Kimbolton, Mr Hollis, Mr Pym, Mr Hambden, Mr Strode, and Sr Arthur Haflerig, had been accufed "by his Majefty of High Treafon; it being not thought fecurity and reparation enough, that the King had waved any Vol. I. Part. 2. further E e The King's further proceeding against them, except they left fuch a monument of their power, that, upon what occafion or provocation foever, no man fhould prefume to obey the King in the like command: fo that the fame fourteenth of February, that was celebrated for the King's condefcenfion to that Act for putting the Bishops out of the Houfe of Peers, is famous likewife for thofe three Unparallelled Acts of contempt upon the Soveraign power; the demand of the fole power over all the Militia of the Kingdom; the opening Letters directed to the Sacred perfon of the Queen; and the impeaching the Atturney General, for performing, what he took to be the duty of his place, by his Mafter's command.. Ail which were very ill inftances of that application and compliance his Majefty had reafon to expect, and fome men had promifed him he fhould receive. THOUGH the King was refolved in no degree to confent to the Propofition for the Militia, yet he thought not the time feafonable for his pofitive Denyal, the Queen retaining ftill her fears of being stopped in her Journey. Therefore, for the prefent, he returned Anfwer, "that his dearest Con"fort the Queen, and his dear Daughter the Princess Mary, "being then upon their departure for Holland, he could not "have fo good time to confider of a particular answer for a "matter of fo great weight, as That was; and therefore, he "would refpite the fame till his return: the King intending to acompany the Queen to Dover, and as foon as the was imbarked to return. They received this Answer with their ufual impatience, and the next day fent Meffengers to him, with that, which they called an Humble Petition; in which Their reply. they told him, "that they had, with a great deal of grief, "received his Anfwer to their juft and neceflary Petition concerning the Militia of the Kingdom, which, by a gracious Meffage formerly fent unto them, he had been pleased to promife fhould be put into fuch hands, as his Parliament "fhould approve of, the extent of their power, and the time "of their continuance, being likewife declared; the which "being now done, and the perfons Nominated, his Majefty "nevertheless referved his refolution to a longer, and a very "uncertain time; which, they faid, was as unfatisfactory and "deftructive as an abfolute Denial. Therefore, they once “ again befought him to take their defire into his Royal <c thoughts, and to give them fuch an Answer, as might taife "in them a Confidence, that they fhould not be exposed to "the practices of those who thirst after the ruin of this King"dom, and the kindling of that combuftion in England, "which they had in fo great a measure effected in Ireland; "from whence, as they were informed, they intended to 4 "invade |