tick, or the most Pious Conftitutions: Male pofita et Lex, que tumultuarie pofita eft, was one of thofe pofitions of Ariftotle, 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 make that Act good, which was in it Self Null. And I doubt this Logick had an influence upon other Acts of no less Moment than thefe: but it was an Erroneous and Unskilful fuggeftion; for an Act of Parliament, what Circumftances foever concurr'd in the contriving and framing it, will be always 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 cause 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 strong 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 Justice. How much foever the King's Friends were, for the reafons aforefaid, dejected upon the paffing thofe two Acts, it is cer tain, They who thought they got whatsoever He loft, were mightily Exalted, and thought Themselves now Superior to any Oppofition: And what returns of duty and acknowledge ment they made to the King for that Grace and Favour, is to be remember'd in the next place. THE fame day those two Acts were by his Majesty'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 Houses, and, together with a lift of the Names of fuch Perfons, as for the present 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 neceflary to be inferted in the very terms and form it was agreed upon, and presented; and was as followeth. 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 most 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 Papists, 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, "fhall have power within the faid County to nominate, and « time, "time, as he fhall think fit for that purpose. And "his Deputies, Colonels, and Captains, and other Officers, "thall 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 "time, fhall receive directions by his Majelty's Authority, ❝fignified unto them by the Lords and Commons, aflembled "in Parliament. And it is further Ordain'd, that fuch, as "fhall not obey in any of the Premises, fhall answer their "neglect and contempt to the Lords and Commons in a Par"liamentary way, and not otherwife, nor elsewhere: and "that every the Powers, granted as aforefaid, fhall continue, "until it fhall be otherwife order'd, or declar'd by both Houses "of Parliament, and no longer. This to go "alfo to the Dominion of 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 those Bills, was the opening a Letter they intercepted, which was directed to her Majefty. The Lord Digby, after their Majesty'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 horses to a Warlike appearance, and fo to expofe him to the fury of the People, at least 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 Coun-. cils 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 fupplying himself with fuch accommodations as he stood in need of. Amongst these Letters there was one to his Brother in Law S Lewis Dives, which, by the treachery of that perfon, to whose 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 pause they did the like; for which they made no other excufe ( when upon a Meffage 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 afpe"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 dishonourable to her "Majelty, and dangerous to the Kingdom, if it should not "have been opened: And they befought the King to per"fwade her Majefty, that he would not vouchfafe any coun"tenance to, or correfpondence with, the Lord Digby, or "any other of the Fugitives or Traytors, whofe offences were "under the examination and judgement 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 juftice 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 shall betake himself to the "eafieft and complyanteft ways of accommodation, I am "confident, that then I fhall ferve him more by my absence, "than by all my industry. And in that to Sr Lewis Dives, were these words: "God knows, I have not a thought to "make me blush towards my Country, much less criminal; "but where Traytors have fo great a fway, the honefteft "thoughts may prove most Treasonable. Which gave those, that thought themselves concern'd, fo great offence, that within two days after, they accused 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 Horses. Though this extravagancy of theirs feems to be di rected against a particular perfon, I could not omit it in this place, being accompanied with thofe circumftances. And it may be, pofterity may look upon the fevere prosecution of a young Noble man of admirable parts, and eminent hopes, in fo implacable a manner, as a most pertinent inftance of the Tyranny, aud Injustice of that time, not poffible to end, but in fo much wickedness as hath since been practised. mons. A THIRD Act of that day was the carrying up an Im- The Atturpeachment to the Lords against the King's Atturney General, ney General For maliciously advifing and contriving the Articles upon by the Comis impeach'd "which the Lord Kimbolton, Mr Hollis, Mr Pym, Mr Hamb"den, Mr Strode, and Sr Arthur Haflerig, had been accused "by his Majesty of High Treafon; it being not thought fecurity and reparation enough, that the King had waved any Vol. I. Part 2. further E e Militia. further proceeding against them, except they left such a monument of their power, that, upon what occafion or provocation foever, no man should prefume to obey the King in the like command: fo that the fame fourteenth of February, that was celebrated for the King's condescension to that Act for putting the Bishops out of the House 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 Master's command. All which were very ill inftances of that application and compliance his Majesty had reason to expect, and fome men had promised him he fhould receive.. The King's THOUGH the King was refolved in no degree to confent Answer con- to the Propofition for the Militia, yet he thought not the cerning the time feasonable 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 Princefs 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 accompany the Queen to Dover, and as foon as fhe 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 Answer to their juft and neceffary Petition con"cerning the Militia of the Kingdom; which by a gracious "Meffage formerly fent unto them, he had been pleased to "promise thould 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 "thoughts, and to give them fuch an Answer, as might raife "in them a Confidence, that they fhould not be expofed 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 σε "invade |