Plea for the Lords and House of Peers, Title page – Dedication
A Plea for the LORDS AND HOUSE of PEERS.
OR A full, neceſſary, ſeaſonable enlarged Vindication, of the juſt, antient hereditary Right of the Earls, Lords, Peers, and Barons of this Realm to ſit, vote, judge, in all the PARLIAMENTS of ENGLAND.
Wherein their Right of Seſſion, and Sole Power of Judicature without the Commons Houſe, in Criminal, Civil, Eccleſiaſtical cauſes as well of Commons as Peers; Yea in caſes of Elections, Breach of Privilege, miſdemeanors of the Commons themſelves, are irrefragably evidenced by ſolid reaſons, punctual Authorities, memorable Preſidents out of Hiſtories and Records in all ages, moſt of them not extant in any Writers of our Parliaments: Whoſe Errors are here rectified; the Seditious Anti-Parliamentary Pamphlets, Libels of Lilbourn, Overton, and other Levellers againſt the Lords Houſe, and Right of judging Commoners, fully refuted: and larger Diſcoveries made of the Proceedings, Iudgements of the Lords in Parliament, in Criminal, Civil cauſes, Elections, Breaches of Privilege, of their Gallantry in gaining, maintaining, preſerving the Great Charters, Laws, Liberties, Properties of the Nation, and oppugning all Regal, Papal Vſurpations, Exactions, Oppreſſions, illegal Ayds, Taxes required or impoſed; and of the Commons firſt ſummons to, and juſt Power in Parliaments, than in any former Publications whatſoever.
By William Prynne Eſquire, a Bencher of Lincolnes Inne.
Prov. 22.28.
Remove not the antient Land-mark which thy Fathers have ſet,
LONDON, Printed for Henry Brome, at the ſign of the Gun in Ivie Lane and Edward Thomas at the Adam and Eve in Little Britain, 1659.
To all the truly Honourable, Heroick Lords and Peers of the Realm of England, who are real Patriots of Religion, their Countries Fundamental Liberties, Properties, Great Charters, Laws, againſt all arbitrary Tyranny, Encroachments, illegal, unneceſſary Taxes and Oppreſſions.
Right Honourable,
THough true Nobility (alwayes founded in (a)Omnes pari ſorte naſcimur, ſolâ virtute diſtinguimur. Minutius Felix Octau. p. 123. Nobilitas ſola eſt ac unica virtus. Iuvenal Satyr. 8.vertue and real piety) needs no other tutelar Deity, or Apologie, but it ſelf, amongſt thoſe (b)Omnes boni ſemper Nobilitati ſavemus: & quia utile eſt reipub. Nobiles Homines eſſe dignos Majoribus ſuis, & quia valet apud nos elarorum Hominum & bene de reipub. meritorum memoria, etiam mortuorum. Cicero Orat. pro P. Sext.ingenious Spirits, who are able to diſcern or eſtimate its worth; yet the iniquity of our degenerated Age, and the frenzie of the intoxicated ignorant vulgar is ſuch, that it now requires the aſſiſtance of the ableſt Advocates to plead its cauſe, and vindicate the juſt Rights, Privileges of the Houſe of Peers, againſt the (c)Lilburn, Overton, and others.licentious Quills, Tongues of lawleſſe ſordid Sectaries, and Mechanick Levellers; who having got the Sword and reines into their hands, plant all their batteries and force againſt them; crying out like thoſe Babylonian Levellers of old againſt the Houſe of Lords; (d)Pſal. 137.7.Raſe it, Raſe it, even to the foundation thereof, and lay it for ever …ver with the very duſt; beholding all true Honor, worth, and Nobleneſs ſhining forth in your Honors heroick Spirits, with a malignant aspect, becauſe they deſpair of ever enjoying the leaſt ſpark therof in themſelves, and proſecuting you with a deadly hatred, becauſe better, greater than ever they have hopes to be, unleſs they can through †Thoſe who uſurp ſupreme Power by theſe illegal means, and Come not in by the Door; but climb up ſome other way into the ſheepfold: are reſolved by Chriſt himſelf to be THIEVES & ROBBERS; who come but for to STEAL-KILL, and DESTROY the SHEEP; and no lawfull Shepherds, Powers, Magiſtrates, John 10.1.10. Theſe Chriſts true ſheep will not follow, but flee from, for they know not their voyce. Ver. 5.Treachery and violence make themſelves the onelyonly Grandees, by debaſing your higheſt Dignity, to the loweſt Peaſantry, and making the meaneſt Commoners your Compears.
This dangerous ſeditious Deſign hath ingaged me (the unableſt of many) out of my great affection to Royalty and real Nobility, and a deep ſence of the preſent kid tottering condition of our Kingdom, Parliament (the very pillars and foundations whereof are now not only ſhaken, but almoſt quite ſubverted) voluntarily, without any Fee at all, to become your Honors Advocate, to plead your Cauſe, and vindicate your undoubted hereditary right of ſitting, voting, judging in our Parliaments; of which they ſtrenuouſly endeavour to plunder both your Lordſhips and your poſterities; and to publiſh theſe ſubitane Collections to the world, (now enlarged with many pertinent Additions) to ſtill the *Pſal. 65, 7.madneſs of the ſeduced vulgar, whom Ignoramus Lilburn, Overton, Walwin, and their Confederates have laboured to mutinie againſt your Parliamentary Juriſdiction, †Iſa. 41.25.treading upon Princes as upon mortar, and as the Potter treadeth the clay, in their illiterate ſeditious Pamphlets, whoſe Arguments, Pretences, Preſidents, Objections, Allegations I have here refuted by Scripture, Hiſtories, Antiquities, and Parliament-Rolls; the ignorance whereof, joyned with their malice, is the principal occaſion of their error in this kind.
And truly were all our Parliament Rolls, Pleas, Iournals, faithfully tranſcribed, *As they are now in part, In an Exact abridgement of the Records of the Tower of London, 1657. publiſhed by me.and publiſhed in print to the eyes of the world, as moſt of our Statutes are, by authority of both Houſes of Parliament (a work as worthy their undertaking, and as beneficial for the publike, as any I can recommend unto their care) it would not only preſerve them from imbezelling, and the hazards of fire and warr, to which they are now ſubject, but likewiſe eternally ſilence, refute the Sectaries, Levellers ignorant falſe Allegations againſt your Honors Parliamentary Juriſdiction and Judicatur ▪ reſolve, clear all or moſt doubts that can ariſe concerning the tower, juriſdiction, privileges of both, or either Houſes, keep both of them within their due bounds, (the exceeding whereof is dangerous, grievous to the people, except in caſes of abſolute, real, preſent, urgent, not pretended neceſsity, for the ſaving of a Kingdom▪ whiles that neceſſity continues, and no longer; chalk o… the …mi…ent regular way of proceeding in all kinds of Parliamentary affairs whatſoever, whether of warr, or peace, Trade or Government, Privileges or Taxes, and in all civil or criminal cauſes, and all matters whatſoever concerning King or Subject, Natives or Foreiners; overrule, reconcile moſt of the preſent differences between the King and Parliament, Houſe and Houſe, Members and Members; clear many doubts, rectifie ſome groſs miſtakes in our printed Statutes, Law-Books, and ordinary Hiſtorians; add much light, luſtre, ornament to our Engliſh Annals, the Common & Statute Laws; and make all Lawyers, all Members of both Houſes far more able than now they are, to manage and carry on all buſineſſes in Parliament, when they ſhall upon every occaſion almoſt have former preſidents ready at hand to direct them; there being now very few Members, in either Houſe, Lords, Lawyers, or others, well read, or verſed in antient Parliament Roll…, Pleas, Iournals, or Hiſtories relating to them, the ignorance whereof is a great Remora to their proceedings, yea oft times, a cauſe of dangerous incroachments of new Iuriſdictions over the Subjects perſons, eſtates, not uſual in former Parliaments; of ſome great miſtakes and deviations from the antient methodical Rules and Tracts of parliament (now almoſt quite forgotten, and laid aſide by new unexperienced, ignorant Parliament Members, who think they may do what they pleaſe) to the publike prejudice, injury of posterity, and ſubverſion of our Fundamental Laws, Rights, Liberties, in the higheſt degree, by new erected arbitrary Committees, exerciſing an abſolute tyrannical power over the Perſons, Liberties, Estates, Freeholds both of Lords themſelves, and all Engliſh Freemen.
Your Lordſhips helping hand to the ſpeedy furthering of ſuch a neceſſary publike work, and your induſtrious, magnanimous, unanimous imitation of the memorable heroick preſidents of your Noble progenitors, in gaining, regaining, enlarging, confirming, perpetuating to poſterity the ſucceſſive Grand Charters of our Liberties, when ever violated, in oppugning all arbitrary tyrannical Proceedings, Taxes, Oppreſſions, Encroachments, ill Counſellors, and bad Inſtruments both of Kings and Popes themſelves; in inflicting exemplary puniſhments upon all Traytors, Enemies to the publike, both in our Parliaments, and the Field too, when there was occaſion, the principal whereof, I have *Page 56. to 140. 188. to 194. 210. 242. to 258. 263. to 267.here preſented to your view, in a Chronical method, will be a great acceſſion to your Honour, the beſt vindication of your antient undoubted Parliamentary Juriſdiction, Right, Power, Judicature, againſt all Oppoſites; till the accompliſhment whereof, I ſhall humbly recommend this enlarged Plea in your Honors defence, to your Noble Patronage; who can pitch upon no better, nor readier means to ſupport your declining Honor and Authority, or to re-indear your ſelves in the Peoples affections, than in theſe distracted, dangerous, ſtormy times, to ingage all your intereſt, power, activity, ſpeedily to ſettle, ſecure Gods Glory, Truth, Worſhip, the publike Laws, Peace, Liberty, Safety of the Kingdom, againſt all open Oppoſers, and ſecret Underminers of them; to unburthen the people of their long-continued, heavy Taxes, the Souldiers inſolencies, free-quarters; to redreſs all preſſing grievances, all oppreſſing arbitrary Committees, proceedings, contrary to the rules of Law and Iuſtice; to right all grieved Petitioners (eſpecially ſuch who have waited at leaſt ſeven years ſpace at your doors for reparations) to relieve poor ſtarved Ireland; raiſe up the almoſt loſt honor, power, freedom, reputation of Parliaments, by acting honourably, heroically like your ſelves, without any fear, favour, hatred or ſelf-ends, by confining your ſelves, with the Commons Houſe, to the antient bounds, rules of Parliamentary Juriſdiction, proceedings, and by endeavouring to excel all others as farr in Iuſtice, Goodneſs and publike reſolutions, as you do in Greatneſs and Authority. Which that you may effectually perform, as it is the principal ſcope of this Plea for your Lordſhips; (which whether you ſtand, fall, or by way of Remitter, recover your antient rights again, after a violent diſcontinuance of them for a ſeaſon, will remain as a laſting Monument to all Poſterity of your undubitable juſt Right to ſit and judge in all Engliſh Parliaments) So it ſhall be the conſtant prayer of,
Your Lordſhips devoted Servant, WILLIAM PRYNNE. From my Study in Lincolns Inne, 7. Junii 1647.