A Brief Register Part 2, Title page – To the reader
THE SECOND PART OF A BRIEF REGISTER AND SURVEY Of the several Kinds and Forms of Parliamentary VVrits.
COMPRISING The several Varieties and Forms of Writs for electing Knights, Citizens and Burgesses for Parliaments and Great Councils, issued to Sheriffs of Counties only, with the antientest Returns of these Writs by Sheriffs yet extant on Record (from 49 H. 3. til 22 E. 4.) amongst the Records in the Tower: intermixed with other rare Writs, pertinent to this subject; and some Writs of Prorogation and Re-sommons, with special usefull Annotations and Observations on them, after most of these Writs recitals, for the Readers information.
Wherein the Original of the Commons House, and elections of Knights, Citizens, Burgesses, and Barons of Ports to sit in Parliament, is infallibly evidenced to be no antienter than 40 H. 3. the Presidents and Objections to the contrarie, answered: The Original of antient Boroughs, and how many they were under King Edward the 1. 2, 3. discovered: The power of the Kings of England, in creating new Boroughs by Charters or Writs, augmenting, diminishing the number of Knights, Burgesses, Members of the Commons House, and altering the Forms of Writs of Summons, without a Parliament; The inability of the Commons House to eject, or censure any one of their Members, much less the major part (as now) without the King or House of Lords concurrence and Judicature, and the inconsistency of force and armed Gards with Parliaments freedom, are fully evidenced. Some grosse mistakes touching Parliament Writs and Members refuted, with many other Rarities concerning Parliaments.
By William Prynne Esquire, a Bencher of Lincolns-Inne.
Jer. 6 16.
Thus saith the Lord, stand ye in the waies and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way? and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your Sou's: but they said, We will not walk therein.
LONDON, Printed by T. Childe and L. Parry, and are to be sold by Edward Thomas at the Adam and Eve in Little Britain. 1660.
To the Reader.
Courteous Reader,
LEt it seem neither strange, nor injurious, nor unreasonable or unseasonable to thee, that I now publis… only one single Section and Fragment of the severa… Forms of Writs for electing Members of the Commons House in Parliament, without the remaining Sections I at first intended to accompany it, to make it compleat; when as a very small Fragment of the old Commons House, not the full Tenth part of it, (after thei… own double forcible dissipation by the Army,) ha… by their own special command forcibly excluded all t… old secluded Members, (being above 200.) by arm… Gards, not only out of the House but Lobby too, D… cemb. 27. and voted them quite out of the House t… 5th. of January 1659. without the least accusation … hearing, behind their backs, though ready to justif… themselves face to face against all Objections, contrary … all Laws of aDeu…r. 17. 2, to 14. John 7. 51. Acts 23. 30, 35. c. 24. 8, &c. c. 25. 16, 17, 18. Magna Charta c. 35.God, Nations, and the Land; whi… judge and disfranchise no man how criminal or v… soever, before he be heard, & have his Accusers fa… to face, and have license to answer for himself co… cerning the crimes laid against him. It seemi… bActs 25. 27.unreasonable (even in the judgments of mere Pagan… to imprison or condemn any person, and not with… to signifie the crimes laid against him. The only gro… of this their Unparliamentary bruitish Vote with… any crime, cause, or particular Members names expr… sed in it, is our cSee the Epistle to my Speech, Dec. 4. 1648.voting the Kings Concessions up… the Propositions, to be a Ground for the House proceed upon for the settlement of the peace of t… Kingdom, according to our Trusts, Judgements, C… sciences, after 3. daies and one nights debate without … viding the House, when there were above 300. Members present: for which Vote alone Decemb. 5. (as it now appears) they then gave secret Orders to the Army Osficers to secure 45. and seclude above 200. more Members Dec. 6 & 7. 1648. and since that to re-s…clude them, May 7 & 9. and Decemb. 27, 1659. placing tr…ble Gards at the door, January 5. when they passed their vote to discharge, & disable them from sitting, to keep them out if they then attempted to enter. Had this bin only a sin of Ignorance, or private Injury, we should with patience and Christian charity, have pretermitted and remitted it with our Saviors prayer, Father forgive them for they c Luke 23, 24.know not what they do: but being a wilsull malicious, unatural crime against not only their Fellow-Members, contrary to all rules of Iustice, Nature, and the Gospel it self, resolving, That there should be no Schism in the d 1 Cor. 12, 25, 26.Body (of the House or Parliament, no more than in the natural Body) but that the Members should have the same care one of another, and whether one Member suffer, all the Members suffer with it; but also the highest injury and affront to all those Counties, Cities and Boroughs they represent, and a new kind of Gupowder-Treason, to blow up all English Parliaments foundations, Rights, Privileges, Members, and the fundamental Government, Laws, and Liberties of the people in succeeding generations, if connived at, & not f…lly vi… dicated; being 6. several times, or more, impenitently perpetrated by them, the last after their own late double dissipations by divine retaliation, which they so highly resented as Treasonable and Flagition in Cromwell and Lambert, seconded with an old and new Engagement and Oath of Abjuration, which some of them have already taken, & intend to obtrude upon the Consciences of our 3. Nations, to send them down quick into Hell, if taken, or ruine them in their Liberties & Properties if denied, I cannot but look upon it as a kind of sin against the Holy Ghost (which I fear some of these desperadoes have wellnigh arived unto) dMat. r…. 31, 32.which shall never be forgiven to men, neither in this world, nor in that which is to come. The rather because they arrogate to themselves, the Name, Power and Judicature of THE PARLIAMENT, no lesse than 5. times in this short Nonsence Vote; when as they are not the Tithe of a Commons House, and no Parliament at all, without the King, and House of Lords, & have not the least legal Jurisdiction to seclude or vote out any one Member, without the Kings or Lords concurence; whom they have engaged against, abjured, secluded against the very Act by which they pretend to sit: who were a Parliament alwaies without a Comons house til 49H. 3. without whom they can now Enact, Vote, Order nothing, that is valid, or Obligatory to the secluded Members or people; as this and the former part of my Register, and Plea for the Lords, will inform those Ignoramusses in Parliamentary proceedings who think they may act, enact, and vote what they please, against all rules of Justice, the Laws of God and the Land) and our whole Nation, the reason and end of its present publication. If they or any others, shall receive any New-light, from these new unknow Antiquities, to reduce the over-swelling House of Commons, within its antient bounds of loyalty and sobriety, for the peace, and settlement of our 3. Kingdoms, reduced to the brink of utter ruine, by their dangerous … Innovations, and Usurpations over their fellow-Members, …cers and Kings; and restore our Parliaments to their antient Constitution, Rights, Privileges, without any injurious Incroachments upon the Peoples Liberties, or one House upon the other, I shall … God for it, and by his assistance, proceed to publish the remaining Sections, for the benifit of Posterity. In the mean time, I hope this Fragment will demerit thy thanks too, and thy servent Prayers for thy friend,
The unfeined, unmercinary Servant of his Native Country, in his generation William Prynn. Lincolns-Inne Jan. 7. 1659.