Mr. GRIMSTON HIS LEARNED SPEECH IN THE High Court of PARLIAMENT: CONCERNING Troubles abroad, and Grievances at home.
SHEWING The inward Symptomes and Cauſes of all our Feares and Dangers, and what probability there is of Reformation, in caſe due puniſhment be ſpeedily executed on the Incendiaries and chiefe Cauſers of thoſe diſtractions that have oppreſt our Church and Common-Wealth.
LONDON, Novemb. 25. Printed for T. Wright. 1642.
THere hath now a great and weighty buſineſſe beene preſented to this Houſe, and a Letter hath beene read, importing a deciſion of the Kings naturall Subjects.
M. Speaker, this is a great caſe, and very worthy of the conſideration and advertiſement of this great Councell; but I am very much miſtaken, if there be not a caſe here at home, of as great a danger as that now put to be abroad; the one ſtands without the doore (for ſo dangers from thence, in all our hiſtories, have ever beene termed:) but the caſe that I would put is a caſe of danger already upon our backs.
2And in thoſe great caſes of danger, which ſo much concerne the welfare of the Body Politique, we ought to do in them like skilfull Phyſitians, that are not led in their judgments ſo much by the outward expreſſions of a diſeaſe, as by the inward Symptomes and cauſes of it. For it fares with a body politique, as it doth with a body naturall: It is impoſſible to cure an ulcerous body, unleſſe you firſt cleanſe the veines, and purge the body from thoſe obſtructions, and peſtilentiall humours that overcharge Nature, and being once done too, botches, blaines, and ſcabs, that grew upon the ſuperficies and out-ſide of the body, dry up, ſhed, and fall away of themſelves.
Mr. Speaker, the danger that hath now beene preſented to the Houſe, it ſtandeth at a farre diſtance, and I wiſh heartily, that it were further off; yet as it ſtands at a far diſtance, it is ſo much the leſſe dangerous. But the caſe that I ſhall put, is a caſe of great danger here at home, domeſtique: and therefore ſo much the more dangerous, becauſe it is home-bred, and runs in the veines.
And, Mr. Speaker, if the one ſhall appeare, to be of as great danger, as the other, I hope it will not bee thought unreaſonable this time, to put the one aſwell as the other; And the caſe that I would put is this.
The Charter of our liberties called Magna Charta, was granted unto us by King John; which was but a renovation and a reſtetution of the ancient Laws of this Kingdome. This Charter was afterwards in the3 ſucceſſion of ſeverall ages, confirmed unto us above 30 times, and in the 3 year of his Majeſties reigne that now is we had no more then a bare confirmation of it. For we had an Act declaratory paſt, and then to put it out of queſtion and diſpute for the future, his Majeſty by his gratious anſwer Soit droit comme eſt deſire, inveſted it with the title of Petition of right.
Mr. Speaker,
It may be ſome may object. Parturiunt montes, &c. I promiſed to preſent the Houſe with a caſe of very great danger here at home, but the Mountaine hath brought forth nothing but a Mouſe; That this caſe is not worthy the name of a caſe, and ſo not worthy the putting.
And truly, for mine owne part, I ſhould have bin of the ſame opinion (had not ſome expoſitors, contrary to the Lawes of God, and Man, and reaſon, and I am ſure contrary to the Dictamen of their own Conſciences) marred the text with their expoſitions, undermining the liberty of the Subjects, with new invented ſubtile diſtinctions, and aſſuming to themſelves a power (I know not where they had it) out of PARLIAMENT, to ſupercede, annihilate and to make void the Lawes of this Kingdome.
What ſad effects theſe wayes and opinions have produced, I am confident, His Majeſty hath neither ſeene nor heard, as we have felt them. And it is now his Majeſties goodneſſe and Piety, to give us leave to ſpeake them, and to preſent them with our Greevances, which are not few.
4Mr. Speaker, the Common-wealth hath bin miſerably torne and macerated, and all the proprieties, and liberties ſhaken: the Church diſtracted, the Goſpell and Profeſſors of it perſecuted, and the whole Kingdome over-run with Multitudes, and ſwarmes of projecting Cater-wormes, and Caterpillars, the worſt of all the Egyptian Plagues.
Then as the caſe now ſtands with us, I conceive there are two points very conſiderable.
The firſt is, what hath bin done any way to impeach the Liberty of the Subject, contrary to the Petition of Right.
The ſecond is, who have bin the Authors and Cauſers of it.
Mr. Speaker, the ſerious examination and deciſion of thoſe two queſtions, do highly concerne his Majeſty in the point of Honour, and his Subjects in the point of Intereſt: and all that I ſhall ſay to it is but the words that Ezra did to King Artaxerxes, to the ſetlement of that State, which at that time was as much out of order, as ours is at this preſent; and which cured theirs, I hope will cure ours. His words were theſe.
Whoſoever hath not done the Law of God, and the Law of the King, let judgement be ſpeedely executed upon him, whether it be unto death, or unto baniſhment, or unto Confiſcation of goods, or to Impriſonment.
Now M. Speaker, it may be ſome do thinke this a ſtrange text, and is it poſſible! Some may thinke it as ſtrange a caſe. As for the text, every man may read it, that will. And for the caſe, I am afraid there are but few here, which do not experementally know it,5 to be as bad as I have put it: And how to mend a bad caſe, is part of the buſines we met about. His Majeſty hath graciouſly confirmed unto us, our great and ancient Priviledge of Freedome of Speech: and haveing his Kingly word for it, I ſhall reſt confidently upon it, as the greateſt ſecurity under heaven. And whilſt I have the honour to have a place here, I ſhall with humility be bound to expreſſe my ſelfe as a Free-man.
The Diſeaſes and Diſtempers that are now in our body politique, are grown to that height, that they pray for, and importune a Cure. And his Majeſty out of his tender care, and Affection, to his people, like a nurſing Father, hath now offered himſelfe to heare our prayers and Complaints.
Mr. Speaker,
We cannot complaine that we want good Lawes, for the wit of man cannot invent better then are already made; There want only ſome Examples, that ſuch as have bin the authors, and cauſers of all miſeries and diſtractions in the Church and Commonwealth, contrary to thoſe good Laws which be like Treakle to expell the poyſon of miſcheife out of others.
But my part is but Oſtendere Portam, and therefore having put the Caſe, I muſt leave it to the judgment of this Houſe, whether our dangers here at home be not as great and conſiderable, as that which was even now preſented.
WHereas there have been diverſe Complaints made unto us of many diſorders committed by the Souldiers in their marching, and in ſuch places wherein they have been quartered or billeted, which diſorders (as is informed) have been partly occaſioned by the neglect of their Officers to goe along with them and conduct them: It is therefore Ordered by the Lords and Commons aſſembled in Parliament, that the Lord Generall be deſired to give Command to all his Officers, that they take care to attend according to the duty of their ſeverall places, that the Souldiers thereby may be hereafter kept from ſtragling up and downe the Countreyes: And to that end to lay his Command upon the Officers of each Company, both in the Marching, Quartering, and Billeting, to be in Perſon amongſt the Souldiers themſelves, to prevent any diſorders whatſoever, and puniſh ſuch as ſhall offend.
(EEBO-TCP ; phase 2, no. A85717)
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