ancient and fundamental laws and government of his Majesty's realms of England and Ireland, and to introduce an arbitrary and tyrannical government against law in the said kingdoms; and for exercising a tyrannous and exorbitant power over, and against the laws of the said kingdoms, over the liberties, estates, and lives of his Majesty's subjects; and likewise for having, by his own authority, commanded the laying and assessing of soldiers upon his Majesty's subjects in Ireland, against their consents, to compel them to obey his unlawful commands and orders, made upon paper petitions, in causes between party and party, which accordingly was executed upon divers of his Majesty's subjects, in a warlike manner, within the said realm of Ireland; and, in so doing, did levy war against the King's Majesty, and his liege people in that kingdom and also, for that he, upon the unhappy dissolution of the last parliament, did slander the house of commons to his Majesty, and did counsel and advise his Majesty, that he was loose and absolved from rules of government, and that he had an army in Ireland, which he might employ to reduce this kingdom; for which he deserves to undergo the pains and forfeitures of high treason.

And the said Earl hath been also an incendiary of the wars between the two kingdoms of England and Scotland: all which offences have been sufficiently proved against the said Earl upon his impeachment.

Be it therefore enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, and by the lords and commons in this present parliament assembled, and by authority of the same, that the said Earl of Strafford, for the heinous crimes and offences aforesaid, stand and be adjudged and attainted of high treason, and shall suffer the pain of death, and incur the forfeitures of his goods and chattels, lands, tenements, and hereditaments, of any estate of freehold or inheritance, in the said kingdoms of England and Ireland, which the said Earl, or any other to his use, or in trust for him, have or had, the day of the first sitting of this present parliament, or at any time since.

Provided, that no judge or judges, justice or justices whatsoever, shall adjudge or interpret any act or thing to be treason, nor hear or determine any treason, nor in any other manner than he or they should or ought to have done before the making of this act, and as if this act had never been had or made. Saving always unto all and singular persons and bodies politick and corporal, their heirs and successors, others than the said Earl and his heirs, and such as claim by, from, or under him, all such right, title, and interest, of, in, and to all and singular such of the said lands, tenements, and hereditaments, as he, they, or any of them, had before the first day of this present parliament, any thing herein contained to the contrary notwithstanding.

Provided, that the passing of this present act, and his Majesty's assent thereunto, shall not be any determination of this present sessions of parliament, but that this present sessions of parliament, and all bills and matters whatsoever, depending in parliament, and not fully enacted and determined, and all statutes and acts of parliament, which have their continuance until the end of this present session of parliament, shall remain, continue, and be in full force, as if this act had not been,

THE

ACCUSATION AND IMPEACHMENT

OF

WILLIAM LAUD, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY, BY THE HOUSE OF COMMONS,

In Maintenance of the Accusations, whereby he standeth charged with High-Treason.

Printed anno dom. 1641. Quarto, containing eight pages.

IMP

I.

"MPRIMIS, That he, the said Archbishop of Canterbury, hath endeavoured to subvert the fundamental laws of this kingdom, by giving his Majesty advice, both private and publick, at the council table, and high commission, and other places, and so would have them governed by the civil law; and said, he would make the proudest subject in the kingdom give way to him; and, being told it was against law, he replied he would make it law, and that the King might, at his pleasure, take away without law, and make it warrantable by God's law.

II.

Item, His countenancing of books for the maintenance of his unlimited power, wherein the power of the parliament is denied, and the bishop's power set up.

III.

Item, That he traiterously went about to interrupt the judges, by his threatenings, and other means, to constrain them to give false judg ment in the case of ship-money; as will appear by writings under his own hand, and by the testimonies of divers persons of good worth and quality.

IV.

Item, That he hath taken bribes, and sold justice in the high commission court, as archbishop, and hath not only corrupted the judges there, but hath also sold judicial places to be corrupted.

V,

Item, That he hath traiterously endeavoured the incroachment of jurisdiction, institution of canons, and they are not only against law, but prejudicial, and against the liberties of the subjects; that he hath enlarged his jurisdictions by making these canons; and that he hath exercised his authority very cruelly, both as counsellor, as a commissioner, annd as a judge; and this authority is derived from his own order, and not from the King.

VI.

Item, That he hath traiterously assumed to himself a capital power over his Majesty's subjects, deuying his power of prelacy from the King.

VII.

Item, That, by false erroneous doctrines, and other sinister ways and means, he went about to subvert religion, established in this kingdom, and to set up popery and superstition in the church. VIII.

Item, That, by divers undue means and practices, he hath gotten into his hands the power and nominating of ministers to spiritual promotions, and hath presented none but slanderous men thereunto; and that he hath presented corrupt chaplains to his Majesty.

IX.

Item, That his own ministers, as Heywood, Layfield, and others, are notoriously disaffected to religion; and he hath given power of licensing of books to them.

X.

Item, That he hath traiterously endeavoured to reconcile us to the church of Rome; and to that end hath employed a jesuit, a papist, and hath wrought with the pope's agents in several points.

XI.

Item, That to suppress preaching, he hath suspended divers good and honest ministers, and hath used unlawful means, by letters, and otherwise, to set all bishops to suppress them.

XII.

Item, That, he hath traiterously endeavoured to suppress the French religion here with us, being the same religion we are of, and also the Dutch church, and to set division between them and us.

XIII.

Item, That he hath traiterously endeavoured to set a division between the King and his subjects, and hath gone about to bring in innovations into the church, as by the remonstrances may appear, and hath induced the king to this war with the Scots; and many men, upon their death-beds, to give money towards the maintenance of this war, and hath caused the clergy to give freely towards the same, and hath brought in many superstitions and innovations into the church of Scotland, and that he procured the King to break the pacification, and thereby to bring in a bloody war between the two kingdoms.

XIV.

Item, That, to save and preserve himself from being questioned and sentenced from these and other his traiterous designs, from the first year of his now Majesty's reign, until now, he hath laboured to subvert the rights of parliamentary proceedings, and to incense his Majesty against parliaments, and so that, at Oxford, he gave forth many such words against it, and so hath continued ever since.

By all which words, counsels, and actions, he hath traiterously laboured to alienate the hearts of the King's liege people from his Majesty, and hath set a division between them, and to ruin and destroy

his Majesty's kingdoms; for which they impeach him of high-treason, against our Sovereign Lord the King, his crown and dignity.

And the said commons by protestation, saving to themselves the liberty of exhibiting, at any time hereafter, any other accusation or impeachment against the said William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, and also to the replying to the answers, that he the said Archbishop shall make unto the said articles, or to any of them; and of offering proof also of the premisses, or any part of them, or any other impeachment or accusation that shall be exhibited by them, as the case shall, according to the course of parliament, required; do pray, that he the said William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, be put speedily to answer for all and every the premisses, that such proceedings, examinations, tryals, and judgments may be, upon every of them, had and used, as is agreeable to law and justice.

LEICESTE'R'S COMMONWEALTH

Fully epitomised, conceived, spoken, and published, with most earnest Protestation of all dutiful good will, and affection towards this Realm, for whose good only it is made common to many. Contracted in a most brief, exact, and compendious way, with the full Sense and whole Meaning of the former Book, every Fragment of Sense being interposed. With a pleasant Description of the first Original of the Controversies betwixt the two Houses of York and Lan

caster.

Printed in the year 1641. Quarto, containing sixteen pages.

A Scholar, lawyer, and gentleman, being convened together in

Christmas time, retired themselves after dinner, into a large gallery, for their recreation: the lawyer having in his hand a little book, then newly put forth, containing, 'A defence of the publick justice done, of late, in England, upon divers priests, and other papists, for treason. Which book the Lawyer having read before, the Gentleman asked his judgment thereon.

Lawyer. It is not evil penned, in my opinion, to shew the guiltiness of some persons therein named in particular; yet not so far forth, I believe, and in so deep a degree of treason, as, in this book generally is inforced without indifferency.

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Gent. For my part, I protest that I bear the honest papist (if there be any) no malice for his deceived conscience; but since you grant the papist, both in general, abroad and at home, and, in particular, such as are condemned, executed, and named in this book, to be guilty, how

can you insinuate, as you do, that there is more inforced upon them, by this book, than there is just cause so to do?

Lawyer. Good Sir, I stand not here to examine the doings of superiors, or to defend the guilty, but wish heartily rather their punishment, that deserve the same. But not only those, whom you call busy papists, in England, but also those, whom we call hot puritans, among you, may be as well called traytors, in my opinion; for that every one of these, indeed, doth labour indirectly, if not more, against the state, seeing each one endeavoureth to increase his party, or faction, that desireth a governor of his own religion. And, in this case, are the protestants in France and Flanders, under catholick princes; the Calvinists under the Duke of Saxony, the Lutherans under Casinere, the Grecians, and other Christians, under the Emperor of Constantinople, under the Sophy and Cham of Tartary, and under other princes, that are not with them in religion. All which subjects do wish, no doubt, in their hearts, that they had a prince and state of their own religion, instead of that which now governeth them; and, consequently, in this sense they may be called traytors: and so, to apply this to my purpose, I think, Sir, in good sooth, that, in the first kind of treason, as well the zealous papist, as also the puritan in England, may well be called, and proved tray tors.

Gent. I grant your distinction of treasons to be true; but your application thereof to the papists and puritans, as you call them, be rather divers degrees, than divers kinds; and the one is but a step to the other, not differing in nature, but in time, ability, or opportunity. For if the Grecians, under the Turk, and other Christians, under other princes of a different religion; as also the papists and puritans in England, have such alienation of mind from the present regiment, and dɔ covet so much a governor and state of their own religion; then, no doubt, but they are also resolved to employ their forces, for accomplishing and bringing to pass their desires, if they had opportunity; and so being now in the first degree, or kind of treason, do want but occasion or ability to break into the second.

Lawyer. True, Sir, if there be no other cause or circumstance that may withhold them.

Gent. And what cause or circumstance may stay them, when they shall have ability, or opportunity, to do a thing which they so much desire?

Lawyer. Divers causes, but especially the fear of servitude under foreign nations, may restrain them from such attempts; as, in Germany, both catholicks and protestants joined together against strangers, that offered danger to their liberties. So that, by this example, you see, that fear of external subjection may stay men in all states, and, consequently, both papists and puritans in the state of England, from passing to the second degree of treason, although they were never so deep in the first, and had both ability, time, will, and opportunity for the other,

Schol. It seems to be most clear, and now I understand what the lawyer meant before, when he affirmed, that, although the most part of papists, in general, might be said to deal against England, in regard of their religion, and so incur some kind of treason, yet not so far forth

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