"tured my Life in Defence of the Nation, and I fhall ftill Anno 1 Jac. sc go as far as any Man in preferving it in all its juft Rights II. 1685. " and Liberties.' He likewise set forth a Proclamation fignifying, That all Proclamation Perfons, who at the Decease of the late King, were lawfully for continuing poffefs'd of any Office, whether Civil or Military, within the all Officers in their respective Realms of England and Ireland, or any other of his Domi- Places. nions thereunto belonging, particularly all Prefidents, Lieutenants, Vice-Prefidents, Juftices of the Peace, Sheriffs, &c. fhould be continu'd in the faid Places and Offices, as formerly they held and enjoy'd the fame, until the King's Pleasure fhall be farther known. That all Perfons then in Offices, of whatsoever Degree or Condition, fhall not fail, every one according to his Place, Office, or Charge, to proceed in the Performance and Execution of all Duties thereunto belonging, as formerly appertained to them while the late King was living; and that all the King's Subjects fhould be aiding and affifting to the Command of the faid Officers and Minifters in the Performance of their respective Offices and Places, upon pain of the King's Difpleasure. Laftly, That all Orders and Directions made or given by the Lords of the Privy-Council of the late King in his Life-time, should be obey'd and perform'd by all and every Perfon, as it should or had been obey'd in the Life of the late King.' After which, the late King was no fooner bury'd, but his King goes pub. Royal Brother acqnainted the World, that he died a Roman- licly to Mafs. Catholic, and publicly appear'd at Mass himself: He, likewife, by another Proclamation, declared, That his Majefty had thought fit to call a Parliament speedily to be affembled, in which he made no doubt but Care would be taken for fettling à fufficient Revenue upon the Crown, for the Requires the Support of the Government; the Neceffities of which, in Revenues which the mean time, required that the Customs and Subfidies, and expired with his other Duties upon Merchandizes, fhould be continued to be col- continued by lected, as in the time of his dearest Brother lately deceased. Proclamation Brother to be The only Parliament held in the Reign of King M ET at Westminster, May the 19th, 1685, and on the 22d his Majesty made his molt gracious Speech from the Throne, which is to be found in CHANDLER's Hift. Anno 1 Fac. II. 1685, Page 165. as likewise the joint Vote of Thanks from both Houses, Page 167. The Anno I Jac. Twenty Lords introduced in one Day. Proceedings on the Cafe of the Popish Lords. The fame Day the following Lords were introduced, and took their Seats in the Houfe, viz. Francis Lord North, Lord-Keeper of the Great-Seal, Laurence Earl of Rochefter, George Marquis of Hallifax, James Duke of Ormond, Henry Duke of Beaufort, Edward Earl of Litchfield, Daniel Earl of Nottingham, James Earl of Abingdon, Edward Earl of Gainf borough, Thomas Earl of Plymouth, Horatio Viscount Townf end, Thomas Viscount Weymouth, Chriftopher Viscount Hatton, Richard Lord Lumley, John Lord Offulton, George Lord Dartmouth, Ralph Lord Stawell, Sidney Lord Godolphin, George Lord Jeffreys, and John Lord Churchill; which two latt were made Barons of England by his present Majesty. The fame Day, likewife, the House received the Petitions of the Lords who had lain under an Impeachment feveral Years in the Tower, and been admitted to Bail about a Year ago, viz. The Earl of Powis, the Lord Arundel of Wardour, the Lord Bellafis, and the Earl of Danby: The laft having made their perfonal Appearances, in purfuance to their Bail, and delivered their Petitions, the House enter'd into Confideration of the Hardship of their Cafes, and came to this Question, Whether the Order of the 19th of March, 1678-9, be reverted and annulled as to their feveral Impeachments ;' which paffed in the Affirmative. Four Lords only entered Proteft thereon. their Diffent, namely * Radnor, Anglefea, Clare, and Stamford, with thefe following Reafons: 1. Because it doth, as we conceive, extrajudicially, and without a particular Cause before us, endeavour an Alteration in a judicial Rule and Order of the Houfe, in the highest Part of their Power and Judicature. 2. Because it shakes and lays afide an Order made and renewed upon long Confideration and Debate, Report of Committees of Precedents and former Refolutions, without permitting the fame to be read, tho' called for by many of the Peers, and against weighty Reasons, as we conceive, appearing for the fame, and contrary to the Practice of former Times. 3. Because it is inherent in every Court of Judicature to affert and preserve the former Rules of Proceedings before them, which therefore must be fteady and certain, especially in this High Court, that the Subject, and all Perfons concern'd may know how to apply themselves for Justice; the very Chancery, King's-Bench, &c. having their ettled Rules, from which there is no Variation. However, two Days after, the Matter was brought to a Conclufion by this following Order; Whereas feveral Indictments were found at the Seffions held at Westminster against William Earl of Powis, &c. which are fince brought into this House by Certiorari, pursuant to an Order of the 9th of April 1678; This Lord's Name is not to the Protest. the the House being this Day informed by Mr. Attorney-General, that his Majefty hath fent a Warrant to him directing him to enter a Noli profequi upon the faid Indictments: It is ordered that his Majefty's Attorney-General may have Recourse to the faid Indictments in order to enter a Noli profequi thereupon, pursuant to his Majesty's Warrant. And it is further ordered, That the Bail given in the Court of King'sBench, for the Appearance of the faid William Earl of Powis, &c. be, and is hereby discharged. Anno 1 Jac. The 25th, Elizabeth Harvey having brought a Petition Cafe of Mrs, on Saturday laft against a Decree in Chancery in favour of Harvey. Sir Thomas Harvey, and Confideration had concerning the fame, The Question was put, That this Houfe will not procced upon the Petition of Mrs. Harvey until the doth perfonally appear, having the Protection of this Houfe, or give fufficient Security to perform fuch Order as this Houfe fhall make? It was refolved in the Affirmative. Diffentient I do diffent to this Vote, being a heavy and unprecedented Proteft thereon. Obstruction to Judicature and Appeals. Ang lefea. Proteft thereon. July the 3d. The Lords in a grand Committee made Bill to reverfe fome Alterations in the Title, to a Bill for the reverfing the the Lord VifAttainder of the Lord Viscount Stafford, a confiderable A- count Stafford's I mendment in the Preamble, and a fmall Amendment in the Attainder. enacting Claufe, and then the Bill was engroffed: And the Reafon of the Reverfal was in thefe Words; Whereas it is now manifeft, that the faid William, late Vifcount Stafford, was innocent of the Treafon laid to his Charge, and the Teftimony whereby he was found guilty, was falfe: Be it enacted, &c. But before the Queftion was put for engroffing the Bill, the Earls of Anglefea and Radnor, and two or three other Lords, defired Leave to enter their Diffents, for these Reasons; ft, Because the Affertion in the Bill, of its being now manifeft that the late Viscount Stafford died innocent, and that the Teftimony on which he was convicted was false, which are the fole Grounds and Reasons given to support the Bill, were deftitute of all Proof, Warrant, or Teftimony, or Matter of Record before us. 2dly, That the Record of the King'sBench, read at the Committee, concerning the Conviction, laft Term, of one of the Witneffes for Perjury, in collateral Points of Proof, of no Affinity to the Lord Stafford's Trial, and given several Years before, it is conceived can be no Ground to invalidate the Teftimony upon which the faid Only the Earl of Anglefea's Name is to this Proteft. Viscount Anno 1 Jac. The faid Bill palled by the Lords, and dropped by the Commons. Lords Vote to frand by the Lives and For Viscount was convicted, which could never legally be by one Witness, and was in Fact by the Judgment of his Peers, on the Evidence of at least three. 3dly, It is conceived the faid Judgment in the King's-Bench was unprecedented, illegal and unwarranted, and highly derogatory to the Honour, Judicature and Authority of this Court, who have Power to queftion and punish Perjuries of Witneffes before them, and ought not to be impofed upon by the Judgments of inferior Courts, or their Attainder of a Peer invalidated by Implication; and the poplifh Plot fo condemned, purfued and punished by his late Majefty and four Parliaments, after public folemn Devotion thro' the whole Kingdom, by Authority of Church and State, to be eluded, to the Arraignment and Scandal of the Government; and only for the restoring of the Family of one popish Lord. And all this, being without any Matter judicially appearing before us to induce the fame; and the Records of the Trial not fuffered to be read, for the Information of the Truth, before the paffing of the Bill. 4thly, For many other weighty Reasons offered and given by divers Peers in the two Day's Debate of this Bill, both at the Committee, and in the House.' The next Day the Bill was read a third time, and passed in the Houfe of Peers; but the forementioned Lords re peated their Proteftations against it, and were feconded by the Towards the latter End of May the King had communicated the Earl of Argyle's* Declaration to the House, upon King with their which a Vote was paffed, and prefented to his Majefty, That they would stand by and assist him with their Lives and Fortunes: To which the King reply'd as follows: My Lords, tunes. His Majefty's " HE Affurances you give me now of standing by me, are not new to me; you did it before I came "to the Crown, and withstood the Violence of a Party which "defign'd the Overturning the Monarchy; of all which I am ❝ as See CHANDLER'S Hift. Anno 1 Jac. II. 1685, Page 167. The faid Earl had been condemn'd to die by the Peers of Scotland; but was reprieved, and afterwards made his Escape to Holland; where he enter'd into the Schemes of the Duke of Monmouth, and, in order to make a Diverfion on that Side, landed at Dunftaffnage in Scotland, May the 20th; but his Forces being foon dispersed, he was himself taken, and, after enduring much ill Usage, executed at Edinburgh: On which Occafion Archdeacon Echard is pleased to make very free with God's Judgments, with very little Credit to himself. 11 1585. as fenfible as you can defire, which, upon all Occasions, I Anno 1 Jac. "fhall let you fee: As it is your Intereft, as well as Incli"nation to fupport the Crown, fo it is mine to fupport you "in all your juft Rights and Privileges, the better to enable you to do it." ration. June the 11th, The Duke of Monmouth landed at Lyme in Duke of MonDorfetfhire, where he foon after published a Declaration to mouth's Landthe following Effect: That Government was originally in- ing and Declaftituted by God, and this or that Form of it chofen and submitted to by Men, for the Peace, Happiness, and Security of the Governed, and not for the private Intereft and perfonal Greatness of those that rule. That the Government of England was, above all others, happy in its primitive Form; whereby the Prerogatives of the Crown, and the Privileges of the Subject, were fo far from joftling one another, that the Rights referv'd to the People, tended to render the King honourable and great; and the Prerogatives fettled on the Prince, were in order to the Subjects Protection and Safety. But now they were compell'd to fay, That all the Boundaries of the Government had of late been broken, and nothing left unattempted for turning the Limited Monarchy into an Absolute Tyranny. Then they proceed to charge upon the Duke of York, in his Brother's Reign, his contriving the burning of London; his inftigating a Confederacy with France, and a War with Holland; his fomenting the Popish Plot, and encouraging the Murder of Sir Edmundbury Godfrey; his charging Treafon against Proteftants, and fuborning Witneffes to fwear the Patriots of our Religion and Liberties out of their Lives; his hiring execrable Villains to affaffinate the late Earl of Essex, and caufing others to be clandeftinely cut off, in hopes to conceal it; his advifing and procuring the Prorogation and Diffolution of the Parliaments, in order to prevent the looking into his Crimes, and that he might ef1 cape the Juftice of the Nation, &c. They next procceded to enumerate the Tyrannies which he had exercis'd fince he fnatch'd the Crown from his Brother's Head: For, in Defence of all Laws and Statutes of the Realm, made for the fecuring of the Proteftant Religion, he not only began his Reign with a bare-fac'd avowing himself of the Romish Religion, but call'd in Multitudes of Priests and Jefuits, from whom the Law makes it Treafon to come into the Kingdom, and hath empower'd them to exercife Idolatries: And, befides his being daily present at the Worship of the Mass, he hath publicly affifted at the greatest Fopperies of their Superftition. Neither hath he been more tender in trampling upon the Laws which concern our Properties; feeing two Proclamations, whereof the one requires the col1685. Rr lecting |