THere hath beene much time spent to prove our Charge, and your Lord­ships have heard my Lord of Straffords defence with as much patience. You have also heard our evidence summed up, whereby wee have proved that he hath by trayterous Words, Councells and Actions, trayterously endeavoured to subvert the fundamentall Lawes of England and Ireland, and in stead thereof to introduce an Arbitrary and ty­rannicall Government a gainst Law. This (my Lords) is that poysonous Arrow that hath tainted his blood, this is that cup of deadly wine that hath intoxicated him.

My Lords, it comes to my share to shew you how mischievous an Act of Treason it is by that Law that hee hath appealed unto, which is the supreame Law, (to wit) publicke good, for his position was this, That Salus Po­puli, is Suprema Lex. All Lawes are derived from this as its fountaine, and end here as its proper Center. And those Actions that are opposite to this are against Law.

First, My Lords, It is such an offence, as comprehends all offences, such a treason; as comprehends all treasons.

The Earth (My Lords) is a Seminary of all flowers, so is this a Seminary of all offences.

My Lords, This Law puts a difference be­twixt good and evill; take away the Law (my Lords) and Nature becomes a Law to it selfe. As Pride will be a Law, Lust will be a Law, Rapine a Law, Treason a Law, which Lawes have ruled in Ireland ever since my Lord came thither.

Take away the Kings protection from the people, and you take away the peoples allegi­ance to the King. Prerogative is the bounds of liberty, & (my Lords) they must not con­test one against another.

My Lords, I beseech you consider, yee have all under this custodie; and if you take away this, you take away your goods, liberties and lives.

My Lords he saith, that Ireland was a con­quered Nation, why? were not all Nations conquered? England, Wales, &c.

The next is this, that it is an offence full of danger to the Kings person and Crowne, it nourisheth dissention and tumults in a people. If you consider the histories of the Nations under arbitrary government, you shall finde them full of cruelty and bloody Massacres; yea, if you please to peruse our English histo­ries, you shall finde that when Arbitrary go­vernment was set up, how many Kings fell by cruell and bloody hands, which is fearefull to relate.

Thirdly, my Lords, it is dangerous to the King, First, in respect of his honour, Second­ly in respect of his profit, and thirdly, in re­spect of his greatnesse: yet all these have been put on upon the face of this Treason as so ma­ny vizards, can it be (my Lords) for the Kings honour, to have his Ministers to lay all the fault upon the King? To kill, to imprison, to use Rapine, to levie warre against his people, and to ruine the State, and then all these dis­honourable acts to bee laid on the King? is this for the Kings honour?

Secondly, it is contrary to his profit, for if there be not an affectionate supply from the people to the King, he can never grow in his revenue.

Nay, this (my Lords) is the Kings most certaine Revenue, that issues from the affe­ction of his people, for other Revenue, as Lands, or the like, are subiect to many incon­veniences, to many substractions and pensi­ons, but this is free and wholly to himselfe, these foureteene yeares past, since there hath beene an unhappy cessation of Parliamenta­ry proceedings, the King hath had lesse Reve­nue, and it doth him lesse good.

Nay; there hath beene more wanting to the King, than many yeares before. Againe, it is unprofitable, and that is worse, for the King lost by it, for it hath cost him these two yeares more then it cost Queene Elizabeth in all her warres in Ireland & Spaine, yea (I feare) more than is to be repaired in an age.

Thirdly, in point of greatnesse; the world is a society of Kingdoms, and it is not enough for a King to be great at home, but to equall his fellow Princes abroad; nay, to bee above them in honour and Maiesty, in riches and glory.

But my Lords, these Counsells of late that have beene given his Maiesty, have rendred him contemptible to his enemies, uselesse to his distressed friends, and had they not beene prevented, in time would have made him un­capable of any designe at home or abroad.

A fourth Consideration is this, my Lords, it is destructive to wealth and valour; it cor­rupts our peace, and in peace, makes us have the inalignities of Warre: and for wealth, who will venture his goods, life, his liberty in the way of trading and comerce, when hee knowes not upon the returne of it, whether it be his owne or not.

Nay, my Lords, it imbaseth the spirits and valour of a Nation, when they must stand in feare of pilloring, scaffolding, and the like punishments, it maks men to be of base spirits.

Now my Lords, to imbase the Kings coine, if it be but six pence or twelve pence, tis Trea­son by the Law, and a man must dye for it: what is it then to imbase our spirits, my Lords? truely it is a matter of great impor­tance.

Fifthly, it doth disable the King, and makes him unfit to deale with forraigne enemies, for every one thinkes to slip his necke out of the collar, when he shall be forced to it.

The sixt consideration is, that it is against the Covenant betwixt the King and his peo­ple.

Before, my Lords, I spoke of a legall Oath, but now I speake of a personall, for we sweare our allegeance to him, and hee the mainte­nance of our Lawes to us: he is our husband, [Page 6] and we his wise; he is our father, and wee his children: he is to maintaine our liberties, and we his Dignities, and our Duties.

And my Lords, Iustice Thorpe was condem­ned and executed, for breaking the Kings Oath: My Lords, he broke not his owne oath, nor did the King breake his oath, and yet for violating that oath, that the King had taken to his Subiects, he suffered.

Ah what an unfortunate man then is the Prisoner at the Batre, that hath in all his Counsells, in all his words, in all his actions, broken the Kings oath, and as much as in him lay, violently perswaded the King to counte­nance him in all his actions?

The seventh consideration is this my Lords, it is against the end of government, for the end of government is to preserve men in their estates, lives and liberties, but an arbitrary power destroyes all this: the end of govern­ment is to advance vertue and goodnesse, and to punish vice: but this cherisheth all dis­order.

Now my Lords, I come to shew the vani­ty of his excuses, that he hath made for him­selfe.

The first is the liberty of giving Counsell, being a Counsellor, true my Lords, hee hath this liberty, but its bounded within its lists, [Page 7] and it must bee such Counsell as must stand with the sacred Maiesty, and the prosperity and weale of his Subiects, for if Counsell bee bad, it poysons the Consciences of Princes, it infects their eares, for all government pro­ceedes from the Prince, as from a fountaine: now if the fountaine be poysoned, how can the streames be free?

A second shift is, that hee hopes your Lordships will be carefull to secure your po­sterity, and not to admit of this as Treason.

My Lords, I know your Lordships will bee carefull to secure your selves, but by your ver­tues, not by your vices.

The third excuse is, the goodnesse of his intentions: truely my Lords, good and evill lye close together, not easily to be discerned, if they be naturall corruptions, but for Mur­thers, Adultery, Rapines, and Treasons, these are so monstrous, that they may easily bee di­stinguished.

And I cannot bee perswaded that ever hee intended well, that acted so ill.

The fourth excuse is the Kings necessities.

My Lords, this necessity came from his owne counsells.

A fifth excuse is, it was for the Kings ho­nour, and the maintenance of the Kings power.

My Lords, it hath beene declared unto you, that the Kings power doth not extend to any thing against Law, by which hee hath sworne to rule us, and to maintaine our Liberties and priviledges for us, and this hath beene decla­red by five Parliaments, and also will appeare in the case of the Petition of Right, and in the case of shipmoney.

A sixt is, that he advised the King to doe it with moderation and reparation.

My Lords, this is a contradiction, for there can be no reparation for this.

The seaventh excuse is, that no horrid facts did follow his Counsells: truely my Lords, we thanke God, his sacred Maiesty, and his wise Counsell for that, or else God knowes what fearefull things would have be fallen us, nor are we free from it as yet

To conclude, now my Lords, give me leave to intreate you to consider the Treasons ordi­narily practised, when the act is done, they cease, as in killing that noble King of France, and the severall plots against Queene Eliza­beth, but this Treson of my Lord of Straffords, is a standing Treason, which when it had bin done, it had beene permanent from generati­on to generation.

And now my Lords, these Lawes that hee would have overthrowne, must now bee his [Page 9] Iudges, and he is to bee Iudg'd by law, and that law will have marke enough of it to de­scribe it, for it is a law against such as breake the fundamentall law of the Kingdome.

And my Lords, give me leave to informe you, that (under favour) this is not to make a new way for blood, nor is the crime of Trea­son in my Lord of Strafford the lesse, because none would venture upon such a horrid Trea­son, in two hundred and forty yeares.

But my Lords, for making of our Charge good by Law, as wee have fully proved it by Testimony, we must resort to Counsell with the House of Commons, and trust to your Lordships Iustice.