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and no fuch Crime appearing as the Lords would take upon them to judge him to be worthy of Death; they reforted to their legislative Power, and by Ordinance of Parliament, as they call'd it, that is, by a Determination of those Members who fate in the Houses (whereof in the House of Peers there were not above twelve) they ap pointed him to be put to Death, as guilty of High Treafon: The first time the two Houfes of Parliament had ever affum'd that Jurifdiction, or that ever Ordinance had been made to fuch a Purpofe; nor could any Rebellion be more against Law, than that murderous A&. Clar. Vol. II. 572.

When his Tryal was over, and the Ordinance pafs'd for his Execution, and it was demanded of him, according to Cuftom, what he could fay why he fhould not fuffer Death: He faid he had the King's Pardon, which he pleaded and tender'd to them, and defir'd it might be allow'd. Whereupon he was fent to the Tower, and the Pardon read in both Houfes; where, without any long Debate, it was declar'd to be of no Effect, and that the King could not pardon a Judgment of Parliament. And fo without troubling themselves further, they gave Order for his beheading, which he underwent with all Chriftian Courage and Magnanimity, to the Admiration of the Beholders, and Confufion of his Enemies. Much hath been faid of the Perfon of this great Prelate before, of his great Endowments and natural Infirmities, to which fhall be added no more in this Place (his Memory deferving a particular Celebration) than that his Learning, Piety and Virtue, have been attain'd by very few, and the greatest of his Infirmities are common to all, even to the best of Men. Vol. II. 5.73.

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The EXECUTION of King CHARLES I. the 30th of January, 1648.

HIS Day the Bishop of London read Divine Service before his Majefty, and the 27th of St. Matthew, the Hiftory of our Saviour's Paffion, being appointed by the Church for that Day, he gave the Bifhop Thanks for his feafonable Choice of the Leffon; but the Bishop acquainting him that it was the Service of the Day, it comforted him exceedingly; then he proceeded to receive the Holy Sacrament. His Devotions being ended, he was brought from St. James's to WhiteHall, by a Regiment of Foot, befides his private Guard of Partifans; the Bishop of London on the one Hand, and Colonel Tomlinson, who had the Charge of him, on the other, bareheaded. The Guards marching a now Pace, the King bid them go fafter, faying, that he now went before them to ftrive for an heavenly Crown. Being come to the End of the Park, he went up the Stairs leading to the Long-Gallery in White-hall, where formerly he ufed to lodge, and there finding an unexpected Delay, the Scaffold being not ready, he past most of the Time in Prayer. About twelve a-clock, (his Majefty having eat a bit of Bread, and drank a Glass of Claret) Colonel Hacker, with other Of ficers and Soldiers, brought the King, with the Bifhop, and Colonel Tomlinfon, thro' the Banqueting-house, to the Scaffold. A ftrong Guard of feveral Regiments of Horfe and Foot were planted on all Sides, which hinder'd the near Approach of the People, and the King from being heard, and therefore he chiefly directed his Speech to the Bishop and Colonel Tomlinfon.

His

His Majefty's SPEECH upon the Scaffold.

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I Shall be very little heard of any Body elfej I fhall therefore fpeak a Word to you here's Indeed, I could hold my Peace very well, if I did not think that holding my Peace would make fome Men think that I did fubmit to the Guilt, as well as the Punishment But I think it is my Duty to God and my Country, to clear myfelf, both as an honeft Man, a good King, and a good Chriftian, I fhall begin firft with my Innocency; in Troth, I think it not very needful to infift long upon this; for all the World knows that I did never begin a War with the two Houses of Parliament; and I call God to Witnefs, to whom I must fhortly make an Account, that I did never intend to incroach upon their Privileges; they began upon me. It is the Militia they began upon; they confefs'd the Militia was mine, but they thought fit to have it from me: And, to be thort, if any Body will look to the Dates of Commiffions, of their Commiffions and mine, and likewife to the Declarations, he will fee clearly that they began thefe Troubles, nor I. So that as for the Guilt of thefe enormous Crimes that are laid againft me, I hope in God that God will clear me of. I will not, I am in Charity, and God forbid I fhould lay it upon the two Houfes of Parliament, there is no neceffity of either I hope they are free of this Guile; for I believe, that ill Inftruments between them and me have been the Caufe of all this Bloodthed; fo that as I find myfelf clear of this, I hope, and pray God that they may too: Yet, for all this, God forbid I fhould be fo ill à Chriftian, as not to fay God's Judgments afe juft upon the. Many times he doth pay Justice by an unjuft Sentence,

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that is ordinary. I will only fay this, that an unjut Sentence that I fuffer'd to take Effect, is punished now by an unjuft Sentence upon me: So far I have faid to fhew you that I am an Innocent Man,

Now, to fhew that I am a good Chriftian, I hope there is a good Man [Pointing to Bishop Juxon] that will bear me Witness, that I have forgiven all the World, and even thofe in particular that have been the chief Caufes of my Death; who they are God knows; I do not defire to know I pray God forgive them. But this is not all, my Charity muft go farther; I with that they may repent. For, indeed, they have committed a great Sin in that Particular. I pray God, with St. Stephen, that it be not laid to their Charge; nay, not only fo, but that they may take the right Way to the Peace of the Kingdom; for my Charity commands me not only to forgive particular Men, but to endeavour, to the laft Gafp, the Peace of the Kingdom. So, Sirs, I do with with all my Soul (I hope there are fome here that will carry it farther) and endeavour the Peace of the Kingdom. Now, Sirs, I muft fhew you both how you are out of the Way, and will put you in the Way. Firft, you are out of the Way; for certainly all the Ways you ever had yet, as I could find by any thing, is in the way of Conqueft certainly this is an ill Way; for Conqueft, Sirs, in my Opinion, is never juft, except there be a good and juft Canfe, either for Matter of Wrong, or a juft Title; and then, if you go beyond the firft Quarrel, that makes that unjuft at the End that was juft at firft; if there be only Matter of Conqueft, then it is a great Robbery, as a Pirate la to Alexander, that he was a great Robber, he was but a petty Robber. And fo, Sirs, I think the Way you are in is much

out of the Way. Now, Sirs, to put you in the Way, believe it, you fhall never go right, nor God will never profper you, until you give God his Due, the King his Due (that is, my Succeffor) and the People their Due: I am as much for them as any of you. You must give God his Due, by regulating rightly his Church (accor ding to the Scripture) which is now out of Order; to fet you in a way particularly now, I cannot; but only this, A National Synod freely called, freely debated among themselves, must fettle this, when every Opinion is freely heard. For the King [Then turning to a Gentleman that touch'd the Ax, he faid, Hurt not the Ax, that may hurt me.] Indeed, I will not--the Laws of the Land will clearly inftruct you for that; therefore, because it concerns my own Particular, I fhall only give you a touch of it. For the People, truly I defire their Liberty and Freedom as much as any Body whofoever; but I must tell you, that their Liberty and Freedom confist in having Government, thofe Laws by which their Lives and their Goods may be most their own. It is not their having a Share in the Government, that is nothing appertaining to them: A Subjec and a Sovereign are clean different Things; and therefore until you do that, I mean, that you put the People in that Liberty, as I fay, certainly they will never enjoy themfelves.

Sirs, it was for this that now I am come here, if I would have given way to an Arbitrary Way, to have all Laws changed according to the Power of the Sword, I needed not to have come here; and therefore I tell you (and I pray God it be not laid to your Charge) that I am the Martyr of the People. In Troth, Sirs, I fhall not hold you much longer: I will only fay this to you, That I could have defir'd a little time longer, because I would

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