bishop's men were all given to covetousness and wantonness, that I never heard of were in the Cardinal's men.

As the Cardinal was sumptuous in his buildings, as that of Whitehall, Hampton-court, &c. as also in laying the foundation of two famous colleges, the one at Ipswich, where he was born, the other at Oxford, where he had his breeding; so Christ-church, which he left unfinished, Canterbury hath since repaired; and wherein he hath come short of him in building, though he hath bestowed much on St. John's College, yet he hath outgone him in his bounty of brave voluminous books, being fourscore in number, late sent to the Bodleian or University Library. Farther, as the Cardinal was chancellor of Oxford, and as the Cardinal, by plucking down of small abbies, to prepare stone for his greater structures, opened a gap for the King, by which he took the advantage utterly to raze and demolish the rest; so Canterbury, by giving way for one bishop to have a temporal trial, and to be convicted, not by the clergy, but the laity, left the same path open both for himself, and the rest of the episcopacy; of whch, there before scarce remained a precedent.

I have paralleled them in their dignities; I will conclude with a word or two concerning their downfalls. The Cardinal fell into the displeasure of his king, Canterbury into an extreme hatred of the commons: both were arrested of high treason, the Cardinal by process, Canterbury by Parliament. The Cardinal at Keywood castle, near York, Canterbury at Westminster, near London; both their falls were speedy and sudden: the Cardinal sat as this day in the high court of chancery, and within two days after was confined to his house; Canterbury as this day sat at the council-board, and in the upper-house of parliament, and the same day was committed to the black rod, and from thence to the Tower. The Cardinal died at Leicester, some say of a flux; Canterbury remains still in the Tower, only sick of a fever. Vanitas vanitatum omnia vanitas.

THE

BILL OF ATTAINDER

That passed against

THOMAS EARL OF STRAFFORD.

Printed for J. A. 1641. Quarto, containing six pages.

WE HEREAS the knights, citizens, and burgesses of the house of commons in this present parliament assembled, have, in the name of themselves, and all the commons of England, impeached Thomas Earl of Strafford, of high treason, for endeavouring to subvert the

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.

IMPE

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

VOL. IV.

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. Con tracted 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.

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