Lordships, in imitation of the Divinity, will fet fome Bounds, fome Limits to this our over-liberal Humour of the Commons; and fay to them, Hither fball your Profufenefs come, and no farther. My Lords, your Lordships can either deny or moderate a Bill for Money, coming from the Commons; or if you cannot, then all your great Eftates are at their Difpofal, and your Lordships have nothing that you can properly call your own, and then let us pafs this Bill without further Examination: But if you can deny or moderate (as without queftion you can) your Lordships never had, nor poffibly ever will have fuch a fair Occafion to fhew yourselves My Lords, upon the whole Matter, I moft humbly propofe to your Lordships, that your Lordships will be pleas'd at least to reduce the 12 d. per Pound to 8 d. and truly, My Lords, I have reafon to hope, that if your Lordfhips duly reflect upon it, you will find it fit to do accordingly: For, in the firft place, it will be fo far from being a differve to His Majefty, that your Lordships will do His Majefty in it the highest Service in the World; for tho' you fhall thereby take from His Majefty a part of the Sum, you will give him a great deal more in the Love and Hearts of his Subjects; and there His Majefty muft Reign if he will be Great and Glorious : And next, your Lordships will acquire to yourselves eternal Honour. You fhall hereby indear yourfelves to the whole Nation;

who

who, for the future, will look upon you as the Ancients did upon their tutelary Gods nor fhall the House of Commons, but the Houfe of Peers, be hereafter precious in their fight, when your Lordships fhall thereby exprefs your tender Care of the People, who are at this time in fo fad a condition, and lie under fo many Disadvantages and Preffures.

My Lords, Give me leave to mind your Lordfhips, that Noble Acts are the Steps whereby the Great Men of the World afcend the Throne of Glory; and can there be a Nobler Act than to releafe a diftreffed Kingdom, which, by languishing under fo many Hardfhips, is going about to be fo much oppreft? I do detain your Lordships too long, and therefore fhall fay no more; but muft beg your Pardon, and fubmit to all your better Judgments.

This Speech was ordered to be burnt by the Hands of the Common Hangman,

The

394

The Earl of Shaftsbury's Speech in the House of Lords, upon the Debate of appointing a Day for hearing Doctor Shirley's Cafe, Oct. 20. 1675.

My Lords,

O URA

All is at Stake, and therefore you muft give me leave to speak freely before we part with it. My Lord Bishop of Salif bury is of Opinion, That we fhould rather appoint a Day to confider what to do upon the Petition, than to appoint a Day of Hearing: And my Lord Keeper (for I may name them ata Committee of the whole Houfe) tells us in very eloquent and ftudied Language, That he will propose to us a way far lefs liable to Exception, and much lefs offenfive and injurious to our own Privileges, than that of appointing a Day of Hearing. And I befeech you, My Lords, Did you not, after all these fine Words, expect fome admirable Propofals? but it ended in this, That your Lordships fhould appoint a Day, nay a very long Day, to confider what you would do in it. And my Lord hath undertaken to convince you, That this is your only Courfe, by feveral undeniable Reasons; the firft of which is, That it's against your Fudicature to bear this Caufe, fince it does not come properly before us, nor

4

ought

ought to be relieved by us. To this, My Lords, give me leave to anfwer, That I did not expect from a Man profefling the Law, that after an Answer, by order of the Court, was put in, and a Day appointed for Hearing, which by fome Accident was fet afide, and the Plaintiff mov'd for a fecond Day to be aflign'd, that ever, without hearing Council on both fides, the Court did enter into the Merits of the Cause. And if your Lordfhips fhould do it here, in a Cause attended with fuch Circumftances as this is, it would not only be an apparent Injuftice, but a plain Subterfuge to avoid a Point you durft not maintain.

But, My Lords, the fecond Reason fpeaks the Matter more clearly, for that is, Because it is a doubtful Cafe, Whether the Commons have not Privilege; and therefore my Lord would have you to appoint a further, and a very long Day to confider of it; which in plain English is, That your Lordships fhould confess upon your Books, that you conceive it, on fecond Thoughts, a doubtful Cafe; for fo your appointing a Day to confider will be interpreted; and that for no other Reason, but because my Lord Keeper thinks it fo; which I hope will not be a Reason to prevail with your Lordships, fince we cannot yet, by Experience tell, that his Lordfhip is capable of thinking your Lordships in the right, in any Matter against the Judgment of the House of Commons; fo hard a thing it is, even for the ableft of Men to change ill habits.

But

But my Lord's third Reafon is the moft admirable of all, which he ftiles Unanfwerable, viz. That your Lordships are all convinced in your Confciences, that this, (if profecuted) will caufe a Breach. I befeech your Lordships, confider whether this Argument, thus apply'd, would not overthrow the Law of Nature, and all the Laws of Right and Property in the World: For as its an Argument, and a 'very good one, that you fhould not ftand or infift on Claims, where you have not a clear Right; or where the Question is not of Confequence or Moment, in a Matter that may produce a dangerous or pernicious Breach be tween Relations, Perfons, or Bodies Politick, join'd in Interest and high Concerns together. So, on the other hand, if the Obftinacy of the Party in the wrong, fhall be made an unanfwerable Argument for the other Party to recede and give up their juft Right, how long fhall the People keep their Liberties, or the Princes and Governours of the World their Prerogatives? How long fhall the Husband maintain his Dominion, or any Man his Property from his Friend or Neighbour's Obftinacy? But, My Lords, when I heard my Lord Keeper open fo eloquently the fatal Confequence of a Breach, I cannot forbear to fall into fome admiration how it comes to pafs, that (if the Confequences be fo fatal) the King's Minifters in the Houfe of Commons, of which there are feveral that are of the Cabinet, and