House of Lords Journal Volume 11: 8 July 1661

DIE Lunæ, 8 die Julii.

Domini præsentes fuerunt:

PRAYERS, by Dr. Hodges.

Poor Bill, and Bill for Highways, &c.

ORDERED, That the Committees for the Bill for Highways, and for the Bill for Relief of the Poor, being now sine Die, shall meet To-morrow Morning, at Eight of the Clock.

Bill to raise Money for repairing Churches, &c.

Hodie 1^a vice lecta est Billa, "An Act for the enabling of Churchwardens to assess and levy such Sums of Money as shall be necessary to be expended in the repairing of Churches, and upon other Occasions incident to their Office."

Bill for a Light-house at The Spurn Head.

Hodie 1^a vice lecta est Billa, "An Act for erecting a Lighthouse, for the Preservation of Ships, at The Spurn Head, near the Mouth of Humber."

Sir R. Baesh's Bill.

Hodie 2^a vice lecta est Billa, "An Act for settling several Lands, late of Sir Edward Baesh Knight, upon Sir Ralph Baesh, Knight of the Bath, Heir of the said Sir Edward, and his Heirs."

ORDERED, That the Consideration of this Bill is committed to these Lords following; to hear the Parties that are nearest related to this Business, and to report the same to this House:

Any Five; to meet To-morrow Morning, at Eight of the Clock, in the Prince's Lodgings.

E. of Banbury's Cause.

ORDERED, That the Earl of Banburie's Cause shall be heard, at this Bar, To-morrow Morning.

E. of Midd. Leave to be absent.

ORDERED, That the Earl of Middlesex hath Leave to be absent from his Attendance on this House, in regard of his ill Health.

Marq. of Winton's Bill.

ORDERED, That all such Judges as are in the Town are to consider, whether an Act concerning the Lord Marquis of Winchester and Robert Wallop Esquire, now depending before their Lordships, be against the Act of Indemnity or no, and make Report thereof on Friday next: And they are to meet together (as their Occasions shall permit) in the mean Time; who are to be attended by the Lord Marquis's Solicitor in that Behalf forthwith.

Order to prevent Waste on the Marquis of Worcester's Estate, and to restore him to such Part of it as is not sold.

Whereas, upon reading of a Petition of the Lord Marquis of Worcester, on the Twentieth of June, 1660; shewing, "That he hath been dispossessed of his Estate in the late unhappy Wars, and hath undergone many Pressures in the same:"

It is ORDERED, That the said Lord Marquis is, and shall be hereby, restored to the Possession of such Part of his Estate as hath not been sold; and that there be a Stay of all Rents, as also the Waste in Houses, Lands, Timber, Woods, and Coals, upon the rest of his Estate, until further Order; and his Lordship or his Assigns shall and may have the View of such Papers, Writings, and Records, as are in the Possession of the late Trustees, or their Officers. And hereto all Parties and Persons whom this Order doth or may any Way concern are to yield Obedience, as the contrary will be answered to this House.

The King present.

His Majesty this Day was present, sitting in His Throne, arrayed with His Royal Robes, the Peers being also in their Robes.

The Commons by His Majesty's Command were sent for; who being come, Sir Edward Turner Knight, their Speaker, made this following Speech:

Speaker of H. C. Speech.

"May it please Your most Excellent Majesty,

"The Writ of Summons, whereby Your Majesty was pleased to call together the Knights, Citizens, and Burgesses, of the Commons House of Parliament, gave us to understand, "That Your Majesty had divers weighty and urgent Matters to communicate to us; such as did concern Your Royal Person, Your State and Dignity, the Defence of the Kingdom, and the Church of England;" and in the same Method propounded to us by Your Majesty, we have applied ourselves to offer you our best Counsel and Advice.

"We found Your Majesty miraculously preserved, by the Hand of GOD, from the Hands of Your Enemies; we found You peaceably seated in the Throne of Your Ancestors; we found the hereditary Imperial Crown of these Nations auspiciously set upon Your Royal Head: And all this after a sharp and a bloody Civil War.

"We held it our Duties, in the First Place, to endeavour the Safety and Preservation of Your Majesty's Person and Government; and to that Purpose have prepared a Bill.

"Next to the Safety of Your Majesty, we took into Consideration the State and Power that is necessary for so great a Prince; and do hope are long to settle Your Militia so, that, by the Blessing of GOD, You need not fear Storms from Abroad, or Earthquakes here at Home.

"Your Majesty was pleased, at the Opening of the Parliament, to recommend unto us Two Bills; one, for confirming of Public Acts; another, for the Private Acts that passed the last Parliament. They were so many in Number, and great in Weight, that hitherto we could not consider of them all: But some we have perused; the Act for Confirmation of Judicial Proceedings; for taking away the Court of Wards and Liveries, and Purveyances; and also all those that do relate to Your Majesty's Customs and Excise.

"And, that we might with some Chearfulness see Your Majesty's Face, we have brought our Brother Benjamin with us; I mean, Your Act of Oblivion: I take the Boldness to call it Yours, for so it is by many Titles; Your Majesty first conceived it at Breda; You helped to contrive and form it here in England; and, we must all bear You Witness, You laboured and travailed till it was brought forth: And since it had a Being, some Question being made of its Legitimation, Your Royal Heart is not at (fn. 1) Ease until it be confirmed. And now, Sir, give me Leave to say, by the Suffrage of a full, a free, and legal Parliament, it is presented to Your Majesty, to be naturalized. Your Majesty's Desires are fully answered by all the Representatives of the People: And their hearty Prayer to GOD is, That all Your Subjects may be truly thankful to You; and that Your Majesty may long live to enjoy the Fruits of this unparalleled Mercy.

"Your Majesty was pleased to intimate to us on Saturday last, "That You so valued the Quiet and Satisfaction of Your People, and the Keeping of Your Royal Word with them, that, although divers other Bills were made ready for You, You would vouchsafe the Honour to this Bill alone, Your Favourite, to come and pass it. Sir, Hereby You have made this a great Holiday; and we shall observe it with Joy and Thanksgiving. Upon such solemn Festivals, there useth to be a Second Service, an Anthem, and a Collect, or at least an Offering. My Anthem shall be, Quid tibi retribuam, Domine ? And my Collect, a short Report of Your Revenue. We know, Great Sir, that Money is both the Sinews of War, and Bond of Peace. We have, therefore, taken Care of Your Majesty's Revenue; and do desire to make it in some good Proportion suitable both to Your Grandeur and Your Merit.

"We do believe, the State of our King is the Honour of our State; and the best Way to preserve our Peace, is to be well provided for War. Our Time hath not permitted us to finish this Work; but, as an Earnest of our good Affections, we desire Your Majesty to accept an Offering from us.

"We cannot enough admire Your Majesty's Patience, Providence, and Frugality Abroad. You did not bring Home a Debt for us to pay, great as a Prince's Ransom. And since Your Return, You have not, with King Edward the Third after His Wars in France, or Henry the Fourth, Henry the Seventh, or Henry the Eighth, desired new and great Aids and heavy Subsidies from Your People for Your Supplies.

"No, Sir; You have been so far from asking, that Part of the Money which was given You last Parliament for Your Household Provision, You have issued out towards Payment of our Debts; You have robbed Your own Table (I had almost said given the Meat out of Your own Belly), to feed the hungry Seamen.

"Dear Sir, These Things have a just Influence upon the People; they fill our Hearts with Joy and Affection to Your Majesty.

"I do not pretend much to Physiognomy; but, if I mistake not greatly, the Faces of the People do promise great Frankness and Chearfulness in Your present Supplies.

"What would not Your Majesty's Friends have given, within these Eighteen Months, to have seen Your Majesty thus happily settled ? And what can be too much for those to return, who have received all they enjoy from Your Majesty's Mercy ?

Bill brought up by him.

"Great Sir, To conclude this solemn Service; the Commons of England do, by me their Servant, humbly present You with this Bill, intituled, "An Act for a free and voluntary Present;" and wish it a Success answerable to Your Royal Heart's Desire."

Bills passed.

The Clerk of the Parliaments, receiving this Bill from the Hand of the Speaker, brought it to the Table.

Then the Clerk of the Crown read the Titles of these Bills following:

"1. An Act for confirming Public Acts."

The Clerk of the Parliaments pronounced the Royal Assent in these Words,

"Le Roy le veult."

"2. An Act for a free and voluntary Present to His Majesty."

The Royal Assent was pronounced in these Words,

"Le Roy, remerciant Ses bons Subjects, accepte leur Benevolence, et ainsi le veult."

The King's Speech.

After this, His Majesty was pleased to make a very Gracious Speech, as followeth:

"My Lords and Gentlemen,

"It is a good Time since I heard of your passing this Bill for Money; and I am sure you would have presented it to Me sooner, if you had thought I had desired it: But the Truth is, though I have Need enough of it, I had no Mind to receive it from you, till I might at the same Time give My Assent to this other very good Bill that accompanies it, for which I longed very impatiently. I thank you for both with all My Heart; and though there are other good Bills ready, with which you will easily believe I am very well pleased, and in which I am indeed enough concerned, yet I choose rather to pass these Two Bills together, and to pass them by themselves without any other, that you may all see, and in you the whole Kingdom, that I am at least equally concerned for you and them, as for Myself: And in Truth it will be Want of Judgement in Me, if I ever desire any Thing for Myself, that is not equally good for you and them. I am confident, you all believe that My Well-being is of some Use and Benefit to you; and I am sure your Well-being, and being well pleased, is the greatest Comfort and Blessing I can receive in this World.

"I hope you will be ready within few Days to dispatch those other Public Bills which are still depending before you, that I may come hither and pass all together, and then adjourn till Winter, when what remains may be provided for: And I would be very glad that you would be ready by the Twentieth of this Month, or thereabouts, for the Adjournment; which methinks you might easily be, if you suspended all Private Business till the Recess. The last Parliament, by God's Blessing, laid the Foundation of the Happiness we all enjoy; and therefore I thought it but Justice to the Memory of it, to send you Bills for the Confirmation of what was enacted then; and I cannot doubt but you will dispatch what remains of that Kind with all convenient Speed; and that you will think, that what was then thought necessary or fit for the Public Peace to be enacted, ought not to be shaken now, or any good Man less secure of what he possesses, than he was when you came together. It is to put Myself in Mind as well as you, that I so often (I think as often as I come to you) mention to you My Declaration from Breda: And let Me put you in Mind of another Declaration, published by yourselves about the same Time, and which, I am persuaded, made Mine the more effectual; an honest, generous, and Christian Declaration, signed by the most eminent Persons, who had been the most eminent Sufferers, in which you renounced all former Animosities, all Memory of former Unkindnesses, vowed all imaginable Good-will to, and all Confidence in, each other.

"My Lords and Gentlemen,

"Let it be in no Man's Power to charge Me or you with Breach of our Word or Promise, which can never be a good Ingredient to our future Security. Let us look forward, and not backward; and never think of what is past, except Men put us in Mind of it, by repeating Faults we had forgot; and then let us remember no more than what concerns those very Persons.

God hath wrought a wonderful Miracle in settling us as He hath done. I pray let us do all we can to get the Reputation at Home and Abroad of being well settled. We have Enemies and Enviers enough, who labour to have it thought otherwise; and if we would indeed have our Enemies fear us, and our Neighbours love and respect us, and fear us enough to love us, let us take all the Ways we can, that, as the World cannot but take Notice of your extraordinary Affection to Me, and of the Comfort I take in that Affection, so that it may likewise take Notice of your Affection to and Confidence in each other; which will disappoint all Designs against the Public Peace, and fully establish our joint Security."

After this, His Majesty retired.

Thanks to the King, for His Speech, &c.

ORDERED, That the Lord Chamberlain is appointed to give His Majesty humble Thanks, from this House, for His passing His Royal Assent to the Act for confirming Public Acts, and for His Gracious Speech; and to desire His Majesty would please to give Way that His Speech may be printed and published.

Adjourn.

Dominus Cancellarius declaravit præsens Parliamentum continuandum esse usque in diem Martis, (videlicet,) 9^um diem instantis Julii, hora decima Aurora, Dominis sic decernentibus.