Chap. V. The HISTORY of the PuRITANS. 161 brow-beat the informers, whereas he ought at leaf!: to have laid it before K. Charles I. the parliament, that they might have lifted it to the bran. B11t that it ~ was a real plot, his own diary together with our later difcoveries, ~illly prove ; and his concealment of it, we conceive to be an high and treafon- · able offence, tending to fubvert the proteftant religion, and fubjeCt us to the church of Rome. . Thus we humbly conceive, we have made a fatisfaetory reply to all ~he M. con– the archbiihop's anfwers, and have fully made good the whole of our c ujion. charge, namely, that the archbifhop has traiteroujly endeavoured to dejfroy our civil liberties, and to introduce f)1 ranny aud arbitrary po1ver ; and jecondly, that he has endeavoured tojitbvert the protdJant religion ejlablijhed by law in thife kingdoms, and to Jubjetl us to the church of Rome; wherefoie we do, in the name of all the commons of England, pray judgment againft him as a tray tor. Before the archbi!hop withdrew from the bar, he moved the lords, that Abp's fpeech confidering the length of his trial, and the diitance of time between the at the _c~ofe of feveral days of hearing, they would allow him a day that he might fet L:u~:\at. before their lord!hips in one view, the whole of the commons charge, and 412, 419•. his defence; to which they condefcended, and appointed Sept. 2. which was five weeks from the !aft day of his trial. When the archbia1op appeared at the bar he began with a moving addrefs, befeeching their lord1hips to confider his calling, his age, his long imprifonment, his fuffert., ings, his patience, and the fequeflration of his eftate. He then com– plained, (I.) of the uncertainty and generality of the commons charge. (2.) of the ihort time that was allowed him for his anfwer. ( 3·) that he had been fifted to the bran, and had his papers taken from him. ( 4·) that the things he had taken mofl: pains in, were for the publick good, and done at his own great expence, as the repair of St. Paul's, and the fiatutes of Oxford. (5.) that many of the witneifes were feetaries and fchifmaticks, whereas by the canon law, no fchijinatickjhould be heard agaii?Jl his bijhop. He complained alfo of the number of witneifes produced againfl him, which were above one hundred and fifty; _whereas the civil law fays, that the judges ihould moderate things fo as no man iliould be oppreifed with the multitude of witneffes. (6.) that he had been charged with paffionate and hafl:y words, which he hopes their lord!hips will pardon as hum:m frailties. (7.) that other mens aCtions had been laid to. hi s charge, as thofc of his ~haplain.s, and the aCtions of the high com– rmffion and fiar chamber, wh1ch he mfifts cannot by any law be put upon ~im, it being a known rule, refertur ad univerfos quod pub!icefit per ma;orem partem. H e then went over the particular charges abovementioned, and concluded with a requefi, that when the commons had replied to the faCts, his council might be heard as to matters of law. The cornVoL. II, Y mons
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