Papers of the Winthrop Family, Volume 1
1628-04-15
I am glad to heare of your begynning to amend, I doubt your advise in surgery is not soe good as you may haue here if yo’ill come ere yt be to late;
the lower house of Parliament haue adiorned the Parliament till thursday next, but the Comittees of particular referments meet dayly they haue made an order that he that shalbe wanting one thursday next, shall forfeyte 10 li.2
they are agreed to give the King 5 subsedyes for present supply, soe as our persons and goodes be freed, and that there be noe more ceassing of souldiers, nor pressing of soldiers to serve beyond the Seas against theire wills,3 some other good lawes for religion and the statuts to be putt in execucon against the papistes; what the successe hereof wilbe, manie men yett are in doubt; the Judges in the Kinges Bench doe disclayme the Judgement, and doe lay all the fault one the Attornie generall;4
You shall receive hereinclosed a speach published abroade supposed to be spoken to the King;5
1000 Dutch horse are dayly expected, whereof newes cam last night that 300 of them are landed6
389I pray thanke my brother Gostlyn for his paynes to mr. Lynn of his serving the Inivnction, I doubt mr. Lynn will force me to make affidauit, I pray entreate my brother Gostlyn to keepe the copie of the Inivnction thus long expecting your coming with my dewty to my good mother and my trew loue and respect to your selfe my sister my brother Gostlyn and his wife and all yours and all at mr. Gourdens I rest leaving you and your affayres to Godes blessing your loving brother
W. 2. 15; 4
Collections
, VI. 34–35.
April 10 was Thursday in Passion week, and the House had arranged for an Easter recess; but the King expressed his pleasure that there should be no recess. S. R. Gardiner, History of England, VI. 254.
On April 3 the House debated forced employment on foreign service and pressing men for military and naval service. The subsidies were voted April 4, but were not reported to the House, Wentworth holding that what had been done was done conditionally on the King’s agreement to settle the fundamental liberties of the subject. With this end in view he would have drawn into a law “what may assure us of our liberty of our persons and property of our goods before we report the resolution of our gift.” Ibid., 247–251.
In November, 1627, the Court of King’s Bench denied an appeal of five persons in prison for a habeas corpus that they might know what their offence had been. They had refused to contribute to the forced loan of 1626. Sir Robert Heath, as Attorney-General, opposed the appeal. The judges appeared before the Lords April 14, and said that “they had not given a final judgment, and that the prisoners might have applied for a habeas corpus the next day if they had pleased. The Court only meant to take further time to consider.” The position of the judges was discussed in the House of Commons, but the issue had become political rather than legal and could not be completely solved at the time. Ibid., 116, 182–186, 230–247.
Probably the speech addressed by the Speaker of the House to the King by direction of the House on presenting its petition against billeting [‘ceassing ’] soldiers. The petition was dated April 14. Cobbett, Parliamentary History of England, VII. 443–450. The speech was probably circulated in manuscript form.
John Dulbier and Sir William Balfour had been sent in January to Germany to levy a thousand German horse to serve as auxiliaries. Gardiner, loc. cit., 194.