The charge given by Sr. William Smith, Brt. at the quarter-sessions of the peace held for the county of Middlesex, at Westminster, on Monday the 24th of April, 1682.

The charge given by Sr. William Smith, Brt. at the quarter-sessions of the peace held for the county of Middlesex, at Westminster, on Monday the 24th of April, 1682.

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THE CHARGE GIVEN BY Sr William Smith, Brt. At the Quarter-Sessions of the Peace held for the County of Middlesex, at Westminster, on Monday the 24th of April, 1682.

Articles to be presented by the High and Petty Constables to the Grand Jury, and to be inquired into by the said Grand Jury.

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THE CHARGE GIVEN BY Sr William Smith, Brt. At the Quarter-Sessions of the Peace held for the County of Middlesex, at Westminster, on Monday the 24th of April, 1682.

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Gentlemen,

I Have had the honour to discourse to the Country from this Bench several times, and the Advice which I gave them, was to seek Peace, and study Unity. Advice I thought very necessary, and that which would contribute most to the welfare and happiness not only of this County, but of the whole Kingdom. This is a Trading Country, and nothing can encourage and advance Trade more than Peace, nor can any thing procure Wealth sooner than Trade, nor will any thing secure it better than Unity. The King by his Wisdom and Care hath hitherto preserved Peace without the help of Unity; for certainly no Nation can be more divided than this is; it is high time for every honest man, especially Magistrates, and those in Authority, to speak plain English: and since this Honourable Bench hath thought fit to command me to this Service, I shall endeavour to discharge my Duty and Conscience in that particular. It troubles me to say it, but it is true, that this is a divided Nation, divided into two opposite Parties, the Church-Party, I mean the Church of England as by Law established, and the Anti-Church, for I know not by what other name or denomination to stile the Dissenters (I mean Dissenters of all sorts) unless I should use the Scripture-word Legion, for they are many; and although they are divided amongst themselves toto Caelo, yet they agree in this tertiò, to torment the Government. I will give you a short Character of these two Parties; the Church-Party are those who worship and serve God in the place appointed for it; the Church, they honour and obey the King, and submit to the Laws; the Dissenters do none of these, they do not approach the Church, and to some of them it is an abomination; they are so far from honouring the King, that both his Person and Government are defamed by those Pamphlets [Page] which go about the Town, neither do they obey him, or submit to the Laws; for very lately the King out of his great concern for the publick Peace, thought fit by the advice of his Majesties Privy Council, to command that Conventicles should be suppressed according to Law, the Dissenters have been so far from obeying his Majesties Command, that they have contended for the Conventicles, as if they had been their Inheritance, and have abused and reviled those Officers and others, who in obedience to this Command have endeavoured to put the Laws in execution: Now I would ask any sober-thinking person, to which of these two Parties his Prudence would invite him to adhere, whether to that Party where he may be safe under the Kings Protection, and where his Liberty and Property may be well secured by the Laws? Liberty and Property so much talkt of, and by some very unduly sought; or to that Party which will lead him into a Wilderness of briars and thorns, where he shall never know his way, or into slippery places; where he shall never be able to stand his ground, or shall, as it were, make him walk upon the edge of a Knife, and always be in danger. Self-preservation is natural to every creature, and methinks men who have reason should seek it much more than others.

The King and the Laws have long fingers, and sometime or other they will reach the tallest Malefactor. It is true the King is a gracious and merciful Prince, and that perhaps may be an incouragement to some mens disobedience; but patience may be provoked too long, and too far, and then Laesa patientia sit furor, when the Lion rouseth all the Beasts of the Forest tremble. Notwithstanding all these provocations, the King (by the Divine assistance) hath hitherto preserved peace, peace at home and peace abroad; for we have peace with all the Christian World; when at the same time most of the neighbour-Nations are in wars and troubles. The King hath taken care of Places related to England. A terrible Rebellion broke out lately in Virginia, which had almost destroy'd that Country, the King at a great charge sent Ships and Souldiers thither, reduced that Rebellion, and settled the Country in peace. Tangier was lately attakt by a numerous and formidable Enemy, and most of us here gave it for lost; some were so impudent to say it would be sold, the King sent a timely Relief thither of Men, Money, and all other necessary Provisions, and did preserve that Place, so that it is neither lost or sold, and hath now made a lasting Peace with the Emperour of that Country; and it is to be hoped that place will prove very advantagious for the Trade of England: but this hath cost the King a great sum of money. The Trade of Turkey hath been of late years very much disturbed by the Pyrats of Algiers, and his Majesty hath received notice that many of his Subjects have been carried captive thither; the King to prevent those mischiefs for the future, hath at a great charge, for several years together, maintain'd a considerable number of Ships in the Streights, by which the Algerines have received so great losses, that they are ready to beg Peace. The King hath taken care of the Walls and Bulwarks of this Kingdom, the Shipping: You know the Parliament appointed thirty capital Ships to be built, and gave six hundred thousand pound for the building of them; but when Shipwrights and others came to consult about them, they [Page] found that Sum of Money would not do it, to make them so strong and serviceable as they ought to be; the King was forced to advance a hundred thousand pound and more, out of his own Purse, to perfect that Work, and I have heard these several Charges and Disbursments do amount to near eight hundred thousand pound. These are all accidental Charges, and if the established Revenue will not ballance the necessary and common Charge of the Government, (as I have heard it said in the House of Commons by those who should well understand it, that it will not) where then shall these accidental Charges be born? The King cannot do it, the People then must. Why then the King hath lent this great Sum of Money to his Subjects, and certainly it ought to be repaid with interest and with thanks, and doubtless had been long since, if the Dissentions and Differences which are amongst us had not prevented it. Is it not therefore high time that all possible Endeavours should be used to put an end to these Divisions and Differences, that the Kingdom may be no longer exposed to those Dangers which at present it lyes under? And this, very wise men are of opinion, will never be, until the Conventicles (which continually blow the Coals) are suppressed. The Learned tell us, that the Plague is spread by the Effluviums of the Mouth, the Attomes of an infected person are infected, and when they are sent out by the breath, and received by those in the company of the Infected, they thereby become infected; and we are told, the infected person hath a strong appetite and desire to infect others. Faction is thus communicated; the venome of it, by the mouths of the Preachers and Teachers in Conventicles, is transmitted into the ears of the Auditors, who thereby become infected; and when they are so, they infect others. And until these Effluviums, these mouths are stopped, it is not probable this Plague will cease; and there is a ready way to do it, the putting the Statute of 17. of the King in due execution. And do you not think this is very necessary? For if the numbers of these Dissenters should be suffered to increase, in time they might be formidable to the Government; for we see although they are divided in Opinion, yet they agree and joyn together for their common Interest. I have seen in a fallow Field a great Herd of Swine, the Hogs of a whole Parish, the Hogs of several Farmers, and others, and if the Herdsman chastiseth any one of them for a fault, the whole Herd run together in a body, to condole with their companion for his misfortune, and as much as in them lyes to endeavour his rescue; and these are a very untractable Creature, which will neither lead or drive. Do not the Dissenters do the same? If any one of them is touched by the hands of the Law, they lay their Heads and Purses together for his relief: I would not be mistaken, I do not compare Beasts to Men, Comparisons are odious, Similes are to illustrate a Proposition, not to make a Parallel, Sic parvis componere magna solebam; but if I had done so, I have a good President for it; St. Paul tells us, He fought with Beasts at Ephesus, and those were no other but unreasonable Men; and if the Apostle had sought Ephesus, and all the Parts about it, I am perswaded he could not have found more unreasonable Men, than some we have in England. I have heretofore had an indifferent good opinion of some of the Dissenters, I thought they had been (as they pretended) a peaceable, quiet, and sober sort of persons, and that they had desired nothing but Connivence or Indulgence; they [Page] had an unruly Conscience to deal with, and that they had only desired some toleration for it; but I find the crafty had a farther aim: You know there is a Lord Mayor's Day, and that consists of a Shew in the Streets, and a Feast at Guild-hall; the Shew in the Streets is the Pageants, they draw the Vulgar, the Mobile together, which gives them opportunity to make a noise, and throw about their Squibs; and when they have spent some time in that, and gazing upon the Pageants, they go home very well satisfied; but the wiser and better sort of Citizens are entertained with a Feast at Guild-hall. This Toleration seems to me to be a kind of Pageant, held sorth to entertain the vulgar and unthinking Crowd with some Speculations which may please them; there is something in it very taking to some people who look not far, Liberty of Conscience, and Ease of tender Consciences: But the wiser and designing sort look farther; I am afraid they aim at Dominion over the Lives and Liberties of their fellow-Subjects, and to feast themselves upon their Estates: This hath been, and therefore may be. This word Feast, puts me in mind of a Pamphlet I read the other day, where I found an Invitation (by Ticket) to a Feast at Haberdashers and Goldsmiths Halls: Those Names made me call to remembrance the severe Discipline some of the chiefest Nobility and Gentry heretofore had at those Places; I am sure I feel the smart of those Strokes to this day: I was afraid that Meeting might be to view those Halls, to see since they are new built, if they were fit for the old Uses. This associating by Tickets is an odd way, it looks like blowing the Trumpet, and making Proclamation, Who is on my side, who? What the Law may make of it, I cannot tell, but methinks these persons adventure very far; all Rebellions are not actual Arms; in God's sence the Rebellion of Corah and his Company, (which went no farther than to associate and murmure against the Governours) was such a Rebellion that he thought fit to punish with death. But the same Pamphlet says, there was a Feast of the Artillery Company, (which is an Anniversary Feast) at which there was but 200. but at this Feast there would have been 1000 of Nobility, Gentry and Ministers. So to me this seems to be a Tryal of Skill; which puts me in mind of Moses and the Magicians: God commanded Moses to cast down his Rod, and that should become a Serpent; the Magicians tryed their skill, and threw down their Rods, and they became Serpents; but Moses his Rod, (which was but one) devoured their Rods which were many. The King he hath his Rod too, which is his Scepter, which I hope will be able to break the Rods of these unquiet People, that they may not again scourge and whip the Nation. But what became of these Magicians? Why, when they could shew no more Tricks, God set a Mark upon them, Botches and Blains; and if the Law cannot reach these subtil men, divine Justice may. The word Magi signifies wise men, and our Saviour tells us, That the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light: And it appears so, for they confederate for the mutual assistance of each other upon all occasions; they will spare no pains nor cost for the advancement of each others Interest; they trade for the most part with no other but themselves; they will have no manner of Commerce (if they can avoid it) with any of the Church-Party; so that they do not make a separation only in Religion, but in all other dealings whatsoever, which is, to set up a Common-wealth in a Kingdom, a most [Page] dangerous thing! The Church-Party, the Children of Light, they trust a good Cause, put out their own eyes, and will neither see their danger or Interest: Most of them endeavour to build upon their own Ground, and raise to themselves Pyramids of Honour and Riches, and have not much minded those of the same Party, who are forced to shift for themselves as well as they can; but if they should still be neglected, they must, like Snails, shrink into their shells; what will be the consequence of that? The Enemy when he finds his strength will quash them to pieces with his foot; what then will become of the great man Estate? It must be put into Handycap with the Cobler's Last, and if the Cards be again shuffled, it is probable the Cobler will draw the Estate, and the late rich man will have the Last, and perhaps may need it to help make him a pair of Shoes; what hath been, I say again may be: I have seen in the last Rebellion, Noblemen and Gentlemen not have a Horse to ride upon, or scarce a Shoe to their feet. Methinks the Natural Body should instruct the Body Politick: In the Natural Body, if the Head be assaulted, the Hands are presently lifted up to defend it; if any Limb be in pain, the Head and Heart are sensible of it; if there be but a small Excressence upon a Toe, the Hands are immediately at work to relieve and ease it; and thus every Member gives mutual assistance to each other, by which the whole is kept in health and vigor. Should not the Body Politick do the like? Ought not all the Members defend and support the Head, (where is the seat of Wisdom and Direction?) Ought not the Head, and the nobler Parts of that great Body, encourage and succour the inferior, that so all the Parts with consent and pleasure may stick close together for their common defence? which if they did, they were invincible, Vis unita fortior. Rewards and Punishments ever did and ever will govern the World, it is the method of Heaven: 'Tis true, there are many generous Spirits, who are contented with their own Vertue for their reward, but Prudence should not trust to that.

Quis enim virtutem amplectitur ipsam

Praemia si tollas?

Vertue is like a choice Plant, or a Tree which bears excellent fruit, but the Gardiner must nourish and cherish this Plant and Tree, or else the Plant will dwindle, and the Tree in time bear sowr fruit. I have heard it esteemed policy to make a golden Bridge for an Enemy to pass over, but it was, that he might be gone, and trouble us no more, but I could never think it advisable to purchase Enemies, and put them into ones bosome, to give them Places of Trust and Profit, this is to make them more potent Enemies than they were before. I hope, for the Honour of the King, and Safety of the Government, no man for the future shall be imployed, until he be first sifted and winnowed, and if one grain of Faction be found in him, that he shall be laid aside. This is reasonable, and therefore just, and Justice, Gentlemen, is one of God Almighty his chiefest Attributes: When there was a contention between that and his Mercy, nothing but the precious Blood of the Son of God could reconcile them; of that esteem is Justice in Heaven. This Justice God hath sent into the World for the use of men, and expects it should be esteemed here; he hath not sent it by a common Envoy, but by his Vicegerent, not only to be distributed, but to be inforced, where it will not be kindly received. God tells us, By me Princes decree Justice; Deeree [Page] signifies Power and Authority: God hath not intrusted the Prince to decree Justice only, but to govern the People committed to his charge, to preserve them from themselves, and from their Enemies. God says, By me Kings raign, and Princes decree Justice, and surely he is to be believed. I wonder therefore at the strange Opinion which some men have of late spread abroad, That the People make the King, and give him his Authority: A strange Opinion, and as presumptuous as false. Is not God the Ens Entium? Is not Man and all other Creatures Emanations from that Fountain? Doth he not give us our day Bread, the former and the latter Rain, and all things else whatsoever? If all things are his, Power and Authority more; the People then cannot give it: Nemo dat quod non habet, and Quicquid effecit tale est magis tale. The King hath his Authority from God, and to him alone is to be accountable; Ipse sub nullo nisi tantum sub Deo. But I believe the mistake came from this: Some men might take the Law for the Authority; the Law it is true is the Rule by which the King is to administer; but the best Law, and most useful that ever was made, would lye still for ever, if it was not acted and quickned by some Authority. This Authority is the King's, which he had from God, and his Majesty transmits it to us and others, who act by his Commission to put the Laws in execution. God fashioned Adam into the shape of a man, but he was a useless Creature, until God was pleased to give him life and motion by his breath. The Laws are likewise to be quickned by that which must move and quicken them. The King, I told you, is to be accountable to God, and must render an exact account of the Power God hath put into his hands, and how it hath been administred for the good and welfare of the People committed to his charge: The King therefore ought not to be importuned by the People, to do any thing which he knows is contrary to his Duty and Trust, for he alone must answer for it, not they. Joshua made peace with the Gibeonites, which they obtained from him by fraud, pretending they were strangers, came from far, and none of the Canaanites; but in two or three days the Israelites came to the knowledge that they were of the Race of the Amorites, (who God commanded to be destroyed) and did urge Joshua to break the Peace; but he refused them, and would not be unjust at their importunity, and they were satisfied: Princes must be just, even against the importunities of their Subjects. The King, I have heard, was pressed to exclude the Duke of York, pray examine the Justice of that: Can it be just to punish a man in praesenti, for a fault to be committed in futuro? If a Bill had been presented to you Gentlemen of the Grand Jury against any man, upon presumption he would commit such or such a crime a year hence, surely you would not find that Bill. This of the Duke is of that nature; this could not be a fault until he was to succeed to the Crown, and that is uncertain whether ever or never. It is true, God hath given this Crown of England to this Royal Family, who have enjoyed it in Succession many hundred of years, but he hath reserved to himself to determine the Person of that Family from time to time to the Government; and when God hath made his Election, is it for us to say, Nolumus hunc regnare? Would not this be to question the divine Wisdom, and to usurp upon God's Prerogative, in whose hands are the issues of life and death, and all other events, to which all men in prudence ought to submit, because they know they [Page] must do it whether they will or no? Men ought not to pry into the Arcana of Heaven; God is a jealous God: The Bethshemites were smitten for looking into the Ark, and so was Uzzah for touching it, although 'twas done with a good intent. This act of Wisdom and Piety will make the King's Name be celebrated in Story: Fears and Jealousies ought not to transport Subjects to the desire of unreasonable things of their Prince, for he must answer for them, not they. I will teach you an Experiment (without a crime) that you shall never fail of a good King: It is to be a good People; for God (who is infinite Goodness) gives an ill King for the punishment of an ill People, and you cannot displease and provoke him more, than when he hath given you a good King, if you do not treat and esteem him as you ought. The King which he hath been pleased to bless us with at this time, is, I may say, with great truth, the best Prince in the World, (whom God long preserve) and if we honour and obey him as God expects, and our duty requires, God will not fail to send a good Successor. The Peace of the Kingdom is and ought to be the King's Care, and it could not be expected that the Duke should have sate still under such an Indignity; and if he had, the Princes of Christendom to whom he is allied, (and he is allied to many, and the Greatest) would have taken up the Quarrel, and then our Fields of Peace would have been turned to Fields of Blood. Those who read History, may find what Miseries this Kingdom for many years suffered, when the Dispute was between the two Houses of York and Lancaster, how many noble Families were destroyed, and many thousand of men lost their Lives, and if God had not had compassion of this Kingdom, and provided an Expedient to unite them, the misery of War, for ought I know, might have continued to this day. Wars are not so soon or so easily ended as begun; and it is very observable, that the neighbour-Princes made it their business to continue that Difference; some Prince or other always took part with him who was conquered, and so vicissim with him who was down, not out of any other consideration than their own Interest, that they might keep England imbroiled at home, which they knew was the true way to keep Wars and Troubles from their own doors: I hope England for the future will never be so unwise, as to give them the like advantage.

Gentlemen, The proper business of a Charge is to acquaint you with the Laws and Statutes of this Kingdom, their Usefulness and Penalties; that I have done heretofore to former Grand Juries, but it hath not had so good effect as I could have wished: Amongst others I did acquaint them with the Statute of 13. of the King, which was made for the preservation of his Majesties Person and Government; it did provide against Treason, against seditious Preaching and Printing, and against setting up Votes of one or both Houses of Parliament to be effectual as Laws. But notwithstanding that and other Statutes, we find that Persons have been lately accused for Treason, defamatory Pamphlets and Libels are sold about the Streets as good merchantable Wares, and Votes of the House of Commons printed to give check to Laws. Men are grown to a strange boldness, and out-do Pasquil in Rome; he tells bold Truths, but these here wicked and impudent Lyes. The sin of Cham, and that which clave to his Posterity, was, that he uncovered his Father's nakedness; and the greatest Crime of that Tyrant Nero, was, that he ript up the Belly of his Mother. Gentlemen, [Page] The King is Pater Patriae, and the Common-Wealth is our Mother, and he who rips up her Bowels and shews her Weakness or Deformity, or abuseth his Father, forfeits his very nature, and is more wicked then either Cham, or Nero; until men come to have a sense of Religion, and obey for Conscience-sake, I shall be hopeless that Laws will prevail; and yet I shall adventure to recommend one Statute to you more, a Statute not made by Kings, Lords, and Commons, but by their King, the King of Kings, and it is this, Statutum est omnibus semel mori, a Statute, Gentlemen, which was never repealed, or ever will be; and those who shall be indicted upon this Statute, no Ignoramus can prevent their Tryal, nor shall the credit of the Evidence be questioned, and the Sentence will have speedy Execution: Those who shall be found Innocent, their Sentence will be Venite Beati, but those who will be found Guilty, Ite Maledicti, a dreadful Sentence that, not like the Sentence we have here, Go to the place from whence you came, and so to the place of Execution, and there hang by the Neck until you are Dead: Or as we have it by Tradition, to be hanged in Chains alive until you are starved to Death. These are easy Sentences, because a little time determines the pain; but this dreadful Sentence of Ite Maledicti, sends the Criminal to a place of horrour, and darkness, where his Meat and Drink will be Fire and Brimstone, his Companions such who he durst not look upon when he was in the World, Devils, and Furies, not to make him sport and pastime, but to torment him; and that which aggravates this punishment is, that it is attended with despair, never to come out of that place of Torment. If this was well considered and laid to heart, could a reasonable man be invited by any temptation whatsoever to gratify his ambition or other appetites with those things (which will be enjoyed but for a very short time, and adventure this Sentence of Ite Maledicti? but pray let us consider what to do to avoid this fearful Sentence. The Psalmist instructs us, he who will ascend the Holy Mountain must have clean hands, a pure heart, must not lift up his mind to vanity, and must not be sworn to deceive his Neighbour; he must have clean hands, not subject to Bribery or Corruption, a pure heart; he must design nothing injurious to God, his King, or his Country; he must not lift up his mind to vanity, but must lay aside all ambitious thoughts, and be contented with the Station where God Almighty hath placed him; he must not be sworn to deceive his Neighbour; this last is part of the Law of Nature, and one of the Precepts of the Moral Law, Thou shalt not bear false Witness against thy Neighbour; under this Head comes all Perjury, Subornation of Perjury, Lying, Deceit, Treachery and Falshood; the Psalmist lays before us our Duty at this time, and if we perform it justly, we may avoid this Sentence of Ite Maledicti. Gentlemen, we have all sworn you, the Juries of Constables, to present without favour or affection, hatred or malice, and you ought to present all those Crimes which are committed within your several Parishes and Precincts, against the Laws and Statutes of this Kingdom; and you Gentlemen of the Grand Jury, are likewise sworn to present without favour or affection, hatred or malice, and we upon the Bench are sworn to do Justice according to the best of our skill and knowledge; we are not only sworn, but we have likewise made a Covenant with God to be just according to our Oaths; at the end of our Oaths we say, so help me God, which is as much as to say, we desire no help from God in our needs, if we [Page] do not do that which is just, according to our Oaths. Now I would advise all men to consider, that humane Nature is lyable to many Infirmities and Accidents: To Sickness, past the help of a Physitian; to Oppression, above the help of Law and Lawyers; to Poverty, and have no Friends to afford relief. In all these Cases, when humane Helps fail, Nature points out the ways to address to God: But with what confidence can we do it, when we call to mind we broke Covenant with him at such and such a time? which we cannot fail to do, for Conscience is a most certain Remembrancer: Is not a man a most silly Creature, who shall adventure to break this Covenant to gratify any Appetite, and please any Party, and by it put himself out of Gods Protection, and from under his care in this World, and without Gods infinite mercies to come under that severe Sentence of Ite Maledicti in the next? Gentlemen, Grand-Juries have always been esteemed the Honour of the Government, and the great Security of the Lives and Liberties of the Subject; they are to be Probos & legales Homines, and so is a golden Chain as well for Ornament as Security: If they should prove otherwise, this Chain of Gold would be turned into Gives and Fetters of Iron and Brass, and we should be greater Slaves here in England than they are in Algiers; our Ancestors have taken great care that the Grand-Juries should be such as they ought to be, and as you may see the Statutes made in that Case, provide; but for all that, it is happy for the people, that the King hath the Nomination of the Sheriffs, by whom the Juries are to be returned: It is a Prerogative of great consequence, and not to be intrusted in the hands of any Subject or Subjects whatsoever; the King sits aloft above all, and looks down upon all his Subjects, and like the Sun, sends forth his Beams upon all alike; his Spirit is as high as his Place: when God intended to remove Moses, and had appointed Joshua to succeed him, he commanded Moses to put some of his Honour upon him, and that the Text explains to be the Spirit of Wisdom, which is the Spirit of Government, and that no Subject hath: He is not therefore to be equipped with too large a Sayl for his bottom, for fear it should overset; the Kings Prerogative, (if it was well understood) is the Subjects chiefest safety, and ought not to be in a Subjects hand, for the Subjects sake, and it is to be hoped no man for the future will presume to advise the King to part with any of it. Every thing is most natural when it is in its proper Place; the King is to govern, the people to obey; this is harmonious, and no wise or good man will make discord; he who is for the King is for People, and he who is truly for the People, is as truly for the King: They cannot be divided but they must be in danger to be destroyed; it is therefore folly, as well as mutiny to say, I am for the King, or I am for the Country, except in Conjunction; he who is not a friend to both, is not a friend to either: I have ever esteemed Monarchy as the best of Governments, (it is the Government of Heaven) and ours the best of Monarchies, and if it be possible, I now esteem it much more than ever; I am not afraid of the King, I am sure he will do me no hurt, if I keep the Law, but, I must confess, I am afraid of some of my fellow-Subjects. Story will tell you, there was a great Faction in Italy between the Guelfes and the Gibelines; the great and rich City of Florence was almost destroyed by it, sometimes one got the upper hand, sometimes the other; but God was pleased to put an end to the Miseries of that City by a Monarchy, under which it [Page] hath been happy ever since. Pray Gentlemen, let us make it our Business, as it is our Interest, to preserve our Monarchy from being shaken: This is to be done by universal Justice, that is the chiefest Pillar which supports Monarchies, and if any man shall by fraud undermine that Pillar, or by force shake it, he will like Sampson, pull the whole Fabrick upon his own head, and destroy himself: But they will differ in this; Sampson had great provocation, his eyes were put out by the Philistines, and they made him their sport and pastime; but whosoever shall shake this Pillar here, do it from the force of a wicked inclination to destroy the Government, under which he may live happily and safely if he will, and so adds the sin of Ingratitude to that of Disobedience. Gentlemen, I have troubled you too long, but what I have said, I hope will not be wholly useless; God, who is the searcher of all hearts, knows, I have not spoke from the spirit of bitterness, to blow the Coals, or rub the old Sore; I have no Animosity against any man living; my design was to lay before you the danger of Divisions, and making Parties, and so exhort you to Peace and Unity, and not throw away the Blessings we enjoy, and make our selves ridiculous to all the World. The matter of a Charge, as it respects the Laws and Statues, I have caused for your ease and help to be contrived into Articles, which shall be read to you. Mr. Clerk of the Peace pray read them.

Articles to be presented by the High and Petty Constables to the Grand Jury, and to be inquired into by the said Grand Jury.

1. IMprimis, You are to present all petty Treason, Misprisions of Treason; all Priests, and Jesuits, and others, that have received any Orders from the Church or See of Rome.

2. All Murders, Manslaughters, Robberies, Burglaries, Breaking of Houses in the day time, Fellonies, Petty-Larcenies, and the Accessories thereunto. Committed and done within your several Hundreds and Precincts.

3. You are to present all Popish and other Recusants that do not come to their several Parish Churches within your Divisions.

4. You are to present all unlicensed Alehouse-keepers, and what disorderly Alehouses you have within your Divisions.

5. You are to present the neglect of Hughs and Cryes of and in whose default.

6. You are to present all High-ways and Bridges unrepaired, within your Hundreds and Parishes, and who are to repair them.

7. You are to present all that erect Cottages, or that continue Cottages, not having four Acres of Land to be occupied by the Inhabitants, of the said Cottages within your Divisions.

8. You are to present all profane Swearers and Cursers within your Hundred and Liberties.

[Page] 9. You are to present all common Barretors, common Disturbers, Libellers, and others, that break the Kings Peace, all Outcrys and Bloud-sheds that happen within your Liberties and Precincts.

10. You are to present all Forestallers, Regrators, and Ingrossers, all Embracers of Juries, that you know of within your Hundreds and Precincts.

Gentlemen,

IT is your Duty to present what shall come in proof before you upon these Articles; and first you must take care of Religion, to enquire after Priests, Jesuits, Popish Recusants, and all other Dissenters from the Church; you must enquire after all Treasons, which although they cannot be tryed here by vertue of our Commission, yet they ought to be presented; you are to inquire after and present all Murthers, Burglaries, Robberies, Felonies, and all other Crimes against the Laws and Statutes of this Kingdom. I wind up all with this Advice, that you will Serve God, Honour the King, Love one another, and take heed to those who are given to change.

THe Court observing that the Charge was taken in Writing, commanded it should be delivered to the Clerk of the Peace, that it might not be published without their direction; but finding in a printed Pamphlet published by R. Janeway, that their Chairman is very unworthily reflected upon, and some part of the Charge misrepresented: They have thought fit to order it, to be printed, to the intent the whole Kingdom may see their opinion, (which this Charge unanimously is) with hopes that all His Majesties good and peaceable minded Subjects will be of the same.

ORdered by this Court, that the Charge given in Sessions by Sir William Smith be printed; and that the thanks of this Bench be given to Sir William Smith for his Prudent Care, and constant endeavour in the management of Affairs, for the preservation of the publick Peace, and His Majesties Government: And this Court doth declare, they will adhere to Sir William Smith and stand by him.

Per Cur. Adderley.

§

London, Printed by Tho. Hodgkin. 1682.

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Information about this book

Title statement

The charge given by Sr. William Smith, Brt. at the quarter-sessions of the peace held for the county of Middlesex, at Westminster, on Monday the 24th of April, 1682.

England and Wales. Court of Quarter Sessions of the Peace (Middlesex)

Edition statement

1682

Publication

Publisher

Text Creation Partnership,

Place of publication

Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) :

Date

2005-12 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1).

ID [DLPS]

A60592

ID [STC]

Wing S4255A

ID [STC]

ESTC R19647

ID [EEBO-CITATION]

12442736

ID [OCLC]

ocm 12442736

ID [VID]

62130

Availability

This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal. The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission.

Series

Early English books online.

Notes

(EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A60592)

Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 62130)

Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 948:8)

Source

— The charge given by Sr. William Smith, Brt. at the quarter-sessions of the peace held for the county of Middlesex, at Westminster, on Monday the 24th of April, 1682., England and Wales. Court of Quarter Sessions of the Peace (Middlesex), Smith, William, Sir, 1616 or 17-1696..

Extent

11 p.

Printed by Tho. Hodgkin,. London :: 1682.. (Reproduction of original in Library of Congress.) (Caption title.)

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