THE LORD Faulkland HIS Learned SPEECH in Parliament, in the House of Commons, Touching the Judges and the late Lord Keeper.  
Printed in the year, 1641.   

THE LORD FAULKLAND HIS Learned SPEECH in Parliament, in the House of COMMONS.  
Mr. Speaker:  
I rejoice very much to see this day, and the want hath not lain in my affection, but in my lungs, if to all that hath past, my Tongue hath not been as loud as any man's in the House yet truly my opinion is, that we have yet done nothing, if we do no more, I shall add what I humbly conceive might be added, as soon as I have said something, with Reference to him that says it.  
I will desire forgiveness of the House▪ if in aught i say, i seem to entrench upon another's profession, and enter upon the work of another Robe, since I have been instructed by there port of a learned Committee, and confirmed by the uncontradicted vote of the whole House, since i shall say nothing of this kind, but in order, to somewhat further, and which moves me most to venture my opinion, and to expect your pardon, since i am confident that History alone is sufficient to s●●w this ●udg●ment, contrary to our laws, and logic alone sufficient to prove it destructive to our properties, which every free and noble person values no less than his profession.  
I will next profess that I know of myself, and all those that know me, know it of me, that my natural disposition is far from inclining to severity, much less to cruelty, That I have particular provocation from their persons, and have particular obligations to their callings, against whom I am to speak.  
And that though not for much, yet or more than all I have, so i hope it will be believed, that only public interest hath extorted this from me, which i would not say, if I conceived it not both so true and so necessary, that no meat undigested, can lie heavier upon the stomach then this unsaid, would have lain upon my Conscience.  
Mr. Speaker, the constitution of this commonwealth, hath established, or rather endeavoured to establish to us, the security of our goods, and the security of those laws, which should secure us, and our goods, by appointing for us judges, so settled, so sworn, that there can be no oppression, but they of necessity must be accessary, since if they neither deny nor delay us Justice, which neither for the great nor little seal, they ought to do.  
The greatest person in the kingdom cannot continue the least violence upon the meanest. But this security, Mr Speaker, hath been almost our ruin, (this bulwark) for us hath been turned, or rather turned itself, into a battery against us, and those persons who should have been as Dogs to defend the flock, have been the wolves to worry it.  
These judges, Mr. Speaker, to instance not them only, but their greatest Crimes, have delivered an opinion, and a judgement, the first in an extrajudicial manner, and both upon an extrajudicial matter, that is such as came notwithin their cognizance, they being judges of Law, and not of necessity, that is being judges and neither Philosophers, nor politicians, in which, when it is absolute, and evident, the law of the Land seizeth, and that of general reason and equity, by which particular laws at first were framed, returns to her Throrne and government, when salus populi becomes not only suprema, but sola le▪, at which time, and to which end, whosoever would dispense with the King, to make use of money, dispenses equally with us to make use of his, and one another's.  
1 In this judgement, first they contradict both many, and clear Acts and Declarations of Parliaments, and those in this very case, and in this very Reign, so that for them, they needed to have consulted with no other Records, than their Memories.  
2 Secondly they contradicted with apparent Evidences, by supposing mighty and eminent dangers, in most serene, quiet, and halcyon days, that c●uld possibly be imagined, a few contemptible pirates, being our most formidable enemies, and there being neither Prince nor State, with, and from whom we had not, either Ambassadors, or Amity, or both.  
3 Thirdly, they contradicted the writ itself, by supposing that supposed danger, to be so sudden, that it could not stay for a Parliament, which required but forty days' stay, the writ being in no such haste, but being content to stay seven months, which is that time four times over.  
Mr. Speaker, it seemed generally strange, that they who saw not that Law, which all men else saw, should see that danger, which no man saw, but themselves got, though this begot the more general wonder, three other particulars begot the more general indignation.  
1 The first, that all the reasons for this judgement were such, that they needed not those of the adverse party, to help them to convert these few, who had before the least suspicion of the Legality of that most illegal writ, there being fewer who approved of the judgement, than there were that judged it; for I am confident they did not that themselves.  
2 The second that when they had allowed to the King the sole power in necessity, and the sole judgement of necessity, and so enabled him to take from us, what he would, when he would, and how he would, they yet ●●●temned us, enough, to offer to persuade us, that they had left us our property.  
3 The third and last; and which I must confess moved me most, that by the transformation of this kingdom, from the estate of free Subjects, (a good Phrase Mr. Speaker, under Doctor Heylins favour) into that of villains, they disabled us by legal and voluntary supplies, to express our affections to his Majesty, and by that to cherish his to us, that is to Parliaments.  
Mr. Speaker, the cause of all the miseries we have suffered, and of all the jealousies we have had, that we should suffer more, is, that a most excellent Prince, hath been most infinitely abused by his judges, telling him that in Law, his Divines telling him that in Conscience, his Counsellors telling him that in policy, he might do what he pleased: with the first of these we are now to deal, which may be a good leading cause to the rest, and some in penning those laws, upon which, th●se men have trampled, our Ancestors have sh●●ed the utmost of care and wisdom, for our unstled security, words having done nothing, and yet done all that words can do, we must now be forced to think of abolishing the grievers, of taking away this judgement, and these judges together, & of regulating their successors by their most exemplary punishments, who would not regulate themselves by most evident laws; of the degrees of this punishment, I will not speak, I will only say we have accused a great person of high Treason, for intending to subvert our fundamental laws, and introduce arbitrary government, whereas what we suppose he meant to do, we are sure these have done, there being no Law more fundamental, than they have already subverted, and no government more absolute, than they have already introduced. Mr. Speaker, not only the severe punishment, but even the sudden removal of these men, will have a very large effect, in one very considerable consideration, we only accuse, and the house of Lords condemns, in which consideration they usually receive advise, (though not direction from the judges: And I leave it to every man to imagine how prejudicial to us, (that is to the commonwealth) and how partial to their fellow-malefactors, the advice of such judges is like to be, how undoubtedly for their own sakes they will conduce to their power, that every action be judged to be a less fault, and every person to be less faulty, then in Justice they ought to be.  
Amongst these, Mr. Speaker, there is one whom I must not lose in the crowd, whom I doubt not, but we shall find when we examine the rest of them, with what hopes they have been tempted, by what fears they have been assailed, and by what, and by whose importunity, they have been pursued, before they consented to do what they did, I doubt not I say, but we shall find him, to have been a most admirable solicitor, though a most abominable Judge, he it is, who not only gave away with his wealth, what our ancestors had purchased for us, at so large an expense, both of their time, their care, their treasure, and their blood, and employed an industry as great as his injustice, to persuade to join with him in that deed of gift, but others strove to root out those liberties, which we had cut down, & to make our grievances mortal, and out slavery irreparable, lest any part of posterity might want occasion to curse him, he declared that power to be so inherent in the crown, that it was not in the power, even of a Parliament to divide them.  
I have heard, Mr. Speaker, and I think here that Common Fame is ground enough for this House to accuse upon, and then undoubtedly enough to be accused upon in this House, they have reported this so generally, that I expect not you should bid me name whom you all know, nor do I look to tell you news, when I tell you it is my Lord Keeper, but this I think fit to put you in mind, that his place admits him to his majesty's ear, and trusts him with his majesty's conscience, and how pernicious every moment must be to us, whilst the one gives him means to infuse such unjust opinions of this house into his majesty's ear, expressed in that libel rather than declaration, of which many believe him to have been a Secretary, & the other puts the vast and almost unlimited power of the Chancery into such hands, which in the safest would be dangerous, for my part, I can think no man here secure, that he shall find himself worth any thing when he rises, whilst our estates are in his breast, who hath sacrificed his country to his ambition, whilst he had prostituted his own conscience, hath the keeping of the Kings, and he who hath undone us already by wholesale, hath power lost in him of undoing us by retail.  
Mr. Speaker, in the beginning of this Parliament, he told us, and I am confident every man here believed it, before he told it, and not the more for his telling it, though a sorry witness is a good Testimony against himself, that his majesty never required any thing from any of his Ministers, but Justice and integrity, against which if any of them have transgressed, upon their heads, and that deservedly, it was to fall, And truly after he hath in this saying propounded his own condemnation, we shall be more partial to him, than he is to himself, if we slow to pursue it.  
If therefore my just and humble motion, that we may choose a select committee, to draw up his and their charge, and to examine the carriage of this particular, to make use of it in the charge, and if he being a Judge, shallbe found guilty of tampering against the public property with Judges, who hath thought tampering with witnesses in private defences, worthy of so severe a Fine, if he shall be found to have gone before the rest, to this judgement, and to have gone beyond the rest in this Judgement, that in the punishment for it, the justice of this House, may not deny him that due honour, both to preceded and exceed the rest.  
FINIS