And as I have hitherto diſcharged my duty to this Houſe and to my Country, in the progreſſe of this great Cauſe; ſo I truſt I ſhall doe now in the laſt period of it, to God and to a good conſcience.

I doe wiſh the peace of that unto my ſelfe, and the bleſſings of Almighty God to me and my poſterity, according as my judgement on the life of this man, ſhall be conſonant with my heart, and the beſt of my underſtanding in all integrity.

I know well Maſter Speaker, that by ſome things I have ſaid of late, whileſt this Bill was in agitation, I have raiſed ſome prejudices upon me in the cauſe.

Yea ſome (I thanke them for the plaine dealing) have beene ſo free as to tell me, that I ſuffered much by the backwardneſſe I have ſhewn in this Bill of Attainder of the Earle of Strafford, againſt whom I had beene formerly ſo keene, ſo active.

Maſter Speaker, I begge of you and the reſt but a ſuſpenſion of judgement concerning me, till I have opened my heart unto you freely and clearely in this buſineſſe.

Truely Sir, I am ſtill the ſame in my opinions and affections, as unto the Earle of Strafford, I confidently beleeve him the moſt dangerous Miniſter, the 〈◊〉 inſupportable to free ſubjects that can be characterd.

I beleeve his practices in themſelves as high, as tyrannicall, as any ſubject ever ventured on, and the malignity of them hugely aggravated by thoſe rare abilities of his, wherof God hath given him the uſe, but the Devill the application. In a word, I beleeve him ſtill that grand Apoſtate to the Commonwealth, who muſt not expect to be pardoned it in this world, till hee be diſpatch'd to the other. And yet let me tell you Maſter Speaker, my hand muſt not be to that diſpatch. I proteſt as my conſcience ſtands informed, I had rather it were off.

Let me unfold unto you the Myſterie, Maſter Speaker.

I will not dwell much upon juſtifying unto you my ſeeming variance at this time from what I was formerly, by putting you in mind of the difference betweene proſecutors and Judges.

How misbecomming that fervour would be in a Judge which perhaps was commendable in a proſecutor. Judges wee are now, and muſt put on another perſonage.

It is honeſt and Noble, to be earneſt in order to the diſcovery of Truth, but when that hath beene brought as far as it can to light, our judgement thereupon ought to be calme, and cautious.

In proſecution upon probable grounds, we are accountable onely for our induſtrie or remiſneſſe, but in judgement, we are deeply reſponſable to God Almighty, for its rectitude or obliquity. In caſes of life, the Judge is Gods Steward of the parties bloud, and muſt give a ſtrict account for every droppe.

But as I told you Maſter Speaker, I will not inſiſt long upon this ground of difference in me now, from what I was formerly.

The truth on't is Sir, the ſame ground whereupon I (with the reſt of the five to whom you firſt committed the conſideration of my Lord of Strafford) brought downe our opinion, that it was fit he ſhould be accuſed of Treaſon, upon the ſame ground I was ingaged with earneſtneſſe in his proſecution, and had the ſame ground remained in that force of beliefe with me, which till verie lately it did, I ſhould not have beene tender in his condemnation. But truly Sir, to deale plainly with you, that ground of our accuſation, that ſpurre to our proſecution, and that which ſhould be the baſis of my judgement, of the Earle of Strafford, as unto Treaſon, is to my underſtanding quite vaniſht away.

This it was Maſter Speaker.

His adviſing the King to employ the Army of Ireland, to reduce England.

This I was aſſured would be proved, before I gave my conſent to his accuſation. I was confirmed in the ſame beliefe, during the proſecution, and fortified in it moſt of all ſince Sir Henry V • in • s preparatory examinations, by the aſſurances which that worthy member Maſter Pymme gave me, that his Teſtimony would be made convincing by ſome notes of what paſſed at the I • nto concurrent with it, which I ever underſtanding to be of ſome other Counſellour, you ſee now prove but a Copie of the ſame Secretaries notes, diſcover'd and produc't in the manner you have heard, and thoſe, ſuch diſjoynted fragments of the venemous part of diſcourſes, no reſults, no concluſions of Councels, which are the onely things that Secretaries ſhould regiſter, there being no uſe at all of the other, but to accuſe and to bring men into danger.

But Sir, this is not that which overthrowes the evidence with me, concerning the Armie of Ireland; nor yet that all the reſt of the 〈◊〉 upon their oathes, remember nothing of it.

But this 〈◊〉 I ſhall tell you, is that which 〈…〉 me under favour, to an utter overthrow of his evidence, as unto that of the Army of Ireland? Before, whil'ſt I was a proſecutor, and under tye of Secrecy; I might not diſcover any weakneſſe of the cauſe which now as a judge I muſt. Maſter Secretary was examined thrice upon oath, at the preparatory committee.

The firſt time he was queſtioned to all the Interrogat •••… , and to that part of the ſeventh which condemnes the Army of Ireland, he ſaid poſitively in theſe words, I cannot charge him with that. But for the reſt, he deſires time to recollect himſelfe, which was granted him.

Some dayes after, he was examined a ſecond time, and then depoſes theſe words concerning the Kings being abſolved from rules of government, and ſo forth very clearely. But Being preiſt to that part, concerning the Iriſh Army, againe can ſay nothing to that.

Heere we thought we had done with him, till divers weeks after, my Lord of Northumberland and all others of the Iunto, denying to have heard any thing concerning thoſe words of reducing England by the Iriſh Army, it was thought fit to examine the Secretary once more, and then he depoſes theſe words, to have beene ſaid by the Earle of Strafford to his Majeſty: you have an Army in Ireland, which you may imploy heere to reduce, (or ſome word to that ſence) this Kingdome.

Maſter Speaker, theſe are the circumſtances which I confeſſe with my Conſcience, thruſt quite out of doores that grand Article of our charge, concerning his deſperate advice to the King, of employing the Iriſh Armie heere.

Let not this I beſeech you, be driven to an aſperſion upon Maſter Secretary, as if he ſhould have ſworne otherwiſe then he knew or beleeved, he is too worthy to do that; onely let thus much be infer'd from it, that he who twice upon oath with time of recollection, could not remember any thing of ſuch a buſineſſe, might well a third time miſremember ſomewhat: and in this buſineſſe the difference of one Letter, here for there, or that for this, quite alters the caſe, the latter alſo being the more probable, ſince it is confeſt of all hands, that the debate then was concerning a war with Scotland, and you may remember that at the Bar he once ſaid to employ there. And thus Maſter Speaker, I have faithfully given you an account what it is that hath blunted the edge of the Harchet or Bill with me towards my Lord of Strafford.

This was that whereupon I accuſed him with a free heart, proſecuted him with earneſtneſſe, and had it to my underſtanding bin proved, ſhould have condemned him with innocence. Whereas now I cannot ſatisfie my conſcience to doe it.

I profeſſe I can have no notion of any bodies intent to ſubvert the Lawes treaſonably, but by force; and this deſigne of force not appearing, all his other wicked practiſes cannot amount ſo high with me.

I can find a more eaſie and more naturall ſpring, from whence to derive all his other Crimes, then from an intent to bring in Tyranny, and to make his owne poſterity, as well as us, Slaves; as from revenge, from Pride, from Avarice, from paſſion, and inſolence of nature.

But had this of the Iriſh Army beene proved, it would have diffuſed a complexion of Treaſon over all, it would have beene a With indeed, to bind all thoſe other ſcattered and leſſer branches, as it were into a faggot of Treaſon.

I doe not ſay but the reſt may repreſent him a man as worthy to dye, and perhaps worthier then many a Traytor. I doe not ſay but they may juſtly direct us to Enact that the like ſhall be Treaſon for the future.

But God keepe me from giving judgement of death on any Man, and of ruine to his innocent Poſterity, upon a Law made, à Poſteriori.

Let the marke be ſet on the dore where the Plague is, and then let him that will enter dye.

I know Maſter Speaker, there is in Parliament a double power of life and death by Bill, a Judiciall power; and a Legiſlative: the meaſure of the one, is what's Legally juſt; of the other, what is prudentially and politickly fit for the good and preſervation of the whole. But thoſe two, under favour, are not to be confounded in Judgement. Wee muſt not peece up want of Legality with matter of convenience, nor the defailance of prudentiall fitneſſe, with a pretence of legall Juſtice.

To condemne my Lord of Strafford judicially as for Treaſon, my conſcience is not aſſured that the matter will beare it.

And to doe it by the Legiſlative power, my reaſon conſultively cannot agree to that, ſince I am perſwaded, neither the Lords nor the King will paſſe the Bill, and conſequently that our paſſing it, will be a cauſe of great diviſions and combuſtions in the State.

And therefore my humble adviſe is, that laying aſide this Bill of Attainder, wee may think of another, ſaving only life, ſuch as may ſecure the State from my Lord of Strafford, without endangering it, as much by diviſion concerning his puniſhment, as he hath endangerd it by his practices.

If this may not be hearkned unto, let me conclude in ſaying that unto you all, which I have throughly inculcated to mine owne conſcience upon this occaſion. Let every man lay his hand upon his heart, and ſadly conſider what wee are going to doe with a breath, either juſtice or murther; juſtice on the one ſide, or murther heightned and aggravated to its ſupremeſt extent. For as the Caſuiſts ſay, that he who lyes with his ſiſter commits inceſt, but he that marries his ſiſter ſins higher, by applying Gods Ordinance to his crime: So doubtleſſe he that commits murther with the ſword of Juſtice, heightens that crime to the utmoſt.

The danger being ſo great, and the caſe ſo doubtfull, that I ſee the beſt Lawyers in diametrall oppoſition concerning it; Let every man wipe his heart as he does his eyes, when he would judge of a nice and ſubtile object. The eye if it be pretincted with any colour, is vitiated in its diſcerning. Let us take heed of a blood-ſhotten eye of Judgement.

Let every man purge his heart cleare of all paſſions, (I know this great and wiſe body politicke can have none, but I ſpeake to individuals from the weakeneſſe which I find in my ſelfe.) Away with all perſonall animoſities, away with all flatteries to the people, in being the ſharper againſt him, becauſe he is odious to them; away with all feares, leaſt by the ſparing his blood they may be incenſt; away with all ſuch conſiderations, as that it is not fit for a Parliament, that one accuſed by it of Treaſon ſhould eſcape with life.

Let not former vehemence of any againſt him, nor feare from thence, that he cannot be ſafe while that man lives, be an ingredient in the ſentence of any one of us.

Of all theſe corruptives of judgement, Maſter Speaker, I doe before God diſcharge my ſelfe to the uttermoſt of my power,

And do with a cleare Conſcience waſh my hands of this mans blood, by this ſolemne proteſtation, that my Vote goes not to the taking of the Earle of Straffords life.