The Hartlib Papers

some of my act acquaintance thinke that the King cowlde not passe that acte without danger of perjury, but the yce was then broke &the same reason holdes now; But truly there will be noe right regulatinge of these negatiues, thes corner s stones of Babylon, but by takinge them away &restoringe the People to theire primitiue liberty of disposinge of themselues by theire representatiue without askinge leaue of a 100: selfe interessed me men; And let but the Commons of England stand to theire representatiue; &the question be but asked made by what title these negatiues holde, they muste eyther yelde the swite, or finde a legall judge that wi will confirme their right; Thus without a judge they cannot make good their right, &yf they a once acknowledge a judge they yelde themselues to be neyther the supreme nor yet a peece of the supreme nor further authoratiue then allowed of the judgement of the true supreme I meane the representatiue

vpon a supposition of a remote possibility of the magistrates abusinge their power to the ruine of a people in case they had not that helpe lefte them, I am soe farre an Independant as I hope this pamphletter muste not be taken to answere for vs all; I heartily wish the Independants will sticke close to this principle; Eyther to doe or to suffer or to be gone but vpon noe condition or a occasion to resiste the established power; And truly yf elections to Parliamente were (accordinge to the Commonlawe of the Kingdome &two statuted declaratory statutes made in Ed: 3: time of the Common Lawe) reduced to be annuall, the omnipotency of power placed &intrusted to in the representatiue wowlde be fearefully onely to the abuses committed in any the hygher or lower partes of <the> gouernemente established, but not at all dangerous to the people, whose miseryes as then (suppose the woorste) cowlde not liue aboue a yeere but by theire owne consente, &(in truthe) when our representatiue hathe done its woorke (in regulating <freeing> the gouernemente from the incroachments of conquestes &tiranny), it selfe wowlde be allsoe soe farre reduced as to be able to doe all thinges but <not> make it selfe perpetuall for (as I sayd before) annuall election becomes the peoples higheste security as well againstee the Par Representative it selfe, as againste the abuse of any parte of the gouurnement established by it <H? adds marginal X>