House of Commons Journal Volume 9: 28 January 1678

Lunæ, 28 die Januarii , 1677.

Message to attend the King.

A MESSAGE from his Majesty, by Sir Edward Carteret, Usher of the Black Rod;

Mr. Speaker,

The King commands this honourable House to attend Him immediately in the House of Lords.

And, accordingly, Mr. Speaker, with the House went up to attend his Majesty in the House of Lords.

Mr. Speaker and the House being returned;

The King's Speech reported.

Mr. Speaker reports, That he had attended his Majesty, and that his Majesty being pleased to make use of a Paper in Writing of what he delivered; Mr. Speaker, to prevent Mistakes, had obtained a Copy of it: Which he read to the House; and is as followeth;

My Lords and Gentlemen,

WHEN we parted last, I told you, That, before we met again, I would do That which should be to your Satisfaction. I have, accordingly, made such Alliances with Holland, as are for the Preservation of Flanders; and which cannot fail of that End, unless prevented either by want of due Assistances to support those Alliances, or by the small Regard the Spaniards themselves must have to their own Preservation.

The first of these I cannot suspect, by reason of your repeated Engagements to maintain them; and I know you are so wise, as to consider, that a War, which must be the necessary Consequence of them, ought neither to be prosecuted by halves, nor to want such Assurances of Perseverance as may give me Encouragement to pursue it: Besides, it will not be less necessary to let our Enemies have such a Prospect of our Resolutions, as may let them see certainly, that we shall not be weary of our Arms, till Christendom be restored to such a Peace, as shall not be in the Power of any Prince alone to disturb.

I do acknowledge to you, That I have used all the means possible, by a Mediation, to have procured an honourable and safe Peace for Christendom; knowing how preferable such a Peace would have been to any War, and especially to this Kingdom; which must necessarily own the vast Benefits it has received by Peace, whilst its Neighbours only have yet smarted by the War: But, finding it no longer to be hoped for by fair means, it shall not be my Fault, if That be not obtained by Force which cannot be had otherwise. For this Reason I have recalled my Troops from France; and have considered, That, although the Dutch shall do their Parts, we cannot have less, on ours, than Ninety Sail of capital Ships constantly maintained; nor less than Thirty or Forty thousand Land-men, with their Dependences, to be employed upon our Fleets, and elsewhere. And because there shall be no Jealousy or Fear of misemploying what you shall give to these Uses, I am contented, that such Money be appropriated to those Ends as strictly as you can desire. I have given Testimony enough of my Care in That kind, by the Progress I have made in building the new Ships; wherein, for the making them more useful, I have directed such larger Dimensions, as will cost me above One-hundred thousand Pounds more than the Act allows. I have gone as far as I could in repairing the Old Fleet, and in buying of necessary Stores for the Navy and Ordnance: And in This and other Provisions for the better securing both my Foreign Plantations, and the Islands nearer Home, I have expended a great deal more than the Two hundred thousand Pounds you enabled me to borrow upon the Excise; although I have not found such Credit as I expected upon that Security.

I have borne the Charge both of a Rebellion in Virginia, and a new War with Algiers: I stand engaged to the Prince of Orange for my Niece's Portion; and I shall not be able to maintain my constant necessary Establishments, unless the new Imposts upon Wines, &c. be continued to me: Which would otherwise turn only to their Profit, to whom we least intend it.

I hope these Things will need little Recommendation to you, when you consider your Promises in some, and the Necessity of the rest. And, to let you see, that I have not only employed my Time and Treasure for your Safety, but done all I could to remove all Sorts of Jea lousies; I have married my Niece to the Prince of Orange; by which I hope I have given full Assurances, that I shall never suffer his Interests to be ruined, if I can be assisted as I ought to be to preserve them.

Having done all this, I expect from you a plentiful Supply suitable to such great Occasions; whereon depends not only the Honour, but, for aught I know, the Being of an English Nation: Which will not be saved by finding Faults afterwards; but may be prevented by avoiding the chief Fault of doing weakly and by halves What can only be hoped from a vigorous and thorough Prosecution of what we undertake.

These Considerations are of the greatest Importance that ever concerned this Kingdom: And therefore I would have you enter immediately upon them, without suffering any other Business whatsoever to divert you from bringing them to good Resolutions.

Speech to be considered.

Resolved, &c. Nemine contradicente, That this House will, To-morrow Morning at Ten of the Clock, proceed to the Consideration of his Majesty's Speech.

Irregular Adjournment.

A Paper being presented to be read, complaining of the irregular Adjournment of the House by Mr. Speaker;

Ordered, That this Debate be adjourned till Thursday Morning, Ten of the Clock.

New Writs to be issued.

Ordered, That Mr. Speaker do issue out his Warrant to the Clerk of the Crown, to make out a new Writ, for the Election of a Member to serve in this present Parliament for the Borough of Leskard in the County of Cornwall, in the room of John Harris Esquire, deceased.

Ordered, That Mr. Speaker do issue out his Warrant to the Clerk of the Crown, to make out a new Writ, for the Election of a Member to serve in this present Parliament for the Borough of Newport in the County of Cornwall, in the room of John Specott Esquire, deceased.

Ordered, That Mr. Speaker do issue out his Warrant to the Clerk of the Crown, to make out a new Writ, for the Election of a Member to serve in this present Parliament for the City and the County of the City of Norwich, in the room of Christopher Jay Esquire, deceased.

Ordered, That Mr. Speaker do issue out his Warrant to the Clerk of the Crown, to make out a new Writ, for the Election of a Member to serve in this present Parliament for the Town of Stamford in the County of Lincolne, in the room of Henry Noell Esquire, deceased.

Ordered, That Mr. Speaker do issue out his Warrant to the Clerk of the Crown, to make out a new Writ for the Election of a Knight of the Shire to serve in this present Parliament for the County of Chester, in the room of Sir Foulke Lucy Knight, deceased.

Ordered, That Mr. Speaker do issue out his Warrant to the Clerk of the Crown, to make out a new Writ, for the Election of a Member to serve in this present Parliament for the City of Litchfield in the County of Stafford, in the room of Richard Dyot Esquire, deceased.

Ordered, That Mr. Speaker do issue out his Warrant to the Clerk of the Crown to make out a new Writ, for the Election of a Member to serve in this present Parliament for the Town of Great Yarmouth in the County of Norfolke, in the room of Sir William Doyley Knight, deceased.

Ordered, That Mr. Speaker do issue out his Warrant to the Clerk of the Crown, to make out a new Writ, for the Election of a Member to serve in this present Parliament for the Borough of Limmington in the County of Southampton, in the room of Sir William Lewis Baronet, deceased.

Ordered, That Mr. Speaker do issue out his Warrant to the Clerk of the Crown, to make out a new Writ for the Election of a Member to serve in this present Parliament for the City and County of the City of Bristoll, in the room of Sir Humphrey Hooke Knight, deceased.

Ordered, That Mr. Speaker do issue out his Warrant to the Clerk of the Crown, to make out a new Writ, for the Election of a Baron to serve in this present Parliament for the Port of Winchelsea in the County of Sussex, in the room of Francis Finch Esquire, deceased.

Ordered, That Mr. Speaker do issue out his Warrant to the Clerk of the Crown, to make out a new Writ, for the Election of a Member to serve in this present Parliament for the Town of Warwick in the County of Warwick, in the room of Robert Lord Digby, deceased.

And then the House adjourned till To-morrow Morning, Eight of the Clock.