King. Well Sir, remember that the King is not suffered to give in his Reasons for the Liberty and Freedom of all his Subjects.
Lord President. Sir, you are not to have Liberty to use this Language: how great a Friend you have been to the Laws and Liberties of the People, let all England and the World judg.
King. Sir, under favour, it was the Liberty, Freedom, and Laws of the Subject that I ever took to defend my self with Arms; I never took up Arms against the People, but for the Laws.
Lord President. The command of the Court must be obeyed; no Answer will be given to the Charge.
King. Well, Sir.
And so he was guarded forth to Sir Robert Cotton’s House.
Then the Court adjourned until the next day.
The King’s Reasons against the Jurisdiction of the Court.
His Majesty still persisting not to own the Court, they refused to permit him to deliver his Reasons against the Jurisdiction of the Court by word of mouth: Nevertheless his Majesty thought fit to leave them in writing to posterity, which follow in these words:—
“Having already made my Protestations, not only against the illegality of this pretended Court, but also, That no earthly Power can justly call me (who am your King) in question as a Delinquent, I would not any more open my Mouth upon this occasion, more than to refer my self to what I have spoken, were I in this case alone concerned: but the Duty I owe to God in the preservation of the true liberty of my People will not suffer me at this time to be silent: For, how can any free-born Subject of England call Life or any thing he possesseth his own, if Power without Right daily make new, and abrogate the old fundamental Laws of the Land? which I now take to be the present case. Wherefore when I came hither, I expected that you would have endeavoured to have satisfied me concerning these grounds, which hinder me to answer to your pretended Impeachment. But since I see that nothing I can say will move you to it (the Negatives are not so naturally proved as Affirmatives) yet I will shew you the reason why I am confident you cannot judg me, nor indeed the meanest Man in England: For I will not (like you) without shewing a Reason, seek to impose a Belief upon my Subjects.