146 CHARGE AGAINST MR. OLIVER ST. JOHN. 



not incomparable, unto any of the kings his progeni 

 tors. This therefore gives me a just and necessary 

 occasion to do two things : The one, to make some 

 representation of his Majesty ; such as truly he is 

 found to be in his government, which Mr. I. S. 

 chargeth with violation of laws and liberties : The 

 other, to search and open the depth of Mr. I. S. 

 his offence. Both which I will do briefly ; because 

 the one, I cannot express sufficiently ; and the other, 

 I will not press too far. 



My lords, I mean to make no panegyric or lau 

 dative ; the king delights not in it, neither am I fit 

 for it : but if it were but a counsellor or nobleman, 

 whose name had suffered, and were to receive some 

 kind of reparation in this high court, I would do him 

 that duty as not to pass his merits and just attributes, 

 especially such as are limited with the present case, 

 in silence : for it is fit to burn incense where evil 

 odours have been cast and raised. Is it so that king 

 James shall be said to be a violator of the liber 

 ties, laws, and customs of his kingdoms ? Or is he 

 not rather a noble and constant protector and con 

 servator of them all ? I conceive this consisteth in 

 maintaining religion and the true Church ; in main 

 taining the laws of the kingdom, which is the 

 subject s birth-right : in temperate use of the prero 

 gative ; in due and free administration of justice, 

 and conservation of the peace of the land. 



For religion, we must ever acknowlege in the 

 first place, that we have a king that is the principal 

 conservator of true religion through the Christian 



