Page:The World's Famous Orations Volume 3.pdf/70

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THE WORLD'S FAMOUS ORATIONS

are against it! Yea, in the very nature of it, it will be found to be disproportionable to the case of "necessity" which is pretended to be the ground of it! Necessity excludes all formalities and solemnities. It is no time then to make levies and taxes to build and prepare ships. Every man's person, every man's ships are to be employed for the resisting of an invading enemy. The right on the subject's part was so clear, and the pretenses against it so weak, that he thought no man would venture his reputation or conscience in the defense of that judgment, being so contrary to the grounds of the law, to the practise of former times, and so inconsistent in itself.

The seventh great civil grievance hath been the military charges laid upon the several counties of the kingdom—sometimes by warrant under his majesty's signature, sometimes by letters from the council table, and sometimes (such had been the boldness and presumption of some men) by the order of the lord lieutenants, or deputy lieutenant alone. This is a growing evil; still multiplying and increasing from a few particulars to many, from small sums to great. It began first to be practised as a loan, for supply of coat and conduct money; and for this it hath some countenance from the use in Queen Elizabeth's time, when the lords of the council did often desire the deputy lieutenants to procure so much money to be laid out in the country as the service did require, with a promise to pay it again in

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