The Constitutional Documents of the Puritan Revolution. Samuel Rawson Gardiner
of the said King by him privately received; and which he procured that he might detain the same for the support of his places, honours, and dignities; and those things, and divers others of the like kind, as appeareth in the said schedule annexed, hath he done, to the exceeding diminution of the revenues of the Crown, and in deceit both of our Sovereign Lord the King that now is, and of the late King James of famous memory; and to the great detriment of the whole kingdom.
13. Whereas especial care and order hath been taken by the laws of this realm to restrain and prevent the unskilful administration of physic whereby the health and life of man may be much endangered; and whereas most especially the royal persons of kings of this realm, in whom we their loyal subjects humbly challenge a great interest, are and always have been, esteemed by us so sacred, that nothing ought to be prepared for them, or administered unto them, in the way of physic or diet, in the times of their sickness, without the consent of some of their sworn physicians, apothecaries, or surgeons; and the boldness of such (how near soever unto them in place and favour) who have forgotten their duty so far as to presume to offer any thing unto them beyond their experience, hath been always ranked in the number of high offences Ref. 008 and misdemeanours; and whereas the sworn physicians of our late Sovereign Lord King James of blessed memory, attending on His Majesty in the month of March, in the two and twentieth of his most gracious reign, in the times of his sickness, being an ague, did, in due and necessary care of and for the recovery of his health and preservation of his person, upon and after several mature consultations in that behalf had and holden, at several times in the same month, resolve and give directions, that nothing should be applied or given unto His Highness by way of physic or diet during his said sickness, but by and upon their general advice and consents, and after good deliberation thereof first had; more especially, by their like care, and upon like consultations, did justly resolve, and publicly give warning to and for all the gentlemen, and other servants and officers, of his said late Majesty’s bed-chamber, that no meat or drink whatsoever should be given unto him within two or three hours before the usual time of and for the coming of his fit in the said ague, nor during the continuance thereof, nor afterwards untill his cold fit were past; the said Duke of Buckingham, being a sworn servant of his late Majesty, of and in His Majesty’s said bedchamber, contrary to his duty and the tender respect which he ought to have had of his most sacred person, and after the consultations, resolutions, directions, and warning aforesaid, did nevertheless, without any sufficient warrant in that behalf, unduly cause and procure certain plaisters and a certain drink or potion, to be provided for the use of his said Majesty, without the direction or privity of his said late Majesty’s physicians, not prepared by any of His Majesty’s sworn apothecaries or surgeons, but compounded of several ingredients to them unknown; notwithstanding the same plaister, or some plaister like thereunto, having been formerly administered unto his said Majesty, did procure such ill effects as that some of the said sworn physicians did altogether disallow thereof, and utterly refuse to meddle any further with his said Majesty until those plaisters were removed, as being prejudicial to the health of His Majesty; yet nevertheless the same plaister, as also a drink or potion, was provided by the said Duke, which he the said Duke by colour of some insufficient and slight pretences, did upon Monday the one and twentieth day of March in the two and twentieth year aforesaid, when His Majesty (by the judgment of his said physicians) was in the declination of his disease, cause and procure the said plaister to be applied to the breast and wrists of his said late Majesty; and then also at and in His Majesty’s fit of the said ague, the same Monday, and at several times within two hours of the coming of the same fit, and before His Majesty’s then cold fit was passed, did deliver and cause to be delivered several quantities of the said drink or potion to his late Majesty; who thereupon, at the same times, within the seasons in that behalf prohibited by His Majesty’s physicians as aforesaid did, by the means and procurement of the said Duke, drink and take divers quantities of the said drink or potion applied and given unto and taken and received by his said Majesty as aforesaid, great distempers and divers ill symptoms appeared upon his said Majesty, insomuch that the said physicians, finding His Majesty the next morning much worse in the estate of his health, and holding a consultation thereabouts, did by joint consent, send unto the said Duke, praying him not to adventure to minister unto His Majesty any more physic, without their allowance and approbation, and his said Majesty himself, finding himself much diseased and affected with pain and sickness after his then fit, when, by the course of his disease, he expected intermission and ease, did attribute the cause of such his trouble unto the said plaister and drink, which the said Duke had so given and caused to be administered unto him. Which said adventurous act, by a person obliged in duty and thankfulness, done to the person of so great a King, after so ill success of the like formerly administered, contrary to such directions as aforesaid, and accompanied with so unhappy an event, to the great grief and discomfort of all His Majesty’s subjects in general, is an offence and misdemeanour of so high a nature, as may justly be called, and is by the said Commons deemed to be, an act of transcendent presumption and of dangerous consequence.
And the said Commmons by protestation saving to themselves the liberty of exhibiting at any time hereafter any other accusation or impeachment against the said Duke, and also of replying to the answers that the said Duke shall make unto the said articles, or to any of them, and of offering further proof also of the premises, or any of them, as the case shall (according to the course of Parliament) require, do pray that the said Duke may be put to answer to all and every the premises; and that such proceeding, examination, trial, and judgment, may be upon every of them had and used, as is agreeable to law and justice.
E.: The humble answer and plea of George Duke of Buckingham, to the declaration and impeachment made against him before your Lordships, by the Commons House of Parliament.
The said Duke of Bucks being accused, and sought to be impeached before your Lordships of the many misdemeanours, misprisions, offences, and crimes, wherewith he is charged by the Commons House of Parliament, and which are comprised in the articles preferred against him, and were aggravated by those whose service was used by that house in the delivery of them; doth find in himself an unexpressible pressure of deep and hearty sorrow, that so great and so worthy a body should hold him suspected of those things that are objected against him; whereas had that honourable house first known the very truth of those particulars, whereof they had not there the means to be rightly informed, he is well assured, in their own true judgments, they would have forborne to have charged him therewith. But the integrity of his own heart and conscience, being the most able and most impartial witness, not accusing him of the least thought of disloyalty to his sovereigns or to his country, doth raise his spirits again to make his just defence before your Lordships; of whose wisdom, justice, and honour, he is so well assured, that he doth with confidence and yet with all humbleness, submit himself and his cause to your examinations and judgments; before whom he shall, with all sincerity and clearness, unfold and lay open the secrets of his actions and of his heart; and, in his answer, shall not affirm the least substantial, and as near as he can the least circumstantial point, which he doth not believe he shall clearly prove before your Lordships.
The charge consisteth of thirteen several articles; whereunto the Duke, saving to himself the usual benefit of not being prejudiced by any words or want of form in his answer, but that he might be admitted to make further explanation and proof as there shall be occasion; and saving to himself all privileges and rights belonging to him as one of the peers of the realm; doth make these several and distinct answers following, in the same order they are laid down unto him:—
1. To the first which concerneth the plurality of offices which he holdeth, he answereth thus: That it is true he holdeth those several places and offices which are enumerated in the preamble of his charge; whereof only three are worthy the name of offices; videlicet, the Admiralty, the Wardenship of the Cinque Ports, and Mastership of the Horse. The others are rather titulary, and additions of honour. For these offices he humbly and freely acknowledgeth the bounty and goodness of His Most Gracious Majesty who is with God; who, when he had cast an eye of favour upon him, and had taken him into a more near place of service about his royal person, was more willing to multiply his graces and favours upon him than the Duke was forward to ask them; and for the most part, as many honourable persons, and his own most excellent Majesty above all others can best testify, did prevent the very desires of the Duke in asking.