¶ Certain questions DEMAVNded and asked by the Noble Realm of England, of her true natural children and Subjects of the same. Felix quem faciunt aliena pericula cautum. Imprinted AT LONDON AT THE earnest request and suit of your graces true and faithful servant miles Hogherde. ☞ ☞ ☞ England speaketh to the Englishmen. Answer these questions & so shall I know If thou wish my saved or my overthrow. Whether there be two kind of tresones, one to the kings parson, & another to the body of the realm or not, & whether the body of the rellme, may pardon the committed treason unto the parson of the prince, and a gain whether the Prince may pardon treason done to the body of the realm? ¶ Iten whether a Prince can betray his own realm, or not? and whether as the subjects of a realm without the consent of the Prince may not deliver up the right & title of the same realm (belonging unto the Prince) unto a stranger, whom it belongeth nothing unto: So likewise the Prince cannot deliver up unto another foreign Prince, the right title, tuition, & defence, of his realm, without the consent of his lawful ear or heirs apparent and faithful subjects, unto any stranger, without their lawful & expressed consent of them both. ¶ Iten whether the chief Captain & sodiars of any town, Castelle or hold, ought to obey his prince's letters of commandment where by the same town or hold should either be forsaken or surrendered from the realm to the enemy or to a stranger, or else left desolate to the destruction of the realm, for the prince's pleasure alone? ¶ Iten, whether the Princes be worthy to be her father's heir (who only by his last will called her unto) will not observe her father's will, and whether of right her father's will ought to prevail against all her practises, contrary to the same will, or not? and what judgement shall follow that Princes which doth the contrary? ¶ Iten whether one being a bastard in deed and so declared by the testimony of xiij of the greatest & best schools or universities in all Christendom, & by the whole body of the Canon law, can be made no bastard, otherways then by legittimation from the Pope only, whose power the same realm had renounced, by the authority of God's word, & whether they were worthy punishment that called such a one bastard. ¶ Iten whether the express word of god in the xxij. Chap. of Deut. forbid a woman to bear a sword, or wear spurs, as kings do in their creation, or to wear any other weapon, or apparel of man, saying: A woman shall not we are the weapons of a man, neither shall a man put on woman's raiment, for who so doth it, is abomination unto the Lord God. ¶ Iten, whether a King becometh a tyrant, in following his will, and forsaking his law? ¶ Iten, whether it be tyranny for a Prince, to keep his brother or sister in prison, & can charge them with nothing, as all the Realm well knoweth. ¶ Item, whether the King thirsteth the blood of his subjects, when he seeketh means to put his subjects to death, after he is lawfully quite by the laws of his Realm, and punished those men, who have passed upon his life, forcing them as much as may be to kill his said subject. ¶ Item, whether that Prince doth commit oppression & extortion, which taketh away his subjects goods, when he is out of his realm, before he be condemned, or called home to his answer: And whether god will revenge such extortion or not? ¶ Item, whether it be a point of tyranny for a Prince, when he knoweth a dosyne of his counsel guilty of high treason, to condemn one of the most innocent to death for the same, because he would not assent to them in religion, & to pardon the rest: yea, and to cause some of them to sit upon him in judgement, who were more guilty than the party condemned? ¶ Item, whether it be a point of tyranny, to kill one of his own blood for a fault devised, and done by others. So that none other cause can appear, why he should kill his said cousin, but only that he should not reign after him? ¶ Item, whether a King promising before his entry to the imperial crown of his realm, to suffer some of his subjects to follow their own religion, or afterward in the time of commotion promise them pardon, if they will lay down their weapons and depart. Be bound to preserve his promise: and if he do not, whether such a Prince ought ever after to be believed or credited, when he offereth pardon to serve his turn. ¶ Item whether they that have taken an oath never to receive the Bishop of Rome again, & have not withstanding in open parliament suffered bills to be preponed, and with their voices consented to the receiving of him again, be perjured or not. ¶ Item, whether a King being betroughted to another Kings daughter, with words of the present time, may marry another women or not, she being a live? And if such a Prince should marry with the Queen of England, whether should she live in adultery, and the child child so begotten, then be a bastard or not? ¶ Item, whether it be treason to declare a title of a Realm by a pedigree to a spanish strange blood, by divers other means removed, but specially by act of Parliament declaring the same to be treason? ¶ Item, whether subjects ought to look to their own safety, & to the safety of the realm and to join themselves wholly together, to put down such a Prince as seeketh all means possible to deliver them, their lands, their goods, their wives, their children, & the whole realm into the hands of spaniards, who be most justly hated like dogs all the world over: ¶ Item, whether these men be meet to sit in the Parliament house, that will not speak as readily and as earnestly for the profit of the poor man, and wealth of the realm, as for the pleasure and flattering of his Prince, or not? Item, whether acts made by a partial Parliament, chosen by craft and policy, for the compassing of the Princes wilful purpose, ought to be obeyed or not? ¶ Item, whether the determination of such a parliament, as be all together ignorant in matters of religion, aught to be obeyed, though all the souls of the poor people in the realm should be damned thereby, or not? ¶ Item, whether that man that marrieth the Queen of a realm (if she decease before him) shall have all her goods, movable within the realm, or else where, as all her gold, & silver, and jewels of plate and other, all the treasures of the towns and castles, all ordinance and gonnes, horses, ships, bows, harnas, and all such other things as were hers, at the time of her death, & whether by the law he may carry away out of the realm the same treasure Whim? ¶ Item, whether all such as in religion follow the commandment of man shallbe damned with the man that commandeth if he command it, that is contrary to the law of God: ¶ Item, whether children be better brought to the understanding of God, by learning the x. Commandments, and the procession in english, and the Catechism, or else by learning the latin services, whereof the unlearned understandeth not one word? ¶ Iten, whether he speaketh & doth against the holy ghost, that speaketh against the holy Bible and known truth therein, & sayeth that it is the fountain of heresies, and vyly and contemptuously poulleth down the same Bible, & treadeth it under his feet. ¶ Iten, whether the citizens of Andwerpe in requiring that no spaniards should entre their city, give example to all men or not, to do the like. And whether the smart of other countries under the bondage and tyrann●e of the spaniards, where they have been suffered to enter, did move the wise sort of Andwerpe to foresee their mischief. ¶ Iten, whether it be likely, that if the spaniards obtain the better hand of the English nation, that the poor English men shallbe forced to pay such importable taxes, as all countries & cities pay, where the Prince or they have all ready had the over hand? ¶ Iten, for as much as the safete of the realm toucheth the Lords & commons of the same, and all their lands, goods, & possessions, whether may a Queen marry to such a one, though she promise never so fair: as may by any means in danger the realm, or proper possessions. ¶ Iten, whether the King of Spain's subjects (being made free of England) the commodities of the Realm shall come into the hands of strangers, and the English men undone thereby, or not? ¶ Iten, whether it be a common maxim, or general rule, practised amongst Princes, if they may at any time break their faith, and forswear themselves, for the purchasing or obtaining of a Kingdom. And because England is one of the best Kingdoms in all Europa, whether it be likely now at this present that England will provoke a Prince rather to forswear himself, not withstanding any article or oath made to the contrary? ¶ Iten, whether the Realm of England belong to the Queen, or to her subjects? ¶ Iten, whether the Queen of England may sell away the realm or not, to a stranger, with out the consent of her commons? ☞ Iten, if she cannot sell it away, whether may she give it away or not, to a stranger, and marry the same stranger, without the consent of her commons, or not? ☞ Iten, whether the commons may not lawfully by the laws of God, and of nature, stand against such a Prince, to depose her which hath and doth seek all means possible to give away the Realm for ever, by Parliament, or otherwise from her right heirs and natural subjects, to a stranger? ☞ Iten, whether a Queen being desired by the whole lower house of Parliament to marry within the realm, and to no stranger, ought to be obeyed, if she do to the contrary to her poor commons? ☞ Iten, whether William Conqueror destroyed all the nobility of England for his own safeguard, by the counsel of Robart archbishop of Canterbury, whom King Lerolde banished his Realm for treason. And whether it be likely that in process of time, the Prince of Spain if he be suffered, will do the like by the counsel of Steven Gardiner, now Bishop of Winchester, or not? ☞ Iten, whether the poor commons of England shall not be shamefully impoverished with repaying to the Emperor twenty C.M. franche crowns, which the Prince of Spain borrowed of him before he entered the Realm, that he might appear rich, until he had compassed his purpose, or not? ☞ Iten, whether the Bishop of Rome's authority be lawfully received or not again into England, for as much as the last parliament wherein he was restored, was no Parliament, because it is evident by the old laws of the Realm, that the Kings of England may not keep two parliaments in one year. Wherefore the last must be unlawful & no Parliament? ☞ Iten, whether such as have any free hold cup holds, or indenture holds of Abbey lands, shall be forced to yield them up again or not, by the Bishop of Rome's laws, notwithstanding any promise made to the contrary, saying that the next Pope may undo all grants made to the contrary by his prodecessour. And saying also that there is aplayne law that all such be excommunicate and excluded from the church by the Pope's doctrine, who keep any such lands as have been put at any time in mortmain, and appointed by the consent of Princes to find the Clergy. ☞ Iten, whether it be likely that the Queen help the Pope to bring this thing to pass by all means possible or not, saying she herself first hath restored some Abbey lands to give example? ☞ Iten, whether it be likely, that, that Prince which promised upon his faith to keep certain articles, & amongst them not to demand the crown, and afterwards contrary to the same faith & articles, attempted to be crowned king of the realm, will not seek all means possible aswell to be perjured as if need shall require by open war to obtain his purpose? ☞ Iten, whether such a Prince missing of his purpose by entreaty and fair means, ought not to be feared having foreign power within the Realm at his commandment, which increaseth daily, and the favour of the Queen, lest he will attempt to obtain that thing by conquest which otherwise by entreaty he cannot obtain, from which misery I beseech almighty God save England. ☞ Iten, whether the Pope be God, or God the Pope? ¶ Iten, Herry the fourth Emperor married with Constantia, the heir & Queen of Napels, and by her entitled King of Napels, if because of her years being before a Nun virgin despairing of lawful issue, practised with his Physician, having a wife, which lately conceived to brute according to the time of her conception, a like conception of the Queen: & so in th'end brought forth the physicians child, as the Queens: whereby the inheritance of the realm was transported to a villain, whether it is impossible, there might be again any such like practise? ¶ Iten, whether the testimony of a Bishop at large out of prison, enjoying all his dignities, openly in print set forth to the whole world, be stronger against the kings child, them when he being deprived from all, and in prison, upon delivery and restitution by the same child, affirmeth the contrary? ¶ Iten, if this word noble, be as much to say as notable: whether the notable wise, or the notable fools of a realm are to be called nobles, and whether of their consents, is to be taken for the consent of the nobility? ☞ Item, whether after this life be ended & men die out of this life, there be to be looked for a resurrection and eternal life, or no? and whether the Bishop's lives confirm this article, or dest●●ye it? ☞ Item, whether it be Treason to ask a question? ☞ Item, whether it be treason to say God save the noble Realm of England from the captivity, bondage, and conquest of the vile spaniards? ☞ FINIS.