no means have subsisted and as some Men apprehended that had the Parliament proceeded in these Steps this Confusion would have follow'd so they were afraid that if the Second Bank that was intended to be set up had been Establish'd it would have prov'd so great a diminution of the Credit of the former that it had been impossible to have supported our Army in Flanders and if that had been the Consequence we must have been contented with what Terms of Peace our Enemys would have been pleas'd to give us Whether these Resolutions would have produc'd these Effects which many apprehended is not certain they being never put into Execution but this is certain that if these Measures were wrong the Parliament soon after recover'd themselves to their great Honour for even then when they found themselves perplex'd and almost opprest with their hard Affairs yet such was their Zeal for the Service of their Country such their Courage and Resolution that they broke thro' all their amazing Difficultys and made the way to a prosp'rous Conclusion Besides at this time tho' 't is plain by the Event that the Nation had Treasure enough to support the War yet the ways of coming at it were grown very difficult The former Parliaments chose rather to Establish Funds for Publick Supplys than to use any Methods of raising them within the year divers Branches of the King's Revenue were by His Majestys own consent subjected to great Anticipations and the most easy and obvious Funds were already setled and sufficiently loaded so that by the continuance of the War it became much harder for this than for the preceding Parliaments to find out ways to defray the Charge of it This was the posture of Affairs when this memorable Parliament first sate down These were the complicated Diseases under which the Nation labour'd when these Physitians of State met together to Consult about proper Remedys Now to judge right in such nice and perplex'd Cases and to extricate a Kingdom from such various and pressing Difficultys is a Task worthy of Wise and Great Men and when 't is duly consider'd what Condition this Parliament found the Nation in what hard work lay before them and how they surmounted the frightful difficultys they had to contend with whereby they defeated the hopes and expectations of their Enemys and setled the Nation in Peace and Tranquility it can't but raise in us a mighty esteem of their Love to their Country as well as their Courage and great Capacity His Majesty having finish'd the Campaign in Flanders Ninety Five no less to his own Honour than the general Satisfaction of his People arriv'd in England the Fourteenth of November where he was receiv'd with as loud Applauses and as great demonstration of publick Joy and Affection as have been express'd on any occasion He met the Parliament on the two and twentieth day of November following and at the opening of the Sessions both Houses with great Zeal and Unanimity in a very Loyal Address to His Majesty Congratulated the Success of his Arms in Flanders and his safe Return to his People in which they likewise assur'd him of their stedfast Resolution to support His Majesty and his Government against all his Enemys at home and abroad and effectually to Assist Him in the Prosecution of the present War The great Thing this Parliament had to do and which they undertook with great Alacrity was to find out Ways to discharge the Expence of the War and to carry it on with Vigour till they could bring it to a safe and honourable Conclusion this they were resolv'd to do with the utmost Care and Application But at the same time to shew their Zeal for the Ease of the People who chose them and the Security of their Lives and Estates before they so much as enter'd upon any Publick Business a Bill was brought into the House and read the first time for regulating Trials in Cases of Treason and Misprision of Treason where many Things which the People complain'd of as grievous were remov'd or mitigated This Bill in a short time past both Houses and was one of the first that receiv'd the Royal Assent this Session By which gracious Condescension His Majesty was pleas'd to let his People see that he was as ready to contribute every thing in his Power for the Ease and Safety of his Subjects as they were every thing in theirs for the Support of His Majesty and his Government About the Second of December the House of Commons Voted a Supply for carrying on the War and proceeded to proportion it according to the Estimates relating to the Navy Army and our Allies They endeavour'd all that was possible to raise the Supplys they had Voted by such Ways and Means as might keep the People from being querulous and uneasie And notwithstanding the Lands of England had all along born so great a share of the Publick Charge and that now there might be a greater Pretence than in former Parliaments to ease the Landlord yet the House resolv'd not to spare Themselves but Tax'd Land Four Shillings in the Pound They were contented to share the Expence of the War and chose rather to burden themselves than their Tenants acting in this like Wise Generals who to encourage their Troops and engage their Affection put them upon no other Hardships than what themselves are most forward to undergo About this time the Parliament enter'd upon the great Affair of the Coin and whether it was necessary or expedient to recoin the Silver Mony was the first Question The Arguments were indeed weighty on either side The Reasons against calling in and recoining our Mony were That this was no fit Conjuncture for it That the Nation was engag'd in a burdensome and doubtful War by which the Kingdom had already greatly suffer'd and of which it grew every day more sensible That therefore the People on whose good Affection the Government so much depended should not be provok'd by fresh superadded Grievances greater than any they had yet felt as those would certainly be that must arise from calling in our Coin That if this was done however things might be manag'd and accommodated at home it was impossible to maintain either our Foreign Commerce or our Foreign War for neither the Merchant could be paid his Bills of Exchange nor the Soldier receive his Subsistence That this therefore was to lay the Axe to the Root and to dig up the Foundations of the Government That if this design was prosecuted Trade must stand still for want of mutual Payments whence such great Disorders and Confusion would certainly follow as would discourage and dishearten the People in the highest measure if not drive them to a perfect Despair That therefore the recoining our Mony at this time was by no means to be attempted without hazarding all 'T was alledg'd by those of the contrary Opinion that the Mischief would be fatal if a present Remedy was not found out
forbid we do hereby farther freely and unanimously oblige our selves to Unite Associate and stand by each other in revenging the same upon his Enemys and their Adherents and in supporting and defending the Succession of the Crown according to an Act made in the first Year of King William and Queen Mary Intituled an Act declaring the Rights and Libertys of the Subject and setling the Succession of the Crown They order'd at the same time a Bill to be brought in that when it should please God to afflict these Realms by the Death of his present Majesty the Parliament then in being should not be dissolv'd thereby till the next Heir of the Crown according to the late Act of Setlement should dissolve it And if there is no Parliament then in being the last preceding Parliament shall immediately convene and sit and it was done accordingly By this wise Act as the Parliament provided against that Confusion and Disorder that might happen by the Cessation of Parliaments and all Commissions on his Majesty's Decease so nothing could have been imagin'd more effectual for the Security of the King 's unvaluable Life against the implacable Malice and Violence of his Enemys seeing by this means all hopes of Escape and Impunity were cut off in case they should succeed in their hellish Attempt They likewise Address'd his Majesty to issue out his Royal Proclamation to Banish all Papists from the Citys of London and Westminster and ten Miles from the same according to the Laws made for that purpose and likewise that he would please to give Instructions to the Judges going the Circuits to put the Laws in Execution against Papists and Non-Jurors By these Proceedings and prudent Provisions for the King's Safety the Parliament equally express'd their unshaken Loyalty to his Majesty and their tender Care and Vigilance for the Happiness of the People it being as clear as Noon-day that had not his Majesty by the gracious Providence of Heaven been deliver'd from this Hellish Design the greatest Calamitys and Desolation must have overwhelm'd the Kingdom that ever befel a miserable People And 't is very observable and must be taken notice of for the Honour of this Parliament that amidst all their Zeal for securing his Majesty's Life on which all our Happiness depended they express'd that Lenity and Memorable Regard to the Libertys of the People that they pass'd no new and extraordinary Law for the Conviction of the Conspirators as Men in such amazing Dangers might have been provoked to do for the Preservation of the Government but they mercifully left them to stand or fall by the known Laws which were then in being And 't is very remarkable that Charnock who was the first Person try'd for this Conspiracy was the first too that had the Benefit of the Law that was beformention'd to be made this very Session to regulate Tryals in Cases of Treason There is but one single Instance that seems to contradict the universal Extent of this Observation and that is the Case of Sir Iohn Fenwick which happen'd in the Second Session of this Parliament yet neither in that Case was any new Law made for the Trial of the Criminal by the Judges in Inferiour Courts But the Parliament thought fit to make use of the Legislative Authority and to proceed aginst him by Bill of Attainder which no Body question'd their Power to do That Government would be defective in its Constitution and uncapable of defending it self that had not a Power lodg'd in it to reach a Criminal in an Extraordinary Case by an extraordinary Manner Neither could the Legislative Power be look'd on as under the same Restraints Limitations and Forms of Proceeding which the Judges who are entrusted only with the executive part of the Law are oblig'd to observe in the ordinary Courts of Justice The Questions therefore in this Case seem'd to be only these two Whether the Parliament had sufficient convincing Grounds to believe the Prisoner Guilty of the Treason he stood accus'd and in the second Place whether this was a Case of that extraordinary Nature and that Importance as required this uncommon way of proceeding by Bill of Attainder As to the first Question All the World as well as the Parliament thought there was sufficient Reason to believe the Prisoner Guilty But whether the Evidence was in all Forms and Limitations such as the Law required for convicting the Prisoner before the Judges in Inferiour Courts was out of the Question the Parliament as was said before being not ty'd up in their Legislative Capacity to the Rules and Restraints by which the Inferiour Courts were oblig'd to Act. And as to the second Question Seeing the Prisoner had so notoriously prevaricated with the Government seeing there was such a vehement Presumption that one of the Evidences was drawn off and absented himself by the management of the Prisoner's Friends to elude the Law in the common course of it and seeing the Crime wherewith he was Charg'd was of no lower Nature than the dethroning of his Majesty and the Subversion of the Government the Parliament believ'd it a Case so Extraordinary and of such Consequence as sufficiently warranted this uncommon tho' not unexampled way of Proceeding These were the chief Transactions of this Parliament in their First Session those of the Second come now to be related The great Deficiencys of the Funds settled by Parliament for the Service of the Year Ninety Six and particularly the unhappy Project of the Land-Bank proving wholly Abortive and not producing one Penny of above two Millions and a half with which it was charg'd were likely to have prov'd fatal to our Affairs the following Summer This Disappointment involv'd the King in so many great Difficulties abroad as well as at Home that no clearer Demonstration could be given of his Majesty's Wise Conduct or of the Fidelity and Affection of his Army than his finishing this Campaign with so little disadvantage His Majestys more discerning Friends could not but tremble to think on the hard Circumstances our Army was in and how dangerous the Issue was like to prove while the Enemys of the Government were all overjoy'd at the hopeful Prospect of our suddain Ruin But to their great Mortification his Majesty whose Spirit was never broken by the greatest Difficulty who never wanted Presence of Mind in the most surprizing and pinching Exigencys by the assistance of Divine Providence weather'd this Storm and having put his Army into Quarters return'd in Safety to meet his Parliament The Parliament came together the twentieth day of October and after they had in a Loyal and most affectionate Address assur'd His Majesty that tho they had born so many years the great Burden of the present War yet they were most stedfastly resolv'd never to desert his Interests or be wanting to their Country till by His Majesty's Arms they should obtain a safe and honourable Peace They enter'd with great Alacrity upon the Business that lay before them
for the King's Dutys they were very well satisfy'd to take them at first indeed at a small discount but not long after at an Equality A great number of these Notes were only for five or ten Pounds which answer'd the necessitys of Commerce among the meaner People for the common Conveniencys of Life And that those who had advanc'd Mony in Loans on any Part of his Majesty's Revenue might not be oblig'd to receive it back in Notes that were under the Value of Mony to strengthen the Reputation of these Bills the Parliament authoriz'd the Lords of the Treasury to Contract with any Corporations or Numbers of Private Men and to allow them a competent Premium provided they oblig'd themselves to exchange these Notes for ready Mony when tender'd to them for that purpose which the Lords of the Treasury did accordingly By this means the Credit of the aforesaid Notes was mightily secur'd and dayly arose nearer to Par till as at this time they exceeded the Value of Mony and whereas the Trustees contracted with to exchange them for Mony were before as a Premium allow'd Ten per Cent. they have been since contented to do it for Four By this means Trade and Commerce were maintain'd and without Silver we had an Artificial Treasure Circulating thro' the Kingdom which so well answer'd the design of the Wise Projectors that by the Confession of those very Men who at first inveigh'd sharply against it it prov'd an effectual tho' a Paper Prop to support the State when its Silver Pillars were for a time remov'd We were Sailing in bad Weather and our main Mast was brought by the Board and 't is very plain that unless this Jury-Masts of Exchequer Notes had been presently made and set up in this stress of Affairs we must unavoidably have sunk and perish'd These Bills past in Payments as so many Counters which the People were satisfy'd to receive because they knew the Exchequer would receive them again as so much ready Mony These State-Counters so well supply'd the place of Mony till new Coin was issued from the Mint that Trade was preserv'd and mutual Payments well enough made to answer the Necessitys of the Goverment and the People and by this means the Parliament had the Honour to Accomplish another Work that was judg'd impossible The Parliament likewise this Session to the great satisfaction of the People took care to Remedy a Publick Grievance of long standing Several Places in and about the City of London which in Times of the Romish Superstition were allow'd as Sanctuarys to Criminals and Debtors had ever since the Reformation pretended a Privilege to protect the last and one of these was a notorious Nest of broken and desperate Men in the very heart of his Majesty's Capitol City whither they resorted in great Numbers and to the dishonour of the Government and grievance of the People defended themselves with Force and Violence against the Law and Publick Authority The Parliament took care to redress this inveterate Mischief and what was long expected from others was effected by this in an Act intituled For the more Effectual Relief of Creditors in cases of Escapes and for preventing Abuses in Prisons and pretended Privileged Places Wherein such effectual Provision was made to reduce these Garisons of Out-Laws that immediately after the Act was publish'd they abandon'd their Posts and deserted in such Numbers that their old Haunts became a Desolation and lay open to receive better Inhabitants The Summer after this Session of Parliament His Majesty being at the Head of his Army in Flanders his Enemys even after they had open'd the Campaign with the taking of Aeth thought fit to enter upon a Negotiation of Peace which was begun and carry'd on at Ryswick by the Plenipotentiarys of all the Princes and States concern'd and thro' the good Disposition of the principal Partys to so great a Work the Treaty was concluded and a Peace ratify'd the Autumn following to the accomplishing of which his Majesty's Presence in Flanders mightily contributed The management of this famous Negotiation and the favourable Terms on which it were concluded were no less to the Peoples Satisfaction than to His Majesty's Glory For the Malecontents never believ'd that it was possible for the King to make Peace upon any much less upon Terms so very Honourable and therefore they look'd on this Transaction at Ryswick as a pure Amusement either to break the Confederacy or to cover some notable Design which was not yet ripe for Execution And when at last they saw the Treaty far advanc'd they began indeed to believe that a Peace might be concluded with the rest of the Allys but they were certain England would never be included For they judg'd this so incredible a Story that they scarcely believ'd it when the Peace was publickly and solemnly Proclaim'd This important Work being thus happily effected His Majesty return'd to England where the People every where receiv'd him as they had the greatest Reason in the World to do with all the Applause and Demonstration of Joy that can be imagin'd He met his Parliament the third day of December The War being ended the House of Commons for the Ease of the People Voted the Army to be Disbanded and resolv'd to raise a Supply sufficient to pay off the Troops But at the same time when they took off so great a part of the Burden from the Country out of a due regard to our future Safety they pass'd a Vote to enable His Majesty to keep such a number of Troops on Foot and to maintain such Naval Force as in their Opinion the Security of the Government and the publick Tranquility requir'd When the House had Voted a Supply for the Disbanding the greatest part of the Army they took into Consideration the Services of the Officers and Common Men who had amidst so many Hardships Dangers and Disappointments in Nine successive Campaigns shewn so much Bravery and Fidelity in the Defence of their Country as recover'd the declining Reputation of the English Valour and preserv'd the Kingdom from the terrible Assaults of the most Potent Empire that perhaps was ever Erected in the World It was thought hard that such gallant Men to whom the Kingdom ow'd so much should be discharg'd without any Provision made for them the House of Commons therefore pass'd a Vote in their Favour That the Officers should be continued in half Pay till they should otherwise be provided for and that the Common Centinels should have a Donative at their Disbanding and for their further encouragement should be free to set up and exercise their Trades in any Town or Corporation throughout the Country This being done the Parliament took into Consideration two great Branches of our Foreign Trade which had long wanted a due Regulation and they enter'd first upon that of the Company Trading to Africa and in consideration of the necessity of keeping up Forts and Castles for the Defence of our
A Short HISTORY OF THE Last Parliament THE Honourable Conclusion of the late War with France to the great Mortification of his Majesty's Enemys the Satisfaction of his Friends and the Admiration of all Men must thankfully be acknowled'd as chiefly owing to His Majesty's great Wisdom invincible Courage and inflexible Resolution By his Courage he rekindled the decaying Fire of this Warlike People taught them by his Conduct and provok'd them by his Example to equal the Atchievements of their Valiant Forefathers and thereby restor'd to England the ancient Reputation of her Arms. But by his Wisdom he procur'd us an Honour we never could before pretend to he made England a Match for France as well in the Cabinet as in the Camp and gain'd by a Wise Treaty more than by Arms had been won in the Field For any Potentate to unite many States and Princes disagreeing in Interests Inclinations or Religion in a strict Confederacy against a Common Enemy and to preserve that Alliance unbroken for many years together notwithstanding the great Losses those Allies sustain'd and in despight of all the Attempts of Foreign and Domestic Enemys to dissolve their Union must be acknowledg'd by all the World as the effect of a refin'd and masterly Judgment Yet this Honour which perhaps has no Example is by the Confession of all due to His Majesty who was the only Center in which so many various Lines could meet the only Head which such differing Interests could confide in as capable to direct them in a Juncture of Time when the Libertys of all Europe lay at Stake We are likewise greatly indebted to the Bravery and Fidelity of His Majesty's Fleet and Army for our present Peace and the Blessings that attend it It must be own'd to their great Honour that our Officers and Common Men as well by Land as by Sea notwithstanding any Disappointments they at any time met with did on all occasions show a Courage and Resolution equal to that of their Warlike Ancestors a Courage that became the Subjects of such a Prince and such a General a Courage worthy of the Noble Cause in which they were engag'd the Preservation of their Religion Laws and Libertys And therefore no Praises can be too high nor can any Rewards consistent with the Publick Good for which they fought be look'd on as too great for Men who have merited so much of their Country And yet it must be confess'd that so great a Prince and so great a General at the Head of such Brave and Loyal Men could never have been able to have brought a War with such a Potent Adversary to a happy Issue had not the Parliament of England concurr'd with him and stood by him with so much Constancy and unanimous Affection 'T is therefore to these worthy Patriots that we owe in a great measure our present Security and the Establishment of our Laws and Religion The People of England ought to have a due Reverence and Affection for their Representatives in Parliament and to maintain their Honour even when in distemper'd Times it might happen they should act some things against the Publick Good not only because they are a Part of our Constitution but likewise that particular Part which the People have entrusted to look after and manage their Interests for should the People desert their Representatives they would be Felo de se and one day run a hazard of losing that part of their Constitution And if it be the Duty and Interest of the People not to despise or run down indifferent or bad Parliaments for the reasons mention'd what Applauses what Expressions of Affection and Gratitude are due to Good Ones And indeed if any of our Parliaments ever rightly understood and zealously pursu'd the true Interest of their Country those that have been Call'd and Sate since the happy Revolution must be allow'd with the greatest Justice to have merited that Character If to have stedfastly adher'd to the Interest of Europe against a Common Enemy If to have chearfully supply'd His Majesty with the Sinews of War to enable him to carry it on with Vigour and by such Ways and Means as were least Burdensom and uneasy to the People If to have discern'd and prevented the greatest Dangers that could threaten a Nation To have conquer'd Difficulties of State of the highest Nature and to have persever'd so many years thro' an obstinate Zeal for the good of their Country to Support His Majesty till his Arms had procur'd an Honourable Peace and thereby Establish'd our Government our Religion and our Property If This be to have deserv'd well of the English Nation the Parliaments have been speaking of have at least equal'd the Glory of their greatest Ancestors Their Love to their Country and Capacity for Publick Business have appear'd in a very eminent manner 'T is easy and pleasant to Sail in good Weather before the Wind But to Steer true and steddy in a Storm to beat it against the Wind ' midst Rocks and Shelves on either hand and to make the Port at last in Safety this must be allow'd to be a Master's work These Parliaments therefore and particularly those among them who had the chief Direction of Affairs having like Wise and Careful Patriots done so much in their hard Station toward bringing Matters to this successful Issue must deserve all the grateful Returns that can be from their Country Their Honour is the more particular inasmuch as Men of great Capacity for Business of State are so very rare For it may be truly said that a Thousand Men are Born in this Kingdom fit for Arms to one that has solidity of Judgment quickness of Apprehension compass of Thought and clearness of Sight proper for the management of Publick Affairs What has been said of the several Parliaments assembled since his Majesty's Accession to the Throne is more eminently true of the last which pursu'd the Designs of the former with the greatest Skill as well as the warmest Zeal This August Assembly had the hardest Tasks imaginable upon their hands and to give an impartial and succinct Relation of their principal Proceedings of the Wise Measures they took to remove the Evils we felt and to prevent greater which we fear'd and to find sufficient Supplys for the carrying on the War till at last they had the satisfaction to see it issue in an Honourable Peace is the design of the following Papers WHen this Parliament first came together they found themselves engag'd in variety of Business of great Nicety and most important Consequence To maintain our new Settlement after the late happy Revolution we had a War upon our hands with a mighty Prince who by his Naval Strength as well as by the Number and Discipline of his Land Forces by the Wisdom of his Counsels and his constant Successes was grown the Terror of all Europe This Potent Monarch protected the Person and espous'd the Quarrel of the late Abdicated King and looking on
his Honour and Interest alike concern'd us'd his utmost Efforts by Arms to re-enthrone him And notwithstanding England had hitherto with great Resolution and Alacrity born the weight of this heavy War to preserve all those Advantages that is whatever is dear to an English Freeman and a Protestant which were procur'd by their late Deliverance yet some of the wisest and clearest-sighted among those who were hearty Friends of the Government grew diffident of the Event They question'd our Ability to support our selves under so Burdensom and Expensive a War while the Enemys of our Settlement were insolently sure of over-turning it 'T is true indeed we had at the head of the Government One from whom we might expect all Things that with Reason could be hoped for from the Courage and Conduct of a Wise Prince and an Accomplish'd General One who to Protect a Nation which with so much Glory he had before delivered freely and frequently expos'd his Life as if it had been the Life of a Common Man to all the Dangers of the Sea and all the Hazards of Battle by Land and who the year before by his Reduction of the important Fortress of Namur in the sight of almost all the Power of France had struck a Damp upon our Enemys abroad and rebuk'd the Confidence of the Malecontents at home But notwithstanding the Nation might with the fullest Assurance rely upon His Majesty for every Thing that could be ask'd or expected from the greatest Prince and most watchful Father of his Country yet the People could not be without their Fears lest he should one day Fall by the hands of Saul and the Kingdom be crush'd by the disproportion'd Power of our Enemys They doubted whether the Nation tho' ever so willing would be able to grant to His Majesty the necessary Supplys for carrying on so necessary a War But besides what we had to apprehend from so formidable a Foe abroad we had a great deal to fear from our treacherous Enemys at home For tho' the Body of the Nation was infinitely pleas'd with the late Revolution and thankfully acknowledg'd the unvaluable Benefits that attended it yet a considerable number were impatient of their Deliverance and rav'd at the restitution of our Libertys and Religion Our Warlike David found his most dangerous Enemys were at home if not of his own Houshold The whole Body of the Papists were his Enemys and the Reasons of their Enmity are too obvious to mention Besides these a great number of moderate Protestants and such as were the Creatures and Dependants of the late Government and had embark'd in or wish'd well to the glorious design of enslaving and ruining their Native Country Men of Arbitrary and Tyrannical Principles fixt and setled in their hatred to the Constitution of our Government and the Libertys of the English Nation these and many others that did not find their Account and particular Interest in the present Settlement became its Enemys and by open or clandestine ways endeavour'd to streighten or subvert it These Men were very Zealous to deliver us from our Laws and Libertys and to restore us to the Privileges of our Egyptian Burdens The ungrateful Murmurers spoke of Stoning the Moses that rescu'd them and unable to bear their happy Deliverance with Threats and Violence demanded their heavy Tasks and their old Oppressors These Men according to their different Posts and Tempers in different ways assisted the Foreign Enemy All Arts and Methods tho' ever so base and unworthy which Wit quicken'd with malice could invent were employ'd to weaken the Reputation of the Government Sometimes they flew openly upon it with bitter Invectives sometimes they secretly stab'd it with malicious Suggestions and sly Insinuations They traduc'd all that were in Publick Employ and expos'd them to Contempt they worried their Names with base and groundless Calumnys attributing many of our Misfortunes not to be foreseen and therefore not to be prevented to the Treachery or Negligence of our most faithful and vigilant Ministers And 't is no wonder these fierce Creatures fasten'd so greedily on the Characters of our greatest Ministers when His Majesty himself who had merited as much as any Prince ever did of his People could not escape their disloyal Reflections They were very fond of propagating any ill Tydings or false Reports that might any way lessen the Credit of our Administration increase the Fears of the People and cool their Affection to the Government what unnatural and salvage Joy did they express when they heard of any Losses that befell the Nation which they cruelly aggravated and with no less Zeal they diminished and slighted the Advantages we at any time obtain'd They could by no means dissemble the secret Pleasures they felt when they had any fresh hopes of seeing their Country speedily undone England as before mention'd being engag'd in a War with France for the Preservation of the late happy Settlement great Supplys were absolutely necessary to enable His Majesty to sustain the Force of a Kingdom which by their own Wise Administration and the Supineness of England in the late inglorious Reigns was grown so Potent that now it requir'd a longer Sword to Resist than heretofore to Conquer it And for this reason without the least Flattery His Majesty has acquir'd more Honour by Controuling the Power of France than any of his great Predecessors did by subduing it The Parliaments therefore resolving to carry on the War with Vigour were oblig'd to lay great Taxes on the People tho' not greater than the necessity of Affairs requir'd and the War continuing so long they could not be insensible of the Burden Of this the Malecontents took the Advantage and represented in all Companys that the Government must of necessity sink under its own Weight and that our heavy Taxes by reducing us to extream Poverty would inevitably prove our Destruction They never ceas'd declaiming on this popular Subject and galling the People in this tender Part hoping to make them weary of a Government which was represented so Burdensome and at last perswade them rather to let in the Deluge than to be at the Expence of maintaining their Banks Besides these Adherents to the late King's Interest there were others who tho' great Asserters of the late Revolution and averse enough to a second yet from I know not what private disgusts personal Quarrels and Disappointments grew sowr and uneasy and to express their Resentments in all Conversation endeavour'd to bring our Administration into Contempt they were for breaking the Confederacy and against raising such large Sums of Mony for carrying on the War they were for distressing and streight'ning the Government but not for overturning it They were willing it should continue but they were for Clogging its Wheels that it might move heavily in short they were against all things that the known Enemys of the Government were against and for all things which they were for unless the overthrowing of the present Settlement
and apply'd That by reason of the ill State of our Coin the Change abroad was infinitely to our prejudice That the Supplys that were rais'd to maintain our Army would never attain their End being so much diminish'd and devour'd by the unequal Change and exorbitant Premiums before they reach'd the Camp That this was the unhappy Cause that our Guineas were mounted to Thirty Shillings that therefore to our great loss all Europe sent that Commodity to this profitable Market and would continue to do so till we should be impoverish'd and undone by our Plenty of Gold That we must Exchange for their Gold our Goods or our Silver till at last we should have only Guineas to Trade withall which no Body could think our Neighbours would be so kind to receive back at the Value they were at here That therefore this Disease would every day take deeper Root infect the very Vitals of the Nation and if not remedy'd would soon become deplorable That our Enemys would sooner be induc'd to agree to honorable Terms of Peace in case they saw us able to surmount this difficulty by the retrieving the ill State of our Coin on which their hopes of our speedy Ruin so much depended That it would justly create a mighty Esteem abroad of the Greatness and Wisdom of the Parliament of England which was able to Conquer such an obstinate and almost insuperable Evil in such a Juncture of Affairs That our Enemys must be mightily intimidated by so great an Action and that it would be Natural for them to conclude that nothing would be impossible for a People who were able to disengage themselves from such an intricate Mischief and get above Difficultys that were look'd on as invincible This Matter being fully debated after all their Deliberations the Parliament resolv'd to call in and recoin our Mony looking on it as an Essential and Capital Point that requir'd as certainly it did their immediate Application and utmost Care They resolv'd to do it at any Rate and to use all imaginable Endeavours to make it as easy to the People as it was possible for such a Remedy to be They chose rather to run the hazard of some great Inconveniencys by attempting the Cure than by their longer neglect of it to expose the Kingdom to apparent Ruin This Step being made the next was to consider whether the several Denominations of our New Mony should have the same Weight and Fineness as the Old or whether the Establish'd Standard should be rais'd and this Question produc'd many Debates Those who were for raising the Standard argu'd thus That the Standard of our Coin'd Silver ought to bear Proportion to Silver in Bullion That the Price of an Ounce of Silver Bullion was advanc'd to Six Shillings and Three Pence and therefore the Standard ought to be rais'd to an Equality That the raising our Standard would prevent the Exportation of our Coin which had been much practis'd to the great Prejudice of this Kingdom that it would prevent its being melted down and Men would be much encourag'd to bring in their Plate and Bullion to the Mint Those who were for preserving the Old Standard in our Coin urg'd that the Worth of Mony was Relative and to be rated by the measure of such Goods Labour and Advice Skill or other Assistances as could be purchas'd from another by our parting with it That the Value of Mony among People that liv'd under different Municipal Laws was intrinsick and consisted in its Weight and Fineness That common Consent had given it this Value for the common Conveniency of supplying one anothers Wants That the Weight and Fineness was the only Worth that other Nations regarded in our Coin or we in theirs All Mony being between Subjects of different Governments of no greater Value excepting the Workmanship than so many pieces of uncoin'd Bullion That therefore should our Standard be alter'd we should still be upon the same Foot with our Neighbours for if we were to pay them for their Goods or exchange our Mony with theirs whatever Denomination we gave our Mony they would in their Change ever reduce it to an Equality with theirs and proportion the Quantity and Goodness of their Commoditys to the Weight and Fineness of the Mony they were to receive for them That therefore in respect of our Foreign Commerce there was no reason to alter our Standard And at home they said that if the Standard was rais'd great Confusions would attend it the Landlord would be defrauded of a great part of his Rents and the Creditor of his Debts That the Seaman and the Soldier would be wrong'd in their Pay c. and many the like Injurys and Inconveniencys would happen That it was no Answer to say they might buy as much Goods and Conveniencys of Life with this Coin rais'd above its Standard as they could before because by degrees the Seller would infallibly raise the Price of his Goods in proportion to the new rais'd Standard and that of this there was an instance before them all Commoditys being greatly rais'd in their Price while Guineas were paid for Thirty Shillings That whereas it was alledg'd that the Price of Bullion was risen to Six Shillings and Three Pence and therefore the Standard of our Silver Coin ought to be rais'd likewise It was reply'd that it was a thing impossible that the Price of Silver could ever rise and fall in respect of it self That it was an unchangeable Truth than which no Mathematical Demonstration could be clearer that one Ounce of Silver would be ever worth another Ounce of the same Fineness and no more allowing some inconsiderable disparity upon the account of the Coin if one Ounce be in Mony and the other Ounce in Bullion That 't was true indeed that the People commonly gave Six Shillings and Three Pence for an Ounce of Bullion but they gave only Clipt Pieces that had no more than the Name or Sound of Shillings and Pence but were by no means the Things themselves That is they were not the Standard Shillings of due Weight and Fineness and so were no more Shillings in the just sense of the word than an Ell is an Ell when the third part of it is cut off or two halfs of a broken Yard are each of them a whole one That the Case was so plain that when they demanded of those that affirm'd an Ounce of Bullion was worth six shillings and three pence whether they meant six Mill'd Shillings and three pence they knew not what to reply for this alteration of the Value of Bullion was merely in relation to the diminish'd Mony And to make it yet more evident they urg'd that it was then matter of Fact that with Five Shillings and two pence of new Mill'd Mony they could buy as much Bullion as they pleas'd while those who bought it with Clipt Pieces paid six shillings and three pence That whereas it was urg'd that the raising the Standard would
Factorys on the Coast of Guinea there being no Regular Government among those Barbarous People on whose Protection they might safely rely the Parliament thought it necessary to Establish the African Company for the better carrying our Commerce to those Parts Yet the Free Traders or Interlopers were likewise permitted to Trade to the same Coasts provided they paid to the Establish'd Company Ten per Cent. of the Value of Goods exported towards the maintenance of the Forts and Settlements Next they enter'd on the Business of the East India Trade which had been depending many years and was look'd on as so nice and difficult that it had been referr'd to the King and his Council and back again by them to the Parliament This Affair being brought into the House of Commons and the Old Company having offer'd to advance seven hundred thousand pounds at four per Cent. for the Service of the Government in case the Trade to India might be setled on them Exclusive of all others the House seem'd inclin'd to embrace their Proposal when a Number of eminent Merchants propos'd to the House to raise Two Millions at eight per Cent. on Condition the Trade to India might be setled on the Subscribers exclusive of all others They propos'd that these Subscribers should not be oblig'd to Trade in a Joynt Stock but if any Members of them should afterwards desire to be incorporated a Charter should be granted to them for that purpose The House judg'd this Overture not only to be more advantageous to the Government but likewise more likely to settle this controverted Trade on a better Foundation than it was on before a Bill therefore was brought into the House for setling the Trade to the East Indies on those who should subscribe the Two Millions according to the Limitations beforemention'd But so great a regard was had to the Members of the Old Company that till they had refus'd and rejected the Offer made them of setling this Trade upon them if they would accept it on the same Terms and Limitations on which the others were contented to take it and which the Parliament judg'd most advantageous for the Kingdom the Bill did pass in favour of the New Adventures The Bill being pass'd and the Books laid open to take Subscriptions the whole Two Millions were subscrib'd in less time than four Days the People shew'd so much Zeal to assist the Government and promote the Trade of the Nation that 't is very probable a Million more had been subscrib'd had not the Books been shut up before the distant Corporations and private Men in remote Countys could remit their Commissions for the great Sums they intended to Subscribe The dispatch of so great a Work in so short a Time after the Nation had born so chargeable a War for so many years surpriz'd and amaz'd all the World And as it greatly mortify'd all those who were joyfully assur'd that His Majesty would be disappointed of this Supply so it gave our Neighbouring Nations an astonishing Image both of the Opulence of the People and the Strength of the Government This Transaction view'd in all its Circumstances is in deed so very strange and wonderful that 't will be a hard matter for Posterity to believe it How will they be able to perswade themselves that a Nation whose Wealth might with great Reason be suppos'd to be exhausted after they had contended so many years with such a mighty Enemy should be capable of furnishing such a vast Supply in Four Days Yet this Wise Parliament had so much Skill in touching the Springs of the Peoples Affection that notwithstanding all the Losses they had suffer'd and all the Expence they had been at they were prevail'd with to advance this great Supply with such incredible Expedition And by this means the Parliament only by doubling the Duty on Proceedings at Law and that on Salt rais'd a Supply of two Millions which to have done by any other Ways was at that time a matter of the highest Difficulty The Parliament likewise this Session apply'd themselves with great Diligence to discover such Offenders who by fraudulent and surreptitious Ways had carry'd on a secret Commerce with France and to the great Damage of this Kingdom had brought in for divers Years past great quantitys of Alamodes and Lutestrings Many of these Criminals they detected and punish'd And to prevent the continuance of this clandestine and most prejudicial Trade and to encourage our own Manufacture they brought in a Bill which after past into an Act Intitled An Act for the better encouragement of the Royal Lustring Company and the more effectual preventing the fraudulent Importation of Lustrings and Alamodes And for as much as many ill Men continued to export English Wool c. to foreign Parts to the unspeakable detriment of the Nation notwithstanding the severe Laws that were in Force against such Offenders the Parliament the more effectually to obviate that stubborn Mischief for the future made many prudent Provisions in an Act Intituled An Act for the Explanation and better Execution of former Acts made against Transportation of Wool Fullers-Earth and Scouring-Clay This Session likewise upon complaints made that the Woollen Manufacture was carry'd on in Ireland to the great Prejudice of that Staple Trade in England the Parliament took care to stop the Progress of that growing Evil. They enter'd upon a Bill for that purpose but it terminated at last in an Address to the King That his Majesty would be pleas'd to use the most effectual means to discourage his Subjects of Ireland from prosecuting the Woolen and encourage them to apply themselves to the Linnen Manufacture in that Kingdom whereby they might carry on a gainful Trade to themselves without interfering with an Interest of which his Subjects in England were so very tender These were the principal Transactions of these worthy Patriots in their three Sessions and those who seriously reflect on the mighty Difficultys which with unexampled Resolution they encounter'd and at last Master'd on the Wise and Effectual Remedys which they apply'd to the sharpest and most obstinate Distempers under which any Nation ever languish'd on their Constancy and unwearied Diligence either in obviating new Dangers or removing fresh Mischiefs that embroil'd their Affairs with what Vigour they ply'd the Helm and how steddily they Steer'd on very treacherous and boistrous Waters how oft they Row'd against Wind and Tide and tho' often carry'd back by the Violence of the Current or diverted by rapid Turns or Eddys of State yet still return'd with invincible Courage stem'd the Tide and forc'd their Way till at last in spite of all Opposition they gain'd their intended Port those I say who impartially and seriously make these Reflections can't but entertain a great Veneration of their Ability and Zeal for the Publick Good If there be any Man that does not yet admire as he ought to do the greatness of this Parliament let him but consider what an amazing Undertaking it was to recoin all the Silver Mony of the Nation when it was ready to sink under the weight of a long expensive War which attempt was so hazardous that the Enemy was made to believe it would certainly be fatal to us and under that Confidence was perswaded to continue the War as they made Peace when that Presumption was disappointed Let him consider what a Task it was to recover the lost Credit of the Nation both Publick and Private in those low Circumstances to which we were then reduc'd Let him consider how great a Work it was to raise or rather to make Mony for the Publick Service which requir'd extraordinary Supplys when there was very little Mony in Being Let him consider this well and he will take righter Measures of the Wisdom of this great Assembly These were the Work 's of refin'd Understanding of the most extensive Capacity and inflexible Perseverance And these were the Works of this Parliament A Parliament that had the Honour to be Hated and Revil'd as much as any ever was by the Enemys of our Government which is a convincing Proof that they took the best Measures in the World for the Preservation of it For had they betray'd it these Gentlemen would have thanked them for it had they out of Supineness or Ignorance run it a ground our Enemys perhaps might have derided their Weakness and Unskilfulness but they could never have express'd so much Choler and Resentment The Slanders therefore and Invectives of these Men who heartily wish'd the Ruin of our Establishment is an honourable and lasting Encomium on the Proceedings of this Assembly And as the Adherents of the late King openly declair'd their Anger and Enmity against the last Parliament so 't is not to be doubted but that all the Friends of the Government that is every true Englishman has on the other Hand an great Affection and Reverence for their Memory FINIS