Selected quad for the lemma: england_n
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A47796
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An account of the growth of knavery under the pretended fears of arbitrary government and popery with a parallel betwixt the reformers of 1677 and those of 1641 in their methods and designs : in a letter to a friend.; Parallel
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L'Estrange, Roger, Sir, 1616-1704.
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1678
(1678)
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Wing L1193; ESTC R13376
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27,647
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72
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the Whole World where beside the Horrid Invocation of Almighty God to Countenance the Juggle the whole stress of the Quarrel is laid upon the Kings being Popishly Inclin'd and the War founded upon that Execrable Cheat. The Kings Counsels and Resolutions Say they are so engag'd to the Popish Party for the Suppression and Extirpation of the true Religion that all hopes of Peace and Protection are excluded and that it is fully intended to give Satisfaction to the Papists by Alteration of Religion c. And a little further they say that the King endeavour'd to keep off all Iealousies and Suspicions by many fearful Oaths and Imprecations of maintaining the Protestant Religion But what were all their Stories of Popish Plots Intercepted Letters Dark Conspiracies but only Artifices to gull the Credulous and Silly Vulgar For the King was so far from being Popishly affected that never any Prince purg'd himself of an Imputation by Two more Credible and Dreadfull Solemnities The First Publickly upon the Sacrament in christ-Christ-Church Oxon. 1643 and afterward at his Death upon the Scaffold Now see the Harmony betwixt Those Remonstrants and Our Libeller in his Growth of Popery There has now for Diverse Years says he a Design been carry'd on to change the Lawful Government of England into an Absolute Tyranny and to convert the establish'd Protestant Religion into down-right Popery P. 3. He begins in the Method of the Remonstrants with a General Charge upon Ill Ministers and he shall Advance with them too next step to an Attaque upon the King Himself And not a Pin matter what is said on either side to the Contrary It is true says the Growth of Popery p. 155 that by his Majesty and the Churches Care under God's special Providence the Conspiracy has receiv'd frequent Disappointments c. And do not the Remonstrants on the other side say as much for the Late King That His Majesty indeed had past more Bills to the Advantage of the Subject than had been in many Ages pag. 16. But how comes our Libeller to be so kind to the Church all on a sodain From whose Pen there never fell any thing yet but poyson upon that Subject Can any thing be kinder than the Remonstrants were to this Late King pag. 2. where they promised to Support His Royal Estate with Honour and Plenty at Home with Power and Reputation Abroad and by their Loyal Affections Obedience and Service to lay a sure and lasting Foundation of the Greatness and Prosperity of His Majesty and his Royal Posterity after him But what do you think rather of the pretended Loyalty of these People afterwards even in the state of an Actual Rebellion p. 663. We the Lords and Commons in this present Parliament assembled do in the presence of Almighty God for the Satisfaction of our Consciences and the Discharge of that great Trust which lyes upon us make this Protestation and Declaration to this Kingdom and Nation and to the Whole World that no private Passion or Respect no evil Intention to his Majesty's Person no Design to the prejudice of his Iust Honour and Authority engag'd us to raise Forces and take up Arms against the Authors of this War wherewith the Kingdom is now enslam'd And does not our Libeller follow the Remonstrants in their Hypocrisy too This Book says he p. 156. though of an extraordinary Nature as the Case requir'd and however it may be calumniated by interressed Persons was written with no other Intent than of meer Fidelity and Service to his Majesty and God forbid that it should have any other Effect than that the mouth of all Iniquity and Flatterers may be stopp'd and that his Majesty having discerned the Disease may with his healing Touch apply the Remedy For so far is the Relator himself from any sinister Surmize against his Majesty or from suggesting it to others c. The Pamphlet I confess is as he calls it A Book of an Extraordinary Nature but why does he say As the Case requir'd Where 's the Importance of it unless he means that it was the very Nick of Time for him to embroyl the Nation And for the Interessed Persons who he says may Calumniate it they are only the King and His Ministers who are all of them the subject of his Scoptical and Malevolent Satyre Of his Intent we shall speak hereafter This is not the first time that we have heard of Words smoother than Oyl which yet are very Swords It is the very Stile that brought the Late King to the Block and the Saviour of the World was betray'd by a Hail Master and a Kiss It is the very Crown of the Parallel betwixt 77 and 41. Now to proceed What was the Old Remonstrance but a Spiteful and Invidious Misrepresentation of the State of the Kingdom under the Notion of Declaring Common Grievances For His Majesty's Healing Touch too no doubt and is not That also the very Aim and Profession of these two Libels What is the Publication of This same Scandalous List but the Old Trick over again of Posting those Members for Straffordians that would not consent to the Death of the Earl of Strafford And is not their Tampering of the Grand Iuries to Petition for a New Parliament the Old Practice reviv'd of drawing and solliciting Petitions against Grievances of their own framing and menaging Affairs of State by Tumults Would not our Remonstratour of 77 rather than his Life be at the Old Sport again with a Kennel of Brutes at his Heels in full Cry with No Bishops No Popish Lords No Evil Counsellours No Rotten Members No Porters Lodge and at last No King too which was the very Fact in Consequence upon this Method So soon as the Remonstrants those Sons of Cham had laid open their Father's nakedness with a Malicious Aggravation of all Errours and Misfortunes beside Falshoods innumerable to Irritate the Multitude against their Superiours their next Art was to draw that Party to themselves which they had now detached from the Government with an Oh! that we were made Iudges in Israel Boasting what wonderful things they had then upon the Anvil for the Publick Good and not forgetting to arrogate all those Acts to themselves which his Majesty had pass'd of his proper Grace and Bounty Other things say they p. 15 of main Importance for the Good of this Kingdom are in Proposition as the Establishing and Ordering the King's Revenues that so the Abuse of Officers and Superfluity of Expenses may be cut off and the necessary Disbursements for his Majesty's Honour the Defense and Government of the Kingdom may be more certainly provided for the Regulating of Courts of Iustice and Abridging both the Delays and Charges of Law-Suits c. See now if our Reformer of 77 does not fish with the very same Bait. The House of Commons says he p. 63 took up again such Publick Bills as they had on foot in their former sitting and others that might either remedy present
Person of the King and those that were Commission'd by him under the Pretence afore-said as Rebellious Traytors and Conspirators Now to prevent the same Mischief again from the same Principles it was thought fit to propose this Declaration of Abhorrence The Objections against it are That the King may grant a Commission to take away a Man's Life or Estate and Employ any Man at a venture to execute it which is First The Supposal of an Vnjust and Tyrannical Commission Secondly A Case so Rare that it would be a hard matter to produce a President for it without a Reference to a Tryal at Law And Thirdly What would be the Fruit of such a Resistance but the Turning of an Oppression on the One side into a Rebellion on the other and the Forfeiting of that Life and Estate To the Law which was otherwise invaded Contrary to the Law For 't is a Thousand to one that the Power that Issu'd the Commission will find Assistants to Execute it So that the Resistance pleaded for in this Case is First of a very remote Supposition Secondly of dangerous Consequence to the Resistent And Thirdly of no Avail to him at all If we may not Resist says the Faction under these Circumstances our Lives Liberties and Estates are at the King's Mercy for that which maybe One Man's Case may be Any Man's And so because of This Possibility of Wrong to Particulars we judge it Reasonable that every Particular Man should be Allow'd to Defend himself See now the Inconvenience which upon the Allowance of this Liberty in Favour of Particulars will redound to the Publick An Honest Man is charg'd with Treason in the King's Name and by his Majesties Order to be taken into Custody and by an Officer too under what Disabilities you please Here 's the whole Case An Innocent Person Life Liberty and Estate at stake and an Vnqualify'd Commissioner If One Man may Resist because he is Innocent Another upon the same Pretence may Resist too although he be Guilty For no Man under a Charge is either Guilty or Innocent in the Eye of the Law till he be Legally either Convicted or Acquitted So that the Innocent and the Guilty are to be try'd indifferently by the same Law and so are the Pretended Errours either in the Commission or Commissioner Take matters once out of the Channel of Tryal by our Peers There 's an end of Magna Charta and the Government it self is become Passive and Precatious Will you have the true Reason now why this Abhorrence goes so much against the hair with some People The Position is to be Cherish'd and kept in 〈◊〉 till the time comes for us No Man can be so blind as not to discern by the correspondent Motions of the Consistorians in Scotland and the Scottish English that they Act already by Concert and it is as plain by this Bold and Adventurous way of Libels all on the soddain that they depend upon France for a Second Which is no more than was done in the Late Rebellion by the same Faction as appear'd by a Letter of the Lord Lowdens to the French King for his Protection and Assistance for which he was committed to the Tower and it was also confirm'd by the Fourth Article against the Five Members Accusing them to have Trayterously invited and encourag'd a Forreign Power to invade his Majesties Kingdom of England Husband's Collections p. 35. These are the French Pensioners and the Betrayers of our Religion and Freedom under Oaths and Covenants to Preserve them Were not our Divines Pillag'd Sequestred Imprison'd either for praying for his Majesty or for Refusing to Abjure him How many Reverend Divines were poyson'd in Peter-House I could give you the History of their Spiriting away several Persons of Honour for Slaves their Sale of three or four Score Gentlemen to the Barbadoes Their Sequestrations Decimations Exclusion from all Offices Plunders Banishments Consinements Prohibition of Correspondence with the King upon Pain of Death The Juggles of the Irish Adventures Money and Plate upon the Propositions Confiscated Estates Twentieth Parts Weekly Assessments and a Hundred other Pecuniary and Arbitrary Stratagems till they finish'd the Ruine of the Nation in the Dissolution of the Government and in the Bloud of their Sovereign It is not less certain that This is in Sum the Design of their Second Reformation than that it was the Effect of their Former and they are Fools that take Men of these Practices to be of any Religion To understand these People aright a Man must read them like the Original Tongues Backward They are never so deadly and dangerous Enemies to the Government as when they prosess the dearest Affection to it and I do not know but that the Author of the Growth of Popery may be the greatest Friend in the World to the Church of Rome when he Professes himself the Bitterest Adversary I pray bestow a Second Thought upon his Declamation against Popery with which I shall Conclude and tell me next time I see you whether he has not taken more Pains to Shew his Skill than Care to Deliver his Opinion Adieu Growth of Popery pag. 5. POpery is such a thing as cannot but for want of a word to express it be call'd a Religion nor is it to be mention'd with that Civility which is otherwise Decent to be us'd in speaking of the differences of Humane Opinion about Divine Matters Were it either Open Judaisme or Plain Turkery or Honest Paganisme there is yet a certain Bona Fides in the most Extravagant Belief and the Sincerity of an Erroneous Profession may render it more Pardonable But This is a Compound of all the Three an Extract of whatsoever is most Ridiculous and Impious in them incorporated with more Peculiar Absurdities of its Own in which those were Deficient and all this Deliberately contriv'd Knowingly carry'd on by the bold Imposture of Priests under the Name of Christianity The Wisdom of this Fifth Religion this Last and Insolentest Attempt upon the Credulity of Mankind seems to me tho' not Ignorant otherwise of the Times Degrees and Methods of its Progress principally to have consisted in their owning the Scriptures to be the Word of God and the Rule of Faith and Manners but in Prohibiting at the same time their Common Vse or the Reading of them in Publique Churches but in a Latine Translation to the Vulgar there being no better or more Rational way to Frustrate the very Design of the Great Institutour of Christianity who first planted it by the Extraordinary Gift of Tongues than to forbid the Vse even of the Ordinary Languages For having thus a Book which is Vniversally avow'd to be of Divine Authority but sequestring it only into such hands as were entrusted in the Cheat they had the Opportunity to Vitiate Suppress or Enterpret to their own Profit these Records by which the Poor People hold their Salvation And this Necessary Point being once gain'd there was thence forward nothing