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A29487
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[A Brief] vindication of the Parliamentary proceedings against the late King James II proving that the right of succession to government (by nearness of blood) is not by the law of God or nature, but by politick institution : with several instances of deposing evil princes, shewing, that no prince hath any title originally but by the consent of the people.
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1689
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Wing B4656; ESTC R17719
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41,711
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76
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And this was done in a General Parliament which was held at Segovia in the year 1276. and the two Princes his Nephews were put in Prison but afterwards by the intercession of their Uncle King Philip of France they were releas'd and had certain Lands given them and of them came the Dukes of Medina Coeli and all the rest of the House of Cerda which are of great Nobility in Spain Not long after this Garab lib. 15. 〈◊〉 1. An. 1363. when Don Pedro Sirnamed The Cruel King of Castile was driven out and his Bastard-Brother Henry the Second set up in his place John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster having Married Dono Constantia the said King Peters Daughter and Heir pretended by Succession to the said Crown of Castile which was really his Right but yet the State of Spain denyed it flatly and defended it by Arms and prevailed against John of Gaunt as did also the Race of Henry the Bastard against his lawful Brother and the Race of Don Sancho the Uncle against his lawful Nephews and this hapned in the third and principal Descent of the Spanish Kings when this Matter of Succession was most assuredly and perfectly establisht and yet who will deny the Kings of Spain who held under the latter Titles To be true and lawful Kings By which it appears how frequently the Line of Succession has been altered in Spain upon any reasonable Consideration which they imagined to be for the Publick good And the like we shall find in France and England which we shall begin to treat of Now concerning the State of France thô since the Entrance of King Pharamond with his Franks out of Germany which was about the year of Christ 419. they have never had any Stranger come to wear the Crown which they attribute to their Salick Law that forbids Womens Reign yet they have twice chang'd their whole Race and Linage of Kings once by the Entrance of King Pepin who put out the Line of Pharamond about the year 751. and again in the promotion of Hugo Capetus who put out the Line of Pepin in the year 988. so as they have had three Descents and Races of Kings as well as the Spaniards Now I 'le pass over all the first Race of the Franch Kings as I also did the Spanish because some men may say That the Commonwealth and Law of Succession was not so well setled in those days as it was afterwards in the time of Pepin Charles the Great and their Descendents Therefore I shall only mention the second Rank which began with the Exclusion and Deposition of their lawful King Childerick the Third and Election of King Pepin in the year of Christ 781 after 22 Kings which had Reigned of the first Line of Pharamond for the space of Three hundred years This King Reigned 18 years being a famous King as all the World knows left his Kingdom by Succession to his eldest Son Charles Sirnamed aster The Great for his Famous and Heroical Acts. And thô the whole Kingdom belong'd to him by right of Succession yet did the Realm of France shew her Authority in his Admission â—â—rard du â—ilan lib 3. as the Historian relates in these Words King Pepin being dead the French chose for their King his two Sons Charles and Carlomon on condition that they should divide the Realm equally betwixt them which was a heavy Condition to the elder Brother to part with half his Kingdom After these Brothers had Reigned together three years King Carlomon died and left many Sons but the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of France Swore Allegiance to Charles without any respect to the Children of Carlomon who by right of Succession should have been preferred After Charles the Great Reigned his Son Lewis the First Sirnamed Debonnaire of his Courtesie who entred with great Applause of all Men for the exceeding grateful Memory of his Father but he was Deposed by the means of his Sons and was put in a Monastery thô after he came to Reign again â—erard lib. 5. â—n 834. and his fourth Son by his second Wife named Charles the Bold succeded him in the Crown after many Battels against his elder Brother Lothair to whom it belong'd by Succession After Charles the Beld succeeded Lewis the Second who was the third Son for the Second died before his Father and the Eldest was put by for his ill Demeanour This Lewis also had like to have been deprived by the States at his Entrance for the Hatred conceived against his Father Gerard. lib. 1. had he not call'd a Perliament at Campeigne and sweetned the People and Nobility with many fair Promises This Lewis left two Bastards by a Concubine who were call'd Lewis and Carlomon as also an Infant newly born of his lawful Wife Adeltrude Daughter to King Alfred of England which Infant was King of France after by the Name of Charles the Simple thô not immediately after the Death of his Fahter For the Nobles of France said They had need of a Man to be King and not a Child and so the whole State of France chose for their Kings the two aforesaid Bastards and they were Crowned most solemnly and divided the whole Realm between them An. 881. and Queen Adeltrude with her Child true Heir of France fled into England to her Fahter and there kept him many years in which time she saw four or five Kings Reign in his place successively Of these two Bastards the Elder named Lewis Reigned but Four years and died without Issue the second named Carlomon lived but one year after him and left a Son called Lewis which succeeded him in the Kingdom by the name of Lewis the Fisth and Sirnamed Faineant for his idle and slothful Life for which as also for his vicious Behaviour and in particular for taking out and Marrying a Nun of the Abby of S. Saveour he was depriv'd and made a Monk in the Abby of S. Denis where he died and in his place was chosen King of France and Crown'd with great Solemnity Charles the Fourth Emperour of Rome who was Nephew to Charles the Bold before mentioned and therefore the French. Historians say That he came to the Crown partly by Succession and partly by Election but for Succession we see it was of no account being Charles the Simple the right Heir was alive in England and as it were forgotten being they had thrice excluded him and would not receive him after they had deprived Charles for his evil Government and rather chose one Odo Earl of Baris and Duke of Angiers and caused him to be Crown'd But after a few years being weary of this Man's Government and moved with Compassion towards the Youth in England they Deposed him while he was absent in Gascony and call'd Charles the Simple out of England and restor'd him to the Kingdom of France leaving only to Odo the State of Aquitain with Title of a Duke wherewith in rine he contented himself seeing
VINDICATION OF THE Parliamentary Proceedings Against the Late KING JAMES II PROVING That the Right of Succession to Government by Nearness of Blood is not by the Law of God or Nature but by Politick Institution WITH Several Instances of Deposing Evil Princes Shewing That no Prince hath any Title Originally but by the Consent of the People Ad generum Cereris sine caede aut sanguine pauci Descendunt Reges sicca morte Tyranni Licensed July 20. 1689. J. Fraser LONDON Printed and Sold by Randall Taylor at Stationers-Hâ—â—â— 1689. THE PREFACE TO THE READER I Should not think it necessary to prefix a Preface before this small Treatise especially since it handles only Matters of Fact such as the Judicial Acts of Commonwealths did I not suspect that some Malicious Persons whose Inclinations and Opinions are hereby thwarted would brand it with the Name of Seditious and Antimonarchical therefore I shall here enter my Protestation against such malicieus Aspersions by declaring That nothing herein mentioned has the least design to lessen the Duty and Obedience of Subjects toward their Princes And I do sincerely abhor the Principles of those Men who make so little account of their Duty that upon the least private Disgust or Discontent do invent a thousand Calumnies to the discredit of their Prince without Conscience or Reason intending only the revenge of private Injuries and not the publick Good as they would plausibly insinuate These men I take to be such as the Apostles S. Peter and S. Jude spake of when they said God knoweth how to reserve the Wicked unto the day of Judgment to be there tormented but yet much more those which do contemn Domination or Government and are bold and liking of themselves Nay further I am of Opinion That whatsoever a Princes Title be if once he is setled in the Crown and admitted by the Commonwealth every man is bound to settle his Conscience to obey him in whatsoever he lawfully Commands without examination of his Title or Interest For God disposes of Kingdoms and brings many things to pass in the Affairs of Princes by great and extraordinary means so that if we should examine the Titles at this day of all the Princes in Christendom by the ordinary Rule of private Mens Rights Successions or Tenures we should find so many knots and dissiculties with which they are perplext that it would be impossible to reconcile them And this is my Opinion for true and quiet Obedience dand yet on the other side I am as far off from the abject and wicked Flatteries of such as affirm Princes to be subject to no Law or Limitation either in Authority Government or Succession as thô by Nature they had been created Kings from the beginning of the World or as thô the Commonwealth bad been made for them and not they for the Commonwealth or as thô they had begotten or purchased or given life to the Publick and not that the Publick had exalted them or given them their Authority Honours and Dignity These and such like are the absurd Paradoxes which some Men have writ in flattery of Princes who in my Opinion deserve no Commendation or Reward since such Assertions destroy all Law Reason Conscience and Commonwealths and do bring all to such an absolute Tyranny as no Realm ever did or could suffer no not under the Dominion of the Turk himself at this day where some proportion of Equity is held between the Prince and People both in Government and Succession thô nothing near so much as in Christian Kingdoms It is therefore the intent of the ensuing Treatise to evince that our Predecessors have not been such Slaves to their Kings as some men would perswade us and that the Deposition of King James granting it to be so and waving the advantage of the Abdication is no new and unheard of thing as we hope to make appear beyond all doubt or exception For if we can prove that most Christian Common-wealths have upon just and reasonable Causes and to prevent Tyranny and Oppression excluded Princes from Reigning when their Title by Succession was apparent and also Deposed Evil Princes when they had lawful possession of the Crown If common-wealths I say have in all former Ages exerted this ample and transcendent Jurisdiction what Reason imaginable is there why they should not do so still and save themselves from Publick ruin and desolation by resisting and removing their evil Heads whensoever they are able so to do since God hath wonderfully concurred for the most part with such Judicial Acts of the Commonwealths against their Evil Kings not only in prospering the same but by giving them also some notable Successor in place of the Deposed thereby both to justifie the Fact and remedy the Fault of the Predecessor as is evident by the following Examples and also by this last of our own Country where in place of a King that endeavored nothing so much as the utter subversion of our ancient and fundamental Laws and Liberties the extirpation of our Religion and the subjecting us to the unsufferable Toke of the See of Rome our Old and Capital Enemies Instead of such a King I say it has pleased God to bless us with one as it were in token of his approbation of our late Proceedings who designs nothing but the universal Interest and Welfare of the Nation as is apparent since in six Months he has confirm'd and establish'd those Laws and Constitutions which his Predecessors have been 60 years undermining who instead of suspending Laws has only suspended his Negative Voice And we may send the same Message to the late King James which the States of France sent unto Charles of Lorain after their Election of Hugh Capet â—ard lib. 6. and his Exclusion which Gerard the French Historian records in these Words Every Man knows Lord James that the Crown and Realm of England and Scotland belong'd unto you according to the ordinary Law of Succession but yet the very same Laws which gave unto you this Right of Dominion have judg'd you also unworthy of the same being you have not endeavour'd to frame your Life and govern your People according to the prescript of those Laws nor according to the use and custom of your Country of England but rather have allyed your self with the French Nation our old and inveterate Enemies and acquainted your self with their vile and base Manners Wherefore seeing you have forsaken and abandon'd the ancient Interest of England we have also abandon'd and left you and have chosen the Prince of Orange for our King and this without any scruple or prejudice of our Consciences at all esteeming it far better and more just to live under WILLIAM the present possessour of the Crown with enjoyment of our ancient Laws customs Priviledges and Liberties than under you the Inheritour by Propinquity of Blood in Oppression strange Customs and Cruelty This is the Speech made by Command of the States to Charles of