suffer or be left to shift for it self than owe its Security â—o any unlawful Means such as are inconsistent with its Principles or may any way bring a Reproach upon it That there may be unlawful Means used for the Preservation of Religion and many times are used is most certain unless you will say that the Sacredness of Religion consists in justifying every thing that is done for its Sake than which nothing can be more absurd And it is no less certain on the other hand that the Means you have used for that 〈◊〉 are such for if the dethroning of Kings and defrauding Men of their Right be not unlawful I know nothing can deserve that Name These Things you have done for the Sake of Religion and by that Means have brought such a Stain and Reproach upon it that can never be wip'd off Certainly it had been a great deal better to have entrusted God Almighty with the Preservation of it whose peculiar Care it is and to have chose rather to have suffered with it if so the Will of God had been for that in all Ages has prov'd the surest way both to preserve and propagate Religion and would at least have kept it pure and undefiled till better Times Whereas you by taking the Work out of God Almighty's Hands and rescuing Religion out of pretended Dangers by such means as are utterly inconsistent with its Principles have most basely sullyed and depraved it You may see in 2 Sam. 6.6 and 7. what befel Uzzah for his indiscreet touching of the Ark though it was to save it from tottering and have reason to be afraid of the same Fate since by your indiscreeâ— Zeal in offering to rescue Religion by unjustifyable Means instead of preserving you have most horribly prolan'd it But that is not all for besides that you have done a very ill Thing for the Sake of Religion I do not see how you have preserv'd it at all or that it is in any better Security now than formerly but rather in much more danger Pray How do you like the Reformation of Religion in Scotland Has not the present Government turn'd out the whole Order of Episcopacy there and all the Regular Clergy though many of them were willing to comply with it and had actually submitted to it Had King James attempted such a Thing it might in some measure have excused his Subjects revolting from him but you know he never did No all that can be objected against him concerning his invading of our Religion and Properties comes very short of that And yet he must be called the Destroyer of our Religion and the other the Restorer and Preserver of it Good God! How partial and disingenuous are Men when once engaged in the Defence of a bad Cause But in good earnest is it now come to that that the abolishing of Episcopacy is become a necessary Means for the Preservation of Religion If so it is time for our Bishops to look to themselves for I suppose it is no unreasonable Conjecture to affirm that what is thought a necessary Expedient for the Preservation of Religion in one pace may in time be judged to be proper in another A. What was done in Scotland in abolishing Episcopacy and setting up Presbytery was not by an Arbitrary Power assumed by the King himself but by Act of Parliament and at the Request of the generality of the Nation and therefore if there was any thing amiss in it it is not to be imputed to him Besides the Church of Scoland and that of England are so different in their Constitution that what is a proper Expedient for the Preservation of Religion in the one may bâ— very improper in the other B. That what was done in Scotland was by Act of Parliament I grant but that it was at the Request of the generality of the Nation I deny for I am very well assured that the greater and better part of the Nation are utterly against it That the Presbyterian Govern and Clergy are mâ—erly obtruded upon them against their Consent But what though it was done by Act of Parliament is it ever the more justifyable for that Is it not the â—ame thing to be under an Arbitrary Parliament as under an Arbitrary King Or has the one any better Right to domineer over Mens Consciences or to invade their Religion and Properties than the other has But I suppose you menâ—ion that only to take off the Oâ—â—um of it from the King and to make a Difference between what he has done and what King James attempted to do But I must tell you it will not serve your Turn not only because your King having a Negative Voice there as well as here might have refused to have passed that Bill nay by his own Declaration was obliged to refuse it but also because it is very well known what crafty Ways and indirect Means were used to pack a Parliament for that very Purpose whiâ—h is the same Grievance we complained of under King James only with this Difference that the one has actually done what the other did but in vain attempt to do for you cannot choose but remember that the chief Thing objected against him was not so much his endeavouring to wâ—â—ken and undermine the established Religion by giving a free Toleration to all Sorts of Dissenters for that was look'd on as a thing that would be of no long Continuance as being grounded only on the falle Bottom of his dispensing Power The great Grievance was that he used indirect Means to get such a Parliament as would make it a Law which whether true or falle of him is true enough of your King in this matter of abolishing Episcopacy and turning out the whole Clergy oâ— Scotland or then Free-hold to beg their Bread For the Estates were convâ—nâ—d there meerly by virtue of Circulatory Letters from the P or O. wâ—enas yet he had no manner of Authority there by reason whereof several Counties sent no Commissioners at all not would be present at the choosing of any Only some few disâ—affected 〈…〉 the Opportunity and choâ—â—â— one another by which means they made 〈◊〉 a Thing which they called a Convention oâ— Estates which Convention aâ—ter they had him turn'd him into a King was afterwards by him turned into a Parlâ—ament and that was it that turn'd out the Bishops and planice a Parcel of old musty Presbytâ—â—ats in them â—â—om who however 〈◊〉 they may be to cant in a Convenâ—ciâ— are so far 〈◊〉 being fit â—o govern a Church that I am confident there is no 〈◊〉 man would â—o much as entrust them with teaching his Childred their Catechisms But my 〈◊〉 is no with then but with the King and Parliament that empowered them and 〈◊〉 there was such a notorious juggle oâ— such indirect Means used to pack a Paâ—liament I may very safely leave to the Judgment of any reasonable Man From Scotland let us return to England and consider what better Security we
against Grievances to pretend a most tender Compassion for those that suffer them and a mighty Zeal for having of them redrest when yet it appears that those very Grievances are chiefly owing to the pernicious Counsels and mischievous Contrivances of such Perions as for that very purpose have been corrupted by such a Pretender is such a Master-piece oâ— Hypocrisy and Dissimulation as I think none but a Dutch-Man is capable of But why should I insist â—o long on these Things Let it be supposed that the Grievances we lay under during K James's Reign were really as great as they who maliciously aggravate them would make the World believe and that they were not in any measure to be imputed to the ill Conduct of his Counsellours and Ministers but were the effects of his own Natural Tempet and Inclination even that cannot justify the Measures that have been taken to redress these Grievances This brings us to the Consideration of the Second part of the former Pretence namely that because of these Grievances and Male-Administrations the Estates of the Realm did unanimously dethrone him In this are two Things to be examined First Matter of fact Secondly Matter of Right As or the Matter of Fact I must tell you that however confidently Mr. Johnson and they that adhere to him may affirm it there 's nothing of Truth in it The Convention did not go that way to work So far were they from assuming any Power or Authority over the King's Person so as to call him to an Account and judicially to depose him that they did not in the least pretend to it nor so much as mention it but went upon a quite different Ground as is very well known But besides that the Matter of Fact is not more false than the Matter of Right is defective That is to say Iâ— they had done so de facto it had been de jure null and of none effect as being utterly unlawful I hope you will grant me that what is in it self unlawful ought not to be done and if it be done ought to be undone again A. If I do you will get nothing by it unless you can prove that it was utterly unlawful to dethrone King James even though he did not govern according to Law B. Very right But that I can easily prove both because there is no Law for it and likewise because there are express Laws against it First I say There is no Law or Statute that the Subjects or People of England can in any Case depose or dethrone their Lawful King This being a Negative Proposition it cannot be expected that I should prove it It lies upon your Party at least those of them that shelter themselves under this Pretence not only to produce such a Law but to make it appear that it has never yet been repealed till which time the Proposition will stand good against them 'T is true Mr. Johnson in his Argument does mention such a Statute and lays the greatest Stress of his Argument upon it and yet confesses afterward that whatever there might be formerly there is no such Thing now to be found which is enough for my purpose because not to be found and not to be in being are the same Thing in Law Secondly As there is no Law to warrant or authorise the Deposition of any of our Rightful Kings so there are express Laws against it Such is that of the 12. Car. 2. where it is declared That neither the Peers nor Commons nor both Houses together nor the People collectively nor representatively in Parliament or out of Parliament nor any other Persons whatsoever have any Coercive Power over the King of England And in the 13 Car. 2. it is declared That the Sword is solely in the King's Power and that neither one nor both Houses of Parliament can or lawfully mayâ—aise or levy any War offensive or defensive against his Majesty To these I may add what is declared in the Act of uniformity namely That it is not lawful upon any pretence whatever to take up Arms against the King If it be said that there is nothing mentioned of dethroning of Kings in any of these Acts I have quoted and consequently that they are nothing to the purpose I answer That to dethrone a King is a degree of Rebellion beyond any thing mentioned in these Acts For the reason why Subjects do assume to themselves a coercive power over their King or pretend to take up Arms or levy War against him is that by these means they may dethrone him And if so it must needs be gâ—anâ—ed that the former being condemned by these Statutes the latter is much more so as being a higher degree of the same Crime So that they of your Party who found K. W's Right on the Peoples deposing of King James for Male-Administration have no imaginable way to evade the Force of these Laws I have mentioned unless they say that they are above all Laws and can dispence with them at their Pleasure which was one of the chief Things objected against him and what was thought absurd in him I am sure is much more so in them A. I hope you have now done with that Pretence for the Truth is I never much lov'd it nor laid any great Stress upon it and therefore I do not think my self much concerned in the Arguments you have brought against it which is the chief Reason why I have made little or no Reply to you since you entered upon the Examination of it B. Had you told me so at first it would have saved me a great deal of Trouble for then either I would not have mentioned it at all or at least would not have insisted so long upon it But that is your Cunning. Whichsoever of your Pretences happens to be examined you are resolved to say nothing of it till first you hear what can be said against it And if it so fall out that the Arguments against it make no great Impression upon it then to be sure that is the Pretence you always confided in But if it happens â—o be baffled why then forsooth you did not like it from the beginning But perhaps we may meet with more such before we come to an end The next that comes to be examined is that of Forfeiture The Substance of which is that by these violenâ—and aâ—â—itrary Proceedings and Male-Adminiâ—trations form 〈◊〉 mentioned K. James did really and truly forfeit all Right and Title to the Crown This Pretence I hope will be sooner discussed thin the former because though in â—o nâ— Respects they diâ—â—er very considerably from one another the one affirming That he was deposed by the People And the other That â—e did really unking himself and forfeit his Right so that there was nothing lest for the People to do but only to declare it and dispose of the Forfeiture yet they both agree in this The same Grievancer and Male-Administrations are alledged by both Parties as the Ground
their Perâ—ons particularly one whose Compliance has occasioned me many a sâ—d Thought But I must tell you their so shameful receding from their former Principles and pulling down with the one hand what but lately they had so zealously built with the other is such a Scandal o their Prosession a piece of Disingenuâ—ty so ill-becoming their Character that there are scarce any will take upon them to excuse much less to justify it Nay they themselves are so very sensible of it that for want of a better Evasion they were forced to own that they were formerly in an Errour For thus their Apology runs Those Doctrines we formerly taught such as that of Passive Obedience to the Supream Governour that he derives his authority immediatly from God and is accountable to none but him for the Exercise of it That it is not Lawful on any Pretence for Subjects to take up Arms against him or which is all one to join with those that come purposely to invade his Right These Doctrines however zealously we preached them up formerly as very Orthodox and very necessary Points of Religion are yet nothing else out meer Heman Fictions contrived of purpose to flatter the Ambition of Princes and cheat the People of their Liberty 'T is true the 〈◊〉 especially they that had imbibed the Oliverian Principles told us so then but we either did not or would not believe them nay more than that inveighed ogainst their Opinions and pretended to demonstrate that they were not only Antimonarchical but likewise Antichristian and on that very Account did think it very improper to allow them any Toleration But now the Case is altered However we might indeavour to represent them then we are now very well assured that they were in the Right Is not this a very pretty Apology Do not your Clergy come off very gracefully in this matter Pray what do you think of iâ— A. Truly I cannot deny but that there is something of Truth in the Charge you bring against them though at the same time I think you have been a little too severe in the drawing of it up However this much I would have you to consider That the Clergy of our Church are but Men and the best of Men may sometimes be in a Mistake Besides 〈◊〉 your self know that the Church of England even in its greatest Grandeur never pretended to be infalliâ—lâ— Wherein then lies this great Reproach of the Clergy B. That the Church of England at least since the Reformation has not laid Claim to an Infallibility is so far from being any Reproach to her that it very much commends her Modesty But withal I would have you to consider that there is a very great Difference between a Church's not claiming Infallibility and a Church's owning her self to have actually sailed especially in proposing the Doctrines of Religion For though there is really no Reproach in the former yet there is a very great one in the latter and a very great inconveniency too For though a Church is not really Infallible yet as long as she insists upon her not having actually erred or that no such thing can be made appear I may very confidently rely upon her Guideship in such a Case I am really as safe and may be as confident as if she pretended to an absolute Infallibility perhaps more because an Infallibility requires a blind Obedience to what it pâ—opâ—seth without ever examining what it is which the other does not But when a Church ownâ— that she has already erred and that in very material Points too with what tolerable Confidence can a man rely upon her and how doubtful must that Assent be which he gives to what she proposeth For if she has failed in one Thing 't is natural enough to conclude that she will do so in another and then what tolerable Security can we have that she is in the Right in any thing Even when she proves what she says by Scripture I cannot but suspect her Sincerity because she pretended to demonstrate by express Texts of Scripture those very Doctrines she now disowns A These may have been the Failings of some particular Persons but you very well know that to charge a whole Church with the failings of some though even of her most considerable Members i very disingenuous B I grant it is to but deny that I have been guilty of it No the Innovations and Contradictions I have mentioned are chargeable upon your whole Church As for Instance It was so merâ— the pro essed Doctrine of the Church of England That it is not Lawful on any pretence whatever for Subjects to take up 〈◊〉 against their King which evidently implies that neither should they themselves deprive him of his Right nor be assistant to those that would do it but on the contrary that they should stand by him and support him in it That this was formerly the Doctrine of the Church of England does evidently appear from this that no Person was to be admitted into the Ministry in any Degree whatever without Subscribing to it And it does no less evidently appear on the other hand that the present Clergy are of a quite contrary Opinion inasmuch as they have actually sided join'd hands and taken part with those that have invaded his Right and violently detain it from him and that at such a Time and in such a Manner that without such a base Compliance it can hardly be imagined how Things could have been brought to that now they are at This I say vour Church has done and in so doing has justified and incorporated into her new Religion a Doctrine which by the former Church of England was not barely disowned but detested with the greatest degree of Abhorrence In a Word your Clergy are so Latitudinarian both in their Principles and Practices nay even in their very Oaths that it is impossible to know either when or where to fix them for they have so cunningly ordered Things that on the same Grounds on which they now swear and preach and pray against King James on the very same Grounds if ever he should return and prevail they would as heartily swear and preach and pray against K. W. so that they are always sure to be of the strongest Side and yet always in the Right These are the mighty Champions you boast of that they are all of your Side I grant they are so or at least pretend to be But indeed how can it be otherwise For you very well know that no sooner does one declare the contrary by refusing to swear and comply than immediatly he is turned out of aâ—l and another put in his Place Whereas if they were allowed the Liberty to speak their Minds freely and yet be secure of their Livings you would quickly find that they are not so entirely yours as you may imagine A. The Truth is If they be such as you have endeavoured to represent them 't is no matter whose they are But of that
But withal it seems you little consider that the greatest part of those that oppose King James's Right have no more Sence than that Post had Many Thousands there are in these Three Nations who are very confident and positive that 〈◊〉 has lost his Right and accordingly speak more opprobriously and reproachfully of him than either the Laws of the Land or good Manners will allow them to do of their Fellow-Subject and yet are so far from knowing how or by what means he lost it that they never 〈◊〉 much as considered it or thought themselves concerned oâ—nquire into it Of this Number I chiefly reckon the Rabble who however despicable in the Opinion of all â—hinking Men yets are such a necessary Support of your New Government and 〈◊〉 so great aâ—rigure in iâ— that I thought my self obliged to a lâ—w them one 〈◊〉 represent them in that supposed Trial which accordingly I did in bringing in that First Evidence The next that appears speaks somewhat more to the purpos for he not only asserts positively that the Plaintiff had lost his Right but pretends to give an account how he lost it namely That having abused his Power to very ill Purposes and stretched its Right beyond its due Limits even so sar as to devour and swallow up that of other Men they who thought themselves most nearly concerned to redress these Grievances though otherwise subject to his Authority being â—ully convinced that no other Remedy or Expedient would be effectual did unanimously agree together to depose him and deprive him of his Right which accordingly the did and lodged it in better Hands By this Witness is represented the Common-Wealth-Party which however much it was abominated or however justly decrved by all good Men in the last Age as having murthered the best of Kings and set up I had almost said the worst of Uâ—urpers and by that meanâ— involved us in all the Calamâ—ties 〈◊〉 Bloody Civil War yet now is become very considâ—rable in these three Nations insomuch that the King 's being accountable to the People and lyable to be deposed by them if he abuses his Trust and such other Anti-Monarchical and Republican Principles which formerly were only whispered about in Corner as being ashamed to see the Light are now publickly owned and even Factiously contended for Good God! What a strange what a reproachful Infatuation is it that both our Church and State should so far degenerate as not only to espouse the interest but indeed lick up the Vomit of those who have hitherto been accounted the most irreconcileable Enemies of both Whatever Stress your Convention laid upon King James's Abdication these Men I now speak of do but laugh 〈◊〉 it and tell us plainly by their Aâ—voe te Julian Johnson that however the Convention might mince the Matter and amuse the Nation with a fine plausible Sâ—oâ—y oâ— King James ' Abdicating the Government yet that 〈◊〉 there was no men matter but that he was really deposed and abrogated by the Estates of the Realm and that according to Law too though as ill Luck would have it when he comes to quote that Law he confesses it is not now to be found But that is not yet our Business It is sufficient at present to tell you that there is such a Parry among you and that it was to personate those of that Party that I brought in that witness in the Trial who contended that the Plaintiff having abused his Right was justly deposed and legally deprived of it The next Evidence tells That the Plaintiff himself receded from his Right and very fairly yielded it up which in King James's Case you very well know was the Opinion of that â—â—oâ—cus Assembly the Convention They told 〈◊〉 That his reâ—â—ring or withdrawing himself from among us was a plain Abuâ—cating the Government and leaving the Throne vacant by which they must either mean a voluntary Resignation of his Right or it will not serve their Turn But though Abdication is indeed the same Thing with Resignation yet they did not think fit to express it so very wisely foreseeing that a the word Resignation is more easily understood than Abdication so it would more hardly be believed for no man is â—o easily impoâ—ed upon in what he does undeâ—raâ—d as in what he does not The Fourth and last Evidence contradictâ— both the former For though he also 〈◊〉 that the Plaintiff has certainly lost his Right yet he neither allowâ— that he himself resigned it up nor that any Persons could legally 〈◊〉 him of it and there 〈◊〉 is very postive that the way he lost it was by Forfeiture that by his Mâ—â—uemeanours he did absolutely forfeit iâ— By this Evidence is 〈◊〉 nor only a very considerable Party here 〈◊〉 England but likewâ—â—e the whole Convâ—â—tion of Estates in Scotland who charge K. J's losing all his Right and Title to that Kingdom upon the Faults and Male-Administrations of his Government by which they declare he did absolutely for 〈◊〉 it Which 〈◊〉 however contrary to the express Laws as well of that as of this Kingdom is yet somewhat more plausible than either of the former being neither so ridiculously disingenuous as to interpret a King's forced Retreat for the Safety of his Life to be a voluntary Resignation of his Right nor so impudently saucy as to subject him to the Peoples Auâ—hority and put it in the Power oâ— his own Subjects to dethrone him But of there Things enough till we come to speak of them more directly All that I design at present is only to shew you that the Inconsistency of the Evidence in the former Tryal is not at all imputable to my managing of the Witnesses whereof I hope you are now convinced since by the Comparison I have made it easily appears that the Witnesses in the former Trial do not more disagree in their Testimony in declaring how the Plaintiff lost his Right than those of your Party do in asserting the loss oâ— King James's Right That the Inconsistencies and Contradictions are the very same in both Cases and consequently what was decided in the one Case ought by Parity oâ— Reason to take place in the other A. Whatever pains you have been at to make these two Case answerable to one another I am not yet satisfied but that there is so grâ—a a Disparity between them even in some respects where the Parallel ought to hold that to argue from the one to the other usâ— needs be very inconclusive As for Example in your imaginary Trial you produce but one 〈…〉 Witness of each sort whose Testimony 〈…〉 nothin whereas in the other Case there are several Thousands of each sort This I take to be a very partial and unequal Representation 〈◊〉 what is in dispute of purpose to give the Judge some colourable Pretence to 〈◊〉 and reject the whole Evidence whereas 〈◊〉 two or three or more of those that were to be examined had agreed in their Testimony as greaâ— Numbers do
wave insisting any further upon it aâ— present and desire you to proceed B. What you said of my Answer to you Demand I may very well say of your Reply to it namely That it is nothing to the Purpose for the Aâ—surdit 〈◊〉 oâ—bjâ—ct against your Principles is that they leave no Occasion for Suffering and render the Duty of Patience though a very principal Duty of the Christian Religion altogether useless which your Reply is so far from answering that indâ—â—â—ed it amounts to no less than a plain Concession For if it be necessary or so much as lawâ—ul for Subjects to redress their Grievances by using in Arms against their King or as you are pleased to call it to assert their Rights and Priviledges in Opposition to Authority who does noâ— see that in such a Case there is no need of Patience but when we cannot otherwise choose nor any Occasion lest for Suffering but in an ill Cause or when we justly deserve it which if it may in any sense be called a Vertue is yet so very low a degree of it that in St. Peter's Opinion it scarce deserves Thanks 1 Pet. 2.19 20. This is Thank-wâ—rthy if a Man for Conscience toward God endure Grief suffering wrongfully For what Glory is it if when ye are buffeted for your Faults you shall take it patiently But if when you do well and suffer for it ye take it patiently this is acceptable with God And whereas you mention the asserting of your Rights and Priviledges as a thing distinct from Rebellion I must tell you that in most cases they are the very same thing the one being nothing else but a Pretence to colour the other For if that asserting of your Rights be done with your Arms in your Hands in opposition to Authority especially if it goes so far as to dethrone him that is Supreme or which is the same thing to force him from the Government give it what specious Title you please it is nothing else but down-right Rebellion But because you are willing that the farther Consideration of this should be waved at present I shall thecefore insist no longer upon it In the next Place I proceed to the Fourth and Last Pretence against King James's Right namely his Abdicating of the Government If I can bear you from that Hold your Cause is entirely lost not that I think that can be better defended than any of the former but because it was the only thing your Convention proceeded upon in pretending to settle our Confusions or the only Ground-work on which they built the goodly Superstructure of the Present Government On which account it is indeed the only thing you can fairly plead as being the declared Sense of those who pretended to be the Representatives of the whole Nation and consequently if that can be disproved the whole Fabrick you have builâ— upon it must of necessity fall to pieces The Substance of this Pretence is That King James by withdrawing himself out of the Nation without deputing any Person to officiate in the Administration of the Government during his Absence did indeed Abdicate the Government that is resign'd it up and left the Throne Vacant Upon which the Nation being left to shift for themselves did by their Representatives assembled in Convention declare and proclaim the P. oâ— O. and the P. M. King and Queen of England c. In this Pretence are several Particulars whereof every one will upon a strict Examination be found to be very ill-grounded First Concerning King James's withdrawing himself I humbly conceive that before it can be interpreted to be an abdicating or disclaiming of the Government it will be very needful to enquire whether or not it was voluntary For that a Man's withdrawing himself from his House or his Estate or any thing else he has a Right to should be interpreted to be a yielding up of his Right though at the samâ—time it plainly appears that his withâ—rawing was absolutely forced and involuntary is so great an Absurdity that I am confident no Man will allow of it that will but take time to think This pâ—â—s me in mind of the Method taken by the Convention in Scotland in proceeding against the Episcopal Clergy They were forced from their Churches by the Rabble so terribly threatned and cruelly used that they were compelled to withdraw for the Safety of their Lives and yet the Convention were so far from punishing the Rabble or restoring those poor distressed Clergy-men to their Livings that they interpreted that their forced Departure from them to be a culpable deserting of them and so placed others in their room A thing so strangely scandalous and reproachful especially by being made a National Act that I can scarce believe they would ever have ventured upon it had not you encouraged them to it by your Example It was you that led the way for they thought it no Reproach to treat their Clergy as you had treated your King A. I must confess I do not at all approve of that Method you speak of in turning out the Church-men in Scotland And if you can make it appear that King James was turned out after the same manner in England I shall easily grant there has been a great deal of wrong done him for I am so far of your Opinion that except a Man's withdrawing himself be voluntary or free from any Force or Constraint it cannot fairly â—e interpreted to be a yielding up of his Right unless he had no other Right but barely that of Possession which Is not at all pleadable in King James's Case B. Though I scarce owe you Thanks for this Concession it being no more than what Reason and Equity force from you vet I shall ask no more to destroy your whole Hypothesis For that King James did not voluntarily withdraw himself that he was plainly forced to it even for the Safety of his Life does so evidently appear from the whole Series of Affairs after the P. of O's Landing that whatever some Man may pretend no Man can seriously think otherwise You very well know that he made all the Preparation possible to oppose the Prince's Party that in order to fight him he appear'd at the Head of an Army who had they been but willing were able enough to have chastised his Unnatural Insolence and sent him back to the place from whence he came I hope that was no sign that he had any thoughts of relinquishing or delivering up his Right A. No I grant it was not But after all that Preparation what was the Reason he would not fight His putting himsâ—lf at the Head of his Army look'd some what like a Resolution to assert his Right but his deserting them after so strange a manner and leaving them to shift for themselves and that in such a dangerous Juncture of time too had quite another Aspect B. I cannot forbear telling you that your charging him with deserting his Army is extreamly disingenuous For you cannot
however industriously your Party strives to vindicate and magnify them when they come to be examined like over-stretch'd Cloth they will miserably shrink in the wetting At first indeed it was very confidently given out by some of you and as fooâ—ishly believ'd by others that by the Courage and Conduct of your mighty Hero we shouâ—d conquer France humble the Pride of that losty Tyrant rear the Prey out of his 〈◊〉 Jaws And in a Word do such glorious Exploâ—â—s as should render us Famous all over the World and eternize our Mâ—mory to all Future Ages But the Noise of that is now preâ—y well over for after the loâ—s of a great deal both of the Blood and Wealth of the Nation both spent with equal Prodigality and irrecoverably thrown away we now begin to find that instead of getting more we are not able to keep what we had Witness the Loss of Mons Namur and Charleroy in the Sight of all the Forces we could unite and your invincible Champion at the Head of them Instead of conquering France we now begin to talk a little more modestly of making a Descent into it and though your little Intelligencers whose Business it is to retail the Lies and Sham-Stories of graver fort of Statesmen told us last Year what a terrible Consternation the Noise of this Descent had caused among the French yet it appeared afterward by their sending away their Grand Fleet of purpose to invite it and make way for it that they were more willing it should go forward than we our selves were Your King indeed had the Vanity to say then that he himself would head it but it quickly appeared he had so little Stomach to it that a great many are now of Opinion that he will scarce ever attempt a Descent any more â—ill he makes one for good and all where few will care to follow him I suppose then I may take it for granted that our being engaged in such an expensive War from which we can see no Prospect of coming off with any Credit is none of those Advantages that render the present Government so desirable What is it then thaâ— so much endears it to us Is it because we are thereby secured in our Liberties and Properties A. Yes that I reckon is the chief Thing especially if you join Religion with them which indeed ought to be dearer to us than both the other The securing of these however lightly you may esteem of it is certainly one of the greaâ—est Blessings that any People is capable of And perhaps there is no Nation in the World more happy in that Respect than we are if we did but know how to put a just Value upon it Which Happiness we owe in a very great measure if not wholly to the present Government and therefore we should be both very ungrateful to it and very much wanting to our selves if we should not endeavour all that lies in our power to support it B. That our Religion our Liberties and Properties are very precious Things and ought to be very dear to us I very easily grant and do as readily own that by our Laws there is very good Provision made for the Security of them which I am so far from esteeming lightly of that perhaps I put as great a value upon it as you or any Man else but that we owe that Security to the present Government I am so far from granting that I wonder any Man should have the Confidence to assert it for it is very well known that more Bills for the good of the Subject and the redressing of publick Grievances have been rejected and denied the Royal Assent since the late Revoluâ—ion than in several preceding Reigns witness the laâ—e Remonstrance of the House of Commons to your King so ridiculously baffled by him and so shamefully sâ—eak'd from by themselves which rejecting of Bills considering the prodigious Taxes that have been granted all wise Men are amazed at being doubtful in whether of the two they are the more unhappy a Parliament that gives so much or a King that gives so little But that is not all for besides that the Government has more consulted its own Security than any good of the Subject in all the Laws that have been made since it took place I must tell you it has not been over exact in the observance of former Laws for what can be more destructive of the Liberty of the Subject or of those Laws that have been formerly made for the securing of it than the confining and imprisoning of them upon meer Jealousies and Suspicions Which how frequently and arbitrarily it has been done by the present Government I need not tell you there having been more Instances of that Nature since the late Revolution than ever was formerly known excepting only in the like Cases of Usurpation What Snares have been and daily are laid what Sham-Plots invented and what false Informations as greedily received as maliciously contriv'd and the Authors of them privately counâ—enanc'd and encourag'd and all to find some Pretence to deprive Men of their Liberties if not also of their Lives it were a most shameful thing to relate In a Word as things are now ordered all those ancient Laws 〈◊〉 which the Liberty of the Subject is grounded are not worth a Rush the bare Warrant of a Secretary of State being sufficient to supersede them all for what Man is there who by Virtue of that is not liable to be taken up thrown into Prison and there confin'd during Pleasure without ever being brought to a Trial or so much as inform'd of what or by whom he is accused Thus it is in England and in our neighbouring Kingdom of Scotland it is yet a great deal worse for there there is such Havock made of the Liberties and Properties of the Subject that the like was never known For what by that new State-Invention of obliging Men to perjure themselves and what by other Arbitrary Proceedings Things are there brought to that pass that I believe in a short time the whole Nation will be imprisoned except Fools and Knaves the one because they have not so much Sense as to understand an Oath and the other because let it be never so unlawful they have not so much Honesty as to refuse it This being the true state of Things instead of reckoning the Enjoyment of our Liberties and Properties an Advantage that we owe to the present Government it may be much more truly said that we never held them so precariously or that they never were so much at the Mercy of the Government as they are at present And as for our Religion which we make so much Noise about I doubt it will be found in no better Security than the former or if it be I am afraid it will scarce ever thrive the better for it For we must consider that though Religion is a very precious Thing yet withal it is a very nice and tender Thing and had rather
have for our Religion here than formerly You say the Constitution of these two Churches are so different that what is expedient for the Preservation of Religion in one would not at all be proper in the other and from thence would conclude that though the Episcopal Clergy have been turned out there yet they are in no Danger here I do not much care if I grant you all that for it will neither be a Prejudice to my Cause nor an Advantage to yours That there is a great Difference between the Constitutions of these two Churches now whatever there was formerly is most certain yet that does not hinder but that there may again be an Assâ—milation made between them whether by bringing theirs up to our Model or ours down to theirs I shall not dispute I shall like wise allow it to be probable enough that our Episcopal Clergy here are in no danger of being turned out but withal I can tell you that they do not owe their Security either to the nature of their Constitution or to any Love your King has for them but only to the mighty Zeal they shew to his Service their ready Complyance with whatever he commands the â—ulâ—om Flattery they use in their very Sermons and the many little Arts and servile Ways by which they court â—â—s Favour wherein they have out-â—ivaâ—d the very Phanaticks themselves By these Meaâ—s they stand firm enough and yet I cannot forbear telling you that our Religion is never the better secured for that neither For it is plain enough that these Men mind themseâ—ves so much more than it that I can see â—o Necessity but that the one may stand while the other falls But now we are talking oâ— the great Obligation the present Goverâ—ment has laid upon us by securing our Religion Pray be so kind as to let me know what Religion you mean I hope you mean that which was established by Law namely the Church of England at least you ought to mean so for that was it that was thought to 〈◊〉 in greatest danger in King James's time As for the Preâ—byterians or any other Sect 〈…〉 of Protestants you very well know that King James was very kind to then gave them â—o much Encouragement and so far stretelâ—d his Prerogative to ease them from the Penal Laws that it was one oâ— the châ—eâ— Objections against him It he was unkind to any it was only to those of the Church of England and therefore since you magnify the Security our Religion is in now in Opposition to the former Reign in all probability you must mean that of the Church of England A. I do so and am very confident you will not deny but that it is in a much more safe and flourishing Condition under the present Government than it was under the former B. I am afraid it is not but that rather it loseth ground every day 'T is true King James suspended one of her Bishops and imprisoned Seaven more whether legally or not I shall not now dispute however they still enjoyed their Revenues whereas your King has turn'd the like number out of Hâ—use and Home It is likewise true that King James by suspending the Penal Laws turn'd loose against her the whole Herd of Dissenrers who like the Canaanites to the Children of Israel were as Thorns in her Sides and ha not your King done the same He nor only continued the same Toleration which K. James which was so much cryed out against for granting but has since enacted it by a Law so that now the Sectaries are in the same Condition or stand upon the same Foundation with the Church of England In a word the three grand Enemies of our Church are Popery Phanaticism and Atheism If the Government has taken any effectual Course to preserve her from these three I grant she is very much beholding to it But whoever enquires into it will find the Case very much otherwise For the Heat of their Zeal to secure her from the first has so far transported them that they have lest her quite open to the other two to prey upon her at their Pleasure As for the Phanaticks I have for many Years look'd upon them as more dangerous Enemies to the Church of England than the Papists themselves are equally irreconcilable but much more restless and spightful And if somtimes she has scarce found her self safe from their Insults or secure from their Incursions notwithstanding their being fenced off by Penal Laws she must be in much greater danger of being over-run by them now that Hedge is broken down And as for Atheism what a Door has been opened to that by the late Revolution and what Numbers have thronged in at it does but too evidently appear which however reproachful to Religion or however grievous to all good Men yet is not much to be wondered at For alas when Men that are otherwise not wery well grounded in Religion see it abused to such ill Purposes even to cloak the greatest Crimes When they see Children usurp their Father's Crown and force him for the Safety of his Life to seek shelter among Strangers When instead of opposing it they see the whole Clergy of a National Church christen such an unnatural Villainy pray for the Success and Continuance of it father it upon Divine Providence and crave God Almightty's Protection to it and all those turned out to starve or beg their Bread that refuse to join with them in it I say when Men that are otherwise not very well grounded in Religion see it prostituted and abused to such vile Purposes by those who pretend to be the most zealous Professours of it how can it otherwise be expected but that they will conclude that all Religion is a Trick Thus have you laid such a Sâ—umbling-Block in the Way as has undoubtedly occasioned the Fall of some Thousands who might otherwise have proved good Christians and so far hardened them against oil belief of Religion that it is impossible to persuade them that you your selves believe it And though I grant that will not be sufficient to excuse them yet I must tell you it will fall heavy upon those that were the Occasion of it But besides the Door that has been opened by the late Revolution for Phanaticism and Atheism to break in upon the Church it doth plainly enough appear that the present Government has done what lies in it's Power quite to unchurch her for by the late Act of Parlâ—ament in turning our several of her organical Members by a meer Lay-deprivation and the present Clergy's submitting to it and owning the Validity of it by acknowledging those Anâ—â—-Bishops that were substituted in their Room the very Foundation of the Church is altered from the old English Constitution to a new-model'd Erastian Dutch Bottom That is to say absoluteat the Mercy of the State and wholly depâ—â—ding upon it not only 〈◊〉 respect of her temporal buâ— likewise of her spiritual Power 〈◊〉 By which
〈…〉 England is so fat 〈◊〉 being in any better Circumstances or more Security now than formerly that she is reduced to a worse stare there being at present no National Church in the World in a more preâ—ations Condition But letting that pass I do not see any effectual Course has been taken for the keeping out of Popery nâ—ither though that is the only Thing you have to boast of for it is the Opinion of a great many that more have been proselyted to that Religion since the late Revolution than during the Reign of King James and that upon better and more solid Grounds it being probable enough that they who left us then did it for their Interest whereas they that leave us now 〈◊〉 scarce be supposed to do it upon any other Principle than that of Conscience being loth to venture themselves any longer in a Church which they believe has so grosly prevaricated and so shamefully receded from her former Principles But the plain Truth of the matter is that both you and they are in a Mistake for that Church which this Government has establish'd consisting of the complying Clergy and those that join in Communion with them is not the Church of England I mean it is not the same with that which was formerly so called but a new Establishment diffâ—renâ— from it The true Church of England consists only of those that constantly adhere to her avowed Principles of Loyalty and Non-Resistance that is to say those Reverend Fathers the Bishops and others of the Clergy who out of Conscience of their Duty to their true and lawful King most injuriously dispossessed of his Right refuse to swear Allegiance to any other in Opposition to him These together with those that join in Communion with them are all the poor Remains that are left of the once so famous Church of England and how the present Government has treated and dâ—ily does treat these I need not tell you for you your sâ—lf cannot choose but know that they are persecuted with more Severity than the Roman-Catholciks themselves Having thus far considered the Advantages you boast of by first setting up and still continuing the present Government and found that there is indeed nothing in them but Noise and Froth it only now remains that we briefly examine the vast Mischiefs and Inconveniencies which as you give out must needs attend the restoring of K. James wherein I doubt not but we shall meet with no less Dâ—singenuity than in the former The Mâ—â—chiefs pretended are no less than Popery and Slavery as if the Restoring of K. James were utterly inconsistent both with our Religions and our Liberties These Mischiefs you aggaravate with so much Art declaim against with so much Heat and Zeal and skrew Mens Fears and Jealousies of them to such a Height that rather than fail of frighâ—ning them out of their Duty by such Means you endanger the frightning of them out of their Wits I can assure you I am as little in Love with either of these Things as you your self are and should be as much grieved to see the Nation reduced to a Necessity of submitting to them but that the Restoration of K. James will reduce us to such a Necessry I neither can be persuaded my self nor can I believe that any man else is whatever he may pretend unless he is strangely byassed Indeed if he should return as an absolute Conqueror purely by the Power of the French King even in spight of all the Opposition of his own Subjects I cannot deny but that our Apprehensions of these Things might be somewhat reasonable In such a case no Man can tell how far our Rebellion so unreasonably begun and so obstinately persisted in might exasperate and transport him beyond the natural Meekness of his Temper Though even in that case I am apt enough to believe that his Resentments would be nothing such as we have deserved But the Truth is there is so little Probability of any such Thing that we have not the least Fear or Apprehension of it being very well assured that neither he himself nor any of his Subjects however they may be slandered do so much as desire his being restored by any such Means except we our selves do force him to it by precluding all other Ways For it cannot in any reason be imagin'd but that he had rather come in by the Invitation and Assistance of his own Subjects than by any Foreign Power the one being no more than what we are bounâ— to do but the other so great a Favour that there can scarce be a Recompence made for it And being it is very uneasy to one of a generous Mind to owe that to the Curtesy of another which he may otherwise challenge as his Right especially if he be in no Capacity of making any suitable Return we may very safely confide in this that he will never choose to owe his restoration to a Foreign Powerâ— unless by our Obstinacy we force him to it And indeed then we must even take what comes of it and thank our selves for it â—or in such Case however severely we might be chastised as â—none could blame him so none would pity us A. I perceive then you are for his coming in by the Invitation and Assistance of his own Subjects which though I grant it has not so much Terrour in its Looks as the former would yet prove of a more mischievous Consequence than you are aware of for it cannot be imagined but that though some oâ— his Suâ—jects would be for it yet others would be against it so that the best that could be expected would e a Civil War than which nothing can be more destructive And beside iâ— aster such an Opposition he should prevail what tolerable Security can we have that he will not exercise his Authority more arbitrarily and tyrannically then than ever B. Two Things are here objected against King James's coming in by the Invâ—â—ation and Assistance of his own Subjects First That it would-occasion a Civil War But pray what Necessity is there of that If upon his Landing all his Subjects should declare for him or so much as the better fort and gâ—eater part of thâ—mâ— which is the Thing I propose there would be no Civil War in the case for whatever Opposition K W. and his Foreigners might make could not properly fall under that Denomination I grant it any considerable number of his own native Subject should take up Arms against him and oppose him it were a Civil War indeed but there is nothing more certain than that in such a case they and not he are the Cause of it What ever Mischief or Inconveniency there may be in that they themselves are the sole Authors of it and by Consequence the only Persons that are accountable for it Supposing such a Civil War were already begun I hope you will grant me that the best way to put an end to it were by one of the two opposite