be well considered of and digested by me and that all mistakes might be prevented as far as may be I say in regard of this I have in the present Paper reduced what I have to declare as to my Innocence and Loyalty and 't is in these following Words I Do solemnly and sincerely in the presence of Almighty God profess testify and declare as followeth That is to say 1. That I do with my heart and soul believe and own my most Gracious Soveraign Lord the Kings Majesty King Charles the Second to be my true and lawful Soveraign Prince and King in the same sence and latitude to all intents and purposes as in the Oath commonly called The Oath of Allegiance His said Majesty is expressed to be King of this Realm of England 2. That I do in my soul believe That neither the Pope nor any Prince Potentate or Forreign Authority nor the people of England nor any Authority out of this Kingdom or within the same hath or have any Right to dispossess His said Majesty of the Crown or Government of England or to depose him therefrom for any Cause or pretended Cause whatsoever or to give licence to me or to any other of His said Maâ—esties Subjects whatsoever to bear Arms against His said Majesty or to take away his Life or to do him any bodily harm or to disturb the Government of this Kingdom as the same is now established by Law or to alter or go about to alter the said Government or the Religion now established in England by any way of force 3. That I neither am nor ever was at any time or times guilty so much as in my most secret thoughts of any Treason or misprision of Treason whatsoever 4. That I did not in the Month of November or at any other time or times whatsoever say unto Mr. Oates or unto any other person or persons whatsoever in relation to my Sons in Spain or either of them or in relation to any other person or persons whatsoever That if they did continue in the World as Secular Priests of otherwise they should suddenly have great promotions in England for that things would not last long in the posture wherein they then were nor did I ever say any words to that or the like effect to any person or persons whatsoever 5. That I did never in all my life-time write any Letter or other thing whatsoever unto or receive any Letter or other thing from Father La Chese or any French Jesuit whatsoever or from Father Anderton or Cardinal Barbarino or any other Cardinal nor did I ever see any Letter or the Copy of any Letter or other paper or other thing written or purporting to be written unto the said La Chese or unto the said Father Anderton or the said Cardinal Barbarina by any person or persons whatsoever other than the printed Letters printed in the Narrative of the Trial of Mr. Coleman lately executed which I never saw otherwise than in the said printed Narrative nor did I ever hear any mention made by any person whatsoever of the Name of La Chese or Father La Chese before I read the said printed Narrative 6. That I did never in all my life-time make any Entry or Entries into any Book or Books or take or make or write or cause to be written into any Book or books or otherwise any Letter or Letters or any Copy or Copies of any Letter or Letters written by the said Edward Coleman to any person or persons whatsoever 7. That I did never in all my life-time enter or register into any Book or books Paper or papers whatsoever or take or make or Write or cause to be written any Copy or Copies of any Act or Acts Consult or Consults Determination or Determinations Order or Orders Resolve or Resolves or other matter or thing at any time made determined resolved passed decreed or agitated at any Congregation or Congregations Consult or Consults Chapter or Chapters Assembly or Assemblies of the Society or Order of the Jesuits or of any other Religions Order whatsoever nor did I ever see read or heard read nor did any person or persons at any time whatsoever ever Communicate unto me any such Act Consult Determination Order Resolve Matter or Thing whatsoever 8. That I did never in all my life-time to my knowledg belief or remembrane see or speak with Mr. Bedloe who gave Evidence against me at my Tryal until I saw him in that Court wherein he gave Evidence against me 9. That after the moneth of November which was in the year of our Lord 1677. I did never see or speak with Mr. Titus Oates before named until I saw him in the same Court where he gave Evidence against me at my Tryal 10. That I did never see in all my life-time to my knowledge belief or remembrance any Commission or Commissions Pattent or Patents Grant or Grants Order or Orders Instrument or Instruments Writing or Writings or other matter or thing whatsoever under or pretended to be under the Hand and Seal or the Hand or the Seal of Johannes Paulus de Oliva or any other General of the Jesuits whatsoever other then the Paper or Instrument produced and shewed unto me in the said Court at my Tryal which whether it was signed or sealed by the said de Oliva I do not know 11. That I did never in all my life-time write or cause or procure to be written any Treasonable Letter or Letters whatsoever or any thing which was or is Treason or Treasonable in any Letter or Letters Book or books Paper or papers or otherwise howsoever 12. That I believe that if I did know or should know of any Treason or Treasonable Design that was or is intended or should be intended against His said Majesty or the Government of this His Majesties Kingdom or for the Alteration by force advice or otherwise of the said Government or of the Religion now established in this Kingdom and should conceal and not discover the same unto his said Majesty or his said Majesties Council or Ministers or some of them that such concealment would be in me a sin unto Death and Eternal Damnation 13. That I do believe that it is no ways lawful for me to lye or speak any thing which I know to be untrue or to commit any sin or do any Evil that Good may come of it And that it is not in the Power of any Priest or of the Pope or of God himself to give me a Licence to Lie or to speak any thing which I know to be untrue because every such Lye would be a sin against Truth And Almighty God who is perfect Truth cannot give me a License to commit a sin against his own Essence And I do solemnly in the presence of God Profess Testify and Declare That as I hope for Salvation and expect any benefit by the Blood and Passion of my dearest Saviour Jesus Christ I do make this Declaration
an Artifice to cheat the World and manifestly to damn their Souls even according to their own profest Doctrine and Tenets Besides do not our Adversaries by this wild Dream show not only their own Barbarity and Ignorance but affront and call Villains the greatest and the most eminent parts of the Civiliz'd World and certainly should one of them say to a Knight of Maltha or to a Teutonick Knight or to any other Catholick Cavalier That he was not to be belieâ—ed since he might by his principles lye anâ— forswear at pleasure he would I must tell him be soon Kick'd and bastanado'd for it But my Lords and Gent if this Calumny which carrys some Alleviation in it as having the Ignorant and Rabble for it's chief Abettors be never the less shocking what must the Aspersion do which is reviv'd by a Nobler and Learneder hand I mean by the present Bishop of Lincoln Yet if it be a breach of CHRISTIANITY to crush the bruised Reed and of GENEROSITY also to Trample on the Oppressed I wish his Lordship may be found Guilty of neither and that there never rise any such who in hopes of Applause shall contrary to the Light of their own Consciences reprint a Martyn-Marprelate a Cobler of Glocester or any Scandalous Pasquil should EPISCOPACY by some foolish Accident or Misfortune fall again within the Fury of the people But who could think that his Lordships heat against us should force himeven to a TITLE that has confuted his whole Book viz. That Popish Principles and Positions when really believed are destructive and dangerous to all Kings especially Protestants for he cannot Term them Principles of Faith because they were never thus believ'd by any Catholick nor never thus approved of by the Church and consequently nothing to his purpose But if on the other side he means that there have been Popish Doctors of the Opinion That Princes might be deposed upon the Account of Religion what advantage I would fain know can that be to his Lordship or his Treatise since not onlyall the prime Leaders of the REFORMATION as Luther Calvin Zainglus Beza c. have in express Termes held the same and in pursuance of it rais'd Rebellions and Confusions in all Countrys where they had footing but also since very great Pillars of the Church of England it self have taught it too as appears in Queen Mary's Case in that of the Queen of Scots who was at least the Vndâ—ubted Heir and in later Efforts also of the same nature and doubtless he that believes he can disinherit a Lawfull Successor with Justice upon the account of Religion will hardly find Arguments of Force to keep the Prince in being on his Throne when ever this happen's to be imputed to him Nay we have several Protestants here who cry up the Bishop of Lincoln's Book at a strange raâ—e and yet avow this printed Doctrine That God not only rais'd Johu to purge the Idolaters of Ahab's House c. but That there is no Reformed Church from the first Waldenses to this Day that have not held such a Procedure lawful These things consider'd as they have been often I dare say by his Lordship he expected not certainly of us to think that he believ'd what he writ for then we should he knew have requir'd him to shew us at least some Catholick Potentate or other nor want they Worldly Wit or Inclinations we see abandoning this pretended dangerous and troublesom Religion either out of Ambition or Safety No my Lords and Gentlemen that is now a thing hardly within the reach of Speculation for Who find themselves so Flourishing and Great as they Or can it be said That the Monarchy of England has gotten by the Reformation when Protestants acknowledge and what desperate Enemies that has Created us may be easily imagin'd That nothing but Popery or at least its Principles can make it again emerge or lasting Does not his Lordship therefore play at Cross-purposes with us and is not his Meaning in truth this That Protestant Principles when really believ'd are-destructive to all Kings and especially to Catholick ones since we see that the Lawful Monarchs and Princes of England Scotland Swedland Denmark the Vnited Provinces Transilvania Geneva c. have been actually Depos'd by their Protestant Subjects not only as Florimundus Raimundus and Popish Writers shew us but as Dr. Heylin and other Protestants have laboriously made it appear Nor has the Pope in all that time pretended to the giving away of any Crowns except those of France and England For the Defence of which several zealous and noted Catholicks appear'd as well with their Swords as Pens Nor could this Imputation have been worse timed as to his Lordships purpose by him seeing there was a Protestant Rebellion then actually in Hungary to the great Danger of Christendom and another newly broken out in Scotland for the Subversion of the English Monarchy and this also usher'd in by the Barbarous Murther Of the Arch-Bishop of St. Andrews What Parity then is there between VS and our Adversaries either in our Actions or Books of this Nature And truely we are so far from holding the Deposing Power of the Church an Article of Faith that the Greatest Defenders of it have absolutely declared the contrary For does not Cardinal Peron in his famous Speech to the Nobility of France tell us That the Proposition is PROBLEMATICAL and does not C. Bellarmine the Pope's great Champion in his Answer to Barclay who writ so smartly against it call the Assertion only ARROGANT and TEMERARIOVS In short There is no Writer though never so zealous for the Opinion that sayes That Men of the contrary Sentiment are out of the State of Grace as in truth they are that asseâ—t not to Articles of Faith This also plainly shews that no Council ever impos'd it on our Belief seeing it has been and is still without Censure denyed even by those that would dye for the Pope's Supremacy Nay besides former Authors the Catholicks â—f England have written four Books since the King's Restauration to this very purpose I say the Catholick's of England have done it who are so scrupulous in Doctrines of Faith that they deem it Damnation to deny the least Article and therefore will not you see to save their Lives and Estates profess one thing and believe another But his Lordship which adds nothing to his Ingenuity is so far from answering these Authors by shewing their Fallacies and Errors that he never so much as cites them to this purpose so that we must conclude them unanswerable for he could not but have heard of them when we find him pretending to so great an Insight in all our Books that to shew his Reading he has quoted our very Almanack But since his Lordship has mention'd this notable Tome I hope he will not take it ill if I say That his whole Work has been already answered by a Treatise of the
serve thee in this life by Grace and injoy thee in the next by Glory be pleased to grant by the merits of thy bitter Death and Passion that after this wretched life shall be ended I may not fail of a full injoyment of thee my last end and soverain good I humbly beg pardon for all the sins which I have committed against thy Divine Majesty since the first Instant I came to the use of Reason to this very time I am heartily sorry from the very bottom of my heart for having offended thee so good so powerful so wise and so just a God and purpose by the help of thy Grace never more to offend thee my good God whom I love above all things O sweet Jesus who hast suffer'd a most painful and ignominious Death upon the Cross for our Salvation apply I beseech thee unto me the merits of thy Sacred Passion and sanctify unto me these sufferings of mine which I humbly accept of for thy sake in union of the sufferings of thy sacred Majesty and in punishment and satisfaction of my sins O My dear Saviour and Redeemer I return thee immortal thanks for all thou hast pleased to do for me in the whole course of my life and now in the hour of my Death with a firm belief of all things thou hast revealed and a stedfast hope of obtaining everlasting bliss I chearfully cast my self into the Arms of thy Mercy whose Arms were stretched upon the Cross for my Redemption Sweet Jesus receive my Spirit Mr. Gavan's Speach DEarly beloved Countrey-men I am come to the last Scene of Mortality to the hour of my Death an hour which is the Horizon between Time and Eternity an hour which must either make me a Star to shine for ever in heaven above or a Firebrand to burn everlastingly amongst the damned Souls in Hell below an hour in which if I deal sincerely and with a hearty sorrow acknowledge my Crimes I may hope for mercy but if I falsely deny them I must expect nothing but Eternal Damnation and therefore what I shall say in this great Hour I hope you will believe And now in this hour I do solemnly swear protest and vow by all that is Sacred in Heaven and on Earth and as I hope to see the Face of God in Glory that I am as innocent as the Child unborn of those Treasonable Crimes which Mr. Oates and Mr. Dugdale have Sworn against me in my Trial and for which Sentence of Death was pronounced against me the day after my Trial. And that you may be assured that what I say is true I do in like manner protest vow and swear as I hope to see the Face of God in Glory that I do not in what I say unto you make use of any Equivocation or mental Reservation or material Prolation or any such like way to palliate Truth Neither do I make use of any Dispensations from the Pope or any body else or of any Oath of Secresy or any Absolutions in Confesion or out of Confession to deny the Truth but I speak in the plain sence which the words bear and if I do speak in any other sence to palliate or hide the truth I wish with all my Soul that God may exclude me from his Heavenly Glory and condemn me to the lowest place of Hell Fire and so much to that point And now dear Country-men in the second place I do confess and own to the whole World that I am a Roman Catholick and a Priest and one of that sort of Priests called Jesuits and now because they are so falsly charged for holding King-killing Doctrine I think it my duty to protest to you with my last dying words that neither I in particular nor the Jesuits in general hold any such opinion but utterly abhor and detest it and I assure you that amongst the vast number of Authors which among the Jesuits have Printed Philosophy Divinity Cases or Sermons there is not one to the best of my knowledge that allows of King killing Doctrine or holds this position That it is lawful for a private Person to kill a King although an Heretick although a Pagan although a Tyrant there is I say not one Jesuit that holds this except Mariana the Spanish Jesuit and he defends it not absolutely but only problematically for which his Book was called in and that opinion expunged and censured Aud is it not a sad thing that for the rashness of one single Man whilst the rest cry out against him and hold the contrary that a whole Religious Order should be sentenc'd But I have not time to discuss this point at large and therefore I refer you all to a Royal Author I mean the wise and victorious King Henry the Fourth of France the Royal Grandfather of our present gracious King in a publick Oration which he pronounced in defence of the Jesuits amongst other things declaring that he was very well satisfied with the Jesuits Doctrine concerning Kings as being conformable to the best Doctors in the Church But why do I relate the testimony of one single Prince when the whole Catholick World is the Jesuits Advocate therein Does not Germany France Italy Spain and Flanders trust the Education of their Youth to them in a very great measure Do not they trust their own Souls to be governed by them in the administration of the Sacraments And can you imagin so many great Kings and Princes and so many wise States should do or permit this to be done in their Kingdoms if the Jesuits were men of such damnable principles as they are now taken for in England In the third place dear Countrey-men I do protest that as I never in my life did machine or contrive either the deposition or death of the King so now at my death I do hartily desire of God to grant him a quiet and happy Reign upon Earth and an Everlasting Crown in Heaven For the Judges also and the Jury and all those that were any ways concern'd either in my Tryal Accusation or Condemnation I do humbly beg of God to grant them both Temporal and Eternal happiness And as for Mr. Oates and Mr. Dugdale I call God to witness they by false Oaths have brought me to this untimely end I hartily forgive them because God commands me so to do and I beg God for his infinite Mercy to grant them true Sorrow and Repentance in this World that they may be capable of Eternal happiness in the next And having discharged my Duty towards my self and my own Innocence towards my Order and its Doctrine to my Neighbour and the World I have nothing else to do now my great God but to cast my self into the Arms of your Mercy I believe you are One Divine Essence and Three Divine Persons I believe that you in the Second Person of the Trinity became Man to redeem me and I believe you are an Eternal Rewarder of the Good and an Eternal Chastiser of
of Glorious Memory fell under I pray god forgive my Enemies as I freely do those that Accused me those that witnessed against me and all others that either desired my Blood or rejoyce at the shedding of it and all Persons that have any ways concern'd themselves with me I freely forgive them with all my Soul and beg my dear Jesus to forgive them and all others God Almighty bless you and bless the whole Nation and the Government and preserve it from all Evil and Mischief that I am afraid is coming on it for the shedding of Innocent Blood Sweet Jesus lay not my Innocent Blood to their Charge I shall say no more now Publickly Asked the Executioner Whether the Rope was right or no He said Yes and he asked him Whether he did forgive him To which Mr. Langhorne said I freely do I shall now recommend my self to God in Private S. You may have liberty The Writer The Lord have Mercy on your Soul L. The Lord in Heaven Reward your Charity Crost himself pray'd again Blessed Jesus into thy Hands I recommend my Soul and Spirit now at this instant take me into Paradice I am desirous to be with my Jesus I am ready and you need stay no longer for me Concerning Sr. George Wakeman Mr. Corker Mr Marsh alias Marshal and Mr. Rumley THese were Tryed at the Old Bayley on the 18. of July against whom Dugdale first appearing repeats his former Story of his knowing long ago somthing of the Plot but more particularly about two years since That the Killing of the King and Duke of Monmouth was told him by the Priests and my L'd. Stafford That Hartcourts Letters besides others were ever directed to him frought with the Business of the Plot That he open'd many of them privately and that he kept those he could not handsomly Seal again which Reader infinitly amaz'd the Auditory as not being able to imagin why if he were such a Privado he should play such Tricks with his Fellows and especially when there was no design or Advantage in it for he had not one of them to produce as the Prisoners urg'd Nor could any body comprehend how the Conspirators themselves should have Letters of such Concern intercepted and not be presently in an Uproar Then he said that Sr. James Symons Mr. Howard Mr. Gerard and Mr. Adderley were to be Officers in the Army which was to be rais'd That he saw St. Omer Acquittances of July last of the Payment of the money for this Affair That in a Letter directed to him there was also caution given That no Rumor should be of Armes or any thing else till the King were dispatch'd but he could not now recollect either who wrot it or its Date or from whence it came and yet 't was brought by the Common Post all which seem'd very strange to the Court nor did the Prisoners besides the other mad Assertions fail often to insist upon this Letter so that Dugdal being perplex'd Confounded was forc'd to run to another forsooth brought by a particular Messenger and Communicated also to my Lord Aston which at last prov'd as wild and odd as the former for it came he said from Paris and from Sr. John Warner as he thinks promising them not only all Assistance but advising them also to lay the Kings murther on the King-killing Presbiterians which would make the Church of England joyn with the Papists to cut them off and that my Lord Stafford Bellasis and Arundel did approve of this Advice by setting their very Hands to it which Reader was incredible Moreover he affirmed besides the notice of Sr. E. Godfreys Death as before That my Lord Stafford who came down about July last offer'd him 500 l. as a present Encouragement for Killing the King and to be received at his Arrival at London in October That they had all a great Confidence in him for he had bin free of his Purse in giving the Priests 400 l. secur'd upon Lands and 100 l. more on promise a passage Mr. Corker made sport with as thinking it very pleasant and prety for him to give 500 l. with one hand for the promotion of the Cause and then for Encouragement to receive as much with the other Nor had Dâ—gdal any better Reply ready than that my Lord Stafford he supposes knew not of the money given before by him which was far from answering the Difficulty why such a Zealot as he should have Encouragement for his bare personal help even out of the present publick Stock especially when he confesses the Contributions were so backward that Mr. Peter ' s complain'd to him of it But the Evidence that made the most Mirth both then and since was Mr. Whites Letter sent by the Common Post as he also mentions in the former Tryal to command Mr. Evers in express Terms To Choose hardy persons to kill the King for the Expedient in case Letters did miscarry which made not a few Laugh outright was That he the said Dugdal should be the only Person hang'd the Jesuits having as he assures the Court so devised it That they never subscib'd but two Letters of their names and the packet being directed to him he was upon all accidents to deny it and to observe the Secrecy which they had at least ten times sworn him to and then they could not be discover'd he said but must go free seeing all was flung upon him This Evidence being thus without either Head or Taile Rhyme or Reason the King's Counsel told the Prisoners that it was not to affect any in particular but to prove the Plot in general whereupon Sr. G. Wakeman readily answered That it was the worst made out that ever any thing was he believes â—rance therfore being next repeats also his old Tale and among the particulars of my Lord Arundel's Butler's acquainting him That the King was to be killed by Mr. Messenger and then Mr. Messenger's Answering him afterwards in surprize when he found â—rance knew it That they were now off the Business and then he adds as new That Mr. Paston told him that Sr. Henry Benningfield Mr. Stoner and Mr. Talbot of Long-ford had Commissions to to raise an Army which was to be Govern'd by the Ld's Bellasis Powis and Peters as Gâ—ove assur'd him whilst he was buying silver Spoons of him for a Christning Then stood up a new Witness to wit Mr. Robert Jennison who said That Mr. Ireland told him in June 78 his sister Anne Ireland being by that there was hope of the Restauration of their Religion that only one stood in the Gap and that it was easie to poyson the King That he the said Witness call'd it a horrid Action That Mrs Ireland did rebuke her Brother for talking so who answered That he thought it ought not to be done That Mr. Jennison reply'd that Violence would never do the thing it being a Scandal