it must have fallen if the King had died without Heir VI. If the Regality then be not Descended but thus Laps'd to the People and that this most Excellent Government is therein become Defective whether it be not of necessity that this defect be supplied by a speedy Constituting some Person to that Office Power and Trust to compleat the Government VII If that be so Then what Person in this present Juncture of Affairs is most proper to be therewith Invested Whetheâ— one who at the Nations charge at all Times and upon all Occasiâ—ns and to the utmost Extremities hath given undeniable Evidence to the World of his constant Resolution and endeavours to Subvert the Religion Laws and Liberties of his People Or one who at his own Charge and at the peril of his own Honour Life and Fortune hath Rescued and Delivered the Nation from that deploâ—able Condition and Danger and whose Wisdom Vertue Courage and Conduct is an Honour to the Age the Joy of all good Men and the Fear of Bad both here and abroad and who must adorn that People over whom he shall preside VIII If then the Crown be thus fallen and must be placed de novo Whether it was ever more necessary than now to settle and limit the Succession thereof as it hath been often done by Parliament in regard there are but Three Persons of the Protestant Religion anâ— oâ— the Royal Blood viz. his Highness and the Two Princesses not much different in Age beyond whom the Descendants are many and all Roman Catholicks IX Whether then it may not be adviseable it be limited to the Prince for Life the Remainder to his Princess and the Heirs of her Body the Remainder to the Princess Ann and the Heirs of her Body the Remainder to the Prince and the Heirs of his Body In Default of such Issue to such Person and Persons as the Lords and Commons then last sitting in Parliament shall Declare and Appoint X. Whether such Limitation will not avoid all Questions which may at present or hereafter arise touching the Title of the Crown either near or remote and settle and preserve the Peace of the Nation for ever XI Whether so doing will not prevent any scruple her Highness may have of accepting the Crown in her Father's Life-time as did arâ—se in the Son of King Edward the Second XII Whether thereby the Nation will not in some measure express its Duty and Gratitude to his Highness who under God hath â—redeemed and Delivered it from Popery and Slavery and raised his own Merit above the level of a Subject XIII Whether this Great Prince whom God hath advanced for the Conduct and Safety of the Protestant World will not be the steer to accomplish those Glorious Ends XIV Whether the Two Royal Daughters consâ—dering such his Highness's securing their Right and Succession to the Crown of these Realms against all Popish Endeavours to hinder the same will not see just Cause to promote the Limitations aforesaid XV. And lastly Whether the Wisdom and Interest of the Nation doth not oblige all good Men to concur with his Highness and his most Noble Declaration and Gracious Designs To Establish their Religion their Liberties and Properties beyond all Humane Power of Violation or Subversion for the Time to come A Modest PROPOSAL to the present CONVENTION THE thing that ofiers it self in this great Conjuncture is to have a Grand Committee of Lords and Commons Forty at least from each House to be as a Privy Council or Council of State or Governing Senate It were to be wished that Twenty of each Forty might be for Life and the other Twenty Biennial Ten going off every Year Or half might be changed Annually Each Senator or Counsellor to have for his Salary or Maintenance a Thousand Pounds a Year This would be such an Advancement to the Nobility and Gentry as England never saw And the Charge is a Trifle There is more spâ—nt in some Monarchies upon Hawks Hounds and Whores The Prince to preside in this Council or Senate or such Person as he shall appoint in his stead and to have Ten Votes at least He must also be General and Admiral and must have such further Powers and such a Maintenance or Revenue as his Great Merits require But withal such as are consistent with the Government he designs for us The Prince's Maintenance should equal or exceed that of all the Senators put together All that are of this Council and all that hope to be that is all the Considerable Men of the Nation will by this means be firm to the Prince And so will those others who have the great Priviledge of Choosing them whereby they may have Confidence in their Administration And this one thing will give the Prince so strong an Interest that he needs fear no Pretension that can be against him It will be better than a Standing Army The necessity whereof nothing can prevent but such a Standing Council The Parliament to be Chosen Triermially and to meet Annually It is believed that such a Constitution as this would effectually Secure us according to the Princes good Intentions from Popery and Tyranny And the Prince will be the glorious Author of the Britannick Liberty as his Great Grand-Father was of the Belgick The Genoeses to this day adore the Memory of Andrew Doria who chose rather to make them a Free State than to be their Prince Barely to change our Master would but revive the Feuds of York and Lancaster and involve us in the like Calamities These things to continue but during the Life of the King and not to prejudice a Protestant Successor A Short Historical Account touching the Succession of the CROWN IN the Heptarchy there was no sixt Hereditary Right one King tripping up the Heels of another as he had Power till one got all Afterward no sixt Hereditary Right for Althestan the Great King was a Bastard and so were several others why by then Courage and Policy got the Crown so that a Law was made under the Saxon Monarchy de Ordinatione Regnam that directed the Election of Kings prohibiting Bastards to be Elected Edward the Confessor was not King Iure Haereditario William the First called the Conqueror had no Right buâ— from the Peoples Election William Ruffus was Elected against the Right of his Elder Bâ—othâ—â— Henry the First came in by the same way King Stephen was Elected a Clero Populo and Confirmeâ— by the Popo Henry the Second came in by Consent yet he had no Hereditary Right for his Mother was living Richard the First was charged before God and Men by the Arch-Bishop upon his Coronation that he should not presume to take the Crown unless he resolved faithfully to observe the Laws King Iohn his Brother because his Elder Brother's Son was a Foreigner was Elected a Clero Populo and being Divorced from his Wife by his new Queen he had Henry the Third Henry the Third was Confirmed
sometimes even very anciently when upon extraordinary Occasions they met out of Course a Precept an Edict or Sanction is mentioned to have issued from the King But the times and the very place of their ordinary Meeting having been certain and determined in the very first and eldest times that we meet with any mention of such Assemblies which times are as ancient as any Memory of the Nation it self hence I infer that no Summons from the King can be thought to have been necessary in those Days because it was altogether needless Secondly The Succession to the Crown did not in those Days nor till of late Years run in a course of lineal Succession by right of Inheritance But upon the Death of a Prince those Persons of the Realm that composed the then Parliament assembled in order to the choosing of another That the Kingdom was then Elective though one or other of the Royal Blood was always chosen but the next in lineal Succession very seldom is evident from the Genealogies of the Saxon Kings from an old Law made at Calchuyth appointing how and by whom Kings shall be chosen and from many express and particular Accounts given by our old Historians of such Assemblies held for electing of Kings Now such Assemblies could not be summon'd by any King and yet in Conjunction with the King that themselves set up they made Laws binding the King and all the Realm Thirdly After the Death of King William Rufus Robert his elder Brother being then in the Holy Land Henry the youngest Son of King William the first procur'd an Assembly of the Clergy and People of England to whom he made large Promises of his good Government in case they would accept of him for their King and they agreeing that if he would restore to them the Laws of King Edward the Confessor then they would consent to make him their King He swore that he would do so and also free them from some Oppressions which the Nation had groan'd under in his Brothers and his Fathers time Hereupon they chose him King and the Bishop of London and the Archbishop of York set the Crown upon his Head which being done a Confirmation of the English Liberties pass'd the Royal Assent in that Assembly the same in Substance though not so large as King Iohn's and King Henry the thirds Magna Charta's afterwards were Fourthly After that King's Death in such another Parliament King Stephen was elected and Mawd the Express put by though not without some Stain of Perfidiousness upon all those and Stephen himself especially who had sworn in her Father's Life-time to acknowledg her for their Sovereign after his Decease Fifthly In King Richard the firsts time the King being absent in the Holy Land and the Bishop of Ely then his Chancellor being Regent of the Kingdom in his Absence whose Government was intolerable to the People for his Insolence and manifold Oppressions a Parliament was convened at London at the Instance of Earl Iohn the King's Brother to treat of the great and weighty Affairs of the King and Kingdom in which Parliament this same Regent was depos'd from his Government and another set up viz. the Arch-Bishop of Roan in his stead This Assembly was not conven'd by the King who was then in Palestine nor by any Authority deriv'd from him for then the Regent and Chancellor must have call'd them together but they met as the Historian says expresly at the Instance of Earl Iohn And yet in the Kings Absence they took upon them to settle the publick Affairs of the Nation without him Sixthly When King Henry the 3 d. died his eldest Son Prince Edward was then in the Holy Land and came not home till within the third Year of his Reign yet immediately upon the Father's Death all the Prelates and Nobles and four Knights for every Shire and four Burgesses for every Borough assembled together in a great Council and setled the Government till the King should return made a new Seal and a Chancellor c. I infer from what has been said that Writs of Summons are not so essential to the being of Parliaments but that the People of England especially at a time when they cannot be had may by Law and according to our old Constitution assemble together in a Parliamentary way without them to treat of and settle the publick Affairs of the Nation And that if such Assemblies so conven'd find the Throne vacant they may proceed not only to set up a Prince but with the Assent and Concurrence of such Prince to transact all publick Business whatsoever without a new Election they having as great Authority as the People of England can delegate to their Representative II. The Acts of Parliaments not formal nor legal in all their Circumstances are yet binding to the Nation so long as they continue in force and not liable to be questioned as to the Validity of them but in subsequent Parliaments First The two Spencers Temp. Edvardi Secundi were banished by Act of Parliament and that Act of Parliament repealed by Dures Force yet was the Act of Repeal a good Law till it was annull'd 1 Ed. 3. Secondly Some Statutes of 11 Rich. 2. and Attainders thereupon were repealed in a Parliament held Anno 21. of that King which Parliament was procur'd by forc'd Elections and yet the Repeal stood good till such time as in 1 Henry 4. the Statutes of 11 Rich. 2. were revived and appointed to be firmly held and kept Thirdly The Parliament of 1 Hen. 4. consisted of the same Knights Citizens and Burgesses that had served in the then last dissolved Parliament and those Persons were by the King's Writs to the Sheriffs commanded to be returned and yet they passed Acts and their Acts tho never confirmed continue to be Laws at this Day Fourthly Queen Mary's Parliament that restored the Pope's Supremacy was notoriously known to be pack'd insomuch that it was debated in Queen Elizabeth's time whether or no to declare all their Acts void by Act of Parliament That course was then upon some prudential Considerations declined and therefore the Acts of that Parliament not since repealed continue binding Laws to this Day The Reason of all this is Because no inferior Courts have Authority to judg of the Validity or Invalidity of the Acts of such Assemblies as have but so much as a Colour of Parliamentary Authority The Acts of such Assemblies being entred upon the Parliament-Roll and certified before the Judges of Westminster-Hall as Acts of Parliament are conclusive and binding to them because Parliaments are the only Judges of the Imperfections Invalidities Illeâ—â—lities c. of one another The Parliament that call'd in King Charles the second was not assembled by the King 's Writ and yet they made Acts and the Royal Assent was had to them many of which indeed were afterwards confirmed but not all and those that had no Confirmation are undoubted Acts of Parliament without it and have ever
for the future I cannot tell but for any one to understand it so as if his Highness meant that there could be no Security against the Nations Relapse if the King be not deposed and he himself put into Possession of the Throne is I am sure an Interpretation very disadvantageous to his Honour and looks more like a Jesuitical Equivocation than that Candor and Christian Sincerity which hath brightned and rendered illustrious all the Actions of his Highness both at home and abroad The Answerer also to the Reflecter upon his Highness's Declaration will not permit us to harbour any such Suspicions as if a Crown was the End of this Expedition All such says he pag. 23 24. as believe the Prince of Orange has brought this Army and intends to make War upon England and subdue it to his mere Will and Pleasure trample all Laws both Divine and Human under feet dethrone his present Majesty and make himself King they will stay and fight for him sc. the King or at least to the best of their Power in some manner assist and help him On the contrary such as believe that the Prince's meaning is nothing of all this c. Here you see that this Author who 't is to be supposed was not unacquainted with the Prince's Intentions utterly rejects it as a false Imputation that his Highness came to dethrone his present Majesty and make himself King. Nay he thought himself obliged so fully to declare against this scandalous Report that he seems to have encouraged all those who believed it To stay and fight for the King or at least to the best of their power in some manner assist and help him So far was this Gentleman from entertaining any such thoughts of the Prince's Expedition which some Men nevertheless do now so industriously labor to make the effect of it There is another thing which makes well-meaning Men apt to suspect the present management and with holds them from closing with it so fully as otherwise its probable they might do That Paper which goes under the Title of the Prince's Third Declaration is as I am credibly informed none of his and is disowned by the Prince himself Now this pretended Declaration coming out when the Army was in such a dubious Condition and fluctuating betwixt the King and the Prince did more harm to the King's Affairs than all the other Papers I believe published at that time And if this was no real but a sham Declaration and yet was permitted without Contradiction 't is plain that Sophistry and Tricks are made use of as lawful Polices and that any kind of means are permitted if they will but do the business and serve the present turn This makes plain and honest Men who have no Ends to serve but what are just and are willing to use no kind of Means but what are so This makes them shie and cautious of engaging too far in those Designs which they see carried on by crafty and deceitful Artifices working under a Military Power and Force ready to defend them I might mention the great number of Papists in the Dutch Army as another disswasive from venturing our selves in this bottom We are afraid of Papists of all sorts and of all Countrie German and Dutch as well as French and Irish the Constitutions of the one may be more harmless than of the other but the Principles of both we know are equally destructive and when occasion serves who knows but that the Principle may prevail over the Constitution and the Papist get the better of the Dutch-man 'T is ill trusting Popery in any shape This is a Root which wherever it is planted can bring forth no good Fruit. The Bogs of Holland cannot we think make it less malignant than those of Ireland To come to a conclusion there remain several things to be cleared before we can altogether comply with what is now prosecuted with so much Zeal That the Prince of W. is a supposititious Child That a League was made by our King with the King of France for the Destruction of his Protestant Subjects and rooting out our Religion under the Notion of the Northern Heresy That the late King was poysoned and that the Earl of Essex was murthered These things we desire may be proved and then we cannot but agree that nothing can be too bad for the guilty Authors These are such damnable Villanies such horrid Crimes that both the Principles and Accessories ought to be esteemed and treated no better than Tories and Banditti Men of seared and profligate Consciences forsaken of God and Enemies to Mankind But then seeing these are such heavy Accusations and grievous Charges they ought certainly to be well proved before they be believed and produced as Arguments against the Life Honour and Estate of any Person for si satis esset accusasse c. If it be enough to accuse where should we find an innocent Person If these dreadful things can be made out it would I believe not only confirm Protestants in their deserved Detestation of Popery but create even in the minds of honest Papists themselves an Aversation to their own Religion when they shall see it contriving and executing such cruel and unnatural Works of darkness To see a Father setting up a pretended Son against the Interest of his own undoubted Children to behold a King bargaining for the Destruction of his own Subjects to represent to our Minds one Brother preparing the deadly Cup for the other who yet ventur'd his Crown rather than he would exclude him from the hopes of it in Reversion to look upon the same Royal Person plotting and managing the Assassination of a Captive and helpless Peer These are such dismal Sights and melancholick Scenes so full of Horror and barbarous Cruelty that they must needs make sad Impressions upon the Hearts even of the boldest Spectators insomuch that if they were proved they would most effectually prejudice all Men against the Author of such monstrous Barbarities and go near to extinguish all Obligations of Duty which otherwise they might owe to his Person and Authority We must therefore call again for the Proof of these things or else we cannot because we ought not to believe them upon bare Surmise and Hear-say If these Accusations be cleared once who can reverence the Person guilty of them as the Father of his Country and not rather avoid and fly from him as the worst of Tyrants But if these things be still kept in the Clouds and wrap'd up in uncertain Ambiguities all wise Men will think that it would have been better if they never had been mentioned because this doth but raise the Peoples Zeal for the present which if not kept up by real Evidence will be apt to turn to the other Extream and commiserate the Cause which before it prosecuted with so much violence The higher Mens Resentments are raised by objecting the most notorious Crimes the lower will they fall if Truth and plain
Steeds managed and used to War in Head-Pieces Back and Breast bright Armour 2. 200 Blacks brought from the Plantations of the Netherlands in America having on Imbroider'd Caps lin'd with white Fur and Plumes of White Feathers to attend the Horse 3. 200 Finlanders or Laplanders in Bears Skins taken from the Wild Beasts they had slain the common Habit of that cold Climate with black Armour and broad flaming Swords 4. 50 Gentlemen and as many Pages to attend and support the Prince's Banner bearing this Inscrption GOD and the PROTESTANT RELIGION 5. 50 Led-Horses all manag'd and brought up to the Wars with two Grooms to each Horse and two Coaches of State. 6. After these Rid the Prince on a Milk-white Palfrey armed Cap-a-Pee a Plum of White Feathers on his Head all in bright Armour and forty two Foot-men running by him 7. After his Highness followed likewise on Horseback 200 Gentlemen and Pages 8. 300 Switzers with Fuzees 9. 500 Volunteers each two led-Horses 10. His Captain and Guards 600 armed Cap-a-Pee The rest of the Army brought up the Reer Saturday most part of the day and Sabbath-day and Monday and Tuesday the main Body of the Army came and most of them only some few Regiments of Foot marched to Tiverton Collumpton Honiton c. and to the Neighbouring Parishes and the Foot to Clist-beath where they incamped and pitch'd their Tents The Bishop fled and is come for London and we hear is made Arch-bishop of York the Dean likewise withdrew whose House the Prince took for his Lodgings The Lord's-day Dr. Burnet preach'd at the Cathedral on the last Verse of 107 th Psalm wherein he observed the wonderful Providence of God towards them in the whole Conduct of Affairs in this Undertaking and how they intended to have landed the 4 th of November if it had been possible it being the Prince's Birth-day and the Day of his Marriage to the Princess but they could not possibly make the Land and so could not get the Shoar till the 5 th that England's Deliverance might be begun on the same Day that it was formerly designed for Ruin and Destruction On Monday all the Canons that were in Town were summoned to appear in the Quire and likewise the Singing-Men when after they had sung Te Deum Dr. Burnet read the Prince's Declaration and after the Declaration a short Prayer for the Success of the Prince and so departed There was not one of the Canons appeared and when the Declaration was reading the Singing-Men went away they being commanded in the Service to forbear praying for the Prince of Wales Monday Captain Burrington who lives by Crediton came to the Prince and offered him his Service who was very kindly received by Him after that every day the Gentry from all parts of Devonshire Somersetshire c. flocked to him in great numbers it would take up too much time to name them few absenting themselves and those that did there is great notice taken of them they have entered into an Association to stand and fall with the Prince several Lords came to him while here as the Lord Colchester the Lord Abbington the Lord Cornbury the Lord Shrewsbury c. It is incredible to tell you what they have brought with them except you saw it there being 200 of their Ships come into the River of Topsham Plymouth Fort is surrendered to the Prince by the Lord of Bath and the Lord Huntington and the Popish Officers that were therein with Father Turner are seized and secured and the Popish Souldiers discharged and coming hither and owning themselves such are committed by Mr. Seamour who is made our Governour and one Major Gibson Deputy-Governour Here are several thousands of Souldiers that have listed themselves and many thousands more would have done the same but the Marschal de Schomberg told the Prince there was no need of them so were dismist again They have a vast Treasure with them I am certainly informed of 50 Waggons loaded with Cash They have landed about 120 Field-Guns several of which remain still here the other are gone with the Prince The last News we had was that the Prince was at the Earl of Bristol's which is by Sherborn where we are informed that Prince George the Duke of Grafton the Lord Churchill and Colonel Trelawny met him and that the Prince saluted them in the words of David to the Men of Iudah and Benjamin 1 Chron. 12.17 If ye be come peaceably unto me to help me mine Heart shall be knit unto you but if ye be come to betray me to mine Enemies seeing there is no Wrong in my Hands the God of our Fathers look thereon and rebuke it And they replied in the words of Amasai in the 18 th Verse Thine are we David and on thy side thou Son of Jesse Peace Peace be unto thee and Peace be unto thine Helpers for thy God helpeth thee Then David received them and made them Captains of the Band. The Prince at his going from hence gave the Mayor this Character That he was worthy to be trusted for being faithful to his Trust. A further Account of the Prince's Army in a Letter sent from Exon dated Nov. 24. HAD I not insensibly over-slipt my Time the last Post you had received this then When I came here I endeavoured to inform my self after the best manner I could as to the Number and Quality of the Prince's Army and all generally concluded them to be about 30000 all pick'd Men and many of them personally present at the Siege of Buda This I am certain of that they appeared to be Men resolute well Disciplined and Stout and of an extraordinary Stature and their Arms suitable Musquets Swords and Pikes being far larger than ever I yet saw and notwithstanding the Streets were thronged almost as thick as yours on a Lord-Mayor's Day yet was it even a rarity to see one of them shorter than six Foot and some of them were I am confident six foot and a quarter if not six foot and an half in Height So that were it lawful to trust in an Arm of Flesh they might have some cause to presume but the tenour of their words were otherwise their civil deportment and their honesty of paying for what they have and the strictness of their Discipline hinders them from being otherwise winning not a little the Affections of the Country-men who daily resort hither forty or fifty in a Gang to be Listed My Lord Mordent's Regiment was soon compleated which with two others was raised and maintained at the Charge of the Gentry in this County of which Edward Seymour Esq is by the Prince made Governour During his Highness stay here which was till last Wednesday there appeared a Court most splendid composed not only of Foreign but of many of the English Nobility and Gentry which came hither to wait on his Highness since his Arrival of both Ranks upwards to the number of Sixty all mighty Gallant in their Equipage
each striving thereby to add to the Glory of their Design The Gentry of these Parts first seemed slow in their Advances to serve the Prince but as soon as the Ice was broke by Capt Burrington the majority soon followed his steps and have entred into an Association It is to admiration to consider the vast Magazine of all Warlike Utensils brought hither by the Prince's Army their Baggage having for a Fortnight together been continually Landing and yet not fully ended Were it not for the badness of the Roads as I was informed by a private Sentinel they could draw into the Field an Artillery of above 200 Pieces But the greatest Curiosity I yet saw was a Bridg of Boats such as I conceive the Imperialists use to pass over the Danube and Save with which was for the speedy conveyance of their Carriages laid over the River in two or three Hours and afterwards as soon removed not to mention a Smith's Shop or Forge curiously contrived in a Waggon or another Contrivance the Foot carry with them to keep off the Horse which in their manner may well yield the Service of a Pike There hath been lately driven into Dartmouth and since taken a French Vessel loaden altogether with Images and Knives of a very large proportion in length nineteen Inches and in breadth two Inches and an half what they were designed for God only knows THREE LETTERS I. A Letter from a Iesuit of Liege to a Iesuit at Friburg giving an Account of the Happy Progress of Religion in England IT cannot be said what great Affection and Kindness the K. hath for the Society wishing much Health to this whole Colledg by R. P. the Provincial and earnestly recommending himself to our Prayers The Provincial Alexander Regnes being come back for England the K. was graciously pleased to send for him several Earls and Dukes waiting his coming at the hour appointed the Q. being present the King discoursing familiarly with him asked him How many young Students he had and how many Scholasticks To which when the Provincial had answered That of the latter he had Twenty of the former more than Fifty he added That he had need of double or treble that number to perform what he in his Mind had designed for the Society and commanded that they should be very well exercised in the Gift of Preaching for such only saith he do we want in England You have heard I make no doubt that the K. hath sent Letters to Father Le Cheese the French King's Confessor about Wadden-house therein declaring that he would take in good part from him whatsoever he did or was done for the English Fathers of the Society Father Clare Rector of the said House going about those Affairs at London found an easy access to the King and as easily obtained his Desires He was forbid to kneel and kiss the King's Hand as the manner and custom is by the K. himself saying Once indeed your Reverence kissed my Hand but had I then known you were a Priest I should rather have kneeled and kissed your Reverences hand After the Business was ended in a familiar Discourse the K. declared to this Father That he would either Convert England or die a Martyr and that he had rather die to morrow that Conversion wrought than reign fifty Years without that in Happiness and Prosperity Lastly He called himself a Son of the Society the Welfare of which he said he as much rejoiced at as his own And it can scarce be said how joyful he shewed himself when it was told him That he was made partaker by the most Reverend Father N. of all the Merits of the Society of which number he would declare one of his Confessors Some report R. P. the Provincial will be the person but whom he designs is not yet known Many do think an Archbishoprick will be bestowed on Father Edmond Petre chiefly beloved very many a Cardinals Cap to whom within this Month or two that whole part of the K. Palace is granted in which the K. when he was Duke of York used to reside where you may see I know not how many Courtiers daily attending to speak with his Eminency for so they are said to call him upon whose Counsel and also that of several Catholick Peers highly preferred in the Kingdom the K. greatly relyes which way he may promote the Faith without violence Not long since some Catholick Peers did object to the K. that he made too much haste to establish the Faith to whom He answered I growing old must make great steps otherwise if I should die I shall leave you worse than I found you Then they asking him why therefore was he not more sollicitous for the Conversion of his Daughters Heirs of the Kingdom He answered God will take care for an Heir leave my Daughters for me to Convert do you by your example reduce those that are under you and others to the Faith. In most Provinces he hath preferred Catholicks and in a short time we shall have the same Justices of the Peace as they are called in them all At Oxford we hope Matters go very well one of our Divines is always Resident therein a publick Catholick Chappel of the Vice-Chancellor's who hath drawn some Students to the Faith. The Bishop of Oxford seems very much to favour the Catholick Cause He proposed in Council Whether it was not expedient that at least one Colledg in Oxford should be allowed Catholicks that they might not be forced to be at so much Charges by going beyond Seas to Study What Answer was given is not yet known The same Bishop inviting two of our Noblemen with others of the Nobility to a Banquet drank the King's Health to an Heretical Baron there wishing a happy Success to all his Affairs and he added That the Faith of Protestants in England seemed to him to be little better than that of Buda was before it was taken and that they were for the most part mere Atheists who defended it Many do embrace the Faith and four of the chiefest Earls have lately posfessed it publickly The Reverend Father Alexander Regnes Nephew to our Provincial to whom is committed the Care of the Chappel of the Ambassador of the most Serene Elector Palatine is whole days busied in resolving and shewing the Doubts or Questions of Hereticks concerning their Faith of which number you may see two or three continually walking before the Dores of the Chappel disputing about Matters of Faith amongst themselves Prince George we can have nothing certain what Faith he intends to make profession of We have a good while begun to get footing in England We teach Humanity at Lincoln Norwich and York At Warwick we have a publick Chappel secured from all Injuries by the King's Souldiers We have also bought some Houses of the City of Wigorn in the Province of Lancaster The Catholick Cause very much increaseth In some Catholick Churches upon Holy Days above 1500 are always numbred
of Denmark he is is a Prince with whom I cannot discourse about Religion Luther was never more earnest than this Prince It is for this reason that the King who does not love to be denied never yet press'd him in that matter his Majesty thinking it necessary that the Fathers should first prepare things before he undertake to speak to him But this Prince as all of his Nation has naturally an Aversion to our Society and this Antipathy does much obstruct the progress of our Affairs and it would be unreasonable to complain hereof to the King at present to trouble him tho he has an intire Confidence in us and looks upon our Fathers as the Apostles of this Land. As for Ireland that Country is already all Catholick yea all the Militia are so The Vice-Roy merits great Praise we may give him this Honour That he is a Son worthy our Society and I hope will participate of the Merits of it He informs me he has just writ to your Reverence of these matters how things go there Some Catholick Regiments from those parts will speedily be sent for over for the King's Guards his Majesty being resolv'd to trust them rather than others and may do it better in case of any popular Commotion against which we ought to secure our selves the best we can His Majesty does us the Honour to visit our Colledg often and is most pleas'd when we present him some new Convert-Scholars whom he incourages with his gracious Promises I have not Expression sufficient to let you know with what Devotion his Majesty communicated the last Holy-days and a Heretick cannot better make his Court to him than by turning to the Catholick Faith. He desires that all the Religious of what Order soever they be make open Profession as he does not only of the Catholick Religion but also of their Order not at all approving that Priests or Religious should conceal themselves out of Fear and he has told them That he would have them wear the Habit of a Religious and that he will take care to defend them from Affronts And the People are already accustomed to it and we begin to celebrate Funerals with the same Ceremony as in France but it is almost a Miracle to see that no body speaks one word against it no not so much as the Ministers in their Pulpits in so good order has the King managed these Matters Many English Hereticks resort often to our Sermons and I have often recommended to our Fathers to preach now in the beginning as little as they can of the Controversy because that provokes but to represent to them the Beauty and Antiquity of the Catholick Religion that they may be convinc'd that all that has been said and preach'd to them and their own Reflections concerning it have been all Scandal For I find as the Apostle says they must be nourished with Milk not being able to bear strong Meat Many have desir'd me to give them some of our Prayers and even the holy Mass in English which I mean to do to satisfy the meanest sort of which the greatest part do not understand Latin but not to take away from the new Converts their Testaments which is a matter of moment and that we may not disgust them at the beginning we must permit thâ—m to have them for a time till they part with them of themselves I had need of C. H's Counsel upon this Point and not in this only but also in a great many other matters that daily press me for you may easily believe that I have often more business than I can well dispatch and we must work with so much Circumspection and Precaution that I have often need of your Paternity's wise Counsel But the Lord and the good Virgin do strengthen me as there is occasion The Bishop of Oxon has not yet declar'd himself openly the great Obstacle is his Wife whom he cannot rid himself of His design being to continue Bishop and only change Communion as it is not doubted but the King will permit and our holy Father confirm tho I do not see how he can be farther useful to us in the Religion in which he is because he is suspected and of no esteem among the Hereticks of the English Church nor do I see that the-Example of his Conversion is like to draw many others after him because he declar'd himself so suddenly If he had believ'd my Counsel which was to temporize for some longer time he would have done better but it is his Temper or rather Zeal that hurried him on There are two other Prelates that will do no less than he but they hold off alike to see how they may be serviceable to the Propagation and produce more Fruits while they continue undiscover'd That which does us most harm with the Lords and great Men is the apprehension of a Heretick Successor For as a Lord told me lately assure me of a Catholick Successor and I will assure you I and my Family will be so too To this happy purpose the Queen 's happy Delivery will be of very great moment Our zealous Catholicks do already lay two to one that it will be a Prince God does nothing by halves and ever day Masses are said upon this very occasion I have gain'd a very great point in perswading the King to place our Fathers in Madalen-Colledg in Oxon who will be able to tutor the young Scholars in the Roman Catholick Religion I rely much on Father Thomas Fairfax to whom I have given necessary Instructions how to govern himself with the Heretick People and to take care in the beginning that he speak not to them any thing that may terrify And as I tell you a Religious has need here of great Prudence at this time that the King may hear of no Complaints that may displease him and therefore we dare not at present do all we shall be able and bound to do hereafter for fear of too much haring the Mobile I like well that Father Hales goes to stay some time at the Hague incognito on pretence of solliciting for a Place which is not soon to be got there and I have given him a Letter to some of that Court Father Smith that is there now by reason of his great Age not being able to do all he ought and wishes to do and is also too well known there And I shall often impart to you what I shall learn from those Quarters from whence I shall weekly receive something of moment so long as the two Courts are in so bad Intelligence together as at present they are For my part to speak freely on this Topick to your Reverend Fatherhood I am of opinion we should rather endeavour to moderate than aggravate the Difference between them tho I know I do not in this matter altogether concur with the Sense of the French Ambassadour who considers only his Master's Interest But we are necessitated to take other Measures and such as
perhaps may not always agree with the Interest of France in this matter And I think aggravating this Breach at present to be also prejudicial to the Catholick Religion it self The great Design we have so long aimed at is applying to the King of France to take from the Hereticks all hopes of a Head or any other Protection than what they must expect from their own King whereby they finding themselves expos'd to his Pleasure will the more readily subscribe to his Will. But this misunderstanding between us will occasion an opportunity to the Hereticks to set up the Prince of Orange for their Chief And let me assure you not to deceive your selves The Religious of England as well as the Presbyterians themselves regard the Prince of Orange as their Moses and his Party is already so powerful in both these Kingdoms that it will appear terrible to any thinking Person should things come to extremity as may never happen if matters are not push'd on too far but managed with Moderation And I desire therefore with great deference to you better Judgment that this matter might be hinted to his Most Christian Majesty as opportunity shall serve and am sensible it must be done with very great caution I can tell you nothing at present concerning the certainty of calling a Parliament it requires so many things to be consider'd of and measures to be taken that his Majesty ought to be well assur'd of the success before he convenes them together I am not of opinion with many other Catholicks who say That by calling them the King hazards nothing for if they will not answer his Ends he need only prorogue them as is usually done But it is my Opinion and the Sense of many others That his Majesty hazards much for if it should unfortunately happen that they should in their Assembly refuse to comply with his Majesty's Desires it may be long enough ere he compass his Ends by way of a Parliament and perhapâ— never and then there rests no Expedient or other Means but by Violence to execute the Orders of his secret Council which must be suppos'd by his Army who upon a pretence of Incamping may be called together with the less Jealousie or Suspicion So you may see most Reverend Father that we do not want work in these Quarters and I must be supported by your Prayers which I beg of you and from all those of our Society His Majesty is so desirous that things may be done in order and upon a sure Fund so as to be the more lasting that he makes great application to the Shires and Corporations to get such Persons chosen fâ—r the Parliament as may be favourable to his Ends of which he may be sure before they come to debate And the King will make them promise so firmly and exact such Instruments from them in writing that they shall not be able to go back unless they will thereby draw upon themselves his Majesty's utmost Displeasure and make them feel the weight of his Resentment And I have here inclos'd some Effects of his Majesty's Endeavours in this matter which is an Address which the Mayor Sheriffs and Burgesses of New-Castle in the County of Stafford have presented to the King see the Gazette where this Corporation as well as Glocester and Teuxbury and others in their Addresses promise to chuse such Members as shall comply with his Majesty's Desires If all Towns were in as perfect Obedience as these we should certainly have a Parliament call'd which the Catholicks and Nonconformists expect with great Impatience But since this cannot be said of many of them the King 's secret Council think good to wait for the Queen's Delivery that they may see a Successor who may have need of the whole Protection of the Most Christian King to support him and maintain his Rights And by the Grace of God we hope that that Prince treading in his Father's steps may prove a worthy Son of our Society like his Father who thinks it no Dishonour to be so call'd As to other things most Reverend Father our Fathers with me as well as generally all the Catholicks with what grief do we hear of the Disunion that arises between his Holiness and the Most Christian King How does my Head in imitation of the Prophet's become a Spring of Tears to lament night and day the Schism that I foresâ—e coming into the Church Is is possible that our holy Society should not stand in the Breach and prevent the Mischiefs that this difference may occasion in the Church And that no body can reconciâ—e Levi and Iudah the Priesthood and the Scepter the Father and the Son the eldest Son of the Church with the Vicar of Christ upon Earth And what a Desolation and what Advantage to the Hereticks must this occasion They begin already to bid us convert the Children of the Family before we begin to convert Strangers And I must with grief confess they have but too much reason for what they say and if there does not come some present Assistance from above I foresee this Affair will occasion great Prejudices in the North Nor have we any hope that his British Majesty will interpose herein openly he receiving so little Satisfaction from his Holiness in some Demands made by his Ambassadour at Rome which morally speaking ought not to have been denied so great a King who first made this step which his Predecessors for a long time were not willing to undertake in sending his Ambassadour of Obedience to Rome And yet for all this our holy Father had not any particular Consideration of this Submission and Filial Obedience so that I dare not mention this matter but by way of Discourse daily expecting that of himself he will be pleased to make some Proposal therein I doubt not Reverend Father of your constant Endeavour to accommodate this matter thereby to take away from the Hereticks especially the Hugonots of France this occasion to laugh and deride us and we should think the Châ—nge much for the worse if instead of the French King 's going to Geneva he should march to Rome What may not all this come to especially since the Marquess de Lavardin has been so passionate in his Discourse to the Cardinal-Chancellor as to call him Impertinent and so far to forget his Duty and Reverence toward our Holy Father the Pope himself as to say he Doted as the Hereticks do confidently discourse in these parts I have caused some Masses of the Holy Ghost to be said That God would please to inspire the discontented Parties with a Spirit of Peace and Concord You did acquaint me some time since That Madam Mainteron did take upon her the Title of Daughter of the Society by virtue whereof you may command her by virtue of Obedience to use her Credit and Eloquence with the King to incline him to an Accommodation in this matter In the mean time I hear that at Rome many eminent Persons
were the first that suffered Persecution under her And after she had put to death near three hundred Persons without respect to Quality Age or Sex it pleased God to put an end to the Romish Cruelty and Idolatry by her unexpected and unlamented Death Nor is her Memory preserved from Oblivion by any thing but her repeated Acts of Cruelty and Injustice This was the Success that attended her this the Happiness the Liberty the Religion establish'd in the English Nation during her sive Years Tyranny That I may not detain the Reader any longer I will conclude this Advice to our Learned Pamphleteer That for the future he do not so positively ascribe all unhappy Accidents as frequent Wars and Rebellions the Effusion of English Blood the unfortunate End of some of our Princes to the Divine Vengeance upon them for the Usurpations he accuses them of since if he will consult our Historians he may find that Edward II. Richard II. and the Incomparable Prince King Charles I. though their Title from William the Conqueror is indisputable were far unhappier than any of the Usurpers he mentions That in Edward the Fourth's and Henry the Eighth's Reign a great deal of English Blood was shed both at Home and Abroad though their Right was unquestionable and universally acknowledged And that as to the promiscuous good or ill Success of all Affairs in this lower World the observation of the Wisest of Princes and of Men is very often exactly verified There is one Event to the Righteous and to the Wicked To the Prince who ascends the Throne by an unquestionable Right and to him that ascends it by Violence and Usurpation To the Prince that religiously performs the Solemn Oath taken at his Coronation and to him that wilfully breaks through all the Obligations he is under and endeavours by the most base Methods to dissolve the Establish'd Government The following Paper was published by Mr. Samuel Iohnson in the Year 1686. for which he was sentenc'd by the Court of Kings-Bench Sir Edward Herbert being Lord Chief Justice to stand three times on the Pillory and to be whipp'd from Newgate to Tyburn Which barbarous Sentence was executed An Humble and Hearty Address to all the English Protestants in this present Army GENTLEMEN NEXT to the Duty which we owe to God which ought to be the principal Care of Men of your Profession especially because you carry your Lives in your Hands and often look Death in the Face The second Thing that deserves your Consideration is The Service of your Native Country wherein you drew your first Breath and breathed a free English Air. Now I would desire you to consider how well you comply with these two main Points by engaging in this present Service Is it in the Name of God and for his Service that you have joined your selves with Papists who will indeed fight for the Mass-Book but burn the Bible and who seek to Extirpate the Protestant Religion with Your Swords because they cannot do it with their Own And will you be Aiding and Assisting to set up Mass-Houses to erect that Popish Kingdom of Darkness and Desolation amongst as and to train up all our Children in Popery How can you do these Things and yet call your selves Protestants And then what Service can be done your Country by being under the Command of French and Irish Papists and by bringing the Nation under a Foreign Yoke Will you help them to make forcible Entry into the Houses of your Country-men under the Name of Quartering directly contrary to Magna Charta and the Petition of Right Will you be Aiding and Assisting to all the Murders and Outrages which they shall commit by their void Commissions Which were declared Illegal and sufficiently blasted by both Houses of Parliament if there had been any need of it for it was very well known before That a Papist cannot have a Commission but by the Law is utterly Disabled and Disarmed Will you exchange your Birth-right of English Laws and Liberties for Martial or Club-Law and help to destroy all others only to be eaten last your selves If I know you well as you are English Men you hate and scorn these Things And therefore be not unequally yoaked with Idolatrous and Bloody Papists Be Valiant for the Truth and shew your selves Men. The same Considerations are likewise humbly offered to all the English Seamen who have been the Bulwark of this Nation against Popery and Slavery ever since Eighty Eight Several Reasons for the Establishment of a Standing Army and Dissolving the Militia 1. BEcause the Lords Lieutenants Deputy Lieutenants and the whole Militia that is to say the Lords Gentlemen and Free-holders of England are not fit to be trusted with their own Laws Lives Liberties and Estates and therefore ought to have Guardians and Keepers assigned to them 2. Because Mercenary Souldiers who fight for twelve Pence a Day will fight better as having more to lose than either the Nobility or Gentry 3. Because there are no Irish Papists in the Militia who are certainly the best Souldiers in the World for they have slain Men Women and Children by Hundreds of Thousands at once 4. Because the Dragooners have made more Converts than all the Bishops and Clergy of France 5. The Parliament ought to establish one standing Army at the least because indeed there will be need of Two that one of them may defend the People from the other 6. Because it is a thousand pities that a brave Popish Army should be a Riot 7. Unless it be Established by Act of Parliament the Justices of Peace will be forced to suppress it in their own Defence for they will be loth to forfeit an hundred Pounds every day they rise out of Complement to a Popish Rout. 13. H. 4. c. 7.2 H. 5. c. 8. 8. Because a Popish Army is a Nullity For all Papists are utterly disabled and punishable besides from bearing any Office in Camp Troop Band or Company of Souldiers and are so far disarmed by Law that they cannot wear a Sword so much as in their Defence without the allowance of four Justices of the Peace of the County And then upon a March they will be perfectly inchanted for they are not able to stir above five Miles from their own Dwelling-house 3. Iac. 5. Sect. 8 27 28 29.35 Eliz. 2.3 Iac. 5. Sect. 7. 9. Because Persons utterly disabled by Law are utterly Unauthorized and therefore the void Commissions of Killing and Slaying in the Hands of Papists can only enable them to Massacre and Murder A Discourse of Magistracy of Prerogative by Divine Right of Obedience and of the Laws CHAP. I. Of MAGISTRACY I. RELATION is nothing else but that State of Mutual Respect and Reference which one Thing or Person has to another II. Such are the Relations of Father and Son Husband and Wife Master and Servant Magistrate and Subject III. The Relations of a Father Husband and Master are really distinct and different that is
one of them is not the other for he may be any one of these who is none of the rest IV. This distinction proceeds from the different Reasons upon which these Relations are founded V. The Reason or Foundation from whence arises the Relation of a Father is from having begotten his Son who may as properly call every old Man he meets his Father as any other Person whatsoever excepting him only who begat him VI. The Relation of an Husband and Wife is founded in Weâ—lock whereby they mutually consent to become one Fleâ—h VII The Relation of a Maâ—ter is founded in that Right and Title which he has to the Possession or Service of his Slave or Servant VIII In these Relations the Names of Father Husband and Master imply Soveraignty and Superiority which varies notwithstanding and is more or less absolute according to the Foundation of these several Relations IX The Superiority of a Father is founded in that Power Priority and Dignity of Nature which a Cause hath over its Effect X. The distance is not so great in Wedlock but the Superiority of the Husband over the Wife is like that of the Right-Hand over the Left in the same Body XI The Superiority of a Master is an absolute Dominion over his Slave a limited and conditionate Command over his Servant XII The Titles of Pater Patriae and Sponsus Regni Father of the Country and Husband of the Realm are Metaphors and improper Speeches For no Prince ever begat a whole Country of Subjects nor can a Kingdom more propâ—rly be said to be married than the City of Venice is to be Adriatick Gulph XIII And to shew further that Magistracy is not Paternal Authority nor Monarchy founded in Fatherhood it is undeniably plain that a Son may be the Natural Soveraign Lord of his own Father as Henry the Second had been of Ieffeâ—y Plantagenet if he had been an English-man which they say Henry the Seventh did not love to think of when his Sons grew up to Years And this Case alone is an eternal Confutation of the Patriarchate XIV Neither is Magistracy a Marital Power for the Husband may be the obedient Subject of his own Wife as Philip was of Queen Maâ—y XV. Nor is it that Dominion which a Master has over his Slave for then a Prince might lawfully sell all hiâ— Subjects like so many Head of Cattel and make Mony of his whole Stock when ever he pleases as a Patron of Algiers does XVI Neither is the Relation of Prince and Subject the same with that of a Master and hired Servant for he does not hire them but as St. Paul saith They pay him Tribute in consideration of his continual Attendance and Imployment for the Publick Good. XVII That Publick Office and Imployment is the Foundation of the Relation of King and Subject as many other Relations are likewise founded upon other Functions and Administrations Such as Guardian and Ward c. XVIII The Office of a King is set down at large in the 17 th Chapter of the Laws of King Edward the Confessor to which the succeeding Kings have been sworn at their Coronation And it is affirmed in the Preambles of the Statutes of Malbridg and of the Statute of Quo Warranto made at Glocester That the calling of Parliaments to make Laws for the better Estate of the Realm and the more full Administration of Justice belongeth to the Office of a King. But the fullest account of it in few words is in Chancellor Fortescue Chap. XIII which Passage is quoted in Calvin's Case Coke VII Rep. Fol. 5. Ad Tutelam namque Legis Subditorum ac eorum Corporum bonorum Rex hujusmodi erectus est ad hanc potestatem à populo effluxam ipse habet quo ei non licet potestate alia suo populo Dominari For such a King that is of every Political Kingdom as this is is made and ordained for the Defence or Guardianship of the Laws of his Subjects and of their Bodies and Goods whereunto he receiveth Power of his People so that he cannot govern his People by any other Power Corolary A Bargain 's a Bargain CHAP. II. Of Prerogatives by Divine Right I. GOvernment is not matter of Revelation if it were then those Nations that wanted Scripture must have been without Government whereas Scripture it self says that Government is the Ordinance of Man and of Human Extraction And King Charles the First says of this Government in particular That it was moulded by the Wisdom and Experience of the Peoplâ— Answ. to XIX Prop. II. All just Governments are highly beneficial to Mankind and are of God the Author of all Good they are his his Ordinances and Institutions Rom. 13.1 2. III. Plowing and sowing and the whole business of preparing Bread Corn is absâ—luely necessary to the Subsistence of Mankind This also cometh forth from the Lord of Hosts who is wonderful in Counsel and excellent in Working Isa. 28. from 23 d to 29 th Verse IV. Wisdom saith Counsel is mine and sound Wisdom I am Vnderstanding I have Strength by me Kings reign and Princes decree Iustice By me Prinees rule and Nobles even all the Iudges of the Earth Prov. 13.14 V. The Prophet speaking of the Plow-man saith His God doth instruct him to Discretion and doth teach him Isa. 28.26 VI. Scripture neither gives nor takes away Mens Civil Rights but leaves them as it found them and as our Saviour said of himself is no Divider of Inheritances VII Civil Authority is a Civil Right VIII The Law of England gives the King his Title to the Crown For where is it said in Scripture that such a Person or Family by Name shall enjoy it And the same Law of England which has made him King has made him King according to the English Laws and not otherwise IX The King of England has no more Right to set up a French Government than the French King has to be King of England which none at all X. Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesars neither makes a Caesar nor tells who Caesar is nor what belongs to him but only requires Men to be just in giving him those supposed Rights which the Laws have determined to be his XI The Scripture supposes Property when it forbids Stealing it supposes Mens Lands to be already butted and bounded when it forbids removing the Ancient Land-marks And as it is impossible for any Man to prove what Estate he has by Scripture or to find a Terrier of his Lands there so it is a vain thing to look for Statutes of Prerogative in Scripture XII If Mishpat Hamelech the manner of the King 1 Sam 8.11 be a Statute of Prerogative and prove all those Particulars to be the Right of the King then Mishpat Haccohanim the Priests custom of Sacrilegious Rapine Chap. 2.13 proves that to be the Right of the Priests the same word being used in both places XIII It is the Resolution
proposing to or rather imposing upon the Nation What is it they would be at And what are the Ends they are driving on Are they just and good Are they generous and honorable Or are they not rather such as would undermine the Government both in Church and State and reduce us to a state of Nature wherein the People are at Liberty to agree upon any Government or none at all Plainly they would reduce us to the Dutch or some other foreign Measures which how well soever they may agree with that Country where they are setled and confirmed partly by Custom and partly by the peculiar Necessity of their Affairs can never be well received in England till an Act be passed to abolish Monarchy Episcopacy and all the Fundamental Laws establish'd by Magna Charta and all succeeding Parliaments ever since The Enquixy into the Measures of Submission to the Supreme Authority is a Treatise calculated for the times but surely it is not written according to the Principles and Practice of the Church of England in the time of the renowned Queen Elizabeth I am apt to think that some regard was then had to the Passages which we find in the Scriptures especially the Old Testament relating to the Measures of Submission But these Examples weigh nothing with our Author because they are not for his purpose pag. 5 6. I am also apt to suspect that Queen Elizabeth would not have thanked any Politician for vending this as a certain and fundamental Principle That in all Disputes between Power and Liberty Power must always be proved but Liberty proves it self the one being founded only upon a positive Law and the other upon the Law of Nature pag. 4. She I perswade my self on the contrary would have challenged any such States-man to have prov'd his Liberty as for her Power she would have answered it was ready to prove it self against all who should presume to question it But what 's the meaning of Power being founded only on a positive Law and Liberty upon the Law of Nature Is not a Father's Power founded as he grants upon the Law of Nature and is not all Power even of the greatest Princes as far as it is just and honest and for the Benefit of the Subject derived from this Paternal Authority of the Father over his Son Besides doth not the Law of Nature prescribe the Necessity of putting Power into the Hands of one or more for the Benefit of the whole which otherwise would be in danger of destroying it self by intestine Divisions In short If Liberty be founded upon the Law of Nature so is all just and lawful Power since the end of it is only to regulate our Liberty and in truth to make us more free Liberty in general is a right to use our Faculties according to right Reason and the Law in particular tells us which are those Rules of right Reason by which we must govern our selves And what is Law but the Commands of the Supreme Power where-ever it is lodg'd in the hands of the Prince the Senate or the People or of all of them together ordering what we are to do or avoid under the Sanction of particular Penalties I beg the Learned Author's Pardon for questioning his Measures in my Judgment they are not taken from the English Standard and therefore I hope I may without Offence use my Liberty in refusing them a Right which proves it self till he can prove his Power to impose them The Enquiry into the present State of Affairs is a Discourse which seems by its bold strokes to resemble the former I will say no more of it but this If what he there lays down for a certain Truth be really so then all that follows must be granted as reasonable Deductions from this fundamental Principle but if this be false all that he hath said falls to the Ground for want of a firm and solid Foundation to support it Now the Position which like a first Principle in Mathematicks he takes for granted is this It is certain says he pag. 1. that the reciprocal Duties in Civil Societies are Protection and Allegiance and wheresoever the one fails wholly the other falls with it This is his Doctrine which I have mentioned before but shall now consider a little more particularly 'T is indeed most fit and reasonable that Protection and Allegiance should always go together and accompany one another but that they do not do so is but too plain in the present case of England but doth it follow that because the King is not in a Capacity to protect his Subjects therefore he is no longer to be look'd upon as a King And if he be a King doth not this suppose that he hath some Subjects And if so I would gladly know what kind of Subjects they are who owe no Allegiance But let this Question be rul'd by his own Instance The Duty betwixt Father and Son. Suppose my Father to be so destitute that he cannot and so perverse that he will not protect and sustain me suppose him as churlish as Cain and as poor as Iob yet still he is my Father and I am his Son that is he still retains all that Power which by the Law of Nature a Father ought to have over his Child still the Relation holds betwixt us and whilst it doth so the Father's Faults or Necessities cannot evacuate the Duty of a Son which is founded not in the Fathers good Will or Abilities to defend him though it must be confess'd they are chiefly consider'd but in that fix'd and immutable Relation which God and Nature have establish'd betwixt them not to be dissolv'd but by Death So that if this learned Author will yield as he seems to do that Kingly Power is nothing else but the Paternal consign'd by the common consent of the Fathers of Families to one Person upon such and such Conditions specified in the Contract I cannot see how this Relation betwixt King and Subject can any more be utterly dissolved than that betwixt a Father and his Son. I shall say no more to this Discourse and if what I have already said do offend either against the Principles of Reason or the Law of England I am willing to be corrected and acknowledg my Error There is another little Paper which yet gives such a great stroke to the Government that it ought not to be pass'd over without some Animadversion The Sheet which I mean is that which is call'd Advice before it be too late or A Breviate for the Convention This Paper bespeaks its Author to be of the same Complexion and Principles with him who writ the Word to the Wise and the four Questions debated They do all of them suppose that the Government is fallen to its Centre or Root from whence it sprang that is to the People as the Word to the Wise expresses our present case I know not what can be a more effectual Answer to these Pamphlets and take