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A30455
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Six papers by Gilbert Burnet.
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Burnet, Gilbert, 1643-1715.
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1687
(1687)
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Wing B5912; ESTC R26572
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63,527
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69
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Religion and others may have hereby and for the Encouragement of Our Protestant Bishops and the Regular Clergy and such as have hitherto lived orderly We think fit to declare that it never was Our principle nor will We ever suffer Violence to be offered to any Man's Conscience nor will we use Force or Invincible Necâ—ssity against any Man on the Account of his perswasion nor the protestant Religion but will protect Our Bishops and other Ministers in their Functions Rights and properties and all Our protestant Subjects in the free Exercise of their protestant Religion in the Churches And that We will and hereby promise on Our Royal Word to maintain the possessors of Church-Lands formerly belonging to Abbeys or other Churches of the Catholick Religion in their fâ—ll and free possession and Right according to Our Laws and Acts of Parliament in that behalf in all time coming And We will imploy indifferently all our Subjects of all Perswasions so as none shall meet with any Discouragement on the account of his Religion but be advanced and esteemed by Us according to their several Capacities and Qualifications so long as We find Charity and Unity maintained And if any Animosities shall arise as We hoâ—e in God there will not We will slâ—eâ— the severest Effects of Our Royal Displeasure against the Beginners or Fomenters chereof seeing thereby Our Subjects may be deprived of this general Ease and Satisfaction We intend to all of them whose Happiness Prosperity Wealth and Safety is so much Our Royal Care that we will leave nothing undone which may procure these Blessinâ—s for them And lastly to the End all Our good Subjects may have Notice of this Our Royal Will and Pleasure We do hereby command Our Lyon King at Arms and his Brethren Heraulds Macers Pursevants and Messengers at Arms to make timous Proclamation thereof at the Mercat-Cross of Edinburgh And besides the printing and publishing of this Our Royal Proclamation it is Our express Will and Pleasure that the same be past under the great Seal of that Our Kingdom per saltum â—* without passing any other Seal or Register In Order whereunto this shall be to the Directors of Oâ—r Chancellary and their Deputies for writing the same and to Our Chancellor for causing our great Seal aforesaid to be appended thereunto a sufficient Warrand Given at Our Court at Whitehall the twelfth day of Febr. 1686. and of Our Reign the third Year By His Majesties Command MELFORT God save the King A LETTER containing some Reflections on His Majesties Declaration for Liberty of Conscience Dated the Fourth of April 1687. SIR 1. I Thank you for the Favour of sending me the late Declaration that His Majesty has granted for Liberty of Conscience I confess I longed for it with great Impatience and was surprised to find it so different from the Scotch Pattern for I imagined that it was to be set to the second part of the same tune nor can I see why the Penners of this have suâ—k so much in their stile for I suppose the same men penned both I expected to have seen the Imperial Language of Absolute Power to which all the Subjects are to Obey without reserve and of the Cassing Annulling the stopping and disabling of Laws set forth in the Preamble and body of this Declaration whereas those dreadful words are not to be found here for instead of Repealing the Laws His Majesty pretends by this only to Suspend them and tho in effect this amounts to a Repeal yet it must be confessed that the words are softer Now since the Absolute Power to which His Majâ—sty pretends in Scotland is not founded on such poor things as Law for that would look as if it were the gift of the People but on the Divine Authority which is supposed to be delegated to His Majesty this may be as well claimed in England as it was in Scotland and the pretentions to Absolute Power is so great a thing that since His Majesty thought sit once to claim it he is little beholding to those that make him fall so much in his Language especially since both these Declarations have appeared in our Gazettes so that â—s we see what is done in Scotland we know from hence what is in some peoples hearts and what we may expect in England II. His Majesty tells his people that the perfect Injoyment of their Property has never been in any Case invaded by him since his coming to the Crown This is indeed matter of great Incouragement to all good Subjects for it lets them see that such Invasions as have been made on Property have been done without His Majesties knowledge so that no doubt the continuing to levy the Customes and the Additional Excise which had been granted only during the late Kings Life before the Parliament could meet to renew the Grant was done without His Majesties knowledge the many Violences committed not only by Soldiers but Officers in all the Parts of England which are severe Invasions on Prâ—perty have been all without His Majesties knowledge and since the first Branch of Property is the Right that a man has to his Life the strange Essay of Mahometan Government that was shewed at Taunton and the no less strange proceedings of the present Lord Chancellour in his Circuit after the Rebellion which are very justly called His Campagne for it was an open Act of Hostility to all Law and for which and other Services of the like nature it is believed he has had the reward of the Great Seal and the Executions of those who have left their Colours which being founded on no Law are no other than so many Murders all these I say are as we are sure Invasions on Property but since the King tells us that no such Invasions have been made since he came to the Crown we must conclude that all these things have fallen out without His Privity And if a standing Army in time of Peace has been ever lookt on by this Nation as an Attempt upon the whole Property of the Nation in gross one must conclude that even this is done without His Majesties knowledge III. His Majesty expresses his Charity for us in a kind wish that we were all Members of the Catholick Church in return to which we offer up daily our most eâ—rnest Prayers for him that he may become a Memebr of the truly Catholick Church for Wishes and Prayers do no hurt on no side but His Majesty adds that it has ever been his Opinion that Consâ—ience ought not to be constrained nor people forced in matters of meer Religion We are very happy if this continues to be always his sense but we are sure in this he is no Obedient Member of that which he means by the Catholick Church for it has over and over agâ—in decreed the Extirpation of Heriticks It encourages Princes to it by the Offer of the Pardon of their Sins it threatens them to it by denouncing to them not only
his Vicegerent Since this Matter is now become so publick and that my Name is now so generally knâ—wn I must not be wanting to my own Innocence especially when not only my Life and Reputation are struck at but the Religion that I profess is wounded through my Sides therefore till I have put in order my Mâ—meirs for a larger Work I fâ—nd it in some sort necessary to print the Citation together with this Answer but I had much rather have all this prevented by an effect of His Majesties Iustice in ordering an end to be put to this Accusation and that by some Act that may be as publick as the Citation it self was which may hear His Majesties being satisfied with my Innocence as to these Matters but if I have still as Melancholy an Answer to this as I have had to all the former Applications I have made I must maintain my Innocence the best way I can in which I will never forget that vast Duty that I owe His Majesty whatsoeuer I may meet with iu my owu particular If there is any thing either in the iuclosed Papen or in this Letter that seems a little too vehement I hope the provocation that I have met with will be likewise considered for while my Life and Reputation are Struck at and while some here are threatning so high a man must be forgiven to shew that be is not quite unsensible and tho my Duty to the King is proof against all that can ever be done to provoke me yet I must be suffered to treat the instruments and Procurers of my Disgrace who are contriving my Destruction with the plainness that such Practices draw from me I will delay Printing aay thing for a Fortnight till I see whether your Lordship is like to receive any Orders from His Majesty relating to him who is May it please your Lordship Your Lordships c. Hague May. 17. Old St. 1687. My Third Letter to the Earl of Midletoune May it please your Lordship I Venture once more to renew my Addresses to your Lordship before I Print the Paper that I sent you by my last of the Seventeenth of May together with the two Lettes that I writ you for I find it necessary to add this and that it go with the rest to the Press I am told that great Advantages have been taken upon an Expression in my First Letterr in which I writ That by my Naturalisation during my stay here My Allegeance was translated from His Majesty to the Sovereignty of this Provence as if this alone was Crime enough and I hear that some who have been of the Profession of the Law are of this mind I indeed thought that none who had ever pretended to study Law or the general Notions of Entercourse among Nations could mistake in so clear a Point I caution'd my words so as to shew that I considered this Translation of my Allegeance only as a temporary thing during my stay here And can any man be so ignorant as to doubt of this Allegeance and Protection are things by their nature reciprocal since then Naturalisation gives a Legal Protection there must be a return of Allegeance due upon it I do not deny the Root of Naturali Allegeance remains but it is certainly under a suspension while the Naturalised Person enjoys the Protection of the Prince or State that has so receiv'd him I know what a Crime it had been if I had become Naturalised to any State in War with the King but when it was to a State that is in Alliance with him and when it was upon so just a ground as my being to be Married and Settled in this State as it could be no Crime in me to desire it so I having obtained it am not a little amased to hear that any are so little conversant in the Law of Nations as to take Exception at my words Our Saviout has said That a man cannot servs two Masters and the Nature of things say that a man cannot be at the same time under two Allegeanees His Majesty by Naturalising the Earl of Feversham and many others of the French Nation knows well what a right this gives him to their Allegeance which no doubt he as well as many others have sworn and this is a translating thesr Allegeance with a Witness That Lord was to have commanded the Troops that were to be sent into Flanders in 1678 against his Natural Prsnce and yet though the Laws of France are high enough upon the points of Soveraignty it was never so much as pretended that this was a Crime And it is so much the Interest of all Princes to assure themselves of those whom they receive into their Protection by Naturalising them since without that they should give Protection to so many Spies and Agents for another Prince that if I had not very good grounds to assure me that some have pre ended to make a Crime out of my Words I could not easily believe it My Lord This is the last Trouble that I will give your Lordship upon this Subject for it being now a Month since I made my first Address to you I must conclude That it is resolved to carry this matter to all Extremities and Mr. D' Albevilles Instances against me and the Threatnings of some of his Countrymen make me conclude that all my most humble Addresses to His Majesty are like to have no other effect but this that I have done my Duty in them so that it seems I am to be judged in Scotland I am sorry for it because this will engage me in a defence of my Self I mean a justification of my own Innocence which I go to much against my heart but God and man seee that I am forced to it and no Threatnings of any here with frighten me for I will do that which I think fit for me to do to day though I were sure to be assassinated for it to morrow but to he last moment of my Life I will pay all Duty and Fidelity to His Majesty My Lord I am with a profound Respect Your Lordships c. Hague Iune 6. Old St. 1687. ADVERTISEMENT WHen I had resolved on the Printing these Papers and was waiting till the day should come to which I was Cited I received a new Advertisement that the first Citation was let fall and that I was cited of new to the 15th of August to Answer to the Crimes of High Treason upon the account of two Heads in my First Letter to the Earl of Midletoune The one is That I say that by my Naturalization I am loosed from my Allegeanee to His Majesty and the other is that I threaten His Majesty with the Printing and Discovering of Secrets that have been long hid If after what I have hither to met with there were room lest for new Surprises this would have been a very great one Those who have advised the King to this way of proceeding against me shew that they consider