into one and the French Man whose Name was de S. Sanvem with his Granadiers into the other But though Colonel Lloyd went away that Night with the loss of many of his Men in his Retreat yet the French Captain having carried in some Provision and finding 3 Barrels of Powder in the Fort stood bravely to it The Nights were then dark and he fearing the Enemy might make their approaches to the Fort undiscovered got a great many Fir-deals and dipping the Ends of them in Tar they made such a light when set on fire and hung over the Wall that he discovered the Enemy coming towards them with an Engine they call a Sow but having killed the Engineer and 2 or 3 more the rest retired and he burnt the Engine Day no sooner appeared but the Enemy were forced to quit a small Field-piece they had planted in the Street they were so plied with shot from the Fort by the English who presently after made a sally and killed divers of them But at last their Provision being spent and there being little or no Water in the Fort they surrendred it upon honourable Terms and at their marching over the Bridge Colonel Sarsfield stood with a Purse of Guinea's and profered every Man that would serve the late King Horse and Arms with 5 Guinea's advance yet they all made answer They would never fight for Papists exept one who the very next day after he had got Horse Arms and the Gold brought all off with him But how disadvantageous soever the loss of the fore-mentioned Places were like to prove to the English Army they felt yet a more sensible Blow within themselves by the Death of a great many brave Officers and Soldiers Among the former was Sir Edward Deering a gallant Gentleman and much lamented in the Army by all that knew him and a Person who as he contributed more than any Man in the County of Kent towards bringing about our happy Revolution so he left a good Fortune in England purely to serve the King in this Expedition as did 3 more of his Brothers whereof one of them John Deering died since at Trangâ—dee and was a very ingenious young Gentleman Here died also soon after him Colonel Henry Wharton Brother to the now Lord Wharton a brisk bold Man and had a Regiment which would have followed him any where and being withal a comely and handsome Person he was truly much bemoaned by all that knew him and so was Sir Thomas Gower a young Gentleman of pregnant Parts and C. Hungerford a hopeful young Gentleman and of a considerable Fortune who with a great many other brave Officers were swept away by Death in this unhappy Camp And for the common Soldiers there perished in and about Dundalk at least 1700. and there were about 1970 sick Men shipp'd off at Carlingford and Dundalk to be transported to Belfast but of them not above 1100 came ashoar the rest dying at Sea Nay the Mortality was so great that several Ships had all the Men in them dead and no body to look after them whilst they lay in Carrigfergus Bay and all this besides some thousands that died in the great Hospital at Belfast that Winter So that upon a modest Computation of the whole there was nigh one half of the Army that was transported over lost We will at present leave the surviving part in their Winter Quarters whither they marched the beginning of Nov. and see how the Campaigns have passed abroad of which we were unwilling to take any notice hitherto that they might not interfere with the more immediate Affairs of Britain whereof we have now given you the relation The Confederate Army this Year in Flanders was commanded by Prince Waldeck as that of France was by the Mareschal de Humieres between whom there passed very little of moment till about the middle of Aug. when the Prince decamping from Fountain Eveque passed the Sambre and fell into the Enemies Country and having taken up his Camp at Thit-Chateau the French encamped so near him that the Out-guards were not above half an hours march from one another The Mareschal on the 25th hearing that a great number of Dutch Horse were out a foraging attempted to surprize them to which end he made a motion with his whole Army which some days before had been reinforced with 6000 Men. The Prince had no sooner notice hereof but he fired some Pieces of Cannon to give his Foragers notice as had been agreed upon before However that did not prevent their being vigorously charged by the French who took some of them and their Van-guard advancing attack'd the Village of Forge where 800 Foot were posted to secure the Foragers being commanded by the English Colonel Hodges Lieutenant Colonel Goes and the Major of the Regiment of Hesse who for above two hours defended themselves gallantly but had been overpowered by multitude had not Râ—â— Major General of the Cavalry who was sent to bring back the Lieutenant Generals Webbenum Marleborough and d' Hubi come with their Horse timely to their succour With that reinforcement they made a retreating Fight against the main of the whole French Army that came pouring in upon them till they came to a rising Ground near Walcourt where they joined a Battalion of Lunemburgers which had been reinforced by another of Colonel Hales The French attack'd the Town with great resolution which lasted an hour and an half during which time Prince Waldeck ordered Lieutenant General Alva to march with 3 Regiments to their relief the same being also followed by the Guards of the Body and 2 English Regiments commanded by the Lord of Marleborough while Major General Slaugeburg advanced almost at the same time with some other Regiments of Foot to the other side of the Town all which Motions when the French perceived they retreated in great haste and some disorder leaving some Cannon and Ammunition with many Men slain behind them but they could not be pursued because of the hilliness of the Ground which without doubt hindred their coming to a general Battel and which in all probability would not have been to the Advantage of the French since the Dutch and other Forces were never more eager to have fought it out than at that time However they kept their Post all that night as a token of their Victory It was said the French had near 2000 killed and wounded in this Encounter though they would never acknowledge near so many among whom were reckoned a good many Officers The greatest loss on the Confederates side were some of the Foragers killed and more taken Prisoners in the first Action so that the number of the slain did not amount to above 300 but this was minced of which the chiefest were Lieutenant-Colonel Grimes of the English the Major of the Dragoons of Zell one Captain and some inferiour Officers And thus ended this Campaign in Flanders without any other memorable Action saving that the Spaniards demolished
â—o unskilful in Government as the Name they gave them did import 'T is indeed not to be doubted but that the Division made of the Empire by Theodosius between his Two Sons Arcadius and Honorius into the Eastern and Western did very much precipitate the Ruine of it For tho' the former for many Ages after made a Shift to keep up yet it came infinitely short of the Ancient Roman Empire for Power and Splendour and was so harassed by degrees with the Insults of the Neighbouring Nations and diminished by the Conquests of the Bulgarians over one part of it by the Saracens subduing Palestine Syria Egypt and Cilicia by the City of Trebesond and the Neighbouring Countries withdrawing themselves from under the Obedience of it and chusing an Emperor of their own as Greece set up divers petty Princes to govern the different Parts of itâ— That the poor Remains thereof was not only swallowed up at length by the Turks but most of the said conquer'd or revolted Divisions to other very great Acquisitions of their own made both before and after fell under their Dominion also which made them for a Time more formidable in Power than any other single Dominion known to us in those Parts of the World But the Fate of the West Part of that divided Empire came on a pace the same becoming a Prey to the Germans and Goths who about this time came in prodigious Numbers to change their poor Habitations for the pleasant and fertile Provinces of the Romans Britain became a Prey to the Saxons Spain fell to the Share of the West-Goths The Goths Burgundians and Franks made bold with dividing France between them Rhoetia and Noricum were conquered by the Suevians A great part of Pannonia and Illiricum fell into the Hands of the Huns The Vandals fixed their Habitations in Africa And one part of the Goths set up a Kingdom in Italy and did not think Rome once Mistress of the World and the common Mother and Habitation of Mankind a fitting Place for their Kings to reside in The Empire being thus mangled and rent into so many different Pieces the next Thing according to the Course of a corrupted and vain World these Invaders went upon after some tolerable Settlement in their respective Acquisitions was to incroach upon their Neighbours and to endeavour to introduce such a Dominion again upon the Earth as might in Imitation of that glorious Empire which all of them in their several Turns had given an Helping-hand to overthrow over-top all others and merit the Name of a Supream and Universal One But there have hitherto in the Course of Divine Providence such Rubs been laid in the Way of this Design that it could never be accomplish'd tho' divers Princes have attempted it with the greatest Application and some seeming Probability of Success As Islands are not so liable to be invaded as those Kingdoms and States that lie upon the Continent So neither are they on the other hand so proper to make Conquests of others and to enlarge their Territories And if Great Britain has come in any respect short of other Countries in this Particular this is a sufficient Reason for it But there were other Causes and Considerations which we shall a little consider before we go any farther Tho' tho Saxons made an entire Conquest of the best and fruitfullest Part of Britain yet neither the most Northern Parts of the Island possessed by the Picts and Scots nor the Southern known since by the Name of Cornwall much less the ancient Habitation of the Britains wrongfully called Wales could they subdue in a long time nor the first indeed at all entirely Add to this That the Saxons themselves had no less than Seven Dynasties or petty Kingdoms amongst them known all together by the Heptarchy which took them up from their first Landing under Hengist by Alliances and the Power of their Arms not much less than 400 Years to unite them into one Monarchy which happen'd under K. Egbert about the Year 800. But tho' this Conjunction of Seven into One was very considerable and that now some grand Efforts might have been made for reducing the remaining Parts of the Island under one Head the Danes now a very Potent and Sea-faring People in the very same King's Reign invaded Britain Between whom and the English there were continual Wars for the Space of 240 Years and the former so far prevailed that Three of their Kings reigned successively over England for 26 Years when the Government returned again into the Hands of the English But it was so weak and feeble that in a short time it fell into the Hands of Will surnamed the Conqueror and his Normans in whose Son 's Reign Henry I. by Name the Dukedom of Normandy was annexed to the Crown of England This so considerable Accession of Strength upon the Continent came yet short of a Compensation for the still remaining Disjunction of Scotland and Wales from the rest of Britain which the succeeding Kings little minded to effect For tho' Henry II. was the greatest King at this time in our Western World as being besides K. of England and Duke of Normandy by Inheritance Duke of Anjou and by Marriage Duke of Aquitain and Poictou yet he was so far from going through stitch with his intended Conquest of Wales or reducing Scotland that his chief Aim was upon the Conquest of Ireland which tho' a noble Design and in a very great Measure effected yet it was misplaced and should have followed the Reduction of the other two Yet what came to Henry upon the Continent by Right of Inheritance his Son King John and his Grandson Henry III. in a manner totally lost But of all the Kings of England to this Time Edward I. was the only Prince that seemed to have a right Notion of Extending his Dominions and therefore he never gave over till what by fair and foul Means with an Intermixture of Policy he entirely united Wales to the Kingdom of England and made in a manner by the same Methods a perfect Conquest of Scotland which nothing humanely speaking but the Weakness of his Successor obstructed the Consummation of So that henceforward all the Thoughts of our Warlike Kings were the Recovery of that Right they alledged to have to the Kingdom of France whose Conquests there if they had been as wisely secured as they were valiantly made had added a much greater Glory to the English Name than our Annals would otherwise admit of But that which our Kings would not or could not add to their Dominions by Conquest within the Island it self I mean the Scotch Kingdom which always obstructed the Progress of their Arms upon the Continent at length fell in of it self in the Course of Succession So that England Scotland and Ireland were in the Person of King James I. united under one Head In the mean time one of our Neighbour-Nations was arrived to that Pitch of Greatness and another of them in
so growing a Posture that such a Tripple Conjunction seemed only seasonable upon this Account in that the same tended to our Safety But by what Methods these our Neighbouring-Nations have attained to that Greatness it will be necessary to enquire into And first we shall begin with Spain which upon the Declension of the Roman Empire fell into the Share of the West-Goths and other barbarous Nations who for a Time laboured under the same Inconveniencies of a divided Dominion as the Saxons did in Britain But towards the Year 586 their Empire was arrived to the highest Pitch of Greatness as comprehending not only the Neighbouring-Provinces of France and part of Mauritania in Africa but also all Spain except a small Part possessed yet by the Romans who held not that long neither From thence the Gothick Empire declined apace and all fell into the Hands of the Saracens But their Affairs began to revive again about the Year 726 and one Pelagius who was said to have been descended from the Race of the Gothick Kings prevailed mightily both against the Moors and Saracens as divers of his Successors did also However these turmoiled Times gave Original to several Kingdoms within the Boundaries of Spain For besides the Kingdom of Oviedo or Leon which were all one in Effect there arose also others as those of Navarre Arragon and Castile But all these Kingdoms which also professed Christianity were united in the Person of Sanctus Major II. whereby an Opportunity was given the Christians to root out the Moors now divided amongst themselves and to restore Spain to its ancient State yet Sanctus tho' otherwise a brave Prince had no more Wit than to divide them amongst his Sons and gave each of them the Title of King These not being able to confine themselves to their respective Proportions made War upon one another with various Success as it gave the Moors also some Advantage in their Proceedings till in a manner all was united again under Alphonso VIII who play'd the same Trick of dividing Castile Leon and Gallicia between his 3 Sons so that they and their Successors had so much to do with the Moors within Spain and such mutual Jealousies of one another that they could be able to do little any where else under the Notion of Conquest Things were at length brought to such a pass that Spain to say nothing of Portugal and the Kingdom of the Moors in Granada was reduced into Two Kingdoms only to wit Arragon and Castile and these again were united by the Marriage of Ferdinand the Son of John II. King of Arragon whom his Father had declared King of Sicily to Isabella Sister to Henry IV. King of Castile By this Conjunction Spain became mighty Powerful And Ferdinand after he had set his Affairs in Order began now to entertain great Thoughts And well knowing it would be in vain to undertake any Thing Abroad while he had a powerful Enemy within the Body of Spain it self at his Door he undertook an Expedition against the Moors of Granada which cost him so much Time and Expence to conquer being no less than 10 Years engaged in the Work that he could perhaps have sat down contented herewith at least for a time had not something else fallen in his way But Ferdinand by aiming to make sure of his Conquest deprived his Country in some succeeding time of the Benefit of it for he thereupon banished no less than 170000 Families of Jews and Moors out of Spain and thereby dispoiled his Country not only of vast Riches but a great Number of Inhabitants wherein consists the Power and Support of a Nation But whatever Designs Ferdinand might after a little breathing Time have concerted to have undertaken Abroad now he was freed from the Evil that had hitherto diverted him from any Foreign Expedition the French who now found themselves under the same Circumstances as being rid of the English that had stuck so long and so close upon the Skirts of them as not to be able to move elsewhere thought to be before-hand with Ferdinand in the Reduction of the Kingdom of Naples which the other notwithstanding they gave him up Rousillion in order at least to let them proceed unmolested being not able to brook it came to an open Rupture And after divers Conflicts Ferdinand carried the Day and with it the Kingdom of Naples to which if we add the Discovery of America and the rich Mines there about this time and the Kingdom of Navarre which Ferdinand possest himself of upon the Pope's Excommunicating John d' Albret King of that Country at the other's Instigation we shall find this Monarchy grown to a prodigious Grandeur In this State Ferdinand left it to his Grandson Charles who being as well elected Emperor of Germany as he was Hereditary King of Spain and withal a very active Prince Tho' he did very great Things whilst he held the Rains of Government yet it may still seem a Wonder he had not done much more This was indeed an Age fruitful for several brave Princes and here I cannot but admire the Wisdom of God that this Charles V. who was so vastly Potent should have for his Cotemporaries a Harry VIII in England a Francis I. in France and a Solyman the Magnificent in Turky who were all Men of great Souls as well as Power and especially the last of them not inferior to Charles upon any account However such was the Conjuncture that Charles to his vast Dominions added still more by routing Francis and taking him Prisoner and thereby bringing him to make a Surrender of the Dutchy of Burgundy to renounce the Sovereignty over Artois and Flanders and to quit all his Pretences upon Naples and Milan which last the French had for some time been in Possession of But Francis having got his Liberty disclaimed the Agreement and this occasioned a new War which ended in Francis his being forced to confirm the Main of the said Treaty and left Charles at Liberty to add to the Conquests his Grand-father Ferdinand had made in Africa of Bugia and Tripolis that of Tunis and Goletta to which if we add the Sovereignty of Vtrecht of the Provinces of Over Issel Geldren Zutphen Groninghen c. consigned about this Time into his Hands it must still be allowed a mighty Accession of Strength to that vast Empire Wherefore to compleat as he thought his great Work of attaining to an Universal Monarchy in these Western Parts he cunningly lays aside the Contest about the Divorce between Henry VIII King of England and his Aunt Katharine and entred into a League with the said King of invading France the Emperor by the Way of Champaigne and the King thro' Picardy to compleat the Conquest of that Noble Country In order to which the Emperor advanced as far as Espernay which occasioned such a Terror and Confusion in Paris that the Citizens were for leaving the City if the King by his Presence had not incouraged them
whose Cause the whole Body of the Allies interested themselves in so far as to press for an Answer to his Pretensions delivered in by President Canon But the French finding now that their former Exception of his wanting a Minister at the Congress would not do raised another to stave off the foresaid Instances and declared They could give no Answer about Lorrain till the Bishop of Strasburg's Agents were received by the Allies Upon this the Emperor made an invincible Difficulty declaring He would never treat with a Vassal of his own and in these Conferences about Lorrain the French Embassadors began to insinuate to the Mediators That their Master never intended that Matter to be treated as a Principal but only as an Accessary to the Treaty As they did also shew themselves positive in having full Satisfaction and Restitution made to the Swedes before they would conclude the Peace It was believed since it was much discoursed of that there was a new Alliance entred into between those two Crowns at Paris and that it was by Concert between them that this Attenite was given by the Swedes to the Congress Neither was there any Decisive Action in the course of the rest of this Campagne which was ended in Flanders by a successless Attempt made by the Prince of Orange to surprize Charleroy And if on the German side the French thought they had the Advantage by taking of Fribourg in Octob. this Year by a Feint of the Mareschal de Crequi before the Duke of Lorrain could come up to relieve it the City of Stetin's falling into the Hands of the Duke of Brandenburg this same Month after a most vigorous Resistance of its Garrison left the Scales even as they were before between the two Leagues The Campagne being ended as aforesaid the Prince of Orange who had long desired to take a Tour into England and had to that purpose the June before sent Monsieur Bentink over to make way with the King for such a Journey who at length granted him leave tho' with great Indifferency and Difficulty enough did upon the 9th of Octob. Land at Harwich and rid Post from thence to New-Market where the Court then was and where he industriously declined to enter upon any Conferences about the Peace or War as being resolved first to see the Young Princess which made the King to humour him leave that place sooner by some Days than he designed The Prince upon his Arrival in Town had no sooner set sight on that Incomparable Princess our late Sovereign Lady but he was so pleased with her Person and all those Signs of such an Humour as had been before described unto him that he immediately made his Suit both to the King and Duke which was very well received and assented to but upon Condition That the Terms of the Peace abroad might be first agreed on between them which after many Contestations on both sides the Prince would ne'er agree to saying The World would believe he had made that Match for himself at their Costâ— and that he would never sacrifice his Honour to his Love He grew at last to be so sullen upon the matter that he desired a Friend to tell the King That he designed to stay but two Days longer in England if things continued still on the same Foot That it repented him he had ever come over And that the King must choose how they were to live hereafter for he was sure it must be either like the greatest Friends or the greatest Enemies This so wrought upon the King who at the same time expressed the great Opinion he had of the Prince's Honesty that he ordered Sir William Temple the Messenger to go immediately to carry hâ—m the News That he should have his Wife Accordingly the Match was declared that Evening at the Committee before any other in Court knew any thing of it The Marriage was no sooner consummated but they very quickly fell into Debate upon the Terms of the Peace and had various Discourses of the Ambition of France the Necessity of a good Frontier to Flanders and it was at last agreed upon these Terms That all should be restored by France to the Emperor and Empire that had been taken in the War the Dutchy of Lorrain to that Duke and all on both sides between France and Holland and to Spain the Towns of Aeth Oudenard Courtray Tournay Conde Valenciennes St. Gillaine and Bince That the Prince should endeavour to procure the Consent of Spain and the King that of France To this Purpose he was to dispatch away a Person immediately over with the Proposition who should be instructed to enter into no Reasonings upon it but demand a positive Answer in Two Days and then forthwith return and my Lord Duras a Favourite of the Duke's was at last the Person pitched upon and sent But he after the Delivery of his Message was prevailed with to stay longer than his time and after all came away without any positive Answer From which manner of Procedure we may discover foul Prevarication somewhere and so the Business came to be drawn out into so many Messages and Returns from France that at last it dwindled into nothing especially after the Departure of the Prince for Holland who had spirited the Vigour of the whole Resolution which Departure happened to be with his Princess on the 21st of Nov. However the News of the Match had got to Nimeguen some time before and if the Confederates did before this begin to hope more than ever that it would not be long before England declared in their Favours they made no doubt of it now But it had quite another Effect in Holland especially at Amsterdam where the French Emissaries found the Secret of raising Jealousies of the Measures taken between the King and Prince upon this new Alliance as dangerous to the Liberty of their Country and to make it there believed that by the Match the King and Duke had wholly brought over the Prince into their Interest and Sentiments whereas the Prince went indeed away possess'd of having drawn them into his tho' they were all equally mistaken But how different soever their Apprehensions abroad might be of Things the King in England quite receded from his Engagements to the Prince of entring into the War with all the Confederates in case of no direct and immediate Answer from France upon the Terms of the Peace and contented himself to send Mr. Thynne over into Holland with a Draught of an Alliance to be made with the Dutch in order to force France and Spain into a Compliance with the Propositions agreed on year 1678 and to consign the same into the Hands of Mr. Hyde then at the Hague which was done and the Treaty Signed on the 16th of Jan. tho' not without great Difficulties and much Dissatisfaction on the part of the Prince of Orange who was yet covered in it by the private Consent of the Spanish Minister there in behalf of his
during the Life of the said James Duke of York this Act shall be given a Charge at every Assizes and General Sessions of the Peace within the Kingdoms Dominions and Territories aforesaid and also shall be openly Read in every Cathedral Church and Parish Church and Chappels within the aforesaid Kingdoms Dominions and Territories by the respective Parsons Vicars Curates and Readers thereof who are hereby required immediately after Divine Service in the Forenoon to Read the same twice in every Year That is to say on the 25th of Dec. and upon Easter-day during the Life of the said James Duke of York But the Lords Rancounter to the Commons in this Bill tho' they made a Sift upon the others Impeachment to Try and Sentence William Lord Viscount Stafford to Death for the Popish Conspiracy who on the 7th of Dec. was executed accordingly For after the Reading it the First time in the Upper-House the Question being put Whether it should be read the Second time it was resolved in the Negative by above a double Majority of Votes and so this great Affair dropp'd The Commons imployed much of their Time to prosecute and impeach all those that had countenanced the Popish Plot or were Abhorrers of Petitioning the King for the Meeting of the Parliament in the several Prorogations of it and voted That it ever had been the undoubted Right of the Subjects of England to Petition the King for the Calling and Sitting of Parliaments and Redress of Grievances And that to traduce such Petitioning as a Violation of Duty and to represent the same to his Majesty as Tumultuous and Seditious was to betray the Liberty of the Subject and contributed to the Designs of subverting the ancient Legal Constitutions of the Kingdom of England and introducing Arbitrary Power The first that fell under their Lash was Sir Francis Withens since a Judge a Member then of their own House whom they voted to be a Betrayer of the undoubted Rights of the Subjects of England and for that his high Crime expelled him the House receiving first the Sentence at the Bar upon his Marrow-bones Sir George Jefferys was the next then Recorder of London who for the present by Virtue of the House's Address to the King for that End was put out of all publick Offices tho' we have seen him since act the Tyrant in the highest Station the late King his good Master could advance him to but at last being left in the Lurch by him was found in a Seaman's Habit at Wapping and died in the Tower because he had not Courage enough to live a little longer to be hang'd Several others were censured upon the like Account and among the rest the House voted That it was a sufficient Ground for them to proceed against Sir Thomas Jones one of the Judges of the King's Bench and Sir Richard Westone a Baron of the Exchequer for high Crimes and Misdemeanors because they had advised and were assisting to draw up a Proclamation against Petitioning for the Sitting of the Parliament The like was passed against Sir Francis North Chief Justice of the Common-Pleas for the same who for murdering poor Stephen Colledge under Colour of Law at Oxford had the Great Seal of England committed to his Custody and therewith the Care of the King's Conscience who had none at all of his own All this while we hear nothing of the King's Business which was to get Money for the Preservation of Tangier and Perfecting the Alliance made with Spain But the Commons had Three Reasons why they would not comply with his Majesty in his first Demand One was for that the State of the Nation was such at that time that their giving any Money for that End might augment the Strength of the Popish Party and further endanger the Nation 's Safety Another was Seeing there were several Regiments besides Guards in England then in Pay they might be transported to Tangier with little Charge and be maintain'd there as cheap as at Home which Two Reasons they clench'd with this Third That that Garrison was the Nursery of Popish Officers and Soldiers And if Things went ill with the King on this Head he is like to fare no better with the other For the House had as many Reasons for not giving him Money for the Alliance of Mutual Obligations of Succour and Defence which he pretended to have made with Spain For first they seemed to be jealous of the King's Sincerity therein and the more because he had not declared to them what manner of Alliance that was and that it might be more to the Prejudice than Benefit of the Kingdom or if it should have been to the Advantage of it they could have no more Assurance of the Performance than they had of the Triple League That which was made with the Prince of Orange when he was in England Or that between the King and States of Holland by Mr. Hyde on the King's Part which were all broken almost as soon as made Besides it was impossible any great Benefit should arise to England and Spain by such an Alliance For if all Christendom after the separate Peace made by the Dutch at Nimeguen could not uphold Spain and the Spanish Netherlands from falling under the Dominion of France how could the King in the feeble and distracted State of the Nation be in a Condition to support it without them Add to this the Unreasonableness of giving Money upon such an Account For tho' the Kings of England have frequently demanded Supplies for maintaining vast Wars yet never any one of them before demanded Supplies for making Alliances And indeed whatever Alliance the King had made with Spain it will be found before his Reign has spun out that it was very ill performed on his part And if the Commons were not a little mortified at the Proceedings of the Lords and of the Court in respect to the Bill of Exclusion the King could not be well pleased to be sure with the Methods they took to answer his Demands of a present Supply in the ordinary way but was undoubtedly much more nettled at their Resolutions to hinder him from being relieved by extraordinary Methods afterwards For the House considering the weak and dangerous Condition of the Nation as well by the Debt the King had contracted by shutting up of the Exchequer as by his squandering away almost all the ancient Revenues of the Crown did in order to prevent the like upon the Revenue settled upon the King since his Restoration on the 17th of Jan. resolve 1. That whosoever should lend or cause to be lent by way of Advance any Money upon the Branches of the King's Revenue arising by Custom Excise or Hearth-money should be adjudged an Hinderer of the Sitting of Parlaiment and be responsible for the same 2. That whosoever should buy any Tally or Anticipation upon any part of the King's Revenue or whosoever should pay such Tally hereafter to be struck should
now a Traytor in the Tower Did not James by Coleman Throgmorton and others hold open Correspondence with the Pope and Cardinals And could Charles be ignorant of all this Nay he lik'd all so well that he hardly employed any about him but Papists as Clifford whom he made Treasurer or employed any Abroad but Persons of the same Stamp witness Godolphin whom he sent Embassador into Spain as he did others elsewhere What more obvious than that though the Duke's Treachery against the Kingdom and Protestant Religion be fully made out and the People and Parliament seek to bring him to a Legal Tryal yet Charles obstructs Justice and will not suffer it How can this be but that he is joyned in Will and Deed in all the Duke's Villanies and that he is afraid to be discovered and found out to be a Papist and a Betrayer of his People and the Protestant Religion If he was heartily concerned for our Religion would he not oppose a Popish Successor who will infallibly overthrow it Can there be any Thing more evident than that he continues the Duke's Adherents and those who were advanced by him in all Offices of Trust And hath he not turn'd out of his Councel the most zealous Protestants such as Shaftsbury Essex and others and introduced in their Rooms other meer Tools or those that are Popishly and Arbitrarily affected Hath he not modell'd all the Sheriffs and Justices throughout England in Subserviency to a Popish Design Was not Sir William Waller and Dr. Chamberlain and divers others turn'd out of the Commission in and about London meerly for being zealous Prosecutors of Priests and Papists Doth not Charles all he can to hinder the further Detection of the Popish Plot And doth he not to his utmost discountenance the Discoverers of it and suffer them to want Bread And doth he not in the mean time plentifully encourage and reward Fitz-Gerald and all the Sham-plotters Whereas Dangerfield had 8 l. a Week whilst a Forger of Plots against the Protestants he is cast off with scorn and in danger of his Life since he laid open the Popish Engineers Is not Ch. so much in love with his Popish Irish Rebeâ—s therein treading in his Father's Steps that he promotes Montgarret Carlingford Fitz-Patrick and others who were the Heads of the Rebellion to Honours and Preferment though Charles took the Covenant and a Coronation-Oath to preserve the Protestant Religion yet hath he not palpably broken them He made large Promises and Protestations at Breda for the allowing a perpetual Liberty of Conscience to Non-conforming Protestants but he soon forgot them all To what End was the Act which was made soon after his Restoration prohibiting any to call him Papist or to say he was Popishly enclin'd and rendring such as should offend guilty of a Praemunire but to stop the Peoples Mouths whenever he should act any Thing in Favour of Popery as he was then resolved to do Is it not manifest therefore that Scotch Oaths Breda Promises Protestant Profession Liberty of Conscience War with France saving of Flanders is all in Jest to delude Protestant Subjects Is it not apparent that breaking of Leagues Dutch Wars Smyrna Fleet French Measures to favour their Conquests Loss of Ships War in Christendom Blood of Protestants reprieving of Popish Traytors is all in Earnest and done in favour of Popery And are not his fair Speeches his true Protestant Love to Parliaments just Rights and English Liberties his pretended Ignorance of the Plot and his hanging of Traytors to serve a Turn but in meer Jest Are not his great Debaucheries his Whoring Courtiers Popish Councils Cheating Rogues Hellish Plottings his saving of Traytors his French Pensioners his Nests of Whores and Swarms of Bastards his Macks his Cut-Throats his horrid Murderrers his Burning of London and the Provost's House too his Sham-plotting his suborn'd Villains his Popish Officers by Sea and Land his Strugglings for a Popish Successor his Agreements with France his frequent Dissolutions of Parliaments his buying of Voices his false Returns all of them Designs to ruine us in good Earnest and in favour of Arbitrary Government And is it not in order to this blessed End that you see none countenanced by Charles and James but Church Papists betraying Bishops tantivy Abhorrers barking Touzers Popish Scriblers to deceive the People and six the Popish Successors illegal Title Are not Jesuits Councels French Assistance to conquer Ireland subdue Scotland win Flanders beat the Dutch get their Shipping be Masters of the Seas And are not forcing a Rebellion the letting the Plot go on the Endeavouring to retrieve the Popish Cause by getting a Popish Pentionary abhorring Parliaments who shall betray their Country enslave Posterity and destroy themselves at last Means only to save a Popish Trayterous Successor and a present Popish Possessor James and Charles are Brethren in Iniquity corrupt both in Root and Branch and who study to enslave England to a French and Romish Yoak is not all this plain Have you not Eyes Sense or Feeling Where is the Old English Noble Spirit Are you become French Asses to suffer any Load to be laid upon you And therefore if you can get no Remedy from this next Parliament as certainly you will not and if Charles doth not repent and comply with it then up all as one Man O brave English Men look to your own Defence e're it be too late rouze up your Spirits remember your Predecessors remember how that the asserting of their Liberties justified both by Success and Law the War of the Barons against wicked Councellors who misled the King And will you now let that go which cost them so dear How many oppressing Kings have been deposed in this Nation as appears in Records referr'd unto in that worthy Patriot's History of the Succession Were not Richard II. and Henry VI. both laid aside not to mention others and was there ever such a King as this of ours Was not K. John deposed for going about to embrace the Mahometan Religion and for entring into a League with the K. of Morocco to that Purpose Though Mahometanism and the King of Morocco were no such Enemies to our Rights and Liberties as Popery and the French King are Is it not time then that all should be ready Let the City of London stand by the Parliament for the Maintaining of their Liberties and Religion in an extream Way if Parliamentary Ways be not consented unto by the King let the Counties be ready to enter into an Association as the County of York did in Henry VIII's Time The Design you may see was to be carried on in the Name of the Non-conformists and fixt upon them and to be dispersed by the Peny-Post to the Protesting Lords and Leading Men in the House of Commons who were immediately thereupon to be taken up and searched Everard affirmed The Court had an Hand it and that the King had given Fitz-Harris Money and would give him more if it
repeated much the same Things as he had told the Council before he proceeded to tell them That after having given them such Assurances he could not doubt but of a suitable return on their part and particularly in what related to the settling of his Revenues as he called it as it was in his Brother's time That he might use many Arguments to them for enforcing his Demand from the benefit of Trade supply of the Navy the necessity of the Crown and the well-being of the Government it self which he was not to suffer to be precarious That he foresaw there was one popular Argument which might be used against what he asked from the inclination Men had for frequent Parliaments which some might think would be best secured by feeding him from time to time by such proportions as they should think convenient But that Argument it being the first time he spake to them from the Throne he would answer once for all that that would be a very improper Method to take with him that the best way to ingage him to meet them often was to use him always well and therefore he expected a speedy Compliance with his Demands now that he might meet them again to all their Satisfactions But tho this was a very odd way of caressing a Parliament yet they being in a manner fashioned before to his hand they were so far from taking notice of it and what was more of the most grievous and dangerous State of the whole Nation as it was left by King Charles that instead of representing the same to the now King or redressing any Grievance they immediately gave him a Revenue to enable him to ruin the Church and State upon the Foundation his Brother had laid for him for besides their settling the Customs and Temporary Excise upon him as they were before upon his Brother They laid a new Imposition upon Wines and Vinegars made an Act to lay more Custom upon Sugars and Tobacco another laying an Imposition upon all French Linnens and all East-India Linnen and several other Indian Manufactures also upon French Wrought Silks and Stuffs and all Brandies And that there might be a nearer Conjunction between His Majesty and France tho the Nation thought them always before too great the Act for prohibiting the Importation of French Wine Vinegar Brandy Linnens and Cloth Silks Malt Paper or any Manufacture made or mix'd with Silk Thread Wool Hair Gold or Silver or Leather being of the Growth or Manufacture of France was now fully repealed There was also five Shillings per Tun granted upon every Voyage which any foreign Ship should make from Port to Port in England and Twelve-pence per Tun for every Voyage which a Foreign built Ship not free should make so that in short this Revenue with the Hereditary Excise and other Revenues of the Crown have been computed to amount to 2400000 l. per Annum to which if you add 15000 per Annum which the King had when he was Duke of York the whole will amount to 2550000 per An. which was 3 times more than any King of England except Henry VIII had before the King's Brother But before this Sessions was over they heard of something not only from the North but also from the West that did not a little terrifie the greatest part of them The King in the Close of the fore-mentioned Speech the very Day of the Opening of the Parliament told them That he had News that Morning from Scotland that the Earl of Argyle was Landed in the West Highlands with the Men that he had brought along with him from Holland and that there were Two Declarations Published one in the Name of all those in Arms there and the other in his own He said in general of both that he was charged in them of Usurpation and Tyranny but gave no Particulars of the Former the Court contenting themselves to put it by piece-meals into the Gazzette with what Animadversions they pleased but the last of them he presently communicated unto them and was in Substance this that follows A DECLARATION of Archibald Earl of Argyle Lord Kintyre Cowall Campbell and Lorn Heritable Sheriff and Lieutenant of the Shires of Argyle and Turbette and Heritable Justice General of the said Shires I Shall not Publish my Case Published already in Print in Latin and in Dutch and more largely in English nor mean I to repeat the Printed Declaration emitted by several Noble Men Gentlemen and others of both Nations now in Arms because the Sufferings of Me and my Family are therein mentioned I have thought it fit for me to Declare for my Self that as I go to Arms with those who have appointed me to Conduct them for no Private and Personal End only for those contained in the said Declaration which I have concerted with them and approved of so I do claim no Interest but what I had before the pretended Forfeiture of my Family and have a sufficient Right to And that I do freely and as a Christian forgive all Personal Injuries against my Person and Family to all that shall not oppose but joyn and concur with us in our present Undertaking for the Ends mentioned in the said Declaration and hereby I oblige my self never to pursue them in Judgment nor out of Judgment And I do further declare That obtaining the Quiet and peaceable Possession of what belonged to my Father and my Self before our pretended Forfeitures I shall satisfie all Debts due by my Father and my Self as any Heir or Debtor can be obliged And as my Faithfulness to his late Majesty and his Government hath sufficiently appeared to all unbyassed Persons void of Malice so I do with Grief acknowledge my former too much complying with and conniving at the Methods that have been taken to bring us to the sad Condition we are now in though God knows never concurring in the Design I have now with God's Strength suffered patiently my unjust Sentence and Banishment 3 Years an half and have never offered to make any Uproar or Defence by Arms to disturb the Peace upon my private Concern but the King being now dead and the Duke of York having taken off his Mask and abandoned and invaded our Religion and Liberties resolving to enter into the Government and exercising it contrary to Law I think it not only just but my Duty to God and my Country to use my utmost Endeavours to oppose and repress his Usurpations and Tyranny And therefore being assisted and furnish'd very nobly by several good Protestants and invited and accompanied by several of both Nations to lead them I resolve as God shall enable me to use their Assistance of all kinds towards the Ends exprest in the said Declaration And I do hereby earnestly Invite and Obtest all honest Protestants and particularly all my Friends and Blood Relations to concur with us in the said Declaration And as I have written several Letters so having no other way fully to
Cast and Executed as much lamented for a Man of his Quality and with such severe Censures from the Generality of People upon the Hardship and Injustice done him as any other in our Age whatsoever And I have heard it said That even King James himself some time after express'd somewhat of Regret concerning it But though Cornish his Case seemed to have been resented more particularly by the People in this Turmoil of the Times yet the violent and rigorous Proceedings of the King and his bloody Agents did not pass unobserved and left such Seeds of Discontent in the Minds of most that though they did not presently bud forth yet other Occasions made them in time appear to purpose All this the Court could not not or would not discern so that they kept on their Pace though yet a little more covertly in England But the Popish Designs appeared by this time bare-faced enough in Ireland for the King was no sooner settled in his Throne but he began to turn out some Officers there who had been most zealous for his Service and deserved better at his Hands meerly because they had been counted firm to the Protestant Religion and English Interest particularly my Lord Shannon Captain Robert Fitz-Gerald Captain Richard Coote Sir George St. George and put into their Places one Kerney a Ruffian that designed to murder Charles II. Anderson an obscure Fellow Sheldon a profest Papist Graham and some more of the Stamp and at the same time sent for the Duke of Ormond very abruptly and divested him of the Government of that Kingdom to make way for Colonel Richard Talbot a Man of all others most hated by the Protestants to model the Army and one who had been named by Oats in his Narrative Years before for this Service So that many who before believed nothing of the Plot gave Credit to it now saying That if Oats were an ill Evidence he was certainly a good Prophet Talbot was no sooner invested with his Office but he prosecuted it in such a manner as might best be expected from a Man of so insolent a Temper exercising at the same time so much Barbarity and Falshood that if the Army had not been the best Principled with Loyalty and Obedience in the World they had Mutiâ—â—ed or at least sent him packing into another World He would take an Officer in the Morning into his Closet and with all the Oaths Curses and Damnations that were never wanting to him profess all Friendship and Kindness to him and promise the Continuance of his Commission to him but when the Afternoon came would casheer him with all the Contempt and Disgrace imaginable Nay perhaps while he was thus caressing him he had actually given away his Commission to another And if he thus Brutishly used the Officers you cannot think he could be kinder and more mannerly towards the Soldiers and Troopers whose way with them was to march them from their usual Quarters to some remote Place where he thought they were least known and would be put to greatest Hardships and there he would strip them the Foot of their Cloaths for which they had paid and the Troopers of their Horses Boots and Accouterments bought with their own Money and set them to walk bare-footed an 100 and an 150 Miles to their Homes or Friends if they had any It s true he would sometimes promise them something for their Horses but then they must go to Dublin for it and if any were so credulous as to go to demand the small Pittance he had promised them or Arrears of Pay he contrived it so that they were obliged to wait till they had spent there as much as they expected though most of them after all got nothing By this mean 2 or 300 English Gentlemen who had laid out all or great Part of their Portions or contracted Debts on Commissions were left not worth any thing and turn'd out without Reason or Consideration and 5 or 6000 Soldiers sent a begging and yet Bishop Tyrrel so early as in July this Year recommended this Talbot to the King as a most fit Person to be Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and in some time he obtained it besides the Dignity of Earl of Tirconnell King James by his wicked Instrument Talbot finding he might do what he would in Ireland thought he had now his great Rival was taken off a clear Field to do the same in England he had found his Parliament last Sessions extraordinarily plyable to his Desire and therefore at their next meeting in Nov. he told them That the Militia so much before depended on was not sufficient for his Occasions and that nothing would do but a standing Force of well disciplin'd Troops to defend him from all such as either at Home or Abroad were disposed to disturb the Nation That therefore the Concern he had both of his own and Subjects Tranquility made him think it necessary to increase the Number as he had done That he owed this as well to the Honour as Security of the Nation whose Reputation had been so infinitely exposed to all its Neighbours by being laid open to the late wretched Attempt that it could not be repaired without keeping such a Body of Men on Foot that none might ever have the Thoughts again of finding them so miserably unprovided That therefore he required a Supply answerable to the Expence and that he could not doubt but what they had begun so much to the Honour and Defence of the Government would be continued by them with all the Cheerfulness and Readiness that was requisite for a Work of so great Importance But then he came to the Nice Point and said That no Man should take Exception that some Officers in the Army were not qualified for their Imployments according to the late Tests for that he must tell them those Gentlemen were most of them well known to him and having formerly served him on several Occasions and always approved the Loyalty of their Principles by their Practice he thought them now fit to be imployed under him and that he would deal plainly with them That after having had the Benefit of their Services in such a time of Need and Danger he would neither expose them to Disgrace nor himself to the Want of them if there should be another Rebellion to make them necessary to him Then he cajol'd them with what Feats he had already done for the Nation and how much more he would do still even to the Hazard of his Life in the Defence and true Interest of the Nation and hoped no groundless Fears and Jealousies should put a Stop thereunto with something more to the same Purpose which I shall not trouble my self nor the Reader with but come to tell him that both Houses entered into a Debate upon the Speech Some of the Lords were against returning his Majesty Thanks for it and spoke pretty smartly to the Matter but the Majority were for it
the following Memorial and unravelled the Mystery of Skelton's being recalled and sent Prisoner to the Tower for discovering the King's Secrets My Lords THE sincere Desire the King my Master has to maintain the Tranquility of Europe will not suffer His Majesty to see the great Preparations for War both by Sea and Land made by Your Lordships without taking the Measures that Prudence the continual Companion of all His Actions inspires Him with to prevent the Mischiefs these War-like Preparations will certainly draw after them And although the King perswaded of the Wisdom of Your Counsels would not imagine that a Free State should so easily resolve to take up Arms and to kindle a War which in the present Juncture cannot but be fatal to all Christendom Nevertheless His Majesty cannot believe Your Lordships would engage Your Selves in so great Expences both at home and abroad to entertain in Pay so many Foreign Troops to put to Sea so numerous a Fleet so late in the Year and to prepare so great Magazins if You had not a Design formed answerable to the Greatness of these Preparations All these Circumstances and many others that I may not here produce perswade the King my Master with Reason that this Arming threatens England Wherefore His Majesty hath commanded me to declare to You on His part That the Bands of Friendship and Alliance between him and the King of Great Britain will oblige Him not only to assist him but also to look on the first Act of Hostility that shall be committed by Your Troops or Your Fleet against His Majesty of Great Britain as a manifest Rupture of the Peace and a Breach with His Crown I leave it to Your Lordships Prudence to reflect on the Consequences that such Actions may have His Majesty not having ordered me to make You this Declaration on His Part without His sincere Intention to prevent as I have already had the Honour to tell You all that may trouble the Peace of Europe Given at the Hague Septemb. 9 1688. But for all this Things were in England in the utmost Disorder and Security all that ever the King or Country could do could not keep the Army within any tolerable Bounds And tho' there was so great a Storm gathering in Holland yet so stupid were the Popish Drivers that nothing would serve them but filling the Army with Irish Men who were likely still to be more disorderly and more hated But this was vigorously opposed by Lieutenant-Colonel Beaumont and other Officers in the Duke of Berwick's Regiment The former in the name of the rest making the following speech to the Duke upon the occasion Sir I am desired by these Gentlemen with whose Sense I concur to inform your Grace that we don't think it consistent with our Honours to have Foreigners imposed upon us without being complain'd of that our Companies were weak or Orders to recruit them not doubting but if such Orders had been given us We that first in very ill times raised them Hundreds could easily now have made them according to the Kings Complement We humbly Petition we may have leave to fill up our Companies with such men of our Nation we may judge most suitable for the Kings Service and to support our Honours or that we may be permitted with all imaginable Duty and Respect to lay down our Commissions Of this an Account was forthwith transmitted to the King then at Windsor who immediately ordered a Party of Horse down to Portsmouth to bring them up in Custody and a Court-Marshal was ordered to proceed against them And if the Memorial of the French Ambassador had not come in that very Morning to shew them their Danger they had in all probability lost their Lives for it but now they contented themselves with only casheering of them By this time there was certain Intelligence brought that the Preparations in Holland were designed against England And the King in his Proclamation of the 28th of Sept. gave convincing Proofs that himself believed it and so he ordered new Levies to be made and began to turn Cat in â—an by declaring in Council Octb. 2d that he would restore the Charter of the City of London And the Ministers were by this time become so sensible of their Danger that they procured a General Pardon On Wednesday October the 3d. the Archbishop of Canterbury Ì„Ì„ and the Bishops of London Winchester St. Asaph Ely Chichester Rochester Bath and Wells and Peterborough all in a Body waited upon the King when the Archbishop spoke thus to him May it please Your Sacred Majesty WHen I had lately the Honour to wait upon you you were pleased briefly to acquaint me with what had passed two days before between your Majesty and these my Reverend Brethren by which and by the Account which they themselves gave me I perceived that in truth there passed nothing but in very general Terms and Expressions of your Majesties gracious and favourable Inclinations to the Church of England and of our reciprocal Duty and Loyalty to your Majesty Both which were sufficiently understood and declared before and as one of my Brethren then told you would have been in the same state if the Bishops had not stir'd one foot out of their Diocesses Sir I found it grieved my Lords the Bishops to have come so far and to have done so little and I am assured they came then prepared to have given your Majesty some more particular Instances of their Duty and Zeal for your Service had they not apprehended from some words which fell from your Majesty That you were not then at leisure to receive them It was for this Reason that I then besought your Majesty to command us once more to attend you all together which your Majesty was pleased graciously to allow and encourage We therefore are here now before you with all Humility to beg your Permission that we may suggest to your Majesty such Advices as we think proper at this Season and conducing to your Service and so leave them to your Princely Consideration Which the King being graciously pleased to permit the Archbishop proceeded as followeth I. Our first humble Advice is That your Majesty will be graciously pleased to put the Management of your Government in the several Counties into the Hands of such of the Nobility and Gentry there as are legally qualified for it II. That your Majesty will be graciously pleased to annul your Commission for Ecclesiastical Affairs and that no such Court as that Commission sets up may be erected for the future III. That your Majesty will graciously be pleased That no Dispensation may be granted or continued by Virtue whereof any person not duly qualified by Law hath been or may be put into any Place Office or Preferment in Church or State or in the Vniversities or continued in the same especially such as have Cure of Souls annexed to them and in particular that you will be graciously pleased to restore the
never heard it spoken of till the time of Monmouth's Rebellion when that the King told some of the Council of which I was one that he was resolved to give Employments to Roman Catholicks it being fit that all Persons should serve who could be useful and on whom he might depend I think every Body advised him against it but with little effect as was soon seen That Party was so well pleased with what the King had done that they persuaded him to mention it in his Speech at the next Meeting of the Parliament which he did after many Debates whether it was proper or not In all which I opposed it as is known to very considerable Persons some of which were of another Opinion for I thought it would engage the King too far and it did give such Offence to the Parliament that it was thought necessary to prorogue it after which the King fell immediately to the supporting the Dispensing Power the most Chinerical thing that was ever thought of and must be so till the Government here is as Absolute is in Turkey all Power being included in that one This is the Sense I ever had of it and when I heard Lawyers defend it I never changed my Opinion or Language however it went on most of the Judges being for it and was the chief Business of the State till it was looked on as settled Then the Ecclesiastical Court was set up in which there being so many considerable Men of several kinds I could have but a small part and that after Lawyers had told the King it was Legal and nothing like the High Commission Court I can most truly say and it is well known that for a good while I defended Magdalen College pâ—rely by Care and Industry and have hundreds of times begged of the King never to grant Mandates or to change any thing in the regular Course of Ecclesiastical Affairs which he often thought reasonable and then by perpetual Importunities was prevailed upon against his own Sense which was the very Case of Magdalen College as of some others These things which I endeavoured though without Success drew upon me the Anger and Ill will of many about the King The next thing to be tried was to take off the Penal Laws and the Tests so many having promised their Concurrence towards it that His Majesty thought it feasible but he soon found it was not to be done by that Parliament which made all the Catholicks desire it might be dissolv'd which I was so much against that they complained of me to the King as a Man who ruined all his Designs by opposing the only thing could carry them on Liberty of Conscience being the Foundation on which he was to build That it was first offered at by the Lord Clifford who by it had done the work even in the late King's time if it had not been for his weakness and the weakness of his Ministers Yet I hindred the Dissolution several Weeks by telling the King that the Parliament in Being would do every thing he could desire but the taking off the Penal Laws and the Tests or the allowing his Dispensing Power and that any other Parliament thoâ— such a one could be had as was proposed would probably never repeal those Laws and if they did they would certainly never do any thing for the support of the Government whatever exigency it might be in At that time the King of Spain was sick upon which I said often to the King That if he should die it would be impossible for His Majesty to preserve the Peace of Christendom that a War must be expected and such a one as would chiefly concern England and that if the present Parliament continued he might be sure of all the Help and Service he could wish but in case he dissolv'd it he must give over all Thoughts of Foreign Affairs for no other would ever assist him but on such Terms as would ruine the Monarchy so that from Abroad or at Home he would be destroy'd if the Parliament were broken and any accident should happen of which there were many to make the Aid of his People necessary to him This and much more I said to him several times privately and in the hearing of others But being over-power'd the Parliament was broke the Closetting went on and a new one was to be chosen who was to get by Closetting I need not say but it was certainly not I nor any of my Friends many of them suffered who I would fain have saved and yet I must confess with grief that when the King was resolv'd and there was no remedy I did not quit as I ought to have done but served on in order to the calling another Parliament In the midst of all the preparations for it and whilst the Corporations were regulating the King thought fit to order his Declarations to be read in all Churches of which I most solemnly protest I never heard one word till the King directed it in Council That drew on the Petition of my Lord the Archbishop of Canterbury and the other Lords the Bishops and their Prosecution which I was so openly against that by arguing continually to shew the Injustice and the Imprudence of it I brought the Fury of the Roman Catholicks upon me to such a degree and so unanimously that I was just sinking and I wish I had then sunk But whatever I did foolishly to preserve myself I continued still to be the Object of their hatred and I resolv'd to serve the Publick as well as I could which I am sure most of the considerable Protestants then at Court can testifie and so can one very eminent man of the Country whom I would have perswaded to come into business which he might have done to have helped me to resist the violence of those in Power But he despaired of being able to do any good and therefore would not engage Sometime after came the first News of the Prince's designs which were not then look'd on as they have proved no body foreseeing the Miracles he has done by his wonderful Prudence Conduct and Courage for the greatest thing which has been undertaken these thousand years or perhaps ever could not be effected without Vertues hardly to be imagined till seen nearer hand Upon the first thought of his coming I laid hold of the opportunity to press the King to do several things which I would have had done sooner the chief of which were to restore Magdalen College and all other Ecclesiastical Preferments which had been diverted from what they were intended for to take off my Lord Bishop of London's Suspension to put the Counties into the same hands they were in some time before to annul the Ecclesiastical Court and to restore entirely all the Corporations of England These things were done effectually by the help of some about the King and it was then thought I had destroyed my self by enraging again the whole Roman Catholick Party to such
Order they shall receive from Feversham This was directly a clear and full Abdication or Desertion of the Army which unavoidably necessitated them to submit to the Prince of Orange they having no Body to lead or head them against him And it is not conceivable how they could avoid entring into an Association or Oath of Allegiance to the Prince now the King had left them without exposing themselves by resisting a Foreign Army and a poisoned Nation For neither would the Nation continue long without a Prince nor would any Person who should have succeeded in that Capacity have suffered them to live within his Government without giving him Security by Oath for their Submission and Loyaly to him So that the whole Design of this Letter seems to be the Sowing Division in the Nation that when he left us we might not unite or settle our selves under the other but be divided by our Principles that so we might the more easily reduce us again into the State we are in when the Prince first designed his Expedition against England The King being gone as above-said Decem. 11. in the Morning the Principal Officers of the Army about the Town thereupon met about 10 a Clock at Whitehal and sent an Express to the Prince of Orange to acquaint him with the Departure of the King and to assure him that they would assist the Lord Mayor to keep the City quiet till his Highness came and made the Souldiery to enter into his Service Much about the same time the Lords Spiritual and Temporal about the Town came to Guildhal and sending for the Lord Mayor and Aldermen made the following Declartion The Declaration of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in and about the Cities of London and Westminster Aâ—â—â—mbled at Guild Hall the 14th of December 1688. VVE doubt not but the World believes that in this great and dangerous Conjuncture we are heartily and zealously concerned for the Protestant Religion the Laws of the Land and the Liberties and Properties of the Subject And we did reasonably hope that the King having issued out his Proclamation and Writs for a Free Parliament we might have rested secure under the Expectation of that Meeting But His Majesty having withdrawn himself and as we apprehend in order to his Departurâ— out of this Kingdom by the pernicious Counsels of Persons ill affected to our Nation and Roligion we cannot without being wanting to our Duty be silent under those Calamities wherein the Popish Counsels which so long prevailed have miserably involved these Realms We do therefore unanimously resolve to apply our selves to his Highness the Prince of Orange who with so great Kindness to these Kingdoms so vast Expence and so much Hazard hath undertaken by endeavouring to procure a Free Parliament to rescue us with as little effusion of Christian Blood as possible from the eminent Dangers of Popery and Slavery And we do hereby declare That we will with our utmost Endeavours assist his Highness in the obtaining such a Parliament with all speed wherein our Laws our Liberties and Properties may be secured the Church of England in particular with a due Liberty to Protestant Dissenters and in general the Protestant Religion and Interest over the whole World may be supported and encouraged to the Glory of God the Happiness of the Established Government in these Kingdoms and the Advantage of all Princes and States in Christendom that may be herein concerned In the mean time we will endeavour to preserve as much as in us lies the Peace and Security of these great and popalous Cities of London and Westminster and the parts adjacent by taking care to disarm all Papists and secure all Jesuits and Romish Priests who are in or about the same And if there be any thing more to be performed by Us for promoting his Highnes's Generous Intentions for the Publick Good we shall be ready to do it as occasion requires Signed W. Cant. T. Ebor. Pembrook Dorset Mulgrave Thanet Carlisle Craven Ailesbury Burlington Sussex Berkeley Rochester Newport Weymouth P. Winchester W. Asaph F. Ely Thoâ— Roffen Tho. Petriburg P. Wharton North and Gray Chandois Montague T. Jermâ—n Vaughan Carbery Culpeper Crewe Osulston Whereas His Majesty hath privately this Morning withdrawn himself we the Lords Spiritual and Temporal whose Names are hereunto Subscribed being Assembled in Guild-Hall in London having agreed upon and signed a Declaration of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in and about the Cities of London and Westminster Assembled at Guildhall the 11th of Decemb. 1688. do desire the Right Honourable the Earl of Pembrook the Right Honourable the Lord Viscount Weymouth the Right Reverend Father in God the Lord Bishop of Ely and the Right Honourable the Lord Culpeper forthwith to attend His Highness the Prince of ORANGE with the said Declaration and at the same time to acquaint his Highness with what we have further done at this Meeting Dated at Guild-Hall Decemb. 11. 1688. The same Day the Lieutenancy of London signed this following Address to the Prince of Orange at Guild-Hall and sent it by Sir Robert Clayton Kt. Sir Will. Russel Sir Basil Firebrace Kts. and Charles Duncomb Esq May it please your Highness VVE can never sufficiently express the deep Sense we have conceived and shall ever retain in our Hearts that your Highness has exposed your Person to so many Dangers by Sea and Land for the Preservation of the Protestant Religion and the Laws and Liberties of this Kingdom without such unparalleled Undertaking we must probably have suffered all the Miseries that Popery and Slavery could have brought upon us We have been greatly concerned that before this Time we had not any reasonable Opportunity to give Your Highness and the World a Real Testimony That it has been our firm Resolution to venture all that is dear to us to attain those Glorious Ends which your Highness has proposed for Restoring and Settling these Distracted Nations We therefore now unanimously present to your Highness our Just and Due Acknowledgments for that happy Relief you have brought to us and that we may not be wanting in this present Conjuncture we have put our selves into such a posture that by the Blessing of GOD we may be capable to prevent all ill Designs and to preserve this City in Peace and Safety till your Highness's happy Arrival We therefore humbly desire that your Highness will please to repair to this City with what convenient speed you can for the perfecting the Great Work which your Highness has so happily begun to the general Joy and Satisfaction of us all The Prince of Orange in the mean time finding the Kings Troops now without Head to commit many Disorders put forth the following Declaration By the Prince of Orange A Declaration VVHereas We are informed That divers Regiments Troops and Companies have been incouraged to disperse themselves in an Vnusual and Vnwarrantable Manner whereby the Publick Peace is very much disturbed We have thought fit hereby
to require all Colonels and Commanders in Chief of such Regiments Troops and Companies by Beat of Drum or otherwise to call together the several Officers and Soldiers belonging to their respective Regiments Troops and Companies in such Places as they shall find most convenient for their Rendezvous and there to keep them in good Order and Discipline And We do likewise direct and require all such Officers and Soldiers forthwith to repair to such Place as shall be appointed for that purpose by the Respective Colonels or Commanders in Chief whereof speedy Notice is to be given unto Vs for our further Orders Given at Our Court at Henly Decemb. 13. 1688. Prince of ORANGE From Henly he advanced by easie Marches towards London being invited thither as already noted by diverse Noblemen and Citizens as the King was also by some Lords to return which he did on Sunday the 16th in the Evening a Sett of Boys following him through the Streets and made some Huzza's while the rest of the People silently looked on But before the King's Return the Privy Council and Peers met and made this Order on the 14th VVE the Peers of this Realm Assembled with some of the Lords of the Privy Council do hereby require all Irish Officers and Soldiers to repair forthwith to the respective Bodies to which they do or did lately belong and do hereby declare that behaving themselves peaceably they shall have Subsistence pay'd them till they shall be otherwise provided for or imployed And the said Officers and Soldiers are to deliver up their Arms to some of the Officers of the Ordnance who are to deposite the same in the Stores in the Tower of London And We do require and command all Justices of the Peace Constables and other Officers whom it may concern that they apprehend and seize all such Soldiers as shall not repair to their respective Bodies and that they be dealt with as Vagabonds Given at the Council Chamber at Whitehal the Fourteenth of Decemb. 1688. Tho. Ebor. Hallifax Dorset Carlisle Craven Nottingham Rochester N. Duresine P. VVinchester North and Gray J. Trevor J. Titus It was high time to put out this Order for on Thursday Dec. 13. about Three in the Morning there was a terrible Allarm That the Irish in a desperate Rage were approaching London putting Man Woman and Child to the Sword which made the People all rise placing Lights in their Windows from top to bottom and every Man guarding his own Door with his Musquet charged with Powder and Ball and all the Traindbands of the City were in Arms so that there was nothing heard but Shooting and Beating of Drums all Night And what is very strange this Allarm spread it self over the face of the whole Kingdom and all that were able to carry Arms vowed the Defence of their Lives Laws Religion and Liberties and stood resolved to destroy all the Irish and Papists in England in case any Injury were offered them but few Papists suffered in their Persons only their Houses were generally rifled under a pretence of searching for Arms and Ammunition The Prince who was now at VVindsor had sent M. Zulestein to the King to desire him to continue at Rochester but missing him the King came to VVhitehal and from thence sent the Lord Feversham with a Letter to the Prince to VVindsor to invite him to St. James's with what number of Troops he should think convenient to bring along with him But the Prince referring the Consideration of the Subject-Matter of the Letter to the Peers about him they concluded that the shortness of the Time could admit of no better Expedient that the King might be desired to remove with a reasonable Distance from London and Ham an House belonging to the Dutchess of Lauderdale was pitch'd upon and a Note or Paper dâ—rawn up to that purpose which was ordered to be delivered after the Prince's Guards were in Possession of the Posts about VVhitehall the Substance whereof was as follows WE desire you the Lord Marquess of Hallifax the Earl of Shrewsbury and the Lord Delamere to tell the King That it is thought convenient for the great Quiet of the City and the great Safety of his Person that he do remove to Ham where he shall be attended by his Guards who will be ready to preserve him from any Disturbance Given at VVindsor the Seventeenth Day of December 1688. VV. Prince de Orange The Guards who were commanded by Count Solmes made it 10 a Clock at Night before they could reach London And the Kings Guards then on Duty not being very forward to dislodge it was Twelve before the Lords could deliver the said Paper of which they first sent this Account to Secretary Middleton My Lord THere is a Message to be delivered to his Majesty from the Prince which is of so great Importance that we who are charged with it desire we may be immediately admitted and therefore desire to know where we may find your Lordship that you may introduce My Lord c. Hallifax Shrewsbury Delamere He accordingly presently introduced them the King being by that time in Bed where they made an Apology for coming at so unseasonable a Time and delivering him the Paper the King read it and said He would comply with it Upon this the Lords humbly desired he would remove so early as to be at Ham by Noon to prevent Meeting the Prince in his Way to London where he was to come the same Day His Majesty readily agreed to this too and asked whether he might not appoint what Servants should attend him To which the Lords replied That it was left to him to give Order in that as he pleased and so they took their Leave of him When they were gone as far as the Privy-Chamber the King sent for them again and told them he had forgot to acquaint them with his Resolutions before the Message came to send my Lord Godolphin next Morning to the Prince to propose his going back to Rochester he finding by the Message M. Zulestein was charged with the Prince had no Mind he should be at London and therefore he now desired he might rather return to Rochester than go to any other place The Lords replied That they would immediately send an Account to the Prince of what His Majesty desired and they did not doubt of such an Answer as would be to his Satisfaction Accordingly they sent to him who was then at Sion-House and before 8 next Morning there came a Letter from M. Bentink by the Prince's Order agreeing to the King's Proposals of going to Rochester Hereupon he went the Guards being made ready and Boats prepared that Night to Gravesend in his own Barge attended by the Earl of Arran and some few others The same Day being Dec. 18. about Three in the Afternoon His Highness the Prince of Orange came to St. James's attended by Monsieur Schomberg and a great Number of the Nobility and Gentry and was entertained with
a Joy and Concourse of the People which appeared free and unconstrained and all the Bells in the City were rung and Bonfires made in every Street The King continued at Rochester till Dec. 23. and then about 1 or 2 in the Morning he privately withdrew himself and taking only with him Mr. Ra. Sheldon and Mr. Delabady he went towards Dover and embarked in a Vessel laid ready for his Transportation to France The Queen who went hence the 10th arrived at Calais on the 11th and was in great pain not knowing what had happen'd in England for the King whom she expected every Tide But the King before he withdrew the second time wrote and left behind him the following Letter which was afterwards printed by his Order in London His Majesty's Reasons for withdrawing himself from Rochester writ with his own Hand and â—ordered by him to be Published THE World cannot wonder at my withdrawing my Self now this second time I might have expected somewhat better Usage after what I writ to the Prince of Orange by my Lord Feversham and the Instructions I gave him But instead of an Answer such as I might have hoped for what was I to expect after the Usage I received by the making the said Earl a Prisoner against the Practice and Law of Nations The sending his own Guards at 11 at Night to take Possession of the Posts at Whitehall without advertising me in the least manner of it The sending to me at One of the Clock at Mid-night when I was in Bed a kind of Order by three Lords to be gone out of my Palace before Twelve the same Morning After all this How could I hope to be safe so long as I was in the Power of one who had not only done this to me and invaded my Kingdoms without any just Occasion given him for it but that did by his own Declaration lay the greatest Aspersion on me that Malice could invent in that Clause of it which concerns my Son I appeal to all that know me nay even to himself that in their Consciences neither he nor they can believe me in the least capable of so unnatural a Villany nor of so little common Sense to be imposed on in a Thing of such a Nature as that What had I then to expect from one who by all Arts hath taken such pains to make me appear as Black as Hell to my own People as well as to all the World besides What Effect that hath had at home all Mankind hath seen by so general a Defection in my Army as well as in the Nation amongst all sorts of People I was born free and desire to continue so And tho' I have ventured my Life very frankly on several Occasions for the Good and Honour of my Country and am as free to do it again and which I hope I shall yet do as old as I am to redeem it from the Slavery it is like to fall under yet I think it not convenient to expose my self to be so secured as not to be at liberty to effect it and for that Reason to withdraw but so as to be within Call whensoever the Nation 's Eyes shall be opened so as to see how they have been imposed upon by the specious Pretences of Liberty and Property I hope it will please GOD to touch their Hearts out of his infinite Mercy and to make them sensible of the ill Condition they are in and bring them to such a Temper that a Legal Parliament may be called and that amongst other things which may be necessary to be done they will agree to Liberty of Conscience for all Protestant-Dissenters and that those of my own Persuasion may be so far considered and have such a Share of it as they may live peaceably and quietly as English Men and Christians ought to do and not be obliged to transplant themselves which would be very grievous especially to such who love their Country And I appeal to all Men who are considering Men and have had Experience whether any thing can make this Nation so great and flourishing as Liberty of Conscience Some of our Neighbours dread it I could add much more to confirm what I have said but now is not the proper Time Rochester Dec. 22. 1688. The Prince being come to London the Common-Council met and in the Name of the City returned him Thanks and congratulated him upon his great and glorious Expedition Then was there an Association signed at St. James's by near 60 Peers And at the Princes Request the Lords met at Westminster who desired him to take the Publick Administration upon him and agreed a â—onvention should meet on the 22d of January The Prince also put out the following Paper WHereas the Necessity of Affairs does require speedy Advice We do desire all such Persons as have served as Knights Citizens or Burgesses in any of the Parliaments that were held during the Reign of the late King CHARLES the Second to meet Vs at St. James's upon Wednesday the Six and Twentieth of this Instant December by Ten of the Clock in the Morning And We do likewise desire That the Lord Mayor and Court of Aldermen of the City of London would be present at the same time and that the Common-Council would appoint Fifty of their Number to be there likewise And hereof We desire them not to fail Given at St. James's the Three and twentieth Day of December 1688. W. H. Prince of Orange By His Highness's especial Command G. HUYGENS. The Commons attended accordingly and concurring fully with the Lords the Prince sent out his Circular Letters for the meeting of the said Convention With which we shall conclude the Affairs of this Memorable Year Only I must observe that it proved fatal to one of the most generous and bravest Princes of Europe the Elector of Brandenburgh who died May 10. in the 69th Year of his Age. year 1689 THis Year cannot be begun with any thing more memorable than with the Meeting of the Convention Parliament which was on Jan. 22d and the manner of their Proceedings Upon which Occasion the Prince of Orange directed to them the following Letter My Lords and Gentlemen I Have endeavoured to the utmost of my Power to perform what was desired from me in order to the Publick Peace and Safety and I do not know that any thing hath been omitted which might tend to the preservation of them since the Administration of Affairs was put into my Hands It now lieth upon you to lay the Foundations of a firm security for your Religion your Laws and your Liberties I do not doubt but that by such a full and free Representative of the Nation as is now met the Ends of my Declaration will be attained And since it hath pleased God hitherto to bless my good Intentions with so great success I trust in him that he will compleat his own Work by sending a Spirit of Peace and Union to influence your Counsels
Superiority Preheminence or Authority Ecclesiastical or Spiritual within the Realm So help me God This Declaration being tendered to the Prince and Princess of Orange and the Conditions being accepted by both they were soon after proclaimed King and Queen of England according to the Tenor of a Proclamation drawn by the Convention for that very purpose and so they took a peaceable Possession of the English Crown the few Soldiers of Dumbarton's Regiment that sometime after revolted being quickly brought to submit and no other Punishment inflicted upon them than to be sent into Holland without any deâ—alcation of their Pay But the King having now done his Work in England 't was his next Thoughts to make sure of Scotland whither he had sent a Body of Men sometime since under the Command of Major General Mâ—ckay and where notwithstanding the Duke of Gourdon still held Edinburgh Castle and that there was a disposition in the Northern Inhabitants of that Kingdom to adhere to the late King a Convention met also and notwithstanding King James writ to them as well as King William yet the formers Letter was so far from having any effect upon them in his Favour that the Throne of Scotland was declared vacant and an Act of Recognition drawn up in the Form following THat whereas James the Seventh being a professed Papist did assume the Regal Power and act as a King without ever taking the Oaths required by Law whereby every King at his Access to the Government was obliged to swear to maintain the Protestant Religion and to Rule the People according to the laudable Laws and by the Advice of wicked Counsellors did invade the Fundamental Constitutions of the Kingdom of Scotland and alter'd it from a Legal limited Monarchy to an Arbitrary and Despotick Power and in a publick Proclamation asserted an Absolute Power to annul and disable all Laws particularly by arraigning the Laws establishing the Protestant Religion and to the Violation of the Laws and Liberties of the Kingdom By erecting publick Schools and Societies of the Jesuits and not only allowing Mass to be publickly said but also converting Protestant Chapels and Churches to publick Mass-Houses contrary to the express Laws against saying and hearing of Mass By allowing Popish Books to be printed and disposed by a Patent to a Popish Printer designing him Printer to his Majesty's Houshold Colledge and Chappel contrary to Law By taking the Children of Protestant Noblemen and Gentlemen and sending them abroad to be bred Papists and bestowing Pensions on Priests to pervert Protestants from their Religion by Offers of Places of Preferments By disarming Protestants while at the same time he employ'd Papists in Places of the greatest Trust both Civil and Military c. and entrusting the Forces and Magazines in their hands By imposing Oaths contrary to Law By exacting Money without Consent of Parliament or Convention of Estates By levying and keeping up a Standing Army in time of Peace without Consent of Parliament and maintaining them upon free Quarter By employing the Officers of the Army as Judges throughout the Kingdom by whom the Subjects were put to death without legal Trial Jury or Record Bp imposing exorbitant Fines to the value of the Parties Estates exacting extravagant Bail and disposing Fines and Forfeitures before any Process or Conviction By imprisoning Persons without expressing the Reason and delaying to bring them to Trial. By causing several Persons to be prosecuted and their Estates to be forfeited upon Stretches of old and forfeited Laws upon weak and frivolous Pretences and upon lame and defective Proofs as particularly the late Earl of Argyle to the Scandal of the Justice of the Nation By subverting the Rights of the Royal Boroughs the Third Estate of Parliament imposing upon them not only Magistrates but also the whole Town Council and Clerks contrary to their Liberties and express Charters without any pretence of Sentence Surrender or Consent So that the Commissioners to Parliaments being chosen by the Magistrates and Councils the King might in effect as well nominate that entire Estate of Parliament Besides that many of the Magistrates by him put in were Papists and the Boroughs were forced to pay Money for the Letters imposing those illegal Magistrates upon them By sending Letters to the Chief Courts of Justice not only ordering the Judges to stop sine die but also commanding them how to proceed in Cases depending before them contrary to the express Laws and by changing the Nature of the Judges Patents ad vitam or culpam into a Commission de bene placito to dispose them to a Compliance of Arbitrary Courses and turning them out of their Offices if they refus'd to comply By granting personal Protections for Civil Debts contrary to Law All which were Miscarriages of King James utterly and directly contrary to the known Laws Freedoms and Statutes of the Realm of Scotland Upon which Grounds and Reasons the Estates of the Kingdom of Scotland did find and declare That K. James the 7th being a profess'd Papist did assume the Regal Power c. as at the beginning whereby he had forfeited the Right of the Crown and the Throne was become vacant Therefore in regard his Royal Highness then Prince of Orange since King of England whom it pleas'd God to make the glorious Instrument of delivering these Kingdoms from Popery and Arbitrary Power by Advice of several Lords and Gentlemen of the Scots Nation then at London did call the Estates of this Kingdom to meet upon the Fourteenth of March last in order to such an Establishment as their Religion Laws and Liberties might not again be in danger of being subverted The said Estates being at that time assembled accordingly in a full and free Representative of the Nation taking into their most serious Consideration the best Means for attainâ—ng the Ends aforesaid did in the first place as their Ancestors in the like Cases had usually done for the Vindicating and Asserting their Ancient Rights and Liberties declare That by the Law of Scotland no Papist could be King or Queen of the Realm nor bear any Office whatever therein nor that any Protestant Successor could exercise the Regal Power till he or they had sworn the Coronation-Oath That all Proclamations asserting an Absolute Power to null and disable Laws in order to erecting Schools and Colledges for Jesuits converting Protestant Churches and Chappels into Mass-Houses and the allowing Mass to be said That the allowing Popish Books to be printed and dispersed was contrary to Law That the taking the Children of Noblemen Gentlemen and others and keeping them abroad to be bred Papists the making Funds and Donations to Popish Schools and Colledges the bestowing Pensions on Priests and the seducing Protestants from their Religion by offers of Places and Preferment was contrary to Law That the disarming of Protestants and the employing Papists in the greatest Places of Trust both Civil and Military c. was contrary to Law That the imposing
an Oath without Authority of Parliament was contrary to Law That the raising of Money without Consent of Parliament or Convention was contrary to Law That the imploying Officers of the Army as Judges c. was contrary to Law That the imposing extraordinary Fines c. was contrary to Law That the imprisoning of Persons without expressing the Reasons c. was the same That the prosecuting and seizing Mens Estates as forfeited upon stretches of the old and obsolete Laws c. was contrary to Law That the nominating and imposing Magistrates c. upon Burroughs contrary to their express Charters was the same That the sending Letters to the Courts of Justice ordaining the Judges to desist from determining of Causes and ordaining them how to proceed in Causes depending before them c. was contrary to Law That the granting of personal Protections c. was the same That the forcing the Subjects to depose against themselves in capital Causes however the Punishment were restricted was contrary to Law That the using Torture without Evidence or in ordinary Crimes was contrary to Law That the sending of an Army in a Hostile manner into any part of the Kingdom in time of Peace and exacting Locality and free Quarter was the same That charging the Subjects with Law-burroughs at the King's Instance and imposing Bonds without Authority of Parliament and the suspending Advocates for not appearing when Bonds were offer'd was contrary to Law That the putting Garrisons into private Mens Houses in time of Peace without Authority of Parliament was illegal That the Opinions of the Lords of the Sessions in the two Cases following were illegal viz. That the concerting the demand of Supply of a forefaulted Person although not given was Treason That Persons refusing to discover their private Thoughts in relation to points of Treason or other Mens Actions are guilty of Treason That the fining Husbands for their Wives withdrawing from Church was illegal The Prelates and Superiority of any Office in the Church above Presbyter is and has been a great and unsupportable burthen to this Nation and contrary to the Inclinations of the generality of the People ever since the Reformation they having reformâ—d Popery by Presbytery and therefore ought to be abolish'd That it is the Right and Privilege of the Subject to protest for remedy of Law to the King and Parliament against Sentences pronounc'd by the Lords of the Sessions provided the same do not stop executions of the said Sentences That it is the Right of the Subject to petition the King and that all Prosecutions and Imprisonments for such petitioning are and were contrary to Law Therefore for the redress of all Grievances and for the amending strengthening and preserving the Laws they claim'd that Parliaments ought to be frequently call'd and allow'd to â—it and freedom of Speech and Debate allow'd the Members And then they farther claim'd and insisted upon all and sundry the Premises as their undoubted Rights and Liberties and that no Declaration or Proceedings to the prejudice of the People in any of the said Premises ought in any wise to be drawn hereafter in Example but that all Forfeitures Fines loss of Offices Imprisonments Banishments Prosecutions Persecutions and rigorous Executions be consider'd and the Parties redress'd To which demand of their Rights and redress of their Grievances they took themselves to be encourag'd by the King of England's Declaration for the Kingdom of Scotland in October last as being the only means for obtaining a full Redress and Remedy therein Therefore Forasmuch as they had an entire Confidence that His Majesty of England would perfect the Deliverance so far advanc'd by him and would still preserve them from the Violation of the Rights which they had asserted and from all other Attempts upon their Religion Laws and Liberties The said Estates of the Kingdom of Scotland had resolv'd That William and Mary King and Queen of England be declared King and Queen of Scotland to hold the Crown and Royal Dignity of the said Kingdom to them the said King and Queen during their Lives and the longest Liver of them and that the sole and full Exercise of the Power be only in and exercis'd by him the said King in the Names of the said King and Queen during their Lives And after their Decease that the said Crown and Royal Dignity of the said Kingdom be to the Heirs of the Body of the said Queen Which failing to the Princess Anne of Denmark and the Heirs of her Body which also failing to the Heirs of the Body of the said William King of England And then withal they pray'd the said King and Queen to accept the same accordingly It was also declar'd by the Instrument That the Oath hereafter mention'd should be taken by all Protestants by whom the Oath of Allegiance or any other Oaths and Declarations might be requir'd by Law instead of it and that the Oath of Allegiance and all other Oaths and Declarations should be abrogated The Oath was but short and conformable to that which was prescrib'd in England I A. B. Do sincerely promise and swear That I will be faithful and bear true Allegiance to Their Majesties King William and Queen Mary So help me God This Act being brought to perfection the Earl of Argyle with other Commissioners were dispatch'd away with it for London to present it to the King and Queen and to take their Oath which being done the same day as Their Majesties were Crowned King and Queen of England they were also proclaimed King and Queen of Scotland and May 11th the Earl of Argyle with other Commissioners tender'd the Coronation Oath to their Majesties which was distinctly pronounced word by word by the Earl while their Majesties repeated the Sentences after him holding up their Right-hands all the while according to the Custom of Scotland but when the King came to that Clause in the Oath We shall be careful to root out Hereticks he declared that he did not mean by those words that he was under any obligation to become a Persecutor To which the Commissioners replied That neither the meaning of the Oath nor the Law of Scotland did import it Whereupon the King said That he took the Oath in that sense and called the Commissioners and other 's there present to be Witnesses of his so doing Then the Convention was turn'd into a Parliament who abolish'd Episcopal Church-Government and restor'd the Presbyterian one which with other concurring Causes made things somewhat uneasie in that Kingdom for a time For tho Edenburgh Castle was June 13th surrender'd to Sir John Lamier yet Dundee gathered strength in the North for the late King between whose Party and Mackays past several Actions and the first was July 16th near Blaine in the County of Athol where Mackay with 4000 Foot and 4 Troops of Horse and Dragoons attack'd Dundee who had 6000 Foot and 100 Horse on his side and between whom there was a
Scotland the whole Party would not seem thereby to be discouraged especially those in England who thought it a very opportune Season while the King was absent to attempt something considerable to the Advantage of their Cause And therefore having timely concerted Matters with their Friends on the other side of the Water it was so agreed That while part of the French Fleet should bear up into the Thames to favour and assist the Designs of those that were in London who were very numerous by the flocking of a great many of the Conspirators from all Parts of the Country thither they were to have made an Insurrection in several Places at once Certain Persons were to have taken upon them the Administration of Affairs till the Return of King James who was to leave the Command of his Army to his Generals and hasten with all Speed into England The other part of the French Fleet having joyned their Gallies was to have landed 8000 Men at Torbay with Arms for a greater Number after which the Gallies and Men of War were to Sail into the Irish Sea to hinder the Return of King William and his Forces Their Party in Scotland was to have revolted at the same time in several Parts of that Kingdom But however the Matter was in reality the whole Contrivance seems to have been founded upon a Presumption if not Assurance of the English Fleet being first beaten by the French of which whether they had any foresight otherwise than from the inequality of the Strength which was considerably at this time to the Advantage of France I am not able to unriddle Yet the Conspiracy by the timous Discovery of it proved a vain Contrivance tho' the Grounds upon which the Formation thereof seemed to depend proved but too successful For all the French Fleet having entred the Channel as before concerted they veered some time upon the English Coast as expecting the Effect of the Conspiracy which was to have broken out the 18th of June of which the Queen had no sooner notice but she sent the Earl of Torrington who was Admiral Orders to fight the Enemy what-ever befel him as knowing they could have no good Design by coming so near us But how dishonourable soever this Action seemed to be to the English Nation yet there was one Circumstance that attended it that was somewhat favourable For the People generally were possess'd with an Opinion of the English Seamens Courage and Bravery above those of the French and many with so high a Conceit of the Admiral that Commanded them that it was some days before they could be brought to be perswaded of the Truth of what had happened And their Concern about it even then was much alleviated by the good News we had of his Majesty's Success in Ireland at the Battle at the Boyne which was fought the day after and of which by and by But we must first return where we left off in Ireland and that was to the Army going from Dundalk into their Winter Quarters and take a short View of the State of things there till the King's Arrival Dundalk Camp was not the only the Place that proved fatal to our Army in Ireland for they died in great numbers both Officers and Souldiers after they got into Quarters and among the former Colonel Langston departed this Life of a Fever at Lisburn and my Lord Hewet and the Lord Roscommon of the same Distemper at Chester So that about the beginning of the new Year several Regiments were broke into others and the Officers continued at half Pay till Provision could be made for them in other Regiments whilst others went over into England for Recruits However Sickness by degrees abating about the beginning of Febr. they found both Men and Horses such as survived in pretty good Heart when the General being informed that the Enemy were drawing down some Forces towards Dundalk and that they had laid in great Store of Corn Hay and other Provisions with a Design from thence to disturb our Frontier Garrisons sent a considerable Body of Horse and Foot that way himself following them on the 11th towards Drummore in order to wait the Enemies Motion But the Irish designs at this time lay another way For while the Duke was upon this Expedition there was Notice given Colonel Woolsâ—ey that they had a Design to fall upon Belturbet which he had taken from them a little before and that to that end a considerable number of them were advanced to Cavan and more to follow who thereupon marched diligently from Belturbet with 700 Foot and 300 Horse and Dragoons in the Evening towards them as thinking to surprize them next Morning ealry they being not above 8 Miles off But he met with so many Difficulties in his March that instead of being before day light at the Place he designed it was not only half an hour after break of day before he came in sight of it but also the Enemy had got notice of his coming So that instead of surprizing them he might well have been surprized himself For the first thing he saw was a Body of the Enemy drawn up in good Order and might consist of about 4000 Men but there being no retreating now either with Honour or Safety the Colonel was resolved to stand stoutly to it and therefore having first told his Men the Advantages of being brave and the inevitable Ruin of the whole Party if they proved otherwise and thereupon finding them very compliant to his Desire he sent a Party of Iniskilling Dragoons towards the Enemy who were presently charged by a great Body of their Horse and beat back past the Front of their own Foot who were so enraged at them that some of Major General Kirk's Men and Colonel Wharton's fired upon them and killed 7 or 8 of the number but some of the Enemies Horse pursued them so far that many of them were killed by our Foot as they endeavoured to get off By this time the Body of the Party was advanced near the Irish who were posted upon the top of a rising Ground not far from the Town and who as our Men advanced up the Hill fired a whole Volley upon them and then set up an Huzza but scarce killed a Man their Shot flying over them Our Men however went on till they came within Pistol-shot and then fired which so galled the Irish that they immediately retired towards the Town and entred into a Fort they had there and from whence they sallied and made a very fierce Attack upon the English who had too speedily fallen to Plunder But Woolsley having 250 Foot and about 80 Horse for a Reserve the Enemy were beat off again their Horse flying quite beyond the Town and the Foot retiring to the Fort again The Soldiers got good store of Shoes and other things in the Place but their Ammunition was blown up and their Provisions destroy'd for the Colonel was forced to set the Town on
to bethink themselves of a new Captain General and this Trust and Honour they unanimously devolved on the serene Doge Morosini who had formerly served the Republick so successfully and which nothing now but his great Age made him seem unwilling to accept of As for the Polish Army I think they made a shift to get into the Field by Sept. and in Oct. to block up Caminiec and 't is well had they done that to purpose for as to any thing else they never went about it And now having run thro' the several Transactions of Europe it 's time to close this Year with a few Particulars About the beginning of the Year died the famous Robert Boyle Esq who was a Philosopher under a particular Character as being addicted to the Study of Natural Philosophy and perhaps never any Man dived so deep into the Knowledge of Nature as himself which yet was so far from being attended in him with that Atheism that is too too usual for such speculative Heads that he was always in his Life time esteemed a very pious Man and sincere Christian of which he gave a most convincing Testimony at his Death by the Legacy he left to have a Monthly Sermon preached against Atheism On the 7th of June hapned a most terrible Earthquake in the Island of Jamaca in the West-Indies which did most prodigious Damage especially at the Town of Port-Royal the best of all the English Plantations and the greatest Mart in that part of the World which was in a manner entirely ruined and not only so but 't was computed no less than 1500 People perished in it And upon the 8th of Sept. following about 2 a Clock we felt an Earthquake also in England and particularly in London the like no Man living knew before but blessed be God it did no harm with us nor upon the Continent where it was felt in the same time and manner On the 24th of Dec. died the most serene Electress of Bavaria at Vienna in the 23d Year of her Age after she had undergone several Discomposures from the 28th of Oct. when she was brought to bed of an Electoral Prince This Year was also fatal to Prince Waldeck Camp-Master-General to his Imperial Majesty and the States and on whom the Emperor conferred the Dignity of a Prince by reason of his Merit for he was a Politick and Able as he was unfortunate and the Services he had done him in Hungary and other places but the same died with him Neither ought we to forget that this Year the Duke of Hanover a Protestant Prince had been advanced to an Elector of the Empire and so a Ninth Electorate constituted thereby year 1693 It may be remembred we left King William in the close of the Campaign going to his Diversions in Holland from whence he returned into England before whose Arrival things were so managed in Ireland by my Lord Sidney Lord Lieutenant of that Kingdom that the Parliament there made not only an Act of Recognition of their Majesty's title to that Crown and another to get other Protestants to settle in that Kingdom but one for an additional Duty of Excise upon Beer Ale and other Liquors for the Support of the Government And Scotland seemed very zealous and forward to contribute new Levies or whatever else their Majesties desired And to be sure the Parliament of England that had hitherto on all occasions been ready to promote the King's just designs would not be behind-hand now but took his Majesty's Speech so effectually into their Consideration that before the end of Jan. they passed the Act of Granting to their Majesties an Aid of 4 s. in the Pound for carrying on a vigorous War against France and soon after another that granted certain Rates and Duties of Excise upon Beer Ale or other Liquors for securing Recompences and Advantages in the said Act mentioned to such Persons as should voluntarily advance 1000000 l. for the purposes declared in the Act by paying into the Receipt of his Majesties Exchequer the fore-mentioned Summ before the 1st of May 1693. upon the terms expressly mentioned in the said Act neither did they stop their Handâ— here but proceeded chearfully to other Methods for compleating the necessary Supplies and by the 14th of March the King among others signed two Mony Acts more viz. An Act for Granting to their Majesties certain additional Impositions upon several Goods and Merchandizes for prosecuting the present War with France and an Act for a Review of the Quarterly Pole granted to their Majesties the last Session of Parliament After this the King made a Speech to thank them for what they had done to recommend the Publick Peace to them and Equity in levying what they had so freely given then prorogued the Houses to the 2d of May and in the mean time went himself for Holland But before his Departure did by what Advice I will not determine lay aside Admiral Russel who had beaten the French Fleet last Year and received the Thanks of the House of Commons for it whereof he was then a Member but since made a Peer by the Stile and Title of Earl of Oxford and last Year one of the Lords Justices of England and constituted Henry Killigrew Esq Sir Ralph Delavall and Sir Clovesley Shovel to command the Fleet this Summer The Fleet was numerous and ready pretty early as was also a great Fleet of Merchant-men near 400 Sail in all of English Dutch Hamburgers c. prepared to sail to the Streights under the Convoy of Sir George Rook with a strong Squadron of Men of War with whom the grand Fleet was to keep company till they came to such a Latitude or as was given out in those times by some till they had certain Information where the French Fleet was Which made their Orders discretionary and Sir George who seemed to have some foresight of the Danger exprest himself very loath to part with them But however seeing he could not help it he sailed on and leaving by the way the Vessels bound for Bilboa Lisbon Sr. Tubes and other Ports under Convoy of 2 Men of War which made Sir George have no more with him than 21 now The account of his Expedition as himself sent an Express of it was briefly thus That indeed he had discovered the French Fleet about 20 Leagues short of Cape St. Vincent which made him call a Council of War wherein it was resolved that the Wind being fresh Westerly and giving a fair opportunity to hasten their Passage to Cadiz the Merchants should make the best of their way That upon the Discovery of the Enemies whole Fleet upon the 16th he brought too and stood off with an easie Sail to give what time he could to the heavy Sailors to work away to the Windward sending away the Sheerness to order the small Ships that were under the Shore that they should endeavour to get along the Shore in the Night
of the House of Commons that I promise My Self an happy Conclusion of this Session unless you suffer your selves to be mis-led into Heats and Divisions Which being the only Hope Our Enemies have now left I make no Doubt but you will entirely disappoint them by your Prudence and Love to your Country We will leave the Parliament to deliberate upon the mighty Affairs contained in this Speech as we do Admiral Sir George Rook to go into the Streights in the room of Admiral Russel now come home with our great Ships and observe according to our Custom in the Conclusion of the Year what has fallen out that was particularly remarkable in the Course of it that could not well be introduced into the Body of the Story and we find only this that Anselm Francis Frederick de Angelheim Bishop of Mentz departed this Life on the 30th of March being extreamly aged after having held that Bishoprick about 16 Years and was succeeded in the Bishoprick and Electorate by Lothair Francis de Schonborn his Coad jutor and Bishop of Bemberg year 1696 Now we begin with another Year and without the least Recapitulation of what preceded we come to take notice That though our Arms had triumphed abroad in the manner already related yet never was a Nation under such unhappy Circumstances as England at this time where Guineas were at an exorbitant Price and our Silver Coin through the Wickedness of Villanous Men reduced to such a state that nothing but the Wisdom of such a Parliament as then sate and of him that was at the Head of them could possibly have gone through with the Amendment of it But though the matter was managed with admirable Prudence and Celerity so as that an Act was ready and Signed early in Jan. for the remedying the ill State of our Coin Yet it put such a general Stop to Trade and gave such an occasion of Uneasiness to all in general and such an opportunity for the Malecontents to be practising their Villanies against the Government that I dare avow it would have been endured in no other Reign save that of our good and heroick Kingâ— nor so well then neither save something that happened in consequence of it which gave an opportunity to secure all that were suspected to be troublesome and which turned the worst of Mischiefs to the best Effects according to the Disposition of Divine Providence that had always appeared very remarkable in the preservation of that Sacred Life whom we shall never sufficiently value But to give a little Sceach of what was preludious to the Discovery of that damnable Design against His Majesty's Person we are to understand that the French finding themselves considerably upon the losing Hand last Campagne not only made divers new Levies this Winter but divers Troops filed off daily towards the Sea-Coast which gave great Umbrage to the Confederates and especially to Holland as fearing they might be designed to infest the Coasts of Zealand and Flanders But the Design was quickly unravel'd for many Days in February had not been gone but that it was a publick Discourse in France That the Intent was to re-establish the late King upon the Throne and that the Design was so far concerted that nothing more remained but the Winds and the Waves to do their part In order to this the late King on the 18th of February took Post for Calais and immediately upon his Arrival the Troops Artillery and Stores were ordered to be put on Board with the utmost Diligence while News was impatiently expected from England to set Sail And so Cock-sure were they in France of the Success of the Enterprize that the Duke of Orleans in consideration of his near Alliance with the Duke of Savoy and with an assured Prospect of the Overthrow of most of the Confederates sollicited that Prince in a very pressing manner to make his Peace betimes But if they were so mightily alarmed before on the other side of the Water at these Preparations they were much more now when they heard of the late King's Arrival at Calais which made the Duke of Wirtemberg immediately to dispatch one of his Aids de Camp for England to give his Majesty notice of all this The Prince de Vaudemont who was then at Brussels with the Elector of Bavaria both dispatched Expresses also to the King by way of Holland upon the same account But the Duke of Wirtemberg's Messenger going directly by the way of Newport with great Difficulty in escaping the Enemy got to Court first which was on the 22d of Feb. and acquainted his Majesty that the Duke had stopped all the Ships in the Harbor and Canal of Ostend as well as that of Bruges in order to transport the Forces over for his Service And 't was further said he should send word That in case he did not hear quickly from his Majesty he would run the hazard of bringing them over The States of Holland made the like Preparations at Sas van Ghent But notwithstanding all the Expedition used by the Duke of Wirtemberg's Aid de Camp the King had received before some certain Intimations not only of the Invasion but also of the Conspiracy against his Person But because such desperate Designs as these are cannot be thought to be concerted in a Day it will be necessary to look a little back and search into the very beginning of it as far as could be discovered from such Hellish Darkness It was as early as the latter end of 1694. that the Embrio of the Villany was contrived and because some might be brought to engage in such an Assassination who otherwise scrupled it unless they had a Commisssion from the late King for that purpose it was agreed that one Mr. Waugh should go visit his Friends the Jacobites in England and to give those of them he most confided in an Account that their Friends in France thought the killing of King William the most effectual means to restore their old Master Jemmy And in order to assure them of his Concurrence in the Fact they should have a Commission from him to command the doing it and an Order to all his general Officers then in England to be aiding and assisting in it To corroborate this Assurance Major Crosby came at the same time over and affirmed he saw the Commission Signed and under Seal in France that it was sent away before him and if it was not already come he was certain it was upon the Road. But however it came about and that the Project was to cut the King off before he went to Holland blessed be God it took not effect Yet that it was really intended is manifest from the Lady Mary Fenwick's Petition praying a Reprieve for Sir John her Husband delivered afterwards to the House of Lords But though His Majesty got safe and escaped the intended Fatal Stroak the restless Spirits of those wicked Men some whereof were born to be hanged would not let
a Line of Battle passing by Dover-Castle from whence he was saluted by the Earl of Rumney with his Guns and standing over directly for the Coast of Calais and Dunkirk more to the Terror and Amazement of the Enemy than the sudden News of their design was to us And here again I cannot but remark the wonderful Providence of Almighty God for our outward-bound Merchant-ships and their Convoys together with the Squadron design'd for the Streights had been a long time detained by contrary Winds which was very afflicting to our Merchants and all were sorry Sir George Rook could not for this Reason be so soon reinforced as was necessary to enable him to defend the Passage of the Streights against the Naval Preparations that were made at Thoulon But at the same time that they appeared so much concerned at the Obstinacy of these Westerly Winds that had now been fix'd for 2 Months God who sees all things and even the most secret Machinations and Designs of Men provided them for our safety and made that wholsome Physick for us which we imagined to be Poison Thy Way O God! is in the Sea and thy Paths in the great Waters and thy foot-steps are not known In the mean time while these things were doing upon the Sea and that the Admiral was bearding of the French upon their own Coast who durst not now as much as peep out of their lurking Holes The King thought fit to acquaint the two Houses of Parliament with the Conspiracy and what he had done in order to obviate the same and this he did in the following Speech My Lords and Gentlemen I Came hither this Day upon an extraordinary Occasion which might have proved fatal if it had not been disappointed by the singular Mercy and Goodness of God and may now by the Continuance of the same Providence and Our own prudent Endeavours be so improved as to become a sufficient Warning to Vs to provide for our Security against the pernicious Practises and Attempts of Our Enemies I have received several concurring Informations of a Design to assassinate Me And that Our Enemies at the same time are very forward in their Preparations for a sudden Invasion of this Kingdom I have therefore thought it necessary to lose no Time in acquainting My Parliament with these Things in which the Safety of the Kingdom and the Publick Welfare are so nearly concerned that I assure My Self nothing will be omitted on your Part which may be thought proper for Our present or future Security I have not been wanting to give the necessary Orders for the Fleet and I hope We have such a Strength of Ships and in such a Readiness as will be sufficient to disappoint the Inventions of Our Enemies I have also dispatched Orders for bringing home such a Number of Our Troops as may secure us from any Attempt Some of the Conspirators against My Person are already in Custody and Care is taken to apprehend as many of the rest as are discovered And such other Orders are given as the present Emergency of Affairs do absolutely require at this time for the Publick Safety My Lords and Gentlemen Having now acquainted You with the Danger which hath attended Vs I cannot doubt of Your Readiness and Zeal to do every thing which you shall judge proper for Our common Safety And I perswade my self We must be all sensible now necessary it is in Our present Circumstances that all possible Dispatch should be given to the Business before You. The Parliament were so far from being backward to congratulate His Majesty upon the Deliverance that they lost no time in going upon such Methods as might secure him against the like Villanous Attempts for the future To which end they did on the 25th of February enter into an Association to defend his Person and revenge his Death And to that of the Commons the King was pleased to give this Answer That he took it as a most convincing and acceptable Evidence of their Affection and as they had freely associated themselves for their common Safety he did himself heartily enter into the same Association and would be always ready with them and the rest of his good Subjects to venture his Life against all those who should endeavour to subvert the Religion Laws and Liberties of England But because they thought this was not sufficient they proceeded to make other Laws more binding for the King 's and Our Security And First That such as should refuse to take the Oaths of Fidelity to His Majesty should be subject to the Forfeitures and Penalties of Popish Recusants Convict Secondly To inflict Penalties on all that by Writing or otherwise declared that King William was not lawful and rightful King of England Thirdly To ratifie and confirm the Association to disable any from being capable of any Office of Profit and Trust that should not Sign the Association and that whenever it should please God to afflict these Nations by the Death of his present Majesty that the Parliament then in being should not be dissolved thereby but should continue till the next Heir to the Crown in Succession should dissolve them Which last was undoubtedly as great a Stroak to our Enemies abroad as any thing that has fallen out since the Revolution For it cannot be thought the late King should ever flatter himself to that degree of being restored by a Free Parliament But while we were thus securing our selves within the Parliament was not unmindful of raising the necessary Supplies to carry on the War abroad and therefore there were several good Bills prepared for that purpose and signed at several times by his Majesty before the end of April While in the mean time divers of the Assassins were Tried And first Robert Charnock Edward King and Thomas Keys came to their Tryals on the 11th of March and upon a full Hearing and Evidence were all found Guilty of High Treason and having received Sentence of Death accordingly they were upon the 18th of the said Month executed at Tyburn But before they were turned off each of them delivered a Paper to the Sheriffs of London and Middlesex wherein every one of them respectively confess'd himself Guilty of the Crime he was accused of But for the fuller Satisfaction of the Reader and in pursuance to the Design of this Treatise we 'll give you their Papers delivered by them to the Sheriffs of London and Middlesex at the Place of Execution March the 18th Mr. CHARNOCKE's Paper THAT I might avoid Distractions and be Composed as much as possible at the time of my Execution I thought it much more proper to Communicate This to the Sheriffs than to give my self the Uneasiness of speaking leaving it to them to publish if they think convenient for the Satisfaction of the World and in what I have to say I have taken as much care as I could to be short that I might not lose time in my greatest Concern As concerning an
Lorrain to the Duke of that Name in the same manner as it was offered in the Treaty of Nimeguen and the City of Nancy upon certain Conditions With the demolishing of divers Places such as Mont-Royal Trarbacâ— c. As for the Spaniards they offered to give up to them the City and County of Luxemburg and the County of Chinay or in lieu of them some other Places hereafter to be named for which there was at present a Blank left in the Project As to the Re-unions made the same Tender was offered as was to the Empire The City and Castle of â—â—inant to be delivered to the Bishop of Lieggeâ— And for all other Places taken either from the one or the other during the War the same likewise were 〈…〉 restored The Spaniards seemed in the main to have been pretty well satisfied with the French Concessions But the Emperor's Plenipotentiaries made a long and as some thought a some-what extravagant Answer to the Project which the others did not seem to regard so much their main Business being to make up with the rest upon what Terms they were willing to give to them and to save somewhat if possible of their great and long Acquisitions towards the Rhine since there was so little Prospect of saâ—ing any thing elsewhere Wherefore the French King finding much Time spent to little purpose by carrying on the Treaty in Writing and not knowing what Accidents might happen he ordered his Plenipotentiaries to receive no Pretensions nor Answers from the Allies in Writing but to treat viva voce with them And tho' the 10th of Sept. was the utmost Time the French would give to accept of their Offers yet it was observed that they began about this time to demit some-what of their accustomed Rigour Aug. the 16th was the first Day that an extraordinary Congress was held at Reswick which lasted almost the whole Day And next Day the Plenipotentiaries of the Allies were together for the first time in the great Hall of the Royal Palace Not long after this came the News of the Taking of Barcelona by the French after one of the most vigorous Sieges that had happen'd almost in any Age whatever This made the Spaniards very uneasie and very pressing to have the Peace signed upon the Conditions offered by France and more especially since by the Memorial given in to the Mediator on the first Day of Sept. there had been an Offer made of giving up this Place also to them upon a slight Consideration of a few Villages belonging to the Castelline of Aeth to be surrender'd to the French for the Conveniency of the Trade of the Inhabitants of Tournay But by how much the more easie the French seemed to be with the Spaniards they made so much the more bold with the Empire and now insisted positively upon the Detension of Strasburg and that the Emperor should rest contented with the Equivalent which they said would be more considerable to him since he would have the entire Sovereignty of those Towns France quitted whereas Strasburg it restored must have been set at its own Liberty as a Free Imperial City And if the Empire was startled at this new Pace they were not a whit less at the Definite Time fixed by France for their Answer which was the 20th of Sept. after which time they would be no longer obliged to those Offers And this was still the more mortifying since they began now to be superiour in Force to the French there and to act Offensively And to this that the Imperialists began also by this time to be a a little Jealous lest some of the Allies should sign a Separate Peace and leave them out and this occasioned some Heats between the Confederates which terminated in Conferences about the Subject Matter lying before them And tho' the Silence of the Allies concerning the Treaty did about this amaze the French Plenipotentiaries yet the Interview between my Lord Portland and the Mareschal de Boufflers at the Request of the latter occasioned various Speculations and was as a Dagger to the Hearts of our Jacks in England who still poor Fools flattered themselves against all common Sense and Reason that tho' a Treaty of Peace was held at the King 's own Palace yet he must be left out of it And if this and the succeeding Interviews that were between those two great Favourites of their Masters was so surprizing to most Men in general my Lord Portland who went from thence to the Hague his declaring by the King's Order to the Congress That as for what concerned His Majesty and his Kingdoms he was well satisfied that all Matters were so adjusted with France that his Concerns would occasion no delay in the General Peace and therefore he earnestly pressed the other Allies and particularly the Emperor to contribute all that in them lay towards concluding so great a Work was no less so At last the 20th of September came when either an happy Peace or a long and bloody War was like to determine the Fate of Europe when the English Spanish and Dutch Plenipotentiaries after a long Conference with those of France and having adjusted all Matters remaining in Difference between any of them mutually signed the Peace a â—ittle after Midnight and then complemented each other upon the finishing of that important Negotiation The Emperor and the Empire 's Plenipotentiaries were in the Hall the greatest part if not all the Time but they did not give their Consent to what was done nor in the least assisted iâ— bringing the Matter to a Period But on the contrary some of the Ministers of the Electors and other Princes of the Empire that were present required the Mediator to enter 〈◊〉 Protestation That this was the second time that a Separate Peace had been concluded with France meaning that of Nimeguen for one wherein the Emperor and Empire had been excluded And that the States of the Empire who as they said had been cheated through an Over-credulity would not for the future be so easily brought to make Alliances But the Spanish Plenipotentiaries and especially Don Beâ—nardo de Quiros excusing themselves replied That he haâ— for a long time been made acquainted with his Prince's Pleasure and that he had Orders for delaying the matter 〈◊〉 longer but to sign the Treaty which had been agreed on before And that if he had signed the same some time sooner according to his Master's Orders the French would not have taken Barcelona But that having been over-perswaded to it by the Imperial Ministers he had deferred the Execution of it and thereby not a little lessen'd his Master's Favour towards him I believe also the Spaniards perceived that the English and Dutch could have saved Barcelona this Year if they had pleased but that they rather declined it with an Intention to bring the Spaniards the more readily to comply with the Offers of the French and so much the rather since they said upon this
is not to be forced in Matters of Religion and so regulate their Actions accordingly But however it may prove with these of the Popish Communion and how rigorously they may be still bent to extripate that which they mis-call by the Name of Heresie and how great soever the Demerit of our Suffering Brethren may be the general and solemn Days of Humiliation and Prayers appointed for their Deliverance by almost the Universal Authority of all the Protestant Princes and States of Europe is one good sign that their Salvation draweth nigh The INDEX A. ABstract of Peace between the Empire and France Page 58 c. between France Sweden and Brandenburgh 66. between France Sweden and Denmark 71 c. Ackmet Sultan of the Turks his Death 534. Aeth besieged and surrender'd to the French 593. Agria surrendred to the Imperialists 235. Aghrim a Relation of the Battle there 429 c. Albania ravaged by the Turks 407. Alba Regalis surrendred by the Imperialists 249. Alexander VIII Pope his Death 456. Allâ—es endeavour to keep Spain out of the Peace 38. Altercations about the Basis of the Reswick Treaty 595 and 599. Ann Princess her Letter to the Queen 289 c. Argyle E. of lands in Scotland 267. his Declaration 268 c. taken and beheaded 269. Articles of Alliance between England and Holland 23 c. of Peace between Holland and France 28 c. between France and Spain 41 c. between Strasburgh and France 113 c. between France and Savoy 565 c. Of Neutrality in Italy 575. Of Peace between England and France 603 c. between Holland and France 609 c. between France and Spain 619 c. between the Empire and France 647 c. of Alliance between France and Sweden 676 c. Assassination discovered 541. Assassins tried and executed 552 c. Association at Exeter for the Prince of Orange 285. Athens submits to the Venetians 242. Athlone besieged in vain by the English 375. besieged again 425. taken 427. Avaux Count de his Memorial at the Hague 259. Ausburg the League there 131. B. BAden P. Lewis of defeats the Turks at Brod 254. made General in Hungary 336. defeats the Turks at Patochin 337 c. At Nissa 333. reduces Transylvania and expels Tekeley 414. beats the Turks at Salankemen 453 c. Barkan the Battle there between the Christians and the Turks 147. taken by the Germans 148. Bavaria Elect. of arrives with his Troops before Buda 158. made General in Hungary 250. his Letter to Osman Basha 252. takes Belgrade by storm 254. Beaumont Lieutenant-Colonel his Speech refuses Irish Soldiers is imprisoned c. 260. Belgrade besieged by the Imperialists 250. taken by Storm 254. besieged again by the Turks 411. taken by Storm 412. besieged again by the Imperialists 489. Siege raised 490. Berghen Prince of his Letter to Villeroy 522. Beverning Dutch Plenipotentiary his Saying of the French 11. of the King of England ib. Acts the Mediator ib. complies with the French 19. Articles against him 40. Bill of Exclusion 91 c. rejected by the Lords 94. Bishops seven their Petition to King James 245 c. imprison'd and acquitted 246 c. Advice to him 261 c. Black Box the story of it 80. Bonne besieged and surrendred to the Elector of Brandenburgh 335 c. Boufflers Mareschal de seized at Namur 530. released 531. Boyle Robert Esq his Death and Character 475. Boyne the Battle there 369 c. Brandenburgh Elector of solicits Peace in France 62. Fails and endeavours to embroil the Peace of the Empire ib. his Letter to the French King 64 c. receives Money of France 67. his Demands of the States ib. his Death 305. this Letter to Elbing 684 c. Brussels bombarded by the French â—22 Buda besieged by the Imperialists 156. the Siege raised 159. besieged a second time 208 Battle there 205. the siege continued 209 taken by storm 211. C. CAlais bomb'd by the English 561. Catamata abandoned by the Turks 195. Cambray surrendred to the French 9. Caminieck relieved by the Tartars 507. Canea besieged by the Venetians in vain 475 c. Canisia surrendred to the Imperialists 408. Carignan the Action there between the French and Confederates 403. Carigfergus besieged by the English and surrendred 324. Carmagnola besieged and taken by the French 449. retaken by the Confederates 451. Casal the siege of it and taken by the Confederates 532. Castle-Nuova besieged by the Venetians 240. surrendred 239. Charlemont Castle surrendred to the English 365. Charleroy besieged by the French and surrendred 482. Charles II. King unconstant to his Engagements to the P. of Orange 13. tempted with Money from France 18. concludes an Alliance with Holland 22. his Letter to the Duke of York 75. constitutes a new Council ib. unconstant 76. disclaims any Marriage with Monmouth's Mother 80 c. his Different Demeanour to the Addressors for Parliaments and Abhorrers of Petitioning 82. his Speech to the Parliament 90 c. petitioned by several Lords for the Sitting of the Parliament at Westminster 97 c. dissolves the Oxford Parliament and his pretended Reasons for it 108. prosecutes Protest-Dissentors 115 his Methods to get Charters surrendred and his design therein 129. demolishes Tangier that cost him so much 130. contemptible abroad 149. his Death and Character 165. Charnock his Paper at his Execution 552 c. Chialafa besieged by the Turks in vain 216. Churchill Lord his Letter to King James 289. Ciclut taken by the Venetians 505. Colledge Stephen tried at Oxford and Executed 110. Congress at the Hague 421. Comet appear'd 97. Commons the House of debate King James's Speech 184. address him to turn out the Popish Officers ib. Conferences about Peace renewed at Nimeguen 55. Coni besieged by the French 449. relieved 450. Conspiracy in the Army in Ireland 328. in England 458. Conti Prince of goes from Poland and his Letter to the Republick 640. returns 641. Corinth abandoned by the Turks 241. Cork besieged and surrendred to the English 384 c. Cornish Mr. tried 181. executed 182. Coron besieged the Battle there 192 c. taken by Storm 194. Coin remedied 540. Courland Duke of his Death 689. Cross du his Message from England to Holland 25. contriv'd in Portsmouth's Lodgings 26. Czar of Muscovy his Travels 682. D. DAngerfield Thomas whipp'd and kill'd 203. Dauphine Married 87. Debates of the Lords and Commons about Abdication 307 c. Declaration for Liberty of Conscience 224. at Nottingham in favour of the Pr. of Orange 286 c. of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal at Guildhal 297. of Right in England 308 c. of Right in Scotlandâ— 312. English Declaration of War against France 320 c. of the Protestant Princes against the 4th Article of Reswick 643 c. Deynse surrendred to the French 520. Delamere Lord rises for the P. of Orange in Cheshire 284. Demands of the Allies at Nimeguen 5 c. Denmark Ambassador of enrag'd at
the Peace with the Emperor 61. sollicites Peace in France with little success ib. Derry the Siege of it 323. Diepe bombarded by the English 498. Diet of Ratisbonne's Result on the Emperor's Memorial 88. Dixmude surrendered to the Fr. 520. Doge of Venice his Death 255. Dulcigno besieged by the Venetians in vain 580. Dundee slain 317. Dutch at Nimeguen inclinable to a Peace 8. E. EBeremberg taken by the Germans 631. Electorate the Ninth 476. Elbing invested by the E. of Brandenburgh 684. Articles of Surrendry 685 c. Eleanor Queen her death 673. Embassadors Turkish press for a Peace 357. Emp-prepares against the Turks 131. gives the Command to the Duke of Lorrain 132. retires from Vienna to Lintz 133. returns to Vienna 146. his Letter to the late K. James 318 c. his Proposal of Peace to the Turks 357. his Answer to the Polish Envoy's Complaint 488 c. Empire's Complaint of the French Incroachments 89. English die-a-pace at Dundalk Camp 328. their Attempt upon Brest 495. Esperies besieged by the Germans in vain 160. besieged a second time ib. surrendred 191. Esseck the Town taken and the Bridge burnt by the Imperialists 190. abandoned by the Turks 234. besieged by 'em in vain 412 c. Essex the Earl of his Speech to K. Charles II 97. his Murther in the Tower 116. Extract of the Peace between the Muscovites and Turks 692. between the Poles and the Turks 693 c. between the Emperor and the Turks 695 c. between the Venetians and the Turks 699 c. F. FEnwick Sir John the Bill of Attainder against him 585. Parliaments Proceedings upon it 586 c. his Paper at his Execution 589 c. Feversham E. of his Letter to the P. of Orange 296. Fitz-Harris Edw. his Libel 102 c. concerned in the Meal tub Plot 106. discovers the Sham 107. impeached by the Commons to prevent his trial ib. tryed condemn'd and executed 109 c. Five Churches besieged and taken by the Imperialists 213. Fleet French beaten and burnt by the English c. 458 c. Flerus the Battle there 394 c. French make Devastations in Germany 8. take Valenciennes 9. comply with the Spaniards 41. invade Juliers 56. invade it again 65. propose odd Conditions to the Court of Bavaria 86. enlarge their Limits in Alsatia 89. their Encroachments in Flanders 90. their Carriage upon the Turks invading Hungary 131. begin the War upon the Rhine 257. burn and ravage the Palatinate 333. beat the Confederate Fleet at Sea 361. prevail in Catalonia 400. attempt a separate Peace with the Emperor 420. opprest with Famine offer Peace to the Confederates 488. fight the Spaniards in Catalonia 562. attack the Smyrna Fleet 477. Friend Sir John his Paper at his Execution 554 c. G. GAlloway surrendred to the English 433. Genoa bombarded by the Fr. 152. submits 153. George Prince his Letter to King James 288. Germans march toward Buda and rout the Turks 155. Ghent besieged and surrendred to the French 14. Givet the Magazine burnt 560. Godfrey Sir Edmundbury Murdered 73. the Discovery of it ib. c. Gran besieged by the Imperialists 148. taken ib. besieged by the Turks 186. relieved and the Battle there 187. Grandval the Sieur de his Trial and Execution 467. Great Waradin blockaded by the Imperialists 455. besieged and surrendred 476. H. HAlliwell Baron worsted and slain by the Turks 154 c. Hanover Elector of his death 689. Havre de Grace bomb'd by the English 498. Heidelburg taken and destroyed by the French 483. Heusler General beaten and made Prisoner in Transylvania 409. Holland Preparations there for England 258. Holstein Gottorp Duke of restored to his Territories 72. Hough Dr. chosen President of Magdalen Colledge 202. Huy taken by the French 479. besieged and taken by the Confederates 500. I. JAmaica an Earth quake there c. 473. James II. King his Speech to the Council 165. Crown'd and his Speech to the Parliament ib. his Practises against the Duke of Monmouth 169. his proceedings in respect to Ireland 182. his Speech to the Parliament about the Popish Officers 183. thanked for it by the Lords 184. his proceedings in respect to Charters 196. sets up the Ecclesiastical Commission ib. his Usage of the Fellows of Magdalen Colledge 202. his Letter to the Scotch Parliament 205. grants toleration of Religion 223. instructs the Judges going the Circuits â—b c. commands the Declaration of Indulgence to be read in Churches 245. the Bishops petition to him upon it ib. his Answer 246. restores London Charter 260. dissolves the Ecclesiastical Commimission c. 263 c. enters Salisbury 284. forsaken by divers of the Nobility 288. returns to London 289. issues Writs to call a Parliament 290 his Proposals to the P. of Orange 294. his Letter to the E. of Feversham 295. withdraws ib. returns to London 301. withdraws into France 303. his Reasons for withdrawing ib. c. abdicates the Throne 306. lands in Ireland c. 319. flees for France 375. his Letter to the Irish Troops arrived in France 446. his Letter to the Fr. King 459 c. Jefferies Chief Justice his proceedings and cruelties in the West 180. takes Money 181. made Lord Chancellor 196. Jenkins Sir Lionel refuses to sign the separate Peace with Spain 41. Imperialists successful in Vpper Hungary 191. Innocent XI his Death and Character 357. Johnson Samuel whip'd 203. his Address to the English Soldiers 204 c. Joseph Archduke crowned King of Hungary 235. chosen K. of the Romans 397 c. Ireland entirely reduc'd 323. Irish routed by the Iniskilliners 446. defeated again near Sligo which they took 327. routed by Woolsly 362. K. KEys his Paper at his Execution 554. Keyserwaert besieged and surrendred to the Elector of Brandenburg 330 c. King of France's Letter to K. Ch. II. and Message 10. his project of Peace 14. c. refused by the Mediator 17. his Letter to the States General 19. ratifies the Peace with Holland 36. prefixes time and condions of Peace to Denmark and Brandenburg 62. his Letter to his Army 499 c. King his Paper at his Execution 553 c. Kingsale besieged and surrendred to the English 386 c. Kirk Major General his cruelty in the West 181. L. LAnden the great Battle there 481. Lepanto abandoned by the Turks 241 Lesley Count routs the Turks in Sclavonia 159. takes the Town of Esseck 190. Letter to the States General from Turin 533. of General Veterani's defeat 535 c. Liberachi Basha embraces the Venetian Interest 579. Liege the Pr. of dies 497. Limerick besieged in vain by the English 379 c. besieged a second time 434 c. surrendred and the Articles 436 c. Lippa taken by the Imperialists 249. retaken by the Turks 535. Lithuania Troubles there 682. appeased and the Articles 688. London the Charter of it question'd 116. taken away 115. the Bishop of it suspended and the Reason of the Courts displeasure against
him 202. Lords Justices of England the Names of the first of 'em 509. Lorrain D. of retreats with the Imperial Army out of Hungary into Austria 134. his Letter to the Emperor concerning his Beating the Turks 157 c. overthrows the Turks at Gran 187. his answer to the Turkish Aga 189. marches towards Esseck 228. his endeavours to draw the Turks to fight 231. deheats the Turks 234. marches to Transylvania and reduces it ib. besieges and takes Mentz 331 c. his death 398. Louvis Monsieur his death 457. Lowick Major his Paper at his Execution 558 c. Luxemberg the Duke of his Saying upon the Battle of Flerus 396. falls upon Waldeck's Rear 448. his death 509. Luxemburg the City of besieged by the French and surrendred 150. M. MAestricht besieged by the Pr. of Orange in vain 3. 4. Mahomet IV. deposed 194. and the manner of it 235 c. Mainotes submit to the Venetians 194. Marsaglia an Account of the Battle fought there 435 c. Memorial English to the States 39. Spanish about Maestricht 69. of the Emperor to the Diet at Ratisbonne 89. Mentz besieged and surrendred to the Confederates 331 c. The Elector's death 540. Messina abandon'd by the French 18. Minden an interview between divers Princes there 258. Modon besieged and surrendred to the Venetians 217. Mohatz the Battle there 232. Mongatz surrend to the Imperialists 247. the Articles of surrendry 248 c. Monmouth Duke of routs the Scotch Covenanters 79. banished by the King but returned 81. Lands in England and his Declaration 170 c. His Letter to K. James 178 c. Beheaded 179. Mons besieged 423. surrendred to the French 424. Montmellian Fortress surrendred to the French 451. Morosini Capt. Gen. successful against the Turks 195. made Doge of Venice 255. his death 505. Muscovites rout the Turks and take Asoph 581. Mustapha Sultan takes Lippa and Titul 535. defeated at Zenta 633. N. NAmur besieged by the French 460. surrendred 461. besieged by the Confederates 511. its Siege continued to the surrender of the Town 516 c. It s Castle and Fort surrendred 529. Nants the Edict of revoked 196. Napoli di Malvasia blockaded by the Venetians 356. supplied by the Turks 416. besieged and taken by the Venetians Ibid. Napoli di Romania besieged by the Venetians 218. surrendred 219. Navarino Old surrendred to the Venetians 216. Navarino New taken by the Venetians 217. Nowheusel besieged by the Imperialists 132. and its Siege raised 132. besieged a second time by them 181. taken by storm 188. Nice besieged and taken by the French 422. Nimeguen the Description of it the Treaty and the Congress formed there 1. Nissa taken by the Imperialists 353 surrendred to the Turks 410. O. OGingski defeated in Lithuania 682. Omer St. besieg'd by the French 9. surrendred 10. Orange Pr. of his Resolutions to continue the War 8. Fights the D. of Orleance at Mont-Cassel 10. arrives in England 12. K. Charles's Opinion of him is married 12 13. Concerts the Terms of the Peace ib. Returns for Holland ib. dissatisfied with K. Charles's Embassie 14. Deâ—eats Luxemburgh at Mons 36. How censured for it 38. His Censure of the English Court 40. Promotes the League of Ausburgh 131. Takes the Field 150. His Offers to K. James râ—jected 177. Lands in England 269. His Declaration 270 c. His additional Declaration 281 c. His Letter to the Officers of the Army 283 c. The third Declaration 291. c. Prevails both in England and Scotland 290. His Answer to the King's Proposals 295. His Message to K. James 301. Arrives in London 303. takes the Administration of the Government upon him 304. His Letter to the Convention 305 c. Proclaimed K. of England 311. Proclaimed K. of Scotland c. 317. Osman Bassa of Aleppo his Letter to the Elector of Bavaria 253. Ossory the Earl of dies his Character 96. P. PActa Conventa of Poland 636 c. swore to by the King 638. Palamos taken by the French 501. Palatin the Elector of his death 97. Another's death 421. Parliament long dissolved 75. Another sits and is dissolved 77. Meet 90. prosecute the Abhorrers 94. Reasons against giving King Charles Money 95. Vote against lending him Money upon the Revenues 96. Meet at Oxford 107. dissolved 108. Prodigal in giving King James Money 166. dissolved 184. Prorogued and dissolved and another called 358. Meet 457. and Adjourn 476 c. Their Proceedings more 492 and 508. Dissolved and another called 538. Their Proceedings upon the Coin 540. upon the Association 551. Farther Proceedings and against Sir John Fenwick 583 c. more 674. Patrass abandon'd by the Turks 241. Peace separate at Nimeguen between Holland and France obstructed by the French Pretensions 21. Protested against by the Allies 28. Signed with Spain 41. Difficult to conclude it between the Empire and France 57. Agreed to by the Imperialists and French 58. Protested against by the Danes and Brandenburghers 62. Signed between England Holland and Spain and France at Reswick 602. Concluded 671. Peers their Orders about the Irish 300. Perkyns Sir William his Papers at his Execution 557. Peter-Waradin deserted by the Turks 250. Phillipsbourgh surrendred to the Imperialists 4. Plot Popish discovered 73. Plot pretended Presbyterian discovered 116. Podolia ravaged by the Tartars 191. Poland King of relieves Vienna 144 Takes Jaslowick 161. Routs the Tartars ibid. Invades Moldavia 221. routs the Turks and Tartars 222. Tempted to make a Peace with the Turks c. 415. Invades Moldovia again 456. His death 581. Ponti Mons an Account of his Expedition 617 c. Portland Earl of Interviews between him and M. Boufflers 602. Preliminary Articles of Peace 591 c. Prevesa besieged by the Venetians 163. surrendred 164. Primate of Poland submits to the new King 680 his Speech to him 681. Q. QUeen Mary her Death and Character 507 508. Queen Mother of Spain her Death 583. R. REswick the Treaty there 592. Re-unions Chambers of how set up and managed by France 130 c. Rheinfield besieg'd by the French in vain 472. Rocosche of Poland their Proposal to the new King 678 c. their Articles of Agreement 680 c. Rookwood Brigadeer his Paper at his Execution 559 c. Rugen the Island of taken by the Brandenburghers 56. Rupert Prince his Death and Character 115. Russel Lord tried condemned and beheaded 117. His Speech ibid. c. His Paper to the Sheriff 118 c. Russel made Admiral 447. His Letter to the Earl of Nottingham 458. Beats the French Fleet ib. Sails with the Fleet for Spain 494. S. SAint Malo bombarded by the English 520. Saint Martins bombarded by the 61. Saint Ruth Monsieur General of the Irish 427. His Speech to them 428. Killed 432. Salankemen the great Battle there 453. Salusses the Battle there between the French and Confederates 404. Surrendred to Catinat 405. Sancta Maura besieg'd by the Venetians 162. Surrendred ib. Savoy Duke of
out of favour K. Charles II's different Carriage to the Addressors Mr. Sidney sent Embassador into Holland and for what K. Charles makes a Defensive Alliance with Holland The Dauphine intended to marry Dauphine married to the Princeâ—â— of Bavaria The Emperor's Memorial to the Diet at Ratisbone concerning the French Infractions The Result of the Diet. The Empire complain of France Parliamenâ— met The Bill of Exclusion The Bill thrown out of the House of Lords The Parliament prosecute the Abhorrers of Petitioning The Resolution of the Commons against lending the King Money The Earl of Ossory's Death The Death of the Electors of Saxony and Palatine The Earl of Essex's Speech to the King The Lords Petition to the King Fitz-Harris his Libel The Oxford Parliament dissolved The King's Declaration after the Dissolution of the Parliament Stephen Colledge Try'd The Earl of Argyle's Case Articles granted Strasburg Protestant Dissenters Prosecuted The Charter of London questioned The pretended Presâ—byterian â—ior Earl of Essex's Death Lord 〈…〉 Speech Col. Sidney Try'd Col. Sidney's Paper Methods used to get the Charters of Cities surrender'd The League of Ausburg The Carriage of the French upon the Turks invading Hungary The Emperor prepares against the Turks Newheusel besieged by the Imperialists The Siege raised The Turks advance to Austria The Tartars attack the Germans Great Consternation at Vienna The Turks form the Siege of Vienna A Journal of the Siege from the Beginning to the End Count Staremberg's Letter to the Duke of Lorain The Battel of Barkan Gran besieged by the Germans 〈…〉 K. Charles contemptible abroad Luxemburg besieged by the French and surrender'd The 20 Years Truce Genoa bombarded by the French Fleet. Vicegrade besieged and taken by the Imperialists The Siege of Buda The D. of Lorain's Letter to the Emperor concerning the beating of the Turks Army The Siege of Buda raised Count Lesley routs the Turks in Selavonia and takes Virovitz The Emperor's Forces successful against the Turks in Vpper Hungary 〈…〉 The Campaign in Poland The Venetians take Sancta Maura The Venetians make â—ncursions into the Turkish Territories The Venetians besiege Prevesa Prâ—vesa surrendered The Death of King Charles II. K. James 〈◊〉 Speech to the Council◠〈…〉 K. James II Crownâ—d and his Speech to the Parliament The Parliament gives him a great deal of Money The Earl of Argyle's Declaration Argyle taken and beheaded K. James his Practices against the Duke of Monmouth D. of Monmouth lands in England His Declaration The P. of Orange's Offers to King James rejected The D. of Monmouth's Letter to K. James Monmouth Beheaded The cruel Executions in the Wâ—st Mr. Cornish Try'd Mr. Cornish Executed K. James's Proceedings in respect to Ireland Talbot's Villany K. James's Speech to his Parliament The Lords Voted Thanks for the Speech The Commons debated it and addrest the King to turn our the Popish Officers Parliament dissolved Neuheusel Besieged by the Imperialists The Turks Besiege Gran. The Battel of Gran. Vicegrade taken by the Turks Neuheusel taken by Storm The Serasquier's Letter to the D. of Lorain Esperies besieged by General Schultz Surrendred The Siege and Battel of Coron Coron taken Dr. Hough chosen President of Magdalen Collede The Fellows of Magdalen College turn'd out Dangerfield Sentenced and kill'd Mr. Johnson's Sentence K. James's Letter to the Scotch Parliament Buda besieged The Battel of Buda The Siege continued Buda stormed Buda taken Five Churches besieg'd Surrender'd The besieging and taking of Syclos Darda abandon'd by the Turks The Pr. of Baden burns the Bridge of Esseck Segedin besieg'd The Battel of Scinta Segedin surrender'd to the Imperialists Chialafa besieged by the Turks The Turks beaten and raise the Siege Old Navarino besieged and taken New Navarino besieged New Navarino surrender'd Modon besieged by the Venetians Surrendred Napoli di Romania besieged The Turks defeated Napoli di Romania taken Sign besieged Sign taken The King of Poland invades Moldavia The Hospodar's Message to him and his Answer The King of Poland routs the Turks and Tartars A Proclamation for a Toleration of Religion in Scotland Tyrconnel made Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland and other Proceedings there The Duke of Lorrain towards 〈◊〉 The Battel of Mohatz Transilvania revolts Butschin besieged by the Imperialists Esseck abandoned by the Turks Transylvania reduced by the Imperialists Arch-Duke Joseph crowned K. of Hungary Agria surrender'd to the Imperialists The Revolution of the Turkish Empire ended with the Deposing of Mabomet IV. and advancing his Brother Solyman to the Throne Sign besieged by the Turks and relieved by the Venetians Castlenovo besieged by the Venetians The Turks routed by the Venetians The Turks abandon Patrass Lepanto c. Corinth abandoned by the Turks and several other Places Atâ—ens quitted to the â—enetians 〈…〉 K. James his Declaration of Indulgence commanded to be Read in Churches The Bishops Petition The King's Answer The Bishops sent to the Tower Tryed and Acquitted Alba Regalis surrendred to the Germans Lippa besieged and taken by the Imperialists Illock and Peter-Waradin deserted by the Turks Belgrade besieged by the Imperialists Belgrade taken by Storm The Battel of Brod. The Affairs of Venice and Poland The Bishop of Bath VVells ☞ ☜ The Prince of Orange lands in England P. George's Letter to the King The Princess Ann's Letter to the Queen â—ivers â—â—aces seized for the Use of the Prince of Orange The P. of O's Third Declaration K. J's Proposals to the Pr. of Orange The Prince's Answer K. J's Letter to the E. of Fevâ— rsham The E. of Feversham's Letter to the Pr. of Orange P. of Or. his Declaration The P. of 〈◊〉 Message to the King K. James's Reasons for withdrawing himself The English Declaration of Right P. and P. of Orange proclaimed K. and Q. or England The Scot. Declarat of Right P. and P. proclaimed in Scotland K. and Q. take the Scotch Oath Dundee slain Tyrconnel sent for K. James to Ireland The Emperor's Letter to the late K. James The late K. James lands in Ireland Protestants disarm'd in Ireland The Irish routed by the Iniskillingers and Mackarty made a Prisoner D. Schomberg lands in Ireland Carrigfergus bâ—sieged Carrigfergus surrendred D. Schomberg marched towards Dundaâ—k A Conspiracy discovered among the French in the English Army The Iniskilliners defeat the Irish near Sligo The Irish take Sligo The English at Dundalk die â—pace Keyserwaert besieged by the Duke of Brandenburg â—eiserwater surrendred Mentz besieged by the Confederates Mentz surrendred The French burning and ravaging the Palatinate Bonne besieged by the Elector of Brandenburg Bonne besieged Bonne surrendred to the Confederates Prince Lewis of Baden made General in Hungary The Battel of Patochin French make Peace with the Algerines Baden routs the Tarks near Nissa Nissa taken by the Imperialists Widin surrendred to the Imperiaâ—iâ—ts The Turkish Embassadors press for a Peace Napoli di Malvasia blockaded bâ— the Venetians The Vâ—udois pâ—rsecution at an end The death of Innocent XI Laws made agaiâ—st Popish Succesâ—ors
and other Proceedings of the Parliamentsf The Affairs of Scotland The Jacobites Plot. The Irisâ— Affairs Col. Woolsâ—ey routs the Irish Charlemont Castl blocked up Charlemont surrendred K. William landed in Ireland K. William wounded The Battle of the Boyne L. G. Hambletâ—n hâ—s Character at the Boyne D. Schâ—mberg's Character and Age. The late K. James 〈◊〉 for Fraâ—â—â—e 〈…〉 Athlone besieged in vain by L. G. Dâ—uglass Waterford surrendred The Kings Proceedings in Ireland The Army march to 〈◊〉 2. The first siege of Limerick The English Train surprized by the Irish Thâ— Siege raised and the King goes for England 〈◊〉 besieged and 〈◊〉 Coâ—k surrendred Kingsale beâ—sieg'd Surrendred The Duke of Savoy enters into the Confederacy and the manner of it The Treaty between the Emperour and the Dâ—ke of Saâ—oy The Treaty between the King of Spain and the Duke of Savoy The Campagne in Flanders The Battle of Flerus Arch-duke Joseph chosen King of the Romans The death of the D. of Lorrain The Campaign in Germany The Insurrection of the Catalins The Freâ—ch prevail in Catalâ—nia The French repulsed at Carignan The Vaudoâ—â— roâ—t the French Caâ—ours taken by Catinat The Battel of Salusses Suza besieged and taken by the French Canisia surrenâ—red Nissa and Widin besieged by the Turks Teckely possesses himself of Transilvania and routs Heuster Nissa surrendred Widin surrendred Belgrade besieged by the Turks The Turks take Belgrade by storm Esseck besieged by the Turks in vain P. of Baden reduced Transâ—lvania and expels Tekeley The King of Poland tempted to make Peace with the Turks The Tartars harrass Poland The Poles unactive in the Prosecucution of the War Neapli di Malvasia besieged by the Venetians and taken Vallona besieged by the Venetians Vallona deserted by the Turks The Venetians beat the Turks at Sea Attempts made by France for a Peace with the Emperor The Remarkables of this Year The Congress at the Hague The King's Speech to the Congress The Resolution of the Congress Nice besiâ—ged and taken The siege of Mons. Mons surrendred The War in Ireland Baltymore surrendred to the English The English Town of Athlone taken The English pass the Shannon The Irish Town of Athlone taken The Battle of Aghrim Galloway surrendered Limerick besieged K. James's Letter to the Irish The Irish War ended Our Sea-Affairs noted The Campaâ—gâ— in Flanders The Campaign in Catalonia The Campaign on the Upper Rhine Carmagnolae besieged and taken Coni besieged Coni relieved Carmagnola retaken Montmelian Fortress surrendred The Battle of Saâ—ankemen Duke of Croy succesfull in Sclavonia Great Waradin blockaded The King of Poland's Campaign Pope Alexander VIII his Death Monsieur Louvois Death The Elector of Saxony's Death Parliament meets Parliament adjourned Conspiracy in England Admiral Russel's Letter The French Fleet beaten K. James's Letter to the French King Namur surrendred The Battle of Steenkirk The English Forces imbark English Forces 〈◊〉 in Flanders The Campaign on 〈◊〉 the 〈◊〉 Rhine The Siege of Reinfâ—ld The Duke of Savoy invades the Daupbinate and his Progress The Duke of Savoy's Sâ—ckness The Duke recovers Great Waradin besieged Great Waradia surrendered Câ—nea besieged by the 〈◊〉 The Siâ—ge rais'd The Pâ—â—es do little Mr. Boyle's Death Earthquake in Jamaca and England Ninth Electorate The Proceedings of the English Parliament The Smyrna Fleet attach'd ' by the French The Campaign in Flander's Huy taken by the French The Battle of Landen Charleroy besieged and surrendred to the French Roses taken Heidelburg taken and destroyed by the French The Dauphine inclined to attack the Prince of Baden A Letter from Turin to the States General of the United Provinces about the Battle of Marsiglia Belgrade besieg'd by the Imperialists The Siege rais'd The King his Speech to the Parliament The Proceedings of the English Parliament Sir Francis Wheeler lost Acts of Parliament signed Admiral Russell with the Fleet â—ails for Spain The death of the Prince of Liege and Choice of another The Campaign in Flanders Diep and Havâ—e de Grace Bombâ—rdâ—d by the English The Confederates and French in motion towards Flanders The French King his Letter to the Army Huy besieged by the Confederates and taken The French Progress in Catalonia The French Fleet confined to Thoulon The Campagne in Germany The Campagne in Savoy The Affairs of Poland The death of the Elector of Saxony The death of Queen Mary The English Parliament's Proceedings Th◠〈…〉 Flanders Namur Besieg'd by the Confederates 〈◊〉 Fortifications P. Vaudemont's gallant Retreat The King his Letter to Prince Vaudemont The Siege of Namur continued to the Surrender of the Town The Maritime Towns of France Bombarded by the English Dixmude and Deinse Surrendred to the French Brussells Bombarded Villeroy fails to relieve Namur The Fort and Castle of Namur surrendred The Campaign on the Rhine inconsiderable Casall besieged and taken by the Confederates Sultan Ackmet's Death Sultan Mustapha takes Lippa and Titull A Letter concerning the Defeat of General Veteranâ— Scio quited by the Venetians The Battle of Magâ—s Parliament Dissolv'd and another call'd The King's Speech The death of the Elector of Mentz An Act to remedy the ill state of the COin The Assassination discoverâ—d The King's Speech to the Parliament The Parliaments Pâ—ocâ—â—dings there upon The Confederates buru the French Magazine at Givet The Bombing of Calais St. Martins c. The Fight between the French and Spaniards 〈◊〉 Cataâ—onia The Campaign in Germany The separate Peace of Savoy and the Management of it The Envoy of Savoy's Harange to the late K. James Valentia Beâ—ieged by the French and Savoyards The Articles of Neutrality for Italy Themeswaer Besiegâ—d by the Imperialists and quitted The â—attle between the Imperialists and the Turks Liberachi brought over to the Venetian◠〈◊〉 Dulcigno Besieged by the Venetians The Seâ—ge raised Tâ—e Venetians Beat tâ—e Tuâ—ks by Sâ—a The death of the King of Poland The Czar of Moscovy routs the Turks by Sea and takes Asoph The Substance of the King his Speech to the Parliament The death of the Qu. Mother of Spain The Parliaments Proceedings The Preliminary Articles The Treaty at Reswick Aeth taken by the French The Spanish Aâ—bassaâ— râ—present thâ—ir 〈◊〉 The Elector of Saxony chosen King of Poland Alterations about the Basis of the present Treaty Other Altercations about the Bâ—sis of the present Treaty An Extraordinary Congress held The Lord Portland and the Mareschal de Boufflers their Interview and the Consequence thereof The Peace signed between England Spain Holland and France The Articles of Peace between England and France Mr. Ponti's Expedition Takes Carthagena Descryes and Escapes Admiral Neville * A Jurisdiction three Leagues in Compass Eberenburg â—aken by the Germans And a Cessation of Arms. The Battle of Zenta * Is the XLVI †Is the L. * Is the LI. * It is the XLVI The Parliament Addâ—ess the King Whitehall burâ—t Parliament proceedings King's Speech Parl. dissolved another called K goes for Holland The Affairâ— of Spain Articles of Alliance between France and Sweden Overtâ—res of Peace with the Turks The troubled Affairs of Poland The Proposals of the Rocosche The Nuâ—cio his Mediation Brings the Primate to submit The Primare's Speech to the King The Troubles of Lituania A Fight in Lithuania The Czar's Travel 's A Fight between the Poles and Tartars Elbing invested by the 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 The Electors Letter to Elbing The Articles of Eâ—bing Sapieha defeated The Lithuanian Troubles appeased The death of the Duke of Courland The death of the Duke of Hanover The Dukes of Holstein and Lorrain married Conference of Peace with the Turks Altercations between the Venetians and Turks
to stay Tho' the Emperor as believing himself much stronger thought to delude Henry of his projected Proportion the other grew too cunning for him for being in expectation that Henry would have advanced and so both of them hem in the French Army on each side he sent him Word He would not stir from Bologn and Monstreville till he had made himself Master of them which made Charles recoyl and clap up a Peace then he turned all his Thoughts upon the Reduction of the Protestants and with them the Liberty of Germany wherein tho' he went a great length yet he was at last so baffled by Maurice Elector of Saxony at Inspruck that he was glad to make a Peace with them also So that now being diffident of ever attaining his Ends and wearied with the Toils of Empire and the Infirmity of his Body he resigned up the Empire to his Brother Ferdinando who having been before chosen King of the Romans would not consent it should come to his Son Philip This Philip had at the same time all his Father 's Hereditary Dominions put into his Hands and being a Prince as Politick as Powerful and withal Married to Mary Queen of England had it not been for his Father's Error in dividing the Power of the Austrian Family by separating the Imperial Crown from the Spanish Monarchy I cannot see if we speak after the Manner of Men what could have hindred this Philip II. from attaining to the Dominion of Europe in a short time But besides this other Accidents quickly intervened and as Politick as this Prince seemed to be those very Methods he took to attain still to his desired Ends of Supream Sovereignty by introducing the Inquisition and an Arbitrary Power into the Netherlands and his Attempts to reduce the Kingdom of England under his Power proved to be the very Things that ruined his Empire and gave Rise to that State that for a long time gave an helping hand to bring Spain low but since the Peace of Munster in 1648. has proved the greatest Support of that Remainder of the Monarchy still continuing in the Netherlands against her growing Neighbours of any in the World We might here assign other Reasons for the Cadency of Spain as the bloody Inquisition the Depopulating of the Country by the Discovery of the West-Indies c. But waving this at present we shall enquire a little distinctly into the French Proceedings upon the said Account and take in somewhat of other Nations as they occur to our Purpose before we come to draw the whole into a Conclusion The Ancient Gallia which was of every extensive Bounds but subdivided into divers petty Kingdoms or Dynasties as indeed the State of the Infant World seemed every-where to be so fell under the Yoak of the Roman Empire under the Conduct of Julius Caesar and continued under the said Dominion till that vast Monarchy began to totter and then was one of first of those Countries that felt the Rage of those barbarous Nations the Goths and Huns but most of all the Franks out of Germany who about the Year 424 beginning to break in upon it did by degrees make themselves Masters of the greatest part of it and withal changed the old Name of Gaul into that of France The first Race of their Kings were valiant and brave Princes but some of them being too much taken up with the prevalent Humour of those Times made such a Division of the Kingdom as they had Number of Sons to govern them But being united again this Merovingian Family now at length strangely degenerating from their ancient Valour gave way to the Rise of the Carolovinian Race in the Person of Pepin and was so called from the Famous Charles Martel Mayor of the Palace in the last King's Reign and Father to this Pepin who proved a Warlike Prince and did great Feats in Italy against the Lombards He was succeeded by his Son Charles surnamed the Great who extended the French Monarchy beyond the Bounds even of the ancient Gallia For he made himself in a Manner Lord of all Italy by the entire Conquest he made of the Kingdom of the Lombards and overcame the Saxons and subdued Germany beat the Sclavonians Danes and Huns routed the Saracens and reduced Spain as far as the River Iberus under his Obedience and at Rome was proclaimed Emperor of the West And in Truth he was the greatest Prince that ever was in this Part of the World since the Dissolution of the Roman Empire and had his Successors been as Wise and Valiant as he and pursued the Steps he took I cannot see any Thing that could have hindred them in the Revolution of a few Years from erecting an Empire as extensive and formidable as that of old Rome it self But Charles his Successors falling into the Error of their Predecessors disjoined the Empire of Germany from the Kingdom of France and part of their Dominions being invaded and possest by the Normans and the Royal Authority decaying by degrees this Race also being enfeebled with Age tho' they were not yet 240 Years old made way for Hugh Capet to ascend the Throne This Man thinking to make amends for the Badness of his Title by the Goodness of his Concessions to the Nobles of his Kingdom that had been very Instrumental in his Advancement remitted a great many of the Ancient Royal Prerogatives and gave them the Titles of Dukes and Earls of the Provinces they govern'd upon Condition they should acknowledge themselves his Vassals but yet not to be obliged to depend absolutely upon his Commands Hence arose besides the Dutchy of Normandy on which also depended that of Britany the Dutchies of Burgundy Aquitain and Gascoigny the Earldoms of Flanders Champaign and Thoulouse to which if we add that the Counties of Vienna Provence Savoy and Dauphine belonged to the Kingdom of Arelate which was part of the German Empire we shall find the French Monarchy reduced from those most extensive Bounds it had in the Days of Charlemaign to a very narrow Compass and to reunite those again has been mainly the Struggle and Endeavour of the succeeding Kings of France About some of which they had a long and terrible Contest with the English which yet the French effected in a great measure by the Time of the Reign of our K. Henry VII when Charles VIII married Anne Inheritrix of the Dutchy of Britany tho' she had been solemnly married before to Maximilian K. of the Romans and afterwards Emperor And the Suffering of this to be accomplish'd was a foul Blot in K. H's Politicks and lesned very much the Reputation he had gained of being a Prince of great Wisdom and Foresight But though France thus strengthned her Vital Parts by the Acquisition of Britany which she took Care to retain even by the Marriage of Charles's Successor Lewis XII to this Ann of Bretaigne his Relict in Expectation of Issue though without Success and that notwithstanding this Francis I. Lewis's
Nephew did not only retain that Dutchy but is generally allowed to have been a Prince that aspired not so much at being Emperor of Germany as Universal Monarch of Europe Yet neither would the Conjuncture of the Times nor the Strength of his Cotemporaries by any means admit of it in his Person And as for the succeeding Princes of the House of Valois tho' H. II. made an Attempt to unite Scotland to France by the Marriage of Mary Queen of Scots to his Son Francis the Dauphine which would have been a great Blow to England yet no Issue coming from that Match they were henceforward so far from doing any Thing memorable as to the Extent of their Dominion and Conquest that the Kingdom fell into an unhappy Civil War which though at first it had its Rise from the Humours and Passions of the Princes of the Blood and the Ministers yet it proved at length to be a Religious War between the Roman Catholicks or the League and the Huguenots which never could be extinguished till H. IV. of the House of Bourbon and by Right K. of France upon the Death of Hen. III. the last Prince of the House of Valois had renounced the Protestant Religion and thereupon was confirmed in the Supream Authority before belonging to him This Prince did anew lay the Foundation of the French Greatness which was carried on in his Son's Reign Lewis XIII tho' of himself no otherwise a wise Prince than by his Steadiness to his Ministers by the wonderful Management of Cardinal Richlieu both by Sea and Land to a very great Heighth by whose wise Conduct Spain long before languishing under a diseased Body was brought lower and lower and what the Emperor Ferdinand II. aimed at in the Reduction of Germany by the War that was begun there being no other than an absolute Sovereignty as well as the Swedes whose best Pretensions under the Brave King Gustavus Adolphus was to rescue the Religion and Liberty of it tho' in the Consequence it appeared to be no other than a Conquest of it redounded in a great Measure to the Advantage of France and the same was confirmed into her by the Westphalian Treaty in 1648. And all this done upon the Continent while we our selves were seemingly enfeebled rather than strengthned by the Conjunction of Scotland tho' in reality it must be attributed to the weak Administration of our Princes which terminated in the cruellest Intestine War that ever befel any Nation and was attended with the saddest Catastrophe And the Government it self after various Commutations of Form and subsequent Revolutions degenerated into Anarchy of which France failed not to make Advantage under the Ministry of Cardinal Mazarine But our Unsettlement at last terminating in the Restoration of our ancient Form of Government in the Person of Charles II. about which time hapned the Death of Mazarine in France who left this Legacy to his Prince That he should Govern himself and not entirely trust to any Favourite tho' Charles quickly discovered that the Remembrance of his adverse and exiled Fortune which usually makes Men wise upon a Change of Condition had been quite effaced by the prosperous State his Restoration brought him to yet Lewis never fail'd to stick close to the Advice of his Minister and what Effects it has had since upon the Affairs of Europe is better past over in silence than raked up in this place However we were weak enough to quit our entire Interest upon the Continent by the Sale of Dunkirk to the French which as it gave an Accession of Strength into that Nation to the Sea-ward as Lorain did to the Land-ward so it weakned both our own and the Spanish Hands as did also the Dutch War that succeeded between us and the Republick of Holland in 1665 neither Nation having gotten any Thing but Blows at Sea while the French by the Irruption they made into Flanders into 1667 got all by Land And tho' they were for a short time coup'd up by the Tripple Alliance of England Sweden and Holland yet they having Artifice enough to disjoin the first from the rest as that also did by the second the third was left single to be invaded by the other in 1672 and that with such a Torrent of Success that nothing but the Providence of God and the Success of the young Prince of Orange now in this Hurry and common Calamity of his Country restored to the Honours and Commands of his Ancestors could have saved that distressed State from falling under the French Dominion But tho' the Blow was suddam and almost unexpected yet the Commonness of the Danger not only awaken'd Spain the Emperor and the Empire to come out of their slow Pace to the Relief of it but the French Progress so alarmed the People of England that the King thought it high time to slink himself out of the French Alliance But instead of falling in with the Weight of the rest of the Confederacy which was the Subjects Desire and his true Interest he was contented to set up his Mediation of Peace between the Contending Parties with the Reception whereof by all that were engaged in the War we shall conclude this Introduction that brings us down to the Year 1676 from whence our present History commences its Original and comprehends a Period of about Two and Twenty Years A Compleat History OF EUROPE From the Beginning of the Treaty of Nimeguen c. year 1676 NIMEGVEN is a City of the Low-Countries seated upon the Side of an Hill which is the last of Germany and stoops upon the River Woal that washeth the lower Part of the Town and divides it from the Betow an Island lying all upon flat low Ground between the Woal and the Old Rhine which is esteemed to be the ancient Seat of those People whom the Romans called Batavians and whom for their Bravery and love of Liberty they took into their Confederacy when they had subjected all the Neighbouring Parts of Gaul and Germany It stands to the South of Arheim and is about two Leagues distant from it six from Vtretch which is on the East of it three from Cleves to the West and twenty from Cologn to the same It was in the Year 1591 taken by Prince Maurice of Orange for the States after it had endured a sharp Siege and in 1672 fell into the Hands of the French amongst the greatest part of the Dutch Towns and Provinces tho' to its Glory it must be said that it was almost the only Place in all those Provinces that fought for its Liberty Here it was this mighty Treaty was set on foot between the most Serene Confederates on the one Hand and the French Monarch on the other by the single Mediation of Charles the II King of Great Britain that of the Pope's after much Delay and many Debates being at last rejected by all the Parties concerned in the Negotiation which Treaty spun out into a great length and of which
of his Brother the Duke of Orleans invested St. Omers In the mean time the Dutch having received their Payments due from Spain and finding the French vigorous in the Prosecution of their Designs upon Flanders whilst the Treaty of Peace served only for an Amusement resolved to go on with the War for another Campagne being kept up to this Resolution by the Vigour and Constancy of the Prince of Orange in pressing them to the Observance of their Treaties and pursuit of their Interests in the Defence of the Spanish Netherlands The French had no sooner made a Motion this Season but the Prince prepared to do the same by that of the Dutch Troops and pressed the Spaniards to have theirs in a readiness to join him and with all imaginable Endeavours provided for the Subsistence of his Army in their March through the Spanish Territories which the other took no care of But notwithstanding all the Application that could be used he was not able to come time enough to the Relief either of Valenciennes or Cambray However not to be wanting what in him lay to save the rest he marched with the single Forces of the States and without either Troops or so much as Guides furnished him by the Spaniards directly towards St. Omer bent upon raising the Siege with the Hazard of a Battle tho' labouring under never so many Disadvantages for it which the Duke of Orleans on his part did not decline For having left a few Troops to defend the Trenches he marched with the rest of the Army to meet the Prince and in the way was reinforced by the Duke of Luxemburg with all the Troops the French King could spare out of his Army leaving only enough behind to continue the Siege of the Cittadel of Cambray which was not yet surrender'd Both Armies engaged with a great deal of Bravery at Mount Cassel where after a sharp Dispute the First Regiment of the Dutch Foot began to break and fall into Disorder but the Prince rallied them again several times and renewed the Charge yet he was at last bore down by the plain Hight of his Men whom he was forced himself to resist like Enemies and fall in among them with his Sword in Hand and cutting the first cross over the Face cried aloud Rascal I 'll set a Mark on thee at least that I may hang thee at last But all that ever he could do could not inspire any Courage into his dispirited Countrymen and therefore being forced to yield to the Stream that carried him back to the rest of his Troops which yet stood firm With them and such of the rest as he could gather together he made a Retreat that wanted little of the Honour of a Victory However the natural Consequence of this Battle was the Surrender of St. Omer and the Cittadel of Cambray which happened about the 20th of Apr. and a more eager Desire in the Dutch Provinces after the Conclusion of a Peace seeing they had been left alone by the Spaniards in this Brunt and that they conceived no great Hopes of the Conference that had been held at Wesel between the Elector of Brandenburg the Danish Embassador Pensionary Fagel Admiral Van Trump the Envoys of the Electors of Cologn Treves Palatine of the Princes of Brunswick and Bishop of Munster besides the Duke of Newbourg who was there in Person concerning the Operations of the Campagne on the German side However France observing every Motion both of her Friends and Enemies and more particularly the Temper of the English Parliament who were mightily allarm'd with the Progress of her Arms and had Addressed the King to concert Measures for the Preservation of Flanders had so much regard to the Jealousies raised both in England and Holland of their designing an entire Conquest of the rest of Flanders that the King after having gained those three important Frontier Towns so early in the Spring and dispersed his Army into Quarters of Refreshment went to Dunkirk from whence he sent the Duke of Câ—equi to Compliment Charles II. and to carry him a Letter containing in substance That tho' his willingness to come to a Peace did not at all promote the Conclusion thereof yet he was ready amidst the Prosperities wherewith Heaven was pleased to favour him to agree to a General Truce for some Years as the surest means of restoring Tranquility to Europe in case his Ally the King of Sweden was of the same Mind And seeing he could have no free Correspondence with that King he pray'd his Britannick Majesty to inform himself of his Intentions not doubting but he was sufficiently perswaded of the sincere Desire he had to second the good Offices of his Mediation yea and to contribute all that in him lay for the procuring a General Peace tho' he might have Ground to expect considerable Advantages from his Armies There were various Constructions made of this Letter and it was generally believed to have been a Politick Fetch of the French King to put the King of England upon waving the Declaration which his Parliament so urgently sollicited and Monsieur Beverning the Dutch Plenipotentiary who was the most forward of any for a Peace yet resented it to that degree that he said openly the French were to be commended who never neglected any thing of Importance nor so much as Amusement That France had given her Blow and would now hinder the Allies to give theirs That the Reserve of Sweden's Consent would be always a sure Pretence of staving off the Propositions of a Truce if the Allies should accept it That this it self could not be done because Flanders would be left so open as to be easily swallowed up by the next Invasion having now no Frontier on either side That the Towns now possess'd by France would in the time of a Truce grow absolutely French and so be the harder to be restored by a Peace or a War That for his part he desired to see the Peace concluded contrary to the Politicks of Monsieur Van Benningham and the other Ministers of the Allies in England affirming always That notwithstanding all their Intelligences and Intrigues there he was well assured That the King of England would not enter into the War to save the last Town in Flanders In pursuance of this Confidence of his he made all the Paces imaginable to compleat the Work and such as were thought by some to be forwarder than his Commission and very ill concerted with those of his Allies So that about the beginning of the Month of July all Points were adjusted between the French and Dutch and Monsieur Beverning began to play the part of something more than a Mediator pressing on his Allies towards a Peace in a somewhat rough manner tho' but with very small effect for there was little more done of any moment towards it the rest of this Summer save the Messages that were carried to and fro about the Business of the Duke of Lorrain
induce him to continue in Possession of Lorrain is willing that Prince Charles be restored to it upon one of these two Alternatives of which he gives him his Choice First That he be restored according to the Articles expressed in the Pyrenaean Treaty without any Change or Alteration in any of them Or Secondly That he be restored generally to his whole Estate except the Town of Nancy which his Majesty will retain with Plenary Right of Sovereignty and excepting such a Way as was agreed upon at the Treaty of 1661 to pass from the Frontiers of France into Alsatia and all such Ways as shall be necessary to pass from France to Nancy and from France to Metz Brisac and Franche Compte upon Condition nevertheless that to make him some Compensation for the Town of Nancy his Majesty shall restore to him that of Toul considerable for its Extent and Situation and much more in respect for its Bishoprick His Majesty demands likewise That Long-Wic and its Provostship be quitted to him but offereth withal to recompense the Prince of Lorrain with another Provostship of equal Value of one of three Bishopricks And whereas Marsal having been quitted to his Majesty by a particular Treaty is not at present any part of Lorrain so it is not to be understood to be comprised in this Restitution These are the Terms which may and ought to make the Platform of a General Peace and upon which his Majesty hath long ago declared himself to the King of Great Britain His Majesty desires they may be imparted to the Assembly at Nimeguen and that his own Plenipotentiaries propose them to the Consideration of the rest as containing the lowest Conditions he can admit and upon which his Enemies may make Choice either of War or Peace Given at St. Germains the 9th of Apr. 1678. The Imperialists of all others seemed the least inclinable to yield to the foregoing Conditions and the Strain of requiring full Satisfaction to Sweden was insupportable to the Northern Princes yea the Spaniards and other Confederates looked upon them so hard that they said They would hazard all rather than accept of them Tho' after all those Articles that concerned Holland and Spain having been before privately agreed upon with some Leaders of the principal Towns they proved the Plan of the Peace both for Holland and all the other Confederates engaged in the War Yet when the French Embassadors carried these Conditions to Sir Lionel Jenkins then sole Mediator in order to be communicated by him to the Confederates he made Answer He could not do it as a Mediator but that he would atquaint the Parties with them in Discourse as a matter to which he promised no Answer and this he did because of the other Terms that had been agreed on between England and Holland for forcing of France to a Compliance on the 10th of Jan. foregoing which tho' they proved to be of little use in the Course of this Peace yet they had one good Effect upon the Affairs of Spain and this was That notwithstanding all the French Intriguing in England and Holland the Fears they had that the King at length might be in earnest and punctually perform the Conditions of this League and well knowing that if it came to that they should have occasion for all the Force they could make and perhaps find all little enough they abandoned Messina and all their Conquests in Sicily and that at a time when every body thought the Mareschal de Fevillade had been sent into that Kingdom with fresh Forces upon the Design of some new Enterprize Whereas indeed he went thither to fetch off the French Troops that were there which he did after he had first declared to the Senate the King's Orders and the present Necessity of them and with whom a vast Number of the Messines who dreaded the certain Revenge of the Spaniards took also the Opportunity to retire But that the French might stave off the Blow from England if possible they at length bethought themselves of a Srratagem that had more charming Obligations in it than any other made with the Prince of Orange when in England or with the States-General afterwards and that was an Offer of Money For you must know Mr. Montague the King's Embassador at Paris after a long Conference with M. Louvois by his Master's Orders wherein the Latter represented to him the Measures that had been already concerted for a Peace upon the French Terms in Holland and that since they were agreed there it was hoped his Britannick Majesty would not be against it but that however he had Orders to make him a Tender of a great Sum of Money for his Consent tho' a thing already accepted by the Dutch and wherein his Majesty consequently was not concerned was desired to give the then Lord Treasurer of England an Account hereof by a Packet which Offer tho' very relishing at any time with the Humour of our Court yet the violent Dispositions of the Dutch to run into the Peace at this time whatever came of it and such a fatal and mutual Distrust as there was both in Court and Parliament that it was very difficult to fall into any sound Measures between them made the King look upon it as a very profitable Proposal saying That since the Dutch would have a Peace upon the French Terms and that France offered him Money for his Approbation of that he could not help he knew no Reason why he might not get the Money and so required Sir William Temple to treat with the French Embassador about it But that Gentleman had more Honour and Honesty than to engage in so dishonourable a Thing and did thereupon retire from Court You have heard before that the 10th of May was the time limited by the French Project of Peace for the Allies to accept of the Terms or no and to which they appeared positively engaged but there being a Necessity of somewhat a greater Confidence between the Dutch and French upon this Occasion least such a Sâ—iffneâ—s might produce that Alteration in the Pace of Affairs at the Expiration of the Term that might prove a Disadvantage to one or the other side the Heer Beverning sent secretly to acquaint the French Embassadors That the States did accept of the King's Offer However that he might not by such a Pace allarm the Allies he gave the Count d' Avaux also notice That he was very desirous to discourse with him in private and for that end would fetch a Walk alone upon the Ramparts of the Town about 7 in the Morning where they met accordingly and between whom all Matters were in a manner fully concluded The Consequence thereof was the granting of Ten Days longer for the Dutch to endeavour to perswade their Allies to accept of the Conditions proposed as themselves had done In this time the Estates received a Letter from the French King from his Camp at Deinse wherein he made some further Concessions
and invited them to send Deputies to him at Ghent But because the Reader will be better pleased to peruse the Letter it self I shall here insert it DEINSE the 18th of May 1678. Most dear great Friends Allies and Confederates OVT of the sincere Affection which we have always born to the the promoting the Peace of Europe we are very much satisfied to understand by our Plenipotentiaries at Nimeguen the Account given unto them in your Name by one of your Ambassadors concerning your Thoughts upon the Conclusion of so great a Work which you had imparted to them by one of your Embassadors We are glad to understand that the Terms which we proposed at that Assembly appear to you to be reasonable and that you are fully perswaded of the Sincerity of our Mind in a matter of so great Importance And it is with the greater Satisfaction to our selves that we confirm the same unto you by this Letter that notwithstanding those Advantages which we have already acquir'd by our Arms and may justly hope for by the Prosecution of the War yet we place our chiefest Glory in making all the Steps we can towards a Peace But because it appears by the Discourses that have been made to our Plenipotentiaries by your Order that how desirous soever you are to conclude the Peace yet there remains some Scruple with you concerning the 7th Article of the Treaty of Commerce which has been debated at Nimeguen between our Embassadors and yours and Trouble of Mind lest we should make an entire Conquest of the Low-Countries in case Spain should reject the Terms we have offered we are willing to impart our Thoughts unto you upon these two Points We cannot do it more favourably as to the 1st of them than by granting that the 7th Article should be as your selves desire it and in taking such Measures with you upon the 24 Point as may ease you of the Fear you express for the Loss of Flanders And this we will then do when Spain having refused to consent to the Peace there shall be a Treaty concluded between us and you upon such Terms as have been already propos'd with relation to your selves and that you shall have returned to our Alliance and shall oblige your selves to continue Neuters during the War We shall be always reddy for your sake to grant to Spain the same Terms with relation to Flanders which they are at liberty now to accept And we are further willing to assure you that in all that time we will not Attack any one Place in all those Provinces Thus ye shall always find us reddily inclined not only to form that Barrier which you think so necessary for your own Safety but to secure it and to let you enjoy together with the Re-establishment of Commerce whatever other Advantages you can expect from our Friendship And if for the Prosecuting this Negotiation you shall think it necessary to send Deputies to us they will find us near Ghent till the 27th of this Month and in the same Dispositions we have declared to you in this Letter In the mean time we pray God to take you most great dear Friends Allies and Confederates into his Holy Protection Your good Friend Ally and Confederate LOVIS Underneath was Signed Arnauld The States after 4 Days Consultation did on the 25th of the same Month send a Letter in Answer to the King 's by a Trumpeter of their own to his Camp and after having complimented him upon the Honour he had done them by writing to them and rejoiced at the sincere Desire they conceived to be in his Majesty for the Peace of Europe They pray'd he would be pleased to give Credit to the Heer Van Beverning their Extraordinary Embassador whom they would send to him to inform him how desirous they were on their part to give him fresh Assurances of their sincere Intentions also for Peace Beverning attended upon the French King accordingly and concerted Measures so well that he obtained a Cessation of Arms for 6 Weeks in Flanders to the end the Dutch might endeavour to get the Spaniards to enter into the Peace upon the Terms they proposed for them which Truce extended it self to the 15th of Aug. following and upon his return he told his Masters whether really or designedly is a Question That he found the French King as well informed of the Condition of his Enemies and of the Places he might attack as he was of his own Affairs England in the mean time was grown pretty indifferent in the Matter of the Peace and Spain seemed well inclined to accept her part of it But the Emperor King of Denmark and Elector of Brandenburg fell into the highest Declarations and Reproaches against the States that could well be invented ripping up all they had ventured and suffered in a War wherein they had engaged for the sole Preservation of Holland But that now they were abandoned by them under a Pretence of concluding a Peace and that upon imperious and arbitrary Terms for them without then Consent That they were not backward to treat with France and make a Peace upon any safe and equitable Conditions but would never endure to have them imposed as from an absolute Conqueror and would rather venture and expose all than accept them especially those for the Duke of Lorrdin whose Case was the worst treated tho' seemingly the most favoured by the Confederates and the least contested by France Yet for all these Storms from their Allies the States were little moved but held on their Course having little Regard to the Satisfaction of any other than Spain in what concerned the Safety of Flanders and the Necessities of that Crown made them easie tho' as little pleased as the rest Wherefore on June 22. they sent their Embassadors Orders to Sign the Peace with France before the End of the Month And the very same Day wrote to the French King by the Sieur Lanoy one of their Officers who passed thro' the Camp and delivered a Letter from them to the Mareschal de Luxemburg whereby they acquainted him That they had given the foresaid Orders to their Embassadors at Nimeguen about Signing the Peace and at the same time communicated to him the Sence of the Letter they wrote to his Majesty But notwithstanding all this Tendency both in Spain and Holland to give the finishing Stroke yet an unforeseen Accident fell out which had like to have overturned the whole Fabrick and renew the War with greater Vigour and more equal Forces by engaging England in a Share of it in Favour of the Confederates which they had been long practising without any Success and were quite out of Hopes thereof For in the Conditions which the Dutch had made for the French restoring the 6 Towns in Flanders to the Spaniard there was no particular Mention made of the Time of that Restitution the Dutch understanding as well as the Spaniards that it was to be upon
Princes that France shall give up to them all that she has taken from them at present and that the rest remain as it was before the War That Lorrain be restored to the Duke of that Name in the State it is in now or if that cannot be done in the State it was when seized by France his Majesty and the States mutually and really obliging themselves to the Observation of this Point I. His said Majesty and the Lords the States-General promise to do their utmost and if it may be to use all sorts of Means to constrain the most Christian King to give Satisfaction in these Terms without being at Liberty to make a Peace with him if he do not give his Consent to them or to some others as shall be agreed on between his Majesty and the States according to the Success of the War II. His Majesty and the States-General do engage themselves further for the obliging France to consent to these Conditions or to such as the Princes concerned shall find convenient and in short for bringing of that Crown to comply with it that his Majesty shall furnish One Third more by Sea and a Third less by Land in the Low-Countries than the Lords the States all by a Provisionary Way till it be otherwise provided by the Allies III. It is also stipulated That if his Majesty of Great Britain and the most Christian King make War upon one another one of the Confederates cannot separate from the other by any particular Treaty without that other's Consent IV. But if the Negotiation of the Peace which is held at Nimeguen comes to be broke up and that the Parties should agree upon any other Place to treat of it or of a Truce that cannot be done without the Consent or Agreement of the other Allies and without at the same time one of the Parties in the Confederacy procure also to the other the necessary Pasports to pass freely and without Danger to the Place appointed for the Treaty where he ought also to communicate to him all that passeth in that Negotiation And in the mean time they shall not have Power to consent to any Peace or Truâ—e but according to the Conditions stipulated by the 1st Article or such other as they shall agree upon and without his Aâ—y be re-established in the full and entire Possession of all the Lands Towns Places and Immunities which he enjoyed at the Signing of this Treaty in Europe if it be not otherwise agreed on between his Majesty and the States V. But if the Peace in Hand terminate happily between the most Christian King on the one Hand and his Catholick Majesty and the States General on the other whether by the Propositions which France hath made her self or by such other as they can agree to his Britannick Majesty and the States will not only be Guarrantee in the best and surest Form that may be but also its free for other Kings and neighbouring Princes who shall have any Interest in the Repose of Christendom and the immutable Tranquility of the Low-Countries to be so 'T is with this View that his said Majesty and the States would agree upon the Troops and Means that are necessary to bring the Party who shall violate the Peace to make Satisfaction for the Damages he shall do another any manner of way VI. These Articles and the full Contents of them are to be Signed and Ratified within 3 Weeks or sooner if it may be and the Ratifications exchanged at the same time Given at the Hague the 26 th of July 1678. Signed W. Van Henkelom de Van Wiugaerden Fagel D. Van Heyden Van Leewen J. de Maregnault Jean Baron de Reed A. ter Borght Temple After the Treaty had been thus concluded and signified to France all the Artifice that could be was used on that side to elude it by drawing the matter into a Treaty or at least a greater length which had succeeded so well in England that they offered to treat upon it at St. Quintin then at Ghent where the French King himself proposed to meet such Embassadors as the Dutch should send into either of them Towns But the States were stanch not to recede from their late Treaty and continued in that Mood till about 5 Days before the Expiration of the time then came one De Cross from England with a Packet for Sir William Temple commanding him to go forth with to Nimeguen and there to endeavour from the King to perswade the Swedish Embassadors to let the French know That for the Repose of Christendom they did not any longer desire the French King to insist upon the Detention of the Towns and consequently hinder the Peace upon the sole Regard and Interest of the Crown of Sweden and to assure them that after the Conclusion of the Peace the King would employ all his Endeavours that the Towns and Countries which their Master had lost in the War should be restored unto them How this Dispatch of Du Cross was gained was never known but 't is sufficient to believe that France had the greatest Hand in it since 't was transacted all one Morning in Portsmouth's Apartment by the intervention and pursuit of Barillon the French Embassador Yet for all this when Sir William Temple arrived at Nimeguen which was but 3 Days before the Expiration of the Term fix'd by the late Treaty between our King and the States either for the French to evacuate the Towns or for carrying on the War conjointly against France there was but little Disposition that the Peace would be Signed but rather the quite contrary appeared by the Stiffness shewed on both sides to adhere firmly to their respective Demands And the Dutch Embassadors remained peremptory That there could be no Deputation for the securing of the future Satisfaction of Sweden as the French demanded before the Term expired and no other Remedy upon that but that the War must go on With this View and Expectation all the Parties seemed to be when the fatal Day came wherein either a suddain Peace or a long and bloody War was to be reckoned on in Christendom on the Morning whereof Monsieur Boreel who had been sent from Amsterdam to the Dutch Embassadors at Nimeguen went to the French Embassadors and after some Conference with them they immediately went to those of Holland and declared they had received Orders from their Master to consent to the Evacuation of the Towns and thereupon to Sign the Peace but that it must be done that Morning At this the Dutch seemed to be surprized but immediately entred into a Conference with them thereupon which lasted for 5 Hours and ended in an Agreement upon all Points both of Peace and Commerce between France and Holland It was certainly thought the French Embassadors had received no Power to Sign the Peace and 't was said Sir William Temple himself did advise those of Holland to press them to it out of a real Belief as well as the
Hopes he had they could not indeed do it But the Length of the Conference did so alarm the Confederates that they were in a Commotion before it was ended and yet-more sensibly touched when they came to know the Peace was concluded on and that it was to be Signed that very Day And what gave them a greater Uneasiness was That they â—ound England now acting in their Favours in the same manner as they had long desired However not to be wanting to themselves thâ— Embassadors of Denmark Brandenburg and Munster that very Day gave in a Protestation to those of the States wherein they represented That finding them the Embassadors of the States-General inclined that Day to Sign a Separate Treaty of Peace with the French King by the Confession now even of one of themselves tho' they had given them no Intimations whereof as they should have done according to their Treaties they were obliged to lay before them how disagreeable this manner of Procedure was to the Solemn Alliances the Staâ—es had contracted with their Masters wherein they had engaged never to enter into a Separate Treaty with their Common Enemy who was ready to destroy their Republick and from whose Hand they could never have escaped had it not been for their Assistances and the Diversion they had given his Arms in several parts of Europe in their Favour They conjured them by all that was solemn and engaging not to precipitate the Treaty but to give them leasure to acquaint their Principals with it which could be no Prejudice to either Party That they could not but promise themselves so much at their Hands especially since there was no apparent Necessity to oblige their High and Mightinesses to Resolutions so contrary to all that had been concerted before after they had exhorted their Allies afresh to the Observation and Execution of their Treaties and after that their Masters had taken vigorous Resolutions thereupon and agreeable to the Desires of the States in sending vast numbers of Troops into the Spanish Netherlands for the Relief of Mons which by the Arms of France was reduced to Extremity and for seconding and putting in Execution other Designs which Spain and the States should resolve upon under the Conduct of his Highness the Prince of Orange for the common Security of the Low-Countries in particular To say nothing of the great Bodies that were on their March towards the Meuse to be employed to the same purpose from whence with the Assistance of God there was room to hope for a good Success in so just a Cause But that in case the Lords the States found themselves under an indispensible Necessity which yet did not appear to them of proceeding with so much Precipitation to a particular Peace with France they did declare hereby That their Masters were ready at the same time to enter upon the said Treaty and in Conjunction with the States to conclude the same with the French King upon just and equitable Conditions which in a short time might be agreed and whereunto they on their part would shew all the Facility imaginable That they could not but promise to themselves the Compliance of the States in this particular and that they could not think they had entertained the least Design of abandoning their good and faithful Friends Neighbours and Allies who had hazarded all that was dear unto them to deliver them from the impending Storm wherewith they had been threatned and for their re-establishment in their ancient Splendor and Liberty at leastwise they hoped for so much from their Justice and Sincerity that they would conclude upon nothing without comprehending the Interest of their Allies which was in a manner their own in it and not concur in the Oppression and Ruine of those who had faithfully assisted them against so powerful an Enemy who with one Hand made all the Semblance imaginable of the sincere Desire he had to give Repose to Christendom but with the other refused to accept the Means that were proper to effect it They added further That such an hasty and precipitate Conduct in them was unworthy of a State that had always governed it self with Reason and Justice and that such an extraordinary Step would be an everlasting Blot upon the Honour and Reputation of the States-General But that if notwithstanding all they were resolved to proceed and enter into a Neutrality so contrary to their Solemn Engagements they protested against that Separate Treaty in the best Form they could and not only so but also against all the Calamities that Christendom in general and the Princes their Masters in particular might suffer by that Separation But notwithstanding the Reasonableness and Solemnity of this Protestation and the Irresolution of Monsieur Van Haren one of the Dutch Plenipotentiaries who did not seem to be so clear in the Point of their Orders yet Directions were presently given to have all-fair writ over with the greatest haste imaginable so as the Treaty might be Signed that Night which was done accordingly between 11 and 12 without the Intervention of the English Mediators who refused to Sign the same or to have their Names made use of as such saying Their Instructions were to mediate a General Peace and therefore by their Orders could not Sign a Particular One. The Treaty follows NIMEGUEN Aug. 10. 1678. LEwis by the Grace of God King of France and Navar to all that shall see these Presents Greeting Since our most dear and well-beloved Cousin the Sieur Comte d'Estrades Mareschal of France and Knight of our Order our faithful and well-beloved the Sieur Colbert Marquis of Croissi Counsellor in Ordinary in our Council of State and our faithful and well-beloved the Sieur De Mesmes Comte d'Avaux Counsellor also in our Councils our Embassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiaries by vertue of the Plenary Powers which We had given them have Concluded Agreed and Signed the 10th of this Month at Nimeguen with the Heer Hierosm Van Beverning Baron of Teylingen Curator of the University of Leyden late Counsellor and Treasurer General of the Vnited-Provinces of the Low-Countries the Heer Willem Van Nassaw Heer Van Odyke Cortgene and first Noble and Representative of the Nobility in the States and Council of Zealand and the Heer Willem Van Haren Griedtman Van Bildt Embassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiaries of our most Dear and Great Friends the States-General of the Vnited-Provinces of the Low-Countries instructed likewise with full Power the Treaty of Peace according to the Tenour ensuing In the Name of God the Creator To all present and to come be it known that as during the Course of the War that has been stirr'd for some Years betwixt the most High most Excellent and most mighty Prince Lewis XIV by the Grace of God most Christian King of France and Navar and the Lords the States-General of the Vnited-Provinces his Majesty always maintain'd a sincere Desire to give back to the said States his principal Friendship and they
all the Sentiments of Respect for his Majesty and of Acknowledgment for the Obligations and considerable Advantages which they have received from his Majesty and the Kings his Predecessors it is at last come to pass that these good Dispositions seconded by the powerful Offices of the most High most Excellent and most mighty Prince the King of Great Britain who during these troublesom Times wherein all Christendom has been in War hath not ceased by his Counsels and good Advertisements to contribute to the Publick Weal and Repose induced as well his most Christian Majesty and the States-General as also all other the Princes and Potentates that are concerned in the Interest of this present War to consent that the Town of Nimeguen should be made Choice of for the Treaty of Peace to which end his most Christian Majesty named for his Embassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiaries the Sieur Comte d'Estrades Mareschal of France and Knight of his Orders the Sieur Colbert Knight Marquess of Croissi Counsellor in ordinary in his Council of State and the Sieur Mesmes Knight Comte d'Avaux Counsellor also in his Councils and the said States-General the Heer Hierosme Van Beverning Baron of Teylingen Curator of the University of Leyden late Counsellor and Treasurer-General of the Vnited-Provinces Heer Van Odyle Cortgene and first Noble and Representative of the Nobility in the States and Council of Zealand and the Heer Willem Van Haren Griedtman Van Bildt Deputies in their Assemblies on the behalf of the States of Holland and Zealand c. Which Embassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiaries duly instructed with the good Intentions of their Masters were to repair to the said Town of Nimeguen where after a mutual Communication of their Plenary Powers the Copies whereof are inserted Word for Word at the end of this Treaty it was agreed upon Conditions of Peace and Friendship according to this ensuing Tenour viz. I. There shall be for the future betwixt his most Christian Majesty and his Successors Kings of France and Navar and his Kingdoms on the one part and the Lords the States-General of the Vnited-Provinces of the Low-Countries on the other part a good firm faithful and inviolable Peace and all Acts of Hostility of what kind soever shall hereafter cease and be forborn betwixt the said King and the said Lords the States-General as well by Sea and other Waters as by Land in all their Kingdoms Countries Lands Provinces and Seigniories and for all their Subjects and Inhabitants of what Quality or Condition soever without exception of Places or Persons II. And if any Prizes are taken on either side in the Baltick-Sea or the North-Sea from Terneuse to the Channel 's Mouth within the space of 4 Weeks or from the said Mouth of the Channel to the Cape of St. Vincent within the space of Six Weeks and further in the Mediterranean-Sea and as far as the Aequinoctial within the space of 10 Weeks and beyond the Line and in all Parts of the World within the space of 8 Months to be computed from the Day on which the Peace shall be published at Paris and at the Hague the said Prizes and the Dammages that shall happen on either side after the Terms prefix'd shall be brought to Account and whatever shall have been taken shall be restor'd with Recompense for the Damages that shall have happened thereby III. There shall be moreover betwixt the said King and the said Lords the States-General and their Subjects and Inhabitants mutually a sincere firm and perpetual Friendship and good Correspondence by Sea and Land in all Things and in all Places within Europe and without and no resenting of the Offences or Damages that have been received either in Time past or by reason of the said Wars IV. And in Virtue of this Friendship and Correspondence as well his Majesty as the said Lords the States-General shall faithfully procure and further the Good and Prosperity of one another by all Support Aid Counsel and real Assistances upon all Occasions and at all Times and shall not consent for the future to any Treaties or Negotiations that may be to one anothers Damage and shall break them off and give notice of them to one another with Care and Sincerity as soon as ever they come to their Knowledge V. They that have had any of their Goods seized and confiscated by reason of the said War their Heirs or Assigns of what Condition or Religion soever shall enjoy such Goods and take them into Possession of their own private Authority and by Virtue of this present Treaty without standing in need to have recourse to Law and that notwithstanding any Appropriations to the Exchequer Engagements Gifts in Writing Sentences Preparatory or Definitive given by Default or Contumacy in the Parties Absence or without their being heard Treaties Accords and Transactions and any Renunciations that may have been made at such Transactions to exclude the right Owners from any part of such Goods and all and every the Goods and Rights which according to this present Treaty shall or ought to be restor'd on either side to the first Proprietors their Heirs and Assigns may be sold by the said Proprietors without obtaining any particular License so to do And likewise the Proprietors of such Rents as shall be settled by the Exchequer in lieu of Goods sold as also of such Rents and Actions as stand on Charge in the Exchequer may respectively dispose of the Propriety thereof by Sale or otherwise as of their other proper Goods VI. And since the Marquisate of Bergenopzome with all the Rights and Revenues thereunto appertaining and generally all the Lands and Goods of Monsieur le Comte d'Avergne Colonel-General of the Light-Horse of France that were under the Power of the said States-General of the Vnited-Provinces have been seized and confiscated by reason of the War to which the present Treaty ought to put an happy End it is agreed That the said Sieur Comte d'Auvergne shall be restored to the Possession of the said Marquisare of Bergenopzome its Appurtenances and Dependances and also to all the Rights Actions Privileges Usages and Prerogatives that he enjoy'd at the time when the War was declar'd VII Each shall continue seized of and shall actually enjoy the Countries Towns Places Lands Islands and Seignories within Europe and without which they now hold and possess without being disturb'd or molested directly or indirectly in any manner whatsoever VIII But his most Christian Majesty willing to give back to the Lords the States-General his Principal Friendship and to give them a singular Proof thereof upon this Occasion will immediately after the Exchange of the Ratifications put them into Possession of the Town of Maestricht with the Comte of Vronof and the Comtez and Countries of â—auquemond Aalhem and Rolleduc beyond the Maes together with the Villages of Redemption Banc d' St. Servais and whatever is belonging to the said Town IX The said Lords the States-General promise That whatever
concerns the Exercise of the Roman Catholick Religion and such as profess it enjoying their Goods shall be re-established and maintained in the said Town of Maestricht and its Dependances in the same State and in such Manner as was regulated by the Capitulation made in the Year 1632 and that such as shall have been endowed with any Ecclesiastical Goods Canons Places Parsonages Provostships and other Benefices shall continue settled in them and enjoy them without any Contradiction X. His Majesty restoring to the said Lords the States-General the Town of Maestricht and Countries thereunto belonging may yet take and carry away all the Artillery Powder Bullets Provisions and other Warlike Ammunition that shall be found there at the time of â—ts Restitution and they that his Majesty shall have appointed for this Purpose may if they please make use of the Boats and Carriages of the Country for 2 Months time and shall have free Passage by Water and Land for the Carrying away the said Ammunition And the Governours Commanders Officers and Magistrates of the said Town shall give them all the Facilities they can for the Carriage and Conduct of the said Artillery and Ammunition Also the Officers Soldiers Men of War and others that shall leave the said Place may take thence and carry away all their movable Goods but it shall not be lawful for them to exact any Thing from the Inhabitants of the Town of Maestricht or its Neighbourhood nor to do any hurt to their Houses or carry away any Thing belonging to the said Inhabitants XI All Prisoners of War on both sides shall be delivered without Distinction or Exception and without paying any Ransom XII The raising of Contributions demanded by the Governour of the Town of Maestricht of the Countries subjected shall continue for all that shall become due till the Ratification of the present Treaty and such Arrears as shall remain shall be paid within 3 Months after that at convenient times for which a valuable Caution shall be given in some Town within his Majesty's Dominion XIII The said Lords the States-General have and do promise not only to maintain a perfect Neutrality without being at Liberty to assist directly or indirectly the Enemies of France or its Allies but also to guarrant all such Engagements as Spain shall enter into by the Treaty that is to be betwixt their most Christian and Catholick Majesties and especially that whereby the Catholick King shall be held to the same Neutrality XIV If through Inadvertence or otherwise there happen any want of due Observance of this present Treaty or other Inconvenience relating thereunto on the Part of his said Majesty or of the Lords the States-General and their Successors this Peace and Alliance shall remain in full Force notwithstanding so as no Breach of Friendship or of good Correspondence shall ensue thereupon but such Contraventions shall be speedily repaired if they shall be occasioned by any particular Subjects Faults those Subjects only shall be punished XV. And for the better securing Commerce and Friendship hereafter between the Subjects of the said King and those of the States-General of the Vnited-Provinces of the Low-Countries it is agreed and accorded that in case there shall be in time to come any Interruption of Friendship or that a Breach shall happen between the Crown of France and the said Lords the States-General of the said Vnited-Provinces which God forbid then 6 Months after such Breach shall always be allowed to the Subjects of both Parties to retire with their Effects and transport them whithersoever they think fit which also they shall be permitted to do as likewise to sell or transport their Goods and Movables with all Freedom so as no Hindrance shall be given to them nor any Proceedings to seize their Effects much less to secure their Persons XVI As for the Pretences and Interests that concern the Prince of Orange upon which there has been a separate Treaty and Agreement by an Act this Day Signed the said Writing and all the Contents of it shall be effectual and shall be confirmed fulfilled and executed according to the Form and Tenour thereof neither more nor less than if all its Points in general and every one in particular were Word for Word inserted into this present Treaty XVII And as his Majesty and the Lords the States-General acknowledge the powerful Offices that the King of Great Britain has incessantly employ'd by his Counsels and good Advertisements for the publick Weal and Repose so it is agreed on both sides that his said Majesty of Great Britain and his Kingdoms be comprehended by Name within this present Treaty according to the best Form that may be XVIII Within this present Treaty of Peace and Alliance shall be comprehended on the part of the said most Christian King the King of Sweden the Duke of Holstein the Bishop of Strasburg and Prince William of Furstemburg as interested in the present War And there shall likewise be comprehended if they will themselves the Prince and Crown of Portugal the Duke and Seigniory of Venice the Duke of Savoy the Thirteen Cantons of the Ligue-Switzers and their Allies the Elector of Bavaria Duke John Frederick of Brunswick Hanover and all Kings Potentates Princes and States Towns and particular Persons to whom his most Christian Majesty shall grant at their Request to be comprehended within this Treaty on his part XIX And on the part of the Lords the States-General the King of Spain and all other their Allies that within 6 Weeks to be computed from the Exchange of the Ratifications shall declare their acceptance of the Peace and also the Thirteen laudable Cantons of the Ligue-Switzers and their Allies and Confederates the Town of Embden and moreover all Kings Princes and States Towns and particular Persons to whom they shall grant at their Request to be comprehended on their part XX. The said King and the said Lords the States-General do consent that the King of Great Britain as Mediator and all other Potentates and Princes that shall be willing to enter into the like Engagement may give his Majesty and the said States-General their Promise and tie themselves to guarrant the Performance of all that is contain'd in this present Treaty XXI This present Treaty shall be Ratified and Approved by the said King and the said Lords the States-General and each Parties Letters of Ratification shall be deliver'd in proper due Form within the Term of 6 Weeks or sooner if it may be reckoning from the Day of Signing In Witness whereof We the aforesaid Ambassadors of his Majesty and of the Lords the States-General by Virtue of their respective Powers have on their behalfs Signed these Presents with our ordinary Seals and have set our Coats of Arms to the same At Nimeguen Aug. 10. in the year of our Lord 1678. Le Ma' D'Estrates Colbert De Mesmes H. Beverning W. van Nassaw W. Haren WE liking well the aforesaid Treaty of Peace in all and every the
very probably might have been as much Glorious to him in the Consequence as it was Honourable at the present according to the Confession of a brave Enemy that was in the Battle who said That he esteemed this the only Heroick Action that had been done in the whole Course or Progress of the War The Prince sent to give the Duke of Luxemburg notice of the Peace who thereupon desired an Interview with him which was agreed to and all things past with great Civilities on both sides the French crowding about a Young Prince that had made so much noise in the World and but the Day before given Life and Vigour to such a desperate Action as all Men esteemed this Battle of St. Dennis to be yet many Reflections were made upon it both by his Friends and Enemies some saying That he knew the Peace was Signed before the Fight began but that if it were true could not Prejudice him since he was not obliged to take notice of it till he received Advice from the States and that it was too great a venture both to himself and the States and too great a Sacrifice to his own Honour since it could be to no other Advantage others laid the blame upon the Marquess de Grana That he had Intercepted or Concealed the States Packet to the Prince but this was an uncertain Report However the Prince could not have ended the War with greater Glory and with more spight to see such a mighty occasion wrested out of his Hands by the sudden and unexpected Signing of the Peace which he had assured himself the States would not have consented to without the Spaniards But the Business was done and therefore he left the Army went first to the Hague then to Dieren to Hunt as having little else to do leaving the States at liberty to pursue their own paces as to the finishing of the Treaty between France and Spain wherein their Embassadors at Nimeguen imployed themselves with great Zeal and Application and no longer as Parties and Confederates but rather as Mediators the English declining that Function as being a Matter wherein our Court would take no part The Northern Confederates were still mightily chafed at the Dutch Proceedings and tho' with all their Remonstrances they were not able to stave off the Separate Peace of Holland yet they imployed their last Effort now to prevent the Spaniards agreeing to that part of the Peace as accepted for them by the Dutch and to that end exclaimed mightily against their Breach of Honour and Interest citing the very Articles of their Treaty with them for it and said That what was left the Spaniards in Flanders by those Terms was Indefensible and would serve but to exhaust their Men and Treasure to no purpose That France had no other Design than to break the present Confederacy by such Separate Treaties and so leave the Spaniards abandoned by all their Allies upon the next occasion which they could no less than expect if Spain should use them with as little regard of their Honour and Treaties as the Dutch Embassadors seemed to design these and especially some difficulties that did arise on the part of France about giving up the Country of Beaumont and the Town of Bovines to the Spaniards as being Matters not mentioned in the Dutch Treaty with the French upon the Score of Spain before the Peace was Signed made Matters very doubtful and uncertain whether the Dutch would Ratifie their Treaty or the Spaniards Sign theirs Whilst Mens minds were busied with various Conjectures and Presages upon the present Conjuncture about the middle of Aug. Mr. Hide was suddenly dispatcht over from England to the surprize even of all in Holland and more especially of our Embassador there who had not the least Intimation of it and if the Journey was surpriâ—ing the Message was no less which is included in the following Memorial That his Majesty having understood that a Separate Treaty of Peace had been Concluded and Signed between the Most Christian King's Embassadors and those of this State he was extreamly surprized at the Manner of the Procedure of the the States Embassadors at Nimeguen and having seriously reflected thereon he hath commanded my Lord Embassador to hasten hither with all expedition in order to represent the same to the Lords the States that his Majesty cannot find there is any Declaration or Promise made by the Most Christian King for the Evacuating the Towns upon the Ratification of the Peace Signed at Nimeguen That in the next place there is no Article between the Most Christian King's Embassadors and those of this State to assure the said Evacuation Thirdly That France has retarded the said Evacuation by the new Proposals she has made to the Spaniards whereof there were no mention made in their own Propositions which had been accepted by Spain particularly by a Detention of some Places till Dinant were yielded up by the Empire and by keeping the County of Beaumont and Bovines with other Places of which there had been no mention made in the said Proposals And as it has been agreed upon in the last Treaty which was concluded and ratified between his Majesty and this State that in case his Most Christian Majesty did retard or retract from the said Evacuation whether upon account of procuring Satisfaction to the Swede or for any other Cause whatsoever that the King and this State were obliged to enter into a Conjoint War against France his Majesty does believe that the Substance of that Treaty is come to pass by the fore-mentioned Conditions and that his Majesty and this State were equally obliged to pursue the said Treaty and to give the said Embassador Orders to demand of this State the Execution of it And as his Majesty does not at all doubt but this State has the same Sentiments with himself in respect to the Mutual Obligation that lies upon them from the said Treaty he has commanded the said Embassador in his Name and on his part to assure them that if the Lords the States will refuse to Ratifie that which was Signed by their Embassadors at Nimeguen his Majesty 3 Days after such a Declaration shall be notified to him on the part of this State will declare actual War against France and punctually put in Execution all the Contents of his last Treaty with this State And his Majesty having taken into Consideration those Representations which have been made unto him on the part of this State concerning a Neutrality for Cleve and Juliers his Majesty is so sensible of the great Danger that may befal this State without a sufficient Barrier on that side as well as on that of Flanders that he has commanded the said Embassador to assure the Lords the States that he is ready to Concert with them and enter upon all the Measures that can be taken for their Security on that side as well as on the other and that it shall be their Fault if they
Brandenburg into the Countries of Oldenburg and Delmenhurst which put all the Country under Contribution and wrought such an Effect upon the Danish Envoy at Paris that the Treaty was fully concluded between France Sweden and Denmark on the 2d of Sept. at St. Germains M. Pompone having full Power from the French King to that Purpose The Treaties of Roscheld Copenhagen and Westphalia were the Ground-work of this Peace with Denmark as will better appear by this Abstract I. THAT there be a firm Peace between the said Kings and all Things during the War to the Offence of either forgotten II. That all Alliances made by either of the Three Kings to the Prejudice of the other shall cease and be abolished and they shall not make any which may be so for the future III. That Hostilities do cease within a Fortnight reckoning from the Day of the Signing except in Norway where 3 Weeks shall be allowed because of the Distance IV. That the Treaties of Roscheld Copenhagen and Westphalia shall be confirmed with all the Instruments to them appertaining V. The King of Denmark promises to restore whatever he hath taken from the Swedes during the War viz. Landscroon Helsenburg Monstrand and Wismaâ— with the Isles of Rugen and Gothlaend and all their Dependances VI. In like manner the King of Sweden promises to restore what he has taken from Denmark during the War VII That Commissioners shall be appointed by the Two Northern Crowns who shall meet within 6 Months a Minister from the most Christian King being present and shall endeavour to compose all Differences arisen on occasion of Priviledges and Immunities which the Swedes pretend to in the Sound and the Baltick provided that the said Priviledges and Immunities do remain in full Force and Vigour the Abuses only to be corrected VIII The Places to be restored to Sweden shall be delivered up in the same Condition as they are at present viz. Helsenburg Landscoon and all other Places possessed by the King of Denmark in Schonen Pleiâ—ing and Holland together with Carelstadt and the Fort on the River Swinge within 2 Weeks Wismar and the Isle of Rugen within 3 Marstrond and the Isle of Gothland within 4 Weeks to be reckoned from the Day of the Exchange IX The King of Denmark may take out of the Places to be restored what Cannon he caused to be brought into them since they were in his Possession but the Cannon that were in the Places when taken and still remain there to be restored with the Places But if the King of Denmark hath formerly taken out of those Places the Cannon that belonged to the Swedes he shall restore the one half thereof X. All Goods and Estates confiscated during the War shall be restored XI All Persons shall be restored to the Rights and Priviledges they enjoyed before the War XII The Country of Rixengen belonging to the Count Ethlefelt Chancellor of Denmark confiscated during the War shall be restored to him XIII All Prisoners to be set at Liberty XIV All such Princes as desire it shall be comprehended in this Treaty XV. The most Christian King promises that the King of Sweden shall ratifie this Treaty within 3 Months XVI The most Christian King promises to ratifie the same within 6 Weeks But of all other Points conceded by the Dane in this Treaty none seemed so hard as this last relating to the Duke of Holstein Gottorp who for being an Ally in this War to the Swede Denmark had stripped of all his Dominions but is now forced to re-instate him in as ample Form as could be and he pretend to unless it were the Damage which his Territories had sustained during the War by the vast Sums of Money which the King of Denmark had raised therein as being one of the best Countries in all the North. And thus ended this long and bloody War in Europe but with as much Dissatisfaction to almost all the Allies as it was advantageous to France who was left in a Condition by it to do what she would as we shall have occasion to note hereafter It was very hard upon all the Allies harder yet to the Elector of Brandenburg but to none more than the King of Denmark who had no manner of Compensation for all the Conquests he had made in the Course of it and I think was no less dishonourable to England every way whose Mediation though continued even to the last yet through some evil Aspect or other had not the Happiness of Signing any one of the Treaties And as for the Duke of Lorrain as he had nothing in Possession so he lost nothing but his Expectation which in the Sequel appeared to be ill grounded tho' upon the direct and frequent Engagements both of the Confederates and Mediator And so that noble tho' unfortunate Prince was wholly left out of the Treaty and without any visible Hopes of ever recovering the Dominion of his Ancestors And here we shall at present leave it and return to see what has been doing all this while in England About the 29th of Sept. the preceding Year which was 1678 Dr. Oats seconded after by Tongue and Kirby made a Discovery of an horrid Plot carried on by Jesuits and others of the Roman Communion against the Life and Person of the King Protestant Religion and Established Government and for a further Confirmation of his Testimony Oats referred himself to Coleman's Papers who was Secretary to the then Dutchess of York But though the Court could not but enquire into the Truth of this yet they made such slow Paces in it that Coleman had time enough to convey away all the Papers of the 2 last Years with his Book of Entries of them However those Letters that were found amazed the major part of the Council and thereupon several Persons were examined and committed viz. Sir George Wakeman the Queen's Physician Coleman Langborn of the Inner-Temple Tho. Whitebread Provincial of the Jesuits in England James Corker and Thomas Pickering all Jesuits Priests and Monks with divers others And not long after William Earl of Powis William Viscount Stafford Henry Lord Arundel of Warder William Lord Petre and John Lord Bellasis were sent Prisoners upon the same Account to the Tower of London But tho' these and other Circumstances made the Matter pretty clear yet the Murder of Sir Edmundbury Godfrey a Justice of the Peace before whom some of the Depositions had been taken and who appear'd zealous against all Male Practices against the King and Government soon after viz. on the 12th of Oct. rendred the Conspiracy in the Sight of most Men to be past all doubt And therefore the Parliament who met upon the 21 st of Oct. after having appointed a Secret Committee to enquire into the Bottom of the Plot did upon the 1st of Nov. following come to this Resolution Nemine Contradicente That upon the Evidence that hath already appeared to this House this House is of Opinion that there
made good and a safe Conduct to be granted to some of their Number to address themselves to the Duke in that Matter To this the Duke answered That he would not treat with them upon their Declaration but if they would readily lay down their Arms he would receive them into the King's Mercy With which Answer they went back desiring some time to deliberate upon it which the Duke granted But about half an Hour after in return they sent a Paper by a Drummer representing That being informed that his Grace came from England with Terms to be offered to them they desired to know what he had to propose that they might advise whether the Terms were such as they could accept of Whereupon the Duke finding they trifled sent them Word He would receive no more Messages from them While things passed thus between the Duke and them his Cannon with some Horse and Foot were brought down from the Body of the Army and posted not far from the Bridge which he immediately commanded to play and which was no sooner perceived by the Covenanters but they threw themselves upon the Ground to avoid the Shot Those of them that were posted on the Bridge fired at first very briskly but after five or six Shot of Cannon they all ran away they upon the rising-Ground running first The Duke then advanced and his Men seizing upon the Bridge threw their Barricadoes of Stones Cart-wheels and the like into the River took one Piece of Cannon and pursued them up the Hill but the Covenanters perceiving their Numbers to be small they rallied and faced about yet would not venture to come down upon them tho' the Duke's Men retired back to the Bridge In the mean time the Duke passed the Army over the Bridge and drew them up on the rising-Ground which took up some time and upon whom the Covenanters advanced in very good Order before the other had time enough to do so but upon their approach espying the Cannon at the Head of the Duke's Army they immediately sifted their Order and opened in the middle thinking as 't was supposed they were obliged to shoot streight forward yet the Cannon being turned upon them as they then stood and 3 or 4 times discharged they began to run their Commander Robert Hamilton being one of the first and the Dragoons advancing upon them it was a perfect Rout they flying and being pursued all Ways there being between 7 and 800 of them slain but a far greater Number taken Prisoners Thus ended this extravagant Undertaking of the Scots which served only to make their Chains the heavier as doubtless the imploying the Duke of Monmouth to suppress them was intended for no good to him neither his Court-Enemies thinking thereby to render him odious to the Presbyterians and other Dissenters in England but there their Politicks failed them for the Fears of Popery and a Popish Successor at this time had very deeply possessed Men's Minds and the Duke's Person after the King 's was the only visible One they had to rely upon to stave off the dreadful Monster and of this the Popish Faction were mighty jealous and so much the rather because there was a Pamphlet printed and handed about that the King had been married to the Duke of Monmouth's Mother and rumour'd Abroad That Sir Gilbert Gerrard had a black Box wherein the said Marriage was fully proved and made out And indeed the Fears of the Duke of York's succeeding to the Crown were such that the People were willing to lay hold on any Twig and so to be very easie of Belief in the Particulars of this Story But he the Matter as it will the Tories and Popish Party had such an Influence at Court that the King began now to appear Heart and Soul theirs and so made Three Declarations the first in the Presence of W. Cant. H. Finch C. H. Coventry and J. Williamson the 6th of Jan. 1679. wherein he declared That they who should say he was married or contracted to the Duke of Monmouth's Mother were neither his nor the Duke's Friends and declared in the Presence of Almighty God That he never was married nor contracted to any other Woman whatsoever but his Wife Queen Catharine Upon the 3d of March following he caused this Declaration to be entred into the Council-Book being all written and sign'd with his own Hand in a Paper he delivered in at the Board to be kept in the Council-Chest viz. FOR the avoiding of any Dispute which may happen in time to come concerning the Succession of the Crown I do hereby declare in the Presence of Almighty God That I never gave nor made any Contract of Marriage nor was married to any Woman whatsoever but to my present Wife Queen Catharine now living Whitehall March the 3d. 1679. Charles R. And because they might make sure Work of it the same Thing was again repeated on the 2d of June 1680. with Asseverations to the same Purpose wherein he called the Report of his Marriage or Contract with Mrs. Walters alias Barlow the Duke of Monmouth's Mother false and scandalous and charged all his Subjects not to presume to utter or publish any such Thing and all those were published together by his special Order which tho' distant in Time I thought fit to mention together year 1680 to avoid an interrupted Discourse as much as possibly I was able And that the King might further gratifie that Faction as well as he had done the Nation in sending the Duke of York out of it he sent the Duke of Monmouth away also The King towards the latter end of Aug. fell ill at Windsor and his Indisposition in a little time proved to be an Ague I will not deny but Monmouth did at that time double the Guards and shew more Activity than ordinary in the Management of Things and for my part I do think if the King had gone off suddenly the Duke would have bid very fair for the Crown However the King was in no Danger tho' his Brother the Duke of York apprehended himself to be so in that Conjuncture and therefore he had no sooner Notice of the King's Illness which was early enough but he posted to Court with all Expedition and on the 2d of Dec. arrived at Windsor the Consequence whereof was the Duke of Monmouth's Banishment who thereupon retired to Vtretch as his Unkle the Duke of York did in a little time back again to Brussels but this last without any Design to stay For on the 12th of Oct. he with his whole Family arrived at St. James's to the Surprize of most People The other was resolved not to be long behind him for being informed that Banishment is a Punishment which the King cannot inflict upon any Man unless he be convicted of some ill Crime he returned also on the 27th of Nov. at Night to London at which the Citizens express'd a mighty Joy by Bonefires and Ringing of Bells all the
French Embassador at the Hague and the Dutch one at Paris And this being effected the Subjects of their Republick should have alone the Trade in that King's Dominions to the Exclusion of all other Nations This was soon after seconded with a Memorial by the French Embassador concerning an Alliance the King his Master offered to enter into with the States to be founded upon the Foot of the Treaty made An. 1662. which Offers were further enforced by representing unto them as well the Advantage that would accrue to them upon their accepting as the Inconveniencies that might follow upon their refusal of it and telling them that any Delay in the Affair would be looked upon as a Refusal and that his Master would regulate himself accordingly But the States taking some time to deliberate and demurring upon the Matter they received Letters in the mean while from their Embassadors at Paris importing That being sent for by Monsieur Colbert and going to him he had put them in mind of the many Obligations the States had to the King his Master and of the particular Demonstration he had given them of his Affection in offering them a Peace in the midst of his Conquests upon the Terms he did That he had since expected Overtures from them of a nearer Alliance But they having been wanting he had himself for some time since made an Offer of the same by his Embassadors at the Hague That it had been debated in the Assembly of the States of Holland and that the said States had Adjourned themselves without coming to any Resolution therein That the King was much surprized to find them make so small an Account of an Alliance which they themselves had sought for some Years before by an Extraordinary Embassadors now the same was offered them That this Alliance proposed was only Defensive which the States could receive no Prejudice by but much Advantage That his Majesty understood that the King of England did oppose them while he pretended to make himself an Alliance with them and that his Majesty would have great Cause to be dissatisfied with the States if they should refuse the Overtures made by him and instead thereof close with those of the King of England concluding That his Majesty as his Embassador the Count d' Avaux had already told them would take their Delay for a Refusal That however he would keep the Peace with them but would at the same time look upon them as a State that did not deserve to live in good Amity with him and would not favour their Commerce Mr. Henry Sidney the King's Embassadors in Holland as I told you and now Earl of Rumney was no sooner informed of the foresaid Memorial and Proceedings of France but he put in a like Memorial to the States shewing That the King his Master having understood the Proposals that had been made them by the French Embassadors could not believe that the States could so far forget their own and common Interests of Christendom as to accept of them That his Majesty particularly would have Cause after their having refused the Act of Guarranty which he lately offered to enter into with them for securing their present Peace to resent their entring into any new Engagements with France especially since his Majesty might have just Cause to be jealous that the same could have no other end than to enable the French King to shew his Resentments of the Peace his Majesty had made with the States in 1674 and of what his Majesty did afterward in order to the procuring a more advantageous Peace for them and their Allies than that which was made at Nimeguen That such a Resolution in the States would certainly prejudice that strict Union and Friendship that was established between him and them and oblige his Majesty to take other Measures But that his Majesty for his part would not only punctually comply with what was stipulated and agreed in the Defensive Treaty made between England and Holland the 3d of Mar. 1678 if they would reject the French Alliance but also stand by them to the uttermost if they should be attack'd by France Mr. Sidney's Address and Diligence in the Prosecution of this Matter was admirable and succeeded so well that the States determined civilly to refuse the Alliance proposed by France But the French King having declared he was not satisfied therewith his said Embassador made another Effort to divert the States from their intended Resolution shewing That he had received further Orders from the King his Master to acquaint them That his Majesty was extreamly astonished at their manner of Proceedings in the Matter of the Alliance by him proposed and highly resented it That he was commanded to expect some Days longer their final Resolution in that Affair but that afterward he should say no more of it nor accept any Act which they should offer and that then they must expect his Master would take such Measures as he thought necessary for the Good of his Kingdoms and the Advantage of his Subjects in their Commerce That Mons Colbert had told their Embassadors at Paris The King his Master wonder'd extreamly to find all Persons in Holland full of Hopes which their Letters had given them That his Majesty would not depart from the Execution of the Peace and that if they would not enter into that Alliance with him they should only suffer somewhat in their Commerce That the Sense of what he had then told them from the King his Master had been wrong delivered by them and worse interpreted at the Hague That his Majesty did not threaten them with his Indignation but the Dissatisfaction which he had conceived at their Proceedings might perhaps be the Occasion of greater Prejudice to them than the Indignation of others and that they would do well to consider what had happened to them within 8 or 10 Years past the Beginnings whereof had been less considerable than the just Dissatisfaction which their present Conduct gave the King his Master D' Avaux had no sooner ended but Mr. Sidney was ready to oppose who after he had take notice to the States of the great Earnestness of the French to press them into their Alliance he thought fit to repeat his Instances to disswade them from it That the King his Master did not pretend to make use of Threats of which the Memorials of the French â—mbassador were full but would leave them wholly to be guided by the Consideration of their own Interests That his Majesty did perswade himself that after the Assurances of Assistance he had given them in whatever might happen they would not enter into any Engagements which his Majesty should have Cause to look upon as intended against him and that the Instances of the French King which were too sharp and pressing for a Free Republick would not divert them from their true Interests and from that strict Friendship that was between his Majesty and their State and of which his Majesty had
That the Treaty of Nimeguen did confirm that of Westphalia and consequently that the said Towns ought to be restored to the Enjoyment of the Rights and Priviledges which they stipulated for them That for the 5th and 6th Points they likewise directly contravened the said Treaties That as for the 7th they expected further Information on it As for the 8th they could not imagine what Right the French had to fortifie Schlestadt considering the Promises with relation to those Free Towns For the 9th and 10th That the French had acted notoriously contrary to the Westphalian and Nimeguen Treaties For the 11th That Homburg belonged to the Count of Nassaw as appeared by the Treaty of Osnalbrug That as for what concerned Bitsoh they expected further Information And Lastly They hoped the French King would not prejudice Strasburg in its Rights and Priviledges and particularly in that of fortifying Kiel that was so necessary for its Security But for all these Remonstrances the French were 〈◊〉 far from giving the proposed Satisfaction that they began â—ery Day to enlarge their Limits in Alsatia and set up a new Pretension upon Santerburg belonging to the bishoprick of Spire and Monsieur Verjus the French Minister at Ratisbone spake very big upon the Matter which made Things very uneasie on that side at the present And a Paper that was some time after printed and dispersed in those Parts containing several Conditions offered as was pretended by the French King in case the Dauphine were chosen King of the Romans did not lessen you may be sure the Apprehensions they had of Danger from that Quarter the Contents of which Paper were these that follow That the most Christian King and the Dauphine his Son would make good the Imperial Constitutions That the Dauphine would bear all due Respect to the Emperor That Burgundy Lorrain the Lower and Upper Alâ—ace the Bishopricks of Metz Toul and Verdun with other Lands and Places should be restored to the Empire and the City of Friburg to the Emperor That 60000 Men should be maintained in Hungary to be employed against the Turks without any Charge to the Empire which should only maintain a Body of 16000 Men That all the Places which should be taken in Hungary should be put into the Emperor's Hands That a considerable Fleet should be employed against the Turks towards the Dardanello's That Two Universities should be erected in Germany for the Use of the several Religions there And Lastly That the French King would renounce all Pretensions to the Lands possessed by Charles the Great But what Effect soever these Proposals were like to have upon the Empire in general the Elector Palatine felt the Effects of the French Arms about this time in particular for they attacked the Castle of Falkenberg and after some small Resistance made themselves Masters of it All which with a great many more put together made the Emperor and Empire put forth their Complaints in every Court where there was any hopes of Relief And particularly the Emperor's Minister in Holland represented to the States-General That by Order of His Imperial Majesty he was to acquaint them that the Officers of the most Christian King had already seized a great part of the Territories of the Elector Palatine and it was to be feared they would do the like by the rest of his Countries on Pretence of Dependances and other Rights which they took upon them to search Antiquity for even to the Time of King Dagoberte That the Elector of Trier had already suffered the like Treatment And that other Princes of the Empire were exposed to the same Dangers and particularly the City of Strasburg which being directly contrary to the Peace of Nimeguen the Preservation whereof was not only necessary to the Tranquility of Germany but likewise to the Good of that Republick whose Interest was no less to have a good Barrier towards the Rhine than towards Flanders He therefore desired the said States would effectually employ their good Offices at the French Court to the end those Contraventions might for ever cease and be abolished But whether the States thought it to no purpose to sollicite France on this behalf since after all the Caresses of the French King upon their Motion to him of being easie with Spain in respect to the Title of Duke of Burgandy before-mentioned and in his Saying He should always have a very great Regard to what the States should desire of him they met at last with so little Success and Spain was forced to demit her Right or that they thought others more immediately concerned than themselves they took but little Care of it But Germany was not the only Country that thought her self injured by the French Proceedings since the Peace for the new Pretensions that were set up every Day upon some Place or other in Flanders made them very uneasie on that side also and so much the more because they were not in a Condition to hinder it and right themselves For the French in the Spring of this Year not only possessed themselves of the Abbies 〈◊〉 Thiery and St. Gerard with above 40 Villages in the Province of Namur under Colour of their being Dependances upon Charlemont lately yielded to them but also of the Abby 〈◊〉 Molyn and its Dependancies obliging the Inhabitants 〈◊〉 those Places to swear Fealty to France and threatning them 〈◊〉 case of Refusal with Military Execution And the Princes 〈◊〉 Italy however they might take it had no less Reason to be alarm'd at the Extension of the French Dominions on their side than either Flanders or Germany for now it was after sometime of Treaty that the Duke of Mantua's Ratification concerning the giving up of Cassal into the French Hands foâ— 4000000 of Livres arrived and that their Troops marched to take Possession of the Place This was the State of Things abroad when the Parliament in England met which was upon the 21st of Oct. and to whoâ— the King made a Speech importing That the several Prorogations he had made had been very advantageous to our Neighbours and very useful to him For he had imployed that Time in makinâ— an Alliance with Spain suitable to that which he had a little beforâ— made with the States of the United Provinces and they also 〈◊〉 with Spain consisting of Mutual Obligations of Succour and Defence That he desired Money of them for the Relief of Tangler which had already ebâ—hausted his Purse That he would not have them meddle with the Succession of the Crown in the Right Line but proceed in the Discovery of the Plot and to the Trial of the Lords As for the Alliance with Holland I have already given you an Account of it and indeed it was well managed as well as a good Point gained and deserved more Notice should have been taken of it by the Parliament and perhaps they would have done it another time But as for the other with Spain I can give you no
Particulars of it And for Tangier there had been several Attacks made upon it this Year and for some time past and was chargeable enough to the King But of this we shall have Occasion to say something hereafter And as for the King's Sincerity in recommending to them the Prosecution of the Plot That Man that considers the Transactions between the Prorogation of the last Parliament and the Sitting of this with the Methods that were used to stifle the real Plot and to father a Sham one upon innocent Men and yet believes the King to be in Earnest has a large Faith and much Good may do him with it Then for his professing his Readiness to concur with any new Remedies that should be proposed that were consistent with preserving the Succession of the Crown in its due and legal Course of Descent it implied no more than Let the Wolf be Shepherd and let the Sheep make what Laws they please for their Preservation For it was well known the Duke was a Papist whose Maxims are to keep no Faith with Hereticks However the House of Commons entred into Debates about this Matter and there were many Expedients proposed how the Established Government in Church and State could be preserved yet none could be found practicable in case the Duke succeeded So that the Country Party moved that the Court Party should propound their Expedients in the Case but they either could not or else had no Instructions from the Court to warrant such Expedients as might be proposed by them Matters being thus at a stand in respect to the Securing the Protestant Religion the House of Commons at last could think of no other Way to effect it than by bringing in a Bill for the total Exclusion of the Duke of York from the Crown which after several Debates upon it they passed on the 11th of Nov. And of which that you may the better comprehend the Meaning I have here subjoined a Copy WHereas James Duke of York is notoriously known to have been perverted from the Protestant to the Popish Religion whereby not only great Encouragement hath been given to the Popish Party to enter into and carry on most Devilish and Horrid Plots and Conspiracies for the Destruction of his Majesty's Sacred Person and Government and and for the Extirpation of the true Protestant Religion But also if the said Duke should succeed to the Imperial Crown of this Realm nothing is more manifest than that the total Change of Religion within these Kingdoms would ensue For the Preservation thereof be it Enacted by the King 's most Excellent Majesty by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and the Commons in this present Parliament assembled and by the Authority of the same That the said James Duke of York shall be and is by the Authority of this present Parliament Excluded and made for ever uncapable to Inherit Possess or Enjoy the Imperial Crown of this Realm and of the Kingdoms of Ireland and the Dominions and Territories of them or either of them belonging or to Have Exercise or Enjoy any Dominion Power Jurisdiction or Authority in the said Kingdoms Dominions or any of them And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid That if the said James Duke of York shall at any time hereafter Challenge Claim or Attempt to Possess or Enjoy or shall take upon him to Use or Exercise any Dominion or Power or Authority or Jurisdiction within the said Kingdoms or Dominions or any of them as King or Chief Magistrate of the same that then he the said James Duke of York for every such Offence shall be deemed and adjudged Guilty of High-Treason and shall suffer the Pains Penalties and Forfeitures as in Case of High-Treason And further That if any Person or Persons whatsoever shall assist or maintain abet or willingly adhere unto the said James Duke of York in such Challenge Claim or Attempt or shall of themselves attempt or endeavour to put or bring the said James Duke of York into the Possession or Exercise of any Legal Power Jurisdiction or Authority within the Kingdoms and Dominions aforesaid or shall by Writing or Preaching advisedly Publish Maintain or Declare that he hath any Right Title or Authority to the Office of King or Chief Magistrate of the Kingdoms and Dominions aforesaid that then every such Person shall be Deemed and Adjudged Guilty of High-Treason and that he suffer and undergo the Pains Penalties and Forfeitures aforesaid And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid That the said James Duke of York shall not at any time from and after the 5th of Nov. 1680 return or come into or within any of the Kingdoms or Dominions aforesaid and then he the said James Duke of York shall be Deemed and Adjudged Guilty of High-Treason and shall suffer the Pains Penalties and Forfeitures as in Case of High-Treason And further That if any Person or Persons whatsoever shall be aiding or assisting unto such Return of the said James Duke of York that then every such Person shall be Deemed and Adjudged Guilty of High-Treason and shall suffer as in Cases of High-Treason And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid That the said James Duke of York or any other Person being Guilty of any of the Treasons aforesaid shall not be capable of or receive Benefit by any Pardon otherwise than by Act of Parliament wherein they shall be particularly named And that no Noli prosequi or Order to stay Proceedings shall be received or allowed in or upon any Indictment for any of the Offences mentioned in this Act. And be it further Enacted and Declared and it is hereby Enacted and Declared That it shall and may be lawful to and for any Magistrates Officers and other Subjects whatsoever of these Kingdoms and Dominions aforesaid And they are hereby enjoined and required to Apprehend and Secure the said James Duke of York and any other Person offending in any of the Premisses and with him or them in case of Resistance to fight and him or them by force to subdue For all which actings and for so doing they are and shall be by Virtue of this Act saved harmless and indemnified Provided and it is hereby declared That nothing in this Act contained shall be construed deemed or adjudged to disenable any other Person from Inheriting and Enjoying the Imperial Crown of the Realms and Dominions aforesaid other than the said James Duke of York but that in Case the said James Duke of York should survive his now Majesty and the Heirs of his Majesty's Body the said Imperial Crown shall descend to and be enjoyed by such Person or Persons successorily during the Life of the said James Duke of York as should have Inherited and Enjoyed the same in case the said James Duke of York were naturally dead any Thing contained in this Act to the Contrary notwithstanding And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid That
be adjudged to hinder the Sittings of Parliaments and be responsible therefore in Parliament Things being brought to this desperate pass between them without any visible Hopes of a better Understanding the Thoughts of the Court now began to think of a Prorogation or Dissolution and the Commons were it seems aware of it For on Monday Jan. the 10th before the Usher of the Black-Rod came into the House to command their Attendance on the King in the House of Lords they had resolved That whosoever advised the King to prorogue this Parliament to any Purpose than in order to the Passing of a Bill for the Exclusion of James Duke of York was a Betrayer of the King the Protestant Religion and of the Kingdom of England a Promoter of the French Interest and a Pensioner to France Which was no sooner done but they were Prorogued to the 20th of Jan. and upon the 18th he Dissolved them And so ended this Sessions of Parliament with which having run out a few Days into the new Year we conclude the Year 1680 only we shall note first two or three Particulars On the 30th of July this Year died at Whitehall the Right and truly Honourable Thomas Earl of Ossory Son and Heir apparent to his Grace the Duke of Ormond after some few Days sickness of a violent Feaver whose Heroick Bravery and forward Zeal to serve his King and Country on all commendable Occasions was manifested by many brave and generous Actions Which as they made him be honoured and esteemed by all while living made him dying to be as generally lamented He was the Father of his Grace the present Duke of Ormond who to his great Glory has been so far from degenerating from him that he hath to the Height express'd his Vertues and Excellencies both in Peace and Way and is a Person that deserves as much and if all Circumstances be considered a great deal more of his Country than any other Nobleman whatsoever Sept. following was remarkable for the Death of Two Electors of the Empire viz. on the 2d John George Duke of Saxony dying at Friburg after a long Indisposition in the 68th Year of his Age leaving only one Son by his Wife Magdaline Sibille of Brandenburg Ansbach John George the Third of that Name who succeeded him in his Dominions and Dignities And but 5 Days after departed also this Life Charles Lovis Count Palatine of the Rhine suddenly in the Way between Manheim and Frankendal after a light Indisposition of 2 or 3 Days he was 63 Years old and left by his Wife Charlotte Daughter of William Landgrave of Hesse one Son Charles then in England and to whom an Express was immediately dispatch'd to give him advice of his Father's Death and a Daughter Charlotte Elizabeth Wife to the now Duke of Orleans And towards the middle of Nov. appeared a Comet with a prodigious Stream of Light in the West The Star from which the Blaze proceeded was but small and when first discovered seemed to be not much above the Horizon but every Night afterward it appeared higher and higher in the Beginning of the Night and consequently setting latter and latter its Magnitude and Lustre also proportionably decaying year 1681 The Nation at the Dissolution of the last Parliament upon the 18th of Jan. as already mentioned were strangely amazed and began now in general to be very doubtful of any good Issue in their common Concerns which the Court was not unaware of and therefore in some measure to allay Things the King summoned another to meet on the 21st of March following at Oxford which was no sooner publickly known but it rather heightned than alleviated the Jealousies of the more intelligent Persons that there might be some hidden Design nourished in the Court that might have dangerous Influences both upon the Nation and Parliament Whereupon several of the Nobility after mature Consideration of the Matter resolved to petition the King against the Meeting of the Parliament at the forementioned Place which Petition was delivered by the Earl of Essex with which he made a short pithy Speech and both which we have hereunto subjoined May it please your Majesty THE Lords here present together with divers others of the Peers of the Realm taking notice that by the late Proclamation Your Majesty has declared an Intention of calling a Parliament at Oxford and observing from History and Records how unfortunate many Assemblies have been when called at a Place remote from the Capital City as particularly the Congress in King Henry the II's Time at Clarendon 3 several Parliaments at Oxford in Henry the III's Time and at Coventry in Henry the VI's Time with divers others which have proved fatal to those Kings and have been followed with great Mischief on the whole Kingdom And considering the present Posture of Affairs the many Jealousies and Discontents that are among the People they have great Cause to apprehend that the Consequences of a Parliament now at Oxford may be as fatal to Your Majesty and the Nation as those others mentioned have been to them Reigning Kings And therefore we do conceive that we cannot answer it to God to Your Majesty or to the People if we being Peers of the Realm should not on so important an Occasion humbly offer our Advice to Your Majesty that if possible Your Majesty may be prevailed with to alter this as we apprehend reasonable Resolution the Grounds and Reasons of our Opinions are contained in this our Petition which we humbly present to Your Majesty TO THE KING'S most Excellent MAJESTY The Humble PETITION and ADVICE of the Lords undernamed Peers of the Realm Humbly Sheweth THAT whereas Your Majesty hath been pleased by divers Speeches and Passages to Your Houses of Parliament rightly to represent to them the Dangers that threatned Your Majesty's Person and the whole Kingdom from the mischievous and wicked Plots of the Papists and the suddain Growth of a Power unto which no Stop or Remedy could be provided unless it were by Parliament and an Union of Your Majesty's Protestant Subjects in one Mind and one Interest And the Lord-Chancellor in pursuance of your Majesty's Commands having more at large demonstrated the said Dangers to be as great as we in the midst of our Fears could imagine them and so pressing that our Liberties Religion Lives and the whole Kingdom would be certainly lost if a speedy Provision were not made against them And Your Majesty on the 21st of Apr. 1679 having called unto Your Council many Honourable and Worthy Persons and declared to them and the whole Kingdom that being sensible of the evil Effects of a Single Ministry or Private Advice or Foreign Committee for the general Direction of Your Affairs Your Majesty would for the future refer all Things unto the Council and by the constant Advice of them together with the frequent Use of Your Great Council the Parliament Your Majesty had hereafter resolved to govern the
all Places of Trust That it was as much in the Power of the People to depose a Popish Possessor as a Popish Successor and seeing there was no Hopes the Parliament when they met at Oxford could do any Good the People were bound to provide for themselves This was no sooner ended but they agreed to meet the next Day there again And Everard sent Sir William Waller a Letter to be present secretly and to whom Everard upon his coming gave 2 Copies of the Instructions abovesaid which Sir William marked Sooner after came Fitz-Harris who enquiring of Everard what he had done he answered He had drawn 2 Copies of the Business and prayed Fitz-Harris to see how he liked them Who upon perusal altered one of them yet thought it not full enough but would have it fair wrote over for the French Embassador's Confessor After this Everard desired him to give him Instructions in Writing which Fitz-Harris did and in which Paper he wrote this Passage That it was in the Peoples Power to depose a Popish Possessor as well as a Popish Successor and other Treasonable Headâ— and left the same with him but came next Day again for a Copy fair writ out which Everard delivered to him who thereupon promised him a Recompence which was to be the Entrance into the Business And that he should be brought into the Cabal where several Protestants and Parliament-Men were to give an Account to the French Embassador of what was transacted But before Fitz-Harris was to receive the Libel he was to go to my Lord Howard of Escrick between whom before this and the Dutchess of Portsmouth he had carried several Messages and went a great way to bring my Lord over to the Court-Interest But for the Reader 's farther Satisfaction and for fear the Libel it self might be lost I shall adventure to give it place here TREASON in GRAIN That most Traiterous Paper or Libel of Fitz-Harris whereby he design'd to raise a Rebellion amongst us the better to make Way for a French Invasion and our utter Destruction as it was Read in both Houses of Parliament at Oxford and upon which the House of Commons Impeached him of High-Treason Falsly and Malitiously called by him The True English-man speaking plain English in a Letter from a Friend to a Friend I Thank you for the Character of a Popish Successor which you sent me wherein our just Fears and the Grounds of them are justly set out But I am in a greater Fear of the present Possessor Why do we frighten our selves about the Evil that is to come not looking to that which is at hand We would cut off the Budding Weeds and let the Poysonous Root lie still we would stop the Channel of our Evils and let the Fountain still run My Meaning is this Can Pylades Know and Act all these bloody Conspiracies and not impart them to his dear Orestes if James be Conscious and Guilty Charles is so too Believe me these Two Brethren in Iniquity they are in Confederacy with Pope and French to introduce Popery and Arbitrary Government as all their Actions demonstrate The Parliament Magna Charta and Liberty of the Subject are as heavy Yoaks which they would cast off to be as Absolute as their Br. of France and if this can be proved to be their only Aim and Endeavour why should not every True Britain be a Quaker thus far Let the English rise and move as one Man to Self-defence to open Action and fling off their intolerable Riders Blow the Trumpet stand on your Guard and withstand them as Bears and Tygers And since there can be no Trust given to this goodly Couple of Popish Brethren nor no Relief expected from a Parliament Trust to your Swords in Defence of your Lives Laws Religion and Properties like the stout Earl of Old who told a King That if he could not be defended by Magna Charta he would be relieved by Longa Spada Yet to convince the World that this Scottish Race is Corrupt Root and Branch and Popish from the very Beginning be pleas'd to consider these Reasons following The Grandfather of these Men James the Scot was of no Religion at the Bottom but entred by a Pretence of a Sham-Plot of the Papists against his Life whilst really he collogued with the Popish Party under-hand his Mother his Kindred and Companions were French and Papists when he came into England he wrote to the Pope with great Submission yet afterwards thinking it for his Purpose to Cajole the Parliament and write against the Pope and Cardinals he sends a Scot's Bird to blind the Eyes of the Vatican Keeper with Money and to steal his Letters from off the Roman File and then he crows as boldly as an unsuspected Harlot for the Protestant Religion and Interest That Man's Son Charles the First held a Secret Correspondency with the Pope calling him his Dear and Holy Father as is to be seen in his Letters recorded in Rushworth's Collections Did he not countenance and promote the Rebellion in Ireland as the Irish Grandees and his very Commissions testifie and declare Was there not a Popish Plot and an Universal Conspiracy of the Papists discovered to him and his Confessor Laud And did they not piously stifle it left they should have discovered the Nakedness of their Mother-Church Whilst that goodly Protestant Prince pretended to relieve the poor besieged Protestants at Rochel by his Confident Buckingham Did he not hold Correspondence with the French Cardinal how to betray them for a Sum of Money which his Obstinacy with his Parliament made him stand in need of But they who so ill approved themselves to be Heads of the Protestant Church Charles and Laud Did they not loose their own Heads by a manifest Judgment of God And was not the false Heart of their Emissary Buckingham found out by an Assassine's Knife But to come nearer to our Purpose these Two goodly Imps of our Days are stark naught arrived at the Heighth of Wickedness and of professed Arbitrariness and Popery As for James he was a Papist whilst he had a Regiment in the French and afterwards in the Spanish Service beyond Seas And for Charles he was reported e're he came into England to have been reconciled to the Church of Rome in one of the French King's Country-Houses and since they came in How have they wheedled and played Fast and Loose in their Profession of Religion as Occasion and their Affairs requir'd Have they not all along maintained Secret Correspondence with France and Rome As Coleman's Letters may sufficiently instruct such who have not seen more Secret Memoirs But let us come to Examine their Actions which are a better Proof of their Hearts Were not the Duke's Servants and Confidents all Papists Witness his Talbots Patricks and other Irish Teagues Were not the Duke and such of his Creatures as were known Papists promoted to all Publick Offices of Trust both at Sea and Land Witness Bellasis
had Success And this is so much the more to be credited since the King himself told Sheriff Cornish That Fitz-Harris had 3 Months before his Apprehension been with â—im and acquainted him he was in pursuit of a Plot which very much related to His Majesty's Person and Government c. And that upon Sir William Waller's acquainting the King with the Particulars he had taken while he was concealed as aforesaid tho' he thanked him for it and commanded Secretary Jenkins to issue out a Warrant for the Apprehension of Fitz-Harris and that Sir William should take Care of the Execution of it Yet he was no sooner gone but Sir William said He was informed by 2 worthy Gentlemen That the King was highly offended with him saying He had broken all his Measures and that he would one Way or other have him taken off Fitz-Harris however was soon after taken and committed to Newgate where being examined by Sir Robert Clayton and Sheriff Cornish he discovered a Disposition and at length a Willingness to discover the whole Design the next Day after But to prevent it in all appearance he was that Day removed into the Tower But while this hopeful Business was thus jumbled up the Time spun out and the 21st of March came when the Parliament met at Oxford and of which the Members of the Commons were generally the same as the last Parliament and those that were not so were of the same Kidney as the others had been so that their Proceedings began where the last Parliament left off They far indeed but 7 Days and of them the Lower House spent the first 3 in choosing their Speaker and confirming him and taking the Oaths as the Laws directed But in that little time they had these 4 Considerations before them 1. The preparing a Bill to prevent the Duke of York's succeeding to the Crown The 2d was to take the Bill of the Repeal of the Act of the 35th of Eliz. out of the House of Lords A 3d was an Enquiry into Fitz-Harris his Business And the 4th was to prosecute the Popish Lords in the Tower But this was more Work by a great deal than the stinted Opportunity of 4 Days would admit a Dispatch of However upon Friday the 25th of Mar. after that the House had been some time upon the Debate of Fitz-Harris's Concern and that one of the Members had reported That he remembred that one Hubert having confess'd he had fired the City of London and that the House then sitting having resolved thereupon to examine him they were prevented by his being hanged next Morning before they met And that there having been also a Design to try the Lords in the Tower by way of Indictment the House had prevented the same by exhibiting general Impeachments against them with that Success that the Lords were never tryed upon Indictments and the Judges had given their Opinion they could not This moved them that same Day to order an Impeachment against Fitz-Harris and appointed Sir Lionel Jenkins to carry it up to the House of Lords who at first refused it saying That his being sent upon that Message reflected upon the King his Master and let them do what they would he would not go But several of the Members having moved thereupon to call him to the Bar of the House and divers others in their Speeches aggravating highly his Offence he at last relented and carried the Impeachment to the House of Lords but the Lords threw it out At which the Commons next Day which was Saturday the 26th were so nettled that they ran very high in their Debates upon it ripping up several sharp Things against the Lords Proceedings herein So that at last it was moved That if any Judge Justice or Jury proceeded upon Fitz-Harris and that he were found guilty that the House would declare them guilty of his Murder and Betrayers of the Rights of the Commons of England To this it was added upon the Motion of Sir William Jones or that any inferiour Court should proceed c. which was passed But what little Notice was taken hereof you may hear by and by The House hereupon adjourned to Monday Morning March 27. when the King coming suddenly and unexpectly into the House of Peers dissolved the Parliament and immediately took Coach and made as hard as he could for Windsor leaving both Houses in a grand Amazement and the City of Oxford in an Hubbub Sir William Jones in his just and modest Vindication of this and the last Parliament at Westminster says The Peers at Oxford were wholly ignorant of the Council and that they never thought of a Dissolution till they heard the same pronounced Yet it is observable that the Dutchess of Mazarine published the News at St. James's many Hours before the same was done But if the Nation as well as the Parliament and City of Oxford were amazed at this Dissolution and the Manner thereof they were no less so with the King's Declaration that followed the Substance whereof was The Dissatisfaction of the King at the Proceedings of the 2 last Westminster Parliaments in giving him no suitable Return to support the Alliances he had made for the general Peace of Christendom nor for the further Examination into the Plot nor yet for the Preservation of Tangier He shewed a mighty Concern at their Votes against any Body's lending him Money upon the Revenues and that the Prosecution of Dissenters was a Grievance to the Subject by which he said They assumed to themselves a Power of suspending Laws But as Mr. Coke observes well the Commons in that did nothing but what they might do as well as in any other Law they found by Experience to be grievous to the Subject and must have done so in order to the Repealing of them And if the Matter had been really so as the Declaration intended the Crime had surely been somewhat the less in the Commons if his Majesty had considered that himself had twice before done the same Thing by his Declarations of Indulgence tho' to a contrary End to what the Commons intended That these Things had caused him to dissolve them and assemble another at Oxford who still pursuing the same Methods in the Business of the Exclusion of the Duke of York which he could by no Means give way to tho' he was willing to admit of any other Expedient whereby the Established Religion might be preserved tho' he never propounded any And the 2 Houses imbroiling themselves in the Business of Fitz-Harris so as they were put out of Capacity of transacting other Affairs had caused him to put an End to that Parliament also But that however notwithstanding the Malice of ill Men to perswade the People that he intended to lay aside the Use of Parliaments he declared That no Irregularity in Parliament should make him out of love with them and that he was resolved to have frequent Parliaments and in the Intervals would use his utmost
Graham's Business to find out good Jury-Men and then the Sheriffs would be sure to return them In these Plots my Lord H seemed to have the greatest hand But more particularly Rumsey was the Evidence in respect to that of the Seizing the Guards Lee and Goodenough in that of Black-Heath Rumball at whose House they said the Rye-Plot was to be acted denied at his Death he ever knew any But the great design was against the Earl of Essex the Lord Russel and such great Patriots who had shewed themselves zealous Protestants upon all Occasions and constant Opposers of the designs of Popery and Arbitrary Power As for the first of these two Noble Persons he never absconded but was presently confined Prisoner in the Tower where in a few Days after it was given out he had cut his own Throat and to satisfie the Nation of the Truth of the Report and Sincerity of the Government therein the Business was so ordered year 1683 that before the Jury was Impannelled and the Coroner's Inquest sate the Earl's Body was taken out of the Closet where it was pretended he had laid violent Hands upon himself and stripp'd off his Cloathes which were carried away add the Closet washed And when one of the Jury insisted to see my Lord's Cloaths in which he died the Coroner was sent for into another Room and upon his Return he told the Jury it was the Body and not the Clothes they were to lit upon And a Motion being made that the Jury should adjourn and give my Lord's Relations notice that if they had any thing to say in my Lord's Behalf they should do it within such a time it was answered That the King had sent for the Inquisition and would not rise from the Counâ—il-Board till it was brought But whether it proved to His Majesty's Satisfaction I will not take upon me to determine though it was reported he seem'd much concern'd at the Misfortune saying My Lord of Essex needed not to have despaired of Mercy since he owed him a Life Be it as it will his being that Day in Person accompanied with his good Brother in the Tower where neither of them had been for near 15 Years before set People's Tongues loose to Censure and so much the more when it was known that particular care was taken to give immediate Notice to the Court at the Old-Baily of the Earl's Disaster that in the worst Sence Use might be made of it by the King's Council against my Lord Russel then upon his Trial as the Council did accordingly and which had the design'd Effect upon that Noble Person who some days after suffered innocently in Lincolns-Inn-Fields after he had made a Speech and left a Paper in the Sheriff's Hands to declare the same to the World both which lest forgot by any true English-man and particularly the last I have thought fit to subjoin because it carries in it in my Opinion a perfect Confutation of that Sham-Conspiracy and gives a true Idea of whatever Meeting he had been at with other Men of Quality to discourse of the Affairs or their Countrey and how if possible in a just Way to prevent it Ruin both in Religion and Liberty JULY 12th 1683. Mr. Sheriff I Expected the Noise would be such that I could not be very well heard I was never fond of very much speaking much less now therefore I set down in this Paper all that I think sit to leave behind me God knows how far I was always from Designs against the King's Person or of altering the Government and I still Pray for the Preservation of both and of the Protestant Religion I am told that Captain Walcot has said something concerning my Knowledge of the Plot I know not whether the Report be true or not but I hope it is not for to my Knowledge I never saw him to speak with him in my whole Life And in the Words of a Dying Man I profess I know of no Plot either against the King's Life or the Government But I have now done with this World and am going to a better I forgive all the World and I thank God I die in Charity with all Men. And I wish all sincere Protestants may love one another and not make room for Popery by their Animosities The PAPER delivered to the Sheriffs I Thank God I find my self so composed and prepared for Death and my Thoughts so fixed on another World that I hope in God I am quite from setting my Heart on this Yet I cannot forbear now the setting down in Writing a farther Account of my Condition to be left behind me than I will venture to say at the Place of Execution in the Noise and Clutter that is like to be there I bless God heartily for those many Blessings which he in his Infinite Mercy has bestowed upon me through the whole Course of my Life That I was born of worthy good Parents and had the Advantages of a Religious Education which are invaluable Blessings For even when I minded it least it still hung about me and gave me Checks and has now for many Years so influenced and possessed me that I feel the happy Effects of it in this my Extremity in which I have been so wonderfully I thank God supported that neither my Imprisonment nor fear of Death have been able to discompose me in any Degree but on the contrary I have found the Assurances of the Love and Mercy of God in and through my Blessed Redeemer in whom only I trust And I do not question but that I am going to partake of that Fullness of Joy which is in his Presence The Hopes therefore do so wonderfully delight me that I think this is the happiest Time of my Life though others may look upon it as the saddest I have lived and now am of the Reform'd Religion a true and sincere Protestant and in the Communion of the Church of England though I could never yet comply with or rise up to all the Heighths of many People I wish with all my Soul all our differences were removed and that all sincere Protestants would so far consider the danger of Popery as to lay aside their Heats and agree against the Common Enemy and that the Church-men would be less severe and the Dissenters less scrupulous for I think bitterness and Persecution are at all times bad but much more now For Popery I look on it as an Idolatrous and bloody Religion and therefore thought my self bound in my Station to do all I could against it And by that I foresaw I should procure such great Enemies to my self and so powerful ones that I have been now for some time expecting the worst and blessed be God I fall by the Ax and not by the Fiery Tryal Yet whatever Apprehensions I had of Popery and of my own severe and heavy share I was like to have under it when it should prevail I never had a Thought of doing any thing
and all the Errors of my past Life and that Thou wilt not lay my secret Sins and Ignorances to my Charge but wilt graciously support me during that small Time of Life now before me and assist me in my last Moments and not leave me then to be disordered by Fear or any other Temptations but make the Light of thy Countenance to shine upon me Thou art my Sun and my Shield and as thou supportest me by thy Grace so I hope thou wilt hereafter Crown me with Glory and receive me into the Fellowship of Angels and Saints in that blessed Inheritance purchased for me by my most merciful Redeemer who is I trust at thy Right Hand preparing a â—lace for me and is ready to receive me into whose Hands I commend my Spirit But though this gallant Man ended his natural Life with a Death in it self ignominious yet his Memory shall always be retained by every good English Man After the Death of these Noble Persons the Remainder of the Game was play'd almost without Rub Bateman the Chyrurgeon Captain Walcot and Rouse followed all for Treason and all of different Complections and where Treason could have no Colour actually to take away the Life of those that were Opponents to Popish Tyranny and Arbitrary Government Misdemeanours were set on foot to take away their Means of Living by Fines from 10000 to 100000 l. for Words against his Royal Highness tho' by Magna Charta a Salvo Contenemento is reserved for Misdemeanors against the King And you may be sure from what has been said before that Jury men could not be missed off and Sheriffs to return them that would effectually do the Work But tho' I do readily confess I have no great Stomach to rake any further into the cursed Designs of our then Court in setting up Conspiracies for the Ruine of the Protestant Religion and our Civil Rights in these Kingdoms yet give me leave to say somewhat for the Reader 's Satisfaction of the Honourable Colonel Sidney who for his noble Extract and Quality was inferior to few but for his excellent Vertues hardly to be match'd by any which last was especially a constant Eye-sore to our Court and therefore he must be hooked Neck and Shoulders into the Conspiracy But though otherwise he was a Person of admirable Parts yet he said not much at his Tryal as believing whatever he should say would signifie nothing with that Judicature whom he thought had already prejudged him and so it was really in effect for as the Learned Mr. Hawles judiciously observed He was meerly talked to Death under the Notion of a Commonwealths-man and found Guilty by a Jury who were not much more proper Judges in the Case than they should have been if what he had writ had been done by him in Syriac or Arabick It 's observable the Indictment against him was never presented to the Grand Jury before they came into the Hall and yet they found it immediately and was in substance like the rest For a Conspiracy to Depose the King and stirring up Rebellion and as an Addition for writing a Libel to that Purpose The greatest part of the Evidence as it was in my Lords Russel's Case was only Hear-say nay West whose Evidence was once rejected must be admitted now and that to tell a long Story of what he had heard from one and another Person the rest viz. Rumsey and my Lord Howard's with his Council of 6 were much of the same Stamp only my Lord was very Rhetorical even to Pedantry upon the Matter according to his vain though usual Custom But to clench the Matter there was a Paper found in the Prisoner's Study said to be his Writing the Substance whereof was An Enquiry into the several Forms of Government and Reasons of their Decay together with the Rights of the People Bounds of Sovereignty and Original Power wherein among other Things were these Expressions The King is subject to the Law of God as he is a Man to the People that made him such as a King And wherein there are Examples cited how evil Princes had been sometimes destroyed by a Popular Fury as others had been deposed But where was the Treason of all this Or if it had been so why did they not prove that it was his Hand-writing But in short so far as any Man of impartial Principles and good Sense has heard of them Papers they contained in them a great deal more Learning and rectified Principles than the Chief Justice Jeffreys had Manners when without any Regard to the Noble Family and the Name of the Sidneys he said the Prisoner was born a Trayâ—or It will be too long to run through all the Particulars And therefore I shall and can only gratifie the Reader with something that was his own and that is his last Speech at his Execution upon Tower-Hill Dec. 7. 1683 after I have first premised that King Charles shewed his usual Gratitude to Mr. Sidney now the Right Honourable the Earl of Rumney the Colonel's Brother in cutting him off for so trivial a Crime if it was any for having not long before taken so much Pains to bring the Defensive League about with Holland which his Majesty valued himself so much upon in Parliament to say nothing of his Majesty's many other Obligations to that Noble Family Men Brethren and Fathers Friends Countrymen and Strangers IT may be expected that I should now say some great Matters unto you but the Rigour of the Season and the Inâ—irmities of my Age encreased by a close Imprisonment of above 5 Months doth not permit me Moreover we live in an Age that maketh Truth pass for Treason I dare not say any Thing contrary unto it and the Ears of those that are about me will probably be found too tender to hear it My Tryal and Condemnation doth sufficiently evidence this West Rumsey and Keyling who were brought to prove the Plot said no more of me than that they knew me not And some others equally known unto me had used my Name and that of some others to give a little Reputation unto their Designs The Lord Howard is too infamous by his Life and the many Perjuries not to be denied or rather sworn by himself to deserve mention and being a single Witness would be of no Value though he had been of an unblemish'd Credit or had not seen and confessed that the Crimes committed by him would be pardoned only for committing more and even the Pardon promised could not be obtained till the Drudgery of Swearing was over This being laid aside the whole Matter is reduc'd to the Papers said to be found in my Closet by the King's Officers without any other Proof of their being written by me than what is taken from the Suppositions upon the Similitude of an Hand that is easily counterfeited and which hath been lately declared in the Lady Car's Case to be no lawful Evidence in Criminal Causes But if I had
been seen to write them the Matter would not be much altered They plainly appear to relate unto a large Treatise written long since in Answer to Filmer's Book which by all intelligent Men is thought to be grounded upon wicked Principles equally pernicious unto Magistrates and People If he might publish unto the World his Opinion That all Men are born under a Necessity derived from the Laws of God and Nature to submit unto an Absolute Kingly Government which could be restrained by no Law or Oath and that he that hath the Power whether he came unto it by Creation Election Inheritance Usurpation or any other Way had the Right none must oppose his Will but the Persons and Estates of his Subjects must be indispensibly subject unto it I know not why I might not have published my Opinion to the Contrary without the Breach of any Law I have yet known I might as freely as he publickly have declared my Thoughts and the Reasons upon which they were grounded and I perswaded to believe That God had left Nations unto the Liberty of setting up such Governments as best pleased themselves That Magistrates were set up for the good of Nations not Nations for the Honour or Glory of the Magistrates That the Right and Power of Magistrates in every Country was that which the Laws of that Country made it to be That those Laws were to be observed and the Oaths taken by them having the Force of a Contract between Magistrate and People could not be violated without danger of dissolving the whole Fabrick That Usurpation could give no Right and the most dangerous of all Enemies to Kings were they who raising their Power to an exorbitant Height allowed unto Usurpers all the Rights belonging unto it That such Usurpations being seldom compassed without the Slaughter of the Reigning Person or Family the worst of all Villanies was thereby rewarded with the most glorious Priviledges That if such Doctrines were received they would stir up Men to the Destruction of Princes with more Violence than all the Passions that have hitherto raged in the Hearts of the most Unruly That none could be safe if such a Reward were proposed unto any that could destroy them That few would be so gentle as to spare even the Best if by their Destruction one of a wild Usurper could become God's Anointed and by the most execrable Wickedness invest himself with that Divine Character This is the Scope of the whole Treatise the Writer gives such Reason as at present did occur unto him to prove it This seems to agree with the Doctrines of the most Reverenced Authors of all Times Nations and Religions The best and wisest Kings have ever acknowledged it The present King of France hath declared That Kings have that happy Want of Power that they can do nothing contrary unto the Laws of their Country and grounds his Quarrel with the King of Spain Anno 1667 upon that Principle King James in his Speech to the Parliament Anno 1603 doth in the highest Degree assert it The Scriptures seems to declare it If nevertheless the Writer was mistaken he might have been refuted by Law Reason and Scripture and no Man for such Matters was ever otherwise punished than by being made to see his Error and it hath not as I think been known that they had been referred to the Judgment of a Jury composed of Men utterly unable to comprehend them But there was little of this in my Case the Extravagance of my Prosecutors goes higher The above-mentioned Treatise was never finished nor could be in many Years and most probably would never have been So much as is of it was written long since never reviewed nor shewed unto any Man And not the Fiftieth Part of it was produced and not the Tenth of that afforded to be read That which was never known unto those who are said to have conspired with me was said to be intended to stir up the People in Prosecution of the Designs of those Conspirators When nothing of particular Application unto Time Place or Person could be found in it as hath ever been done by those who endeavoured to raise Insurrections all was supplied by Innuendo's Whatsoever is said of the Expulsion of Tarquin the Insurrection against Nero the Slaughter of Caligula or Domitian the Translation of the Crown of France from Merovius his Race unto Pepin and from his Descendants unto Hugh Capet and the like are applied by Innuendo unto the King They have not considered that if such Acts of State be not good there is not a King in the World that has any Title to that Crown he wears nor can have any unless he could deduce his Pedigree from the eldest Son of Noah and shew that the Succession had still continued in the Eldest of the eldest Line and been so deduced to him Every one may see what Advantage this would be to all the Kings of the World and whether that failing it were not better for them to acknowledge they had received their Crown by the Consent of willing Nations or to have no better Title unto them than Usurpation and Violence which by the same Ways may be taken from them But I was long since told that I must die or the Plot must die Lest the Means of destroying the best Protestants in England should fail the Bench must be filled with such as had been Blemishes to the Bar. None but such as these would have advised with the King's Counsel of the Means of bringing a Man to Death suffered a Jury to be packed by the King's Sollicitors and the Under-Sheriff Admit of Jury-men who are not Free-holders Receive such Evidence as is above-mentioned Refuse a Copy of an Indictment or to suffer the Stat. of 46 Ed. 3. to be read that doth expresly Enact it should in no Case be denied unto any Man upon any Occasion whatsoever over-rule the most important Points of Law without hearing And whereas the Statute of 25 Edw. 3. upon which they said I should be tryed doth reserve unto the Parliament all Constructions to be made in Points of Treason They could assume unto themselves not only a Power to make Constructions but such Constructions as neither agree with Law Reason or common Sense By these Means I am brought to this Place The Lord forgive these Practices and avert the Evils that threaten the Nation for them The Lord sanctifie these my Sufferings unto me and tho' I fall as a Sacrifice unto Idols suffer not Idollatry to be established in this Land Bless thy People and say them Defend thine own Cause and defend those that defend it Stir up such as are faint Direct those that are willing Confirm those that waver Give Wisdom and Integrity unto all Order all things so as may most redound to to thine own Glory Grant that I may die glorifying thee for all thy Mercies And that at the last thou hast permitted me to be singled out as a Witness of thy
Truth and even by the Confession of my Opposers for that OLD CAVSE in which I was from my Youth engaged and for which thou hast often and wonderfully declared thy self Yet notwithstanding all these Points gained there was something to be done before it could be be said That the King was a Despotical â—rince and would make his Will his Law For tho' the City of London was now absolutely dependant upon his Majesty in respect of the Magistracy thereof and that the naming of the other Sheriffs of all the Countles and Shires of the Kingdom belonged unto him yet there were many other Cities in England who still chose their own Sheriffs but something must have been done with these before the Constitution of the Parliament could be subverted which seemed to be the only White in the Butt they had been aiming at all this while For you are to note that the House of Commons consists of 513 Members whereof but 92 only are Knights of the Shires so that near 5 Parts in 6 are Burgesses Citizens and Barons of the Cinque-Ports and the generality of the Corporations which send these Members are poor decay'd Places and so not in a Condition as the City of London was to contest their Charters or if they should there were but little hopes to keep them now London had not been able to hold hers Yet it was considered also that it would cost the Court-Agents a great deal of time to bring Quo Warranto's against above 200 Corporations wherefore all Hands were set on work to induce these poor Inhabitants to surrender up their Rights and mighty Rewards proposed unto those who should shew themselves forward and instrumental therein But because Moneys were scarce there were Bargains made wiâ—h Multitudes of them to have Grants of Fairs for the Surrender of their Charters and those who refused must have Quo Warranto's brought against them However before these things were fully put in Execution it was thought necessary to augment the standing Forces in England who were already too many in time of Peace For some Umbrages were taken that Disturbances might arise before they could be brought to Perfection For tho' the Duke had secur'd Scotland and had 20000 Foot and 2000 Horse and a Years Pay to be assisting upon all Occasions and that greater Liberty than ever was given to the Irish yet all this was not thought enough and therefore Tangier part of Queen Catherine's hopeful Portion which cost the King her Husband above 100000 l. a Year the keeping for 20 Years together must now at last the Mould was near finished be utterly demolished and the Garrison brought over which had been a Nursery of Popish Officers and Soldiers and quartered in the most considerable parts of the Kingdom And in this pittiful State we shall leave England and see what mighty Changes have been made in the Face of Things in other Parts of Europe and more particularly in the Kingdom of Hungary where brake out the cruellest War between the Emperor and the Turks and that has been intermixt with such Variety of Actions and Fortune in the long Course of it as I think no Age nor History can parallel the exact Particulars whereof we shall endeavour to give as they shall fall out in due Series of Time and their proper Order But before we enter immediately upon that mighty Affair it will be necessary to premise somewhat in this place how things stood on this side the Empire towards France and in the Netherlands We have said something before concerning the Re-unions pretended to be made by France after the Treaty of Nimeguen But yet to be a little more particular It was not long after the Conclusion of the said Peace that that Crown possessed her self of Homhurg and Bisstel the only two Places remaining to the Duke of Lorain of all his Dutchy However tho' the Duke who had â—ut little Power of his own was forced tamely to submit to it yet it could not be thought that others would be so willing to do it And therefore First Monsieur Ravaux who had searched all the Monuments of the Parliaments of Metz and the Cities thereabouts endeavoured from thence to prove That in time of old all Alsatia Lorain the Counties of Chiney Arlon Vierton St. Armand all the Country of Luxemburg except the City of that Name divers Villages and Seigniories in Germany Flanders Brabant Hegenow and the Country of Liege did really and of just Right belong to the King of France as Dependences upon the three Bishopricks of Metz Toul and Verdun or upon other Places that had been yielded to them by the Treaty of Nimeguen In pursâ—ance hereof they erected in France 2 Tribunals of Justice or Sovereign Courts one at Metz and the other at Brisac by the Name of The Chambers of Re-unions where the Inhabitants and Lords of all the fore-mentioned Places were gravely cited to appear before the Commissioners Judges and Parties to see themselves condemned to make their Submission to the French King and to receive his Orders thereupon and in case of Refusal to be condemned for Default and Contumacy It was under such Pretensions that Strasburg was seized on by that Crown and by the same pretended Reasons Luxemburg had been blocked up in a manner ever since the Peace and that as it were by way of Reprisal because the Spaniards would not yield up to them several Places in Flanders which they laid claim to Which way of Procedure did at length alarm all the Potentates upon the Continent so that the Emperor Swedeland the States of Holland Franconia and several other Free and Imperial Cities entred into a mutual League of Defence which was called The League of Ausburg and to the Glory of the then Prince of Orange it must be said and is what his Enemies have own'd he was the greatest Instrument to bring it about of any in Europe Good God! What shall we think of England all this while But I have told you already our King had other Fish to fry and 't is very remarkable that he was by this time fallen into such an abject State in the Opinion of all the Neighbouring Princes and States that it does not appear they ever sought as much as his Concurrence in or Approbation of this League though otherwise generally speaking England was the only Kingdom that was wont to keep the Scales even between the contending Parties for many Ages together However whether it were out of the Apprehensions of the impending Storm upon Christendom from the Mahometan Quarters or out of a meer Act of Generosity this is certain that as soon as the French King came to know that the Turk was bending all his Forces against the Empire and to that End had ordered his Army to march towards Belgrade not only with a Design to possess himself of all Hungary but even to invade the Neighbouring Provinces he withdrew his Forces from before Luxemburg though almost ready
Arms was so much the more engaging in that besides 18 Pieces of Cannon 400000 Pounds of Powder and good store of Provisions which they found in the place they took it with the â—oss only of 150 Men after it had been 78 Years in the Possession of the Turks Soâ—â— Thoughts there were after the laking in of Gran to march directly and attack Buda but the Season being far advanced it was not judged adviseable tho' perhaps considering the Consternation the Turks were under on every side that important place might have then been easily carried which proved afterwards the Work of two Campaigns Wherefore after the Army had possessed themselves of some other small Places in the Neighbourhood of Gran and elsewhere they went into their Winter Quarters concluding the Actions of this Year on that side as we do also with all others that have happened within the Circumference of it having nothing remarkable to super-add in this place save that great and memorable Frost which began about the latter end of November and lasted for the space of Ten Weeks year 1684 What was left unfinished before in relation to the Prosecution of the pretended Presbytenian Plot was compleated amongst us this Year And where there could be no colourable Pretence to touch Life and Limb they were sure to be even with the pretended Criminals by Imprisonments and exorbitant Fines there being hardly any County in England wherein some were not severely swinged off for Riots when they were indeed legally standing up in Defence of their Charters and Civil Liberties whilst others did as basely betray them And because His Royal Highness should be as absolute again at Sea as he had shewed himself by Land both in England and Scotland His Majesty was pleased to revoke the Commission for High Admiral and to commit it into his good Brother's Hands again who took Care to require him well for it But give me leave to tell you once again that the Tories of this Time did not so much magnifie His Majesty's Conduct and Government as he was diminutively Little in the Esteem of neighbouring Princes I have given you some time since an Hint of the French Pretensions in relation to the Re-anions and am now to acquaint you that notwithstanding the French Complement to the Emperor last Year upon their quitting the Blockade of Luxemburg That it was done that the Christians might take no Umbrage at such a Conjuncture when the Infidels were threatning the Empire with an Invasion Yet the Year was not expired but that in pursuance to the said Pretensions they surprized Courtray and Dixmude Wherewith the Court of Spain was so incensed that they re-called their Ambassodor ordered the French Minister to retire home and seized all the Effects belonging to the French in their Dominions Yet the Dutch States were not so hot upon the Matter and therefore they proposed the King of England's Mediation herein but the Spaniards would by no means hear of it saying There was but too much Reason to suspect that Prince since iâ— did appear he had more closely linked himself with France than ever Hereupon the French King prepared an Army to invade the Spanish Netherlands while he sent another to infest the Spaniards on the side of Catalonia And if Luxemburg by an odd Circumstance of Time or what shall I call it had the good Luck to escape a Siege last Year she shall be sure to have her Share in this and be attacked in Form The Prince of Orange according to his usual Foresight had proposed pretty early to the States the Levying of 16000 Men and to bring all the Troops of the Country into the Field as a Means to give the French some Umbrage and to prevent their proceeding to an open Rupture But he was still opposed in his Designs by the Artifice of the French Ambassador the Count d'Avaux who put in several Memorials to the States upon account of the Conjuncture Insomuch that at last the City of Amsterdam would not consent to the said Levy but absolutely rejected it Which tho' it utterly broke the Prince's Measures yet it did not his Courage for he took the Field tho' to little purpose Because the French who were too quick to let slip the Opportunity brought a great Army before Luxemburg towards the latter end of May. And tho' the Place in the Circumstasnces it was then made a good Resistance it was on the 10th of June surrender'd upon Articles And now France having got what she desired proposed a Truce afresh for 20 Years to which the States did not seem averse So that they made the matter up quickly both for themselves and Spain as they had been wont to do in a manner upon the French Terms Whereof take the following Abstract wherein you will find the King of England's Name mentioned but mostly for Form sake I. THE States General oblige themselves to employ all sorts of good Offices to induce the King of Spain to accept of the Truce for 20 Years proposed by his most Christian Majesty during which all Hostilities shall cease between the said Kings as well by Sea and Land in all their Countries and Dominions II. The most Christian King shall during the said Truce remain possessed of the City of Luxemburg and the Provostry thereof with the 14 or 15 Villages and Hamblets depending thereon and Beaumount and the 3 or 4 Villages that remain on its Dependance Bouvois which has none and Chimay with the 12 or 14 Villages belonging to it III. If within 6 Weeks from the Date of this Convention the Catholick King shall agree unto and in due Form ratifie the Articles contained therein and shall consent to the said Truce of 20 Years upon the Condition proposed the most Christian King so soon as the Ratifications are exchanged shall restore to the Catholick King Courtray and Dixmuyde after having demolish'd the Fortifications with the Dependencies of those Places IV. His most Christian Majesty shall likewise restore to the Catholick King after the Exchange of the Ratifications all the Places he hath promised himself since Aug. 20 1683. except Luxemburg and the other Places mentioned in the Article And for the rest the most Christian and Catholick Kings shall remain in the Possession during the said Truce of what they held at the raising of the Blockade of Luxemburg and no Pretension shall be moved or Re-union made on the one side or the other on Account of Dependencies or any other Pretence whatever V. After the Exchange of the said Ratifications of Spain all Acts of Hostility shall cease and the most Christian King shall withdraw his Troops out of the Countries of the King of Spain wheresoever situated the King of Spain doing the like on his part VI. If any Contest shall happen concerning the time of Possession or the Extent of any Places that are to remain to either side during the said Truce the Determination thereof shall be referred to the
the Town This gave the Christians an Opportunity not only to advance but to possess themselves of an Hill near the Place And this was succeeded with a Summons from the General to surrender But the Governour Saban Basha who was gone to put himself at the Head of a Body of Turks to observe the Motion of the Christians as not believing they durst undertake the Siege of Prevesa The Officer that commanded in his Absence would not receive the General 's Letter but rudely fired upon the Person that carried it Thereupon they landed 4. Pieces of Cannon and as many Mortars on the 22d and next Day shot above 300 Bombs into the Town which burnt several Houses and before Night dismounted all the Enemies Cannon but one and had all this while but one Man killed and few wounded On the 24th they made a Lodgment in the Ditch and began to Mine under the Great Tower of the Place towards the Terra Firma but they were somewhat disturbed by a Sally of the Turks who yet had no great Success So that the Besiegers the 3 following Days advanced their Works notwithstanding the Enemy plyed them very warmly with their small Shot so far that the Mine being ready by the 28th and a considerable Breach made by the Cannon Orders were given for a general Assault But next Morning the Turks prevented them by hanging out a White Flag and sending 5 Deputies to capitulate who required the same Conditions as had been granted to Sancta Maura But the General would allow them no other save that 30 of the most considerable of the Garrison should march out with their Arms and Baggage and the rest without Arms taking only along with them what they could carry which the Turks were forced to submit to And so they marched out of the Place on the 30th of Sept. leaving 44 Pieces of Cannon 14 whereof were large and would shoot a 50 Pound Ball with a considerable Quantity of Ammunition and Provisions to the Conquering Venetians who after this went to Winter at Corâ—u But their Troops in Dalmatia did not yet do so they and the Morlaques under the Dominion of the Republick had all along the War been very successful not only in several Rencounters with the Turks but in divers Incursions into their Country from whence they always returned with good Booty besides possessing themselves of some Places in those Parts But my Design will not admit me to descend to such Minute Particulars and therefore I shall only observe that before the Expiration of this Year they took in the Isle of Narenta and the Castle of Narini And were thereupon joined by a great many of the Neighbouring Greeks But the advanced Season confined them now to their Winter Quarters as I am also confined to close up the History of this Year without superadding any remarkable Adventure as I have hitherto been â—ted to do There is nothing occurs year 1685 worthy of Consideration this Year before the Death of Charles II. King of England who was seized as they gave out of a violent Fit of an Apoplexy on Monday the 2d of Feb. and on the 7th departed this Life in the 37th Year of his Reign computing it from his Father's Death after he had lived 54 Years 8 Months and 8 Days His Character I will not attempt it has been done so well already by a Learned Pen But for his Religion if we believe his Brother that succeeded him he was however otherwise he appeared outwardly in his Life Heart and Soul a true Roman Catholick not only by his Dying in the Communion of the Church of Rome and other Ceremonies of that Church But the Papers taken out of his Strong Box and which his Brother took Care to Publish to the World plainly proved him to be so in his Judgment However be this as it will he had little Regard to any Thing that favoured of Sincere Religion for he would occasionally in his ordinary Conversation ridicule most Opinions and that Religion most of all wherein it was said he died I know not whether it be to his Praise to say He was a Prince the most fit to Govern of any other and applied himself the least to it which was great pitty since he had such an Insight into Men and Things that no Monarch of his Age could pretend to compare with him besides a mild Disposition which made him at his Death be so universally lamented by all sorts of his Protestant Subjects but more by those that dissented from the Publick Church out of the Fear they had of the Religion and Temper of his Successor than any real Kindness for his Government which of latter Years especially had not been very mild towards them But for my part I think a witty Quaker made a truer Judgment of that Conjuncture than any other for appearing very merry and jovial when all about him discovered all the Marks of Sorrow imaginable for the King's Death and being asked the Reason of it he replied He had no Occasion to grieve but the Contrary for that having two to deal withal before 〈◊〉 God be thanked there was but one And now James Duke of York ascends the English 〈◊〉 and having the same Day of his Brother's Death assembled the Council he declared to them That since it had pleased God to place him in that Station to succeed so good and gracious a King as well as so kind a Brother he thought 〈◊〉 to Declare his Endeavours to follow his Brother's Example more especially in that of his great Clemency and Tenderness to his People and make it his Business to preserve the Government both in Church and State as by Law established Commended the Church of England's Principles and Members and said He knew the Laws of England were sufficient to make the King as great a Monarch as he could wish and therefore as he would never depart from the just Rights and Prerogatives of the Crown so he would never invade any Man's Property It was well enough spoke of him and as well acted that he did not dissemble his Religion which was Popish and for which some in his Brother's Reign were severely used for but saying he was so for the very next Sunday after his Brother's Death he went publickly to Mass But his taking the Customs and Excise granted only for the Life of his Brother before they were given him by Parliament did ill Correspond with that part of his Speech that he would never invade any Man's Property and as little did the severe and barbarous Usage of Dr. Oates whom they endeavoured to prove Guilty of Perjury tho' the Contrary has since manifestly appeared by Ben. Hinton's Books agree with his saying He would imitate his Brother in his Clemency and Tenderness to his People But to leave these Things pass His Majesty being solemnly Crowned the 23d of April at Westminster he appointed a Parliament to meet the 22d of May to whom after having
Gentry and Commons of Scotland are now in Arms upon the like Motives and Inducements that we are and in Prosecution of Ends agreeable with ours we do therefore approve the Justice of their Cause commend their Zeal and Courage expecting their and promising our Assistance for carrying on that glorious Work we are jointly engaged in being obliged for avoiding Tediousness to omit the Recounting many Oppressions under which that Kingdom hath groaned and the giving a Diduction of the several Steps that have been taken for Introducing of Popery and Tyranny We think fit therefore to signifie both to our Countrymen and Foreigners that we intend a larger Testimony and Remonstrance of the Grievances Persecutions Cruelties and Tyrannies we have â—â—late lain under and therein a more full and particular Account of the unparallell'd Crimes of the D. of Y. And we make our Appeal unto GOD and all Protestant Kings Princes States and People concerning the Justice of our Cause and the Necessity we are reduced unto of having our recourse to Arms. And as we do beseech require and adjure all sincere Protestants and true English Men to be assisting to us against the Enemies of the Gospel Rights of the Nation and Liberties of Mankind so we are confident of obtaining the utmost Aid and Succour which they can yield us with their Prayers Persons and Estates for the Dethroning the said Tyrant c. Nor do we doubt being justified countenanced and assisted by all Protestant Kings Princes and Commonwealths who either regard the Gospel of Jesus Christ or their own Interest And above all our Dependance and Trust is upon the Lord of Hosts in whose Name we go forth and to whom we commit our Cause and refer the Decision betwixt us and our Enemies in the Day of Battel Now let us play the Men for our People and for the Cities of our GOD and the Lord do that which seemeth good unto him When the Prince of Orange heard of the Duke's Landing and that he began to gather Strength and was proclaimed King he thought himself so far concerned that he not only dispatched over the 6 English Regiments in the Dutch Pay but also sent away Monsieur Bentink to the King with Orders to acquaint him That tho' he looked upon the Duke of Monmouth to be a Man of no great Parts yet that he had a Warlike Genius and was better skilled in the Military Art than any the King was to employ against him and that therefore if His Majesty pleased he would not only lend him his Troops but come in Person also to Command his Army But the same Thing in effect having been communicated to Skelton at the Hague he was so maliciously bent against the Prince and his Interest that he used such Diligence as to give the King Notice of his Intentions before Bentink could arrive and that with such evil Interpretation upon the Prince's Offer that the King put off Monsieur Bentink with telling him He should acquaint his Master that their common Interests did require the Prince his staying in Holland and further opened his Mind unto him in such Terms as sufficiently discover'd he did not take his Highness's Zeal for his Service to be at that time seasonable However King James did well enough at this time without such Assistance and he was so far favoured in the Course of Providence that the Duke was utterly Routed at Sedgmore soon after taken and ordered to be brought up to London forthwith with no other Design you may be sure than to have his Head chopt off However not to be wanting to himself under such hard Circumstances he thought fit on the 8th of July to write the following Letter to the King from Ringwood SIR YOUR Majesty may think it is the Misfortune I now lie under makes me make this Application to You But I do assure Your Majesty it is the Remorse I now have in me of the Wrong I have done You in several Things and now in taking up Arms against You. For my taking up Arms It never was in my Thoughts since the King died The Prince and Princess of Orange will be Witness for me of the Assurance I gave them That I would never stir against You. But my Misfortune was such as to meet with some Horrid People that made me believe Things of Your Majesty and gave me so many false Arguments that I was fully led away to believe That it was a Shame and a Sin before God not to do it But SIR I will not trouble Your Majesty at present with many Things I could say for my self that I am sure would move Your Compassion The chief End of this Letter being only to beg of You That I may have that Happiness as to speak to Your Majesty For I have that to say to You SIR that I hope may give You a long and happy Reign I am sure SIR when You hear me You will be convinced of the Zeal I have for Your Preservation and how heartily I repent of what I have done I can say no more to Your Majesty now being this Letter must be seen by those that keep me Therefore SIR I shall make an end in begging of Your Majesty to believe so well of me That I would rather die a Thousand Deaths than excuse any Thing I have done if I did not really think my self the most in the Wrong that ever any Man was and had not from the Bottom of my Heart an Abhorrence for those that put me upon it and for the Action it self I hope SIR God Almighty will strike Your Heart with Mercy and Compassion for me as He has done mine with the Abhorrence of what I have done Therefore I hope SIR I may live to shew You how zealous I shall ever be for Your Service and could I say but one Word in this Letter You would be convinced of it but it is of that Consequence that I dare not do it Therefore SIR I do beg of You once more to let me speak to You for then You will be convinced how much I shall ever be Your Majesty's most Humble and Dutiful MONMOUTH What Impressions this or what afterwards the Duke told him in Private might have upon the King's Heart I know not but the Consequence proved he little regarded it by hastening of the Execution which was done the next Day but one after his arrival upon Tower-Hill July 15 unheard by Virtue of an Attainder past upon him in this Parliament A brave but unhappy Man not only in the Manner of his Death but the Education of his Youth whereby he became too much Tainted with the Vices of the then Court where he could learn no better but it was hoped he did not end as he began for he said himself upon the Scaffold and acknowledged it for a Mercy That for 2 Years before he had led a Better and more Reformed Life than ever And here I can't but take Notice of the Manner
gave a few Moments breathing to the Attack but the Courage wherewith they fell on afresh made the Besieged see it high time to think of a Capitulation which they made a Sign of by hanging out a White Standard upon the Ramparts whereupon Arms were laid down in order to regulate the Articles But this was only an Artifice of Turkish Perfidy to make a feigned shew of Rendition with a real Design to procure a greater Loss to the Besiegers by a brisk and unexpected Sally which so incensed the Venetians that they took a firmer Resolution than ever to put an end to the Siege which had already continued 49 Days wherefore having first swept the Ramparts with their Shot they bravely mounted the Walls and entred the Town where being heated as they were with the Baseness of the Enemy and the Assault they were now engaged in they made a dreadful Slaughter of all the Inhabitants without distinction either of Age or Sex They found in the Place 128 Pieces of Cannon whereof 66 were Brass besides a great Quantity of Ammunition and Provision This Work being now at last happily accomplished by the Captain-General after he had staid so long at Coron till the Fortifications were so far repaired as to make the Place desensible he resolved to do all he could to encourage the People of the Province of Maina in the Disposition they appear'd to be to cast off the Ottoman Yoak And to that Purpose sent the Mainots who came in to him upon the Taking of Corou with some other Troops to attack Zarnata one of the strongest of the 3 Fortresses built by the Turks since the Candian War to keep those People in awe And some Days after having caused the Army to embark the whole Fleet set sail from Coron and the next Day arrived at Chitie about 5â—Miles from Zarnata where they were joined by the Ships that had on Board the Saxon Troops consisting of 3000 Men and from whence the Fleet sailed towards Calamata near which Place the Forces landed again However all these Motions could not be managed with that Expedition and Secresie but that the Captain Basha having notice thereof he dispatched ashoar what Men he could out of the Turkish Gallies which he left at Napoli di Romania securing the Port with great Chains and being joined by a great Body of Horse and Foot marched towards Calamata to keep the Mainotes from revolting to the Venetians This the Captain-General had no sooner Notice of but he sent an Officer to the Garrison of Zarnata to let them know that if they did not immediately surrender the Place they must expect to be treated in the same Manner they of Coron had been Whereupon the Garrison desired that they might send to the Captain Basha to acquaint him with the Condition they were in which was granted But the Officer not returning at the time appointed they gave up the Place on the 11th of Sept. the Men marching away with Bag and Baggage yet the Aga who commanded them fearing he should be ill treated by the Captain Basha staid in the Venetian Camp towards which the Basha was now advanced at the Head of 10000 Men with a Resolution to fight the Christians which the Captain-General Morosini did not decline on his part For he marched towards the Enemy feigning at the same time to make a Descent to give them a Diversion in some other Place For which Purpose he had caused some Troops to embark and commanded the Fleet to keep along the Coast The Venetians who came up with the Enemy on the 14th were drawn up in Battalia by General Degenfield on an advantageous Ground The Turks on the other side having put themselves into a Posture to receive them their Horse fell immediately upon the Venetians Left Wing while a great Body of their Foot at the same time advanced towards their Right at the Head of which was the Prince of Brunswick but they found so brave a Resistance that they were forced to retire yet they presently after returned and charged a second time with greater Fury than before The Fight was maintained with great Courage and Resolution on both sides for a time till at last the Turks being no longer able to keep their Ground fell into Disorder and soon after dispersed and fled leaving a great Number of their Men slain behind them and the Garrison of Calamata to fire the Magazine and abandon the Place which the Venetians immediately took Possession of as they did soon after of Porto Vitulo which the Mainotes took for them Of Chielifa a strong Fortress not far from the other Place and Passavania whereby the Republick became possess'd of the whole Province of Mayna whereof the Captain-General made Seignior Lorenzo Venier Governour and so gloriously ended this Campaign And I shall end this Year with taking Notice that it was fatal to the Liberty of the Reformed Gallican Church the Edicts of Nants and Nismes being utterly revoked by another of the 22th of Oct. and those made null and finite which were looked upon irrevocable and perpetual the Consequence whereof all the World has seen and heard and therefore I shall say nothing of it in this place year 1686 We have left England last with the King 's Dissolving his Parliament now it is time to see a little how he carried himself His Brother had laid the Foundation of making a Parliament Felo de se by hectoring and making Bargains with Corporations to give up their Charters and take new ones from him wherein he reserved a Power that if they did not return such Members as pleased him he would resume the Charters he granted them and herein he made a great Progress But his Keeper and Attorney-General refused to grant Patents to such poor Corporations as could not pay their Fees at length the Keeper having kickt up his Heels last Year and Jefferies advanced to be Lord Chancellor and the Attorney turned out with another put into his Place that would with greater Charity perform the Office these Remora's to the King's Designs were removed Yet there was another Pace to be made still which was to make the Judges in Westminster-Hall to murder the Common Law as well as the King and his Brother designed to murder the Parliament by it self To this End his good Majesty before he would make any Judges would enter into a Bargain with them that they should declare the King's Power of dispensing with the Penal Laws and Tests made against Recusants out of Parliament However it was said the King stumbled at the Threshold for beginning with Sir Thomas Jones who had deserved so well in Mr. Cornish his Tryal and others he boggl'd very much at it saying plainly he could not do it to which the King answered He would have Twelve Judges of his Opinion and Sir Thomas replied He might have 12 Judges of his Opinion but would scarce find Twelve Lawyers to be so But for all this the King went on
and would gain his Point in favour of Dissenters at leastwise as to the gaining his Prerogative in Westminster-Hall and when he thought he had gone pretty far that way he granted a Commission of Ecclesiastical Affairs which yet was not opened till the 3d of Aug. though it had been Sealed some Months before But at last out it came and whereas I have never yet seen it Printed but once and lest the same should be forgotten I shall insert it in this place and it runs in the following Terms JAMES the Second by the Grace of GOD King of England Scotland France and Ireland Defender of the Faith c. TO the most Reverend Father in God our Right Trusty and Right Well-beloved Councellor William Lord Archbishop of Canterbury Primate of all England and Metropolitan and to our Right Trusty and Well-beloved Councellor George Lord Jefferies Lord Chancellor of England and to our Right Trusty and Right Well-beloved Councellor Lawrence Earl of Rochester Lord High-Treasurer of England and to our Right Trusty and Right Well-beloved Cousin and Councellor Robert Earl of Sunderland President of our Council and our principal Secretary of State and to the Right Reverend Father in God and our Right Trusty and Well-beloved Councellor Nathaniel Lord Bishop of Duresme and to the Right Reverend Father in God our Right Trusty and Well-beloved Thomas Lord Bishop of Rochester and to our Right Trusty and Well-beloved Councellor Sir Edward Herbert Knight Chief Justice of the Pleas before us to be holden assigned Greeting We for divers good weighty and necessary Causes and Considerations Us hereunto especially moving of our meer Motion and certain Knowledge by Force and Virtue of our Supream Authority and Prerogative Royal do Assign Name and Authorize by these our Letters Patents under the Great Seal of England you the said Lord Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Chancellor of England Lord High-Treasurer of England Lord President of our Council Lord Bishop of Duresme Lord Bishop of Rochester and our Chief Justice aforesaid or any three or more of you whereof you the said Lord Chancellor to be one from time to time and at all times during our Pleasure to Exercise Use Occupy and Execute under Us all manner of Jurisdiction Priviledges and Preheminences in any wise touching or concerning any Spiritual or Ecclesiastical Jurisdictions within this our Realm of England and Dominion of Wales and to Visit Reform Redress Order Correct and Amend all such Abuses Offences Contempts and Enormities whatsoever which by the Spiritual or Ecclesiastical Laws of this Realm can or may lawfully be Reformed Ordered Redressed Corrected Restrained or Amended to the Pleasure of Almighty God and encrease of Vertue and the Conservation of the Peace and Unity of this Realm And we do hereby Give and Grant unto you or any Three or more of you as is aforesaid whereof you the said Lord Chancellor to be one thus by Us Named Assigned Authorized and Appointed by Force of our Supream Authority and Prerogative Royal full Power and Authority from time to time and at all times during our Pleasure under Us to Exercise Use and Execute all the Premises according to the Tenour and Effect of these our Letters Patents any Matter or Cause to the Contrary in any wise notwithstanding And we do by these Presents give full Power and Authority unto you or any three or more of you as is aforesaid whereof you the Lord Chancellor to be one by all lawful Ways and Means from time to time hereafter during our Pleasure to enquire of all Offences Contempts Transgressions and Misdemeanors done and committed contrary to the Ecclesiastical Laws of this our Realm in any County City Borough or other Place or Places exempt or not exempt within this our Realm of England and Dominion of Wales and of all and every of the Offender or Offenders therein and them and every of them to Order Correct Reform and Punish by Censure of the Church And also we do Give and Grant full Power and Authority unto you or any three or more of you as is aforesaid whereof you the said Lord Chancellor to be one in like manner as is aforesaid from time to time and at all times during our Pleasure to enquire of search out and call before you all and every Ecclesiastical Person or Persons of what Degree or Dignity soever as shall offend in any of these Particulars before-mentioned and them and every of them to Correct and Punish for such their Misbehaviours and Misdemeanours by Suspending or Depriving them from all Promotions Ecclesiastical and from all Functions in the Church and to inflict such other Punishment or Censures upon them according to the Ecclesiastical Laws of this Realm And further we do give full Power and Authority unto you or any three or more of you as is aforesaid whereof you the said Lord Chancellor to be one by Virtue hereof and in like Manner and Form as is aforesaid to enquire hear determine and punish all Incest Adulteries Fornications Outrages Misbehaviours and Disorders in Marriage and all other Grievances and great Crimes or Offences which are punishable or reformable by the Ecclesiastical Laws of this our Realm committed or done or hereafter to be committed or done in any Place exempt or not exempt within this our Realm according to the Tenour of the Ecclesiastical Laws in that behalf Granting you or any three or more of you as is aforesaid whereof you the Lord Chancellor to be one full Power and Authority to order and award such Punishment to every such Offender by Censures of the Church or other lawful Ways as is abovesaid And further We do give full Power and Authority to you or any three or more of you as is aforesaid whereof you the said Lord Chancellor to be one to call before you or any three or more of you as aforesaid whereof you the said Lord Chancellor to be one all and every Offender and Offenders in any of the Premises and also all such as by you or any three or more of you as is aforesaid whereof you the said Lord Chancellor to be one shall seem to be suspected Persons in any of the Premises which you shall object against them and to proceed against them and every of them as the Nature and Quality of the Offence or Suspicion in that behalf shall require and also to call all such Witnesses or any other Person or Persons that can inform you concerning any of the Premises as you or any three or more of you as is aforesaid whereof you the said Lord Chancellor to be one and them and every of them to examine upon their Corporal Oaths for the better Tryal and Opening of the Truth of the Premises or any part thereof And if you or any three or more of you as is aforesaid whereof you the said Lord Chancellor to be one shall find any Person or Persons whatsoever obstinate or disobedient in their appearance before you or any three
in the first Place Secondly How unwarily it was it drawn for though it was to be thought every one understood the Design of the Commission was to introduce a Roman Hierarchy which assumes a Power over the Temporal in order to the Spiritual Good yet that Commission granted the Temporal Power viz. The Lord Chancellor and any other two viz. Lord Treasurer President or Lord Chief Justice a Power of Excommunication which is a pure Spiritual Act. This Commission thus granted and opened the first Lightning of it fell upon the Bishop of London whose pretended Crime was That by Virtue of the King's Letter he did not suspend Dr. Sharp then Dean of Norwich now Archbishop of York for Preaching a Sermon in his Parish-Church of St. Giles against the Frauds and Corruptions of the Church of Rome by a Power as Arbitrary as that by which the Commissioners acted But though the Romanists might be sufficiently incensed against the Bishop for his Non-compliance herein the King had another Cause of Offence with his Lordship for when the Lords in the last Parliament had Voted an Address of Thanks to the King as I have already noted for his Speech the Bishop moved in his own and his Brethren's Name that the House might debate the King's Speech which as it was extraordinary and unusual in the House so it was no less surprizing to the King and Court who now dreaded the Lords would concur with the Commons in their Address and construed this Pace to be a Piece of Presumption in the Bishop for which in due time he should be sure to be remembred and so indeed it happened For notwithstanding the Bishops just Plea before the Commissioners in his own Defence and that Jefferies the Mouth of them had in a manner nothing else to say but Must not the King be obeyed Must not the King be obeyed As if a Man was bound to hang himself if the King commanded it yet they suspended him ab Officio where we leave him at present and proceed to shew you the further Effects of this goodly Commission when there was the least Opportunity to put it in Execution You must know the Presidentship of Magdalen College in Oxford falling vacant about this time and the Fellows fearing a Mandamus would be imposed upon them for some Person or other not qualified by their Statutes and whom by their Oaths they could not submit to chose Dr. Hough a Person every way qualified for their President which was no sooner done but the King sent them a Peremptory Mandamus to make choice of the Bishop of Oxford for their President who as being not qualified by their Statutes they rejected and in an humble Answer excused themselves as being otherwise obliged as well by their Oaths as Statutes with which the King was so Angry and used such Expressions upon the Occasion as were never perhaps before used by a Prince But finding his harsh Language could not frighten the Fellows out of their Duty he sent his Commissioners of Ecclesiastical Affairs among them to turn them out of their Fellowships to which they had as much Right as any other Man to his Estate But the good Commissioners were so far from boggling at this that they yet went further and by a new strain of Tyranny never practised but by Absolute Tyrants made the Fellows uncapable of any other Ecclesiastical Preferments and a Seminary of Jesuits and Popish Priests were introduced into their rooms as much to the Subvertion of the Established Church as the Statutes of the College While Things were thus carried on with an high Hand by Virtue of this extraordinary Commission you cannot think they were more moderate in the Administration of ordinary Justice in the Westminster Courts you know how severely Oats was treated for discovering the Popish Plot. Now comes Thomas Dangerfield's Turn for his discovering of the Meal-Tub-Plot but with a worse-Fate For this Man having in King Charles his Time in his Depositions before the Parliament revealed that he was imploy'd by the Popish Party and chiefly by the Lords in the Tower and the Countess of Powis to kill the King and that he was incouraged and promised Impunity and Reward and part of it given him by the D. of York for that End he was now prosecuted upon a Scandalum Magnatum and as Juries went found guilty and had the same Sentence of Whipping with Oats But in his return from Tyburn towards Newgate after his Whipping he was run into the Eye with a Tuck at the end of a Cane by one Robert Francis a Red-hot Papist of which with the Agony of the Whipping he soon after died But his Body was so swoln and martyred with his Whipping that it was a Question whether he died of that or of the Wound in his Eye for which Francis however was justly Hanged the King thinking it would appear to be too base a Partiality to pardon him for so foul a Fact Much about the same time Mr. Sam. Johnson commonly known by the Name of Julian Johnson because of his being the Author of a Book so called was Sentenced by the Court of King's Bench Sir Edward Herbert being Lord Chief Justice to stand 3 times in the Pillory and to be Whipped from Newgate to Tyburn which was severely Executed without any regard to his Gown he being a Clergy-man for making this humble and hearty Address to all the English Protestants in the Army which the King had raised 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 the 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 which 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 the Popish Kingdom of Darkness and Desolation amongst us 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 Yoak Will you help them to make a 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
King's Foragers which greatly perplexed him So that understanding at last that the main Body of the Tartars commanded by Sultan Nuradin was come near his Camp yet without being able precisely to learn the Place where they were he caused it to be published among the Moldavians That whoever brought him certain Intelligence of them should have the Reward of 200 Crowns Whereupon one that was well acquainted with the Country went into the Enemies Camp and having observed it returned and gave the King an Account that they lay within a Mile of his Army and that a Party of 4000 Tartars was advanced at some distance from the rest The King being thus informed of the Posture the Enemy were in detached the Court-Marshal and the Court-Treasurer about Midnight to attack those advanced Troops and followed himself with the whole Army This Detachment with the Help of the Moldavian who was their Guide came upon the Enemy before they had time to retire to their main Body and after a sharp Dispute entirely routed them taking about 300 Prisoners among whom were several Murza's and other Persons of considerable Note among the Tartars While this was doing the King also advanced and attacked the Serasquier and Sultan who not knowing of the Defeat of their advanced Troops expected they would have fallen upon the Poles in their Rear and Flank and with this Encouragement they put themselves into a Posture to oppose him However they were deceived and after a short fight were routed and forced to flee leaving a great many Slain and Prisoners behind them but not without Loss also on the Poles side there being several Officers and Persons of Quality and particularly the Palatine Podolskie among the Number of the Slain But while these Things were doing by the Polish Army abroad the Country nearer Home was cruelly ravaged by the Garrison of Caminiec who made frequent Incursions into the Polish Territories Which together with the King 's marching homeward after this last Action and demolishing the fore-mentioned Forts in his Return which he had raised as he went onwards made this Expedition to be little thought of and as little Advantage to redound to the Poles from it as they hitherto had reaped by their Alliance with the Moscovites who made a mighty Smoak this Campaign but very little Fire of whom we shall have more Occasion to talk hereafter year 1687 Now we are come to another Year and the Affairs of England fall of Course under our Consideration And as we left off with taking Notice of the King's Kindness to his Roman Catholick Subjects in a more particular Manner in the Letter he wrote to the Parliament of Scotland we are now to tell you of a more general Act of his and that was upon the 12th of February to issue out his Proclamation for a Toleration of Religion unto all Wherein by the by you are to observe that he exerted his Absolute Power which he said his Subjects ought to obey without Reserve But the Toleration he allowed his Roman Catholick Subjects in Scotland he would scarce allow to his Protestant Subjects in Ireland for Tyrconnel so did Talbot merit for reforming the Army was not only made an Earl but Lord-Lieutenant in Ireland to boot in the room of my Lord Clarendon and one Fitton an infamous Person detected for Forgery not only at Westminster but Chester too was brought out of the King 's Bench Prison in England to be Chancellor and Keeper of the King's Conscience in Ireland Sir Charles Porter being turned out to make way for him Now Talbot being thus advanced in Honour and Office began to exert his Authority and his first Proclamation towards the End of Feb. imported a Promise to defend the Laws Liberty and Established Religion but fairly left out the Preservation of the Act of Settlement and Explanation However though at first he only left them out being resolved to out the Protestants first and to let the Irish into their Forfeited Estates yet he did not stop there We told you last Year what Efforts were made to propagate the King's Power in Westminster-Hall and what Instructions the Judges had in their Circuits to dispense with the Penal Laws and Tests against Dissenters from the Church and now these Things being brought pretty well to bear upon the 25th of April out came the King's Declaration for Liberty of Conscience which was conceived in the following Terms His MAJEETY's Gracious DECLARATION to all His Loving Subjects for LIBERTY of CONSCIENCE JAMES R. IT having pleased Almighty God not only to bring Us to the Imperial Crown of these Kingdoms through the greatest Difficulties but to preserve Us by a more than ordinary Providence upon the Throne of Our Royal Ancestors there is nothing now that We so earnestly desire as to Establish our Government on such a Foundation as may make Our Subjects happy and unite them to Us by Inclination as well as Duty which We think can be done by no Means so effectually as by granting to them the free Exercise of their Religion for the Time to come and add that to the perfect Enjoyment of their Property which has never been in any Case invaded by Us since Our coming to the Crown Which being the Two Things Men value most shall ever be preserved in these Kingdoms during our Reign over them as the truest Methods of their Peace and Our Glory We cannot but heartily wish as it will easily be believed that all People of Our Dominions were Members of the Catholick Church yet We humbly thank Almighty God it is and hath of long time been Our constant Sense and Opinion which upon divers Occasions We have declared that Conscience ought not to be constrained nor People forced in Matters of meer Religion It has ever been directly contrary to Our Inclination as We think it is to the Interest of Government which it destroys by spoiling Trade depopulating Countries and discouraging Strangers and finally that it never obtained the End for which it was employed And in this We are the more Confirmed by the Reflections We have made upon the Conduct of the Four last Reigns For after all the frequent and pressing Endeavours that were used in each of them to reduce this Kingdom to an exact Conformity in Religion it is visible the Success has not answered the Design and that the Difficulty is invincible We therefore out of Our Princely Care and Affection unto all Our Loving Subjects that they may live at Ease and Quiet and for the Increase of Trade and Incouragement of Strangers have thought fit by Virtue of Our Royal Prerogative to issue forth this Our Declaration of Indulgence making no doubt of the Concurrence of Our Two Houses of Parliament when we shall think it convenient for them to meet In the first Place We do declare That We will Protect and Maintain Our Archâ—bishops Bishops and Clergy and all other Our Subjects of the Church of England in the free
Exercise of their Religion as by Law Established and in the Quiet and full Enjoyment of all their Possessions without any Molestation on Disturbance whatsoever We do likewise declare That it is Our Royal Will and Pleasure That from henceforth the Execution of all and all manner of Penal Laws in Matters Ecclesiastical for not coming to Church or not Receiving the Sacrament or for any other Non-conformity to the Religion Established or for or by Reason of the Exercise of Religion in any manner whatsoever be immediately suspended And the further Execution of the said Penal Laws and every of them is hereby suspended And to the End that by the Liberty hereby granted the Peace and Security of Our Government in the Practice thereof may not be indangered We have thought fit and do hereby straitly Charge and Command all our Loving Subjects That as We do freely give them Leave to Meet and Serve God after their own Way and Manner be it in Private Houses or Places purposely Hired or Built for that Use so that they take especial Care that nothing be Preached or Taught amongst them which may any ways tend to Alienate the Hearts of Our People from Us or Our Government And that their Meetings and Assemblies be peaceably openly and publickly held and all Persons freely admitted to them And that they do signifie and make known to some one or more of the next Justices of the Peace what Place or Places they set apart for those Uses And that all Our Subjects may enjoy such their Religious Assemblies with greater Assurance and Protection We have thought it requisite and do hereby Command That no Disturbance of any kind be made or given unto them under Pain of Our Displeasure and to be further proceeded against with the uttermost Severity And forasmuch as We are desirous to have the Benefit of the Service of all Our loving Subjects which by the Law of Nature is inseparably annexed to and inherent in Our Royal Person And that none of Our Subjects may for the future be under any Discouragement or Disability who are otherwise well inclined and fit to serve Us by Reason of some Oaths or Tests that have been usually administred on such Occasions We do hereby further declare That it is Our Royal Will and Pleasure that the Oaths commonly called The Oaths of Supremacy and Allegiance and also the several Tests and Declarations mentioned in the Acts of Parliament made in the 25th and 30th Years of the Reign of Our late Royal Brother Charles the Second shall not at any time hereafter be required to be Taken Declared or Subscribed by any Person or Persons whatsoever who is or shall be imployed in any Office or Place of Trust either Civil or Military under Us or in Our Government And We do further declare it to be Our Pleasure and Intention from time to time hereafter to Grant Our Royal Dispensations under Our Great Seal to all Our loving Subjects so to be Imployed who shall not take the said Oaths or subscribe or declare the said Tests or Declarations in the above-mentioned Acts and every of them And to the End that all Our Loving Subjects may receive and enjoy the full Benefit and Advantage of Our gracious Indulgence hereby intended and may be acquitted and discharged from all Pains Penalties Forfeitures and Disabilities by them or any of them incurred or forfeited or which they shall or may at any time hereafter be liable to for or by reason of their Non-conformity or the Exercise of their Religion and from all Suits Troubles or Disturbances for the same We do hereby give Our free and ample Pardon unto all Non-conformists Recusants and other Our Loving Subjects for all Crimes and Things by them committed or done contrary to the Penal Laws formerly made relating to Religion and the Profession or Exercise thereof Hereby declaring That this Our Royal Pardon and Indemnity shall be as good and effectual to all Intents and Purposes as if every individual Person had been therein particularly named or had particular Pardons under Our Great Seal which We do likewise declare shall from time to time be granted unto any Person or Persons desiring the same Willing and Requiring Our Judges Justices and other Officers to take Notice of and Obey Our Royal Will and Pleasure herein before declared And although the Freedom and Assurance We have hereby given in relation to Religion and Property might be sufficient to remove from the Minds of our Loving Subjects all Fears and Jealousies in relation to either yet We have thought fit further to declare That We will Maintain them in all their Properties and Possessions as well of Church and Abby-Lands as in any other their Lands and Properties whatsoever Given at Our Court at Whitehall the Fourth Day of April 1687. In the Third Year of Our Reign The Generality of Protestant Dissenters having for near 7 Years together been so severely treated by the Tory Party were as forward to congratulate the King for his Indulgence in several Addresses as the Tories were in King Charles his Time in their Addresses of Abhorrence to Petition the King to call a Parliament to settle the Grievances of the Nation However this Declaration was drawn up so in sight of every Bird that most part of the Thinking sort of Dissenters did dread and detest it But yet to make it more passable Popish Judges were made in Westminister-Hall and Popish Justices of the Peace and Deputy-Lieutenants all England over while the Privy-Council was filled up with Popish Councellors nay the Savoy was laid open to instruct Youth in the Popish Religion and Popish Principles which gave Occasion to that good Man Dr. Tenison now Archbishop of Canterbury and it ought to be remembred always to his Honour to erect his Free School at St. Martins in opposition to it But this would not stop the Popish Zeal for other Schools to the same End were encouraged in London and all other Places in England and 4 Foreign Popish Bishops as Vicars Apostolical were allowed in Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction all England and Wales over And because his Majesty would not be wanting to pay his Duty as well as other Catholick Princes to the common Father of them all the Pope the Earl of Castlemain was sent Embassador to Rome to tender the King's Obedience to the Holy and Apostolical See with great Hopes of extirpating the Northern pestilent Heresie In return whereof the Pope sent his Nuncio to give the King his Holy Benediction and that without sending before-hand as his Predecessors were wont to do for leave to enter the Kingdom To all this we may add that the Judges in their Circuits had their private Instructions to know how Men stood affected towards the King's Dispensing Power and those who shewed the least Dislike of it were turned out of their Offices and Employments without any more ado And that these Things might be acted with Security Tyrconnel having disbanded the English Army in
Designs he proceeded now to shew how Absolute he would be in them and therefore on the 4th of May he passed an Order in Council that his Declaration of Indulgence should be Read in all Churches and Chappels throughout England and Wales in Time of Divine Service and that all the Bishops in their respective Diocesses should take Care to have the same accordingly performed There is no question to be made but they understood the King's Meaning well enough and that under a Shadow of Favour to be intended hereby to Protestant Dissenters all the Good imaginable was meant to the Roman Catholicks and that whatever was intended by it there was no Good meant to them nor their Church and therefore it was their Business to ward off the Blow which 7 of them endeavoured to do in an humble Petition to the King wherein their Reasons were set forth why they could not comply with the Order of Council But they were so cautious in the Matter that after it was drawn up they would let no other see it before it was presented And the same was as also the King's Answer to this Effect TO THE KING'S Most Excellent MAJESTY The Humble PETITION of William Archbishop of Canterbury and divers of the Suffragan Bishops of that Province now present with him in behalf of themselves and others of their absent Brethren and of the Inferior Clergy of their respective Diocesses Humbly Sheweth THAT the great Aversness they find in themselves to the Distributing and Publishing in all their Churches Your Majesty's late Declaration for Liberty of Conscience proceeds neither from any Want of Duty and Obedience to Your Majesty our holy Mother the Church of England being both in her Principles and in her constant Practice unquestionably Loyal and having to her great Honour been more than once publickly acknowledged to be so by Your Gracious Majesty nor yet from any Want of Tenderness to Dissenters in relation to whom we are willing to come to such a Temper as shall be thought fit when the Matter shall be considered and settled in Parliament and Convocation But among many other Considerations from this especially Because that Declaration is founded upon such a Dispencing Power as hath been often declared Illegal in Parliament and particularly in the Years 1662 and 1672 and in the Beginning of Your Majesty's Reign and is a Matter of so great Moment and Consequence to the whole Nation both in Church and State that Your Petitioners cannot in Prudence Honour or Conscience so far make themselves Parties to it as the Distribution of it all over the Nation and the solemn Publication of it once and again even in GOD's House and in the Time of His Divine Service must amount to in common and unreasonable Construction Your Petitioners therefore most humbly and earnestly beseech Your Majesty that You will be pleased not to insist upon their Distributing and Reading Your Majesty's said Declaration And Your Petitioners as in Duty bound shall ever pray c. Will. Cant. Will. Asaph Fr. Ely Jo. Cicestr Tho. Bathon Wellen. Tho. Peterburgen Jonath Bristol His MAJESTY'S ANSWER I Have heard of this before but did not believe it I did not expect this from the Church of England especially from some of you If I change my Mind ye shall hear from me If not I expect my Command shall be obeyed But how unpleasing soever the Petition might be to the King which is sufficiently evinced by his Answer and what Revenge soever he might ruminate within himself to take upon the Bishops for it the Chancellor though he thought his Ecclâ—siastical Commission big enough to suspend the Bishop of London and the Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge and to expel the Master and Fellows of Magdalen College in Oxford yet is seems he did not believe it sufficient to suspend these Bishop And therefore it was said he advised the King to Try them upon an Information of High-Treason at the King 's Beneh-Bar In order to this they were committed Prisoner to the Tower and that on the Day before I think the Legendary Birth of the Prince of Wales who came to Town on Sunday Morning the 10th of June that they might not have the Opportunity as it was the Place at least of some of them to be present thereat and make any Inspection into that pious Fraud But though the Nation was mightily alarm'd at their Commitment and more particularly with the Time and Circumstance of it and that this Discontent might have been read in the Faces of almost all Men â—â—ve Romanists yet the Court unconcerned held on their Pace and accordingly the Bishops were Tryed in Trinity Term following at the King 's Beneh-Bar upon an Information of High-Misdemeanor as aforesaid for their Petition to the King But how secure soever the King and his Chancellor thought themselves of the Judges and though Sir Robert Wright who was Chief Justice and Sir Richard Allibone a known Papist were Two of them yet they were not all of a Piece for Mr. Justice Powell both learnedly and stoutly defended the Cause of the Bishops And though I believe the Jury of themselves upon considering the Merit of the Cause were sufficiently disposed to acquit them as they did accordingly yet surely if they had done otherwise I question whether all the King's Guards could have secured them from the Fury of the People who were not a little chafed with these Proceedings and wrought such Seeds of Discontent in the Minds of most Men that afterwards broke forth with a Witness And though it is not to be doubted but the Great Men of our Nation began before this to look about them and to have a watchful Eye upon every Motion of the Court yet this awaken'd them to purpose to seek for a Remedy against the impending Evil by such Methods and from such Persons as were most interested to divert the Course of them But of this we shall more particularly speak hereafter the Course of our History leading us 〈◊〉 to the Prosecution of Foreign Affairs and Campaigns 〈◊〉 ready to begin And first we shall again begin with Hungary We left off last Year with the Surrender of Agria a most pleasing Piece of News to the Imperial Court as was that of the Fortress of Mâ—ngaâ—z early this Spring no less grateful to it Famine and no other Reason was the Occasion of the Surrender of this Place as well as the preceding one The Fortress had been held out by the Princess Ragotzi Count Tecâ—eley's Lady in a manner ever since the Beginning of the War But now dire Necessity constrained that Noble Lady to surrender both it and her self into the Emperor's Hands as it appear'd evidently by her saying when the Capitulation was brought from Count Caraffa to be signed by her Must I Sign my Husband's Death For I am perswaded that as soon as the Turks come to know I have abandoned this Place they will take off his Head The Terms of
Doge who shall have 500 Ducats a Month and Entertainment and shall act and do as the Doge may do receiving his Revenues defraying his Charges and reserving what shall be due to him till he returns But as if Fortune had been now glutted in heaping up of her favours upon Morosini by adding to the many Victories and Conquests he had made the highest Dignity his Country could confer upon him he did nothing that was memorable this Campaign having been beyond most Mens expectations extreamly baffled in the Enterprize he undertook upon Negropont nor indeed ever after this comparatively to the great feats he had done in the preceding part of his life So that besides the taking of Chir in Dalmatia by General Cornare about the beginning of Sept. and that small Victory which the Albanians who had now put themselves under the protection of the Republick got over some thousands of Turks Commanded by the Basha of Scutari and their taking the Town of Maduna thereupon there was nothing else of any great consideration that fell out on that side And as for Poland he that can find any thing extraordinary there for the breaking up of the Diet held at Grod now this Year in Confusion and the Incursion of the Turks into the Province of Pocusia I do not take to be such let him do it and I shall pass on to somewhat of greater Moment Now it may be remembred in what uncertain state and imminent danger we left both the Civil and Religious Rights of Britain there were some concurring causes that made those of Europe appear to be little less so France by the Interval of the Peace was grown wonderfully potent and if the Altercations between the Imperial and French Ministers about the later's Fortifying of Traerback foreboded no good to the Empire the Death of the Elector of Cologn which hapned June 2d this year manifestly tended to an open Rupture The two Candidates for the Electorate were young Prince Clement of Bavaria the Elector's Brother of that Name whose interest was supported by Germany and the Cardinal de Fustemburg whose pretentions were backed by the Crown of France But though the former made a shift to carry it and that his Election was confirmed afterwards by the Pope who was at no good terms with France at this time yet the French K. concerned himself so far in the matter as to make it an occasion to begin the cruellest War that ever happn'd in this part of the world this was seconded with a Manifesto from the French K which indeed in the right course of things should have been first setting forth the Justice of his cause But I hope the world is still at liberty to believe as little of it as they please However it cost Germany this Season besides the incredible sums paid for Contribution no less than the loss of the Fortress of Phillipsbourg taken by the Dauphine in Person Manheim Spire Mentz Creusenack Baccarack Heidelburg and several other places as far as Hailbron besides Bonn secured by the Cardinal de Furstemburg towards the beginning of the dispute about the Election But before all this happened and even soon after the foresaid Elector's Death there was an interview and even a long Conference held at Minden in Westphaliâ— between the Electors of Saxony and Brandenburg the Landâ—grave of Hesse Cassell the Princes of the House of Lunemburg and the P. of Orange under pretence of the Affair of Cologn as it was in part but much more about concerting methods to divert the Storm hanging over our British Isle without disjoynting of which from the French interest and securing of its Religion and Liberties there was but little likelihood of preserving the rest of Europe and confining France to the Bounds set unto it by former Stipulations and Treaties The Consequence of this Interview was the making mighty Preparations in Holland both by Sea and Land without any visible Appearance who they designed to make War upon And tho' it was said the Heer Van Citters the States Ambassador at London assured the King England had nothing to fear from it and did insinuate that France had much more Reason to be allarm'd than he the Design was penetrated into another way Mr. Skelton while Ambassador in Holland had gained some Glimmering of it by the Interception of some Letters to a certain Person in the Family of the Princess of Orange But being soon after sent in the same Quality to France he got a much clearer Light thereof from one Verace a Genevese by Birth The Story whereof is such as deserves a more particular Recital This same Person had been formerly Captain of the Guard to the Prince of Orange but happening to kill a Man in a Duel he was put out of his Master's Favour However Mr. Skelton found a Way by the Interest of the Earl of Clarendon who had bred up his Son my Lord Cornbury at Geneva and was obliged to Verace for many Services he had done him there to make his Peace again The Genevese being thus re-established in his Master's Favour he had a greater Share of it than ever and was more particularly intimate with Monsieur Bentink the Prince's Favourite I could never learn how he put himself out a second time But so it was that he withdrew and was upon his Journey to Geneva when upon the Noise of the Preparations in Holland he writ to Mr. Skelton then at Paris that he had something to communicate to the King his Master that concerned nothing less than his Crown and to let him know a Son-in-Law whom he was not mistrustful enough of But for the rest he would not explicate the Secret to any other than the King himself if he were pleased to send him Orders to come and wait upon him Upon this Mr. Skelton writ several Letters to England but did not receive an Answer suitable to the Occasion which made both himself and the French Court much concerned at it Yet when they had in a manner entirely acquiesced and left the King to take his own Measures since he seemed to reject theirs and the Assistances offered him it hapned one Day that Monsieur de Croissi being in Discourse with Mr. Skelton and interrogating of him concerning the then State of Things in England the other answered He had nothing more to do in the Matter and durst not inter meddle any farther But added That he believed if the Most Christian King would order his Ambassador to declare to the States the Part he took in the Affairs of the King his Master and to threaten to attack them in case they attempted any thing against him that he would quickly put a Stop to them and break the Measures of the Prince of Orange thereupon c. Monsieur de Croissi took the Proposal presently and he no sooner acquainted the King with it but he sent Orders to the Count d' Avaux to acquaint the States-General with his Mind And this occasioned
President and Fellows of St. Mary Magdalen College in Oxford IV. That your Majesty will graciously be pleased to set aside all Licenses or Faculties already granted by which any persons of the Romish Communion may pretend to be enabled to teach Publick Schools and that no such be granted for the future V. That your Majesty will be graciously pleased to desist from the Exercise of such a Dispensing Power as hath of late been used and to permit that Point to be freely and calmly debated and argued and finally setled in Parliament VI. That your Majesty will be graciously pleased to inhibit the four Foreign Bishops who stile themselves Vicars Apostolical from further invading the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction which is by Law vested in the Bishops of this Church VII That your Majesty will be pleased graciously to fill the vacant Bishopricks and other Ecclesiastical Promotions within your Gift both in England and Ireland with men of Learning and Piety and in particular which I must own to be my pecular boldness for 't is done without the privity of my Brethren That you will be graciously pleased forthwith to fill the Archiepiscopal Chair of York which has so long stood empty and upon which a whole Province depends with some very worthy Person For which pardon me Sir if I am bold to say you have now here before you a very fair Choice VIII That your Majesty will be graciously pleased to supersede all further Prosecution of Quo Warranto's against Corporations and to restore to them their ancient Charters Priviledges and Franchises as we hear God hath put into your Majesties Heart to do for the City of London which we intended to have made otherwise one of our principal Requests IX That if it please your Majesty Writs may be issued out with convenient speed for the calling of a free and regular Parliament in which the Church of England may be secured according to the Acts of Unformity Provision may be made for a due Liberty of Conscience and for securing the Liberties and Properties of all your Subjects and a mutual Confidence and good Vnderstanding may be established between your Majesty and all your People X. Above all That your Majesty will be graciously pleased to permit your Bishops to offer you such Motives and Arguments as we trust may by God's Grace be effectual to perswade your Majesty to return to the Communion of the Church of England into whose most holy Catholick Faith you were baptized and in which you were educated and to which it is our daily earnest Prayer to God that you may be re-united These Sir are the humble Advices which out of Conscience of the Duty we owe to God to your Majesty and to our Country We think fit at this time to offer to your Majesty as suitable to the present State of your Affairs and most conducing to your Service and so to leave them to your Princely Consideration And we heartily beseech Almighty God in whose hand the Hearts of all Kings are so to dispose and govern yours that in all your Thoughts Words and Works you may ever seek his Honour and Glory and study to preserve the People committed to your Charge in Wealth Peace and Godliness to your own both temporal and eternal Happiness Amen We do heartily concur H. London P. Winchester VV. Asaph W. Cant. Fran. Ely Jo. Cicestr Tho. Roffen Tho. Bath VVells Tho. Petriburg And because the King would seemingly remove all Jealousies from the Church of England he on the 5th of Oct. declared that he would dissolve the Commission for Ecclesiacal Causes and gave Directions to the Lord Chancellor accordingly to cause the same to be forthwith done But at the same it was not declared to be illegal which was the only Way to give Satisfaction in respect of it And because Magdalen College in Oxford was no less aggrieved with the High Commission than the Bishops themselves were the King after having Oct. 12th declared his Resolution to preserve the Church of England in all its Rights and Immunities did as an Evidence of it signifie his Pleasure to the Bishop of Winchester as Visitor of the said College to settle the College Regularly and Statutably Who accordingly on the 16th caused a Citation to be fixed on the College Gate to re-call Dr. Hough and the former Fellows of that Society by the 2d of Nov. following and the Bishop went down accordingly to re-instate them and was received with abundance of Joy But pray mind the Temper of this King For an Account coming that very Post that the Dutch Fleet had suffered very much in a Storm on the 16th of the same Month. N. S. and that they would hardly be able to sail till the Spring the Bishop was re-called to London and the Restitution deferred Yet soon after that false News being contradicted the Affection to the Church revived and so the Business of the College was effected on the 24th of the said Month. About this time the Queen-Dowager and others that attended at the Queen's Delivery as also the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of London and divers Peers of the Land were ordered to attend to hear what the former could say concerning the Birth of the pretended Prince of WALES But now all Men's Tongues were let loose against the Government And my Lord Sunderland's being dismissed from his Office of prime Minister and Secretary of State made a mighty Noise That my Lord is a person of vast ability is a matter not to be doubted and that how various soever the reports then since have been concerning the cause of his being laid aside I think it 's good manners for us to listen to the account he was pleased to give himself in his Letter of March 23d 1689. which will fall pertinently in this place The Earl of Sunderland's Letter to a Friend in London published March 23d 1689. TO comply with what you desire I will explain some things which we talked of before I left England I have been in a Station of a great noise without Power or Advantage whilst I was in it and to my Ruin now I am out of it I know I cannot Justifie my self by saying though it is true that I thought to have prevented much Mischief for when I found that I could not I ought to have quitted the Service Neither is it an Excuse that I have got none of those things which usually engage men in publick Affairs My Quality is the same it ever was and my Estate much worse even ruin'd tho' I was born to a very considerable one which I am ashamed to have spoiled though not so much as if I had encreased it by indirect Means But to go on to what you expect The Pretence to a Dispensing Power being not only the first thing which was much disliked since the Death of the late King but the Foundation of all the rest I ought to begin with that which I had so little to do with that I
a height as had not been seen They dispersed Libels of me every day told the King that I betrayed him that I ruined him by perswading him to make such shameful Condescentions but most of all by hindring the securing the chief of the disaffected Nobility and Gentry which was proposed as a certain way to break all the Prince's Measures and by advising His Majesty to call a Free-Parliament and to depend upon that rather than upon Foreign Assistance It is true I did give him those Counsels which were called weak to the last Moment he suffered me in his Service then I was accused of holding Correspondence with the Prince and it was every where said amongst them That no better could be expected from a Man so related as I was to the Bedford and Leicester Families and so allied to Duke Hamilton and the Marquess of Halifax After this Accusations of High Treason were brought against me which with some other Reasons relating to Affairs Abroad drew the King's Displeasure upon me so as to turn me out of all without any Consideration and yet I thought I escaped well expecting nothing less than the loss of my Head as my Lord Middleton can tell and I believe none about the Court thought otherwise nor had it been otherwise if my Disgrace had been deferred a day longer all things being prepared for it I was put out the 27th of October the Roman Catholicks having been two Months working the King up to it without Intermission besides the several Attacks they had made upon me before and the unusal Assistance they obtained to do what they thought so necessary for the carrying on their Affairs of which they never had greater hope than at that time as may be remembred by any who were then at London But you desired I would say something to you of Ireland which I will do in very few Words but exactly true My Lord Tyrconnell has been so absolute there that I never had the Credit to make an Ensign er keep one in nor to preserve some of my Friends for whom I was much concern'd from the last Oppression and Injustice tho' I endeavoured it to the utmost of my Power But yet with Care and Diligence being upon the place and he absent I diverted the Calling a Parliament there which was designed to alter the Acts of Settlement Chief Justice Nugent and Baron Rice were sent over with a Draught of an Act for that purpose furnished with all the pressing Arguments could be thought on to persuade the King and I was offered forty thousand pounds for my Concurrence which I told to the King and shewed him at the same time the Injustice of what was proposed to him and the prejudice it would be to that Country with so good success that he resolved not to think of it that Year and perhaps never This I was help'd in by some Friends particularly my Lord Godolphin who knows it to be true and so do the Judges before named and several others I cannot omit saying something of France there having been so much talk of a League between the two Kings I do protest I never knew of any and if there were such a thing it was carried on by other sort of Men last Summer Indeed French Ships were offered to joyn with our Fleet and they were refused since the noise of the Prince's Design more Ships were offered and it was agreed how they should be commanded if ever desired I opposed to Death the accepting of them as well as any Assistance of Men and can say most truly that I was the Principal Means of hindring both by the help of some Lords with whom I consulted every day and they with me to prevent what we thought would be of great prejudice if not ruinous to the Nation If the Report is true of Men Ships and Money intended lately for England out of France it was agreed upon since I was out of Business or without my Knowledge if it had been otherwise I believe no Body thinks my Disgrace would have happened My greatest Misfortune has been to be thought the Promoter of those Things I opposed and detested whilst some I could name have been the Inventors and Contrivers of what they have had the Art to lay upon others and I was often foolishly willing to bear what my Master would have done tho' I used all possible Endeavours against it I lie under many other Misfortunes and Afflictions extream heavy but I hope they have brought me to reflect on the occasion of them the loose negligent unthinking Life I have hitherto led having been perpetually hurried away from all good Thoughts by Pleasure Idleness the Vanity of the Court or by Business I hope I say that I shall overcome all the Disorders my former Life had brought upon me and that I shall spend the remaining part of it in Begging of Almighty God that he will please either to put an end to my Sufferings or to give me Strength to bear them one of which he will certainly grant to such as rely on him which I hope I do with the Submission that becomes a good Christian I would enlarge on this Subject but that I fear you might think something else to be the reason of it besides a true Sense of my Faults and that obliges me to restrain my self at present I believe you will repent in having engaged me to give you this Account but I cannot the doing of what you desire of me What followed next were various Reports concerning the loss the Dutch Fleet had sustained in a Storm which to amuse us was heightned in their own Prints and about the same time a Parcel of the Prince of Orange's Declarations being intercepted in London when that Expression came to be read That the Prince was most earnestly invited hither by divers of the Lords both Spiritual and Temporal and by many Gentlemen and others the King sent for some of the Bishops and required a Paper under their Hands in Abhorrence of the Prince's intended Invasion But they refused to do it as contrary to their Privilege of Peerage and their Profession in promoting War against a Prince so nearly allyed to the Crown and earnestly desired that might be left to a Free Parliament at which the King parted from them with great Indignation The Wind had been now for almost 3 Weeks perpetually West during which time the common Question every Morning was Have we a Protestant Wind yet And a Seaman was observed to curse the Dragon on Bow-Steeple for turning his Head where his Tail should be But in the latter end of Oct. the Wind came Easterly to the great Sorrow of the Roman Catholicks and the Joy of the rest of the Nation And when almost all Men expected the Invasion would have fallen in the North and nothing talked of but Burlington-Bay as a Landing-Place on the 3d of Nov. between 10 and 11 a Clock the Dutch Fleet was discovered about Half-Seas over
steering a Channel Course Westward the Wind at E. N. E. a fresh Gale and on the 5th passing by Dartmouth it being hazy Weather they overshot Torbay where the Prince designed to Land But about 9 a Clock the Weather cleared up and the Wind changed to W. S. W. and the Fleet stood Eastward with a moderate Gale being about 4 or 500 Sail whereof there was 51 Men of War and 18 Fireships This Change of Wind was observed by Dr. Burnet to be of no long Duration but it immediately choped into another Corner when it had executed its Commission While the Prince was landing his Army and advanced to Exeter the King was vainly endeavouring to sooth the People by redressing the Disorders committed by the Soldiers and Promises of a Parliament which several of the Bishops and Nobility petitioned might be a Free Regular one in all its Circumstances wherewith His Majesty to discover his good Disposition did not appear by his Answer to be well-pleased And all Endeavours were used to make the Prince and his Army contemptible in the sight of the People by Printing a List of them and giving out That none of the Nobility and Gentry but only a few Rabble appeared for him and that the Prince's Declaration might be kept close from the Knowledge of the People yet it did not continue so long with the Prince whose Army was considerably augmented by the Junction of divers Persons of good Quality with him Neither could the Court any longer keep the Declaration suppress'd and therefore they suffered the same to be Printed with a Preface and some modest Remarks as the Author pretends on it VVhich Declaration was this that follows The Declaration of His Highness WILLIAM HENRY by the Grace of God Prince of Orange c. of the Reasons inducing him to appear in Arms in the Kingdom of ENGLAND for preserving of the Protestant Religion and for Restoring of the Laws and Liberties of England Scotland and Ireland I. IT is both certain and evident to all Men That the Publick Peace and Happiness of any State or Kingdom cannot be preserved where the Laws Liberties and Customs Established by the Lawful Authority in it are openly transgressed and annulled More especially where the Alteration of Religion is endeavoured and that a Religion which is contrary to Law is endeavoured to be introduced Upon which those who are most immediately concerned in it are indispensably bound to endeavour to maintain and preserve the Established Laws Liberties and Customs and above all the Religion and Worship of God that is Established among them and to take such an Effectual Care that the Inhabitants of the said State or Kingdom may neither be deprived of their Religion nor of their Civil Rights which is so much the more necessary because the Greatness and Security both of Kings Royal Families and of all such as are in Authority as well as the Happiness of their Subjects and People depend in a most especial manner upon the exact Observation and Maintenance of these their Laws Liberties and Customs II. Upon these Grounds it is that we can't any longer forbear to declare That to our great Regret we see that those Counsellors who have now the chief Credit with the King have overturned the Religion Laws and Liberties of these Realms and subjected them in all things relating to their Consciences Liberties and Properties to Arbitrary Government and that not only by secret and indirect VVays but in an open and undisguised Manner III. These Evil Counsellors for the Advancing and Colouring this with some plausible Pretexts did invent and set on Foot the King 's Dispensing Power by Virtue of which they pretend that according to Law he can suspend and dispense with the Execution of the Laws that have been enacted by the Authority of the King and Parliament for the Security and Happiness of the Subject and so have rendred those laws of no effect though there is nothing more certain than that as no Laws can be made but by the joynt Concurrence of the King and Parliament so likewise Laws so Enacted which secure the Publick Peace and Safety of the Nation and the Lives and Liberties of every Subject in it cannot be repealed or suspended but by the same Authority IV. For though the King may pardon the Punishment that a Transgressor has incurred and for which he is condemned as in the Cases of Treason or Felony yet it cannot be with any colour of Reason inferred from thence that the King can entirely suspend the Execution of those Laws relating to Treason or Felony unless it is pretended that he is cloathed with a Despotick and Arbitrary Power and that the Lives Liberties Honours and Estates of the Subjects depend wholly on his Good Will and Pleasure and are entirely subject to him which must infallibly follow on the King 's having a Power to suspend the Execution of the Laws and to dispense with them V. Those Evil Counsellors in order to the giving some Credit to this strange and execrable Maxim have so conducted the Matter that they have obtained a Sentence from the Judges declaring That this Dispensing Power is a Right belonging to the Crown as if it were in the Power of the Twelve Judges to offer up the Laws Rights and Liberties of the whole Nation to the King to de disposed of by him Arbitrarily and at his Pleasure and expresly contrary to Laws Enacted for the Security of the Subjects In order to the obtaining of this Judgment those Evil Counsellors did before-hand examine secretly the Opinion of the Judges and procured such of them as could not in Conscience concur in so pernicious a Sentence to be turned out and others to be substituted in their Rooms till by the Changes that were made in the Courts of Judicature they at last obtained that Judgment And they have raised some to those Trusts who make open Profession of the Popish Religion tho' those are by Law render'd incapable of all such Employments VI. It is also manifest and notorious that as His Majesty was upon his coming to the Crown received and acknowledged by all the Subjects of England Scotland and Ireland as their King without the least Opposition tho' he made then open Profession of the Popish Religion so he did then promise and solemnly swear at his Coronation That he would maintain His Subjects in the free Enjoyment of their Laws and Liberties And in particular That he would maintain the Church of England as it was Established by Law It is likewise certain that there have been at divers and sundry times several Laws Enacted for the Preservation of those Rights and Liberties and of the Protestant Religion And among other Securities it has been Enacted That all Persons whatsoever that are advanced to any Ecclesiastical Dignity or to bear Office in the University as likewise all others that should be put into any Employment Civil or Military should declare that they were not Papists but were
of the Protestant Religion and that by their Taking of the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy and the Test yet these evil Counsellors have in effect annulled and abolished all those Laws which relate to Ecclesiastical and Civil Employment VII In order to Ecclesiastical Dignities and Offices they have not only without any colour of Law but against most express Laws to the contrary set up a Commission of a certain number of Persons to whom they committed the Cognisance and Direction of all Ecclesiastical Matters in the which Commission there has been and still is one of His Majesty's Ministers of State who makes now publick profession of the Popish Religion and who at the time of his first professing it declared that for a great while before he had believed that to be the only true Religion By all this the deplorable State to which the Protestant Religion is reduced is apparent since the Affairs of the Church of England are now put into the Hands of Persons who have accepted of a Commission that is manifestly illegal and who have executed it contrary to all Law and that now one of their chief Members has abjured the Protestant Religion and declared himself a Papist by which he is become uncapable of holding any Publick Imployment The said Commissioners have hitherto given such Proof of their Submission to the Directions given them that there is no Reason to doubt but they will still continue to promote all such Designs as will be most agreeable to them And those Evil Counsellors take care to raise none to any Ecclesiastical Dignities but Persons that have no Zeal for the Protestant Religion and that hide their unconcernedness for it under the specious pretence of Moderation The said Commissioners have suspended the Bishop of London only because he refused to obey an Order that was sent him to suspend a worthy Divine without so much as citing him before him to make his own Defence or observing the common Forms of Process They have turnd out a President chosen by the Fellows of Magdalen College and afterwards all the Fellows of that College without so much as citing them before any Court that could take legal Cognisance of that Affair or obtaining any Sentence against them by a competent Judge And the only Reason that was given for turning them out was their refusing to chuse for their President a person that was recommended to them by the Instigation of those Evil Counsellors though the Right of a Free Election belonged undoubtedly to them But they were turned out of their Free-Holds contrary to Law and to that express provision in the Magna Charta That no Man shall lose Life or Goods but by the Law of the Land And now these Evil Counsellors have put the said College wholly into the Hands of Papists tho' as is abovesaid they are incapable of all such Employments both by the Law of the Land and the Statutes of the College These Commissioners have also cited before them all the Chancellors and Arch Deacons of England requiring them to certifie to them the Names of all such Clergy-men as have Read the King's Declaration for Liberty of Conscience and of such as have not Read it without considering that the Reading thereof was not enjoyned the Clergy by the Bishops who are their Ordnaries The Illegality and Incompetency of the said Court of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners was so notoriously known and it did so evidently appear that it tended to the Subversion of the Protestant Religion that the Most Reverend Father in God William Archbishop of Canterbury Primate and Metropolitan of England seeing that it was raised for no other End but to oppress such Persons as were of eminent Vertue Learning and Piety refused to sit or to concur in it VIII And tho' there are many express Laws against all Churches or Chapels for the Exercise of the Popish Religion and also against all Monasteries and Convents and more particularly against the Order of the Jesuites yet those Evil Counsellors have procured Orders for the Building of several Churches and Chapels for the Exercise of that Religion They have also procured divers Monasteries to be Erected and in contempt of the Laws they have not only set up several Colleges of Jesuites in divers places for the corrupting of the Youth but have raised up one of the Order to be a Privy-Counsellor and a Minister of State By all which they do evidently shew that they are restrained by no Rules of Law whatsoever but that they have subjected the Honours and Estates of the Subjects and the Established Religion to a Despotick Power and to Arbitrary Government In all which they are served and seconded by those Ecclesiastical Commissioners IX They have also followed the same Methods with relation to Civil Affairs for they have procured Orders to examine all Lord-Lieutenants Deputy-Lieutenants Sheriffs Justices of Peace and all others that were in any Publick Employment if they would concur with the King in the Repeal of the Test and Penal Laws and all such whose Consciences did not suffer them to comply with their Designs were turned out and others were put in their Places whom they believed would be more compliant to them in their Designs of defeating the Intent and Execution of those Laws which had been made with so much Care and Caution for the Security of the Protestant Religion And in many of these Places they have put professed Protestants tho' the Law has disabled them and warranted the Subjects not to have any Regard to their Orders X. They have also invaded the Privileges and seized on the Charters of most of those Towns that have a Right to be Represented by their Burgesses in Parliament and have procured Surrenders to be made of them by which the Magistrates in them have delivered up all their Rights and Privileges to be disposed of at the Pleasure of those Evil Counsellors who have thereupon placed new Magistrates in those Towns such as they can most entirely confide in and in many of them they put Popish Magistrates notwithstanding the Incapacities under which the Law has put them XI And whereas no Nation whatsoever can subsist without the Administration of good and impartial Justice upon which Mens Lives Liberties Honours and Estates do depend those Evil Counsellors have subjected these to an Arbitrary and Despotick Power In the most important Affairs they have studied to discover before-hand the Opinions of the Judges and have turned out such as they found would not conform themselves to their Intentions and have put others in their Places of whom they were more assured without having any regard to their Abilities And they have not stuck to raise even professed Papists to the Courts of Judicature notwithstanding their Incapacity by Law and that no Regard is due to any Sentences flowing from them They have carried this so far as to deprive such Judges who in common Administration of Justice shewed that they were governed by their Consciences
Confession of those Violences of the Government that we have set forth so the Defectiveness of it is no less apparent For they lay down nothing which they may not take up at pleasure and they reserve entire and not so much as mentioned their Claims and Pretences to an Arbitrary and Despotick Power which has been the Root of all their Oppression and of the Total Subversion of the Government And it is plain That there can be no Redress no Remedy offered but in Parliament by a Declaration of the Rights of the Subjects that have been invaded and not by any pretended Acts of Grace to which the Extremity of their Affairs has driven them Therefore it is that we have thought fit to declare That we will Refer all to a Free Assembly of this NATION in a Lawful Parliament Given under Our Hand and Seal at Our Court in the Hague the 24th Day of October in the Year of Our Lord 1688. WILLIAM HENRY Prince of Orange By His Highness's Special Command C. HUYGENS. At the same time an Extract of the States-General's Resolution was privately Printed at London wherein among other Reasons why they had intrusted the Prince of Orange with such a Fleet and Army is this which follows THE King of France hath upon several Occasions shewed himself dissatisfied with this State which gave Cause to fear and apprehend that in case the King of Great Britain should happen to compass within his Kingdom and obtain an Absolute Power over his People that then both Kings out of the Interest of State and Hatred and Zeal against the Protestant Religion would endeavour to bring this State to confusion and if possible quite to subject it There was also Printed about the same Juncture this Letter of the Prince of Orange to the Officers of the Army Gentlemen and Friends WE have given you so full and so true an Account of Our Intentions in this Expedition in Our Declaration that as We can add nothing to it so We are sure you can desire nothing more of Us. We are come to preserve your Religion and to Restore and Establish your Liberties and Properties And therefore We cannot suffer Our Selves to doubt but that all true English Men will come and concur with Us in Our Desire to Secure these Nations from Popery and Slavery You must all plainly see That you are only made use of as Instruments to enslave the Nation and ruine the Protestant Religion and when that is done you may judge what ye your selves ought to expect both from the Cashiering all the Protestant and English Officers and Soldiers in Ireland and by the Irish Soldiers being brought over to be put in your Places and of which you have seen so fresh an Instance that We need not put you in mind of it You know how many of your Fellow-Officers have been used for their standing firm to the Protestant Religion and to the Laws of England And you cannot flatter your selves so far as to expect to be better used if those who have broke their Word so often should by your Means be brought out of those Streights to which they are at present reduced We hope likewise that ye will not suffer your selves to be abused by a false Notion of Honour but that you will in the first place consider what you owe to Almighty God and your Religion to your Country to your Selves to your Posterity which you as Men of Honour ought to prefer to all private Considerations and Engagements whatsoever We do therefore expect That you will consider the Honour that is now set before you of being the Instruments of Serving your Country and Securing your Religion and We shall ever remember the Service you shall do Us upon this Occasion and will promise you that We shall place such particular Marks of Our Favour on every one of you as your Behaviour at this time shall deserve of Us and the Nation in which We shall make a great Distinction of those that shall come seasonably to join their Arms with Ours And you shall find Us to be your Well-wishing and assured Friend W. H. P. O. This Letter was spread under-hand over the whole Kingdom and read by all sorts of Men and the Reason of it being undeniable it had a great Force on the Spirits of the Soldiery so that those who did not presently comply with it yet resolved they would never strike one stroke in this Quarrel till they had a Parliament to secure the Religion Laws and Liberties of England Which the Court on the other side had resolved should not be granted till the Prince of Orange with his Army was expelled out of the Nation and till all those that had submitted to him which were not many then were reduced into their Power to be treated as they thought fit In the mean time the Fleet came about from the Buoy in the Nâ—re to Portsmouth under the Command of the Lord Dartmouth where it arrived on Saturday the 17th of November and on the Monday following the KING entred Salisbury which was then the Head Quarters of the whole Army But on the 16th of the aforesaid Month the Lord Delamere having received certain Intelligence of the Landing of the Prince of Orange in the West and seeing the Irish throng over in Arms under pretence of Assisting the King but in reality to enslave us at Home as they had already reduced our Country-Men in Ireland to the lowest Degree of Danger and Impuissance that they have at any time been in since the Conquest of Ireland in the Reign of King Henry II. He thereupon Assembled Fifty Horse-Men and at the Head of them marched to Manchester and the next Day he went to Bodon-Downes his Forces being then 150 strong declaring his Design was To join with the Prince of Orange This small Party of Men by degrees drew in all the North and could never be suppressed Now before His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange left Exeter there was an Association drawn up and signed by all the Lords and Gentlemen that were with him the Date of which I cannot assign but the Words thereof are as follow VVE whose Names are hereunto subscribed who have now joined with the Prince of Orange for the Defence of the Protestant Religion and for the maintaining the Antient Government and the Laws and Liberties of England Scotland and Ireland do engage to Almighty God to His Highness the Prince of Orange and to one another to stick firm to this Cause and to one another in Defence of it and never to depart from it until our Religion Laws and Liberties are so far secured to us in a Free Parliament that we shall be no more in danger of falling into Popery and Slavery And whereas we are engaged in this Common Cause under the Protection of the Prince of Orange by which means his Person may be exposed to Danger and to the cursed Attempts of Papists and other Bloody Men we do therefore solemnly
engage to God and one another that if any such Attempt be made upon him we will pursue not only those who make it but all their Adherents and all that we find in Arms against us with the utmost Severity of a just Revenge to their Ruine and Destruction And that the Execution of any such Attempt which God of his Infinite Mercy forbid shall not divert us from prosecuting this Cause which we do now undertake but that it shall engage us to carry it on with all the Rigour that so barbarous a Practice shall deserve On the 20th of November there happened a Skirmish at Wincanton between a Detachment of 70 Horse and 50 Dragoons and Granadiers commanded by Colonel Sarsfeild and about 30 of the Prince of Orange's Men Commanded by one Cambel where notwithstanding the great Inequality of Numbers yet the latter fought with that desperate Bravery that it struck a Terrour into the Minds of the Army who were otherwise sufficiently averse from Fighting And besides the Action was every where magnified so much above the real Truth that it shewed clearly how much Men wished the Prosperity of the Prince's Arms. On the 22th of November the Nobility Gentry and Commonalty then assembled at Nottingham made this Declaration VVE the Nobility Gentry and Commonalty of these Northern Counties assembled at Nottingham for the Defence of the Laws Religion and Properties according to the Free-born Liberties and Privileges descended to us from our Ancestors as the undoubted Birth-right of the Subjects of this Kingdom of England not doubting but the Iâ—fringers and Invaders of our Rights will represent us to the rest of the Nation in the most malicious Dress they can put upon us do here unanimously think it our Duty to declare to the rest of our Protestant Fellow-Subjects the Grounds of our present Undertaking We are by innumerable Grievances made sensible that the very Fundamentals of our Religion Liberties and Properties are about to be rooted out by our late Jesuitical Privy-Council as has been of late too apparent 1. By the King's dispensing with all the Established Laws at his Pleasure 2. By displacing all Officers out of all Offices of Trust and Advantage and placing others in their room that are known Papists deservedly made incapable by the Established Laws of this Land 3. By destroying the Charters of most Corporations in the Land 4. By discouraging all Persons that are not Papists and preferring such as turn to Popery 5. By displacing all honest and consciencious Judges unless they would contrary to their Consciences declare that to be Law which was merely arbitrary 6. By branding all Men with the Name of Rebels that but offered to justifie the Laws in a Legal Course against the Arbitrary Proceedings of the King or any of his corrupt Ministers 7. By burthening the Nation with an Army to maintain the Violation of the Rights of the Subjects and by discountenancing the Established Religion 8. By forbidding the Subjects the Benefit of Petitioning and construing them Libellers so rendering the Laws a Nose of Wax to serve their Arbitrary Ends. And many more such like too long here to enumerate We being thus made sadly sensible of the Arbitrary and Tyrannical Government that is by the Influence of Jesuitical Counsels coming upon us do unanimously declare That not being willing to deliver our Posterity over to such a Condition of Popery and Slavery as the aforesaid Oppressions do inevitably threaten we will to the utmost of our power oppose the same by joining with the Prince of Orange whom we hope God Almighty hath sent to rescue us from the Oppressions aforesaid and will use our utmost Endeavours for the Recovery of our almost-ruined Laws Liberties and Religion And herein we hope all good Protestant Subjects will with their Lives and Fortunes be assistant to us and not be bugbear'd with the opprobrious Terms of Rebels by which they would affright us to become perfect Slaves to their Tyrannical Insolencies and Usurpatations For we assure our selves that no rational and unbyassed Person will judge it Rebellion to defend our Laws and Religion which all our Princes have at their Coronation sworn to do Which Oath how well it hath been observed of late we desire a Free Parliament may have the Consideration of We own it Rebellion to resist a King that governs by Law But he was always accounted a Tyrant that made his Will the Law and to resist such an one we justly esteem no Rebellion but a necessary Defence And on this Consideration we doubt not of all honest Mens Assistance and humbly hope for and implore the Great GOD's Protection who turneth the Hearts of His People as pleaseth Him best it having been observed that People can never be of one Mind without His Inspiration Which hath in all Ages confirmed that Observation Vox Populi est Vox Dei The present Restoring the Charters and Reversing the oppressing and unjust Judgment given on the Fellows of Magdalen College is plain are but to still the People like Plumbs to Children by deceiving them for a while But if they shall by this Stratagem be fooled till this present Storm that threatens the Papists be past as soon as they shall be re-settled the former Oppression will be put on with greater Vigour But we hope In vain is the Net spread in sight of the Birds For the Papists old Rule is that Faith is not to be kept with Hereticks as they term Protestants tho' the Popish Religion is the greatest Heresie And Queen Mary's so ill observing her Promises to the Suffolk Men that helped her to her Throne And above all the Pope's dispensing with the Breach of Oaths Treaties or Promises at his pleasure when it makes for the Service of Holy Church as they term it These we say are such convincing Reasons to hinder us from giving Credit to the aforesaid Mock-Shews of Redress that we think our selves bound in Conscience to rest on no Security that shall not be approved by a Freely-elected Parliament To whom under GOD we refer our Cause In the mean time the Nobility about the King having used all the Arguments they could invent to persuade him to call a Free Parliament and finding him immovable fix'd iâ— a contrary Resolution and the Army in great Discontent Disorder and Fear and the whole Nation ready to take fire the Duke of Grafton the Lord Churchill and many other Protestant Nobility left him and went over to the Prince of Orange who was then at Sherburn as did also Prince George of Denmark the Duke of Ormond and Sir George Hewet Nov. 25th The Prince at his going away left the following Letter for the King SIR WIth an Heart full of Grief am I forced to write what Prudence will not permit me to say to your Face And may I eâ—er find Credit with Your Majesty and Protection from Heaven as what I now do is free from Passion Vanity or Design with which Actions of this Nature
are too often accompanied I am not ignorant of the frequent Mischiefs wrought in the World by factious Pretences of Religion but were not Religion the most justifiable Cause it would not be made the most specious Pretence And your Majesty has already shewn too interested a Sense of Religion to doubt the just Effects of it on one whose Practices have I hope never given the World cause to censure his real Conviction of it or his backwardness to perform what his Honour and Conscience prompt him to How then can I longer disguise my just Concern for that Religion in which I have been so happily educated which my Judgment truly convinceth me to be the Best and for the Support of which I am so highly interested in my Native Country And is not England now by the most endearing Tye become so Whilst the restless Spirits of the Enemies of the Reformed Religion back'd by the cruel Zeal and prevailing Power of France justly alarm and unite all the Protestant Princes of Christendom and engage them in so vast an Expence for the Support of it Can I act so degenerous and mean a Part to deny my Concurrence to such worthy Endeavours for the disabusing your Majesty by the Re-inforcement of those Laws and Re-establishment of that Government on which alone depends the Well-being of your Majesty and of the Protestant Religion in Europe This Sir is that irresistible and only Cause that could come in Competition with my Duty and Obligation to your Majesty and be able to fear me from you whilst the same affectionate Desire of serving You continues in me Could I secure your Person â— by the hazard of my Life I should think it could not be better employed And would to God these your distracted Kingdoms might yet receive that satisfactory Compliance from your Majesty in all their justifiable Pretensions as might upon the only sure Foundation that of the Love and Interest of your Subjects establish your Government and as strongly unite the Hearts of all your Subjects to You as is that of c. The Lord Churchill left a Letter to the same purpose which runs thus SIR SInce Men are seldom suspected of Sincerity when they act contrary to their Interests and tho' my dutiful Behaviour to Your Majesty in the worst of Times for which I acknowledge my poor Services much over-paid may not be sufficient to incline You to a charitable Interpretation of my Actions yet I hope the great Advantage I enjoy under Your Majesty which I can never expect in any other Change of Government may reasonably convince Your Majesty and the World that I am acted by an higher Principle when I offer that Violence to my Inclination and Interest as to desert Your Majesty at a Time when Your Affairs seem to challenge the strictest Obedience from all Your Subjects much more from one who lies under the greatest Personal Obligations imaginable to Your Majesty This SIR could proceed from nothing but the inviolable Dictates of my Conscience and a necessary Concern for my Religion which no good Man can oppose and with which I am instructed nothing ought to come in Competition Heaven knows with what Partiality my dutiful Opinion of Your Majesty hath hitherto represented those unhappy Designs which Inconsiderate and Self-Interested Men have framed against Your Majesty's true Interest and the Protestant Religion But as I can no longer join with such to give a Pretence by Conquest to bring them to effect so I will always with the hazard of my Life and Fortune so much Your Majesty's due endeavour to preserve Your Royal Person and Lawful Rights with all the tender Concern and dutigâ—l Respect that becomes c. Upon this the Army retreated to Reading and the King very disconsolate returned on the 26th in the Evening to London from whence the Princess Ann of Denmark his second Daughter was gone privately the Night before and if she had not left a Letter behind her to shew the reason of her Retreat the King 's own Guards had in all probability torn all the Popish Party to pieces upon a surmize that they had made her away The Letter she left for the Queen was as follows MADAM I Beg Your Pardon if am so deeply affected with the surprizing News of the Prince's being gone as not to be able to see You but to leave this Paper to express my humble Duty to the King and Your Self and to let You know that I am gone to absent my self to avoid the King's Displeasure which I am not able to bear either against the Prince or my self And I shall stay at so great a Distance as not to return before I hear the happy News of a Reconcilement And as I am confident the Prince did not leave the King with any other Design than to use all possible Means for His Preservation so I hope You will do me the Justice to believe that I am not capable of following him for any other End Never was any one in such an unhappy Condition so divided between Duty and Affection to a Father and an Husband and therefore I know not what to do but to follow one to preserve the other I see the general Falling off of the Nobility and Gentry who avow to have no other End than to prevail with the King to secure their Religion which they saw so much in danger by the violent Counsels of the Priests who to promote their own Religion did not care to what Dangers they exposed the King I am fully persuaded that the Prince of Orange designs the King's Safety and Preservation and hope all Things may be composed without more Blood-shed by the Calling of a Parliament God grant a happy End to these Troubles that the King's Reign may be prosperous and that I may shortly meet You in perfect Peace and Safety Till when let me beg you to continue the same favourable Opinion that You have hitherto had of c. The first thing done upon the King's Return was the turning Sir Edward Hales out from being Lieutenant of the Tower and then to order Writs to be issued out for the sitting of a Parliament the 15th of Jan. but that was too late and the Nation was now in such a Ferment that neither this pace nor a Proclamation of the 30th of Nov. requiring the Elections to be done in a fair and legal manner signified any thing so that the King now began to provide for his Family and first he sent away the Prince of Wales to Portsmouth but my Lord Dartmouth would not suffer him to be carried into France yet the Queen soon after found a way to convey him her self and divers others thither And indeed it was high time for Scotland now was as much alarmed as England and some of the Nobility and Gentry were sent up with a Petition for a free Parliament all the North of England was secured for the Prince Newcastle receiving the Lord Lumâ—ey and declaring
for a free Parliament and the Protestant Religion York was in the hands of the associated Lords The Garison of Hull seized the Lord Langdale then Governor a Papist and the Lord Montgomery and disarmed some Popish Forces newly sent thither and then declared as New Castle had done Bristol was seized by the Earl of Shrewsbury and Sir John Guise Plymouth had long before submitted to the Prince of Orange and in short the Popish party was become so contemptible in London that on Thursday Dec. 6th there was an Hue and Cry after Father Petre publickly cried and sold in the Streets of London but this was not the worst neither for about the same time came out this following Declaration in the Name of the Prince of Orange By His Highness WILLIAM HENRY Prince of Orange A Third Declaration VVE have in the Course of our Life more particularly by the apparent Hazards both by Sea and Land to which we have so lately exposed our Person given to the whole World so high and undoubted Proofs of our fervent Zeal for the Protestant Religion that we are fully confident no true English Man and good Protestant can entertain the least Suspicion of our firm Resolution rather to spend our dearest Blood and perish in the Attempt than not to carry on the blessed and glorious Design which by the Favour of Heaven we have so successfully begun to rescue England Scotland and Ireland from Popery and Slavery and in a Free Parliament to Establish the Religion the Laws and the Liberties of these Kingdoms on such a sure and lasting Foundation that it shall not be in the Power of any Prince for the future to introduce Popery and Tyranny Towards the more easie compassing this great Design we have not been hitherto deceived in the just Expectation we had of the Concurrence of the Nobility Gentry and People of England with us for the Security of their Religion and the Restitution of the Laws and the Re-establishment of their Liberties and Properties Great Numbers of all Ranks and Qualities having joined themselves to us and others at great distances from us have taken up Arms and declared for us And which we cannot but particularly mention in that Army which was raised to be the Instrument of Slavery and Popery many by the special Providence of God both Officers and common Soldiers have been touched with such a feeling Sense of Religion and Honour and of true Affection to their Native Country that they have already deserted the illegal Service they were engaged in and have come over to Us and have given us full Assurance from the rest of the Army That they will certainly follow this Example as soon as with our Army we shall approach near enough to receive them without hazard of being prevented or betray'd To which end and that we may the sooner execute this just and necessary Design we are engaged in for the Publick Safety and Deliverance of these Nations We are resolved with all possible Diligence to advance forward that a Free Parliament may be forthwith called and such Preliminaries adjusted with the King and all things first settled upon such a Foot according to Law as may give us and the whole Nation just Reason to believe the King is disposed to make such necessary Condescension on his part as will give entire Satisfaction and Security to all and make both King and People once more Happy And that we may effect all this in the way most agreeable to our Designs if it be possible without the Effusion of any Blood except of those execurable Criminals who have justly forfeited their Lives for betraying the Religion and subverting the Lawes of their Native Country We do think fit to declare That as we will offer no Violence to any but in our own necessary Defence so we will not suffer any Injury to be done to the Person even of any Papist provided he be found in such Place and Condition and Circumstances at the Laws require So we are resolved and do declare That all People who shall be found in open Arms or with Arms in their Houses or about their Persons or in any Office Civil or Military upon any pretence whatsoever contrary to the known Laws of the Land shall be treated by Us and our Forces not as Soldiers and Gentlemen but as Robbers Free-Booters and Banditti they shall be incapable of Quarter and entirely delivered up to the Discretion of our Soldiers And we do further declare That all Persons who shall be found any ways aiding or assisting to them or shall march under their Command or shall join with or submit to them in the Discharge or Execution of their illegal Commission or Authority shall be looked upon as Partakers of their Crimes Enemies to the Laws and to their Country And whereas we are certainly informed That great numbers of Armed Papists have of late resorted to London and Westminster and Parts adjacent where they remain as we have reason to suspect not so much for their own Security as out of a wicked and barbarous Design to make some desperate Attempt upon the said Cities and the Inhabitants by Fire or a sudden Massacre or both or else to be the more ready to join themselves to a Body of French Troops designed if it be possible to land in England procured of the French King by the Interest and Power of the Jesuits in pursuance of the Engagements which at the Instigation of that pestilent Society his most Christian Majesty with one of his Neighbouring Princes of the same Communion has entred into for the utter Extirpation of the Protestant Religion out of Europe Though we hope we have taken suck effectual Care to prevent the onâ— and secure the other that by God's Assistance we cannot doubt but we shall defeat all their wicked Enterprises and Designs We cannot however forbear out of our great and tender Concern we have to preserve the People of England and particularly those great and populous Cities from the cruel Rage and blood Revenge of the Papists to require and expect from all the Lords Lieutenants and Justices of the Peace Lord-Mayors Mayors Sheriffs and other Magistrates and Officers Civil and Military of all Counties Cities and Towns in England especially of the County of Middlesex and Cities of London and Westminster and Parts adjacent that they do immediately disarm and secure as by Law they may and ought within their respective Counties Cities and Jurisdictions all Papists whatsover as Persons at all times but now especially most dangerous to the Peace and Safety of the Government that so not only all Power of doing Mischief may be taken from them but that the Laws which are the greatest and best Security may resume their Force and be strictly executed And we do hereby likewise declare That we will protect and defend all those who shall not be afraid to do their Duty in Obedience to these Laws And that for those Magistrates and others
of what Condition soever they be who shall refuse to assist Us and in Obedience to the Laws to execute vigorously what we required of them and suffer themselves at this juncture to be cajoled or terrified out of their Duty we will esteem them the most Criminal and Infamous Men Betrayers of their Religion the Laws and their Native Country and shall not fail to treat them accordingly resolving to expect and require at their Hands the Life of every single Protestant that shall perish and every House that shall be burnt and destroyed by Treachery and Cowardize Given under Our Hand and Seal at Our Head-Quarters at Sherburn Castle the 28th of Novemb. 1688. WILLIAM HENRY Prince of Orange By His Highness's Special Command C. HUYGENS. This was the boldest Attempt that ever was made by a private Person for it 's certain the Prince knew nothing of it disowned it as soon as he heard thereof but it did him good Service and I have been told that Captain B. boldly carry'd it to my Lord Mayor and charged him with the Execution of it But before this the Marquess of Hallifax my Lord Nottingham and the Lord Godolphin had been sent by the King and Council to treat with the Prince of Orange and to adjust the Preliminaries in order to the holding of a Parliament who Decemb. 8. sent these Proposals to him Proposals sent by the King to the Prince of Orange then at Windsor SIR THE King commanded us to acquaint you That he observeth all the Differences and Causes of Complaint alledged by your Highness seem to be referred to a Free Parliament His Majesty as he hath already declared was resolved before this to call one but thought that in the present state of Affairs it was advisable to defer it till Things were more composed Yet seeing that his People still continue to desire it He hath put forth His Proclamation in order to it and hath issued his Writs for the Calling of it And to prevent any Cause of Interruption in it he will consent to every thing that can be reasonably required for the Security of all those that come to it His Majesty hath therefore sent us to attend your Highness for the adjusting of all Matters that shall be agreed to be necessary to the Freedom of Elections and the Security of Sitting and is ready to enter immediately into a Treaty in order to it His Majesty proposeth That in the mean time the respective Armies may be returned within such Limits and at such distance from London as may prevent the Apprehensions that the Parliament may be in any kind disturbed being desirous that the Meeting may be no longer delayed than it must be by the usual and necessary Forms Hungerford December 8. 1688. Hallifax Nottingham Godolphin To this His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange returned this Answer VVE with the Advice of the Lords and Gentlemen Assembled with Vs have in Answer made these following Proposals I. That all Papists and such Persons as are not qualified by Law be disarmed disbanded and removed from all Employments Civil and Military II. That all Proclamations that reflect upon Vs or at any that have come to Vs be recalled And that if any Persons for having assisted Vs have been Committed that they be forthwith set at Liberty III. That for the Security and Safety of the City of London the Custody and Government of the Tower be immediately put into the Hands of the said City IV. That if His Majesty should think fit to be in London during the Sitting of the Parliament that We may be there also with an equal number of our Guards And if His Majesty shall be pleased to be in any Place from London whatever Distance He thinks fit that We may be at the same Distance and that the respective Armies be from London Forty Miles and that no further Forces be brought into the Kingdom V. And that for the Security of the City of London and their Trade Tilbury-Fort be put into the hands of the City VI. That a sufficient part of the Publick Revenue be assigned Vs for the Support and Maintenance of our Troops until the siting of a Free Parliament VII That to prevent the Landing of the French or other Foâ—eign Troops Portsmouth may be put into such Hands as by His Majesty and Vs shall be agreed on The King was so far from being pleased with this Answer that he resolved to withdraw from London as he did privately aboard a little Smack but he and his Company were seized by the Inhabitants of Fevershâ—m and somewhat roughly handled before they came to be known whence the King came to Rochester but before this he gave the E. of Feversham Directions by Letter to disband the Army Which Letter was to this effect My Lord THings being come to that Extremity that I have been forced to send away the Queen and my Son the Prince of Wales that they might not fall into the Enemy's Hands which they must have done if they had staid I am obliged to do the same thing in hopes it will please God out of his Infinite Mercy to this unhappy Nation to touch their Hearts again with true Loyalty and Honour If I could have relied on all my Troops I might not have been put to the Extremity I now am in and would at least have had one Blow for it But though I know there are many valiant and brave Men among you both Officers and Soldiers yet you know that both you and several of the General Officers and Soldiers and Men of the Army told me It was no ways advisable for me to venture my self at their Head or to think to fight the Prince of Orange with them And now there remains only for me to thank you and all those both Officers and Soldiers who have stuck to me and been truly Loyal I hope you will still retain the same Fidelity to me And though I do not expect you should expose your selves by resisting a Foreign Army and a poisoned Nation yet I hope your former Principles are so inrooted in you that you will keep your selves free from Associations and such pernicious things Time presseth so that I can add no more JAMES Rex The Earl of Feversham presently after the Receipt of this Letter disbanded 4000 Men which was all the Army he had then with him and under his Command After which he sent this Letter to the Prince of Orange SIR HAving received this Morning a Letter from His Majesty with the Vnfortunate News of his Resolution to go out of England I thought my self obliged being at the Head of his Army and having received his Orders to make no Opposition against any Body to let Your Highness know it with the Advice of the Officers here so soon as was possible to hinder the Effusion of Blood I have ordered already to that purpose all the Troops that are under my Command which shall be the last
that no interruption may be given to an happy and lasting Settlement The dangerous Condition of the Protestants in Ireland requiring a large and speedy succour and the present state of things abroad oblige me to tell you that next to the danger of Vnseasonable Divisions amongst our selves nothing can be so fatal as too great a delay in your Consultations The States by whom I have been enabled to rescue this Nation may suddenly feel the ill Effects of it both by being too long deprived of the Service of their Troops which are now here and of your early Assistance against a powerful Enemy who hath declared a War against them And as England is by Treaty already engaged to help them upon such Exigencies so I am consident that their chearful Concurrence to preserve this Kingdom with so much hazard to themselves will meet with all the Returns of Friendship and Assistance which may be expected from you as Protestants and English Men when ever their Condition shall require it Given at St. James's the 22d Day of January 1688. Will. H. P. d' Orange Their first Act was an Address of Thanks to the Prince of Orange for what he had successfully undertaken for the Nation a desire he should continue the Administration of Publick Affairs and take particular Care of the Affairs of Ireland with a promise on their part to dispatch the Affairs that lay under their Consideration with utmost Application to which having received a very kind Answer on the Prince his part both Houses immediately fell to their Work and after 8 days the Commons past the following Vote Resolv'd That King James II. having endeavour'd to subvert the Constitution of this Kingdom by breaking the Original Contract between King and People and by the Advice of Jesuits and other wicked Persons having violated the Fundamental Laws and having withdrawn himself out of this Kingdom hath abdicated the Government and that the Throne is thereby vacant The Declaration of the Commons being sent up to the Lords for their Concurrence that House entered into a Debate upon it and so far agreed with it that they had only by way of amendment put in the word Deserted instead of Abdicated and left out and that the Throne is thereby vacant and sent a Message to the Commons to acquaint them therewith But they were so far from approving of what the Lords had done that they proceeded to give their Reasons against the Amendment alledging that they could not allow the word Deserted instead of Abdicated which their House had made choice of because it did not fully express the Conclusion necessarily inferred from the Premises viz. That K. James II. had endeavoured to subvert the Constitutions of the Kingdom as before in the former part of the Declaration to which their Lordships had agreed seeing Deserted only respected withdrawing whereas Abdicated did respect the whole Neither were the Commons better pleased with the Lords for leaving out the last words And that the Throne is thereby vacant and the Commons did so much the more insist upon it because that if they should admit of the Lord's Amedment that the King had only deserted the Government yet even thence it would follow that the Throne was vacant as to King James II. deserting the Government being in true Construction deserting the Throne Besides the Commons did conceive there was no necessity to prove to their Lordships or any other that the Throne was vacant since the Lords themselves both before and after their meeting in the said Convention had addrest the Prince of Orange to take upon him the Administration of Publick Affairs both Civil and Military and had appointed a Day of publick Thanksgiving to be observed throughout the Kingdom by all which the Commons understood it was their Lordships Opinion that the Throne was vacant and that they signified so much thereby to the People of England To which they added that it was from those who were upon the Throne of England where there was any fault that the People of England ought to receive Protection and to whom for that Cause they owed the Allegiance of Subjects but there being none then from whom they expected Regal Protection and to whom for that cause they owed the Allegiance of Subjects the Commons conceived the Throne vacant The Issue of these Reasons was a Conference held on Feb. 5. between the two Houses who appointed Managers accordingly The Lords insisted hard upon their Amendments and some of them run so far upon the Debate that they did in a manner seem to recede from the Premises which their House had allowed of viz. That the King had endeavoured to subvert the Constitutions of the Kingdom as before but the Commons stood stoutly to their Declaration and to the forementioned Reasons added a great many fine things to back the Argument which 't were pity to curtail any way and I have not room to insert the whole but in conclusion the Conference ended in appearance with less likelihood of Agreement than when it first began Yet though there was some further struggle made in the upper House for the Interest of the late King at length it was by Majority of Voices Feb 7th agreed to by the Lords to send a Message to the Commons that they had agreed to the Vote sent them up Jan. 25th touching which they had had a free Conference the Day before without any alteration So that the next thing that came under Consideration was the form of Government to be establish'd I do not remember that a Commonwealth was mentioned to be set up at all in either House though Father Orleans is pleased to say so in his History of the Revolutions of England the two main things then to be considered was whether to set up a Regency or to continue a Regal Dignity in a new Subject But the former of the two being well known to be attended with many publick Evils it was at last concluded for the latter and that in Favour of the Prince of Orange our Deliverer and her Royal Princess who was immediate Heiress In pursuance of this a Declaration was drawn up in order to such an Establishment as that the Religion Laws and Liberties of the Kingdom might not again be in danger and for vindicating and asserting the Ancient Rights and Liberties of the People in these Words VVHereas the late King James the Second by the Assistance of divers evil Counsellors Judges and Ministers employ'd by him did endeavour to subject and extirpate the Protestant Religion and the Laws and Liberties of this Kingdom By assuming and exercising a Power of dispensing with and suspending of Laws and the execution of Laws without Consent of a Parliament By committing and prosecuting divers worthy Prelates for humbly petitioning to be excus'd from concurring to the said assum'd Power By issuing and causing to be executed a Commission under the Great Seal for erecting a Court call'd The Court of Commission for
Ecclesiastical Affairs By levying Money for and to the use of the Crown by pretence of Prerogative for other time and in other manner than the same was granted by Parliament By raising and keeping a standing Army within the Kingdom in time of Peace without Consent of Parliament and Quartering Soldiers contrary to Law By causing several good Subjects being Protestants to be disarmed at the same time when Papists were both arm'd and employ'd contrary to Law By violating the Freedom of Elections of Members to serve in Parliament By Prosecution in the Court of King's-Bench for Matters and Causes cognizable only in Parliament and by divers other Arbitrary and Illegal Courses And whereas of late Years partial corrupt and unqualified Persons have been returned and served on Juries in Trials and particularly divers Jurors in Trials for High-Treason which were not Freeholders And excessive Bail hath been required of Persons committed in Criminal Cases to elude the Benefit of the Laws made for the Liberty of the Subject And excessive Fines have been imposed And illegal and cruel Punishments inflicted And several Grants and Promises made of Fines and Forfeitures before any Conviction or Judgment against the Persons upon whom the same were to be levied All which are utterly and directly contrary to the known Laws and Statutes and Freedom of this Realm And whereas the late King James the Second having abdicated the Government and the Throne being thereby vacant His Highness the Prince of Orange whom it hath pleased Almighty God to make the Glorious Instrument of delivering this Kingdom from Popery and Arbitrary Power did by the Advice of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and divers principal Persons of the Commons cause Letters to be written to the Lords Spiritual and Temporal being Protestants and other Letters to the several Counties Cities Vniversities Buâ—â—oughs and Cinque-Ports for the chusing of such Persons to represent them as were of right to be sent to Parliament to meet and sit at Westminster Jan. 22d 1688. in order to such an Establishment as that their Religion Laws and Liberties might not again be in danger of being subverted upon which Letters Elections have been accordingly made And thereupon the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons pursuant to their respective Letters and Elections being now assembled in a full and free Representation of this Nation taking into their most serious Consideration the best means for attaining the Ends aforesaid do in the first place as their Ancestors in like Cases have usually done for the vindicating their Ancient Rights and Liberties declare That the pretended Power of suspending Laws or the execution of Laws by Regal Authority without Consent of Parliament is illegal That the pretended Power of dispensing Laws or the executing of Laws by Regal Authority as it hath been assumed and exercised of late is illegal That the Commission for erecting the late Court of Commissioners for Ecclesiastical Causes and all other Commissions and Courts of the like Nature are illegal and pernitious That levying of Money to or for the use of the Crown by pretence of Prerogative without Grant of Parliament for longer time or in other manner than the same is or shall be granted is illegal That it is the Right of the Subjects to petition the King and all Commitments and Prosecutions for such petitioning are illegal That the raising and keeping a standing Army within the Kingdom in time of Peace unless it be by Consent of Parliament is against Law That the Subjects being Protestants may have Arms for their Defence suitable to their Condition and as allowed by Law That the Election of Members of Parliament ought to be free That the Freedom of Speech or Debates and Proceedings in Parliament ought not to be impeached or questioned in any Court or Place out of Parliament That excessive Bail ought not to be requir'd nor excessive Fines imposed nor cruel and unusual Punishments inflicted That Jurors ought to be duly impannell'd and return'd and Jurors which pass upon Men in Trials for High-Treason ought to be Freeholders That all Grants and Promises of Fines and Forfeitures of particular Persons before Conviction are illegal and void And that for Redress of all Grievances and for the amending strengthening and preserving of the Laws Parliaments ought to be held frequently And they do claim demand and insist upon all and singular the Premises as their undoubted Rights and Liberties and that no Declarations Judgments Doings or Proceedings to the prejudice of the People in any of the said Premises ought in any wise to be drawn hereafter into Consequence or Example To which demand of their Rights they are particularly encouraged by the Declaration of his Highness the Prince of Orange as being the only means for obtaining a full Redress and Remedy therein Having therefore an intire Confidence that his said Highness the Prince of Orange will perfect the Deliverance so far advanced by him and will still preserve them from the violation of their Rights which they have here asserted and from all other Attempts upon their Religion Rights and Liberties The said Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons assembled at Westminster do resolve That WILLIAM and MARY Prince and Princess of Orange be and be declared King and Queen of England France and Ireland and the Dominions thereunto belonging to hold the Crown and Royal Dignity of the said Kingdoms and Dominions to them the said Prince and Princess during their Lives and the Life of the Surviâ—or of them and that the sole and full Exercise of the Regal Power be only in and executed by the said Prince of Orange in the Names of the said Prince and Princess during their Lives and after their Deceases the said Crown and Royal Dignity of the said Kingdoms and Dominions to be to the Heirs of the Body of the said Princess and for default of such Issue to the Princess Anne of Denmark and the Heirs of her Body and for default of such Issue to the Heirs of the Body of the said Prince of Orange And the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons do pray the said Prince and Princess of Orange to accept the same accordingly And that the Oaths hereafter mentioned be taken by all persons of whom the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy might be required by Law instead of them and that the said Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy be abrogated I A. B. Do sincerely Promise and Swear That I will be Faithful and bear true Allegiance to Their Majesties King WILLIAM and Queen MARY So help me God I A. B. Do Swear That I do from my Heart Abhor Detest and Abjure as Impious and Heretical this damnable Doctrine and Position That Princes Excommunicated or Deprived by the Pope or any Authority of the See of Rome may be deposed or murthered by their Subjects or any other whatsoever And I do declare That no Foreign Prince Person Prelate State or Potentate hath or ought to have any Jurisdiction Power
very obstinate Fight which lasted till night But though Mackay lost the Field and retreated that night to Sterling after having lost a great many Men yet the Death of Dundee who was slain in this Battel did more than compensate the other's Loss seeing he was the Life of that Party who dwindled away ever after and were worsted every where and particularly once and again at St. Johnstown in the last Conflict of which the single Regiment of the Earl of Angus under the Command of Lieutenant Colonel Cleeland gave so entire a Defeat to their whole Power which amounted to near 4000 Men that they never appeared in any considerable Body ever after and many of the Chief of them thereupon made their submission though this hapned with the Death of that brave Lieutenant Colonel who if it had pleased God deserved a better Fate But how prosperous soever King William's Affairs went in Britain where still there were a little rascally Conspiracies against him they did not do so in Ireland for there Tirconnel was setting all things in order to secure that Kingdom for the late King with whom Hambleton a profest Papist who by a fatal Mistake was sent over from England to induce him to lay down the Sword traiterously joined in and so the Opportunity for the present was lost and an advantage given to the late King to endeavour that way to regain the rest of his lost Dominions since he was like to receive little Assistance from any other Prince save what the French King might do For the Emperor to whom he wrote his Complaint and whose Assistance he craved was so far from complying with his Desires that though he pittied his Condition yet he reprimanded him for his Folly as you may see by his Letter to him upon the Occasion which was to this purpose The Emperor of Germany's Account of K. James's Misgovernment in joining with the K. of France the common Enemy of Christendom in his Letter to K. James LEOPOLD c. WE have received your Majesties Letter dated from St. Germains the 6th of February last by the Earl of Carlingford the Envoy in our Court by whom we have understood the Condition your Majesty is reduced to and that you being deserted after the landing of the Prince of Orange by your Army and even by the Domestick Servants and by those you most confided in and almost by all your Subjects you have been forced by a sudden flight to provide for your own safety and to seek shelter and protection in France lastly that you desire Assistance from us for the recovering your Kingdoms We do assure your Majesty that assoon as we heard of this severe Turn of Affairs we were moved at it not only with the common sense of humanity but with much deep impressions suitable to the sincere Affection which we have always born to you and we were heartily sorry that at last that was come to pass which though we hoped for better things yet our own sad thoughts had suggested to us would ensue If your Majesty had rather given credit to the friendly Remonstrances that were made you by our late Envoy the Count De Kaunitz in our Name than the deceitful Insinuations of the French whose chief aim was by fomenting continual Divisions between you and your People to gain thereby an opportunity to insult the more securely over the rest of Christendom and if your Majesty had put a stop by Force and Authority to their many infractions of the Peace of which by the Treaty at Nimeguen you are made the Guarantee and to that end entred into Consultations with us and such others as have the like just Sentiments in this matter we are verily perswaded that by these means you should have in a great measure quieted the minds of the People who were so much exasperated through their aversion to our Religion and the publick Peace had been as well preserved in your Kingdoms as here in the Roman Empire but now we refer it even to your Majesty to judge what condition we can be in to afford you any assistance who being not only engaged in a War with the Turks but finding our selves at the same time unjustly and barbarously attack'd by the French contrary to and against the Faith of Treaties they then knowing themselves secure of England and this ought not to be concealed that the greatest Injuries which have been done to our Religion have flowed from no other than from the French themselves who not only esteem'd it lawful for them to make perfidious Vows with the sworn Enemies of the Holy Cross tending to the Destruction both of us and the whole Christian World in order to the checking our endeavours which were undertaken for the Glory of God and to stop those Successes which it hath pleased the Almighty God to give us hitherto but further have heaped one Treachery upon another even within the Empire it self The Cities of the Empire which were surrendred upon Articles signed by the Dauphin himself have been exhausted by excessive Impositions and after their being exhausted have been plundered after plundering have been burned and raced the Palaces of Princes who in all times and even in the most destructive Wars have been preserved are now burnt to the ground the Churches are robb'd and such as submitted themselves to them are in a most barbarous manner carried away as Slaves In short it is become a Diversion unto them to commit all manner of Insolence and Cruelty in many places but chiefly in Catholick Countries exceeding the Cruelties of the Turks themselves who having imposed an absolute necessity upon us to secure our selves and the holy Roman Empire by the best means we can think on and that no less against them than against the Turks we promise our selves from your Justice readily to assent to this that it ought not to be imputed to us if we endeavour to procure by a just War that security to our selves which we could not hitherto obtain by so many Treaties and that in order to the obtaining thereof we take measures for our mutual Defence of Preservation with all those who are equally concerned in the same Design with us It remains that we should beg of God that he would direct all things to his Glory and that he would grant your Majesty true and solid Comforts under this your great Calamity We embrace you with the tender affection of a Brother At Vienna the 9th of April 1689. But though his Imperial Majesty declined to give him any helping hand and that other Catholick Princes in imitation of his Example made it no difficulty to do so too yet he was so elated with an Opinion of the Bravery and Fidelity of the Irish that he embark'd at Brest and landed in that Kingdom March 12th with about 1800 Auxiliary French This pace of the French besides the English Nation 's desire the King's Obligations to his Allies and many other weighty Reasons brought
forth a Declaration of War against the French King which was to this purpose Their Majesties Declaration against the French King WILLIAM R. IT having pleased God to make Us the happy Instrument of Rescuing these Nations from great and imminent Dangers and to place Us upon the Throne of these Kingdoms we think our selves obliged to endeavour to the uttermost to promote the Welfare of our People which can never be effectually secured but by preventing the Miseries that threaten them from abroad When we consider the many unjust Methods the French King hath of late years taken to gratifie his Ambition that he has not only invaded the Territories of the Emperor and of the Empire now in Amity with us laying waste whole Countries and destroying the Inhabitants by his Armies but declared War against our Allies without any Provocation in manifest Violation of the Treaties confirmed by the Guaranty of the Crown of England we can do no less than joyn with our Allies in opposing the Designs of the French King as the Disturber of the Peace and the common Enemy of the Christian World And besides the Obligations we lie under by Treaties with our Allies which are a sufficient Justification of Us for taking up Arms at this time since they have called upon us so to do the many Injuries done to Us aud to our Subjects without any Reparation by the French King are such that however of late years they were not taken notice of for Reasons well known to the World nevertheless we will not pass them over without a publick and just Resentment of such Outrages It is not long since the French took Licences from the English Governour of Newfound-Land to Fish in the Seas upon that Coast and paid a Tribute for such Licences as an Acknowledgment of the sole Right of the Crown of England to that Island and yet of late the Encroachments of the French upon our said Island and our Subjects Trade and Fishery have been more like the Invasions of an Enemy than becoming Friends who enjoy'd the Advantages of that Trade only by Permission But that the French King should invade our Charibbee Islands and possess himself of our Territories of the Province of New-York and of Hudson's Bay in a hostile manner seizing our Forts burning our Subjects Houses and enriching his People with the spoil of their Goods and Merchandizes detaining some of our Subjects under the Hardship of Imprisonment causing others to be inhumanely kill'd and driving the rest to Sea in a small Vessel without Food or Necessaries to support them are Actions not becoming even an Enemy and yet he was so far from declaring himself so that at that very time he was negotiating here in England by his Ministers a Treaty of Neutrality and good Correspondence in America The Proceedings of the French King against our Subjects in Europe are so notorious that we shall not need to enlarge upon them his countenancing the Seizure of English Ships by French Privateers forbidding the Importation of a great part of the Product and Manufactures of our Kingdom and imposing exorbitant Customs upon the rest notwithstanding the vast Advantage he and the French Nation reap by their Commerce with England are sufficient Evidences of his Designs to destroy the Trade and consequently to ruin the Navigation upon which the Wealth and Safety of this Nation very much depends The Right of the Flag inherent in the Crown of England has been disputed by his Orders in Violation of our Sovereignty of the Narrow Seas which in all Ages has been asserted by our Predecessors and we are resolv'd to maintain for the Honour of our Crown and of the English Nation But that which must nearly touch us is his unchristian Prosecution of many of our English Protestant Subjects in France for Matters of Religion contrary to the Law of Nations and express Treaties forcing them to abjure their Religion by strange and unusual Cruelties and imprisoning some of the Masters and Seamen of our Merchants Ships and condemning others to the Gallies upon pretence of having on Board either some of his own miserable Protestant Subjects or their Effects And lastly As he has for some years last past endeavoured by Insinuations and Promises of Assistance to overthrow the Government of England so now by open and violent Methods and the actual Invâ—sion of Our Kingdom of Ireland in support of our Subjects in Arms and in Rebellion against Us he is promoting the utter Extirpation of our good and loyal Subjects in that our Kingdom Being therefore thus necessitated to take up Arms and relying on the help of Almighty God in our just Undertaking We have thought fit to Declare and do hereby Declare War against the French King and that We will in Conjunction with our Allies vigorously prosecute the same by Sea and Land since he hath so unrighteously begun it being assured of the hearty Concurrence and Assistance of our Subjects in support of so good a Cause hereby willing and requiring our General of our Forces our Commissioners for executing the Office of High Admiral our Lieutenants of our several Counties Governours of our Forts and Garisons and all other Officers and Soldiers under them by Sea and Land to do and execute all acts of Hostility in the Prosecution of this War against the French King his Vassals and Subjects and to oppose their Attempts Willing and Requiring all our Subjects to take notice of the same whom we henceforth strictly forbid to hold any Correspondence or Communication with the said French King or his Subjects And because there are remaining in our Kingdoms many of the Subjects of the French King We do Declare and give our Royal Word That all such of the French Nation as shall demean themselves dutifully towards us and not correspond with our Enemies shall be safe in their Persons and Estates and free from all molestation and trouble of any kind Given at our Court at Hampton-Court the 7th day of May. 1689 in the first Year of our Reign God save King William and Queen Mary I shall not meddle with the Declaration nor pretend to defend the Justice of it for I think it carries its own light with it but return to the late King who upon his Arrival in Ireland found himself not mistaken as to the Number of his Party which was indeed very strong and almost all the Country at his Devotion the greatest part of the Protestants having before upon their disappointment of Arms Ammunition Commissions and some Forces from England either deserted it or those that staid behind very unable to make any Resistance However they made some shew of forming an Army but were quickly routed by Lieutenant General Hamilton at a place called Drummore Mar. 15th which gave occasion to the late King and Tirconnel to take away the Arms and Horses of the rest of the Protestants except those that fled to Londonderry and some few that went towards Iniskilling who about
Grand-Seignior should never more claim any right therein 2. That Moldavia Walachia and the Republick of Ragusa which had put themselves under the Emperor's Protection should be comprized in the Treaty of Peace and not to be disturbed by the Turks in any manner whatsoever 3. That all the Tartars should depart the Countries 4. That the Port should pay 6000000 towards the Expences of the War immediately after the Conclusion of the Peace and 2000000 every Year for free Passage to Constantinople 5. That all the Christians that had been taken during the War which were above 1000000 should be set at liberty lastly that Tekeley and all his Adherents should be delivered up to the Emperor The King of Poland demanded the restitution of Caminiec and 4000000 in Silver And for the Venetians they required 1. The restitution of all the Islands that formerly belonged to them and particularly the Island of Negrâ—pont 2. The restitution of the Dukedom of Athens 3. The Exchange of Lepanto for Tragusa 4. The restitution of Dulâ—igno and Mahona 5. A Regulation of the Limits of the conquered Cities and Countries And lastly that the Grand-Seignior should pay to the Republick 400000 Ducats But these Propositions seemed so unreasonable to the Embassadors that they tore their Beards upon it However they delivered a Letter to the Imperial Commissioners which the Grand-Seignior had written to the Emperour Within which it was thought some Offers and Proposals tending to a Peace might be met with But they were surprized to find nothing but Complements and the Imperial Court was so incensed at it that they sent Orders for the Ottoman Embassadors to be gone but while they were preparing for their departure word was sent them that they might stay till the Return of the Couriers from Poland and Venice to know the final Resolutions of those two Republicks At last depart they did but stopped at Commorra and after a long stay there got leave at length to return leaving the Peace that way desperate and the War to be prosecuted with as great fury as ever But how high soever the Demands of the Venetians were in their Proposals of Peace they must have proceeded from another Motive whatever it were than the Operations of this Compagne which proved very unsuccessful to them as the last had done For the Siege of Napoli di Malvasia a City in the Morea which their Forces undertook did not go forward with that Success that was desired their Army being only worn out before it and a great Number of brave Officers lost And therefore being reduced to this bad plight and the Garrison obstinately refusing to hearken to a Surrender tho' the Place was very much ruined by the Bombs they resolved at length to change the Siege into a Blockade To this end they put 2000 Men in Garrison into the two Forts which they had raised on the Land-side and left some Frigates at Sea to endeavour the prevention of any Relief that way Which being effected they drew off the rest of the Army to Napoli di Romania to take up their Winter-Quarters Neither did their Affairs in Dalmatia meet with any better Success than those in the Morea For Seignior Mclino Proveditor-General of that Countrey having advanced towards Narenta to make himself Master of la Gabella and some other Posts met the Turkish Horse near the Bridge that leads to that Place The Vanguard composed of Morlaques was charged so vigorously that they were forced to give Ground However Molino stood firm with 600 Horse and his Infantry but finding the Turks were reinforced he was not willing to engage in a Fight the Success whereof was so much the more doubtful by how much his Men had been somewhat discouraged by the Defeat of the Morlaques wherefore he retreated in good Order and with the Loss of no great number of Soldiers The rest of Italy was hitherto pretty quiet save for the Troubles of the poor Vaudois whose Persecution is now at an end and with which doth a Cloud gather that in a little time shall overcast a great part of this Countrey But of this we shall have occasion to speak in the succeeding Years and take notice here that this as it hath been remarkable upon many other Accounts so upon that of the Death of one of the greatest Popes that lived since Gregory the Great 's Days the famous and renowned Odeschalchi by Name and Innocenâ— XI upon his Assumpsion of the Papacy who departed this Life upon the 12th of Aug. between 3 and 4 in the Afternoon He was born at Como in Italy in the State of Milan was made Clerk of the Chamber under the Pontificate of Vrban VIII and of Innocent X. by whom he was made a Cardinal in 1645. after which he was preferred to be Legate of Bologna and Bishop of Novarra and Clement X. dying the 22d of July 1676. he was advanced to the Pontifical Chair the 22d of Sept. following Some have called him the Protestant Pope for what Reason I know not unless it be that when France was exercising her Severities upon her Reformed Subjects they were highly opposed by him at the same time upon another Account and that some said that he in one of his Letters exprest a Dislike not only at the one but the other of their Proceedings at least-wise as to the manner of it But be it as it will he was certainly a very great Man for all the Satyrs that were made upon him in France and it cannot be taken ill by the Publick if with a judicious Person I encounter all their Calumnies with what an Impartial Author wrote of him when he was yet but a Cardinal saying Odeschalchi is most certainly a very great Man and a Person of Worth and Integrity not to be corrupted Exemplary Charitable Disinterested Disingaged from the World without Pride without Vanity without Pomp Zealous with Moderation Austere only to himself His Kindred are Persons of Worth his Brother died at Como some Years since Canonized by the People for his signal Works of Piety and Charity there is nothing to be blamed in his Conduct and of all the Colledge he is the most fit to be Pope for his Honesty and Vertue But whether the vacant See was supplied with a Person worthy to succeed so great a Man may appear hereafter we shall only here note That Peter Ottoboni a Venetian by Birth and Bishop of Porro was on the 6th of Oct. following promoted to the Papal Dignity being aged 80 Years within a few Months year 1690 The Affairs abroad being terminated as we have above related for the Year 1689. we shall enter upon this with the Affairs of Britain The Parliament of England happily ended their most important Affairs towards the beginning of it and in regard they had found the Aim and Drift of the preceding Reigns to have been absolutely to annihilate the Authority of Parliaments and that King James in particular had gone a great
way towards the introducing the Popish Religion into the Nation they took especial care to prevent the like for the future by Enacting in concurrence with the Royal Authority That the Kings and Queens of England should be obliged at their coming to the Crown to take the Test in the first Parliament that should be called at the beginning of their Reign and in the Bill of Succession added a Clause That if any King or Queen of England should embrace the Roman Catholick Religion or Marry with a Roman Catholick Prince or Princess their Subjects should be absolved from their Oaths of Allegiance They also annull'd the pretended Parliament in Ireland and also ordained That all those who should take up Arms against the King after the 24th of Feb. or should hold Correspondence with his Enemies should be guilty of high Treason And granted the King 2 Shillings in the Pound upon Land with the necessary Clauses and Restrictions and appropriated Part of the Mony for Payment of the Seamen and setting out the Fleet. After this being prorogued to the 12th of Apr. they were by Proclamation dissolved upon the 6th of Febr. and the King by the same Proclamation called a Parliament to meet on the 30th of March to whom he delivered himself to this Effect That being resolved to omit nothing on his Part that might contribute to the Peace and Prosperity of the Nation and to that end believing his Presence absolutely necessary in Ireland for the Reducing of that Kingdom he had called them together to desire their Assistance that he might be in a Capacity to carry on the War there with Speed and Vigour To which purpose he desired them to hasten the settling of the Revenues of the Crown and that he might have a Fund in the mean time settled upon the Credit whereof he might raise Mony for the present Exigences of the Nation Then he recommended to them the passing of an Act of Oblivion such as he had ordered to be drawn up for the preventing the loss of time usually spent in Deliberations of that kind and wherein but few were excepted that his Subjects might see he had no other Intentions but such as were conformable to the Laws of the Land and to leave those without Excuse that should go about to disturb the Government in his Absence And lastly recommended to them the Vnion with Scotland and then informed them That he intended during his Absence to leave the Administration of the Government in the Hands of the Queen and desired them to prepare an Act to that Purpose concluding with an earnest Desire that they would be as speedy in the Dispatch of Business as possibly they could in regard his Expedition into Ireland would not admit of any long Session The Parliament went roundly to work upon this Speech of the King 's yet so that it took up some time before they could bring all their Matters to bear But at length the Act of Oblivion after many Difficulties removed and so long desired by the King was approved and past so was another for putting the Administration of the Government into the Queen's Hands not only during the King's Absence in Ireland but when-ever his Affairs should call him out of the Kingdom They also found out Ways to raise the Subsidies that were granted settled the Revenues and divers Persons did in the mean time advance Money for the King 's present Occasions and that nothing might happen to the Prejudice of the Government while the King was absent the Deputy-Lieutenants of the Counties were authorized to raise the Militia in case of necessity and all Roman Catholicks ordered to repair to their places of Abode and not to stir above 5 Miles from thence without leave and all that held any Imployment in the State tho' never so inconsiderable to swear Fidelity to the King and Queen Thus Matters being brought to a good Conclusion his Majesty after returning them his Thanks Prorogued them to the 17th of June and then hasted for Ireland where he arrived on the 14th of the same Month and where at present we shall leave him and see what was doing nearer home The Rebels in Scotland under the Command of Colonel Cannon tho' not otherwise considerable for their Strength then by the unaccessible Places they possess'd in the Highlands yet continued still in a Body and took their Opportunity to make frequent Incursions into the Low-lands to plunder and spoil more like a Company of Banditti than Regular Troops over whom the Government there however kept a vigilant Eye and detected some Correspondence held between them and other Persons in Edenburg and elsewhere who before pretended to be Friends but it ended in the close Confinement of them Yet notwithstanding all this they could not prevent them from receiving some Succour from without For King James notwithstanding the Delay of the French Succours which did not arrive in Ireland before the 4th of March yet built so very much upon them that tho' he had neither Ammunition nor Provision to spare he caused in the mean time two Frigats to be rigged up at Dublin laden with Cloaths Arms and Ammunition and sent them away to his Friends in Scotland having besides on Board them Colonel Buchan Colonel Wauhup and about 40 Commission-Officers more who had all the good Luck to get safe into the Isle of Mull. With this Reinforcement they were so incouraged that sometime after that they adventured to the number of 1500 to march as far as Strathspag in the County of Murray which Sir Thomas Levingstone no sooner understood and being unwilling to give them any Opportunity for a farther Accession of Strength in being joyned with other Malecontents but he took along with him 800 Foot 6 Troops of Dragoons and 2 Troops of Horse and fell upon them so suddenly that the Horse and Dragoons entring their Camp put them into such an immediate Confusion that they betook themselves to flight leaving between 4 and 500 of their Number slain upon the Spot an 100 taken Prisoners and among them 4 Captains 3 Lieutenants and 2 Ensigns nor had any of them escaped had not a thick Mist fell in the height of the Execution This was no sooner done but Sir Thomas advanced to the Castle of Lethirgdey commanded by Colonel Buchan's Nephew and having lodged a Mine under it quickly brought the Garrison to surrender at Discretion Neither was Major Ferguson less successful in the Isle of Mull where he landed and destroy'd several Places belonging to the Enemy forcing them to desert the Castle of Dewart and betake themselves to the Hills Nor yet was the Blow given them by the Scotch Parliament of less Importance for besides their Passing an Act to restore the Presbyterian Ministers that were thrust from their Churches since the 1st of Jan. 1661. they made another declaring all those Rebels that were actually in Arms against the King and Queen But notwithstanding the ill Success of the Jacobites in
there was an Hill to the E. of the Enemy's Camp and N. from the Town he went thither to view their Camp which he found to be all along the River in two lines and where he had a long Discourse with the Prince Duke Scomberg Duke of Ormond Count Solms Major General Scravenmoor my Lord Sidney and other great Officers who were all curious in making their observations upon the Enemy and Scravenmoor said they were Vne pettite Armee for they could not reckon above 46 Regiments that lay incamped but the King answered that they might have a great many Men in the Town that there was also an Hill to the S. W. beyond which part of their Army might lie incamped and that possibly they did not shew all their Numbers however he said he was resolved to see very soon what they were From hence the King rid on to the Pass at the old Bridge and stood upon the side of the Bank within Musket-shot of the Ford there to make his further observations on the Enemy's Posture and Camp and in some time after rid about 200 Paces up the River nigh the West of all the Enemy's Camp Whilst his Army was marching in he alighted and sat him down upon a rising Ground where he refreshed himself for about an hour during which time some of the Irish with long Guns came down and shot at our Dragoons who went down to the River to drink and some of our went down to return the Complement to the former And 't was farther observed that a Party of about 40 Horse advancing very slowly stood upon a plowed Field over-against the King for near half an Hour and brought 2 Field-pieces with them which they dropt by an Hedge on the said Ground as was afterwards known though our Men did not then discover them and one of which when the King was mounted they fired It killed 2 Horses and a Man about a 100 Yards above where the King was which was no sooner done but immediately came a 2d which had almost been fatal to one of the greatest Lives upon Earth for the Ball having first grazed on the Bank of the River did in its first rising slant upon the King's Right-shoulder took out a Piece of his Coat and tore the Skin and Flesh and afterwards broke the Head of a Gentleman's Pistol My Lord Conningsby no sooner saw his Majesty struck but he rid up and clapt his Handkerchief upon the Place but the King himself took little notice and kept on his pace saying only There was no necessity the Bullet should have come nearer though the Enemy continued firing who when they saw their shot somewhat disturb our Horse they set up a most prodigious shout all over the Camp as if the King 's whole Army had been ruin'd and drew down several Squadrons of their Horse upon a Plain towards the River but in such a Place as they knew it was not possible for the English to come at them Yet when our Guns came up which was about 3 that Afternoon and begun to play they withdrew their Squadrons into their Camp The King about 9 at Night having called a Council of War declared he was resolved to pass the River next Day which Duke Scomberg at first opposed but finding the King positive he advised that part of the Army should be sent that Night about 12 towards Slane-bridge and to pass the River thereabouts and so get between the Enemy and the Pass at Duleek but this Advice was not taken Then they fell into a Debate about getting good and trusty Guides when my Lord George Hamilton who was by immediately brought 4 or 5 of his Irish Iniskilling Officers who knew the Fords very well and took upon them to guide the Army next day and here it was concluded how the Army should march and who should command at the different Posts which were ordered in this manner Lieutenant General Douglas was to command the right Wing of Foot and Count Sâ—homberg the Horse who were to march on early toward Slane-bridge and other Fords up the River to flank the Enemy or get between the Enemy's Camp and Drogheda whilst in the mean time a body of Foot forced their way at the Pass at Old-bridge But while this was doing on our side the Enemy were not idâ—e for they also called a Council of War wherein Lieutenant General Hambleton advised to send a Party of Dragoons to a Ford that was below the Town of Drogheda which the English either knew not of or else did not regard and all the rest being 8 Regiments with their whole left Line towards the Bridge of Slane but King James said he would send 50 Dragoons up the River which put Hamilton into a great Amazement considering the Importance of the Place to be defended Towards the close of the Evening the Cannon ceased on both sides and the King gave Orders that every Soldier should be provided with a good Stock of Ammunition and all to be ready at break of day to march at a minute's Warning with every Man a green Bough or Sprig in his Hat to distinguish him from the Enemy who wore pieces of Paper on their Hats The Word that Night being Westminster he rid in Person about 12 at Night with Torches quite through the Army At last Tuesday the 1st of July came which proved to be a very clear Day as if the Sun it self had a mind to see what the Event would be when about 6 in the Morning Lieutenant General Douglas march'd towards the Right with the Foot and Count Scomberg with the Horse which being observed by the Enemy they drew out their Horse and Foot towards the left to oppose us The Right Wing at first were ordered to pass all at Slane but upon better Information several Regiments were ordered to go over at other Fords between the Camp and that place When the Horse approach'd the River they found a Regiment of the Enemies Dragoons posted on the other side who fired upon them and then thought to have retreated to their main Body but before they could do that they were flanked in a Lane and about 70 of their Number slain which was almost all the Opposition they meâ— with in passing the River that way But when they advanced forwards they found the Enemy drawn up in 2 Lines Whereupon the English drew up in 2 Lines also being 24 Squadrons of Horse and Dragoons and but six Batallions of â—oot which being too few Douâ—las sent for more and in the mean time according to my Lord Portland's Advice the Horse and Foot were mix'd Squadron with Batallion for their greater Security However more Foot coming up this Figure was altered and all the Horse drawn to the Right by which they out-flanked the Enemy considerably They found the Ground very difficult to pass by reason of a great Bog and some Ditches that were in the way but the Horse moving to the Right and the Foot taking
his Boot but did all that the greatest of Captains could do upon this Occasion he chose the Field drew up his Army gave out his general Orders where-ever he was in Person and demeaned himself throughout with that Gallantry Resolution and Presence of Mind so peculiar to himself and was such a Poise for the Inclination of the Battel to his own side that even his very Enemies confess'd That if we changed Kings with them they would fight the Battel over again with us For the late King during most of the time stood with some Squadrons of Horse upon the Hill called Dunmore and when the Officer that commanded saw from thence how ill it went with their Friends below and as it was said moved his Master that they might go down and help them His answer was What will you leave me alone and so march'd off to Duleek and from thence in great haste to Dublin where the first News was That the English General was kill'd and the Prince of Orange as they called him taken Prisoner But of this they were quickly undeceived My Lady Tyrconnell when he got into the Castle asked him what he would have for Supper who told her what a Breakfast he had had which made him have but little Stomach for his Supper And next Morning after having told the Citizens that he was necessitated to yield to Force and some such Stuff and that they were become a Prey to the Conqueror but that he should not cease to labour their Deliverance as long as he liued he posted away for Waterford where he arrived the same day taking care to have the Bridges broken down behind him for fear of being pursued and where he went on board a Vessel called The Count de Isauzun that was ready to receive him But the Sieâ—r Foran Chief of the Squadron meeting him at Sea obliged him to go on board one of his Frigats for his quicker Passage and so he got once more into France In the mean time the English Army rested the next day after the Battel to refresh themselves while 5 Battalions of Foot and 4 Squadrons of Horse were detatch'd under the Command of Mounsieur Melonier to take in Drogheda the Governour whereof received the first Summons very indifferently but at last considering better of it and believing now the Irish Army to have been totally routed he laid hold of the Offers made him and the Garrison march'd out of the place with their Baggage only leaving their Arms behind them King James had no sooner left Dublin but the Protestants took Possession of it and the Duke of Ormâ—nd whom the King sent thither found Captain Farloâ— Governour who but two days before had been Prisoner and the King himself with his Army arrived at Finglass within 2 Miles of the City on the 5th of July from whence he went next day to St. Patrick's Church but returned after Dinner to the Camp where 2 days after he set out his Declaration to the Irish assuring all under such a Quality of his Protection and then divided the Army going himself with the greatest part of it beyond Dublin in order to march Westward sending at the same time Lieutenant General Douglass with 3 Regiments of Horse 2 of Dragoons and 10 of Foot towards Athlone which is 50 Miles N. of Dublin He having sent out a Party while on his March to get Intelligence besides a great Prey of Cattle which they brought from the Enemies Quarters they also took two Spies with Letters from Athlone one of which was to advise one Tute to defend an Island nigh Mullingar in which he had store of Horses and several things of Value And in another which was from an Officer in Athlone to his Father in the Country There was Information given That the Earl of Tyrconnell the Duke of Berwick and several great Officers were come to Limerick with a good Body of Horse and that their Army would be there in 2 or 3 days so that they would make either a Hog or a Dog on 't as he express'd it That the Dauphin was landed in England with a great Army That the French had beat the English and Dutch Fleets That Duke Schomberg was dead and it was said the Prince of Orange was so too That their King was gone for France but it was no great matter said he where he was for they were better without him which shews they had no great Opinion of him And after the Letter was sealed he writ on the out-side Just now we have an Accout by a Gentleman that is come from Dubâ—in That Orange is certainly dead so that all will be well again From Mullingar Douglass conntinued his March and July 17th reached Athlone Incamping within a quarter of a Mile of the Town from whence he sent a Drum to summon it But old Colonel Grace the Governour fired a Pistol at him and sent word Those were the Terms he was for The Place was strong by Nature and Art and our Force not very considerable for that Enterprise however they contrived some Batteries and planted 2 Field-pieces which did the Enemies Guns some Damageâ— and an 150 Men out of each Regiment were ordered to make and carry Fascines And about the 19th they had a Battery of 6 Guns finish'd nigh the Bridge-end which plaid upon the Castle and made a small Breach towards the top But the Train was too small for the Enterprise However the firing continued on both sides but the Misfortune of Mr. Nelson the best Gunner being killed with a small Shot and the News that Sarssield was was advancing with 15000 Men to raise the Siege made the General to send all his sick and wounded Men towards Mullingar and next day in the he Evening called all the Colonels to a Council of War where he told the Necessity of raising the Siege especially since he had but very little Bread all the while and that there was some Reason to believe the Irish Army would cut off his Communication from Dublin So that there were Orders given to be ready to march at 12 that Night when the Baggage was sent away and at break of day the 25th the Army followed having lost about 30 Men before the Town but their number was diminished thro' other Distasters at least 3 or 400. The King in the mean time moving Westward as we informed you reach'd Kill-Kullen-Bridge July 11thâ— and being himself that Morning passing by the Ness and seeing a Soldier robbing a poor Woman he was so much inraged at it that he beat him first with his Cane and gave Orders that he and divers others guilty of the like Disobedienceâ— should be hanged the Munday following But tho' some People were so Audacious as to put an ill Construction upon this Action of the King 's yet it had so good an Effect upon that part of the Army that the Country was secured from any Violence done by the Soldiers during that whole March to
Commalin Castle-Durmont and so beyond Carlow from whence he sent forward a Party of Horse under the Command of the Duke of Ormond to take Possession of Kill-kenny and so to secure the Protestants and other Inhabitants of the adjacent Countries from being plundered by the Enemy for by this time some of them begun to look behind them and to return to take along what they had not Time nor Conveniency to carry of at first From Carlow the Army passed on to Kells thence to Loughland-bridge and so to Bennet's Bridge 3 Miles to the N. E. of Killkenny and upon the 19th of July His Majesty dined with the Duke of Ormond at his Castle of Killkenny which had the good Luck to have been preserved by Count Lauzun with all the Goods and Furniture and left in a good Condition not without the Cellar well stored with what they had not time to drink at their going off Munday the 21st the Army encamped at Carruck from whence Major General Kirk with his own Regiment and Colonel Brewers as also a Party of Horse were sent towards Waterford more Forces designing to follow When he came before the Place he sent to summon the Town by a Trumpet who at first refused to surrender there being 2 Regiments then in Garrison However their Refusal was in such civil Terms that their Inclinations were easily understood for soon after they sent out to know what Terms they might have which were the same with Drogâ—eda But not liking those they proposed some of their own which were rejected and the heavy Cannon drawn down that way and some more Forces ordered to march When the Irish understood this they agreed to march out with Arms and Baggage on the 25th and were conducted to Mallow The Fort Dunâ—annon a strong and regular Place and well fortified with Guns was also surrendred into his Majesty's Hands upon the same Terms with Waterford which last place was view'd by the King the day it was given up who took great care that no Persons should be disturbed in their Houses or Goods and here the Lord Dovâ—t was admitted into a more particular Protection from his Majesty as having formerly applied himself when the King was at Hillsborough by Major General Kirk's means to desire a Pass for himself and Family to Flanders July the 27th the King left the Camp at Carrick and went towards Dublin in order for England which occasioned various Speculations and some fears that the Affairs of this Kingdom were in no pleasing Posture He left the Command of the Army to Count Solms lay that Night at Carlow and upon some Advice from England exprest himself doubtful whether to go over or return to the Army However he went on to Chappell Izard and spent there some time to hear divers Complaints and redress several Grievances He publish'd a second Declaration to confirm the former and ordered a weekly Fast But having a further Account from England that several wicked Designs were discovered and prevented the loss at Sea not so considerable and that the French had only burnt one small Village in the West of England and so gone off again he resolved to retuâ—â— to the Army which he did on the 22d of Aug. at Golden-bridge and by the 27th â—eached Carrigallis where Lieutenant General Douglas joined him next day and on which in the Morning early my Lord Portland and Brigadeer Stewart were sent towards Limerick with 700 Horse and Foot who advanced within Cannon-shot of the Town with little Opposition from the Enemy and before whose return the King himself accompanied by the Prince my Lord Overkirk Lieutenant General 〈◊〉 and divers other great Officers with about 300 Horse went very near the Town and drove in a Party of the Enemy's Horse who made a shew of opposing them On the 9th the whole Army made its approach in excellent Order For no sooner had the Pioneers cut the Hedges that were in the way but the Men advanced which made the Enemy draw backwards till they came to a narrow Pass between a Bogs within half a Mile of the Town which was not above 150 Yards and this full of Hedges and other Incumbrances Herein however there were Lanes that led to the Town the middlemost being the broadest where stood the Irish Horse To the right and left of which the Hedges were lined all with â—â—â—squeteers of whom the English Foot were now got within less than 200 Yards The detacht Party of Foot was upon the Advance towards the Center The Horse a little to the right of them the Danes to the left And the blew Dutch with several English Regiments upon the right And all this in such Decorum that though the Hedges were very thick and troublesome yet the Front kept all in a Line except the advanced Party who went always some distance before Whilst these things were going on thus the King ordered 2 Field-pieces to be planted towards the left where they could bear upon the Enemy's Horse and fired from thence with so good Success that the Enemy soon quitted that Post And it is very remarkable our English Foot were so little concerned that tho' they knew the Enemy to be in the next Hedges yet whilst the Pioneers were at work they would sit down and ask one another whether they thought they should have any Bread that day for they began to want their Breakfasts tho' some few of them went into the other World for it while the Danes to the left stood with all the Care and Circumspection in the World and some of them observing the Posture of our Men and hearing what they said they thought they had no mind to fight But they were quickly convinced to the contrary for the Hedges were no sooner down and one Front advancing in a narrow Field and that the Irish fired a whole Volley upon them from the neighbouring Hedges but some of the English cried out aloud Ah you Toads are you there We will be with you presently and so they ran without any more ado along the Field directly towards the Hedges where the Irish were planted who thereupon quitted one Hedge after another So as that the Danes advancing on the left and the blew Dutch with the English on the right and the Horse coming on in the Center the Irish in less than half an hour after the Volley were driven under their very Walls and not a dozen Men lost on our side in all the Action which if the Irish had managed their business well would have cost us a great many more But as soon as they got under their Walls they plyed our Forces with their great Guns that killed several as they marched in which the whole Army did before 5 in the Afternoon and most of them incamp'd within Cannon-short Orders were given forthwith to draw 4 Field-pieces to Cromwell alias Iâ—eton's Fort to play upon the Town and Out-works The Danes according to their Post encamped to the left where
pretty flat The King gave order that the Counterscarp should be attackt that Afternoon and had it not been for one Errour which yet could not well be avoided the place had been infallibly carried However to shew you the bravery of our Men upon this occasion we will give you a few particulars About half an Hour after 3 the signal being given by firing 3 Pieces of Cannon and the Granadeers standing in the furthermost Angle of the Trenches they leapt over and ran toward the Counterscarp firing their Pieces and throwing in their Granadoes which gave the Irish the Allarm who had all their Guns ready and discharged great and small Shot upon them as fast as possible who were not behind with them in either so that in less than 2 Minutes there was such a terrible Noise that you would have thought the Skies ready to rent in sunder Captain Carlile of my Lord Drogheda's Regiment ran on with his Granadeers to the Counterscarp and though he was wounded twice between that and the Trenches yet he went bravely on and commanded his Men to throw in their Granadoes but leaping into the dry Ditch under the Counterscarp an Irish Man below shot him dead However the Lieutenant encouraged the Men and they boldly mounted the Counterscarp and all the rest of the Granadeers were as ready as they which so daunted the Irish that they began to throw down their Arms and ran as fast as they could into the Town our Men perceiving this entred the Breach with them pell-mell and above half the Earl of Drogheda's Granadeers with some others were actually within that Place and they had certainly carried it had not the Regiments that were to second the Granadeers upon the Counterscarp stopt there as having no orders to go any farther For the Irish were all running from the Walls quite over the Bridge into the English Town but seeing there were but a few of the English that entred they were with much a-do perswaded to rally And those that were in finding themselves not seconded and their Ammunition spent thought of nothing now but to retreat But some were shot others taken and very few of the rest who came out again but were wounded which so elaâ—ed the Spirits of the Irish that they ventured upon the Breach again and from the Walls and every other where did so pester our Men upon the Counterscarp that after nigh 3 Hours resisting Bullets Stones broken Bottles from the very Women who daringly stood on the Breach and were nearer our Men than their own and whatever else could be thought on to destroy it was at last thought safest to return to the Trenches But this was not our only Loss for while this Work was at the hottest a Brandenburg Regiment who behaved themselves very well being got upon the Black-Battery the Enemies Powder happened to take fire which unhappily blew up a great many of them the Men Faggots Stones and what not flying into the Air with a most terrible Noise and tho' my Lord Cuts who was commanded by the Duke of Wirtemberg to march towards the Spur at the S Gate beat in the Irish that appeared on that side yet he lost several of his Men and was himself wounded For he adventurously approaching within half Musket-shot of the Gate all his Men lay open to the Enemies Shot who lay secure within the Spur and the Walls The Danes demeaned themselves also gallantly at their Post but the mischief on 't was there was but one Breach The Action was very brisk every where and there was one continued fire both of great and small Shot from half an hour after 3 till 7 insomuch that the Smoke which went from the Town reached in one uninterrupted Cloud to the Top of a Mountain at least 6 Miles off The King who stood nigh Cromwel's Fort all the time when the business was over return'd to his Camp very much concerned at the Disappointment as indeed was the whole Army where a mixture of Anger and Sorrow might be seen in every body's Countenance as foreseeing the taking of the Place and the Reduction of the Kingdom would cost the Charge and Fatigue of another Campagne to say nothing of the present Loss which amounted at least to 500 slain upon the Spot besides wounded which were not less than double the number Wherefore the King resolved to raise the Siege and to that purpose after he had constituted the Lord Sidney and Thomas Conningsby Esq since Lord Conningsby Lords Justices of Ireland left the Command of the Army to Count Solms who some time after going for England it was conâ—igned into the Hands of the brave Lieutenant-General Ginkle He embarked with the Prince of Denmark and several other Lords at Duncannon on the 5th of 〈◊〉 arrived the next day in the Evening in Kings-Road near Bristol and on the 9th aâ— Windsor not without a more than ordinary Joy all over the Kingdom leaving the Army in Ireland to march into their Winter-Quarters and so at present we shall leave them and see what was doing in England all this while The Apprehensions of the Disaster that befel us from the French Fleet was no sooner over but the Queen set all hands on work and in a very short time fitted up such a Fleet of Men of War that the Enemy were so far from looking it in the Face upon the Main that they began now to be very apprehensive of their own Coast And indeed it was a general Supposition in England that there were some Designs formed at that time upon France it self and it might for ought I know be contrived so on purpose to amuse such as wished us not well For I remember very particularly that People were somewhat surprized to hear that the Fleet was arrived in Cork-Harbour in Ireland and that my Lord of Malburrough was landed there the 21st of Sept. with the Forces under his Command where on the day following 5 or 600 Seamen and others of the Marine Regiment were imployed to draw the Cannon along and to mount them before the Town which they did with great Cheerfulness and Bravery with the Duke of Graâ—â—on at the Head of them tho' 2 Troops of Dragoons and a Body of Foot appeared without the Town who upon our Mens firing some Field-pieces upon them retired The Eaâ—l was to act upon this Expedition in Concert with some other Troops that were towards that Part of Ireland before and therefore that very Day the Duke of Wirtemberg sent Dean Davis unto him and to Major-General Scravenmore to whom my Lord upon his Arrival had dispatch'd an Express that he would forthwith joyn him to give them an Account that he was upon his March to joyn them with a Detachment of 4000 Foot And because there was a Report that the Duke of Berwick design'd to raise the Siege Major-General Scravenmâ—re sent the Dean back to hasten the Duke's March and the day following ordered a Party of Horse to go and
as to offer the Enemy Battel which the other did not decline For upon the 18th Catinat gave the Signal and by 11 in the Morning ordered the Italians to be attack'd by the way of the Morass which he had caused to be sounded before and found firm enough to bear his Men So that the Duke 's Left Wing not expecting to be attack'd in Flank the Morass being to the Left of them made not such a stout Resistance as they might have done had they been forewarned However they killed several of the Enemy but at length the Cavalry began to give way being maul'd both with the firings of a Body of Reserve and with the great Cannon that plaid directly upon them But the Right Wing stood firm till 3 in the Afternoon when being not able to bear the whole brunt of the Enemies fire they were constrained to betake themselves to flight and several of them thinking to facilitate it by taking the Po in their way were drowned The Duke himself retired with part of his Troops to Carignan to compute his Loss which the Enemy affirmed to be 4000 slain out-right 11 great Guns good store of Baggage some Colours and a considerable quantity of Ammunition taken and that themselves had not above an 150 killed and about 100 wounded This Account tho' it be not altogether probable yet the Advantage every way was the French's past all doubt and what was intended to have been saved by the Duke of Savoy in hazarding this Battle was the Consequence of Catinat's Victory who the very next day possessed himself of Salusses as he did soon after of Savillana a large City 15 Miles from the former Villa Franca and divers other Places and then march'd with his Army to Raiconoggi with a Design to set upon the Duke of Savoy's Men that were retired to Carignan after their Defeat or at least to make himself Master of Carmagnoli But the Duke not finding himself in a state to abide his coming retreated to Monclair to recruit his Army and to wait for the German Troops that were coming to his Assistance after he had put 4000 Men into Carignan and secured Carmagnola The Germans or at least part of them some time after joyned the Duke with which Reinforcement besides some Milanese Troops being near 20000 strong he decamp'd on the 16th of Sept. from Monclair and advanced towards Catinat who also having been strengthened with some Regiments from France was not at all startled at his Approach but stood his Ground while Monsieur St. Ruth was reducing Tartantasia and Morienna with all Savoy excepting Montmelian under the Obedience of the French King whose Cities swore Allegiance to him and whereof Monsieur St. Ruth for his good Services was made Governour with an annual Pension as 't was said of 40000 Livres And as the French Forces had in a manner made a compleat Conquest of the Dutchy of Savoy this Season you have already an account how far a Progress they have made in Piedmont the most valuable part of the Duke's Dominions and now you will hear of what was more afflicting to his Royal Highness than any one thing that perhaps befel him since the Rupture Suza is a City very considerable for its Situation as being that which opens a Passage out of the Dauphinate into Piedmont whenever the French should think it requisite For every time the Kings of France design'd a War in Italy they always coveted to be Masters of that Post Now Catinat had had an Eye upon it for some time and made some secret Paces towards accomplishing his Design which yet he could not carry so covertly but that the Duke had notice of it so that he did all he could to prevent the misfortune To this purpose he sent away the Count of Lovigniez with 6 Batallions of Foot and some Horse to secure the Place Of which Monsieur Catinat being advertised he did not take the ordinary Road but hasted towards the Mountains marching his Men with wonderful Application and Celerity for 6 Days together without Intermission This Motion of his when the Duke heard of he mistakingly thought the Siege of Suza had been a feign'd business but that the true Design of the French was to give him Battle and therefore sent Orders to Lovigniez to leave Suza and forthwith to joyn him with all his Forces This was no sooner done but the French immediately begirt the City where there was only 6 or 700 Men in Garrison under the Count de Lande who seeing no likelihood to defend himself in such a weak Post with such an inconsiderable Force against a numerous Army or rather being of a base and dastardly Nature made shew of putting himself first in a Posture of Resistance but presently after surrendred the City upon Terms of marching out with Arms Baggage and 3 Cannon and to be convey'd to the Gates of Turin With this Action the Campaign ended in Italy for Catinat divided his Army thereupon sending one part of them into Winter-Quarters in Savoy and the other into Provence But while the Duke of Savoy was struggling in this manner with his adverse Fortune at home without its having been in the Power of his new Allies the Germans and Spaniards hitherto to bear him up under the Weight that oppress'd him he bethinks himself of making Application to some other oâ— the Confederates and therefore first sends the Count de lâ— Tour his Envoy into Holland who was kindly received by the States and promised some Support tho' this was the first that ever came from a Duke of Savoy to them ever since they had been a State and had Orders from thence to go into England to congratulate the King and Queen's Accession to the Throne having done his main business with the King's Envoy before at the Hague and delivered himself to the King in the following Terms which I am the more inclined to takâ— notice of because of something in consequence and whereâ— you will have an Account in due place that quite contradict what in substance is contained herein SIR HIS Royal Highness congratulates Your Majesties glorious Access to the Crown due to your Birth merited by your Vertue and maintain'd by your Valour Providence ordain'd it for your sacred Head for the Accomplishment of Heavens Designs from all Eternity that Providence which after long forbearance raises up chosen Instruments at length to suppress Violence and protect Justice The wonderful beginnings of your Reign are assured Presages of the Blessings which Heaven is preparing for the Integrity of your Intentions which have no other Aim than to restore this flourishing Kingdom to that Grandeur which it anciently enjoyed and to break off those Chains under the Weight of which all Europe at present groans This magnanimous Design so worthy the Hero of our Age soon fill'd his Royal Highness with unspeakable Joy tho' he were constrain'd to keep it undisclosed for a time in the privacies of his Heart and if afterwards he
Irish and all Officers and Soldiers now in Arms under any Commission of King James or those Authorized to grant the same in the several Counties of Limerick Clare Kerry Cork and Mayo or in any of them and all the Commissioned Officers in their Majesties Quarters that belong to the Irish Regiments now in Being that are Treated with and who are not Prisoners of War or have taken Protection and who shall return and submit to their Majesties Obedience their and every of their Heirs shall hold possess and enjoy all and every their Estates of Free-hold and Inheritance and all the Right Title and Interest Privileges and Immunities which they and every or any of them held enjoyed or were rightfully and lawfully Intituled to in the Reign of K. Charles the II or at any Time since by the Laws and Statutes that were in Force in the said Reign of K. Charles the II and shall be put in Possession by order of the Government of such of them as are in the King's Hands or the Hands of their Tenants without being put to any Suit or Trouble therein And all such Estates shall be freed and discharg'd from all Arrears of Crown-Rents Quit-Rents and other publick Charges incurred and become due since Michaelmas 1688. to the Day of the Date hereof And all Persons comprehended in this Article shall have hold and enjoy all their Goods and Chattles Real and Personal to them or any of them belonging or remaining either in their own Hands or the Hands of any Person or Persons whatsoever in Trust for or for the Use of them or any of them And all and every the said Persons of what Trade Profession or Calling soever they be shall and may use exercise and practise their several and respective Professions Trades and Callings as freely as they did use exercise and enjoy the same in the Reign of K. James the II Provided that nothing in this Article contained be construed to extend to or restore any Forfeiting Person now out of the Kingdom except what are hereafter comprized Provided also that no Person whatsoever shall have and enjoy the Benefit of this Article that shall neglect or refuse to take the Oath of Allegiance made by Act of Parliament in England in the First Year of the Reign of their present Majesties when thereunto required III. ALL Merchants or reputed Merchants of the City of Limerick or of any other Garrison now possessed by the Irish or of any Town or Place in the Counties of Clare or Kerry who are absent beyond the Seas that have not born Arms since their Majesties Declaration in February 1688_9 shall have the Benefit of the Second Article in the same Manner as if they were present provided such Merchants and reputed Merchants do repair into this Kingdom within the Space of Eight Months from the Date hereof IV. THESE following Officers viz. Colonel Simon Lutterel Capt. Rowland White Morrice Eustace of Gormonstown Cheevers of Mayestown commonly called Mount-Leinster now belonging to the Regiments in the aforesaid Garrisons and Quarters of the Irish Army who were beyond the Seas and sent thither upon Affairs of their respective Regiments or of the Army in General shall have the Benefit and Advantage of the Second Article provided they return hither within the Space of 8 Months from the Date of these Presents and submit to their Majesties Government and take the Above-mentioned Oath V. THAT all and Singular the said Persons comprized in the 2d and 3d Articles shall have a general Pardon of all Attainders Outlawries Treasons Misprisions of Treason Premunires Fellonies Trespasses and other Crimes and Misdemeanors whatsoever by them or any of them committed since the Beginning of the Reign of King James the II and if any of them are Attainted by Parliament the Lords Justices and the General will use their best Endeavours to get the same repealed by the Parliament and the Outlawries to be reversed Gratis all but Writing-Clerks fees VI. WHEREAS the present Wars have drawn great Violences on both Parties and that if Leave were given for bringing all Sorts of private Actions the Animosities would probably continue that have been so long on Foot and the publick Disturbance last For the Quieting and Settling therefore of the Kingdom and avoiding those Inconveniences which would be your Necessary Consequence of the Contrary no Person or Persons whatsoever comprized in the foregoing Articles shall be Sued Molested or Impleaded at the Suit of any Party or Parties whatsoever for any Trespass by them committed or for any Arms Horses Mony Goods Chattles Merchandize or Provision whatsoever by them seized or taken during the Time of the War And no Person or Persons whatsoever in the 2d or 3d Articles comprised shall be Sued Impleaded or made accountable for the Rents or mean Rates of any Lands Tenements or Houses by him or them received or enjoyed in this Kingdom since the Beginning of this present War to the Day of the Date hereof nor for any Waste or Trespass by him or them committed in any such Lands Tenements or Houses And it is also agreed That this Article shall be mutual and reciprocal on both sides VII EVERY Nobleman and Gentleman comprised in the said 2d and 3d Articles shall have liberty to Ride with a Sword and Case of Pistols if they think fit and keep a Gun in their Houses for the Defence of the same or Fowling VIII THE Inhabitants Residents of the City of Limerick anâ— other Garrisons shall be permitted to remove their Goodâ— Chattels and Provisions out of the same without being vieweâ— or searched or paying any manner of Duty and shall not be compelled to leave their Houses or Lodgings they now haâ—â— therein for the Space of 6 Weeks next ensuing the Date hereof IX THE Oath to be administred to such Roman-Catholicks as submit to their Majesties Government shall be the Oath abovesaid and no other X. NO Person or Persons who shall at any time hereafter break these Articles or any of them shall thereby make or cause any other Person or Persons to forfeit or lose the Benefit of the same XI THE Lords Justices and General do promise to use their utmost Endeavours that all Persons comprehended in the abovementioned Articles shall be protected and defended from all Arrests and Executions for Debt or Damage for the Space of 8 Months next ensuing the Date hereof XII LASTLY The Lords Justices and General do undertake that their Majesties will ratifie these Articles within the Space of 8 Months or sooner and use their utmost Endeavours that the same shall be ratified and confirmed in Parliament XIII AND whereas Colonel John Brown stood indebted to several Protestants by Judgments of Record which appearing to the late Government the Lord Tyrconnel and Lord Lucan took away the Effects the said John Brown had to answer the said Debts and promised to clear the said John Brown of the said Debts which effects were taken for the publick use of
the Irish and their Army For freeing the said Lord Lucan of the said Engagement past on the publick Account for Payment of the said Protestants for preventing the Ruin of the said John Brown and for Satisfaction of his Creditors at the instance of the said Lord Lucan and the rest of the Persons aforesaid it is agreed That the said Lords Justices and Lieutenant General Ginckle shall interpose with the King and Parliament to have the Estates secured to Roman-Catholicks by Articles and Capitulations in this Kingdom charged with and equally liable to the Payment of so much of the said Debts as the said Lord Lucan upon stating Accompts with the said John Brown shall certifie under his Hand that the Effects taken from the said John Brown amount unto which Accompts are to be Stated and the Ballance certified by the said L. Lucan in 21 Days after the Date hereof For the true Performance hereof We have hereunto set our Hands Charles Porter Tho. Coningsby Present Bar. De Ginckle Scravenmoae H. Maccay F. Talmash Lucan Gallmoy N. Pursel N. Cusack Theob Butler John Brown Ger. Dillon The other Articles I. THAT all Persons without any Exceptions of what Quality or Condition soever that are willing to leave the Kingdom of Ireland shall have free leave to go beyond the Seas to any Country England and Scotland excepted where they think fit with their Families Household-Stuff Plate and Jewels II. THAT all the General Officers Colonels and generally all other Officers of Horse Dragoons and Foot-Guards Troops Dragoons Souldiers of all kind that are in any Garrison Place or Post now in the Hands of the Irish or encamped in the Counties of Cork Clare or Kerry as also those called Rapparees or Voluntiers that are willing to go beyond Seas as aforesaid shall have free Liberty to imbark themselves wheresoever the Ships are that are appointed to Transport them and to come in whole Bodies as they are now compos'd or in Parties Companies or otherwise without having any Impediment directly or indirectly III. THAT all Persons above-mentioned that are willing to leave Ireland and go into France have leave to declare it at the Places and Times hereafter mentioned viz. The Troops in Limerick on Tuesday next at Limerick the Horse at their Camp on Wednesday and the other Forces that are dispersed in the Counties of Clare Kerry and Cork the 18th day of this Instant and on none other before Monsieur Tumeron the French Intendant and Colonel Withers and after such Declaration so made the Troops that will go into France must remain under the Command and Discipline of their Officers that are to Conduct them thither And Deserters of each side shall be given up and punish'd accordingly IV. THAT all English and Scotch Officers that serve now in Ireland shall be included in this Capitulation as well for the Security of their Estates and Goods in England Scotland and Ireland if they are willing to remain here as for passing freely into France or any other Country to serve V. THAT all the General French Officers the Intendant the Ingeniers the Commissaries at War and other Artillery the Treasurer and other French Officers Strangers and others whatsoever that are in Sligo Ross Clare or in the Army or that do Trade or Commerce or are otherways employed in any kind of Station or Condition shall have leave to pass into France or any other Country and shall have leave to Ship themselves with all their Horses Equipage Plate Papers and all other Effects whatsoever and that General Ginkle will order Pass-ports for them Convoys and Carriages by Land and Water to carry them safe from Lymerick to the Ships where they shall be imbarked without paying any thing for the said Carriages or those that are employed therein with their Horses Carts Boats and Shallops VI. THAT if any of the aforesaid Equipages Merchandize Horses Money Plate or other Moveables or Houshold-Stuff belonging to the said Irish Troops or to the French Officers or other particular Persons whatsoever be robb'd destroy'd or taken away by the Troops of the said General the said General will order it to be restor'd or Payment to be made according to the Value that is given in upon Oath by the Person so Robbed or Plundered And the said Irish Troops to be Transported as aforesaid And all Persons belonging to them are to observe good Orders in their March and Quarters and shall restore whatever they shall take from the Country or make Satisfaction for the same VII THAT to facilitate the Transporting of the Troops the General will furnish 50 Ships and each Ship Burthen 200 Tuns for which the Persons to be Transported shall not be obliged to pay and 20 more if there shall be Occasion without their paying for them and if any of the said Ships shall be lesser Burthen he will furnish more in number to countervail and also give two Men of War to imbark the Principal Officers and serve for a Convoy to the Vessels of Burthen VIII THAT a Commissary shall be immediately sent to Cork to visit the Transport-Ships and what Condition they are in for Sailing and that as soon as they are ready the Troops to be Transported shall March with all convenient Speed the nearest way in order to be imbarked there And if there shall be any more Men to be Transported than can be carried off in the said 50 Ships the rest shall quit the English Town of Lymerick and march to such Quarters as shall be appointed for them convenient for their Transportation where they shall remain till the other 20 Ships are ready which are to be in a Months time and may imbark in any French Ship that may come in the mean time IX THAT the said Ships shall be furnished with Forrage for Horses and all necessary Provisions to subsist the Officers Troops Dragoons and Soldiers and all other Persons that are shipped to be Transported into France which Provisions shall be paid for as soon as all is disimbarked at Brest or Nants on the Coast of Brittany or any other Port in France they can make X. AND to secure the Return of the said Ships the Danger of the Seas excepted and the Payment for the said Provisions sufficient Hostages shall be given XI THAT the Garrisons of Clare-Castle Ross and all other Foot that are in Garrisons in the Counties of Clare Cork and Kerry shall have the Advantage of this Capitulation and such part of the Garrisons that design to go beyond Seas shall march out with their Arms Baggage Drums beating Ball in Mouth Match lighted at both ends Colours flying with all their Provisions and half the Ammunition that is in the said Garrison Towns with the Horse that march to be Transported or if then there 's not Shipping enough the Body of Foot that is to be Transported ne◠after the Horse General Ginckle will order that they 〈◊〉 furnished with Carriages for that purpose and what Provision they shall want
good Officers but of the Infidels they reckoned no less than 18000 Men to have perished in this Battle and almost all their Officers were killed wounded or taken Prisoners and to compleat this terrible Loss there were found not only the Serasquier and principal Aga of the Janizaries among the slain but even the Grand Visier Cupergli who was the most accomplish'd Person in all the Ottoman Empire And this great Defeat of Mahomet's Followers was so much the more remarkable in that their overthrow has been many Years ago calculated by the Learned Brightman out of the Revelations for the present Year However the Successes that attended this great Victory were not so considerable as might have been expected 't is true General Caprara retook Lippa and the Duke of Croy in Sclavonia after he had possest himself of the Castle of Broda march'd to Grandisca which the Turks abandon'd and fir'd upon his Approach as they had done before by Possega and from thence he went to Bagaros whose Garrison after some small Resistance were made to surrender at Discretion by which means all Sclavonia became entirely reduced under the Emperor's Obedience Yet there was but little Progress made in the Siege of Great Waradin tho' the Imperial Troops attack'd it with much Vigour which after all they were forced to turn into a Blockade With this ended the Campaign in Hungary during which Sir William Hussey the King of England's Embassador at the Ottoman Port was negotiating a Peace between the 2 Empires tho' with but little appearance of Success There being nothing at all either considerable as to the War or otherwise memorable as to the Venetians this Year I shall pass on from them to the Poles whose King at the Head of his Army that were about 20000 strong once more fell into Moldavia with a further design of marching that way into Budziack yet the Poles had not advanced far into the former Country but that they were informed a great Body of Tartars had taken the Field and roam'd about their Camp to snap their Convoys which made the King send Prince Lubomirski Mareschal of the Crown with 1500 Horse to observe their Motions Of this the Tartars having Intelligence they laid an Ambuscase for him which succeeded so well on their part that the Prince found himself quickly invironed on both sides and no possibility of retreating without cutting his way thro' Wherefore he sent to give the King immediate Information of his Condition who judging well there was no time to lose set forwards towards the Tartars with all speed But they retreated so fast that he could but do very little Execution upon them Hereupon the Polish Army advanced to Jassi which the Hospodar had again quitted and who stood still firm to the Turkish Interest for all the King of Poland could do to bring him off of it and of which Place the Poles not only took Possession but also of divers others as Roman Nimick and Novacran and after having provided for the Security of them the King thought it convenient to retreat with the whole Army the Season being too far spent to advance any further so that his principal design which was to fall into Budziack came to just nothing However the Castellan of Chelm after having with a Body of Cossacks routed 4000 Tartars who came to relieve it took the Fortress of Sorock seated upon the Neister and this was all that was done before the Army went into Quarters So that now having run through the Course of the Progress of the several Armies this Season there is nothing more remaining but to observe a few Remarkables this Year On the 1st of February died Alexander VIII Pope of Rome being aged 81 Years after he had sat 15 Months and 21 Days in St. Peter's Chair as they call it being Elected the 16th of October 1689. And after 5 Months and an halfs Dispute Cardinal Pignatelli was on Thursday the 12th of July chosen into his Room being then 76 Years and 4 Months old He took the Name of Innocent XII upon him in remembrance of Innocent XI who had promoted him to the Cardinal Dignity on the 1st of Sept. 1681 and of whose Inclination and Interest he had been a long Observer The 16th of July has been very noted for the Death of Monsieur Louvois chief Minister and Secretary of State in France and tho' without Contradiction one of the ablest Heads in Europe yet the Confederates did not find such an Alteration in the French Politicks upon it as some have expected which clearly shews France is a Country not barren of great Statesmen as well as brave Soldiers to say nothing of his Capacity who is at the head of them all The Death of this great Man was sudden for having dined with the Prince d' Espinoy and Madam de Soubize and found himself ill in the King's Chamber he retired to be let Blood but not finding any ease by bleeding in one Arm and being extremely oppressed he would needs be bled in the other and died at the same time This Year was also fatal to John George Elector of Saxony who having the Command of the Confederate Army upon the Rhine dyed at Tubing on the 22d of Sept. He had by Anna Sophia Daughter of Frederick III. King of Denmark John George IV. that succeeded him who was born on the 17th of Oct. 1668. and Frederick Augustus born on the 12th of May since by the Death of his Brother become Elector of Saxony and now confirmed King of Poland year 1692 Now again in conformity to the method we have all along pursued we shall inspect a little into the Affairs of our own Country in the first place before we look into those abroad In Nov. last Year the Parliament began to sit before whom the King laid the Success of his Arms in the intire Reduction of Ireland hoping it was an earnest of future Successes which their timely Assistance to him might procure to them then he urged to them the necessity of a strong Fleet and lastly recommended to them Dispatch of Business which if neglected an opportunity would be lost which could never be reasonably hoped for again But tho' the Parliament upon this occasion promised the most speedy Supplies that could be yet his Majesty did not think there was hast enough made answerable to his Designs abroad and therefore as early as the 10th of Jan. this Year he was pleased after returning his hearty thanks to the Houses for what they had already done to quicken them in their pace with such cogent Arguments that all Bills were ready for signing by the 5th of March when his Majesty passed several Acts and among others one for raising Mony by a Poll-tax and then having told his Parliament of his Intentions to go beyond Sea the two Houses were given to understand that it was his pleasure they should adjourn to the 12th of April The King in
conformity to his Resolutions went for Holland accordingly where he landed on the 16th of March and after some stay at the Hague went to Loo and thence to the Army but of this more by and by Now you are to understand that the King had no sooner turn'd his back but it was rumoured up and down every where that the late King was ready to land in England with a great Army whither he had sent his Declaration setting forth his Right inviting People to joyn him and threatning all that opposed him with severest punishment and that Party was thereupon as uppish as they had been ever impudent The Queen did hereupon give immediate Orders for hastning out the Fleet having the Militia in a readiness and some Forcesd esigned for Flanders were countermanded which together with other Troops remaining then in the Kingdom did in some time after form a Camp near Portsmouth In short 't is not to be doubted but the late King had real thoughts of throwing off the Abdication at this time having a considerable Army posted on the Coasts of Normandy ready to embark as soon as the French Fleet which was hourly expected up the Channel did appear It was thought also that there had been some bold attempts made about this time to infest the Fleet however it were the Admiral 's address and vigilancy kept them clear and brought the Officers unanimously to sign an Address to her Majesty with utmost assurance of their Loyalty which indeed they failed not to shew upon the occasion that now quickly presented it self unto them Whether it was King James and his Irishmens Impatience to possess the Estates of England or some other Intelligence the French King might have to jog him on I know not but Monsieur Tourville with the Fleet had Orders to make up to the Channel and to fight the English and Dutch tho' he was not yet joined by the Thoulon Squadron under d' Estree But when Tourville came there he met with an Entertainment which perhaps he did not dream of The first Intimations whereof we at London had in a Letter from Admiral Russel to the Earl of Nottingham Secretary of State wherein he said THat upon the 19th of May by Three of the Clock in the Morning Cape Barfleur bearing S. W. and by S. Seven Leagues off his Scouts made the Signal for seeing the Enemy the Wind Westerly That by 11 the French bore down and engaged him at some distance and both Fleets continued sighting till half an hour past 5 in the Evening at which time the Enemy towedt away with all their Boats and the English after them That abou 6 there was a fresh Engagement to the Westward of him which he supposed to be the Blue That he could give no further Account at present but only that the French were beaten and that they were steering away for Conquest-Road having a fresh Gale Easterly but extream foggy But tho' it hapned to be a Calm all that Night and Foggy the next Morning yet about 11 it beginning to clear up a little they saw the French Fleet about 2 Leagues from them very much lessened in their Number not seeming to be above 36 Sail after whom they made all the Sail they could but about 10 it grew calm again and about 3 the two Fleets came to an Anchor but weighed about 11 at Night anchored next Morning sailed on the 31st again against the Enemy the Admiral steering towards Barfleur and the Durck and Blue Squadron towards the Race of Alderney thro' which part of the French Fleet escaped the other thinking it not adviseable to hazard the Men of War in the pursuit of them through that dangerous Road tho' Sir John Ashby was afterwards questioned in Parliament about it But Sir Ralph Delaval Vice-Admiral of the Red had better Success for he on the 21st of May burnt under Cape de Wick near the Shoar the Royal Sun wherein was Count Tourville Admiral of the French Fleet carrying 104 Guns the Admirable 102 the Conquerant 80 with 3 more of a lesser Rate while Admiral Russel himself was no less successful in pursuit of another part of the French who hawled in for la Hogue in which Bay he anchored the 21st and next Day stood in so far as that he saw 13 Ships hawled in close with the Shoar Whereupon on the 22d he sent in Vice-Admiral Rook with several Men of War and Fire-ships with the Boats of the Fleet to endeavour to destroy them But the French had got their Ships so very near Land that not any of the Men of War except the small Frigats could do any Service However that Night 6 of the Men of War were burnt and the next Day the other 7 besides several Transport-ships whereof 6 were Three-deck'd Ships and the other carrying from 60 to 76 Guns only one had but 56 and that Ship was overset and utterly lost The Attempt was very difficult and dangerous but it was made with that Conduct and Resolution and the Seamen in the Boats behaved themselves so bravely that they took possession of several of the Enemies Ships and drave the French with their own Guns from their Platforms on the Shoar This Action was so much the more glorious as well as advantageous to the English since it was done in the sight of the French and Irish Camp ready to invade us and the late King was so mortified with the present Disappointment that he seem'd by his Letter to the French King for ever out of hopes to compass his Designs that way and because some may be curious to read it take it as follows Monsieur my Brother I Have hitherto with something of Constancy and Resolution supported the Weight of all the Misfortunes which it has pleased Heaven to lay upon me so long as my self was the only Sufferer But I must acknowledge this last Disaster utterly over-whelms me and I am altogether Comfortless in reference to what concerns your Majesty through the great Loss that has befallen your Fleets I know too well that my unlucky Star it is that has drawn down this Misfortune upon your Forces always Victorious but when they fought for my Interests And this is that which plainly tells me That I no longer merit the support of so great a Monarch and who is always sure to Vanquish when he fights for himself For which Reason it is that I request your Majesty no longer to concern your self for a Prince so unfortunate as my self but permit me to retire with my Family to some Corner of the World where I may cease to obstruct the usual Course of your Prosperities and Conquests which only my Misfortune could interrupt It is not just that the Potentest Monarch in the World and the most flourishing above all others should share in my Disgrace because you are too Generous 'T is better much that I shall only retire till it shall please Omnipotent Providence to be more propitious
consider'd the Court Martial adjudg'd the Prisoner Guilty and condemned him to be drawn hang'd and quarter'd his Estate to be confiscate and to bear the Costs and Charges of the Tryal Which Sentence was pronounced in the Head Quarters of the Army by the Earl of Athlone President Gen. Van Scravenmore Lieutenant Gen. Talmash the Marquess de la Forrest the Heer Van Weed Count Noyelles and the Heer Zobel Major-Generals the Brigadiers Churchill and Ramsey Cornelius van Won and Richard Elâ—hwair Judge Advocates assisting In pursuance of which Sentence the Criminal was executed in the Camp upon the 13th of Aug. Where all that he said for himself was only to desire the Prayers of those that were present During his Imprisonment he drew up two Petitions to the King with his own Hand wherein he declared That he acted in the Design in obedience to the Orders of M. Barbesieux and Chamlays and being told that Barbesieux would be sure to disown what he said he replied That he had an Original Paper under Barbesieux's own Hand which he had lodged in a Friend's Hand which would make it appear very plain but that his Friend would part with it to no body but himself The Morning before his Execution he wrote to one Madam Jure to go to the Arch-bishop of Rheims with M. Jurduil and let him know that it had cost him his Life for obeying the Orders of M. Barbesieux There being little more this Campaign in the Netherlands save the Action of Sâ—leâ—n where the Governour of Huy surprizing a strong Party of French that came thither from Namur to cut Pallisadoes he made a great Slaughter of them and took near 〈◊〉 Prisoners and the Bombing of Charleroy by the Mareschal de Boufflers We will leave his Majesty to return to his Diversion at Loo and call to mind that when the French was threatning to invade England we mention'd a Camp to be formed near Portsmouth with which the Queen and Council upon the beating of the French Fleet projected to make a Descent upon the French Coast or at least to alarm them on that side in pursuance to which the Men of War and Transports being ready the Forces imbark'd under the Command of the Duke of Leinster Aug. 3d and two days after set Sail with a fair Wind and when they came to such an height of Distance the Commissions were opened according to Custom but Mens Expectations were not so great from this Expedition as their Surprize was that Intilligence came in 4 or 5 Days after That all the Transport Ships were put into St. Hellen's Road. On the 9th a Council of War was held on Board the General where it was resolved they should return for England which they did accordingly and this gave the Queen occasion to send divers Lords of the Council to Portsmouth to confer with the General but whatever was then resolved on the Forces still remained on Board and the Wind proved contrary which the King being informed of he sent Orders they should be transported forthwith into Flanders where they landed Sept. 1st and tho' the Duke of Luxemburg seemed to be aware of it yet they possessed themselves of Dixmude and Furnes which they began to fortifie and by which the King seemed to have some great Design that way but all miscarried for both Places were quitted towards the end of the Year to the Mareschal de Boufflers by Count Horn which the King much resented in him who till now always had a great share in his Esteem and perhaps the same touch'd the Count very near for he did not live long after Thus things went in Flanders with the Spaniards this Campaign who perhaps were the more contented with it because it was but like Thunder a-far off and the mighty Efforts France made this Way gave them the more repose in Catalonia where they had but a small force and where nothing passed of Moment and therefore we shall move to the Vpper Rhine where the Margrave of Bareith and Landgrave of Hess-Cassel commanded the Forces on that side against the Duke de Lorge General of the French Army Between them there passed nothing considerable till Sept. when de Lorge advancing towards the Rhine with all his Forces and 40 Pieces of Cannon the Landgrave and Margrave of Bareith called a Council of War with the rest of the Generals where it was resolved that the two Armies that were separated should re-join which was done accordingly and the Army encamped near Neustadt and in some days after separated again the Landgrave marching to besiege Eberemburgh where he had not been gone long but Bareith sent him an Express That de Lorge was marching up which made the Landgrave send away 4000 Dragoons to the other's Assistance But before they and the Body of the Army could come up the Duke of Wirtemburg who was gone before with a Detachment of about 4000 Horse and posted himself near Edeilsheim with a design to stop the French was by the favour of a thick â—og surprized by the French in his Camp and charged so briskly that the Germans had not time to put themselves in a posture of Defence so that they lost of their number near a 1000 Men and divers Prisoners among whom the Duke of Wirtemburg himself was one who was carried to Paris while the French ravaged his Country for a time at their Pleasure and obliged the Landgrave now weakned by the Detachment he had sent away to the Margrave of Bareith and afterwards by another to secure Heidelburgh to raise the Siege of Eberemburgh But for this the Landgrave was pretty even with the French before the end of the Year for the latter having besieged Rheinfeld which would have been of great Importance to them if they could have carried it the Governour made so brave a Defence and the Landgrave made such haste to relieve it that the French were constrained to raise the Siege with some dishonour since they shewed so much Confidence of Success in it at the first Undertaking and with no less loss from the Germans Fire and the rigorous Season which was much fitter for warm Quarters than cold Sieges Having now run through the Efforts made by France on the Flemish and German side it 's time we should see what was doing in respect to Savoy all this while It 's certain there were fresh Proposals made to the Duke early in the Year by M. Chanley in favour of France but whether in the form that was afterwards made publick is a Mystery however there was a Memoir printed at Paris wherein they set to View all the Proffers that had been made to the Duke tho' the Aim of the Writing seem'd chiefly to insinuate into the Princes of Italy that the Emperor had no other design than to make himself Master of their Territories under â—retence of assisting a Prince that had thrown himself into that Abyss wherein he found him precipitated with a great deal
least as great as ours and 't is only to their Numbers that the Victory is to be attributed We have of their Prisoners Col. Montrevel Quarter Master-General of the Horse the Marquiss de Montmorenci Colonel and other Officers as well as a great many private Soldiers We have likewise taken divers Colours Standards and Kettle-Drums and except in the Left Wing the Victory was on our side to the last The Troops who are most of them again rallied have Orders part of them to stay at Moncalier and the rest to encamp before this City The Enemy have not made any motion since their Victory and are still in their Camp they have only burnt some Houses about Bainasco This Day was brought hither from Villa Franca by the Po the heavy Artillery that was made use of against Pignerol We apprehended the Enemy would have sent a Detachment thither before it was embark'd All the Baggage which was likewise sent from Villa Franca is come to Moncalier As I am closing my Letter I understand that Col. Montaubon is arrived with about 500 Horse which he rallied and brought from Villa Franca along the Po to cover the Artillery I just now mentioned Turin Octob. 5th But while France was thus Triumphing every where over the Confederates she felt a most dangerous Enemy within her own Bowels that swept away a multitude of her Inhabitants which was Famine which for all the Care the King could take made the Face of the Kingdom look with a most ghastly Countenance and which with something else made her pretty early make Proposals of Peace to the Emperor that in themselves were not contemptible But it was impossible to disjoin him from his Allies and therefore finding it would not do that way it was given out then and I am apt to believe it was so or raised with an Intention that it should be so That new Proposals of Peace were made to the King of Spain the Empire King of England and the Duke of Savoy by which it was offered to restore all the Places taken since the Treaty of Nimeguen and withal to surrender some as they were then fortified But whatever there was in it the Event shew'd it came to nothing And now having in a manner done with the Affairs of the Allies and France we 'll see a little how the Emperor and his Confederates have fared with the Turks this Campaign As for the Poles and Venetians they were so far from doing any thing memorable in their respective Stations against the Insidels that the former instead of favouring the Designs of the Imperialists in Hungary and keeping tight to their Obligations seemed inclinable as was supposed by the Instigations of the King of France to clap up a Peace with the Port And to make such a Disingagement the more plausible the Polish Embassador at Vienna made some odd Propositions by way of Complaint to the Emperor the Purport whereof we can no otherwise give than by the Answer his Imperial Majesty made in these Words HIS Sacred Imperial Majesty our most gracious Lord by the Relation humbly made to him has been acquainted with the Proposals made to his Imperial Ministers at the Conference upon the 8th of May last by the most Serene King of Poland's Extraordinary Embassador the Lord Samuel Proski Knight of Malta and Commendador of Posonia and first with a deep Sense of Gratitude he acknowledges the Glorious Inclination of your Royal Majesty to carry on and indefatigably continue this Sacred War and that Succour so seasonably afforded at the Siege of Vienna Which nevertheless in the most prudent Judgment of your Royal Majesty was deemed more advantagious and more necessary than any other Expedition for the Preservation and Security of the Kingdom of Poland it self However his Imperial Majesty considers it as a Kindness solely conferred upon himself and shall to perpetuity recain the Memory of it most ardently wishing that the same Danger may never so nearly threaten the Kingdom of Poland and more especially Craccovia the Metropolis of it yet faithfully engaging himself to be most ready upon all Occasions even with the Hazard and Detriment of his Provinces to repay the same Assistance and Favour according to the Claim of mutual Confederacy as has not only been formerly granted by him in the most desperate Extremities of the Polish Affairs at what time the said City with the Effusion of much Blood was ransom'd to the Kingdom as many are living yet to remember but what he has the Satisfaction to prove not only by the Testimony almost of all the World but of his own Conscience that is to say That in the present War he has not fail'd in any Duty of a Sincere Friend a Neighbour and Confederate Wherefore though that same unexpected and so little deserved yet so plain an Accusation has been laid to his Charge wherein for so many and much greater Acts of Royal Fraternity as the Lord Embassador alledges no reciprocal regard has been had to the Demands of the most Serene King but that he could enumerate many and those not ordinary Specimens of most Cordial Love Friendship and Good Will Nevertheless though such Commemorations diminish rather the Merit of the Benefit than augment the mutual Correspondencies of Friendship his Imperial Majesty setting those aside has commanded several Answers to be given to the rest of the Heads of the Lord Ambassador's Propositions But whether this or somewhat else gave the K. of Poland full Satisfaction or that some other Accident diverted that Crown from proceeding in the separate Negotiation of a Peace with the Turks there was little more heard of it But which way soever things stood with the Imperial Court in relation to their Allies they were not a whit daunted but after having carried the Fortress of Jeno in Vpper Hungary towards the beginning of the Summer they made all things ready to besiege Belgrade The Duke of Croy had the chief Command of the Imperial Army this Year who towards the latter end of July invested the Town but the Trenches were not opened till the 13th of Aug. at Night which were carried on towards the Counterscarp the Besieged the same Day making a numerous Sally as they did also on the 17th but were repulsed both times with considerable Loss as they were also the two following Days upon the same occasion while the General in the mean time ordered a strong Detachment of Horse and Foot to go and lay a Bridge over the Danube and to raise 5 Forts on each side the River to stop the Enemies Fleets On the 21st they began to build the said Bridge from whence as well as from the Imperial Fleet they play'd furiously upon that of the Enemy while they carried on their Trenches within 100 paces of the Counterscarp and finished a great Battery on which they planted 32 Cartouches and some other Pieces of Cannon which being on the 25th reinforced with 10 Mortars they battered the Place next Day with
good View of it and got out again without any Damage tho' warmly fired at by Camaret-Fort they returned and gave the Lord Berkeley an Account of the Posture of the Bay and the Situation of the Castle which was very advantageously placed to defend the Landing-places against any that should attempt to set Footing on Shore Thereupon it was thought convenient that the Monk of 60 Guns and the Diamaten of equal Force should go in for that purpose But the Marquess who had viewed the Place not believing that those two Men of War would be sufficient to cover the Boats at their Landing from the Shot from the Fort nor to assist the Land-Forces at their Landing by playing upon the Enemy who were better prepared and more numerous than was expected and ready to be seconded upon all Occasions with 14 Squadrons of Horse all regular Troops so far as they could discern by their Habit Therefore upon the 8th after a Consultation of the English and Dutch Flags and the General-Officers of the Land-Forces it was resolved That 6 more Men of War should be added to the 2 former viz. the Greenwich of 54 Guns the Charles-Galley of 32 the Shoreham of 32 the Darkenstein of 44 the Wesep of 30 and the Wolf of 30 Guns All which the Marquess undertook to post so as to bear upon the Castle to the best Advantage and to perform those other Services for which they were designed This was a Work of great Labour Difficulty and Danger for no sooner was the Monk come within reach of the Enemy's Mortars but the Enemy began to fling their Bombs at her from Point des Fillettes and the Western Point of Camaret-Bay insomuch that when she came within 3 Quarters of a Mile of the latter one of the Bombs broke just over her and a great piece of it striking through her Poop and two Decks more flew out again into the Water near one of the Stern-Ports and killed 2 of the Marquess's Marine Company and wounded a third who stood close by him on the Poop So soon as she got into the Bay and came up a-brest with the Western Point Camaret-Fort fired thick and threefold at her and she being forced to stand with her Stern right upon it the Shot from thence raked her fore and aft and did her a great deal of Damage More than this after all the Ships were got pretty well into the Bay they were surprized with three Batteries more all firing upon them which they never perceived till they felt their Shot But notwithstanding all these Difficulties the Marquess made a shift to post the 8 Ships in such a manner as gave great Succour to the Land-Forces and did the Enemy considerable Mischief For these Ships so soon as they had dropped their Anchors in the Bay fired continually upon the Enemy and forced the French to run twice out of Camaret-Fort From these Ships it was easie to perceive the Enemy very advantageously entrenched at every place where there was any possibility of Landing and great Numbers of Foot drawn behind the Trenches On the Other side Lieutenant-General Talmash with a small Number of Well-boats went a-shore in a confused manner under a little Rock on the South-side of the small Bay Nor was there any Prosecution of that regular Way of Landing which the Lord Cutts proposed and had been agreed on Here his Lordship excuses himself for not being able to give an Account of what passed close by the Shore and goes on That when he saw the Boats and small Vessels in which the Land-Forces were embarked had made their Retreat from thence excepting such as stuck fast wherein a great many were killed and taken Prisoners and the Signal given to bring off the Ships he applied himself to undergo the greatest Difficulty he had in all the Action for that all their Rigging was cut in pieces and most of their Sails and Yards disabled The Shoreham not so much disabled as the rest got clear out of Danger with little Assistance But it cost the Marquess a world of Labour and hard Venturing to get off the rest but more especially the Charles-Galley and the Monk that was within half her length of dashing against a Rock as having no other Motion but what the Sea and Tow-boats afforded her But at length he being indefatigable in his Labour and undaunted in his Courage performed what he undertook and brought of all clear but the Tesep a small Dutch Man of War of 30 Guns which he found with 12 Foot Water in her Hold and all the Men killed that were left with the Lieutenant but himself a Drummer and one Man more As for the Loss sustained at Sea his Lordship acknowledges 400 Men lost in the 3 English and 4 Dutch Ships under his Command As for the Loss of the Land-Forces he says he was not acquainted with it But the Report was That the Killed Wounded and Taken amounted to about 700 more But what Error soever that brave Man Lieutenant General Talmash might have committed in his Landing he paid very dear for it with the loss of his Life as did I doubt a much greater number of Men killed and wounded than my Lord talks of in his unfortunate Expedition which for my part I think could not be otherwise than so since the French by such strong Works Batteries and great Forces had taken so much Precaution to defend themselves against this Attempt of which and the place of Landing they had no doubt timely information enough which they could not well be without since it was no secret in England but a Town-talk at this time that Brest was the place we designed to Land at But how unsuccessful soever we proved in this Expedition the King had managed his Affairs so well both at home and abroad this Season that he began now to beard the French and this since the beginning of the War was the first time they seemed to be upon the decline in Flanders Its true the Death of the Bishop and Prince of Liege towards the beginning of this Year gave the French a mighty Prospect to imbroil the Affairs of the Confederates on that side For as the Death of the Elector of Cologn in 1688 and the Contests between the Empire and France in the two Persons of Prince Clement of Bavaria and Cardinal Furstemburg gave the first Occasion to the Flame of this War to break forth in Germany that soon after by divers concurring Accidents spread it self over the Face of almost all Europe So if the French could have got the Cardinall de Bovillon to have been advanced into the Principality of Liege they did not doubt but to have brought the Confederates to be more humble and to have accepted of the Conditions of Peace the French King would allow them but this did not happen neither For notwithstanding all Bovillion's Protestations the major part of the Chapter first made Choice of the Elector of Cologn and the other of the
Majesty's real design was to Besiege Namur for the Elector of Bavaria had Orders to Detach the Earl of Athlone with 40 Squadrons of Horse towards Lovain and in lieu thereof the King reinforced the Elector with some other Brigades which being done the King's Army marched from Arseel to Becelar On the 3d of June in the Evening His Majesty went to view the Enemies Lines where he found the main Body of their Army incamped within them standing to their Arms as expecting to be Attacked But though there was no probability of Success in forcing of their Lines yet it was convenient for the Confederates to further their Designs to get the French to bring all their Forces for the defence of them and therefore the Elector of Bavaria likewise decamped on the 4th of June from Ninove and incamped on the 6th between the Lys and the Soheld near the Lines also but was quickly fronted here by the Marshal dâ— Boufflers So that things being in this disposition and that the King could have easily bombarded Ipres yet he thought it better if possible to take in the Fort of Kenock and to that end the Duke of Wirtemburg was sent with a Detachment to Attack it This though it was done with very great Application and Vigour and with the loss of a pretty many Men and that he had possessed himself after a long resistance of the Redoubt Pintele and lodged himself in the Intrenchment of a little Bridge upon the Canal over against the Fort yet finding at length it was impossible to hinder the communication of the Fort with the Body under Montal who lay so posted that he could supply it with Men and Provisions as he pleased it was judged unadvisable to lose any further time which might be improved to better advantages And therefore the King and his Generals finding that Villeroy would not stir out of his fastnesses fully concluded upon the siege of Namur and in order thereunto the Army marched on the 19th to Rosalaer where the King left them under the Prince de Vaudemont and on that Day early in the Morning went towards the Meuse in order to this great Work There had been all this time vast preparations making at Maestricht of Artillery Mortars Bombs and all manner of Ammunition and all the Boats of the Meuse were detained at Liege Maestricht and Huy for the service of the States And tho' all this threatned Namur yet the French had brought all their Forces within their Lines without keeping any Body to guard the Passages of the Sambre But however this came about the King who as we have said was moving towards the Meuse sent in the mean time Orders to my Lord of Athlone encamped at Tilmont and to the Brandenburg and Liege Forces now come as far as Falise upno the Mehaigne to invest Namur My Lord of Athlone accordingly marched on the 17th Old Stile with the body of Horse under his command and incamped between Malevre and Perwys on the 18th between la Falise and Templonee where being joyned by the Brandenburg Troops he left a good Body of Horse next day at la Falise and with the rest of the Troops marched towards Charleroy This motion put the French in suspence whether the Confederates designed to Attack Namur or Charleroy and made the Marquess of Harcourt who had passed the Meuse near Dinant to reinforce the Garrison of Charleroy with a Body of Dragoons But my Lord of Athlone having passed the Sambre at Chasselet below Charleroy marched again down the Sambre towards Namur and pressed all the Boats upon the River to make a Bridge of Communication which were brought down to the Abby of Floref upon the Sambre 2 Leagues from Namur so that the Earl took all the â—osts from the Sambre to the Meuse of the Town-side about la Falise But all the other side of the Meuse lay open for want of Troops enough to do it at once which gave the Marshal de Boufflers an opportunity with 8 Regiments of the best Dragoons in the Army to throw himself into the place but he sent back most of the Dragoons Horses But while this was doing the Elector of Bavaria's Army which was nearest marched with wonderful Celerity to carry on this famous Siege so that all the Posts were taken about Namur by the 23d of June the King being come up the Day before to it It is from this Day forward that we must reckon the investing of it and here before we go any further we are to observe that the place had very much changed Conditions since it fell into the French Hands who spared no Charges to put their Frontier Garrisons into the best Defence they could For the Town at the time of their taking it was but weak being absolutely commanded by a steep Hill that hangs just over it from the Port de Fer to that of St. Nicholas near the Meuse so that they had the liberty to bring down their Batteries at first to the descent of that Hill and to open their Trenches at the foot of it near the Meuse so that it did not then hold out above 5 or 6 Days But now to add a very considerable strength to this weak part of the Town the French had made a detacht Eastion upon the ascent of the Hill before St. Nicholas Gate all of Stone Work with a Casemotte upon it Bomb proof the Counter-scarp of the French Fasse of Free Stone and the covered way the same which pointed just upon the top of the Hill So that no Cannon from the Plain could bear upon this Work upon the Hill but the Confederates were necessitated to batter it in reverse from the other side of the Meuse from the Brandenburg-Batteries which required some Time before they coâ—ld bring them to the Water-side But this was not all for upon the Right towards the Port de Fer they had made 2 or 3 detached â—astions of the same Work just upon the Brow of the Hill and at the Foot of the same before the Port de Fer and between the Hill and the Brook of Werderin they had a 4th which hinder'd the Avenues between the Hills to this Gate The Plain upon these Hills was fortified with a double Covered Way Pallisadoed to defend these detached Bastions towards the Village of Bouge And when the Confederates were Attacking the place they were working at a 3d nearer to the brow of the Hill just before these Works so that the Town which before was but weak was now by these additional Works exceeding strong and held out longer than the Castle Again the French attack'd the Castle and Cohorn-Fort upon the top of the Hill between the Sambre and the Meuse and this they took care to fortifie afterwards so as to leave it almost unattackable the same way they took it before Cohorn or William's Fort fell into their Hands by driving their Trenches round the Work along the bottom between it and the Terra Nova
of a strong Detachment from the Rhine which some-time after joined him he marched directly that way with this grand Army which as themselves gave out was no less than an 100000 Men and with which they boasted to do the Work effectually and so give Peace to Christendom But herein they were grosly mistaken for besides that Prince Vaudemont in conjunction with the Earl of Athlone was got before them to the strong Camp of Massâ—y the Confederates had also a strong Detachment from the Rhine to join them under the Command of that brave Prince the Landgrave of Hesse Cassel So that the Siege of the Castle went briskly on and the Camp was strongly Fortified at the same time and His Majesty was present in both as there was occasion For as to the former when all things were got ready the Trenches were opened against Cohornâ— Fort the 13th of Aug. at Night with 900 Pioneers and they began to play from no less than 12 Batteries when one 〈◊〉 their Bombs falling upon the Magazine of the Devil's House blew up above 1000 Granadoes charged ruined a great quantity of Arms and killed and wounded several Persons according to the report of Deserters and notice being come on the 14th that all the Horses in the Castle stood ready Sadled and that Monsieur Boufflers had a design to break through the Camp with his Cavalry the King thereupon ordered good Guards to be set at all places where the Sambre could be past the same being done all along the Meuse by General Fleming which prevented the said Enterprize The Trenches were carried on the following days with great Success though the Enemy fired furiously in the Night-time both with their great and small Shot and made Sallies to disturb the Work-men but were still repulsed And now it proved to be very hot Work on both sides and the Besiegers at length ordered their matters so well that they brought no less than 191 Pieces of Cannon and Mortars to play upon the Fort and Castle but the Besieged began now to be more remiss in their Firings However on the 18th they made a Sally with 200 Dragoons mounted and 500 Granadeers whereof an 150 of the latter made their Attack on the right Hand but were repulsed by the Count de Ribera then upon the left where my Lord Cutts had just posted the advanced Guards to secure the Workmen and a 100 Dragoons fell upon Lieutenant Sutton who being posted in the Plain of Salsine with 37 Fuzileers let them come on till they were very near him and then giving them a round Volley retreated to his Body but the Dragoons pressing upon him they fired upon them a second time when the Spanish and Bavarian Horse falling on among them with down-right Blows drove them to the very Gate of the Castle killing some and making others Prisoners But the French Army being in the mean while come as far as Flerus to the Besieged's succour that the latter might believe they were in earnest they gave them a Signal of this Approach by a discharge of 90 Pieces of Cannon which was answered with a great number of Lights and Fugees from the top of the Castle This obliged the King to leave the Care of the Siege to the Elector and the Duke of Holstein Ploen and to repair to the Army with a Resolution to oppose the French who seemed now fully bent to fight him In order to this the Marshal de Villeroy drew out his Army in formal Array and attacked the advanced Guard of the Confederate Horse for the gaining of an advantageous Post which obliged the King to keep the Field from 4 in the Morning till 8 at Night but the Marshal being repulsed by the Hessian Horse and finding it would not do that way he retired without any Noise in the Night and next day was seen moving along the Mehaign extending his Right Wing to Perwys and his Left to Bonefse as the King at the same time advanced with his Army towards Ostin and that way to observe his motion But tho' his Majesty saw them now secure from the Assaults of Villeroy from without yet besides the troublesomeness of such a Neighbour scarcity began to creep into his Camp wherefore upon the 19th of Aug. his Majesty with the Elector of Bavaria Prince Vaudemont and other General Officers concerted a General Assault for next day the disposition and manner whereof was as followeth My Lord Cutts with 3000 English was to attack the Counterscarp and Breach of the Terra Nova and that part of the Line of Communication between the Cohorne and the Terra Nova which was next to the Terra Nova The Count de Rivera was to attack the Breach of the Cohorne and that part of the aforesaid Line of Communication next the Cohorne with 3000 Bavarians and Others Major General la Cave was to attack on the Right of Count Rivera with 2000 Brandenburgers the upper Point of the Cohorne and part of the Cohorne and part of the Communication to the Casotte Major General Swerin was to attack the Casotte with 2000 Dutch and at the same time a Colonel was to attack the Lower Town with 600 Men. The Signal was to be a considerable Quantity of Powder blown up upon the old Battery near the Brussels Port and the Word of Battle given by the Elector of Bavaria was God with Vs. The Directions given by the Elector of Bavaria to the aforesaid General Officers that were to command the respective Attacks in chief were as follows That a certain number of Men should be commanded in each Attack upon the Forlorn Hope another number to sustain them and the rest to be upon the Reserve and as to Particulars he left it to each General Officer Commanding in Chief to do as his own Judgment and the Occasion should direct him only it was ordered that Count Rivera's Attack and those upon the Right of him should begin some Minutes before the English Attack because that was like to be the most difficult The Lord Cutts the Night before the Attack received a Detachment from the King of 1000 chosen Men which were to be part of his 3000 For his Majesty was now at the Head of the Confederate Army and had left my Lord Cutts to command all the English that stayed with the Duke of Bavaria to carry on the Siege It was ordered by the Duke of Bavaria the Night before the Action That all the Troops designed for the several Attacks should march into the Trenches before day there to lie undiscovered till the Hour of Signal The Lord Cutts in pursuance of this Order marched into the Trenches with his Men some Hours before day but there not being room enough to cover all his Men he was forced to place 3 Regiments at the Abby of Salsen which was the nearest Place to the Trenches where they could lie undiscover'd The Disposition which my Lord Cutts made for the English was as follows He commanded 4 Serjeants
them give over their Villany and therefore they had several Meetings about it and one particularly where were my Lord Aylsbury my Lord Montgomery Sir John Friend Sir William Perkins Sir John Fenwick Mr. Charnock Mr. Cook Captain Porter and Mr. Goodman who came in after Dinner There they consulted of the best way to restore the late K. James and all agreed to send a Messenger over to the late King to desire him to procure of the French King 10000 Men viz. 1000 Horse 1000 Dragoons and 8000 Foot Mr. Charnock was the Person to manage this Affair who said he would not go on a foolish Errand and therefore would know what the Company would do if Foreign Forces could be procured whereupon they all unanimously promised if the late King would come over with such a number of Men as was desired they would meet him at the head of 2000 Horse where-ever he would appoint At the latter end of June 1695. or the beginning of July they had another meeting when after many publick Discourses and private Whisperings Mr. Charnock desiring the Company to acquaint him whether they continued their former Resolutions they assured him they did and would meet him with the number of Men promised at the former Meeting Upon which Mr. Charnock told them he would begin the Journey in a few Days The Invasion being thus promoted by dispatching Mr. Charnock into France that the Assassination might not lag behind it some of the Assassins called to mind that nothing would be attempted in that kind till the Commission which Crosby said was upon the Road was come to their Hands Captain Porter and Mr. Goodman communicated the Project to Sir George Barclay who was then in England and upon his Departure for France telling him what Difficulties they laboured under for want of it and that a longer Delay of the Commission would extreamly embarrass the Affair Sir George not only approved but commended the Design and that such an hopeful Project might not miscarry he promised to use all his Interest when he came to St. Germain's that such a Commission should no longer be wanting This Encouragement from so considerable a Favourite as Sir George Barclay whose Bigottry to the Romish Perswasion and the late King's Interest would prompt them to any thing in favour of him employed all their Heads and opened all their Purses to contribute the last Assistance for the Accomplishment of the Assassination The Beginning of Aug. 1695. brings Mr. Charnock again to London with the unwelcome News That the French King was not in a Condition to spare the Jacobites such a Number of Men as they desired Which being imparted to the Chief of that Unruly and Blood-thirsty Faction the two Branches of the Conspiracy to overthrow the established Government were both laid aside till the approaching Winter should give them another Resurrection But in Nov. 1695 Sir George Barclay with several Officers and Soldiers and 800 l. in Mony came into England and and brought with him a Commission from King James all written with his own Hand to seize King William which Sir William Perkins confessed to a Committee of Parliament he saw But neither Sir George Barclay nor the Commission being yet in the Hands of the Government and the Jacobites ashamed to set up their late King and themselves under the infamous Title of Murtherers they minced the Matter into more relishable Terms and that it was only To levy War upon the Prince of Orange and all his Adherents Others said it was to attack the Prince of Orange in his Winter-Quarters All which are meer Tricks and Evasions invented by the Party to disguise the Horrour of the Action for the very Gloss which they themselves put upon it sets it in its true Light for all the Party knew the meaning of Attacking of the Prince of Orange as appears by Monsieur de la Rue's Oath who deposeth That when the Musquettoon was lent by Mr. Porter to Mr. Pendergrass which would carry six or eight Bullets Mr. King desired him when he shot at His Majesty not to be afraid of breaking the Glasses Sir George Barclay after his Arrival at London lodged in Covent-Garden and kept himself very private till he could speak with Sir William Perkins Captain Vaughan and Mr. Charnock and that the 22 Men who were sent by King James out of France and appointed to obey his Orders were come to London also And now they endeavoured to strengthen their Party by the Addition of more Friends as Mr. de la Rue Mr. Pendergrass Mr. Rookwood Major Lowick Mr. Knightley Mr. Bertram Chambers Durant Cramburne Kendrick Grimes Waugh and Goodman some of which were engaged in the designed Assassination the Year before and were now again confirmed in it As for Captain Porter who has now so honourably and honestly attoned for his former Offences they were sure of him already But to others in whom they had no more than ordinary Confidence they discoursed of the Assassination at a distance and if they found in them any Reluctancy or Indisposition to the Assassination they turned them over to the Invasion-Plot and desired them to be ready to meet their old Master at his Landing But to those whom Wickedness had made fit for any Impression they imparted their Villany in Words at length and so secured the whole Party either to be Rebels or Murtherers Those that came from France knew not what Affair they were sent upon till they arrived at London but were kept in a blind Obedience to Sir George Barclay's Orders as appears by the Depositions of Mr. George Horn who saith That he this Deponent was an Ensign of Foot under the late King James in Scotland and has since served in the Second Troop of Guards in France And about the 14th of Jan. 1695 King James sent for this Deponent and Michael Hore his Comrade and in the Queen's Bed-Chamber told him That he had now an Opportunity of doing something for him as a Reward of his faithful Services That he would send him into England where he should be provided for and that he should follow Sir George Barclay's Orders and in so doing he should take care of him That he had ordered them Mony for their Journey which they should receive from Mr. Caryll the late Queen's Secretary And he farther told this Deponent That he should find Sir George Barclay every Monday and Thursday between Six and Seven at Night in Covent-Garden Square whom they should know by a white Handkerchief hanging out of his Pocket He also told this Deponent That when he came to England he must go by the Name of Jenkins and his Comrade Hore by the Name of Guiney And farther this Deponent saith That Colonel Parker was present and heard all that the late King said and went with this Informant and his Comrade to Mr. Caryll and told him that the King had ordered each of them Ten Lovis de' Ors which would be sufficient to carry them
into England And if they should be Wind-bound he had written to the President Toffe at Calais to furnish them with what they should have Occasion for The rest of the Assassins were Men of desperate Fortunes Hangers-on at the Court of St. Germains or Soldiers taken out of several Regiments whose Character render'd them fit for such an inhumane Enterprize All the Assassins being come to London that were expected from France and their Number compleated by the Addition of others that were in England the Execrable Design was imparted to all the Desperadoes some of which were startled and amazed with Horrour at the first Relation of it But all the Scruples that Conscience could raise were soon extinguished by the Authority of the late King James's Commission and their plentiful Prospects of Wealth and Honour that would attend the Action And therefore All consented to forfeit their Honours and hazard their Lives in it Now several Ways are proposed by the Conspirators to execute their long-designed Attempt against His Majesty's Person Some proposed Seizing His Majesty and carrying him alive into France and to that purpose it was pretended that a Castle on the Sea-side was to be secured to detain the King till a Ship was ready to transport him thither But the Wiser and more wicked among them who understood what was meant by Seizing the King's Person laughed at this as a meer Chimera Others proposed to kill His Majesty at Kensington by attacking his Guards and forcing his Palace in the dead time of the Night But this upon debating of it was also thought wholly impracticable Some were for murthering the King as he came on Saturday to St. James's Chappel And for this purpose 40 Men well armed were to assault His Majesty's Guards which commonly do not exceed 25 while 6 Men on foot should shut Hyde-Park Gates and the rest assassinate His Majesty It was agreed also to kill the Coach-Horses as they were entring into the Park that the Passage being stopped the Guards might not be able to come up till they had done their Work Another Proposal was to murther the King as he returned from Hunting in a narrow Lane by a Wood-side leading to the Thames on the other side of the Water about 150 Paces long wherein there is a Gate which when it is shut hinders Coaches or Horses from passing that way One of the Assassins was sent to view the Ground and another to view the Lane before-mentioned But Sir George Barclay who was to command this infamous Party did not approve of that Lane and the Difficulty that arose in the Debate caused the Project to be rejected At last they fixed upon a Place betwixt Brentford and Turnham-Green in a Bottom where the Ground is Moorish There is a Bridge where divers Roads meet and crâ—ss oen another On the North side there is a Road that goes round Brentford and on the South a Lane that leads to the River so that one may come thither by four several Ways After you have passed the Bridge the Road grows narrow having on one side a Foot-Path and on the other a tall and thick Hedge And this Place was pitched upon for the Execution of their barbarous Villany And truly if Heaven had not discovered their Treasons all Circumstances considered a more unlucky Place and Time could not have been found out for His Majesty very often returned late from Hunting and usually crossed the Water at Queen's-Ferry by Brentford with no greater Attendance than 5 or 6 of his Guards It was also His Majesty's Custom to enter the Ferry-Boat without coming out of his Coach and as soon as he landed on this side the Water the Coach drove on without expecting the rest of the Guards who could not cross the Thames till the Boat returned to Surrey-side to bring them over and so the King must inevitably have fallen into the Hands of his Murtherers before the rest of the Guards could have come up to his Assistance Neither was the Time and Place more cunningly and Devilishly contrived than their Men were disposed of for having secured several Places at Brentford Turnham-Green and in scattered Houses thereabouts to seâ— up their Horses till the King should return from Hunting One of the Conspirators was ordered to wait at Queen's-Perry till the King's Guards appeared in sight on Surrey-side of the Water and then to give speedy Notice to the rest to be ready at their respective Posts while the King was crossing the Thames For this wicked End they were divided into three Parties which was to make their Approaches by three several Ways one of which was to come from Turnham-Greeâ— another from the Lane that leads to the Thames and the Third from the Road that goes round Brentford One 〈◊〉 these Parties were to attack the Guards in the Front and another in the Rear whilst 10 or 12 Men of the bloodieâ— sort were to assassinate His Majesty in his Coach and put 〈◊〉 Perâ—od to that Sacred Life whose Safety and Well-being 〈◊〉 a Defence to the Liberties of Europe as well as the particular Joy Delight and Safety of England When their execrable Design was accomplished the Conspirators resolved to keep in a Body till they came beyond Hammersmith and then to separate and by several Roads to hasten to London and from thence to the Sea-side where the sudden Landing of the French might secure them from the Rage of the Multitude and the Hand of Justice Thus was the Assassination to make way for a French Invasion and the Invasion to shelter the Murtherers of our King and Country Horses were now the only Necessaries wanting and Sir George Barclay complaining that the 800 l. which he brought over was already so far exhausted that he could not out of the Remainder provide so great a Number as 40 they all agreed that he should find but half and the other 20 should be supplied by Sir William Perkins Mr. Porter and Mr. Charnock All things being thus agreed on the Duke of Berwick who was sent into England to countenance the Action posted for France to give his supposed Father an account of it who shewed himself mightily pleased with it and indeed the Villany was now in a manner brought to a Crisis For the Fifteenth Day of February was the Day appointed to Murder the King if kind Heaven had not prevented it and now the Leaders having quartered the Assassines in several parts of the Town to prevent suspition they all lay close and still expecting notice from their Orderly Men of the King 's being gone to Richmond But so it pleased God Almighty that His Majesty did not go Abroad that Day This disappointment and fears of a Discovery made Plouden Kendrick and Sherborn decline the Action and withdraw themselves but Sir George Barclay Sir William Perkins Cap. Porter and Mr. Goodman concluding the Design was not Discovered because they were not taken up by the Government had another Meeting Feb. the 19th and there
my self a Member of the Church of England I must take this Opportunity and I do it for God's Glory to apply my self to you that are Royalists of that Church of the same Faith and Principles with my self and I beg of you for God's sake and the Love of your Souls to be very constant and serious in all Religious Offices and holy Duties of Divine Worship and Service which I have too much neglected as I own to my great Sorrow Let no Excuse no Dangers prevent or hinder you in these most necessary and serious Matters and be I beseech you very careful and circumspect in all your Actions Behaviour and Conversation as I earnestly exhorted all that came to me I have I thank God a great deal of Satisfaction in my present Sufferings and have found it so ever since I have been under them And blessed be God it doth continually increase upon me And I do now lay down my Life with all Chearfulness and Resignation in sure and certain Hope of a Resurrection to Eternal Life through our Lord Jesus Christ through whose Merits alone I hope for the Pardon of my Sins and the Salvation of my Soul And so O Lord into thy Hands I commend my Spirit for thou hast redeemed me O Lord thou God of Truth And I do heartily and humbly beseech thee Almighty God and my most Gracious â—ather to forgive and bless this sinful Nation deliver it from the Guilt of Rebellion Blood and Perjury 〈◊〉 is now on all sides more than ever and from all those other heinous Sins which cry aloud Preserve and bless this Church Comfort our distressed King Restore him to his Right and his mislead Subjects to their Allegiance Bless also his Royal Consort our Gracious Queen Mary his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales That he may grow in Stature and in Favour with God and Man Support and Strengthen all those that suffer in any kind for a good Cause give them Patience under all their Afflictions and a happy Deliverance out of them Forgive all mine Enemies Pardon my former Neglect and remissness in Religious Worship and Holy Duties and all the Sins I have been guilty of to this very moment Consider my Contrition accept my Tears And now Thou art pleased to take me hence take me into thy Favour and grant that my Soul may be without Spot presented unto Thee through the Merits of thy Most dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen John Freind Sir WILLIAM PERKYNS's Paper IT hath not been my Custom to use many Words and I shall not be long upon this Occasion having Business of much greater Consequence to employ my Thoughts upon I thank God I am now in a full disposition to Charity and therefore shall make no Complaints either of the Hardships of my Tryal or any other Rigours put upon me However one Circumstance I think my self oblig'd to mention it was Sworn against me by Mr. Porter That I had own'd to him that I had Seen and Read a Commission from the King to Levy War upon the Person of the Prince of Orange Now I must declare That the Tenour of the King's Commission which I saw was General and directed to all his Loving Subjects to Raise and Levy War against the Prince of Orange and his Adherents and to seize all Forts Castles c. which I suppose may be a customary Form of giving Authority to make War but I must confess I am not much acquainted with Matters of that Nature But as for any Commission particularly levelled against the Person of the Prince of Orange I neither saw nor heard of any such It 's true I was privy to the Design upon the Prince but was not to act in it and I am fully satisfied that very few or none knew of it but those who undertook to do it I freely acknowledge and think it for my Honour to say That I was entirely in the Interest of the King being always firmly persuaded of the Justice of his Cause and looked upon it as my Duty both as a Subject and an Englishman to Assist him in the Recovery of his Throne which I believed him to be deprived of contrary to all Right and Justice taking the Laws and Constitution of my Country for my Guide As for my Religion I die in the Communion of the Church of England in which I was Educated And as I freely forgive all the World so who-ever I may any ways have Injured I heartily ask them Pardon April 13. 1696. William Perkyns Here the Bigottry of these poor and wretched Men cannot but be admired and pitied that they should justifie their Treasons to the last Gasp which hot-headed Charnock did not think fit to do But this can be attributed to nothing else save the blind Zeal and rebellious Principles of those Clergy-men that were with them and who fairly if they had had their Desert should have been hang'd for Administring Absolution to them without any precedent Confession in direct Opposition to the Laws of that Church whereof they would be thought Members which thereupon was condemned by 14 Bishops being all that were then in London and assented to by all the rest that were Absent It 's well they liv'd under so mild a Government though they were unworthy of it had they been guilty in the late Reigns of any that had come near the pitch of their Crime they had infallibly swung for it when Julian Johnson was so severely Whipped and barbarously Used for his honest Address to the English Soldiery and Seamen The other 3 that followed viz. Cranborn Rookwood and Lowick all confessed the Crime though in a different manner but the 2 latter who were Roman Catholicks somewhat more modestly than the former tho' a pretended Protestant who called it a righteous Cause for which he suffer'd The Papers they deliver'd were these Major LOWICK's Paper In the Name of the most Holy Trinity Father Son and Holy Ghost Amen IN the first place I die in the Religion I was Baptized viz. Roman Catholick and humbly beg the Prayers of all Good People for a happy Resurrection and of all Catholicks for the Good of my Soul As for being ingag'd in this for which I die it was never so positive that I had a Horse from the beginning to the very last nor never see any allotted me or the two Men I was to provide as was sworn against me at my Tryal nor had I any on that Account nor was I at any of their Meetings when they settled any such thing And as for any Order of Commission from King James I never see any since I came last into England which is now above 5 Years and I am confident none that knows King James will believe he would give any such Order Indeed I must confess I believe King James was a coming to assert his own Right and I should if on Shore have done any thing in my Power to have assisted him and in order to
that I should have been very glad to have had a Horse but never had any And as for being concern'd in any Bloody Affair I never was in my Life but have done my Endeavour to prevent as much as I could on all Occasions and if the Killing the most miserable Creature in the World or greatest Enemy would now save my Life restore the King and make me one of the greatest Men in England I first would chuse to die because against the Law of God If any who are now Sufferers on this Account think I have been too forward and a Promoter of this Design I do now declare it was never my Inclination to do any rash thing However I beg their Pardons and of all the World I have offended either in Thought Word or any Action whatsoever and do freely forgive my Enemies and hope through the Mercy of my Saviour Jesus Christ to have Remission of all my Sins Good God preserve the King Queen Prince and Princess and all that Royal Blood of Stewards and may England never want one of that direct Line to Govern them and make them once more Happy I have had the Honour to serve my Royal Master in several Commissions and the last as Major and strove ever to serve him to the best of my Power and even to be Just to those who I had the Honour to Command Lord Jesus into thy Hands I recommend my Spirit O Jesus receive my Soul Robert Lowick Brigadier ROOKWOOD's Paper HAving committed the Justice of my Cause and recommended my Soul to God on whose Mercies through the Merits of Jesus Christ I wholly cast my self I had once resolved to die in Silence but second Thoughts of my Duty to others chiefly to my True and Liege Soveraign King James moved me to leave this behind me I do therefore with all Truth and Sincerity declare and avow That I never knew saw or heard of any Order or Commission from King James for the Assassinating the Prince of Orange and Attacking his Guards but I am certainly inform'd That he the best of Kings had often rejected Proposals of that Nature when made unto him Nor do I think he knew the least of the particular Design of the Attacking the Guards at his Landing so much talk'd of in which I was engaged as a Soldier by my immediate Commander much against my Judgment but his Soldier I was and as such I was to obey and act according to Command These twelve Years I have served my true King and Master King James and freely now lay down my Life in his Cause I ever abhorr'd Treachery even to an Enemy If it be a guilt to have complied with what I thought and still think to have been my Duty I am guilty No other guilt do I own As I beg all to forgive me so I forgive all from my Heart even the Prince of Orange who as a Soldier ought to have consider'd my Case before he Sign'd the Warrant for my Death I pray God may open his Eyes and render him sensible of the much Blood from all Parts crying out against him so to prevent a heavier Execution hanging over his Head than what he inflicts on me Amb. Rookwood But I confess after all that the Shouting of the People at the Execution of some of these wretched Assassins was cruel and inhumane and two base a Triumphing over Misery which always deserves our Christian Compassion As soon as the News reached Flanders that the King was safe and England happily delivered from the two bloody Tempests that threaten'd her the Generals and it was thought to be the particular Contrivance of Prince Vaudemont bethought themselves of making an extraordinary Bonfire for Joy by burning the French Magazine at Givet To which End after several Orders and Countermands given to the Garrison of Namur the greatest part of them were ordered to march with Provision for six Days and being joined by several other Troops they crossed the Meuse on the 12th of March and were followed the next Day by the Horse under the Conduct of the Earl of Athlone and Major-General Cohorne and having crossed the River Leile the Earl with one part of this Body marched towards Dinant while Cohorne with the rest sate down before Givet And having got all things ready by the 16th in the Morning he began his Work about Seven a Clock with Bombs and Red-hot Bullets which first set fire to the Forage and at the same time a certain Number of Soldiers were commanded to enter the Town with lighted Flambeaux in their Hands who fired the Cazerns and other Edifices where the Magazines of Oats and other Provisions lay So that that vast Magazine was utterly consumed and all this performed with the Loss of not above 9 or 10 Men. But notwithstanding this considerable Advantage to the Confederates the Conspiracy in England and other more than ordinary Affairs before the Parliament had spun out so much Time that the King could not be so early in the Camp this Year as was designed who was himself also unwilling to leave his Kingdoms till the Arrival of the Fleet from Cales under Sir George Rook who had upon occasion of the first breaking out of the Plot Orders sent him to return home and safely came upon the Coast towards the latter end of April to the dissipating of the great Fears we were in lest the French Fleet from Thoulon should overtake and ruine him And indeed they were not far behind for before the Junction of those Men of War we had then in the Downs with some of Sir George's Squadron and that he could get upon the Coast of Brest in order to intercept and fight them they were got safe into that and the other Harbours of France So that the French took the Field before the Confederates to whom they were superiour at first in number till the Junction of the German Troops who ever came late which was at all times a prodigious Disadvantage to the Confederates So that what with these things but most of all for the extream Want of Mony to pay the Army now our Coin was called in the Confederates could not act Offensively as they had done the preceding Year But about the time that the King arrived at the Hague there happen'd something to fall out which began to savour of somewhat else than the Toils and Inconveniences of War for Monsieur Caillieri was come thither from France with Proposals towards concluding a general Peace by setling such Preliminaries as might be a sufficient Basis to ground a Treaty upon I do not know whether there was any real Disposition in the French Court to a general Peace before the Year 1695 but the loss of Namur Casall and other Disadvantages did without all doubt powerfully operate towards it and nothing could have retarded their Motions in order to it but the Plausibility of the Invasion against England and that in such an hazardous Juncture when our Coin was
His Royal Highness for his part will contribute all in his Power thereunto who likewise flatters himself that this Treaty lately signed with his most Christian Majesty may be a Means to divide these Princes whose Vnion will infallibly oppose your Majesty's Return to your Dominions which may facilitate a general Peace the first Effects of which will undoubtedly be your Majesty's Re-establishment on your Throne This has been the Occasion Sir of his Royal Highness's withdrawing from the Allies and which he hopes will be thought fully to answer his promises to your Majesty's Ministers seâ—t to sollicite him in that behalf This he would have perform'd sooner but Your Majesty may be inform'd from the most Christian King what Reasons inclined him to the contrary These Sir are the sincere Protestations of his Royal Highness which he will endeavour to make appear by his continued Prayers for the Prosperity of your Sacred Majesty But to return the French King in Conformity to his Articles made a formal Resignation of all manner of pretentions to Savoy and the Dukes Territories whilst his Royal Highness upon the expiration of the Truce on the 15th of Sept. put himself at the head of the French and his own Troops to drive his Friends the Allies out of Italy or to accept of a Neutrality for it A strange Metamorphosis and such as I think cannot be parallel'd in any History Ancient or Modern that one and the same Prince who equals himself to Crown'd Heads should successively in one and the same Campaign Command the two Armies of two Enemies This was a pace none of his Ancestors ever made though they shewed themselves unconstant enough between the French and Spanish Crowns upon divers occasions But so it was that the Duke marched at the head of his Army and laid Siege to Valentia a Citty in the Dutchy of Milan belonging to the King of Spain which was carried on with much Vigour while the Treaty was agitated on both sides by the Prince of Fundi from the Emperor Marquess of Leganez on the part of the Spaniards the Lord Gallaway for the King of England and the Marquess de St. Thomas for the Duke of Savoy and many Conferences were held before they could be brought to any Conclusion But though the French and Savoyards were so eager to take Valentia they found an harder thing of it than was expected having lost above 3000 Men before it and the approach of the bad Weather and the Winter Season made the matter very Dubious at last and things on all hands were brought to this Crisis on both sides whether the French should run the hazzard and Dishonour that would accrue to them of raising the Siege or whether the Confederates would venture the losing of it and with that protract the War in Italy But all Parties having considered the advantages and disadvantages the Neutrality was agreed to and signed upon the 7th of October containing chiefly the following Articles I. That there shall be a Neutrality or Suspension of Arms in Italy till a General Peace II. That the Imperial and French Troops shall depart out of Italy and return into their own Countries III. That in lieu of Winter Quarters which the Princes of Italy were otherwise oblig'd to allow the Imperialists they should furnish them with 300000 Crowns that is to say One third before their Retreat and the remainder at a time prefix'd upon sufficient Security IV. That so soon as the Imperialists should begin to March off with some part of their Troops the French should proportionably do the like V. That the Treaty should be ratifyed within two Days by the Duke of Savoy by the Emperor within a Month and within two by the King of Spain Hereupon the Count of Thesse and Marquess de Vins were sent Hostages to Turin by the French is were also the Prince of Trivultio and the Marquess de Burgomaniero by the King of Spain and the Marquess of St. Thomas to Milan by the Duke of Savoy Things being thus concluded on in Italy in respect to that particular Peace there was a mighty Discourse all the while of a general One with the rest of the Confederates and Monsieur Dickvelt's going about the same time to the King's Camp when News came to him of the former made the same hotly Discoursed of People supposing he came to His Majesty to give an Account of his Negotiations about that important Affair And that which confirmed Men more in this Opinion was That Monsieur Dickvelt made this Journey more than once between the Camp and the Hague but this matter we shall pursue no further at present it being time we should proceed to see the Operations of the Campaign in Hungary this Year The Armies on each side were Commanded by the same Generals as the preceding Year the Grand Seignior pretty early in the Summer came to Belgrade at the head of very numerous Troops while the Elector of Saxony about the beginning of June joined the Imperial Forces whom he found to be so good that according to all the Intelligence at that time of the Enemies Numbers he might be able to fight them or if they refused to sit down before some considerable place Whereupon several Counsels of War were held according to Custom wherein it was resolved at length to Besiege Themeswaer but whether it were really designed for a formal Siege or that it was only a feint to draw the Mahometans to a Battle is uncertain However the Duke approached the place viewed it raised Batteries and in some measure made a formal Attack upon the Town while advice came in the mean time thick and three-fold that the Sultan was preparing to cross the Danube with his whole Army which made the Elector glad of the News rise from before Themeswaer and immediately to set forward to meet the Infidels But this proving to be a false Rumour the Elector returned to attack the place again though this was thought to have been done that the Turks might be more eager to follow him and indeed the Stratagem took For the Sultan to divert him from the Siege came on amain which made the Elector to make some small motion towards the Enemy to the end he might take his measures to observe their Countenance and the Scituation of their Ground So that the Imperialists continued their march when on the 21st of August by break of Day they found the Turkish Chavalry begin to appear in very great Numbers which made the Elector and General Capara to cause the Army to march in order of Battle But at the same time the Infidels came pouring down upon the Christians from several parts with extraordinary Fury But they met with such Vigorous resistance from every Quarter that after a sharp Recounter they were forced to retreat and the Germans pursued them close at their Heels with an intention to drive them upon their Infantry in hopes to have come up with them the same Day and
if he did not to fall under the Censure of the House The Papers being read Sir John was immediately ordered to be brought before them and being interrogated by the Speaker concerning his Inclinations to make a Discovery of the Designs and Practises of the Enemies of the Government with a Promise of Favour if he were Ingenious therein yet finding by all the Answers he made he did nothing but Prevaricate with the House alledging the King knew already what he had discovered and that he could not be safe to tell them any thing without assurance of Security for himself They ordered a Bill to be brought in to Attaint him of High Treason which was carried by a great Majority in the House and Mr. Speaker acquainting them that he had received a Letter from Sir John Fenwicke importing That having received a Copy of the Bill with the House's Order thereupon he desired such Counsel and Sollicitor as he therein named might be allowed him The same was readily agreed to tho' it was said the Sollicitor was a very great Jacobite and insinuated farther that he was suspected to have been concerned in Goodman's Escape The first debate that hapned upon Sir John's being brought to the Bar of the House was concerning the Mace whether it should lie on the Table while he was in the House or whether the Sergeant ought to stand by him with it at the Bar which last was carried and then the Bill was read by the Clerk of the Parliament in these Words WHereas Sir John Fenwicke Bar was upon the Oaths of George Porter Esq and Cardell Goodman Gent. at the Sessions of Oyer and Terminer held for the City of London on the 28th day of May 1696. Indicted of High Treason in Compassing and Imagining the Death and Destruction of His Majesty and adhering to His Majesty's Enemies by Consulting and Agreeing with several Persons whereof some have been already Attainted and others not yet brought to their Tryals for the said Treason at several Meetings to send Robert Charnock since Attainted and Executed for High Treason in Conspiring to Assassinate His Majesty's Sacred Person whom God long preserve to the late King James in France to â—â—cite and Incourage the French King to Invade this Kingdom with an Armed Force by Promising to Join with and Assist him with Men and Arms upon such an Invasion And whereas the said Sir John Fenwicke did obtain His Majesty's Favour to have his Tryal delayed from time to time upon his repeated Promises of making an ingenuous and full Confession of his Knowledge of any Design or Conspiracy against His Majesty's Person or Government and of the Persons therein concerned And whereas he has so far abused His Majesty's great Clemency and Indulgence therein That instead of making such Confession he hath contrived and framed False and Scandalous Papers as his Informations reflecting on the Fidelity of several Noble Peers divers Members of the House of Commons and others only by Hearsay and contriving thereby to Vndermine the Government and create Jealousies between the King and his Subjects and to stifle the real Conspiracy And whereas Cardell Goodman one of the Witnesses against the said Sir John Fenwicke to Prove the said Treason lately and since the several times appointed for the Tryal of the said Sir John Fenwicke at one of which times the said Sir John Fenwicke had been accordingly Tryed had it not been for the Expectation of the said Discoveries so often promised by him is withdrawn so that the said Cardell Goodman cannot be had to give Evidence upon any Tryal Be it Enacted by the King 's most Excellent Majesty by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons in this present Parliament Assembled and by the Authority of the same That the said Sir John Fenwicke be and is hereby Convicted and Attainted of High Treason and shall suffer the Pains of Death and inâ—â— all Forfeiture as a Person Attainted of High Treason The Bill being read the King's Counsel Sergeant Goulâ— and Sergeant Lovell according to Mr. Speaker's Direction very learnedly especially the former opened the Evidence they had to prove the Suggestions of it and were as learnedly answered by Sir Thomas Powis and Sir Bartholomeâ— Shoar the Prisoner's Counsel who alledged That if the other would only call in Evidence to prove the Suggestions of the Bill they were ready to answer them but if they called in Evidence to prove Sir John Fenwicke Guilty of the Conspiracy by living Witnesses they took upon them not to be ready for that saying They did not know they should be allowed liberty to produce any Witnesses Whereupon they were ordered all to withdraw and the House debated the same a long time not without some Members making large Excursions from the Matter in dispute and after much Contestation as of other things of the proposing of the Question it self at length Mr. Speaker put it thus That the Council in managing of Evidence against Sir John Fenwicke be allowed to produce Evidence touching the Allegations of the Bill and the Treasons for which he was Indicted which was carried in the Affermative and the House it being late Adjourned to Monday the 16th of 〈◊〉 when the House proceeded farther upon it and the Council produced their Evidence which was Captain Porter 〈◊〉 gave a full Account of what he knew concerning Sir Joâ—â— Fenwicke's Guilt and was farther examined notwithstanding the Prisoner's Council stifly opposed it concerning 〈◊〉 being tampered with by one Clancy as to the taking off 〈◊〉 Testimony as to the late Conspiracy And not only so 〈◊〉 the King's Council produced the Record of Clancy's Conviction thereupon and so proceeded to Goodman's Examination taken under the Hand of Mr. Vernon which they prayed might be read but the Prisoner's Council opposed it as a thing unallowable and impracticable the Law requiring Persons to appear and give their Evidence viva voce c. and the House entred into an hot Debate upon it But at length it was carried the said Imformation should be read and next that some of Grand Jury should give an account upon what Evidence they found the Bill of Indictment that was thereupon brought in against Sir John Fenwicke From hence they proceeded to the Record of the Conviction of Mr. Cook and when the Council on both sides had spoke to it and the House debated the same it was moreover agreed That the said Record should be read and the King's Council allowed to examine Witnesses as to what Goodman swore at the Tryal of Cook which being over and some Questions asked concerning the forementioned Letter of Sir John Fenwicke it was agreed the Prisoner's Council if they had any Witnesses to examine on his Behalf might do it that Night but that as to their Observations the House would give them time till next Morning This they having none except a Record to produce accepted of and indeed said as much in Behalf of their
Client as could have been expected wherein however they were as notably answered by Mr. Sergeant Gould but I have not room to Cite the Arguments And so I proceed to shew that Sir John and the Council being ordered to withdraw and upon the Motion of some of the more aggrieved Members that the Prisoner should deal clearly and candidly with the House in giving an account of what he knew concerning several Persons of great Quality against whom he had given in the Informations formerly mentioned and he declining of the same it was resolved Mr. Vernon should give in his Evidence in respect to Sir John's getting his Tryal delayed by Offers of Information and that in his and the Counsels presence on both sides And the Counsel having no more to say they were discharged from their farther Attandance at that time and the Order of the Day for reading of the Bill a second time being read by the Clerk and the same being afterwards opened by the Speaker and having expected for some time and no member rising up to speak he asked whether he should put the Question of Commitment But then the Speaker had his Belly full on 't and the Debate ran very high both on the one side and the other about the extraordinary Method of Proceedings the Power and Justice of Parliaments compared with other inferiour Courts of Judicature with many Presidents of former Bills of Attainder Pro and Con and other Arguments that fell in which are too tedious for me particularly to enter upon But upon the whole towards Eleven at Night the Result was That the Bill should be Committed and on Friday the 20th the House resolved it self into a Committee of the whole House upon the said Bill and several Words having been offered as an Amendment to it importing Sir John Fenwicke's being Guilty at last these Words of which the said Sir John Fenwicke is Guilty were agreed on to be added to the Close thereof November the 25th the Bill was read the third time when the Contestation upon the Debate run as hot as ever and the Members were no less divided in their Opinions than before but at length the Question for Passing the Bill being put the House divided thereupon when there appearing for it an Hundred Eighty Nine and but an Hundred and Fifty Six against it it passed in the Affirmative It 's observable that tho' the Crime wherewith Sir John Fenwicke was Charged was of the highest Nature that could be against the Government yet that very many most honourable and worthy Persons in both Houses and such as are well known to be his Majesty's best Friends were very stiff against the Bill Yet that did not arise from any Intentions in them to Acquit the Guilty but they could not be satisfied with the manner of procedure and that of there being but one vivi voce Witness only stuck hard upon them especially since in all ordinary Courts two were always required for the Proof of such a Crime and that there had been an Act made but the very Sessions before that did possitively require the same in Cases of High Treason And it was looked upon very strange by some that such a President should be so quickly made and that in such a good Reign and the same might prove of very dangerous Consequence to the Liberty of the Subject in future Times which they should be always very regardful of But however the Matter were Sir John was Beheaded for it and none of them thought him unjustly to suffer though many boggled at the manner of his Condemnation At the Place of Execution he deliver'd the following Paper to the Sheriffs A true Copy of the Paper Delivered by Sir John Fenwicke Baronet to the Sheriffs of London and Middlesex on Tower-Hill the Place of Execution on Thursday January the 28th 1697. SPeaking nor Writing was never my Talent I shall therefore give a very Short but Faithful Account first of my Religion and next what I suffer most innocently for to avoid the Calumnies I may reasonably expect my Enemies will cast upon me when dead since they have most falsely and maliciously aspersed me whilst under my Misfortunes As for my Religion I was brought up in the Church of England as it is establish'd by Law and have ever profess'd it tho' I confess I have been an unworthy Member of it in not living up to the strict and excellent Rules thereof for which I take Shame to my self and humbly ask Forgiveness of GOD. I come now to dye in that Communion trusting as an humble and hearty Penitent to be received by the Mercy of God through the Merits of Jesus Christ my Saviour My Religion taught me my Loyalty which I bless God is untainted And I have ever endeavoured in the Station wherein I have been placed to the utmost of my Power to support the Crown of England in the True and Lineal Course of Descent without interruption As for what I am now to dye I call God to witness I went not to that Meeting in Leadenhall-street with any such intention as to invite King James by Force to invade this Nation nor was I my self provided with either Horse or Arms or engaged for any number of Men or gave particular Consent foy any such Invasion as is most falsely Sworn against me I do also declare in the Presence of God That I knew nothing of King James's coming to Calais nor of any Invasion intended from thence till it was publickly known And the only Notion I had that something might be attempted was from the Thoulon Fleet coming to Brest I also call God to witness that I received the knowledge of what is contained in those Papers that I gave to a great Man that came to me in the Tower both from Letters and Messages that came from France and he told me when I â—ead them to him That the Prince of Orange had been acâ—uainted with most of those things before I might have expected Mercy from that Prince because I was Instrumental in saving his Life For when about April 95. an Attempt formed against him came to my Knowledge I did partly by Dissuasions and partly by Delays prevent that Design which I suppose was the Reason that the last Villanous Project was concealed from me If there be any Persons whom I have injur'd in Word oâ— Deed I heartily pray their Pardon and beg of God to Pardon those who have injured me particularly those who with great Zeal have sought my Life and brought the guilt of my Innocent Blood upon this Nation no Treason being proved upon me I return my most hearty Thanks to those Noble and Worthy Persons who gave me their Assistance by opposing this Bill of Attainder without which it had been impossible I could have fallen under the Sentence of Death God bless them and their Posterity though I am fully satisfied they Pleaded their own Cause while they Defended mine I pray God to bless my True and
Lawful Sovereign King James the Queen and Prince of Wales and Restore him and his Posterity to this Throne again for the Peace and Prosperity of this Nation which is impossible to prosper till the Government is settled upon a right Foot And now O God I do with all Humble Devotion Commâ—â—â— my Soul into thy Hands the great Maker and Preserver of Meâ— and Lover of Souls beseeching thee That it may be always 〈◊〉 and precious in thy Sight through the Merits of my Saviour Jesus Christ Amen J. FENWICK But to leave this ungrateful Subject the Parliament besides the passing of the usual Land-Tax made an Act â—o Granting to His Majesty several Duties upon Parchment Papâ— and Vellum to encourage the Bringing of Plate and Hammer'â— Mony into the Mint to be Coined As there was also another Act To encourage the Bringing in of Wrought Plate to be Coineâ— There was also Divers Impositions upon Goods and Merchandizâ—â— continued The Deficiencies of Funds made good The Capâ—â— Stock of the Bank of England enlarged And For Raising the Publick Credit Besides which there were Impositions laid upon Leather and Malt A farther Subsidy of Tonnage and Pounâ—age granted and an Act made For Licensing Hawkers 〈◊〉 Pediars But before these Things were compleated in England the Preliminaries of the Peace were agreed on in Holland and signed the 10th of February And they are these that foâ—â—low I. THE French King doth consent and agree that the Treaties of Westphalia and Nimeguen shall be the Basis and Foundation of the Negotiation of the General Peace to be made with all the Allies II. That the City of Strasburgh be restored to the Empire in the State it was when taken by His Majesty III. That the City of Luxemburgh shall be restored to the King of Spain in the Condition it is now But here you are to observe that France made an Offer to the Allies by way of Equivalent for the said Cities IV. The Towns of Mons and Charleroy shall be given up in the Condition they are at present V. That those Places in Catalonia which are in the French King's Hands and which he hath taken since the Peace of Nimeguen shall be restored in the same State as they were taken VI. That the Town and Castle of Dinant shall be given up to the Bishop and Prince of Liege in the State they were taken VII That all the Re-unions which have been made since the Treaty of Nimeguen shall be void VIII Lorrain shall be restored according to the Conditions of the said Treaty But here it was agreed That in case the Concessions made in respect to Lorrain did not please this Article should be referred to the General Treaty with Promises that greater Offers should then be made and that it should be the first Point treated on in the Negotiation It was also farther agreed That upon the Conclusion of the Peace the Most Christian King should acknowledge the Prince of Orange for King of Great Britain without any manner of Difficulty Restriction Condition or Reserve That as for other Princes whether in the Confederacy or not their Pretensions should be reserved to the General Negotiation under the Mediation of the King of Sweden IX The Dutchy of Duux-Ponts to be restored to the King of Sweden with all its Dependancies X. Philipsburgh to be restored to the Bishop of Spire XI The Fort of Kehl and other Fortifications made on the Rhine to be rased XII As also Fort Louis and Hunninghen XIII That Trarbach and Mont-Royal should be given up but first dismantled upon Condition they should never be fortified again XIV The French King agreed to give up to the Elector Palatin not only all the Electorate but also the Dutchies of Simmeren and Lauthern with the Earldom of Shanheim as also all other Places whereof he had been dispossessed to this present Time XV. That Madam the Dutchess of Orleans was to do nothing upon Account of her Pretensions Via Facti but might bring her Action according to the Law in relation to the Electors XVI That the Castle and County of Veldens be restored to their lawful Owner XVII Bisweiler to the Count of Hanau XVIII The Seigniories of March Marmosy and Dagstein and the Counties of Louningue and Dagsbourgh should be delivered up to the Count of Overstein XIX That the Seigniories of Salms and Valkenstein should be given up to the Prince of Salms or to their Proprietors seeing that the same is still in question XX. The Seigniories of Latzensteim and Altheim to their Proprietors XXI Otweiler to the House of Nassau XXII That the City and County of Mompelgard Harcourt Blainont and Chatelette should be put into the Possession of the House of Wirtemburgh XXIII That Germersheim should be also given up to the Elector Palatin notwithstanding any former Treaties to the contrary XXIV That Stadeck and Landsbergue be given to the Count of Veldentz XXV That the Principality of Orange be given up to its Sovereign But for all this some of the Ministers of the Allies after having consulted their Masters hereupon Declared That as to what concerned the first Article they fully agreed to it But for Strasburg they further insisted it should be restored with its Fortifications and Dependances and that no equivalent should be accepted for it They accepted of the Third Fourth and Fifth Articles only they insisted that not only the City but the County of Luxemburg and that of Chinay should be given up As they did that the City and Castle of Dinant should be yielded together with the Dutchy of Bovillion in the same state they were They Declared themselves satisfied as to the Seventh Article touching the Re-unions but not so with the agreement made about Lorrain which they would have restored to the Duke its Sovereign without any manner of restriction In pursuance to the said Preliminaries and Reswick as the Place of Treaty being after many Difficulties and Scruples fully agreed to by all parties concerned The Conferences began about the 9th of May and were not carried on to any considerable length before there was a work of another Nature done in the Field Where the French as having made a Peace with Savoy as we have told you last Year and as being their last Effort were very powerful this Year especially in Flanders and Catalonia In the first whereof they had still the advantage over the Confederates from the remoteness of the German Troops and the slowness of their march and who hardly came into the Camp this Year â—ill the French had done their work in the Reduction of Aeth which tho' it gave some farther Reputation to their Arms and Cause yet it came far short of the Boasts they had made all the Spring of attacking a no less considerable place than Namur But their grand design upon 〈◊〉 His Majesty by his great Prudence Courage and Celerity utterly Disappointed so that their intentions to become sole Masters of the Peace and
both sides and mutually and duly exchanged at the Royal Palace of Ryswick in the Province of Holland within the space of three Weeks to be reckoned from the Day of the Subscription or sooner if it may be In Testimony of all and every the things before mentioned and for their greater Force and to give them all the Vigour and full Authority they ought to have the Underwritten Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiaries together with the Illustirous and most Excellent the Extraordinary Ambassador Mediator have Signed and Sealed the present Instrument of Peace Done c. Signed by the English and French Ambassadors and by the Metâ—iator Separate Article Besides all that is Concluded and Stipulated by the Treaty of Peace Signed this present Day the 20th of Sptember it is moreover agreed by the present separate Article which shall have the same Force and Effect as if it was inserted word for word in the said Treaty That the most Christian King shall convenant and agree that it shall be free for the Emperor and Empire until the first Day of Novemher next to accept the Conditions of Peace lately proposed by the most Christian King according to the Declaration made on the first Day of this present Month unless in the mean time it shall be otherwise agreed between his Imperial Majesty and the Empire and his most Christian Majesty And in Case his Imperial Majesty does not within the time prefixed accept those Conditions or that it be not otherwise agreed between his Imperial Majesty and the Empire and his most Christian Majesty the said Treaty shall have its full Effect and be duly put in Execution according to its Form and Tenor And it shall not be lawful for the King of Great Britain directly or indirectly on any account or cause whatsoever to act contrary to the said Treaty Having thus premised the English Articles we shall next add those of the Dutch IN the Name of God and of the Holy Trinity Be it known to all present and to come That whereas after a long continuance of the most Bloody War that Europe time out of mind has been afflicted with it hath pleas'd Divine Providence to prepare for Christendom the end of her Miseries by cherishing a fervent Desire of Peace in the Heart of the Most High Most Excellent and Most Potent Prince Lewis XIV by the Grace of God Most Christian King of France and Navarr his Most Christian Majesty moreover not having any other Intention then to render it solid and perpetual by the Equity of the Conditions and the Lords the States General of the United Provinces of the Low-Countries being no less desirous sincerely and as much as in them lies to concur toward the Establishment of the publick Tranquility and return to the ancient Amity and Affection of his Most Christian Majesty have consented in the first place in order to it to acknowledge the Mediation of the Most High Most Excellent and Most Potent Prince Chares XI of Glorious Memory by the Grace of God King of Sweden the Goths and Vandals but a hasty Death having cross'd the Hopes that all Europe had justly conceiv'd of his Counsels and good Offices His Most Christian Majesty and the said Lords the States General persisting in their Resolution to stop as soon as may be the Effusion of so much Christian Blood thought they could not take a better Course than still to acknowledge under the same Character the Most High Most Excellent and Thrice Potent Prince Charles XII King of Sweden his Son and Successor who on his side has also continu'd the same Cares for the Advancement of the Peace between his Most Christian Majesty and the said Lords the States General in the Conferences held for this purpose in the Castle of Ryswick in the Province of Holland between the Extraordinary Embassadors and Plenipotentiaries appointed on both sides that is to say On the behalf of his Most Christian Majesty the Sieur Nicholas Augustus de Harlay Knight Lord of Bonnueil c. the Sieur Lewis de Verjus Knight Count of Crecy c. and the Sieur Francis de Callieres Knight Lord of Callieres c. And on the behalf of the Lords the States General the Sieurs Antony Heinsius Counsellor Pensionary of the States of Holland and West-Friese c. Everard de Weed Lord of Weede Dickvelt Rateles c. and William de Haren Grietman of Bilt c. who having implor'd the Assistance of Heaven and respectively imparted to each other their full Powers Copies of which shall be inserted at the end of this present Treaty and made Exchanges thereof in due form by the Interposition and Mediation of the Sieur Baron de Lillierooâ— Extraordinary Embassador and Plenipotentiary of the King of Sweden who acquitted himself of the Function of Mediator with all requisite Prudence Capacity and Equity agreed to the Glory of God and for the Welfare of Christendom upon the following Conditions I. There shall be for the future between his Most Christian Majesty and his Successors Kings of France and Nâ—varr and his Kingdoms of the one part and the Lords the States General of the United Provinces of the Low-Countriâ—â— on the other a good firm faithful and inviolable Peace in pursuance of which all Acts of Hostility shall cease 〈◊〉 be forborn of what Nature soever they may be betweeâ— the said Lord the King and the said States General as 〈◊〉 by Sea and other Waters as by Land in all their Kingdoms Countries Territories Provinces and Signories and between all their Subjects and Inhabitants of 〈◊〉 Quality or Condition soever they be without any Exception of Places or Persons II. There shall be a general Oblivion and Amnesty of 〈◊〉 that has been done on either side upon occasion of this 〈◊〉 War whether by those who being born Subjects of Fraâ—â—â— and engag'd in the Service of the Most Christian King 〈◊〉 their Employments and Estates which they possess'd 〈◊〉 in the Extent of France enter'd into and remain'd in 〈◊〉 Services of the Lords the States General of the United Provinces or by those who being born Subjects of the 〈◊〉 Lords the States General or engag'd in their Service by the Employments and Estates which they possess'd within the Extent of the United Provinces enter'd into and remain'd in the Service of his Most Christian Majesty and the said Persons of what Quality and Condition soever they may be without any Exception may re-enter and shall re-enter and shall be effectually re-admitted and re-establish'd in the peaceable Possession and Enjoyment of their Estates Honours Dignities Privileges Franchises Rights Exemptions Constitutions and Liberties without ever being prosecuted troubl'd or molested either in general or particular for any Cause or under any Pretence whatever by reason of whatever pass'd since the beginning of the said War and in consequence of the preseâ—â— Treaty and after it shall be ratify'd as well by his Most Christian Majesty as by the said Lords the States General it
shall be lawful for 'em all in General and for every one in Particular without any need of Pardon or Acts of Oblivion in Writing to return in Person to their Houses and to the Enjoyment of their Lands and all their other Estates or to dispose of 'em in such a manner as they shall think fit III. And if any Prizes are taken upon the Baltick or North-Sea from Terneuse to the end of St. George's Channel within the space of Four Weeks and from the end of St. George's Channel to St. Vincent's Cape within the space of Six Weeks and from thence in the Mediterranean and as far as the Line within the space of Ten Weeks and beyond the Line and in all other parts of the World within the space of Eight Months to count from the Day that the Peace shall be proclaimed at Paris and at the Hague the said Prizes and Damages that shall be done on either side after the Terms prefix'd shall be reckon'd up and all that has been taken shall be restor'd and Compensation given for all the Dammages that shall be thereby sustain'd IV. Moreover there shall be between the said Lord the King and the said Lords the States General and their Subjects and Inhabitants reciprocally a sincere firm and perpetual Amity and good Correspondence as well by Sea as by Land and in all Parts and Places as well in as out of Europe without any Resentment of Injuries or Dammages as well for the time past as by occasion of the late War V. And in pursuance of this Amity and good Correspondence as well his Majesty as the Lords the States General shall cordially procure and advance the Good and Prosperity of each other by all the Ways of Support Aid Counsel and real Assistances upon all Occasions and at all Times and shall not consent for the future to any Treaties or Negotiations which may be prejudicial to each other but shall break 'em and give reciprocal Information thereof with Care and Sincerity so soon as they shall come to their Knowledge VI. They who have had any Estates seiz'd and confiscated by reason of the said War their Heirs or such who have right thereto of what Condition or Religion soever they may be shall enjoy the said Estates and shall take Possession of 'em by their own private Authority by virtue of this present Treaty without being constrain'd to have recourse to Justice notwithstanding any Incorporations into the Treasury Deeds of Gift Preparatory or Definitive Sentences given for Default and Contumacy in the Absence or without hearing the Parties Treaties Accords and Transactions whatever Renunciations may have been put in the said Transactions to exclude the Parties to whom the said Estates belong and all and every the Estates and Rights which according to conformity to this present Treaty shall be restor'd or ought to be restor'd reciprocally to the said Proprietors their Heirs or such as have right may be sold by the said Proprietors without any necessity of demanding particular consent so to do Also the Proprietors of Rents which on the behalf of the publick Treasury shall be constituted in the place of Goods sold as also of Rents and Actions being at the charge of the publick Treasury respectively shall dispose of the Propriety of them by Rent or otherwise as of their own proper Estates VII And in regard the Marquisate of Bergen op Zooâ— with all the Rights and Revenues that belong to it and generally all the Lordships and Estates belonging to M. the Count d' Auvergne Colonel-General of the Light Horse of France and which are in the Power of the said Lords the States General of the United Provinces have been seiz'd and confiscated by reason of the War to which this present Treaty is to put a happy Conclusion it is agreed That the said Count d' Auvergne shall be restor'd to the Possession of the said Marquisate of Bergen op Zoom its Appurtenancies and Dependancies as also to the Rights Actions Privileges Usages and Prerogatives which he enjoy'd before the War was declar'd VIII All Countries Cities Places Lands Forts Islands and Signories as well in as out of Europe which may have been taken and possess'd since the beginning of this present War shall be restor'd on both sides in the same Condition as to the Fortifications as when they were taken and as to the other Buildings in the same Condition as theâ— shall be found nor shall any thing be destroy'd or embezzil'd nor shall any reparation of Damages be pretended to for what might have been demolish'd More-especially the Fort and Habitation of Pontichery shall be restor'd upon the foresaid Conditions to the East-India Company settl'd in France and as for the Artillery that was carry'd thither by the East-India Company of the United Provinces they shall still reserve it to themselves as also the Ammunition Provision Slaves and all other Effects to dispose of as they shall think fit as also of the Lands Rights and Privileges which they have acquir'd as well from the Prince as the Inhabitants of the Country IX All Prisoners of War shall be releas'd on both sides without Distinction or Exception and without paying any Ransom X. The raising of Contributions shall cease on both sides from the Day of Exchanging the Ratifications of the present Treaty of Peace and no Arrearages of the said Contributions demanded and agreed to shall be exacted but all Pretensions that remain upon that Occasion under any Claim or Pretence whatsoever shall be absolutely annihilated on both sides as also all Contributions on both sides in reference to the Countries of the Most Catholick and Christian Kings shall cease upon the Exchange of the said Ratifications of this present Treaty XI And for the better corroborating and establishing of this present Treaty it is farther agreed between his Majesty and the Lords the States General That this Treaty being fulfill'd there shall be made as hereby there is made a Renunciation as well General as Particular of all manner of Pretensions as well for the time past as present whatsoever they may be which one Party may have against the other to take away for the future all Occasions of stirring up and bringing to pass new Dissentions XII The usual Proceedings of Justice shall be open and the Course of Law shall be reciprocally free and the Subjects of both sides shall prosecute their Rights Actions and Pretensions according to the Laws and Statutes of each Country and thereby obtain the one against the other without Distinction all the Satisfaction that may lawfully belong to them And if any Letters of Reprisals have been granted on either side whether before or after the Declaration of the last War they shall be revoak'd and annull'd reserving to the Parties in favour of whom they were granted full Power to provide for themselves by the ordinary ways of Justice XIII If by Inadvertency or otherwise any Breach or Inobservance shall happen to the prejudice of this
present Treaty by his Majesty or the said Lords the States General and their Successors nevertheless this Peace and Alliance shall remain in its full Force without coming to a Rupture of the Amity and good Correspondence But the said Breaches shall be dresently repair'd and if they proceed from the Misdemeanor of any private Subjects they only shall suffer Punishment XIV And for the better Assurance for the future of the Trade and Amity between the Subjects of the said Lord the King and those of the said Lords the States General of the United Provinces of the Low Countries it is accorded and agreed That if hereafter any Interruption of Friendship or Rupture shall happen between the Crown of France and the said Lords the States General of the United Provinces which God forbid there shall be always nine Months time allowed after the said Rupture for the Subjects of each Party to retire with their Effects and to transport 'em whether they shall think fit Which it shall be lawful for 'em to do as also to sell and transport their Gods and Moveables with all Freedom without any Hindrance or Molestation or Proceeding during the said space of nine Months to any Seizure of their Goods much less to any Arrests of their Persons XV. The Treaty of â—eace between the deceas'd King and the Elector of Brandenburg concluded at St. German enlay the 29th of June 1697. shall be re-establish'd between his Most Christian Majesty and his present Electoral Highness of Brandenburg in all the Points and Articles of it XVI In regard it is of high Concernment to the publick Tranquility that the Peace concluded between his Most Christian Majesty and his Royal Highness the Duke of Savoy August the 9th 1696. should be exactly observ'd it is agreed That the same be confirm'd by this present Treaty XVII And in regard his Majesty and the Lords the States General acknowledge themselves beholding for the effectual good Offices which the King of Sweden has continually contributed by his good Counsels and Admonitions toward the publick Safety and Repose it is agreed on both sides That his said Swedish Majesty with his Kingdoms shall be expresly comprehended in the present Treaty in the most ample Form that may be done XVIII In this present Treaty of Peace and Alliance shall be comprehended on the part of the said Lord the Most Christian King all those that shall be nominated before the Exchange of the Ratifications and within the space of six Months after they shall have been Exchanged XIX And on the part of the Lords the States General the King of Great Britain and the King of Spain and all the rest of the Allies who in the space of six Weeks to reckon from the Exchange of the Ratifications shall declare themselves willing to accept of the Peace as also the Thirteen Laudable Cantons of the Confederate Switzers and their Allies and Confederates and particularly in the best Form and Manner that may be the Evangelick Republicks and Cantons of Zurig Berne Glaris Basle Schasthause and Appenzel with all their Allies and Confederates as also the Republick of Geneva and its Dependencies the City and County of Neufchastelle the Cities of St. Galles Milhause and Bienne also the Confederate Grizons and their Dependancies the Cities of Bremen and Embden and more-over all Kings Princes and States Cities and private Persons to whom the Lords the States General upon request to them made shall grant Liberty to be comprehended therein XX. The said Lord the King and the said Lords the States General consent That the King of Sweden as Mediator and all the rest of the Potentates and Princes who are desirous to enter into the same Engagement may give to his said Majesty and the said Lords the States General their Promises and Obligations of Guarranty for the performance of all that is contain'd in this present Treaty XXI The present Treaty shall be ratify'd and confirm'd by the Lord the King and the Lords the States General and the Letters of Ratification shall be deliver'd within the Term of Three Weeks or sooner if it may be to count from the Day of the Signing XXII And for the greater Security of Peace and of all Clauses and Articles therein contain'd the present Treaty shall be publish'd verify'd and register'd in the Court of Parliament in Paris and in all the other Parliaments of the Kingdom of France and Chamber of Accounts in Paris aforesaid as also in like manner the said Treaty shall be publish'd verify'd and register'd by the Lords the States General in the Courts and other Places where such Publications Verifications and Registers are accustom'd to be made In Faith of which We the Embassadors of his said Majesty and the Lords the States General by virtue of Our respective Powers have in the said Names sign'd these sents with Our usual Subscriptions and put thereto Our several Seals of our Coats of Arms. At Ryswick in Holland September the 20th 1697. The Separate ARTICLE BEsides what has been concluded and determin'd by the Treaty of Peace between the Embassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiaries of the Most Christian King and those of the Lords the States General of the United Provinces this 20th of September 1697. It is yet farther agreed by this Separate Article which shall have the same Force and Virtue as if it were Word for Word in the above-mention'd Treaty That his Most Christian Majesty shall consent as he does hereby consent by this present Article That the Emperor and Empire shall be allow'd till the 1st of November next to accept the Conditions of Peace propos'd as the last that are to be made by his said Most Christian Majesty according to his Declaration of the 1st of this present Month of September if his Imperial Majesty and the Empire cannot otherwise agree with his said Most Christian Majesty and in case that within the said time the Emperor and the Empire do not accept the said Conditions or do not otherwise agree with his said Most Christian Majesty the said Treaty of Peace shall have its full and entire Effect and shall be fulfill'd according to its Form and Tenor so that the said Lords the States General shall in no manner oppose it either directly or indirectly under any Pretence whatsoever In Faith of which We the Embassadors of his said Majesty and the States General by vertue of Our respective Powers have in the said Names sign'd this Separate Article with Our usual Subscriptions and seal'd it with Our Coats of Arms at Ryswick in Holland this 20th Day of September 1697. Sign'd L. S. N. A de Harlay Bonueil L. S. Verjus de Crecy L. S. De Callieres L. S. A. Hensius L. S. E. de Weede L. S. W. V. Haren Thus having inserted the English and Dutch Articles at full length nothing less can be expected than that I should do the like by the Spaniards who will be thought not to have fared the worse for the Peace
the Hearts of the Most High Most Excellent and Most Potent Prince Lewis XIV by the Grace of God Most Christian King of France and Navarre and the Most High Most Excellent and Most Potent Prince Charles II. Catholick King of Spain who desiring cordially and as much as in them lies to concurr toward the Re-establishment of the Publick Tranquility and more-over not having any other Design than to render it solid and perpetual by the Equity of the Conditions their said Majesties unanimously consented to submit for that purpose to the Mediation of the Most High Most Excellent and Most potent Prince of Glorious Memory Charles XI by the Grace of God King of Sweden the Goths and Vandals c. but sudden Death having cross'd the Hope which all Europe had conceiv'd of the happy Issue of his Counsels and his good Offices their said Majesties persisting still in a Resolution as soon as might be to stop the Effusion of so much Christian Blood believed they could not do better than still to acknowledge in the same Quality the Most High the Most Excellent and Most potent Prince Charles XII King of Sweden his Son and Successor who on his part has continu'd the same Cares for the advancing of the Peace between their Most Christian and Catholick Majesties in the Conferences that have been held at the Castle of Ryswick in the Province of Holland between the Extraordinary Embassadors and Plenipotentiaries appointed on both sides That is to say on the part of his Most Christian Majesty the Sieur Nicholas Augustus de Harlay Knight Lord of Bonneuil Count de Cely the King's Counsellor in Ordinary in his Council of State the Sieur Lewis Chevalier Verjus Count de Crecy the King's Counsellor in Ordinary in his Council of State Marquiss de Freon Baron of Cauvay Lord of Boulay the two Churches of Fort Isle du Muillet and other Places and the Sieur Francis de Callieres Knight Lord of Callieres de la Rochellay and Gigny and on the part of his Catholick Majesty Senior Don Francisco Bernardo de Quiros Knight of the Order of St. James the King's Counsellor in his Royal and Supream Council of Castille and the Sieur Lewis Alexander de Stockart Count of Tirlemont Baron de Gaesbeke Counsellor in the Supream Council of State for the Low Countries at Madrid in the Councils of State and Privy-Council within the said Countries who having first implor'd the Assistance of Heaven and respectively imparted their full Powers Copies of which shall be inserted Word for Word at the end of this present Treaty and duly exchang'd 'em by the Interposition and Mediation of the Sieur Nicholas Baron de Lilienrâ—â— Embassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of his Majesty the King of Sweden who has discharg'd his Office of Mediator with all requisite Prudence Capacity and Equity they agreed for the Glory of God and the Good of Christendom upon the Conditions following I. It is agreed and consented That for the future there shall be a good firm and lasting Peace Confederacy and perpetual Alliance and Amity between the Most Christian and Catholick Kings their Children born and to be born Inheritors Heirs and Successors their Kingdoms States Countries and Subjects that they shall reciprocally love each other like Brothers procuring to the utmost of their Power the Good Honour and Reputation of each other sincerely and as much as in them lies avoiding what-ever may cause the Damage either of the one or the other II. In pursuance of this Peace and good Union all Acts of Hostilities shall cease between the said Kings their Subjects and Vassals as well by Sea and other Waters as by Land and generally in all Places where the War has been carry'd on by their Majesties Arms as well between their Armies as between the Garrisons of their Strong Holds and if it were transgress'd by the taking of one or several Places either by Attack by Surprize or by Correspondence or if any Prisoners were taken or if any other Acts of Hostility were committed by Chance or otherwise the Breach shall be sincerely repair'd on both sides without scruple or delay restoring without Dimunition what shall have been possess'd and delivering the Prisoners without Ransom or Payment of Charges III. All Causes of Enmity or Misunderstanding shall be extinguish'd and abolish'd for ever There shall be on both sides a perpetual Oblivion and Amnesty of what-ever has been done during this present War or by reason thereof so that there may be no Prosecutions on either side directly nor indirectly upon any Pretence what-ever nor shall their said Majesties their Subjects Servants nor Adherents testifie any Resentment nor pretend to any sort of Reparation IV. The Strong Holds Gironne Roses and Belver shall be restor'd and left in Possession Demesne and Soveraignty of his Catholick Majesty as they were when taken with the Artillery which was found there at the same time and in general all the other Cities Strong Holds Forts Places and Castlewicks which have been possess'd during this War by his Most Christian Majesty's Arms and since the Treaty of Nimeguen within the Principality of Catalogna or other where in Spain their Appurtenances Dependencies and Annexes shall be restor'd in the Condition as now they are without retaining reserving weak'ning or impairing any thing Also the City of Barcelona Fort and Fortifications thereupon depending with all the Artillery shall be surrender'd back into the Power Demesne and Soveraignty of his Catholick Majesty in the Condition wherein the whole was found at the Day of taking thereof with all Appurtenances Dependencies and Annexes V. The City and Fortress of Luxemburg in the Condition as it is now without demolishing changing or weak'ning any thing or impairing the Works Forts or Fortifications thereof together with all the Artillery that was there at the time of taking as also the Province and Dutchy of Luxemburg and County of Chiny in all their Consistencies and all that they comprehend with their Appurtenances Dependencies and Annexes shall be sincerely and faithfully restor'd and surrender'd back into the Power Demesne Soveraignty and Possession of the Catholick King for the said King to enjoy as he did or might do then and before the Treaty of Nimeguen without detaining or reserving any thing but what was yielded up to his Most Christian Majesty by the preceding Treaty VI. The Fortress of Charleroy shall be likewise surrender'd back into the Power and under the Soveraignty of his Catholick Majesty with its Dependencies in the Condition it now is without breaking demolishing weak'ning or impairing any thing as also the Artillery that was at the time when it was taken VII Also the City of Mons the Capital of the Province of Hainault with the Works and Fortifications belonging to it shall be restor'd to the Soveraignty Demesne and Possession of his Catholick Majesty in the Condition as they are now without breaking demolishing weak'ning or impairing any thing together with the Artillery which was there
Mediterranean Sea and as far as the Line within the space of Ten Weeks and beyond the Line and in all the other Parts of the World within the space of Eight Months to reckon from the Day of the Publication of this present Treaty the said Prizes which shall be taken of either side after the Terms prefix'd shall be restor'd with Reparation for Damages sustain'd XXVI In case of a Rupture which God forbid there shall be allow'd the Term of Six Months that so the Subjects of either Part may have time to remove and transport their Effects and Goods whither they shall think most convenient and it shall be lawful for 'em to do it with all Freedom without any Molestation or Obstruction or Seizure of the said Effects during the said Term much less shall any stop be put to their Persons XXVII The Soldiers on both sides shall immediately after the Ratification of this present Treaty return to the Territories and Countries of their proper Sovereigns and into the strong Holds and Places which are to remain and belong to their Majesties respectively after or according to this present Treaty not being to stay upon any Pretence whatever in the Territories of either Sovereign nor in the Places which are in like manner to appertain to him and there shall be also after the Signing of the same Treaty a Cessation of Arms and Hostilities in the Dominions of the said Kings as well by Sea and other Waters as by Land XXVIII It is also agreed That the Receipt of Duties of which the said Most Christian King is in Possession upon all the Countries which he surrenders back or restores to the said Catholick King shall be continu'd till the actual Restitution of the Places of which the said Countries are Dependancies and that what shall remain due at the time of the said Restitution shall be faithfully pay'd to those who have taken the Farms of the same as also that at the same time the Proprietors of Woods Confiscated within the Dependencies of the said Places which are to be restor'd to his Catholick Majesty shall re-enter into the Possession of their Estates and of all the Woods that are upon the Place it being to be understood that from the Day of the Signing this present Treaty all Cutting down of Woods shall cease on both sides XXIX The Treaty of Nimeghen and the preceding Treaties shall be observ'd and put in Execution according to their Form and Tenor except in the Points and Articles from which there shall have been any thing formerly derogated or any Alteration made by this present Treaty XXX All Proceedings and all Judgments given between private Persons by the Judges or particular Officers of this Most Christian Majesty settl'd as well in the Cities and Places which he enjoy'd by virtue of the Treaty of 〈◊〉 Chapelle and which he has since restor'd to his Catholick Majesty as in those which appertain to his Most Christian Majesty by the Treaty of Nimeguen or of which he was in Possession after the said Treaty and likewise the Decrees of the Parliament of Tournay pronounc'd by reason of Differences and Suits prosecuted by the Inhabitants of the said Cities and their Dependencies during the time they were under his Most Christian Majesty's Obedience shall take Place and have their full and entire Effect as if the said King were Lord and Possessor of the said Countries nor shall the said Decrees or Judgments be call'd in Question or made void nor shall the Execution of 'em be in any other manner hinder'd or delay'd But it shall be lawful for the said Parties to provide for themselves by review of the Cause and according to the Order and Disposal of the Laws and Ordinances the Judgments still remaining in full Force and Virtue without prejudice to what is stipulated to this Effect in the 21st Article of the aforesaid Treaty of Nimeghen XXXI The City and Castle of Dinant shall be restor'd by his Most Christian Majesty to the Bishop and Prince of Liege in the Condition they were at what time they were possess'd by his Majesty's Arms. XXXII His Most Christian Majesty having testify'd his Desire That the Island of Ponza in the Mediterranean Sea shall be restor'd to Monsieur the Duke of Parma his Catholick Majesty in consideration of the good Offices of his Most Christian Majesty is pleas'd to declare That he will withdraw the Soldiers which he has there and return that Island into the Power and Possession of Monsieur the Duke of Parma presently after the Ratification of this present Treaty XXXIII In regard it is of high Concernment to the publick Tranquility that the Peace concluded at Turin the 29th of August 1696. between his Most Christian Majesty and his Roval Highness of Savoy should be also exactly observ'd it is thought convenient to confirm and comprehend it in this present Treaty and in all its Points such as are contain'd in the Copy sign'd and seal'd by the Plenipotentiaries of Savoy and which shall be annex'd to the present Treaty for the due observance of which and the present Treaty their said Majesties do give his Royal Highness their Guarranty XXXIV Their said Majesties in acknowledgment of the good Offices and Cares which the Most Serene King of Sweden has continually employ'd toward the Re-establishment of Peace are agree'd That his Swedish Majesty his Kingdoms and States shall be nominally comprehended in this present Treaty in the best Form and Manner that may be XXXV In his Peace Alliance and Amity shall be comprehended all those that shall be nam'd on either Part by common Consent before the Exchange of the Ratifications or within the space of Six Months after they shall be exchang'd XXXVI The said Most Christian and Catholick Kings consent That his Swedish Majesty in the Quality of Mediator and all other Kings Princes and Republicks who are desirous to enter into the said Engagement may give their Majesties their Promises and Obligations of Guarranty for the performance of all that is contain'd in this present Treaty XXXVII And for the greater security of this Treaty of Peace and all the Points and Articles therein contain'd this Treaty shall be publish'd verify'd and register'd as well in the Grand Council and other Councils and Chambers of Accompts of the Catholick King in the Low-Countries as in the other Councils of the Crowns of Castille and Aragon the whole according and in the Form contain'd in the Treaty of Nimeghen in the Year 1678. As also the said Treaty shall be publish'd verify'd and register'd in the Court of Parliament of Paris and in all other Parliaments of the Kingdom of France and Chamber of Accounts of Paris aforesaid Of which Publications and Inregistrings Copies shall be return'd and deliver'd on both sides within the space of Three Months after publication of the said Treaty XXXVIII All which Points and Articles above-declar'd and express'd together with the Contents of every one of them were negotiated
our Reasons may appear both now and for the future in the Acts of the present Negotiation We the Embassadors and Plenipotentiaries whose Names are underwritten earnestly desire their Excellencies the Embassadors Mediators that this our Remonstrance may be inserted in their Protocol or Register and that they may have an Act given 'em to confirm the presenting it Protesting also at the same time that their Masters are no less Zealous for the Peace then the rest of the Princes of Europe and that it is great Grief to 'em that they cannot sign in their Master's Name by reason of a Difficulty that was no way foreseen The Embassadors and Plenipotentiaries here present have sign'd the present Declaration and thereto fix'd their Seals in the Names of the Electors Princes and States of the Sâ—cred Roman Empire of the Confession of Auspurg who sent us their Deputies to the Treaty of Peace At the Hague 15th October 4 November 1697. In the Name of the Elector of Saxony Christopher Dieteric Bose the Younger Dutchy of Deux Ponts George Frederick de Snoilsky Saxon Gota Adolph Christian Aveman Duke of Brunswick Zell E. Klinggraffe Landtgrave of Hesse-Cassel William Vultesius Elector of Brandenburgh W. de Schmettau N. E. L. B. de Dankâ—lman Duke of Sauon Coburg Henry Richard L. B. de Hagen Margrave of â—â—â—eith E. L. B. de Stein Duke of Brunswick Wolfenbutel John William de Mansberg Dutchy of Holstein Gluckstar Dethlevus Nicholus de Lewencron But to return the Conferences still continued at Ryswick and all things were agreed on by the 30th of Oct. and the Treaty Signed then being Two Days before the time limitted by France to accept of her Offers The Articles were to this purpose IN the Name of the most Holy Trinity Amen Be it known unto All and every One that a cruel War attended with the Effusion of much Christian Blood and the Devastation of several Provinces having been waged for some Years last past between the most Serene and most Puissant Prince and Lord Leopâ—ld elected Emperour of the Romans always August King of Germany Hungary Bohemia of Dalmatia Croatia and Sclavonia Archduke of Austriâ— Duke of Burgundy Brabant Stiria Carinthia and Carniola Marquiss of Moravia Duke of Luxemburg of the Upper and Lower Silesia of Wirtemberg and of Teckay Prince of Suabia Counâ— of Habâ—bourg of Tyrol Kybourg and Goritia Marquiss of the Sacred Roman Empire Burgaw of the Upper and Lower Lusatia Lord of the Sclavonian Marches of Port-Naon and Salins c. and the Sacred Roman Empire on one part and the most Serene and most Puissant Prince and Lord Lewis XIV the most Christian King of France and Navarre on the other part Now his Imperial Majesty and his most Christian Majesty having most seriously apply'd themselves to terminate and put an end as soon as possible to those Mischiefs that daily encreas'd to the Ruine of Christendom by the Divine Assistance and by the Care of the most Serene and most Puissant Prince and Lord Charles XI King of Swedeland Goths and Vandâ—ls Grand Prince of Finland Duke of Scania Esthonia Livonia of Carelia Bremen Perden of Stetin Pomerania Cassubia and Vandalia Prince of Râ—gâ—n and Lord of Ingria and Wismar Count Palatine of the Rhine Duke of Bavaria Juliens Câ—â—ves and Bergues of Illustrious Memory who from the very beginning of these Commotions did not cease effectually to sollicit the Christian Princes to Peace and afterwards having been accepted as Universal Mediator never desisted gloriously to labour even to his dying Day to procure the same with all imaginable speed having to this purpose appointed and settled Conferences in the Palace of â—yswick in Holland and after his Decease the most Serene and most Puissant Prince and Lord Câ—arles XII King of Sweden Goths and Vandâ—ls Grand Prince of 〈◊〉 Duke of Scania Esthonia of Livonia Carelia Bremen of Ferden Stetin Pomerania Cassubia and of Vandalia Prince of Rugen Lord of Ingria and of Wismar Count Palatine of the Rhine Duke of Bavaria Juliers Cleves and Bergues Inheriting from his Royal Father the same longing Desire and Earnestness to procure the publick Tranquility and the Treaties having been brought to their perfection by the foresaid Conferences the Ambassadors and Plenipotentiaries lawfully appointed and established by both Parties being met to this effect at the aforesaid place that is to say on the Emperor's part the most Illustrious and most Excellent Lords the Sieur Dominic Andrew Kaunitz Count of the Holy Roman Empire Hereditary Lord of Austerlitz of Hungarischbord Marischpruss and Orzechan the Great Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece intimate Councellor of State to his Sacred Imperial Majesty Chamberlain and Vice-Chancellour of the Holy Empire the Sieur Henry John Stratman Sieur de Puerbach Count of the Holy Roman Empire Lord of Oâ—th Schmiding Spatenbrun and Carlsberg Imperial Aulique Councellor Chamberlain to his Sacred Imperial Majesty and the Siuer John Frederick free and noble Baron of Seilern Imperial Aâ—lique Councellor to his Sacred Imperial Majesty and one of the Plenipotentiaries in the Imperial Diets And on the part of his Sacred most Christian Majesty the most Illustrious and most Excellent Lords the Sieur Nicholas Augustâ—â— de Harlay Knight Lord of Boneuil Count of Cely Ordinary Councellor to the King in his Council of State The Sieur Lewis Verjus Knight Ordinary Councellor to the King in his Council of State Count de Crecy Marquiss of Freon Baron of Couvay Lord of Boulay of the two Churches of Fort-Isle and other places together with the Sieur Francis de Callieres Lord of Callieres of Rochechellay and Gigny By the Mediation and Intercession of the most Illustrious and most Excellent Lords the Sieur Charles Bonde Count de Biornoo Lord of Hesleby Tyres Toftaholm of Graffteen Gustavusberg and of Rezitza Councellor to his Majesty the King of Sweden and President of the supreme Senate of Dorpat in Livonia and of the Sieuâ— Nicholas free Baron of Lillierooâ— Secretary of State to his Majesty the King of Sweden and Extraordinary Ambassador to their High and Mightinesses the States General of the United Provinces both of them Extraordinary Ambassadors and Plenipotentiaries for confirming and establishing a General Peace who have faithfully discharg'd their Duty of Mediatorship with Integrity Application and Prudence The Plenipotentiaries of the Electors Princes and deputed States of the Holy Roman Empire being Present Approving and Consenting after the Invocation of God's Holy Name and the Exchange of their full Powers made in due manner and form did agree for the Glory of God's Holy Name and the Welfare of Christendom upon Conditions of Peace and Concord the Tenor whereof is as followeth I. THere shall be a Christian Universal Perpetual Peace and a true Amity between his Sacred Imperial Majesty and his Successors the whole Holy Roman Empire and the Kingdoms and Hereditary States their Vassals and Subjects on the one part It shall be faithfully and sincerely maintain'd so that the one shall not undertake
have enjoyed or may have enjoyed conformable to the Peace of Westphalia so that whatsoever the Crown of France hath hitherto pretended to as to this Dutchy in whole or in part by what Title soever may rightfully return to his Swedish Majesty and to his Heirs as being Counts Palatines of the Rhine There shall in like manner be restored all the Acts Documents Instructions concerning the said Dutchy together with the Artillery that was therein at the time when France seized upon it and all other Things agreed upon in the preceding Articles relating to Restitutions X. As to what concerns the Principality of Veldents and what the late Prince Leopold Lewis Count Palatine of the Rhine hath possest by virtue of the said Principality or of that of Lautrec it shall be restor'd in pursuance to the IV Article and to the Inventory or List exhibited by the Ambassadors of France saving only the Rights of each of the Pretenders as well in regard to the Possessor as to the Claimer XI There shall be restored to Prince Francis Lewis Palatine Great Master of the Teutonick Order and Bishop of Wormes all the Commands wholly without exception taken by France from the said Order and which have been assigned to him or which he hath anciently possest together with the Places Revenues and Rights and the said Order shall enjoy by vertue of the said Commands and Estates situate within the Dominion of France as well in respect of Collation as Administration the same Customs Privileges and Exemptions that it enjoyed heretofore according to its Statutes and Laws and which the Order of St. John of Jerusalem were wâ—nt to enjoy likewise all that hath been decreed in relation to Restitutions of Places Contributions and otherwise shall take place in behalf of the Bishop of Wormes and of other Churches of the said Prince XII There shall be restored to the Elector of Cologne in quality of Bishop and Prince of Liege the Castle and City of Dinant in the same Condition they were in when the French possest themselves of them together with all the Rights and Dependencies and all the Artillery and Instructions that were found therein at that time As for the rest whatsoever hath been determined and regulated in the IVth Article in relation to what hath been taken by Unions and Re-unions shall be look'd upon as repeated in particular in favour of the Churches of Cologne and Liege XIII The Family or House of Wirtemberg and particularly Duke George shall be re-establish'd for him and his Successors with respect to the Principality and County of Monbelliard in the same Condition Rights and Prerogatives and particularly the same immediate Dependence upon the Roman Empire it hath heretofore enjoy'd and which the Princes of the Empire did enjoy or ought to have enjoy'd making void and of none effect all Acknowledgment in quality of Vassal made to the Crown of France in 1681. And they the said Princes shall henceforward freely enjoy all the Revenues that depend upon the said Principality and County as well Secular as Ecclesiastick that they enjoyed before the Peace of Nimeguen as likewise all Fiefs that have been opened in favour of them or which they have made over or granted to others during the Detension of France excepting only the Village of Baldenheim together with the Appurtenances which the Most Christian King hath bestowed on the Commander of Chamlay Camp-Master-General to his Armies which said Donation ought still to subsist yet in such a manner notwithstanding that Homage be paid to the foresaid Duke of Wirtemberg and his Successors as to the direct Lord and that he be oblig'd to beg of him to be invested in it In like manner the said Princes shall be reinstated in the full and free Possession as well of their Inheritance possest in Burgundy of Clereval and Possevant as of the Lordships of Granges Herricourt of Blamont Chatelart and of Clermont and others situate and being in Burgundy and in the Principality of Monbelliard with all their Rights and Revenues intire and just in the same manner as they possest them before the Peace of Nimeguen abolishing totally all that has been done and pretended to the contrary under what Pretence at what Time and after what manner soever it may be XIV In like manner the Marquiss of Baden's Family shall enjoy all the Right and Benefit of the present Treaty and consequently of that of Westphalia and Nimeguen and and more particularly of the Fourth and Fifth Articles of the present Treaty XV. The Princes and Counts of Nassaw of Hanaw and of Leininguen and all other States of the Holy Roman Empire who are to be re-instated by the Fourth Article of this Treaty and others shall likewise be re-instated accordingly in all and several their Estates and Dominions in the Rents and Revenues that depend thereon and in all the other Rights and Benefits of what nature soever they may be XVI And because for the better securing and confirming the Peace it hath been judged meet and expedient here and there to exchange some Countries his Imperial Majesty and the Empire do yield up and grant to his Most Christian Majesty and the Kings his Successors the City of Strasburg and all that depends thereon on the left Hand of the Rhine together with the whole Right Propriety and Sovereignty that have belonged or might have belonged to his said Imperial Majesty and to the Roman Empire till this present time and do all and several of them transfer and make over to his Most Christian Majesty and the Kings his Successors in such sort that the said City with all its Appurtenances and Dependancies situate and being on the left Hand of the Rhine without all Exception with the intire Jurisdiction Superiority and Sovereignty from this very time and for ever shall belong and appertain to His Most Christian Majâ—sty and his Successors and are united to and Incorporated with the Crown of France without any Contradiction on the account of the Emperor Empire or of any other whatsoever and for the greater Confirmation of the said Concession and Allenation the Emperor and Empire do expresly disclaim by vertue of this present Transaction the Decrees Constitutions Statutes and Customs of the Roman Empire even tho' confirm'd by Oath or that may hereafter be confirm'd and particularly the Imperial Capitulation inasmuch as it prohibits all manner of Alienation of the Estates and Rights of the Empire all which they do absolutely and expresly renounce discharging and freeing the said City and all its Magistrates Officers Citizens and Subjects from all their Bonds Oaths and Engagements whereby they have been obliged to the Emperor and Empire and permitting it to take an Oath of Supremacy and Allegiance to the Most Christian King and his Successors and by putting the Most Christian King into full and just property possession and Sovereignty from this very time and for ever renouncing all Rights Pretensions and Claims to the same and being willing to
Entire and Leaving them so to Posterity The Hearty Addresses of Both Houses to his Majesty hereupon could not be more acceptable to him than it was then strange to the generality of People to read it in our Gazette that his Majesty had received Letters from the French King and the Dauphine acquainting him with the Duke of Burgundy's Marriage and that the Duke of St. Albans was thereupon ordered for France to return the Complement seeing there had been no Communication between England and France now for so many Years and such a rooted Enmity between both Nations to say nothing of those at the Head of them that the so sudden disappearances of it made it to vulgar Minds in some sort unconceivable And as the Year thus happily began to close in England it did the same also in Ireland where after that Parliament had past divers good Bills and among others one for granting an Additional Duty upon Tobacco besides a supply granted to his Majesty by way of a Poll they were Prorogued to the 10th of May ensuing And for Scotland all things went there also Easy and Peaceable So that we have nothing more to observe save two Things the Death of Queen Eleanor Dec. 17th in the 45th Year of her Age She was Married to Michael Wisnowiski King of Poland and afterwards to the late Duke of Lorrain She was Daughter to the Emperor Ferdinand III. and Sister to the Emperor now Reigning it was the Conjecture of some that the Grief She conceived to find her Son the young Duke was not to be restored to the Inheritance of his Ancestors in as ample a manner as She expected might hasten her End but however it were She died lamented by all for her rare Qualities and Endowments 2d The Czar of Muscovy Peter Alexowitz his beginning his Travels into Forreign Courts this Year for the Improvement of himself and too barbarous Subjects in Arts and Sciences a rare Example in a Prince but whether a Pattern for other Princes to follow I cannot determine but of this Prince we shall have occasion to say some more before we close up this Treatise year 1698 It was some mortification to us the beginning of this Year to have one of the King's Pallaces consumed for on the 4th of January White-Hall by what accident is vaâ—iously reported took Fire in one of the Lodgings in the Body of the Structure and in a short time got to such an Head that it could not be mastered till the whole Body of the Pallace with several other adjoyning Lodgings was laid in Ashes However this was but a Flea-bite to what the Nation had gone thro' in the course of the War and so our Parliament went tightly to work upon the Affairs of the Nation and finding the business of our Coin pretty well remedied as also the currency of any hammered Silver Mony would be any longer a grievance they made an Act to prevent it and for the Recoining of such as was then in being as also for making out new Exchequer Bills where the former Bills were or should be filled up by Endorsements It was moreover farther considered by them that whereas now by the Peace there would be a free intercourse between England and France it was enacted there should be no Correspondence held with the late King nor his Adherents upon any account They also took care to discharge and satisfie the Arrears of several Annuities that incurred between the 17th of May 1696. and May 17th 1697. But that you may not think they forgot the disbanding of the Army paying of Seamen and such things they gave to his Majesty no less than the Sum of 1484015 l. 1 s. 11 d. 3 1 f. to which we may add the granting of several Duties upon Coal and Culm The Continuation of Duties upon Coffee c. to pay off the Transport Debt for the Reduction of Ireland Besides a great many other useful Bills They further settled the East-India Trade and thereby raised two Millions of Money at 8 per Cent. and that in less time than any Nation in Europe could pretend to at that time of day And that all due regard might be had to his Majesty's Honour and Support they granted a Subsidy upon Tunnage and Poundage for the raising of Seven Hundred Thousand Pounds a Year for the Service of his Houshold Abundance of other Business was indeed done by this Sessions which terminated upon the 5th of July When his Majesty was pleased to tell them he could not take his leave of so good a Parliament without publickly acknowledging the Sence he had of the great things they had done for him and his People recapitulated to them what every Session had done by the Association Remedying the Coin restoring such Supplies for the War as produced an honourable Peace Provision for satisfying the publick Debts with as little burden as could be All which would give a lasting Reputation to that Parliament and be the Subject of Emulation to them that should come after He thanked the Commons also for the Establishment of his Revenue profess'd the Esteem and Love he had for his People for whose Sakes he had avoided no Hazzards in War and should make it his Study and Care to continue unto them the Advantages of Peace This being done the Houses were for the present prorogued and July 7th dissolved by Proclamation another Parliament being at the same time called to meet at Westminster August the 24th but by several Prorogations they did not sit till November But while these things were transacted mutual Embassies passed between England and France in which last Country no Embassador perhaps ever carry'd it with greater Prudence Honour and Magnificence than my Lord Portland did or was ever so much carress'd and respected And the French themselves instead of pretending that Count Tallard ever came up with him have endeavoured occasionally to put it off with siftless Excuses The Business of Parliament was but a few days over when his Majesty was pleased to declare in Council his Intention of going for a short time into Holland and constituted the Abp. of Canterbury the L. Chancellor the L. Privy Seal the L. Steward of his Houshold the Earls of Dorset Marlborough Romney and Orford with Mr. Montague first Commissioner of the Treasury to be Lords Justices of England for the Administration of the Government during his Majesty's Absence On the 21st of July his Majesty landed safe in Holland from whence we leave him to go to and return from the Court of Zell and will not pretend to unravel the Mystery of that Journey being content to esteem it as a performance of a Promise the King had made to visit the old Duke who he was wont to call Father tho' by the Orders given the French Embassador here to attend him it should seem they should suspect some-what more than that in it but return to tell you that in the mean time viz. July
to facilitate the Treaty with the Venetians and agreed in case their Negotiations could not be determined by the 26th the time they were to sign they should have time given them to continue their Treaty at Constantinople seeing the Ottoman Ministers were not willing to stay any longer at Carlowitz This Conference was on the 16th of January in the Presence of the Mediators which took them up 9 Hours together But they could not agree as to the Castle of Romelia and the Mountains which cover the Isthmus of Corinth The Venetian Embassador pretended also that Dalmatia had been annext to Albania by the resignation of several Places which the Turks possessed and which hindred the Republick of Ragusa from being totally separate from the Ottoman Empire But after various Contests they rose without coming to any conclusion and Reis Effendi declared if they were upon that Lock he would return no more to the Conferences However they met again on the 18th but to no purpose and next Day the Turks drew up a Project of a Treaty which being imparted to Seignior Ruzzini he declared he would not consent to it nor depart from the Treaty proposed for the separation of the Limits However he dispatched a Courier to Venice about these particulars while the Imperialists in the mean time signed their Treaty which is comprehended in the following Articles An Extract of the Treaty concluded between the Emperor and the Sultan In the Name of the Holy and Inseparable Trinity IN perpetual Memory of the Thing Be it notorious to all to whom it shall appertain That after fifteen Years of a cruel War between the Most Serene and Thrice Potent Prince and Lord Leopold on the one side and the Most Serene and Thrice Potent Prince and Lord Sultan Mustapha Han Emperor of the Turks c. and his Glorious Predecessors on the other these Two Most Potent Emperors considering how much Blood has been spilt and how many Provinces have been laid waste and mov'd with Compassion of the Miseries of their Subjects and being desirous to put an end to so many Calamities God through his Mercy has permitted that by the Mediation of the Most Serene and Most Potent Prince and Lord William III. King of Great Britain France and Ireland and of the High and Mighty Lords the States of the United Provinces of the Netherlands both sides have condescended to conclude Solemn Treaties at Carlowitz upon the Frontiers of both Empires where the Mediators the Lord William Paget Baron of Beaudesers and Monsieur James Collier being assembl'd together with the Count d'Ottingen and M. Schlick the Imperial Plenipotentiaries and Mehemet Effendi Grand Chancellor of the Ottoman Empire and Alexander Mauro Cordato of the Noble House of the Scarlati it has been agreed c. I. THat Transilvania should remain entire to his Imperial Majesty with the ancient Limits as before the War II. That the Province of Temiswaer with all its Appurtenances and Dependances shall remain under the Ottoman Dominion having the ancient Limits for its Bounds That the Imperialists shall demolish Caransebes Lippa Czanad Bersche Sabla and three or four other Places never to be refortify'd by any other Treaty The Imperialists and Turks shall enjoy in common the Conveniences of the Marosche and the Teysse whether for fishing watering of Cattle for the driving of Mills or Navigation That the Islands which his Imperial Majesty has in the two Rivers shall remain in his Possession and that the Subjects of both Empires shall be enjoin'd under severe Edicts to live quietly and peaceably without injuring one the other in any manner whatever III. That the Emperor shall enjoy the Country between the Teysse and the Danaw commonly call'd Batska Titul not being to be fortify'd any otherwise then it is IV. That a Line shall be drawn from the Extremity of the Strand behither the Teysse over against Titul to the Banks of the Danaw and another Line from the Teysse to the River Bossut and to the hither Shoar of Moravitz and from thence to that part where the biggest Branch of the Bossut falls into the Save which shall serve as Limits to both Empires V. That part of the Save which waters those Countries surrender'd to his Imperial Majesty shall be under his Dominion and likewise that which washes the Country remaining to the Grand Signior shall be subject to the Ottoman Empire but that part of the Save which runs between both Empires shall be common to both together with the Islands therein VI. The Limits prescrib'd by the Treaties and those which shall afterwards be settl'd by Commissioners shall be religiously observ'd and preserv'd without any Alteration nor shall any Change or Alteration therein be suffer'd VII Both Parties shall be at Liberty to fortifie their Frontier Places as they shall judge convenient except such as are excepted by the Treaty VIII All Incursions Invasions Hostilities and all sorts of Injuries shall be strictly forbidden on both Sides under severe Penalties whether they may be committed openly or in secret IX Nor shall it be lawful for either Party for the future to give any Sanctuary or Protection to wicked People Rebels or Malecontents X. Nevertheless it shall be lawful for the Transilvanians and all others who during the Course of the War withdrew themselves into the Ottoman Empire there to live in Freedom and Security under the Protection of his Highness XI But in Consideration of the Tranquility of the Frontiers and the Repose of the Subjects it is farther agreed That those Persons before-mention'd shall not settle themselves but in Places remote from the Frontiers and in case there happen any Disputes upon any one of the Articles of this present Treaty an equal Number of Commissioners shall be chosen on both Sides to determine 'em in friendly wise XII Prisoners taken during the War shall be exchang'd and if there be a greater Number of the one side than the other their Imperial Majesties shall extend their Clemency towards 'em and release 'em when they shall be requested so to do by the Embassadors or Ministers residing in their Courts As for those that are in the Power of particular Persons they shall be permitted to ransom 'em at reasonable Rates XIII In respect of the Monks and the Exercise of the Roman Catholick Religion the Grand Signior promises to renew and confirm all Priviledges granted by his Predecessors Moreover it shall be permitted to the Embassador of of the Most Serene and Most Potent Emperor of the Romans to make his Complaints and Demands upon the Subject of Religion every time that he shall receive Orders from his Master XIV That Trade shall be resettl'd between the Subjects of both Sides according to the ancient Capitulations XV. That all the Conditions stipulated in the preceding Capitulations shall be religiously observ'd in every thing not excepted in this present Treaty XVI For the maintaining of a good Friendship and Correpondence between the Two Empires Embassadors shall be
enters into the Confederacy c. 387 c. His Articles with the Emp. 389 c. with the King of Spain 390 c. invades the Dauphinate 472. His Sickness and recovery 473 c. His Letter to the States of Holland 533. Makes a separate Peace 563. His Envoy's Harangue to the late King James 574 c. Saxony the Elector of his death 96. Another General of the Confederates on the Rhine dies 457. Another's death 507. Fights the Turks 577. Chosen King of Poland 594. His Letter to the Polish Republick 638. His Declaration to his Saxon Subjects 639 c. Schultz General successful in Vpper Hungary 160. Defeats Count Teckley ibid. Schomberg Duke of lands in Ireland 324. Scinta a Battle there 215. Scio taken by the Venetians 506. quitted 536. Scotland an Insurrection there 77. Covenanters murder the Archb. of St. Andrews ib. Their Proclamations 78. Proposals to Monmouth ib. are routed 79. Segedin besieg'd by the Imperialists 214. surrendred 215. Serasquier his Letter to the Duke of Lorrain 189. Shaftsbury the Earl of committed to the Tower 111. Sidney Mr. his Embassy into Holland and for what 83. His Memorial to the States 84. Makes a defensive League with 'em 86. Sidney Col. his Trial 124. Execution and Papers to the Sheriff 125 c. Sign besieged by the Venetians and taken by storm 220. Besieg'd by the Turks and relieved by the Venetians 238. Skelton Mr. discovers the Pr. of Orange's Intention 258. Solyman made Em. of the Turks 238. Spaniards sign the Peace with France 41. Their Ambassador resents the States Answer about Maestricht 70. Prevail in Catalonia 531 c. Staremberg Count Governour of Vienna prepares for its Defence 135. His Letter to the Duke of Lorrain 139. His other Letter to the Duke of Lorrain 141 c. States General their answer to the French King's Letter 20. displease the Confederates ib. Order their Embassador to sign the Peace 21. Exclaimed against by the Northern Confederates 38. their Answer to the Elector of Brandenburgh's demands 68. To the Spaniards for Maestricht 69. A Letter from an unknown hand to them 83. Their resolution as to the Invasion of England 283. Steenkirk the Battle there 462 c. Stetin taken by the Brandenburghers 12. Strasburg how possest by the French 112. Sunderland Earl of his Letter to a Friend 264 c. Syclos taken by the Imperialists 213. T. TAlbot Col. disbands the Protestant Army in Ireland 182 c. Tartars attack the Germans Baggage 133. ravage Poland 415. Teckley Count makes himself P. of Transilvania 409. Themeswaer besieg'd by the Imperialists 576. Tyrconnel Earl of made Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 223. His Proceedings ibid. dies at Limmerick 434. Toleration of Religion to Papists in Scotland 205. in England 223. Tour the President de la his Speech to King VVilliam 407. Transilvania revolts from the Emperor 233. reduced 234. Truce signed between France Denmark and Brandenburg 63. expired 64. between France and Spain c. for 20 Years 150 c. Turks advance to Austria 132. waste the Frontiers of Hungary and Austria 134. besiege Vienna 135. beaten from before Vienna 145 c. routed at Barkan 147. beaten at Gran 187. routed at Scinta 215. beaten at Chialafa by the Venetians 216. defeated at Navarino 217. Reasons of their not succeeding against the Germans 504. Turkey the Revolution there 253 c. V. VAlentia besieg'd by the French and Savoyards 575. Vallona besieg'd by the Venetians 418. deserted by the Turks 419. Vaudemont Prince his gallant Retreat 515. Vaudois persecuted 397. rout the French 356. Venetians make Incursions into the Turkish Territories 162. take the Isle of Narenta c. 164. possess themselves of the whole Province of Mayna 195. rout the Turks 241. their Letter to the new Doge and Instructions 255 c. beat the Turks at Sea 419. defeat the Turks at Argos 537. beat the Turks by Sea 580. Verace discovers the P. of Orange's Designs upon England 258. Vicegrade besieged and taken by the Imperialists 154. taken by the Turks 187. Vienna in great Consternation 133. besieged by the Turks 135. a Journal of the Siege 136 c. it siege continued 142 c. relieved 145. Villeroy Marshal de his Letter to the Governour of Brussels 521. fails to relieve Namur 529. Virovitz taken by the Imperialists 159. Vrgel taken by the French 448. W. VVAisen surrendred to the Imperialists 155. Walcour the Action there 329. Waterford surrendred to the English 377. Weesell a Conference there between the Allies 10. Wheeler Sir Francis cast away in a Storm 492. Whitchal burnt 673 c. Widin surrendred to the Imperialists 354. surrendred to the Turks 411. William III. King his Speech to the Parliament 358. lands in Ireland 366. wounded 368. Victorious over the Irish Army at the Boyn 370 c. his Proceedings in Ireland 378 c. goes for England 383. his Speech to the Congress 421. his Speech to the Parliament 457 c. his Speech to the Parliament 491. signs several Bills 493 his Letter to Prince Vaudemont 514 c. his Speech to the Parliament 538 c his Speech in Parliament concerning the Assassination 550. another Speech to the Parliament 582 c. his Speech at the Conclusion of the Peace 670 c. another Speech 674. goes for Holland 675. Y. YOrk Duke of withdraws to Flanders 75. returns 81. sent High Commissioner into Scotland ib. his cruelty to the Earl of Argyle 111. Z. ZEnta the great Battle there 633. FINIS July 1676. Maestricht besieg'd by the Prince of Orange Siege raised Philipsburg surrender'd to the Imperial Army The Demands of the several Princes Valenciennes besieg'd The Battle of Mount-Cassel The Fr. K.'s Letter to K. C. 11. Ghent besieg'd and taken K. Charles II. tempted with Moncy by France The States Answer The Confederates angry with the States The Dutch order their Embassadors to Sign the Peace The Peace obstructed The Treaty of Alliance between England and Holland Du Cross's Message The Peace between France and Holland Signed The Battle of Mons. Mr. Hyde's Memorial to the States Prince of Orange's Censure of the English Court. Articles against Mons Beverning The Conferences renewed Rugen taken Denmark and Brandenburg's Remonstrance to the Imperial Embassadors The Imperial and French Embassadors agree to Sign the Peace The Abstract of the Imperial Articles of Peace The Elector of Brandenburg's Demands of the States The Spaniards demand Maestricht of the Dutch The States Answer The Spaniard rejoinâ— The Spanish Ambassador resents it Popish Plot discovered Godfrey murdered K. Charles II's Letter to the Duke of York K. Charles II chooses a new Council Insurrection in Scotland The Scotch Rebels Proclamation Their Second Proclamation They make Proposals to the Duke of Monmouth The Duke of Monmouth fights and routs the Covenanters The Story of the black Box. K. Charles II. disclaims any Marriage with the Duke of Monmouth's Mother K. Charles II. sick and the Consequence of it Duke of Monmouth
the 19th the Parliament of Scotland met and during the short time of their sitting which was but to the beginning of September made several good Acts and were then prorogued to the 25th of November following Neither were the Lords Justices in Ireland wanting in their Duties to his Majesty and the Country for they took a Progress this Summer in order to view the State of several Places in the Kingdom and give such Instructions as theâ— saw convenient for the Security of the Government and good of the Subject But how Prosperous soever things went with us at home the Apprehensions of the Death of the King of Spain who was sick more or less for a great part of this Year made all Europe uneasie for fear of another War It will be impertinent for me to enter upon the particulars of the King's Sickness and Distemper that being fitter for a Physitian 's Diary than an History However it is my part to observe that a Fleet of French Men of War and Gallies coming into Caâ—iz-Bay and afterwards their giving out they would Winter there to say nothing of those Gallies that went to Naples gave no small Umbrage to their Neighbours And tho' I will not say the Arrival of the English and Dutch Squadron in Cales-Bay some time after made them think fit to return to their own Ports yet it is certain that that with the King's Recovery made their Affairs in that Country look quite with another Aspect than they had done a little before when nothing was less expected than that the Duke of Berry should succeed the Marquess of Harcoâ—â— the French Embassador valuing himself much upon the Paces he thought he had made to that end But while all this was in Agitation towards Spain the French were busie in the North to perfect an Allyance with the Crown of Sweden which at length was brought to bear and the same was notified by M. de Lissenheim his Swedish Majesty's Minister to the Envoys of other Courts residing at Hamborough and other Places The main Intention of what was made publick of this Allyance is to preserve the Repose of Europe and the Articles were to this purpose I. THat the Ancient Alliance is renew'd between the two Kings their Heirs and Successors II. That the Aim and Intention of this Treaty is to preserve and secure the Common Peace by such means as shall be adjudg'd most proper and convenient III. If it should come to pass that it should be disturb'd by any Breaches and Hostilities that the two Kings will make it their Business to repair the wrongs in an amicable way IV. And if their Cares prove ineffectual they will joyntly consider of ways to defend the Rights of the Country injur'd V. In case any Prince or State will enter into this Treaty within a Year they shall be admitted by the consent of both Kings VI. Neither the one nor the other shall make Peace or Truce without comprehending the other therein VII The Articles of the Treaties formerly concluded by either of the two with other Kings Princes or States shall remain in their full Strength and Vertue so far as they shall not be contrary to this VIII The Freedom of Commerce between the Subjects of the two Kings shall be preserv'd as formerly without any Impeachment as well in time of War as in Peace paying the usual Duties IX In pursuance of which all Ports Cities and Provinces shall be open to the Subjects of both Crowns according as the Laws and Customs shall permit both to sell their Commodities in those Places and buy others X. This particular Treaty shall continue Ten Years with Liberty to prolong this Term if it be judg'd convenient by the two Kings who by consent shall have a watchful Eye upon the means to preserve the Peace against the Dangers that threaten it XI This Treaty shall be exchang'd by both sides within three Months after the Signing or sooner if it may be Given at Stockholm the 9 th of July O. S. 1698. I shall not meddle here with the Mock-Battle at Compeign nor the more violent persecution of the Reformed since the Peace both of them being Subjects ungrateful to my Pallate but pass on into Germany where to say nothing yet of the Discourse concerning the Marriage of the King of the Romans with the Princess of Hanover we find a mighty disposition in the Emperor and his Confederates also to a Peace with the Turks after the continuance of a War for above fifteen Years wherein perhaps there has been as much variety of Action as in any other whatsoever but now it seems to draw to a period and things look in the World as if Janus his Temple was once more to be shut up And tho the Armies in Huâ—gary on both sides were considerable in number and Strength yet there seemed no great disposition in either for Action but much more in the Parties concerned to set up a Treaty of Peace under the Mediation of his Britannick Majesty and the States General by their Ministers the Lord Paget and M. Colliers who towards the middle of August arrived in the Turkish Camp near Belgrade and by their good Offices got the Place to hold the Conferences to be between Peter Waradin and Salankemen the Emperor and Confederate Ministers being to reside at Câ—rlowitz the Sultan's at Salankamen and the Mediators between the two Places The Emperor's Plenipotentiaries were the Count of Ottengen General Sâ—â—lick and the Count de Marsigli those of the Port were the Effendi or Chancellor of the Ottoman Empire and Mauro Cordato for Venice came Signior Ruzzini Embassador in Ordinary from the Republick to the Court of Vienna and Seignior Wicolasi Secretary of the said Republick for Poland appear'd the Sieur Malokowski Palatine of Posnania and for the Moscovites Procopius Pogdanowitz Vosnicin I shall now leave the Plenipotentiaries to meet and not enter upon the Particulars of the Negotiation my design being to reserve that for the closing up of this Work nor shall I take any Notice of the Conspiracy which was said to have been formed by the Army under General Rabaâ—in in Transilvania to kill him and the rest of the Officers and then to go over to the Turks because I believe there was more Noise than Truth in it But I shall return where I left off last Year with the Polish Affairs and observe that tho' the King's Competitor was now gone without any likelihood of ever returning again and that the potent City of Danzick were firm to his Interest yet other Difficulties from the Obstinacy of the Cardinal Primate and his Adherents and from the present Necessity he lay under to be guarded in Poland with his own Troops made his Affairs much perplex'd However he set forward and arrived at Warsaw January the 14th in great State The King us'd all imaginable Endeavours to bring the Primate to submit and the Offices of the Brandenburg Minister were indefatigable to this
end but the stubborn old Gentleman shew'd altogether as much Aversion on the other hand and ordered the Senators Lords and Gentlemen that were confedederated in the Rocosche to meet the 18th of February To encounter which in some measure the King thought of no better way than to issue out his Circular Letters to summon the Dyet of Pacification to Assemble on the 16th of April But this being thought not sufficient as soon as the Rocosche was met at Lowitz the King sent the Grand Mareschal of the Crown and the Great Treasurer of Lithuania as his Deputies thither with a Letter also from his Majesty to the Assemby But the Title of Commissioners and some Expressions in the Letter which were thought too smart offended the Rocosche to that degree that they not only refused to admit the Deputies but they were also forced to retire to the Castle of Lowitz after a narrow Escape from some Danger Nay the Common People grew so insolent that they fired upon the Windows of the Brandenburg Envoy's Lodgings notwithstanding his publick Character and the Prohibitions of the Cardinal Primate to the contrary The Deputies hereupon sent presently Advice of what had passed to the King who sent them another Letter with new Powers However after some Contestation they received the Letter and then drew up the following Articles 1. POsitive Assurances were demanded from Rome of the Change of the King's Religion 2. That the Queen should embrace the same Religion 3. That it should be also settl'd in Saxony 4. That the Provinces dismember'd from the Crown should be re-united 5. That an account should be given of the Money that had been expended 6. That the Pacta Conventa should be drawn up by themselves and presented by the Marshall of the Rocosche 7. That the vacant Employments which had been dispos'd of should be confirm'd by new Pattents 8. That all the Foreign Forces should be sent away 9. That in consideration of the Damages done by the Saxon Soldiers the Elector should grant Winter-Quarters to the Polanders in the Countries under his Dominion 10. That no Employments should be given to Foreigners 11. That the Indigenat granted to the House of Saxony should not extend beyond the Electoral Branch 12. That being acknowledg'd for King he should not assume the Title of Elector 13. That the Damages done by the Army should be repair'd at the Expences of the Grand General 14. That all the Officers of the Army and of the King's Guards should be Roman Catholicks 15. That all unprofitable Foreigners should be sent away 16. That the City of Danzick should have Reparation for the Damages sustain'd by the War upon the Account of his Electoral Highness 17. That a Decree should be publish'd against the Bishop of Cujavia by which he should be forbid to Crown any King 18. That Enquiry should be made into the Violence that was made use of in forcing the Treasury that the like Attempt may be prevented for the future 19. That the Ecclesiasticks shall not be molested in the Enjoyment of their Estates 20. That General Brandt shall be prosecuted in the Courts of Justice for the Damages done by his Men for which Satisfaction shall be given 21. That all Acts made during this Fraction or Division of the Republick shall be cancell'd and made void Some there were for all this who submitted to the King who notwithstanding the ill Success of the said Assembly and their exorbitant Demands resolved upon his Journey into Prussia And on the 17th of March arrived near Danzick into which place he made his Publick Entry with great Magnificence was treated most splendidly and on the 25th received the Homage of the City after he had confirm'd their Privileges and taken an Oath to maintain them according to the usual Form But his Majesty all this while did not forget to notifie his Advancement to the Polish Throne in all the Courts of Europe and Major General Jordan was more particularly sent into France upon that occasion In the mean time Seignior Paulucci the Pope's Extraordinary Nuncio arrived at Warsaw And because the King was then absent at Danzick he sent to Lowitz to give the Primate notice of his Arrival and presently after went to Visit his Eminency at the same time consigning the Pope's Brief into his Hands whereby he was exhorted to employ his utmost Care to settle the Tranquility of Poland and to preserve and procure the farther Advantage of the Roman Catholick Religion Assuring him That he had ordered his Nuncio to omit nothing upon all Occasions that might tend to the Preservation of the Rights and Priviledges of his Eminency To which the Cardinal answered That he would always submit to his Holiness in Spirituals That if his Holiness after he had seriously examined the State of things were of Opinion the Roman Catholick Religion was safe he was willing to believe so too But as to what concerned the Temporal Interests of the Republick he could not quit them without Injury to his own Character and Dignity without drawing upon himself the Reproach of the Nation and without being brought under a Necessity of becoming answerable for it in his own Person However that he accepted the Mediation of the Holy Father with a filial Obedience This was a pretty good Pace for tho' the Dyet of Pacification upon the King's return meeting upon the time appointed made but a very small Appearance and that some of them flung out of the Assembly with a Protestation and persisting in their Demands of a Dyet to be held on Horse-back Yet the Cardinal Primate who was to have held the Assembly of the Rocosche April 15th put the same off till the 5th of May And when they then met there was but a very small Appearance and all the Opposition they pretended to make signified nothing For the good Offices of the Nuncio at length so far prevailed that on the 16th of May the Treaty of Accommodation was fairly writ publickly read with all its Explanations and then signed by the Commissioners as the King 's Plenipotentiaries by the Cardinal Primate Marshal of the Rocosche Deputies of the Palatinates that were present and by Seignior Paulucci as Mediator and Guarrantee of the Treaty The Articles consisted of twelve Particulars to this purpose 1. THat the King shall use his utmost Endeavour to bring over the Queen to the Catholick Religion and that he shall prove by visible uncontroulable and authentick Testimonies and such in a word which the Primate and the Pope's Nuncio shall deem proper that he has effectually embrac'd the Catholick Religion 2. That he shall dismiss all the Lutheran Ministers that are in his Army 3. That he shall give an Authentick Act to the Republick by which he shall consent that the Liberty of Suffrages and Elections shall be restor'd and promise never to re-demand the vast Sums which the Crown has cost him 4. That he shall pay all the Arrears which are due to