as false and damnable But 't is justified both by Books and Practice of the whole Presbyterian party 't is so plain and fresh in our memories I need not instance in the Authors St. Peter's Chair is not more Infallible than that of an Assembly of Presbyters in a National Classis or Synod Men of these Antichristian Principles stirr'd up the Late Rebellion and being active and diligent drew in many unwary honest men beyond the power of retreating Did not the Faction here tamper in Scotland where the promoters of the Covenant that Godly instrument apply'd to the Crown of France for protection as appears by the Letter found with the Lord Lowden therefore sent to the Tower But what was the issue of this Contrivance but Confusion and Misery through the three Kingdoms the Presbyterian party over-power'd by the Independents and these again by the Army a Commonwealth set up and soon after turn'd into a perfect Tyranny under Oliver Cromvel after more money had been illegally squeez'd from the Subjects by Ordinances and Loans Sequestrations and Decimations Excise and other Impositions than was ever known before or since The people weary call home their Prince who by an excess of mercy and clemency sparing to root up men of these Principles gave way to their infecting others with the same humour of discontent 'T is to be observ'd that the year 1535. is remarkable for the Geneva Reformation and the spawning of the Jesuits Order and that our unlucky home-bred Divisions were fomented if not first set on foot under hand by directions from the Court of France as well as from Rome the Interest of that State as well as of the Church depending on our Distractions to which end Richlieu that great Minister imploy'd many Pensioners into Scotland as did after his Successor Mazarine in England And therefore there is nothing more inconsiderate than to think we are not now acting and promoting French-Designs 't is their businesse to divide us and yet so to manage the Ballance that they let neither the King nor Parliament have the better or ever come to a Right understanding They can no otherwise obtain the Western Empire and 't is directly against their Interest ever to suffer England to be either a perfect Monarchy or an absolute Common-wealth Those that roar most against French Councils and Measures under-hand-bargains and agreements between both the Kings know they bely their own Conscience and that the French have us in the last degree of contempt This the E. of D. printed in his own vindication perhaps not ignorant that some of their Ministers did in the year 1677. and 78. before the breaking forth of the Plot declare That Monsieur L. had greater Interest and more Friends in England than the D. of Y. That the K. had need be on his Guard for he was in great danger of running the same risque with his Father when it was likewise enquir'd What Interest among the People two great Peers had who have since the Plot been the great Pillars of the Protestant Religion tho neither was ever reputed to have any were Ministers and Advisers in 1670. and 71. very good Friends to France and Popery Enemies to the Triple Alliance and to Holland c. It was also said That 300000 l. a year bestow'd in Scotland and England among the Factious and Discontented wou'd better serve the Interest of France than any Bargain they cou'd drive with the Ministers 'T is too well known that the greatest of these two Noblemen made a secret journey into France some weeks before the Plot after some private Transactions here with others among whom were Sir E. L. fam'd for Religion for Morality Major W. and H. N. as notorious for the same perfections and their love of Monarchy and hatred of a Commonwealth nor did A. S. want his Share in the Consultation a stout assessor of Prerogative witness'd by his and others living out of this Kingdom ever since the Kings Restauration untill they saw some likelyhood of a change the one returning about the time the D. of B. and the other Lords were in the Tower and the other a few months before the breaking forth of the Popish Conspiracy which no sooner came before the Parliament than some of the great Lords of the Committee for the Examination of the Plot kept their Consultations and manag'd much of that affair at Wallingford-House Major W. their Secretary where they concluded to take hold of this opportunity for the carrying on some long-hatched Designs of their own Nor is it to be forgotten that in June before a Letter was writ by an eminent person of the Faction and can be now produced That very shortly somewhat wou'd be discover'd that wou'd prevent our much longer walking in the dark and that one of the greatest Lords sent to an Astrologer to know whether he was not in a short while to be in the head of 60000 men The methods agreed upon in France and pursu'd here were to make a Court and Countrey-party to sow and disperse Jealousies between both and widen the Gap with all possible Devices which resolutions some here were the sooner induc'd to embrace upon this consideertion That they should not live to see the issue and were unconcern'd for what shou'd come after But yet I am too charitable to think if we have any French Agents at home they are impos'd upon by their own unwariness and the others cunning to act rather against than with their knowledge a part so much contrary to the Interest of England and the Duty of a Christian But however it be I am morally assur'd we are doing their work and if we are not Knaves and Pensioners we are Block-heads or Fools that are blind and besorted like men prepar'd for Destruction Quos Jupiter perdere vâ—lt hos dementat If any one talk thus he is presently call'd a Papist and a Tory every true Son of the Church of England and Loyal Subject is Branded with Nick-names and run down by Noise and Faction and he that opposes Popery if he defends not Presbytry is but a Protestant in Masquerade if he commends Monarchy and our Legal Constitutions to the discredit of a Commonwealth he is a Rascal a Villian and a dangerous person not considering that we are made Tools and Instruments for French purposes betray'd by their Cunning and Adresse to forward and act with our own hands our Slavery and Ruine Shall we be still blind and deaf to reason and demonstration Can we not reflect upon the French double-dealing in our late Civil Distractions and remember what the Lord Keeper Puckering tells the Parliament in Q Elizabeth's days That the Puritans even at the time of the Spanish preparations for Invasion were urging and pressing intestine Commotions where he largely sets forth their being as dangerous to the Crown and Mitre as the others and therefore that both were to be equally suppress'd Papists and Puritans I cannot find that either have since
Plymouth's Regiment I cannot but commend this Noblemans Ingenuitie in owning the true Cause and not pretending as others Conscience and publick good for his motives But I am sorry he should forget not only the obligations of gratitude which he is under for his Bread and for his Honour but also who says Appear not wise before the King and give not Counsel unask'd He has learning enough to understand the meaning of in consilium non vocatus ne accesseris 'T is to be hop'd he may repent and with more years his wit may be turn'd into wisdom As for the D. of M. I believe him perfectly drawn in by designing Politicians for ends of their own who never intended him more than as an useful Tool afterwards to be laid aside 'T is no wonder that one of his Youth and Spirit shou'd be tempted with the Baits and Allurements of a Crown the splendor and gaity of Power has blinded many Elder men's understandings But that they never had him in their thoughts for K. appears from the Author Plato Redivivus and indeed if they had they went the wrong way to work They shou'd not have engag'd him so far as to deserve his being turn'd out of his Command as General a Post that wou'd have best enabl'd him to seize upon and make good any pretence to the Crown after the death of his Majesty I am not apt to believe his Grace is sorry for what is past I am certain it were his Interest to throw himself at the Kings Feet and quite the Counsels of those men who intriguing for themselves puff him up with false hopes yet sufficiently discover that nothing is farther from their hearts than his Exaltation or what is so much in their mouths publick service to the King and Country 'T is much better for him to be content with the second place in the Kingdom than by pretending to the first against all manner of Reason and the obligations of gratitude forfeit all his Fame and Honour Life and Fortune The Petition being already answer'd I will only observe that His Majesty intending to turn them out sent Mr. Secretary to the E. of E. for a List of the Papist he mention'd in the Guards But the Noble Peer had none to give but may be suppos'd to have taken the story upon hearsay from some that had the malice to invent it And now must the Nation suffer themselves to be rid by any Faction because designing particular advantages they guild all with the specious pretences of Religion and Loyalty particular respect for the Church of England by opening her Doors to all Dissenters and for the Monarchy by clipping the Kings power to prevent the Papists Contrivances against his Person Examine whether the zealous sticklers for the Protestant Religion have any at all or if they have whether it be not as far from that Establish'd by Law as Popery Whether if the King wou'd grant all their desires receive them into Offices and Power they wou'd not stand up in justification of the Court as fiercely as now they do the contrary What has been before may well be expected again He that considers this and that malice never spoke well of any will give the Factious little credit especially when against reason and sense they wou'd impose upon us that the King himself is in the Plot or as one of the Members in a printed Speech tells the House The Plot is not so much in the Tower as in White-Hall there 't is to be search'd for and there to be found And all this because he will not unking himself and put his Crown into their hands and against Law his Coronation Oath and brotherly affection pass the Bill of Exclusion to the prejudice of himself and the whole Kingdom This is not a single or private man's opinion but the judgement of the Supreme Tribunal of England the House of Lords where upon the first reading it was thrown out with the odds of 63 against 31 for which reason their Lordships are call'd Masquerading-Protestants Tories Papists or their adherents as if the Lords must not be allow'd the priviledge the Commons take with any of their Bills without censure and affront But why for their Act must His Majesty be loyally libell'd and aspers'd It had been time enough one wou'd have thought to have call'd him Papist c. had he rejected the Bill after it had pass'd both Houses Oh! then who cou'd have doubted but his doing more aginst the Papists than any of his Predecessors had been promoting their Interest that this pardoning noman condemn'd nor stopping the execution of any Law against Recusants was making it no Plot and that passing the Test was letting in Popery by whole-sale He that can believe these things is prepar'd for any thing to say a Lobster is a Wale or a Whale a Lobster that the Moon is a Green-Cheese and the Sun a round Plate of red hot Iron and then I presume it may not be decided whether we are Fools or Madmen Let us not thus idly and unjustly bely our Consciences and publish to the Nation and all the World that nothing can secure us against Popery but the shaking and alteration of the Monarchy by the Bill of Exclusion an Act in it self unjust and impolitick both for the King and People No man is to be punish'd ex post-facto by the Laws of this and all other Countries Besides why shou'd the Duke more then any Fanatick of England be outed his Birth-right The Scripture says You must not do evil that good may come of it And prudence will tell us That this is an evil that must be attended with greater For the minute that it passes the Duke is at liberty to recover his Right by secret or open Violence Force Foreign or Domestick He is declar'd an Enemy and Traitor condemn'd without Tryal or Conviction This piece of injustice must be defended by an Association of an Army this Army must be entrusted in the hands of the King or a General either may make himself Absolute and Arbitary and therefore if people are now afraid of slavery from the Government what may then be their apprehensions And if they are jealous of the King what General will they find to entrust Those meanly skill'd in story know that Commanders of Armies have at pleasure subverted Commonwealths and Kingdoms Agathocles from being General became Tyrant of Syracusa Pisistratus of Athens Sforza of Millain the Medici of Florence the Casars of Rome and not to go so far off Cromwel of the Three Kingdoms Most of the Roman Emperors were dethron'd by their Generals and therefore this cannot but make the King as unwilling as the People to entrust this great Power in any person And yet without such trust the Act of Exclusion is not worth a straw nor with it can we be secur'd against Slavery whether the Duke conquer or be overcome The Duke will still find a party at least if he out-lives the
King in the Three Kingdoms to fight his Quarrel and if he comes in by force he may well use us as a conquer'd Nation break our old and give us what Laws and Religion he pleases Whereas if we attempt no such thing we shall not run the hazard of a CIVIL WAR the King being as likely to out-live as to be out-lived by His Brother If he shou'd chance to succeed peaceably he cannot be presum'd to offer any alteration in Religion so much against his Interest and who never forwarded any in his own Family suffers his Children to continue in the Church of England knowing that Christianity forbids compulsion for its propagation To say he wou'd be priest-ridden is ridiculous why he more than the French King who openly opposes the Popes Usurpation and assumes to himself the cognizance even of Church-affairs This is but a pretence to impose upon the ignorant and the credulous if there be not Laws enough already new ones may be made to prevent any such intention When all Offices and power are in the hands of Anti-papists I cannot see where can be our danger But this if granted wou'd not be all the Monarchy is hereby made elective and the possessor may as well be remov'd as the successor debarr'd In order to this is there not a History of the Succession publish'd shewing that the Monarchy is rather elective than hereditary Of which here I will only say that the Writer is a notorious Plagiary and steals all out of a seditious Book writ on the same Subject by Parsons the Jesuite under the Name of Doleman in Queen Elizabeths time with design of distracting the people and making way for a Spanish Conquest and Inquisition the Presbyterian Transcriber proves himself of the same Jesuitical principles and with equal honesty pursues the same ends Usurpation and Slavery 'T is not to be doubted but that there has been frequent interruptions of the Succession of the Crown but no title but that of the Sword was ever put in ballance with proximity of bloud and he that will oppose Fact to Right is very unjust and argues not upon the principles of Morality nor the Laws of Nations Much such another good Christian is the Writer of The appeal to the City who tels us if we set up a King with none or a crack'd title we shall have the better Laws and instances that Richard the 3d. an Usurper a Murderer and a Tyrant made excellent Statutes But he might had he been just have found the Laws of that King outdone by those of our present Soveraign whose title none can question And yet it is not unreasonable to suspect a design on foot of subverting the Monarchy if it be consider'd that the passing the Bill against the Duke will not alone satisfie his adversaries who further expect that all those now firm to the King be remov'd and their trust put into considing hands and thus when they had him in their own power it wou'd be no hard matter to act their pleasure The Speech disown'd by the protestant Lord and burnt by the Hangman a fate the Author does certainly deserve tells us in plain English We must have a Change and a King we may trust and well affected Counsellors with much more treasonable and seditious stuff These things and the frequent mentioning the fates of Edw. 2. Rich. 2. and Hen. 6. cannot but alarm his Majesty and restrain him from ever complying with such persons against his only Brother He has so often affirm'd the Bill shou'd never pass that he cannot now without diminution of his own honour as well as safety alter his well-grounded resolution taken upon the sense of conscience and duty the present and future good of himself and people An act that wou'd be the highest violation of Magna Charta that ordains none shou'd be put by his birthright and inheritance but by the Law of the Land and legal process And therefore I hope what cannot be suppos'd will be granted will no longer be insisted on lest the consequences prove fatal One thing I cannot but admire that the Duke shou'd be absolutely excluded on supposition of being a papist for otherwise he is allow'd by all a Prince of incomparable vertues and endowments leaving no room for enjoying his right in case he become Protestant Do they suppose an alteration of opinion impossible that 's false and foolish There are instances of men that have changed often and to mention no more the Dukes Grandfather Hen. 4. twice alter'd his opinion Besides it is unjust and contrary to their own practice for L. Br. was an imprison'd Plotter but as soon as he became a Convert without further process or tryal he was innocent and acquitted We do in this exceed the Papists in France and condemn our Protestant Ancestors and all others abroad who accus'd them as Antichristian and Rebellious for opposing their lawful King Hen. 4 on the score of Religion for the Parisians lov'd his person and stood upon no other condition than his turning Papist to receive him for their Soveraign as all the other R. C's of that Kingdom had done before And therefore I very much suspect we are grown weary of Monarchy and with an inconstancy natural to Islanders affect a Change tho' for the worse To this I am induc'd by many Reasons and not a little from a Protestant Lords Speech the last Sessions That the people of Athens were so fond of good King Codrus that they resolv'd to have none after him But to attempt this piece of folly and wickedness will inevitably embroyl us in a Civil War And of that the event is so uncertain that we ought to dread the loss of all by striving to enlarge our present liberties This madness ordinary prudence will carefully avoid because in all probability the King must get the better his condition is not like his Fathers He has standing Troops which the other wanted to Guard his Person he has the Militia in his own hands he has no Scotch nor Irish Rebellion to divide or distract his Forces and above all he has the Parliament in his own power to let them Sit or no Sit at his pleasure and their good behaviour And 't is happy he has this power to secure himself from popular jury at this time especially when whatever the Papists have done we daily see others run into Clubs and Cabals distinguishing themselves by Green Ribbans by general Committees and Sub-committees where all Transactions of Parliament are first design'd and hammer'd Collections made a Common Pursue manag'd and Agents employ'd in every County to prepare and influence the people write and disperse false News Libels against the Government Addresses made and sent into every Shire and Burrough and if the Members do not go down to their Elections they can Print for them such Speeches as serve their purpose Witness one my Lord Vaughan spoke at his election though his Lordship was not out of London I have
not heard before that Sir Samuel Morlans Speaking Trumpet cou'd convey a voice a hundred Miles distance But this is nothing with our True Protestant Intelligencer B. H. who printed an Address from the City of Colchester that never was seen nor presented by any of the Inhabitants as by an Instrument under the Town Clarks hand does plainly appear But though Swearing be Lying is not against the interest or practice of the Godly the presbyterian true off-spring of the Ignatian Fathers who out do them in the Doctrine of piae Fraâ—des as well as in all other their immoral and Antimonarhick principles And now considering that none that have any thing to loose can ever get by a Rebellion and that there is no just pretence for one our Liberties and Properties not being broken or invaded the Rich unless they are mad will never begin and yet with or without their assistance a Rising of Jack Cade or Wat Tyler instigated by greater persons will but inlarge the Regal power and enrich the Crown And for these and many more reasons I look upon the Threats or Fears of Rebellion as idle and vain as our Jealousies and Apprehensions of Popery never possible in England but by a Civil War since their numbers here are but as one to 230. and by an exact calculation in the three Kingdoms the whole number of Papists is but as one to 205. non-Papists and their wealth and possessions is not one to 300. If their power had been so terrible they wanted not since the Plot provocations to mak us feel as well as hear on 't But these noises are like Armies in disguise at Knights-bridge and Regiments of Horse hid in Cellars under ground and blowing up the Thames to drown London artifices formerly us'd to draw in the easie and the credulous But 't is to be presum'd the same trick will not pass twice upon us in one and the same Age while the bleeding wounds of the last are still so fresh in our memories To remedy and compose our present madness and distractions and prevent future evils must without doubt be the hearty endeavour of all honest men who expect this will be a healing Parliament that will make up all our breaches and unite our divisions by the methods of prudence and discretion weighing the true causes and applying fit remedles without regard to faction or interest heat or passion reflecting how unreasonable it is to suspect in the King or his Ministers any design of introducing Popery and arbitrary Government a malicious and idle invention set on foot with purpose to enflame the Kingdom by men who were outed or desirous of Court-Imployments disoblig'd persons or French Pensioners That the Bill of Exclusion is not like to pass either the Lords House or the King because in it self unjust impolitick and dangerous not only to the Prince but to the Subject That all other legal ways for preventing Popery and Presbytery are to be taken by those who design the preservation of the establish'd Monarchy and Religion That this is already or may with ease be secur'd against the attempts or power of any Popish Successor That our fears in this point are groundless and best founded upon accidents that may never happen That 't is the highest imprudence to run into real present to avoid possible future evils That innovations of this sort wou'd be against the Princes interest who having not a 4th part of the Revenue necessary for the support of the Crown must be under a necessity of complying with his people in Parliament and that his temper practice and Declarations secure us against impositions of this nature That it be consider'd whether the unquiet apprehensions from the Plot may not be laid by a speedy and impartial tryal and execution of all the accus'd and convicted and the Kings after granting a general pardon with such exceptions as have been usual The doing this will beget a right understanding between the King and his people defeat the contrivances of our adversaries restore us to peace and quiet at home and rescue us from contempt and danger abroad and make the Name of Parliament as famous and renown'd as some Libellers endeavour to make it base and odious How this is to be compass'd you your selves are deservedly made the Judges and therefore I will not like the foolish Orator teach Hannibal the Art of War Fiat Justitia ruat Coelum FINIS EDINBVRGH Re-printed Anno DOM. 1681.