Selected quad for the lemma: land_n
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A54973
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Plain dealing is a jewel and honesty the best policy both set forth in an answer to a letter received by a gentleman in London, from his friend in the countrey : wherein is planly demonstrated the grounds and reasons of our present distractions and methods proposed for preventing the same for the future / by a lover of truth and a hearty well-wisher to the prosperity of the King and his three kingdoms.
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Lover of truth and a hearty well-wisher to the prosperity of the king and his three kingdoms.
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1682
(1682)
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Wing P2352; ESTC R8001
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28,621
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25
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notwithstanding thereof after lived to sway the Scepter in this Kingdom I know but they will tell you they designed to have seconded this Bill with another for an Association whereby to have enabled the People to keep the Duke out by Force and perhaps they would have been as angry and uneasy to if that had not past which if it had then might they have presently Dethron'd His Majesty the present Possessor of the Crown and that with as much ease and Justice as they can hinder his Royal Brother from Succeeding him and thereby Intaile a War Domestick and Foreign upon the Kingdom Pray Consider whoever sets up against his Royal Highness's Title must have at least Fifty Thousand Horse and Foot constantly in Arms to Defend himself and keep the Crown on his Head for the Duke is an Excellent Soldier a Gentleman of Personal Valor and Resolution a Prince of great Conduct and Interest beloved both abroad and at home therefore cannot want Supplies from his Friends here or the Aid of Foreign Princes at least of those who are Allied to him to assist him in recovering his Right which perhaps may Intail upon us another War for Fifty Years and the Miseries attending the same such as that formerly between the Two Houses of York and Lancaster and if such an Army must be raised though no War happen must not the People of England pay them and what that will cost or what Arbitrary Power that Prince may set up that hath such an Army at his Devotion I leave to Judgment Consider if those that advise to this Course of Procedure be Friends to their Countrey and the Protestant Religion take care to preserve the Liberty and Property of the Subject or rather whether they are not such as put us upon Methods to destroy them all lay us open to Arbitrary Power as we were in the time of the late Horrid Rebellion and to all the Plunderings Freequarters Taxes of 60000 l. per Month as was raised by Oliver and his Council without a Parliament Sequestrations Decimations Imprisonments Banishments c. God knows how many Mischiefs more may ensue upon such Force being raised and maintained as a standing Army amongst us as is absolutely necessary to be kept on Foot if the Succession be altered I cannot believe any honest man who is really a Protestant Loyal to the King loves his Countrey and desires its Interest Happiness and Peace especially if he lived in the times of the late Intestine War and beheld the Miseries the Nation then groaned under can or will if he has any Estate or Trade ever desire a change of Government in England or a necessity of having a standing Army to support that Government which necessarily this Bill desired for altering the Succession must have therefore none but some few Male-contents or such as desire the Destruction of the Protestant Religion will pursue the same any further Having done with this point and shown how rediculous it is for men to distract their minds with the fear or apprehension of His Majesties Governing Arbitrarily I proceed to the Second thing proposed and hope to demonstrate by reason That we are in as little danger of Popery prevailing howbeit a Popish Successor hereafter should happen to Inherit the Imperial Crown of this Realm Before I enter upon this give me leave for my own Justification and to prevent being Censured by the Reader Solemnly to Declare in the presence of Almighty God and the whole World That I am a Protestant and have been bred up in that Religion from my Youth I am so far from being a Papist that to my remembrance I never was in any Parish Church Chappel or other Place where Mass was said or the Popish Religion Exercised during such Service being performed I have an equal Love and Esteem for all Protestants though of different perswasions so that they be Conscientious and Religious and submit to Government and I would have them allowed all Liberty so long as they use it not to the Disturbance of publick Peace or the Government of Church and State therefore hope a Charitable Interpretation will be made of what is here offered to Consideration since I argue not out of any approbation to the Popish Religion or desire of its being Establish'd here or to live to see a Popish King Reign over us nor out of any prejudice to any Protestant Dissenter but meerly to quiet the minds of those who distract themselves with Jealousies of Poperies over-running the Kindom if ever a Popish Successor should Reign over us knowing how dangerus it may be to the Protestant Religion for Protestants to be misled by such Idle Perswasions Suppose such a Popish Successor should happen the Question then will be Whether that Prince or his Subjects will suffer most I am of oppinion that a Prince of that Religion will find himself very uneasie and Reign with great difficulty over the English and Scotch Nations whatever he may do over Ireland there being in the Two former One Hundred Protestants for One Papist though in Ireland perhaps there is Ten Papists for one Protestant and yet even in that Kingdom will it not be in his Power to Establish the Romish Religion or Invade his Subjects Liberty and Property much less to hurt us in England in either of these particulars It hath been observed in History that Princes of the weakest Titles have always yeilded to the best Laws complying with their People and compounding with them for the Government If a Popish Prince ever happen to Reign in England though he be Right and Lawful Heir both by Birth and Succession yet will his Religion render him suspected by his People of having a design to change theirs and invade their Properties consisting much in Abby and Monastery Land so they will always keep him as uneasie as they can and never give him Revenue sufficient to maintain such Power and Force as shall endanger them And when the King to whom I beseech Almighty God to great a long Life and happy Reign shall happen to Die his whole Revenue excepting about 450000 l. per Annum Determines with him so that if his Royal Highness survive him and be King he will not with all his own present Revenue joined to that of the Crown have above 550000 l. per Annum How can any rational man then believe that with that Revenue he will be able to raise and maintain such Force as must necessarily be kept on foot for his own Security if he goes about to change the Government or alter the Religion of the Kingdom Establish'd by Law Our present King though he hath had a Revenue of Two Millions or a Million and half Yearly and now had above a Million per Annum never yet attempted such alteration and shall the Duke of York supposing he had a Will to do it which I am confident he neither hath ever had nor will have be able to Establish Arbitrary Government or Popery with
Church Lands into his own possession where the Incumbants were dead and there were very few living when he came first in all the Rents belonged by Law to him till he filled up the Vacancies and he might have renued all their Leases and taken the Fines to himself without doing any wrong and was offered 850000 l. for so doing as also that the Yearly Revenue of the Church should be doubled and every Purchaser in England satisfied which would have been a great Security to his Government notwithstanding all which he could not be prevailed with to accept of or close with that offer Again if His Majesty ever had any such design how easy had it been for him to have taken the same course that Henry the 7th and other Princes formerly did and if he had so done when the Parliament in few years after his Restauration had given him above five Millions of Mony to carry on a War with Holland how easie had it been for His Majesty to have closed a Peace got vast Sums of Mony for so doing and put up that and the greatest part of what the Parliament had given him into his own Coffers whereby and by means aforementioned had he been parcimonious and designed mischeif to his Subjects he at this day would have had all the Coyn of the Kingdom in his Exchequer and therewith might have Governed his People and commanded their Liberties and Properties at his pleasure But our Kings Design and Practice hath been hitherto so far from taking this Course that his Subjects have taken occasion rather to condemn him for expending so great a Treasure as hath been given him and yet at the same time rejoyce and please themselves with the consideration that it is gon accounting nothing a greater security against Arbitrary Power than their Princes being under a necessity to fly to his People in Parliament for supplies upon the least extraordinary accident or Emergency of State and tho they know and are well assured this is the Kings present Condition yet most malitiously would they impose upon his Subjects and force them contrary to Reason to believe that he designs to Govern Arbitrarily when at the same time they are well assured it is impossible for him so to do For no Prince can Govern Arbitrarily without a Force nor raise and maintain such Force without Mony nor come at that Mony without Credit nor can our King if he would so Govern raise such Force and get Mony to pay them with but by the consent of his People in Parliament neither can he change our Government here but by a long tract of time Wherefore no wise or considering person ought or can ever believe whatever they say that His Majesty who hath never attempted any such thing since his Restauration notwithstanding the many opportunities before mentioned which he had to have facilitated the work especially coming in after the greatest Tyrant that ever Reigned finding an Army raised which would not only have served him but made his Government more tolerable being agreeable to the pattern left by Oliver who raised and kept them on Foot if His Majesty I say has neglected such oppertunities as these of setting up Arbitrary Government in the vigour of his Youth when newly Married in height of Reputation beloved and feared of all both abroad and at home in expectation of Issue of his own to Succeed him and having a Parliament to assist him such as never any King of England before had a Parliament that would have denyed him nothing he should ever have desired of them how can any rational man think or imagine he will attempt it now when his Exchequers is empty his Reputation by the horrid false and scandalous Misrepresentations aforesaid low and himself growing into Years and without Issue of his Own to Inherit especially at this time when his Kingdoms are awakened and on their Guard to oppose it The rather ought we not to believe this if we seriously consider what most men certainly know to be true which is that our King is a Prince of a most peaceable Disposition merciful in his Nature hating Cruelty Oppression and Trouble a Prince under whom as the Author of that saying most truly said and by experience hath since found the unfortunate fall gently if so then ought no man easily to believe that he should now devest himself of his Glory by changing his Nature and Disposition to live the remainder of his time in Confusion and Trouble and pass from that Estate of Hapiness and Security which he now Injoys in the Affections of his People to a necessity of being afraid of all mankind and beholding to the assistance of an Army for his future security which is the height of Slavery a Prince under their Guard and Protection being as unsecure as his people and as much at their mercy as the Roman and Ottaman Princes ever were Neither can such vain fancy enter into any mans mind that hath common sence so as to create in him a beleif thereof when he shall Consider what Laws His Majesty hath past for securing the Liberty of the Subject against the Bugbear of Arbitrary Power which so many pretends to be afraid of 1. To wit the Petition of Right against quartering Souldiers by which all power of marching with an Army without Money wherewith Constantly to defray their Quarters is taken away and without an Army there is no danger of Arbitrary Government 2. The Act for taking away the Courts of Wards and Liveries and that for Sale of Fee farme Rents before which most Subjects held their Lands of the King and were obliged to do him Suite and Service and their Children during their minority lyable to be his Wards from all which they are now Discharged 3. The Habias Corpus bill in passing whereof His Majesty hath in a manner at once Discharged all his menial Servants from his Royal protection and put it out of his own power to Imprison any Suspected Person so as to hold him long tho for Treason itself These were the Acts the wisdom of our Parliments conceived best for the security of the Subjects against Arbitrary Power and Government and these Acts the King most readily Condiscended to pass and now to Imagine he should design a change of Government were to conclude he follows Councills and takes Measures unknown to all Ages before and contrary to all former Examples and it argues great Pusilanimity in his Subjects to be afraid of that which morally speaking is in its own nature impossible The rather for that His Majesty who might as I said before have carved out a standing Revenue at his first Restauration sufficient to have supported such a Government as we fear he to show he had no such Intention contented himself with a Revenue the greatest part whereof is only for his life as the Customes and accepted of the Hereditary part of Excise amounting but to 300000 l. per annum in lieu of his Court