in Corn abounding in Wine in Cattel in Pasturage in Oyl in Salt in all sorts of Fruits a Country water'd with large Rivers to the North and West wash'd by the Ocean and to the South by the Mediterranean Sea as if Nature not content with the peculiar Wealth she has bestow'd upon it design'd to furnish it with all that Foreign Climates have in particular I say who would believe that a People thus endow'd in the midst of a soil abounding with Milk and Honey should be forc'd to dwell in Straw Huts and to be reduc'd to Beggary Who would believe that there should be nothing to be seen but Palaces demolish'd and ruin'd Houses in a Kingdom where no Enemy has been ravaging for these two or three Ages together That a Country Husband man after he has till'd his own Lands and reap'd the Harvest should have nothing but a little Rye Barley or Chest-nuts to eat or the squeezings of the Lees of the Grape mixed with Water or Water it self to drink For the Collector of the Kings duties has despoil'd him of his Wheat his Wine and his Oyl leaving him hardly wherewithal to sow his Land next Year and pay his Tenths Besides that the Land is over and above charg'd with duties for goods brought in and going forth Customs and other excessive Taxes and to compleat the total consuming of what the Collectors could not carry away the Souldiers run from Province to Province trampling the poor People under foot Strangers wonder at the vast Number of Souldiers that France keeps up in pay But this does not come to pass because the Kingdom is better Peopl'd then other Countries You shall travel several Leagues together through most fertile Champaign Countries and hardly meet with one poor miserable Cottage whereas the very Mershes and Sands of Holland seem to be but one Great and Magnificent City But the reason is for that being Born where only the King the Favourites of the Wealthy and the Souldiers can live the rest must either carry a Musquet or starve In all other Countries the Great Cities enjoy considerable Priviledges hold General Assemblies composed of the Nobility the Clergy and the third Estate where they consâ—â—â— of what concerns the public good to prevent the indiscâ—â—â—â—on of bad Counsellers from putting the Kingdom in combustion and the hungry Courtiers from inriching themselves with the sweat of the People 'T is not so in France Bourdeaux Marseilles Toulouse La Rochelle Nismes Montauban c. have all lost their Franchises and are curb'd and kept in awe by Citadels and strong Garrisons The King keeps his Court but seldom in Paris to lessen the Power of that Proud City All the rest of the Cities are so poor that Grenoble one of the most Flourishing and Capital of the Dauphinate the Seat of the Parliament of that Province is not able to raise Money to restrain within it's Channel a small River that overflows the Country and many times threatens the City with a destructive deluge The Parliaments more especially that of Paris had reserv'd to themselves a right to examine the Edicts and Decrees of their Prince And if they found any thing fit to be excepted against they humbly represented their exceptions to his Majesty as they did to Hen. IV. when he was designing to recal the Jesuits and their remonstrances were frequently of that force as to cancel an Edict otherwise they allow'd and confirm'd it But they have Punish'd with so much rigor and cruelty several Counsellers who in the late troubles during the Minority of the King gave proof of their constancy and zeal for the public good that at this day no Body dares so much as open their mouths Nor do they now make use of the Word d'Enteriner which properly signifies to give the force of a Law to a Declaration of the Prince so that the Parliaments for fear of jostling the Absolute Power of their Invincible Monarch barely write down that they have read such or such an Edict of the King and that they have Verify'd it that is they have acknowledg'd it to be his Majesties Act and Deed. After which his most humble Slaves have not a Word more to say I will not here speak of that same tedious and barbarous Persecution of the Reformed in France though that Party was very considerable in the Kingdom as well for that other Authors have made very large Descriptions of it as for that it is not convenient to meddle with Particular differences in a discourse that relates only to the public Interest I shall only observe that Religion which is the General Pretence laid hold of to cause the Roman Catholics to approve these violent Proceedings is not the real cause thereof and that it is not out of any zeal for the Glory of God that those poor People are depriv'd of their Relations and Friends and of their fellow Citizens and that they destroy and ruin their Trade It may be that the King is over perswaded that his conscience obliges him to exterminate Heresy But he is a good natur'd Prince naturally not inclin'd to cruelty yet when he is made believe that he offers an oblation to God in Sacrificing to his vengeance those that worship him after a manner different from ours it is enough to overcome a good disposition and push on zeal even to fury But as for his Counsellers they are too sufficiently known to the World to make any doubt whether Conscience or Religion are the Motives that spur them on to Act. 'T is certain they are not and therefore we must seek out for others and I think I have call'd to mind some of them The first is the hatred of the Jesuites against all those that are not of their Opinion For Opinion is the Queen of the World And therefore they who would command others use all their endeavours to make those whom they labour to bring under Subjection to admit of their Maxims chiefly those that relate to Philosophy Divinity and Morality The Grandees can easily rid themselves of a few Private Persons by the way of Calumny or by bringing them into trouble but to destroy a numerous Body that continually raises up fresh Enemies there is no way but to proceed by open force The Jesuits being the most Rigid of all the Doctors of the Roman Church always found the Reformed to be Opposers of their designs Nor were the Jansenists who accus'd these Fathers for being the Corrupters of Christian Morality less odious to them But the Society being more Powerful then both these brought about their ends by a Persecution of above Forty Years In the first Place they put in practice Processes and brangling Suits Knavery and Imposture of which they made use against those that escap'd their fury by flying for Sanctuary into Foreign Countries The second Motive to Persecution is the Avarice of the Society which appear'd by the Benefices and Estates of the Jansenists and Protestant confiscated which the Jesuits
shortest ways and means provided they be honest and lawful If a Man may be permitted to deliberate before he engages in an Enterprize the same Liberty is not allowed him after once he has began the Execution of it for that the Ignominy is no less then the danger to abandon a glorious Undertaking Every moment that a Man looses in consulting whether he shall go on or no are as so many foot of ground which a Man surrenders to his Enemy and as so many paces that he retreats from his Adversary England and the Vnited Provinces have Contracted a most strait Alliance one with another by Vertue of that Aid and Assistance with which the States General furnish'd his Royal Highness Monsieur the Prince of Orange toward the Resettlement of the Laws and Religion under Oppression and Tyrany in that Island Now certain it is that if these two Nations continue a good Correspondence they will be the Terror of their Enemies the Sanctuary of their Neighbours the support of their Allies and it may be the Restorers of Europe to her Liberties There is nothing appears capable in all probability to prevent the Effects of this Union but the fâ—nd Credit which some weak and inadvertent People may give to Spies or other Persons corrupted by the French who labour to buz into their Ears imaginary future Inconveniences and Disturbances But tho' there be very little likelihood that such ill-dispos'd People should ever get the Upper-hand or make any considerable Progress in their Designs Nevertheles whether it be out of my abundance of precaution or that it is a pleasing thing to let the World know that a Man has Reason of his side I thought it my duty to oblige the public by shewing how weak the Pretensions of those People are who argue against this Union and the real Interest of these two Nations to preserve it inviolable All that their Enemies can invent of most plausible to insinuate into the two Nations a Mistrust of the Prince or a Jealousie of one another is to be reduc'd to these Six Heads 1. That a King or Regent in England being likewise Governour or Generalissimo of the United Provinces is too puissant 2. That the English and Hollanders being both formidable by Sea and gaining their Principal Riches by Commerce and Trade can never flourish but by the subduing of the one to the other 3. That the two Nations being thus Jealous of their mutual Prosperity it will be easie for a Politic Prince to make use of the one to invade the Liberties and Priviledges of the other 4. That the Prince of Orange being a Presbyterian will favour the Nonconformists of England and permit the Puritan Party in Scotland to keep their Station on purpose to weaken the Episcopal Party in England 5. That this Prince has already given great Proofs of his Activity and Policy by acquiring more Power in the United Provinces then any of his Predecessors and by engaging the States General in the Expedition into England without any Engagement that could urge them to it 6. That tho' the Prince himself were never so sincere in his own intentions as he cannot be in two places at one time it will not be possible for him to satisfy two Nations always accustom'd to see their Prince at home among them and to enjoy him intirely to themselves and that therefore let him divide his time after what manner soever he pleases it will be a difficult Matter for him to please both the one and the other 1. I must acknowledge in the first place that the Protestants never yet had so potent a Prince as the Prince of Orange is like at one time or other to be if it pleases God to hear our Prayers and bless his pious Designs but I dare maintain at the same time that we have no reason in the world to be in the least Suspitious of him His Highness till this very day has never given any other then real Marks of his Moderation Mildness and Love of the public good During the War of the Year 1672. in the time when the Prince had many Enemies when near three of the Provinces were already dismember'd from the Union When every one thought it the safest Course to shift for himself the Mischief being without Remedy the King of France then offer'd him the Soveraignty of the Country of Holland and several other Places But the generous Prince despising that Grandeur which he could not attain but by abandoning his Unfortunate Country chose rather to expose himself to all the dangers that threaten the Chieftain of a ruin'd Party then to accept of so tempting a Present from the Hand of an Enemy His constancy prov'd successful the Factions moulder'd away to nothing the Hollanders resum'd fresh Courage seeing themselves Headed by the Illustrious Off-spring of so many Hero's Presently the Vigilance and Prudence of his Highness set all things in Order he waken'd Spain and the Empire out of their Lethargic Drowsiness So that the French found themselves constrain'd to abandon their Conquests in less time then they had spent in making them notwithstanding the rapid Inundations of their Success Since that France has not been slow in taking a most cruel Revenge for that refusal and Heroic Resistance She has dismantl'd and sackt the City of Orange she has Confiscated all the Lands and Castles which the Prince possesses in Franche Conte and in those places which she has taken from the Spaniards in Flanders and Brabant She has caus'd the Prince to besummon'd before the Parliament of Paris as her Vassai and Condemn'd him for default of appearance and given away his Hereditary Estate to others The Kings of Great Britain Charles the II. and James the II. the one his Uncle the other his Uncle and father-in-Father-in-Law saw all these Injuries done him without being in the least concern'd On the other side the Prince suffer'd all this with a most Christian Patience without making any other Opposition against so many Violences and so much unworthy hard usage then that of God and his Right Well knowing that Acts of Injustice done to great Souls generally fall most heavy upon the Wrong-doers For Fraud and Violence each one Surrounds But mostly back from whence it came rebounds This Axiom has fallen out very truly James the II. has been oblig'd to quit his Kingdom We know not as yet what may befal Lewis the XIV Felix ante Obitum Nemo However it may come to pass we cannot sufficiently admire the Mildness and Moderation of the Prince of Orange King James fled without being pursu'd he escapes in disguise is stopped without being known So soon as he is discover'd he has great Honour and Respect paid him Commissioners from the Lords Spiritual and Temporal are sent to wait upon him who desire him to continue in his Kingdom He refuses and desires leave to be gone He is attended to the Sea side he crosses the Sea and retires into France without
THE Happy Union OF ENGLAND AND HOLLAND OR THE Advantagious CONSEQUENCES OF THE ALLIANCE OF THE CROWN of GREAT BRITAIN WITH THE States General of the Vnited Provinces Licensed May the 20th 1689. LONDON Printed for Richard Baldwin in the Old-Baily 1689. TO THE Right Reverend Father in God Gilbert Lord Bishop of Salisbury My Lord THE Happy Consequences of a settl'd Alliance and Union between their Majesties of Great Britain and the States of the United Provinces are that which these few Sheets have undertak'n to make out as being necessary for the safety and repose of both in particular and of the Protestant Interest in general How zealously Your Lordship has always Labour'd the Advancement of the Latter and how Instrumental you have been to promote the Former is not unknown to all the World For this reason the Author of this Treatise really intended for the good of both Nations is so Ambitious as he is to appear in the English Dialect under Your Lordship's Patronage and Protection from the Censures of those who make it their business to disturb the Public Tranquility both of Church and State Not doubting through Your Lordships Favour of the same Reception here as the Original had in the place that gave it Birth Yet humbly craving on the other side Your Lordships Pardon for the Confidence of this Address which speaks however the High Esteem and Honour that all Men who value the true Religion the Laws and Liberties of their Country have for Your Person but more especially of Your most Humble and Most Obedient Servant R. W. The Necessity of a Union between the ENGLISH and HOLLANDERS USually we judge by the Event of the Uprightness or Injustice of human Actions and of the Prudence or Indiscretion of those that Act. The Philosophers take upon them to make their Comments upon these inconsiderate Judgments That vulgar Opinion carries it That is to say that they who prosper pass for Wise and many times for Vertuous Men they who are unfortunate are lookt upon as imprudent and sometimes which is worse as wicked and impious A Kingdom oppress'd with exactions becomes enrag'd against the Contrivers of their Misery and revolts against those that Officiate in the Tyrannies of the Court. Therefore Forces are sent to quell and dissipate the mutinous Multitude their Ringleaders are seiz'd and put to Death by all the most infamous and cruel ways of Execution nor do they grant any Act of Oblivion to the rest but by charging them with new Taxes and Impositions And as a Consummation of their Misfortunes their Posterity attribute all their Miseries to them and Historians range them in the Number of Factious and Rebels justly depriv'd of their Liberties and their Ancient Priviledges For these thirty Years the Kings of England have labour'd to render themselves Absolute they have gradually dispoyl'd the Cities and Corporations of their Charters and made it their business to introduce Popery into their three Kingdoms well knowing that the Alteration of the Establish'd Religion trailes after it the Change of the Government and the Laws and no less assur'd that of all the Christian Sects the Roman is that which best agrees with Arbitrary Dominion and is most proper to inspire blind Obedience The English weary'd with their Sufferings privately call in the Prince of Orange and that great Hero was receiv'd into the Island as their Tutelar-Angel but with so much Order and Unanimity that the suddain Commotion was taken rather for a public Rejoycing then a Rebellious Insurrection Some make hast to meet him others set up his Standard while the King disturb'd in Mind perplex'd and astonish'd withdraws without striking a stroak and punishes himself with a voluntary Exile for having followed the Advice of his Evil Counsellors All Europe admires so suddain a Revolution The Protestants lookt upon him as a Prodigy of Heaven sent for the relief of Truth oppress'd The moderate Catholics acknowledge the Justice of the Prince of Oranges Designs applaud the mildness which he exercises toward their Brethren and impute the unkindness which he has for their Religion at this Conjucture to the violent Counsels of the Jesuits The Politicians of both Parties look upon the Success as the Effect of a Transcendent Genius which Heaven has been pleas'd to Favour whether to set Enslav'd Europe at Liberty or whether it were to shew that Prudence and Mildness are more assur'd and efficacious means to attain their Ends then the Sanguinary Maxims of Matchiavel Lastly Persons of the clearest Intellects and most perspicacious insight into Affairs belive that nothing can be above the reach of that Prince who has shewn himself able to carry on for many Years a Design of so great Importance unknown to his Enemies or any other who had no occasion to be interested therein A Prince who has United several Soveraign Potentates against France who has so well managed the Inclination and Humours of three Kingdoms of several distant Plantations and a Powerful Commonwealth for a long time harass'd by various Factions as to soder them into Unanimity A Prince in a Word who after he has taken time to reflect and consider puts his Resolutions in Execution with a courage and swiftness beyond imagination 'T is true the Sloath the lgnorance and the Necessity which constrains some Men to submit to a present Conjuncture and to side with the strongest Party are without question the real sources of those applauses which are given to those whom happy Success has exalted above others Add to this that how desirous so ever Men may be to ingratiate themselves with such Persons yet they are always willing to act conformably to their own Understandings So that Self-Love being willing to reconcile these two Passions easily perswades us that our Flatteries are just and that the Grandees are beholding to their Merit for their advancement Moreover it is most certain that these successful Persons are many times highly worthy of Honour and that Prudence and Indiscretion are the most usual causes of the good or bad Success of Men of which they who only understand the most known Circumstances of the Revolution of England may convince themselves with little trouble But if Men are so quick in judging of things done on the other side they are so slow to determin when they ought to Act that their mistiming Execution or their Wavering and Hesitation becomes the disappointment of the greatest and most noble Designs They whose Interest it is to oppose them fill their Minds with pannic Fears or desperate Mistrusts and Jealousies and in regard that the number of Persons timorous and jealous are very numerous and for that idle and imaginary Fear works a more signal Effect upon such then a hope and assurance grounded upon Reason therefore that a Man may act with Prudence upon such occasions it behoves him to take a convenient time to examin the Circumstances of Time of Places and Persons and then to resolve and pursue his design by the
procur'd to be given to themselves The Politicians also give us some Reasons for these Cruelties they say that the King is a great Lover of Glory and makes it a point of Honour to destroy a Religion which his Predecessors would have eradicated but could not They add that the Victories he has gain'd and the Progress he has made through the Divisions of the Neighbouring Princes and by other Stratagems have puft him up to believe that he is able to execute whatever he undertakes and that it is as easie for him to force his Subjects to change their belief as to win the strong holds of his Enemies Others there are who will have it that the Court has Sacrific'd the Reformed to the Ghosts of the Jansenists and that to procure the condescention of the Pope that the Disciples of St. Austin might be persecuted and the Canonical Elections abolish'd in these Churches where they were preserv'd they bethought themselves of oppressing the Protestants which has been always a great Mark of Catholicism Others hold that it was the design of the Ministers of State and superntendants to enrich themselves with the spoils of those that fled to defray the expences of the War and pay off the half famish'd Souldiers perswading the King that a small number of poor People by leaving his Kingdom did but discharge it of an unprofitable Burthen Lastly there are some that maintain that though there were no such probable reasons to be given there would be cause enough to believe that in a Court like that of France Religion is usually the Motive least consider'd However it be most evident it is that both Priests and Ministers are Banish'd alike that Religious Houses are dissolv'd as well as the Reformed Churches that Monasteries are sack'd and destroy'd as well as Temples and that they make War with the same violence upon those that adhere to the Pope as upon those that side with Calvin This I say is an evident sign that it is not the Doctrine of the Romish Church but Jesuitism which is the immediate Incentive to all these Cruelties That is to say that the Politcs of Matchiavel the thirst of Rule and to establish their opinions at any rate whatever to ruin those by all manner of ways that oppose them and to dispose absolutely of the Bodys Estates and Consciences of the People carry them to these Courses Whence it follows that all the French Roman Catholics or others ought to look upon these Persecutions 1. As Attempts against the Public Faith as being contrary to the Edicts of Nantes and Nismes confirm'd to outward Appearance by all the Declarations publish'd against the Reformed and to a Decree of Council by which the King forbids the disturbance of such as should have subscrib'd the Formulary and promises the same Usage to the Jansenists as to the Molinists These Persecutions ranverse the Foundations of public Security and introduce the Inquisition 'T is well known that the Questions about Predestination and Grace are very nice and thorny and how easie a thing it is whatever the receiv'd opinion may be to give a Heretical Sence to innocent Propositions so that if there be any that bear malice to a Learned Man or that he shall be so unfortunate as to displease the Society then is he lost for ever since there is nothing more easie then to forge an imaginary Heresie out of a Metaphysical Controversie 3. The Persecutions of the Jansenists lay a snare for Divines which they are not well able to be aware of For should the Disputes happen to be about Predestination or Grace the Mysteries of the Holy Trinity the Incarnation the free Satisfaction of Christ If what we ought to believe were clearly taught in Scripture or had been decided in a General Council according to the Principles receiv'd among the Christians the Opposers would be treated as Heretics But neither Pelagius nor St. Austin were ever condemn'd by the Universal Church and though the Body of the Roman Church agree with the Semipelagians nevertheless if the Disciples of Molinus would but speak candidly they must acknowledge that the contrary Doctrin has always been tolerated The Heresie of Predestination is a Chimera Godescale was Persecuted by the Faction of the two Arch-Bishops Rabanus Maurus of Mayence and Hincmar of Rheims The greatest part of the Prelates and Learned Men of Germany undertook the Defence of his Doctrin Nevertheless Semipelagianism was never listed in the Number of Errors against the Faith but got great footing afterwards in the West On the other side the Writings of St. Austin and his Disciples St. Prosper St. Fulgentius St. Gregory Tho. Aquinas and an Infinite Number of others have been approv'd receiv'd and respected by all the Church And there needs no more then to read and understand them to see then Jansenius has taught nothing but what other Ancient Doctors taught before him How is it then possible that a Divine who shall read the Books of the Holy Fathers who shall reverence them as Saints who shall look upon them as Testimonies to confirm the Doctrin of the Ages they liv'd in how is it possible I say but that he must either iump with them in opinion or condemn those that follow them consequently how can he avoid being either a Heretic or a Favourer of Heretics 4. These Persecutions are contrary to the Law of Nature and Nations The Law of Nature permits every one to defend his own Estate and his Life by all the lawful ways that may be and ordains as to others that we should deal by them as we would they should deal by us So that this Law is quite overturn'd in such Places where the Estate Life and Honour of several Persons depend upon the Fancy of a single Person and where the Innocent are oppress'd by a violent Faction and by a Power usurp'd and purely Arbitrary without any regard to the Law By vertue of which Law of Nations the Contracts of Superiour to Inferiour or of equal to equal remain immoveable The consequence of which is that every Man may live without disturbance in his own House and enjoy his Estate in Tranquility provided he behave himself peaceably toward the Government and Act nothing contrary to the Laws either Civil or Ecclesiastical Now the Protestant Religion having been establish'd in France by Solemn Edicts and seeing that the Doctrin of St. Austin was never yet Condemn'd by any Council it is most apparent that the Persecution of the Subjects for one or the other of these two Beliefs is a violation of the Law of Nature and Nations before an Assembly of Estates have revok'd those Edicts or a National Synod have rejected the Doctrin If then all the Facts that have been hither to alledg'd are certain if it be true that the Clergy have been despoil'd of their Libertys the Nobility of their Employments and Priviledges the People of their Subsistance If it be true that Priests and Ministers Catholics and Reformed have
lessen the Authority of the Church of England 'T is a strange thing that the Roman Catholics who hardly know their own Religion should pretend to teach us ours They have been told a thousand times that the Bishops and Presbyterians of England differ only in so slight Ceremonies which are nothing to the Essential part of Divine Worship and that there is more of Obstinacy and Misunderstanding between them then of real Cause of Dispute We have seen at the Hugue for this ten or twelve Years the Princess of Orange now Queen Mary of England repair indifferently sometimes to the Dutch or French Church and sometimes to her own Chappel The Prince no sooner arriv'd at London but he receiv'd the Communion in an Episcopal Church and gave a favourable Reception to the Presbyterian Ministers who went to Congratulate him We see every day several of the Episcopal Party Communicate with the Reformed on this side the Sea and our French and Holland Protestants joyn themselves with the Church of England Yet maugre all this the Romish Doctors would make us believe we are of two Religions And upon the same score because their Religion properly consists only in exterior Pomp in Images Relics Beds Rosaries Holy-water Monks of several Colours and such like Superstitious Exercises and Institutions and that those other things wherein they differ from the Protestants are only the Inventions of Italian Policy they imagin it to be the same with ours Whence it comes to pass that all the Speculative Opinions of our Divines are by those Gentlemen lookt upon as so many All the Confessions of Faith the Liturgies the Ceremonies in the Administration of the Sacraments the Varieties of Discipline the Orders and Habits of the Preachers if our Adversaries were so to be believ'd among us make so many different Sects For this reason it was that a certain Prelate who believ'd himself to be very witty has made a History of the Variations of our Churches and he had so great a desire to augment the Number that he bethought himself of ascribing to us as many Relics as he found Systems of our Ministers upon the Apocalyps the most obscure Book of all the New Testament Nevertheless we must acknowledge that the Headstrong Obstinacy of some of Ours and the remains of Ignorance and the Spirit of Antichristianism that will not yet out of the Bones of some that Envy our Unity have given occasion to these Calumnies The Western Church has mourn'd for above these ten Centuries under the Darkness and Yoke of Popery During which time there was Opportunity and Advantage enough to deepen the Superstitions and Impressions of Popery under so wicked a Master Add to this that since the Reformation we have not had a Prince whose Knowledg Piety and Puissance have been able to reconcile our Differences The Great Gustavus had conceiv'd such a Design in his Mind but he vanish'd like a flash of Lightning in the midst of his Victories It seems that God has reserv'd this Honour for William the III. and this Happiness till our Time God has sent this Prince into the World in a Country where the Spirit of Toleration has pass'd from the Magistrates to the most Learned Ministers He has call'd him to a Kingdom replenish'd with Learned and Pious Bishops who have for a long time preserv'd their Flocks in Peace by their gentleness and moderation The Prince at hi first Coming to the Government found Factions in the Church as well as in the State He has appeas'd both the one and the other The Persecution of the Reformed in France has open'd the Eyes of all their Brethren and has shew'd them the necessity of guarding themselves from the Fury of the Jesuits All these Conjunctures in my Opinion presage a happy Union of the Protestants As to what is said that the Prince of Orange is more absolute in the Vnited Provinces then any of his Predecessors is an Equivocation For ever since the Establishment of the Commonwealth the Hollanders have always born a very great Affection to the House of Orange but true it is that ever since William the Silent who laid the first Foundations of their Liberty this State never had a Prince whom they lov'd more then William Henry The reason is because he enter'd upon the Government at a time when the Hollanders seem'd to be ruin'd beyond recovery and yet he restor'd them to their former Grandeur However notwithstanding this signal Service done them the dread of War and certain vain Suspitions were the Cause that there was great Opposition made against a Levie of sixteen Thousand Men which the Prince most earnestly press'd for as better understanding the Designs of France then any of the Burgomasters of Amsterdam The Event demonstrated that never was any Opposition made upon such bad Grounds nor more Prejudicial to the State For Lewis the XIV boasted in the Edict which revokes that of Nantes that he had not made the Truce but to Exterminate the Protestants out of his Kingdom James the II. took that time to perplex the Church of England and to invade the Liberties of his People At length France threw off her Mask and broke the Truce as soon as she thought she could do it with Advantage That long Train of Delusions justify'd the Prince's Innocence shew'd that he had no other Aim in all his Designs but the Preservation of Liberty and the Protestant Religion and gain'd him the Hearts of all the Hollanders And I would fain know how long it has been a Crime for a Governour to win the Love of those who are under his Conduct Thus you may see how the first Prince William render'd himself Absolute and how the same Power came to be transferr'd to his Successors not by Usurpation but by preserving the Liberty of the Republic The form of Government is still the same the Elections are made by the usual Suffrages the Resolutions taken for the raising of Money making Peace and War Affairs of Trade Justice and Civil Government are all determin'd in the Assembly of Estates according to the Ancient Customs and we are ready to make it appear that for these fifteen Years last past that William Henry has sate at the Helm he has acted nothing but according to the Laws and by vertue of the power annex'd to his high Authority and Command As to what is reported that the Prince engag'd the States General in his Expedition for England without imparting to them his Design is a Calumny of his Enemies which has no other foundation but the Malice of those who are enrag'd that he did not make a discovery of that Fortunate Enterprize at such a time that they might have had more leisure to prepare to obstruct him And it is an easie thing to convince all Intelligent Persons of the Folly of this Objection Suppose this Revolution had been the Effect of long deliberation it was necessary before all other things 1. To be assur'd of the Inclinations
of the English and Scotch and the Collonies depending upon Them In these Transactions the Prince not acting as Governour of the Vnited Provinces but as a Private person managing his own proper Affairs he was not oblig'd to make his business known to the States General Nevertheless I make no question but the Principal Head-peices among them were well inform'd from the beginning of the Design which is a thing indeed not to be doubted considering the good Intelligence there has been at the Hague for several Years last past and the unanimous Consent of their High and Mightinessess when the Question was debated whether they should lend their helping hand to carry on the Work 2. Since the Defeat of the D. of Monmouth and the Dragoon Persecutions France and the Court of England never ceas'd to molest and disquiet the Vnited Provinces They Exasperated the Algerines against them who adventur'd to exercise their Pyracies upon the Coast of Holland James the II. set open his Ports to those Corsairs and suffer'd them publicly to sell the Prizes which they had taken from his Allies Lewis the XIV sought an occasion to pick a Quarrel with the Subjects of the States in the Streights of Gibraltar forbid the Sale of their Herrings and their Cloath in his Kingdom and laid Impositions upon all their Merchandizes enter'd in his Ports In a Word since the Design for the repeal of the Tests and the Attempts upon Dr. Burnet there has been nothing but Memoirs Complaints and Murmurings on both sides It was easie for the Hollanders to see that the Two Princes had conspir'd their Ruin so that the least they could do was to Arm and stand on their Defence Therefore they rig out a Fleet to protect themselves from the Algerines and the Threats of France Thereupon out comes the Letter of the Deceas'd Monsieur Fagel that the Court of England was drawn into a Conjunction with France by the force of Intreaties Promises and Menaces repeated one upon the Neck of another The Misunderstanding increases and King James keeps an Army on Foot contrary to the Laws of the Land the Queen is feign'd to be with Child and a Counterfeit Prince of Wales is impos'd upon the Nation The Hollanders reinforce their Army and Navy both by Sea and Land The French redouble their Threats and the English their Murmurs The latter at length present a Memorial to their Royal Highnesses wherein they set forth the Cause of their Complaints and invite the Prince to come over and procure the Calling of a Parliament The Prince condescends to their earnest Supplications the States Consent Assist him with Ships and Souldiers to prevent any Attempt upon his Person The Prince puts to Sea accompany'd with the Blessing of Heaven and the Acclamations of the People and he was recerv'd into England with the same Joy as was seen at his departure out of Holland This was that which was both seen and known to all the Land What can be from hence concluded but that there was a great deal of Patience and Prudence on the one side and Violence and Rashness on the other So that all that the View of this Transaction could encline a rational Person to was only this to have a Compassion for James the II. and a High Esteem for his Competitor But it behoves us to be Candid and to acknowledge that the Fortunate Assemblage of all these Circumstances would not perhaps have been sufficient had they been only favour'd by Persons of less exalted Degree then their Royal Highnesses were They are both of them Protestants not only by Birth and Education but also through Affection and choice of a more Understanding they are of easie Access and Affable their Conversation Civil and Vertuous they keep their words exactly they make it their glory to leave nothing imperfect but to accomplish whatever they take in hand not enduring the repulse of whatsoever dangers they see before them They never Abandon those that serve them faithfully but reward them liberally they are neither sway'd by Humour our nor difficult to Content and willingly forgive Offences not maliciously committed They are endow'd with Wisdom Piety and Vertue Great Eneouragers of Learning and Learned Men and particularly Church-men Such Qualities as these would recommend a Private Person to the highest Dignities but where they meet in Persons of Royal Extraction what wonder if they win upon the Affections of the People The Valour and Vigilance of the Prince his Experience in Military Discipline and his indefatigable Fervency in Combat gain him the Hearts of his Souldiers and Allies his Prudence and peircing Judgment cause him to be esteem'd by Men of the sublimest intellects and his probity and sincerity command the Reverence of good Men. His Reputation is so uncontroulable that the Court of England could never lay any other thing to his Charge but the rigorous Severity of his Military Discipline The Love which the Hollanders have for him is so general that among the vast Number of Writers wish which that State is crowded of which so many take the Liberty to speak their Minds with freedom enough there never was but one that endeavour'd to Calumniate the Princes Expedition into England but the Book had so few Readers and sold so ill thatit presently became wast Paper These were the Reasons of the great Success of Willtam the III. For in regard that all the World had a great Love for him in regard his Designs were equally Just Pious and Beneficial that he went to secure his Country to deliver his Oppress'd Brethern and Neighbours and to Re-establish the Protestant Religion and the Liberty of the Nation every body glory'd in contributing to it no body betray'd him tho he had several Confidents and the States lent him their Helping hand so soon as all things were ready And this was that which made several Strangers believe that this Design till it was ripe for Execution lay deposited in the Breasts of certain faithful Counsellors who then by a more then usual Dexterity engag'd their High and Mightinesses in the Affair But the truth is that several Persons were acquainted with it and that they were sway'd rather by Love then Policy The Secrecy with which the King of France manages his Affairs is greatly wonder'd at and indeed it is a thing much to be commended but it is very rare Tho for ten or twelve Counsellors whose Fortune wholly depends upon the King to be faithful to him and keep his Secrets is no such extraordinary peice of business But for an infinite Number of Bishops and Ministers of Lords Magistrates and Private Persons to keep silence so long and to be so true one to another is that which hardly ever yet was known And therefore the best Counsel that can be given to our Enemies would be speedily to make a Peace with a Prince so well belov'd by his own Subjects and so formidable to his Adversaries For the time will come that he will despise
of Religion And as if those two tyes were not strong enough Heaven has bequeath'd one Prince to both to Perpetuate their Union and to the end those two Nations may joyn together to break the Fetters which France was preparing both for them and all the rest of Europe I was just about to make an end when the Sixth Letter concerning the Affairs of the Times came to my hands where I read the Title and an Extract of three Libels against the Confederate Princes but more especially against His Majesty of Great Britain against whom France has the greatest Antipathy When Men are in a violent Passion 't is no easie thing to conceal it Dread and Despair have seiz'd that Court It is apparent by all they say by all they do and write Now they flatter the Empire England Holland the Catholic Potentates the Protestant Princes and in a Word all Europe which they vaunted to be beholding to them for her Peace and threatned not above six months ago with so much Haughtiness There is none to whom they give an ill Word but William the III. because they see it would be a very Fruitless thing to flatter him In all out ward appearance they will gain as little by their Colloquing upon the rest of the Princes Since the Diet at Ratisbone has caus'd two of the three Libels to be Burnt by the hand of the common Hangman and dismiss'd the Secretary to James II. However though the dread of France may seem to shew by her words how far her Pride is abated however we find the Traces of her rage and fury by the Devastations of her Troops depopulating all with Fire and Sword Is this the way to appease the Princes of the Empire by Sacking and Burning so many of the Cities and wasting and destroying whatever they cannot carry away She exposes the disquiet of her thoughts by the reasons which she alledges and by the manner of her venting them They are only Invectives Contradictions and imaginary Suspitions 'T is true I never read those three Pamphlets but the Letters about the Affairs of the Times carry so fair a Character of sound Judgment and Sincerity that we may easily judge of the Resemblance which the Author has to his own works Never did Writer better support his Arguments his Reflections neither offend through impertinency not do the Spring from whence they flow seem to be in the least exhausted while the Author becomes every day more exact and more profound then other After all not having seen any new reasons in the Extract I suppose I have refuted all Objections that our Enemies can alledge However I am far from having drain'd my self in reference to the Subjects which I have handled that was not my intent there being few of them which might not be enlarg'd to a considerable Volume Therefore I hope that the Omissions will not be charg'd upon me for faults but that if I have said those things which are true and right they will not be rejected for a slight Error Besides that I found my self oblig'd to compose this Treatise out of hand and in hast remote from my Study my Friends or any other Assistance but a very great Zeal for the Public Good I foresaw several other Effects of a Union between England and Holland which I did not think it proper to insist upon since they themselves cannot but be sufficiently sensible thereof For Example 1. That Arts and Sciences will Flourish because the Protestants love them as being the Original of the Reformation and therefore finding themselves at liberty they will not fail to improve so much the rather in regard that King William the III. and Queen Mary the II. are so much the Favourers of Learned Men. 2. Because the Laws of the Land will for the future be the Rule of Government seeing that for their sake the Prince of Orange took up Arms and expos'd himself to so many dangers 3. Because that Justice and good Manners will be more and more observ'd in regard their Majesties of Great Britain are themselves both Just and Equitable and the True Models of Vertue FINIS