Selected quad for the lemma: parliament_n
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A50810
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A complete history of the late revolution from the first rise of it to this present time in three parts ... : to which is added a postscript, by way of seasonable advice to the Jacobite party.
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Miege, Guy, 1644-1718?
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1691
(1691)
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Wing M2007; ESTC R18999
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68,884
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84
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at Honiton But finding the Royal Regiment of Horse and several Officers of the Dragoons did more and more suspect him his Lordship marched with the Officers and Dragoons that would follow him towards Honiton Lieutenant Colonel Langston marching before with the Regiment of S. Albans As for the Royal Regiment of Horse and the rest of the Dragoons they marched back towards Bridport being very much wearied by their long Marches and put into some Disorder by so great a Surprize Salisbury Plain was the Place of Rendez-vous for the Kings Army consisting of above 30000 Men with a Great Train of Artillery under the Command of the Earl of Feversham and all the Forces drew that Way in order to a Battle Mean while to bring Things to an Accommodation and prevent Effusion of Blood a Petition for the Calling of a Free Parliament Subscribed by Nineteen Lord both Spiritual and Temporal was presented to the King by the Lords Spiritual viz. the Arch-Bishop of Canterbury the Arch-Bishop of York Elect the Bishop of Ely and the Bishop of Rochester in these Words May it please your Majesty The Lords Petition for a Parliament We your Majesties most Loyal Subjects in a deep Sense of the Miseries of a War now breaking forth in the Bowels of this your Kingdom and of the Danger to which Your Majesties Sacred Person is thereby like to be exposed and also of the Distractions of your People by reason of their present Grievances Do think our selves bound in Conscience of the ' Duty we ow to God and our Holy Religion to your Majesty and our Country most humbly to offer to your Majesty That in our Opinion the only visible Way to preserve your Majesty and this your Kingdom would be the Calling of a Parliament Regular and Free in all its Circumstances We therefore do most earnestly beseech Your Majesty That You would be Graciously Pleased with all Speed to call such a Parliament VVherein we shall be most ready to promote such Counsels and Resolutions of Peace and Settlement in Church and State as may conduce to Your Majesties Honour and Safety and to the Quieting of the Minds of Your People VVe do likewise humbly beseech Your Majesty in the mean time to use such Means for the preventing the Effusion of Christian Blood as to Your Majesty shall seem most meet And Your Petitioners shall ever Pray c. The King's Answer To which the King gave this Answer My Lords VVhat you ask of Me I most passionately desire And I promise you upon the Faith of a King That I will have a Parliament and such an One as You ask for as soon as ever the Prince of Orange has quitted this Realm For how is it possible a Parliament should be Free in all its Circumstances as you Petition for whilst an Enemy is in the Kingdom and can make a Return of near an hundred Voices This was the King's Pretence for shunning a Parliament Which being Regularly chosen would in all probability call his evil Counsellors to an account whom He thought himself bound in Honour to Protect and strictly Inquire into the Birth of the pretended Prince of VVales the Questioning of which was a Stab at his Heart A Parliament that would probably bind up the Prerogative pull down the Dispensing Power and damn that Beast with Seven Heads the Ecclesiastical Court A Parliament that would prove fatal to his dearly beloved Priests and Jesuits and that would have pulled down all their Schools and Chappels had they not been prevented by the unaccountable Zeal of the Mobile Lastly The King foresaw that the Prince would have demanded some Forts to be put into his Hands and the Parliaments for their Security So that He expected in case of a Free Parliament to be but a Nominal King and an unhappy Instrument of the Ruin of his Child Friends and Religion And rather than do that He chose to Perish On the other side He might flatter himself with hopes 1. That we should never be able to Agree after he had made it impossible for us to have a Legal Parliament 2. That when the Fear and Disorder were over the Church of England Principles would form a great Party for him in the Nation 3. That the French King would Assist him with Forces and Mony and if he should prevail by Force then by a Popish Army he would for ever Insure the Slavery of England The only Advantage we could pretend to have by the Coming over of the Prince of Orange with an Army was to force the King to what he would never have yielded without that Force And had the Prince gone back Re infecta 't is not likely the King would have then granted us what he would not do now Suppose he had called a Parliament what Assurance could we have of their Sitting as long as he should have no Occasion to Fear Then to be sure he would have disbanded the Protestants of his Army and supply'd their rooms with Irish Papists to have at last a Parliament if a Parliament must be had of their making This being at that time the Posture of our Affairs that the Prince referred all to a Parliament and the King would have none before he had quitted the Kingdom all Things seemed disposed to the Decision of a Bettel In order to which his Majesty accompanied by his Highness Prince George of Denmark parted upon Saturday Nov. 17. from VVhite-hall for VVindsor where he lay that Night and the next Day continued his Journy to Salisbury whither he came the 19th About this time appeared a Letter from the Prince to the King's Army in these words Gentlemen and Friends The Prince's Letter to the English Army We have in Our Declaration given you so full and so true an Account of Our Intentions in this Expedition that We cannot doubt but that all true Englishmen will come and concur with Vs in our Destre to Secura these Nations from Popery and Slavery We are come to Preserve your Religion and to Restore and Establish your Liberties and Properties 'T is plain that you are only made use of as Instruments to Inslave the Nation and Ruin the Protestant Religion And when that is done you may judge what your selves ought to expect both from the Cashiering of all the Protestant Officers and Souldiers in Ireland and by the Irish Souldiers being brought over to be put in your places 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 VVord so often should by your means be brought out of those Straits to which they are now reduced VVe hope likewise that you 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
the Land 4. By Discouraging all Persons that are not Papists preferring such as turn to Popery 5. By Displacing all honest and conscientious 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 justify the Laws in a Legal Course against the Arbitrary Proceedings of the King or any of his corrupt Ministers 7. By Burdening the Nation with an Army to maintain the Violation of the Rights of the Subjects 8. By Discountenancing the Established Reformed Religion 9. By Forbidding the Subjects the Benefit of Petitioning and construing them Libeliers 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 Vnanimously Declare That not being willing to deliver our Posterity over to such a Condition of Popery and Slavery as the aforesaid Oppressions inevitably threaten We will to the utmost of our Power Oppose the same by Joyning with the Prince of Orange whom we hope God Almighty has sent to Rescue us from the Oppressions aforesaid and will use our utmost Indeavours for the Recovery of our almost ruined Laws Liberties and Religion Wherein we hope all good Protestant Subj cts will with their Lives and Fortunes be Assistant to us and not be Bug-beared with the Opprobrious Term of Rebels by which they would fright us to become perfect Slaves to their Tyrannical Insolencies and Vsurpations For We assure our selves that no rational and unbiassed Person will judge it Rebellion to Defend our Laws and Religion which all our Princes have Sworn at their Coronation Which Oath how well it has 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 a one we justly esteem no Rebellion but a necessary Defence And in this Corsideration We doubt not of all honest Mons Assistance humbly hoping for and imploring the great God's Protection that turns the Hearts of the People as pleases him best For it has been observed that People can never be of one Mind without his Inspiration which has confirmed the Saying Vox Populi Vox Dei The present Restoring of Charters and Reversing the oppressing and unjust Judgment given of Magdalen College Fellows is plain are but to still the People like Plums to Children by deceiving them for a while But if they shall by this Stratagem be fooled tâ—ll the present Storm that threatens the Papists be past as soon as thâ—y shall be Re-settled the former Oppression will be put on with greater Vigour But we hope in vain is the Net spread in the sight of the Birds The Old Rule of Papists is so well known that Faith is not to be kept with Hereticks as they term Protestants tho the Popish Religion is the greatest Heresy 'T is well known how ill Q. Mary observed her Promises to the Suffolk Men that helped her to the Throne And how the Pope Dispenses with the Breach of Oaths Treatises or Promises at his Pleasure when it makes for the Service of the Holy Church as they term it These are such convincing Reasons to hinder Vs 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 To this Declaration the Northern Commonalty sensible of the Justice of it and Influenced besides by the Interest and Example of so many Lords and Gentlemen did readily Subscribe and the Militia was Raised upon it who gave a great Stroke towards the Revolution For the News of it coming to the Kings Ears at Salisbury struck such a Damp upon his Spirits that he began now to think his Case desperate To the same Effect was a Paper delivered from the Nobility and Gentry of the North by the Earl of Devonshire to the Mayor of Darby where his Lordship Quartered the 21 of November that is for the Meeting and Sitting of a Parliament freely and duly Chosen With a declared Resolution therein That in case any Interruption should be given to the Proceeding of a Parliament they the Nobility and Gentry of the Northern Parts of England would to their utmost Defend the Protestant Religion the Laws of the Kingdom and the Rights and Liberties of the Subject In the County of Norfolk the Duke who bears that Title found the Gentry and Common People in the same Disposition Being come to Lyn attended by many of the Principal Men in the County he received an Address in the Market-place presented in these Words to his Grace by the Mayor attended by the Body and many hundreds of the Inhabitants My Lord Address of Lyn to the Duke of Norfolk The Daily Alarms we receive as well from Foreign as Domestick Enemies give us just Apprehensions of the approaching Danger we conceive to be in and make us apply our selves with all earnestness to your Grace as our great Patron that we may be put into such posture by your Directions and Conduct as may make us appear as Zealous as any in the Defence of the Protestant Religion the Laws and Ancient Government of this Kingdom Which is the Desire of many Hundreds who most humbly challenge a Right of your Graces Protection To which his Grace was pleased to Answer thus Mr. Mayor The Duke of Norfolk's Answer I am very much obliged to You and the rest of your Body and all here present for your good Opinion of me and the Confidence you have that I will do what in me lyes to support and defend the Laws Liberties and Protestant Religion in which I will never deceive you And since the Coming of the Prince of Orange has given us an Opportunity to Declare for the Defence of them I can only assure you that no Man will venture his Life and Fortune more freely for the same than I will do especially with all these Gentlemen here present and many more of the same Principles In order to which you shall see all possible Care shall be taken to answer your Expectation Whereupon the Militia was ordered to be raised throughout the County Which being thus put into a posture of Defence his Grace was pleased to deliver himself in these Words to the said Corporation The Duke of Norfolk's second Speech I have indeavoured as you see to put you into the Posture you desired by sending both for Horse and Foot of the Militia and am very glad to see such an Appearance of this Town in so good a Condition I do again renew my former Assurances to you that I will ever stand by