to prevent the Fraud and Danger of Holy Pretences for such Unrighteous Attempts against our natural and civil Properties Our Penal Laws are to punish Offences against the Civil Government and Humane Society and tho they be about matters Ecclesiastical the Subjects of England cannot pretend to be exempted from them because of their Consciences any otherwise than they may wickedly claim to be free from the Penal Laws against Felonies and Murders if they shall plead that they Robbed or Killed according to theâ—r Consciences His Majesties avowed Intent and Endeavours are to free the Emissaries of Romes Priests and Papists from the punishments and dangers of those our Penal Laws against such manifest Attempts upon the Freedom Rights and Properties of the Realm that His new Erected Popish Colledges His Convents of Monks His Four Provincial Bishops and His numerous Priests may be authorized by Him without force of Laws to maintain the Church of Romes Canons to be of greater Authority than the Laws of the Realm to Declare all the Power of Magistracy in Protestants Hands to be Unlawful and all Rights and Titles to their Estates forfeited to the Papists by their being Protestants to own and justifie Dispensations from Rome with their Obedience to all such Laws of the Realm as the Pope and His Priests dislike and professedly to hold Communion with the Church of Rome the French King and all Foreign Papists that declare themselves Mortal Enemies to the Religion and Power of the Protestants to contrive with them the Suppression or Extirpation of them out of the Realm This work his Majesty hath so far begun that he hath suspended and stopped the Execution of the Penal Laws against all the High Crimes some whereof the ancient Papists of this Kingdom made Capital and he declares all such Protestants as will not help to finish it not to be qualify'd as Christians or Englishmen for any Imployment in the Kingdom and therefore least of all to be Members of Parliament Hereby his Majesty attempts to Confine the Electors in their Choice to so small a party that he allows them not the choice of one of forty whom our Laws make capable of being Elected for Parliament the Number is so small professed Papists excepted out of which his will is to have Members of Parliament chosen that our Laws will judge it no choice if he can impose his will upon the Kingdom as he hath declared it Hereby your Highnesses may be satisfied that our case is deplorable it seems not sufficient for our Popish Enemies to seek the abolition of all our ancient Penal Laws that are not agreeable to those new invented Doctrines and pernicious Practises of the present Church of Rome which the Penal Statutes shew to have been abhorred by our ancient English Papists but their design is to destroy the Constitution and form of the free Government of the Kingdom from whence arose all those Penal Laws against their Churches proud Domination and their Usurpation of the Rights of the Crown and the whole Realm They know by our Histories and Records that the free Parliament always made the Complaints from age to age against their pernicious claims of power over our Kings our Laws our Courts of Judicature and their Judgments and against their Exactions Impositions Frauds and Delusions of the People with their Superstitious folly whereby they gained a third of the revenues of England and drew so much Money to Rome that they impoverished and almost ruined the Kingdom They are sensible that they have been able to inslave to the Pope and Priests several of the greatest English Kings that they could prevail with the King for Licenses and Pardons to them to transgress the Laws that the Parliament made to preserve the Subjects Rights and properties and that the Parliament only caused new Laws to be made for declaring such Licenses Dispensations and Pardons of the Kings void and null They know that they have perswaded several of the Kings that the Pope could absolve their Conscience from all obligation by the Laws and from Agreements Promises and Oaths to their Kingdom to maintain their great Charters and all their Laws and Liberties and that they prevailed upon one of them to resign the Kingdom intirely to the Pope and to hold it of him by rent and they understand that the People in free Parliament only made and declared all such Dispensations and resignations void and nul and justly required those Kings to renew their Oaths to the Kingdom to preserve their Liberties and scorned with indignation the Popes demands of his pretended rent for the Kingdom declaring that their Kings had no such Patrimonial right in the Kingdom to subject it to any powers on Earth They cannot hope that a freely chosen Representative of this Kingdom can suffer such a delusion to be put upon them to be perswaded that due Christian Liberty of Conscience requires them either to allow the forreign Romish Laws or Canons to contest for power and place with the Laws of England or to suffer any of the Subjects of England openly to profess themselves their Persons Marriages or Estates to be subject to any Foreigners Jurisdiction and to depend of their Authority Offices and Sanctions and the exercise of them for their Eternal Salvation which is in truth to renounce their subjection to England or to own and avow to have the nearest Union and Communion with Foreigners that openly profess themselves Mortal Enemies to more then a hundred to one of the whole Realm and to be bound in Conscience to seek their suppression or destruction They cannot think that a free English Parliament should not always know that no Doctrines of Jesus Christ ever destroyed or changed the Natural and Civil right of any person or Nation or allowed that any part of the People of a free Country should correspond with or depend upon the declared Enemy of the far greatest part of it they have therefore resolved to over-turn the very foundation of our Civil Government the Peoples free choice of their Deputies for Parliament that there may never be a free Parliament more in the Kingdom which is a Plot much worse than their Gunpowder Treason It seems they think it safest to keep a shadow of Elections for their intended Convention by forming Bodies Politick of Cities and Towns to name or return whom the King pleases and by the specious name of Liberty of Conscience with promises of Favour and threats of Displeasure to deceive or affright the other Electors to accept of those for their Deputies that the King shall offer but if this attempt upon the Prime Fundamental of our whole Civil Government shall be suffered the King may hereafter with as much Justice Law and Reason call whom he pleaseth from any parts of the Kingdom to Consult with and in the Name and under Pretence of their Advise change our Laws and Customs impose Taxes and Alter at his pleasure the
the Queen when they could not be ignorant that it was the voice of common Fame in England and Foreign Countries that her Majesties Conception of a Child was meerly Fictitious and that a supposititious Prince was designed and seeing no Excuse or Pretence is published for the neglect or failure of such a Testimony of his birth we say the Circumstances of the Case being considered it 's most unjust to expect or demand of Your Highnesses or of the People of England or of Foreigners a belief and acknowledgment that this pretended Prince of Wales was born of the Queen As our Common Law informs us who are fit and proper Witnesses whose Testimonies ought to be received in this Case and in the proof of all Matters of Fact respectively so the same declares who are deemed to be unfit and disabled to be Witnesses in all the various and respective Questions of Fact it shews whose Testimonies ought not to be heard and much less believed in divers sorts of Facts that come into question If your Highness and the Kingdom be told of the presence of such persons to have been at the Birth of this pretended Prince as ought not by our Laws to be accounted Witnesses nor their averrments in the case to be heard by your Hss or the Kingdom and much less to be allowed to be of any Validity in the Common course of out Courts of Judicature if parties concerned to prove a Fact do knowingly offer for Witnesses such as our Laws reject in the Facts in question it turns to the prejudice of their other proof we are therefore obliged to acquaint your Highnesses with the Actions Qualities Respects and Circumstances that have disabled many by force of our Common Law to be heard as Witnesses of the Birth of this pretended Prince of Wales First Our Laws utterly disable all those to be heard in the Case that have received either gifts of Money or Honours or any other Reward or Benefits whatsoever for their pretended Assistance about his Birth or by reason or occasion of that pretence 't is the Common Practise of our Law that when a Witness is produced the adverse Party may examine him upon his Oath whether he hath had Money or other Reward or Gift directly or indirectly for or by reason of the matter in question or from the Party in whose behalf he is produced to testifie or from any of his Friends if he cannot acquit himself thereof by his Oath though it cannot be proved against him our Impartial Law deems such a person not only to be partial in the Case but corrupted and bribed and unworthy to be heard Our Law will not admit those to be Witnesses for the Birth of this supposed Prince of Wales that have any Promise Expectation or Hopes of any Advancement Office Place or Benefit by or under him if he shall be received and allowed by the Kingdom to be Prince of Wales they that cannot purge themselves by their Oaths from all such Promises Expectations and Hopes are not in the Judgment of our Law persons indifferent and unconcerned in the Event of the Matter in question nor fit to be heard as Witnesses their Testimonies being partly for themselves and their own Benefit and the allowance of such Testimonies in Judicature would in consequence subvert all Civil Justice and Government Our Law excludes all from being Witnesses to support the pretence of the supposed Prince of Wales as have such dependance on the Patrons and Maintainers of him that they are in danger of damage and loss by them of any kind if they should displease them in their Testimony Our Laws judg all such not to be free and of their own Right in the Case but bound to serve and please the Patrons of the Cause and therefore presume that they may be corrupted by fear of losing the Advantages they love if they should impartially declare the whole Truth and nothing but the Truth of the matter Our Laws seek to know the naked and entire Truth of all Facts that come into legal question or Contest and will not admit of any to be Witnesses of them unless they appear to be free from Fears of any Prejudice to themselves by speaking the Truth impartially We are inforced by the Concern of all the Protestants to speak more plainly than we would we must say that all that hold Offices of Profit and Honour during the Kings Will are by the Laws of England excluded out of the Number of fit and competent Witnesses about the Birth of this Child whom His Majesty hath proclaimed and maintains to be Prince of Wales our good Laws have regard to humane infirmities and will not put a temptation upon men to suffer them to be Witnesses in matters wherein they may damnifie themselves in the loss of their Offices if they happen to displease their Master in his concern in the case by testifying clearly the whole Truth of it they are not free in the Judgment of our Laws to speak the Truth without fear and for that reason are not to be received by the Kingdom as Witnesses in this Case Our Laws will never allow or suffer any to be Witnesses in this Case who are known or may be proved to have Enmity or Prejudice of any kind upon any account whatsoever to Her Royal Highness against whom most immediately this supposed Prince contends she having been most unquestionably the Heir apparent of the Crown and justly so remaining until the Kingdom shall be satisfied by a sufficient Number of lawful Witnesses that there is a Prince born whereby her claim to the next Succession shall be postponed The question of Fact to be decided by Witnesses is apparently between her Royal Highness and this supposed Prince and 't is a legal unanswerable and conclusive Exception against any to be received for Witnesses against her in his behalf that they are declared Enemies to her and the Professed Protestant Religion the destruction whereof they are bound in Conscience to endeavour and for that reason such known Enemies to her right of Succession to the Crown that their Church have decreed and declared her Right and the Right of all Protestants to any Authorities to be absolutely forfeited to the Papists for Protestant Heresie It cannot be denied that all that are sincerely Roman Catholicks and believe their own Church do judg Her Royal Highness to be an Excommunicated Heretick by their Church and that all Her Rights in possession and reversion are thereby confiscated and that they are all obliged by the Law of their Church in Conscience of their Religion and by the hope of Pardon of their sins to defeat and destroy by all ways and means in their Power all Her Pretensions to the Descent of the Crown upon her and to assist to the investing the Right to the Succession in a Roman Catholick We might here add that our English Papists are all in Vnion and Communion with the Pope as appears by his Nuntio in
demand and insist immovably That the antient free Government of England by its 〈…〉 and Law â—nly made or approved in Parliament be immediately restore 〈…〉 all th 〈…〉 at is that the Rights of the Crown and Freedom of the Realm be forth 〈…〉 Submissions publickly made to the Pope by the King that now is to the Disho 〈…〉 English Crown and Realm and from all the Claims made by the Romish Church â—â— any Powers and Jurisdictions whatsoever over the Christians o 〈…〉 England â—â—â—t all the Laws now in force against the Admission of the Canons and Jurisdiction of Rome contrary to our Customs and Laws and against the maintainers of them be forthwith declared to be put in due Execution and all Suspensions of them or Dispensations with them without the Authority of Parliament be declared null and void That the Ancient Customs Liberties and Priviledges of the City of London and the whole form and course of its Government be forthwith restored the Customs thereof being part of the Common Law of England and its Liberties being established by the great Charter and many Acts of Parliament that the Customs Free Election of their Magistrates and all the Priviledges of all the Cities and Boroughs of England confirmed by the great Charter and other Laws be duely restored That Legal Officers both Civil and Military be settled in all the Places of Magistracy and all the Commands throughout the Kingdom That all Commissions whatsoever be forthwith revoked and declared null and void whereby are granted any Powers of Discretion over the Persons or Interest of the Subject contrary to the Laws and Customs of England especially the Commission for Ecclesiastical Affairs with its monstrous non obstante to all our Laws That the Freedom of Elections which is the Foundation of the Government be duely vindicated and all the most unworthy Preingagements revoked and renounced to elect and vote as the King would have them That the Kingdom may be restored as soon as possible to a Capacity of holding a Legal Parliament in such Form and Manner as the Laws require by whose help the Civil Government may be reestablished and force and arbitrary Powers therein utterly abolished We crave your Highnesses Pardon that we further humbly offer to your Hignesses that time and accident always made Changes in the Usefulness of Laws and that it hath so happened in our Penal Laws made for Uniformity in the Profession of Faith and in the outward Worship of God four of our succeeding Parliaments perceived the abuse of these Laws and the Mischief thereby to conscientious Christians and declared their Intention of relieving them if the King would have permitted them and they endeavoured to stop the Execution of them and desired a Settlement of Liberty of Conscience as is due to Christians In these Regards and the Subversion of the whole Government since made Necessity and Charity may have the force of Laws to inforce the stay of the Execution of some of those Laws for Conformity until those Matters may be settled in Parliament We therefore humbly pray your Highness to procure as a case of Necessity that none be disturbed until a Legal Parliament shall have resolved the case for the Profession of their Faith in Matters meerly supernatural or the outward Expression of their Worship so as both terminate only in God and neither wrong nor hurt any Man on Earth in Body Goods and good Name but their own Souls only if they be mistaken therein We now most humbly submit our selves and all herein contained to your Highnesses Wisdom Candor and Charity 〈◊〉 shall pray the just and great God to fill your noble Souls with perfect Love and Wisdom and all the most resplendent Vertues that are fit to shine in the highest Thrones and Power that ever the Sun beheld Sr The Character we have had of your Worth makes us confident of your Faithfulness to deliver the inclosed forthwith to his Highness the Prince of Orange or in his Absence to her Royal Hss the Princess we could not trust it by the Post and therefore have sent it by an Express which may perhaps make it longer in coming the Messengers only Order is to deliver it to one of your Servants and we confide in your Integrity and remain To Monsieur M 〈…〉 at the Hague SIR Your most humble Servants whom you may hereafter know (*) The Instances hereof are too many to be recited but some thereof are these viz. 1. Most of the Protestants are pressed to declare for a Repeal of all the Laws made for the Reformation of our Religion and its settlement 2. All the Subjects are forced to submit to Serve and Obey those that are no lawful Judges Sheriffs Justices of the Peace Mayors Lords Lieutenants and other Commanders and all are Threatned Vexed and Prosecuted as the Lord Lovelace now is that dare but say that such have no lawful Authority 3. All the Subjects are commanded to suffer all the Actions and Offences of their Lives and the secrets of their Hearts to be searched into and their chief Interests and many of their Free-holds to be judged by the discretion of a few of the Kings Creatures called his Commissioners for Ecclesiastical Affairs whose Commission is to proceed without and against the Rules of our Laws with a non obstante to all other Laws and every Man is required to assist their Arbitrary Powers on peril of their Censures which extend to imprisonment for Life 4. All our Ministers are required under grievous menaced Penalties to be the Kings Cryers to Proclaim in the Churches the Kings Power to suspend at once the force and use of all our Penal Laws made in 400 Years past to secure the Rights of the Crown the freedoms and properties of the Realm and the profession of the Protestant Religion 5. All the Protestants are forced by fear of the Kings Wrath to suffer the Rights of the Crown and the freedom of the Realm against Foreign Powers and Laws to be publickly denied and the force of Foreign Laws over them to be maintained they are injoined by the King to neglect their sworn duties to God to the Crown and Kingdom of prosecuting at Law those Treasons which they know and see to be daily committed for which no excuse can be made by pretence of Liberty of Conscienâ—e in Christs Religion 6. The Constables and other Officers throughout the Realm are forced to quarter Irish and Scots and oâ—her mercenary Souldiers in their Neighbours Houses against their Wills in contempt of the Ancient Laws and the express Words of the late Statutes 7. All the Gentlemen and Free-holders are pressed to renounce their native and legal freedom in their choice of Members for Parliament 8. The Freemen of the Cities and Towns are urged to yield up to the Kings Will the Tenure of their Magistracies and all their free Customs and Priviledges 9. All the People are forced by fear of Punishments to suffer a Child to be
the Customs Priviledges Charters and Governments of all the Cities and Boroughs by whom Four parts in Five of the Members of the Commons in Parliament are to be chosen by the Custom of England and to bring all these Bodies Politick and all their Magistrates and Officers to be dependant on the Kings Will and to be obliged as His Creatures not the Cities and Towns Trustees to serve his Popish and Arbitrary Designs or to be turned out of their Places at His Pleasure and such as are either Papists or more Ignorant and Corrupt put into their Places 'T is known to all that for this purpose to destroy our Government under colour of Law there have been causless Writs of Quo warranto's brought by the King against most of the Cities and Boroughs of the Kingdom those were seconded by Instruments appointed to terrifie the Magistrates of the Cities and Towns with the Kings severe Displeasure if they dared to insist upon their legal Right and contest with the King at Law to fright them with the intolerable charge that their legal Defence would cost them more than they could bear and boldly affirming that they could not hope to maintain their Customs Priviledges and Charters against the King since he was resolved to have them at His Command then they tempted them with Promises of new Charters if they would comply and surrender their Old Liberties into the Kings Hands and pretended that the Names of all that refused it must be returned to the Kings Attorney General 'T is no less known that Judges were prepared to damn the Pleas of all such Cities and Towns as would stand upon their Right and Plead to the Quo warranto's as the Magistrates of London resolved to do their Common-Council refusing to surrender their Liberties notwithstanding all Commands Terrors and Intreaties that were used to them they knew it was not in their Power to betray their City nor in the Kings Power to receive unto himself those Customs Powers and Priviledges which the Great Charter and the Common Law had given them But such Judges as would not judge that Ancient Body Politick that had holden their Customs above 1000 Years to be dissolved were turned out and all the Freedoms and Privileges due to the Citizens and their Heirs and to the City and their Successors were declared by the Judges to be Forfeited His now Majesties Instruments thereby preparing His Way under the shadow of the late King to destroy the Government of all other Cities and Towns by frightning them into surrenders or making a President for Judgment against them and it hath taken such Effect that the Tenure of almost all those Bodies Politick is illegally changed and the Cities and Towns brought to such a forlorn Estate that they have no Magistrates or Officers but at the Kings Will and during His Pleasure As there is an actual subversion of the Freedom of the Government of the Cities and Towns the Tenure of their Magistrates and their free Customs being utterly destroyed and those that now Exercise the Magistracies therein being incapable to chuse freely and indifferently and to return legally Members for Parliament so there are continual attempts upon the personal Freedom and Indifferency of all the Electors for Parliament throughout the Kingdom His Majesty has personally sollicited and attached so many of them by His smiles and frowns in secret to accept of such for their Deputies in Parliament as will comply with His Designs that His Closeting Electors is become a By-word amongst the People He has made them consent to be barr'd of their Freedom in Electing for Parliament and in Voting therein if they be chosen to be a Test of their Fitness to hold their Offices and Imployments of Profit and Trust and to have place in the Magistracy The Three Questions to that purpose are known to all which His Majesties Ministers required to be answered by the Justices of the Peace and all other Officers The Lord Lieutenants of all the Counties by the Kings special Command have Summoned the chief Officers and Gentlemen in His Majesties Name to flatter or terrifie them out of the use of their Freedom in Electing for Parliament and Marks of the Kings Displeasure have been put upon those that resolved to keep their Freedom and indifferency to Elect worthy and fit Deputies according to their Judgments and Consciences An unheard-of-sort of Commissioners as to their Qualities and Instructions are lately sent from His Majesty throughout England to Delude or Affright the Electors into a Choice of such Members for a Convention to be called a Parliament as will engage to serve His Designs of abolishing all those Ancient Laws and Tests that are the only Humane Securities of the free Profession of our Religion and the clearest Authoritative Declarations of the Rights of the Crown and the Liberties of the People There need not be plainer Proofs that the Ax is lay'd to the Root of our Civil Government as the most certain way to introduce the Laws and Religion of Rome Yet to convince the whole World in this matter His Majesty has published a Second Declaration wherein He has positively declared His Mind that none ought to be imployed under Him in the Kingdom who will not contribute to these His Designs and choose such Members of Parliament as may do their part to finish what He has begun He has pronounced all that shall refuse it to be neither Good Christians nor Lovers of their Countries Wealth and Power and He Declares that He has begun His intended form of Government sutable to those Principles having turned out by His Absolute Will many Civil and Military Officers throughout the Kingdom in pursuance of this great Work. This puts it out of dispute that His Majesty thinks He ought not to suffer any Free Election for Parliament whilst there are such numbers of Faithful Protestants to Contest for the Elections who cannot in Conscience contribute to the Work He has begun That is upon pretence of Liberty of Conscience to allow His Majesty to surrender unto the Pope the Rights and Freedom of the Crown and the Kingdom or to acknowledge that the People of England ought by the Laws of GOD and CHRIST to be subjected to the Church of Rome's Laws and Jurisdictions in their Persons and great part of their Estates That the Pope and His Priests and Canonists should judge them by their Canons in the lawfulness of their Marriages and Contracts and legitimate or bastard their Heirs as they please that the disposal of their Goods and Chattels by their Last Wills their Debts about Tythes and their Good Names and Bodies on pretence of penances should be in their Power and Will. This is the Work begun by His Majesty which Dishonours and Debases the English Imperial Crown and subverts the Native Freedom and the Civil Properties and Interests of English Men. Those are the proper Matters and Occasions of most of our Penal Laws in matters Ecclesiastical
of Justice and Love amongst men and by Consequence of the Religion preached and established by Christ. These matters of fact are self-evidences and clearly shew that our Grievous Oppressions by our King are the effects of the united Councils of the Popish Interest whereof the French King is the Chief That the Conspiracy against true Religion and Liberties that now appears in England Comprizes all the Protestant Princes and States in Europe England is only first attacked as the principal Fortress of the Protestant Profession if the three Kingdoms of England Scotland and Ireland can be reduced into the pattern of the French King in Government and Religion and the strength of them be united against any single Protestant State or Prince they shall think fit to assault if they can by Artifices keep the rest divided which will not be hard for them for there is little hope of any long defence of such a State. The French King seems not unwilling to have it known that the Popish design is General against all Profession of the Protestant Religion tho especially against England he hath allowed the Bishop of Cosnaes speech to him at Versailes in 1685. to be published who was authorized to be the Mouth of the Clergy of that Kingdom he magnifies the King for suppressing the Protestants of his own Kingdom and asks what they may not yet expect England saith he is just offering to your Majesty one of the most glorious occasions that you can desire the King of England by the need which he will have of succour and of the support of your Arms to maintain him in the Catholick Faith will make you quickly find occasion to give a protection wholly of your self We know very well before the French Clergy declared it by that Bishop that the same head that contrived the pervertion of destruction of so many millions of the Protestants in that Kingdom designed the ruin of the English Religion and Liberty but it surprised us to see that speech published by the French Kings Authority and that our King should suffer the Translation of it to pass freely in England and thorow the World. We thought it beneath the Majesty of a King of England to be content that his subjects should be told that he was to come under the protection of a King of France over whose Kings and Kingdom his Ancestors had so often triumphed but it seems nothing is to be esteemed inglorious that may serve the General Popish design of Extirpating the Protestant Profession We need not put your Hss in mind that the same speech acknowledges that the Popish Councils and Conspiracy against England intend the like ruin to the Religion and Freedom of the United Provinces that Bishop tells the King that he hath undertook the Conquest of new Countries there to re-establish the Prelacy the Religious worship and the Altars that Holland and Germany have been the Theater of his Victories only that Christ might triumph there that is that the Papists might trample upon the Protestants and their Religion and this he speaks as he says in the very Spirit of the Church and signifies their hopes of succâ—ss against the poor Protestants to be unbounded saying what may we not yet Expect We must freely Confess we were too slow to believe this desperate Popish Plot against the whole Protestant Profession and in our particular Case we have been deluded with our Kings promises to protect and maintain our Religion our Laws and Government until we see them all undermined and the train laid to blow them up by a packed Convention of men preingaged perverted or corrupted to serve the Kings will and designs that shall assume the name of Parliament we were not utterly insensible of the danger of our Liberty in our Religion and our Government from the time his now Majesty declared his late Majesty to have been a Papist but who saw that by their secret Conjoyned Councils they had not been able to prevent the making some Laws to secure the Protestants by Excluding Papists from our Parliaments and all Offices and Imployments and we hoped that our Kings life would not be sufficient to overturn by degrees as they had begun to proceed the Excellent foundations of our Civil Government nor to Extinguish the clear light of the truths of Christ Professed in our Religion and we were assured that your Hss minds were clearly inlightened in the Doctrines of the Protestant Religion and adorned and accomplished with all Christian and Royal Vertues fit to possess the highest throne Thereupon we incouraged each other to suffer with patience his Majesties attempts against our Laws and Liberties presuming that your Hss would ere long be our joyful deliverers to the Everlasting Confusion of the Popish designs against our Government and Religion and to the Vindication of the Innocency of the Protestant Martyrs in all the Kingdoms of Europe But as your Hss were the greatest objects of our earthly hopes so the thoughts of her Royal Highnesses succession to the Crown in Conjunction with your Highnesses Virtues and Military prowess and magnaninity were matters of the greatest horror and dread to all the Popish Councils of Europe They have therefore applied themselves to various consultations sometimes it hath been proposed by his Majesty's Power with a Parliament by the deluding Names of Liberty of Conscience and a Magna Charta therein to Fetter Your Highness in Your accession to the Crown with such Conditions as were obtained in Parliament in the cases of Queen Mary and Elizabeth which they hoped to strengthen by his Majesty's putting the Papists into possession of all the strength and Authority of the Kingdom united with all the power of the French King that your quiet Admission to the Throne might not be possible unless you should submit unto and depend upon the Papists and the Conditions that they should impose But they found it of greater difficulty than they at first imagined to get a Parliament that would joyn with his Majesty in such a project against your Highnesses Therefore some of the more cautious Papists of considerable fortunes stumbled at the absolute force of a mercenary Army and the French Power to put a force upon the Heiress of the Crown they propounded that his Majesty should rather try the force of his Paternal Power with her Royal Highness and use all the arguments of interest to induce her either to change her sentiments in her Religion or at least to moderate her thoughts concerning them and incline her to concur in their full Liberty If such Endeavors should be hopeless that then Your Highnesses should be at least prevailed with to declare your Consents to his Majesties Declaration for Liberty of Conscience and your concurrence in his desires to a Parliament for the repeal of all the Penal Laws in matters Ecclesiastical and the Test It was presumed That Your Highnesses might have been perswaded that the Laws suspended and dispensed with by his Majesty were only