for so long as it is confess'd that K. James however dispossess'd has still the true Right to the Crown and that the other's Title is grounded only on a wrong Suprosition of the contrary the best that can be made of your Plea even when thus favourably slated is that it is a doing of Evil that Good may come which is expresly condemned in the Gospel That it is a very great Iniquity to defraud or deprive one of his Right I presume no Man will question it being generally accounted a Sin of so heinous a nature that the Party offending can expect no Absolution without making Restitution at least if it lies in his Power I grant there are several Considerations which in some Cases may extenuate the Guilt of it but that any Consideration can justify it or make it cease to be a Sin is inconsistent with the Principles of that Religion which we profess 'T is true it seldom falls but that when an Injury is done to one Man it tends to the Advantage oâ— another perhaps of a great many Nay it may to fall out that the Advantages thereby gained on the one Hand are really greater and more extensive than the 〈…〉 on the other And yet even in that case iâ— cannot be denied but that there is a great deal of injustice in doing that Injury because there can be no reason given why one Man should be oppressed of purpose to make way for the Advancement of another or that on man should reap Benent at another man's Cost and Charges at least not without his own Consent or some valuable Consideration All such Acts of Violence however circumstantiated or whatever Advantages may accrue to others by them whatever specious Pretences there may be to excuse of whatever Laws were framed oâ— purpose to juâ—tiâ—y and support them are no better than 〈◊〉 Oppression which is one oâ— those crying Sins which sooner or later will certaâ—nly draw down the Judgments of Aâ—mighty God up on the Head of those that are guilty of them And he that ventures to 〈…〉 of these for the Sake of any temporal Advantages runs a greater Risque than in all probability he is aware of for however we may labour either to extenuate the former or magnify the latter there can be no Comparison between them Since then you have been guilty of such notorious Injustice in depriving your King of his undoubted Right and taking away he priviledge of Birth-right from that innocent Prince his Son all that shall happen o be descended of him and all this for the avoiding of some Inconveniencies or the obtaining of some temporal Advantages which yet are for the most but imaginary and pretended how can you expect to escape the Divine Vengeance or with what tolerable Confidence can you assume â—o your selves the Profession oâ— Religion If such daring Impieties such publick Afronts to Religion and such a manifest Contempt as well of Divine as of Human Laws should happen to go unpunished we might even bid adieu to all Religion for that 〈◊〉 were a sufficient Demonstration that it is good for nothing else but only to keep Fools in awe A. What you accuse those of who were actually instrumental in dethroning of King James and conâ—erring his Right on the Prince of O. I am nor at all concerned in I am apt enough to believe they did an ill Thing but let them set to that All I plead is that Things are so far gone that there is a Necessity of continuing them as they are For however unlawful it might be to deprive K. James of his Right at first yet things are now brought to that pass that the keeping of him out is for several weighty Consideration very advisable insomuch as a great many who were so far from having any hand in the former that they did condemn it do yet justify the latter and think themselves obliged to contribute all that lies in their power towards it B. I know they do but for what Reasons or upon what Grounds I am not able to divine For if it be a Sin to deprive a man of his Right whoever does designedly and intentionally contribute towards the Continuance of it oâ— landers his being restored to it must needs be accessary to the Guilt of it unless a Sin ceases to be a Sin by it's being continued in than which a greater Absurdity cannot well bâ—â—imagined It cannot be denyed but that there was a great deal of Injustice in depriving King James of his Right and it must likewise be acknowledged that the Sin of Injustice however we may conâ—â—mn it in others or be sorry for it in our selves yet is not pardonable without making Restitution as far as hes in our Power And if so how they that either preach or pray against such a Restitution or any manner of way oppose or set themselves against it can clear themselves from the Guilt of that Sin I am not able to comprehend and as little do I understand what you mean by saying that it is now come to that that there is a Necessity of Things continuing as they are For my part I can see no such Necessity nay I am very well assured there is none but what is of your own making and so you cannot fairly plead it in your Defence But I suppoâ—e By the Necessity of continuing things as they are you mean no more but the Conveniency of so doing and the Inconveniencies that you pretend would follow upon the contrary which as they are far from amounting to a Necessity so they have been sufficiently answered already by shewing you That the Advantages arising from the Continuance of the Government now establish'd and the Inconveniencies that must attend the restoring of King James though they were real as indeed they are not can never justify such a manifest Injury as the excluding of a good Title and substituting of a bad one in it's Room without you can first prove that it is lawful to do Evil that Good may come which I hope you will not undertake to do In the next place This last Plea of yours as it is plainly impious and irreligious so it is most unreasonable and disingenuous This cannot better be made appear than by considering First Thâ— Advantages that we may propose to our selves by continuing the present Government And Secondly The inconveniencies that threaten us if we should restore the former First then For the Advantages which 't is pretended we enjoy by the present Government and may confidently promise our selves upon the Continuance of it over and above what we enjoyed under the former Government or might reasonably be expected by the restoring of it for that must be added else they are impertinently urged As for these Advantages I say I should be very glad to know what they are I am sure they glad to know what they are I am sure they had need be very great to support so bad a Cause but I am afraid that
the great Council of the Nation It is likewise necessary that there should be a general Pardon or Act of Oblivion by which all Persons may be sufficiently assured that they shall not be called to an account for what they have hitherto done against their King or at least if any be excepted out of it that they be but very few and they expresly named In the next place that there be good Provision made for the Security of our Religion and then lastly that in the Administration of the Government for the future the King have a constant and exact Regard to the established Laws of the Land contenting himself with that Prerogative which those Laws allow him and carefully avoiding all arbitrary and illegal Encroachments on the Liberties and Priviledges of the Subject and all such dangerous Innovations as were for merly complained of These Things are all that can be supposed necessary in order to put an end to our present Miseries and recover that happy and flourishing Condition we formerly were in and we may very confidently assure our selves that the restoring of King James after the same manner I have mentioned will accomplish them all I must confess I see no reason why we should have the least doubt of any of them but only this that we have very ill deserv'd them but as that has been no Bar or Obstacle in other cases of the like nature we have no reason to apprehend it will be any in this If you ask me what is the ground of my Confidence or what tolerable Security we can have for the performance of these Things I answer we have all the Security that either in Modesty can be demanded or in Reason be expected Some of these Things I have mentioned namely our being eased of a great part of those Taxes we now lye under and either a well settled Peace or a more advantageous and successful War than that we are now engaged in are so evidently dependent upon the Restoration of our King that if you do but suppose the one you cannot reasonably entertain any doubt of the other And as for the other Things mentioned namely a General Pardon the securing of our Religion and governing according to Law you very well know that by most solemn and frequently repeated Promises and Protestations in his several Declarations he has given us all the assurance of these Things that in the present State of his Affairs he is capable to give nay more than that if more 〈◊〉 be he offers to give us all reasonable Security of it that we our Selves can demand Perhaps you will say that considering his present Circumstances you cannot safely rely upon any of his Promises nor any other Security he can give Well allowing it were so which ver I must tell you is extreamly disingenuous in any 〈◊〉 to a 〈◊〉 partly because if ever he did break his Promise to us formerly it was far from being in any such degree as you have pretended and partly because every Man who at any one time is not altogether so good as his Word is not therefore to be thought unworthy of Credit for ever after unless you would banish all manner of Credit out of tho World But 〈◊〉 say allowing the Case were as you alledgeâ— that is that all King James's Promises and Prostations can give us no tolerable Assurance of these Things yet I still contend that it is the most unreasonable Thing in the World for any Man to distrust the performance of them And my Reason is because if we seriously and impartially consider Things we shall find that besides the Obligation he lays upon himself by his Promises for the Performance of these Things there is such an indispensable Obligation arising from the nature of the Things themselves that we cannot so much as suppose that he will neglect the Performance of them without believing at the same time that he is more than mad or the most infatuated of all Men living He knows too well what his former Remissness in these Things has cost him to be guilty of the same again The Trips and false Steps he formerly made in the Administration of the Government have been so fatal â—o him that if we allow him but the Prudence of a Child that dreads the Fire which has already burnt it we cannot doubt but that he will carefully avoid them for the future But there is yet one Consideration more ' which with all unprejudic'd Persons will put this matter beyond all Dispute and that is that he is now grown so old and by Crosses and Misfortunes so far worn out that it is rather a wonder that he has lived so long than any ways probable that he can live much longer and that he leaves a young Prince to succeed him whom he loves with the greatest Tenderness imaginable and for whose Settlement he would gladly make some lasting Provision even at the expence of all that is most dear to him And since that cannot otherwise be done but by a faithful and exact Performance of all these Things I have mentioned and indeed of every Thing that can bind and oblige us How can any Man doubt of the Sincerity of his Intentions Having so dear a Pledge for the Performance of his Promises what greater Security could we wish He cannot choose but know that if he should break those solemn Promises he now makes us by violently invading either our Religion or our Laws however he himself might evade the Resentment of his so grosly abused Subjects it were impossible to prevent it's falling heavy upon that innocent Prince that succeeds him And therefore being his chiefest Care is to provide for his Safety and establish his Right and that he himself cannot expect to live so long as to see him in a Capacity to maintain it but must of necessity entrust him to the Fidelity and Affection of his Subjects we may confidently assure our selves he will be very tender of doing any thing that may reasonably disoblige them All that can be replyed to this is that this Consideration ought to have had the same Influence upon him formerly which yet we see it had not To which I answer that formerly he did not imagine that such light Escapes could have so far exasperated his Subjects as to cause such a general Revolt and Rebellion against him but now he is sufficiently sensible of it and consequently however little Influence it might have upon him then 〈◊〉 is but reasonable to think it will have a great deal now Indeed had he never known by experience the Temper of his Subjects how jealous they are of their Liberties and Priviledges and how apt to resent the least Encroachment upon them even against their Kings or had he none to succeed him but those that have disoblig'd him nor any thing to care for after his Decease you might have some pretence for your Distrust But you see the Case is very much otherwise He knows what he has to trust to if he should treat us otherwise than well he entruâ—â—s us with a Prince who is dearer to him than his Life on both which Considerations we very confidently may assure our selves of all the good usage we can reasonably expect Thus Sir I have given you an Account both of the pretended Advantages we enjoy by K. W's Government and the real Advantages we may reasonably hope for by the Restoration of K. James And because I see that of late you have made no Reply to what I have said I shall with it finish this Conference which though it has lasted much longer than either I expected or at first intended yet if it has given you any manner of Satisfaction I shall think both the Time and my Pains very well imployed A Sir I do not only very heartily thank you for the Trouble you have been at but do likewise assure you that what you have said has given me a great deal of Satisfaction and made a very deep Impression upon me I am not at all afraid but that the most material Points of it will for some time be very fresh in my Memory nor do I much question but that by teriously reflecting upon them and comparing them with my former Sentiments they will go nigh to finish what they have already so sensibly begun But that I may not any longer detain you from your other Employments I will now take my Leave of you hoping you will be so kind as to believe that I am very much your Servant B. Sir I am yours FINIS
their Perâ—ons particularly one whose Compliance has occasioned me many a sâ—d Thought But I must tell you their so shameful receding from their former Principles and pulling down with the one hand what but lately they had so zealously built with the other is such a Scandal o their Prosession a piece of Disingenuâ—ty so ill-becoming their Character that there are scarce any will take upon them to excuse much less to justify it Nay they themselves are so very sensible of it that for want of a better Evasion they were forced to own that they were formerly in an Errour For thus their Apology runs Those Doctrines we formerly taught such as that of Passive Obedience to the Supream Governour that he derives his authority immediatly from God and is accountable to none but him for the Exercise of it That it is not Lawful on any Pretence for Subjects to take up Arms against him or which is all one to join with those that come purposely to invade his Right These Doctrines however zealously we preached them up formerly as very Orthodox and very necessary Points of Religion are yet nothing else out meer Heman Fictions contrived of purpose to flatter the Ambition of Princes and cheat the People of their Liberty 'T is true the 〈◊〉 especially they that had imbibed the Oliverian Principles told us so then but we either did not or would not believe them nay more than that inveighed ogainst their Opinions and pretended to demonstrate that they were not only Antimonarchical but likewise Antichristian and on that very Account did think it very improper to allow them any Toleration But now the Case is altered However we might indeavour to represent them then we are now very well assured that they were in the Right Is not this a very pretty Apology Do not your Clergy come off very gracefully in this matter Pray what do you think of iâ— A. Truly I cannot deny but that there is something of Truth in the Charge you bring against them though at the same time I think you have been a little too severe in the drawing of it up However this much I would have you to consider That the Clergy of our Church are but Men and the best of Men may sometimes be in a Mistake Besides 〈◊〉 your self know that the Church of England even in its greatest Grandeur never pretended to be infalliâ—lâ— Wherein then lies this great Reproach of the Clergy B. That the Church of England at least since the Reformation has not laid Claim to an Infallibility is so far from being any Reproach to her that it very much commends her Modesty But withal I would have you to consider that there is a very great Difference between a Church's not claiming Infallibility and a Church's owning her self to have actually sailed especially in proposing the Doctrines of Religion For though there is really no Reproach in the former yet there is a very great one in the latter and a very great inconveniency too For though a Church is not really Infallible yet as long as she insists upon her not having actually erred or that no such thing can be made appear I may very confidently rely upon her Guideship in such a Case I am really as safe and may be as confident as if she pretended to an absolute Infallibility perhaps more because an Infallibility requires a blind Obedience to what it pâ—opâ—seth without ever examining what it is which the other does not But when a Church ownâ— that she has already erred and that in very material Points too with what tolerable Confidence can a man rely upon her and how doubtful must that Assent be which he gives to what she proposeth For if she has failed in one Thing 't is natural enough to conclude that she will do so in another and then what tolerable Security can we have that she is in the Right in any thing Even when she proves what she says by Scripture I cannot but suspect her Sincerity because she pretended to demonstrate by express Texts of Scripture those very Doctrines she now disowns A These may have been the Failings of some particular Persons but you very well know that to charge a whole Church with the failings of some though even of her most considerable Members i very disingenuous B I grant it is to but deny that I have been guilty of it No the Innovations and Contradictions I have mentioned are chargeable upon your whole Church As for Instance It was so merâ— the pro essed Doctrine of the Church of England That it is not Lawful on any pretence whatever for Subjects to take up 〈◊〉 against their King which evidently implies that neither should they themselves deprive him of his Right nor be assistant to those that would do it but on the contrary that they should stand by him and support him in it That this was formerly the Doctrine of the Church of England does evidently appear from this that no Person was to be admitted into the Ministry in any Degree whatever without Subscribing to it And it does no less evidently appear on the other hand that the present Clergy are of a quite contrary Opinion inasmuch as they have actually sided join'd hands and taken part with those that have invaded his Right and violently detain it from him and that at such a Time and in such a Manner that without such a base Compliance it can hardly be imagined how Things could have been brought to that now they are at This I say vour Church has done and in so doing has justified and incorporated into her new Religion a Doctrine which by the former Church of England was not barely disowned but detested with the greatest degree of Abhorrence In a Word your Clergy are so Latitudinarian both in their Principles and Practices nay even in their very Oaths that it is impossible to know either when or where to fix them for they have so cunningly ordered Things that on the same Grounds on which they now swear and preach and pray against King James on the very same Grounds if ever he should return and prevail they would as heartily swear and preach and pray against K. W. so that they are always sure to be of the strongest Side and yet always in the Right These are the mighty Champions you boast of that they are all of your Side I grant they are so or at least pretend to be But indeed how can it be otherwise For you very well know that no sooner does one declare the contrary by refusing to swear and comply than immediatly he is turned out of aâ—l and another put in his Place Whereas if they were allowed the Liberty to speak their Minds freely and yet be secure of their Livings you would quickly find that they are not so entirely yours as you may imagine A. The Truth is If they be such as you have endeavoured to represent them 't is no matter whose they are But of that
and the Representatives of the Nation had Freedom and Leisure to enquire into the Matter the proof of these Things would be made as clear as the Sun at Noon-day And yet you see that all these fine Pretences are now come to nothing The Evidence you so much boasted of then is now wholly on the other Side it having sufficiently appear'd since that King James was so far from treating privately with the French King for the assistance of his Forces to destroy our Religion that he could not be persuaded to accept of these Forces to resist the Unnatural Invasion of his Son-in-Law but chose rather to confide in the Courage and Loyalty of his own Subjects And as for the Prince of Wales besides the Depositions of several Persons of unquestionable Honour attesting the Truth and Reality of his being born of the Queen's Body which was the only thing pretended to be doubted of it has been abundantly confirmed since by the Birth of a Princess by the same Queen But it were needless to insist any longer on these Things your so shameful sneaking from the proof of them after you had undertaken it with so much Assurance and made us expect it with so much Impatience is sufficient to disprove them without the help of any other Arguments For though there could be no greater Advantage to your Party nor no greater Confusion to Ours than to have these Things plainly proved yet you very well know that after the Prince was landed the Estates conven'd and the great Affairs of the Nation adjusted they were so far from offering at the proof of these Things as was generally expected that they could not be persuaded so much as to enter upon the Examination of them or make any enquiry into them though they were very much importuned to it by both Parties A. I must confess their Conduct in that did seem a little strange to me as well as to a great many others and so it does still However I put the best Sense upon it I can being willing to believe that their forbearing to make a strict Enquiry into these Things was purely out of respect to King James since the proof of them must needs have rendered him odious and hateful to all Mankind B. If that be really your Opinion I believe you are very singular in it For my part I am so far from having any such Thoughts of it that I verily believe if they had thought they could have made any thing of it that Consideration that such a proof would extreamly reflect upon King James's Credit and Reputation would have been so far from hindering them to attempt it that it would rather have spurr'd them on to it with the greater vehemence This Opinion I am sure is much more rational than yours because much more suitable to their Deportment towards him in other things which ever since the Prince's landing has been so far from any the least shew either of respect to his Person or regard to his Honour that perhaps no King his Royal Father only excepted was ever treated with more Contempt or had greater Affronts and Indignities put upon him It cannot then be imagined that their forbearing to prove or so much as to examine these Things was out of any Respect to him nor is it credible that any other Account can be given of it but only this They were afraid that a diligent Search and Enquiry into these Things would make a very different Discovery from what they had all along made the World expect or that instead of making them more evident than formerly it would render them much more suspected Than which there needs no plainer Demonstration not only that these Things are 〈◊〉 but also that those very Persons who persuaded others to believe them did not believe them themselves Thus it appears that the most material Objections against K. James were nothing else but meet Calumnies and malicious Aspersions impudently forged by some ill-designing Men and as industriously propagated by others of purpose to debauch his Subjects from their Loyalty and prepare them for that Defection from their Duty to him at which the World may well stand amazed As for other Grievances and Male-Administrations which are very freely confessed to have been such as well then as now such as serâ—ing up the High-Commission turning out of Magdalen-Colledge imprisoning of the Bishops dispensing with the Pinal Laws putting unqualified Persons in Places of Trust and some others of the like nature as they are of much less Importance than the former which were never yet attempted to be proved so they cannot directly and immediatly be charged upon him but with a great deal of Disingenuity it having plainly enough appeared since that he was push'd on to these Things not by his own Inclinations but by his Ministers and Favourites of whom he had unfortunately made a very bad Choice It was the indiscreet and ill-temper'd Zeal of some of those Ministers and Favourites and the cunning Artifice of others that push'd him forward to those Violent and Arbitrary Proceedings of purpose to undermine and ruin him as some of themselves have boasted since and have been liberally rewarded for it This being the plain Truth of the matter it will early appear that this Pretence of founding K. W's Right to the Crown upon K. James's Deposition for Male-â—â—ministration is the most unreasonable thing that can be For you know it is a Maxim in our Law That the King can do no Wrong the Meaning whereof is not that nothing can be done amiss that he does in point of Government but that whatever there is amâ—s in it is not to be imputed to him but to those by whole Advice and Ministry he acts and consâ—quently that not he but they are punishable for them But in this Preâ—ence concerning K James the Case is quire inverted for here the King himself is charged with all the Faults of Government and not only charged with them but punished for them whereas they that were his Counsellors and Ministers who were much more to blame than 〈◊〉 inasmuch as they not only persuaded him that his Royal Prerogative would very warrantablly and safely bear him out in all the Arbitrary Courses he took but also push'd him forward to them even contrary to his Inclinations maliciously suggesting that the hard Usage that some of his Subjects met with to which in some casâ—s he consented with great Reluctancy was no more than what was necessary for the asserting and vindâ—cating of his Authority and the chastising of their Stubbornness and Undutiâ—â—â—ness These Men I say at least some of them were not only suffered to escape Punishment but were highly preferr'd and rewarded even by your good K. W. than which I challenge any Man to give an Instance either of greater Iniquity or deeper Hypocrisy To punish that openly in one as a grievous Crime which is secretly approved of and rewarded in another as very acceptable Service To cry our
suffer or be left to shift for it self than owe its Security â—o any unlawful Means such as are inconsistent with its Principles or may any way bring a Reproach upon it That there may be unlawful Means used for the Preservation of Religion and many times are used is most certain unless you will say that the Sacredness of Religion consists in justifying every thing that is done for its Sake than which nothing can be more absurd And it is no less certain on the other hand that the Means you have used for that 〈◊〉 are such for if the dethroning of Kings and defrauding Men of their Right be not unlawful I know nothing can deserve that Name These Things you have done for the Sake of Religion and by that Means have brought such a Stain and Reproach upon it that can never be wip'd off Certainly it had been a great deal better to have entrusted God Almighty with the Preservation of it whose peculiar Care it is and to have chose rather to have suffered with it if so the Will of God had been for that in all Ages has prov'd the surest way both to preserve and propagate Religion and would at least have kept it pure and undefiled till better Times Whereas you by taking the Work out of God Almighty's Hands and rescuing Religion out of pretended Dangers by such means as are utterly inconsistent with its Principles have most basely sullyed and depraved it You may see in 2 Sam. 6.6 and 7. what befel Uzzah for his indiscreet touching of the Ark though it was to save it from tottering and have reason to be afraid of the same Fate since by your indiscreeâ— Zeal in offering to rescue Religion by unjustifyable Means instead of preserving you have most horribly prolan'd it But that is not all for besides that you have done a very ill Thing for the Sake of Religion I do not see how you have preserv'd it at all or that it is in any better Security now than formerly but rather in much more danger Pray How do you like the Reformation of Religion in Scotland Has not the present Government turn'd out the whole Order of Episcopacy there and all the Regular Clergy though many of them were willing to comply with it and had actually submitted to it Had King James attempted such a Thing it might in some measure have excused his Subjects revolting from him but you know he never did No all that can be objected against him concerning his invading of our Religion and Properties comes very short of that And yet he must be called the Destroyer of our Religion and the other the Restorer and Preserver of it Good God! How partial and disingenuous are Men when once engaged in the Defence of a bad Cause But in good earnest is it now come to that that the abolishing of Episcopacy is become a necessary Means for the Preservation of Religion If so it is time for our Bishops to look to themselves for I suppose it is no unreasonable Conjecture to affirm that what is thought a necessary Expedient for the Preservation of Religion in one pace may in time be judged to be proper in another A. What was done in Scotland in abolishing Episcopacy and setting up Presbytery was not by an Arbitrary Power assumed by the King himself but by Act of Parliament and at the Request of the generality of the Nation and therefore if there was any thing amiss in it it is not to be imputed to him Besides the Church of Scoland and that of England are so different in their Constitution that what is a proper Expedient for the Preservation of Religion in the one may bâ— very improper in the other B. That what was done in Scotland was by Act of Parliament I grant but that it was at the Request of the generality of the Nation I deny for I am very well assured that the greater and better part of the Nation are utterly against it That the Presbyterian Govern and Clergy are mâ—erly obtruded upon them against their Consent But what though it was done by Act of Parliament is it ever the more justifyable for that Is it not the â—ame thing to be under an Arbitrary Parliament as under an Arbitrary King Or has the one any better Right to domineer over Mens Consciences or to invade their Religion and Properties than the other has But I suppose you menâ—ion that only to take off the Oâ—â—um of it from the King and to make a Difference between what he has done and what King James attempted to do But I must tell you it will not serve your Turn not only because your King having a Negative Voice there as well as here might have refused to have passed that Bill nay by his own Declaration was obliged to refuse it but also because it is very well known what crafty Ways and indirect Means were used to pack a Parliament for that very Purpose whiâ—h is the same Grievance we complained of under King James only with this Difference that the one has actually done what the other did but in vain attempt to do for you cannot choose but remember that the chief Thing objected against him was not so much his endeavouring to wâ—â—ken and undermine the established Religion by giving a free Toleration to all Sorts of Dissenters for that was look'd on as a thing that would be of no long Continuance as being grounded only on the falle Bottom of his dispensing Power The great Grievance was that he used indirect Means to get such a Parliament as would make it a Law which whether true or falle of him is true enough of your King in this matter of abolishing Episcopacy and turning out the whole Clergy oâ— Scotland or then Free-hold to beg their Bread For the Estates were convâ—nâ—d there meerly by virtue of Circulatory Letters from the P or O. wâ—enas yet he had no manner of Authority there by reason whereof several Counties sent no Commissioners at all not would be present at the choosing of any Only some few disâ—affected 〈…〉 the Opportunity and choâ—â—â— one another by which means they made 〈◊〉 a Thing which they called a Convention oâ— Estates which Convention aâ—ter they had him turn'd him into a King was afterwards by him turned into a Parlâ—ament and that was it that turn'd out the Bishops and planice a Parcel of old musty Presbytâ—â—ats in them â—â—om who however 〈◊〉 they may be to cant in a Convenâ—ciâ— are so far 〈◊〉 being fit â—o govern a Church that I am confident there is no 〈◊〉 man would â—o much as entrust them with teaching his Childred their Catechisms But my 〈◊〉 is no with then but with the King and Parliament that empowered them and 〈◊〉 there was such a notorious juggle oâ— such indirect Means used to pack a Paâ—liament I may very safely leave to the Judgment of any reasonable Man From Scotland let us return to England and consider what better Security we
have for our Religion here than formerly You say the Constitution of these two Churches are so different that what is expedient for the Preservation of Religion in one would not at all be proper in the other and from thence would conclude that though the Episcopal Clergy have been turned out there yet they are in no Danger here I do not much care if I grant you all that for it will neither be a Prejudice to my Cause nor an Advantage to yours That there is a great Difference between the Constitutions of these two Churches now whatever there was formerly is most certain yet that does not hinder but that there may again be an Assâ—milation made between them whether by bringing theirs up to our Model or ours down to theirs I shall not dispute I shall like wise allow it to be probable enough that our Episcopal Clergy here are in no danger of being turned out but withal I can tell you that they do not owe their Security either to the nature of their Constitution or to any Love your King has for them but only to the mighty Zeal they shew to his Service their ready Complyance with whatever he commands the â—ulâ—om Flattery they use in their very Sermons and the many little Arts and servile Ways by which they court â—â—s Favour wherein they have out-â—ivaâ—d the very Phanaticks themselves By these Meaâ—s they stand firm enough and yet I cannot forbear telling you that our Religion is never the better secured for that neither For it is plain enough that these Men mind themseâ—ves so much more than it that I can see â—o Necessity but that the one may stand while the other falls But now we are talking oâ— the great Obligation the present Goverâ—ment has laid upon us by securing our Religion Pray be so kind as to let me know what Religion you mean I hope you mean that which was established by Law namely the Church of England at least you ought to mean so for that was it that was thought to 〈◊〉 in greatest danger in King James's time As for the Preâ—byterians or any other Sect 〈…〉 of Protestants you very well know that King James was very kind to then gave them â—o much Encouragement and so far stretelâ—d his Prerogative to ease them from the Penal Laws that it was one oâ— the châ—eâ— Objections against him It he was unkind to any it was only to those of the Church of England and therefore since you magnify the Security our Religion is in now in Opposition to the former Reign in all probability you must mean that of the Church of England A. I do so and am very confident you will not deny but that it is in a much more safe and flourishing Condition under the present Government than it was under the former B. I am afraid it is not but that rather it loseth ground every day 'T is true King James suspended one of her Bishops and imprisoned Seaven more whether legally or not I shall not now dispute however they still enjoyed their Revenues whereas your King has turn'd the like number out of Hâ—use and Home It is likewise true that King James by suspending the Penal Laws turn'd loose against her the whole Herd of Dissenrers who like the Canaanites to the Children of Israel were as Thorns in her Sides and ha not your King done the same He nor only continued the same Toleration which K. James which was so much cryed out against for granting but has since enacted it by a Law so that now the Sectaries are in the same Condition or stand upon the same Foundation with the Church of England In a word the three grand Enemies of our Church are Popery Phanaticism and Atheism If the Government has taken any effectual Course to preserve her from these three I grant she is very much beholding to it But whoever enquires into it will find the Case very much otherwise For the Heat of their Zeal to secure her from the first has so far transported them that they have lest her quite open to the other two to prey upon her at their Pleasure As for the Phanaticks I have for many Years look'd upon them as more dangerous Enemies to the Church of England than the Papists themselves are equally irreconcilable but much more restless and spightful And if somtimes she has scarce found her self safe from their Insults or secure from their Incursions notwithstanding their being fenced off by Penal Laws she must be in much greater danger of being over-run by them now that Hedge is broken down And as for Atheism what a Door has been opened to that by the late Revolution and what Numbers have thronged in at it does but too evidently appear which however reproachful to Religion or however grievous to all good Men yet is not much to be wondered at For alas when Men that are otherwise not wery well grounded in Religion see it abused to such ill Purposes even to cloak the greatest Crimes When they see Children usurp their Father's Crown and force him for the Safety of his Life to seek shelter among Strangers When instead of opposing it they see the whole Clergy of a National Church christen such an unnatural Villainy pray for the Success and Continuance of it father it upon Divine Providence and crave God Almightty's Protection to it and all those turned out to starve or beg their Bread that refuse to join with them in it I say when Men that are otherwise not very well grounded in Religion see it prostituted and abused to such vile Purposes by those who pretend to be the most zealous Professours of it how can it otherwise be expected but that they will conclude that all Religion is a Trick Thus have you laid such a Sâ—umbling-Block in the Way as has undoubtedly occasioned the Fall of some Thousands who might otherwise have proved good Christians and so far hardened them against oil belief of Religion that it is impossible to persuade them that you your selves believe it And though I grant that will not be sufficient to excuse them yet I must tell you it will fall heavy upon those that were the Occasion of it But besides the Door that has been opened by the late Revolution for Phanaticism and Atheism to break in upon the Church it doth plainly enough appear that the present Government has done what lies in it's Power quite to unchurch her for by the late Act of Parlâ—ament in turning our several of her organical Members by a meer Lay-deprivation and the present Clergy's submitting to it and owning the Validity of it by acknowledging those Anâ—â—-Bishops that were substituted in their Room the very Foundation of the Church is altered from the old English Constitution to a new-model'd Erastian Dutch Bottom That is to say absoluteat the Mercy of the State and wholly depâ—â—ding upon it not only 〈◊〉 respect of her temporal buâ— likewise of her spiritual Power 〈◊〉 By which