he will run away from his People rather than do them and his Neighbour Right But then when we say His retreat was voluntary we do not pretend there was no force made use of but that it was not made use of to that end All that was asked by the Prince or his own Subjects was a free and legal Parliament and all the force that was used was to that End And this he might and ought to have granted but if he would not the Prince is not to be supposed to have brought 14000 Men only to make a vain Shew with all but either to force him to do him Right or force him out of his Kingdom This Prince was no Subject to King James nor to any other Prince and consequently was no Rebel He had as well good Right as a good Cause to invade this injurious Prince who had injured both him and his good Subjects and without a War would do no right either to the Prince or us For the Prince had tried all fair waies before he tried Force as is notoriously known to all the World. But our Jacobites prate of the Force that was used against him by another Sovereign Prince as injurious only because it was Force Why the Prince was no Subject and if James II. would do him no right without Force tho' we that were then his Subjects had no Right to compel him HE might lawfully compel him by Force to do what he ought to have done without it but would not What Stupidity is it to deny a Sovereign Prince may make use of Force against a neighbouring Prince that has done him Wrong Well but say they His Subjects ought to have fought for King James To which I say Why did they not who hindred them from fighting No they would not fight or which is all one they durst not and now he is gone they think to make him amends by a fullen disclaiming of the present King's Sovereignty But tho' they will not swear they will promise to live peaceably under this King That is they will not own him for the lawful King of England but they will submit to him as they did to Oliver Cromwel till they have an Opportunity to dethrone him and deliver him into the Hand of King James and for this they would be allowed the same Condition with those Subjects that have sworn Allegiance to him Is this reasonable will they admit a Servant or a Rival on the same Terms into their own Families Well but some of his Subjects forsook and others of them fought against him and almost all the rest stood still and would not fight for him 1. What is this to them if they have done as much for him as they could or ought they shall answer for no body but themselves 2. What was the Reason and who gave the Cause of this general Desertion 3. It is denied that King James his Subjects were bound to stand by him and fight for him He had notoriously invaded and destroyed all our Civil and Religious Rights and Liberties and designed the Ruine and Destruction both of them and us and would give us no Assurance we could rely on to do otherwise for the future and therefore if it were unlawful to resist him it was also as unlawful to assist and enable him to destroy the true Religion the English Liberties and Immunities nay the very Nation Now Jovian tells us pag. 272. Whosoever acts contrary to Law in this Realm to the Prejudice of any other Person must be subject to make Reparation by Law against which the King himself can protect no Man as long as the Courts of Law are kept open this has been sufficiently confuted so that there can be no Tyranny nor any Persecution but a most exorbitant and illegal Persecution which must presuppose That Justice is obstructed the Laws and Lawyers silenced the Courts of Judicature that up and that the King governs altogether by Arbitrary Power and the Sword. The Courts were indeed open but we know for all that no Man could have any redress but the Consequences were the same as if they had been shut up But to suppose this saith the Doctor is plainly to suppose the utmost possibility which is next to an impossibility a possibility indeed in Theory but scarce to the reduced into Practice For in such a violent Vndertaking all good Men would withdraw from the Service and Assistance of the King mark that and the Bad durst not serve him because if he died or repented of his Vndertaking they must be answerable for all the Wrongs and Illegalities they were guilty of in his Service And a little lower he tells us To shut up the Laws or obstruct and pervert Justice would prove an exceeding difficult and almost impracticable Undertaking because all his good Subjects and all the bad too that tendered their own Safety would desert him nay Foreigners upon this account would make a Difficulty to serve him because he could not protect them against his own Laws Now all this was done and averred in the Face of the Sun this Possibility was brought into act and things driven on to the utmost Extremity and the only Question then was Whether we should intail this arbitrary tyrannical exorbitant Persecution on our Posterity without any Hopes or Possibility of Redress or whether we should withdraw from his Service and secure our Rights and Religion by it And this was done by all but the Irish and Papists both Good and Bad in a manner as the Doctor foretold it would and to me it seems altogether justifiable I know the Doctor means only a Civil Recess but if it was highly punishable and Infamous to have persisted in a co-operation and Assistance of these things it was worse and more punishable to have fought for them And from hence I conclude All that did withdraw from the Service of the late King when they saw he was resolved on these illegal exorbitant Courses are not to be blamed and that the best of the Primitive Christians would have done the same thing if it had been their lot to have fallen under such a Prince Tertullian de corona c. 12. expounds that Place of Scripture Give unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's Give the Man to God and the Penny to Caesar The Man bore God's Image as the Penny did Caesar's and when God and Caesar were in opposition the whole Man was God's Right So far were they from thinking their Loyalty to their Prince obliged them to be disloyal to their Religion even then when they never thought of Resisting their hands were tyed up neither to assist nor resist a against persecuting Prince they would do neither of these tho' they perished And are not we still under the same Obligations as to the latter as well as to the former For Shame let no Man boast of that Loyalty to his Prince which makes him Disloyal to God and his Church
Religion being contrary to the Established Laws whoever came in to it knew beforehand that at one time or other he might be called to lay down his Life for it and when it happened it was no new or unexpected accident but foreseen and provided for But then they were not so silly as to be fond of their Persecutors or to wish or fight for it We are said Tertullian defamed as Enemies to the Emperour's Majesty tamen nuaquam Alainiani nec Nigriani vel Cassiani inveniri potuerunt Christiani Yet never was any Christian found like Albinus Pescennius Niger or Avidius Cassius Vsurping the Throne and Invading the Government They prayed for the Emperor and performed all the Duties of good Subjects till he persecuted them and endeavoured to destroy the Church of God but then they changed their Notes Quales ergâ— leges ist quas adversus nos soli exequuntur impii injusti turpes truces vani dementes What Laws are these which none ever put in Execution against us but impious unjust base barbarous vain and mad Princes Who ever pleaseth may see enough of this laid together in Jovian pag. 161. and 162. There is not one of those Princes who persecuted the Church but he is represented to the World by the Fathers and Church Historians in the blackest Characters That little Book that was written by Lactantius to shew the dismal Ends and sad Catastrophies of the Persecuting Princes shews how far they were from being fond of Persecution or Persecutors and by what hand soever the enraged Fool fell the deliverance was ascribed to God who makes use of such instruments as he thinks fit to punish bloody and tyrannical Men. And let any Man shew me that the Primitive Christians were discontented when they were delivered if he can So far were some of the Ancient Fathers from fighting for the persecuting Princes when they hapned to be dethroned or invaded that they would not suffer a baptised Person to list himself in the service of a Pagan Prince Tertullian de corona cap. 11. To which purpose he alledgeth that passage of our Saviour He that takes the Sword shall perish by the Sword But then saith he Plane si quos militia praeventos fides posterior invenit alia conditio est Those who were admitted to Baptism after they were listed in the Service of the Emperor were not under the same obligation And we have the Passion of one Maximilian an African who suffered Martyrdom for no other Cause but for that he would not serve the Emperor as a Soldier And the Council of Aâ—les which first admitted baptized Persons to take up Arms limited the Grant to times of Peace which was all one with the saying They would not allow it under Pagan Princes From all which I may reasonably infer They did not think themselves bound to bestir themselves for Pagan or persecuting Princes as if the Church must have perished if they had not had the Honour to preserve every Prince God had set over them till he had ended his Reign and his Life together Yet in all these times the Doctrine of Passive Obedience was at the Highest never call'd in question never doubted of It is as true also The Roman Emperors under whom they lived were absolute Independent Princes whose Will was the Law and the constitution of the Empire differed vastly from that of England So that we are not under the same Obligations they were because our Princes have not the same Legal Powers the Roman Emperors had but then I doubt not but we are as much bound to submit to the Legal Commands of a King of England as the Primitive Christians were to the Legal Commands of their Princes But this was no part of the Controversie under the Reign of James II. who had as little Law as Reason for what he did I could never meet with one single Protestant how discontented soever he was that James II. is not still King of England who would pretend to justifie or excuse any of his Actions no they all grant his Design was certainly to extirpate the Protestant Religion to enslave and consequently to extirpate the English Nation but then say they What of all that no evil is to be done we ought not to rebel to save a Church or a Nation Why what then supposing all this were true What is this to them Have any of them rebelled Yes say they all that have sworn Allegiance to their present Majesties have made defection from James II. who tho' he were never so bad a Man is still our lawful Prince and we are bound to swear Allegiance to no other as long as he is alive To this I reply If the things laid to the Charge of James II. in the Prince of Orange's Declaration are true and I think no body questions that for all the same things in a manner are complained of in the Bishops Proposals but one or two which were too high for any Subject to take notice of why then I say That Prince had a just Cause to make War upon James II. and if he was conquered by him he has as good Right to our Allegiance on that score as ever any conquering Prince had But this is not all It is well known His now Majesty offered to submit all his Controversies to the Decision of an English Parliament which is more perhaps than was ever done by any invading Prince before but James II. was resolved That neither he nor we should have any Right or Redress but rather than submit to that he would go make a Voyage to his most Christian Majesty for his Assistance to make a second Conquest of us There has been much bandying Whether James II. went voluntarily away or were forced and this is a Question not worth one Farthing at the bottom For if he went voluntarily he was forced and if he was forced he went voluntarily I suppose no Man ever said or thought he freely resigned the Crown but that his Mis-government had raised such Jealousies and Discontents in the Minds of his Subject that they neither could nor would fight for him till he had in Parliament done Right first to his People and then to the Prince This he was resolved not to grant be the Event what it would and when he saw himself deserted by all the World still he persisted in his Resolution and after he had promised a Parliament broke his Word with the Prince and the Nation and withdrew his Person and Seals and left us in Anarchy and Confusion Now I say he was not forced to do this he might and as the case stood he was bound to have granted a Parliament and then he might have staid with good safety to his Person and Sovereignty Now if there be nothing asked of a Prince by his Neighbour-Prince upon an Invasion but what he ought to grant and may grant he is forced by no body but himself if
of every individual Subject intending to refer the whole to a Parliament legally called freely elected and held without constraint wherein we shall not only have a particular regard to the Church of England as by Law established but also give such Indulgence to Dissenters as our People shall have no reason to be jealous of not expecting for the future any other favour to those of Our own Persuasion than the exercise of their Religion in their own private Families This Letter bears date at S. Germans en Laye Feb. 3. 1688-89 The Letter to the Convention of Scotland runs in a higher strain WE think fit to let you know That We have at all Times relied upon the Faithfulness and Affection of you Our Ancient People so much that in Our greatest Misfortunes heretofore We had recouâ—se to your Assistance and that with good Success to Our Affairs so now again We require of you to support Our Royal Interest expecting from you what becomes Loyal Faithful Subjects generous and honest Men that will neither suffer your selves to be cajoled nor frighted into any Action misbecoming true hearted Scotchmen and that to support the Honour of the Nation you will contemn the base Example of Disloyal Men and eternise your Names by a Loyalty suitable to the many Professions you have made to Vs in doing whereof you shall chuse the safest part since thereby you will evite the Danger you must needs undergo the Infamy and Disgrace you must bring upon your selves in this World and the Condemnation due to the Rebellious in the next and you will likewise have the Opportunity to secure to your selves and your Posterity the gracious Promises We have so oft made of securing your Religion Laws Properties Liberties and Rights which We are still resolved to perform as soon as is possible for Vs to meet you safely in a Parliament of Our Ancient Kingdom In the mean time fear not to declare for Vs your Lawful Sovereign who will not fail on Our Parts to give you such a speedy and powerful Assistance as shall not only enable you to defend your selves from any Foreign Attempt but put you in a Condition to assert our Right against our Enemies who have depressed the same by the blackest of Vsurpations the most unjust as well as the most unnatural of all Attempts which the Almighty God may for a Time permit and let the Wicked Prosper yet then must bring Confusion on such Workers of Iniquity We further let you know That we will pardon all such as shall return to their Duty before the last Day of this Month inclusive and that We will punish with the Rigor of Our Laws all such as shall stand out in Rebellion against Vs or Our Authority Given on Board the S. Michael March. 1. 1689. A Jesuit who printed a small Paper under the Title of Advices given to his R. H. M. the Prince of Orange by one of his most faithful Servants Your Emissaries saith he made use of the Mantle of Religion to create in the Minds of the People of England false Impressions of the Designs of the King their Master whilst they who knew the Bottom of the Business the Jesuites and his true Intentions as well as you are fully perswaded That this is a good Prince who desireth nothing but to pass the remainder of his Life in Peace and who would be well-contented to obtain from his Parliament the free Exercise of his own Religion without giving the least Disturbance to that which the greater part of his Subjects profess It is not possible for you to take too much care to hinder this Truth from spreading it self amongst the People c. Thus the late King promiseth and threatneth and the true hearted Jesuite who would not for the World speak one Tittle of Untruth to an Heretick of the first Magnitude voucheth for him and would make the whole Society that Holy Society which has so great an Influence over the Mind and Actions of that good Prince Garantee for the Performance of all these fine things Nay I will undertake if the English Hereticks will once more put their Heads into the Yoke That Lewis the Fourteenth too shall pass his Royal Word and unquestionable Faith That James the Second shall for the future keep his Faith with them in spite of all the Canons of the Church of Rome to the contrary as well as he himself has his to his own Protestant Subjects The Letter to the Convention of Scotland was dated on Board the S. Michael a French Ship then in the Road of Brest and the late King was then passing in her into Ireland where he arrived the 12 th of March at Kinsale with twelve French Men of War three Fire-ships and eight Merchant-Ships Now notwithstanding the King's Promise of Pardon to those of Brandon several were indicted at the Assizes insomuch that thirty or forty of them fled and came to Bristol being frighted at the Bloody Proceedings against one Mr. Brown of Cork who was hanged drawn and quartered at the same Assizes Several Petitions were also preferred for the Pardons of Sir Thomas Southwel and Captain Mills and many others who being taken in their Way to the North were carried to Galloway and there tried and condemned to die but the King rejected their Petition but however reprieved them for three Weeks deferring it till his Arrival at Dublin to which Place he set forward on the 21st of March. Nor was the rest of his Proceedings in that miserable Kingdom unlike this beginning all the English being plundered of all their Horses and Arms first then of their Cattle and Houshold-stuff and at last of their very Cloaths that they might be reduced to a necessity of perishing by Hunger Nakedness and Want and great numbers of them destroyed by pretended Legal Proceedings because they would not at first Summons open their Doors and suffer the Rabble to plunder them of all they had which I have had from some of my near Relations who fled on that account The twenty fifth of March a Proclamation was issued by him for the sitting of a Parliament the 7th of May at Dublin as it accordingly did wherein they passed these Acts. I. An Act to levy 20000l a Month for 13 Months II. For repealing the Act of Settlement and restoring old Preprietors III. For Liberty of Conscience IV. For taking off Penal Laws and Oaths V. For taking off all Writs of Error and Appeals to England VI. For taking off Valuation Money and other Rights from the Clergy VII For repealing the Act of the 23d of October 1641. VIII No benefit of Clergy for two Years IX All Patents for Offices void X. Ireland to be independent of England They seized in the mean time all the Protestants Estates who fled into England and all this they effected by the 26th of June 1. After this they passed an Act for repealing Poyning's Law. 2. Against counterfeiting Foreign Coins 3. And an Act for the