Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A46475
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His Majesties gracious letter to the Parliament of Scotland with the speeches of the Lord High Commissioner and the Lord High Chancellor : together with the Parliaments answer to His Majesties letter.
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England and Wales. Sovereign (1685-1688 : James II); James II, King of England, 1633-1701.; Scotland. Parliament.
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1685
(1685)
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Wing J195; ESTC R30362
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8,450
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10
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HIS MAJESTIES GRACIOUS LETTER TO THE PARLIAMENT OF SCOTLAND With The Speeches of the Lord High Commissioner and the Lord High Chancellor together with the Parliaments Answer to His MAJESTIES Letter Published by Authority HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE IR Printed by Thomas Newcomb in the Savoy And Re-printed at Edinburgh by the Heir of Andrew Anderson Printer to His most Sacred Majesty Anno DOM. 1685. His MAJESTIES Gracious Letter to the Parliament of Scotland with the Speeches of the Lord High Commissioner and Lord High Chancellor Together with the Parliaments Answer to His MAJESTIES Letter JAMES R. My Lords and Gentlemen THe many Experiences We have had of the Loyalty and Exâ—mplary Forwardness of that our Ancient Kingdom by their Representatives in Parliament Assembled in the Reign of our dearest and most entirely beloved Brother of ever Blessed Memory made us desirous to call you at this Time in the beginning of Our Reign to give you an opportunity not only of shewing your Duty to Us in the same manner but likewise of being Exemplary to others in your Demonstrations of Affection to Our Person and compliance with Our desires as you have most eminently been in Times past to a degree never to be forgotten by Us nor We hope to be contradicted by your future Practices That which We are at this Time to propose unto you is what is as necessary for your Safety as Our Service and what has a tendency more to secure your own Priviledges and Properties than the Aggrandising our Power and Authority though in it consists the greatest Security of your Rights and Interests these never having been in danger except when the Royal Power was brought too low to protect them which now We are resolved to maintain in its greatest Lustre to the end we may be the more enabled to Defend and Protect your Religion as Established by Law and your Rights and Properties which was Our Design in calling this Parliament against Phanatical Contrivances Murderers and Assassins who having no fear of God more than Honour for Us have brought you into such difficulties as only the Blessing of God upon the steddy Resolutions and Actings of Our said dearest Royal Brother and those employed by Him in Prosecution of the good and wholsome Laws by you heretofore offered could have saved you from the most horrid Confusions and Inevitable Ruin Nothing has been left unattempted by those wild and inhumane Traitors for endeavouring to overturn your Peace And therefore We have good Reason to hope that nothing will be wanting in you to secure your selves and Us from their outrages and violence in time coming and to take care that such Conspirators meet with their just deservings so as others may thereby be deterred from Courses so little agreeable to Religion or their Duty and Allegiance to Us. These things We considered to be of so great importance to Our Royal as well as the Universal interest of that Our Kingdom that We were fully resolved in Person to have proposed the needful Remedies to you but things having so fallen out as render this impossible for us We have now thought fit to send our Right Trusty and Right entirely beloved Cousin and Counsellour William Duke of Queensberry to be Our Commissioner amongst you of whose Abilities and Qualifications We have Reason to be fully satisfied and of whose Faithfulness to Us and Zeal for Our Interest we have had Signal Proofs in the Times of Our greatest difficulties Him We have fully intrusted in all Things Relating to Our Service and your own Prosperity and Happiness and therefore you are to give him intire Trust and Credit as you now see We have done From whose Prudence and your most Dutiful Affection to Us We have full Confidence of your entire Compliance and Assistance in all those Matters wherein he is instructed as aforesaid VVe do therefore not only recommend unto you that such things be done as are necessary in this Juncture for your own Peace and the support of Our Royal Interest both at home and abroad but also that you do them so speedily as may Evidence to the World that you are still in the same manner addicted to the Royal Interest of which we had so much Experience when amongst you that we cannot doubt of your full and ample Expressing the same on this occasion by which the great concern We have in you Our Ancient and Kindly People may still increase and you may transmit your Loyal Actions as Examples of Duty to your Posterity In full Confidence whereof We do assure you of Our Royal Favour and Protection in all your concerns And so We bid you Heartily Farewell Given at Our Court at Whitehall the 28 th day of March 1685. and of Our Reign the first Year By His Majesties Command DRVMMOND The Speech of the Lord High Commissioner My Lords and Gentlemen HIs Majesty has been pleased so fully and obligingly by the Letter you have now heard to intimate his Royal pleasure to you as what I am to say seems in a manner superfluous so I need not take up much of your time nor shall I do more than touch a few things as briefly as is possible And in the first place my Lords This being the day of His Majesties Coronation in our Neighbouring Kingdom you see he is no sooner placed on the Throne of his Royal Ancestors than he inclines to have your advice in what may import the good of his Service and Subjects here By which you ought not only to be convinced of the great confidence His Majesty has in the Loyalty of this his Ancient Kingdom and their good Example to his other Dominions but also how fully he makes good his Royal Word and Declaration to follow in his Reign the Example of his late Majesty of ever glorious Memory under whose Protection and Government we enjoyed so long Peace and Quiet I say my Lords as by calling you so soon His Majesty expresses great confidence in you and seems still mindful of the Zeal and Affection of the last Parliament for the Rights and Prerogative of the Crown so in a due return it is not to be doubted but you will upon this occasion not only exceed what has been formerly done but also comply with all that can be proposed for establishing His Majesties Greatness and your own Security and by this convince the World how sensible you are of the great honour His Majesty has allowed you of being the first Parliament of his Dominions to do so I am in the next place to tell you that His Majesty is very mindful of the Duty and Loyalty of this Kingdom to his late Majesty and himself when he was here amongst us And the better to compose the minds of his faithful Subjects I am allowed to assure you of his Princely Resolutions to protect and maintain the Religion and Government of this Church as they are now Established by Law and that he will take the Persons and
Concerns of the Regular Clergy into his special Care and Protection And in order thereunto I am to give the Royal Assent to such Laws and Acts as can be reasonably proposed I am likewise to let you know That His Majesty will concernedly maintain your just Rights and Properties according to the Established Laws of this Kingdom and will not allow of oppressive Arbitrary Proceedings in Souldiers or others And further His Majesty being sensible of the great decay of our Trade has warranted me in His Royal Name to consent to such Laws as can reasonably be proposed for recovery and improvement thereof And my Lords to conclude what I am to say on this Subject His Majesty is so concerned in the Encouragement Welfare and Prosperity of this his Ancient Kingdom as He will not only do what can justly be desired or expected for these ends but even in Business of the Excise and Militia his immediat concerns I am warranted to go the greatest lengths for your ease and conveniency that the nature of these things can bear and His Majesties Service and your own Security will allow And my Lords His Majesty having in all things so evidently discovered his gracious inclinations for the good of this Kingdom and given us the fullest assurances of his Favour and Protection that our hearts can desire what suitable Returns and Acknowledgments can we make to so excellent and imcomparable a Prince who in all things relating to our quiet and prosperity prevents our very desires So if during his Reign which I pray God to make long and glorious we be not the happiest people in the World we have only our selves to blame And now the King having so fully done his part it concerns you in the next place to mind yours And in order thereunto I make no doubt but you will assert the Rights and Prerogatives of the Crown and establish the Revenue as amply upon His Majesty and his Lawful Successors as it was enjoyed by the late King or any of his Royal Predecessors since you cannot in the least doubt but his Royal care for your repose and security will rather exceed than fall short of any of his Ancestors But to use any further Arguments to incite you to what is so much your Duty and Interest were at the same time to question your Loyalty and Zeal for His Majesties Service and your concern for the interest and honour of your Native Country whose Representatives you are so I shall not injure you nor lessen your thanks by saying more upon this Subject My Lords His Majesty certainly expects from the Prudence and Loyalty of this Parliament that effectual ways will be fallen upon for destroying that desperate Phanatical and irreclaimable Party who have brought us to the brink of Ruine and Disgrace and are no more Rebels against the King than Enemies of Mankind Wretches of such Monstrous Principles and Practices as past Ages never heard nor those to come will hardly believe What Indemnities and Acts of Grace and Clemency have they not Contemned And all the use they made of them has still been to harden and confirm them in their execrable Villanies and how inconsiderable soever they appear assure your selves they ought not absolutely to be contemned for if they had not support and correspondence not yet discovered it is not to be supposed they could have so long escaped the care and vigilance of the Government It therefore concerns you both in Honor and Prudence no longer to dally with them but that the utmost severities be most effectually applied and all wayes taken both to find out their Favourers and retired and secret Haunts My Lords I doubt not but all of you sufficiently know that some of our Nation are deeply involved in the late Horrid Conspiracy who and some others for other Treasonable Crimes and Practices are to be proceeded against before this Parliament The Evidence of their Guilt I shall leave to its proper Place and Time and do not doubt but His Majesties Advocate will manage that weighty matter with suitable care and faithfulness So all I shall further say upon this Subject at present is that if Almighty God who watches over the security of Princes had not Miraculously Discovered and disappointed those the most Hellish and Barbarous Designs that were ever contrived in Place of that Peace Happiness and Tranquillity which we now Enjoy these Kingdoms had certainly been at this day a Sea of Blood and in all imaginable Misery and Desolation which being evident beyond denial will certainly provoke your and all good Mens Indignation and Resentment against those who can be reached not only as Advisers and Contrivers of such Villanies but Concealers of them And since our Honour and Security every way seems absolutely bound up in the Life of His Sacred Majesty ought we not most cheerfully to grant what the Exigencies of His mild and gentle Government requires Especially seeing what we give is still bestowed upon our selves and for maintaining us in our just Rights and Possessions against the most cruel and Barbarous Designs of His and our Enemes And now my Lords and Gentlemen in the last place touching my self I shall not say much my unfitness for this Eminent station is possibly more obvious to me than to any of you however since His Majesty has been Graciously pleased to place me in it I am resolved to serve him boldly and firmly and thereby labour to make up my other great defects And as this has still been my Practice in the other great Trusts I have the Honour to carry under His Majesty so I know His Goodness will always accept the sincere endeavors of His Servants in place of greater Performances The Lord High Chancellor's Speech My Lords and Gentlemen AFter what my Lord Commissioner hath so well represented to you it will be very little necessary for me to say much I shall only take the liberty to put you in mind of what I believe you are very sensible already of the many obligations this Nation lies under to be grateful to our great Monarch When by the Command of the late King His Majesty who now Reigns came first hither what Disorders Divisions and Animosities found He amongst us To bring the state of things into your prospect as it was then could not be very grateful to you nor pleasing to me but we all remember with joy how well He left us and by what easie gentle ways He brought about the Establishment of that Unity which we were beginning to despair of Since that time how much we have been in His particular care during the Happy Reign of that Excellent Prince His Brother of ever Blessed and Glorious Memory is known to all the World But of all the instances of His Majesties Care for us his Favour towards us and his good Opinion of us this of His calling us together in the very beginning of his Reign which God grant may be long and prosperous that we