Seasonable Address To both Houses of PARLIAMENT CONCERNING THE SUCCESSION; The Fears of POPERY, AND ARBITRARY Government.

By a true PROTESTANT, And a Hearty Lover of his COUNTRY.

LONDON, Printed in the Year, MDCLXXXI.

A Seasonable ADDRESS TO Both Houses of PARLIAMENT, Concerning the Succession, &c.

IT was the Aegyptians practice, before Physick was reduc'd into Art o [...] Profession, to carry forth into the Roads and Highways, the Diseas'd, and enquire of all passengers concerning the Causes and Remedies of their Distempers; out of whose prescriptions their Friends selected, and applyed what they judg'd most proper.

What was then done for the Natural, is now as necessary for the Body Po­litick of this Country, sick, almost unto death, of Fears and Iealousies, the Plots and Devices of the wicked and ambitious; expos'd to all Travellers, among whom good Nature and Self-preservation have at length, after two years silent compassion, prevail'd upon me to give my opinion of the Cau­ses and Cures of our Evils; which I will offer without fear or favor of Party or Faction, of Court or City; enquiring how far our apprehensions of Po­pery and Arbitrary Government, that have so long discompos'd us at home, and made us contemptible abroad; are just and reasonable.

Though I confess 'tis said, There never wa [...] Smoak without some Fire, yet at first sight it seems hard to believe that sober m [...]n shou'd ever attempt inno­vations, seldom or never advantageous, always hurtful, because necessarily attended with the sad effects of Civil War; a calamity that has so lately prov'd fatal to the Kingdom in general, to the Prin [...]e and to the Subject. Whence it may be reasonably presum'd, when our Passion is over, and we have fully consider'd the rise, progress and event of the Last Rebellion ▪ we shall grow calm and wise, permit the King to enjoy his own Preroga [...]ives▪ and content our selves with our just Right and Priviledges. 'Twill be [...]me [...] ­nough [Page 2] (when these are invaded, if Religion even then will allow it,) to op­pose, or stand upon our defence; to offer at it sooner is madness and folly, Rebellion and Impiety▪

For the better coming to our point, 'tis necessary we take a review of the times preceeding Forty One, when from the end of King Iames's Reign, the people were, as now, full of murmurings, repinings and distrusts against the Government. At last the smother'd Embers burst forth into a Flame; and af­ter ten years Violence, War and Confusion, and near as many more of Usur­pation and Tyranny, the Common-wealth was so far from being better'd, by any of the many changes and expedients, that the recalling our King from his unjust Exile was found, and unanimously agreed, the only way to prevent its utter Ruin. Our Gracious Sovereign, merciful beyond example, pardons his Rebellious Subjects, the Murderers of his Royal Father, and the Usurpers of his own Crown and Dignity; loads, even among them, with Offices and Honor, such as seem'd penitent, and were capable. He then pro­ceeds, first to the resettlement of the Religion of the Church of England, like vertue seated in the middle, and equally endanger'd by the two extremes of Popery and Presbytery; and after, to that of the State in peace and quiet, which we enjoy'd to the envy of our Neighbors. This happiness occasion'd a War with Holland, France, and Denmark, to their great Lo [...]s, and the Renown of England, ending in a League of friendship and amity, for the general good of Europe. Not long after the King was advis'd to grant a toleration for the ease of tender Consciences, and the advancement of Traffique and Manufa­cture. This was press'd with arguments, that the want of it occasion'd Venners Insurrection; the Plot in 1662. for which several suffer'd at Tyburn; that in 1663▪ begun in Ireland, and carried on in England, for which in 1 [...]64 divers were executed▪ in York-shire, as were others after in London, April 1666, who confess'd at Tyburn a Design of subverting the Government, seizing the Tow­er, and Firing of London the September following; and withal, declaring there were those behind of their Party, that wou'd still effect that design, which as to that part was too evident▪ This is notorious from the historical account pu [...]lish [...]d in 80. and confirm'd by the Gaz [...]t; and therefore I cannot but won­der at the Commons Vote of last Ianuary the 10th. That it is the opinion of this House, that the City of London was burnt in the year 1666. by the Pa­pists, designing thereby to introduce arbitrary power and Popery into this Kingdom▪ It wou'd be a great satisfaction to the world to publish the grounds of this opinion, because that otherwise considering they did not pursue it, nor any reason assign'd what shou'd have hindred, it will hardly gain more cre­dit▪ than the Philosophers paradox, that Snow was black. I have read of some, who never wanted opinions, cou'd they but find arguments to make them p [...]obable, fo [...] which their being at a loss made them ridiculous with the sober [...]art of Mankind.

[Page 3]The King consents, and at the same time declares a War against Holland, whose insolence and injustice in point of Trade and Honour was become in­supportable▪ Soon after the Parliament conven'd, and apprehending the Indulgence might in time prove destructive to the establish'd Religion, pray'd it might be revok'd; the King contrary to the then Minsters advice, an [...]wer'd their desires. Hereupon they grow peevish, and thence forward vow and study all the methods of Revenge and Confusion, tho' with the hazard of the publick. Ever since we have been continually alarm'd with Libels against the Government; at last a discovery is made of a Popish contrivance, sifted as far as possible by the King in Council, and after earn­estly recommended to the Parliaments further consideration. This is pur­sued, but some men laying hold on this, design to d [...]ive it on to further purposes, and under pretence of defending the Kings Person and expelling Popery, set up Presbytery, and pull down the Monarchy. But there be­ing too strict a bond of mutual love and loyalty between the King and that Parliament, means are now us'd, upon a great Ministers being impeach'd, to have it dissolv'd: An Act that answer'd not his expectations. A new one is call'd, and exceeding the bounds of prudence and moderation quickly sent home. A third is summon'd, and the King having to this, as to the for­mer, over and over press'd the impartial examination of the Plot, the tryal of the Lords▪ and the care of the establish'd Religion, wherein by all iust and lawful ways he often declar'd he wou'd not follow, but heartily go along with them▪ But alas! they intended no such thing. The Plot must be kept on foot, [...]lse they wou'd be defeated. The King perceiving they still neglected the good of the publick, breaks them, and summons a fourth at Oxford ▪ where I wish they may be inspir'd, with softness and prudence▪ answerable to the designs of the Place, and the needs of the Kingdom▪

A [...]ter this short account, is it possible to believe these, who insinuate the King himself is in the Plot, is a Papist, and intends arbitrary G [...]vernment▪ Oh! ridiculous, nonsensical fancy, If [...]he Plot be against his Person and Government, and contriv'd by Rapists, and among them (as [...]edlow has sworn) none in England but have receiv'd the Sacrament upon't, and he be of the number, he must joyn with others to cut his own throat, stab, shoot▪ or poyson himself. But her's fome mystery in this pretty invention; Charles S [...]uart conspires against the King; this imitating the Long Parliament in his Fathers time, who fought for the King, for his politick capacity, against himself, his Natu [...]al, his Person. But if he were a Papist, wou'd he have pass'd into Laws every Bill tender'd him by both Houses, as well before▪ as since this Plot, in their disfavour? and yet we know one of the godly Party was lately fin'd 500 l ▪ for saying, The Duke of York was a Papist and the King little better; a saying no longer minc'd nor whisper'd, but now [Page 4] loudly and plainly spoken every day. Cou'd he have been wrought to a change of Religion, in the time of his banishment, he had not withstood, the offers of foreign Princes and the solicitations of a fond Mother, to rein­state him in his own Dominions with absolute arbi [...]rary power▪ But he was too much a Christian, and too good a King, not to prefer continuance in exile, to the designs of enslaving his Subjects, either in their souls or in their bodies. Must he now, in an Age desirous of rest and quiet, be up [...]raided with such purposes, that had resolv'd against them in the heat of his youth, the great spur of ambition? Now when to compass this wicked and ridiculous project is as impossible, as before it was the contrary; when after his restoration besides foreign assistance, offer'd at any rate, and to any purpose, he had an obsequious General, a victorious Fleet and Army, and a Parliament, whose zeal and devotion seem'd in nothing to be bounded but by the limits of his own pleasure; when to the immense treasure he was possest of, be­stow'd among his people with equal bounty [...]s it was given, he might have added vastly by the confiscations of more than half the Estates and Wealth of the three Kingdoms. But instead of this, he often press'd his Parliament to expedite the Act of Oblivion, disbanded his Army, and enlarg'd the Fleet, by making one Squadron of more value than all three in the time of Queen Eliz. disabl'd, in all his Dominions, without exception, all Papists, from bearing any Office Civil or Mititary. Has he not pass'd the Bill, excl [...] ­ding for ever all Popish Lords out of the House, [...]o which his Father cou'd never be perswaded? Has he not like wise curtayl [...]d the Royal power by two other Acts, that of the Habeas Corpus, and against Quartering of Souldiers? Three Statutes, for which he might have had as many Millions, had he in­sisted on a bargain, or known how to distinguish between his own private Interest and that of the subject, or the truckling way of Bartering, when the g [...]od of his people was concern'd. Why did he, but for the sake of the Protestant Religion, refuse the elder Daughter of the Crown to the Dauphin of France, and marry her to the Prince of Orange? And this without put­ting his Par [...]iament to the charge of a [...]ortion, or a much greater Sum, which they wou'd have gladly given, had he made the proposition▪ And no other cou'd be the motives of recalling his Troops from France, raising an Army for the defence of the Netherlands, at the expence of above 200000 l. more than was given, and his prohibiting Trade with that Crown. These things put a stop to the progress of that victorious King's Arms, occasion [...]d his quitting M [...]ssina, and clapping up a general peace, when he was just at the point of his propos'd Conquest. If our Prince intended an arbitrary Go­vernment, why besides his former neglecting the opportunity, wou'd he disable himself for the future, by parting with one of the greatest instru­ments for that purpose, the Court of wards and Liveries, Tenures in Capi­te [Page 5] and Knight-Service, purvevance, &c. And what did he receive for this excess of bounty, for the chiefest and most useful flower of the Crown, but a trifle, a feather, half the Excise, not above a fourth of the others yearly value. And after all this, Knaves invent, and Fools believe he is now [...]etting up for Tyranny and Popery, when his years are past the heat of ambition, his Coffers empty, France disoblig'd, and his own people a­larm'd, and bent against it with all imaginable resolutions of oppsition. Can any man imagine that a person, who disarms himself, intends to fight?

Besides, What one Illegal Arbitrary Act has he done in his twenty years Reign? Whom has he defrauded of an Ox or an Ass, of life or possession? Where has he in any one instance invaded magna charta, our Rights, Pro­perties or Liberties? What Bill tender'd by Parliament, for the security of our Lives or Fortunes, has he rejected? He pass'd all without exception. As for the Bill for intrusting the Parliament with the Militia for a limited time, reason then, and experience since, has prov'd it was a needless en­croachment on the Royal Prerogative, without the least prospect of publick good; and to have parted with tha [...] power but for a moment, was for so long to unking and divest himself of a power he cou'd not be certain wou'd be ever restor'd. As he has freely pass'd all Laws, has he not as chearfully offer'd to enact any thing that was agreable to Justice and Reason for our further security in Religion, Liberty and Property?

From these considerations, nothing will appear more vain and idle than our Fear [...] and Iealousies, our Factious and Seditious reflections on the Go­vernment▪ I will not say without great caution, but we may run into those very things we so much dread, and wou'd avoid, Popery and French Government, or (which is equally destructive of our Birth-rights and Happiness) Presbytery and a Commonwealth. This will be no groundless sur­mise▪ if we look back, and observe that the Leav'n against the establish'd Constitution both in Church and State has sowr'd almost the whole lump, the poyson of Presbytery, formerly known by the name of Puritanism, hatch'd at Fran [...]ford and Geneva, grown to a head in Scotland with the Reformati­on, has infected the generality of the Kingdom, the common Traders and Dwellers in Cities and Corporations, and the unthinking and illiterate part of the Gentry, with hatred against Monarchy and the Church of England. This was certainly the invention of Rome to overthrow us, by thus sowing Divisio [...]s▪ they well foresaw our Kingdom and Church in it self divided cou'd not long stand▪ All the Antimonarchical Principles are the same in both, the one as well as the other deny Supremacy in the King, the Iesui [...] will have the Pope, and the Presbyter Iesus his Head. King-killing and De­po [...]ing. D [...]trine is disown'd by all honest Papists, as the Author even of Pl [...]t [...] Redi [...]i [...] doe [...] confess, tho' two or three Iesuits have privately assen­ted [Page 6] the Opinion as problematical, for which themselves and writings were censur'd and condemn'd, as false and damnable; But 'tis justified, both by Books and Practice of the whole Presbyterian party; 'tis so plain and fresh in our memories, I need not instance in [...]he Authors. St. Peter's Chair is not more Infallible than that of an Assembly of Presbyters in a National Cla [...] ­sis or Synod. Men of these Antichristian Principles stirr'd up the Late Re­bellion, and being active and diligent, drew in many unwary honest men beyond the power of retreating. Did not the Faction here tamper in Scotland, where the promoters of the Covenant, that Godly Instrument, apply'd to the Crown of France for protection, as appears by the Letter found with the Lord Lowdin, therefore sent to the Tower?

But what was the issue of th [...]s Contrivance, but Confusion and Misery through the three Kingdoms, the Presbyterian party overpowr'd by the In­d [...]pend [...]nts, and these again by the Army; a Commonwealth set up, and soon after turn'd into a perfect Tyranny under Oliver Cromwel; after more money had been illegally squeez'd from the Subjects by Ordinances and Loans, Sequestrations and Decimations, Excise and other Impositions, than was ever known before or since? The people weary, call home their Prince, who by an excess of mercy and clemency, sparing to root up men of these Principles, gave way to their infecting others with the same humour of dis­content. 'Tis to be observ'd, that the year 1535. is remarkable for the Ge­neva Reformation, and the spawning of the Iesuits Order, and that our un­lucky home-bred Divisions we [...]e fomented, if not first set on foot, under hand, by directions from the Court of France, as well as from Rome, the Interest of t [...]at State, as well as of the Church, depending on our Distracti­on; to which end Richlieu, that great Minister, imploy'd many Pensioners into Sco [...]land, as did after his Successor Mazarine in England. And there­fore there is nothing more inconsiderate than to think we are not now act­ing and promoting French-Des [...]g [...]s; 'tis their business to divide us, and yet so to manage the Ballance, that they let neither the King nor Parliament have the [...]etter, or ever come to a right understanding: They can no o­therwise obta [...]n the Western Empi [...]e, and 'tis directly against their Interest ever to suffer England to be either a perfect Monarchy, or an absolute Com­monwealth. Those that roar most against French Councils and Measures, u [...]der-hand-bargains and agreements between both the Kings, know they bely their own Conscience, and that the French have us in the last degree of con [...]emp [...] ▪ Th [...]s the [...]of D [...]printed in his own vindication, pe [...]haps no [...] ignorant that some of their Ministers did, in the year 1677▪ and 78. before the breaking for [...]h of the Plot, de [...]are▪ That Monsieur L. [...]ad greater In­t [...]rest and more friends in England than the D. of Y. That the K. had need be on [...] G [...]ard, for he was in a great danger of running the same risque with his Fa­ther; [Page 7] when it was likewise enquir'd, What Interest among the people two great Peers had, who have since the Plot been the great Pillars of the Protestant Religion, tho' neither was ever reputed to have any, were Ministers and Advisers in 1670. and 71. very good friends to France and Popery, Enemies to the Triple Alliance, and to Holland, &c. It was also said, That 300000 l. a year bestow'd in Scot­land and England, among the Factious and Discontented, wou'd better serv [...] the Interest of France, than any Bargain they cou'd drive with the Ministers. 'Tis too well known that the greatest of these two Noblemen made a secret jour­ney into France, some weeks before the Plot, after some private Transacti­ons here with others, among whom were Sir E. L. fam'd for Religion, for Morality, Major W. and H. N. as notorious for the same perfections and their love of Monarchy, and hatred of a Commonwealth nor did A. S. want his share in the Consultation, a stout assertor of Prerogative, witness'd by his and others living out of this Kingdom, ever since the Kings Restau­ [...]ation, untill they saw some likelyhood of a change, the one returning a­bout the time the D. of B. and the other Lords were in the Tower, and the other a few months before the breaking forth of the Popish Conspiracy; which no sooner came before the Parliament than some of the great Lords of the Committee for the Examination of the Plot kept their Consultations, and manag'd much of that Affair at Wallin [...]ford-House, Major W. their Secre­tary, where they concluded to take hold of this opportunity for the carry­ing on some long-hatch'd Designs of their own. Nor is it to be forgotten that in Iune before, a Letter was writ by an eminent person of the Faction, and can be now produced, That v [...]ry shor [...]ly som [...]what wou'd be discover'd, that wou'd prevent our much l [...]nger walking in the dark; and that one of the greatest Lords sent to an Astrologer t [...] know wh [...]th [...]r he was not in a short while to be in the head of 60000 men. The method [...] agreed upon in France, and pursu'd here, were to make a Court and Country-party, to sow and disperse Iealousies be­tween both, and widen the gap with all possible Devices; which resoluti­ons some here were the [...]ooner induc'd to embrace, upon this consideration, That they shou'd not l [...]ve to see the issue, and were unconcern'd for what shou'd come after. But yet I am too charitable to think, if we have any French Agents at home, they are impos'd upon by their own unwariness, and the others cunning, to act rather against, than with, their knowledge, a part so much contrary to the Interest of England, and the Duty of a Christian. But however it be, I am morally assur'd we are doing their work; and if we are not Knaves and Pensioners, we are Blockheads or Fools, that are blind and besotted like men prepar'd for Destruction. Quos Jupiter perde­re vult, hos dementat. If any one talks thus, he is presently call'd a Papist and a Tory; every true Son of the Church of En [...]land, and Loyal Subject, is branded with Nick names and run down by Noise and Faction; and he [Page 8] that opposes Popery, if he defends not Presbytery, is but a Protestant in Masquerade; if he commends Mon [...]rchy and our Legal Constitutions, to the discredit of a Commonw [...]alth, he is a Rascal, a Villain, and a dangerous Person, not considering that we are made Tools and Instruments for French purposes, betray'd by their Cunning and Address, to forward and act with our own hands, our Slavery and Ruine. Shall we be still blind and deaf to reason and demonstration? Can we not reflect upon the French double-dealing in o [...]r late Civil Distractions, and remember what the Lord Keeper Puckering tells the Parliament in Q. Elizabeth's days, That the Puritans, even at the time of the Spanish preparations for Invasion, were urging and pressing intestine C [...]mmotions ▪ where he largely sets forth their being as dangerous to the Crown and Mitre as the others, and therefore that both were to be equally suppress'd, Papists and Puritans. I cannot find that either have since alter'd their Principles, and consequently cannot but wonder why the Papists shou'd be persecuted, and the other countenanc'd, even against Law and former Statutes. 'Tis surely very imprudent to expect your House will be warm by shutting a Window, and se [...]ting open the Doors. And therefore be­cause in this I can freely agree with Plato Redivivus, that the fear of Popery is not the cause of our present disturbances; I shall without regard to Reli­gion, consider the Papists and Presbyterians as two Factions in the State, like the Arm [...]nians and Lov [...]stein party in Holland; and as such pronounce that both are to be suppress'd, or neither, because by emptying only one of the S [...]ales, the Ballance is broken, and the Court or Monarchical party is first weaken'd and destroy'd, and after the whole form of Government al­ter'd into that of a Commonwealth; and I am fully convinc'd, if that had not been that Authors Designs, as to an ordinary Reader is past doubt, he wou'd have set down this as one of the Remedies of our present Evils. But the contrary was his purpose, and in order to it he c [...]nningly, to preserve the Monarchy, wou'd set up a plain Democracy, and for an English King, ob [...]ude upon us a Do [...]g of Venice; for he tells you at large that the antient Power of the King is fallen into the hands of the Commons, and therefore to keep up the former illustrious splendor of the Crown, he wou'd have all its Jewels taken out, and set about the Speakers Cha [...]r, the King made a Cypher, and divested of all Power but the Name, to keep up the three se­veral and distinct shares in the Government, King, Lords and Commons. 'Tis an ingenious way of arguing, but we are not yet, I hope, such fools to have it p [...]ss, to venture at play, and not know how to distinguish false Di [...]e.

Oh! but says a Factious P [...]titioner, that takes the House of Commons (sufficiently prov'd by the learned Answer to Petyt's Book, to have had no share in the Legislative power) to be the Parliament; all their Votes, how wild and unreasonable [...]oever, as we have lately as well as formerly seen in [Page 9] print, to be the sence of the Nation, and have the force of Laws, and yet deny any Authority to the Kings Proclamation: This Scribler (says he) is Popishly affected, a French designer, a meer Tory; not considering that there is not less hazard in splitting upon a rock, than upon a sand-bank; that if I must be a slave, and forfeit my liberty, 'twere at least as good to do so under a single person, as more; the tyranny of many is much more intolerable than that of one. 'Tis equally destructive of my liberty, whe­ther the King or the House of Commons, takes away Magna Charta; I am still against arbitrary Government, ruling according to pleasure, not the Laws and known Constitutions of the Land, whether assum'd by King or Commons, if there be any choice, the odds are against the latter. And to speak truth, by what has pass'd since the Plot, any one in his wits, wou'd believe, the King is invaded, not an invader; that his frequent Prorogati­ons and Dissolutions have been his legal defensive weapons, us'd as much for his Subjects security, as his own honour; that arbitrary power is a de­licious thing, and therefore aim'd at by our Demagogues and Tribunes of the people; bad and to be decry'd, only while in the Soveraign. 'Tis very convenient to cry Whore first. Solomon tells us, He that appeareth first in his own cause, seemeth just; but his neighbour cometh after and proveth him. If the people in an Island are alarm'd that an Invasion is design'd, and that only at one Port, and they become so foolish as for the guard of that, to neglect and expose all other, they do but make the easier way for their enemies to land and overcome. Those, who are the Watchmen, the Sentinels of our safety, ought with Ianus to have two faces, one behind and the other before, and many eyes like Argus, there being otherwise no security against sur­prize. I remember in Thucydides, that the Gretians besieging a strong Ci­ty, found no means but stratagem to become Masters, which they thus contriv'd: After they had puchas'd within some Pensioners, they kept the besieged awake, and put them into a great distress by continual false a­larms, and, as design'd, prepar'd to believe nothing more was intended than amusement and distraction. The false Citizens within taking this ad­vantage, affirm'd they ought for the future to make it death to any Watch­man to give the Alarm. This decreed, notice was given to the enemy, and without the least resistance the besieg'd were taken and undone, when and where they least suspected; whereupon this Proverb was taken up. Amyclas perdidit silentium. I wish we may never run the same fate; the application is too easie and natural to be dwelt upon.

And yet I cannot but take notice how the late House of Commons have assum'd to themselves a power extraordinary, and by a Vote without proof or conviction, made eminent men and known Protestants, guilty of Popery and French designs, made them Advisers and Counsellors according to [Page 10] their own [...], imprison'd several DURING PLEASURE, seiz'd Closets and Writings without Information, and contrary to Magna Charta, voted Acts of Parliament, made for the preservation of the establish'd Religion, us [...]less, and their execution grievous to the Subject against the Protestant interest, and an encouragement to Popery, &c. and among these, which is most wonderful, a Law made by the darling Queen Eliz. who cannot well be suppos'd to have been a friend to Popery. If these be not odd and arbitrary proceedings, I know not what are▪ nor why that shou'd be tolera­ble or lawful for them, which is not for any, no not for our Sovereign. Considering men are afraid the abettors of such practices are not friends to peace and quiet, but rather factious and dangerous, willing to enslave us to foreign Invasions or domestick Encroachments, whatever may be said to the contrary, these actings are but too good grounds for such apprehen­sions. The cunningest Whores seem most devout, and inveigh very bitter­ly against the lewdness they daily study & commit. Your rooking Gamesters abhor, if you will believe their shams and oaths, the use of false Dice, and the un-Gentleman-like-trick of cheating. However, none but Cullies, who want wit or years to make observation, can be wheedl'd and drawn in by such pretences.

Before the discovery of the Plot our Ministers were reflected on, as de­signing Popery and Arbitrary Government, by many scandalous Pamphlets, and one in particular call'd, an Account of the [...]rowth of [...]opery, &c. as if the people were to be prepar'd to believe the whole Court were Popish; that while they were alarm'd against that party, they might be unprovided to de­fend themselves against the-other. The Presbyterian true blue, who like Ae­sop's Ca [...], though transform'd into the beautiful shapes of Court-Imployments and Honors, will still be hankering after the old s [...]ort of Mousing; they will e­ver be lovers of a Common-wealth, and enemies to Monarchy. This is plain from former, as well as later, proceedings, since the discovery of the Popish Plo [...], when [...]hey began to shew themselves in their proper colors, when they cry' [...] n [...]t only the Court, but the Church was Popish, and all that are for the [...]stablish'd Government. You cannot now be loyal, unless you are facti­o [...]s, nor a Protestant, if no Presbyterian. But pray observe, none tell you this, but the spawn of those seduc'd, or concern'd in the late Rebellion; men turn'd ou [...], or that wou'd get into Court-Imployments, that account themselves slighted or disoblig'd; men of great Ambition, or of desperate Fortunes, who make all this noise and clutter, to be taken off. To what purpose else, did the late House of Commons make the Vote against the bargain or hopes of Court-preferment, but that such a design was a driving between some lea­ding Members and Courtiers? Can they after such a discovery pretend zeal for Religion, and the good of their Country? For shame, let not Facti­on [Page 11] and private Interest make men forgetful of the publick, of the peace and quiet of the Nation: Let them secure our Constitutions against the en­croachments or invasions of any, whether Presbyter or Papist; and remem­ber that the most forward in the Long Parliament were soon turn'd out by o­thers; and because what is Sawce for a Goose is sawce for a Gander, this of course will be the fate of those, who now glory in being Ringlead [...]rs of Facti­on to thwart and oppose their Sovereign; Nay, it may possibly be worse, the Gentlemen, the Knights of the Shires, may be kick'd out by Mecha­nicks, by Citizens and Burgesses; for he that practiseth Disobedience to his Superiors, teacheth it to his Inferiours. Sir W. I. Sir F. W. Collo­nel T. &c. all know were disoblig'd, and if taken into favour, the Em­ployments and Honours they covet, wou'd stand up for the Court, as much as now they do against it. Whether the Petitioning Lords be not of the same temper, will best appear from the story of every single person. One of them has the humour convey'd with's Bloud. His Father was a Gentleman that appear'd zealous in the long Parliament for the good of his Country, the first that brought in the complaint of Ship-money. But soon after when he was made a Lord and a Courtier, he chang'd notes and sung another song, no man more for the Monarchy, in its defence he lost his l [...]fe, and at his death publickly repented his actings against the Earl of Stafford, His Son was made an Earl upon the Kings retu [...]n, sent Emba [...]sador Abroad, and Lord Lieutenant into Ireland; to get his command he despis'd not the Court­ship and assistance of Coll. T. though a R. C. and a Creature of his R. H. to whom he made no slender Professions; not being satisfied with gaining vastly in that Station five years, he grows peevish in hopes of being sent the second time, nay rather than fail he is content to be Commissioner of the Treasury, in hopes that by the Courtship and Interest of some Women, no matter what Religion they are of, he may come to be Lord Treasurer: But not like to gain the White Staffe, and perhaps not caring to govern an empty Exchequer, he bent his Thoughts again towards Ireland; slighting the Treasury he is outed, and grows more discontented; and at last turn'd out of Council, the next day he repeats a Speech of E. of S. his making, and unask'd presents a piece of Councel and Advice to His Sovereign, pretending as a Peer it was his duty. I am sorry his zeal made him forget, that Peers have no right of advising the King, but when he makes them of his Council, or by Writ Summons 'em to Parliament. And what's very odd, he advises just the contrary to what he and the other Noble E. had done t [...]e year before, when Courtiers. This Noblemans Life wou'd make a Comical History; he knows how to put on all shapes, and in the late times, was not ignorant how to make an Apple-tree supply the place of a Pulpit, he knew how to serve himself in all turns and changes, and has not fail'd since 1640. to have been often out and in with the several High­er [Page 12] [...]owers. [...]o give him his due, he is a man of extraordinary Parts; but if one of these Lords said true, when he was a Courtier, and the other newly remov'd, they are al [...] fitted and turn'd for confounding and amusing, but not for extricating out of difficulties. He wants not Wit to hold forth in the House▪ or in the open Air, upon occasion; nor is he meanly skill'd in the methods of Court-Pleasures, as well as Business. He must have an ill memory that forgets who advis'd the breaking the Triple-League, and making an Alliance with France, and a War with Holland, pronouncing in the Language of the Beast, Delenda est Carthago, that a Dutch Common-wealth was too near a Neigh­bor to an English Monarch; the Shutting up the Exchequer, the granting In­junctions in the case of the Bankers, and lastly the sourse of all our present misfortunes, the general Indulgence. These things being found of ill conse­quence, and the Ministers remov'd as designers of Popery, Presbytery, Atheism, or Irreligion, Arbitrary or French Government; must any of such Principles assoon as turn'd out of Court, be receiv'd into the Country, as if these two had different Interests? Whoever say there is more than one common wealth in both, are Deluders, and Incendiaries, and Betrayers of the Nation. Those that strive to divide the King and his People, are to be look'd upon as Pensioners of France, and to be most severely punish'd. There are that can tell Tales, what Great man since the Plot, offer'd a Reconciliation with the D. and for a Resto­ration to his former Power and Greatness, wou'd be his Servant to all intents & purposes. But the D. cou'd not be perswaded, one that had as often chang'd Parties, as Proteus his Shapes and the Chamel [...]on his Colors, cou'd be true to a­ny Interest, b [...]t his own; and therefore rejected his many Messages on this subject. Another Peer, whose Son in the Lower House, is the great Tribune of the People, wou'd have had a Dukedom added to the Garter, to make both Sing to another Tune. A forth wou'd fain be a Privy Councellor in Reversion. A fifth not long since at any rate of purchase, wou'd have been Master of the Horse to the Duke: Strange [...] that a Protestant Lord shou'd think of serving a suppos'd Popish Prince, and after hope, though thus mounted on Horseback, to get to Heaven. 'T wou'd be tedious to give particular accounts of all; on­ly by the way observe that a Young Lord newly come to Age, own'd him­self to His Majesty Disoblig'd, because after a Voyage to Tangier, his great Valor there shown, and spending his Youth in his Prince's Service, (these were his own words to the King) another was preferr'd to the Command of the Lord Plymouth's Regiment. I cannot but commend this Noblemans Ingenuity in owning the true Cause, and not pretending, as others, Conscience and publick good for his motives. But I am sorry he should forget, not only the obli­gations of gratitude, which he is under for his Bread and for his Honor, but also who says, Appear not wise before the King, and give not Counsel unask'd. He has learning enough to understand the meaning of in consilium non vo­catus [Page 13] ne accesseris. 'Tis to be hop'd he may repent, and [...] wit may be turn'd into Wisdom.

As for the D. of M, I believe him perfectly drawn in by designing Po­liticians for ends of their own, who never intended him more than as an useful Tool, afterwards to be la [...]d aside. 'Tis no wonder that one of his Youth and Spirit shou'd be tempted with the Baits and Allurements of a Crown, the splendor and gaity of Power has blinded many Elder men's understand­ings. But that they never had him in their thoughts for K. appears from the Author of Plato Redivivus; and indeed if they had they went the wrong way to work. They shou'd not have engag'd him so far, as to deserve his be­ing turn'd out of his Command as General; a Post, that wou'd have best en­abl'd him to seize upon and make good any pretence to the Crown, after the death of his Majesty. I am apt to believe his Grace is sorry for what is past; I am certain it were his Interest to throw himself at the Kings Feet, and quit the Counsels of those men, who int [...]ieg [...]ng for themselves, puff him up with false hopes, and yet sufficiently discover that nothing is farther from their hearts than his Exaltation, or what is so much in their mouths, publick service to the King and Country. 'Tis much better for him to be con­tent with the second place in the Kingdom, than by pretending to the first▪ a­gainst all manner of reason, and the obligations o [...] gratitude, forfeit all, his Fame and Honor, Life and Fortune▪

The Petition being already answer'd, I will only observe, that His Ma­jesty, intending to turn them out, sent Mr. Secretary to the E. of E. for a List of the Papists he mention'd in the Guards; But the Noble Peer had none to give, but may be suppos'd to have taken the story upon hear say▪ from some that had the malice to invent it. And now must the Nation suffer themselves to be rid by any Faction, because designing particular advanta­ges, they guild all with the specious pretences of Religion and Loyalty, par­ticular respect for the Church of England, by opening her Doors to all Di [...] ­senters, and for the Monarchy, by clipping the Kings power to prevent the Papists Contrivances against his Person: Examine whether the zealous sticklers for the Protestant Religion, have any at all; or if they have, whe­ther it be not as far from that Establish'd by Law, as Popery? Whether if the King wou'd grant their desires, receive them into Offices and Power, they wou'd not stand up in justification of the Court as fiercely as now they do the contrary? What has been before, may well be expected again. He that considers this, and that malice never spoke well of any, will give the Factious little credit; especially, when against reason and sense they wou'd impose upon us, that the King himself is in the Plot ▪ or as one the Mem­bers in a printed Speech tells the House, The Plot is not so much in the Tower▪ as in White-Hall; there 'tis to be search'd for, and th [...]e to be found ▪ And all [Page 14] [...] no [...] unking himself, and put his Crown into their hands, and against Law, his Coronation-Oath, and brotherly affection, pass the Bill of Exclusion, to the prejudice of himself and the whole Kingdom. This is not a single or private man's opinion, but the judgement of the Supreme Tribunal of England, the House of Lords; where upon the first reading it was thrown out, with the odds of 63 ag [...]inst 31; for which reason their Lordships are call'd Masquerading Protestants, Tories, Papists, or their adherents; as if the Lords must not be allow▪d the priviledge the Commons take with any of their Bills, without censure and affront. But why for their Act must His Majesty be loyally libell'd and dispers'd? It had been time e­nough, one wou'd have thought, to have call'd him Papist, &c. had he reject­ed the Bill after it had pass'd both Houses. Oh! then who cou'd have doubted, but his doing more against the Papists than any of his Predecessors, had been promoting their Interest, that his pardoning no man condemn'd, nor stopping the execution of any Law against Recusants, was making it no Plo [...], and that passing the Test was letting in Popery by whole-sale. He that can believe these things, is prepar'd for any thing, to say a Lobster is a Whale, or a Whale a Lobster; that the Moon is a Green-Cheese, and the Sun a round Plate of red hot Iron; and then, I presume, it may not be decided whether we are Fools or Madmen. Let us not idly and unjustly bely our Consciences, and publish to the Nation and all the World, that nothing can secure us against Popery, but the shaking and alteration of the Monarchy, by the Bill of Exclusion; an Act in it self unjust and impolitick, both for the King and People. No man is to be punish'd expost-facto, by the Laws of this and all other Countries. Besides, why shou'd the Duke, more than any Fanatick of England, be outed his Birth-right? The Scrip­ture says, You must not do [...]vil, that good may come of it; And Prudence will tell us, That this an evil, that must be attended with greater, For the minute that it passes, the Duke is at liberty to recover his Right by secret or open Vi­ [...]lence, Foreign or Domestick; He is declar'd an Enemy and a Traytor; condemn'd without Trial or Conviction. This piece of injustice must be de­fended by an Assotiation or an Army; this Army must be entrusted in the hands of the King or a General, either may make himself Absolute and Ar­bitrary; and therefore if people are now afraid of slavery from the Govern­ment, what may then be their apprehensions? And if they are jealous of the King, what General will they find to entrust? Those meanly skill'd in story, know that Commanders of Armies have at pleasure subverted Com­monwealths and Kingdoms: Agathocles from being General became Ty­rant of Syracusa; Pisistratus of Athens, Sforza of Millain, the Medici of Flo­rence, the Caesars of Rome, and not to go so far off, Cromwel of the three Kingdoms. Most of the Roman Emperors were dethrown'd by their Gene­rals; [Page 15] and therefore this cannot but make the King as unwilling as the Peo­ple, to entrust this great Power in any person. And yet without such a trust the Act of Exclusion is not woth a straw; nor with it can we be secur'd against Slavery, whether the Duke conquer or be overcome. The Duke will still find a party, at least if he out-lives the King, in the Three Kingdoms to fight his Quarrel; and if he comes in by Force, he may well use us like a conquer'd Nation, break our old, and give us what Laws and Religion he pleases; Whereas if we attempt no such thing, we shall not run the hazard of a CIVIL WAR, the King being as likely to out-live, as to be out­liv'd by, His Brother. If he shou'd chance to succeed peaceably, he can­not be presum'd to offer any alteration in Religion so much against his In­terest, and who never forwarded any in his own Family, suffers his Chil­d [...]en to continue in the Church of England, knowing that Christianity for­bids compulsion for its propagation. To say he wou'd be Priest-ridden, is ridiculous; why he more than the French King, who openly opposes the Popes Usurpation, and assumes to himself the cognizance even of Church-affairs? This is but a pretence to impose upon the ignorant and the credu­lous; if there be not Laws enough already, new ones may be made to pre­vent any such intention. When all Offices and Power are in the hands of Anti-papists, I cannot see where can be our danger.

But this, if granted, wou'd not be all, the Monarchy is hereby made elective, and the possessor may as well be remov'd, as the successor debarr'd. In order to this, is there not a History of the Succession publih'd, shewing that the Monarchy is rather elective than hereditary? Of which here I will only say, that the Writer is a notorious Plagiary, and steals all out of a se­ditious Book writ on the same Subject by Parsons the Jesuit, under the name of Doleman, in Queen Elizabeths time, with design of distracting the peo­ple, and making way for a Spanish Conquest and Inquisition; the Presby­terian Transcriber proves himself of the same Jesuitical principles, and with equal honestly pursues the same ends, Usurpation and Slavery. 'Tis not to be doubted, but that there has been frequent interruptions of the Succession of the Crown; but no title, but that of the Sword, was ever put in bal­lance with proximity os bloud, and he that will oppose Fact to Right is ve­ry unjust, and argues not upon the principles of Morality, nor the Laws of Nations. Much such another good Christian, is the Writer of The Ap­peal to the City, who tells us, if we set up a King with none or a crack'd title, we shall have the better Laws; and instances that Richard the 3d. an Usurper, a Murderer, and a Tyrant, made excellent Statues. But he might, had he been just, have found the Laws of that King out done by those of our present Soveraign, whose title none can question.

And yet it is not unreasonable to suspect a design on foot of subverting the [Page 16] Monarchy, if it be consider'd that passing the Bill against the Duke, will not alone satisfie his adversaries, who further expect that all those now firm to the King be remov'd, and their trust put into confiding hands; and thus when they had him in their ow [...] power, it wou'd be no hard matter to act th [...]ir plea [...]ure. The Speech disown'd by the Protestant Lord, and burnt by t [...]e H [...]ngman (a fate the Author does certainly deserve) tells us in plain English, We mu [...]t hav [...] a Ch [...]nge, and a King we may trust, and well affected Couns [...]llors, with much more treasonable and seditious stuff. These things, and th [...] frequent mentioning the fates of Edw. 2. Rich 2. and Hen. 6. cannot but alarm His Majesty, and restrain him from ever complying with such per­sons against his only Brother. He has so often affirm'd the Bill shou'd never pass, that he cannot now without diminution of his own honor, as well as safety, alter h [...]s well-grounded resolution, taken upon the sense of conscience and duty, the pre [...]ent and future good of himself and people. An act that wou'd be the highest violation of Magna Charta, that ordains none shou'd be put by his birth-right and inher [...]tance, but by the Law of the Land, and le­gal process. And therefore I hope, what cannot be suppos'd, will be granted, will no longer be insisted on, lest the consequences prove fatal.

One thing I cannot but admire, that the Duke shou'd be absolutely exclu­ded on supposition of being a Papist, for otherwise he is allow'd by all a Prince of incomparable vertues and endowments, leaving no room for enjoying his righ [...], [...]n case he become Protestant. Do they suppose an alteration of opinion impossible? that's false and foolish. There are instances of men that have changed often, and to mention no more, the Dukes Grandfather Hen 4. twice alter'd his opinion. Besides, it is u [...]just, and contrary to their own pract [...]ce, for L. Br. was an imprison'd Plotter, but assoon as he became a Convert, without further process or tryal he was innocent and acquitted. We do in this ex­ceed the Papists in France, and condemn our Protestant Ancestors, and all o­thers abroad, who accus'd them as Antichristian and Rebellious, for opposing their lawful King H [...]n. 4. on the score of Religion; for the Parisians lov'd his person, and stood upon no other condition than his turning Papist, to receive him for their Sovereign; as all the other R. C's. of that Kingdom had done before. And therefore I very much suspect we are grown weary of Monarchy, and w [...]th than inconstancy natural to Islanders, affect a Change though for the wo [...]se. To this I am induc'd by many Reasons, and nor a little from a Pro [...]e­stant Lords Speech, the last Sessions, That the People of Athens were so fond of good King Codrus, that they r [...]solv'd to have none after him. But to attempt this piece of folly and wickedness, will inevitably embroyl us in a Civil War. And of that the event is so uncertain, that we ought to dread the loss of all, by striving to enlarge our present liberties. This madness ordi­nary prudence will carefully avoid, because in all probability the King must [Page 17] get the better; his condition is not like his Father: He has standing Troops, which the other wanted, to Guard his Person; he has the Militia in his own hands, he has no Scotch nor Irish Rebellion, to divide or distract his Forces; and above all, he has the Parliamen [...] in his own power, to let them Sit or not Sit, at his pleasure and their good behaviour. And 'tis happy he has this power, to secure himself from popular fury, at this time especially, when whatever the Papists have done, we daily see others run into Clubs and Ca­bals, distinguishing them [...]elves by Green Ribbans, by general Committees and Subcommittees, where all Transactions of Parliament are first design'd and hammer'd, Collections made, a Common Purse manag'd, and Agents employ'd in every County, to prepare and influence the people, write and dis­perse false News, Libels against the Government, Addresses made and sent into every Shire and Borough, and if the Members do not go down to their Elections, they can Print for them such Speeches as serve their purpose. Wit­ness one my Lord Vaughan spoke at his Election, though his Lordship was not out of London, I have not heard before, that Sir Samu [...]l Morl [...]nds Speak­ing Trumpet cou'd convey a voice a hundred Miles distance. But this is nothing with our True Protestant Intelligencer B. H. who printed an Address from the City of Colchester, that never was seen nor presented by any of the Inhabitants, as by an Instrument under the Town-Clarks hand does plainly appear. But though Swearing be, Lying is not, against the interest or practice of the Godly; the Presbyterian, true off-spring of the Ignatian Fathers, who out do them in the Doctrin of Pi [...] Fraudes, as well as in all o­ther their immoral and Antimonarkick Principles.

And now considering that none that have any thing to loose, can ever get by a Rebellion, and that there is no just pretence for one, our Liberties and Properies not being broken or invaded, the Rich, unless they are mad, will never begin; and yet with, or without their assistance a Rising of Iack Cade or Wat Tyler instigated by greater persons, will but inlarge the Regal Power, and enrich the Crown: And for these and many more reasons I look upon the Threats or Fears of Rebellion, as idle and vain, as our Jealousies and Apprehensions of Popery, never possible in England but by a Civil War, since their numbers here are but as one to 230. and by an exact calculation in the three Kingdoms, the whole number of Papists is but as one to 205. non-Papists, and their wealth and possessions is not one to 300. If their power had been so terrible, they wanted not since the Plot provoca [...]ions to make us feel, as well as hear on't. But these noises are like Armies in disguise at Knights-bridge, and Regiments of Horse hid in Cellars under ground, and blowing up the Thames to drown London; artifices formerly us'd to draw in the easie and the credulous. But 'tis to be presum'd, the same trick [Page 18] will not pass twice upon us in one and the same Age, while the bleeding wounds of the last are still so fresh in our memories. To remedy and compose our present madness and distractions, and prevent future evils, must without doubt be the hearty endeavor of all honest men, who expect this will be a healing Parliament, that will make up all our breaches, and unite our divisi­ons, by the methods of prudence and discretion; weighing the true causes, and applying fit remedies, without regard to faction or interest, heat or passion▪ ref [...]ecting how unreasonable it is, to suspect in the King or his Ministers any design of introducing Popery and Arbitrary Government; a malicious and idle invention, set on foot with purpose, to enflame the Kingdom, by men who were outed, or desirous of Court-Imployments, disoblig'd Persons, or French Pensioners▪ That the Bill of Exclusion is not like to pass, either the Lords House or the King, because in it self un [...]ust, impolitick and dangerous, not only to the Prince, but to the Subject: That all other legal ways for preventing Popery and Presbytery, are to be taken by those, who design the preservation of the establish'd Monarchy and Religion: That this is already, or may with case be secur'd against the attempts or power of any Popish Successor: That our fears in this point are groundless, and at best found­ed upon accidents, that may never happen: That 'tis the highest Imprudence to run into real, present, to avoid possible, future evils▪ That innovations of this sort wou'd be against the Princes interest, who having not a 4th. part of the Revenue▪ necessary for the support of the Crown▪ must be under a ne­cessity of complying with [...] Parliament▪ and that his temper▪ practice and Declarations, secure us against impositio [...] of this nature: That it be consider'd, whether the unquiet apprehensions from the Plot, may not be laid by a speedy and impartial tryal and execution of all the accus'd and convicted, and the Kings after granting a general pardon▪ with such excepti­ons as have been usual. The doing this will beget a right understanding between the King and his people▪ defeat the contrivances of our adversa­ries, restore us to peace and quiet at home, and rescue [...] [...]om contempt and danger abroad, and make the Na [...] of Parliament as famous and renown'd, as some Libellers endeavour to make it base and odious. How this to be compass'd, you your selves are deservedly made the Judges, and therefore I will not like the foolish Orator▪ [...] Hannibal the Art of War. — Fiat Iustitia▪ [...]uat C [...]l [...]

FINIS.

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