The free-born subject, or, The Englishmans birthright asserted against all tyrannical vsurpations either in church or state L'Estrange, Roger, Sir, 1616-1704. 1679 Approx. 83 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 20 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2004-03 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A47854 Wing L1248 ESTC R16045 11849799 ocm 11849799 49922 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A47854) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 49922) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 500:19) The free-born subject, or, The Englishmans birthright asserted against all tyrannical vsurpations either in church or state L'Estrange, Roger, Sir, 1616-1704. [2], 34 p. Printed for Henry Brome ..., London : 1679. Advertisement on p. 34. Reproduction of original in Bristol Public Library, Bristol, England. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. 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Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Citizenship -- England. Freemen. Church and state -- England. Political rights. Great Britain -- Politics and government. 2003-11 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2003-11 Aptara Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2003-12 Mona Logarbo Sampled and proofread 2003-12 Mona Logarbo Text and markup reviewed and edited 2004-02 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion THE Free-born Subject : OR , THE Englishmans Birthright : Asserted against all TYRANNICAL VSVRPATIONS EITHER IN CHURCH OR STATE . LONDON , Printed for Henry Brome , at the Gun in St. Pauls Church-yard , at the West-end , 1679. THE FREE-BORN SUBJECT ; OR , The Englishmans Birthright : Asserted against all Tyrannical Usurpations , either in RELIGION or STATE . NOw to take my Text to pieces ; By a Free-born Subject , is meant a person that is born under the Protection of the Law ; and thereby entitled to certain known Immunities and Privileges , as his Birthright . But then he is likewise tied up ; by the same Law , to certain Rules and Measures of Obedience to Government . So that he seems to be Free in one respect ; and Subject in another . Now how far he is Enfranchised by this Liberty , and how far Limited by that Subjection , will be the Question . You shall seldom or never find this expression used , but as a kind of Popular Challenge ; and still in favour of the Free-born , without any regard at all to the Subject . Whereas we should as well consider the Authority of an Imperial Prince on the one hand ; as the Privileges of a Free-born People on the other . And not so far mistake , either the Force or the Intent of Magna Charta , and the Petition of Right ; ( by which we claim to these Liberties ) as if by being discharged of our Vassalage , we were also discharged of our Allegiance . The Englishmans Birthright sounds much to the same purpose too , with the Free-born Subject : Only there lies a stronger Emphasis ( in Common Speech ) upon the word Englishman . As when we speak of a Brave Man , that stands up for the Honour and Defence of his Country ; such a one , we cry is a Right Englishman , a True Englishman . Now ▪ to the end that we may not be misled by the Sound and Jingle of Words ; into a false , and dangerous Notion of Things ; let us repair to the Law , which is the Known , and Common Standard of our Civil Actions : that we may not either give up our Own just Rights on the One hand , or Encroach upon his Majesties , on the Other . For it is the Law that marques out the Metes and Bounds both of King and People : that shews how far we are to Go , and where to Stop ; and teaches us to distinguish betwixt Liberty and Sedition ; betwixt a True , Right Old Englishman , and a shuffling , double-hearted Moderm Impostor . As we have our Legal Rights , so we lie under Legal Restrictions too : And the King likewise hath his Legal Prerogatives , which are also accompanied with certain Legal Limitations . From whence it appears , that the Law serves as a Common-Rule and lies as a Common Obligation both upon Prince and Subject . And yet though there be a Duty Incumbent on both sides , there is a great difference even in point of Law it selfe , betwixt the Kings Violation of the Law , and the Peoples . The King breaks his Word , the People forfeit their Bond. They are Both of them Bound alike in Conscience ; but the People are over and above engaged upon a Penalty . It makes a huge noise in the World , that Kings are bound by the Laws as well as the People . And so they are , in Honour and Conscience , but no further : And this arises from the very Nature of Government it self : For wheresoever the Last Appeal lies , there rests the Government . And there can be no Government at all , without the Establishment of a Final Result , for otherwise the King shall Iudge the People and the People Rejudge the King ; and so the Controversie shall run round World without end . Take notice now that all Appeals move from a Lower Court , or Sentence , to a Superiour ; and consider then , how ridiculous it were to Appeal Downward ; or from Sovereign Princes , to any other Power , than to the King of Kings , who alone is above them . But let us put the Case now , that a Prince mis-governs : How shall he be tried ? It must be either By the Law or Without it . If the Former , where is the Law that says , The People may call their Soveraign to accompt , in case he does not Govern according to Law ? Or if they cannot produce such a Law , the Assertion is Treasonous . If the Latter , we are at our Old Salus Populi again : Which , in one word , is no other then a direct Dissolution of the Law , and a Prostitution of Authority to the Will of the Multitude . Having already stated the Conditions , and Advantages of a Free-born Subject , and of our English Birthrights : we shall now proceed to the asserting of these our Privileges , against all Tyrannical Usurpations , either in matter of Religion or State. And first a word of Tyrannical Usurpations . Under this Head may be comprised all sorts of Violence and Oppression ; ( by what means , or Instruments soever exercised ) contrary to Law and Iustice. By Tyranny , we do understand An Vnjust Domination ; or an Abuse of a Lawful Power , to the injury of the People : as if a Prince should turn a Legal Government into and Arbitrary . Now we commonly reckon That for an Vsurpation , when One man takes upon him the Right of another , without any Title to it at all : As our late Oliver was called Vsurper . And there are also Mixt Cases ; ( as was That before mentioned ) where Tyranny and Vsurpation meet Both in One. According to This Division we may be oppressed three several ways ; either Immediately by the Prince himself ; or Mediately by his Ministers , as by special Direction and Command ; Or otherwise we may be simply oppressed , one Subject by another . But still these Oppressions are Illegal every way ; and the Question is Now , what Legal Relief in the Case ? For as the Law entitles us to the Privileges we claim , and to the enjoyment of them : so does the Law likewise appoint , and chalk us out the Methods of Asserting and Maintaining our Rights , in case they be invaded . So that we must onely Oppose Legal Remedies to Illegal Wrongs ; and not think to deliver our selves from one Violence by another . For Popular Commotions are the most Criminal and Dangerous of all sorts of Oppressions . Other Oppressions may lie Heavy upon particular Persons ; but This is an Oppression of Law and Government it self . And it is as Foolish as it is Impious ; For while we Phansie all things to be Lawful for us , because we suffer many things against Law , we incur a Legal Forfeiture of all our Privileges , by the unlawful manner of endeavouring to preserve them . It is a Maxim in Law , but not in Morals , that the King can do no wrong ; for he may shed Innocent Bloud with his own hand , which is the Greatest of Wrongs ; but it is not looked upon however as a Wrong in Law , because there is no Law to question him for it . The Ordinary shift upon this Point is , That the King may be sued , and that consequently he stands answerable to the Law. To which I say , with a Distinction , that the King hath a Twofold Right , a Right of Dominion , and a Right of Propriety . In the Former ( which is the point in Question ) there lies no Action of Law : In the other there may , for otherwise he might take away any mans Free-hold at pleasure . And were it not a wild thing to imagine otherwise , when according to the very Stile of the Law , all Writs , Trials , and Forms of Iustice run in the Kings name ? So that admitting their Supposition , the King sits Iudge upon himself . When the late Underminers of the Government found that they could not shake the Royal Authority This way , ( for it was attempted ) they had recourse afterward to the Phansie of a Coordinate Government ; making the King , Lords , and Commons , to be the Three Estates ; in stead of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal ; and the Commons represented in Parliament . Which mistake being swallowed by the Undiscerning Multitude , proved the Foundation of our Common Ruine . This Whimsie being now set on foot again , I shall bestow a Word or two upon the Unmasking of that pernicious and sensless Pretence , and make it appear , that the Position is Destructive , not onely of the Three Estates , ( as some account them ) but of the very Being of Parliaments . Supposing the Government to be Coordinate , ( as these People will have it ) any Tw● Parts of the Three may Out the Third . The King lies at the Mercy of the Lords and Commons ; the Commons at the Mercy of the King and the Lords ; and the Lords as much at the Mercy of the King and Commons . So that at this rate no body knows to day , what Government we shall have to morrow . This is the Just Ratio of a Coordinate State ; and then to colour the Invention , they tell us that the King is Singulis Major , Vniversis Minor ; Greater then the Diffusive Body of the People , but Inferiour to the Collective . Which strikes at the very Root of Parliaments ; for if it be True , that a Prince by calling of a Parliament dethrones himself ; what Prince would ever call a Parliament ? As it is clear that Sovereign Power is Sacred , and not to be Touched ; it is no less Clear on the other side , that all the Executors of Illegal Powers and Violences may be questioned ; for that the Law puts no difference betwixt one Subject and another , but provides for Common Iustice betwixt man and man , without any difference of regard to Dignities or Persons . And as it appoints us such a Relief in such and such Cases ; so does it likewise ordain and direct such and such Punishments in other Cases , according as the wisdom of the Law-makers hath found convenient . So that he is upon his Good behaviour , either for Redress , or Punishment . But I hear many people say , that 't is True , the Law provides well enough for us ; but what if Iustice be overaw'd and obstructed ? My answer is , that we are to help our selves by Law , if we can ; but if the Law will not relieve us , we must be Patient ; especially in a Case , where 't is impossible to find a Remedy that is not worse then the Disease . Let us but look a little into the Consequences of passing That Line , and taking upon us to be our Own Carvers . First ; by Transgressing the Bounds of the Law , we cast our selves out of the Protection of it . Secondly , by declining the Common Equity of it , we run into Partialities and Factions , and every man makes himself both Iudge and Party . Thirdly , from a Certain and Infallible Provision for the Stating and Determining of all Controversies ; we transport our selves into an Absolute Impossibility of ever Reconciling them , I might have said , of Vnderstanding them : For Fourthly ; from matter of Fact , we betake our selves to Questions and Propositions of Notion ; as the Law of Nature , Self-preservation , &c. which signifie nothing more , then to puzzle the Multitude , and confound the Order of Civil Administration . For there can be no Proof made of a Thought ; but under Countenance of These Blinds , the Ambitious , the Revengeful , the Necessitous , the Factious , the Covetous , the Malicious , and the like , Stalk to their Vnrighteous and Self-Ends . And what 's the Issue of all This , but that , when by Coveting more then did belong to us , we have lost what we had : when by forsaking the Known , and the Safe ways of Peace and Iustice , we have wandered out our Lives in Pathless , Dangerous , and Vncomfortable Errors ; without either Light or Guide to set us right again : When we have been led by a False Shew of Liberty , as by an Ignis Fatuus , through Boggs and Ditches , and all in pursuit of a Sluttish Vapour : When by breaking the Bond of Humane Society , we have turned a Community into a Desert ; and like Wild Beasts , torn one another to pieces . What is the fruit at last of all our Wild Adventures ? but Bondage , Beggery , Shame , and Late Repentance ? So that our Best and Surest Way will be , for every man to look to his Own Province , without intermeddling in the Jurisdiction of Another . Having sufficiently discoursed upon the Quality of Tyrannical Usurpations , we come now to Religion and State , as the Subject Matter they are to work upon : Wherein we shall Distinguish betwixt Tyranny , as an Act of the Government ; and Usurpation , as a Claim of the People . Touching the Power of Kings , and the Possibility of Tyranny , in the matter of Religion ; the Question falls into a very narrow Compass : for Conscience lies out of the Reach of Law ; And the Powers of Government are onely exercised upon Ouvert , and Sensible Acts. But the point in hand however is This : First , What is intended by the Tyranny here spoken of ? Secondly , How are we to behave our selves , in Case of such Tyranny ? There may be Tyranny , either in forcing a man , ( upon a Penalty ) to Renounce the Right Religion , or to Embrace a False One : Or in Prohibiting to any man , the Freedom of Worship after his Own way . And all these Cases vary according to the Constitution of the Government , and the Conscience of the Governour . For the same thing may be Lawful in One place , and not in Another ; and to One Person too , and not to Another : And it may be more or less Excusable also , according to These Circumstances . In short ; It is a Tyranny , to press a man to a False Worship ; A Tyranny to punish him for adhering to a True one ; A Tyranny to hinder any man from Worshipping God as he Ought : And the Tyranny it self , is yet farther aggravated , if it be done in Opposition to the Law of the Land ; And to the Conscience of the Ruler , as well as to Common Equity . But still when I have lost Liberty , Estate , nay and Life it self , by reason of Religion ; my Religion it self is preserved Inviolate , even when my Body lies in Ashes . The Prince that Acts all these Tyrannies , hath undoubtedly a great deal to answer for to Almighty God : But what Remedy is there for the Subject that Suffers them ? And let That be the next Point . In Case of such Persecutions as aforesaid , I know no more then These Four ways of Application , for Relief ; Either by Prayer to Almighty God ; By Recourse to the Law , for Protection ; By Petition to the Government , for Indulgence , and Compassion ; Or else , to trie if we can deliver our selves by Direct Force . The First , is a sure Expedient in all Cases : for where we are not Delivered from our Afflictions , Our Afflictions are yet , by Gods Providence , turned into Comforts . In the Second place , we may make the best of the Law , provided that we do not make the Law Felo de se , and raise Inferences of Equitable Supposition , in Contradiction to the Naked and Express Letter of it . As for Example ; By the Law , we have a Lawful Right to such and such Liberties ; and herein we have the Law to Friend . But if we make any attempt to compass these Lawful Ends by Vnlawful Means , the Law is point : blank against us . Our Next Resort is , by Petition to the Government ; which is a Course , Laudable and Fair ; provided we keep clear of Rancour and Clamour ; and address to the Magistrate not to the Multitude : For it is not the End of those Popular Papers to Sollicite Relief , but to Provoke Tumults ; and under the Countenance of begging Compassion toward the People , to stir up Sedition against the Government . For Lewd Characters of Men breed Ill Thoughts of them ; and Evil Thoughts break out into Wicked Actions ; and the readiest way in the World to a Rebellion is , to startle the Vulgar with an Apprehension of Tyranny . If all this will not do , there remains nothing more , but either Patience or Force . The Former was of the Primitive , and the Later hath been the practice of our Modern Christians ; but whether they do Well or Ill in it , shall be now examined . It hath done a great deal of Mischief in the World , the Misconstruction of That Text that bids us Obey God rather then man. For the People are not well aware , that , First , in Obeying of Magistrates in all Warrantable Cases , they Obey God also , in That Civil Obedience . Secondly , Supposing the Command of the Supreme Magistrate to be directly Opposite to the Express Will of God : I will not Obey him in That Case , but I am not yet discharged of my Duty to him in Other Cases : for he is never the less a Lawful Magistrate ; ( even for not being a Christian ) and I will not Resist him in Any : Thirdly , the Law of This Nation makes all Motions and Insurrections whatsoever , without Legal Authority , to be Riotous , Seditious , or Treasonous Assemblies . Fourthly , Allowing this Latitude to the People , that they may Confederate , and Rise , for the Defence of Religion ; they may as well rise for the Subversion of it : for we have but their bare Words , either for the One , or for the Other . Fifthly , It Authorizes every man to set up a Church by himself , in his Own Phansie ; and in stead of carrying his Body to the Doctor for a Fit of the Spleen , he brings his Conscience , forsooth , to the Government , to be cured of a Revelation . And this License , in one word , sets up the Crotchet of every Sickly Brain , in Competition with Christianity i● self , and the Politique Peace . What if I should say now , that there was never any War in the World undertaken purely upon the Accompt of Religion , that was not utterly Vnlawful ; unless in Cases of Gods Extraordinary and Peculiar Dispensations . For , First , What are the Certain and Necessary Effects of War , but Bloud , Rapine , Oppression ; the Multiplying of so many Widows and Orphans ; Depopulating of Countries , and Kingdoms ; and the Violation of all Rights , Sacred and Profane ? Are These now the Works of the Gospel ? And what is Religion the better for all this ? These are Sacrifices for Moloch ; and This is a Religion , and an Oblation , fitter for an Insensible and Implacable Idol , then for the God of Love and Peace . Let us but consider now , what a Deluge of Impiety flows in upon Humane Nature with This Opinion . The Papist falls foul upon the Protestant ; the Protestant upon the Papist ; the Christian upon the Mahumetan , the Mahumetan upon the Christian : It sets all People , and all Parties together by the Ears , onely for Diversity of Thoughts . It makes Authority Ridiculous , it frustrates the very Laws of Nations , and lays the World again in Common . Now if This be so Pestilent a Doctrine , taken only at Large ; How much more Diabolical is it , for Subjects , upon This Vngodly Pretext , to go about to Embroyl a Well Regulated State ; and to charge their Souls with Perjury , Schism , and Rebellion , over and above the Common Crimes that accompany Hostile Invasions . As the Law hath been hitherto , so it must be henceforward the Rule and Measure of all our Proceedings . In the Section of Tyranny , the Question was , How the Subject should demean himself toward the Prince , in the Case of such and such Oppressions in matter of Religion . But now , in Case of an Vsurpation , the Question is , How far the Government should comply with a Popular Importunity ; or how far the People should gratifie one another . Of which we have spoken so much at large elsewhere , that the less will serve in this place . The Word Vsurpation , implies the Affecting or Invading of Anothers Right ; which , in the point of Religion , must needs be very Dangerous ; because the People are so easily disposed to swallow That Deadly Pill . I do not reckon a bare and simple Dissent from the Established Doctrine and Discipline of the Church , to be an Vsurpation : For possibly there may be a Real Scruple , or want of due Information in the Case . But when That Dissent comes to be Practical ; when it comes to make Parties , to Divide into Sects , to Plead and to Challenge the Law ; it is no longer a Plea of Conscience , but a direct Conspiracy against the Government . It is a Nursery of Heresies , over and above ; And a Liberty , utterly Inconsistent with the Measures of Political Iustice and Prudence . For First , They Agree among themselves in the single point onely of Departing from Vs ; And they are not , in Conjunction , more dissatisfied with our Ecclesiastical Laws and Decrees , then they are severally , among themselves , one Sect with another : So that it is , in this respect , impossible to please them . And Secondly , It is no less dangerous to offer at it , in other Considerations . For First , upon the Current of Long and Constant Experience , they have been always found Insatiable : Never esteeming what they had , to be Enough , till they had gotten All. The late King gave them still more and more ; and the more he Gave , the more they Craved ; and turned his Bounty , at last , to his Destruction . He did effectually , in favour of their Importunities , Strip himself , to his Revenue , his Crown , and his Life ; and all That , They took . Another danger is , that the very men that ask a Toleration , are Principled against it . And I see not the least shadow of a Reason , why they that will not Tolerate Others , should be Tolerated Themselves . And truly as little Ground for the Asking of it , as for the Granting of it . For First , Why should the Vnity of the Church be broken , and the Peace of it disturbed , in favour of the Enemies of it ; and to the Discouragement of the Churches Friends ? Secondly , As the Act of Vniformity hath the Full and Solemn Complement of a Binding Law ; why may they not as well demand a Dispensation for Rebellion , as for Schism ? And quarrel any other Law , nay , one after another , the whole Body of the Law , as well as That ? The Law is the Established Rule of our Actions ; and they will have every wandering Phansie to be a Rule to the Law. They themselves fly from the Law , and their Complaint is , that the Law doth not follow them . This Method frustrates the very Order of Providence , and makes all Provisions of Government to be Vain and Vseless . They cannot pretend to Charge this Law with any Defect , in regard either of the Civil , or the Ecclesiastical Authority of it . Here is , First , The Iudgment of the Church duly Conven'd , touching the Meetness and Convenience of the Rites and Forms therein Contained . Secondly , There is the Royal Sanction , Approving , and Authorizing those Rites and Forms ; and requiring our Exact Obedience to them . Thirdly , The Matter of the Law here in question , is our Own Act ; for that we our selves are Concluded in the Vote of our Representatives . Against These Vsurpations we have Law enough : And so we have likewise against those that follow in Matter of State : which may be reduced to Vsurpations upon us , in Matter of Life , Liberty , or Estate . There is an Vsurpation upon the Magistrate ; and there is an Vsurpation upon the Subject : Upon the Former in respect either of Title , or of Power ; both which Cases are Determinable , and Relievable by the Law : And so also is any Oppression upon the Subject : That is to say , where One Subject oppresses Another . When I say Determinable and Relievable by Law , my meaning is , that the Law hath competently provided for the Freedom and Security both of King and People : And the Remedy seldom fails , where it is Seasonably applied , and Vigorously pursued . But when the Dignity of Government may be vilified Gratis , the Kings Ministers and Friends bespattered with Billingsgate Libels , and his professed Enemies supported and encouraged : when his Majesties Title as well as his Prerogative and Reputation , shall come to be the subject of every Bawling Pamphlet ; and the Bounds of Sovereign Power to be debated by Porters and Carmen , over Pots of Ale : when not onely the Reverend and Lawful Ministers , and the Apostolical Order of the Church , shall be Derided and Despised ; but Religion it self pass onely for a Sham , a piece of Priest-Craft , and be published in Print , for no more in effect then a Political Art of getting a Hank upon the People : when such Outrages , I say , as These come to be daily committed over and over , in the very face of the Sun , and the Laws suffered to Sleep , that should repress , and punish them : what can be the Event of This Inhumane License , but Confusion , and Ruine ? And if it comes to That once , it was our Own fault , for not putting a Timely and a Legal Stop to These Audacious Vsurpations . The Positions and the Methods that brought on our late Troubles , are now Revived and Practised every day afresh : We have our Quaeries , our Remonstrances , and all things , to the Old Tune of Curse ye Meroz , and To your Tents , O Israel : most munifestly tending to the Unhinging of the Government ; and as certainly designing the Subversion of the Church and of the State. The Boldness and the Impunity of these Libels , would be an Equal Wonder to me , if I were not satisfied , that the One is clearly the Effect of the Other : For their escaping punishment , looks as if the Government were afraid of the Rabble ; and then their passing without Answer , gives a kind of Credit to their Doctrine . It is not a Work for a Gentleman to Rake a Dunghil , and to gather up the Peoples Vomit : But yet out of a Foolish Zeal and Tenderness for a Duty that hath onely given me Misery in This World , and the hope of Comfort in a Better ; I cannot but endeavour to possess others with the same sense of these Indignities which I have my self ; and to lay open this Spirit of Calumny and Slander : These Vncoverers of their Fathers Nakedness , and Defilers of the Honour of our Common Mother . My Onely Encouragement to This Undertaking , is the Title I have to be believed in it . For I am so far from being Bribed into this Office , either by the Tie of Past Obligations , or by the Prospect of Benefits to come , That ( with Infinite Acknowledgments of his Majesties Grace and Goodness to me ) I defie any man to produce another Gentleman in the Kings Dominions , under my Circumstances , that hath suffered so many Illegal , Arbitrary , and Mean Injustices , from any of the Abusers of the Kings Bounty , as I have done . Insomuch that after a Sentence of Death , for his Majesty ; betwixt Three and Four Years in Newgate ; and a matter of Seven and Thirty Years faithful Service to the Crown ; the Bread hath been taken out of my Mouth , and in a large proportion , shared amongst some of those very People that pursued the late King to the Block : Nor do I look for any more Advantage for the Future . This Reflection ( by the way ) doth not concern any man that is now in Office at Court ; and I hope there is enough said already , to acquit me of any likelihood to be Partial in This matter . I must not slip This Occasion of bringing in a Case of late date ; a Case wherein all men of Letters are concerned , and not impertinent in This place , and That being done , I will proceed . Being desirous to Inform my self very particularly concerning this late Devillish Plot , I got the best Intelligence I could , as well by Short Notes upon the Trials in Court , as by word of Mouth from Credible persons that were there present . After this , upon perusal of the Printed Trials , I found several Gross Incoherences ; ( especially in the Later of them ) and very Material Mistakes . As in that of Mr. Langhorn , Fol. 39 , and 40. Mr. Lydcats name is used no less then Nine times , as one of the St. Omers Witnesses , in stead of Mr. Hall , to his very great prejudice . Reflecting upon These Errors , together with the almost Inextricable Difficulty of Retriving the Truth , out of such a Confusion of Tautologies , and Forms ; the Collection being so Bulky too , and the Particulars lying so scattered , that it was next to the Work of a Resurrection to set every part in its right place . I betook my self to my Friends , my Thoughts , and my Papers , and digested the whole Transaction into an Historical Narrative . And not in Dialogue neither ; nor in the words , either of the Bench , the Witnesses , or the Prisoners ; but in my Own stile and Way , and just in the same Fashion as I would tell the Story . This Book I entitled , The History of the Plot , &c. made a Legal Assignment of my Right to a Bookseller . I Authorised him to Print it , and he Imprinted it by the Authority of the Author : Some of the Pretenders to the Formal Trials , Arrest my Bookseller , as an Invader of their Propriety , and Threaten him most wonderfully into the Bargain . He puts in Bail to the Action , and there the Squabble rests . They do not complain of any Imitation of their Copy , but take upon them , as if no man else were to write upon That Subject . At this rate , we shall have all Sermons forfeited to the Kings Printers , for Descanting upon Their Bibles ; and all Books whatsoever , to the Company of Stationers , because they are made out of the Four and Twenty Letters ; and the ABC is Their Copy . What a Scandal is this to the Commonwealth of Letters ? What a Cramp to Learning , and Industry ? That if I have a mind to Compile a History , I must go to Forty little Fellows for leave , forsooth , to Write the Narrative of the Proceedings upon our Blessed King and Martyr , the Brave Earl of Strafford , Archbishop of Canterbury ; with a hundred more Instances of the like nature , because some or other of them has lurched , perhaps , a Copy of Their Trials . What if a man should write the Battle of Worcester , and the Kings miraculous Escape , after the Defeat ; must he not mention the Thousand Pound that was set upon his Majesties Head , without leave of the Printer that had the Propriety of the Proclamation that offered it ? Or if a Body would draw up a Systeme of Treason and Sedition ; must he go to the Publisher of Bacons Government , for a License ? I am the larger , because it is a Publick Case . And take notice , First , that the whole Story is drawn into less than a Sixth part of Their Volume . Secondly , That there is not so much as One Material Clause omitted in it . Thirdly , That it is incomparably Plainer , and more Intelligible then the other ; beside the many Corrections in it . Fourthly , That it is Eleven Shillings saved ; Theirs being rated at Thirteen and Six pence , at the Lowest Penny , and This onely at Half a Crown . And so much for this . I come now to an Examination of Two Libels ; the most Audacious and Virulent that have yet passed the Press . The One of them Entitled Omnia Comesta à Bello ; Or , Bel hath devoured all . The Other is called , My Lord Lucas's Speech . But take notice that my Exception lies to the Supplement or Appendix ; not concerning my self at all with the Speech . The Former of these Papers is an Allusion to the Story of Bel and the Dragon : where the Priests and their Wives came in at a Back-dore , and consume what was offered to the Idol . It is Printed BELLO in stead of BELO ; and the Mistake is a great deal Righter then the Meaning : For it was , in Truth , the WAR that Devoured all ; and the Good Old Cause ( which was the Foundation of That War ) was , in effect , no better than a CHRISTIAN IDOL . It comes forth , as an Answer to the First of Five Pretended Questions ; which he sets down at Length : and we will speak of them in Order , as far as shall be needful . Quaery 1. Whether the Great Cause of Impoverishing the Nation , Ruine of Trade , and General Consumption of Comfort , Settlement , and Content , which hath brought the Land to a meer Anatomy , be not the Pomp , Pride , Luxury , Exaction , and Oppression of the Prelates ? Pag. 3. He Concludes in the Affirmative . And Pag. 4. The Trading Stock of the Nation ( he says ) is devoured in this Prelatical Gulph . But are we so Miserable then ? And is the Hierarchy the Cause of all our Miseries ? Let us compare the Times a little , when we had Bishops , and when we had None : For there is no Trial of the Truth and Reason of Things , like Experience . From 1558. ( when Q. Elizabeth came to the Crown ) to 1641. we had a Continued Succession of a Protestant ( or rather , a Reformed ) Prelacy . And so from 1660. to this present 1679. which is upward of a hundred Years . And all this while the Government stood firm upon its Ancient Basis. The Gospel flourished , and the Subject enjoyed their Legal Liberties , under a Legal Administration , both in Church and State. From 1641 , to 1660. Episcopacy was Out of Dores . Do but observe , now , what Havock was made in the State , both Ecclesiastical and Civil ; in matter of our Religion , Liberties , and Properties , in That Interval , of onely Nineteen Years : when an Ordinance was of more force then an Act of Parliament : And our Lives , Freedoms , and Estates , lay at the Mercy of the Tyrants of Athens , in a Derby-house Committee . But let us yet come closer to the Business . I would fain know what these men would be at , that are so desperately unsatisfied with the Condition they are in . Would they be in the days of Queen Elizabeth again ; or of King Iames ; or of the Late King ? If nothing of This will content them ; there is no other choice left , but That of Rebellion . For whosoever Traces the History of these Male-contents , will find Deadness of Trade and Persecution to have been their Constant Complaint , from the Reformation it self , to this day . After the Passing of a General Sentence upon the Bishops , as the Authors of all our Calamities , he takes the whole to pieces . Treating First , of the Revenues , Pomp , and State , of Prelates . And there he tells us of Two Provincial Arch-bishops , with their Princely Retinue , Domestique Chaplains , Officers of Temporal Tithes , Spiritual Officers , Vicar General , Guardian of the Spiritualities , Dean of the Arches , with all their Vnder-Officers and Attendants . To be as brief as possible : First , Where is the Crime , or the Iniquity of all This Pomp and State ? Or why should not an Ecclesiastical Body have its Dignities and Dependences , as well as a Civil Community ? There is no body envies my Lord Maior his Sword-bearer , his Mace-bearer , or any other Servant , or Ensign of his Preeminence and Office. For beside that the very Splendor and Magnificence , creates and preserves a Reverence for Authority . This Multiplicity and Subordination of Officers , is of absolute Necessity also ; as subservient to Order , and to the very Discharge of his Function . The Second Question is , Are these Officers established by Law , or not ? If by Law ; This clamour is an Arraignment of King , Lords , and Commons . Thirdly , It is not onely a Legal Establishment , but an Establishment of many Ages , and continued without Interruption , till both Church and Kingdom fell together . And then , in Lieu of Bishops we had a Motly Synod of State-Pensioners ; Hirelings , to poison the Pulpits and the People ; and to decoy the silly Multitude out of their Lives , Fortunes , Liberties , Duties , and Religions : Men kept in Pay , to preach Thanksgiving Sermons , and to help out at a Dead Lift , towards the bringing of their Soveraign to the Scaffold . When they had preached and prayed the Kingdom into Bloud and Disobedience ; and held the Rabble several Years agog , and gaping after the Blessed Reformation so graciously promised them : Out comes at last the False Conception of their Directory . ( A kind of Spiritual Moon-Calf . ) But by this time , the King was as good as Lost ; and so they fell presently to sharing of the Publique Revenues of Church and State. They Dispatch their Prince , Enslave the People , and there is an end of That Reformation : And it is the very Fellow of it , that they would have again . Was it not a Blessed Exchange now , to be freed from the Prelatical Tyranny , and their Retinue , and to have such Gospel-Ministers ? Generals , Majors , and Lieutenant Generals , Plunderers , Sequestrators , Decimators , Regicides , and Sacrilegious Vsurpers set up in their stead ? This Cuckoo-Song of Forty One , Forty One , Forty One , over and over ; were Ill-natured and Ridiculous , if the other Cuckoo-Song of Popery and Tyranny , Popery and Tyranny , and accompanied with the Former Principlies , over and over , had not made it absolutely Necessary . His next Grievance is , The Ecclesiastical Courts : Court of Faculties , Court of Audience , Prerogative Court , Delegates , 24 Bishops Diocesan , with their Trains , Domestick Servants , Chaplains , Officers , and Courts ; Chancellors , Registers , Apparators , Proctors , Archdeacons , Commissaries , Officials , Surrogates ; Their Lordly Palaces , Ecclesiastical Dignities , Baronies , &c. viis & modis amounting to at least Four Hundred and Fifty Thousand Pounds a Year : Enriching themselves ( also ) by Ordinations , Institution , and Induction ; by making Rural Deans , Licenses to Curates , School-masters , Parish-Clerks , Physicians , Midwives , Marriages , by Absolutions , by Commutation of Penance , Probates of Wills , Letters of Administration , Presentment , &c. Pag. 4 , 5. There is enough said already to their Dignities and Officers ; and so for their Courts , Fees , and Privileges : They are all of them of Ancient Right and Custom . If they envy the Bishops their Revenue , the Common People may as well set up a Levelling Trade again ; and fall upon All Estates and Conditions of men that are better to live then themselves . Why should such a Lord , Gentleman , Merchant , &c. have so many Hundred Thousand Pounds a Year amongst them ; and the Poor ready to sterve ? Is not Money drawn into a few hands here , as well as there ; and Their abundance , consequently , the Cause of Our Want ? Nay , the same Reason reaches the King , as well as the Church . So that Gods Providence to Some , must be rendred and Injustice to Others . One would think by the Out-Cry that all This went immediately out of the Peoples Pockets : whereas the Patrimony of the Church is Setled and Confirmed by the Great Charter , of the English Liberties ; as firmly as any Freehold we have . There hath been always This Clamour against their Courts ; But how was it with us , when they were put down ? We had our Triers ( in good time ) Our Committees for Sequestration , Decimation ; Money upon the Propositions , the Sale of Irish Lands ; Our Loans for our Brethren the Scots ; Our Committees for Crown and Church Lands : and a hundred other Inventions for the Beggering and Enslaving of us , contrary to Law ; by way of Commuting for the Iurisdiction of These Courts , according to Law. In stead of Licenses to Preach , or Teach School , we had Sequestrations and Imprisonments for Preaching or Teaching ; unless upon the Conditions of Renouncing both the King , and the Church . In stead of Demanding Lawful Oaths , we were upon pain of Plunder , Confiscation , and Imprisonment , pressed to Vnlawful Ones ; as Covenants , Negative Oaths , Oaths of Abjuration ; and not onely so , but in direct Contradiction to the Oaths of Allegiance and Canonical Obedience ; to Double-hatch the Perjury , in Defiance of both our Implicit and Explicit Obligations . Here is the short of that Exchange . Upon his Computation of the Value and Dependences of the Ecclesiastical State , he reckons some Ten Thousand Persons , one way or other , belonging to the Church : And at least 450000 l. per ann . First , In place of the Ten Thousand Persons he speaks of , ( who in another place ( he sayes ) bring nothing to the Stock ) what do ye think of an Army of 40000 men , wholly exempt from the Civil Iurisdiction ; and onely Triable by Martial Law ? Hist. Indepency , Pag. 68. Part. 1. Or in stead of the Churches spending four or five hundred Thousand Pound a Year , of their Own ; what do ye think of the Vsurpers spending above Forty Millions , in less then seven Years , of the Kingdoms money . Hist. Indep . Pag. 8. But of this hereafter . We had Then no longer the Eye-sore before us , of the Prelats Lordly Palaces ; The Kings Palaces were likewise seized by the same hands : Our Churches turned into Stables ; Our very Alters Robbed and Profaned . And , to go thorough stitch , He whips up the Clergy for their Visitations , their Paschal Rents and Procurations ; Nay , their Canons , Vicars , Petty-Canons , Singing-men and Boys , Choristers , Organists , Gospellers , Epistlers , and Virgers too : And all this , as idly , as if he talked in his sleep . Here he takes Breath , and at the Bottom of the 5. Page , promises a Catalogue of more Families Ruined , more Persons Imprisoned , and an accompt of more Money spent , by the Cruelty of the Prelats , then by all the Law-suits of England , all Payments and Taxes beside : Except upon the late Extraordinary Occasion . This Libel was Printed , as I remember , before the Great Plague ▪ and now of late Reprinted over and over , and dated 1679. So that His late Extraordinary Occasion , is onely a Civiller way of Expressing Our late Extraordinary Rebellion . Something shall be said to This By and By. His 6. Page , and a good part of the 7. are a Rhapsody of Grievances . Upon the Kings Restauration , and Purchasers of Church Lands were forced to Restore them , without any Compensation . He makes it to be a hard Case , the Restoring of them to the Right Owner , but says nothing of the Tyranny of Taking them from him . He tells us that the Rusty Ecclesiastiques , that neither serve our Lord Jesus Christ , nor their Country , but their Own Bellies , ( this is the Complement he bestows upon them ) hord up the Mony that they have extorted from the Subject by Fines , and have brought the Nation to a Consumption . I wonder how Church-Leases , that are commonly the best Penniworths should be a Greater Grievance to the Nation , then Others that are set at higher Rates , which we hear no Complaint of at all . And I do not see how it consists with his charge of Luxury upon the Prelats , that upon so great Expence , there should be no Circulation of the Treasure . I could tell him of the Turkish Slaves Redeemed ; Their Bounties to Ministers Widows ; Their Publique Works , as The Oxford Theatre , the Reparation of Litchfield Cathedral , and the Re-edifying of such of their Palaces , as the Iniquity of the late Times had demolished , &c. To say nothing of the Common Right they have to dispose of their Own : or to the Secret Charities of many of our Eminent Churchmen , who have too much Honour and Piety , to make Proclamation of it in the Market Place . But now comes a Lamentable Story . We have all our Able , Godly , Orthodox Ministers turned out , Ruined , and Beggered , and no manner of Supply provided for the Maintainance of them and their Families : And in Their Rooms ( in many Places ) a Company of Debauched , Illiterate , Superstitious , Profane Priests ; which Blind Guides must needs lead them that follow them to Hell. Pag. 6. Let the Reader observe the Pharisaical and Vnmannerly Opposition betwixt his Ejected Ministers , and those that were Introduced ; and then let him consider the Right , and the Condition , both of the One and of the Other . This was the very Character the Schismatiques gave our Learned , Pious , and Canonical Divines , when they turned them out of their Livings by Hundreds , contrary to Law , Honesty , and Humanity it self ; and the same Character with the Other , did They take upon Themselves , that turned them out : The Incumbent Legally Invested in the Benefice ; and the Other , an Oppressing and Injurious Vsurper . And what came of it ? The Shepherds were destroyed , and Wolves set to look to the Flock : The Vnity and Simplicity of Evangelical Truth was lost and confounded , in a Compound of Carnal Policy and Schism . We had as many Religions as Pulpits ; and the Doctrine of Rebellion Delivered in them , in stead of the Doctrine of Salvation . He goes on , Damning all the Churchwardens for Persecutors of the Gospel , if they Present according to their Oaths ; and for Perjury , if they do not . If a Minister Preach without his Canonical Garment : If any man goes from his Own Parish Church to hear a Sermon , &c. or work upon a Romish Holyday ; If he does not stand up at the Creed ; nor Bow at the Name of Jesus ; Or does not keep off his Hat all the while , he is Presentable . Well , and what of all this ? There is neither Life nor Limb , in the Case , if a man be Presented . Here is for Decency sake , an Order ; and That Order is supported by Authority ; and Obedience in Lawful Matters , deriving from a Lawful Authority , is an Essential Duty both of a Subject , and a Christian. He seems onely to have Talked Idle all this while ; but now he grows directly Outragious . We have gotten ( saith he ) most of the sober Trading part of the Nation discouraged by Citations , Excommunications , Writs to take them Excommunicated ; Imprisonments upon Ecclesiastical Accompts ; By this means Thousands of Families are already ruined , and many Hundreds are ready to leave the Land , and remove into some other Country , where they may have Liberty of Conscience , and Freedom from these devouring Harpies . And then he tell us of our Surplices , Copes , Tippets , Cringings , out of the Romish Rituals , and a Service collected out of the Romish Books , the Maess Breviary , &c. Was not This the very Stile of the Petitions and Admonitions to Q. Elizabeth ? and so down to this Instant . Pray what did we get by it ; when to be cased of This insupportable Tyranny , the Nation was at the charge of 114000 l. a Moneth to an Army ? Hist. Indep . 66. Above One half of the Revenue of the Kingdom under Sequestration : 300000 l. a Year openly divided by the Faction among Themselves ; beside Private Iobs , and above 20 Millions that they never accompted for . 110000 l. a Year in Wages to Themselves ; 100000 l. a Year more in Gratuities . Beside Free Quarter at pleasure : Taxes Innumerable ; and all Vnder-hand Corruptions . Above a Million and a half levied by Compositions ; and then so cheap and despicable Slaves , in our Persons , that Welsh Prisoners were sold into Plantations at 2 pence a head . For the Truth of all This , I refer my self to Mr. Walker in his History of Independency ; a Knowing and a Well-read Person in the whole Transaction , and a man of Credit . As to the Pamphletters Liberty of Conscience : He would have the World believe this Vniformity and Rule of Discipline to be New , and Singular , and the Work onely of the present Age , and Bishops . Whereas , whosoever will consult the History of our Government , will find This Law to be a Moderation , which they call a Persecution : Especially at a time when the strictness is not executed . Under Edward the VI. the very Depraving of the Common Prayer , or Procuring the Vse of any other in Open Prayer , was 10 l. to his Majesty for the First Offence ; 20 l. for the Second : And a Forfeiture of all Goods and Chattels , with Imprisonment during Life for the Third . And in the Fifth of the same King , there was Authorized an Ecclesiastical Iurisdiction in these Cases . Q. Mary repealed this Act : and in the First of Q. Elizabeth , Q. Maries Act was Repealed , and the Former Act Confirmed ; which was afterwards in the Five and Thirtieth of That Queens Reign , Enforced with more Rigour ; to which She was necessitated , by the Turbulence of that Spirit of Schism which still to This day is a working . King Iames handed it down to the late King , and he continued it , till by a Torrent of Popular Violence , the King himself , and the Government were Both over-born : We have gotten ( saith he ) a Swarm of Ecclesiastical Officers , which the Scriptures never knew , nor Reformed Churches ever owned : A sort of Proud Prelats — And all manner of Misery to Soul and Body . Plague , Fire , Sword , Vniversal Beggery ; and , without Seasonable Mercy , the Total Ruine of the whole Kingdom . I am sorry to hear that we have any Officers which the Reformed Churches never owned : For these which we have in This Government at present , we have had for several Ages : and when we had these Officers no longer , we had no longer any Government : And Then it was that all his Plagues befel us . We have made but One Trial of another way of Government , and it cost us Dear . Upon a supposed Question over again , concerning the Rise of our Miseries ; the Libellers Answer is , that the manifold Provoking Sins of the Land ; as Adultery , Blasphemy Swearing , Idolatry , Perjury , and contempt of God and Godliness do pull hard with Heaven to bring down desolating Iudgments : But the nearest Cause of our Impoverishments , ariseth from the Particulars afore mentioned . ] He should have done well to have put in Rebellion too ; which hath all other Sins in the Belly of it . But That is a Thing these people do not love to touch upon . To the rest I have spoken more then enough already : and that which follows , is onely an Impertinent Citation of Reflections upon Ill Bishops , whence he would draw an Inference that we are to have None at all . The Second of the Five Quaeries before mentioned is This , [ Whether since all other Reformed Churches in Europe did upon the First Reformation and Departure from Popery cast out all Diocesan Bishops , Name and Thing , Root and Branch , as an Office altogether Popish ; together with all their Hierarchical Appurtenances ; and do this day esteem them no otherwise ; why did not , or doth not England also do the like . ] So that by Hook or by Crook , it seems , the Bishops must down , either for Oppression , or for Popery ; after the Example of all other Reformed Churches . We may see by This , what kind of Reformation we are to expect from Those People that account the Church of England to be Popish . We should be presently a tearing down Altars again , demolishing of Churches , Rifling of Colleges , and Murthering of Iesus Christ over again in Essigie ; which is no way to be effected but by another Rebellion . The Model of the best Reformed Churches , was the Juggle of the Covenant ; and the very Condition of the Scots coming in the second time , was our Owning of their Kirk for the best Reformed ; and declaring for a Reformation of the English Church , according to the Scottish Model . The Reformation doubtless was a Glorious Work ; but there have been very Ill Things done under that Pretext , and in the way to it : And it is no New Thing for God to be in the End , and the Devil in the Mans. Beside that , the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church of England is so pure , and Apostolical already , that there is no need of Double Refining it . His Third Quaery is a Frank Proposal , without any more ado , of taking all the Church Lands into the Crown ; and very Courteously he offers the Poor Cavaliers a Snip in the Booty . Does he consider , that after This Violence , an Englishman hath nothing left him that is sure and sacred ? And that as much as in him lies , he destroys us in our Liberties , Consciences , and Estates , all at a Blow . The Patrimony of the Church is First , a Gift to God , and appropriated to his Service ; and therefore not to be touched : ( They have Robbed me , saith God , in the Prophet Malachy . ) Or if it may , no man is sure of the Estate he possesses , by the same Reason : For there is no better Title in Nature , then a Deed of Gift . Secondly , it is setled and Confirmed by Magna Charta ; which says , that the Church of England shall be free ; and shall have all her whole Rights and Liberties inviolable , ( for ever . ) Thirdly , the King binds himself by his Coronation Oath , to preserve unto the Bishops , and to the Churches committed to their charge , all Cononical Privileges , and due Law and Iustice ; and to protect and defend them , as every good King ought to be a Protector and Defender of the Bishops and Churches under his Government . So that here is Sacrilege , Common Right , and Perjury in the Case . His Fourth Quaery is , [ Whether in those Kingdoms and States where Prelacy is extirpated , and a Presbytery onely retained , there be not as Godly , Able , Orthodox Preachers , &c. and as good Subjects , as where Bishops are retained . — His Last Quary is onely a Political Prospect upon the Power of France , and nothing to the point in Question . ] To which I answer First , That I know no such Kingdoms as he speaks of . Secondly , What if under a Presbyterial Government , any Subject of That State should move vise versâ , for an Episcopal There , as he does Here for a Presbyterial ? How would it be taken ? If there may be as good Preachers and Subjects on the One side , as on the Other ; why should we change the Government , to be onely where we were ? Fourthly , If Two Archbishops , and 24 Bishops Diocesan be so great an Oppression ; what would become of us in a Presbytery , when we should have 9285 Popes , in stead of them ? ( One in Every Parish . ) Fifthly , The Presbyterial Principles are purely Iesuitical ; and that would be but the setling of Popery under another Name . Sixthly , we have it upon Experiment , that the People will never indure Them , nor They the Government . To come now to That Libel , which bears the Title of my Lord Lucas's Speech : The Name of that Noble Lord is onely made use of for a Cover to those Scandals upon the King , which , to have saved the last drop of bloud in his Veins , he would not have been guilty of . It is true , that Offence was taken to the Liberty of the Speech it self , and a Censure passed upon it ; but it is not presently for every Mutinous Incendiary to Arraign a Proceeding of Parliament , and to call it Barbarous Vsage , with other rude , and very unmannerly Expressions , in the Preface to the Reader . He says that God hath taken him from an Ungrateful Generation . And he says right in that ; for undoubtedly there never was the fellow of it upon the face of the Earth . The Kings Friends ( who are the onely People Oppressed ) they sit still , in Hope and Patience ; while his Enemies that enjoy both the Advantage of the others Losses , and the Reward of their Services ; Those are the people that Complain . This Faction , to whom the King hath forgiven his Fathers Bloud and his Own. ( His Own , ( I say ) for they that shot at him and mist , are as Guilty , as if they had struck him to the heart ; and they that advised it , as those that did the Execution . ) These are the people , that in requital for their forfeited Lives , Liberties , and Fortunes , which his Majesty frankly gave them , are now laying the same Train for This King , by which They ruined the Last . The Bold Indignities of this Pamphlet are such , as a Loyal Subject cannot Honestly so much as recite : It is neither better nor worse then a Formal Charge upon the King in Five and Twenty Articles , dispersed with all the Malice , and Industry imaginable . The Scope of it is to possess the people with an Opinion , that the King designs the bringing in of Popery , and an Arbitrary Power ; with an Application of several particulars , to those Ends. Now if these Affronts pass , without either Punishment , or Reply , who can blame the simple multitude , that know nothing more then what they read in a Pamphlet , for giving credit to them ? And when they are once tainted with that deadly Iealousie , who can blame them again , for doing Ill Things , that know no better ? The Time is almost come , when honest men shall be put to death , and the very Murtherers think that they do God good Service . This was the mistaken Zeal of the late Times ; and we are even ready for it once again . The Two Calumnies whereupon these people lay the greatest stress , are First , a Pretended Apprehension of an Arbitrary Power ; and Secondly , of an Inclination to favour Popery . The Imputation of any Disposition , or Design in his Majesty that now is , in favour of either Tyranny or Popery , is so groundless and incredible , to any man that hath but his Eyes in his head , that it would not be worth a Page of Paper , to shew the Error of it , were it not that we are delivered up to the Delusion of believing things impossible , and discerning things Invisible ; and yet as Blind as Moles , to matters of clear and evident Demonstration . With what Face can any man pretend an Apprehension of Tyranny from This Prince , whose very Mercy and Bounty , by the Extreme abuse of it , hath created his Misfortune . Nay , the most spiteful of his Enemies cannot but acknowledge that there doth not live any man that hath less of Gall and Rancour , in his Nature : Beside the Experiment his greatest Adversaries have had of his Goodness in Common with the rest of his Subjects , upon the Crists of his Restauration . For when he might have made himself as absolute as he would ; when he had his Foes under his Feet ; and some reasons of State , perhaps , to lay a firmer Foundation of his Future Security ; his Tenderness of Nature did yet so far prevail upon him , above all other Considerations , that he quitted all those Advantages ; he Gave , and Forgave all that was possible ; to shew how much he prized a Dominion over the Hearts of his People , above That of their Bodies and Estates . Touching his affection to the Religion of the Church of England ; since it hath pleased God in his Infinite Wisdom to permit , that his Majesty should be Calumniated upon That point ; it is a singular Providence , that this should happen in a Iuncture , when the plain matter of Fact , and the Naked History of his Royal Proceedings , may suffice to the most prejudicate , and the most obstinate of his Enemies , as an Unanswerable Confutation . It is every day more and more artificially Insinuated and Improved ; especially since the Discovery of the late horrid Design , and particularly in the Libel last mentioned , as if his Majesty were not so careful and zealous for the Suppressing and Preventing of Popery , and for the Punishing of Delinquents , as is needful for the security of his Government . Nay , there are some so daring , as to take upon them in Hint , and Mystery , to intimate the very Countenancing of the Plot it self . If the Proceeding be not altogether so quick and sanguinary as some would have it , we shall onely say This ; that Those of all men , have the least Colour to complain of his Majesties want of Rigour , that stand indebted already for their Heads , and for their Fortunes , unto his Grace and Mercy . As to his Opinion of the Church of Rome , his Majesty hath given the World so many and so ample Evidences of his dislike of That Communion ; that every mans Conscience as well as Reason , cannot but discharge him upon That point . It cannot be imagined , that in his late Troubles and Exile , he wanted either Arguments , or Solicitations , either in point of State or of Religion ; and the most plausible too , that could be found out , to work upon either his Conscience , or his Necessities : And yet no Temptations , either on the One hand , or on the Other , had any farther Operation upon his Majesties Iudgment , then by causing a stricter Enquiry into the Subject in debate , to confirm him still more and more in the Truth of his Profession . In so much , that in the Lowest and most hopeless State of his Distresses , he chose rather to abide all Extremities , then to depart , in any Tittle , from the Faith of the Reformed Communion . Now his Majesty having given this Earnest of his stedfastness to the Religion of the Church of England during his Banishment ; and shewing that neither Fear nor Despair could shake him in his Resolutions ; it were a strange thing for him now to relinquish That Cause in Opposition to his Interest ; which when it might have turned to his Temporal Advantage , no Persecution or Flattery could ever prevail upon him to do . I might add to all This , that he hath steered the same Course in all his Devotions both Publique and Private , and that the Maintainance of This Church hath been Undeniably the Scope of all his Deliberations , and Councils , in all Religious Concernments , since his Blessed Return . But it is not enough , in all Cases , for a Prince to be Tender and Innocent , in the matter of Religion ; Witness the late Pious and yet Vnfortunate Prince . For wheresoever this Incantation takes place , the Sinews of Government are Loosened , the Sacredness of Order Dissolved , and all Obligations cancelled , as well Moral as Divine . And not onely so ; but the very Shadow and Imagination of it , frights people into Lakes and Precipices , and transports them with Panique Terrors , into the Execution of the very Mischiefs they fear . So that his Majesty hath two main Difficulties to encounter at once : The One to Master the Plot it self ; the Other to Temper and Sweeten the Passions of men , zealous in the contrary Extreme : that no Inconvenience may arise from Their Misapprehension of Things another way . According to these Measures , his Majesty hath governed his Course throughout the whole Tract of This Affair ; leaving no means unattempted , that might probably give light to the Bottom of This Tragical Design : He hath given all sorts of Encouragement to Informations , by Countenance , Protection , and Reward : The Depositions have been formally taken before his Majesty , and his Privy Council ; and the Evidences strictly weighed and examined ; and from thence afterward heartily recommended , and faithfully Transmitted to the Two Houses of Parliament ; as the most Rational Method , for the Common Satisfaction both of King and People . Neither hath his Majesty been wanting on his Own part in a Vigorous Concurrence with the Two Houses , to do all that in him lay , toward the Suppressing of Popery , the seizing and securing of Popish Recusants ; and providing more effectually , by the best means that could be devised , for the Maintainance and Establishment of our Religion : Having issued out divers Proclamations , and done several other Publique Acts , upon the Motion and Advice of his Two Houses of Parliament , to the Ends aforesaid ; even to the taking away from the Popish Lords their Ancient Right of Session in the House of Peers ; and disabling all Papists whatsoever , to all purposes whatsoever , from any Advantages in the Government . And if it be not yet enough , that in this Dangerous Juncture , his Majesty hath walked hand in hand , and kept pace with his Two Houses of Parliament ; it may be justly affirmed , that he hath in some degree even supererogated in This matter ; and added an Excess of Affection to the Conscientious Discharge of his Princely Care and Function . Of This , we might give several Instances ; but one shall serve for all , in his Majesties Speech to both Houses of Parliament , on Saturday Nov. 8. 1678. where he quickens the Two Houses themselves , in these words ; I do desire you ( saith his Majesty ) to think on some ready means for Conviction of Popish Recusants , and to expedite your Counsels , that the World may see our Vnanimity ; and that I may have the Opportunity to let you see how ready I am to do any thing that may give satisfaction . After This demonstrative Clearness on his Majesties side , let us cast an Impartial Eye the Other way , and so conclude . Was not This the very Charge upon the late King ? and was there ever any Prince that lived more faultless ? Was not the Care of the Protestant Religion , pretended ; and was not all Religion , in a manner , subverted ? Was not the Kings Honour , and Safety , the Pretext of a Solemn Covenant ? and was he not delivered up by the Same Covenant , to his very Executioners ? What a Clamour there was about Magna Charta , the English Liberties ; and a Reformation , onely of some Excrescences ( as they called them ) in the Church and State ? And did not this specious Flourish conclude in a Total Extinction of Law , Freedom , and Government ? Were not the same Arguments used Then as Now ? Are not the same Artifices of Libelling Authority practised Now , which were Then ? And are not the People poisoned the same way This Year , that they were the Last ? In short ; Is not High-gate the way to St-Albans Still ? So certainly are we now running the same Stage over again . Was there not a Time when St. Pauls was turned into a Garrison ? When Apprentices cancelled their own Indentures , and had them renewed again by an Ordinance ? When for fear of Red-coats in the Clouds , the Credulous Multitude brought them , like Aegyptian Plagues , into their very Pots and Dishes . Oh! but do you think ( they cry ) that These Godly People will ever touch the King ? How many well meaning People thought the same thing before , and yet contributed to the destroying of their Soveraign ; not knowing what they did . Be not deluded . Immediately after the sending of what is above-written , to the Press , comes out a Pamphlet , entitled Englands Safety , Or the Two Vnanimous Votes of the last Good Parliament , concerning the D. of York being a Papist , &c. I have so great a Reverence , as well for the Honour of the Constitution of Parliaments , as for the Personal Loyalty of the Members of our late Great Representative , that I cannot but take notice of the Abuse , which is First , put upon That Illustrious Convention it self ; and afterward , upon the People , in This Libel . It makes the House of Commons to be the Parliament : But neither did those worthy Gentlemen claim to themselves a Full Parliamentary Power , to the Exclusion of any other Legal and Essential Concurrence : Nor will they take it well to be so much Mis-represented . And then , it is as great an Abuse , on the Other hand , to the whole Nation : For if This Opinion be swallowed once , the People will be apt to take Ordinances again , for Laws . So that the Title is in a great Mistake upon That Point : And now that the Reader may not incur almost as Great a one , on the other hand , in another ; Lei it be observed that the Woman in whose Name this Pamphlet is published , is so far from being a Well-Willer to the Kings Person , or Government , that from the time of his Majesties Restauration , it hath been her Constant Business to promote all Spiteful and Scandalous Books , and Papers , against both Church and State. To these Pretended Votes , I can say nothing , whether True , or False ; but This I am sure of , that Debates of That Solemnity , and Importance , ought not to be made Publique ; that nothing can be more Derogatory to the Dignity of that Great Body ; then ( as the Fashion hath been of late ) for every Pedant , and Mechanique , to set up the Trade of Teaching Parliament-men their Lessons . The Subject of his Royal Highnesses's Succession to the Crown , is made the Common Theme of the Press : And I do not presume to Reason the matter , either Pro or Con , as it is a Case out of my Province : But still I am at Liberty to assert the Duty of a Free-born , and of a Faithful Subject ; and to affirm , that I have not found any one Argument in any of these Libels , which in a Natural Consequence does not likewise reach the King : whom God preserve , and in Mercy keep all his Subjects in Due Obedience . THE END . ADVERTISEMENT . THe History of the Plot : Or a Brief and Historical Account of the Charge and Defence of Edward Coleman Esq : Of Ireland , Grove , and Pickering : Of Green , Berry , and Hill : Of Whitebread , Harcourt , Fenwick , Gavan , and Turner : Of Richard Langhorn Esq : Of Sir George Wakeman , Marshal , Rumly , and Corker . Not omitting any one Material Passage in the whole Proceeding . Compiled by Roger L'Estrange : And Printed for Richard Tonson , within Grayes-Inn Gate , next the Lane. Price 2 s. 6 d.