Ja
VIRTUTE
VERBIS
NON
Shelburne
.
ARTES
1817
SCIENTIA
VERITAS
LIBRARY
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
PLURIOUS COUN
TUEBOR
SI-QUÆRIS-PENINSULAM-AMŒNAM
CIRCUMSPICE
A
COLLECTION
OF
TRACTS.
By the Late
JOHN TRENCHARD, Efq;
AND
THOMAS GORDON, Eſq;
VOL. II.
LONDON:
Printed for F. COGAN, at the Middle Temple
Gate, in Fleet-Street; and T. HARRIS, in
the Minories, 1751.
F0417
?
A
COLLECTION
OF
TRACT S.
The Senfe of the People concerning the pre-
Jent State of Affairs, with Remarks upon
fome Paffages of our own and the Ro-
man Hiftory. In a Letter to a Member
of Parliament.
By John Trenchard and Tho. Gordon, Efquires.
Si effet in iis fides, in quibus fumma effe debebat, non labo-
raremus. Cic. 3. Epift.
Cum Fecuniam Publicam averterit, num fraude poterit ca-
rere Peculatus ? Id. in Ant.
I
Anno 1721.
PREFACE.
Am commiffioned by the Author of the following Sheets,
to acquaint the Reader, that the first Part of them was
writ in Hafle, before the late Recefs, at the Request of a
Gentleman
A 2
4
The Senfe of the People
T
would let him
and that, in
How far his
Gentleman in the Country; who, obferving the great Uni
eafinefs the People were in there, defired he
know what the Senfe of the Town was;
their own Language, as near as he could.
Demand is complied with, I leave him to judge. The Hiflo-
rical Relations that follow, though now joined to the former,
avere begun with a very different View; and if he finds
Some of them too prolix, he may be affured the Author (avho
is now at a Distance) did ſo too; and had he had more
Time, they would have been fhorter. There is one Thing
more I am to tell him, and that is, that he is obliged
another for fome Things in the latter Part; which, he hopes,
avill not be liked the worse for coming from a greater Maz
than himself. And now my Orders are obeyed. But fince I
have taken Pen in Hand, I think I'll try my Talent too;
and as my Friend has told him in the following Papers, how
the great Men among the Romans acted in relation to their
Country, I'll fhew him how the best and wifeft of them ufed
to talk upon the fame Head.
sc
to
"When you have looked over all the Ties in Nature, you
"will find nothing dearer, fays Cicero, no Obligation of
greater Importance, than that by which we are every
one of us tied to the Commonwealth. Our Parents, Chil-
"dren, Friends, are all dear to us; but our fingle Country
" is more than all the reft; and every honeft Man is ready
to lay down his Life for the Advantage of that ſacred In-
tereft. How execrable then is the barbarous Impiety of
thofe Men, who have torn their Country to Pieces by all
"Sorts of Villany, and who not only have been, but are at
"this Inftant, confpiring its Ruin and Destruction?
E<
"It is the Duty (fays one of their great Men) and fhould
"be the principal Care of those that have the Adminiftra-
tion of public Affairs, to fee that every Individual be pro-
"tected in his Property, and that the Poor and Simple may
"not be circumvented by the little Arts of cunning Men, or
"offred by the Power of great Ones: In short, that pri-
vate Men may not be difpoffeffed of their Rights and
Eftates, under the Pretext of a public Good. And if to
"make my own Fortune (continues he) by the impoverishing
"another, is declared unlawful, not only by the Dictate of
"Nature, and the Rights of Nations, but by the particular
"
44
Laws and Conftitutions of all States; how deteftable must
" thaje
Concerning the prefent State of Affairs.
5
thoſe Governors be, who abuſing that Confidence the plain
"and honeft Part of Mankind, who are always Minors,
repofe in them, as their Trustees and Guardians, draw
"them, by plausible Appearances, into their Net, and fo
enrich themselves at the Expence of their Country.
C4
"Plato's Rule, fays the abovementioned Orator, ought
"to be observed by all that are intrufted with the Admini-
ftration of the Public. It was this: That they should in
Juch Sort affert and defend the public Intereft, that all
"their Actions fhould refer to that, without any Regard to
"their own private Advantage. Therefore, above all
Things, let fuch keep themselves clear from the leaft Suf-
"picion of Avarice. It is not only a mean Thing, but an
impious, to make a Prey of the Commonwealth. This is
"a copious Subject, but I shall confine myself; only hinting
"at a Law of this brave People, which I would recom-
"mend to the Confideration of my Countrymen, and it being
made by the Wisdom of the Nation, that is by the Senate,
“avill fhew, at once, the Sense of the whole Nation, with
"refpect to the Conduct of Perfons in the Adminiftration.
Donum ne capiunto, neve danto, neve pretenda, neve
gerenda, neve geſla poteſtate.
The Senfe of the People concerning the pre-
fent State of Affairs, &c.
SIR,
I
T is intirely in Obedience to your Requeft, that I
fend you this long Letter; which is nothing elſe
but a plain and natural Account of the People's
Refentment of their common Injuries and Misfor-
tunes; or, to put it in your Terms, The Senſe of the
People, as far as my Memory will ferve me, in their own
Words. The Authors of their Grievances are at laſt be-·
come intolerable to them; and Vengeance, however un-
profitable, as they are told, is one chief End, which they
propofe as their future Security. Whoever thinks fit to
withdraw or excufe himſelf from the Share he ought to
bear in this Defign, is fufpected to be engaged in a
Confederacy, which he is afhamed to avow: This Suf-
picion is fo far from being juft of you, that I could wiſh
you would come and vindicate your Character to the
A 3
Public
6
The Senfe of the People
Public, which was never ſo miferably neceffitous of all
honeft Help as at preſent.
As I am now upon the Decline of a public Life, I
have had an Opportunity of obferving a great deal of the
Variety and Inconftancy of public Affairs; but I never
yet knew fo great a Ferment, fo prevailing a Diffatif-
faction, as at prefent we ſee throughout the whole King-
dom. Parties have been preferred, difcarded, reſtored,
mixed, and the feveral Friends of each have, by Turns,
complained of reciprocal Violence and Injury, Mifma-
nagement and Corruption; but I don't know that any of
them have ever perfuaded the whole Body of the People
into their Quarrel. No private little Wrongs could have
effected a Difcontent fo univerfal. That Adminiftration
muft affect every one, which every one complains of.
Indeed, when a Nation is plundered and oppreffed, they
cannot but feel and refent it.
·
They imagine now, that at the Opening of this Sef-
fion, there was a Deſign carried on by fome, whom they
will needs have to be very ill Men, to fecure, even in
fome Degree, the very late Directors; but we (fay they)
were not tame enough to admit or endure fuch an At-
tempt; fo that they were forced to drop the Defign, and
join (at leaſt) in the Cry againft them, though they
trembled at the Apprehenfion of every Fact that ſhould
be difcovered. They could have been glad to have
ftood by their old Friends; but fince that must not be,
the next Trial was to compound for their own Security,
by the Sacrifice of their Allies. But this Artifice is not-
fatisfactory; the People tell you that the beſt and like-
lieft Means to come to the Bottom of their Misfortunes,
is to begin at the Top. It is of very little Value to
them how the leſſer Cheats are difpofed of; they were fo
by Profeffion, and have acted intirely in Character. If
Daniel had been devoured in the Den, it is prefumed
that no body could have thought hardly of the Lions :
No, no, the Authors of the Villainy are the Criminals;
it is thofe that deliberately formed the Miſchief, and
that hired and retained their little Creatures to execute it,
who chiefly deferve the Enquiry of a Parliament.
How comes it to pafs, fay they, while leffer Villains
are puniſhed every Day, that thofe who have pillaged
the
Concerning the prefent State of Affairs. 7
Ax
the whole Country, fhall eſcape? The greateſt Subjects
of the British Crown did not ufe to be too great to be
accountable to a British Parliament. "Tis in vain for
me, or any one to anſwer to this, But you would not con-
demn any one without fufficient Evidence; they can all im-
mediately reply, that they can point to Inftances, and
thofe modern ones too, where Refolutions have been
taken, Cenfures founded, and other Perfons have been
condemned, and all this very juftly, upon the fame or
lefs Evidence. But fuppofe (not grant) the Evidence
defective; in Courts of Juftice it often happens, that
where there is not legal Proof enough to convict a Cheat,
yet there is fufficient to fatisfy any one prefent, that it
would be Folly to truft him any more. A ſuſpected Mi-
nifter ought to be uſed as Cæfar did his Wife, he did not
expect Demonftration. Reaſonable Grounds of Sufpi-
cion are enough in both Cafes, there being feldom above
two privy to the Fact in either. If one tells them it is
Prudence to wink at fome Things, otherwiſe the whole
may be thrown into Confufion, and then where are our
Eftates? The Anſwer is, that when fuch a Confufion is
introduced, our Eſtates may indeed poffibly be loft; but
by the Toleration of the late Iniquity, and thereby the
Encouragement of all future Villainies, by the Increaſe
of Debts, the Decay of Trade, the Deſtruction of Ma-
nufactures, the Ruin of Credit, the Mifmanagement of
the Revenue, the Lofs of Money to other Kingdoms, or
the locking it up at home, and all this while, the Conti-
nuation of Taxes; by theſe, ſay they, Confufion is actu-
ally introduced, and our Eſtates are already loft.
T'other Day I happened to be in a Company, where,
to my great Surprize, I heard a Gentleman endeavour-
ing to moderate the public Difpleafure. He told us,
that as he fincerely lamented the Ruin of his Country, he
was impatient for Redrefs, and hoped to fee it made for
ever unſafe for any one to play the fame Game over
again; but he ventured to add, that by going too faſt,
or changing Hands too foon, we ran a Riſk, at leaſt, of
altering for the worfe: That as we had, at prefent, a
Poffibility of extricating ourſelves from our Misfortunes,
by Length of Time and careful Management, we ſhould
take the fureft Courfe, and not commit ourſelves to the
Adminiftration
A 4
"
8
The Senfe of the People
Adminiftration of a Party, who, as they fecretly re-
joiced at our Miſeries, will not fail to improve them to
their own Advantage; whofe Principles have often en-
dangered the Liberties of theſe Kingdoms, and have en-
tailed Slavery on the greateſt Part of Europe.
But the whole Company, not enduring the Declara-
tion, cried out, What then is Whiggifm fupported by Ra-
pine and Injustice? If that be the Cafe; if the two Par-
ties have changed their Ground; if thoſe formerly rec-
koned Anti-courtiers are turned fawning, obfequious
Dependants, in God's Name let them fall. Whiggism
carries in it the very Notion of Liberty, and Love to
our Country; and then it follows, that the Puniſhment
of public Horſe-leeches, Parricides, muft be the only
Way to fettle Whiggifm, and to lay a Foundation for
the Happineſs of future Times.
In short, theſe are Pretences to fcreen fome favourite
Offenders; but when Things are come to Extremity,
you can hoodwink us no longer. And we know very
well, fays one, what good Ufe was made of this Pretence,
by the Event of a late Examination; fo fhallow, or fo
corrupt, are Englishmen grown. But give me the Man,
Tros Rutilufve, Whig or Tory, that prefers the true Intereſt
of England to that of any other Country or People what-
ever; that encourages Trade, and Audies to adminiſter
the Treaſure of the People thriftily and prudently.
Such, Sir, is the Senfe of the People; and if I give it
you in their own Words, it is becauſe it was your Defire
I fhould do fo, that you might the better judge at what
they drive.
I perceive it is Matter of great Admiration to fome,
the extraordinary Addrefs that has been fhewn in the fe-
cret Management of this Affair: That the whole Tranf-
action of 574,500 7. fictitious Stock ſhould only be withi
the Privacy of one fingle Man, that, in cafe of Danger,
all might be ftifled by his withdrawing, and all other
Proof neglected and difcouraged by the Name of Hearfay
Evidence; though, by the By, fome will have it that Let-
ters and Notes under one's own Hand are more than
Hearfay Evidence, and that the Practices of burning,
blotting, razing, and interpolating, have been thought
fo much more than Prefumption, that they have, upon
lefs
Concerning the prefent State of Affairs.
9
lefs Occafion, been admitted as a tolerable Degree of
Proof in a certain Place.
But what I would infer, fays another, from Knight's
Withdrawing, is the premeditated Villainy of the whole.
The Actors, whoever they were, had indeed prodigious
Forefight, by the Caution taken to prevent Difcovery;
they forefaw their Guilt, the Succefs of it, the Turn of
Affairs, the univerfal Calamity, and confequently their
own Safety in the Secrecy of one: Had there been more,
ſome of them might have fqueaked, or at leaſt not all of
them eſcaped; or if they had, it would have had a worſe
Afpect than at prefent. In fine, they forefaw this very
Examination; but the Want of Judgment, as I hope,
at leaſt, appeared in believing they had provided fuffi-
ciently againſt it, and imagining they were to be at Eaſe
in the Affluence of princely Fortunes, amidst the Mifery
of their Fellow Subjects.
Some People have obferved, that the Execution of the
late pernicious Scheme, was fcarcely attended with more
Villainy than Madneſs and Folly; Furor rapiendi ac præ-
dandi occæcavit oculos. The monitrous Avarice of our
Plunderers has undone themfelves as well as the Nation:
Each of the thirty little Cheats might have got their
100,000 7. a-piece, and a few others have doubled that
Sum, without running any Rifk; nay, perhaps, have re-
ceived Thanks for their great Care of public Credit. So
mean, fawning, obfequious, as well as indolent and cor-
rupt are we grown, that nothing but the prodigious Enor-
mity of the Guilt, the Univerfality of our Miſery, has
forced us into the Enquiry we are now making.
As to the Event and Success of this Enquiry; I fhall
not be diſappointed (fays another) if nothing comes of
it.
The Nature of the Tafk is attended with fo many
Difficulties, and the Difcouragements the Enquirers
meet with from other Quarters fo great, that they have
need of more than ordinary Conftancy and Refolution to
perfift in the Discharge of fo uneafy a Truft: However,
they have the Satisfaction to know, that the whole
Weight of the Nation is on their Side; that they have
the Bleffings of all honeft Men at prefent, and ſhall be
ever mentioned with Honour in the Annals of their
Country.
A S
Yes,
10
The Senfe of the People
Yes, fays one that ſtood by, their Country can never
do them too much Honour, while they continue to have
the fame Regard for it they have hitherto fhewn: And
as for what fome People would infinuate, it is done with
an ill Defign; that they will grow cool, and their Cou-
rage abate from the many Difficulties they meet with,
and ſo prove like the Dog of Antwerp, who had uſed a
long while to carry home his Mafter's Meat from the
Market with great Integrity: At last, being harder be-
fet by fome more refolute Curs than ordinary, when he
found he could defend it no longer, he fell on himſelf :
Since it is to no Purpoſe to hold out, fays he, I had as gooď
have my Share.
For my Part, fays one that had been listening to this
Diſcourſe, I am apt to think Matters might have been car-
ried, long ago, with more Eafe, if fome of another Liſt
had been employed. As now the Enquiry is profecuted
with an Air of Buſineſs and Concern, it might then have
looked like an Affair of Pleaſantry and Amufement, and
been received and fupported with a tolerable Degree of
good Humour; but we fee what would be the Confe-
quence of frequent Ballots.
The Converfation is ſtill the fame, wherever you go.
I must own I heartily wish that they, whofe Bufines it
is, would put a Stop to it; which is only to be done, as
far as I can gueſs, by giving up Offenders be they who
they will. Some will have it that Matters were managed
wrong at firft: They ought to have been fecured imme-
diately. If one fhould reply, Would you have condemned
and punished them before you had heard them? No, fay
they, they were fufficiently heard (unleſs you'll quibble
upon the Word) when the Eooks were firft produced,
which, in an Hour's Perufal, diſcovered Villainy enough
to have juſtified their Confinement; and then we had not
been fending to Vienna, Brufjels, &c. then we had at
leaft hid our Shame, and not been refuſed this little Fel-
low; than which, I think, nothing fhews our Mifery
more.
The Contempt which our good Friends and Allies
have for us, is evident from the little Art they uſe to
hide it: And their refufing to deliver him up under the
Pretence of fome Privileges of the High and Mighty
States
Concerning the prefent State of Affairs. I
States of Brabant, can't, methinks, but raiſe Indigna-
tion in every English Breaft. We are poor, and it feems
our Allies know it, and therefore deſpiſe us. But let
them beware how they roufe the Lion; other Anſwers
have formerly been returned the Crown of England:
And though a British Houſe of Commons may and will
always hear Reaſon, they will not fuffer themſelves to be
trifled with, whoever elfe may.
As for me, cries another, I am fo fully perfuaded of
the Emperor's Juftice and Gratitude, that nothing will
be wanting on his Part, I am fure, to deliver up a Man,
who, as he was laft Year made a Tool for the Deitruction
of the Nation, may now be the Inftrument of faving it.
And his Imperial Majeſty, I think, can't but have Inte-
reft and Authority enough with his own Subjects, to gain
fo fmall a Point; who, it is well known, though he is as
juft and mild a Prince as any upon Earth, yet has for-
merly fhewn thofe very Subjects, that he knows how
to affert his Prerogative, and puniſh all their Pretences to
Right, which contradict his juſt Will and Pleaſure.
We the rather expect to ſee Mr. Knight in England (as
others fay) not fo much, becauſe it is fuch a Trifle to
the Emperor to grant, and at the fame time fo valuable a
Favour to us; but that we are informed, that his coming
over is earnestly defired, even by thofe who cannot but
have Weight in what they aík of that Prince; and who
feem concerned in the Diſcoveries which he is expected
to make, as the only Way to clear up their Innocence,
and wipe away the Sufpicion which has been most un-
justly thrown upon their Characters. If theſe People are
in earneft, they are very happy in having an Opportuni-
ty of preffing this Matter more fuccefsfully than others
can. We own, fay they, we ſhould be glad to fee
Knight, were it only to be fatisfied that fuch a Parcel oř
Stock was honeſtly paid for; fuch a Name and Letter
was forged; fuch a myfterious Tranſaction, ſuch a blind
Account was clearly upon another Score than is general-
ly fuppofed, and had no Relation at all to South-Sea.
This Difcourfe was followed by a needlefs Calculation
of the Length of Time in which we might hope to fee
Knight, if he was fent over at all. "As the neareſt
“Way to l'ienna has been lately found out to be by
A 6
Brufels;
12
The Senfe of the People
+
<<
na.
Bruffels; fo, for ought we know, the neareſt Way
"from Bruffels may hereafter he thought to be by Vien-
And though Gentlemen fhould be perfuaded to
“attend the Service of their Country till he comes, to
"the Detriment of their own private Affairs ; whether
"other Perfons will think proper to defire or impofe
"fuch a Hardſhip upon them, we cannot determine."
However, continued they, 'tis certain there was a
Shorter Way of going to work at first, which is not yet
altogether too late to try. The old Parliamentary Me-
thod was to repreſent their Grievances, and get them re-
dreffed as ſoon as they met, before they would go upon
any other Confiderations whatever. It was not for Want
of Grievances, fome tell us, whatever else might be
wanting, that this Method was not uſed at firſt. If this
Way of Proceeding had been taken, Knight could hardly
have withdrawn, or perhaps it might have been conveni-
ent to have had him here again ere this, to have avoided
the Explication of many other Complaints of a different
Nature that might have been fet on Foot; but whether
that Point had been gained, feveral other valuable Ad-
vantages would have been fecured.
There is a remarkable Proof of this Right of Parlia-
ment in Richard the Second's Time, and Things of this
Sort are never the worfe for being old. "Some unde-
"ferved Favours, fays my Author, fhewn to a Minion,
"the Exorbitances of great Ocers, and other public
<
Miſcarriages as to the Revenue, had made no ſmail
"Impreffions on the Minds of many of the Lords, as
well as Commons, when Richard called a Parliament.
They, foon after they were affembled, joined in this
Meffage to him (Henry Knighton's Words, who lived
at the very time, are thefe) That the Chancellor and
Treaſurer ought to be removed from their Offices, becauſe
they were not for the Good of the King and Kingdom ;
"and becaufe also they had fuch Matters to treat of with
one of them, as could not be treated of, while he remained
" in that Office."
66
The King, who no doubt, thought this a very bold
Way of proceeding in his Subjects, affured them, He
would not remove his meanest Scullion Boy at their Inſtance,
and adviſed them to haften the Buſineſs of Parliament;
by
Concerning the prefent State of Afairs. 13
&
by which is meant the Supply of his Expences for his
Wars, Houthold, and other Charges. But the Lords
and Commons, by joint Confent, replied, That they
neither could nor would difpatch the leaft Article, till he
(who, as the Hiftorian fays, was then lingering at Eltham)
would come to them, and remove Michael de Pole, the
Chancellor, from his Office.
The King's Anfwer to this, not pleafing them, the
Parliament fent him this Meffage. "Sir, The Prelates,
"Lords, and whole People of the Commons of England, af-
ter feveral loyal and honeſt Wiſhes, intimate these
Things unto you, that they have it confirmed by anciert
"Conftitution, which none can contradict, that the
"King ought to call a Parliament once a Year, as the
<<
higheft Court of the Realm, wherein Equity ought to
"thine bright, where, as well Poor as Rich, ought to
"find Refreshment, by removing all kind of Abuſes,
"where public Grievances are to be redreſſed, and with
"the most prudent Counfel, the State of the Nation is to
"be treated of, that the King's and Nation's Enemies
"at Home, as well as Abroad, may be diſcovered and
"punished, and the neceJary Burdens of the King and
66
Kingdom may with more Eaſe the public Want con-
"fidered be fupplied. And they conceive alfo, that
fince they are to fupport the public Charge, they
"fhould have the ordering and fupérvifal too, how and
by whom their Goods and Fortunes are expended.
66
What follows in this Remonstrance is ftill freer ; to
which the King making a threatening Anfwer, the Lords
and Commons, after giving him fome ſeaſonable Advice,
relating to his Threats, proceed in theſe Words.
66
"The People of England have, in your Time, fuf-
"tained fo many Taxes for the Support of
your Wars,
as that now they are reduced to fuch incredible Pover-
"ty, that they can neither pay their Rents, nor aſſiſt
"their King, nor even afford themſelves the Neceſſaries
"of Life: And all this is brought to pafs by the evil
"Minifters of the King, who have ill-governed both
King and Kingdom to this Day: And unless we do
quickly fet our helping Hands to the Work, and
"raiſe the healing Prop, the Kingdom of England will,
"in lefs Time than we think of, be miferably fubverted.
66
"But
14
The Senfe of the People
66
"But there is yet one Part of our Meffage on the Be
"half of your People to be imparted to you, That we
"have an ancient Conftitution (not many Ages fince ex-
perimented) it grieves us to mention it: That if the
King, through any evil Counfel whatever, or through
a weak Obftinacy, or Contempt of his People, fhall
“ alienate himſelf from them, and refufe to govern by
"the Laws and Statutes of the Realm; if he fhall throw
"himſelf headlong into wild Defigns, and ftubbornly
"execute his own fingular arbitrary Will,Then
follows the Right of the People, dreadfully afferted. But
they afterwards go on,
"That this Kingdom may not, by your evil Counſel-
"lors be fubverted, this Kingdom fo honourable, and
"above all the Nations in the World, moſt famous in
"War, may not now, in your Time, through the Di-
"ftractions of ill Government, be miferably laid waſte ;
"That the Title and Infcription of theſe Miſeries, may
never be placed as a fcandalous Mark upon your
Reign, and this unhappy Age: Recal, we befeech
you, your Royal Mind from fuch fooliſh and perni-
"cious Counfels; and whofoever they are that fuggeft
"fuch Matters to you, do not only not hearken to them,
"but totally remove them from you; for in Time of
Danger it will be found they can no ways effectually
" ferve you.
66
66
The Reafon and Honefty of this wrought fo much up-
on the King, that in three Days Time he came to his
Parliament, though with fome Reluctance; when Michach
de Pole was impeached of high Crimes and Mifdemeanors,
and turned out of his Office, and another put in his
Place by Confent of Parliament, as was likewife the
Treafurer, another Favourite.
But it ought to be remembered, for the Inftruction of
thefe Times, that upon the King's defiring a Supply at
the fame time, that he feemed to hefitate at the difcard-
ing Pole, the Commons anfwered, That he did not need
the Tallage of his Subjects, who might fo easily furniſ
himself of ſo great a Sum of Money from him that was his
Debtor, as the Articles of Impeachment fet forth.
As for Robert de Vere, Duke of Ireland, the King's
moſt dangerous Favourite, the Parliament, to fhew their
Prudence
Concerning the prefent State of Affairs. 15
Prudence and Moderation, choſe rather to give him a
vaft Sum of Money, upon Condition that he would go
to Ireland, than to endure the Influence of his Counfels
near the King's Perfon. But after all this, the good
Commons had no fooner gained their Points, than they
freely gave the King a Supply.
Before they broke up (continues my Author) the Par-
liament obſerving, by the Covetoufnefs of the King's
Minifters, that the public Revenue was vainly laviſhed,
the King inſufferably abuſed (partly through Negligence
to fearch out the Truth, partly through a refolute Hu-
mour to fupport thofe beyond Reafon, whom he had
once advanced) that the common People, by continual
and grievous Burdens, were miferably impoverished;
the Rents of the great Men much impaired, and their
poor Tenants, in many Places, forced to abandon their
Huſbandry, and leave their Farms empty and defolate ;
and that by all this the King's Officers alone became
immeafurably rich: They therefore chofe a Number of
confiderable Men to infpect, treat of, and determine, all
Affairs, Caufes and Complaints, arifing from the Death
of Edward III. to that Time; as likewiſe of the King's
Expences and his Minifters, and all other Grievances
happening within that Time.
66
The Hiftorian farther obferves, That when the Parlia-
ment endeavoured at an Act of Reſumption, the juſt and
frequent Way to repair the languishing Condition of the
Nation, Michael de Pole told the King, it was to the
King's Dishonour, ad dedecus Regis, and forced him from
it; to which the Commons antwered, Although they
were wearied out by Toils and Expences, they would
"never grant the King a Subfidy, until, by Authority
“ of Parliament, he ſhould actually reſume all that be-
"longed to the Crown of England. And that it was
"more to the Dishonour of the King to leave fo many
"of his poor Subjects in intolerable Want." Yet could
not all good Counfel work, till by Parliament that great
Man was banished; which was no fooner done, but an
Act of R. fumption followed; fo true it is, and it ought to
be a perpetual Leffon to Pofterity, That whenever the
People of England defire to redreſs Grievances, and recover
what they have been plundered of, the Work must begin
with
1
16
The Senfe of the People
with the Impeachment of corrupt Minifters. The Weight
of a Parliament will ever bear down a bad Man, how
great foever.
It is certain, a King who would reform the State for
the general Eafe and Benefit of his People, muft expect
to meet with ſome Difficulties, eſpecially if thoſe neareſt
him, and who have his Ear, are Partakers in the Abufes
he would correct: All Sort of Rubs will be laid in the
Way, and the Fears of fuch as may be called to an Ac-
count, will make them fet all kind of Engines at Work.
They who are confcious of their Guilt and apprehenfive
that the Juftice of the Nation ſhould take Notice of their
Thefts and Rapines, will try to give all Things a falfe
Turn, and fill every Place with their falfe Suggeſtions;
they'll accufe innocent or lefs guilty Perfons, that fo by
putting the People upon a wrong Scent, they may avoid
the Purfuers, and efcape unpuniſhed.
Sometimes they will fpirit the Chief, if not the only,
Evidence away: At other Tines they will endeavour to
blaft the Reputation of fuch as would enquire into their
Actions. And though, perhaps, there are no other pof-
fible Ways left to fupply the State, but by making them
difgorge, and bringing them to a Reftitution, yet they
will pretend that all Motions leading thereto, and all
Enquiries of this Nature, are nothing but Spite, the Ef-
fects of Difcontent, and the Refult of Faction. And that
the full Knowledge of their Crimes may never reach the
Prince's Ear, they endeavour to engrofs him to them-
felves, by mifreprefenting all that are not of their Cabal,
as diffaffected to his Perfon and Government. They'll
find out falfe Colcurs for their Proceedings, and cover
their Corruption and Rapine with the Pretence of their
Mafter's Service; nay, rather than fail, they'll throw
the Odium of the whole upon him.
By thefe falfe Suggeftions, well meaning Perfons have
often been frightened from reaching at great Offenders:
And even the best Patriots, by feeing with what Warmth
and Zeal Corruptions are defended, have been wearied
into Silence; and this has made fome of our Kings be-
lieve, that either the Offenders were got above the Laws,
or that the People confented to thoſe Things they did not
think fit to puniſh. But wife Princes fee through all this.
They
Concerning the prefent State of Affairs. 17
They know that an honeſt Minifler will be content with
moderate Gains; and that no Merit can give a Man a
Title to rob the Public: That a few may complain with-
out Reaſon but that there is Occafion for Redreſs
when the Cry is univerfal.
;
They fee through all their little Artifices, and cannot
but be fenfible, whatever Colours they may give to
their Villainy, that Mankind must abhor to behold a
few enriched with the Spoils of a whole Country, and
to ſee private Perfons fecuring to themſelves, in fpight
of Parliament, a vaſt ill-gotten Wealth in the Poverty
of the Public; and therefore they will be the firſt to
defire every Thing fhould be looked into, and all poffi-
ble Thrift fet on Foot that may cafe the People: They
will make Choice of fuch Minifters as are likelieft to
handle the Nation's Money with the cleanest Hands :
They will propoſe, with Pleaſure, themſelves, that thoſe
Evils may be corrected, which a few have committed
at the Expence of the whole Kingdom; that the Thefts
upon the Public be looked into and punished. They
will not ftay to be asked, that thofe Servants may be
called to an Account who have broken their Truft, and
in their Offices confented to the Plunder of the Nation,
though they ſhould have had no Share in it themſelves,
knowing that our Laws put little Difference between a
Minifter that contracts actual Guilt himſelf, and him
who permits others to commit a Crime, which by the
Authority of his Office he might have prevented.
And indeed the Reaſon is plain; for it is the Intereſt
of Princes, when they come to underſtand the true State
of Things, fo to do. They cannot be unwilling to pre-
vent their own Ruin; and fuch a King never wants Af-
fiftance, who will look into Abufes: And their Faction,
who have been guilty of Mal-Administration, will be
found very weak, when he is once in earneft to have
what has been amifs amended, becauſe but a few are
Gainers by Mifgovernment, and a Multitude are injured
by it.
'Tis true, Plunderers have now and then out-braved
the Laws and eſcaped, when in their Depredations up-
on the Public, there have been a great many concerned,
and they became fafe by the Multitude of thoſe who
have
18
The Senfe of the People
have been Partakers in the Booty; and yet there are
Examples in former Reigns, where the true Lovers of
our Conftitution have couragiously attacked and brought
to Condemnation Men in the higheſt Poſts of Authority,
and thoſe fortified by the Multitude of the Perfons con-
cerned in the Plunder; and fhall not the popular Hue
and Cry, which fo hotly purfues the Robbers at this
time, the Wants of the Nation calling fo loud for Ven-
geance, the univerfal Voice of the People, crying Re-
fund, Refund, awaken fome honeſt Patriots, fome brave
Spirits, to infift upon the moſt rigorous Puniſhment of a
few; I fay a very few Mifcreants (would I could call
their Booty fmall too) given up by the whole Body of
the Kingdom, and detelted by all Mankind, but their
Affociates ?
And how is this great and honeft Deſign likely to be
better executed than by imitating the Parliaments of
Richard the Second, (though perhaps it had been as
proper fooner) in afferting the immediate Neceffity of
redreling Grievances, and rejecting every other Confi-
deration, till that is done; which is not only the ancient
Conftitution of this Government, but the most probable
Way to come at Offenders, when timely taken, by fhew-
ing a proper Refolution in their Profecution, and by
that Means giving them no Opportunity to concert Mea-
fures with the Accomplices in their Crimes, or to with-
draw themſelves or their Effects from Juſtice.
Whether or no Richard's Parliament did prudently in
giving fo great a Power to a ſelect Number of Men, af-
ter they were diſmiſſed, I ſhall not decide; but they cer-
tainly took one Method, not only wife but Parliamen-
tary; I mean, that they themselves, during their Seffion,
went into a Committee of the whole Houfe, to confider
of the State of the Nation; and this plainly gained them
their Point. This is always the great Day of a Parlia-
ment, and valuable to Englishmen : Then the Subject
feels his Strength, and vindicates his Liberties. And
whether the Reprefentatives of the People affembled at
this Day in Parliament (than which I am fure there ne-
ver was any that better underſtood their Duty to their
King and Country) will follow the fame Method, Time
will fhew.
This
Concerning the prefent State of Affairs. 19
This was the Way the Parliament took in the Reign
of Edward the IId. when they wanted to get rid of a
moft pernicious Favourite, Pierce Gavefton, a Frenchman,
who had fo poffeffed the King, that he entirely ne-
glected the Counfels of his Nobles, and the Affairs of
State. In his first Parliament, they unanimouſly be-
fought the King to adviſe and treat with his Nobles con-
cerning the State of the Kingdom; and at the fame time
falling themſelves into a very ftrict Examination of Af-
fairs on their Part; they urged the Matter with fuch
good Succefs, that the King confented that they ſhould
reduce into Articles, all that was neceffary for the Good
of the Nation, and took an Oath to ratify all their Re-
folutions. Amongst the e Articles, after requiring the
Obfervation and Execution of Magna Charta, with all
other neceffary Ordinances; They infift that, all Strang-
ers ſhould be banished the Court and Kingdom; and all ill
Counsellors removed; That the King fhould not begin any
War, or go any where out of the Kingdom, without the
Common Council of his People. Walfingham fays upon.
this Head, p. 99, That the Barons librato utrobique peri-
culo, inveniunt, quod vivente Petro, eſſe non poterat Pax
in Regno, nec Rex abundare Thefauro: So they never reft-
ed till he was baniſhed the Kingdom.
It ſeems likewife, that in this Reign the Ladies were
begging and intriguing at Court: For the Lady Vefcey.
was accuſed of having procured to Sir Henry Beaumont,
her Biother, and others, feveral Lands, Rents, Tene-
ments, Franchiſes, and Offices, by which means the
Kingdom came to be loaded with Taxes and Impofi-
tions; for which fhe was ordered to leave the Court,
without ever returning to make any Stay there.
The very Talk only of fuch an Enquiry into the State
of the Nation, has made a Miniftry fometimes very
wifely produce an Offender, give up one or more of
their own Number, or redrefs fome Grievances chiefly
complained of, left by not preventing fuch an Enquiry,
they might run a Rifque of being obliged to redreſs
more Grievances than perhaps at first were thought of.
A principal Point fhall be yielded fometimes to avoid
farther Trouble.
This
20
The Senfe of the People
This has no relation to us at prefent. We all know
how far our Great Men are fron fuch Apprehenfions;
how little Reafon a Minifty have to fear any thing
that might be trumped up upon fuch an Enquiry. I
am fatisfied Gibraltar is ftill in our Hands; and I am
as well fatisfied, notwithſtanding the Expence of our
Fleet, with fo many Thouſands on board, there can be
no Danger of a War with the Czar, which indeed can
never be of any Service to England.
As for what is paft in the Mediterranean: If it has coft
us Money, we have got Honour, by fhewing how well
we can fight upon the leaft Oceafion. No, no, when
thoſe who are fufpected of having had Part in the late
traiterous Defign, and the Gains of it, have acquitted
themſelves in that Point, to the Satisfaction of all honeit
Men, I will venture them innocent of a hundred other
Mi carriages, which fome peevish People pretend to
charge them with.
Inftance happened
referred to in their
The Story is this:
In the Reign of Edward II. the
which the Parliament of Richard II.
Meffage, as we have cited it above.
Hugh Spencer, being made Lord Chamberlain, and a
Man of equal Infolence and Ambition with Gavistun,
fo infinuated himſelf with the King, that he fucceeded
to all that Favourite's Authority, and alfo to the Hatred
of the People. Spencer the Father was, for his Son's
Sake, taken into Play, and made Earl of Winchester,
as he himſelf was Farl of Glocefter.
Upon which the Earls of Lancafler and Hereford, with
many other Barons, affembled and fwore mutually to
live and die in Maintenance of the Rights of the King-
dom;
and in procuring the Baniſhment of the Spencers,
whom they held as the Seducers of the King, and Op-
preffors of the State, fuffering nothing to be obtained
but by their Means, which was a Mifchief moſt intole
rable to the State: "For that when all Graces and
Diſpatches were to pafs out but at one Door, the
King's Benignity was diminished, and Corruption.
was introduced to the Overthrow of Juftice and good
"Order." In fhort, thefe Lords procured the Spencers
to be banished in Parliament. May all Minifters, who
exerciſe the fame Monopoly, meet with the fame Fate.
C6
66
<<
How-
Concerning the prefent State of Affairs. 21
However, as the King was rather forced to this, than
convinced of his Duty in it, Means were found to elude
the Effect of the Sentence, and Spencer the Son made
ſhift to hide himſelf in England, with the King's Con-
nivance, till a fair Occafion fhould offer for his Return,
which happened foon after, but to the utter Ruin of
both; for the Queen being difgufted, as well as Lords
and Commons, the ordered Matters fo, as to get a ſuf-
ficient Power; who declaring that their Defign was on-
ly to deliver the Kingdom from evil Counſellors, they
were eaſily ſucceſsful. The Favourites were hanged
with the utmoft Ignominy, and the unhappy King fo-
lemnly depofed, as unfit to govern, for theſe Reaſons a-
mong others: "For that in all his Reign he had been
mifled, and governed by others, who gave him evil
"Counſel, to the Diſhonour of himſelf and the Deſtruc-
"tion of his People, not confidering or knowing whe-
"ther it was good or evil; nor would remedy thoſe
44
Things, when he was petitioned by the Chief Men
"of his Kingdom, nor fuffer them to be redrefled.” So
wrong is it to trifle with a Parliament, who by their
Misfortunes are become ſeriouſly in earneſt.
A late Great Man of the fame Name with thoſe juſt
mentioned, who was certainly a wife Man too, no fooner
found he began to be pecked at, with fome Eagerness,
by a Houſe of Commons, but he came to the King and
refigned his Staff, telling him he found he was not ablę
to do him any Service in a public Poſt: He did not ex-
poſe his Maſter for his own private Intereft, nor attempt
to fcreen himſelf behind the Affection which the Peo-
ple might bear to the Perfon of the King. There ought
to be no abſenting for a little while, no laying down one
Poft and keeping others. When a Nation is exafpe-
rated, and a Minifter is become heartily diſagreeable,
the only Way for an honeſt Servant to exprefs his Love
to his Mafter, is to yield up all; and the most popular
Thing a Prince can do, is, to give up thofe that are
difguitful to his People.
$
Thus did Harry the Eighth, than whom certainly
there never was a more pofitive Prince. Becaufe, fays
the Hiftorian, the Authors of Oppreffion and Injustice
are always moft odious; and nothing gives a People
more
*
22
The Senfe of the People
more Satisfaction, than to fee their Perfecutors puniſhed:
He cauſed Empĵon and Dudley, the two chief Actors in
the late rapacious Proceedings, to be committed to the
Tower; and divers of the inferior Agents, called Aiders
and Abettors, to be fet in the Pillory: Soon after this
he calls a Parliament, where the principal Proceedings.
were, with regard to Empfon's and Dudley's Extortions:
Upon which the King, that he might enlarge the Peo-
ple's Confidence and Affection towards him, was willing
to restrain fomething of his own Authority. In fhort,
Empfon and Dudley were attainted of High Treafon; and
the King, to fatisfy the importunate Clamours of his
People, cauſed them both to be beheaded; by which
he gained the Affection of the Nation, and was in per-
fect Peace and Safety with his People.
If a Houſe of Commons cannot attack a Minifter, or
even a Miniſtry, upon a popular Grievance, but imme-
diately the King and Miniſtry muſt be blended toge-
ther; and they are wicked enough to try to caft the
Odium upon him, or to fcreen themſelves by him; there
is an End of our Conftitution. 'Tis indeed, a very true
and a very juft Maxim with us, that the King can do no
wrong, but it ought to be carried no farther; we muſt
not add nor his Miniftry neither; for in that Cafe, none
but the Tools of Minifters can ever be puniſhed for the
greateſt Abuſes; which would be a fad Cafe in the pre-
fent Mifery and Poverty we are reduced to.
Let us fuppofe that Harry the Eighth had tacitly en-
couraged Empfon and Dudley in plundering the Subjects,
and had had no inconfiderable Share of the Gains him-
felf, as it is certain Harry the Seventh had; would it,
or indeed ought it, to have availed them any Thing,
(when the Parliament were enquiring into their Actions)
to have told the King, "Sir, you have had your Share
"of this Booty; they ftrike at you more than at us;
you muſt ſcreen us (happen what will) or elfe more
may come out than is proper to be known.” Could
any thing have raifed the Indignation of the whole Na-
tion againſt them more than this, if it was known? And
as for the Prince, he might well have anfwered them
"I will not be accountable for this Miſchief, by taking
it upon myſelf; I was not let into the Secret; I un-
41
66
;
"derſtood
Concerning the prefent State of Affairs. 23
"derſtood no Harm by it; You ought to have adviſed
me better; but fince I now find that you only drew
me in to hide your own Avarice, depend upon it, I
fhall the more willingly give you up to the juft Re-
"fentment of my People, and I am juftified in it, both
by the Laws of God and my Kingdom."
Having made a few Remarks upon fome Paffages in
our English History; it may not be amifs to g ve fome
Inftances of the good Oeconomy, and the ſteady and un-
biaffed Virtue of the Romans, fince it was by the fe, and
thefe alone, they became fo great and powerful.
Pyrrhus, King of Epirus, was very defirous to con-
clude a Peace with the Romans; in order to which, hav-
ing got Fabricius alone, he tries in the following Speech
to corrupt him.
46
66
"As I defire to have all the reft of the Romans for
my Friends, ſo eſpecially you C. Fabricius, who I
"efteem as a Perfon that excels all others for your Con-
duct, as well in Civil as Military Affairs; yet I am
forry to ſee you wanting in one Point, I mean of an
"Eftate, that may enable you to live in that Port,
"which becomes a Perfon of your Quality. But I will
"not fuffer this Injury of Fortune to be any longer
"troubleſome to you, and I will beftow on you fo much
"Gold and Silver, as fhall make you richer than any
"of your Fellow-Citizens; for I reckon it becomes
one in my Condition to relieve fuch great Men as are
poor, who have always aimed more at getting Ho-
nour than Money: Yet I would not have made you
"this Offer, if the Honour of this Benefit accrued to
me with Dishonour to yourſelf; but now becauſe you
come not upon any perfidious Defign, or that which
"is at all unworthy your Character, why fhould you
"refuſe a ſmall Prefent offered you, out of Kindneſs,
66
by a Friend; for I aſk nothing of you but what may,
yea, and ought to be done by any honeft Man, that
" is a Lover of his Country; that you will endeavour
to carry
it for making Peace with me in the Senate, who
"have already gained a Battle, and bring them off from
"their Obftinacy to a more moderate Temper."
Fabricius had too much Honeſty to accept the Money,
and too much good Senfe not to know he could not
long
24
The Senfe of the People
long be of that Weight he was of, in his Country, if
he had. After a fhort Paufe, he made this Anſwer.
<
"If I am obſerved to have any Skill in the Manage-
"ment of Civil or Military Affairs, 'tis needlefs for
me to fay any Thing in it, fince you have believed
others fo much concerning it. But if you ſuppoſe I
"am in a worſe Condition, becauſe I am poor, than
any other Roman, you are mightily miſtaken; for
"whilst I do my Duty with Contempt of Wealth, I feel
no Mifery I bear the greateſt Offices among us
:
; I
manage the moſt important Wars: I am employed in
the moſt honourable Embaffies; the Charge of Re-
ligion is committed to my Care; I am called to the
"Senate, and confulted with concerning the weightiett
"Affairs of State: Therefore as much as being the
poorest of all, I come not fhort of any of the Weal-
thieſt in what is good and commendable, why ſhould
I complain of my Fortune? This as to my public
Capacity. In my private one, my Poverty is fo far
"from being a Burthen to me, that, on the contrary,
"when I compare myſelf with your rich Men, my Con-
tr
"I
*
dition feems infinitely happier than theirs ; and l
"count myſelf one of thofe few, that have attained
"the greateſt Happineſs of this World: For fince it
feems but an idle Thing to me to cover Superfluities,
and with all, my little Spot of Ground, which I la-
bour myſelf, if well cultivated, will fupply me with
Neceffaries, I do not know why I fhould be folicitous
for more Wealth: But if the Poffeffion thereof ren-.
«ders a Man any thing happier, as to you Kings the
"Matter feems; which is the beſt way of getting
"Wealth, to receive it from you diſhonourably, or to
"get it myſelf hereafter honourably? My good Suc-
ceffes in the Service of the State have given me brave
Opportunities to improve my Fortune, as at other
"Times often, fo efpecially four Years ago, when be-
<<
ing Conful, I was fent with an Army againſt the Lu-
"canians, Samnites and Brutians, and waſted their large.
"Territories; and having routed them in feveral Bat-
"tles, took and rifled their rich Towns; from which,
"Booty, after I had given Largeffes to my Soldiers,
and repaid private Perfons, whatever they had lent
the
Concerning the prefent State of Affairs. 25
66
"the State, upon the Occafions of the War, there re-
"mained the Sum of 400 Talents, which I laid up in
"the public Treafury. Seeing therefore, that I have
"thus refuſed to make my Fortune by honourable
"Means, out of this Booty, which was in my Hands;
"and like Val. Publicola, and many other noble Romans,
who have raiſed the State to this Pitch, preferred Ho-
nour before Intereſt; ſhall I now take Bribes of you,
quitting an honeſt Way of getting an Eſtate, for one
as infamous as dangerous? But now what do you
"think would be the Iffue of the Matter, if the Thing
"fhould be diſcovered (and it cannot be concealed) to
"thofe Magiftrates called Cenfors, from their Authority
"in reforming Manners, and that they ſhould impeach
me of Bribery?
'Tis added by moft, that Pyrrhus tried his Conftancy
and Refolution more importunately a ſecond time: Af-
ter other large Promifes, offering to him Part of his
Kingdom. All this I thought pertinent and uſeful to
mention, as related by feveral Authors, to fhew how the
Greatness of the Romans took its Rife, as well from the
Thrift that was fhewed in all Matters relating to the
Public (this wife Nation making almoſt every foreign
Expedition bear its own Charge) as from the Integrity
and Difintereſtedneſs of their great Men and Miniſters.
Thefe were the Manners of thofe Days; fuch the Tem-
pers and Difpofitions of thofe Perfons by whom the Ro-
man State being buoyed up through fo many Difficulties
and Calamities, arrived at fuch an incomparable Gran-
deur of Empire and Renown. By thefe, and the like
Inftances, we may learn how Men ought to be quali-
fied, if inſtead of being cried up by a few Creatures of
their own, penfioned for that very Purpofe, they intend
to be heartily admired, cheriſhed and beloved by the
Body of their Fellow-Citizens; and to leave their Pofte-
rity a more flourishing State than they received from
their Forefathers. Great Men did not then ſtrive to ex-
ceed in Wealth and Luxury at their Country's Coft, but
in Courage and Conduct, in Refolution and Fidelity to
their Country: And theſe which I have cited, and the
like, were no warm Expreffions arifing from Paffion,
nor premeditated by the Speakers, the more plaufibly to
VOL, II.
B
carry
26
The Senfe of the People
1
carry on fome fecret Intrigue; but theſe Men being ra
ther admirable than imitable in our Days, by the con-
ſtant Tenor of their Actions verified their Words.
46
This fame Fabricius, when he had but two Pieces of
Plate in his Houſe, a Salt-feller, and a Difh, with a
Stand of Horn to hold it, and the Ambaffadors of the
Samnites would have prefented him with Money and
rich Furniture, he told them, "As long as I can rule
my Appetite, I ſhall want nothing; carry you the Mo-
ney to them that want it." In fine, he lived fo all
his Life, that he left nothing at his Death, and his
Daughters were portioned by the Senate. The chief
Men lived then with the fame Continence and Modera-
tion. Q. Fabius Maximus, a Perſon who had often borne
the greateſt Offices, having been once Cenfor, refuſed
the Office a ſecond Time, faying, It was not for the In-
tereſt of the Commonwealth to have the fame Men often
chofen Cenfors. He likewife died fo poor, that his Son
was forced to receive Money from the Public for his
Funeral. Curius, out of a like Generofity and Great-
nefs of Mind, contemned the Sabines Prefents, as Fabri-
cius had done thofe of the Samnites. Paulus Emilius,
upon his Victory over Perfeus, brought fo much Money
into the public Treafury, that one Captain's Booty de-
livered the People from any farther Need of Taxes; and
this he did without any other Advantage to his Family,
than the honourable and immortal Memory of his Name
and Action. Africanus the younger got as little by the
Deftruction of Carthage, and his Fellow-Cenfor L. Mun-
mius as little as either of them, by the Ruins of the rich
City of Corinth. But his Bufinefs was rather the Orna-
ment and Luftre of his Country, than that of his Houſe:
Although in giving Reputation to the one, he could not
fail of doing the like to the other.
I have been the longer upon this, becauſe of the Ufe-
fu efs of fuch Examples. The chief End of Hiſtory
being to give us good Rules, whereby we ſhould ſquare
our own Actions, and to point out to us the ſeveral Steps
by which a Nation arrives at, and preferves, a ſtrong,
vigorous, and flourishing Conftitution, and becomes
Here we
great and confiderable with its Neighbours.
have a great Man behaving himſelf like a faithful Stew-
ard
Concerning the prefent State of Affairs. 27
ard to the Commonwealth, accounting exactly for what
Monies he had taken, and lodging them in the public
Treaſury. Here's a Stateſman treating all the Offers
and advantageous Conditions made him with Contempt,
and refuſing even a Share in a Crown; and that when
the Thing deſired of him ſeemed rather of Service than
prejudicial to the Commonwealth ; at leaſt, it was of
fuch a Nature as might have bore the moft plaufible Co-
lours, and the Author of it very eaſily have been ſcreen-
ed: But an honeſt Man will always reaſon thus; Sure
I need no fuch Inducements to promote the Good of my
Country, and nothing fhall tempt me to wrong it.
There is nothing more common among this brave
People than Examples of this Sort: Scipio, Cato Uticen-
fis, Flaminius, and an hundred more, are Patterns for
fuch to follow, as will handle Matters of Government
with Integrity and Virtue. Theſe did not think of build-
ing up Fortunes to themſelves, but of enriching the State.
They were fo far from taking Prefents to facilitate the
paffing of a Bill in the Senate, or appropriating to fecret
Services what was defigned to raiſe public Credit, and
pay the Nation's Debts, that, like good Truſtees, they
treaſured up, for the Services of the Public, what they
drew from others, and fcorned to convert any Part of
it, by little under-hand Subtilties and Diſtinctions, to
their own Ufe. Thus they took Care that Poverty
ſhould not grow upon the Public, as the only Means good
Rulers have to prevent the burthening the People with
Taxes, a Matter with them ever ſtudiouſly avoided.
By this honeſt Oeconomy (for I cannot repeat it too
often) Rome arrived to that high Pitch of Greatneſs,
which they had never reached, had their Confuls, Præ-
tors, Ædiles, and what is worſe, their Quæftors, Trea-
furers, been permitted to diffipate the Revenue, take
Bribes with Impunity, and, leaving the Nation ſtill in
Pawn, to enrich themfelves by what was laid up to dif-
charge the heavy Engagements they fometimes lay un-
der by long expenfive Wars. Habere queftui Rempub.
(it is a Roman Confül ſpeaks) non modo turpe eft, fed etiam
fceleratum & nefarium. No; they knew this would re-
flect upon the Dignity and Majefty of the Common-
wealth, which they always kept facred; that by fuch
B 2
Pro-
28
The Senfe of the People
Proceedings public Credit muſt fink at once; and then,
if a War had overtaken them, their Ruin was inevitable;
for when the Public is exhauſted, and when private Men
are fo impoverished as not to be in a Condition to help
the Public, the Nation must be left naked and defence-
lefs, they muſt become contemptible to their Allies, and
a Prey to thoſe that will invade them.
Nor is this the Bufinefs only of good Rulers in a well
ordered Republic: The beft and wifeft Princes have ever
been the moſt frugal of the public Money, and have
looked very narrowly into their own Affairs; and chiefly
fuch as relate to their Income and Revenue. And, in-
deed, there is this good Reafon for it, among many
others; if a good Prince neglects that which is ſo much
his own Concern, and leaves a Matter fo important to
himſelf wholly to his Minifters, they will ever endea-
vour to keep him in Ignorance, that they may, with the
greater Impunity, prey upon him: They grow corrupt
and ravenous, the Commonwealth is devoured, and no-
thing but Want and Miſery enfues: And when he finds
out his Fault, and fets himſelf ſeriouſly to difengage the
Public, and put the Revenue in Order, he is forced,
againſt his Inclination, to add heavy Burthens, and op-
prefs the People with Taxes; and fo he lofes their
Hearts, and they that Reverence they ought to have for
him. Vefpafian, though a very excellent Emperor, and
one that aimed at nothing but the Good of Mankind,
that he might put Things in Order, and diſcharge the
Public of a great Debt, was forced to continue the old
Impofitions, add new ones, exerciſe divers fordid Mo-
nopolies, and make open Traffic of Places and Prefer-
ments: By all which he loft the Character he fo well
deſerved by his many other excellent Qualities; and Po-
fterity will ſcarce allow him a Rank among good Princes.
Thus it appears how much it imports the Ruler of a Na-
tion with careful Eyes to look after his Treaſure him-
felf, fince the Want of it will compel the beſt of Men
to the worst of Actions, by which he becomes odious
at the prefent, and in After-ages his Virtue will be cen-
fured.
However, next to preventing fo great an Evil, the
fafeft Way, if it does happen, is, as is already faid,
frankly
Concerning the prefent State of Affairs.
29
frankly to give up the Offenders; and make them an-
fwer for their Actions in that Place, to which the Con-
ftitution has entruſted the Enquiry into, and Puniſhment
of fuch Offences. A Prince fhould never fuffer any thing
that is corrupt or venal in his Palace. We have a very
remarkable Inſtance of this in Conftantine: An Inftance
never to be forgotten, either by a good King or a free
People. He, without ftaying for Addrefles or Petitions
from the feveral Cities and Provinces of the Empire,
proceeded, of his own Accord, to remedy the Diſorders
crept into the Government by a rapacious Miniſtry. He
thought it below him to protect and ſcreen a Minion or
Favourite for any Reafon whatſoever, but corrected Ra-
pine, Oppreffion, and Bribery, in the minifterial Parts
of the Government, by a folemn EDICT, inviting all
forts of People, to accufe fuch of his Miniſters and Ŏffi-
cers as had been corrupt.
I know, ſays a celebrated Author, many Obftacles
will be thrown in the Way, to baffle fuch a Reforma-
tion. But a wife and refolute Prince, will eafily fur-
mount all Oppofition. The Cabals of a Party, the
Difficulties fome may pretend to bring upon his Affairs;
no, nor the vaſt Sums of Money, at firſt fraudulently
gotten, and now laid out to prevent Enquiry; neither
them, nor a thouſand other Obftacles, will ever terrify
or diſcourage ſuch a one, bent to reform the State, who
has the Love of his People, and whoſe Intereſt is one
and the fame with theirs. Much leſs need he appre-
hend the mercenary and unconſtant Crew of Place-Hunt-
ers, whofe Defigns are always feen through, who are
deſpiſed as ſoon as known, and who only lead one an-
other. We have never yet heard of a Tumult raiſed
to reſcue a Miniſter, whom his Mafter defired to bring
to a fair Account; on the contrary, to fee a few en-
riched with the Spoils of a Country, has been the Oc-
cafion of many popular Seditions, which wife Kings
have appeafed, by a juft and timely Sacrifice. To con-
clude: If a King be fevere in looking into his Ac-
counts, if he be careful of the public Money, if he
examine into the Corruption of his Officers, if he en-
quire into the fudden and exorbitant Wealth of thoſe
B 3
who
30 The Senfe of the People, &c.
who have had the handling of his Treaſure, if he ri
gorously puniſh fuch as, in breach of their Truft, and
contrary to their Oaths, have converted to their own
Uſe what belongs to the State; if he abandon and re-
figns into the Hands of Juftice ſuch as have robbed him
and the Public; and if he take back what was too
great to give, and much too great to be aſked, it is
with the univerfal Applauſe of the People, whom this
Care relieves from frequent and heavy Taxes, he will
be juftified by the Voices of all Mankind, in purſuing
the Ends for which he was called by the People, and
his Name will be great to all future Generations.
Nemo eft tam ftultus qai non intelligat, fi dormierimus
hoc tempore, non modo crudelem & fuperbam Dominationen
nobis fed & ignominiofam & flagitiofam effe ferendam.
A
7
¿
A
[ 31 ]
A compleat History of the late Septennial
Parliament; wherein all their Proceedings
are particularly enquired into, and faith-
fully related; with proper Remarks, and
many Secret Memoirs interfperfed, con-
cerning the late Times. To which is pre-
fixed, Honeft Advice to the Freeholders
of Great-Britain.
T
By THOMAS GORDON, Efq;
Anno 1722.
PREFACE.
HIS Preface, to my Hiftory of the Septennial
Parliament, is principally defigned for the Free-
holders of England. And I hope, after what I have com-
municated to the Public, there will be very little Occafion
for much to be faid, to biafs Them in the Choice of proper
Reprefentatives, at the approaching Election.
I think that they ought, in Juftice to Themselves, to be
very cautious in the Electing many of our late Repreſen
tatives; I would have them well confider of their paſt
Behaviour, before they venture to chufe them again;
they have already done Mischief fufficient, and more than
their Children, or even their Grand-children, will ever
fee remedied.
But as feveral Members of the laft Parliament were
made by the worst of Means; by double and falſe Returns,
by Bribery, and every Thing else that could promife and
foretel Miferies to the Subject, what could we expect bit
extraordinary and unprecedented Proceedings from Them?
If in the prefent Election, the like Meafures fhould be
taken, our future Parliament, inftead of retrieving the late
Mifconducts, will undoubtedly compleat the Ruin their Bre-
thren not only begun, but made ſuch a Progress in: I muſt
B 4
there-
32
A compleat Hiftory of the
therefore warn all our Freeholders of this juft Apprehen-
fion; and endeavour to rouse them from a Negligence and
Supineness which may be otherwise fatal to thefe King-
doms.
I am to tell them, That if they put themselves on the
Footing of Slavery, by felling themselves, they must expect
nothing less than Slavery, and then to be abject Slaves:
That the Members of Parliament do not Buy without an
Intention of Selling them; and that, by Means of Bri-
bery and Corruption, they may fell their lateft Pofterity (and
many others) as well as themselves.
This fould be well weighed and confidered: And fur-
ther, if they accept of Bribes, through the Neceffity of the
Times, this will, in a very short Space, encreaſe their
Neceffities, because the Times will inevitably grow worſe,
by the Management of corrupt Members; and none but
corrupt Members will offer them Bribes. And if Elections
are publickly bought in a certain Alley, may not our Li-
berties be as publickly fold in a more noted Place?
A great many ill Men will endeavour to squeeze them-
felves into Boroughs, in the prefent Election, to be thereby
kreened from the juft Refentment of an injured People.
I hope our Electors will be upon their Guard againſt theſe
Men, who are Enemies to the Public. It will be a Step
to public Juftice to oppose them, and a Justice to them-
felves to spew them out with Contempt and Ignominy.
Our Electors are in the reverfe Condition to the Wife
of Lot: They have the last Neceffity of looking back, at
the fame time they look forward; and they muft not, like
Watermen, look one Way and row another; if they do, they
will not, like them, efcape the Rocks and Dangers in their
Pallage.
They must be fteady and indefatigable in purfuit of what
alone can make us a happy People; in the Pursuit of Honefty
and Integrity. They must not be tempted by the golden Ap-
ple; nor their Wives and Partners of their Cares be mil-
led, to influence them, by the Intrigues of Men, who will
spouse them only till their Election is fure.
I fhall wind up all with this short Advice to our Free-
holders, and other Electors, Let not fuch Members be
chofen, for the future Parliament, who are fufpected of be-
ing Penfioners to a Court, or who are capable of being
bribed
Late Septennial Parliament.
33
bribed into Silence. Let none that advanced the Septen-
nial Law, have your Votes and Interefts; the Mischiefs
from hence are but too apparent. Thofe worthy Gentle-
men who had provided us Barracs, and themselves Palaces,
are by all Means to be excluded: So are likewife our South-
Sea Scheme-men, and the Setters up of Bubbles; the Re-
jectors of good Laws, and the Enactors of bad ones. Let
not thofe be elected, who are the Skreeners of Villains,
aud Plunderers of the Public.
Chufe fuch for your Reprefentatives, who are fit to re-
prefent you; fuch as are just, honest, and uncorrupted; fuch
as have Eftates and Poffeffions amongst you, too great to
be loft; fuch as will attend the Bufinefs of the Kingdom,
upon all Occafions; and fuch as will repeal the bad Laws
the last Parliament enacted, and enact the good ones they
rejected.
Then will you acquit yourſelves, like Engliſhmen; like
Lovers of your Country, and of yourselves; and fecure to
Pofterity thofe Blefings, that will make your Names and
Memories venerable to future Ages.
A true Hiſtory of the Septennial Parlia-
W
ment, &c.
HENEVER any Thing has happened,
in any Age or Country, that is memorable
and extraordinary, whether it has a Tenden-
cy either to Good or Evil, it is no more than what is
common for fome bold and faithful Hiſtorian to tranſ-
mit it to Pofterity.
That we have in our Times, had great and extraor-
dinary Events, none will be fo bold as to deny : We
have feen, and that fatally too, that every Thing may
be in Danger under the plaufible Appearance of do-
ing Good; that Men of all Ranks and Degrees have,with-
out Diftinction, plundered one another; that the Widow
and the Orphan have been totally defpoiled, to add to
the Grandeur of public Robbers (for fuch I muſt term
the Authors of our Miſeries) that Honour and Honefty,
in moft Parts of the Globe, have nothing remaining but
B 5
their
*
34
A compleat Hiftory of the
their very Names; and that even common Humanity
is banifhed this Kingdom.
I do not wholly attribute this Depravity of human
Nature to the powerful Influence of the Parliament of
Britain; but as Examples are in all Cafes forcible, and
incite Imitation, I cannot excufe our late Reprefenta-
tives; many of whom have been justly profecuted for
unprecedented Crimes, fome been imprifoned, fome
accuſed of Bribery, and many of Corruption; and if
they have not met with the Puniſhment that has been
their Due, it has not been owing to the Innocence of
themſelves, or of their Judges and Companions.
A general Corruption fpread its baleful Qualities.
throughout the whole Body; they fported at the Ca-
lamities of the Perfons they reprefented; they relieved
their Fellow-Subjects, by taking farther from them; and
with fome other Perfons, they endeavoured to difpofe
of the Remainder of their Properties; as if, to take
away a Half or two Thirds of our Fortunes, were not
enough, without ftripping us of All.
So much Mifchief has been done in one fatal Year,
that a Hiſtory of that alone would furnish a Volume; fo
black a Catalogue of Crimes, I am confident, never
appeared against any Set of Men, as fome lately in
Power; and though the South Sea Directors were the ap-
parent Actors in this national Tragedy, yet others were
concerned with them. We have had L-ds and C-ns
accuſed of taking Bribes, who accepted of Stock, to
país a Law for the Ruin of their Country; for what
Could it mean but univerfal Ruin, where a Company
of Sharpers had an unlimited Power to act as they pleaſ
ed, by Authority of Law.
I never knew till lately, nor I dare fay any other,
that an Act of Parliament of any Importance relating
to the Public (as this was the greateft) was wholly with-
out one fingle Provifo, or conditional Claufe; as was
the Cafe of this Law. There was granted every where
Power to cheat and defraud, and no where any Guard
provided againſt it; as though in the Affairs of Money,
and of the Caſh of a Kingdom, where there is the
greateſt Temptation to be Rogues, all were to be fup-
pofed
Late Septennial Parliament.
35
pofed to be honeſt Men, and not fo much as one to be
fufpected.
If this Statute was drawn up by the South Sea Direc-
tors, or any Council employed by them, and the Mem-
bers of Parliament were actually bribed into it (by the
Acceptance of Stock, or otherwife) as one would think
it might, there is no Infamy or Calumny fo great as they
do not deferve: And if, fpeaking more favourably, they
were drawn into it, either by Surpriſe, or want of con-
fidering it, or through their own Ignorance, they are
even then juftly to be blamed; for the Confequence is
the fame, whether a Man, or a Society of Men, be
robbed of Poffeffions, either by the Defign or Negli
gence of the Agents concerned.
-
We read of an Infanum Parliamentum, in the Reign
of King Henry III. But what Title will be due to the
Septennial Parliament, beyond its common Acceptation,
I leave the Members themſelves, as well as fome future
Hiftorian, to judge. I do not fay they were an Aſſem-
bly of R-bb-rs (fuch an Expreffion is too harsh for
me to be guilty of) but if any other Perfons had taken
the fame Pains to eafe us of our Money, as they have
done, we ſhould have justly conferred the Title upon
them. There is not a Man in the Kingdom (not let into
the Secret) but has been a Sufferer by them; and the
juft Complaints and Petitions of the Injured, who have
only petitioned for their own, have been rejected with
Scorn and Indignation.
It was never queſtioned, till in the late Times, that
an injured and oppreffed Subject had a Right in a peace-
able manner to petition for Relief, at leaſt to thoſe who
were only Servants to the Public: But alas! this has
been difputed; and our Servants, whom we inveſted
with Power to take Care of our Rights, Liberties, and
Properties, have been the greateſt Invaders of them;
and inſtead of advancing, have prevented our Redress;
which I think is apparent in the Cafe of the fubfcribing
Annuitants.
Indeed, in the Upper Houſe of Parliament, we have
had Patriots, who have exerted themfelves for the pub-
lic Welfare, to their immortal Honour: A noble Peer,
who lately adoined the higheſt Station in our Courts of
B 6
Judica-
36
A compleat Hiftory of the
Judicature, has fhewn his Eloquence like a Cicer, though
he had not Cicero's Succefs; but we have not now a
Roman Age, or a Roman People, to expect it. He early
proteſted (joined by many others, the true Protectors of
our Liberties) againſt what was pernicious to the Pub-
lic, and which occaſioned the altering fome of our
Laws; but the great Law (the Law of Ruin) which he
gloriously oppofed, it was, not in his Power, after all
his Endeavours, and arduous Struggles, to prevent or
annul.
11
It is more to the Honour of this noble Lord, and his
glorious Affociates, that they have made this Stand a-
gainſt the enacting of fome Laws, than to be Makers
of all the Laws fome Parliaments have paffed, and par-
ticularly the late one, though it has been of longer Du-
ration than any Parliament fince that of the Rump, to
which, its Proceedings, in many Inſtances, may be very
justly compared.
But when I give myſelf a Liberty of ſpeaking of the
Septennial Parliament, I would not be thought to mean
every Member of it. There were feveral very honeſt
well-meaning Gentlemen in it (and fome I could parti·
cularly mention) who would not, on any Terms, be the
Authors of Miſeries to their Fellow-Subjects; but theſe
were but few in Number, and (what has been the great-
eſt Excuſe to them) there always appeared a great Ma-
jority against them.
Yet fo much have our Parliaments in general in this
Age degenerated from their ancient Conftitution, that as
formerly they were compofed of all Men of Honour,
Honeſty, and Integrity, and Patriots of their Country's
Service, we have lately feen a Member of the Houſe of
Commons, convicted at a Bar of Juftice, of the higheſt
and blackeſt Frauds; one fuppofed to be a Confederate
with Highwaymen and Pick-pockets; from whence one
might imagine, that fome of the excellent Qualities in-
ftilled into the Pupils of the famous Jonathan Wild,
were a neceffary Qualification for a M- r of Pt.
For what is as ftrange, as the other is monftrous, our
Houſes of Parliament have fuffered one thus convicted
of Frauds and Deceits, to have the Honour to fit with
them, without voting his Expulfion, which is a fufficient
Scandal to that Auguft Affembly; though I do not pre
tend
Late Septennial Parliament.
37
tend to infinuate from this, that they are all equally
guilty with the Criminal condemned, whatever Con-
ſtruction may by fome Perfons be put upon their Silence.
If puniſhing the Guilty, be an Argument of Inno-
cence in the Perfons condemning, this fhould have been
done: And I for my Part, if I had been a Reprefentative
of the Septennial Parliament, and were to have fat in the
Houfe but three Hours longer, I fhould not have been
eafy till I had voted an Expulfion of an unworthy
Member who was a Reproach to the Whole; I ſhould
have endeavoured to fit at least two of the Hours free
from the Imputation of looking over Crimes.
A Negligence of this Kind is undoubtedly criminal;
Crimes are inferred from it; and it certainly behov'd
every Member of the Houſe of Commons, whether
guilty or not of Offences of the like Nature, to have
excluded him their Body; becauſe without it, they not
only bring a Difgrace upon themfelves, but also upon
future Parliaments which ſhall be their Succeffors.
We have experienced Negligences of Omiffion as
well as Commiffion: We have had flender Houfes on
the greateſt Debates, in Matters of the greateſt Import-
ance; fome Members have withdrawn for one Reafon,
fome for another; fome out of a Conſciouſneſs of their
own Guilt; fome to ſerve fome great Perfon ; others in
Expectation of Places and Preferments, and others per-
haps for M-
It is not long fince that above Sixty
withdrew in the Space of a Day, when a Cafe of Bri-
bery, laid to the Charge of a Minifter Juftice, was
tried at their Bar.
Oh England! what wilt thou come to, if the Execu-
tioners of thy Laws, and thofe who ought to be the
Puniſhers of Crimes, are found to be guilty, and the
Promoters of them! But what can we fay, when Bribery
is fo common, as to have little or no Notice; like a
beauteous prostituted Whore, who by Cuftom becomes
faſhionable, and the Object of Eſteem, in a vicious Age.
Whether this be a proper Allufion, I fubmit to the Da-
lers in Elections, who buy their Seats in the Parliament
Houfe, in order to fell their Country, and ftock-job Bo-
roughs in Exchange Alley, with no other Views than to
fecure
38
A compleat Hiftory of the
fecure to the Purchaſers a National Plunder, or Places
of Profit at the public Coſt.
As to what has happened for fome Years paft, great
have been the Artifices ufed to make Corruption uni-
verfal; one Member of Parliament has endeavoured to
corrupt another, to juftify his own Conduct; as if by
Numbers of Guilty, Innocence were preferved: One
has laughed at another who has been lefs in the Mire
than himſelf, and at all Times given his helping Hand
to plunge him into Circumſtances equal with himſelf:
And Honeſty and Plain-dealing have been fo long ridi-
culed, that, beſides the Jeft of it, Ruin and Destruc-
tion are the general Attendants that wait upon them.
This is a melancholy Reflection, and very difcourag-
ing to all honeft Spirits; it makes Life almoſt a Bur-
then to a religious and even a moral Mind; but fuch is
our Cafe, and it must be fubmitted to; though not up-
on the whole, to be imputed to our Senators; but this
I must own, they have had a very great Share in theſe
direful Misfortunes, which have ruſhed in upon us like
a Torrent, and overſet every thing.
Thus much as an Introduction to what I have to ſay :
I ſhall now examine into the feveral Proceedings of the
Septennial Parliament, which will fet what I have affert-
ed in a clearer Light, by illuftrating that which has
been the Foundation of it, and make appear particu-
larly what our great Reprefentatives have done for the
public Benefit, and what they have done with more pri-
vate Views; what they have defigned in favour of Li-
berty, and what they have done against it; what they
have tranfacted to favour Religion, and in what they
have checked it; and laftly, what has been enacted with
the Wiſdom of Senators, and what has been done thro❞
Ignorance or Error.
Soon after the Acceffion of King George to the Crown,
a new Parliament was called, and in the first Year of
his Reign a great many Statutes were enacted: The firſt.
Act was for the better Support of his Majefty's Houfhold :
It granted the Duties of Excife upon Beer, Ale, and
other Liquors, that were granted to King Charles II.
King William and Queen Mary, and the late Queen, to
his preſent Majeſty: And to extinguifh the Hopes of the
Pretender
Late Septennial Parliament.
39
Pretender and his Friends, it ordered a Reward of
100,000l. to any Perſon who fhould feize and fecure
the Perfon of the Pretender, whenever he ſhould land,
or attempt to land, in any of his Majefty's Dominions.
This was the firſt Law made in this Reign; and I
have no Comment on the Chriftian Ufage of fetting a
Price upon any Man's Head, though it may be here ex-
pected from me. The firft Laws enacted by the Septen-
xial Parliament were for granting an Aid to his Maje-
fty, to be raiſed by a Land Tax of 2 s. in the Pound,
for the Service of the Year; and for charging and con-
tinuing the Duties on Malt, Mum, Cyder, &c. And
theſe were neceffary for the Support of the Honour and
Dignity of the Crown on his moft excellent Majeſty's
coming to the Throne.
Other Statutes were for further Limitation of the
Crown; for the better regulating the Forces ; for pre-
venting Mutiny and Defertion; for the further Se-
curity of his Majefty's Perfon and Government, and
the Succeffion of the Crown; for making the Mi-
litia more uſeful; for Payment of Arrears for Work
and Materials employed in the Building Blenheim Houſe;
for the Attainder of James Duke of Ormond, Henry
Viſcount Bolingbroke, and others, of High Treaſon ; for
encouraging all Superiors, Vaffals, Landlords, and Te-
nants, in Scotland, who fhall continue loyal to King
George, and difcouraging thofe as fhall be guilty of re-
bellious Practices; for enabling his Majefty to fettle a
Revenue of 50,000l. per Annum (to be paid out of the
Revenues of the Poft-Office and the Duties of Excife)
on her Royal Highneſs the Princess of Wales, in cafe fhe
fhall furvive his Royal Highneſs the Prince: The Re-
venue of the Prince, as firit fettled by Parliament, was
100,000l. a Year, out of the Duties of the Poſt-Office,
&c. And out of the Subfidies of Tonnage and Pound-
age, the King has 700,000l. a Year allowed him for
Supporting of his Houthold.
Befides thefe Laws, many others were enacted; as
for enlarging the Capital Stock of the South Sea Com-
pany; for appointing Commiffioners to take, examine,
and ſtate the Debts due to the Army; to prevent Di-
ſturbances by Seamen and others, and to preſerve Na-
val Stores; to impower his Majefty to fecure and detain
Perfons
40
A compleat Hiftory of the
Ferfons fufpected to be confpiring against his Govern
ment, to indemnify fuch Perions who acted in Defence
of his Majeſty's Perfon and Government, and for the
Prefervation of the Peace, in the Time of Rebellion,
from Suits and Profecutions; to appoint Commiffioners
for enquiring into the Eſtates of Traitors, and Popiſh
Recufants, and for raifing Money out of them for the
Ufe of the Public, &c.
But the most extraordinary Laws that were made,
during this Seffion of Parliament, were, the Statute for
repealing ſo much of the Act of the 12th and 13th of
King William, intitled, An Act for the further Limitation
of the Crown, and better Securing the Rights and Liberties
of the Subject, as enacts, that no Perfon who ſhould
come to the Poffeffion of the Crown, fhould go out of
the Dominions of England, Scotland, or Ireland, without
Confent of Parliament; the Act for the more eaſy and
fpeedy Trial of fuch Perfons as have levied, or ſhall le-
vy War againſt his Majefty; and an A&t for preventing
Tumults, and riotous Affemblies.
By the former of theſe Laws, the Reſtraint on the
Prerogative, which obliged the King to a conftant Refi-
dence amongst us, is taken off; fo that his Majefty may
at his Pleaſure, at any Time, go into his Foreign Domi-
nions, or into any other Country, without any Account
to, or Leave of, his Parliament; which in general Opi-
nion has very much contributed to the Impoverishment
of the Cities of London and Westminster, and doubtleſs
had a different Effect as to fome other Towns and Cities
abroad. By the Second of thefe Statutes, Perfons guil-
ty of Treafon, and who were in Arms in the Rebellion,
were to be tried for the fame before fuch Commiffioners
and in fuch County as his Majefty fhould appoint;
whereas before this Law, the Offenders were to be tried
in the County where the Fact was committed, by Ju-
rors of the fame County, who were fuppofed to be the
beſt Judges of the Fact committed, it being within their
Knowledge And by the laſt of the Laws I have men-
tioned, the Rioters were executed in Salisbury-court, as
guilty of Felony, who, before this Law, would have
been only punished with Fine and Impriſonment.
How
Late Septennial Parliament.
4I
How far theſe Statutes, with the Act for enlarging
the Time of Continuance of Parliaments from three to
feven Years (alſo paſt in the firft Seffion of the Septennial
Parliament) have altered our Conftitution, and the Rights
and Liberties of the Subjects, built upon former Laws,
is too obvious for me to expatiate upon. It was expected
from our great Legiflators, after a temporary Uſe of ex-
traordinary Laws, made on an extraordinary Occafion,
that when the Occafion ceafed, the Laws would alfo
ceaſe; but this has been forgotten by them, as has alfo
every Thing elſe, wherein they have not found their
immediate Advantage.
In the fecond Seffion of the Septennial Parliament, few
Acts were made. A Land-Tax of four Shillings in the
Pound was granted, and the Duties on Malt, Mum, &c.
for the Service of the Year, continued: Several Laws
were made for redeeming the yearly Funds of the South-
Sea Company, and the Bank of England; and fettling on
thofe Companies other yearly Funds, after the Rate of
5 7. per Cent.per Annum, redeemable by Parliament; and
for obliging them to advance further Sums to the Go-
vernment. There were alſo made, An A&t for the bet-
ter regulating of Pilots for the conducting of Ships up
the River of Thames; for the better Prefervation of the
Game; for the better enabling Sheriffs to fue out their
Patents and pafs their Accounts; and an A&t for the
King's moft gracious, general, and free Pardon.
The laſt mentioned Law runs thus: "All his Maje-
"ſty's Subjects, as well Spiritual as Temporal, of the
"Realm of Great Britain, their Heirs and Succeffors,
" and all Cities, Boroughs, Shires, &c. fhall be by the
Authority of this Parliament, acquitted, pardoned,
"releaſed and difcharged, against the King, his Heirs
"and Succeffors, from all Treafons, Mifprifions of
"Treaſons, Felony, treaſonable and feditious Words
"and Libels, feditious and unlawful Meetings, and all
"Offences of Premunire; and alfo from all Riots, Routs,
"Offences, Contempts, Trefpaffes, Wrongs, Deceits,
"Mifdemeanors, Forfeitures, Penalties, Pains of Death,
"Pains corporal and pecuniary, and generally from all
"other Things, Caufes, Quarrels, Suits, Judgments
"and Executions, in this Act not excepted, which have
"been
42
A compleat History of the
"been committed, incurred, or forfeited, before the
“6th of May, 1717.
The Exceptions in the Act extend to all fuch as were,
on the faid 6th of May in the Service of the Pretender ;
all who had levied War againſt his Majefty, &c. all
voluntary Murders, petit Treaſons, and wilful Poifon-
ings, burning of Houfes, Piracies, and Robberies on the
Seas, Burglaries and Robberies, Sodomy and Buggery,
Rapes, Perjury, Forgery, &c. and alfo particularly, as
to Perfons, Robert Earl of Oxford, Simon Lord Harcourt,
Matthew Prior, Thomas Harvey, Arthur Moor, &c. Ef-
quires; and all fuch Perfons who had been impeached
in Parliament before the 6th of May 1717, whoſe Im-
peachments remained undetermined.
The Exception in refpect to Perfons in fubfequent
Statutes, I think has been omitted; nor, by what has
happened fince, is it thought any Reflection on them,
that they were ever inferted in any Exception: The Ac-
quittal of the Earl of Oxford, after impeached by Parlia-
ment, and brought on his Trial, by a Difagreement of
the two Houfes, as to the Form and Manner of the Pro-
fecution, efpecially of the Houfe of Commons, fuffi-
ciently juftifies the Conduct of that Earl, or fufficiently
blackens the Character of others; for it cannot be fup-
pofed that the Niceties of Form only, fhould permit a
Traitor to his Country to pafs with Impunity in that
High Court of Juftice, unleſs there were fome other Ar-
tifices uſed to ſkreen him from Puniſhment, fuch as it is
ſaid have been lately practifed with the like Succefs.
Some will have it to be occafioned by a Difguft
the chief Manager against him took at a Diſappoint-
ment he met with in the fatisfying his Defires after
Places and Preferments (fince liberally conferred on him
and his Family, even to almoft one hundred thouſand
Pounds a Year Revenue) but I take it to be a different
Caufe; and that no Opportunity but the Want of Mat-
ter fufficient for Conviction of Treafon, gave the Occa-
fion of the Acquittal of the Earl abovementioned.
But what may be the Reflections on this extraordinary
Event? The Ax was carried before the Offender not to
be uſed, but to amufe; to blacken and not to execute;
to mock the moft auguft Court of Judicature in the
World;
Late Septennial Parliament.
43
World; or to convince Mankind that the fharpeſt Edge
of the moſt deſtructive Inftrument, in the Hand of Ju-
ftice, may be blunted by Metal more ſoft, and of a dif-
ferent Hue.
The third Seffion of this Parliament began with a
Land-Tax, the ufual Bufinefs, of three Shillings in the
Pound: The Statute for Continuance of the Duties on
Malt, &c. and for appropriating the Supplies granted
in this Seffion of Parliament. And an Act was paffed
in this Seſſion, to enable his Majesty to be Governor of
the South Sea Company: The Statute enacted, That his
Majefty is, and ſhall be, capable of being and continu-
ing, Governor of the South Sea Company, for fuch
Time or Times as are prefcribed by the Charter granted
to the faid Company for the Continuance of any Gover-
nor therein: And his Majefty is exempted from the Oaths
neceffary to qualify a Subject to be Governor of the faid
Company, and all other Acts, unleſs it be relating to
his Majefty's Share of the Capital Stock. Thus was
his Majefty qualified to be at the Head of a Set of Men
who have plundered the Public.
The other Acts of this Seffion were for punifhing
Mutiny and Defertion, and for the better Payment of
the Army and their Quarters: For vefting the forfeited
Eſtates in Great Britain and Ireland in Truſtees, to be
fold for the Uſe of the Public: For impowering the
Commiffioners appointed to put in Execution the Act of
the 9th and 10th Years of Queen Anne, for building fifty
new Churches in and about the Cities of London and
Weſtminſter, to direct the Pariſh-Church of St. Giles's in
the Fields, in the County of Middlefex, to be rebuilt in-
ſtead of one of the faid fifty new Churches: And an A&t
for the further preventing Robbery, Burglary, and other
Felonies, and for the more effectual Tranſportation of
Felons.
The firſt of theſe Statutes is a temporary Law, often
renewed, as the Exigency of Times requires it, to regu-
late that Body of Men who are the Guardians of our Li-
berties, next to the Laws, and the great Bulwark of the
Proteftant Succeffion, on which our Hopes (by no Means
fruftrated) have fo much depended. The fecond men-
tioned Statute has indeed very well ordained, that the
forfeited Eſtates ſhould be vefted in Truſtees, viz. Richard
Granthan,
44. A compleat History of the
Grantham, Efq; George Treby, Efq; Arthur Ingram, Efq;
George Gregory, Efq; Sir Richard Steele, Sir Henry Hough-
ton, Patrick Haldane, Efq; Sir Thomas Hales, Robert
Munroe, Efq; Henry Cunningham, Efq; Denis Bond, Efq;
John Birch, Efq; and Sir John Eyles, to be fold for the
Ufe of the Public: But Quere how much of the Money
ariſing by the Sales of thefe Eftates has been hitherto ap-
propriated to any public Ufe? I do not remember that
any particular Difpofition of this Money has been made
by Parliament; and, till this appears, the Public has a
Right, if not to enquire into it, at leaſt to expect that it
fhould be thus difpofed of. The third mentioned Sta-
tute I have no Comment upon, further than to obſerve,
that it was not intended by the Act made by Queen Anne,
that fewer than fifty new Churches fhould be built in this
City: But ſhe was truly religious, and for encouraging
the Church, which is more than can be faid of all our
Princes.
As to the Act for Tranfportation of Felons, it is the
only good Law that has been made by the Septennial
Parliament, which is put in Execution: It has freed us
from a great many Robbers, Thieves, and Pick-pockets,
who have been taken in the Facts; but the greatest Rob-
bers, the Robbers of the Public, have eſcaped this Law;
and if, inſtead of it, an Ordinance had been made for
Tranfportation of the Parliament, before the Year one
thouſand ſeven hundred and twenty, it would have been
happy for this Nation: We ſhould then have eſcaped
the general.
Tranſportation is the leaſt a great many of our Mem-
bers have deferved at our Hands; fome have deſerved
more; many late Offenders have ended their Lives igno-
minioufly at the Gallows, by far leſs criminal, and who
have been driven to a Neceffity of extraordinary Means
for the Support of Life, through the extraordinary Con-
duct of fome Perfons, who, deferving the like Puniſh-
ment, are in the Poffeffion of Titles and Honours, Af-
fluence and Plenty, and feed luxuriously on the Spoils
of the Widow and Orphan. But the Poet has obferved,
That little Villains must fubmit to Fate,
That great Ones may enjoy the World in State.
The
Late Septennial Parliament.
45
The Statute for Tranſportation of Felons, requires
particular Notice, as it is a Law for the public Benefit;
wherefore I infert an Abſtract of the moft material Part
of it. By this Statute it is enacted, "That where any
"Perfons have been convicted of any Offence within
"the Benefit of the Clergy, and are liable to be whipt
CC or burnt in the Hand, or have been ordered to any
"Work-houſe before a certain Time: As alfo, where
any Perſons ſhall be hereafter convicted of grand or
"petit Larceny, or any felonious Stealing of Money,
64
or Goods and Chattels, either from the Perfon or the
"Houſe of any other, or in any other Manner, and
"who by Law fhall be intitled to the Benefit of Clergy,
"and liable only to the Penalties of Burning in the
"Hand or Whipping (except Perfons convicted for re-
ceiving or buying ftolen Goods, knowing them to be
ftolen) it fhall be lawful for the Court before whom
they were convicted, or any Court held at the ſame
"Place, with like Authority, inftead of ordering fuch
"Offenders to be burnt in the Hand, or whipt, to order
"that they ſhall be ſent to ſome of his Majeſty's Planta-
"tions in America for feven Years; and that Court be-
"fore whom they were convicted, or any fubfequent
"Court held at the fame Place, with like Authority as
"the former, fhall have Power to transfer, and make
over fuch Offenders, by Order of Court, to the Ufe
"of any Perfons, and their Affigns, who fhall contract
"for the Performance of fuch Tranfportation for feven
"Years: And where any Perfon fhall be convicted or
"attainted of any Offences, for which Death, by Law,
ought to be inflicted, and his Majesty ſhall extend his
Royal Mercy to fuch Offenders, on Condition of
Tranſportation to any Part of America, on fuch In-
"tention of Mercy being fignified by one of the princi-
pal Secretaries of State, it fhall be lawful for any
Court, having proper Authority, to allow fuch Of
"fenders the Benefit of a Pardon, under the Great
"Seal, and to order the like Tranfportation to any Per-
"fon who will contract for the Performance, and to hi
C
"C
Affigns, of any fuch Offenders, for the Term of four-
teen Years, if the Condition of Tranfportation be ge-
t neral, or elſe for fuch other Term as fhall be made
• Part
46
A compleat Hiftory of the
"Part of the Condition, if any particular Time is limited
by his Majefty And the Perfons contracting, or their
Affigns fhall, by Virtue of fuch Order of Transfer,
"have a Property in the Service of fuch Offenders for
"fuch Term of Years.
"Perfons convicted of receiving or buying ftolen
"Goods, knowing them to be ftolen, are liable to
"Tranſportation for fourteen Years: And if any Offend-
er ordered to be tranfported for any Term of feven
"6
or fourteen Years, or other Time, ſhall return into
"Great Britain or Ireland, before the End of his Term,
"he fhall be puniſhed as a Perfon attainted of Felony
"without Benefit of Clergy, and Execution ſhall be
"awarded accordingly. But his Majefty may, at any
"time, pardon the Tranfportation, and allow of the
"Return of the Offender, he paying his Owner a rea-
"fonable Satisfaction."
The other Statutes of Importance in this Seffion, were
for regulating the Trade in the Bone-lace, and the Wear-
ing of Buttons; by the laft of which, Taylors, &c. are
prohibited to make Cloaths with Buttons made of Cloth,
Serge, Drugget, Frize, Camblet, &c. under certain Pe-
nalties.
In the fourth Year of the Septennial Parliament, a great
many Laws were enacted, both public and private. The
firſt of a public Nature was for granting a Land-Tax of
three Shillings in the Pound: The next for continuing
the Duties on Malt, Mum, Cyder, &c. for the Service
of the Year: And for applying of Monies to be raiſed
by Way of Lottery: And theſe are fucceeded with an
A&t for ftrengthening the Proteftant Intereft in theſe
Kingdoms: An Act for puniſhing Mutiny and Defertion,
and the better Payment of the Army: And an Act for
quieting and eſtabliſhing Corporations.
The A&t for ftrengthening the Proteftant Intereft is
placed in our Statute Books under the Head of Religion,
and was made for repealing Part of a Law made in the
10th Year of the Reign of Queen Anne, and of another
Law made 12° Anno of the fame Reign: One was in-
titled, An Act for preſerving the Proteſtant Religion, by'
better fecuring the Church of England; and the other for
preventing the Growth of Schifm: The former enacted,
That
Late Septennial Parliament.
47
{
3
That if any Perfon, who had any Office, Civil or Mi-
litary, or who received any Pay or Salary, by Patent or
Grant from the Crown, or who fhould receive any Fee
or Wages of the Queen, her Heirs or Succeffors, or
fhould have any Place of Command or Truſt in England,
&c. or be admitted into any Employment in the Houf-
hold; or if any Magiftrate of a Corporation, who by
the I 13 and 25 Car. II. or either of them, were obliged
to receive the Sacrament, fhould, after their Admiffion
into their Offices, or after having fuch a Patent or
Grant, or Place of Truft, and during their Continuance
in fuch Office, be prefent at any Conventicle for the
Exercife of Religion, at which there fhould be ten Per-
fons or more affembled, or ſhould be knowingly preſent
at any Meeting where the Royal Family fhould not be
prayed for in exprefs Words, though the Liturgy of the
Church of England were uſed, they were to incur a Pe-
nalty of 40 1. and be diſabled to hold any Office or Em-
ployment whatſoever. This was what was called the
Act of Conformity.
The Law againſt Schifm ordained, that if any Perfon
fhould keep any public or private School or Seminary,
or teach any Youth as Tutor or Schoolmaster, before he
fhould have fubfcribed the Declaration of 14 Car. II. ·
(viz. That he would conform to the Liturgy of the
Church of England) and ſhould have obtained a Licence
from the Archbishop or Bishop of the Diocefe, he fhould
be committed to the common Gaol for three Months.
Perfons keeping Schools were alſo to receive the Sacra-
ment of the Church of England, to take the Oaths, and
fubfcribe the Declaration against Tranfubftantiation;
and they were not to refort to any Conventicles or Meet-
ings.
Theſe were the Laws relating to the Church of Eng-
land, made by the late Queen Anne, and repealed by the
5 Geo. It feems the Proteftant Intereft was to be ftrength-
ened by annihilating a Law made for preferving the
Proteftant Religion, and better fecuring the Church; and
of a Law againſt Schifm, which did not extend, as to
Seminaries of Learning, to the Tuition and Teaching of
Youth in Reading, Writing, or Mathematical Learning
in the English Tongue.
I have
7.8
A compleat Hiftory of the
I have mentioned thus much of the Statutes made in
the late Reign, to fhew to the Reader what it is that has
been repealed, that he may the better judge of the Con-
duct of the Septennial Parliament in this Particular, and
fee what was our Law before it was altered. But this
muſt be ſaid in Behalf of our Parliament, in the ſecond
Section of the A&t of Repeal, they enacted, That if any
Mayor, Bailiff, or other Magiftrate of a Corporation,
fhall refort to, or be prefent at, any public Meeting for
religious Worſhip, other than the Church of England as
by Law eſtabliſhed, in the Gown or other peculiar
Habit, or attended with the Mace, or other Enfigns of
his Office, every fuch Mayor, &c. being thereof con-
victed, ſhall be difabled to hold fuch Office or Employ-
ment, and be adjudged incapable to bear any public
Office.
The Act for quieting Corporations, was made on a
Neglect of taking the Oath and fubfcribing the Decla-
ration of the Solemn League and Covenant (difufed for ma-
ny Years, though required by the Act 13 Car. II.) to
confirm Members of Corporations in their Offices, not-
withſtanding the Omiffion to take the faid Oath, or to
fubfcribe the faid Declaration; and to indemnify them
from all Incapacities, Difabilities, and Forfeitures,
arifing from fuch Omiffion. It alſo repeals fo much of
the Statute as required the taking the ſaid Oath, and
fubfcribing the Declaration. The Objection to this
Omiffion, was firſt ſtarted by a cunning Attorney in the
Weft, to make his Terms with the Officers of a certain
Corporation, with whom he was at Variance : And he
carried his Point, having proved, that by the Omiffion
of a Part of their Qualification, the Acts of all the Cor-
porations in England were null and void.
By this Law in favour of Corporations, it is alſo or-
dained, That all Members of Corporations, and every
Perfon in Poffeffion of any Office at the Time of making
this Statute, required by the faid Act of 13 Car. II. to
take the Sacrament according to the Church of England,
within one year next before their Election, ſhall be con-
firmed in their feveral Offices, notwithſtanding their
Omiffion to take the faid Sacrament, and be indemnified
from all Incapacities, Difabilities, . And none of
their
Late Septennial Parliament.
49
their Acts fhall be queſtioned or avoided by Reaſon of
fuch Omiffion.
The further Acts of this Seffion of the Septennial Par-
liament, are, An Act for continuing Duties upon Coals,
&c. for eſtabliſhing certain Funds to raiſe Money, as
well to proceed in the Building of new Churches, as alfo
to compleat the Supply granted to his Majefty: An Act
againſt clandeftine running of uncuſtomed Goods, and
for preventing of Frauds relating to the Cuſtoms: An
Act to continue the Commiffioners appointed to examine,
ftate, and determine the Debts due to the Army, and to
examine and ſtate the Demands of feveral foreign Princes
and States for Subfidies during the late War: A Statute
for the better fecuring the lawful Trade of his Majefty's
Subjects to and from the East Indies: An Act for re-
covering the Credit of the British Fiſhery: Acts for pre-
venting Miſchiefs which may happen by keeping too
great Quantities of Gun powder in or near the Cities of
London and Westminster; for Prevention of Inconvenien-
cies arifing from feducing Artificers into foreign Parts;
for the better preventing Frauds committed by Bank-
rupts; for making more effectual the Laws for Difcovery
and Puniſhment of Deer-Stealers; and the feveral Sta-
tutes for Repairing and Amending the Highways of this
Kingdom.
The Law for recovering the Credit of our Fiſhery,
was a well defigned Law; but why did not our Parlia-
ment examine into this fooner? When a Trade is wholly
loft, it is then too late to make Laws for its Preferva-
tion; which I fear is the Cafe of the Britiſh Fiſhery.
The Statute for preventing the feducing of Artificers into
foreign Parts, might alfo be a good Law; but unleſs
our Artificers are encouraged at home, no one can blame
them for going abroad: If they are here ftarving,
through the Badnefs of the Times (as I am very appre-
henſive too many are) they are then under a Neceffity of
going into thoſe Parts of the World, howfoever remote,
where they can acquire a Subfiftance in Life: And as to
the Law againſt Bankrupts, it has been found to be ne-
ceffary, when we have a large Army of thefe Sorts of
People, and it has been justly obferved, that it is almoſt
infaſhionable not to be a Bankrupt.
C
VOL. II.
Our
50
A compleat Hiftory of the
K
<
Our Parliament, in this Seffion, fhewed themfelves in-
duftriouſly inclined to the Prefervation of the Game,
particularly of Deer; expecting, I prefume, foon tó en-
large their Landed Territories, out of the Plunder of
their Fellow-Subjects, (for we are now advancing to the
fatal Annal) they enacted, "That if, after the 1ft of
May 1719, any Perfon fhall enter any Park, Paddock,
"or other inclofed Ground, where Deer are uſually
kept, and wilfully wound or kill any Red or Fallow
"Deer, without the Confent of the Owner, or Perfon
"intrufted with the Cuftody of fuch Park, &c. or fhall
"be affifting therein; on his being indicted for ſuch Of-
"fence, before any Judge of Gaol Delivery for the
County wherein fuch Park fhall be, and Conviction
"thereof by Verdict or Confeffion, he fhall be ſent to
"fome of his Majefty's Plantations in America for ſeven
"Years; and the Court before whom he fhall be con-
"victed, or any fubfequent Court, held at the fame
"Place, with like Authority, fhall have Power to con-
64
vey, transfer, and make over fuch Offender, by Or-
"der of Court, to the Ufe of any Perfon who ſhall
"contract for the Performance of fuch Tranſportation.
"If the Keeper, or other Officer, of any Foreft, &c.
← where Deer are ufually kept, ſhall be convicted on the
"Statute 3 and 4 William and Mary, for killing or
taking away any Red or Fallow Deer, or for being
62
aiding therein, without Confent of the Owner, or
"Perfon chiefly intrufted with the Cuftody of fuch Fo-
"reft, &c. he ſhall forfeit 50 1. for each Deer ſo killed,
"to be levied by Diftrefs: And for want of Diſtreſs,
"be impriſoned for three Years. without Bail or Main-
prize, and be fet on the Pillory two Hours, on fome
"Market-day, in the Town next the Place where the
"Offence was committed."
By theſe Clauſes, in this Law, we may fee how care-
ful cur Reprefentatives have been as to the preferving of
Beafts Fere Nature, originally in common to Mankind,
and which all had a Property in. I do not queftion the
Authority of our Senate in making of Laws; but thoſe
Things wherein the People had an original Right, they
will think hard to be taken from them, without parting
with
Late Septennial Parliament.
51
with that Right in a Manner agreeable to the general
Difpofition of Property.
So careful, I fay, have our Members of Parliament
ſhewn themſelves in a Cafe of Diverfion only, and a dif
puted Property; they have made Tranfportation, Fines,
and Impriſonment, the Puniſhment of Offences in the
Injury of Beafts (nay, fome have gone farther, by pro
pofing it to be Felony to kill any Sort of Game) when
they have intirely neglected the higheſt Concern of the
Nation; a Concern relating to the Lives, the Fortunes,
and eſtabliſhed Property of the Human Species, and
their Fellow-Subjects, who choſe them for their Repre-
fentatives,
This will found but illy to Pofterity; and to fhew
that this bleſſed Parliament delighted in Trifles attended
with Miſchiefs, as well as in Matters of Moment that
were fatal, I fhall here infert a Part of the Statute made
for the more effectual amending of the Highways. It is
enacted, "That no Waggon travelling for Hire, ſhall
"have the Wheels bound with Streaks or Tire of a lefs
"Breadth than two Inches and a Half, when worn,
on Pain of forfeiting all the Horfes above three in
"Number, with all the Geers, &c. If any Perfon
"fhall hinder, or attempt to hinder, with Force, or
"otherwife, the feizing, diftraining, or carrying away
"of any Seizure or Diftrefs, for the Forfeiture afore-
"faid, or fhall refcue the fame, or ufe any Violence to
"the Perfons concerned in making fuch Seizure, every
"fuch Perfon, on Oath thereof made by one or more
"Witneffes before a Juſtice of Peace, ſhall be ſent to
"the common Gaol, there to remain for three Months,
"without Bail, and forfeit the Sum of ten Pounds, to
"be levied on his Goods and Chattels, by Warrant
"from the Juftice of Peace before whom convicted.
By Virtue of this Law, all our Waggoners in Eng-
land, who travelled for Hire, were immediately obliged
to furnish themſelves with new Waggons, to avoid the
Penalties, and carry on their Buſineſs: They were for-
ced to part with their old Waggons, experienced to be
good, and perfectly ufeful, for any thing they could
get; and to take up with new Waggons that were con-
fiderably worse for their Service at the dearest Prices;
C 2
and,
5.2
A compleat Hiftory of the
;
and, at the fame time, limited to the fame Number of
Horſes as before, though adding to the Breadth of the
Wheels makes a very great Difference on this Account
and all this was done to fatisfy the Revenge of a Member,
who had the woeful Misfortune of pitching his Head
into a Mire, in a Road which was never known to be
good.
It is by this Statute our Waggoners, and inland Tra-
ders, who have Dependance upon them for the Carriage
of their Goods, have been liable to great Hardſhips and
Expences, without any Redrefs, though they lately pe-
titioned our wife Law-makers to take their Cafe into
Confideration.
Before I quit this Seffion of Parliament, I am to take
fome Notice of the Peerage Bill, brought into the Houſe
of Lords, for limiting the Number of Feers to fit in that
Houſe. This Subject employed all Converfations for a
confiderable Time, and made fo great a Noiſe in Town,
that many were the Pamphlets that were written for
and againſt it: The Court was for this Bill, which was
a politic Game the Public could not eafily understand,
for it was parting with a Branch of the Prerogative; the
Lords, you may be fure, joined with the Court, as it
might be a Means of preferving the Dignity of the
Peerage, and the Commons vigorously oppofed both,
for they expected themſelves all to be Lords, fo that
the Bill, after many Debates, dropped in its Progreſs.
:
A great many difcerning Perfons were Sticklers for
this Bill, who were of neither Houfe of Parliament, be-
cauſe they apprehended ill Confequences from the In-
creaſe of the Number of our Peers (above fixty Promo-
tions to the Peerage having been already made in this
Reign) By that noble Body's growing too great, the
Commons of England, who ought to be the Protectors of
our Liberties, may be in Danger of lofing their Rights
and Privileges, and other Inconveniencies may enfue,
which, at the Time of this Bill, was forefeen; though
it is likely the Court had another Reaſon for their ad-
vancing a Law of this Nature, not ſafe to be mentioned,
when we have a Succeffor to the Crown now amongſt us.
The Hiftory of the particular Debates on this Bill,
is too long to be inferted in this Treatife; I fhall there-
fore
Late Septennial Parliament.
53
fore omit it, and proceed to that Annal of our Septennial
Parliament, which will found dreadful to Pofterity, the
fatal Year 1720.
The fifth Seffion of the Septennial Parliament, began
with a Land Tax of three Shillings in the Pound; an
Act for continuing the Duties on Malt, Mum, Cyder,
&c. A Statute for laying a Duty on wrought Plate; An
Act for the Prevention of Frauds in the Revenues, Exciſe,
Poſt-Office, &c. A Law for puniſhing Mutiny and De-
fertion; and an Act to appoint Commiffioners to exa-
mine, ſtate, and determine the Debts due to the Army.
But the greateſt Act of this Seffion, was the Act for en-
abling the South Sea Company to increaſe their Capital
Stock and Fund, by redeeming public Debts; and for
raifing Money, to be applied for leffening feveral of the
public Debts and Incumbrances. It recites, That the
Commons being defirous to leffen the public Debts, as
faft as might be, and that the public Duties might be
fettled, fo that the South Sea Company's Annuity, or
yearly Fund, for their then preſent and to be increaſed
Capital, might be continued to Midſummer 1727, and
afterwards reduced to four Pounds per Cent. and thence-
forth be redeemable by Parliament, did grant that the
Rates of Excife, and Duties on Pepper, &c. granted in
the Reign of Queen Anne, and the Duties on Coals grant-
ed 5 Geo. fhould be continued and made perpetual, to ſe-
cure to the South Sea Company the Payments intended
to be made by this Act.
The South Sea Company, in Confideration of the Li-
berty given them of increafing their Capital Stock and
Fund, (I think to forty millions, an immenfe Sum) by
taking in of all the redeemable Debts, &c. were to pay
into the Exchequer, towards difcharging the Principal
and Intereſt of fuch national Debts and Incumbrances as
were incurred before the 25th of December 1716, the
Sum of four millions one hundred and fifty thousand
Pounds and upwards; and alſo four Years and a Half's
Purchafe on the Terms of Annuities that ſhould be taken
in by Subſcription; for which they were to be paid an
Annuity (by weekly or other Payments) out of the Mo-
neys arifing by the public Duties above mentioned, or-
dered into the Exchequer for their Uſe.
С 3.
To
54
A compleat History of the
To enable the Company immediately to raife the four
millions and one hundred and fifty thouſand Pounds, and
the four Years and a Half's Purchaſe on Annuities, they
were impowered to make Calls of Money upon their
Members, to open Books of Subfcriptions, or grant An-
nuities redeemable by the Company, or to raife Money
by any other Methods they fhould think fit. And the
Company was likewife enabled to borrow Money upon.
any Contracts, Bills, or Bonds, under their common
Seal, or on the Credit of their Capital Stock, at ſuch
Rates of Intereft, for any Time not lefs than fix Months,
as they fhould think proper, and ſhould be to the Satis-
faction of the Lenders.
They were impowered to take in by Subfcription all
or any of the Annuities, for long and fhort Terms of
Years (formerly granted for Money lent to the Crown) as
the only Means of paying thofe Debts and public In-
cumbrances.
This is a Part of this Law, enacted by the Septennial
Parliament: Let us now examine a little into the Ufe
that was made of it. This Act was no fooner paſſed in-
to a Law, but the South Sea Stock confiderably advanced;
in a few Weeks Time it rofe from 100 to 200, and 300
per Cent. Price. This drew a vaſt Concourſe of People
of all Ranks and Conditions, to Exchange-Alley; Stars
and Garters were here more frequently feen than at
Court; and our Ladies of the greateſt Quality abandoned
their Palaces, and promifcuoufly mixed with Thieves,
Stockjobbers, Lords, and Pickpockets: They attended
the Exchange both Day and Night, to try their Fortunes
with a Set of Sharpers, and for fome Time were confi-
derable Gainers by the Stocks.
The Directors obferving this Succefs, immediately fet
on Foot their Money-Subfcriptions; the first they took in
low, I think at 300 per Cent. and finding it full fooner
than they expected, they ſet others on Foot, till they
came to 1000 per Cent. for 100 7. Stock; and fuch was
the Madneſs of the People that they ventured in all the
Subſcriptions; but it was in a great Meaſure owing to
the Management of the Directors, who gave it out to
be a Favour, that they permitted any to be Subfcribers.
but
Late Septennial Parliament.
55
but their Friends, and filled up what was wanting with
fictitious Names.
Theſe Subſcriptions not only raifed the Stock to al-
moft ten Times its Value, but likewife drew in the Sub-
fcribers of Government Annuities; which the Directors
alſo at firſt made a Favour to them, that happy was the
Man (in the then Opinion) who could first fubfcribe to
his Ruin. Our greateſt Men of the Kingdom for Senfe
and Abilities, as well as Fortunes, were drawn into it;
for we had Stateſmen, Judges, and Bifhops, who were
taken with the Bait, as well as Tinkers, Coblers, and
old Women. But when the Subfcribers and Buyers of
Stock began to confider what they had done, and the
great Diproportion between the real Value and the
Prices they had given, they then reflected on their Con-
duct, and were more fond of felling out (efpecially the
Foreigners, here in great Numbers) than ever they were
of buying in, which occafioned the firft Fall of the South
Sea Stock.
The Directors finding that they had gone too far in
taking in Subfcriptions, to keep up the Spirit of the
People, and the Price of their Stocks, lent to the Propri-
etors 400 per Cent. On their Capital, by which Means
they were enabled to purchaſe further: They made a
Declaration of Dividends of 20, 30, and 50 per Cent. the
latter for the Term of twelve Years, and cooked up a
fictitious Contract with the Bank, which fupported the
Stock for fome Time longer: But the Price being ſo ve-
ry exorbitant, and more than all the Money in England,
or in Europe, could fatisfy, if all the Stock were to be
fold, which now was the Cafe, for all would be Sellers,
it fell from 1000 per Cent. in a very few Months, to
400 and 300, before the Parliament could meet to pafs
any Law, or do any Thing in its Favour.
For the King being abroad, at Hanover, he could not
eafily quit his German Dominions to come to our Affift-
ance; and a Parliament could not well be called at this
extraordinary Juncture without his Royal Prefence: His
Majeſty's Abfence, on this Occafion, was a great Mis-
fortune to his Subjects; it was at least three or four
Months before the King came over; and by what hap-
pened in the mean time, we were fufficiently fenfible
C 4
that
56
A compleat Hiftory of the
that the Complaifance fhewn to our King by his conde-
fcending Parliament, in repealing the Claufe in the Act
of Succeffion, which had obliged his Majefty's Refidence
in England, was a Complaifance as difagreeable to his
People, as it could be acceptable to his Majeſty.
But when our Parliament met, what did they do for
the public Benefit, and to retrieve Miſconducts? Why
truly, they made feveral Votes and Refolutions, and or-
dered a Committee to be appointed, to enquire into Pro-
ceedings, which were fucceeded with fome Laws for
reftoring Public Credit: But all was too late; the Mif-
chief was already done, and could not be undone ; in-
ftead of raifing the Stock, they brought it to 100. And
the South Sea Dividends of 30 and 50 per Cent. which
had been formerly declared, were now funk in their
Books to 10, 8, and 7.
The Subſcribers for Stock at 1000 and 500, were not
now able to go on with their Subfcriptions; they were
releafed by the Parliament; the South Sea Company had
remitted them a great Part of their Debt to the Govern-
ment, on Condition of allowing additional Stock to
Proprietors But the Subſcribers of Government An-
nuities were obliged to the Terms of 300, when the
Stock would not yield 100, and prevented by a Law
from afferting their Right at Law in contefting their
Subfcriptions, which being agreed to on the Side of
the Directors only, and not of the Proprietors, as the
Statute directed, were in all legal Conſtruction no Sub-
fcriptions at all, but a notorious Fraud and Impo-
fition of the Directors, and thofe employed by them.
Inftead of paying the public Debts, the South Sea Ma-
nagers brought every body in Debt, and Ruin upon All
Men but themſelves: Nay, they did not ftick to plun-
der their dearest Friends and Relations, to raiſe their
own Fortunes; and thoſe who were not let into the Se-
cret, were one Day in a Coach, and the next in a
Prifon, but the latter they were fure of: Strange were
the Reverſes of Fortune in a very few Weeks; we ſaw
the loweſt and moſt awkward Mechanics furrounded with
Equipages, and in the Palaces of Noblemen; and our
ancient Gentry deftitute of Habitations, and reduced to
the extremeft Poverty.
Suicides
Late Septennial Parliament.
57
Suicides and Self-Violences were now become fo com-
mon, that we ſeldom had a Week without many Oc-
currences of News of this Kind, befides great Num-
bers who fubmitted to their Fate, by pining away with
Grief, Penury and Want. This has been the Cafe of
many of the Annuitants, as to whom the public Faith
has been more broken by the Septennial Parliament, than
in any other extraordinary Tranfaction they have been
guilty of The Annuitants could not expect that in an
Affair of lending their Money to the Government, and
for which our former Parliaments had engaged, that
they ſhould be tied down by a Law to their Ruin and
Deſtruction.
But as what I have mentioned is not fufficient to dif
play the whole Scene of Villainy of the South Sea Direc-
tors, and others concerned with them, and the ſeveral
Steps and Proceedings of our Parliament concerning the
fame, I fhall here infert the Refolutions and Orders of
the Houfe of Lords and Commons, made and paffed,
relating to the South Sea Managers, and the dreadful
Puniſhment that enfued thereupon..
Refolutions of the Lords and Commons, relating to the South
Sea Directors.
F
The Lords Refolutions.
Anuary 13, 1720. After Accompts were ordered to
be given, and a Committee to be appointed by the
Commons, the Lords firſt Reſolved, That the Di-
rectors in making Loans on their Stock and Subfcripti-
ons, were guilty of a Breach of Truft, and ought to
make good the Loffes which the Company has fuftained
thereby out of their private Eftates.
Jan. 16,-Ordered a Bill to incapacitate the Sub and
Deputy Governor, and Directors of the South Sea Com-
pany, from being Directors in any of the three Corpo-
rations of the Bank, India, and South Sea.
Jan. 27,- Refolved, That the taking in Stock with-
out a valuable Confideration, for any Perfon in the Ad-
miniſtration, during the Time that the Bill of the South
Sea Company was depending in Parliament, was a dan-
gerous and notorious Corruption.
C 5
February
58
A compleat Hiftory of the
February 1.-Refolved, That the Directors of the South
Sea Company having bought Stock for the Company,
under Pretence of fupporting Public Credit, and at the
fame time gave Orders to fell their own Stock, was a no-
torious Fraud, and a Breach of Truft, and are the Caufes
of the Turn of Affairs with reſpect to public Credit.
D
The Commons Refolutions.
Ecember 29, 1720. - Ordered the Directors of the
South Sea Company do lay before the Houſe an
Account of the Reaſons that induced them to take
the 3d and 4th Subfcriptions at 1000, and to declare the
Dividends of 30 and 50 per Cent.
Jan. 4.-Refolved, That a Bill be brought in to pre-
vent the Directors of the South Sea Company going out
of the Kingdom, or difpofing of, or alienating, any
Part of their Eftates; and to make it Felony to depart
the Realm, &c.
Jan. 20.-Refolved, That all Subfcriptions of public
Debts fhall remain in the prefent State, unleſs altered for
the Eafe and Relief of the Proprietors, or ſet aſide by
due Courfe of Law.
Feb. 13.-Refolved not to reject the Petition of the
South Sea Company, praying to be relieved with reſpect
to the Seven Millions, all the Money the South-Sea Com-
pany was to pay the Government.
Feb. 17. Agreed to poftpone the Payment of the Se-
ven Millions a Year longer.
Feb. 18.-Refolved, That the Lofs the South Sea Com-
pany may fuftain by the Monies lent on Stock and Sub-
fcriptions (above Two Millions) fhall be made good out
of the Eſtates of the late Sub and Deputy-Governors,
and Directors of the faid Company: And that the
taking in of Stock for any Member of either Houſe,
while the South Sea Bill was depending, was a dangerous
Corruption.
Feb. 21.--Refolved, That all thoſe Perfons who had
Stock taken in for them, whilft the South Sea Bill was
depending, and paid no Money for it (about Seven
hundred thouſand Pounds worth) ought to refund the
Difference to the Company. And ordered in a Bill.
Feb.
Late Septennial Parliament.
59
Feb. 25.-Refolved, That the Deficiencies of the Pay-
ments on the 3d and 4th Subfcription (amounting to
above a Million) ought to be made good out of the
Eftates of the Directors; and referred to the Secret
Committee to proceed in the Affair relating to the Stock
taken in whilft the South Sea Bill was depending.
From all theſe glorious Refolutions, which difcover
the moſt ſecret and vileft Frauds of Perfons in Power,
as well as in Directors of the South Sea Company, we
had Reaſon to expect a great deal would be done:
That the Directors were to give in Reaſons for what
they had done; that an adequate Puniſhment would be
inflicted on thoſe who had been guilty of fuch notori-
ous Corruptions and Breaches of Truit; and who had
accepted of Stock while the South Sea Bill was depend-
ing, without paying any Money for the fame; but in-
ftead of it, this mighty Noiſe vaniſhed in Smoak.
'Tis true, Acts of Parliament were made to reſtrain
the Directors of the South Sea Company from going out
of the Kingdom; to raiſe Money out of their Eſtates;
and to difable them from holding any public Places
and Preferments. And the Secret Committee, which
was compoſed of fome very honeſt Gentlemen, as the
Lord Molefworth, Archibald Hutchefon, Efq; Thomas Bro-
derick, Efq; Sir Fof. Jekyll, Edward Wortley Montague,
Elq; Edward Feffreys, Efq; Dixey Windfor, Efq; and fe-
veral others, by their diligent Enquiries, made a Dif
covery of vaft Quantities of Stock transferred to Per-
fons without any apparent Confideration; eſpecially of
Fifty Thouſand Pounds to a noble E-1, and confider-
able Sums to others in the Houſe of Commons, not to
mention particularly the Ladies at Court: Yet what
did this end in, any further than the acquitting of one
Gentleman, and the imprifoning of another? And if
the noble L— was in any manner of Danger from fo
vigorous a Profecution, he was afterwards fheltered by
an Act of Indemnity.
This was all that was done by the Septennial Par-
liament, after all this Clamour; but therein, perhaps,
they have fhewn their Prudence, more than in any other
Proceedings; they beft knew how far a Charge of this
C 6
Kind
Go
A compleat History of the
Kind might affect their whole Body. And as to the Di-
rectors Eſtates, they gave in Inventories fo very inferior
to their real Fortunes, that the whole amounted to little
more than two Millions; when many of the Directors
were very well known to be fingly worth near a Million
of Money: And yet our Parliament was fatisfied with
them, and through a great deal of Chriſtian Compaffion
to theſe Agents of Iniquity, their Fellow Labourers, al-
lowed them above three hundred and fifty thouſand
Pounds (fome of them their whole Money) out of the
Eſtimates they had given in.
The Schedules of Eftates and Allowances are as fol-
low:
A general Inventory or Schedule of the Eftates of the Di-
rectors of the South-Sea Company, as given by them-
felves, their Debts deducted.
1. s. di
Sir John Fellows, Bart. the Sub-Gover-239,596
nor
Charles Joye, Efq; Deputy-Governor-
William Aftell, Efq; Director
Sir John Blunt, Bart..
Sir William Chapman, Knt.
O
40,105 O o
44,051
83,529 0
183,349 O
45,875 0 O
39,161 0
Sir Lambert Blackwell, Bart.
Sir Robert Chaplin, Bart.
Robert Chester, Efq;
Stephen Child, Efq;
Peter Delaporte, Efq;
Francis Eyles, Efq;
James Edmonfon, Efq;
Edward Gibbon, Efq;
John Gore, Efq;
Francis Harves, Efq;
Sir William Hammond, Knt.
38,936, o
22,707
40,031 0
O
140,372 O
52,437 O
17,151 O
34,329
44,950
105,043 O
Richard Horfey, Efq;
Richard Holditch, Efq;
Sir Theodore Janſſen, Knt. and Bart.
Sir Jacob Jacobfon, Knt.
Arthur Ingram, Efq;
Sir John Lambert, Bart.
Sir Harcourt Mafter, Kt.
15,222 0
39,527 O
226,278
50,928 0
12,100 O
17,814 o
11,814 O.
William
Late Septennial Parliament.
6 A
William Morley, Efq;
Ambrofe Page, Efq;
Col. Hugh Raymond
Samuel Read, jun. Efq;
Thomas Reynolds, Efq;
1.
5.
d.
1,869 o 0
34,817 O
64,373
117,297 0 O
18,368 o o
Jacob Sarubridge, Efq;
77,254
William Tillard, Efq;
19,175
John Turner, Efq; (all Directors)
881
O
Robert Surman, Deputy Caſhier
112,321
O
John Grigsby, Accomptant
31,687 o
Total
2,023,347 0 0
The Schedule of Allowances to be made the Directors of
the South-Sea Company out of their Eftates.
To Sir John Fellows, Sub Governor
To Charles Joye, Efq; the Deputy-Go-}
vernor
To William Aftell, Efq; Director
To Sir Lambert Blackwell
To Sir John Blunt
To Sir Robert Chaplin
To Sir William Chapman
To Robert Chefter, Efq;
To Stephen Child, Efq;
To Peter Delaporte, Efq;
To Francis Eyles, Efq;
To James Edmonson, Efq;
1.
10,000
S.
d.
оо
O
оо
5,000 0
10,000
15,000 O
5,000 O
10,000 O
10,000 О
10,000 о о
10,000 O
10,000 O
20,000
O
O
To Edward Gibbon, Efq;
To John Gore, Efq;
To Sir William Hammond
To Francis Hawes, Efq;
To Richard Horfey, Efq;
To Richard Holditch, Efq;
To Sir Theodore Fanfen
To Sir Jacob Jacobfon
To Arthur Ingram, Efq;
To Sir John Lambert
3,000
10,000
20,000
10,000
5,000
O
о
10,000
リ
​5,000 о
50,000
11,000
12,000 O
5,000 O
To
62
A compleat Hiftory of the
To Sir Harcourt Mafter
To William Morley, Efq;
To Ambrofe Page, Efq;
To Hugh Raymond, Efq;
To Samuel Read, Eſq;
To Thomas Reynolds, Efq;
To Jacob Sawbridge, Efq;
To William Tillard, Efq;
To John Turner, Efq;
To Robert Surman
To John Grigsby
1. s.
5,000 0
1,800 O
10,000 О
30,000 O
10,000
14,000 O
O
d.
5,000
15,000 0
800 o O
O
5,000
o
о
2,000 0 ✪
Total 354,600 0
By thefe two Schedules (the firft valuing South Sea
Stock at 150 per Cent.) it appears how fparing our
Directors were in giving in the real Eftimates of their
Eftates; and how truly indulgent to them the Septen-
nial Parliament have behaved themſelves, at a Time it
was expected, and that very juftly, that the South Sea
Directors would have been rewarded with Halters, and
not have had Allowances fo confiderable, as Fifty Thou-
fand Pounds to any one Man, for ruining their Country.
What I have faid, may ſerve as a fhort Hiſtory of the
Parliament's Proceedings relating to the South Sea
Scheme: I fhall now take Notice of the other Sta-
tutes made and paffed in this Seffion of Parliament,
particularly concerning the Bubbles.
Befides the Statutes I have mentioned, the following
Laws were enacted: An A& for making forth new Ex-
chequer Bills, not exceeding One Million, at a certain
Intereft, and for lending the fame to the South Sea Com-
Company, upon Security of repaying it into the Ex-
chequer, for Ufes to which the Fund for leffening the
public Debts, called the Sinking Fund, is applicable. An
A&t for fecuring Powers granted by Charters for Afſur-
ance of Ships and Merchandize. An A&t for Relief of
Infoivent Debtors. And another for the Building and
Repairing of Gaols. And Acts for making the Rivers
Idle, Douglas, &c. navigable.
As
Late Septennial Parliament.
63
As to the firſt of theſe Laws, I do not admire that the
South Sea Funds were called by the Names of the Sink-
ing Funds; I take it they have fufficiently funk our
Pockets: The Statute in favour of the Corporations of
Affurances, were granted to raife 600,000l. for the Ufe
of his Majefty, to diſcharge the Debts of his Civil Go-
vernment. The A&t for Relief of Infolvent Debtors,
was the firſt of the Kind that had been made in his Reign
(in other Reigns, Acts of Grace were more frequent)
and fubjected the Debtors to unufual Hardships:
And the Statute for building of Gaols, was an Act that
was convenient, when our Gaols would not contain the
Number of Debtors liable to Commitment to our
Prifons.
The Statutes for making the Rivers Idle and Douglas
navigable, were immediately converted into Bubbles,
for this being the Year of Bubbles, wherein above
one Hundred of all Sorts were fet up, encouraged by the
Grand National Bubble, the South Sea, if a Man had
but a Houſe to build, an Elbow Chair, or a Table to
make, he was for raifing Money upon his Project, be-
fore any thing was done, and where nothing was intend-
ed to be done; and even Neceffary Houfes were a Bub-
ble amongſt the reft, though but few of the Proprie-
tors could live upon the Product, when their Money,
which fhould have bought them Provifions, was diſtri-
buted to the Projectors.
Mines of all Sorts were now the greateſt Bubbles 2.
all Perfons expected Silver and Gold, Brafs and Cop-
per, though none could find it in any Situation, but
in the Continuances of the Cheats that fet them on foot:
Yet all of them fucceeded a while, till by the Claufe in
the Act for fecuring to the Corporations for Affurance
of Merchandize certain Privileges, they were declared
to be Cheats and public Nufances; which at once cruſh-
ed them, and gave the South Sea Company the greateſt
Blow it had then received, though it was manifeftly
defigned for its Service.
The Traders in Exchange Alley having a greater Ad-
vantage in the fmall Bubbles than in the National One,
had employed their Money in thoſe, and neglected to
deal in the South Sea Stock: And this occafioned the
Claufe
64
A compleat History of the
Clauſe I have referred to; for the South Sea Managers were
reſolved to have the whole Game of Bubbles (fo ex-
ceeding profitable) to themſelves only; but the Confe-
quence did not anfwer their Expectation: With the
Bubbles funk the Stocks, which the politic Managers
could never afterwards rife: People began now to mif-
truſt every thing, when the Ufe of Patents was denied
thoſe who acted in Bubbles, erected on Patents, thought
they had the fame Right to proceed, as thofe that had
the Sanction of an Act of Parliament: And it being
denied, public Credit immediately dwindled, and fell a-
way to nothing; whereupon the general Calamity foon
enfued.
;
Thus much for the Bubbles, as to their Rife and
Overthrow; which extended to Scotland and Ireland, as
well as to England: And the Kingdom of Ireland is
very much obliged to the Septennial Parliament for a
Law of a different Kind from what I have taken No-
tice of. In this Seffion, a Statute was made for the
better fecuring the Dependency of Ireland upon the
Crown of Great Britain; wherein it is enacted, That
the House of Lords of Ireland have not, nor of Right
ought to have any Jurifdiction to judge of, affirm, or
reverſe any Judgment, Sentence, or Decree, given, or
made in any Court within the faid Kingdom; and that
all Proceedings before the faid Houfe of Lords, on
any fuch Judgment, Sentence, or Decree, fhall be null
and void to all Intents and Purpoſes.
I prefume the Defign of this Law was to aggrandize
one Houſe of Lords at the Expence of another; and
though I am no Advocate on either Side, I doubt not
but the Lords of the Kingdom of Ireland, at the Time
of paffing this Statute, thought it an Infringement on
their Rights and Privileges.
In the fixth Seffion of the Septennial Parliament the
Statute was inade for reſtraining the Directors of the
South Sea Company from leaving the Kingdom, for
the Space of one Year, that they might be upon the
Spot to receive the Doom that was referved for them,
the terrible one I have mentioned, of parting with a
quarter Part of their Eftates (a great deal of it returned
them) as an Atonement for the Crimes they had been
guilty
Late Septennial Parliament.
65
guilty of, in cheating a whole Nation, and doing their
utmoft towards its Destruction: They were now obliged
to deliver, on Oath before one of the Barons of the Ex-
chequer, the Inventories of their Real and Perfonal
Eftates, fuch as I have already inferted to their Honour.
The Claufe for Allowances to the Directors was now
alfo paffed, being included in the Statute for veſting
their Eftates in certain Truſtees, viz. Sir John Eyles, Sir
Tho, Croft, John Rudge, Matthew Lant, Roger Hudſon,
Edmond Halley, John Lade, Gabriel Roberts, and Richard
Hopkins, Efquires, to the Intent to be fold for certain
Uies. We had alfo an Act paffed this Seffion, for raif-
ing a Sum not exceeding five hundred thouſand Pounds,
by charging Annuities upon the Civil Lift Revenues, till
redeemed by the Crown; which fhews, that the Civil Lift
was ſtill in Debt, notwithſtanding the extraordinary Pro-
vifion of the laft Seffion of Parliament.
The further Acts were; for a Land Tax of 35. in the
Pound; for continuing the Duties on Malt, Mum, &c.
for puniſhing Mutiny and Deſertion; to ftate the Debts.
of the Army; to prohibit the Wear of Callicoes in this
Kingdom, out of Refpect to the Ladies, it being their
favourite Dreſs; to regulate Journeymen Taylors, who
having extraordinary Employment in making the fine
Cloaths of the South Sea Directors, were grown very
mutinous; an A&t to enable the South Sea Company to
ingraft Part of their Capital Stock and Fund into the
Stock and Fund of the Bank of England; and another
Part thereof into the Stock and Fund of the East India
Company; a Statute for the Reſtoration of public Cre-
dit; an Act for the King's moſt Gracious, Ĝeneral and
Free Pardon; and a Statute for Repealing an A&t made
in the late Reign, obliging Ships to perform Quaren-
tine; and for the better preventing the Plague being
brought from foreign Parts into the Kingdom of Great
Britain.
The Act for Ingraftment of South Sea Stock into the
Stock and Funds of the Bank of England and India
Company, has been an Encouragement to the Directors,
and others, to endeavour to force an Ingraftment on
thoſe Companies without any Act of Parliament, and
without the Confent of the Proprietors of Stock. Mr.
Hopkins
66
A compleat Hiftory of the
Hopkins and fome others, on a late Motion in the South
Sea Houfe, made extraordinary Speeches, to fhew how
reaſonable it was for an Englishman to part with his
Eftate without his Confent; and menaced the Propri-
etors to comply with his Propofition, for that otherways
fome Great Perfons, in whofe Power it was to do them
great Injury, would highly refent it. Though all would
not do, for a General Court carried the Queſtion a-
gainst them, though the Endeavours to obftruct it were
very extraordinary and unprecedented.
A certain Courtier very much laboured for this In-
graftment to be made, to leffen the Power of the South
Sea Company: He was for bringing the Capital Stock
of the three great Companies, as near an Equality as
might be, that he might the more eafily bring them into
all his Schemes, or on their Refufal, ruin them at his
Pleaſure. This was forefeen; which occafioned the
Stand that was made, and diſappointed, for a Time, the
great Expectations of the Perfon that promoted it.
The Statute relating to the Reſtoring of Credit, I have
already obſerved, had a contrary Effect to the Deſign
and Intention of it, for the Reaſons I have mentioned :
It indeed gave an Addition of Stock to Proprietors, and
remitted great Sums due from the South Sea Company to
the Government; but at the fame time funk the Price of
the Stocks: And what was a little uncommon, to make an
Opportunity for enacting this Law, the Septennial Par
liament was prorogued for a Week only, to create a
new Seffion, that they may proceed to tie down the fub-
fcribing Annuitants after they had voted, That the Sub-
fcriptions fhould remain as they did, unleſs fet afide by
due Courſe of Law; which they could not do without
a new Seffion: So that the Law, by this Act of Par-
liament, was interrupted in its Courfe, and the Annui-
tants forced to accept of Stock which did not amount
to above a third Part in Value of their reſpective Debts
and Annuities.
But there is one good Claufe in this Statute, relating
to Contracts, at this Time very numerous, and impofi-
ble, by the Fall of Stock to be complied with: It enacted,.
"That no Special Bail fhall be required in any Action
66
brought upon any Contract made fince the 1ft of
“December
Late Septennial Parliament.
67
" December 1719, and before the 1ft of December, 1720,
"for the Sale or Purchaſe of any Subfcription or Stock of
"the South Sca Company, or any other Company; and
"that no Execution fhall be awarded upon any Judg-
ment obtained in any Action brought upon fuch Con-
tract, until the End of the next Seffion of Parliament.”
This Interruption of the Law, was very favourable to
a great many Perfons; and, I think, this Claufe has
been fince continued.
66
<<
In refpect to the Act for a General Pardon, it is eafily
known for whom it was defigned: I have hinted at the
Ufe of this Law, in my Notice of the Punishment of
the late South Sea Directors, and others their Confede-
rates. It enacts, "That all his Majefty's Subjects of
"Great Britain, their Heirs, &c. fhall be Acquitted,
"Pardoned, and Difcharged, from all Treafons, Mif-
prifions of Treafons, Felonies, &c. And all Riots,
"Routs, Offences, Trefpaffes, Wrongs, Deceits, Mif-
demeanors, Forfeitures and Penalties, which are not
excepted, done before the 24th of June, 1721".
C
<<
Now, I don't know any Perfons that had at this Time
been guilty of Treafon or Felony, to require a Statute
of this Kind, unleſs it were the Directors of the South
Sea Company, who were under Profecution, and Except-
ed out of the Act; which plainly fhews, that this Act
was made for no Ufe at all, or to ſkreen fome Perſons
not called to Account, from Crimes of another Nature,
though equal in Confequence.
As for the Quarentine Act, it being a Statute that has
made a very great Noife, more perhaps than any other
Law that has been enacted within the Memory of Man,
I fhall here infert an Abſtract of fuch Parts of the fame
as are moſtly neceſſary to be communicated to the Pub-
lic; and I hope the Length of it will not be a Burden
to the Reader.
This Statute enacts, "That during the Infection, and
❝ in all future Times, when any Country or Place fhall
"be infected with the Plague, all Ships, Perfons, Goods
"and Merchandifes, coming in fuch Ships into any Port
"in Great Britain or Ireland, from any Place fo infected,
or from any Place the Inhabitants whereof are known
"to trade with any Country actually infected, or from
<<
"aay
68
A compleat Hiftory of the
any Place from whence his Majefty, with the Advice
"of the Privy Council, fhall judge it probable that the
Infection may be brought, fhall be obliged to make
their Quarentine in fuch Place, for fuch Time, and in
“fuch Manner, as by Proclamation fhall be directed
"and notified And till fuch Ship, Perfons, or Goods,
"fhall be diſcharged from Quarentine, no Perſon or
"Goods fhall be brought on Shore, or be put on board
any other Ship, in any Place within his Majefty's Do-
“minions, unleſs by proper Licence: And all fuch Ships,
Perfons and Goods, and all Veffels receiving any
"Goods or Perfons out of them, are to be fubject to
"fech Orders concerning Quarentine, and the Preven-
"tion of Infection, as thall be ordered by Proclama-
* tion.
46
66
"When any Country fhall be infected, and an Order
"fhall be made and notified as aforefaid, concerning
Quarentine, as often as any Ship fhall attempt to en-
"ter into any Port, the principal Officer in fuch Port,
"or others authorized to fee Quarentine performed, are
"to go to fuch Ship, and at convenient Diſtance de-
mand of the Perfon having Charge of the fame, the
Name of the Commander; at what Place the Cargo
r 'was taken on board? what Places the Ship landed at ?
'whether fuch Places were infected? how long the
Ship had been in her Paffage? how many Perſons
were on board when the Ship fet fail? whether any
"Perfons during the Voyage had been, or ſhall be then
"infected? how many died in the Voyage, and of what
66
"
Diftempcr? what Ships he or his Company went on
"board, or had any of their Company come on board
"his Ship and to what Place fuch Ships belonged?
"and alfo the true Contents of his Lading? And in
cafe, on the Examination, it appears that any Perfon
"on board is infected, then the Officers of any Ships of
66
CC
War, or Forts, or Garifons, and all other Officers,
"&c. on Notice given to them, are to refift the En-
"trance of fuch Ship into any Port, or to oblige fuch
Ship to depart, and to ufe all neceffary Means, by
firing of Guns, or any kind of Force and Violence
"whatſoever: And if fuch Ship fhall come from Places
"vifited with the Plague, or have any Perfons or Goods
"infected on board, and the Mafter, or other Command-
(6
er
Late Septennial Parliament.
69
er ſhall not diſcover it, he ſhall be guilty of Felony,
"and fuiter accordingly: An if he all not ir ike a
"truc Diſcovery in any of the other Particulars, he
fhall forfeit 200 7.
"Ifony Mafter fhall quit the Ship, or fuffer any other
"fo to o, before Quarentine is performed;
CC
or fhall
not, after due Notice, caufe the Ship and Lading to
"be conveyed into the Place appointed for Quarentine,
then every fuch Ship fhall be forfeited, and the Ma-
fter fhall alfo forfeit the Sum of 200 l. And if any
"Perfons fhall quit the chip by going on fhore, or on
"board any other Ship, they may, by Force and Vio-
lence, be compelled to return on board; and fhall be
"imprifoned fix Months, and likewife be fubject to
200 i. Forfeiture.
"If at any time hereafter, any Place in Great Bri-
“tain or Ireland, &c. fhall be infected, and the fame
"fhall be made appear to his Majefty in Council, during
"the Continuance of fuch Calamity, his Majefty may
"make fuch Orders concerning Quarentine, as thall be
necellary for the Safety of his Subjects, and notify the
"fame by Froclamation: And all Perfons Civil and
Military are to render due Obedience to all Orders and
Regulations fo made and notified.
''
66
"His Majefty may order Ships to be provided, or
"caufe Lazarets for entertaining Perfons infected, and
"obliged to perform Quarentine, and Sheds and Tents
to be erected, to continue for fuch Time as his Maje-
fty fhall think proper, in convenient Places, to be al-
"lowed by Juftices of the Peace, in any wafte Grounds,
"&c. And the proper Officers may compel all Perfons
infected, or obliged to perform Quarentine, and all
"Goods to be conveyed to fome of thoſe Ships, Laza-
rets, or Tents, according to the Orders made and no-
"tified.
4
"If any Perfons infected, or obliged to perform Qua-
"rentine, ſhall refufe to repair, after due Notice, to
"the Places appointed; or having been placed there,
"fhall attempt to eſcape, the Watchmen may, by any
"kind of Violence, compel them to repair, or to re-
turn, to fuch Ship, Lazaret, &c. and fuch refafing
"or
or efcaping fhall be Felony. And if any Perfons,
"" not
O
A compleat Hiftory of the
66
not infected, ſhall prefume to enter any Ship, or La-
zaret, whilft any Perfon infected, or under Quaren-
tine, fhall be therein, and fhall return, unleſs by Li-
"cence, then the Watchman may, by any kind of Vio-
lence, compel them to repair into fuch Ship or La-
zaret, there to continue and perform Quarentine ;
"and fuch Perfons returning fhalf be guilty of Felony.
"If any Place fhall be infected, his Majefty maý
"caufe Lines or Trenches to be caft up about fuch
"Place, at a convenient Diſtance, to cut off the Com-
"munication between the Place infected, and the reſt
"of the Country; and prohibit all Perfons and Goods
"to be carried over fuch Lines, unleſs by Licence:
"And if any Perfon within the Lines fhall attempt to
come out of the fame, the Watchmen, &c. may, by
CC any kind of Violence, compel them to return: And
"Perfons coming out of the Lines without Licence,
"fhall be guilty of Felony.
દુઃ
"Any two Juftices of the Peace, next to the Place
"where any Ship fhall be performing Quarentine, or
"wherein any infected Place fhall be fituate, or Lines
"made, may order the Inhabitants about the fame to
"keep fufficient Watches by Day and Night, who are
not to permit any Perfons or Goods to depart out or
"be removed from fuch Lines: And if any Inhabitant
"refuſe to keep fuch Watch, on Conviction thereof he
*fhall forfeit not exceeding 100 /. nor lefs than 107.
at the Diſcretion of the Juftices, and fhall be commit-
❝ted to Priſon for two Months.
46
"If any Officer of the Cuftoms, or any other Officer,
"fhall be guilty of any wilful Breach of Truft, he ſhall
"forfeit his Office, and be incapacitated, and alſo for-
❝ feit 2007. And if any Officer appointed to fee Qua-
“rentine performed, or any Watchman, fhall knowing-
ly fuffer any Perfon, Ship, or Goods to depart, or to
"be conveyed out of a Town or Place infected, he ſhall
"be guilty of Felony.
"If it fhall appear, that any Ship fhall come from
"any Place infected, or be loaden with any Cargo
"taken on board at any Place infected, or from any
Ship infected; or there ſhall be any Perſons or Goods
on board actually infected, his Majefty, by Order of
"Council,
44
Late Septennial Parliament.
7፤
"Council, may order fuch Ship, with the Goods, &c.
"to be burnt, for preventing the Spreading of the In-
"fection.
(c
"All Goods, after Quarentine performed, are to be
opened and aired, in fuch Place, and for fuch Time,
"and in fuch Manner, as fhall be directed by his Maje-
fty's Order: And on Proof thereof, by two credible
"Witneffes, before the Cuftomer, or others appointed,
"fuch Goods fhall be forthwith diſcharged.
C6
"When a Ship has performed Quarentine, on Proof
"made of it upon Oath by the Mafter, and two Perfons
belonging to the Ship, and of two credible Witneffes,
"that the Ship and Perfons have duly performed Qua-
"rentine, and that they are free from Infection, then
"the Cuftomer, &c. with two Juftices of the Peace, are
"to give Certificates thereof, and thereupon fuch Ship
tr and Perfons fhall be liable to no further Reſtraint.
Thefe are the moſt material Claufes in the Quarentine
A&t; and ſome of them are fo very extraordinary, that
if our Proteftant Parliament had not exactly copied after
France, it is impoffible they could ever have been thought
of. In France, the poor iniferable People vifited with the
Plague, were, by Force and Violence, removed from
their Habitations (the only Place of Comfort in time of
Sickness) to ftinking Lazarets, where, by their Removal,
and want of Necefiaries, they foon faw a Period of their
Lives And thus, it feems, were the People of Great
Britain to be ferved. In France, Lines and Trenches
were caft up to confine the Diftemper and the People
within due Bounds, and to prevent the bringing them
Provifions; and in England the fame Methods were to
be taken. In France, Peft-houſes were built, for the
Reception of Perſons that ſhould be infected; and here
we were to have Barracks erected, though perhaps for
another Purpoſe, to wit, to receive an armed Force.
The Barbarity and Inconfiftency of theſe three Claufes,
are fo very apparent, that no Country, but an arbitrary
Government, could poffibly have furniſhed us with Pre-
cedents for them: And we may obferve, with what Ar-
tifice the Statute is penned to make them go down. The
Statute enacts, That his Majefty may order Ships, or
cauſe Lazarets to be provided for entertaining Perfons in-
fected
72
A compleat Hiftory of the
fected and obliged to perfon Quarentine. Here the
Word Ship is put before the Word Lazaret (which is ob-
ferved throughout the whole Act) to make us under-
ſtand the Act only related to Quarentine at Sea; which
the generality of the People believed, without knowing
or confidering rightly, the Meaning of the Word Lazarit,
and Peſthouſe at Land.
Then the Words Tents, and Sheds, are inferted juſt be ·
fore the ordering the opening and airing of Goods, as if
only defigned for thofe Purpofes. But when the Popu-
lace were alarmed with Reports of Defigns to build Bar-
racks in feveral Parts of the Kingdom, to receive Per-
fons infected with the Plague, and the Plague had made
its Approaches nearer to us, they then grew very uneafy
and turbulent, and by their perpetual Clamour againſt
the Contrivers of this Law, at length they got the extra-
ordinary Clanfe repealed.
:
But it was above a Year after the Act was granted that
this was done And after Petitions had been prefented
to both Lords and Commons, which in one Houſe were
rejected, and, at firft, by the other Houfe received with
very little Notice, though afterwards it was carried, on
the repeated Outcries of the People, when a new Elec-
tion was near approaching, and on duly confidering the
excellent Proteft made by the Lord Cowper, and others,
upon rejecting the Petition of the City of London.
Whether our Parliament paffed this Law defignedly,
or not fo, is not material to enquire into: That fome of
them muft defign it is certain; for certainly all of them
could not be ignorant of what they were doing: And if
the generality of our Reprefentatives, by their gre:t Pe-
netration, could not diſcover the Defign of this Law, I
think I may fay, that the Members of the Septennial Par-
liament have fhewn themſelves as remarkable for their
Wiſdom as their Honeſty.
Now I come to the ſeventh and laft Seffion of this glo-
rious Parliament. When the Parliament was affembled,
the first Thing they took into Confideration was the
Charges of the Year, and the Debts of the Nation, of
which they ordered Eftimates to be given in, particular-
ly of the Navy Debt, and Debts due to the Army.
They alfo ordered Accounts to be laid before them of
the
›
Late Septennial Parliament.
73
the Cuftoms, and other Revenues, and feemed, for fome
time, to be pretty warm in calling Perfons to Account
for Mifmanagements.
\
The Lords went into a Committee to conſider of the
Cauſes of contracting fo large a Navy Debt, when eve-
ry Year Proviſion had been made for the Navy. Great
Debates arofe on this Head, at feveral Meetings, but
they came to no Refolution. The Lords were for having
the Treaties with Spain laid before them; but this was
oppofed, and on the Queftion being put, it was carried
againſt it. They alfo refolved, that an Addreſs fhould
be prefented to his Majefty, for an Account how the
Spanish Ships of War, taken in the Engagement in the
Mediterranean (on our eſpouſing the Caufe of the Empe-
ror against Spain) had been difpofed of: And the Ad-
drefs being prefented by the Lords, the Papers were de-
livered them, which not being fatisfactory, a Motion
was made for a Repreſentation to the King, but it paſſed
in the Negative.
By theſe Negative Proceedings in the Upper Houſe, it
was eaſy to be ſeen that every thing here went in favour
of the Court, or the Court Favourites: And this mani-
feſted itſelf further, when the Lords rejected, by a very
great Majority, the Petition of the City againſt the Qua-
rentine Act. In the Lower Houſe of Parliament, there
appeared the ſame kind of Spirit; for the Commons had
very great Debates before they would order in a Bill for
the Repeal of this Statute: There were 75 Members
againſt it, when the Houſe was fo thin as not to exceed
the Number of 190 on this great Occafion. A Liſt of
this Number of 75, and alfo feveral other Lifts of this
Nature, would be an acceptable Curiofity to the Pub-
lic; and there's no doubt but they will be publiſhed.
:
Upon many Occafions, this Seffions, there were very
thin Houfes And tho' frequent Orders were made for
a Call of the Houſe, yet it was never once called. I
don't ſee to what Purpoſe our Members of Parliament are
elected, if they are not conſtantly to appear, and fit in
the Houſe: And it is undoubtedly, rightly confidered, a
very great Breach of Truſt in them, not to be preſent
when any Thing of Importance is tranfacting in the
Senate.
VOL. II.
D
But
74.
A compleat Hiftory of the
But to proceed to the Bufinefs of the Parliament :
They refolved, That feven thoufand Seamen fhould be
allowed for the Service of the Year; and to continue
the Number of Forces of the former Year, viz. fourteen
thouſand three hundred Men; they made a Proviſion for
paying them, and granted to his Majefty one Million of
Money to diſcharge the Debts of the Navy. They
granted a Land Tax of 2 s. in the Pound, and no more;
continued the Duties on Malt, &c. and made an Act to
puniſh Mutiny and Defertion
They paffed a Law to enable his Majefty to prohibit
Commerce with any Kingdom or Country, for the better
Prevention of the Plague being brought to us; at which
Time, and not before, the Objection was found out to
the Quarentine Act, in the Manner I have mentioned:
They likewife made a Statute against the clandeftine
Running of cuſtomed Goods, and alfo to prevent the
Plague; which has a Claufe in it very difadvantageous
to our Merchants. A Bill was now paffed for the fur-
ther Encouragement of the Importation of naval Stores;
for taking off Duties on Merchandize, and annulling
Duties on Soap and Candles; and for the better fup-
preffing of Pyrates at Sea, which were now very nume-
rous, and grown very formidable.
Amongst other Statutes, a Law was made to im-
power the South Sea Company to fell fo much of their
Stock as would enable them to pay their Debts; though
the Parliament refuſed to comply with the Petition of the
South Sea Subfcribers, praying to be relieved by a
Diftribution of the two Millions (in the Hands of the
Company) which they thought they had reafon to ex-
pect.
The Septennial Parliament alfo, in this Year, paffed
an Act for altering the Form of the Quakers Affirmation,
which, I am informed, exempts them from the Uſe of
the Word God in their folemn Declarations: And this
was carried in both Houses, notwithſtanding the Clergy
of the City of London petitioned against it, as impious,
and contrary to Religion; but our Members wanted the
Affiſtance of theſe People in their Elections, and thought
it no great Difficulty to give thema Licence to have no-
thing
Late Septennial Parliament.
75
thing to do with that great and awful Power they had
themſelves fo little Concern with.
Next to this, in Complaifance to the City, and to do
what they could towards the Ruin of it, a Bill was
brought into the Houfe for building a Bridge over the
Thames at Weminſter: It ſeems the Archbishop's Horfes
had received great Colds in pafling the Lambeth Ferry,
and to prevent this Miſchief, thouſands of People were
to be ruined at the other End of the Town; but on
hearing the Council for the City, and on the very great
Clamour made againſt it, this Bill was dropped.
About this Time alfo a Bill was ordered, to prohibit
the Practice of building Ships for Foreigners; it is ob-
fervable that this was done after a Fleet of Ships of 60
and 70 Guns each had been built for France, under the
Notion of Miffifippi Merchantmen, though every one
knew, by the Manner of building them, that they were
otherways defigned, and that they might one Day meet
us to difpute the Empire of the Sea: But this, as it had
all along been connived at, ſo now it was only con-
fidered in the Houfe of Lords, without ever being exa-
mined into by the Houfe of Commons, to the beſt of
my Remembrance.
The Bill for better fecuring the Freedom of Elections,
was now brought into the Houfe of Commons, on a
Motion made by Mr. Archibald Hutchefon; and it pretty
eafily paffed this Houfe, though it was generally appre
hended, that it was owing to a good Underſtanding with
the Houſe of Lords, and to an Affurance that there it
would be rejected, as it was on its fecond Reading: The
Lords adjudged it incompatible with their Privileges,
and therefore threw it out; but to the Honour of fome
of our Peers be it remembered, the rejecting this Law
was oppofed: for Protefts were entered againſt it, by
many noble Lords, though Debates arifing upon them,
the Protests that were made were ordered to be expunged.
་
As this Bill, which propofed the fecuring to us, what
is moſt valuable to a free People, the Freedom of our
Elections, has many excellent Claufes in it, tending to
the Suppreffion of Bribery, from whence is our greateſt
Danger, I fhall infert it at large, whereby the Reader
may the better judge of its Ufe, if it had paffed.
D 2
The
76
A compleat Hiftory of the
:
The Copy of a Bill for better fecuring the Freedom of Elec-
tions of Members to ferve for the Commors in Parliament.
F
OR better fecuring the Freedom of Elections of
Members to ferve for the Commons in Parliament,
and further regulating fuch Elections, and for more ef-
fectual preventing corrupt and irregular Practices and
Proceedings, in electing and returning fuch Members;
be it enacted by the King's moſt excellent Majeſty, and
with the Advice and Confent of the Lords Spiritual and
Temporal, and Commons, in this prefent Parliament
affembled, and by the Authority of the fame, that the
Meſſenger attending the Great Seal, or other Officer, or
Perſon who ſhall be appointed, employed, or intruſted
by the Lord Chancellor, Lord Keeper, or Lords Commif-
fioners of the Great Seal, for the time being, to carry, fend,
or deliver, any Writ or Writs, to be iffued after the 25th of
March 1722, for the Election of any Member or Members
to ſerve in Parliament for any County, City, Borough,
Town, or Place, within England, Wales, or the Town of
Berwick upon Tweed, fhall deliver, or caufe fuch Writ or
Writs to be delivered to the Sheriff, or other proper Of-
ficer, to whom the Execution thereof doth belong, and
to no other Perfon whatſoever, within the refpective
Times following (that is to fay) to fuch Sheriff, or
Officer, whofe then Place of Abode fhall be with-
in thirty Miles of the City of Westminster, within one
Day next after the Delivery of fuch Writ or Writs to
fuch Meffenger, Officer, or Perfon intrufted as afore-
faid, and to fuch Sheriff, or other Officer, whoſe then
Place of Abode ſhall be above thirty Miles diftant
from Westminster, and within fixty Miles thereof, within
two Days next after the Delivery as aforefaid; and all fuch
Writs fhall be fo delivered in like Proportion of Time,
for any greater Diſtance than fixty Miles from Westmin-
fter: And that every Meffenger, or Perfon having or
carrying any fuch Writ or Writs, fhall not delay the
fame, but fhall be obliged to travel immediately there-
with, with all Expedition, after the Rate of thirty Miles
every
Late Septennial Parliament.
77
every Day at the leaft, after the Receipt thereof, until
the Delivery of the fame to the Sheriff, or other proper
Officer aforefaid; and any Perfon wilfully offending in
the Premiſes, fhall, for every fuch Offence, forfeit the
Sum of 100 l. of lawful Money of Great Britain, to be
recovered and applied in the manner hereafter men-
tioned.
And be it further enacted, by the Authority aforefaid,
that the Meffenger, or Perfon carrying fuch Writ or
Writs, fhall upon the Delivery thereof to the Sheriff, ´or
proper Officer aforefaid, take a Receipt or Receipts for
the fame, which Receipt or Receipts the Sheriff, or pro-
per Officer, is hereby required to give gratis, expreffing
the particular Days of the Receipt of fuch Writ or Writs,
and the fame Receipts fhall be delivered by fuch Meffen-
ger, into the Office of the Clerk of the Crown, there
to be filed and kept.
And be it further enacted, by the Authority aforefaid,
that all Bonds, Contracts, or Agreements, given or
made to any Sheriff, or other Returning Officer, to in-
demnify, or fave harmleſs fuch Sheriff ot Returning Of-
ficer, for making a Return of any Member to ferve in
Parliament, or to pay to fuch Sheriff or Returning Offi-
cer, any Sum or Sums of Money, by Way of Gratuity
or Reward, for making fuch a Return, or otherwiſe in
reſpect thereof, are hereby declared to be null and void.
And be it further enacted, That every Perſon giving or
making, and every Sheriff or Returning Officer accept-
ing or taking fuch Bond or Agreement, fhall refpective-
ly, for every fuch Offence, forfeit the Sum of one thou-
fand Pounds, to be recovered and applied in manner
herein after mentioned, and fhall, from thenceforth, be
incapable of holding or executing any Office or Employ-
ment of Profit or Truft under the Crown, or of being
elected to ſerve in the Houſe of Commons for any County
or Place whatfoever.
And be it further enacted by the Authority aforefaid,
That upon every future Election of any Member or
Members to ferve for the Commons in Parliament, every
Elector, or Perfon having, or claiming to have, a Right
to vote, or to be polled, at fuch Election, fhall, before
D 3
...... he
78
A compleat Hiftory of the
}
he is admitted to poll at the fame Election (if required
by any of the Candidates or Electors prefent) take the
following Oath (or being one of the People called Qua-
kers, thall make the folemn Affirmation appointed for
Quakers) that is to fay,
I, A. B. do fwear (or affirm) that I have not received,
or had, by myself or any other Perfon whatſoever, di-
rectly, or indirectly, any Sum or Sums of Money, Of.
fice, Place, Employment, Gift, or Reward, or any
Promife or Security for any Money, Office, Employ-
ment, Gift, or Reward whatsoever, in order to give
Vote at this Election.
1
my
Which Oath, or Affirmation, the Officer, or Officers
prefiding or taking the Poll at fuch Election is, and are
hereby impowered and required (upon fuch Requeft) to
adminifter gratis, upon Pain to forfeit for every Neglect,
or Refufal fo to do, the Sum of forty Pounds of lawful
Money of Great Britain.
And be it further enacted, by the Authority aforefaid,
That if any Perfon taking the Oath or Affirmation here-
in before mentioned, fhall be guilty of wilful and cor-
rupt Perjury, or of falfe affirming, and be thereof con-
victed, he and they, for every fuch Offence, fhall incur
and fuffer the Pains and Penalties which are by Law
enacted or inflicted in Cafes of wilful and corrupt Per-
jury; and from and after fuch Conviction, fhall be in-
capable of Voting in any Election of any Member or
Members to ferve for the Commons in Parliament.
{
And be it further enacted, by the Authority afore-
faid, 1 hat if, after the 25th Day of March, 1722, any
Perfon or Perfons, who, by Virtue of his or their Of-
fice or Employment, Offices or Employments, fhall have
the Power of iffuing, or directing the Iffuing, of any
public Money or Moneys belonging to the Crown, ſhall
order, give, iffue, or promife to be concerted, in the
ordering, giving, iffuing, or promifing any Sum or Sums
of Money belonging to the Crown or the Public, to any
Perfon or Perfons, in order to influence the Election or
Return of any Member or Members, to ferve for the
Commons in Parliament, or the Vote or Votes of any
Elector
Late Septennial Parliament.
79
Elector or Electors in fuch Election, every fuch Officer,
knowing the fame to be iffued for fuch corrupt Purpoſes,
being thereof lawfully convicted, fhall forfeit the Sum of
1000 /. of lawful Money of Great Britain, to be re-
covered and applied as herein after is directed, and ſhall
be, ever after fuch Conviction, incapable of having,
holding, enjoying, or executing any Office, Employ-
ment, or Place of Truft or Profit under the Crown, or of
having or receiving any Benefit or Profit arifing by, or
from any fuch Office, Place, or Employment, or of
having any Allowance or Penfion from the Crown what-
foever; and fhall be alfo difabled to fit or vote as a
Meinber of the Houſe of Commons.
And be it further enacted, by the Authority aforefaid,
That from and after the 25th of March 1722, every Per-
fon who fhall be elected a Member of the Houfe of Com-
mons, for that Part of Great Britain called England, the
Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick upon Tweed,
or returned as fuch (except the eldeft Sons of Peers, or
of Perfons qualified to ferve as Knights of Shires, and
the Members to ferve for the two Univerſities in that
Part of Great Britain called England) fhall be incapable
to vote or fit in the faid Houfe during any Debate there,
after their Speaker is chofen, until fuch Member ſhall
have given into the Clerk of the Houfe of Commons,
a Paper figned by himſelf, containing a Recital or Par-
ticular of the Lands, Tenements, and Hereditaments,
whereby he makes out his Qualification required by an
A&t paffed in the 9th Year of the Reign of her late Ma-
jesty Queen Anne, (intitled, An Act for fecuring the Free-
dom of Parliaments, by the further qualifying the Members
to fit in the House of Commons) and of ſuch Lands, Tene-
ments, and Hereditaments, whereof the Party hath not
been in Poffeffion, and in actual Perception of the Pro-
fits for one Year, to his own Ufe, before the Election:
He ſhall alſo inſert in the fame Paper from what Perfon,
and by what Conveyance or Act in Law, he claims and
derives the fame; and alſo the Confideration, if any
paid, and the Names and Places of Abode of the Wit-
neffes to fuch Conveyances and Payment, and until he
ſhall have alſo taken the following Oath, viz. I A. B.
do fwear, that I truly and bona fide, have an Estate in
Law
D 4
80
A compleat Hiftory of the
Law or Equity, to or for my own Ufe or Benefit, of, or in
Lands, Tenements, or Hereditaments (over and above what
will fatisfy and clear all Incumbrances that may affect the
fame) of the annual Value of 600 1. above Reprizes, which
do qualify me to be elected and returned to ferve as a Member
for the County of
according to the Tenor and
true Meaning of an Act paſſed in the 9th Year of her late
Majesty Queen Anne, (intitled, An Act for fecuring the
Freedom of Parliaments, by the further qualifying the
Members to fit in the Houſe of Commons) and that my
faid Lands, Tenements, or Hereditaments are lying, and be-
ing within the Parishes, Townſhips, and Places mentioned
in the Particular by me given in to the Clerk of the Houfe of
Commons: And in cafe fuch Perfon is returned to ferve
for any City, Borough, or Cinque-Port, then the faid
Oath fhall relate duly to the Value of 300 l. per annum,
and be taken to the fame Effect (mutatis mutandis) as is
hereby prefcribed for the Oath of a Perſon to ſerve as a
Member of fuch County as aforefaid: Which Oath fhall
be folemnly and publickly made between the Hours of
nine in the Morning, and four in the Afternoon, by eve-
ry fuch Member of the Houfe of Commons, at the
Table, in the Middle of the faid Houfe, and while a
full Houſe of Commons is there duly fitting, with their
Speaker in his Chair.
And whereas, contrary to the true Meaning of the
Laws now in being, for regulating the Electors of Par-
liament, to ferve in Parliament for the Shires and Stew-
artries of that Part of Great Britain called Scotland, fome
of the Freeholders and Electors have fometimes pre-
fumed to feparate themſelves from the general Meeting
of the Freeholders and Electors, and have, to make dif-
puted Elections, elected ſeparately a Member to ſerve in
Parliament, and certified ſuch Election to the Sheriff, or
other Returning Officer; which Practices are of dange-
rous Confequence: For the preventing the like for the
future, Be it declared and enacted by the Authority afore-
faid, That all fuch Separations and Certifications are,
and fhall be taken and deemed to be illegal, and utterly
null and void, and that no Prefes or Clerk, or other
Perfon whatſoever, fhall preſume to return any Perfon
to the Sheriff or Returning Officer (other than, and ex-
cept
Late Septennial Parliament.
8.1
cept the Prefes and Clerks chofen in the Place where
the Sheriffs Court, or Steward's Court, is ufually held,
by the Majority of the Freeholders and Electors, inrol-
led, and upon Pain to forfeit as in the Cafe of a falſe
Return).
And be it further enacted, by the Authority aforefaid,
That any Sheriff, or other Returning Officer, who fhall
take upon him to make a Return of any other Perfon
but who is certified to him by the Clerk and Prefes of the,
faid Meeting, to have been elected by the Majority of
the Freeholders inrolled, ſhall be liable to forfeit and pay
10001. Sterling, over and above the Penalties by Law,
intitled upon Returning Officers making falfe Returns.
And be it further enacted, by the Authority aforefaid,
That all pecuniary Penalties inflicted by this Act, fhall
be to the Informer or Profecutor, who fhall profccute
the Offender or Offenders, to Conviction, with full Cofts,
where fuch Penalties fhall not exceed the Sum of 100 l.
And of all other Penalties hereby inflicted, two Thirds
fhall be to fuch Informer or Profecutor, with full Cofts,
and the other Third to the Poor of the Pariſh, or Place
where the Offence ſhall be committed; and the faid Pe-
nalties fhall be recovered by Action of Debt, Bill, Plaint,
or Information, in any of his Majeſty's Courts of Record
at Westminster, or before the Lords of the Seffion in Scot-
land refpectively. And in none of the Cafes aforefaid,
ſhall any Effoign, Privilege of Parliament, or other Pri-
vilege, Protection, or Wager of Law, be granted or al-
lowed, nor any more than one Imparlance. Provided
always, that every Information, Action, or Proſecution,
grounded upon this Act, fhall be commenced within the
Space of one Year, next after the Caufe of Action ſhall
arife, or the Offence be committed, and not afterwards.
The firſt Part of this Bill was drawn up upon occafion
of a pretended Election for the Borough of Minehead (on:
a Vacancy there) in favour of Mr. Richard Lane, who
took the Writ from the Perfon ordered to convey it to
the Returning Officer, and kept it in his Pocket till the
very Day of Election, and yet he escaped unpunished,
though the Meffenger directed to carry the Writ was
taken into Cuftody of the Serjeant at Arms: The other
D 5
Parts
82
A compleat History, &c.
P.
arts of this Bill are home againſt Bribery, falfe Returns,
and the Influence of the Exchequer, and to the utmoſt
ftrict as to the Eftates and Qualifications of Members of
Parliament. Upon the whole, this Bill was gloriously
defigned; and I hope to fee the Time (though it may
not be very foon) when it will be enacted into a Law.
Thus I have gone through my Narrative, or Hiſtory
of the Séptennial Parliament, the first of its Kind in
Great Britain; whereby I have demonftrated how truly
they have diſtinguiſhed themſelves in the making many
excellent Laws, and rejecting of others; in their ftrict
Attachment to our ancient Conſtitution, and not altering
the fame above once in a Seffion; in guarding the Rights,
Liberties, and Properties of the Subject, like true Watch-
men, upon all Emergencies; in relieving thofe Perfons
for whom the public Faith was engaged, and the pu-
niſhing of Cheats and National Robbers; in eafing our
Pockets of the Burden of our Coin, and defigning us
Barracks for our future Refidence; and lastly, in all
thefe their Wiſdom and Penetration, as well as Juftice
and Equity; on all which Accounts, I think, I may
fay, they have vaftly exceeded all that ever went before
them.
I
4
An
[83]
An Eſſay on the Practice of Stock-jobbing,
and fome Remarks on the right Uſe, and
regular Improvement of Money. In a
Letter to a Gentleman, and a Propri-
etor of South-Sea Stock.
By THOMAS GORDON, Eſq;
Anno 1724.
SIR,
S
INCE you was pleafed to communicate your
Defire to know my Sentiments and Opinion con-
cerning the modern Practice of Stock-jobbing;
in Compliance with your Requeft, I fend you my im-
partial Thoughts in this Letter; which comes to ac-
quaint you, that the irregular Method of acquiring
Riches by Stock-jobbing, was always inconfiftent with
my deliberate Judgment, as being contrary to the natu-
ral and clear Dictates of Reafon, as well as the plain
Admonition of Confcience, directing and inftructing us
to govern our Words and Actions, according to the
ftrict Laws, and facred Rules of Truth, Juftice, and
Equity.
By the Practice of Stock-jobbing, I think it neceſſary
to inform you, that I apprehend and mean thofe guile-
ful Arts, and unjuſt Attempts, which are uſed to raiſe
and fink the public Stocks of this Nation with no other
View, or better Deſign, than to gratify the immoderate
and infatiable Defires of fome covetous and ambitious
Perſons, at the Expence of leffening the Subftance, and
procuring the irreparable Lofs and Calamity of others.
Thefe irregular and deceitful Methods of growing
rich, and obtaining a plentiful Eftate with great Dif-
patch and Speed, have been (fometimes) maintained and
carried on, partly by fpreading falfe Reports concern-
ing the public Affairs, cither Foreign or Domeftic, in
ſuch a manner, as may influence the Buyers and Sellers
D 6
of
84
An Eſſay on the
of Stock; and partly by forming clandeftine Clubs, and
fecret Cabals, to invent divers Schemes, and various
Projects, promoting the unequal Advantage and Intereft
of feparate Parties, and exciting Difcord and Sedition.
But more eſpecially thefe extraordinary Means, and
effectual Meaſures of attaining and increafing Wealth,
have been further advanced, and in a great Meafure,
fupported by a peculiar Cuftom of giving Money for
the Refufal of Stock, and obliging one Perfon to tranf-
fer and deliver it to another at fuch a diftant Time, and
particular Price, as is agreed on between the feveral
Parties concerned, who generally make it a verbal Con-
tract. By Advantage whereof, it happens at certain
Times, that a large Quantity of Stock is locked up, and
kept from being bought or fold for a confiderable
while, and the Remainder being reduced to a leffer
Bulk, more eaſily is raiſed to an immoderate Height, by
the leading Men, and chief Managers of their Defign,
who always embrace the fudden Opportunity of felling
large Parcels of their own Stock, in fuch a favourable
and lucky Seafon; whilft that which continues unfold,
foon after finking fafter than the former rofe, by this
crafty Device, is brought to a much lower Price, and
fmaller Value; which often occafions an irretrievable
Damage in the Eſtates and Fortunes of the other Pro--
prietors.
Some Perfons, who endeavour to diſguiſe and colour
bad Actions with quaint Words, and fpecious Phrafes,
call this artful Management by the French Terms of
Fineffe and Chicanery, which really is no better, nor worſe,
than gainful Fraud, and profitable Knavery.
By which Means, and by the Invention of fuch ſubtle
Projects, and cunning Contrivances, a great Number of
honest and well-meaning People, are not only liable to
be deprived of Part of their lawful Property, and are
expoſed to the conftant Hazard of many bitter Difap-
pointments, and grievous Misfortunes; but the English
Nation in general, perhaps, at fome Time or other, will
be in Danger of having its Strength impaired, and
Riches exhaufted; in as much as the extraordinary Pro-
fit, and exceffive Gain which redounds to the Stock-
jobbers Intereft, will always encourage and invite Strang
ers.
Practice of Stock-jobbing.
8.5
ers and Foreigners to come hither, in hopes of purfuing
the fame delightful Game, and making the fame Ad-
vantage, as others have done of the Rife of Stock; which
being exchanged for current Money, by feveral Ways
may be tranfmitted, and conveyed from this Nation, to
other remote Countries.
I do not pretend pofitively to affert, or foretel, that
the common Practice, and faſhionable Cuftom of Stock-
jobbing, will certainly be attended with any fuch terri-
ble Calamity; but I am fully perfuaded by impartial
Reaſon, and convinced by Experience, that thoſe many
artful Means, and particular Meaſures which have been
concerted, and ufually are employed to raife Stock to
an exceffive Price above its due and intrinfic Value; and
chiefly the forementioned Practice of giving Money for
the Refuſal of Stock, and making fictitious Contracts
and Bargains, does naturally tend to produce great Dif-
quietude, anxious Trouble and Sorrow in the Minds of
private Perfons; and in like manner does contribute ta
fow the Seeds of public Contention, wild Diſorder and
Confufion; and feems to prefage (if not by proper Au-
thority prevented) further Miſchief, and other future
Difafters.
As the general Happiness and Welfare of any parti-
cular Kingdom or Nation, does very much confift and
depend on the common Induſtry and Frugality of its nu-
merous People and Inhabitants, the regular Improve
ment of Trade, the free Circulation of Money, and its
juſt Application to all the uſeful Ends and Exigencies of
Life; fo nothing contributes more to impoverish a Na-
tion, than to encourage and countenance crafty and ill-
defigning Perfons to invent unrighteous and felf intereſt-
ed Schemes (under the fpecious Pretence of doing Good)
and give an iii Example of getting Riches by diſhonour-
able and injurious Ways, by reftraining or fuppreffing
the current Coin, by an unequal and laviſh Diſtribution
of it to fome, and by prohibiting the Uſe of it to o-
thers, and by hindering the neceffary Growth and In-
creaſe of Trade and Commerce..
If we truly reflect on the unhappy Circumſtances of
thoſe who have lately formed a black and execrable
Confpiracy againſt a juſt and merciful Prince, and well-
regulated
86
An Eſſay on the
regulated Government, it appears very probable, that
feveral of thoſe Gentlemen, and others, concerned in
that Confpiracy, have been made the wretched Tools
of mercenary Stock-jobbers.
Such Perfons who delight to fish in troubled Wa-
ters, never fail to watch and improve every convenient
Opportunity of embroiling the peaceable State of pub-
lic Affairs, when foever it ferves their private Intereſt, or
gratifies their covetous Defires; and forafmuch as any
fudden or furprizing Tumult raiſed among the Popu-
lace, gives them a greater Power to depreciate the Cre-
dit of the Nation, and fink its various Stocks, when it
promotes their ambitious Defigns, or turns to their per-
fonal Advantage.
It is a melancholy Confideration, and cannot but ex-
cite painful Impreffions of fincere Grief, and lively
Sorrow in every generous and compaffionate Perfon, that
furveys the ruinous Effects, and pernicious Confequences
of Stock-jobbing.
*
How many People of all Ranks and Conditions,
have fuffered the Lofs of a confiderable Part of their
rightful Property, and neceffary Means of their Subfift-
ence, and have Reafon to date their Affliction from that
very Time in which they confented to fubmit their va-
rious Eftates and Fortunes to the adventurous and un-
fkilful Management of unjuft + Directors, and ambiti-
ous Stock-jobbers.
If we confult the Wiſdom of former Ages, and en-
quire into the ancient Cuſtoms and Ufage of other Na-
tions, justly celebrated for their prudent and excellent
Conduct, in governing the People committed to the fu-
preme Magiftrate's Charge, we ſhall find by fearching
their respective Records, that the moſt eminent Legiſla-
tors have framed feveral good and righteous Laws, to
punish all criminal Diſorders of this Nature.
The ancient Romans had no less than Five Laws to
reform the common and exceffive Abuſes of Money,
and inany others were made and enacted by them, to
regulate extravagant Expences.
* The Subfcribers of the Annuities in tle Year 1720.
The late South Sea Directors.
See Kennet's Roman Antiquities,
The
Practice of Stock jobbing.
87
The Jews inhabiting a fertile and plentiful Country,
and being amply furnished with the diftinguiſhed Blef
fings of Nature and Providence, were exprefly com-
manded by God, not to receive any Profit or Advan-
tage from Ufury amongſt their Native Countrymen.
Although this Precept does not immediately concern
us, who dwell in a different Climate, and being a trad-
ing People, are governed by different Laws; neverthe-
lefs, it ought to inftruct us, that true Riches does not
confift in collecting ufelefs Hoards of Pelf, and per-
verting the needful Aids and Service of Money, to
promote the bafe and little Defigns of covetous and
worldly-minded Perfons; but ought rather to be em-
ployed in Acts of Piety and Charity, in fetting the
induftrious Poor to work, in improving and increafing
the natural Products of the Earth, in cultivating ufe-
ful Arts and Sciences, and advancing folid Learning, and
univerfal Knowledge to the utmoſt Perfection.
Amongst the many excellent Laws and Statutes which
our English Legislature has formed for the Benefit of
Mankind, and good of Pofterity, fuch of them as here-
tofore have been enacted by our Anceſtors, to rectify
the irregular Abufe of Money, and reform the vicious
Excefs and Expence thereof (excepting thofe Laws which
relate to Gaming and Ufury) are either difufed, as ex-
ceeding old, and out of Date, or being temporary, and
limited to a particular Time, are now expired.
As nothing is more evident than that Money is an un-
profitable Drug, and carries little or no intrinfic Value,
unless it is circulated in Trade, and exchanged for
Things more valuable; whereas Land and live Stock
increaſe by keeping, and Manufactures are uſeful whilſt
kept. It would be a noble Defign, and richly deferving
the due Applauſes of all honeft and upright Men, if
fome proper and expedient Method could be invented,
to turn our current Money into its right Channel, by
augmenting foreign and domeftic Trade, and eſpecially
by promoting the neceffary and laborious Arts of Tillage
and Huſbandry; a competent Portion whereof employed
this way, would be found more profitable and condu-
Leviticus xxv.
cive
88
An Effay on the
cive to the real Welfare and Advantage of Mankind,
than the Wealth of both the Indies, fhould it be locked
up, and lie unimproved in covetous and uncharitable
Perfons Hands.
According to the Computation of an ingenious * Au-
thor, it appears a manifeft Truth, that the yearly Re-
venue ariling from the Labour of our English People,
amounts to near eight or nine Times as much as the an-
nual Rent of all the plowed Lands throughout the King-
dom.
And fuppofing there are ten Millions of Acres of wafe
Land, if Five Thouſand Poor that want Employment,
were fet to work in cultivating the fixth Part of the fore-
faid waſte Lands, would make the whole yearly Product
to the Kingdom worth above two Millions Sterling
which annual Profit computed at twenty Years Purchaſe,
it adds more than forty Millions Sterling to the general
Stock and Value of the Nation; and upon the whole
Tract and Extent of waſte Land throughout the King-
dom, we might keep two Millions and a half of People
more than we have, and by this Means add an immenfe
Treaſure to the Value thereof.
From whence it may plainly be inferred, and clearly
feen, that next to the Favour of God, upon the Increaſe
of regular labouring People, does very much depend
the greatest Wealth, Strength and Honour of the Na-
tion.
The Kingdom and Empire of China, is ten times as
big as Great Britain, and yet there is no waſte Land
in that fpacious Country, and (as it is generally faid)
they are the richeſt People in the World; and though
they have twenty times more Inhabitants than we, yet
the Poor there are well and decently clad, and are all
employed; they providing fuitable Work even for the
Lame, Blind and Dumb.
Our Riches confiſt very little in our Money, in Com--
pariſon of the other Parts of our Eftates; for, what is
fourteen Millions of Money in this Kingdom, to three
hundred Millions which the Nation may be valued at ;
or the Money every private Man is Mafter of, in Com-
*Fellers on Trade, and Dr. Davenant's Effay on Ways and:
Means.
pariſon
Practice of Stock jobbing.
89
parifon of the Value of all the rest of his Eſtate in
Land, Houfes, or Goods.
I remember the late celebrated Archbishop of Cam-
bray, in fome Part of his Book (called The Adventures of
Telemachus) compares a rich and populous City, a-
bounding with a great Number of ufelefs Artifans, and
a barren uncultivated Country around it, to a Perfon
that has a Head of an extraordinary Bulk, and prodi-
gious Size, and all his other Parts extremely confumed,
and almoft wafted to a Skeleton.
Wherefore no Perfon has Reaſon to overvalue him-
felf on account of his imaginary Wealth, confifting in
Heaps of hoarded Money, numerous Stocks, or coſtly
Furniture; fince all theſe are but the Carcaſe of Riches,
without the Labour of the People, and fo long as Co-
vetouſneſs eats out the Life and Soul of them.
As it is the undoubted Right and Privilege of every
Subject of Great Britain, to feek and implore a Redreſs
of Grievances, from the fupreme and illuſtrious Affem-
bly of the Nation; with due Submiffion it is earneſtly
defired by many fincere and public-fpirited People, that
fome peculiar and effectual Means would be uſed to
prevent and fupprefs the Miſchief of fraudulent Stock-
jobbing; either by declaring all fictitious Contracts here-
after illegal and void, which fhall not be immediately
complied with, and punctually fulfilled; and by inflict-
ing a proper Puniſhment on all Perfons affuming a falfe
Power, and pretending to fell and buy Stock for them-
felves, or others, who have neither Money to purchaſe,
nor Stock to deliver; or by fuch other Ways and Means
as fhall feem moſt adviſeable and agreeable to the fage
Council and confummate Wifdom of the Parliament.
At the fame time it is much to be wifhed, and fur-
ther defired, that fome additional new Laws, by the
fupreme Legiſlature, would be made and eſtabliſhed, as
well for the Advantage and Benefit of Trade, as for the
Improvement of Manufactures, for the Enlargement of
Hofpitals and Workhoufes, for the Relief and Support
of the miferable Poor refiding and continuing in Gaols
and Priſons (as being reduced to extreme Diſtreſs, and
treated with greater Rigour and Severity in this Nation
than other Countries.) But more particularly for employ-
ing
90
An Effay, &c.
ing the induſtrious Poor in tilling and improving fome
Part of thoſe wafte Lands within this fpacious King-
dom, which hitherto have lain neglected, and never
been cultivated.
By which Means, and by the Favour and Protection
of divine Providence, it is exceeding probable, that the
public national Credit, which has lately been diminiſhed
by the unhappy Schemes, and unfuccefsful Projects of
Stock-jobbers, at length would be restored to its former
Luftre, and ancient Dignity; our Trade, and various
Stores increaſe, and folid Wealth and Plenty, lafting
Profperity and Happineſs, be tranfmitted to future Ages,
and fuccceding Generations.
•
· I am, S IR,
Your most obedient,
And faithful Servant, &c.
An
[91]
An authentic Narrative of the late Pro-
ceedings and cruel Execution at Thorn;
with two Letters written upon that Oc-
cafion by Britannicus, in the London
Journal. To which is prefixed, An Ac-
count of the Rights and Privileges of
the City of Thorn.
By THOMAS GORDON, Efq;
Anno 1725.
The INTRODUCTION.
T
or
O give a particular Account of Prufia, and
the Privileges of its Cities, I must begin from
the first Inſtitution of thofe Knights who conquer-
ed it. This happened about the Year 1100,
very little after; but fo inconfiderable was the Founda-
tion, that no Notice was taken of them till the Year
1190 or 91, when an Expedition to the Holy Land was
undertaken by Richard I. of England, and Philip of
France; but thefe Actions are foreign to my preſent
Purpoſe. I fhall juft obferve, that thefe Knights were
called Fratres Hofpitii Hierofolymitani, for their great Hof-
pitality; Mariani, for their Devotion to the Virgin
Mary; Teutonici, from their Nation, being all Germans ;
Equites Cruciferi, from their Arms; and are ſtill known
by the Name of the Teutonic Order.
About the Year 1203, another Order of Knights, call-
ed Enfiferi, appeared in the North; and in 35 Years, the
whole Time of their Duration, they took from the
Danes, Revel, Estonia, and all that belonged to them
in Livonia. But finding the Enemy too ftrong for
them, and the fecond Great Mafter being dead, they
propofed calling in to their Affiftance the powerful
Teutonic Order, which was upon the Point of being
quite
92
An authentic Narrative of the
quite driven out of Paleftine, as not having fufficient Forces
to withſtand the Saracens. Theſe readily embraced the
Offer, and in the Year 1238, they were united in the
Prefence of the Pope, retaining the Name of the Teuto-
nic Order.
Pruffia was at this Time inhabited by Heathens, who
were very troubleſome to Conradus, Duke of Majovia,
who called the Teutonics to his Affiftance; and they
readily engaged in a War againſt the Pagans: But not-
withſtanding all their Bravery, and ſeveral Crufadoes that
were raiſed in their Favour, they were 53 Years before
they conquered all Pruffia, and extirpated the Na-
tives; but at length they effected it, and all that Tract
of Land became fubject to the great Mafter of that Or-
der.
But in Proceſs of Time, thefe Knights, corrupted by
Wealth and Power, grew very degenerate, and exercifed
fuch Tyranny over the People, that Pruffia was ripe for
a Revolt; and Uladislaus Jagello, the brave King of
Poland, having in a ritched Battle, overthrown the
Knights, the moſt adjacent Parts of the Kingdom fhook
off the Yoke they groaned under, and put themſelves
under that Monarch's Protection; and all Pruſſia had
done the fame, had not the Pope interpofed between
them; and by his Mediation it was agreed, that feventy
Towns and Caftles, which were ſpecified, fhould be de-
livered to the King of Poland, and the remaining Part
of Pruffia ſhould be held by the Teutonic Order, as a
Fief of the Kingdom of Poland. In which State it
continued till 1657, when all that Tract called Ducal
Pruffia, was, with Sovereign Power, transferred to the
illuftrious Houſe of Brandenburgh, and that Part called
Royal Prufia was to remain to the Crown of Poland
which, however, was not at that Time wholly under its
Subjection, fome Part of it, particularly Thorn, being
then taken from them by Sweden.
The Knights of this Order, or at leaſt the Remains
of them who were under a Heer-Meiſter, were obliged
to retire to Livonia, where they again carried on feve-
ral Wars. After the Reformation of Martin Luther,
they accepted the Confeffion of Augsburg, as did the
greateſt Part of Pruſſia; and the full and free Exercife
of
Late Proceedings at Thorn.
93
of their Religion was granted them, provided they would
tolerate the Roman Catholics amongst them; but the
Knights being at laſt worſted by their Neighbours, were
obliged to feek the Protection of the neighbouring Po-
tentates. The Town of Revel, with Part of Estonia,
made Peace with Sweden, and paid Homage to Ericus,
whilft the Heer-Meifter and the Marquis of Branden-
burg did the fame to the King of Poland, for themſelves
and all thofe Places which had formerly belonged to
them, and which, as faft as they could be recovered from
the Enemies, ſhould alſo appertain to the Crown of Po-
land, and Great Dutchy of Lithuania; but upon Con-
dition, that the King and his Succeffors fhould maintain
them in the Confeflion of Augsburg, and not fuffer any
Innovations to be made therein; but should confirm to
all the Provinces their Privileges, Laws and Liberties in
Temporal and Spiritual Things, &c. This Pacta Sub-
jectionis being concluded, was fworn to on both Sides, at
a Dyet held at Wilna, the 28th of November, in the
Year 1561, and is confirmed by every King of Poland
in the Oath he takes at his Election, when the Mainte-
nance of the eſtabliſhed Religion in the ſeveral Parts of
his Dominions, is folemnly promiſed.
In the War between Charles Gustavus of Sweden, and
John Cafimir, King of Poland, fome Part of Polish Pruj-
fia was conquered; amongst others, the Swedes took
Thorn in the Year 1655; but the King dying, and his
Succeffor being but five Years old, the Treaty which
had been begun in his Life-time was renewed, and the
Monaftery of Oliva pitched upon for the Place, where
it was at length concluded, and figned the 3d of May,
1660, between the Poles and Savedes as Principals, and
the Emperor and Elector of Brandenburgh as Allies,
each Party becoming Guarantee for the whole Treaty.
The King of France too appeared as Mediator and Gua-
rantee; but the Emperor refufing to accept him as fuch,
he was not named in the Treaty exchanged with his Im-
perial Majefty. It was at the fame time ftipulated, that
at the Exchange of the Ratifications, each treating Par-
ty fhould have the Liberty of naming other Guaran-
tees, by which means the Elector of Hanover alfo be-
came one.
By
1
9 of
An authentic Narrative of the
3
By this Treaty, Thorn and the other conquered Places
were reftored to Poland, with this Covenant *
"That
"the Towns of Poliſh Pruffia, which, during this War,
have been in the Emperor and the King of Sweden's
Power, ſhall likewiſe preſerve all their Rights, Liber-
"ties and Privileges, in Matters Ecclefiaftical and Civil,
*which they had enjoyed before this War (in preſerving
"the free Exercife of the Catholic and Proteftant Reli-
gion, as they had before the War) and his Poliſh Ma-
jefty fhall have, for the future, the fame Goodneſs he
formerly had for them, and defend with the fame Care
"the Territories of thofe Towns, their Magiftrates,
Communities, Citizens, Inhabitants, and Subjects.
They fhall likewife have Power given them to repair
"and rebuild the public and private Edifices ruined by
the War, &c.
66
The City of Thorn is governed by a Prefident, a Vice-
Prefident, a Burgrave, a Vice-Burgrave, and the City
Council, who, according to their Charter, ought all of
them to be Lutherans: They difpofe of the Command
of the Militia, and the Officers too fhould be Lutherans ;
but they are to tolerate the Roman Catholics amongſt
them. There has, fince the Reformation, been a very
fine College there, where the Lutheran Youth of Poland
in general, uſed to be educated, the beſt Churches of the
Place were theirs, even fince the Peace of Oliva, that is,.
within thefe 65 Years: But they have been, by Degrees,
very much encroached upon by the Roman Catholics, ef-
pecially by the Jefuits, who having got a College there
alfo, feduce as many of the Lutheran Youth as they can:
Nor do they care by what Means they compass their
Ends; for if they can but once excite a Quarrel, they are
fure to get by it; for though the Mob fhould do no Mif-
chief, they'll take Care to do enough, and lay it upon
them.
The Foles are very great Bigots; and having now in-
tirely fubjected thefe Towns, which at firſt only put
themſelves under the Protection of the King, they uſe
them in a very arbitrary Manner; and if a religious Dif-
ference arifes, they have generally no Regard to Juſtice
* Treaty of Oliva, Art, 2. p. 3. Puffen, de Reb. Sue.
or
Late Proceedings at Thorn.
95
or Treaties, but facrifice all that dare oppofe the Catho-
lics. By thefe Means Thorn has fuffered more than once;
and the Jefuits, who are never accuſed of being over
confcientious, know how to make the beft Ufe of this
Spirit of Bigotry, and to acquire new Poffeffio:es, and
new Riches, which they have no Title to. An Example
of which was ſeen in this laſt Commotion; for though
it was evidently known, that the College of the Jefuits,
with all their Furniture, &c. was not worth above
30,000 Florins at moſt, yet they offered to fwear the
Damage they had fuftained at 30,600. The Commif-
fioners, after having examined into the Miſchief done,
allowed them 22,000, which was about double of what
they really fuffered, whether from the Mob or themſelves,
befides which, the Vice-Prefident's Houſe and Gardens,
adjoining to the College, was given to them.
In the other Differences that have happened between
the Jefuits and the unhappy Lutherans, the latter, tho'
always the leaft guilty, have always been puniſhed, and
the former rewarded; but this was never done in fo fla-
grant a Manner before: Till now they contented them-
felves with fining them, or taking a Church at a Time;
but by this laft Judgment againit the Proteftants, they
have deprived them of their Rights, Eftates, Religion,
and Lives.
That what I here fuggeft has real Foundation, and
that the Jefuits themfelves were the original Contrivers
and Fomenters of this Tumult, with this View, appears
clearly from the Letters of the Kings of Denmark and
Prufia; and that the Roman Clergy have been at all
Times capable of fuch a Conduct, is alfo undeniably
evident, from a Letter written by Sir Henry Neville,
Ambaſſador in France, to Secretary Cecill.
66
"There happened upon Corpus Chrifti Day laft at
"Limoges, a Matter which doth eaſily diſcover the Paf-
"fion and Malice yet remaining in the Popish Side here
againſt the Proteſtants. Certain Priefts themſelves
"went into the Church in the Night, and broke down
"fome Images, and (as they fay) caft the Sacrament
"about the Church. In the Morning the People af-
"fembling, a great Exclamation was made by the Prieſts
"of this Outrage, and fome principal Men of the Re-
ligion
}
96
An authentic Narrative of the
*
••
«
ligion in that Town, charged by Name to be the Do-
ers of it. The People by and by grew in Fury, and
"would have proceeded to the prefent Execution of
them, taking Arms, as I am informed, for that Pur-
pofe and the other Side arming themſelves likewiſe
"for their own Defence. Monfieur de Salignac, Go-
vernor of the 'Town, arriving and examining the Mat-
"ter, found that one of the Religion was charged by
"Name to have been an Actor in it, who had been in
ર
his Company all that Night: Whereupon, fufpecting
"the Matter, he caufcd fome of the principal Accufers
to be feverely examined, and namely, one offered to
depofe that he had feen this Man there, whom Mon-.
"fieur de Salignac knew to be abfent; and threatening
him with the Torture, drew the Confeffion from him
"of the whole Practice, and that they had done it to
"the Intent to have moved the People to a Sedition,
" and to have cut the Throats of them of the Religion :
..
Hereupon fome of them were apprehended, and fome
"fied. What Juftice will be done hereupon is much
"expected. This Matter will be difguifed, I am fure,
σε
to your Honour, by the French Ambaffador; but this
"is the Truth of it, as I received it from Monfieur de
"Bellicore, of whofe Sincerity I find more Cauſe daily
to believe than in Monfieur de Villeroy's; who, when,
"I was with him at Conftans, denied that there was any
"fuch Matter at all, and fince hath fought to diſguiſe it
to me as much as he could, fuppreffing all that touch-
"eth the Priefts." Winwood's Coll. Vol. I. p. 55. Ann.
1599.
cr
The Behaviour of the Roman Catholics in Poland upon.
this Occafion, is very remarkable, and agreeable to the
Conduct of this worſt Part of their Clergy; for the Letters
from Warfar, Cracow, Lemberg, and other Places in Po-
land fay, that the dreadful Execution at Thorn, has filled
both the Romish Clergy and common People with extra-
ordinary Joy; and as there is no other Pofiſh Country,
where People of Diftinction, as well as the Vulgar, pay
more keverence and Devotion to Images than they do in
the abovefaid Kingdom, fome are ſtill of Opinion, that
this Execution, as fevere as it was, is no fufficient Atone-
mert
Late Proceedings at Thorn.
97
ment for the Profanation of ſuch an Image as that of the
holy Virgin.
But we hope there will foon be ſome effectual Methods
taken to redreſs theſe unhappy Sufferers at Thorn; for
befides the Letters inferted in the following Paper's, it is
affured that the King of Great Britain has written to the
King of Poland with his own Hand, on their Behalf; and
from Berlin we have Advice, that his Prufian Majeſty
having been informed, that the Roman Catholics, not-
withilanding their enormous and unheard of Proceedings
at Thorn, are ftill going on with their Perfecutions, and
labouring at the total Oppreffion of the Proteftant Citi-
zens of that Town, has fent to his Polish Majeſty at
Drifden another Letter, in much ſtronger Terms than the
former, concluding that his Polish Majefty would be
pleafed to interpofe and exert his Royal Authority to put
a Stop to thefe farther Proceedings; in Default whereof,
he fays, he muſt expect to fee this Affair redreffed in an-
other Manner, and with great Eclat.
An authentic Narrative of the late Pro-
ceedings and cruel Execution at Thorn.
HE Tumult at Thorn, and the Proceedings
thereupon, have made fo much Noife in the
World, and the Affair fo nearly concerns the
Proteftant Intereft and the Reformed Religion in general,
that it is highly requifite an authentic Account of it
fhould be delivered down to Pofterity, and every origi-
nal Piece preferved that relates to it.
This Affair was long talked of, before we could come
at any real Account of it. The firft Piece which can
be called authentic, was that which was fent by the
Council of that City to the King of Poland, and is as
follows:
O
N the 16th of July, (O. S.) the ordinary Proceffion
being arrived at St. James's Church-yard, which
Church had been taken from the Lutherans, contrary to
the Peace of Oliva, there were there a great Number of
the Citizens Children to fee the Proceflion pafs, with
VOL. II,
+
E
their
98
An authentic Narrative of the
their Hats under their Arms, according to Cuftom; but
a Student of the Jefuits College, not latisfied with that
Mark of Civility and Refpect, would needs have them
kneel down, and gave them bad Language and Blows.
About two Hours after the Proceffion, the fame Student,
with ſeveral of his Comrades, came again, and inſulted
feveral other young People, without the leaſt Provoca-
tion on their Part; but in the End, this troubleſome
young Man was feized by the Soldiers of the Garifon,
and brought to the Guard, after he had wounded feveral
Citizens with Stones. Next Day the Students got toge-
ther again, and meeting one of the Citizens whom they
had abuſed the Day before, they would oblige him to
get their Comrade fet at Liberty; but the Man had the
good Fortune to get out of their Hands, and went for
Safety to his own Houfe, whither they purfued him
Sword in Hand. In the mean time, the Preſident of the
City had given Orders for ſetting the Student at Liberty,
at the Request of the Rector of the Jefuits College; but
another Student being likewife carried to the Guard-
Room, his Comrades would oblige the Prefident to ſet
him at Liberty alfo, which he refuſed to do till he had
fpoke to the Rector. Upon this the outragious Stu-
dents ran furiouſly to the Guard-Room, to reſcue their
Comrade; but being repulfed, they fought to revenge
themſelves upon a Townfman, whom they purſued
Sword in Hand to the Burgrave's Houſe, where he took
Shelter. After that, they attacked a Lutheran Student,
who was at the Door of his Lodgings in his Night-
Gown; whom they dragged by the Hair as far as their
own College, threw him into the Canal, and beat him
feverely: Which done, they fallied out with Sabres in
their Hands, and wounded feveral People that came to
the Student's Affiftance; but the Preſident having fent
thither the Town-Guard, they were obliged to betake
themſelves to their College. The Prefident, at the fame
time, reclaimed the Lutheran Student, but the Rector
would not let him go till the Student of his College was
fet at Liberty firft. Whilft this Exchange was making,
fome of the Trained-Bands of the Town were ordered
to post themſelves before the Jefuits College, to protect
them from the enraged Populace; but when the Students
fired
Late Proceedings at Thorn.
99
fired upon them, and threw Stones from within, it was
not poffible to reftrain the People, who forced open the
Gate, and were doing what they could to revenge the
Students Cruelty; when in that very Inftant, the Town-
Clerk, who had got the Lutheran Student fet at Liberty.
came and obliged them to retire. It was then thought
that the Riot was over; but the Guards that were poſt-
ed before the College had fcarce marched off, when the
Students from within fired again, and threw Stones at
the People, who forced open the Gate again, plundered
the College, and committed great Diſorders, till a De-
tachment of the Garifon and Trained Bands came to the
Jefuits Affiftance, and difperfed the People, &c.
To invalidate this Account, the Jefuits drew up an-
other, which they alſo diſpatched to Court, which ran
thus:
A faithful and true Catholic Account of the horrid Tumult,
and most barbarous Profanation of the Chapels, and fa-
cred Oratories, together with the overthrowing of the
Altars, pulling down and afterwards facrilegiouſly burn-
ing, in the open Street, the Images of our Saviour, the
moft bleſſed Virgin, and other Ɛaints, accompanied with
infinite Blafphemies and Mockeries; and lastly, of the
pillaging of the whole College of the Jefuits at Thern,
committed by the Hereticks of the fame City, on the 27th
of July 1724.
LE
EST the Heretics fhould, according to their Cuf-
tom, excufe and palliate, by artful Lies and Ca-
lumnies, their impious Attempts and Outrages, we fhall
here give the Reader a fhort, but faithful, Account of
what has paffed. But first of all it will be neceſſary to
lay down a fundamental Caution, fufficient to enervate
and invalidate any Accounts that come from Heretics,
on what Head foever. This Caution is grounded upon
the very Principles of their Faith: By which it will ap.
pear, that even in worldly Affairs, infinitely more Cre-
dit is to be given to a Catholic Evidence or Writing, than
to thofe of the Diffenters; fince the Roman Catholics
affert and believe, that they are able, and ought, on
E 2
Pain
200 An authentic Narrative of the
Pain of eternal Damnation, to keep God's Command-
ments, whereof the following is not the leaft, Thou shalt
not bear falfe Witness (much lefs in Writing, becauſe it
defcends to Pofterity) against thy Neighbour, were he even
a few: Which Commandment the Catholics hope and
ftrive, with the Grace of God, to obferve; whereas the
Heretics are of a quite different Opinion, maintaining
an Impoffibility to keep God's Commandments, and
confequently the abovefaid. For which Reafon, the
Obfervance of God's Laws is what troubles them the
leaft Nay, they are juftly afraid, that the more they
ftrive to act and to live up to God's Commands, the
more they trefpafs upon their Syftem of Faith, by ob-
ftinately refifting God's pre-neceffitating Will, by which
they are actuated and forcibly influenced in all their Do-
ings, whether good or bad; infomuch, that ſhould they
tell any Truth, or do any Good, through their own
Choice and Free-will, they would (in their Opinion) be-
tray a Diffidence as to the only faving Faith, and detract
from the Fulnefs of Chrift's Satisfaction, and his infinite
Merits.
On the 27th of July laft, being one of the holy Vir-
gin's Feſtivals, when the holy Sacrament was carried in
Proceffion round about St. James's Church, a mean Lu-
theran Burgher came to gaze at it with his Hat on, and
uttered ſeveral Blafphemies, with an Intent to provoke
the Catholics; for which a Student of the Jefuits, being
fired with a holy Zeal and Indignation, chaſtiſed him
only by pulling off his Hat. No fooner was the Pro-
ceffion over, but the Lutherans gathering together in the
abovefaid Church-yard, without regard to that facred
Place, and the Church Immunities, fell upon the faid
Student, beat him barbaroufly, and dragged him, cover-
ed with Blood, to the Guard-Houfe, where this Avenger
of God's Honour was ignominiouſly kept till the next
Day: Upon which fome Catholic Students, according
to their Duty, went peaceably to the Burgrave of the
City, moft humbly defiring him to releaſe the Prifoner,
affuring him withal, that he fhould appear when required.
But they were anſwered, Let thofe who committed him
releaſe him. Then they went to the Prefident of the
City, who having likewife given them a frivolous An-
Iwer,
+
Late Proceedings at Thorn.
fwer, they followed the Burgrave's Advice, and applied
themſelves to the Burgher, whom they defired, in a civil
manner to get the Student fet at Liberty, fince he had
been the Occafion of his Confinement, engaging for his
Appearance before any competent Court; but inſtead of
complying, the faid Burgher got one of thoſe interceed-
ing innocent Students alfo committed, without the leaft
Cauſe or Offence given. The Students being thus baf-
fled, went again to the Preſident, in order to follicit the
Releaſe of their Comrade, who was laſt committed; but
the Prefident's Domeftics, far from admitting them,
laughed at them, and forcibly turned them out of Doors
with opprobrious Language. When the Catholics per-
ceived that nothing would do, and being no longer able
to bear the Injuries this Uncatholic City had done them,
and especially of late, when a Student of a noble Family
was feized in his Chamber at Midnight, almoſt undreſ-
fed, to the great Difgrace of the Catholic Nobility, and
from thence kicked down Stairs, and hurried away to
Priſon, where he was kept all Night; and though his
Innocence appeared next Day, he could never obtain
any Satisfaction for the Affront given him. The Jefuit
Students and the Nobility, having often met with fuch
premeditated Treatments from the Lutherans, and being
afreſh irritated by what happened laft, they feized and
carried away a Lutheran Student, though without the
Knowledge of the Fathers Jeſuits, and brought him into
their College; however, without any Defign to return
the fame ill Ufage, but only in View to exchange this
Diffenting Student for the two Catholics under Arreft,
afſuring him that he ſhould be fet free again without any
farther Moleftation. But then it was that the Mob rofe,
not fo much by the Connivance, as by the Inftigation of
the Magiftrates, the Gates being purpofely fhut fooner
that Day than uſual, having for their Leader the Town-
Clerk, who excited the People to break the Windows of
the College, inftead of demanding the Lutheran, who
would have been immediately delivered: By which it
was evident, that they aimed not fo much at having the
Lutheran Student releaſed, as to fhew their Fury and
long premeditated Vengeance against the Jefuits, for
having brought over fo many Lutherans to the Catholic
E 3
Church.
102
An authentic Narrative of the
Church. Afterwards they broke open the Doors, whilft
the City Guards which were come up, far from check-
ing them, encouraged them, in Hopes of fharing in the
Booty, in cafe of Refiftance: But feeing that the Aggref.
fors were in no Danger from thofe within the Schools
and the College, who were only armed with religious
Innocence, they withdrew, by Order of one of the Con-
fuls, who did not fo much as give the leaft Rebuke to the
Aggreffors. Whereupon the enraged Mob feeing their
Cenfor gone, and their Crime countenanced, rushed fu-
riously into the Schools, broke and overturned what-
ever they found in their Way, and afterwards forced
open the Chapel and Oratories, where they demoliſhed
the Altars, hewed down the facred Statues, and tore and
hacked to Pieces the Images, and efpecially that of the
holy Virgin; and what is moſt abominable, dragged to
the public Square before the Schools, the Statues of the
blefled Virgin, of St. Xaverius, Cafimir, and others,
where they burnt them openly, impiouſly exulting and
leaping all the while over the Fire, borrowing thefe blaf-
hemous Words from the Jerus and Heathens, Now, now
Woman, fave thyself! fince the Papifts boaft ſo much of the
Help theu oferdeft them; and then fcoffingly cried out,
Vivat Jefus, Maria, Jofeph! And not contented with
having thus infulted the greateſt Saints, they returned a
fecond Time to the College; where having with ſtill
greater Fury forced the Gates, they beat and abufed
moft cruelly all thofe of the holy Order that came in
their Way; moft of which were obliged to hide them-
felves in Holes and under the Roof to fave their Lives,
whilft thoſe Miscreants were bufy in breaking open their
Cells, and carrying away their Goods: Which done, they
forced open the Chapel Door, which was curiouſly carved,
with their Hatchets, cut to Pieces all the Images of Saints,
and vented their unbounded Fury even upon two Cruci-
fixes, one of which was fplit with an Ax, and the other
tabbed with Swords and ſhattered with their Fire-arms.
Having now nothing left to demoliſh and to rob, they
went to find out God's Servants to put them to Death ;
upon which the Commandant of the City, whoſe Affift-
ance was till then vainly implored, under Pretence that
his Men were to be employed againſt the Enemy, and
not
Late Proceedings at Thorn.
103
not againſt the Citizens, being informed of the utmoſt
Danger the Fathers and others of the College were in,
thought fit to appeafe the Tumult at Midnight, by for-
cing out of the College thofe impious Wretches: With-
out which Succours, though they came very late, all the
Jefuits, and even all the Roman Catholics of that He-
retic City, would probably have loft their Lives. How
they have behaved themfelves in the following Days,
and what they have done after more mature Deliberati-
on; how they braved afterwards the King and the Se-
nate's Authority; and how they almoſt renewed the
Sedition when the Crown Troops were fent againſt
them, is fufficiently known, and fhews a premeditated
Confpiration againſt the Catholics; which, however, we
refer to the Judgment of thoſe who have the fupreme
Judicature and Power in their Hands. As for us, we
pray heartily for their Repentance, and that they may
be converted, and return to the Communion of their
Forefathers, and fo live.
[Thus far the Jefuits Account.]
'I fhall obferve here, that this Tumult happened much
about the Time when they were chufing Nuncios for the
Dyet; or, to give the English Reader a jufter Idea, Mem-
bers of the Polish Parliament; and thefe, as well as their
Electors, the Jefuits thought neceffary to fpirit up be-
forehand in their Caufe: Every Sunday they appeared in
the Pulpits, and filled the Minds of their Hearers with
the Danger of the Catholic Church, and the Peril they
were in amongst falfe Brethren. Their Difcourfes pro-
duced the defired Effect; as will be feen when I come
to ſpeak of the Dyet.
But left any Time fhould be loft, they diſpatched
other Emiffaries to Court to deny and confute all the
Proteſtants might ſay; and with fuch Succefs there, that
Commiffioners were appointed to go to the City and ex-
amine into the Matter, in order to make the Report;
but theſe did not confiſt of an equal Number of Ca-
tholics and Lutherans, as the Nature of the Caufe re
quired, but was a Commiffión wholly compoſed of
Papifts, Men whom the Jefuits knew they could very
well depend upon.
E 4
Alarmed
104 An authentic Narrative of the
Alarmed at the News of this Commiffion, the Ln-
therans immediately difpatched an Expreſs to Court, to
defire that the Perfons appointed to examine into this
Affair, might be half Lutherans and half Papiſts; but
in the mean time the Commiffioners proceeded, and
foon diſpatched their Buſineſs.
The Report being made, Inftructions were given to
the Affefforial Tribunal, or High Court of Juſtice, to
proceed to the Trial of the Proteftants of Thorn; the
Attorney-General was ordered to profecute, and the Je-
fuits fent in their Depofitions.
;
The Lutherans now faw a Storm gathering againſt
them, and began to apprehend the Confequences of it;
but yet they flattered themſelves, that when brought to
a Trial, they ſhould be honourably acquitted, it being
their Right and Privilege to be tried by a Commiffion,
one half of which fhould be compofed of Proteftants
but they only flattered themſelves, that Regard would
be had to Right. The Affefforial Tribunal confifting
alfo of all ſtaunch Roman Catholics, were the Perfons
ordered to take Cognizance of the Affair, and Sentence
was foon paffed upon the Magiftrates and others, and
that in a very extraordinary manner; for far from be-
ing prefent at their Trials, they did not fo much as
know the Day when they were to come on; nor was
the Caufe judged upon the Place, or in the County
where the Fact was committed; the Criminals, as they
were deemed, being at that Time exercifing their Of-
fice, or at leaſt in their own Houfes at Thorn, whilft the
Profecution against them was carrying on at Warsaw.
The Sentence or Decree pronounced by the Affeffo-
rial Tribunal on this Occafion, was, that the Prefident
and Vice-Prefident ſhould loſe their Heads, for not hav-
ing endeavoured to appeafe the Tumult, as they were
by their Offices obliged; and that their Eſtates ſhould be
confifcated to defray the Charges the Town had been at
on this Occafion.
Gerard Thomas, Burgrave, and Quinmerman, Vice-
Burgrave, both Lords of Thorn, were declared infa-
mous, and incapable hereafter of holding any Place of
Truft, and were alfo to be impriſoned, and to pay a cer-
tain Fine for Neglect of their Duty, in not having pa-
cified
Late Proceedings at Thorn.
105
cified the Tumult: And two Officers of the Garifon of
Thorn were fined and committed to the Tower, becauſe
they did not hinder the Populace firing again upon the
Jefuits College.
Harder, Moab, and Thirteen more fpecified in the
Sentence, were condemned to loſe their Heads, as hav-
ing been the firſt Aggreſſors in the Jefuits College; and
fome others accufed of having burnt the facred Image
of the Virgin Mary, were fentenced to have their Right
Hands cut off, then to be quartered, and their Bodies to
be burned under the Gallows.
The Church of St.Maria belonging to the Lutherans,
was by the fame Sentence taken away from them, and
given to the Roman Catholics, and the Lutherans or-
dered to buy Plate for the Altar to be there erected. The
Lutheran College, to which all the Proteſtant Youths of
Poland and Lithuania uſed to be fent, is to be removed
a League out of Town. The Town is to pay the Je-
fuits for the Damage they have received in the Tumult.
The Magiftrates and Council of Thorn, which were all
Lutherans, according to their Conſtitution, are for the
future to confift of half Proteftants and half Papiſts, and
all the Officers muft henceforward be Roman Catholics.
Several other Citizens were fentenced to be whipt and
impriſoned, and to pay a Fine, which is to be employed
in erecting a Pillar in the Place where the Image of the
Virgin Mary was burnt, for a perpetual Memorial.
The Nuncios of the Dyet, as I before obſerved, had
been ſpirited up in this Cauſe, and that to ſuch a De-
gree, that when they affembled, they refuſed entering
upon any Affair, till the Jefuits fhould have received
Satisfaction, and the City of Thorn be punished for the
Riot; and this certainly haftened the Sentence..
The Dyet not content that this Decree was given by
the Affefforial Tribunal, fearing left it ſhould be miti-
gated, ordered it to be brought before them; although
it was an Affair that they had not the leaſt to do with,
nor was it their Bufinefs to take any Cognizance of it
But notwithſtanding all this, it was brought before them,
and they unanimously (the only Inftance of their Una-
nimity during their fix Weeks fitting) confirmed it into
a Law. The whole Refolutions of the Dyet confiſted
but
E 5
106
An authentic Narrative of the
but of four Articles; and This, which was the Third,
was much longer than the Two firft, though they related
to the Safety and Protection of the Kingdom. I am
not willing to quote Authorities, without inferting them
at length, and therefore fhall give my Readers a Tranf
lation of this Article.
III. As the Inhabitants of Thorn, in Defiance of the
• Conftitutions, and the Decrees of our ferene Prede-
ceffors, and even in Contempt of all Laws both Di-
vine and Human, have, by the Connivance of their
Superiors, and upon a flight Occafion, lifted up their
• infolent Hands against the Perfons and Places dedi-
'cated to God, wherein they have behaved themfelves
• with the greateſt Boldneſs and Affurance, becauſe the
like Diſorders paffed formerly with Impunity; info-
* much, that the orthodox Religion, the public Safety,
• and the Liberty of the Church, have not only fuffered
great Violence, but, which is yet more fcandalous, the
• Laws are become contemptible.
$
•
And forafmuch as it highly concerns us, and the
•States of the Republic, that our Subjects and Inha-
bitants ſhould live peaceably, and mutually fupport
4 one another; therefore, to the End, that infſtead of ſo
• manifeſt Contempt of God and the whole Cœleftial
Hierarchy, facred Perfons and Gods upon Earth ſhould
⚫ be reverenced and refpected according to the divine
Will, and that the Laws of the Kingdom be likewiſe
maintained, the Decree iffued from our Affefforial Tri-
• bunal at the Inftances of our Sollicitor-General, and
the Reverend Fathers the Jefuits of the College of
Thorn, against the Magiftrates of the faid City, the
Seditious and Ringleaders of the Tumult, fhall be forth-
* with executed in its full Extent: We hereby ftrictly
charge our Crown Generals to aflift the Commiffaries
appointed to execute that Sentence, to furniſh and to
"march as many Troops as will be neceffary for that
d Purpofe, but without departing from the Military Dif-
cipline eſtabliſhed by the new Law.”
4
When this Decree came down to Thorn, it very much
furprized its Inhabitants; but there was Time enough
left
Late Proceedings at Thorn.
107
;
left for his Pruffian Majefty and the other Proteftant Princes
to interpofe, and ftop the Execution of the Sentence;
and immediately accordingly the Kings of Pruffia and
Denmark difpatched Expreffes to his Polish Majesty, with
the following Letters.
The King of Pruffia's Letter to the King of Poland.
WBC
E cannot forbear acquainting your Majeſty how
deeply we have been afflicted by the fevere Sen-
tence lately paffed and publiſhed againſt the Inhabitants
of Thorn, on account of the unhappy Tumult arifen
there. Nothing indeed could more move our Compaffion,
than to ſee theſe poor People of our Communion pro-
ceeded againft, not only with Fire and Sword, under
the Pretence of avenging God's Honour, but alſo with
taking away their Church and School, and overturning
the Conſtitution of that City, in order to compleat the
Oppreffion of the Proteftant Inhabitants. Had the City
of Thorn been guilty of an open and avowed Rebellion
against your Majefty, and even of the higheft Crimes,
what harder Decree than this could have been pronoun-
ced againſt them? But as the whole Matter in Queſtion
turns upon inflicting Puniſhments for a Tumult raiſed by
the Populace againſt ſome wretched Jefuits, though the
fame Tumult has been maliciously occafioned and fo-
mented by the fame; your Majefty cannot but judge,
according to your great Wiſdom, that the fevere Punith-
ment determined by the Sentence, bears no manner of
Proportion with the Excefs committed; and that it is
againſt all Reaſon, that for the Sake of a few People's
Miſcarriage, fo many Innocents fhould fuffer, and a
whole Town be ruined. Nay, all the reafonable World
will naturally conclude, as it is too manifeſt by the num-
berlefs Circumſtances of this Affair, that fuch a terrible
Sentence, far from being founded upon an impartial
Adminiſtration of Juftice, intirely proceeded from a ve-
nomous Hatred on account of their Religion, inflamed
by all the Artifices and falfe Suggeftions of the Jefuits;
and that they boldly laid hold of this Opportunity to
take away the Lives and Eſtates of the poor Diffenters
at Thorn, and even to deprive them at once of their
Rights
E 6
ד
108.
An authentic Narrative of the
Rights and Privileges. Your Majefty's Justice and Pro-
penſion to protect Innocence oppreffed, being fo well.
known, we hope you will never permit the Execution
of fuch a bloody Sentence, by which the Glory of your
Majefty's Reign would be for ever tarnished. We
therefore moft earneftly defire your Majefty to put a Stop
to that Execution, and to have the whole Affair a-new
and thoroughly examined by an impartial Commiffion,
compofed of juft and moderate Members of both Re-
ligions; to admit the Impeached to plead and defend
their Innocence; and if any be found guilty, to fhew
rather Mercy than the strictest Juftice; and eſpecially to
protect and maintain that City in their Privileges and
Liberties; but above all, to prevent the Effufion of fo
much Chriftian Blood, which cannot be ſpilt without the
greateſt Cruelty. Your Majefty will not take it amifs
that we concern ourſelves fo far for that City, fince we
are bound in Confcience to do it, in an Affair which af
fects thoſe that are of the fame Communion with us;
befides, that we are fully intitled by the Peace of Oliva
to ftand up for the Prefervation of that City, and all
that has been ftipulated for them, as well as for the other
Cities of Polish Pruſſia, by the Inftrument of the faid
Treaty, and to defend them as far as it is requifite. We
are likewiſe convinced, that the other Powers concerned
in the Peace of Oliva, and particularly the Guarantees,
cannot fee with Indifference, the faid Treaty of Peace
thus infringed and invalidated by the abovementioned
Execution. On the other hand, your Majeſty may be
affured, that you will highly oblige as well Us as all
other Proteſtant Powers in Europe, by taking under your
Protection this poor City, almoft reduced to Defpair,
and preferving it from the utter Ruin it is threatned
with, and which may be attended with dangerous Con-
fequences. We refer Us to what our Major-General
and Envoy Extraordinary Van Schwrin, and his Brother
our Counſellor of Finances, &c. will have the Honour
to repreſent further to your Majefty on that Head.
Expectation of a favourable and fo much defired De-
claration, We remain, &c.
Berlin, Nov. 28.
1724..
In
Frederick-William,
King, &c.
The
· Late Proceedings at Thorn.
109
The King of Denmark's Letter to the King of Poland.
You
YOUR Majefty will undoubtedly call to mind the
feveral Repreſentations we have made to you, and
to the Republic of Poland, in a brotherly and cordial
Manner; and among others, thoſe we have made by
our laſt Letter of the 14th of June, in favour of thoſe
of our Communion in Poland and Lithuania, who are
called Nonconformifts, and who are daily oppreffed by
the Romish Clergy.
We flattered ourſelves, that our Interceffions 'would
have engaged your Majefty to put a Stop to thoſe un-
heard-of Proceedings, to protect their Churches, to
cauſe thoſe that have been taken from them fince the
Peace of Oliva to be reſtored, to maintain them in the
peaceable Exercife of their Religion, and to redreſs all
their other Grievances; and we founded our Hopes up-
on your Majeſty's known Equity.
But we have feen with Grief, that not only your
Majefty and the Republic of Poland have entirely dif
regarded our juft Repreſentations, but alſo that they
continue to take away their Churches; and that they
are more and more endeavouring, under any Pretext
and by indirect Means, to deprive them entirely of their
Rights and Privileges, confirmed to them by the funda-
mental Law of the Kingdom of Poland.
Our Concern increafed beyond Expreffion, when we
faw the dreadful Sentence of the laft Affefforial Tribu-
nal of Warſaw against the poor City of Thorn and its
Proteftant Inhabitants, by which ſeveral Perſons of Note
and others have not only been condemned to one of the
moſt cruel and infamous Deaths, on account of a Tu-
mult and fome Exceffes of the Populace againſt the Je-
fuits, but their Church moreover taken from them, their
Schools demolished, the Form of their Regency fubvert-
ed; in a Word, their Privileges fo dearly bought and
confirmed by the Peace of Oliva, deftroyed, and all
without other Ground than the falfe Depofitions of the
Jefuits, and the Declarations of Witneffes of the fame
Stamp with the Jefuits, without giving the Accuſed a
fufficient Time to prepare for their Defence, nor fo
much
110
An authentic Narrative of the
much as a Hearing; having thus being condemned in
ſuch a hafty and tumultous manner, that few Inftances
can be produced of fuch a Partiality and Injustice.
This affords us ground to believe, that the Jefuits
have themſelves raiſed this Tumult, with a View to have
an Opportunity to deprive at once the Protestants in a
moft horrid manner of their Lives, Honours, Eftates
and Privileges: The rather, fince the Hatred of the Ro-
man Clergy is grown to fuch a Pitch, that unleſs God
interpofes, the Proteftant Religion will be utterly extin-
guiſhed in all Poland and Lithuania, notwithſtanding the
Precautions taken to affure their Liberties and Privileges,
as well by the fundamental Laws of the Kingdom of
Poland, as by the Capitulations confirmed at the Elec-
tion of fucceffive Kings, and even by your Majeſty in a
moft folemn manner, and by the moſt facred Oaths.
Your Majefty will eafily judge, that we cannot fee,
without the deepeſt Concern and Compaffion, all thoſe
unprecedented Perfecutions against thofe of our Com-
munion: And we hope your Majeſty will have Regard
to the juſt Prerogatives of that poor City, and take to
Heart the fad Condition it is reduced to, by reverfing
the unjuſt Sentence of the Aſſeſſorial Tribunal of War-
faw, and by eſtabliſhing an impartial Tribunal, com-
poſed of juft and moderated Members of both Religi-
ons, in order to examine a-new and determine that Af-
fair.
By fo acting, your Majefty will not only do a Work
acceptable to God, who can no ways delight in the
bloody Sacrifice of ſo many innocent Perfons, and who
has reſerved to himſelf alone the Power over Confei-
ences; but you will likewife prevent your Glory from
being tarnished by the Execution of ſo many valuable
Perfons, whofe Blood would cry to Heaven for Ven-
gance: And by relieving thofe of our Communion,
your Majefty will give us a fignal Proof of your
Friendship towards us, which will engage us to fhew,
on all Occaſions, that we are with Attachment, &c.
FREDERICK IV.
Theſe
1:
IIf
:
Late Proceedings at Thorn.
Theſe Interceffions produced no Effect, for about the
Beginning of December, Prince Lubomirsky came before
Thorn with 2400 Men, of the Crown Troops, which were
poſted in all the Avenues; after which, he ſent a De-
tachment of 150 Dragoons into the City, to fecure all
fuch as were ſpecified in the Decree iffued out of the
Court of Chancery at Warfaw. Meff. Rofner and Czar-
nich, one the Prefident, and the other Vice-Prefident,
were ſeized in the Morning in the Church, during di-
vine Service. The Dragoons having thus executed
their Orders, Prince Lubomirsky entered the City with
800 Men, and ordered preſently a Scaffold to be erected.
The City Council would have made an Appeal to the
King, but the Prince oppoſed it; however, three or four
Expreffes were dispatched, one of which was ſent to
the King, with moft fubmiffive Reprefentations and En-
treaties to grant a Refpite, to get Time for the Proteſt-
ant Powers to interpofe their good Offices; urging
withal, that the Clemency the Emperor has of late fhew-
ed to the City of Hamburgh, might ferve as a Precedent
for that of Thorn; and the rather fince by the Tumult
at Hamburgh, where the Imperial Ambaffador's Hotel
and Chapel were demolished, the Majefty of the Em-
peror was ftruck at; whereas the Tumult at Thorn was
only attended by fome Diſorders committed in the Col-
lege of the Jefuits; and yet his Imperial Majefty con-
tented himſelf with laying a Fine upon the City of
Hamburgh, and obliging the Magiftrates to fend a fo-
lemn Deputation to Vienna to afk Pardon. But the Je-
fuits fearing theſe Repreſentations ſhould take Effect,
engaged Prince Lubomirski to diſpatch likewife an Ex-
prefs to the Court, not only to prevent the fufpending
of the Execution, which was fixed on the 15th of De-
cember, but to get Leave to have it done eight Days
fooner; in which having fucceeded according to their
Wiſhes, it was performed on the 7th, when ten Perſons
were executed : The Particulars of which are as fol-
low:
At One o'clock in the Morning, the Cavalry entered
the City, and furrounded the old Town Houfe: At Five
o'Clock M. Rofner, First Prefident, was conducted thi-
ther from his own Houfe by twenty Soldiers, and imme-
diately
TIZ
An authentic Narrative of the
diately beheaded in the Inner Court by the Light of
Flambleaux. At Eight o'Clock the Infantry were pofted
at the four Avenues of the Market, in the Middle where-
of the Scaffold was erected; and an Hour after Meff.
Mafout, Hermets, Becker, Marty, and Meus, were pub-
lickly beheaded, their Right Hands having been firſt
cut off. Soon after, Meff. Karoefe, Haffen, and Schul-
ten underwent the like Execution upon the fame Scaf-
fold, with this Addition, that their Bodies were afterwards
burnt under the Gallows. A Butcher's Boy, who cloſed
that bloody Scene, had his noble Parts torn from him,
and flapped in his Face, before he was beheaded,
whofe Body was afterwards quartered. At three o'Clock
in the Afternoon, the Commiffioners who had affifted at
this horrid Execution, went to the great Lutheran Church
of St. Maria, accompanied by fome Bernardine and Car-
mclite Friars, to take Poffeffion of it; and the next Day
they fung Te Deum in it, affifted by the Jeſuits and the
other Roman Clergy of that City, to give folemn Thanks
for having their Vows accompliſhed.
M. Czarnich, Vice-Prefident of Thorn, has obtained
his Pardon from the King of Poland, but he lofes his
Place, and his Houfe adjoining to the Jefuits College is
confifcated for the Benefit of thofe Fathers; befides.
which, he is to pay a confiderable Sum of Money. A
Citizen named Hyder, who in the Tumult had returned
one of the Students of the Jefuits a Slap on the Face,
and ſtood condemned to die for it, is likewife pardoned,
after having abjured the Lutheran Religion. M. Rofner,
the Preſident,ight have ſaved his Life on the fame
Condition, but he manfully preferred Death, which he
fuffered like a true Martyr. Since the Execution of the
th, feveral Citizens have been whipped. The Writings
of the Lutheran Minifters, who have made their Eſcape
from Thorn, have been burnt by the common Hangman
at the four Corners of the Town Houſe. The Keys of
the great Lutheran Church having been delivered, tho'
with Proteftation, into the Hands of the Commiffioners,
they gave the fame on the Day of the Execution, to the
Bernardine Fryars, who confecrated that Church the next
Day; fo that the Lutherans were obliged to perform di-
vine Service in the Houſe where the Elders meet. The
Jefuits
Late Proceedings at Thorn.
113
Jefuits had drawn up and given in an Account of the
Damage they pretend to have fuffered in that Tumult,
amounting to 30620 Florins; but the Palatine Rebinſki,
one of the Commiffioners, reduced it to 220co Florins,
half of which Sum has been already paid down, and
the reft affigned upon the Revenues of the City Lands.
This done, the Commiffioners made the Inventory of all
the Effects of the Prefident who had been beheaded.
They tell us, at the fame time, that the King of Po-
land would willingly have moderated this Sentence, and
fpared the Lives of thoſe who fuffered, had he not been
prevented by the Precipitation of the Commiffioners of
the Affefforial Tribunal, who haftened the Execution,
and had it performed eight Days fooner than was at
firſt intended: And to prove this, they quote a Letter
written by him to thofe Magiftrates of Thorn, who had
petitioned in behalf of the Vice-Prefident, and of which
the following is a Copy.
THE
HE Contents of your most humble Interceffion in
favour of John Henry Czernick, Vice-Prefident
Burgomafter, dated the 9th Inftant, have been refpect-
fully communicated to us : As we take much at
Heart the fad Condition which the good City of Thorn
has been reduced to by the late Tumult, after having
been otherwife expofed to great Calamities, we had
heartily wished that the Conjunctures could have per-
mitted to pronounce, in our Name, a lefs rigorous Sen-
tence, or at leaft to moderate it in its Execution: And
the Pardon we have granted of our own Accord, even
before your Letter of Interceffion arrived, will fhew you,
that we are rather inclined to act according to the Im-
pulfes of our fatherly Tenderness, than conformably to
the Rigour of Justice.
But thoſe who do net judge fo favourably of his Po-
lif Majefty's good Intentions in this Cafe, on the other
hand alledge, that he has puniſhed fome of them fur-
ther than he had need; ftrict Orders having been fent
to the Magiftrates of Dantzick, not to give the Fugi-
tives of Thorn any Shelter, Lodging, or any other Af-
fiftance
t
114
An authentic Narrative of the
fiftance in their City; but on the other hand, to arreß
and deliver them up into the Hands of Justice.
What may be the Confequence of fuch a fevere Exe-
cution is not yet known: But the King of Pruffia
thought this Affair fo much concerned every Proteſtant
Fower, that, not content with barely writing to the King
of Poland, he dispatched Expreffes to the Courts of
Great Britain, Denmark, and Sweden, with Letters to
the ſeveral Monarchs, with which I fhall clofe this
Piece.
The King of Pruffia's Letter to the King of Great Britain
[N. B. This is the fame with those written to their Da-
niſh and Swediſh Majefties, fave only that in the Let-
ter to the King of Denmark, the laft Paragraph is
left out, and that the fame Paragraph in that to the
King of Sweden, has the Word Compacifcent in-
flead of Guarantee.
Y
OUR Majefty cannot be ignorant of the moſt
dreadful Sentence iffued from the laft Affefforial
Tribunal of Warsaw against the poor City of Thorn, and
its Proteftant Inhabitants, by which feveral confiderable
Perfons, and others of the fame Communion, on Ac-
count of a 'Tumult raiſed by the Populace againſt the Je-
fuits, and the Exceffes committed on that Occafion,
have been condemned to a rigorous and moft infamous
Death; the City deprived of their Church and School;
the whole Conftitution of their Magiftracy overturned;
and, in a word, all their Privileges, acquired at fo dear
a Rate, and confirmed to them by the Treaty of Oliva,
taken from them; and all this upon the falfe Reports of
the Jefuits, and the Evidence they have fuborned to
make their Relation more plaufible, and without fo
much as giving the Impeached a due Hearing for their
Defence; the whole being carried on in fo unjust and
crying a Manner, that few Precedents of ſuch cruel In-
justice can be produced. The Fury of the Romish Cler-
gy in Poland is come to fuch a Height, that they are
now endeavouring not only at the total Ruin of the City
of Thor, but likewife at the utter Extirpation of all the
Diffenters
1
115
Late Proceedings at Thorn.
Diffenters in that Kingdom, which they do not fcruple to
boaft publickly of: Accordingly, certain Conftitutions
tending thereto were ready prepared, and would have
been publiſhed, had the laſt limited Dyet been brought
to its defigned End, whereby the Remainder of the Pro-
teſtant Churches in Poland and Lithuania had been at
once deſtroyed.
The Conſtitutions of the Kingdom of Poland, and
eſpecially the Pacta Conventa, or the Capitulations which
the Republic makes with the Kings at their Election,
and particularly thofe made and corroborated by the
moſt folemn Oaths by the prefent King, concerning the
Protection of the Diffenters, are indeed couched in Terms
fo binding and advantageous to them, that nothing more
could be defired; but no Manner of Regard is had to it,
and the Court of the King of Poland, by an unaccount-
able Connivance and Relaxation, gives the Romish Cler-
gy in Poland fuch a Latitude in all their projected Perſe-
cutions againſt the Proteftants, that if God Almighty
does not interpofe by fome extraordinary Ways and
Means, nothing can be expected from it but the Lofs of
all the Proteftant Churches ftill fubfifting in Poland and
Lithuania. In short, this Affair is come to that Pafs,
that it is not poffible for the Proteftant Powers in Europe,
and particularly your Majefty, who has already given
fo many glorious Inftances of your indefatigable Care
for the Prefervation of God's Church, to look on the
total Oppreffion of thofe of their Communion, without
being moved with the deepeſt Compaffion, and animated
to an equally pious and glorious Endeavour to reſcue
and protect oppreffed Innocence. As for my Part, I am
ready and willing, as bound in Confcience, faithfully to
affift your Majefty in every Thing which you will judge
fit and expedient for this End, and to contribute the
utmost of my Power towards it. I have alfo wrote a
Letter to his Poliſh Majeſty, in favour of the City of
Thorn, of which I fend your Majefty a Copy here in-
clofed But as I am apprehenfive that my Interceffion
alone, without being backed and feconded by your Ma-
jefty, will not be powerful enough to avert the great
Calamity that City, and all the Proteftants in Poland
and Lithuania are threatened with, I leave it to your
:
Majesty's
116
An authentic Narrative of the
Majefty's great Wiſdom, whether it would not be pro-
per to fend an exprefs Miniſter to Poland, and to take
other convenient Meaſures in behalf of this diftreffed
People. I have already ordered my Minifters in Poland
to act in fuch Cafe in Concert with your Majefty's Mi-
nifter, in order to prevent the Effuſion of ſo much inno-
cent Chriftian Blood; to preferve and maintain that Ci-
ty in their Conſtitution, Privileges and Liberties, and to
procure fome Relief to the rest of the Proteftants in Po-
land and Lithuania.
Your Majefty, by being a Guarantee of the Treaty
of Oliva, is every way intitled to concern yourſelf, in a
particular Manner, for the City of Thorn, and the Pre-
fervation of their Rights and Privileges; which leaves
me no manner of Doubt that your Majefty will magna-
nimously refolve it, and do all that will be requifite on
this Occafion. I remain, &c.
Berlin, Dec. z.
1724.
FREDERICK WILLIAM, R.
Two Papers written by BRITANNICUS, upon
Occafion of the foregoing cruel Execution at
Thorn, and printed in the London Journal.
PAPER I.
HERE is nothing more obfervable in human
Nature, than that Forgetfulnefs and Infenfibility
of the greateſt Evils which is feen to
feen to come upon Men
(even of thofe Evils which have threatened Ruin to
themſelves, and every Thing that is dear to them) when
a little Diſtance of Time or Place has intervened, and
they have found themfelves for a Seafon at Eafe from
the immediate Apprehenfions of them. What one Man
or Woman was there amongst us, who, in the Year 1688,
did not ſtart at the Dread of Popery, and of the Methods
of Support which conftantly attend it, and were then
underſtood to be infeparable from it? But, as the Years
have run on, and Eafe and Freedom with them, and
Opportunities been given, of dreffing it up in a more
pleafing,
}
Late Proceedings at Thorn.
117
pleafing, or leis horrible Care, the In.preffion is almoft
worn away in fome, and in others, even a Diſcont nt at
the Expence and Trouble of keeping it out, is fpiung
up in the Room of it. Thus again, it ftruck Froteftants
to the heart once, to iee whole Families, and numerous
Crowds of unhappy Men and Women, driven from their
native Country, where they lived under a warm Sun,
and in a fruitful Abundance, and forced to feek Refuge
in the Charity and Hofpitality of other Nations: But a
Tract of Time has had its Courſe fince, and all this can
be now looked upon with a much more calm and fedaté
Temper. It pleafes Providence therefore, at feveral In-
tervals of Time, to permit Appearances and Facts,
which may either keep us awake, if we are fo; or, if
we are not, may roufe us up from a Sleep, which, if it
continues, muſt be a Sleep unto Death and Deſtruction.
I own, I have Enthuſiaſm enough to lead me to interpret
what has paffed abroad at Thorn in fome fuch Manner
as this. The Proteftant World feems to be in a Le-
thargy. It is Goodness in the Governor of all Things,
to alarm and fhock it into fome Senſe of thoſe Evils,
which are never far removed from it, and ever going
forward, in the Contrivance of fome Men, against it.
Here, therefore, is an Inſtance prefented before its Eyes,
of the implacable Malice and great Power of its greateſt
Enemies, and a flagrant Proof of what all are to expect,
wherever the fame Powers, and the fame Malice, can
prevail. And if Men will not be roufed by fuch Ter-
rors as thefe, they have nothing to blame but their
own wilful and mad Stupidity.
Far be it from any of us to imagine, that Tumults
and Seditions, Uproars and Outrages, fhould not be fe-
verely judged; and every Man concerned in them pu-
nished, in Proportion to the Part he bore in the Guilt,
and this let the Pretence be what it will. No Zeal for,
or against, any thing in Religion, can juftify the Breach
of all or any of the Duties of focial Life. Nay, I will
fay, fuch Evils are rather aggravated, by making what
was defigned for the Peace and Quiet of the World, the
Inftrument and Occafion of Violence and Diſorder. Did ·
any Proteſtants therefore break into the temporal Rights
and Privileges of others, moved by a miſtaken and mif-
applied
118 An authentic Narrative of the
applied Zeal, who would have blamed a due Punish-
ment of the Perfons concerned? Did others provoke
them to this, by any improper Behaviour, let thofe alfo
fuffer fomething, or elie let it pafs as fome Mitigation of
the other. This is not the Point. The Particulars which
give the greateſt Apprehenfion, and raiſe the moſt uneafy
Senfations, are thefe: The Power and Intereſt which
the Jefuits, upon every Occafion, fhew themſelves to
have, and which they, in a particular Manner, have
made too manifeft in this Affair: The Sentence and
Manner of executing it, enough to ftrike Horror into
every Heart, that comes to the Knowledge of it, and
to make every Ear tingle that hears it: The Confequen-
ces of it, beyond the Punishment of cither the real or
fuppofed Delinquent: The Evidence from the whole,
that the great View was to the diminiſhing, and, in
Time, extinguiſhing, not only that particular Branch of
Proteftantifm, but every Thing that prefumes to exalt it-
felf againſt arbitrary Decifions and implicit Obedience.
The Society of Jefuits were the chief and original
Movers of this Tragedy: And that they have Intereſt
enough in States and Kingdoms, to difplay fuch Scenes
when they pleaſe, is but a melancholy Confideration to
any Proteftants or Freemen, who have ever heard of
that Name. That every Member of that Society is of
the fame fiery Make, or inflexible Bigotry, it is raſh and
groundleſs to imagine. But that, ípeaking of them as
a Body, they are the worst, the most terrible, the moft to
be dreaded by all who value any Rights, whether Reli-
gious or Civil; for this we have the Teftimony of the
very beft of the Romish Communion, both for Temper
and Learning, to bear us out, befides the Experience of
many Facts to appeal to. That there is a certain and
eſtabliſhed Difference between fome Members of that
Church and others, is not to be denied or difowned ;
though, whether any of them can be truly fuch, and not
be liable to the Commands of their Superiors, even fo
far as as to be put off from the Bias of all their Good-
nature, and to extinguiſh every Spark of their natural òr
religious Humanity, for the Propagation of their Sect, I
will not now enquire. But it is certain, that there is
thus far a Difference, that many of them have not ſuch
a blind
Late Proceedings at Thorn.
119
a blind Bigotry, as to be perpetually bufy in the form-
ing and carrying on thofe Schemes of pernicious Ruin
and Deſtruction, in which others take a Delight to be
the first and principal Defigners and Actors. Amongst
the latter, none more remarkable than thofe who have
honoured themſelves with the facred Name of Jefus ;
not in order to imitate his unbounded Love, but under
fo good a Title to cover, if poffible, from unwary Eyes,
their own contrary Temper, and oppofite Schemes of
Action. From fmall Beginnings, this Society has raiſed
itſelf to an immenfe Bignefs and Power. Their Repu-
tation was high fome time ago, for the Learning and
Knowledge of fome of their Members; and thefe gained
them Accefs into many Places where their other Quali-
ties would not have done it. But as all Knowledge and
Enquiry into any Truths, become fufpected as danger-
ous to a Religion which hates the Light, becaufe that
which makes manifest is Light; and becaufe one Truth
may unfortunately lead to another not fo harmleſs: This
Path to Reputation and Intereft has been rather fhut up
of late Years, and they have (after Riches, and all the
Strength Riches can procure, have flowed in upon them)
choſe to gain Ground by a greater Zeal, a hotter Bigot-
ry, a more unlimited and voluntary Obedience to the
Holy See, and a more determined Laboriouſneſs in the
extenfive Propagation of the Romish Profeflion, than any
other Sect of that vaſt Body has been able to do. When
this Society therefore gains Ground, and fhews its
Strength, amongst the Rulers of this World, all Pro-
teſtants, and every Soul that has a Feeling of what the
Freedom of focial Creatures, and the Happineſs of ra-
tional Creatures, in any Degree mean, muſt mourn at
the Sight, and efteem it an Appearance of a growing
Evil, which threatens them all with the fame Miferies,
which it executes upon fome, as faſt as Power and Op-
portunity fhall give Leave. Whoever they are that come
into fuch Hands, have no Remedy left but curfed Hy-
pocrify, or uneafy Patience, under the inexpreffible Diſ-
cipline of hardened Hearts and darkened Underſtand-
ings.
The Sentence, and the Manner of the Execution of it
at Thorn, was worthy of fuch Movers, and agreeable to
thofe
120 An authentic Narrative of the
thoſe who had Intereft enough to bring it about. But
here, what fhall, we believe? The Jefuits have already
begun their After-game; and putting all their Strength
upon the Weakneís of others, would perfuade the World
that the Suffering Part is not at all to be credited in their
Relation either of the Crime or the Punishment, and that
for this Reafon, becauſe they are Heretics. This im-
pudent Reafon, ftupid as it is, may move their own
Partizans, and weigh with Bigots and Slaves. But I am
fpeaking to others; and affirm, that we are juftified,
even in thinking the worst we can think (in this Cafe) of
the triumphant Side, and the moft favourably of the
other, from this very low and mean Proceeding, from
this fenfelefs Reafon given, merely to prevent every
one of their own Religion aſking a Queſtion about the
Truth of the Facts. The Crime, I may conclude, was
not quite fo great as a Papift himſelf is made to think it,
and the Puniſhment much greater than the Crime, even
to a Degree fufficient to raile an univerfal Horror; be-
cauſe the Society which managed the whole, the Society
fo famous for Sincerity and Truth, claim to themſelves
the fole Privilege of telling the whole Story, and of be-
ing believed in what they fay. The poor Lutherans
must not be regarded, becauſe they are Heretics. Thus,
I fay, they may deal with their own Scholars and Slaves,
if there are any Slaves enough to bear it.
But the Facts in the public Face of the World ſpeak
enough, without intirely relying on the Relations of ei-
ther Party concerned. A Tumult raiſed, and in this
popular Tumult Outrages committed, as it is too often
and almost always feen; the Magiftrates not able to
compofe this fo foon as it ought to have been; for, as
to their Will to do it, Intereft and Self-Preſervation, and
the certain Profpect of Puniſhment, are Demonftrations
of it; the Jefuits, the Sufferers, profecute the Com-
plaint; a terrible Sentence is obtained; an Army is
fent to protect the Execution of it; when there were
fome Hopes, upon humble Submiflions, to obtain fo
fmall a Favour as a Refpite, the General is engaged by
theſe cruel Men, to cut off all Hope of that, and by his
Letters to procure an Order to proceed to the Execution
eight Days before the Day appointed in the Sentence; a
Cir.
Late Proceedings at Thorn.
21
Circumftance, I believe, hardly heard of in any other
Cafe, and intirely to be afcribed to the reſtleſs Žeal of
this Society, and their Impatience to bear the Thought
of even a Poſſibility of Mercy: Thus, before any Inter-
pofition from other Powers could be, feveral of the chief
Magiftrates are deſtroyed; infulting Cruelties added to
the Execution of fome others; and (what adds to the
Pageantry, and makes the whole look like a Work of
Zeal for their Church, and not of a due Senſe of their
Privileges invaded) fome mean Perfons faved from Death,
merely on Account of the changing their Religion, and
the brave Man who died firft, tempted and tortured with
that wicked Offer, whilft a cruel Death ftared him in
the Face. This was adding Infult to Cruelty, and a
much greater inward Barbarity to the external Terror
of the Sword. This, and the other Proceedings, Ba-
niſhments, Confifcation of Goods, Alteration of the go-
verning Council, feizing the Lutheran Churches, and
inftating the Romanists in them.
What are all thefe Exceffes of Rigour, but ftrong Pre-
fumptions that the whole Scene was originally laid with
this very View; and that thoſe who have had Intereſt to
profit fo enormously by a Tumult, had Cunning and
Power enough in the Town, to nurfe and cheriſh and
provoke it into what at laſt it came to ? But this is only
à Surmife, perhaps weak and without Ground. I need
it not. What appears is alone fufficient to create Hor-
ror in the beſt Part of the Romanifts themſelves, and
once more to fhew all Proteſtants their Danger, their In-
tereſt, and their Duty. I fhall proceed upon this Sub-
ject in the next Paper.
I
BRITANNICUS.
PAPER II.
N fpeaking of the Affair at Thorn (which has lately
made fo much Noiſe in the World, and I hope will
make a great deal more) one hardly knows either where
to begin or where to leave off. I have already confi-
dered the chief and original Movers of that Tragedy,
and the terrible Sentence procured againſt the Proteftants,
and the cruel Execution of it. I will now go on to fome
other Points, arifing from this Subject, of the utmoſt
VOL. II.
Importance
F
122
An authentic Narrative of the
Importance to all who love, or hope for, Freedom in
Religion, or Happineſs in Civil Life; two Things which
conſtant Experience has fhewn to be fo infeparable from
one another, as infallibly to flouriſh and decay, to live
and die together.
The Confequences of this Scene of Power without
Mercy, ought to be thought of by every Proteftant, as
they extend much beyond the Puniſhment of thoſe un-
happy Men at Thorn, who fell under the Rage and de-
vouring Fury of it. And thus, I think, is it to be taken
by all who differ from the Church of Rome, that, when
they ſee ſo much Power in the Hands of the Jefuits,
they fee it in the Hands of Perfons determined to uſe it
to their Deftruction, hardened in all the Paths that can
lead to it, and devoted, more than any other Body in
the World, in Heart and Soul, to the good Work of
propagating their own Faction, and enlarging the Bounds.
of their own Church, by all the Methods that the Wit
of Man can invent, and the Strength of Man can exe-
cute. I know how natural it is for Proteftants in Great
Britain, who have been long at Reft, and out of all View
of the Scene of fuch Actions, to think inwardly with
themſelves, we are at a Diftance from the Influence of
this Matter, we are forry for the Sufferings of miferable
Men; but hope this Affair does not nearly touch us, un-
der a Conftitution like ours, and in our Situation, fenced
round, as we are, by the natural Bulwark of the Sea,
from the reſt of the World. But let not any one thus
think or fay, What is this to us? Give me Leave to af-
firm, that it is of the moſt concerning Confequence to us
all, from the higheſt to the loweſt, from the Prince upon
the Throne to the meanest of his Subjects. And as,
abroad, the Calvinift as well as the Lutheran is touched
by it, fo, at home, from the moſt rigid Churchman to
the moſt diſtant Quaker, through all the intermediate
Differences of moderate Men, Latitudinarians, Prefby-
terians, Independents, Baptiſts, every Church, and every
Man, whether orthodox or heretical, whether regular or
irregular, is intimately concerned in this Affair. Nay,
abftractedly from all Confiderations of Religion, every
Man who has the leaft Senfe of civil Liberty, the leaft
Regard to the Happineſs of himself or his Fellow-crea-
tures
Late Proceedings at Thorn.
123
tures in human Society, muft think himſelf intereſted
in it.
Every Advance, and every Step which the Power of
fuch Bigotry makes in the World, is an Advance and a
Step towards the total Suppreffion and Ruin of every one
of theſe, and of all other Denominations distinct from
thoſe who are Slaves to Rome. You cannot think that
fuch Policy and fuch Zeal mixed together, confine their
Views within the narrow Bounds of a ſingle Town, or
that it can be any fufficient Satisfaction to the Bigotry of
Jefuitifm, to get the better of the Lutherans at Thorn.
Alas! theſe are but poor Morſels for fuch Appetites. It
is every Town and every Country, every Church and
every Kingdom of the known World, that they make
the conflant Care and Burthen of their religious Ambi-
tion. They pant after us all in the Bowels of their ten-
der Mercies, which are as cruel as Cruelty itſelf, and can
never be at reft till our Hearts or our Tongues (for it is
much one to them which of the two they procure) till
our Religion, or our Eftates, are all theirs. Unlike all
other Sects, and all other Bodies in the fame Commu-
nion, they are never diverted, either by Learning or De-
votion, either by their own private Studies, or pious Ex-
ercifes, from the one main conftant View of fubjugating
all to the Faith, not of Jefus, but of the Society of Fefus.
To this Defign they have confecrated all their Labours,
and from this they are never known to decline. When
we fee them therefore, powerful in the Cabinets of
Princes, and fuccefsfully dextrous in recommending
themſelves to the mighty Men of this World, by their In-
trigues, and by their Intereft in managing the Bigotry of
thofe under them; if we forget or deny that this touches
us, that this is fo much gained against us, that this
points very terribly at every Proteftant, and every Chri-
itian in Europe, who is the Difciple of Christ, and not of
Rome: If we forget this, I fay, we forget ourſelves, and
what we are, and what our Intereft is, and what our on-
ly Hope and Defire ought to be. Every fucceſsful
Exercife of Power is an Acceffion of more; and every
Act of Violence, not redreffed, gives Strength and En-
couragement to proceed to others. A Terror and Feeble-
nefs is thus ftruck into the oppofite Parts, and Spirits and
F 2
Vigour
124
An authentic Narrative of the
Vigour are added to the Oppreffors: And when they
find their Strength, and that they can fhew it effectually
in the Deſtruction of fome they hate, what fhall hinder
them, as Power and Time come on together, from ex-
erting the fame upon all others whom they equally hate,
and are equally fworn to deftroy from off the Earth?
But we of this Nation have ſtill a nearer Concern in
this Affair, if all religious and civil Rights are of any
Concern to us. Every Advance of the Power of Bigotry
abroad, threatens us with a Popiſh Pretender at home;
and, together with him, all the Train of his Attendaats,
Superftition and Cruelty. None fuch faft Friends to his
Caufe; none fo unmoveable in the Profecution of it;
none fo defperate in what they once admit into their
Hearts, as that Society which was the Mover of this
Tragedy we have now been ſpeaking of. Every Expe-
riment, therefore, of their Strength, tends, by Degrees,
to ſhake the Throne of our King, and to weaken our fu-
ture Hopes of Happineſs under the fucceeding Branches
of his Family, as it paves the Way to every thing con-
trary to a Proteſtant Eftabliſhment. And this, methinks,
fhould weigh with all Proteftants who would not be mi-
ferable, whether they have the fame Notions of Happi-
nefs with others, or not. The Point to fuch Perfons is
not, whether they love their prefent Superiors, or whe-
ther they perfectly approve of their Adminiftration ; but
whether they can bear all the Miſeries of Popish Bigotry,
and will chooſe to exchange Liberty for Chains, Proper-
ty for arbitrary Will, the Eafe and Security of a Subject
of a Proteftant Prince, and of a Member of a Proteftant
Church, for the fiery Operations of Jefuitifm, and the
Cruelties of Thorn, and indeed of every other Place
where the fame Zeal has had the fame Room to diſplay
itſelf. This ſhould be no light Confideration to the moſt
diſcontented Proteftant amongst us, who is one truly and
fincerely; that, as a Proteftant, he is not concerned in
any the leaft Acceffion of Power to that Popish Intereſt
abroad, which, if it increaſes, will, fooner or later, end
in a Popiſh Intereft, and a Popish Settlement here; and
that, as the Pretender (who is to reap the Benefit of this)
is as famous for determined Bigotry, as the Body of Je.
fuits themſelves, let him but once get Footing here, by
what
Late Proceedings at Thorn.
125
what Means they pleaſe (even by the Help of Proteſtant
Hands lifted up againſt themſelves) yet ſtill it can end
in nothing but the Adminiſtration of thoſe whom his own
Bigotry will point out to his Choice, that is, in nothing
but the fame Meaſures of Ruin and Devaſtation, by
which the fame Bigotry has ever worked, and ever will
work, till human Nature be totally altered. And if they
can have any Comfort in fuch a View, much Good may
it do them! But let them fometimes, in the Midſt of it,
caft their Eyes abroad upon the Proteſtants at Thorn, and
think within their own Breafts, whether, if they them-
ſelves ever come within the Sphere of Action of the fame
Body, they will not feel the fame deftructive Force, and
be fwallowed up in the fame Whirlpool. Let not a little
Prejudice, or the imaginary Want of fomething we may
wish for, extinguiſh all common Senſe, or take away all
Regard to ourſelves, and our lateſt Poſterity.
But we must not leave this Affair here. If Proteftants
do not learn fome good Leffon from it, befides a Zeal
againſt an implacable Enemy, it is, if I may fay fo, an
Act of Providence loft upon them. They have, many
of them, been often very bufy in interpreting Provi-
dences: Here is one that may very eafily be understood;
but, perhaps, as many others have been, it will be applied
by the Multitude only to their Neighbours, and not to
themſelves. The Cruelties at Thorn, which you are fo
moved at, fhould make you caft your Thoughts upon
that Spirit which is the Caufe of them; and thofe
Thoughts fhould make you abhor and fly from the firſt
Motions, the leaft Beginnings, of that Temper in your-
felves. Inward Cenfures of one another, on Account of
religious Differences; hard Sentences and Judgments of
private Men against one another; the Violence of
Words; the Refufal of mutual Communications of
Friendship; the calling in worldly Affiftances to aggrieve
or hurt or ruin one another, in any Degrec, or in any
Inſtance; theſe are the Motions of the fame Spirit, going
on from one Degree to another, till it ends in the open
Avowal of Fire and Faggot, Swords and Gibbets. Thefe,
whenever they are feen amongſt Proteftants, are the
Strength of your Enemies, the only Defences of their
Barbaritics, and the only Arguments by which they can
F 3
<
cover
126
An authentic Narrative, &c.
cover or excufe their own Practices. Take from them
thefe Arms, and you leave them utterly indefenfible in
that Conduct, which God and Nature, Reaſon and Re-
velation, all condemn, The Outrage of Perfecution did
not begin all at once, but grew up by flow Degrees.
If it had not, the Notion of it could not have been
borre by any human Mind. First, it was only a mental
Uneafinefs at thoſe who differed. Then it proceeded to
verbal Declarations, at which it ftopped but a fhort Time.
For when it was once come to hard Words, it was natu-
ral to proceed to Blows, almoſt as ſoon as the Balance of
Power weighed on one Side more than the other. Mo-
derate Penalties were the firft Effays; but when they had
no other Effect but to provoke the Spirits of Oppofers,
Puniſhments too great for human Nature eafily to think
of, fucceeded in their Place. And upon theſe now the
Popish Intereſt reſts itſelf.
God be thanked, the Proteftant World is generally
come to a much greater Senfe of the Duty of mutual
Love and Forbearance than once was experienced in it."
But when by fuch an Inftance as this at Thorn, their
Senfe is again quickened, and they are called upon to
fee and acknowledge the Deformity of the Spirit of Cru-
elty, made keen by religious Differences, it is their Duty
to fearch to the Root of the Matter, to guard againſt the
firſt Motions of fuch a Spirit amongst themſelves, and to
implant in their Souls the contrary Temper of univerfal
Charity; from the mere Want of which, fuch unſpeak-
able Evils have come upon human Society, and fuch in-
excufable Scandals upon the Chriftian Name.
BRITANNICUS.
A
[127]
A Short View of the Confpiracy, with fome
Reflections on the Prefent State of Af-
fairs. In a Letter to an Old Whig in
the Country. By CATO.
Id facinus ego in primis memorabile exiftimo, fceleris atque
periculi Novitate. Igitur de Conjuratione, quam verif
fimè potero, paucis abfolvam: eo magis quod mihi a fpe,
metu, partibus Reipublicæ Animus liber est.
Anno 1723.
Salluft
By THOMAS GORDON, Efq;
SIR,
T
HE late execrable Defign against the British
Liberty does not employ the Thoughts of this
Nation only, but affords Matter of Speculation
for all Europe. The Danish Confpiracy is fcarce thought
to deſerve that Name, when compared to what was car-
rying on in England; and Paul Fuel's Schemes are aç-
counted trifling, to the far more black and hellish De-
figns of our Jacobites here.
In your laſt you defire my Sentiments on the prefent
State of Affairs, which you fay would be uſeful not on-
to yourſelf, but to many others in your Country. As I
can refuſe you nothing, I fhall endeavour to give you
a faithful Abſtract of the moft material Tranfactions;
which that I may do with the greater Clearnefs, I fhall
look back on fome paft Occurrences, which the Hurry
of your own Buſineſs may have hindered you from re-
flecting upon, or perhaps has fince made you forget.
You may very well remember, Sir, how every Thing
ftood when you left the Town; the Diſtractions and
ge-
neral Uneafinefs which attended the fatal Execution of
the South Sea Scheme; the Apprehenfion of the Plague,
and the Aların given on the firft Diſcovery of a Plot,
which every one received juft as they were difpofed to
receive
F 4
128
Reflections on the
receive any Information from the Miniftry: The Facti-
ous fecretly rejoiced at the Opportunity which they
thought was now given them of compaffing their Ends;
the Lovers of their Country trembled at the Thoughts of
the dark Deſigns and artful Cabals of Rome at fo dread-
ful a Juncture; whilft we, who fancied ourſelves the on-
ly wife Men in the Nation, laughed at and ridiculed all
that was advanced on this Head, thinking it only a
politic Step, a new Subject invented to drown all
Thoughts of the old One; and in fhort, a Plot to
ftifle our Refentments againſt the South SeaTranſactions.
But we now fee the Greatnefs of our Folly in the
midſt of our fancied Wiſdom; we had then forgot the
previous Steps always taken by the Jacobites when they
had ſchemed out any important Defign, and that they
never attempted any thing of Confequence, but they firit
paved the Way for it, by poifoning the Minds of the
People from the Prefs, which at fuch Times always
groaned under the Weight of Scandal and feditious Li-
bels.
Accordingly you cannot but remember the numerous
Pamphlets publiſhed againſt the Adminiſtration, befides
many of my Writings, which were all forced into their
Service. In one Paper we had the Chief Miniſter ex-
pofed under the Character of Cataline; in another, the
whole Iniquity of the South Sea Scheme was charged, as
if contrived by the Men in Power; though at prefent
we all know that it was only the cafual Effect of the
Madneſs and Avarice of the People, joined with the Vil-
lainy of fome of the Directors. In a Third, a great
Man who was contriving to fave us from Ruin, was ex-
poſed to the Rage of the Populace, under the Character
of a Screener of the Guilty. In a Fourth, the Senſe of
the People was affumed, and the general Voice was
wreſted to be turned againſt all in the Adminiſtration.
Nor did they ſtop here: The King himſelf was in one
of the Prints reprefented under the Image of the moſt
odious Roman Tyrant; and in two other infamous Li-
bels, his Perſon and Family were abuſed in the vileſt
manner, under the Title of The Benefits and Advantages
of the Hanover Succeffion. So little indeed was their De-
ign perceived by myfelf, that I own many Things dropped
from
Prefent State of Affairs.
129
from my Pen, which feemed calculated for the Service
of the Faction; and ſo infenfible was I of the projected
Infurrection, that I inveighed against the Forces en-
camped on that Occafion, with the Zeal always fhewn
by us Old Whigs against ftanding Armies. The Fears
of arbitrary Government were fet in the worst Point
of Light, and the very Means of preferving us were re-
prefented as the defigned Means of enflaving us; for had
thefe Fears and Clamours prevailed, and the King's
Forces been difbanded, their Succefs would have been
unquestionable.
 Parliament being to be chofen about this Time, all
Methods were taken to get one leaſt averſe to their grand
Purpoſe; and the better to fucceed, the Freeholder was
brought upon the Stage; a Paper fraught with the ut-
moſt Malice againſt the preſent Government. They
knew full well that their own Faction would take the
Hint, and they were in Hopes of biaffing the honeſt
unthinking Men of the Nation; the Doctrine of Paf-
five Obedience was forgot, and the Lawfulneſs of Refift-
ance preached up in many Places. To deftroy the King's
Title to the Crown, the Revolution was openly cenfured
and condemned, particularly in A fhort Review of the
English History; and another Work of the fame Nature,
by a very great Man, was prepared for the Prefs, and
defigned to be published about the fame time.
It was not in the leaſt ſurprizing indeed, that the South
Sea Buſineſs ſhould be the conftant Topic of ſo many
People In a General Court of that Company it was
their Bufinefs to talk of it, in the Senate their Duty, in
order to redrefs the Grievances of the People, and to
reſtore public Credit. The Merchant, fcarce able to
purfue his Trade, might be allowed to complain; and
it was natural in the unhappy Sufferers to rail, and, as it
is ufual, though without any juft Grounds, blindly to
attribute every thing that mifcarries in a State to the
Perfons then in Power. The Miniſtry were railed at,
whilſt they with Pity looked on the Misfortunes of their
Fellow Subjects, and compaffionating their Loffes, were
above refenting their opprobrious Language. In all
this, I fay, there was nothing furprizing: But to hear
thoſe who ſhould be the Minifters of God's Word, a-
mufing
F 5
130
Reflections on the
mufing themſelves with Mercantile Affairs, and a Scheme
for paying National Debts, defcanted on in a Place fo
facred as the Pulpit, was fomething fhocking indeed
and this not by a Sufferer, but by a Country Curate, or
petty Town Lecturer, perhaps, who never had a Groat
to lofe in this or any other Company. What could be
the Aim of their Reflections and Infinuations? Is it not
natural to fuppofe, that it was to perfuade the Vulgar,
that Heaven was angry at what was done, and had
marked out the firſt Contrivers of it for the Objects of
its Wrath and Vengeance; and who at that time were
fuppofed, or at leaſt infinuated to be, the Contrivers of
it, I need not inform you. Yet cannot the deftructive
Execution of a felonious Scheme be mentioned by a Preach-
er, without his having a Fling at the late Parliament:
This, it ſeems, was a National Judgment for the Na-
• tional Crimes of Avarice and Ambition, which ſpread
• themſelves almoſt over every Order and Degree of
• Men amongſt us; and in attempting to corrupt the
Reprefentatives of our Nation, would have made them,
like the Jewish Sanhedrim and Confiftory; which, by
the Prophet's Account, muſt have been a Body of as
* defignedly wicked Men, as ever met together to be-
tray a Conſtitution.'
K
Nor must, in fuch a Cafe as this, the Miniſtry be for-
gotten. As I would not be thought to advance what is
not ftrictly Fact, I will not affert, that in any of the
printed Sermons a Prieſt had the Impudence to charge
them with Bribery and Corruption; but I'll take notice
of one Paragraph in a Sermon preached about the Time
I have been talking of, and leave you to judge whether
or no there be any fuch thing ftrongly infinuated.
<
• We ſhall be lefs furprized at thefe Things, fays the
Preacher, when we pafs into the Temple of the Lord,
✩ and fee the wonderful and horrible Thing
The
Priefts teaching for Hire, and the Prophets divining for
Money or Preferment:' (By the by, I fhould be glad
to know whether this very Sermon was preached gratis ;
but to my Purpoſe) futing their Doctrines to the Times,
⚫ and forbearing at leaſt, if not allowing the Vices of
• the Great and Powerful, I do not remember to have
tread or heard of any modern Sermon at Court a-
· againſt
Prefent State of Affairs.
131
gainſt the Vices and Temptations moſt incident to high
and exalted Stations; fuch as Bribery and Corruption,
or Riot, or Luxury, or the probable Iniquities of a
Maſquerade. But Love, and Peace, and Charity, and
Forbearance, and Toleration, the Duty of Miniſters
of the Gospel, and Cæfar's undifputed Title, which
are in themſelves very good Topics, properly infift--
'ed on, are there excellently well difplayed and in-
• culcated into an Audience, whofe Sphere of Action
"requires, for the moft Part, monitory Difcourfes of
another Nature. And would to God this were the
worft; and that Fearfulness, or Flattery, or Omiffi-
ons, were our greateſt Faults. But when Doctrines
are advanced in direct Contradiction to the plaineſt
• Words of Scripture-
ร
I will not trouble you with a longer Quotation, E
dare fay you are already beforehand with me, and
imagine what Subject he is going upon; and indeed it
would be furprizing to meet with fuch a Sermon, and
not one Fling at the Biſhop of Hereford; to whoſe eter-
nal Praiſe be it recorded, that he has been reviled in
almoſt every Writing, which fince his Majefty's happy
Acceffion to the Throne has been publiſhed, reflecting
on his facred Perfon, the Proteftant Succeffion, or his
faithful Minifters. Miftake me not, Sir, I only obſerve
this in paffing, to the Praiſe of that great good Man,
but do not pretend to fay that there are any fuch Re-
flections in this Sermon, either on the King or his Mini-
ftry; but vile ones there are upon the Bishop, unbecom-
ing the Stile of a Gentleman, and ill fuiting with the
Charity we might expect in a Prieft; but take his own
Words.
• I cannot but affirm, that I look upon the modern
Growth and Encouragement of Schifm, the open Pro-
⚫ feffion of Herefy, the numerous daily Attacks made
upon our Church, to be justly chargeable upon the
corrupt Explication of thofe Words of our Saviour
My Kingdom is not of this World; whereby a greater La-
⚫titude has been given to Men defirous of Change,
than ever yet the CHURCH thought of or approv
• ed.
Nay, Popery itſelf, to which it directly tends,
F 6
• never
132
Reflections on the
}
.
never at its worft allowed fuch unconditional Indul-
gences. I fay it directly tends to Popery
For my Part, I have Charity enough in me to be-
lieve this Preacher very ignorant; for upon entring on
this Subject, he repeats what he before ſaid, to wit,
that he difclaimed all Hypocrify and Diffimulation :
And in a Place fo facred, fure no Man could condemn
Prevarication, and at the fame time prevaricate. It
muſt therefore be the very Extreme of Ignorance to ad-
vance, that the Doctrines of this pious Man tend di-
rectly to Popery, when all his Aim, all his Labour has
been only to root out the very Appearance of Popery
from amongſt us; which one while feemed like a Torrent
rushing in upon us, when all Chriftian Charity was
baniſhed from amongſt us, and Perfecution ſhook her
Iron Rod over this Nation.
You will be apt, I am afraid, to fay, that I digrefs
from my Purpoſe, and aſk what theſe Doctrines have to
do with the late Confpiracy, which was the Subject you
defired me inform you of. Reflect a little, and the thing
will anſwer itſelf: Dr. Hoadley owes his Preferment to
his preſent Majefty, and that juft and fagacious Prince
not only raiſed him to the Epiſcopal Dignity, but has
fince tranflated him to a better See; he has taken him
ander his gracious Protection, and defended him from
the ravenous Vultures that would have devoured him :
The Reflections do not therefore fall upon him only, but
on the beſt of Princes at the fame time; and when the
Bishop is railed at from fo facred a Place, the credulous
deluded People are taught, that either the King knows
not whom he prefers, or prefers impious Men, unfit for
the Charge of Paſtors, and who betray the Truſt repoſed
in them.
Nor are theſe the only Infinuations that are to be
met with in Sermons of that Time; you know what
Noife the Bill for preferving us from the Plague, made
in the World, and what handle the Building of Barracks
was made both againſt the King and his Miniſters. This
indeed might be a proper Subject for the Politician to
difcufs, or a Senate to debate; but to hear a Pulpit-
Orator cry, In vain shall we build Barracks for restoring
the Sick, and preferving the Sound, is Impudence to the
higheſt
Prefent State of Affairs.
133
higheſt Degree. In the fame Author we find a much
ftronger Infinuation, for after mentioning the Bleffings
of Peace (meaning the glorious Utrecht Peace) he tells
us, that God has preferved our Religion, and not yet de-
prived us of our Liberties. But I am really furprized at
nothing that could come from a Man, who, in reckon-
ing the Puniſhments we have fuffered for our Sins, fays,
Hence we have feen Princes become Vagabonds, and beg
their Bread, and Nobles feek it out of defolate Places.
I cannot drop this Subject without taking Notice of
two other Sermons, though I fhall not dwell upon them,
the Preachers not having been imprudent enough to
print their Difcourfes; the former in a Country Con-
gregation, juſt at the Time that a Report was fpread,
that there was another Rifing in Scotland: The Difcourfe
was introduced as a moral one, and in the Proëmium no-
thing was touched upon but the Heinoufnefs of Sin;
but when he came to defcribe a Sinner, we had the Cha-
racter of an Old Whig drawn in the Light he is ufually fet
off by a Jacobite Pencil; nor was the 30th of January,
and the Repeal of the Schifin Bill, forgotten. In fhort,
when we were all made fenfible whom he meant, the
Difcourfe was concluded with a Quotation of one of the
Prophets (for you may obferve, that at fuch times they
are always fond of dealing in Prophecies) Let them remem-
ber that Deftruction fhall come upon them from the North. But
the Preacher having fince given an Account of his Stew-
ardſhip, and received the Rewards or Puniſhments he
deſerved, according to the Works done in the Fleſh,
whether they were good, or whether they were bad; I
ſhall leave him, and proceed to the other, whom I ſtill
believe living.
It was at about ten Miles Diſtance from Town, in a
very large Village, and at a Seafon of the Year when
all People of Quality and Faſhion are retired to their
Country Seats; and I know no Church that at fuch
time has a more polite Audience. Here our brawny Paſtor
came as a Miffionary, for he was a Stranger to the
Place; and what is not ufual for a Stranger, twice
afcended that Pulpit in one Day. That his Audience
might be the better prepared to receive what he had to
fay, the Morning was employed in infinuating the Dig-
nity
134
Reflections on the
nity of his Calling, and teaching his Hearers, that im-
plicitly to believe what was taught by orthodox Prieſts,
was the ready Way to Heaven. This was an excellent
Foundation to build upon, and fuch a Pofition cice laid
down, what might not be advanced? His Afternoon's
Text was, If I fay the Truth, why do ye not believe me?
And in his Introduction he told the Audience, that his
Words might much better be applied to Chriftians now-
a-days, than to the Jews of old; and coming to fhew
the Caufe of our Unfaithfulneſs, he attributed it to Ig-
norance and the Prejudice of Education, or to the Sanc-
tity and Sublimity of the Gofpel. That he might have
the more Time to dwell upon his fecond Head, he
foon went through the firft, and in a Trice diſpatched
all Kinds of Diffenters promifcuoufly to Hell. In his
ſecond Part he introduced, I really cannot tell you how,
but introduce he did, the then Bishop of Bangor; for,
as I before obferved, he never efcaped the Cenfure of
fuch Men as thefe, who always honour him with their
Reproaches; for the Revilings and Scoffs of wicked
Men are always an Encomium to the Juft and Pious.
The Danger of the Church was a worn-out Cant,
and therefore he determined to try what Effect the
Danger of Religion in general could have on the Minds.
of fober and well-difpofed People. To this End he
took care to infinuate, and that grofly too, that every
Man in Power was little better than an Atheiſt, when
fuch heterodox Men were raifed to the Prelature; but
left there fhould be fome of the Bishop's Friends pre-
fent, who were not to be taken with fuch an Example,
he went on to fhew us how in the Days of old, when
Piety flouriſhed, Perfecution was deemed a Chriſtian
Virtue, and that the Arians were openly branded and
punifl.ed; but that there now was no pious Man in Au-
thority, for there was no Inquifition eſtabliſhed to puniſh
Deifts and Free-Thinkers, and to rack fuch heterodox
Wretches as pretended to expoſe the Minifters of the
Goſpel in fo fcandalous a manner as the Independent Whig
had done. But this is a Subject, which for fome par-
ticular Reafons I fhall chufe to drop.
I would not have you think that I ftrain or wreſt
the Meaning of this Preacher; I do not indeed tell
you
1
Prefent State of Affairs.
135
you that theſe were his very Words, but I can affur
you they were the Senſe of them, and not only under
derſtood fo by myſelf, but by ſeveral Perſons of Worth
and Honour who were there prefent; nor can I have
forgot what was then faid, though now very near two
Years ago; for there was fomething fo remarkable in
the Sermon, that I that very Evening took Notes of it,
to which on this Occafion I have had Recourfe.
As I do not in the leaft queftion but that this Letter
will be communicated. to fome of your Tory Acquaint-
ance, I would be beforehand with them, and anſwer an
Objection which I am certain they will make, to wit,
that in fo large a Body of Men 't's impoffible they
fhould all be good; but that we ought not to caſt a Re-
flection upon the Clergy for three or four Sermons;
for, fay they, your Correfpondent has quoted no more.
True, I have not, though I can fay I have heard a
great many more of the fame Nature, but durft not
truft my Memory fo far as to cite them, left I ſhould
commit an Error, and wrong any Perfon; and indeed
after having been fcandalized with theſe and ſeveral
other virulent Libels, I always took Care beforehand to
enquire into the Character of the Preacher, and never
expofe myſelf to the Hearing of falfe Doctrines deli-
vered from a Place fo facred. But notwithſtanding
this, I am afraid Jacobitiſm has been too often favoured
by thoſe who ftile themſelves Chrift's Ambaſſadors, nor
have they yet done with the Topic, witnefs the late
Preſentation of the Grand Jury at Winchester.
Befides thefe, a vaft Number of them came Volun-
teers into the Service, and very artfully ſpread the Poi-
fon amongst the honeft well-meaning Part of the Peo-
ple; for fuch generally are the Frequenters of our Cha-
rity Sermons, whofe Defign in coming to Church at
thofe Times is to beſtow their Mite towards the Educa-
tion of poor needy Children and forfaken Orphans;
but left fome of them fhould refent whatever might be
advanced reflecting on the Government, our common
known Preachers would not venture at fuch a Thing,
but fome itinerant ones came and offered their Service ;
Country Curates, most of them, I fuppofe, who, fafe
in their own native Obfcurity, came up to Town; con-
ceited
136
Reflections on the
ceited and ambitious, thought Preferment their due,
vented their Spleen againſt the Miniftry, becauſe they
were not preferred, and did all that in them lay to ſtir
up the People, then trembling at the Thoughts of what
they had done, hurried down in the Country again,
and were never heard of more. I need not dwell up-
on this Article, the Truth of it is fufficiently known,
and fuch Men were too frequently made ufe of to raiſe
the Seeds of Difcontent in the Minds of their Hearers,
and to pave the Way for an Invaſion.
I would not by any thing I have here advanced,
be thought to reflect on the whole Body of the Clergy;
Heaven forbid that for the Crimes of fome, I fhould
condemn all. I know there are a great Number of
them, who tread as cloſely as they can in the Steps of
the Primitive Chriftians, and not meddling with the
Kingdom of this World, ftrive to inculcate Piety and
Morality, and found Doctrine in their Audience; whilſt
others, truly zealous for the Church and Proteſtant
Religion, engage their Adverfaries, and without much
Difficulty convince the Impartial, that this Church and
Religion is much more fecure at prefent, than it would
be under a Popiſh Prince.
Whilft the Reverend Zealots in this Caufe were
thus taken up, Means were thought of for feducing the
very Vulgar and the Scum of Mankind, Fellows unfit
for any thing but heading a Mob, or Heel-piecing a
Shoe; and as Sermons were above their Sphere, they
must be amufed in their favourite Alehoufes or refpec-
tive Stalls; for this End, Numbers of feditious Ballads
were printed, and fung about the Streets. How gree-
dily did the deluded Mob fuck in the Poiſon, when the
Praiſes of pretty Jemmy were chaunted; and the liften-
ing Wretches were encouraged, they fay, by the fur-
rounding Wenches, who, as I have been informed, up-
on a folemn Promiſe that they would be true to the
Caufe, often granted them the Favour; for our Filles
de Joye have ever been very zealous for the Chevalier,
whom, with his Followers, they conftantly remember in
their Prayers, and whom they are fully determined to
ftand by to the laſt.
The
Prefent State of Affairs.
137
The mentioning of treafonable Ballads, publickly
fung in the Streets, will perhaps furprize you; but I
can affure you, that nothing was more frequent here
one while, and which the Records of Bridewell and the
Work-boufe will still juſtify; feveral of them having
been committed there by fome worthy Magiftrates of
the City, who were refolved to put a Stop to this grow-
ing Evil, but in vain; they were of the Hydra Nature,
and one was no fooner taken off, but two ftarted up
in its room; and this Method was conftantly practiſed
whilst they had Hopes left, and there was any Spirit
remaining in the Party; fuch doubtless was the En-
couragement given to theſe petty Retailers of Treaſon.
I will not trouble you with any farther Retrofpects,
but proceed directly to the Time when the grand Bufi-
nefs was to have been brought upon the Stage, and
that was at the Election of a new Parliament. As to
what foreign Correfpondence was carrying on at that
Time, what Application made to Potentates for a Sup-
ply, what Schemes projected among themſelves, and
things of this Nature, I must refer you to the Report
and Appendix, which I now ſend you, and in which
you will find all the dark Defigns and hellish Contri-
vances of the blackeſt of Traitors, traced out and unra-
velled by a wife and fagacious Committee of the Ho-
nourable Houſe of Commons; who have not more di-
ftinguiſhed themſelves by the prudent Choice of ſuch a
Committee, than the Committee diſtinguiſhed themſelves
by their indefatigable Pains and deep Penetration. And
indeed to this Report moſt of your Friends are indebt-
ed for the Share of Reaſon they at preſent enjoy; it tho-
roughly convinced them of their Errors, and they have
not been ashamed to own it; even your old Crony Mr.
who was always the loudeft in ridiculing
the Plot, not only in Company, but in all Places, has
very frankly recanted, and that in a public manner too,
and ingenuouſly confeffed, that no Man in his Senfes
could read the Report, and doubt the Truth of the
Plot.
>
It was on all hands believed, and by the Jacobites
entirely depended upon, that while the feveral Coun-
ties, Towns, and Boroughs of this Kingdom were pro-
ceeding
138
Reflections on the
ceeding in the Choice of Reprefentatives in a new Par-
liament, his Majefty would make a Tour to his German
Dominions; and what time fo proper for their Under-
taking as when the King was abfent, and we had no
Parliament and therefore now or never the grand Work
was to be done.
The very Day the Parliament was diffolved, which,
to the best of my Remembrance, was the 10th of March,
the Heads of the Party got together, and, in order to
amufe the People, and fee what Numbers they could
raife on Occafion, ventured to make fome Bonefires,
imitating the Rejoicings which were made at the Diffo-
lution of Oliver's Rump Parliament; and our Streets
rung with the Cries of the Hawkers, who were difperfing
the laft Will and Teftament of the old deceased Parliament,
the Character of the Rump Parliament, &c. But on this
Occafion none exerted themfelves with fuch undaunted
Impudence as the Freeholder; who, I think, had not
made his Appearance in the World above fix Weeks be-
fore, and therefore for what Purpofe fet up we may ea-
fily imagine. He had, from his first coming out, dealt
in very bitter Invectives, but the Moment the Parlia-
ment was diffolved, he gave an unbounded Loofe. I
would not willingly repeat any - thing after him that
fhould give Offence, but, as I fuppofe, this Paper was
confined to the Town, and probably never reached
I'll give you a Paragraph, and that one of the modefteft
too, publiſhed in the firft Paper, which came out after
the Proclamation, and in which he gives, at leaſt as he
pretends, an Account of whatever was tranfacted by the
late Parliament.
6
:
you,
• The fecond and third Seffions, fays he, had nothing
• remarkable in them but the Act for a general Indem-
nity, and the Tryal of the Lord Oxford, which was
the only Cafe but one wherein the two Houfes differ-
ed during fo long Continuance and if they had differ-
ed in fome more material Points, others, perhaps,
might have eſcaped Mifery as well as that noble Lord.
They likewiſe paffed a famous Act, to qualify his Ma-
jefty to be Governor of the South Sea Company, with-
out taking the Oaths neceffary for that Office; and
⚫ another againſt wearing Cloth Buttons."
.
6
I must
Prefent State of Affairs.
139
I must take notice of one Thing more in the fame Pa-
per, and that is his Obfervation upon the repealing of
the Schifm Bill. This zealous Churchman, fond of Per-
ſecution, endeavours to repreſent one of the moſt glori-
ous, moft charitable, and moft Chriftian-like Acts of
that Parliament, as a Thing prejudicial to the Church,
nay to the Proteftant Religion: But take his own Words.
Theſe Laws made by one Parliament for the Security
of the Proteftant Religion, were, by another Parlia
ment repealed, for the Security of the Proteftant In-
terest.
I have already told you, that I would not repeat any
of thofe Paffages which had given Offence; and if theſe
are his modeft Expreffions, you may eafily gueſs what
the others muſt be: And yet, when the Printer was
brought to his Tryal, it was infinuated by the Party to
be a Breach of the Liberty of the Subject, who was no
longer now allowed to complain of his Grievances; that
it was for fiding with the Church Party, with a great
deal of Common-place Cant of the fame Nature. And
now I mention the Profecution againſt him, I fuppofe
you'll be curious to know what Puniſhment he met
with; he was tried and convicted, but not yet fentenced.
I would have Men, who have met with fuch Mildneſs
and undeferved Mercy, feriously reflect on what they
might have expected, had they been guilty of libelling
a Government any where amongſt our Neighbours; and
that I may not be thought to quote the fevereft, I would
only have them imagine, that they did the fame thing
at Paris: If they do not know what Fate they might
have expected there, I can eaſily inform them; they
would have gone, with all their Abettors, to the Baftile,
and never have feen the Day-light more till they had
been removed to Grave-Square, there on a Wheel or
Gibbet to have ended their Days. But I am digreffing
from my Purpoſe.
The Confpirators here having, in vain, applied them-
felves to ſeveral foreign Potentates for Aſſiſtance to carry
on their treaſonable Defigns, refolved now to venture.
upon their own Strength; and, as I before obferved,
thought no Time fo favourable as that of the Elections,
when Mobs and Riots are too frequent. How reſtleſs.
their
140
Reflections on the
their Endeavours were, we are all very fenfible; the re-
peated Cries which were every where heard, of No Sep¯`
tennial Parliament (a Word that was made Ufe of as a
Bugbear to frighten and biafs the People) the repeated
Huzzas of Down with the Rumps, often mixed with the
Shouts of High Church and Ormond for ever! plainly de-
inonftrate, that there were too many whofe whole Time
was employed in feducing and deluding the Vulgar :
and I wish to God fome of the Clergy had not a confider-
able Share in all theſe Diſturbances, especially as you
will find obſerved in the Report, that the two moſt riot-
ous Elections of any throughout the Kingdom, were
that of Weſtminſter, a Place under the immediate Influ-
ence of the Bishop of Rochester, and that of Coventry,
which appears to have been animated by Carte, a Non-
juring Clergyman, an Agent of the Bishop's, and one
employed by him in managing his treafonable Corref-
pondence.
But as a Mob was not of itſelf fufficient to bring the
mighty Work to bear, Money was raiſed here in Eng-
land, partly, I fuppofe, given by thofe who most impa-
tiently longed to fee their Country involved in Blood
and Ruin, the other Part lent upon the Chevalier's
Notes; and with theſe Sums, Ships were provided, fuch
as the Revolution, and fome others yet untaken, and
fome hired here in England; and the late Duke of Or-
mond, with a great Number of Officers, and large Quan-
tities of Arms and Ammunition, was to have come over
and headed the Enterprize.
But we now fee that we had a wife and vigilant Mi-
niftry, who had nothing at heart but the Service of their
King, and the Good of their Fellow-Subjects, who de-
nied themſelves Reft that they might give it to their
Country, and were perpetually labouring to procure
Eafe to others. How indefatigably they countermined
every Meaſure of the Confpirators, the Event fufficiently
witneffes; and that with fuch Prudence, that the Con-
ſpirators never miſtruſted that their Deſigns were betray-
ed. How were they furprized to fee every Step they
took prove a wrong Step, their Intentions abortive, and
all their Projects mifcarry! Little they thought that the
Minifters, like fo many Guardian Angels of the Land
wele
Prefent State of Affairs.
141
were perpetually watching for its Welfare, turned the
Edge of their Arrows, and diverted the threatening Fate.
In thort, they had the Mortification to fee all the Elec-
tions of England over without having been able to ftrike
a Stroke; and what was a double Mortification to them,
began to be pretty well affured, that their reſtleſs Endea-
vours were all in vain, and that we had a Parliament re-
turned to whom our Liberties and the Proteftant Intereſt
were equally dear.
If I may preſume to dive into the Secrets of thoſe
who are at the Helm of Affairs, I am apt to imagine,
that they did believe all theſe Difappointments, joined
together, would intirely damp the Jacobite Party, and
make them fit down contented with the Enjoyment of
what they willingly would, but could not, deprive them-
felvcs of; but fuch was the Infatuation of thefe Wretches,
they were not to be baulked. One would have thought
them fomething of the Nature of the Tyrant Antæus,
and if from every Fall they did not gather new Strength,
at leaſt they did new Rage; which grew to fuch a
Height from their laſt Diſappointment, that it was
thought unfafe to conceal it any longer, and Prepara-
tions must be made to repel their defperate Rage by
open Force. Accordingly on Monday the 7th of May
1722, a Camp was marked out in Hyde-Park, to which
the Troops of his Majefty's Houfhold marched the next
and following Days. All Officers were ordered to repair
to their refpective Commands; Lieutenant-General
Macartney was diſpatched to Ireland, to bring over fome
Troops from thence into the Weft of England, and In-
ftructions were fent to Mr. Horace Walpole, who fome
few Days before went over to Holland, to defire the
States to keep the Guaranty Troops in a Readineſs to
be tranfported to England; for his Majefty was very
tender of putting his Subjects to any more Charges than
what were abfolutely neceffary for their own Security;
and therefore he would not bring over the Dutch Forces,
till it ſhould be unfafe to delay it any longer. And his
Majeſty was pleaſed to give Notice of the Confpiracy to
the Lord Mayor, thereby to prevent any Tumult in the
City.
My
142
Reflections on the
My Lord,
H'
Whitehall, May 8, 1722.
IS Majesty having nothing more at Heart than the
Peace and Safety of his good City of London, the
Protection of its Inhabitants, and the Support of pub-
lic Credit; has commanded me to acquaint your Lord-
ſhip, that he has received repeated and unquestionable
Advices, that ſeveral of his Subjects, forgetting the Al-
legiance they owe to his Majefty, as well as the natural
Love they ought to bear to their Country, have entered
into a wicked Confpiracy, in concert with Traytors
abroad, for raifing a Rebellion in this Kingdom in fa-
vour of a Popish Pretender, with a traiterous Defign to
overthrow our excellent Conftitution both in Church
and State, and to fubje&t a Proteftant free People to Ty-
ranny and Superftition: But I am perfuaded, that it will
be a great Satisfaction to your Lordſhip and the City to
find, that at the fame time that I am ordered to inform
you of this Defign, I am likewife commanded by his
Majefty to let you know, that he is firmly affured, that
the Authors of it neither are, nor will be fupported,
nor even countenanced by any foreign Power. And as
his Majefty has had timely Notice of their wicked Ma-
chinations, and has made the proper Difpofitions for de-
feating them, he has no Reafon to doubt, but, by the
Continuance of the Bleffing of Almighty God, and the
ready Affiftance of his faithful Subjects, this Effort of
the Malice of his Enemies will be turned to their own
Confufion.
His Majeſty makes no doubt but your Lordship, pur-
fuant to the Truft repoſed in you, will, in Conjunction
with the other Magiftrates of his good City of London,
exert, with the utmoſt Care and Vigilance, your Autho-
rity, at fo important a Conjuncture, for the Prefervation
of the public Peace, and the Security of the City. I am,
&c.
TOWNSHEND.
The next Day his Majefty in Council was pleafed to
fign and order a Proclamation forthwith to be published,
for putting the Larus in Execution against Papifts and
Nonjurors, and for commanding all Papifts, and reputed
Papifts,
Prefent State of Affairs.
143
Papifts, to depart from the Cities of London and Weit-
miniter, and from within ten Miles of the fame; and for
confining Papifts, and reputed Papifts, to their Habitations,
and for putting in Execution the Laws against Riots and
Rioters.
The Confpirators, who were always upon the Watch
to gather fome Advantage, if poffible, even from every
Difappointment, took this Opportunity to ſpread feveral
Reports detrimental to public Credit, and thofe amongſt
thein who had any Money in the Bank began a Run up-
on it; and South Sea Stock, which at that time was about
90, fell to about 77: And by theſe Means they hoped
to fpread new Difcontents amongst the People, efpecially
amongst the unhappy Sufferers in this Company; but
this Deſign alfo mifcarried, and in fome Days Stock
gradually rofe till it reached its former Value.
But fill the Party had fome Hopes left, or rather were
refolved to attempt fomething for their Cauſe; and in
this they were the more encouraged by the Death of the
Duke of Marlborough, who died at Windfor on the 16th
of June, about four in the Morning; and as they were
ſatisfied that he muſt have a magnificent Burial, at which
there would be a vaſt Concourſe of People, they thought
it might be a very proper Time for putting their Deſign
in Execution, and we are told that they had accordingly
taken Meaſures for this Purpofe; but the Burial was not
on the appointed Day, and the deferring of it, once
more difappointed their Projects.
The laſt time they fixed was at the breaking up of the
Camp; to which End they had taken Care to corrupt
fome of the old Serjeants, and were endeavouring to cor-
rupt as many more Veterans as they poffibly could; but
this Attempt you will find much more particularly related
in Layer's Tryal, which I have already fent you, and in
the Report, which you will receive with this Letter.
That you may read the Appendix with much more
Eafe than I have done, I have herein incloſed you an
Explanation of all the fictitious Names made ufe of by
the Confpirators, that you may at once fee who are the
Perfons meant, without being obliged to turn over to
the Report, in which they are explained.
An
144
Reflections on the
A
An Alphabetical Key to the REPORT.
His Majesty.
Bel
Armfirong and Com-Not yet decyphered.
pany
Burford
Bonnaville
James Baker
Brifac
Beautiful Squire
Mr. or Mrs. Burton
B
Brokers
Barrels
Barker
The Chief
Mrs. Chaumont
N. Clifton
N. Crone
N. Cleaton
Lord Crawford
Cane
Chivers
Chitwood
Sir John Christy
Carpenters
Coutade
Crow
Colins
Clynton
Dixwell
Digby
Duplefis
Difode
Du Bois
Dupuy
E— of O—————3.
Chriftopher Glafcock, Dillon's
Secretary.
} George Kelly, alias Johnſon.
Christopher Layer.
Mrs. Spelman, alias Yellop.
Brown, an Irish Merchant
at Bilbca.
Agents.
Army.
Some confiderable Perfon in
France, whofe true Name
is not yet difcovered.
Pretender.
L. N and G-.
L. L-
General Dillon.
Sir John d'Obrian, another
of Dillon's Secretaries.
Scots Soldiers.
George Kelly, alias Johnfon.
James Talbot.
Colin Campbell of Glenderoul.
Not yet decyphered.
General Dillon.
Glafcock, Dillon's Secretary.
Bishop of Rochefter.
George Kelly, alias Johnfon.
Dumville
Prefent State of Affairs.
145
Dumville
Dodjworth
Fly
F. M.
Freeman
Farmer
} Not yet decyphered.
Sir Redmund Everard.
Francis Macnamara.
}
Pretender.
Mr. Frampton
Finch
Fox
Forefter
D. Gainer
D. Gregory
Glasgow
Gerrard
G. H.
Goods
Girt
Heavs
Houlder
Howell
Hatfield
Hawkfby
Hubberts
Ho
Hore
Harley
Hancock
Hacket
Fackfon
Joseph
Mrs. Jones
T. Jones
T. Illington
J. J.
James Johnson
Ireton
Justus
Mrs. Kinders
Kirton
Killigrew
VOL. II.
Mr. William Moor.
Not yet decyphered.
}<
General Dillon.
Glafcock, Dillon's Secretary.
Sir John d'Obrian, Dillon's
Secretary.
George Kelly, alias Johnſon.
Irish Soldiers.
A hundred Men.
His Majefty.
The late Duke of Ormond.
Glafcock, Dillon's Secretary.
} George Kelly, alias Johnſon.
Dennis Kelly.
Sir Harry G-
-g.
Not yet decyphered.
George Kelly, alias Johnson.
Not yet decyphered.
}Pretender.
D. of N-
Bishop of Rochester.
George Kelly, alias Johnfon.
Biſhop of Rochefter.
Mrs. Hughes, Nurfe to the
young Pretender.
} Dennis Kelly.
Ꮐ
Lane
146
Reflections on the
Lane
Lunelle
Law Suit
Lorety
Malcom
Mrs. Malcom
Maforneuve
M.
Mansfield
Medley
Mufgrave
Morfield
Moore
Maxwell
Naunton
Norwell
Quitwell
Querry
Sir Red
Rig
Rogers
G. Roberts
Standwell
Steele
St. John
Anthony Saunders
Arthur Stephens
Stanford
St. George
Mr. Sandford
G. Sampson
G. Saunders
G. Stephenfon
G. Sandford
Sanders
Saddles
Saddlers
Sophifters.
Symms
Symons
Late Earl of Mar.
George Kelly, alias Johnfon.
Pretender's Cauſe.
The Miniſtry.
Pretender.
The Pretendrefs.
George Kelly.
Morgan.
Late Duke of Ormond.
Late Earl of Mar.
Nicholas Wogan.
A Relation of the late Earl
of Mar.
Bishop of Rochester.
Captain Halstead.
Glafcock, Dillon's Secretary.
Redmund Everard.
Biſhop of Rocheſter.
John Plunkett.
Glafcock, Dillon's Secretary.
Pretender.
Regent.
Glafcock, Dillon's Secretary.
George Kelly, alias Johnson.
Dennis Kelly.
Sir Harry G-8.
Thomas Carte, a Nonjuring
Parfon.
Regiments.
Irish Soldiers.
} L. N~~~~ and G-
N- G.
Skinner
Prefent State of Affairs.
147
Skinner
Stocks
Tom
Thomas
Trotter
Tanners
Joshua Vernon
James Vernon
Watſon
W'efton
Wilkins
雌
​Mrs. Williams
George Williams
Waggs
Wine
Walton
Xoland
1387
Stanley.
The Confpiracy.
Late Duke of Ormond.
} Thomas Carte.
Tories.
} George Kelly, alias Johnſon.
Late Earl Marifhal.
Bishop of Rochefter.
George Kelly, alias Johnfon.
Mr. Harvey of Comb.
Thomas Carte.
Whigs.
An Invafion.
One Morgan, Intendant of
the Pretender's Ships at
Cadiz.
Nicholas Wogan.
Bishop of Rochester.
I am afraid that I have been fomething tedious in the
narrative Part of my Epiftle, and therefore, without de-
taining you any longer, I'll just take Notice of the pre-
fent State of our Affairs, and anfwer fome of the Cries
which are often heard amongſt the difaffected and deluded
Part of the Nation.
Although we may, from the Meaſures which have
been taken to prevent the intended Stroke of the Con-
fpirators, hope that we now are fafe, yet ought we not
to reſt too fecure, and thereby give our Enemies an Op-
portunity of compaffing their Ends. Their Endeavours,
we find, are reſtlefs: George Kelly had been taken up on
Sufpicion of treaſonable Practices, he was bailed out;
you ſee the firſt Uſe he makes of his Liberty is to fettle
a new Key of fictitious Names with his Correfpondents
abroad, and the very Moment that, by the Indulgence of
our Conftitution, he had got out of Cuftody, he employ-
ed the Liberty he had recovered to fubvert that Confti-
tution by which he had obtained it. Nor is he the only
Example I can quote; after the imprifoning of the
Chiefs of this Defign, they could not give over, and
Mackintosh
G 2
148
Reflections on the
Mackintosh was ſeized at Gravesend, as he was coming
here to form new Schemes, in Conjunction with the yet
undifcovered Traitors.
But, fay you, when the Chiefs are feized, and all
their Projects countermined, what Need have we of an
Addition of Forces of what Service is an Army when
Our Enemies are defeated? New Taxes muft furely be
laid, in order to make a Provifion for an additional
four thouſand Men, and this is what the generality of
the People fo loudly complain of; and I fuppoſe you
would go farther, and fay, Are our Liberties and Pro-
perties intirely fafe, whilft there are fuch Numbers of
Forces on Foot?
Look a little backwards, and reflect on the loud Cla-
mours which were lately made against a Standing Army,
and to bear a Part in which we alfo were drawn. What
was the Aim of the Jacobites in all this? To get the
Army disbanded, which, if done, they had certainly
compaffed our Ruin, and fubverted our Conftitution,
and we ſhould not only have loft all that was dear and
valuable, but ſhould have been perpetually curfed with
the tormenting Reflection, that we ourſelves had contri-
buted all that in us lay to our Ruin, and vigorously af-
fifted the Confpirators in the Completion of it.
I allow you, indeed, that a great Number cf their
Chiefs are taken up, and thereby, one would think, in-
capacitated to do further Mifchief; but are we therefore
fafe? I wish I could fay we were; but you will find by
the Report, that a great many were engaged in the cri-
minal Correſpondence, whofe Names are not yet difco-
vered, and who, perhaps, are capable of doing the
greateſt Miſchief. The Example of thofe two I have
juft above quoted, fufficiently convinces us how reftleſs the
Faction is, and ſpite of all the Vigilance of their Guards,
there are thofe of greater Diftinction than Kelly or Mackin-
tob, who, even from their Prifon, have fown the Seeds
of Difcord; who, under all Adverfities, take Care to
keep up the Spirit of their Party, and with their Bleffings
endeavour to curfe the Nation. Nor ought we ever to
reft fecure, and without Apprehenfion, whilft there are
fuch turbulent Spirits as an Alberoni or Francifco living.
It is a Catholic Caufe they are carrying on, and there-
fore
Prefent State of Affairs.
149
fore the Number of our General Officers ought to anſwer
that of the Roman Conclave, and we ſhould at leaſt keep
as many Soldiers on Foot as there are Jeſuits abroad.
But if you feriouſly confider the Charges which muſt
arife from the keeping up thefe additional Forces, you
will find them to be much leſs than you perhaps at firſt
imagined Here are no Officers of any kind to be pro-
vided for, but fuch a Number of private Men who are
incorporated into the old Regiments. And at the very
first opening of the Parliament, when the carrying on of
a Confpiracy was declared from the Throne, his Majefty
did not from hence take Occaſion to aſk for large Sup-
plies, as ancient Stories fay has been often practifed;
far from it, he directed the Commons, who doubtleſs
would raiſe Money fufficient for the Defence of the
Nation, to order the Provifions they ſhould make for de-
fraying the Expences which the treaſonable Practices of
our Enemies had put us to, with fuch Frugality as very
little to exceed the Supplies of the last Year. And in-
deed fuch Meaſures are now taking, that it is to be hoped
our Catholics will be obliged to pay the Charges of their
Catholic Plot.
But fuppofe the Expences had been much greater,
ſuppoſe that they had all fallen upon us, are then our
Liberties of fo little Value that they are not worth our
being at fome Charges to preferve them? Have fo much
Blood, and fo many Millions been ſpent, fince the Re-
volution, in the Defence of our excellent Conſtitution,
and ſhall we at once deftroy the Work of thirty-five
Years, rather than add a few thouſands to the already
diſburſed Sums? Or fhall we lofe all that we have, ra-
ther than give an inconfiderable Part of it to ſecure the
reft? For Shame, after having been fo zealous in this
Cauſe for fo many Years, and engaged in ſo many pru-
dent Undertakings, don't let us flacken at once, and act
like Madmen. If we muft bow to the Yoke, we had
much better have done it at once, and all our Reſiſtance
would ferve only to fharpen the Refentment of Popish
Zealots, and our former Endeavours after Happineſs
increaſe our Miſery.
The other Objection, though not mentioned by you,
I have often heard from feveral deluded People, and
G 3
very
150
Reflections on the
very well know you mean it: I know it, becaufe I have
feveral times inconfiderably aſked the Queftion myſelf,
Whether we could depend upon our Liberties and Pro-
perties being entirely fafe, whilft there are fuch Num-
bers of Forces on Foot ¿
I have already anſwered the latter Part of this Quef-
tion, to wit, that our Standing Army is not greater than
what is abfolutely neceffary for our Defence; but fup-
poſe it confiderable enough to inflave us, fuppofe (tho
there be not the leaft Ground for fuch a Suppofition)
that we had Reaſon to apprehend his Majefty defigned
to make himſelf abfolute, fhall we therefore clamour
for the diſbanding of the Army, and make ourſelves
an eafy Prey for the Pretender and his Faction? If we
do, we are fure of having one bred up in the Notions
of abfolute Monarchy, Tyranny, and Perfecution. We
fhall not be a Monarch's Slaves, but a Slave's Slaves,
for fuch he is to Prieſts and Jefuits. A holy Office of
Inquifition would foon be eſtabliſhed, before whofe dread
Tribunal we must all appear; Church Lands must be
reftored to Popiſh Prieſts; we ſhould fee the Scum of
Mankind wallowing in Riches, aud lording it over
their Betters, with all the haughty Infolence of Church-
men, whilst we muſt crouch beneath their Feet, and ne-
ver prefume to contradict or queftion one Syllable of
what they fay; for certain as we do, we ſhould be hur-
ried to a Bishop's Dungeon, or Inquifition Priſon, there
to pine on Bread and Water, and ever now and then
to tafte the Torments of a Rack, till, out of Compaf-
fion to our Sufferings, the merciful Prieſts fhould con-
defcend to put an End to our Pains, by expofing us to
the Crowd on a Wheel, or exalted Gibbet, as Traitors
to God and his holy Ambaffadors, and Blafphemers
against his Word, thereby to deter the reft of Mankind
from prefuming to offend a Prieſt.
Were we, on the other hand, to be fubdued by his
prefent Majefty, were he to gain an abfolute Power over
us, we ſhould ſtill be governed by the Temporal Arm;
which, compared to the Ecclefiaftic, is Liberty indeed.
We should have on the Throne a Prince, whofe Laws
would be abfolute, but whofe Will is mild; who, though
truly pious, is not to be Prieft-ridden, or fwayed by
fuper-
1
Prefent State of Affairs.
151
fuperftitious Fears: A Monarch whofe Principles make
him averfe to Perfecution, and whofe Fault (if I may
prefume to charge him with any) is a Temper too
much inclined to Mercy; of which we have had fo
many, and fuch confpicuous Examples, that 'twould be
needleſs to quote any. Had he been lefs compaffio-
nate, this Confpiracy would not probably ever have
been formed; doubtlefs feveral of the Chief would
have been taken off at the Time of the Preston Re-
bellion, and the ungrateful Wretches would not have
had it in their Power to have attempted againſt the
Life of a Prince, to whofe Mercy they owe their own.
But, thank Heaven, we have not the leaft Reaſon, the
leaft Grounds to apprehend any fuch thing. What At-
tempts have been made towards it? Whofe Properties
has his Majesty feized upon? What Alteration has he
made in our Religion? Whom has he perfecuted ?
Whofe Heritage has he plundered, and whom has he
unjustly put to Death? Far from it, he has always been
tender of the Liberty of the Subject, has always ſhun-
ned the leaft Occafion of giving us any Umbrage. When
the Bill for better preferving us from the Plague, and
for building Barracks, was paffed and figned, what
Prince but himself would have parted with the exten-
five Power given him in it? and yet when his Majeſty
was informed that his Subjects were uneafy at it, when
he had feriously confidered and found that the Power
given him there might touch their Liberties, if he pleaf-
ed to make an ill Uſe of it, how readily did he give it
up! the Parliament had another Seffions chiefly for the
Repeal of that Bill, and it was at the Defire of his Ma-
jeſty, and by the Intereſt of his Miniſtry, that it was
repealed.
When a Man has ignorantly been led into wrong
Meaſures, the beft, the wifeft, the most honourable
thing he can do, as foon as he opens his Eyes, is to
abandon his wicked Companions, and, as much as in
him lies, to make Atonement for the Miſchief he may
have done. This at prefent is our Cafe; the Monkey
has too long made ufe of the Cat's Paw: By artfully
fpreading the Poifon amongst us, they have made us
the loudest in the Clamours raifed againſt the beſt of
G 4
Kings,
152
Reflections on the
Kings, and the wifeſt of Minifters. But e'er yet it be
too late, let us convince them, that we tread in their
dangerous Footſteps only whilft we are hood-winked,
and that having recovered the Light of Reafon, we all
unanimouſly join against the common Enemies of our
Country, of our Religion, and of our Liberties; and
that we will never bow down our Necks to a bigotted
Fugitive, or court the Yoke of Superftition and Slavery.
We were upon the Brink of Ruin, and juft ready to
throw ourſelves down the Precipice; but let the Danger
of the Fall, and the Horror which preſents itſelf before
our Eyes, warn us, whilft yet 'tis time, to fly the De-
ftruction which would inevitably attend us.
As for thoſe infatuated Wretches, with whom folid
Argument has no Weight, who fhut their Eyes left they
fhould fee, or who are obftinately bent to purfue their
deftructive Purpoſes, let fuch, if they won't give them-
felves Time to reflect on their own Ruin, but for a Mo-
ment confider what they entail upon their Pofterity, and
I dare fay it will fright them into Reaſon, and ſhock
them into Underſtanding: Beggary, Ignorance, and
Slavery will be the undoubted Portion of their Children,
and they may account themſelves happy if they are al-
lowed to enjoy theſe unmoleſted.
The Noble ought to confider that he will foon be up-
on a Level with the very Scum of the World; for be-
fides protecting Cardinals, Confeffors, and fuch like
People, who often rife from the Dunghill, let him turn
his Eyes upon the mock Monarch's Court, and fee
Titles conferred upon baſe-born Beggars, Perfons adorn-
ed with Robes and Garters, who were born to Live-
ries and Shoulder-knots, zealous Perfecutors made Prime
Minifters, and unſkilled Attornies at once leaping into
the Chancellor's Seat. Let our Commoners remember,
that they must never more expect to repreſent their
Country; for what has an abfolute Monarch to do with
Parliaments? Their Eftates will be taken from them to
reward thoſe who, in the worft of Times, as they call
it, have been true to his Caufe; or ſuppoſe they ſhould
not, all the Church Lands, which are half the Lands
of the Kingdom, muſt be restored; and of what re-
mains, twenty Shillings in the Pound would not fuffice
to
Prefent State of Affairs.
153
to pay the Intereft of the Chevalier's Debts. The
Merchant, who has ventured his Life, and all his Wealth
upon the tempeftuous Seas, returning home, muft, after
the Example of fome of our Neighbours, unlade his
Treaſure in the Royal Storehoufes, and be content with
what Part of it his Monarch pleaſes to give him. The
Soldier muſt reft at home in inglorious Eafe, and if
there be a War, muft fee fawning Cowards enjoy thoſe
Places of Honour which are due to his Valour, for fuch
doubtless would be his Favourites. What elfe can be
expected from one, who when he had an Army more
numerous than that by which he was oppofed, and had
not a fingle Foot of Land to ſtake againſt three King-
doms, yet would not draw a Sword, or venture one
Combat, for the glorious Prize? And what Man of true
Valour would fight for fuch a one?
Let a Man of Learning confider, that in fuch Days
Learning would be a capital Crime, and that nothing
lefs than Fire and Faggot would be the Reward of one
who would pretend to underſtand the Scriptures, or to
have them by him in his Mother-Tongue. Let the Op-
preffed, and thoſe who would ſeek Protection under a
Monarch's Wing, reflect, what Compaffion, what pater-
nal Love he could have for his People, who has none
for his Child; an Infant who never was capable of of-
fending him, but whom he would have expofed * to
the Rage of a Civil War, that he might have continu-
ed fafe at home.
Is there a Man truly devout, or that has one Grain
of Religion in him, that will ſtand up for one bred in
Italian Superftition, or a true Englishman, who defires a
King nurfed up in French Politics? The Man who
really loves his Country and Fellow-fubjects, cannot
want to fee them governed by one, who has all his
Life-time been taught to look upon them as Traitors.
But here is another Set of People, amongſt whom I
could heartily wish that there were none in this Intereft,
becauſe their Influence over the Minds of the People is
very great; I mean our Clergy. I will not pretend to
point out any particular Perfons amongst them, and if
* Vide Report of the House of Commons.
G 5
I do
154
Reflections on the
I do fufpect any, I heartily wish I may wrong them;
but if there be any fuch, how great muſt their Infatua-
tion be? Can they pretend to be Minifters of God's
Word, and want to fee that Word abolished? for fuch
in effect it would be, and its Place ufurped by human
Tradition. Can they ftile themſelves zealous Proteſt-
ants, and want to put themſelves under the Government
of a Romiſh Bigot? Can they cry out, that the Church
is in Danger, and yet endeavour to bring in a Papiſt to
reſcue and defend her; the very Fundamentals of whofe
Religion teach him, that 'tis his Duty to deftroy it, and
believes that neglecting an Opportunity of doing it
would be Damnation eternal.
What End therefore can any miſtaken Reverend
Zealot propoſe to himſelf in an Attempt of this Na-
ture? his Intereft probably; for, fay they, the Church
Lands would then be reſtored to us. True, they would
be restored, but not to them. The Chevalier would
bring over Prieſts enough to take double Poffeffion of
all our Livings, were the Number of them double, and
the abounding Convents would fwarm with preaching.
Monks and Jefuits; but not a Member of the Church of
England must expect any Preferment, not even if they
fhould renounce their own Religion, and embrace the
Catholic. Indeed, ſhould there happen to be fome pet-
ty Cure, unworthy the Acceptance of an old ftaunch
Believer, the Profelyte might hope to come in for it;
but that's the higheſt he muſt ever aim at.
To convince them that this is not a new-ftarted No-
tion, I will take the Liberty of quoting a Fact which
happened in the Year 853, with the Opinion of the Ec-
elefiaftics of thofe Days, relating to the Ufage they
muft expect from a Prince of a different Perfuafion,
The Story is this, Amand, King of Sweden, having, by
his tyrannical Government, juftly enraged his Subjects
• against him, they roſe and drove him out of the King-
dom, and called in Olaus, a pious Prince, to reign in
his ftead. This Olaus being converted to the Chriſtian
Faith by Anfgarius, afterwards Biſhop of Bremen, took
care that this Doctrine fhould be preached in his Do-
minions, and to that End called in fome few Priefts,
whom he took under his Protection, and, who fettling
· at
Prefent State of Affairs.
155
at Upfal, formed a Convent, or kind of little Univer-
• fity.
<
،
C
Mean while the Heathens of that City began loud-
ly to inveigh againſt the Chriſtians, as having inter-
rupted their Sacrifices (for-they had a miraculous Idol
at Upfal, to which they were wont to facrifice human
Creatures) and the Minds of the Superftitious were
poiſoned with the Danger of their Religion, tho' no
• Force had ever been uſed to make them embrace
the Chriftian Faith. The Agents of Amand took Care
to foment theſe Diſcontents, and managed their Af-
fairs fo very dextroufly, that they at laſt won over e-
ven thoſe infatuated Prieſts to their Party, who blindly
embracing the Notion of Amand's being their lawful
Sovereign, preached up the Doctrine of Hereditary
• and Indefeaſible Right. At length, but too late, they
opened their Eyes, and faw their Folly; then it was
they would willingly have atoned for paft Crimes
and thoroughly convinced of their Error, they pre-
fented a Kind of Addrefs to Olaus, to the Senſe of
⚫ which I have directly kept cloſe, though I have ſome-
what altered the barbarous Phrafe, and dreſſed it up
in a modern Stile,'
C
C
C
To his Highness Prince Olaus, King of the
Swedes and Goths; The humble Addrefs of
the Ecclefiaftics refiding at Upfal, under the
Protection of his Highness.
R
•
Eflecting on our former Crimes, 'tis with Shame
and Confufion we approach the Throne of your
Highness; but if a fincere Repentance, and a hearty
Refolution of Amendment can make us find Grace in
your Sight, none of your rebelling Subjects fhall be
better intitled to your Pardon. We confefs, Great Sir,
that we have endeavoured the Subverfion of your Go-
vernment, and joining with your Enemies, have uſed our
utmoſt Arts to bring in a bigotted Pretender. Strange
Infatuation! that we should have been fo blind to
Reaſon, to the Dictates of Religion, and to our own
Intereſt! for had we compaffed our Ends, what could
we have propoſed to ourſelves? How ridiculous is it
G 6
to
156
Reflections on the
to think that a Heathen Tyrant would protect the
Chriſtian Faith, or that he would maintain us in the
Enjoyment of the Property which your Highneſs has
beſtowed upon us. Far from it, our holy Scriptures
would have been trampled upon, the Prieſts of the Idol
would have taken Poffeffion of what we now have, and
all that we could hope, for having been inftrumental
in fettling the Crown upon the Tyrant's Head, would
be the Favour of being the laſt facrificed to the Idol,
Full of thefe Sentiments we beg Leave to approach
your Highneſs, and to affure you, that our future Doc-
trines fhall, in fome meaſure, atone for our paſt. We
have indeed ufurped a Province which in no wife be-
longed to us, and neglecting the Buſineſs of true Pa-
ftors, and the Concern of Souls, we have bufied our
Heads with Politics, and taken upon us to act as Mi-
nifters of State; a Fault which we never more would
be guilty of, did we not in Confcience think ourſelves
obliged to fet the Minds of thofe People to rights, whom
we have led aſtray, and to remove the dangerous No-
tions which we have inculcated in the Youth committed
to our Care. This done, we will always content our-
felves with preaching the pure Chriſtian Faith, and care-
fully inftructing your Subjects in it, always remembring
that we have nothing to do with the Kingdom of this
World.
The Hopes we have of being intirely freed from thoſe
who fhall prove actually guilty, is no fmall Joy to the
Well-wishers of the Government. Layer, who has been
a principal Agent in the Confpiracy, you know, lies un-
der Sentence of Death; and as, 'tis faid, that he has.
not been very ingenuous in his Confeffion, 'tis generally
believed that he will at last be executed. Plunket has
been found guilty, and he will be imprisoned during
the Pleaſure of his Majefty, his Heirs and Succeffors,
and 'tis made Felony for him to attempt to eſcape, or
for any one to affift him in ſuch an Attempt, and what
he has is confifcated, Kelly's Fate is the fame; and the
Bishop, 'tis probable, will be deprived of his Ecclefiafti-
cal Revenues, and baniſhed.
There
Prefent State of Affairs.
157
There are ſome who love to make a Noife at every
Meaſure that is taken against Confpirators, and there-
fore 'tis no Wonder that proceeding against him,
by way of Bill, fhould be clamoured at, though it was
the Method thofe very Perfons would lately have had
uſed againſt the South Sea Directors. I know that you
are well versed in old Law-Cafes, and therefore I will
not trouble you with the many Precedents that former
Reigns have furnished us with, of Proceedings in this
Manner; and indeed it is very neceffary, that extraor-
dinary Steps fhould fometimes be taken in Cafes of
Treafon, without which a Nation never will be fafe.
I will not fay that our Laws are deficient, but in ſome
Cafes they are too tender; and it is very poffible for
Wretches to compaſs and imagine the Ruin of their
King and Country, and yet to fcreen themfelves from
what is called a legal Conviction. But in this Cafe it
proves otherwiſe, and thoſe who have been loudest in
their Clamours, againft fuch a Way of Proceeding,
have fince owned, that there was Evidence enough to
convict any of them in a common Court of Juſtice, and
that the Puniſhment inflicted on them was too finall
for their Crimes.
I will not trouble you any farther. I hope by this
time that you are pretty well convinced, that we have
too long been in Error; and do not let Pity for thofe,
who would have fhewn you none, move your Heart :
Or, to arm your Mind with Refentment againſt Trai-
tors, remember that, if you can forget the Injury that
might be intended to you in particular, a Britiſh Soul
ought never to forgive an Attempt to ruin his Country.
'Tis not our Caufe only, but the glorious Cauſe of LI-
BERTY that we fight. LIBERTY, in the De-
fence of which fo much Blood has already been fhed,
ſuch Sums have been fpent; LIBERTY, which if
we could not procure for ourſelves, would be cheap
bought for our Pofterity with the Lofs of our Lives;
without which, Grandeur is nothing more than golden
Fetters, Riches Beggary, and Life a State far worfe
than Death. But I need not dwell any longer upon this
Subject, to one who knows the Value of it fo very well,
whoſe Birth and Principles have long fince inculcated
that
158
Reflections on the
that old Roman Maxim in him, That Slavery is worfe
than Death, and that to live is to be free. I am,
SIR,
Your humble Servant,
CATO.
POSTSCRIPT.
INCE my fetting down to write this Letter, there
SIN
has been publiſhed a Report of the Houfe of Lords,
which I have alfo taken Care to fend you, and which
was made by the Duke of Dorſet, and a Committee of
fix other Temporal, and two ſpiritual Lords. And can
any Man in his Senfes now doubt of the Truth of a
Plot, when both Houfes have concurred thus unanimouf-
ly in acknowledging one, and proceeding againſt the
Offenders? When the Facts have been enquired into by
Men of fuch Senfe, Juftice, Honour, and Probity, and
again confirmed by them in a judicial Capacity.
I
would have you carefully read over the Appendix, an-
nexed to this laſt Report, and obferve what is contain-
ed in the Papers taken about the Officers who were
feized by Captain Scott on board the Revolution ; and by
theſe you will find most of thofe Things, which were
only fuggeſted in the firſt Report, abfolutely confirmed.
But there has happened one Thing, which has gone
farther in fatisfying the Incredulous, and bringing them
over to Reaſon. You know it was every where whifpered
by thofe who wiſh fo, that the King had not Evidence
fufficient legally to convince thefe Men; and as they
have managed it, he did indeed not want any. In the
Defence which they made, they thought fit to call their
Evidences; but ſuch, that out of their own Mouths they
might have been condemned. What manifeſt Perjuries,
what direct Contradictions, and what notorious Falfhoods
were heard from them? they have opened the Eyes of
half the Blind; and indeed ſo very true is that Remark
of Ovid's, Heu! quam difficile eft Crimen non prodere
fo
Some
Prefent State of Affairs.
159
Some of them in the Height of their Defence, and
when they have been endeavouring to juftify themſelves,
have accuſed themſelves more effectually than all the
King's Counfel could have done. Such may ever be
the Fate of Traitors! Whilft they are endeavouring the
Ruin of their Country, may they compafs their own,
and in attempting to enflave us, let them lofe their Li-
berties!
P
I had almost forgot to take Notice of one Thing,
and that is, if I may be permitted the Expreffion, the
unprecedented Lenity fhewn to thofe who ftand accufed
of Treaſon. Several amongſt them, who had a confider-
able Share in the Plot, and who, in any other Reign,
would have been fent to Newgate, have been fo far in-
dulged as to be committed to the Tover. Thofe amongſt
them, who would have been unable to have fupported
themſelves in a Priſon, have been kept at a Meffen-
ger's Houſe, and there fed at the Government's Char-
ges; and thofe againſt whom there were very ſtrong Suf-
picions, but no direct Proofs, have been admitted to
Bail, and in Effect restored to Liberty, barely upon
giving à pecuniary Security, that if called upon they.
would make their Appearance.
There is another Piece of Lenity which has been
ſhewn them, and that is the extreme Patience with which
they have been heard. It is indeed, you will fay, but
reaſonable, when a Man's All is concerned, that he
fhould be allowed to plead in Defence of his Proper-
ty; I own it, and whenever Juſtice has been ſtrictly ex-
ecuted, great Regard has been had to Men in their
Circumftances; but, at the fame time, Care has always
been taken that they ſhould keep cloſe to the Point in
making what Defence they could, but never were al-
lowed to amufe or trifle with a Court. Yet in the Caſe
of theſe Criminals, not one, but feveral Days have been
taken up with their Defence, and the Evafions and
trifling Arguments they have made ufe of; and this, not
before a common Court of Juftice, but our fupreme
Court of Judicature. If any thing farther, that's ma-
terial, relating to this Confpiracy, fhould offer, you may
depend upon hearing from me very ſpeedily again.
Royal
[ 160 ]
Royal Gallantry: or, the Amours of a cer-
tain K--g of a certain Country, who
kept his C--rt at a certain Place, much
in the fame Latitude with that of W-ſt-
m-nft-r, related in the unhappy Adven-
tures of Palmiris and Lindamira ; in
which the Characters of Terfander and
Cæfarina are vindicated from the Af-
perfions that have been, or may be, caft
upon them; and the unfortunate Death
of the former fet in a true Light. Done
from the French, by CATO.
I
Ego intus & in cute novi.
By THOMAS GORDON, Efq;
Anno 1723.
T is a ſtanding Maxim with a great Number of
People, that the evil Actions of K--gs ought never
to be expofed; but the Juftice of fuch a Notion I
fhall leave to the Determination of every impartial Read-
er: For once, however, I fhall beg leave to tranfgrefs
their Rule, that I may faithfully relate an Adventure,
in which, fhould I offer to draw a Veil over the Actions
of a certain M-n-rch, I muft, in every Circumſtance,
depart from the Truth.
Palmiris, a Gentleman of an ancient English Family,
lofing his Father and Mother very young, found him-
felf, when he came to Age, Maſter of an affluent For-
tune. A Defire of travelling, natural to one of his Years,
foon made him quit his native Shore, and the Kingdom
of France was the first his Curiofity led him to, whofe
Scepter was then fwayed by St. Louis. It was much
about
Royal Gallantry.
161
about the Time this pious Monarch was preparing for an
Expedition to the Holy Land, with a Defign to affift all
the Eaſtern Chriftians, and Palmiris determined to ac-
company him thither, not fo much out of Piety, for he
was too young for any ferious Thought of that Nature,
but out of a Defire of fignalizing himſelf by fome glori-
ous Action.
To this End he appeared at the Court of France with
an' Equipage becoming his Quality and Fortune, and was
extremely well received by the King and both the
Queens; nor was it long before he found himſelf in the
good Graces of the Ladies, and indeed how could he mifs
of being a Favourite amongſt them! He was complai-
fant, generous and gallant, and equally indebted to Na-
ture for the Beauties of his Body and the Endowments of
his Mind. Several of them formed Defigns upon his
Heart; and as he was far from being of a favage Tem-
per, as many as would fall in with him his own Way,
had no Reaſon to complain of him. But Death and Love
are two fatal Deities, whofe Power every one muſt fooner.
or later feel. Palmiris had not long enjoyed the Plea-
fure of intriguing with the French Ladies, before he ſaw
the beauteous Lindamira; he faw and loved her, but
loved her to Madneſs, even to Marriage-Madneſs. On
the other hand, Lindamira looked upon him as an agree-
able Lover, as well as a Man who was able to raiſe her
to that Fortune ſhe ſo juſtly deferved; for her Friends,
though Perfons of Quality, had lived in a very extrava-
gant Manner, and found themſelves utterly unable to
give her a Fortune.
Often would ſhe think of the Advances made her by
Palmiris, and one while fancy they were only the Effect of
an habitual Gallantry; and at another time, that his Defigns
perhaps were not honourable, Then would fhe confider,
if ſhe did marry him, he must refolve to abandon her
native Country, but this fhe found would be no great
Difficulty to her, and fhe wished that there was no other
Obſtacle to prevent it: On the other hand, Palmiris felt
as many Difquiets; he feared that Lindamira would ne-
ver love him well enough to forfake her Friends, her
Country, and her Relations, to follow him; another
time he dreaded, that if ſhe ſhould abandon all for him, not
Love,
162
Royal Gallantry.
Love, but Intereft, might be the Motive of her doing
it; and that it was not his Perfon but his Eſtate that ſhe
liked.
Our Lover reſolved to come to an Eclairciffement with
her, and frankly told her his Mind; fhe anſwered him
in fo very ingenuous a Manner, that he was both fatis-
fied and inflamed, and he preffed her that Moment to
compleat his Happineſs, by letting the Prieft join them :
She confented, their Majefties approved the Match, the
Nuptials were celebrated with a great deal of Pomp and
Magnificence, and their Majesties honoured them with
their Prefence.
Our Lovers now thought themfelves completely hap-
py; but alas! how fhort is the Date of human Happi-
nefs? The King was not to embark for this Expedition
of three Months, and in that Time Palmiris determined
to return to Eng-d, and put his Lindamira in Poffef-
fion of his Eſtate, that if any Accident fhould befal him
in the Holy War, no body might difpute her Title to
it. Full of this Refolution they took their Leaves of the
King, Queens, and all their Friends; and leaving the
Court of France they landed in Eng-nd, just that Day
Month after the Confummation of their Marriage.
At his Arrival, Palmiris waited upon the K--g of
Eng-d, and preſented Lindamira to him. I fhall flight-
ly pass over this Source of their reciprocal Misfortunes,
and barely fay that the M-n--ch thought her too beauti-
ful, for the first time he faw her he admired her, nor
was he fatis fied in doing it himſelf, but every body round
him muſt admire her too; he was laviſh in her Praiſe,
and the Courtiers who knew his amorous Difpofition,
were foon convinced that Lindamira was far from being
indifferent to him.
The next Morning he fent to know whether a Vifit
from him would not be troublefome: Lindamira little
fufpected the Motive of his acting thus, but thought
that it was all Complaifance to the Wife of the noble
Palmiris, and one who was a Stranger in that Kingdom,
She therefore returned a very refpe&tful Anfwer, and
held herſelf in a Readineſs to receive him, though the
made no Preparations for his Reception; fhe did not
deck
Royal Gallantry.
163
deck herſelf to look lovely in his Eye, her whole Aim
and Ambition being only to pleaſe her dear Palmiris.
Satisfied with her Anſwer, the M-n--ch flew to her
Houfe with all the eager Hafte of an impatient Lover
(for fuch he was already and though naturally very bold,
yet when he came in her Prefence, her Beauty and his
own Love intirely dafhed him, and he was not able to
utter one Word of what he had just before refolved to
fay; all he could do was to praiſe the Choice of Palmi-
ris, and tell her that he himfelf would take fuch Care to
make his Court and Country agreeable to her, that he
hoped fhe would never entertain the leaft Thought of
leaving them; and to all his Compliments and Promifes,
ſhe anſwered with ſo much Wit and Modefty, that it ſtill
further inflamed the M-n--ch's Heart.
Linda-
The next Day he ſent to invite her to a Ball, given by
the Princeſs Cæfarina his Sifter; and at the fame time a
very fine Set of Rubies and Diamonds in his Sifter's
Name, who invited her, in the moſt obliging Manner
fhe could, to come that Evening to the Ball fhe gave,
and to come dreffed in thoſe Jewels fhe fent her.
mira was not accuſtomed to Adventures of this Kind,
and was at a Lofs how to behave herfelf; but at length
reflecting that this might be wholly an Action of the
Princefs, the accepted the Prefent, and appeared in it that
very Night.
It was no Wonder that a Perfon made as Lindamira
was, fhould be adored by all that faw her. Her Face
was truly oval; her Eyes were large, black, and fpark-
ling, full of Life and Fire; her Hair too was black, and
fell in large Ringlets on her fnowy Neck; her Noſe was
beautifully turned; in her Cheeks were the Rofes and
Lillies blended; her Cheft was full, and might for Co-
lour vie with the driven Snow; her Shape was one of
the finest and eafieft that ever was feen, and her Gait at
once majeſtic and genteel. Such was the beauteous Lin-
damira, and fuch the appeared at Court. Cæfarina per-
ceived her Brother's good Will towards her (for fuch on-
ly at that time fhe took it to be) and to make her Court,
fhe ſcarce ever paffed an Evening without fending for
Lindamira: The K--g never failed being at his Sitter's
Apartment, where he faw his fair Charmer, but he never
offered
164
Royal Gallantry.
offered to talk to her of Love, and the alas! little mif-
trufted his Thoughts or Defign.
Things were upon this Foot when Palmiris received an
Exprefs from the King of France, to acquaint him that
he was juft preparing to embark. This News extremely
aflicted Lindamira, and grieved Palmiris too, who could
not unconcerned behold the Sorrow of one who was fo
dear to him; one by whom he was fo dearly loved; the
Thoughts of parting with her was almoft Death to him,
and yet he was obliged to do it; his Honour was en-
gaged to follow Louis to the Holy Land.
What paffed between this loving Couple at their Part-
ing, would be fomething foreign to my Purpofe. Suf-
fice it that nothing could comfort Lindamira for the Ab-
fence of her dear Palmiris. Cæfarina went to fee her,
but even Cefarina's coming did but increafe her Sor-
row. As for the K--g's Part, nothing could exceed his
Joy at the fetting out of a Man whom he looked upon
as his happy Rival; the oftener he reflected on his Me-
rit, the more he hated him: However, to diffemble a
little longer, he went to fee Lindamira, and pretended
that he was extremely grieved at the going of her Huf-
band.
Lindamira was breeding when Palmira went, and even
ficker than Women generally are at fuch a Time: This,
joined to the Grief of parting with her Husband, threw
her into a violent Fever; her Royal Lover fent all his
Phyſicians to her, and was himſelf going every Hour of
the Day to enquire how fhe did; in fhort, fuch Care was
taken of her, that the K -g foon had the Satisfaction of
hearing by the Phyſicians that ſhe was intirely out of
Danger; but though her Sickneſs wore off, yet did the
Cauſe of it, her Grief, remain; every Method that
could be thought of was ufed to divert her, but ſhe re-
fufed being prefent at any of the prepared Diverfions.
Things did not long continue in this State. The
K--g's Love daily increaſed, and he no longer was
obliged to lay himſelf under any Conftraint on account
of Palmiris, who was already at a fufficient Diſtance.
Upon this he refolved to make the Fair-one acquainted
with his Sentiments, and thinking that Lindamira would
be with Cæfarina, he went and found her there: How
long
Royal Gallantry.
165
long, Madam, faid he, fhall we fee that Melancholly
• in your Looks; and how little does he deſerve it who
is the Caufe of it! Had I the Happineſs of being thus
loved, I fhould not have thought of quitting
6
4
Hold, my Liege, interrupted Lindamira, you injure Paliniris
now; and could he break his Promife, and forfeit his Ho-
nour; a Promife given, an Honour engaged too before ke
was mine, Ifhould think him unworthy of my Love.
• Con-
fider what you fay, Madam, replied the K--g, Should
you think that Man unworthy of your Love, who
• doated on you to fuch a Degree, that for your Compa-
ny he could forget all Ties, all Obligations, and make
it his whole Happineſs to ſpend his Time at your Fect.'
I have already told you my Thoughts on this Matter, re-
plied Lindamira, I am heartily grieved that Palmiris ever
engaged himself to accompany King Louis in his Expedition;
but after juch an Engagement, I should have been more
grieved had he said with me. But let us drop a Difcourfe
which can by no means be agreeable to me. As fhe faid
this fhe left him, and went cloſe up to Cæfarina's Bed,
and notwithſtanding that he followed her, yet could he
not all that Evening, nor for feveral Days after, find an
Opportunity of ſpeaking to her in private, for Lindemira
began to be too fenfible of his Defign, and her whole
Study was how to avoid him.
This Method fucceeded but a very little while, the
M-n--ch, who was naturally very hafty, could not brook
the frequent Difappointments he met with, and finding
that Lindamira, whenever fhe faw him, mixed with
Company, he came up to her, and made Signs for every
body elfe to retire, and he foon convinced the Fair-one,
that if good Words would not prevail, he would make
ufe of violent Means. The two firſt Times, indeed, he
ſpoke to her of Love, he pleaded his Caufe like a Lover,
but the third Time he put on the Mafter, and let her fee
he would be hearkened to. You would have me befow
my Heart upon you, faid fhe one Day to him that he had
been threatening, but it is not in my Power to give it you,
I have already beſtowed it on my Palmiris, and for him will
I ever referve it. As for my Life, it is in your Power,
you may difpofe of it just as you pleafe, my Heart is my own ;
you fee, Sir, Iſpeak my Mind boldly, nor need I fear violat-
ing
166
Royal Gallantry.
<
•
ing my Duty in fo doing, I am not born your Subject. But
you are become my Subject, replied the King hastily, by
marrying a Subject of mine, and one on whom I will
revenge your Cruelty.' He is at fuch a Distance, re-
plied Lindamira, that I need not much fear your Threats ;
and, as for my Part, I believe I might spend my Time, du-
ring his Abfence much more agrecably in France than I pof-
fbly can in Eng-d. I am glad I know your Intent,
replied the K--g, I fhall find Means of difappointing it;'
and calling Terſander, one of the Captains of his Guards,
be ordered him, on pain of his Life, ftrictly to watch
Lindamira.
•
"
<
I am a Priſoner then, cried the Fair-one ? No, Ma-
dam, faid the M-n--ch, you may go wherever you
pleaſe about this Court or City, only Terfander fhall
always accompany you with twenty Guards, but at
fuch a Diſtance, that they fhall rather feem meant for
• Honour than Confinement. This Proceeding very
much furpriſed and grieved Lindamira; and Terfandir,
whofe Quality and Merits were very great, was really
afflicted at being employed on fo ungrateful a Task, nor
could he forbear letting Lindamira know with how much
Reluctancy he obliged the King his Maſter.
Cæfarina being informed of what her Brother had
done, was very much ſurpriſed at it; fhe was not unac-
quainted with his hafty Temper, but did not think that
his Paffion could have hurried him on to fo extravagant
an Action. She went to fee Lindamira, who complained
to her of the Violence uſed towards her, and the Princefs
promiſed that ſhe would ufe her utmoſt Inſtances to the
King her Brother to have her fet at Liberty again.
Mean while the fair Captive was very ftrictly guard-
ed, but, however, with ſo much Refpect, that had ſhe
been a Queen, Terfander could not poffibly have fhewn
her more; at firft Compaffion and Civility were the Mo-
tives of his behaving himſelf thus towards her, but it
was not long before he found himſelf more nearly con-
cerned for her. Lindamira was young, was beautiful,
was unfortunate, this was enough to touch the Heart of
the generous Terfander: However, his Paffion did not in
the Beginning alarm him, he was really ignorant of it,
and for a long time believed his Concern the Effect of
Pity;
Royal Gallantry.
167
Pity; a Pity which Lindamira deferved, and which he
therefore indulged, infomuch that he did not perceive his
Love, till it was grown to fuch a Height, it was no
longer in his Power to baniſh or ſuppreſs it. All that he
could do was firmly to refolve to hide his Paffion' from
the beauteous Lindamira for ever.
Whilft Terfander thus privately languished for the Fair-
one, the King conftantly vifited her every, Day, and
fometimes made ufe of Intreaties, at other times of
Threats; but they both produced the fame Effect, and
confpired to make him the more hated; and ſhe had de-
termined, in cafe any Violence ſhould be offered her, to
put an End to her miferable Life; nor did fhe fcruple
intrufting Terfander with her Defign, whofe Merit and
Generofity fhe was not unacquainted with, and he,
charmed with the Confidence the repofed in him, pro-
miſed her that he would leave no Means untried to di-
vert his Maſter from the Execution of his unjuft Deſigns.
Lindamira thanked him in fo civil and fo obliging a Man-
ner, that it touched his Soul.
Fear nothing, Madam,
faid he, fuch Virtue will be the immediate Care of
Heaven, who will never abandon you to the Fury of a
and ſhould your Life be in Danger, I thall
know no Mafter.'
You are too generous, replied Lindamira, but it would be
baſe in me to abuſe ſo much good Nature, nor will I ever
fuffer you to expose your Life and Fortune for an unhappy
Wretch; no, Terfander, you must live and be faithful 19
your Mafter, whilst I die innocent of the Ruin of fo brave a
Man. I have already told you, Madam, replied Ter-
fander, that I fhall not think any Man my Mafter,
who can be baſe enough to attempt any thing againſt
the Life and Honour of fo deferving a Lady, in whofe
• Defence, had I a thouſand Lives, I would facrifice
⚫ them all.' He added feveral other Things to the fame
Purpoſe, and then informed her, That he was not born
a Subject of the King of England's, but was a Native of
Scotland; he conjured her therefore not to difquiet her-
felf with Fears of what might happen; for if there
fhould be any Likelihood of the King's ufing Violence,
he would take care to favour her Eſcape, which he might
eafily do, fince the Guards round her were all intirely
devoted
168
Royal Gallantry.
A
devoted to him. Mean while he would go and make
fure of a Veffel on board which they might fly. Linda-
mira thanked him as he deſerved, and having accepted
his Offer, fhe defired it might not be delayed, and left
him to go to prepare every thing for her Flight,
Purſuant to her Promife, Cæfarina ſpoke to her Bro-
ther, and urged every thing that he could think of to
make him behave himſelf in another manner towards
Lindamira. She reprefented the Noife his Treatment
would make in all Foreign Courts, eſpecially in that of
France; that ſhe had been brought up near the Queen
Dowager Blanche, at prefent Regent of that Kingdom,
who eſteemed her in the higheſt Degree imaginable: But
all that Cæfarina could urge was in vain, and ſhe was
forced to reſt ſatisfied with having fulfilled her Promiſe,
though she found fhe could do nothing for the Service
of her Fair Friend.
The French Ambaffador at the Eng-h Court hap-
pened to be pretty nearly related to Lindamira; upon
which he went to the K-g, and defired to know the
Reaſons why the Fair-one was confined, and in what
fhe had offended. This Pr-ce anfwered, That he was
accountable to no one for his A&tions. The Ambaffa-
dor replied, That ſhe was a Native of France, and that
confequently the King his Mafter muſt intereſt himſelf in
her Caufe: She has loft that Quality, anfwered the
M-n-rch, in marrying a Subject of mine, fhe is her-
felf become mine, and if the offends, 'tis in my Power
to puniſh her as I pleaſe; as he ſaid this, he turned his
Back upon the Ambasador, and left him extremely
grieved, that it was not in his Power to ferve his Fair
Kinfwoman.
Before the K-g came to the laſt Extremity with Lin-
damira, he fent for an Aunt of her Husband's, by Name
Circe; well knowing, that to debauch a Woman there
was nothing like another Woman, and fhe was one of
thoſe who think that every thing ought to be facrificed
to one's Fortune, and that a Crned Lover ought ne-
ver to figh in vain. This was the Tool this Pr-nce
made ufe of, and having given her Inftructions, fhe flew
to her Niece's; Never, faid fhe, was I more furprized,
than at the News of your Difgrace. Is there any thing
that
Royal Gallantry.
169
that I can do for your Service? I can affure you I ſhall
think nothing a Trouble that will by any means con-
duce to your Quiet. I thank you, Madam, reptica Sav-
damira; 'tis very good of you thus to vift r
thus to vifte Dutrol-
fed. I come not only to vifit you. replied Carve, but to
adviſe you too, your Misfortunes have troubled me;
Heaven knows! I could not love you dearer were you
my own Child.
Circe's Proteftations of Friendſhip drew the Tears into
Lindamira's Eyes, and the ſubtle Aunt feeing her mov-
ed; You are unhappy, Child, faid fhe, but you your-
felf are the chief Caufe of your Unhappiness; you have
behaved yourſelf too haughtily towards the K-g, and
in Prudence you ought to have kept upon better Terms
with one who has an abfolute Power in his Hands. The
very Motive which induced you to it, ought to have made
you behave yourſelf in a quite different Manner; 'twas be-
caufe
you love
your Huſband, and yet you ruin both
his Fortune and your own. I know the Merits of being
ſtrictly faithful and virtuous; yet for the Sake of ap-
pearing fo to the whole World, we ought not to ruin
ourfelves, we ought rather to behave ourſelves with Pru-
dence and Mildnefs; even Palmiris, your beloved Pal-
miris, for whofe Sake you do all this, will not thank
you for having made the King his Enemy; he has fome
private Reafons for defiring to keep a good Underſtand-
ing with him, fuch as may not perhaps be fit to be told
his Wife.
If they are not, replied Lindamira haftily, you would
do better not to mention them at all; however, I muſt
beg the Liberty, Madam, of faying, that you do not
thoroughly know my Palmiris, he is a Man of Honour,
he fincerely loves me; and therefore, I am fure he will
be well fatisfied with my Behaviour, and if not, I ſhall
at leaſt have Reaſon to be fatisfied myſelf, in knowing
that I have performed my Duty.
I fee, replied Circe, that you are obftinately refolved
to maintain the Juftness of your Proceeding; but I
have Charity enough at once to undeceive you, by let-
ting you know, that when your Husband left Eng-nd,
he was defperately in Love with the Princess Cafarina,
nor was his Love defpifed. No body, I am fure, can
VOL. II.
1
H
better
170
Royal Gallantry.
better be acquainted with the Truth of this Amour than
myſelf, fince I carried all the Letters that paffed between
them. I hope, interrupted Lindamira, her Cheeks glow-
ing, that for the future they will employ fome body
whom they can better truft, and who will not make it
their Buſineſs to reveal Secrets which are not fo much as
enquired after. Your Reproach feems very juft, replied
Circe; but I can affure you, my Dear, I would not dif-
cover them to any one elfe, nor even to you, had it not
moved my Compaffion to fee you ruin yourſelf for an
ungrateful Wretch, who does not deferve your Love.
You call that Compaffion, replied Lindamira, which in
effect is the greateft Cruelty: No, had you had any Pity,
you would have concealed a Thing from me, which
whilft I was ignorant of, could never injure me; but the
Knowledge of which muſt certainly make me miferable.
As fhe ſpoke theſe laft Words, one of Cæfarina's Ser-
vants came to tell her, that his Miftrefs was just com-
ing to fee her. This Name caufed fome Emotica in
Lindamira, and filled Circe with Fear, left her Niece
fhould mention their Converfation to the Princefs; upon
this the refolved to retire, and recommending Secrecy
to Lindamira, fhe told her, that the next time the came
to fee her, ſhe would bring with her fome of the Let-
ters which paffed between them, and as fhe faid this, fhe
left the Fair-one, who returned her noAnfwer, but threw
herſelf upon the Bed, and a Moment after Cæfarina
came up, and having careffed her, gave her an Account
of what ſhe had urged to her Brother in her Favour;
Lindamira thanked her, but fo very faintly, that the
Princefs found fhe must be ill, and rifing, fhe drew near
the Bed, and went to feel her Pulfe, fhe found her with-
out any Sign of Life; for it fo ftruck Lindamira to the
Heart, to think ſhe had been obliged to thank her Ri-
val, that through Grief the fwooned away; the Prin-
cefs called for Help, and upon the Application of pro-
per Remedies, fhe was brought to herſelf again.
Nothing could exceed Cæfarina's Concern, to fee her
fair Friend thus afflicted, and ſhe accuſed her Brother's
Severity for what had happened; but was far from fuf-
pecting the real Cauſe of this immoderate Grief; little
did fle think that Lindamira looked upon her as a hap-
РУ
Royal Gallantry.
171
py Rival, who had robbed her of a Heart, the Poffeffi-
on of which only could make her happy; the more the
Princefs endeavoured to ferve and affift her, the greater
was her Grief. Unhappy Effects of Jealouſy, that the
best and most friendly Actions fhould thus appear odi-
ous to the Eyes of the Jealous!
As Lindamira was very faint and weak, the Phyfici-
ans who had been called in, acquainted the Princeſs,
that a longer Vifit would be of dangerous Confequence,
and that if any thing, Repoſe muſt do her good. Upon
this, fhe embraced the beauteous Diftreffed, conjuring
her not to give fuch way to Grief, and affuring her,
that ſhe would leave no Means untried that might re-
ftore her Liberty; Lindamira, unable to anſwer, preffed
her Hand, and the Princefs left her. As foon as the
was gone, the defired that every body elfe might leave
her, which they did, no one ſtaying with her but the
faithful Belifinda,her Nurfe's Daughter, one whom from
her Infancy fhe had retained in her Service, and who
had always been the Confident of her moſt ſecret Af-
fairs.
Lindamira now feeing herſelf at Liberty, began loud-
ly to complain of her Misfortunes, which before fcarce
deferved that Name. Is it poflible, Palmiris, faid fhe,
that thou ſhould'ſt prove faithlefs to me? Could not all
my Love preferve me your Heart? That Heart in
which is centred all my Happiness! Is it no longer
mine? No, 'tis another's now. Heavens! Can I furvive
the Lofs? What on Earth is, now worthy ftaying for?
Happy Cæfarina! Palmiris loves you. Her Words
were accompanied with fuch Sighs and Tears, that had
even Circe, the Contriver of all this Miſchief, been
there, ſhe could not, unconcerned, have heard and feen
them, but moved with Compaffion, ſhe muſt have con-
feffed her Falfhood, and ſet Lindamira's Mind at eaſe.
Belifinda hearing the Complaints of her Miftrefs, and
the freſh Cauſe of her Grief, drew nearer to the Bed :
Have you ſeriouſly reflected on the Words you are now
uttering, Madam, faid fhe, and have you certain Proofs
of your Huſband's Infidelity? Too certain, replied Lin-
damira, he loves the Princeſs, and is beloved again, and
Circe has promiſed to ſhew me fome of the Letters which
H 2
he
172
Royal Gallantry.
he fent by her to the Princeſs.
You muſt excuſe me,
Madam, faid' Belifinda, if I cannot have an implicit
Faith in all fhe fays; nor do I fee the leaft Probability
of Truth in her Story; for had Palmiris given her Let-
ters for the Princeſs, would he have dared to have kept
them? Would a Lover, who has free Acceſs to his
Miſtreſs, and who is beloved by her again, never have
complained of Letters he had fent her, and to which he
had received no Anſwer? There is certainly fome De-
fign in this Story, which, I muſt cònfefs, I do not
comprehend, but which Time will certainly diſcover.
Befides, Madam, till this very Day, Circe never gave
you fuch Affurances of her Friendship, as to perfuade
you that ſhe would facrifice the Princefs to it; I very
much ſuſpect the Advice fhe has given you. Reflect
ferioufly, Madam, on all fhe has faid, and you will
foon fee that you have been too hafty in believing
her, to the Diſadvantage of your Hufband. They tell
you that he loves the Princefs: Had he, Madam, it
would have been impoffible that their Amours ſhould
be a Secret. Thoſe whom their Births and Fortunes
have fet up to view, in fo elevated a Rank, cannot con-
ceal their Actions from the bufy prying World. Nor
is this all that I can urge, Cæfarina has always be-
haved herſelf in a manner fuitable to her high Station,
and her Virtues have been admired by the whole Court.
How many Princes and foreign Potentates have ſought
her Love, but fought in vain; and yet you'll believe
that he has fettled her Affections upon one who never
made it his Study to win her Favour; a married Man,
one newly married too, and that to a beautiful young
Lady who dotes on him. Theſe Things, Madam, feem
contrary to Senſe and Reaſon.
What is contrary to Senfe and Reaſon, replied Lin-
damira haftily! To love Palmiris! Yes, Madam, re,
plied Belifinda, for the Princefs to love him. If fhe
hould, I am fure I fhould think her deftitute of Senſe
and Reaſon; and that he is not, we all know. Believe
me, Madam, this must be the Effect of Circe's Malice,
for fome particular View, which will one Day or other
be difcovered, and then, Madam, you will repent your
having unjustly fufpected a Hufband who paffionately
loves
Royal Gallantry.
173
1
loves you, and a virtuous Princeſs who is fo much your
Friend.
Spite of her Jealouſy Lindamira was fatisfied that there
was a great deal of Truth in what Belifinda urged; with
Patience ſhe liftened to her whole Diſconrſe, and hoped
that it was true, fo fond are we of believing every thing
we wiſh: However, fhe perfifted in her Refolution of
feeing the Letters which Circe had promiſed to fhew her.
Belifinda well pleafed with the Effect her Difcourſe had
over the Mind of her Miſtreſs, would not, by any Means,
oppoſe her Defire of feeing thoſe Letters, juftly believing
that Circe had none to produce; and this prudent Girl
timed her Difcourfe with fo much Diſcretion, that ſhe
took an Opportunity of ſpeaking of Palmiris, and the
Love he bore her: What extreme Sorrow there appeared
in his Looks whenever he was out of her Sight after re-
ceiving the Exprefs from France, though in her Prefence
he endeavoured to conceal his Grief, that ſhe parly re-
ftored to her Miſtreſs that Peace of Mind which Circe
had robbed her of, and being very fenfible that Repofe
was the Thing her Miſtreſs wanted moft, fhe conjured
her to get herſelf to reft, urging, that if ſhe had no Re-
gard to her own Life, fhe ought to have fome for the
dear Babe fhe was now big with.
Lindamira would willingly have followed the Advice
of this faithful Girl, but the preſent diſtracted State of
her Mind would not let her enjoy the leaſt Quiet, and
ſhe ſpent the greateſt Part of the Night in reflecting on
the Words of Circe. As foon as the faw Day-light the
called for her Table-Book, that fhe might write to her,
which ſhe did in the following Manner:
LINDAMIRA to CIRCE.
Write to you, Madam to remind you of your Pro-
mifes; compleat the Work, I befeech you, which
you have begun, and convince me of the Infidelity of
Palmiris. The State of Uncertainty I now live in, is ten
thousand times more cruel than Death itſelf; to alleviate
my Misfortunes you muſt confirm them.
Lindamira having made an End of writing gave the
Letter to Belifinde, and bid her hafte to Circe, and de-
H 3
fire
174
Royal Gallantry.
fire her to fend what the mentioned in it. The trufty
Meffenger flew to obey the Orders of her Miſtreſs, tho'
it was not yet a fit Hour to wait on Ladies; but ſhe
knew how impatiently Lindamira would expect an An-
fwer, and therefore fhe went that Moment. At Circe's
Door ſhe was told that ſhe had been out of Order, and
had not flept all that Night, that her Woman was in her
Chamber with her, and therefore it would be impoffible
to receive an Anfwer from her, or fo much as to deliver
the Letter. Grieved at the Diſappointment, Belifinda
haftened to her Miſtreſs, and told her of it, adding, that
ſhe believed her Aunt feigned herſelf ill; nor was fhe in
the leaſt out in her Guefs, for Circe was gone to give the
King an Account of the preceding Day's Converfation.
*
It was with a great deal of Concern that this Prince
heard what she had to relate, but not with that Concern
which might be expected from a Lover; he was not dif
quieted at the Thoughts of having given his Miſtreſs any
Uneafinefs, but was enraged to think that the fhould fo
fincerely love the Man he hated, and he immediately
formed the Refolution of having Palmiris put to Death.
Circe heard him with a great deal of Patience, and gave
way to the firft Tranfports of his Anger, and then be-
gan to footh him a little; fhe reprefented that this was
not the way of gaining his End and enjoying his Miſtreſs,
that they must now think of the Means of fatisfying the
jealous Curiofity of Lindamira, who doubtlefs would be
very preffing to fee the Letters ſhe had mentioned; that
their Buſineſs now was to get ſome of Palmiris`s Letters,
that ſhe might counterfeit the Hand, and feign one from
him to the Princeſs; that to come at ſuch a Letter they
muſt bribe one of Lindamira's Maids, who could pro-
bably help them to one of them; that he had lately
taken an English Girl into her Service, who might, fhe
thought, be the more eafily corrupted, fhe being, as it
were, a mere Stranger to her Miſtreſs, befides which ſhe
knew a Gentleman in whom ſhe could confide, and who
was acquainted with this very Maid, and by their Means
The hoped to compaſs her Ends.
The King intirely approved of her Contrivance, and
that the might the better execute it without Interruption,
he adviſed her to feign herſelf fick, and to keep her
Chamber
Royal Gallantry.
175
Chamber, that she might not be obliged to intruſt any
of her Women with the Secret; fhe promiſed that ſhe
would, and haftening home fhe fent for the Gentleman
whom the defigned to employ, and who, as the Writers
of that Age affure us, was very intimately acquainted
with her, and giving him his Inftructions, fhe bad him
haften about the Bufinefs with all poffible Speed.
Nothing could be a greater Pleaſure to Orontes (for fo
was the Gentleman called) than the Errand on which he
was fent. Two Years had he been in Love with this
Maid, and had the Satisfaction of not being ill received
whenever he dared go near her, but that was very fel-
dom, fo much did he dread the Jealoufy of this wicked
Woman, on whom he had a great deal of Dependance;
but as she now gave him an Opportunity herſelf, he flew
with eager Hafte towards Cleona, and what is very natu-
ral in a Lover, he fairly diſcovered the whole Intrigue
to her, and let her know on what Bufinefs he was em-
ployed. Cleona feemed very well pleafed that he dealt
thus ingenuouſly with her, and could not forbear expref-
fing her Satisfaction to her Lover; but as fhe hated Circe,
whom fhe looked upon as a happy Rival, ſhe could not
think of doing any thing for her Service, and therefore
told him ſhe would never confent to, much lefs be inftru-
mental, in doing any treacherous thing by her Miſtreſs;
her Opinion therefore was, that Lindamira ſhould be let
into the Secret, and that Circe's Intent fhould be difco-
vered to her, by which Means they would get the Let-
ters of her, which would be of the fame Service to him,
being well affured that her Miſtreſs would keep a Secret
of fuch Importance to herſelf, and that if Circe had any
Mind to do him a Piece of Service, fhe would now have
a fair Opportunity of recommending him to the King.
Her Words put Orontes into a ftrange Confufion, being
fenfible that this was all the Effect of her Jealoufy, and
he urged every thing which he thought might divert her
from her Refolution, but all in vain; and the at length
defired him to leave her, being weary of feeing him fo
zealous in the Service of one who was really odious to
her. This Command thunder-ftruck Orontes, and he
heartily wished that he had never undertook this Buſineſs,
in which he ſaw himſelf brought to a fad Dilemma; for
he
H 4
176
Royal Gallantry.
he muſt either betray one who confided in him, and on
whom his Fortune depended, or for ever difoblige and
loſe the Object of his Wiſhes; he therefore ſaid all he
could to move her, but fhe, inſtead of hearkening to
him, in a very imperious Manner told him, that he muft
either that Moment give his free Confent to what ſhe had
propofed, or refolve never to fee her Face more. Oron-
tes was obliged to comply; not only Love perfuaded him.
to it, but he was very fenfible, that fhe was Miftrefs of
his Secret, and could make what Ufe of it fhe would.
Cleona, pleaſed with the Thoughts of his facrificing
her Rival to her, promifed fhe would take care that his
Confidence in her fhould never hurt him, and they then
began to confider of the future Methods they muſt take,
and of the Anfwer which Orontes fhould return; and af-
ter a little Confultation, they concluded he ſhould go
back to Circe, and tell her that all his foft Speeches and
Gallantry had not had the leaft Effect upon Cleona; but
that he had obferved fhe was of a mercenary Temper,
and might, he believed, be won by rich Prefents. I do
not fuppofe this Pair of Turtles left one another without
cooing of their Love a little; but that being a thing fo-
reign to my Purpoſe, I fhall wholly pass it over.
As foon as Orontes was gone, Cleona ran to her Mif-
trefs's Apartment, and informed her of all that had paf-
fed. It is impoffible to exprefs the Joy and Surprize of
Lindamira at what fhe heard; a thouſand times fhe em-
braced her, affuring her ſhe never ſhould forget that to
her the owed the whole Quiet of her Life; fhe then pro-
miſed her, that ſhe would give her fome of Palmiris's
Letters, and hoped, with all her Heart, they would con-
tribute to the making of her Fortune, but that if they
did not, fhe fhould always fhare hers. Then reflecting
how unjustly fhe had accufed her Palmiris, fhe begged
his Pardon a thouſand and a thouſand times, after which
ſhe ſent for Belifinda, and told her all ſhe had heard; but
Belifinda was not in the leaft furpriſed at it, fhe had all
along believed Palmiris innocent and Circe falſe.
It was not long before Terfander came into her Cham-
ber, and informed her, that Orders were given not to ſuf-
fer any Courier to pafs without examining his Letters:
I believe, Madam, faid be, that you have chiefly con-
• tributed
Royal Gallantry.
177
'
C
• tributed towards this Order, for they are certainly un-
willing here that the Court of France fhould know in
• what manner you are treated amongst us.' As he ſpoke,
he obſerved Lindamira, but was ſurprized to fee that, in-
ſtead of appearing concerned, Joy ſparkled in her Eyes,
a greater Joy than ſhe had fhewn ever fince the going of
Palmiris. Ha, Madam, faid he, what happy Change
can occafion this unufual Gladness? Has the King
given up his Pretenfions to you, and will he torment
you no more? You mistake the Caufe of my Foy, re-
plied Lindamira, the King is fill the fame; but if there
appears any Satisfaction in my Looks, I have good Reaſon to
be fatisfied; and fuch is my Efteem for you, that I shall not
make you a Stranger to the Caufe of it. She then related
to him all the Treachery of Circe, and the Diſcovery of
it made to her by Cleona; Terfander was fhocked at the
Impudence of the former, and highly commended the
Fidelity of the latter; then thanked Lindamira for her
Efteem, and the Confidence ſhe repoſed in him.
'
Mean while Orontes returned to Circe, and gave her an
Account of what had been done, at leaſt of what Cleona
and he had refolved to tell her had been done, and fhe
was very well pleafed with his Negociations, pleafed
that Cleona would not hearken to his Gallantry and foft
Speeches; and fhe rather chofe that it fhould coft the
King fome fine Preſent than coft her the Heart of her
Lover; for had he found Encouragement, who knew
how falſe he might prove; Cleona was young, was love-
ly; how eafily might ſhe rob an old Woman of a Gal-
lant, who had no Charms but thofe of Intereſt to retain
him. Pleafed therefore with his Succefs better than if
he had fucceeded, fhe immediately wrote to the King,
acquainting him with the Negociation of Orontes, and
his Report, and he fent her for an Anfwer, that in lefs
than an Hour he would come to fee her, which he ac-
cordingly did, and brought a little Box fet round with
Diamonds, as a Prefent for Cleona; and at the fame time
he told Circe he had a Defign to take Orontes into his
Service, and to give him fome military Poft.
Nothing could delight Circe more than this Affurance
that her Lover would be preferred; and fhe dwelt a con-
fiderable time in Praife of his Merit and Fidelity; that
H 5
done,
178
Royal Gallantry.
done, ſhe diſpatched him to Cleona with the Bribe; there
they agreed, that he ſhould return and inform his Princi-
pals, that as foon as ever Lindamira was aileep, fhe
would ſteal fome of her Letters out of her Cabinet; and
to prevent any Sufpicion of there being a right Under-
ftanding between Lindamira and Cleona, Belifinda was
twice fent to Circe's Houfe, to aſk for thoſe Letters
which ſhe had promiſed to fhew her. The firſt time ſhe
was told that Circe was fo very ill fhe could not be ſeen,
the ſecond ſhe was introduced to her, and this ſubtle Wo-
man affured her, that as foon as ever her Health would
permit her to ſtir out of Doors, fhe would wait upon her,
and would bring the Letters with her.
Mean while Cleona having got the rich Prefent which
Orontes had brought her, haftened up to her Miſtreſs and
fhewed it her, who immediately gave her two of Palmi-
ris's Letters. Betimes next Morning Orontes came and
received them of Cleona, and carried them to Circe. No-
thing could exceed the Joy of this wicked Woman at the
Sight of the Letters. She immediately got a Perſon who
was pretty well verfed in 'that kind of Buſineſs, and
having prepared a Letter for him, he copied it; and in
it counterfeited the Hand of Palmiris fo very artfully,
that had not Lindamira been beforehand acquainted
with what they were doing, fhe herſelf muſt have been
deceived by it.
At ſoon as Circe was thus prepared, fhe went and paid
Lindamira a Vifit, and feeing her very much concerned,
Ι
am heartily forry, my Dear, faid he, that I ever
mentioned to you the Love your Hufband bears the
Princefs; had I thought it would have given you fo
much Uneafinefs, as I find it has fince done, I am ſure
I never would have faid a Word of it: However, I
adviſe you to reſt ſatisfied with what you do know
you may have the Satisfaction of fometimes thinking
that I have deceived you; and of what Service would
the Sight of one of his Letters be to you, unlefs to con-
firm his Falfhood. Be adviſed, my Dear, and do not
endeavour to make yourſelf more miferable.' I know
fo much of the Matter already, replied Lindamira, that it
is in vain to defire me not to enquire after more of it; do
not fear therefore fhewing me the Letter, which I can aſſure
jeu
Royal Gallantry.
179
you
will not make me more miserable; I have already told
you that there is nothing more crucl than a State of Uncer-
tainty. Since you will have it, anfwered Circe, I'll
fatisfy you.' As fhe faid this, fhe gave her a Letter,
in which the read the following Words:
HⓇ
Palmiris to the Princefs Cefarina.
OW can you fufpect, my charming Princefs, that
another ſhares my Heart with you? Alas! did
you know my real Sentiments, you would not thus un-
justly accufe me, nor doubt the Sincerity of fo violent a
Paffion; what fhall I do to fatisfy you? Shall I fend
Lindamira back into France? Let my divine Princeſs
but fay this would be grateful to her, and if I don't
immediately offer her this Sacrifice, I am willing that
you fhould for ever doubt of the Love of her
PALMIRIS.
6
Though Lindamira knew the whole to be Invention,
and a Contrivance of the wicked Circe's, yet could'fhe
not forbear being immediately vexed at what ſhe read;
fo very difagreeable is even the Mention of all Sacrifices
of this Nature to Perfons who really love; but recover-
ing herself, and willing to carry on the Deceit, I fhould,
faid fe, have been very much obliged to the Princeſs,
had fhe fent me back to France, at leaft, I ſhould not
• have been, as at prefent I am, expoſed to the Violence
of a Prince whom I dread.' Will you ftill fly into
Paffions, replied Circe, which are fo very prejudicial to
you ? You not only afflict yourſelf, but all thofe about
you who wiſh you well.
•
I am forry, anfwered Lindamira, that I should make any
one elſe uneasy; but to behave myself otherwife, I must be
very infenfible of my prefent Condition; I have loft my Li-
berty; would that were all; I have loft Palmiris too!
And are thofe Loffes to be tamely bore? No, furely I may
have the Liberty of complaining, at least; nor need I care
if my Complaints difpleafe any one. I have nothing more
but my Life to lofe, which my Misfortunes have already
made wretched, even odious to me. That is your own
Fault, replied Circe, and it is ftill in your Power to
change your Mifery into Happinefs. You are gay,
• you
<
"
H 6
180
Royrl Gallantry.
<
}
you are beautiful, you are ferved and adored by a
potent M-n-ch: How many thoufand's would al-
moft give their Lives to be in your Condition! And,
⚫ who would not, like you, oppoſe their own Fortunes?
A Time will come when you will plainly fee your
Fault; but perhaps that Time and Repentance will
come too late. Think feriously of what I fay, you
know my Opinion of the Matter; I have given you
the beſt Advice I could, and if you have any Senſe,
I am fure you will follow it.' As fhe faid this, fhe
left her, not caring at that Time to ftay for Linda-
• mira's Anſwer.
We may eafily judge how Lindamira received this Ad-
vice, and what Refentment fhe fhewed the next time
Circe came to fee her; but notwithstanding this, the
wicked Woman would come to her Houfe, and perpe-
tually plague her with her pernicious Counfels, and when
the found that they were far from producing the defired
Effect, ſhe went to the K-g, and told him he ought to
fend her to fome adjacent Caſtle, where no body fhould
be allowed to vifit her, and where fhe fhould not fo much
as have any of her own Women, except Cleona, whofe
Fidelity fhe was well affured of, and by whom they
might from time to time be let into her Miftrefs's Sen-
timents; that perhaps the Defire of recovering her Li-
berty would make her comply; above all, the Princefs,
the faid, muft not be allowed to vifit her, left ſhe ſhould
fay any thing of the Letter to her; and that it was her
Opinion, that her Guards ought to be changed, that in
having all ftrange Faces about her, the Confinement
might ſeem more intolerable.
I have already obſerved, that the K-g was of a pret-
ty violent Temper, his frequent Difappointments had
increaſed his Paffion, and it was now inflamed by the
helliſh Advice of a wicked Woman; upon which he
promiſed that he would fend her to a Câftle about ten
Miles diftant from thence, and that he would make O-
rontes Governor of it, where he fhould have an Officer
and fifty Soldiers under him; that he would go and fee
her himſelf, but that he would have Circe frequently vi-
fit her, and endeavour to make her change her Senti-
ments. This wicked Woman promifed him the would,
adding,
Royal Gallantry.
181
adding, that he need not queftion her Service, fince ſhe
had already facrificed her own Nephew to him. The
Pr-ce thanked her, and affured her, that ſhe ſhould not
find him ungrateful.
As foon as ſhe had left him, fhe fent for Orontes, and
gave him an Account of his Commiffion, and he imme-
diately waited upon and thanked the Giver, who or-
dered him to prepare every thing for his fetting out in
three Days time; when you are there, continued he, on
pain of your Life, watch the Prifoner clofe, nor dare
to ftir out of the Caftle till further Orders, and there-
fore 'tis I give you three Days, that you may get every
thing ready which you fhall have Occafion for. After
this he bid him immediately haften to Cleona, and know
of her, whether as yet there was the leaft Alteration to
be feen in her Miſtreſs.
Orontes having received his Orders, haftened to Clec-
na, and told her what Meafures had been taken to
make her Miſtreſs comply; upon which the frighted
Maid flew up to Lindamira's Apartment, where Terfan-
der at that time was, and knowing how much the con-
fided in that young Nobleman, fhe told her before him,
what he had just heard from her Lover. Lindamira
one would have thought might, by this time, be pretty
well accuſtomed to ill Ufage, nor were there any freſh
Perfecutions but ſhe might have expected; but yet fhe
was unable to bear the Shock of this, and the near
Profpect fhe now had of her Mifery, furpriſed and
frighted her in the greateſt Degree imaginable.
C
Terfander perceiving the Trouble of her Soul, Why
this Confufion, Madam, ſaid he, 'tis no longer time to
hefitate; you muft refolve to fly whilft 'tis in your
• Power to do fo, at the End of two Days more 'twould
be fruitleſs to attempt an Eſcape
Since I must, I
will refolve to go, replied Lindamira, and though the
Thoughts of fuch a precipitated Flight are very ungrate-
ful to me, yet are they not fo cutting as thoſe of ſtaying here
in the Power of a wicked Woman, and a Man who may
perhaps uſe me with Violence. But, alas! there is ano-
ther Thought as cruel as either of them, Muft you, generous
Terfander, abandon every thing for the Sake of an unhap
py Wretch, who will not have it in her Power to make
મ
Joz
182
'Royal Gallantry.
you any Amends? Muft jou ruin yourself for me? Would
that my Life only were in Danger, Heaven knows how
joyfully I would lose it rather than
• How joyful-
ly you would lofe it, Madam, interrupted Terfander,
how cruelly you talk. Do you envy me the Happi-
nefs of ferving you; or, do you think me unworthy
• of it?'
No, my Lord, replied Lindamira, I think you too worthy
of it; and I muß esteem you as much as I do, to be behold-
ing to you for fo important a Piece of Service, but how
dear will that Service cost you, I shudder every time I think
of it.
'For Heaven's Sake, dear Madam, anſwered
Terfander, do not grieve thus, but be perfuaded
that nothing can be greater than the Satisfaction I
fhall feel in delivering you out of the Hands of your
Enemies, and this will be more than Atonement for
the little I can lofe in doing it. I muft beg your Par-
• don for a little while, I'll haften and prepare every
thing neceffary for our Flight, and in the Evening,
• Madam, I'll return and give you an Account of what
I have done.'
C
༣
Terfander having left her, Lindamira remained in a
Condition not to be expreffed, nor eafily to be imagin-
ed. She thought her Condition miferable indeed, to
fee herſelf under the Neceflity of flying with a young
Nobleman, and to leave her Enemies fuch a probable
Story to blacken her Reputation, and deſtroy her Fame.
This Apprehenfion touched her very Soul, Terfander
left a fine Eftate, and an honourable Poft, and would a
cenforious World, who did not know her, think that
this was only an Effect of Friendship! This was the Sub-
ject of that Evening's Grief, but Belifinda, from whom
The concealed nothing, comforted her a little; affuring
her, that all Eng―nd knew what ill Ufage fhe had met
with, and therefore it would not be in the Power of her
Enemies to injure her Fame. Every body knew fhe
was confined, and what could be more natural, than an
Endeavour to recover one's Liberty; that her Reputa-
tion would be more endangered by staying with one in
whofe Power fhe was, whofe Love and whole Violence
were too well known, than it could be by flying with a
Man,
Royal Gallantry.
183
Man, whofe Virtue and Generofity few were unac-
quainted with.
There was fo much Truth in what Belifinda faid,
that Lindamira could not poffibly refute it; yet 'twas
with Grief the found herſelf obliged to leave Eng-nd
in that manner, and had there been any Poffibility of
avoiding it, without running a far greater Danger, fhe
never would have done it, but a juft Dread of what
might happen, and Belifinda's Perfuafions, at length de-
termined her to feek her Safety by Flight.
That Night Terfander returned to inform her, that by
his Order the Veffel was failed, and now lay concealed
behind a Rock at fome Diſtance from the Port, whilſt
the Long-boat, with fix lufty Rowers, waited to carry
them on board; he therefore defired her not to defer
her going any longer than the next Night, and the bet-
ter to conceal her Intent, he would have her feign her-
felf very much out of Order, that no body might be
furprized at her going to-bed fooner than ufual. Linda-
mira returned him many Thanks for the Trouble he
gave himſelf on her account, and promiſed that at the
appointed Time fhe would be ready to go with him.
The Thought of leaving the Princefs, who on all
Occaſions had been fo kind, without feeing or thank-
ing her, very much troubled Lindamira, at length fhe
refolved to leave a Letter for her, which fhe immediate
ly wrote in the following manner :
"T
Lindamira to the Princefs Cæfarina.
IS with the greateft Grief imaginable, Madam,
I find myſelf obliged to fly this Country, without
taking my Leave of you; I never could have done it,
and would have truſted you with my Defign, had I not
feared that the K-g your Brother would have been in-
cenfed against you; I am fully perfuaded that this
great Pr-ce will again become good and juft, as foon
as the unfortunate Wretch, whofe Miferies he has oc-
cafioned, is out of his fight; and who, notwithſtanding
what he has done, wiſhes him all Health and Profpe-
rity. His Honour bids him forget me, mine orders me
fly this dangerous Place, left by a longer Stay, a Blemish
might
184
Royal Gallantry.
might be caft upon it. Pity my Fate, illuftrious Prin-
cels, which thus forces me from you; beſtow a compaf-
fionate Sigh, and fhed a friendly 'Tear when you reflect
on the Mifery of the unfortunate Lindamira.
Having finished this Letter, fhe fealed it up, and her
Mind being a little more at eaſe, ſhe looked for her
Money and Jewels, and putting them up in a little ſtrong
Box, fhe gave it to Terfander, who carried it away with
him. Purfuant to his Advice, fhe pretended to be much
out of Order the next Day, and lay a-bed till Seven in
the Evening; at which time Terfunder came to her, and
brought Man's Apparel, both for her and Belifinda,
which they put on, and tying up their Hair, they turned
them, Cavalier-like, under their Hats.
Lindanira could not forbear fighing to fee herſelf in
this Condition; and fending for Cleona, the aſked her
whether ſhe would accompany her in her Flight; but
this prudent Maid anfwered, That if fhe appeared to
be in the Secret, 'twould be plain that Orontes had be-
trayed his Truft, and that it would be much better for
her to stay, and pretend to be very much furprized at
her Flight.
Notwithstanding that Lindamira would have been
glad to have carried fo faithful a Servant with her, yet
was there fo much Truth in what fhe faid, that ſhe could
not urge her any further; but giving her all her Cloaths
and a fine Diamond Ring, fhe tenderly embraced her,
affuring her, fhe never fhould forget the Service ſhe had
done her. Then laying the Letter which fhe had writ-
ten to the Princefs upon the Table, fhe bid Cleona go
down and tell the Servants they fhould make no Noife,
for their Miſtreſs was gone to Bed, charging her not to
take Notice of her Flight till the next Morning.
This poor Girl could not fee her Miſtreſs going, with-
out shedding a Flood of Tears; and after the neceffary
Adieus, Terfander conducted her down a private Stairs
through the Garden, the Back-Door of which went out
into a little Street, where they found fix Guards waiting
with three ſpare Horfes for Terfander and the two dif-
guifed Ladies, who mounting, they haftened to the Port
where the Guards left them, and they foon reached their
Veffel;
Royal Gallantry.
185
Veffel; that very Moment they hoifted Sail, and the
Wind blowing fair, they were not long in croffing the
Seas.
Lindamira's Reckoning was now out, and the expect-
ed every Moment to fall in Labour; even on Ship-
board fhe felt ſome Pains. This made her ftay at Bou-
logne, where, in a Fortnight's time fhe was brought to-
bed of a fine Boy. Before her Lying-in, fhe writ a Let-
ter to the Queen-Mother of France, which Terfander was
to carry, that he might at length inform the virtuous
Princefs of all that had paffed; but as he could not think
of leaving her in that Condition, he determined to ſtay
till the great Danger was over.
Three Days after her being brought to-bed, Terfander
fet out for the Court of France; where he waited on the
Queen-Regent, delivered Lindamira's Letter, and in or-
der related every thing that happened to her fince her
leaving France. The good Queen, who fincerely loved
her, was grieved at her Misfortunes, and commended
Terfander for his generous Action in delivering her out
of fuch a Danger; affuring him, that his Merit fhould
go unrewarded: She further told him, that Lindamira
hould remain under her Protection, and that ſhe would
take care both of her and her Son; that the herfelf
would write to her, and that as foon as fhe had recover--
ed Strength enough to travel, Terfander fhould go down
and fetch her up to Court with a fuitable Equipage. This
was as much as Lindamira could defire, and one would
now have thought her Misfortunes at an End; but alas!
they were to laſt as long as her Life. But to return to
Eng-nd:
Cleona in every Particular obferved her Miſtreſs's Di-
rections, and took no Notice till the next Morning ten
o'Clock, the ufual Time of her going into her Chamber,
and then ſhe pretended to be very much furprized. The
undiffembled Tears which the fhed for the Lofs of her
Miſtreſs, confirmed People in the Opinion that the was
intirely innocent of her Flight, and he acted her Part
fo very well, that he was never once miſtruſted; and
happy for her it was fhe could act it fo! for had the K-g
in his firſt Paffion fufpected her, he doubtlefs would
have facrificed her in his Rage.
'Tis
186
Royal Gallantry.
'Tis impoffible to exprefs his Concern, his Behaviour,
his Defpair, when the News was brought him, and on
this Occafion he did a thoufand things unworthy of ſo
great a P-nce. At first he would have followed Lin-
damira, had not Cæfarina reprefented to him that fhe
was failed the Night before with a brifk favourable
Gale, and that before he could be well a-fhipboard, fhe
doubtlefs would have reached the Coaſt of France, that
he might indeed fend out fome armed Veffels after her,
but that his own Perfon was too precious to be expoſed
on fo trifling an Occafion; that leaving his Kingdom
might be of a dangerous Confequence, and produce evil
Effects on the Minds of his Subjects, naturally too
prone to revolt; that he ought to do nothing which
might make People forget the Refpect due to him, and
that he would become the Laughing flock of all Europe,
fhould he leave his Dominions to run after a Woman
who did not love him.
4
This P-nce gave fuch Way to Grief and Deſpair,
that he did not liften to what his Sifter faid, and heard
only the five or fix laft Words, upon which interrupt-
ing her, he cried out, True, fhe does not love; but,
is fhe lefs amiable? She fcorns me, and therefore I love
her, for her Refiftance diſplays herVirtues and the Beau-
ties of her Soul: Alas! had fhe feen me before fhe
• had Palmiris, the might have loved me inſtead of him;
fhe might have done and felt for me, what she now
• does and feels for him. Had Heaven beſtowed my
Cr-n upon Palmiris, and given me his Lindamira's
Heart, how happy fhould I have thought myſelf!
• But if I must be mifable I am refolved not to be
'miferable alone, Palmiris and Lindamira fhall fhare
the Misfortunes which they have heaped upon me.'
As he ſaid this he left his Sifter, and immediately ſent
for Circe.
It was not long before this wicked Woman came,
and feeing how ill her Mafter brooked Lindamira's
Flight, fhe pretended to be full of Deſpair, and vowed
that there was nothing but fhe would do to make Linda-
mira repent her Cruelty; that doubtless ſhe muſt have
been in Love with Terfander, elfe would fhe never have
fled with him as the has done; that she would fend
her Huſband Word of it; and in ſhort, that ſhe would
reduce
Royal Gallantry.
187
reduce her to fo very low a Condition, that ſhe ſhould
come and humbly implore his Protection.
I could heartily wifh, replied the M-n-rch, that
• fhe was under a Neceffity of doing it; I am fure I
• would grant it her with all my Heart, but ſhe's too
haughty, and hates me too much to be obliged to
me for it, even though I fhould offer it her, let her
• Condition be never fo bad.' I cannot tell that, replied
the fawning Wretch; however, I'll promife to reduce her
to fuch a Condition, that she shall ftand in Need of it ;
I'll immediately ſend Palmiris Word, that his Wife was
defperately in Love with Terfander, that I fufpected it,
and did every thing I could to fave the Honour of our
Family, but in vain; for ſeeing that she could not indulge
her Paffion here, he had fled away with him by Night,
and I think the best Way would be to dispatch an Ex-
prefs immediately with the Letter, left they should be be-
forehand with us, and give him Notice of all that has
paffed. She faid, and without waiting for an Anfwer,
The fet her down, and writ the following Epiftle:
I
CIRCE to PALMIRIS.
Dear Nephew,
Tis impoffible to exprefs the Grief I feel at being
obliged to fend you fo ungrateful a Piece of News,
but the Thing is already fo very public, and fo much
talked of throughout the whole Kingdom, that it would
be in vain to conceal it from you; I have done all that
lay in my Power to divert the threatening Evil, but in
vain, and find that the more Obftacles you lay in the
Way of Lovers, the more ardently they love; we have
feen a fatal Experiment of this Truth in our Family.
Alas! How fhall I tell you that Lindamira is run away
with Terfunder; when I perceived her growing Love,
and found that all good Advice was thrown away upon
her, I conjured the King our Mafter to command him
never to ſee her more; he did fo, but that in fuch a
manner, that you never can enough exprefs your Grati-
tude towards him; and I can affure you, that if ſhe was
in his Kingdom, he would leave no Means untried to get
her out of his Hands again; but ſhe is got fafe with her
Paramour
188
Royal Gallantry.
Paramour into France. You are a prudent and diſcreet
Man, and know better than I can tell you what is to be
done in fuch a Cafe. Alas! I cannot ferve you, I can
only pity your Misfortunes, and mourn the Difgrace of
our Family, which is become the Jeft of all England,
and at which no body can be more afflicted than the un-
happy
CIRCE.
Having fealed up this Letter, fhe fent for a Man in
whom ſhe could confide, one fit for her Purpoſe, and
who was as wicked as herself; to him fhe delivered
this Letter, ordering him to haften with it to Palmiris,
who was at that time with the King of France at the
Siege of Damietta. She then gave him neceffary In-
ftructions how he ſhould anfwer the feveral Questions
which Palmiris might afk him concerning the Flight of
Tirfander and Lindamira, and what the World faid of
their Amours: This done he fet out, and in a fhort
time reached the Place he was fent to, and delivered his
Letter.
I will not pretend to defcribe the Effect it produced
on the Mind of Palmiris, and the various Tumults of his
Soul whilft he read this; for he was a Man of ſtrict Ho-
nour, and at the fame time loved his Wife to Dotage.
This may be fufficient to give the Reader an Idea of the
Struggles he felt in his Breaſt whilft he was reading this
fatal Letter, and having finiſhed it, he very abruptly left
the Meſſenger and went into his Chamber and pondered
as well as he could upon it. At first he determined to
engage in the thickeft of the Battle, and to ſeek certain
Death to eafe his raging Pain; but his Deſpair foon
gave way to Thoughts of Vengeance.
C
6
He thall die, cried Palmiris, this Spoiler of my Ho-
nour, this Terfander fhall die; and can the ungrateful
Lindamira, whom I have fo dearly loved, and who
has fo bafely deceived me, can fhe hope to escape my
Vengeance? No, the falfe Woman too ſhall die, and
bear her Minion Company to the infernal Shades.
Alas! I rave, how is it fhe fhall die? Can I imbrue
my Hands in her Blood? Can I fo much as refolve
her Death? Bafe and ungrateful as fhe is, and the fole
• Caufe
Royal Gallantry.
189
• Caufe of all my Misfortunes, yet cannot I be fo unna-
turally cruel. Let her live then, and let her Life be
her Punishment, for fhe fhall live to mourn the Lofs of
her beloved Terfander, fhe fhall live to fee him expire ;
for even in her Prefence will I pierce his Heart. Thus
fhall her Grief be far worfe than Death itſelf. For
<
• the Love I once bore her I will not offer any kind of
Violence to her Perfon, but in another's fhe fhall
doubly fuffer: Ungrateful Woman! could'ft thou but
fee what Heart thou haft betrayed, what Huſband
• thou haft loft, one, who, fpite of the many Injuries
• thou hast done him, cannot reſolve to hurt thee; fure
'thou would'ſt repent thy baſe Perfidiouſneſs.
He ſaid a thouſand other Things much to the fame
Purpoſe, and at laſt determined that very Night to fet
out for France, in quelt of Terfander and Lindamira, and
to this End he called his Squire, and bid him immedi-
ately go and prepare every thing for his Departure,
adding, that he would have no body but himſelf and a
Valet de Chambre follow him; as for the reft of his
Equipage, they ſhould wait till farther Orders.
This done he waited upon the King of France, and
ſhewed him the Letter he had juſt received, at the fame
time giving him an Account of his fetting out that
Night, and the Reaſons that induced him fo to do. The
good Prince read it, and heard him with a great deal of
Surprize, then turning towards Palmiris, It is impof-
• fible, faid he, to anſwer for the Actions of others, but
yet can I not believe what is faid here of your Wife ;
fhe was brought up with Blanche my Mother, than
whom a more virtuous and deferving Woman does not
breathe, and Lindamira was very high in her Eſteem ;
• beware, left you commit fome raſh Action, which you
may vainly repent for ever after. Even fuppofe that
• Lindamira be guilty, yet ought you not to feek the
• Blood of her Lover; leave Vengeance to Heaven,
who furely will repay it, but do you learn to forgive
as you hope for Forgivenefs. I would not hinder you
from applying proper Remedies to the Dishonour of
your Houſe, but I would have you be beforehand aſ-
fured, that they are proper ones; Corrofives have often
• been
f
190
Royal Gallantry.
• been uſed without Succefs, where Lenitives would in-
fallibly have done.'
6
Thefe were the laſt Words which the good Monarch
fpoke to him, after which he ordered him the neceflary
Paffes and Guards to the Port, where Palmiris embarked,
and during his whole Journey and Voyage, not the leaft
Accident happened to him. On another Occafion one
might have faid the Wind was favourable, but now it
was far from being fo, fince it contributed towards, at
leaſt haftened, his Misfortunes.
But to return to Lindamira, whom we left at Boulogne,
where ſhe was delivered, and now impatiently expected
the Return of Terfander with an Anſwer from the Queen-
Mother. Scarce had he been brought to bed a Fort-
night, before he fell into a violent Fever, in a Place
where fhe knew no body, and had no one but Belifında
to affift and comfort her, who was now far from being
capable of doing it, finding herſelf in the utmoft Want
of Comfort and Affiftance. She faw a Miftrefs whom the
dearly loved lying dangerously ill, and knew no body
to apply to for Advice: Often would fhe bewail Ter-
fander's going, and think that he left Lindamira much
fooner than he ought to have done; fhe wrote him a
Letter, acquainting him with the prefent Condition of
her Miftrefs, and how fenfible they were of his Lofs,
conjuring him, by all that he held dear in the World,
to return back to Boulogne.
We may eaſily fuppofe how afflicting this News was
to Terfander, he recalled every Charm of Lindamira, all.
her Beauties and Virtues to mind, then reflected that
thefe Charms, theſe Beauties, and theſe Virtues, would
not, perhaps, much longer have a Being; and this Ap-
prehenfion gave him all the Pain that a Love-fick Heart
is capable of feeling at the Apprehenfions of lofing its
adored Object; he then determined immediately to
haften to her, and therefore he went directly to wait upon
the Queen, to whom he fhewed Belifinda's Letter, defiring,
at the fame time, leave to haften back to Lindamira.
The good Princefs having perufed the Letter, feemed
extremely concerned at her Illneſs, and told Terfander,
that far from delaying him, fhe conjured him to make
all the Haſte back he could, telling him, that whilft he
prepared
Royal Gallantry.
191
prepared himſelf to get on Horfeback, fhe would write
to the Governor of Boulogne, to order him to take par-
ticular Care of Lindamira during her Illneſs, and not to
let her want any kind of thing whatſoever.
The Moment Terfander had received his Diſpatches he
got on Horfeback, nor would he have been long in his
Journey, had not he met with an unfortunate Accident.
Paffing through a Foreſt he was fet upon by four High-
waymen, who bid him deliver, but he, not daunted at
their Odds, drew his Sword, and behaved himſelf with
fo much Bravery that he laid two of them breathleſs on
the Ground, and the other two, dreading the Fate of
their Companions, fled with all poffible Speed. In the
Engagement Terfander had received no other Hurt but a
flight Wound in his Arm, which having bound up with
his Handkerchief, he was about to continue his Journey;
but on a fudden he heard a rustling amongst the Trees
behind him, and ere he could turn about, an Arrow
pierced his Body, infomuch that he did not ride above
an hundred Paces before he fell.
This Wound he received from one of the Rogues,
who had just fled from him, who not daring to encoun-
ter him again, yet willing to revenge the Death of his
Companions, and his own Difgrace, fetched a Compaſs
round, and came behind him whilft he was binding up
his Wound, and fhot an Arrow at him; but not know-
ing what Execution it had done, and feeing Terfander
ride off, durft not follow him, but alighting from his
Horſe, he drew his Companions out of the Road into
the thickeſt Part of the Foreft, and then left it himſelf.
Mean while the brave Man was perishing for want of
timely Affiſtance; and fo great a Quantity of Blood did
he lofe, that he remained without any vifible Sign of
Life; when, as Heaven would have it, two Friars acci-
dentally paffed that Way, who at firft believed him dead;
but laying their Hands upon his Heart, and finding ftill
fome little Warmth there, they refolved not to deſpair;
but one of them running haftily to a neighbouring Foun-
tain brought fome Water, and with it waſhed the Wound,
and threw ſome in his Face; the exceffive Cold of this
Water made Terfander fhew fome Signs of Life, and the
good
192
Royal Gallantry.
good Fathers thanked Heaven for fending them thus
timely to his Affiftance.
He who had run for Water to the Fountain had met a
Shepherd there, whom he immediately diſpatched to the
next Hamlet for more Help; as theſe good Fathers were
very much eſteemed all over the Country, the Shepherds
left their Flocks, and the Labourers their Cottages, to
come to them, and they found the two good Men very
bufy about one, who by fome fhort, but deep Sighs,
fhewed that he might ſtill be reckoned in the Number of
the Living. Upon this, fome of them began to gather
Herbs, whofe Virtues were well known to them; and
which, as foon as applied to the Wound ftopped the
Blood, whilſt others cut down Boughs, and with them
made a Hand-Litter to carry the Patient to the Convent,
where, as foon as he was brought, his Wounds were regu-
larly dreffed; all the Fathers were very bufy about him,
but none more than thofe two who had found him, and
who continued with him, not only the reſt of that Day,
but the whole Night too; during which time he never
came to himſelf again, fo as to have any Knowledge of
Things, but was perpetually fainting away; fo exceffive
a Quantity of Blood had he loft, and to fo weak a Con-
dition had that Lofs reduced him.
Four and twenty Hours after the firft Dreffing of his
Wound, his Apparel was taken off, at which time the
Surgeon affured that the Wound, though large, was not
mortal; and that if nothing extraordinary happened to
him, he did not queftion but he would do well again.
This News extremely rejoiced the Holy Fathers; but
their Joy was ſhort-liv'd, for the third Day he fell into a
Fever, and was very light-headed, at which time he
talked much of Lindamira; this firft Fever continued
thirty Hours upon him, at the End of which he recover-
ed his Senfes, and then it was that he fir became fen-
fible of his Condition, and thought on Lindamira's; the
Remembrance of her Danger drew Tears from his Eyes,
and made him utter Complaints which would have
touched the very hardeſt and moſt barbarous Hearts.
Would he cry, fhall my Life, whofe every Hour I
devoted to the beauteous Lindamira, be of no Ser-
vice to her then? Shall my cruel Fortune deprive me
of
Royal Gallantry.
193
prive me of the Means of affifting her, and of doing her
thofe good Offices which a Stranger, with the common
Sentiments of Humanity, would joyfully have done?
Perhaps, alas! this Moment is her laſt, and ſhe is now
cloſing thoſe lovely Eyes, in whoſe Looks were centered
all my Happineſs: Even now, perhaps, with her dying
Words fhe accuſes me of Delay, and cries, Is this Ne-
glect the Mark of that refpectful Paffion which was once
your Boaft? Inſtead of haſtening to my Affiftance, doſt
thou, for the Sake of a few Wounds indulge thyfelf,
and by thy over Care endeavour to furvive me? And
yet you think you love me? No, ungrateful Man, you
are as unworthy of the Name of Love as you are of my
Eſteem, with which I had hitherto all along honoured
you.
Here he paufed a little while, and then refuming his
Difcourfe; And can I bear thefe Reproaches? No,
let me rather die a thouſand thouſand Deaths than live
to deſerve them; eſpecially ſeeing that my Life can be
of no Service to Lindamira. As he faid this, he began
to tear off the Rollers, and other Things with which his
Wounds were bound; but one of the Fathers being in
the Room with him, and feeing to what Extravagance
his Paffion hurried him, ran and laid hold of him, nor
was it a very difficult Matter to prevent his executing
what he had threatened, for he was fo very weak, one
might eafily mafter him. The great Difficulty was to
calm his Thoughts and make him wholly alter his Re-
folution, To this End he reprefented to him the Hei-
noufnefs of the Crime he was about to commit, and
with Arguments and Inftructions, both Divine and Mo-
ral, he convinced him of the Unreaſonableness of his
Action; but ſtill his Paffion was fo great, that it pre-
vailed over Reafon; however, the Father inquiring fur-
ther into as many Particulars of the Story, as Terfander
thought fit to tell him, repreſented that the Lady he
fpoke of might ftill be alive, and want his Affiftance,
that if nothing elfe could weigh with him, at leaft, for
her Sake, he ought to take Care of his Health; at the
fame time he delivered him a Packet which had been
found in his Pocket, and in which were incloſed the
Queen's Letters, with fome Jewels and Money he had
VOL. II.
about
I'
194
Royal Gallantry.
about him. Terfander then firft began to think of his Bu-
ſineſs, and he conjured the Father to procure him fome
body to go with a Letter to Boulogne; the good Man
told him he would, upon Condition that he ſhould en-
deavour to compoſe himſelf to Reft: Terfander promiſed
he would do any thing, and then dictating a Letter to
Belifinda, the Father wrote it for him, and with this and
the other he diſpatched a Courier.
Mean while Lindamira continued very ill of a violent
Fever, and Belifında laboured under the greateſt Afflicti-
ons imaginable, her Miſtreſs was as bad, and much
weaker than ever. Terfender might eafily have returned
by this time, but he not only was not come, but had
not fo much as writ to her. This very much furprized
her, fhe knew not what to think of it, and Terfander
had till now behaved himſelf in fuch a manner, as to
make her believe him her Miftrefs's fincere Friend.
Things were upon this Foot, when the Courier dif-
patched from the Monaftery arrived, and delivered Ter-
fander's Letter to Belifinda. His Misfortune touched her
to the Heart, and ſhe related to Lindamira Part of what
had happened; however, fhe concealed the Worſt of the
Story in not mentioning his Danger. She barely told
her, that he had received a flight Wound, and that it
was not ſafe for him to travel as yet. We may eafi-
ly imagine how ſenſibly Lindamira was grieved, there
being no Woman of a more grateful Temper, and Ter-
jander having fuffered this new Misfortune on her Ac-
count, and though it was dangerous for her to do it, yet
could nothing diffuade her from returning an Anſwer to
his Letter by the fame Courier, and calling for a Table-
book, ſhe writ the following Words:
C
Lindamira to Terfander.
U pitied my Misfortunes, generous Terfander;
You
but how dear has your Pity coft you! I leave
you to judge the Greatneſs of my Trouble, when I re-
flect on the many and great Obligations I lay under to
you, and that I can make no return, but with my
Thanks and Tears; poor Amends, for the many
Mileries brought on you by the unfortunate
LINDAMIR.A.
Whilft
>
Royal Gallantry.
195
Whilft Lindamira was writing, the Courier haftened
to the Caſtle, and delivered the Queen's Packet to the
Governor, who received it with all the Refpect and De-
ference due from a Subject to his Sovereign; and having
inquired, and been informed where the Lady lived, who
was by her Majefty recommended to his Care, he got
into his Chariot, and haſtened away to Lindamira's Lodg-
ings, which he entered the Moment fhe had done writ-
ing to Terfander.
As much as her Sickneſs had altered her, yet was Lin-
damira ftill beauteous to a Miracle, nor could the Go-
veinor forbear admiring her, but, his firft Surprize over,
he faluted her with a great deal of Refpect, and told
her what Orders he had juſt received from the Queen;
he therefore defired that fhe would fuffer herſelf to be
carried to the Caſtle, where ſhe might be taken much
better Care of than in her Lodging. Lindamira thanked
him for his courteous Offer, but told him fhe was not in
a Condition to be removed; but Altamont (for fo was the
Governor called) being a Man of Senfe, and thinking
that the Lady had fome ftronger Objection to the Ca-
ftle, than her prefent Condition, ſmiled upon her.
I am
fo very much accuftomed, Madam, faid he, to receive
Denials from the Fair Sex, that I really now expected
it; however, I'll haften home, and fend fome body to
you, who, if I may be allowed to fay it, will deferve
to be kindly received, and to have their Prayers granted,
and I dare fay, you will not be fo cruel to them as you
are to me. As he faid this he left the Room, and with-
out giving Lindamira Time to anſwer, he haftened to
the Cafle, to defire his two Sifters to wait upon Linda-
mira, who really were Ladies of infinite Merit.
The Eldeft of them, named Erminia, was a regular
Beauty, and there was fomething in her Gait fo maje-
ftic, and at the fame time fo fprightly in her Face, that
one could not look upon her without Admiration. Har-
riot was fair, and one of the most agreeable Women in
Nature; her Features, indeed, if you took them to
pieces, were not fo regular as her Sifter's; but if, with-
out entring into fuch a Particular, you looked upon.
them both at once, 'twas impoffible to know where to
I 2
give
196
Royal Gallantry.
give the Preference, nor did they rival one another lefs
in Wit and good Senſe than in Beauty.
As to oblige each other was the chief Study of the
Brother and Sifters, they haftened to Lindamira, and
kindly intreated her to accept of the Apartment which
their Brother had offered. It was impoffible to deny
fuch fair Petitioners, Lindamira therefore confented, and
they overjoyed at their Succefs, fent for their Chair, and
had her carried to the Castle, where Altamont received
her with all poflible Deference and Reſpect.
The two
Sifters were perpetually with her, and unwilling to truſt
Servants, they themſelves waited upon her, and gave
her early Proofs of their growing Friendship. And, in-
deed, fuch was the Care they took of her, and ſuch the
Diligence and Skill of the Phyſicians, that within two
or three Days after her being brought thither, her Fever
was changed into an Intermitting one.
Altamont waited on Lindamira, as often as her Health
and Decency would permit him, and he had the Satif-
faction of ſeeing how careful his Sifters were of her.
Harriot, who was naturally all Gaiety, endeavoured to
chear Lindamira's drooping Spirits; but, alas! fhe was
a Stranger to Joy, every Day almoſt did ſhe write to her
dear Palmiris, but received no Anſwer from him.
Obferving the Friendſhip and Tenderneſs with which
the two Sifters received her, Lindamira out of Gratitude
related her Adventures to them, and by that fhewed
them how great a Confidence the repoſed in them. Her
Story increaſed their Love and Admiration, and Ermi-
zia embracing her as foon as ſhe had done, dear Linda-
mira, faid fhe, your Misfortunes are drawing to an End,
Heaven has made a Trial of your Virtue, and will now
take it under its immediate Protection, and ſafely con-
duct home your illuftrious Huſband. I can affure you,
continued Harriot, that his Prefence would rejoice me
almoſt as much as the beauteous Lindamira, and I am
already promifing myſelf, that at fight of him, that Me-
lancholy will vaniſh, and Smiles adorn that lovely Face.
I am much obliged to you, Ladies, replied Lindamira,
and am forry that I cannot wear that Chearfulneſs which
I was once wont to do; but whether it proceeds from
the Number of my paſt Miſeries, or whether it be the
Foreboding
Royal Gallantry.
197
Foreboding of fome new and dreadful one, I cannot
tell; but my Heart has intirely given itfelf up a Prey
to Grief.
Mean while Terfander diſpatched a Courier every
Week, to inquire how Lindamira did; Belifinda wrote
to him as often as ſhe could; and when any thing hin-
dered her, the beauteous Harriot, who greatly esteemed
him for what he had done, took the Tafk upon her,
and in this manner they frent five Months; at the End
of which Terfander found himself able to get on Horſe-
back: He therefore took his Leave of the charitable
Monks, and made them a confiderable Prefent, particu-
larly thanked thoſe two who had given him timely Af-
fiftance, who bleffed him; and then taking one of the
Couriers, whom he had often fent to Boulogne for his
Guide, he haftened thither with all the little Speed his late
Indifpofition would allow of, and in a few Days reached
the Place.
'Tis impoffible to exprefs his Joy at the Sight of one
fo dear to him as Lindamira was, and whofe imaginary
Death had made him attempt againſt his own Life. Er-
minia was prefent at their first Interview, yet did not en-
tertain the leaſt Sufpicion of his loving her, fuch a per-
fect Maſter was Terfander of his Paſſion, that not one
Look, or one Action, exceeded the Bounds of fincere
difintereſted Friendſhip.
On the other hand Lindamira's Joy, at feeing him
again was exceeding great, and prefenting him to the
beauteous Erminia, Sifter, faid fhe (for fo they called
one another) this is the generous Terfander, to whom I
am ſo infinitely obliged. Erminia, without giving him
Time to anfwer, approached him in the moit obliging
manner imaginable: As I have an infinite Value for
that Lady, faid fhe, and every thing that concerns her,
I cannot without the greateſt Pleaſure, fee a Gentleman,
whoſe Friendſhip and Generofity has been fo very fer-
viceable to her. The beauteous Lindamira, interrupted
Terfander, (whote Modeſty would not fafter him to hear
a Difcourfe of this Nature) is pleated to extol fome
trifling Services which I have done her, and which the
Honour of ferving her has fufficiently over-paid.
I 3
Here
198
Royal Gallantry.
Here their Converſation was interrupted by the com-
ing in of Harriot, whom Terfander faluted with a great
deal of Reſpect, and thanked for the Trouble fhe had
taken in writing to him, and the Comfort fhe had there-
by adminiſtered him, during the Time that he lay ill
of his Wounds; but he had not Time for faying all that
Gratitude could infpire, for Altamont being by Belifinda
acquainted with Terfander's Arrival, haftened up to Lin-
damira's Chamber, and entered it with that Air of Gal-
lantry which accompanied every Action of his Life.
This Interview had fomething very extraordinary in
it; for this heroic Couple, who had never feen one ano-
ther before, conceived as much Efteem for each other,
as Sympathy can infpire in two noble Souls. Their mu-
tual Surprize made them both continue filent for fome
little Time; at length they broke it, to exprefs their
Wonder and Admiration, and they protefted to each
other an eternal Friendſhip, and to give the firſt Proofs
of it, Altament obliged the other to accept of an Apart-
ment in the Caftle.
We may eafily imagine Terfander's Joy, to fee him-
felf lodged beneath the fame Roof with Lindamira, when
every Pleafure of his Life, every Hope was centered in
the Satisfaction of feeing and converfing with her, nor
was there any thing which hindered him from being
compleatly happy, but feeing her perpetually uneafy.
e never fought an Opportunity of fpeaking to her in
private, far from it, he always fhunned fuch a one, and
fo difinterefted was his Love, he would willingly have
ventured his Life to have reftored her to her dear Pal-
miris.
But whilft he thus privately fighed for Lindamira, he
undefignedly made a glorious Conqueft; for the gay
Harriot, who had often derided the Power of Love, and
unmoved, had beheld half the Nobles of France fighing
at her Feet, could not with the fame Infenfibility be-
hold Terfandir. As foon as fhe perceived her growing
Paffion, the ſtruggled with it, and did all fhe could to
banish it from her Heart, but in vain; Terfander's fu-
perior Merit triumphed over all the weak Arguments of
Female Pride: Nor did his Words and Actions, though
unknowingly, contribute a little to the Feeding of this
Flame.
Royal Gallantry.
199
Flame. Harriot's Letters had often, during his Illneſs
eafed his Pain, Terfander was of a grateful Temper, and
laid hold on all Occafions to exprefs his Gratitude.
Lovers are too apt to flatter themfelves. She interpret-
ed every thing he faid or did to her Advantage, and by
this Means the confirmed her Paffion, yet fo carefully
concealed it, that had not cruel Fortune accidentally be-
trayed it, 'twould ſtill have been a Secret to the World.
Lindamira finding herſelf a little better, Altamont did
every thing he could to divert her, Feafts, Mufic, and
all Kinds of fumptuous Entertainments were frequently
prepared; but this was far from producing the defired
Effect; Lindamira wanted Solitude, nor was fhe ever
eafy, but when he could freely indulge herſelf in think-
ing on her dear Palmiris ; fhe therefore defired the Go-
vernor, that for change of Air fhe might retire to his
Country Seat, which was five or fix Miles out of the
Town, and fituated in the midst of a Foreft; hither
Erminia and her Sifter, with Terfander, accompanied
her, and Altamont viſited them as often as his Bufinefs
would permit him.
Such a rural Situation could not be more agreeable
to Lindamira than it was to Harriot, there were very
fine Walks in the Foreft, and which the frequented more
than any of the reft. Early as the Morning dawned,
for her Eyes were become Strangers to Sleep, the rofe,
and followed by one Maid only, fhe would go and lofe
herſelf in the thickeft of the Foreft; one particular
Place the most delighted in, which Nature had embel-
liſhed more than Art could poffibly have done; there
the interwoven Branches of the tallest Trees almoſt de-
nied a Paffage to the Rays of the Sun; beneath a cry-
ital Spring bubbled up, and rolled its Silver Waters
through a natural Channel, on a fine yellow Sand:
There the perpetual Working of the Water formed a
Cavity, and thewed the wondering Eye a tranfparent
Bafon bordered with Mofs. Here Harriot counterfeit-
ing her Hand, left it fhould be known, would wound
the Bark to carve Terfander's Name, and fometimes
mingling her Cypher with his, would crown them with
a Lover's Knot.
I 4
One
200
Royal Gallantry.
One Morning having rofe earlier than ufual, fhe fought
this Place, and amufed herſelf in her wonted manner,
fometimes reflecting on Terfander's Merit, fometimes
carving his Name on the Trees; when on a ſudden fhe
was interrupted by the Sound of Feet which moved
that Way, and not queftioning but that fomebody was
making up towards the Fountain, fhe with her Maid
retired behind the Trees, but in her retiring opened
fuch a Paffage that ſhe could eaſily fee two Men com-
ing thither. He who by his noble Mein, and the De-
ference paid him appeared to be the Maſter, wore black
Armour, and round the Extremity of it a little Ridge
of Gold; on his Head-piece ftreamed a large Number
of Feathers, partly Flame-coloured, partly black; on
his Shield a Lionefs was painted tearing a Heart to
pieces, with this Motto:
How cruelly thou tearcft the Heart I gave thee.
Laying himſelf down near the Fountain, the Stranger
unlaced his Helmet, and Harriot was furprized at the
Sight of fo noble and fo beautiful a Face; for tho' it
was pale, yet were the Features bold, juft, and regular,
and one might have fworn that the Palenefs was occa-
fioned by fome corroding Grief. He did not long con-
tinue filent, but looking about him, then turning to-
wards the other, Are you very fure, faid he, that you
have defcribed the Place in fuch a manner, that he
may find it?' You need not doubt it it, Sir, replied the
other, he told me he knew it well, and received the Letter
in fuch a manner, that I am too fully perfuaded he will not
feil the Appointment.
C
'Tis well, replied the former, I fhall at leaſt be re-
venged on him; but tell me fincerely what thou haft
heard of my faithleſs Wretch. I am told, Sir, replied
he, that he leads a very melancholy and folitary Life,
• and that ſhe is ſeldom ſeen in public.' Then her Con-
Science does upbraid her with her Crime, replied the
Knight. Alas! if her Reafon does but out-live her Paf-
fion, he will fee the Heinoufness of her Sin, and never for-
give herfelf; and yet, to my Confuſion be it ſpoken, I fill
love this wicked Woman. Here he ftopped to wipe a-
way
Royal Gallantry.
201
way the Tears, which fpite of what he could do, began
to flow, and then refuming his Difcourfe, Fool that I
am, cried he, to love one who has thus bafely diſho-
• noured me.'
He could not proceed, being interrupted by the Ar-
rival of two Men; at the Approach of whom he ha-
ftily put on his Head-piece. Harriot was furprized to
fee that the foremoſt of thefe Men was Terfander, and
fo great was her Confufion, that fhe had not the Power
to ſpeak or move, neither was there much Time for her
to confider what fhe ought to do; for Terfander approach-
ing the other, Whoever you are, faid he, who with fo
'much Animofity purfue my Life, I come to convince
you, that whenever I fhall think fit to defend it, it
fhall be no fuch eaſy Matter to deprive me of it.'
At this the Stranger looking fcornfully on him, It will
not, Traytor, cried he, be in thy Power to defend it. Ju-
ftice and Honour fight my Cauſe; if your Courage be equal
to your Infolence, follow me, and you shall know who it is
you have injured. He faid, and haftening to the Place
where his Horfe was tied, he mounted, and gallopped
into a neighbouring Vale, Terfander did the fame, and
without Lofs of Time, each took a Lance from his
Squire, and poifing them well, they were in the very
firſt Courſe ſhivered to pieces; upon which they drew
their Swords, and a dreadful Combat foon enfued
for on the one hand, Honour and Jealoufy excited
Palmiris, the unhappy deceived Palmiris! whilft on the
other, Terfander was enraged to fee a Stranger, one
whom he was affured he had never injured, purſue his
Life fo eagerly.
I here want Colours to paint Harriot during this fatal
Combat, and the Struggles of Love and Honour within
her; the latter bid her ftill conceal herſelf, for what
befides Love could have brought her thus early to that
folitary Place, and fhould fhe now endeavour to part
them, in her Hurry and Diſtraction fome Fondneſs
might betray her Heart: However, Love foon prevail-
ed, and all theſe Confiderations were at once forgot.
Swiftly ſhe ran to the Place where our two Combat-
ants with equal Strength and equal Courage were with
redoubled Blows feeking each other's Life; fhe was
I 5
refolved
202
Royal Gallantry.
refolved to fling herſelf betwixt them, and to share the
Danger with her dear Terfander; but, alas! the Re-
folution was formed too late, and the very Moment ſhe
reached the Field of Battle, our two valiant Knights
fave each other a mortal Wound, and both fell from
their Horfes.
Harrior immediately ran, and catching Terfander in
her Arms, fhe pulled off his Head-piece; but, alas!
the could find no Life in him, his Blood flowed fwiftly
from his Wound, but his Eyes were clofed. Unable to
utter a Word, fhe washed his Wounds, and ſprinkled
his Face with her Tears, and this joined to the Freſh-
nefs of the Air, made him come to himſelf again. The
first Object he beheld, when he opened his Eyes, was
the beauteous Harriot drowned in Tears, upon which,
fixing his dying Looks upon her, he spoke to her, tho'
with a very faultring Voice, I die, charming Harriot,
but die tranfported at your Generofity. How glori-
ous, how worthy of Envy is Death made by thofe
precious Tears! Do not, Terfander, replied Harriot,
attribute my Grief to my Generofity, awhilft it proceeds from
quite another Source: Alas! I rave, but you are dying,
and must not die ignorant of my Paffion.
<
2
She had not time to proceed, or Terfander to anſwer;
for Palmiris's Squire finding that his Mafter had fome
Life in him, and fearing that he might perifh for want
of timely Affiftance, ran up and down the Foreft calling
for Help, when accidentally he met Altamont, followed
by his Servants, who was coming to pay Lindamira and
her Siſters a Viſit; at fight of him, he threw himſelf
at his Feet, For Heaven's Sake, Sir, faid he, if gene-
rous Pity can move your Soul, fhew it now, and hafte
to fave the Life of the illuftrious Palmiris. The illu-
ftrious Palmiris, cried Altamont, furprized and fhocked
at the Name, What Palmiris is that, fure not the Huf-
band of Lindamira! "Tis the fame, replied the Squire,
and that unhappy Marriage is the Source of his pre-
• fent Misfortunes."
€
Grieved at what he heard, Altamont immediately dif
patched fome Servants to the next Town for a Surgeon
and Litter, that they might carry Palmiris to his Houſe,
and then ordered the Squire to conduct him to the Place.
where
Royal Gallantry.
203
where Palmiris was; but Gods! who can defcribe his
Grief and Surprize, when coming there, he faw his
dear Brother, for fo he called Terfander, dying in his
Sifter's Arms. This Sight foon made him forget on
what Occafion he came thither, and not once thinking
on Palmiris, he ran and flung his Arms round his Bro-
ther's Neck, but fo lively was his Sorrow, that is choak-
ed the Paffage of his Words.
.
Terfander broke Silence firft, My dear Altamont,
faid he, Death is about to part us, that grim Tyrant
of Nature will no longer let me enjoy your Company,
but fpight of his Efforts ftill let me live in my dear
Brother's Heart. Oh! Altamont, let the Remembrance
of me be laſting as your Life.' How dear, how pre-
cious, bow painful will that Remembrance be, replied Al-
tamont, and who could have thought that the long-wished-
for Return of Palmiris would have proved so fatal to us,
Of Palmiris! cried Terfander. Are you then ignorant,
anſwered Altamont, that 'twas ruith Palmiris you fought.
Immortal Gods! cried Terfander, as loud as kis prefent
• Condition would permit him, Are you Juft, and could
you fuffer the unfortunateTerfander to draw his Sword
againſt Lindamira's Hufband. Oh! wretched Terfan-
der! you will die hated by Lindamira, and thy Memo-
ry will for ever be odious to her.'
C
<
<
Here his Weaknefs difordered his proceeding; but
having recovered Strength enough to speak again, 'My
dear Brother, faid he, taking Altamont by the Hand,
by our paft Friendship, I conjure you fly to the Af-
• fiftance of Palmiris, unleſs you would fee Terfander die
in deſpair.' Altamont, to pleaſe him, went towards
Palmiris, having first given Terfander a Table book,
which he asked for, and on which, with a great deal
of Pain and Difficulty, he wrote the following Words:
The dying Terfander to the virtuous Lindamira.
Die, Madam, and die the moſt unhappy, the moft
innocent of Men; I have fhed that Blood which
was dear to you, nor can I pretend to juſtify myſelf,
by faying that I did not know Palmiris, for I ought
to have known him. Accurfed Hand! thus to de-
6
•
I 6
prive
204
Royal Gallantry.
6
<
prive you of your dear Hufband; how wretched am I
to be the Caufe of fo much Grief in you! Alas! did
not my Wounds, yet would my Sorrows, foon put an
End to my Life ;— My Strength fails me, and
• I cannot tell you all that I intended; but yet, divine
• Lindamira, even you yourſelf muft own, that ſo much
Love, fo much Refpect, deferved a better Fate. Par-
don me, Madam, if fenfible of my preſent Condition,
I prefume to reveal my Paffion. Had I lived, you
never ſhould have known how dear you was to me,
• and I now talk of it at a Time when I can hope no-
thing, not even that you ſhould beſtow a Sigh upon
my unhappy Deſtiny. I am too well acquainted with
your Virtue to flatter myſelf with a Thought of this
Nature; my only Comfort, after what I have done,
is, that I am dying. Adieu, divine Lindamira. Alas!
• if it be poffible, do not hate the Memory of the un-
happy
TERSANDER.
As foon as he had done writing, he gave the Table-
book to the afflicted Harriot, who, with her Maid, was
endeavouring to ftop the Blood which flowed very faſt,
and he defired her to deliver it to Lindamira. Scarce
had he done ſpeaking when the Surgeons arrived, and
examining his Wounds, they told him that he had not
an Hour to live, nor muft they pretend to remove him
from the Place where he lay, for if they did, he inevit-
ably would die that very Moment. Terfander heard his
Sentence with a great deal of Courage, and defired that
a holy Father might be fent for, in whofe Arms he
thortly after breathed his laſt.
Mean while Altamont, who had drawn near Palmiris,
found him in a Condition which very much furprized
him; his half-opened Eyes were fixed upon no Object,
but wandered up and down, as looking for fomething
which was not before him. Difdain fat plainly con-
feffed in his Face, but that Difdain did not feem direct-
ed to any one preſent, and it plainly appeared that his
Imagination was hard at work. Altamont upon this
took him by the Hand, and called him by his Name,
but he returned no Anfwer, nor did he feem fenfible of
any
Royal Gallantry.
205
any one's being prefent before him.
Altamont feeing
this, would have left him, and returned to his dear Ter-
fander, but that Satisfaction was denied him; he was
told that his Brother had but a few Moments more to
live, and thoſe were juftly due to Heaven.
I will not undertake to deſcribe the Grief, either of
the Governor, or of his beauteous Sifter, when by their
Retinue they were in a manner forced out of the Forest,
and led towards their Seat. The Horror which plainly
fat confeſſed in their Faces, alarmed the Servants, and
ſome of them ran up to Erminia's Chamber, where Lin-
damira alſo was, and told them they feared ſome dread-
ful Accident had happened; for Altamont and Harriot
were like People in defpair; frightened at this News,
they both ran to her Chamber, and found her on her
Bed and Altamont near her. Harriot had no fooner fix-
ed his Eyes upon the virtuous Matron, but fhe cried
out, Lindamira! unhappy Lindamira! what will become
of you; as fhe faid this, ſhe gave her the Table-book,
in which Terfander had writ his Letter.
Thunder-ftruck at thefe Words, Lindamira had ſcarce
Power to reach out her Hand to take the Letter; at
length ſhe did, and with much ado opened and read it;
but, Gods! who can defcribe her in the midft of her
Sorrow, Confufion, and Deſpair? It was too ftrong for
Nature to fupport, and fhe fell down on Harriot's Bed,
deprived of Senſe and Knowledge. For full two Hours
Space was every Art, every Remedy that could be
thought of to bring her to herſelf employed in vain.
Cruel Art! killing Remedies! for Death was now to
be preferred far beyond Life, and to reftore her to Life
was only to prolong thofe Miferies which Death alone
could cure.
Whilft fhe lay in this Condition, the Surgeons dref-
fed Palmiris's Wounds; but as they declared they knew
not what to think of them till they took off the first
Apparel, they ordered him to be brought to Altamont's
Houfe, and Erminia (though beyond all Meafure afflict-
ed at the Death of the generous Terfander, and to fee
three Perfons thus dear to her, overwhelmed with Sor-
rows) yet being informed that he was brought in, went
immediately to fee Lindamira's Hufband. Fixing her
Eyes
206
Royal Gallantry.
C
Eyes upon him, fhe drew towards his Bed-fide with
that majeſtic Air, which at once commanded Love and
Refpect, Alas, Sir, faid fhe, on what flight Quarrel
have you expofed a Life fo dear, fo precious to the
beauteous Lindamira, for I cannot believe that your
Encounter was premeditated, or that you knowingly
attacked the brave, the generous Terfander, your Pro-
tector and Defender, ond one to whom you are fo
infinitely obliged. Sure you know me not, replied Pal-
miris, if you did you would not talk thus to me. Is my Life
dear to one who has bafely forfaken me? Or, am I obliged
to the Man who has robbed me of my Honour? Believe me,
Madam, I know my Misfortuucs too well to be perfuaded
out of them.
<
1
You are miſtaken, Palmiris, answered Erminia, coſt-
ing an Eye of Pity on him, you do not know them
yet, your Misfortunes are much greater than you ima-
gine, look on yourſelf as unjust and ungrateful, re-
flect on every Crime thofe two Vices can have made
you commit, and even then you will have but a faint
Idea of them.' Once more, Madam, replied Palmiris,
I am but too fenfible of my Miferies and Difgrace, and tho'
at fuch a Distance, I have had a faithful Account of all
that paſſed; I know what Looſe ſhe gave to her blind foolish
Paffion, and her Amours and Flight with Terfander are
become the Talk of a whole Kingdom.
4
،
<
• Infatuated unhappy Man! cried Erminia, interrupt-
ing him, and have you then foully fufpected the moſt
generous of Men, and moft virtuous of Women? I
can no longer leave you in this Error, and though you
are not in a Condition to hear a long Narration, yet
is it of fuch Importance that you ſhould be convinced
• of your Blindneſs, that I fhall wave all other Confi-
derations, and let you know what you are ſtill igno-
• rant of." She then related all that had happened to
Lindamira fince his leaving Eng-
C
6
-nd.
Whilft Erminia was fpeaking, Paliris never inter-
rupted her, but with deep-fetched Sighs, and as foon
as fhe had finiſhed, Good Gods, cried he as loud as his
little remaining Strength would permit him, what have
• I done to merit this dreadful Punishment! Alas, how
juftly did you fay that I was fill a Stranger to 1:y
• Misfor-
Royal Gallantry.
207
<
C
Misfortunes. I thought myſelf innocent and just,
and I prove the moft guilty of Mankind; I have fuf-
pected even Virtue itſelf, and deſtroyed a Life in-the
Defence of which had I had a Thouſand, I ought to
have facrificed them all. Alas! Madam, how ſhall I
< fee my Lindamira again! how will fhe bear the Sight
of fuch an ungrateful Wretch! Oh Terfander! gene-
rous Terfander! how have you been rewarded for pre-
ferving the Honour of Palmiris! My Death, Madam,
• will foon make fome little Atonement for my Crime;
but ere I breathe my laft, let me once more fee Linda-
• mira; do not deny me this Favour; though my Crimes
are great, yet are they not wholly my own; too much
Credulity has occafioned them all. Curfed Circe!
• thou Author of all this Miſchief, thou Horror of thy
• Sex, how wilt thou ever again dare lift up thy Eyes
• toward Heaven.'
C
،
<
Here he was interrupted by the Arrival of Lindamira,
who, as foon as fhe recovered out of the Swoon, had,
by Belifinda, been informed that her Palmiris was not
dead, nor his Life yet defpaired of, but that being dref-
fed by the Surgeons, he had been brought into the
Houſe, upon which fhe haftily flew to his Chamber.
Never was there a more moving Scene than this Meet-
ing; they threw their Arms about each other's Necks,
unable to utter any thing more than my Palmiris! and
my Lindamira! in this manner they continued fome con-
fiderable time, till at length Palmiris broke Silence:
• Lindamira, my dear Lindamira, faid he, after my un-
juft Sufpicions, and the fatal Effects of them, I muſt
not think of Life. Your prefent Goodneſs does but
• make my Guilt the greater, and add to my Misfor-
tunes; we must take from before your Eyes a Man
who yet makes you prove ungrateful to the Memory
⚫ of your brave Defender, to whom you are too much
obliged to think of living with your Murderer; my
Hands imbrued in his Blood, fhall never be folded
about your lovely Neck, and in me you would al-
ways behold the Object of your Love and Grief.'
.
•
Alas, my dear Hufband, interrupted Lindamira, baniſh
thofe cruel Thoughts, and live; I have already forgot your
Crime, and my Love forgives all that you have thought
**
208
Royal Gallantry.
;
or done. Should you any longer perfift in the Refolution of
dying, I shall believe that your once boafted Paffion is at
an End, or that you are not cured of your unjuſt Suſpici-
ons; or if this will not weigh with you, remember that
the Threads of our Life are jo interwoven, that there is
no cutting the one without the other, and that one Fate at-
tends us both. Alas! what need I talk of Fate and Death
let us live, and live happily, even the Ghost of the generous
Terfander, if he can behold our Actions, will be well
pleafed that we fould live to retain a grateful Senfe of
all his Kindnees, for I believe you just enough to defire
that the Services of this brave Man fhould still be fresh in
my Memory. If you yet doubt any thing of what has been
faid to you, fee what with his dying Hand he has wrote.
As fhe faid, he gave him the Letter; which Palmiris
could not read without fhedding a Flood of Tears.
The Surgeons hearing that Lindamira was the Wife of
Palmiris, that they had fome time been abſent from
each other, and that ſhe was now in the Room with
him, haftened thither, and found his Mind in a ſtrange
Agitation; they told him, that if ſhe had any Value for
her Huſband, the ought to hinder him from ſpeaking as
much as poffibly fhe could, for long Converfations were
certain Death to him. Upon this Erminia thought fit
to leave them, and haſtening to her Sifter's Apartment,
where ſhe had left her Brother too, fhe told them all
that had paffed between Palmiris and Lindamira.
Altamont unmoved, heard her Tale, or rather did not
hear it at all; he was wholly taken up with Reflections
on his dear Brother's Death. Not fo with the beauteous
Harriot, who ftarting from her Bed in the moſt violent
Paffion; Lindamira, ungrateful Lindamira, cried ſke, and
canft thou caress the Murderer of that brave Man who fa-
crificed his Life and Fortune to thee? one who fo tenderly,
So fincerely loved thee? Oh Terfander! unhappy Terfan-
der! on whom hadst thou bestowed thy Heart? on one who
afks Leave of thy mortal Foe to remember thee. No, for-
get him in complaifance to thy Husband; injuft Lindami-
ra, foger bin, fill jhall be live, fill fhall his Memory
flow if my art, then shall he be disturbed by no Idea
of his baje Alurderer whom I abbor and deteft.
Li
She
Royal Gallantry.
209
She faid feveral other Things to the fame Purpoſe,
and having vented her Paffion, and growing a little
more cool, the defired that her Brother would give her
Leave for a little while to retire into a Convent amongſt
fome pious Maids, who devote their whole Time to the
Service of Heaven. Altamont and Erminia did all they
poffibly could to divert her from this Refolution, but in
vain; and ſhe was fully determined not to fleep beneath
the fame Roof with the Murderer of Terfander. When
they found all their Arguments and Perfuafions fruitlefs,
Erminia would have accompanied her thither, but Har-
riot refuſed the Offer, and conjured her to ftay with
their dear Brother. Followed therefore by the faithful
Tarquinia only, ſhe haſtened to the Convent, there her
firft Care was to raiſe a Monument to the Memory of
the brave Terfander, for which fhe compofed an Epitaph
herfelf; and every Morning, for there the ſpent the Re-
mainder of her Days, her firft Taſk was to go and wash
this Monument with her Tears.
But to return to Lindamira, whom we left betwixt
Hope and Fear, and who impatiently waited for the
Time when the Surgeons would take off the Apparel,
that ſhe might know fomething more certain of her Fate;
for ftill her Hopes prevailed. Alas! how vainly do we
believe what we ardently with? At length, the Time
came, and upon fearching his Wounds, the Surgeons
pronounced them mortal; adding, that they did not
believe he had three Hours more to live. Palmiris with
undaunted Courage heard his Sentence, but not ſo the
virtuous Lindamira, whofe Defpair it was impoffible to
exprefs. His whole Care was to comfort her; to this
End he repreſented how odious Life would be to him,
and how juft his Death and the Decrees of Heaven
were ; but finding that this would avail nothing with
her, he called for his Son, and tenderly embracing
him, he conjured her, if no other Confideration would
weigh with her, at leaft for the dear Infant's Sake, to
fpare her Life, that fhe might fee him virtuouſly edu-
cated, and early taught to banish foolish Credulity from
his Heart, that he might fhun his Father's Crimes and
Misfortunes.
Here
210
Royal Gallantry.
<
Here Lindamira ftruggled fome time before fhe could
fpeak; at length her Words finding a Paffage, 'You
die, faid he, and yet you would have me live; alas!
did you love me with half the Sincerity and Fondneſs I
• love you, you would know what an Impoffibility you
require; our Lives are infeparable, and in Death we
fhall again be united. Heaven, who is all merciful,
⚫ will not let me furvive you, and by that Means plunge
me into new and far greater Miferies than I have hi-
⚫therto experienced, and the fame all-gracious Heaven
• will be a Father to our innocent Babe.
Here Grief again ftopped her Voice, and fo lively
were her Sorrows, that they deprived her of Knowledge,
and ſhe ſwooned away upon his Eed. Palmiris, whoſe
Strength decayed apace, was unable to bear this vio-
lent Shock, but with a Groan breathed his laft; and,
as if their two Bodies had been but informed by one
Soul, fhe that Moment expired in his Arms.
A
( 211 )
A Letter to a Gentleman at Edinburgh,
concerning the bufy and affuming Spirit
of the Ecclefiaftics, and their extravagant
Demands upon the Laity.
By THOMAS GORDON, Efq;
SIR,
Anno 1725.
U defire to know fomething of the prefent Spi-
rit and Conduct of our Clergy; a Curiofity to
which you are prompted by the Behaviour of
your own, who, you fay, are fo zealous for the Welfare
of your Souls, as to concern themſelves in all your Af-
fairs, even in fuch as relate only to your Perfons, Fami-
lies, and Diverfions. That, in former Times, the holy
Men, their Predeceffors, were wont to mix their reverend
Spite and Impertinence with their ghoftly Care, to con-
found Spirituals with Temporals, and to dictate in all
Things, is what I have heard; but was in Hopes, that
a freer Spirit, with an Increaſe of Liberty and Senfe,
had put an End to fuch Ecclefiaftical Intrufion, and
taught the prefent Set, that as their Miniftry is known
to be bounded by the Bible, and the Civil Conſtitution,
they ought to keep themfelves warily within the Limits.
of their Miniſtry; that if they break the Bounds within
which they are placed, and ufurp a Jurifdiction which
they have not Force to maintain, People will fcorn their
Fairy Dominion, and they will lofe their Credit by grafp-
ing at Power. The Authority of Nurfes and Peda-
gogues is confined to Infants and Pupils; it is ftinted in
Time, as well as in Meaſure, and ends where Childhood
ends, and where the Years of Difcretion begin. Should
an old Woman take upon her to direct my Youth, becauſe
The fed and whipped me when I was a Babe, or ſhould
my Tutor, who taught me to decline Verbs, or to chat-
ter Logic, when I was a Boy, feek with his pedantic
Talents
212
A Letter to a
Talents to controul me, when a Man, I ſhould be apt to
think the Nurfe and the Tutor, though perhaps alike
wiſe, yet alike unfit for Maſterſhip and Government.
The Province of our fpiritual Nurfes is reftrained to
Offices purely fpiritual. In the Conduct of domeſtic and
civil Life, in the Rules of good Senfe and Bufinefs, or
even in thoſe of just Thinking and Reafoning, they are,
generally, of all Men, the most unfit to direct or adviſe.
Befides their eminent Inexperience, befides the Narrow-
nefs of their Spirit, and that their Judgment is as defect-
ive and aukward, as is their Addrefs and Behaviour,
they generally meddle with the Affairs of other Men from
Motives intirely defpicable and ſelfiſh, from Pride and
Peeviſhneſs, from Refentment or Revenge, or for fome
paltry Advantage, for a Fondnefs of being courted or
feared, of being thought wife and important, or from
fome other Confideration unworthy of a Man of Senſe,
or Honour, or Spirit.
It is to no Purpoſe to fay, that they only aim at cor-
recting Vice and ill Principles. For they often create Vice,
and find it where it is not, in harmleſs Mirth and Amufe-
ment, and in Recreations where not only all Decency and
regular Behaviour is obferved, but where Vice and Imper-
tinence are ridiculed and laſhed, and where Leffons of Mo-
rality and Honour are recommended and inforced. And for
ill Principles, what they call fo, are often no other than
harmlefs Speculations and Inquiries after Truth, or the
Reſult of fuch Inquiries; often the mcft noble and bene-
ficent Notions, fuch as reprefent the Deity uniform, dif.
paffionate, and impartial, abhorring human Cruelties,
forgiving human Weakneſſes and Miſtakes, pleaſed with
a fincere Heart, nor expecting more from his Creatures
than he has given them, and difengaged from all little
Prejudices in favour of Sects and Parties.
This creating and multiplying of Sins, and finding
Tranfgreffions where the Bible finds none, has what the
World calls Policy in it; becauſe the more Sin abounds,
the more neceſſary ghoftly Men are thought; and this
Policy they have improved fo notably, where they have
been encouraged, or even fuffered, that they have turned
almost every thing into Sin, except what is the moſt
wretched and unmanly of all Sins, that of adoring and
obeying
Gentleman at Edinburgh.
213
obcying Priests. But this Policy is attended with one
flagrant Inconvenience: Every Man of Difcernment will
be apt to ask, If Iniquities are thus increafed, and Men
grow daily worſe, in ſpite of fuch numerous Monitors,
in fpite of their holy Counfels, their pious Examples,
their awful and repeated Denunciations; then what
avails an expenſive Army of Prieſts, who own themſelves
daily conquered, and utterly unequal to the adverfe Hoft?
This looks like a Confeffion, that either Satan fears them
not, or that they do not all that might be done againſt
Satan.
In Popish Countries there are feveral Tranſactions,
which appear like palpable Juggles between the Devil
and the Friars, particularly in the Bufinefs of Exorcifm,
and cafting out evil Spirits: The Devil in Poffeffion of-
ten holds out a long and inveterate Siege, and when he
is at laft ejected, he is free to enter into the fame Perfon
again, or into fomebody elfe. If they have indeed Power
over the Devil, why do they not caft him quite out
of the World, at leaſt out of the Country? Would
we not think that a General mocked us, if he afferted,
that he had beaten the Enemies every-where, driven them
out of every Town, and every particular Place, but ftill
they were as ſtrong as ever, and ſtill ravaging the Coun-
try? I ſhould think that he and his Troops deferved to
be broken, notwithſtanding his boafted Skill, and invi-
fible Feats,
Methinks it is not the deepeſt Craft for holy Men,
armed with fuch high Powers, to be always appearing in
a Fright, and crying for Help from unhallowed Lay-
men, upon every Phantom of Danger. Againſt the
Caufe of God, we are affured by himſelf, that the Gates
of Hell fhall not prevail; and to fuch as maintain his
Caufe by his own Affiftance, what Danger is to be ap-
prehended, what human Affiftance can be wanted? The
Apoſtles wanted none againſt the whole Pagan World,
against all the Hofts of Jewish and Pagan Priefts, breath-
ing Perfecution and deadly Rage: Yet the Apoſtles had
no Eſtabliſhment, no Revenues, no privileged Tribunals
to harangue in, no Laws againſt Heretics or Gainfayers,
nor even againſt Blafphemers; and were but a few Men,
difperfed
214
A Letter to a
difperfed over the World, without Money, without
Mobs, and even without Univerfity Education.
At prefent, and for many Ages paft, we have had
Apoftolic Men by Thoufands in every Country, and
Millions of Money they have cost almoſt every Country
to maintain them. They are protected by Laws fuffi-
ciently indulgent, and without Number. Schools are
erected and fupported at the public Expence for their
Education; they themselves govern thefe Schools, and
conduct the National Teaching, both in the Schools and
in the Pulpits. The first Thing learned by Infants is to
reverence them; they catechife us when Children, they
inſtruct our Youth, and when we are Men, we are not
manumitted from their Inftruction. Young Women are
partial to them, old ones adore them. When we are in
Health we wait upon them for Admonition; and, when
fick, receive their Counſel and Difcipline at home. 'Tis
they that exhort, they that rebuke, they that preach to
the People, they that pray for them; it is they who ad-
miniſter the Seals of the Covenant, work a holy and im-
perceptible Change in Wine, and Bread, and Water,
and they who utter ineffable Myſteries: They blefs, they
curfe; they offer Heaven, they poffefs Earth; they de-
nounce Damnation; they cry aloud, they threaten, they
terrify: They are Ambaffadors from God; they know
his Will; they bear his Authority; they communicate
his Intentions, deliver his Commands, diftribute his Re-
wards and Terrors, apply his Bleflings and Judgments:
They fhut the Gates of Paradife; they open thofe of
Hell; they admit us into Chrift's holy Church, they
nurture us in it, or exclude us out of it, and are daily
appriſing us of their own Power and Importance.
Now what can annoy, what ought to frighten or
alarm Men, thus endowed and reverenced, thus adored
and exalted, thus dear to Heaven, thus abfolute upon
Earth, thus encompaffed and guarded by Securities di-
vine and human, fo fignal and many? It is too great a
Compliment to the Powers of Darkneſs, and, in my
Opinion, inconſiſtent with Orthodoxy, to fuppofe them
a Match, much more an Overmatch, for the Children
of Light, eſpecially for the Envoys and Repreſentatives
of the Almighty. This would be introducing a terrible
Doctrine
Gentleman at Edinburgh.
215
Doctrine amongſt Men; it would be finding a Reaſon
and an Apology for the Worship paid by the wild Indi-
ans to the Evil Spirit; who being an Enemy to God,
and long fince vanquiſhed and damned, can never be an
Object of Terror to found Believers: The Wicked One
has no Armour that is Froof againſt a lively Faith,
which, as it can remove Mountains, muft cafily drive
away Satan. It is therefore want of Faith to fear the
Devil, whom even Free-thinkers and Unbelievers fear
not. It is indeed Matter of Lamentation, that Chrifti-
ans, yea the Directors and Conductors of Chriftians,
fhould have lefs Courage than Men who are given up to
a reprobate Mind; Men left to uncovenanted Mercy,
and without Shield or Fence againſt the Affaults of the
Enemy.
You therefore furpriſe me, by telling me, as you do,
that a Pantomime, a poor Player, Tony Afton, and his
Comedians, have been able to ruffle and difquiet the
Minds of the Reverend Minifters of the Kirk. What
Tools he brings with him, terrible to the Hierarchy, I
cannot conceive. The Laws, the Gofpel, and private
Perfons, are protected by the Civil Power: And if Tony
can hurt and infult neither Religion, nor Cæfar, nor Par-
ticulars, how comes he to occafion fuch Uproars and
Alarms?
Doubtleſs there are feveral Plays too grofs and licen-
tious ; and fo, fometimes, have been many Sermons:
Yet, when a Preacher has abuſed the Privilege of
Preaching, advanced wild Opinions, and uttered dan-
gerous and ridiculous Follies, as, upon Occafions, has
happened, it has not been allowed to interrupt or con-
tradi&t him. Nay, when the Civil Power has queſtion-
ed him for infulting or calumniating the Civil Admini-
ftration, his Brethren have waxed wroth and outrageous,
that any of their Body fhould be queftioned at any Tri-
bunal but their own: A Right and Impunity, which, I
think, are claimed as fturdily by the Fathers of the Kirk,
as by our High-Church, or the High-Church in Italy.
But as this extravagant Claim implies, that all Rights
and Powers whatſoever do, directly or indirectly, apper-
tain to themſelves, and dooms all Men to a vile and
blind Dependence upon the Clergy in all Things; fo it
fhould
216
A Letter to a
ſhould warn every Man, who would not blindly tread
in the Steps, and hang by the Cloak or the Caffock of
a Pedagogue, to preferve an Independence upon the
Clergy in all Things where the Clergy have nothing to
do. Other Commiffion, than that of counfelling and
exhorting fuch as will hear them, I know none that our
Bleffed Saviour has given them; and this he has given
to all Men.
What have the Parfons to do with our Recreations
and Amuſements? Does the Gaiety and Openness of the
Spirit, occafioned by Feftivity and Diverfion, lead to
Sin and Lubricity? Who told them fo? Upon me it had
never any ſuch Effect; and by what Rule do they judge?
In my Opinion, the oppofite Commotions of Spirit,
thofe of Bitterneſs, Ferocity, and Uncharitableneſs, are
in themſelves finful; odious and unfociable I am fure
they are, and the genuine Attributes of Monks and Cy-
nics.
:
With Pretences equally juft, may they claim the Di-
rection of our Perfons, Tables, and Drefs. The Ladies
muft not wear fine Silks, nor the Men fine Perriwigs,
for Fear of exciting Concupifcence, and alluring one an-
other Nay, they must not wear fine Linen, nor waſh
their Faces, for the like Theological Reaſon. They
must not enter a Tavern, for fear of being drunk; nor
be merry, for fear of being profane; nor eat a good
Meal, nor deal in Sauces and Dainties, for fear of
pering the Fleſh.
pam-
There is no Length to which fuch impertinent Reaſon-
ing, when it is once admitted, will not go: And, in
Effect, we fee that in every thing which paffes within
the Heart of Man or Woman, or in their Drefs, Eating,
Drinking, and general Oeconomy, the Romish Priests
act the Bufy-body, and affume to be Comptrollers even
in the conjugal Pleafures, thofe between a Man and his
Wife, they affert a Right to be informed and to dictate.
They of that Religion know this by Experience; and by
reading their Books of Confeffion and Cafuiftry, every
one may know it. What, in the Name of Wonder, is
it to a Man who deals in Spirituals, whether, when a
Woman, in Bed with her Huſband, lays her Leg upon
his, he is to take it for a Signal and obey it, though the
-
fay
Gentleman at Edinburgh.
217
fay never a Word? Yet this Query is put by a grave
Cafuift, and anſwered in the Affirmative; Imo, certe,
fays he, propter Modeftiam Sexus.
So favourable was
the good Doctor to the Ladies!
This meddling of theirs in every thing, and meddling
like Maſters and Governors, will make People tired and
uneafy to be under their Direction in any thing: So that
where they are not armed with the Civil Sword, and the
Terrors of an Inquifition, as, I thank God heartily,
they are not like to be with us; they will lofe the Cre-
dit which they might otherwife preferve, and grow
contemptible by being troubleſome and impertinent.
The Pulpit is their Province, and even that is a Pro-
vince which they ſhould exerciſe with Modeſty and Wa-
rinefs; efpecially in a Generation like this, when Peo-
ple have learnt to affert their natural Liberty, and the
Ufe of their Senfes, and to diſpute the Truth of Pofiti-
ons which they judge to be doubtful or falfe, however
imperiously maintained by Men of Reverence and
Name.
That Authority which depends only or chiefly upon
the Efteem and Opinions of Men, is exceeding preca-
rious, and will decay or perifh as thofe Opinions alter,
or that Esteem is loft, or leffens. Many have loſt all
Credit, by carrying it too high, or by maintaining it by
falfe and deceitful Supports. What has been the Con-
fequence of all the wild and unmeaſurable Claims con-
tended for in behalf of Churchmen, by Dr. Hickes, Mr.
Leſley, and the other Champions of that Cauſe? It is
true, they were greedily fwallowed by many of the
felfish and aſpiring Clergy; infatuated many weak
Brains amongst them, and deceived feveral of the Peo-
ple, chiefly the Vulgar in Condition of Underſtanding:
But their Triumph was fhort and contemptible. Theſe
extravagant Demands for extravagant Power in Ecclefi-
aftics, occafioned a Number of fuch Anfwers, as have
not only fet the Authority of Churchmen very low in
the Opinion of almoſt all Men, and demonſtrated, that
from Chrift they derive no Power or Revenue at all,
but, for all that they have, muſt be beholden to Lay-
men and the Law; but they have likewife, by Reaſon-
ing and Examples upon that Subject, fhewn the Spirit
VOL. II.
K
of
218
A Letter to a
of the Ecclefiaftics almoft in all Times, to have been fo
tyrannical, vindictive, and rapacious, that moſt Men
are become loth to trust them with over-much Wealth
or Power, or indeed with any, independent upon the
Civil Government.
As the Writings of thefe Divines were vifionary, ab-
furd, and indeed arrogant, full of Principles deftructive
of Civil Liberty, and all Liberty, oppofite to the Spirit
of the Reformation, and contrary to all good Senſe, and
all Modefty; and yet greedily read and approved by
Numbers of the inferior Clergy; Men who had better
Senſe and Diſcernment, and wifhed well to the free
Conſtitution of their Country, conceived Indignation
at the propagating and encouraging of Notions fo wild
and mischievous; and have expofed them fo effectually,
that ſuch Notions, and the Authors of them, are now
as much contemned, as they were infolent and chime-
rical. Such, in truth, was the Scheme of thefe Non-
jurors, and their Followers; fo exorbitant and wicked
it was, that nothing but blind Popery, fettled in the
Church, and abfolute Tyranny in the State, could have
fupported it; and I think, it is plain, that both thefe
Supports were intended to be introduced. Indeed, the
Scheme itſelf neceffarily implied them; and without
them, it was a mere Dream.
It is true, that fome of theſe high Contenders for un-
bounded Power in the Church and the Crown, wrote
againſt Popery, and fet Bounds to the Prerogative in
Church Matters. But it is equally true, that they only
contended againſt the Popery of the Pope, and against
owning the Jurifdiction of Rome: They, at the fame
time boldly afferted a Power to themſelves equal to that
of the Pope; afferted all the dreadful, all the ſelfiſh and
lucrative, and moſt of the extravagant Pofitions of Pope-
ry; fuch as the Right of knowing Hearts by Confeffion;
the Power of Damning and Saving; Prayers for the
Dead; Extreme Unction ; great and princely Power and
Revenues, all holden in their ownRight, without depend-
ing upon the Civil Power, and even in fpight of it. If
I must be enslaved or oppreffed by an imperious, affum-
ing Priesthood, what is the Difference to me, whether
my Oppreffor live at Rome, or Canterbury, or Edinburgh.
The
Gentleman at Edinburgh.
219
The Manner alfo in which thefe High-church Writ-
ers treat the Crown, is moft infolent, fhameleſs, and
diſhoneſt: They exempt themſelves, and all that is theirs,
which is whatever they have a mind to call fo, from
all Cognizance or Authority of the Civil Power of
the Prince. Their Perfons, they fay, are facred, as
well at his; nay, more facred, and their Pofeffions de-
fended by Privileges divine: So that though they fur-
render him the Laity, to be uſed or ſpoiled, fleeced
or flayed, as he pleafes; though they bely the holy
Name of God to fanctify Oppreffion, to fecure the Op-
preffor, and to terrify the poor abused Sufferers from
lifting up their Hand, or even their Voice and Com-
plaints, for Relief; though they call every Attempt to
preferve their Perfons and Property, and to refift in-
fulting Spoilers, a refifting of God, and for it threaten
Damnation; yet, if he dare but to touch themſelves,
dare to meddle with their Revenues, to enter the Sanc-
tuary, or to claim any Share of their Wealth or Jurif
diction, Heaven and Earth are fummoned to affift them,
and to refift him; Woes are denounced againſt the
faint Heart, and feeble Hand; and the Crofier is rear-
ed against the Sceptre.
Is not fuch impudent Conduct enough to open the
Eyes of all Men, even of the most ftupid, bigotted,
and blind? To fee Religion turned into a manifeſt
Market of Power and Wealth; the great God made
the Voucher of an execrable Bargain between the Op-
preffors of Men in their Perſons, and the Oppreffors of
Men in their Confciences; to fee Men tied up, or let
loofe, made tame or furious, crouching under unrelent-
ing Tyranny, or armed againſt legal Power, juſt as
they are directed, fcared, or inflamed by Priefts! To
ſee theſe Prieſts claiming to themſelves all forts of Pri-
vileges, and Wealth and Power without Bounds; to ſee
them affuming Principalities and Power, by virtue of
Succeſſorſhip to the poor, wandering, and perfecuted
Apoſtles; and yet denying the abuſed Laity, from
whom they have all things, to have a Right to any
thing, not even to their Property, and their Senfes !
Will fuch Clergymen, after this, complain that ſuch
Clergymen are not reverenced? Men, who by their ex-
K 2
travagant
220
A Letter to a
travagant and ſelfiſh Pofitions, diſcover a Spirit fo un-
chriftian and unfociable; fuch a one as undermines all
the Rights and Pleaſure of human Society, and of hu-
man Life. They are, indeed, contemned; and upon
themſelves they have drawn that Contempt. Will they
complain of the Growth of Infidelity and Profaneneſs,
when, by their Example and Principles, they had fhewn
that they had meant to debafe Religion as far as it could
be debaſed, by turning it into an Engine for Dominion
and Opulence; and perverted the Goſpel into a Scheme
of Grandeur, Abfurdities, and Perfecution? What has
propagated Infidelity fo much as their own felfish Te-
nets and Conduct, and the vile Ufe which they made
of the Bible; as if it had been nothing elfe but a Pa-
tent to exalt Priefts, and inflave the Laity? Of all the
Latitudinarian Books in the World, the Writings of
High-church Men are the moſt fraught with mischievous
and horrible Pofitions.
I wiſh, for the Honour of the whole Body of the
Clergy, that the Convocation had at any time branded
fuch infamous and peftilent Doctrines, by fome juſt and
public Cenfure, fuch as they have been very free to
bestow upon Books and Propofitions which defend the
common Rights of Confcience and Society. By their
utter Silence in this Matter, they have adminiſtered a
Handle to fome for fufpecting (I hope unjustly) that, to
Affemblies of Clergymen, the Happinefs of the Laity
was of little Concernment, and Liberty of Confcience
a Matter of Offence: That they had Views irreconcile-
able to the Reformation, and the Eſtabliſhment, and
were purſuing an Intereft oppofite to that of the Public.
What heightened this Sufpicion, was the manifeft Par-
tiality of their Conduct: While they were affiduouſly
ſearching after Books which defended the Civil Rights
of Society, and the unalienable Right of all Men to
think for themſelves, in order to cenfure them; and in
doing it, did notoriouſly miſreprefent them; they
thought fit to paſs over Books which afferted the black-
eft of all Iniquities, that of Perfecution; Books which
reviled the Conftitution, ftruck at the Root of public
Liberty, contended for public Servitude (in the Laity
only) and boldly revived and maintained the moſt dan-
gerous
Gentleman at Edinburgh.
221
gerous and impudent Opinions of Popery. And when
fuch impious Writings were laid before them, their
Boldneſs and peftilent Tendency fhewn, and Paffages
quoted out of them, fhocking to the Ears of Freemen
and Proteftants; ftill that Reverend Body perfifted to
make no Animadverfions.
What Conclufion, advantageous to their Reputation,
could be drawn from a Proceeding fo evidently unequit-
able and unjust, when a Set of Men, affuming to be
Judges, were apparently Parties, and had fo little Re-
gard, or rather fo much Averfion, to righteous Judg-
ment, that upon Truths the most obvious, upon Prin-
ciples the moſt benevolent, their Wrath and Anathemas
fell; while the moſt daring Arraignment of private Con-
fcience, and the moft bare-faced Infults upon public
Liberty, Civil and Chriftian, incurred no Blame? In
one, for Example, it was a heinous Crime, and loudly
cenfured, to have faid, "That our Saviour's Kingdom
was not of this World;" though after our Saviour
himſelf he faid it. But it proved to the Conyocation no
Matter of Offence, for another to have impiouſly main-
tained, that "Heaven itſelf waited for the Sentence
"from the Priest's Mouth, and God himſelf followed
66
"the Judgment of the Prieft". That " Kings and
Queens are to bow down before the Prieft, with their
"Faces towards the Earth, and to lick up the Duft of
"his Feet;" with many other mifchievous and unhal-
lowed Extravagancies, to the Diſgrace of Religion and
common Senfe. Was this the Way to be reverenced,
to utter, as the Oracles of God, fuch impudent and
poiſonous Falfhoods, or to defend them, or not to ftig-
matize them? Was it not rather a Way to forfeit all
common Reſpect, and to incur univerfal Indignation
and Scorn?
-
A Family is a fmall State, as a State is a great Fa-
mily. Now, fuppofe the Mafter or Prince of a Family
take into his Service a Chaplain, and give him Bread
and Wages; Does this fame Chaplain take a Method
to be reverenced or believed, if he tell the Man who
maintains him, " I am your fpiritual Prince, you are my
fpiritual Subject; I can abfolve or damn you: You
"must tell me all the Secrets of your Heart, let me
CC
K 3
judge
222
A Letter to a
"
44
<<
judge of your Thoughts; fubmit without Murmur-
ing or Hefitation to my Dictates and Cenfure, and
"be obedient to my Difcipline. You must call me
your Chaplain in no other Senfe than you fay, My
Lord, and My God. You ought to fall down before
me, and lick up the Duft of my Feet. My Govern-
"ment in your Family, as a Prieft, is farther above
yours, as you are a Layman, than Heaven is above
"the Earth; and my Revenue ought to be greater than
yours, though you are a Prince in your Houſe.
"And to make you Amends for thus fharing with
you in your Power and Riches, I do hereby, in the
Name of Heaven, doom all your Children and Ser-
"vants, that is, all your Lay-Domeftics, to be your
"Slaves, without Referve; and I do affert your Autho-
rity over them, be it ever fo cruel, unnatural and
"deftructive, to be the Ordinance of God; and you to
be his Vicegerent, however wicked and unlike God you
prove. But my Perfon and Property you must not
"touch; for I am a facred Perfon; in all the Money
(6
་་
56
<
and Power which I take from you, I am independent
"and unaccountable; for I am the Lord's Prieſt, and
my Wealth is God's Wealth. It would be Sacrilege
in you to meddle with either; if you do, you will
be damned; and if I can perfuade your Lady, or
your Son, to give me any Lands or Treaſure, for the
Good of their Souls, whatever Artifices I uſe to draw
"fuch Donations from them, you must protect me in
"the Poffeffion, against your Grand-children, or any
"other Claimant whatſoever; for to take it from me,
"or from any future Chaplain for ever, would be to
"rob God and the Church.
16
Moreover, if any of your Family, your Lady,
Children, or Servants, fhould prefume to differ in
Opinion from me, and follow their own Conſcience,
"this is Schifm, it is a damnable Sin; for out of the
"Church, that is, without my Permiffion and Manage-
ment, there is no Salvation: And fuch Schifinatics,
Heretics, and Gainfayers, you must profecute, that
is, fine, impriſon, whip, hang, or burn, as I fhall di-
"rect you: If you do not, you favour Heretics and
"Schifmatics, and I will excommunicate you, that is,
*C
46
"deliver
Gentleman at Edinburgh.
223
"deliver you to the Devil; and then you are unworthy
"of any Authority, and I will excite your Family to
"turn you out of your Houſe, unleſs by Submiffion to
me you fhew yourfelf penitent, and worthy to be re-
"ftored: Upon this Condition I will recal you, and
turn off the Perfon that I put in your Room, whom
"will call an Ufurper, if he do not humour me in all
<<
<<
Things. For, 'tis I who can preſerve Obedience, or
"ftir up Strife and Fighting in your Family, and teach
"them the Neceffity of obeying or refifting, by the
"Terrors of Divine Vengeance, which is always armed
"when I am angry, and afleep when I am pleaſed.”
Now, would Pretences and Claims, thus impious and
fhameless, be borne from any particular Chaplain, by his
particular Lord or Patron? And yet are not fuch Claims
afferted by the High Clergy in general? And do they
not affect every individual Layman, by affecting the
whole Body of the Laity? They treat us to our Faces,
like Vaffals blind and tame, and doom us without Cere-
mony, to bear Invaſion and Tyranny with meek Hearts,
and Hands bound. All that we have, is hardly enough
for them. Yet were we to treat them as they treat one
another, a very fmall Competency would appear a fuffici-
ent Appointment and Maintenance for the Succeffors of
the Apoſtles. Do we not frequently fee a Reverend Doc-
tor poffefs three, five, nay eight hundred Pounds a Year,
fometimes more than a thouſand; and yet out of this
great Revenue, which he thinks not too much, and
hardly enough, though he do nothing for it, give no
more than fifteen, twenty, thirty, or at molt forty
Pounds a Year to a Curate, for doing the whole Duty of
the Pariſh? If this be enough for the Labour of a Cler-
gyman, why do the Laity give any-where more? If it.
be not, why does the rich Doctor give fo little? The
Curate is furniſhed with all neceffary Abilities and Qua-
lifications as well as the Doctor, and has the fame fpiri-
tual Powers, to baptize, to give Abfolution and the
Communion, to marry, preach, pray, bury, vifit the
Sick, and to take Tithes, if he had any to take.
Thus, in the Opinion of former Bifhops, (Governors
of the Church) who often kept Curates themſelves,
when they ſtill retained a good fat Living in Commendam ;
K 4
and
224
A Letter to, &c.
and thus in the common Practice of the inferior Clergy,
Wages fometimes not much higher than thofe of a Car-
ter, fcarce ever fo high as thofe of an Excifeman, are
fufficient for doing all the Functions of a Clergyman.
Would this not feem a Rule to the Laity, a Rule taken
from the beft Authority in the World, that of the Prac-
tice of the Clergy, how to rate the Work and Worth
of a Clergyman? Why fhould they expect that Laymen
ſhould value the Labour and Ufe of a Clergyman higher,
than the Clergy themſelves do in Fact value it? They
will not fay, that three, or five, or eight, or ten hun-
dreds a Year, is little enough for the Sagacity of
chufing, and the Trouble of hiring, a Curate for twenty,
or thirty, or forty, though fometimes things equally
fooliſh and abfurd are faid; for there are many Lay-
men who can drive a hard Bargain, and pinch their
Workmen, and we too often find the Reverend Deputy
of a great Doctor full as bad and infufficient as if the
Church-wardens had picked him up and hired him. I
would therefore be glad to know why any Man, why
eſpecially a Miniſter of the Gospel, who fhould labour
in Seaſon, and out of Seaſon, fhould have any Revenue,
eſpecially a great Revenue, for nothing?
But I ramble from my firft Defign, though, perhaps,
had I purſued it, I ſhould not have tired you lefs. But
I am like other Authors, who, whilft they pleaſe them-
felves, think that they are furnishing Delight to their
Reader. To your Information I pretend not to add any
Thing, not even in telling you that I am, with great
Affection and Sincerity,
SIR,
Your Faithful Servant,
G.
A
226
To the Memory of
M. S.
JOHANNIS TRENCHARD, Armigeri.
UI, quamvis antiqua ftirpe ortus, multifque
QUI
opibus florens,
Neque domo, neque pecunia, præcipuam fibi laudem
Affecutus eft.
Quam alii claritudine generis,
(Majoribus innixi)
Quam alii divitiis
Gloriam oftentant fortuitam & inanem,
Ille virtute ingenioque
Sinceram, propriamque, & manfuram fibi compa-
ravit :
Solertia & morum fanctitate, imaginibus domus,
Præluxit.
Vim animi, integritatem vitæ, in patriam fuofque
caritatem
Pauci equârunt; anteceffere nulli.
Pueritia vix egreffus, Foro vacavit,
Legum peritus, caufifque orandis validus:
Sed jurgiis Forenfibus atque lucro ftatim valedicens,
Seceffum dilexit, vitamque privatam.
Reip. tamen curam, nunquam fibi neglectam,
Neque depofuit, nec fruftra exercuit;
Dominationis cujufvis generis hoftis perpetuus,
Et vere timendus ;
Libertatis, prifcique moris,
Cuftos rigidus, Vindex acer.
Simul
John Trenchard, Efq;
227
A Monument Sacred to the Memory of
JOHN TRENCHARD, Eſq;
A
Gentleman defcended from an ancient Family,.
And confpicuous for abundant Wealth :
Yet neither from his Race nor his Fortune,
Did he derive his principal Renown.
Some boaft a Glory derived from the Luftre of their
Lineage ;
And rely upon the Merits of their Anceſtors:
Others vaunt the Glory of their Wealth.
Vain and accidental is all fuch Glory.
His was of his own acquiring, without Allay,
Perfonal and permanent,
The pure Refult of his Virtue and Parts.
In his native Accomplishments, and in the
Sanctimony of his Morals,
M
He gained Splendor furpaffing that of his Houfe.
In Vigour of Spirit, in Integrity of Life,
In Tenderneſs to his Country, to his Kindred and
Friends,
Few ever equalled him,
None ever furpaffed him.
Whilſt yet a Youth he attended the Bar,
Learned in the Laws, and a powerful Pleader.
But foon abandoning the Strife of Suits,
And the Purſuit of Gain,
He preferred Retirement and a private Life.
His Concern however for the Public
(A Concern ever infeparable from his Thoughts)
He neither renounced, nor exerciſed in vain;
Of Encroachments and Domination of every kind
A conftant and a formidable Foe;
Of public Liberty, and primitive Inftitutions,
A rigid Affertor, a powerful Champion.
K 6
From
228
To the Memory of
Simul naturæ humanæ, pravitatis hominum,
Ambitufque & calliditatis Potentium,
Gnarus, ac probe fufpicax,
Prætextus eorum a confultis, a Domino Magiftratum,
Difcriminare valuit;
Vimque & fuperbiam, quandocunque lacefferant,
Summa facundia increpare aufus eft.
Miffionem exercitus
Poſt finem belli Gallici, GULIELMO Principe,
Oratione fcripta, adhuc Juvenis
Efflagitavit atque obtinuit,
Invitis Aulicis & frementibus.
Par ipfe fummis negotiis,
Et honores meritus, fed afpernatus,
Artibus privati præcelluit.
Myftarum Rabiem,
Triftes Fanaticorum ineptias,
Libertati çivum atque bonis inhiantium,
Semper averfatus;
Petulantium iftorum & aviditatem
Ac iter redarguit & coercuit:
Nec Deum Opt. Max.
Truculentiæ effræni, vel vociferatui inani annuere,
Aut lapfu & erroribus mentis offendi
Ratus eft.
Annos V. poft L. vixit, fibi fatis;
}
At
John Trenchard, Efq;
229
From Obfervation he knew, from a juft Principle
he fufpected,
The Frailty of human Nature, and the Pravity of
Men,
With the Ambition and Artifices of Men in Power :
Between their avowed Pretences, and real Purſuit,
He could well diſtinguiſh,
As between the worthy Magiftrate and the lawleſs
Ruler;
Ever refolute to encounter every public Violence,
And all the Infolence of Power,
With conſummate Eloquence.
The Difbanding the Army after the French War,
In the Reign of King WILLIAM,
By an Argument written and publiſhed,
Even in his Youth he undertook to procure,
Urged it with great Force,
And even fucceeded.
In Oppofition to the Efforts and Rage of the Courtiers,
To the higheſt Affairs his Abilities were equal:
But deferving public Honours,
And defpifing them,
He fhone in the Accomplishments of private Life.
To the wild Fury of all Viſionaries and Myſtiſts,
To the direful Fooleries of all Bigots,
His Enmity was bent and perpetual,
As Men ever ravening againſt the Liberty, againſt
the Poffeffions,
Of their Fellow-Citizens.
Eloquently he expofed, zealously he reſtrained,
The petulant Spirit and Avarice of fuch Men.
That the God of Nature, fupremely Great,
fupremely Good,
Could ever approve wanton Cruelty, or devout
Clamour, and empty Sounds,
Or could ever be offended with the Miſtakes and
Roamings of the human Soul,
Was what his rational Heart could never conceive.
To the Age of almoft fifty-five he lived,
An Age to himſelf fufficiently long;
But
230
To the Memory of
角
​At non Patriæ, non amicis, nec uxori.
Cæterum, ut fine labe vitam tranfegerat,
Mortem abfque formidine obiit,
Liberis viris & bonis nunquam non defiderandus
Decemb. XVI. An. Ch. MDCCXXIII.
Manent Monumenta ingenii, femperque manebunt,
Scriptis multi generis facrata.
John Trenchard, Efq;
231
But not fo to his Country, nor to his Friends, nor
to his Lady.
As he had paffed his Life without Blemish,
He encountered Death without Fear.
A Man by all virtuous Men and Freemen
Worthy to be for ever lamented.
He died on the fixteenth of December 1723.
Of his Genius and Abilities there are Monuments
remaining,
Such as will for ever remain,
Confecrated to Time and Pofterity in Writings of
various Kinds.
The
[(232)
The Craftsmen: A Sermon, or Para-
phraſe upon ſeveral Verſes of the xixth
Chapter of the Acts of the Apoftles.
Compofed in the Style of the late Daniel
Burgeſs.
Nihil rerum mortalium tam inftabile ac fluxum eft,
quam fama potentiæ non fua vi nixæ.
Tacit.
By THOMAS GORDON, Efq;
Anno 1723.
ADVERTISEMENT.
W
HAT gave Occafion to the following Sermon, was
the Threats of a moft Reverend Prelate, and fome
of his Brethren, to fuppress the Independent Whig, which
then came out weekly, by an Inquifition very extraordina-
ry, and unknown to our Conftitution. To defeat therefore
fuch a Prelatical and Unchriftian Defign, and, if poffible,
to fhame the Authors of it, with other fierce and interested
Bigots, out of all Methods of Violence in Matters of Reli-
gion and Opinion, this Sermon was compoſed and publiſhed,
with no ill Success.
The
The Craftsmen.
233
The Craftsmen: A Sermon, or Paraphrafe, up-
on feveral Verfes in the 19th Chapter of the
Acts of the Apoſtles.
I
Shall not this Day, my Beloved, as the ufual Man-
ner is, accoſt you with the Scraps of a Verſe, or
only with a whole Verſe out of any Part of the
Gofpel; which Method is often made ufe of in fuch
Places as this, purely to avoid telling what goes before,
or comes after; but fhall chufe for my Text the greateſt
Part of the xixth Chapter of the Acts: And in difcourfing
upon this Portion of Scripture, fo fruitful in good In-
ſtructions and Examplcs, I fhall confine myſelf to the
following Method.
I. First, I fhall make ſome general Obfervations upon
the Behaviour of the Apostle Paul in his Miniſtry.
II. Secondly, I fhall difcourfe more particularly upon
ſeveral Verſes in this Chapter: And,
III. Thirdly, and Laftly, I fhall draw, from the whole,
fome uſeful and feaſonable Inferences, and then con-
clude.
I. I fhall make fome general Obfervations upon the
Apoftle Paul. And first of all, my Brethren, it is note-
worthy, that Paul made the greateſt Change that ever
Man did, even from a Perfecutor to an Apoftle; two
Characters as oppofite as is that of Lucifer to an Angel of
Light. As foon as Light from the Lord fell upon him,
he no longer breathes Threatnings and Slaughter against
the Difciples of the Lord, as he had in Fore-time, nor puts
in Execution the Orders he had about him from the
High-Prieft, or Archbishop of the ferus, to bring the
firſt Chriſtians and Diffenters of thofe Days bound to Je-
rufalem. On the contrary, though he was just before an
hard-hearted Perfecutor for the Church by Law eſtabliſh-
ed, on a fudden he becomes a Lover of the Saints; and
now, Behold he prayeth! Acts ix. 11.
ift, Let us learn a Leffon from hence, dearly beloved,
as we go along; namely, that as foon as the Fear of the
Lord entereth into a Man's Heart, the Sword of Perfe-
cution droppeth out of his Hand. Peace, which is the
Badge
•
234
The Craftsmen.
Badge of the Goſpel, and Cruelty, which is the Coat of
Arms of Satan, cannot dwell together. Behold, he pray-
eth!
2ly, It is obfervable, that when a Zealot leaves his
Party, and turns Chriftian, how very apt the High Party
are, ungratefully to forget all his former wicked Merit,
which made him dear to them, and to perfecute him for
apoftatizing into Mercy and Grace. While Paul conti-
nued the fiery Flail of the Godly, the Prieſts held him
in high Favour, and truſted him with their Ecclefiaftical
Commiffion And for what? Why, to bring bound to Je-
rufalein all those of this Way: Of what Way? Why, all
that forfook the established Synagogue, and followed
Chriſt.
:
3dly, Obferve, my Brethren, that Confcience and
Non-conformity had the Powers of the World againſt
them ſeventeen hundred Years ago. Paul, the Blaf-
phemer, had a Poft; but Paul the Convert, Paul the
saint, is allowed no Toleration; yea, they watched the
Gates Day and Night to kill him; for, Behold, he pray-
eth!
4thly, It is obfervable from the whole Hiftory of Paul,
that the Grace of God makes a Man both meek under
Sufferings, and bold for Chrift. Here our Convert nei-
ther returns the Injury, nor flacks his Pace in planting
the Gospel; both hard Tasks! He rifked his Life, and
laboured in the Vineyard, without Pay; a rare Thing in
this our Day! when the firft Motive for overſeeing of
Souls, is fo much a Year. The Apoſtle drove no Bargain
about Preaching, nor made a Market of Salvation.
Oh! my Beloved, how many dignified Drones have
we in our Time, who fet up for a Likeneſs to the Apo-
ftles without any Likeness; who take great Sums for
Mock Apoſtleſhip, when nothing thrives by their Mini-
ſtry but their Bellies! This, my Friends, is lamentable,
but it is lamentably true.
II. I hafte now to my fecond general Head, and will
difcourfe particularly upon feveral Verfes in this Chap-
ter.
I begin with Verſe the 8th, And he went into the Syna-
gogue, and spake boldly for the Space of three Months, dif-
puting
The Craftsmen.
235.
puting and perfuading the Things concerning the Kingdom
of God.
ift, And he went into the Synagogue. Obſerve we here,
ift, my beloved Brethren, that as great Bigots as the
fers were, and as great a Diffenter as Paul was, yet.
they fuffered him to preach in their Synagogues or
Churches. He had a clear Stage, though perhaps not
equal Favour. Now think ye, my Friends, if the fame
Apostle fhould come amongst us here in London, at this
time, that he would be permitted to preach in his own
Church, unless he firft qualified himſelf according to the
Forms and Ceremonies of the Church of England by
Law eſtabliſhed? Or would he, trow ye, get any Pre-
ferment, that the black Dons could hinder him from, in
cafe he perfifted to preach what his Mafter preached be-
fore him, namely, that Chrift's Kingdom was not of this
World.
2dly, My Beloved, we may fee here the great Point of
Paul's Preaching; He difputed and perfuaded the Things con-
cerning the Kingdom of God. Not a Word of his own fpiri-
tual Dominion; not a Word of Epifcopal Sovereigns, who
were to defcend, as it were, from his Loins, and who,
without his Inſpiration or Miracles, were to fucceed him
in what he never had, worldly Wealth, worldly Gran-
deur, and worldly Power; Things which always mar
the Kingdom of God, inſtead of promoting it, there be-
ing no Fellowſhip between Chrift and Belial.
Let us now proceed to the 9th Verfe, and fee what
that fays; But when divers were hardened (obſerve he
fays, when divers were hardened) and believed not, but
Spake Evil of that Way before the Multitude, he departed
from them, and separated the Diſciples, diſputing daily in the
School of one Tyrannus.
The Prieſts, no doubt, who traded in Ceremonies, and
knew nothing of Jefus Chrift, or of inward Holineſs,
were nettled at a new Religion, which taught Men a
plain Path to Heaven, without the Incumbrances of Sa-
crifices, or Prielts, or Fopperies; a Religion that had a
profeffed Enmity to all fecular Gain, and all holy Trifle-
ing.
Marvel not at it, my Brethren; a'Religion without a
Hierarchy, and Godliness without Gain, will never
pleafe
236
The Craftsmen.
pleaſe any Set of High Priests: Nothing will go down
with them but Pride and Grimace, and the ready Penny.
Poor Paul had nothing about him of all this, nor did he
teach a Religion that had. All that he brought was a
Chrift crucified, and Salvation in and through him. They
therefore fpake Evil of that Way before the Multitude;
that is, the Priests told the People, that Paul was an He-
retic, and his Doctrine was Schifm; but for themſelves,
they had Antiquity and the Fathers on their Side, with
an Orthodox Church full of decent Types and Cere-
monies.
There needed no more to prevent the Apoftle from do-
ing any Good among them: So he departed from them.
This was all the Punishment he inflicted on them, and
this was enough. He who had the Holy Ghoft could
have inflicted Death or Mifery on them; but it was op-
pofite to the Genius of his Religion, which allows fpiri-
tual Paftors to feed their Flocks, but not to force them,
nor to puniſh them, if they refufe to feed. If a Man
has notˇa Mind to be ſaved, he has the worst of it him-
felf; and what is it to the Priests? as Mafter Selden well
remarketh.
This, my Brethren, was the primitive Excommunica-
tion. If you could work no Good upon a Man, or if
that Man worked Miſchief to you, or gave you Scandal,
why you would not keep Company with him. But to
give him to the Devil, becauſe he was already going to
the Devil of himſelf, is to be a Minifter of Chrift the
backward way. Befides, there was no need of it. The
Apoſtle, in my Text, neither curfes theſe unbelieving
High-Churchmen, acho hardened themſelves against him,
nor cenfures them, nor fines them; all which he who
had the Power of Miracles could have done, had he liked
it. He barely departed from them. And if he did not
damn them for the Sake of their Souls, fo neither did he
furrender them to Beelzebub for the Sake of their Money.
He demanded not a grey Groat of them; fo far was he
from telling them, Gentlemen, I am your Spiritual Prince,
pray pay me my Revenues. Paul was a Witnefs of the Re-
furrection, a difintereſted Witnefs, and claimed no Dues
though others fince do in his Name, without being real
Witneffes
The Craftsmen.
237
of the Refurrection, or difinterefted Witneffes of any thing.
elfe about it.
Difputing daily in the School of one Tyrannus. Mark
here, my Beloved, that both Schools and Synagogues,
or Churches, were open to him, though he was but a
New-Comer, and a Non-conformist. Mark, moreover,
that he barely disputed, or recfoned. He was a Stranger to
the Doctrine of Compulfion. He was an Apoſtle, by vir-
tue of whoſe Words and Power, all Clerical Acts are pre-
tended to be done ever fince: And yet he himſelf did
none, fatisfying himſelf with faving Souls by Exhorta-
tion, and the Affiftance of the Spirit, which are not Cle-
rical Acts. He was the chief Paftor upon Earth, and
held his Commiffion immediately from God; but he
impofed nothing but his Advice, Reaſon and good
Words, upon thofe that heard him. He could have
forced them (had the Spirit fo directed) to have fwal-
lowed implicitly all that he had faid, and either deſtroy-
ed or diftreffed all who refuſed. But the Lord Chrift,
my Brethren, in his Dealings with Human Kind, never
ufes Means that are inhuman.
Here you may diftinguiſh the Spirit of Chrift from the
Spirit of High-Church. For trow ye, my Friends, that
Chrift or his Apoſtles ever delegated to weak and paf-
fionate Men, Powers and Privileges, which, infallible
and infpired as they were, they never affumed to them-
felves? Let us wonder, my Brethren, at the Impudence
of fome Men in Black!
And this continued for the Space of two Years. Obferve,
it is not ſaid, that he kept a Curate all the while.
Let us go on to fome following Verfes: And God
wrought Special Miracles by the Hands of Paul; ſo that
from his Body were brought unto the Sick Handkerchiefs or
Aprons, and the Diſeaſes departed from them, and the evil
Spirits went out from them, ver. 11, 12.
Obferve, here are certain Signs of a Power from
God; and they who pretend a Power from him, with-
out manifefting the fame by certain Signs, are certainly
Cheats and Impoftors. For a Power given by the All-
wife God, must be given for fome certain End,
which will infallibly be brought about. It is not con-
fiftent with his Wifdom and Goodness to give it, and
yet
238
The Craftsmen.
$
yet leave uncertain, that he has given it, when a plain
Manifeftation of it is of the utmoft Importance to the
World, and to the Purpoſes for which it is given. If a
Man bring not infallible Proofs of his Power, how ſhall
I know that he has it? Demonftration must go before
Conviction, and Conviction before Confent. We can-
not embrace for Truth, what we take to be a Lye. All
which will farther appear from the following Verfes.
Then certain of the vagabond Jews, Exorcifts, took upon
them to call, over them which had evil Spirits, the Name
of the Lord Jefus, faying, We adjure you by Jefus, whom
Paul preacheth. ver. 13.
We may perceive here, that the Apoſtles had Apes
in their own Time; Fellows who fet up for their Suc-
ceffors, before they themfelves were dead. They were
Exorcifts or Conjurers, fo called, I prefume, from
their pretending to difpoffefs haunted Houſes, by
the Dint of Spells and Forms of Words. They had
now got a new Form of Words, and were going to work
with them as faft as they could, boafting, no doubt,
great Things of their own Power. And indeed they
took a politic Method to reſemble the Apoſtle, had they
fucceeded in it; but they mifcarried miferably, as will
be ſhewn anon.
But what fhall we fay of fome Moderns, (more thame-
leſs than thefe vagabond Jers) who will, right or wrong,
be Succeffors to the Apolties, without doing any thing
that is Apoftolic, but what every reaſonable Man may
do as well? They fhew no Signs but thofe of Grace-
lefneſs and Pride; and do no Wonders but in the Luxu-
ry of their Lives.
ye
?
And there were seven Sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and
Chief of the Priests, which did jo. v. 14. More Mimickers
of Miracles! We fee the Trade was growing fweet, but
the Sauce proved' four; for the evil Spirit anfavered and
Said, Jefus I know, and Paul I know; but who are
An angry and contemptuous Queftion, but full of good
Senfe; but the worst follows: And the Man in whom the
evil Spirit was, leapt upon them, and prevailed againſt
them, fo that they fled out of that Houfe naked and wound-
ed.
1. Obferve,
The Craftsmen.
239
1. Obferve here, firft, that we may easily learn what
Power Men have from God, by their Power over the
Devil. When Paul gave the Word of Command, the
Devil did not ſtand fhilly-fhally, nor pretend to parly
with one who was employed as the Lord's General a-
gainſt the Power of Darkness, but was forced to march
Bag and Baggage; and glad, no doubt, that he could
troop off in a whole Skin.
But it is quite otherwife, when Interlopers and Craftf-
men, in hopes to make a Penny of Satan, pretend to drive
him out of his Quarters, though they come in the Name
of the Lord. The Devil, in this Cafe, fets up a Flag
of Defiance, and tells them they are Scoundrels to their
Faces; Who are ye? Well ſpoken, Satan! They were
Vagabonds, Jews, and Priefts, and the Devil chaftifed
them accordingly: They fled out of that Honfe naked and
wounded. The Devil got the Day, and remained Ma-
fter of the Field and the Baggage: He prevailed against
them. They forged a Commiffion, and the Lord Jefus,
whofe Name they abufed, would not ſtand by them.
2. Let us here, zdly, my Friends, think it no Shame
to learn a Leffon from the Devil, and take no Man's
Word, who pretends to command us in Matters of
Faith, and fpiritual Obedience, though he come in the
Name of the Lord. Let us examine him firft, and try
our own Strength upon them. Who are ye? A pat
Queſtion, and a proper! Let us, beloved, never loſe
fight of it, especially when any Man would controul
our Belief. Be not determined by outfide Shape and
Colour. A long Gown may cover an Exorcift, but let
us peep into his Infide, fearch his Life and Principles ;
let us try whether he is an Apoftle in his Heart, and his
Actions; and if he be not, let us deſpiſe him; yea, let
us prevail against him.
3. Obferve, 3dly, what great and folemn Rogueries are
carried on in the Name of Chrift and his Apoſtles;
even Conjurers and Formalifts reap their Harveſt, as it
were, with the Sickle of the Goſpel. And if fuch bold
Cheats could be practifed, as it were, under this great
Apoſtle's Nofe, what may not be done now he is fo far
off? How many Exorcifts, how many Sons of Sceva, trow
ye, have we, at this Time, among us, and in this in-
lightened
240
The Craftsmen.
1
3
lightened Proteftant Country? Great Numbers, God
wot! yea, great Societies. Every Man, who, in the
Name of Chrift, or Paul, claims to himſelf Gain or
Dominion, is a Son of Sceva, and can be no guard a-
gainſt the Devil, who defpifes him. Judge ye now
what Swarms we have!
4. Obferve from hence, 4thly and laftly, the true Rea-
fon of the great Wickednefs which is in the World;
namely, becauſe we maintain an Army against the De-
vil, of whom he ſtandeth not in Awe. In the first Ages
he was driven out of the Corner, and now he poffeffes
every Corner; for why? they had Apoftles, and we
have the Sons of Sceva.
And many that believed came, and confeffed, and fhewed
their Deeds, v. 18. that is, many who had been deluded
and mified by thefe reverend Deceivers, were now un-
deceived.
And many also of them which used curious Arts, brought
their Books together, and burnt them before all Men; and
they counted the Price of them, and found it fifty thousand
Pieces of Silver, v. 19.
How fertile muft the World then have been in my-
fterious and conjuring Books! What Syſtems of Non-
ſenſe and Knavery muſt have been here! What Glof-
fes, Commentaries, and Riddles ! For we may be fure,
my Beloved, theſe were not Books of ufeful Know-
lege and Learning, or Books that taught Virtue and
Morality, fince fuch, without doubt, the Apoſtle would
have preferved: But they were juggling and conjuring
Books, fuch as contained Heathen Traditions, with falte
Miracles, and falfe Doctrines, and were probably full
of metaphyfical Diftinctions, and the controverfial Di-
vinity of thoſe Days; fuch as Bundles of fooliſh Ser-
mons, Pagan Syftems, Articles of their Faith, Formu-
laries, lying Myfteries, cabaliftical Nonfenfe, and the
High-Church Pamphlets of that Age; all oppofite to
the divine Truths uttered by Paul.
So mightily grew the Word of God, and prevailed, ver.
20. Take Notice here, Men and Brethren, that the
ready Way to make the Word of God grow and pre-
vail, was to burn all the Priefts Books. Oh, my Belov-
ed,
The Craftsmen.
241
ed, that our Eyes were fo opened! what Fuel ſhould
we have for Bonfires!
Nothing occurs remarkable between this and the 23d
Verfe, which tells us, that the fame time there arose no
Small Stir about that Way. And then follows the Rea-
fon, v. 24, 25, 26, 27. For a certain Man named De-
metrius, a Silversmith, which made Silver Shrines for
Diana, brought no fmall Gain unto the Craftsmen, whom
he called together, with the Workmen of the like Occupa-
tion, and ſaid, Sirs, ye know that by this Craft we have
our Wealth: Moreover, you fee and hear, that not alone
at Ephefus, but almost throughout all Afia, this Paul
hath perfuaded and turned away much People, ſaying,
That they be no Gods which are made with Hands; ſo that
not only this our Craft is in Danger to be fet at nought;
but aljo, that the Temple of the great Goddess Diana fhould
be defpifed, and her Magnificence should be deftroyed, whom
all Aſia and the World worshippeth.
A notable Speech, and a fair Confeffion! He kept a
Shop for the Deity, and got a World of Money by this
godly Trade; and rather than lofe it, he will oppofe
Christianity, and maintain his Craft againft fefus
Chrift.
This mechanical Prieft, and his Brethren, Retainers
to Diana, had loft many kind Cuftomers by Paul's Preach-
ing; their holy Gear began to lie upon their Hands;
Folks Eyes were opened, and the Cheat was diſcloſed
Upon which the Reverend Dr. Demetrius, and the whole
Convocation of Priefts and Craftſmen, refolve to accufe
the Apoſtle as an Enemy to the Church, and an Under-
miner of its Rights and Interefts. Sirs, fays Mr. Prolo-
cutor, ye know that by this Craft we have our Wealth.
"Now, if this Paul goes on to perfuade People, as he
does, that all our Gain is built on Deceit, and that
our Trade is of human Inftitution, our Function will
"fall into Contempt, and we into Beggary."
(C
All this was artfully addreffed to the Intereft and Ava-
rice of his Brother Craftſmen, who ſharing the Benefit of
the Cheat, and living plentifully upon Ecclefiaftical Re-
venues of the eſtabliſhed Church of Diana, had Motives
fufficient to engage them in the Defence of the faid
Church and Cheat.
VOL. II.
L
Now
242
The Craftsmen.
Now he has a Knack for catching the Bigots, by tel-
ling them what Danger there was of the Church; and
left the Temple of the great Goddess Diana fhould be defpifid,
and her Magnificence be deſtroyed, whom all Aſia and the
World worthipped. What pity it was, that ſo
fo pure and
primitive a Church, and the moft orthodox and beft con-
tituted Church in all Afia, fhould be in fuch piteous
Danger!
1. Obſerve here, firft, dearly Beloved, what falſe
Knaves, and godlefs Infidels, thefe prieftly Crew were.
If they believed that their Miſtreſs, the Goddeſs, who
had indeed the best accuſtomed Church in all Afia, was
as great as they pretended her to be, why did they mif-
truft her Power to protect her own Grandeur, and defend
herſelf? Efpecially againſt a fingle Man, whom they re-
prefented as an Enemy to the Gods and their Church,
and who was confequently the more eafily to be defeat-
ed or deſtroyed? But if they knew her unable to defend
her Divinity, and fupport her Church, with them, her
Prieſts, and Tradeſmen; then were they in reality Cheats
and Unbelievers, though outwardly grave and zealous
Votaries.
2. Take Notice, in the 2d Place, of the wide Differ-
ence that there is between thefe High Priefts Church,
and the Bible Church! The Priefts Church being a
Trading Church, and Money being her End, and Gri-
mace her Ware, which were the Source of their Autho-
rity and Reverence; whatever enlightened the People,
marred the Market of the Priests. By this Craft we
have our Wealth: "While we can by Bawling and Ly-
❝ing put off our Trumpery for Religion, it will always
"fell well; otherwife it will not be worth a Groat ;
"let us contend for our Trumpery, and cry, The
"Church!" Accordingly we find the Auditory in the
next Verſe actually practifing the Advice given them by
this High-Church Preacher, and roaring for Diana of
Ephefus; or, which is the fame thing, For the Church.
By this Craft we have our Wealth.
This, my Friends, was the Spirit of the Priefts Church,
fo oppofite to that of the Bible-Church; which being
founded upon a Rock, fears neither Rain, nor Storms,
nor Diffenters, nor Falfe Brethren; yea, the is founded
upon
The Graftsmen.
243
upon a Rock, which Rock is Christ; and whoever truſts
in him, and believes the Scripture, cannot think his
Church in Danger. Indeed if his Church is founded up-
on Hoods, and Caps, and Cringes, and Forms, and
filthy Lucre, he may well dread the Judgment of God,
and the Reaſon of Man; for they are both againſt him
and his Dowdy, and his Church will totter as foon as
ever common Senfe takes it by the Colla By fearing
for the Superftructure, he owns the Foundation to be
fandy. By this Craft we have our Wealth.
Theſe Craftſmen keep a Rout about the Danger of
their Church. Why, my Brethren, it ought to be in
Danger, like a forry Bundle of Inventions and Gim-
cracks, as it was. But for the pure, the primitive
Church of Chrift, the Gates of Hell fhall not prevail
againf it. Yea, the Craftsmen fhall not prevail againſt
it, who are the foreſt Enemies which it ever had-It is
founded upon a Rock. Paul does not once complain, in all
the New Teſtament, that his Church was in Danger, nor
does any other of the Apoftles or Evangelifts. Heaven
and Earth fhall pass away, but the Word of the Lord
abideth for ever. What fay our Craftſmen to this? Ei-
ther they know it not, or believe it not.
Paul, when-
ever he mentions Dangers or Perils, in his Epiftles, means
Perils to his own Perfon: Nor did he, by his own Per-
fon, ever in all his Life, mean the Church. But Paul
had the Spirit of God; he was no Craftſman.
We, my Beloved, who are Chriſtians, truft to the Ve-
racity of God, that he will for ever defend the holy Re-
velation that he has given us. Let us, on our Part, treat
it as becomes its Dignity and omnipotent Author. Let
us not turn our Religion into a Flay, nor difhonour it
with Baubles, as the Manner of the Popish Craftſmen is,-
who convert their Churches into Puppet-fhews and Mu-
fic-meetings; and then, when they are laughed at, cry
they are in Danger. Pretty Fellows! to raiſe our Mirth
whether we will or no, and then make us choak ourſelves
to keep it in. Their Craft is in Danger to be fet at nought.
They know its Value, and quake left other People ſhould
know it too. Oh the Impudence of Craftfmen! how
boldly they mock God, and in his Name pick Pockets!
L 2
3. Let
244
The Craftsmen.
3. Let us obferve, 3dly, my Brethren, that the Chri-
ftian Religion, which prevailed againſt all the Powers of
the World, cannot be in Danger from all the Powers of
the World: And every Church may be in Danger but a
Chriſtian Church. Let us praife the Lord, my Chriſtian
Friends, that our Church is fafe.
Proceed we now to the 28th Verſe: And when they
heard thefe Sayings they were full of Wrath, and cried out,
faying, Great is Diana of the Ephefians.
1. We may remark here, it, my Friends, the violent
Effects of a hot Sermon, however abfurd and villainous.
Here is Dr. Demetrius, whofe Craft was all his Religion,
lugs Heaven into a Diſpute about his Trade, and tacks
the Salvation of his Hearers to the Gain which he made
of his Shrines; yet this awakened no Indignation in the
feduced and ill-judging Auditory; but ftrait they were
full of Wrath, and cried out, faying, Great is Diana of the
Ephefians The Church! the Church!
2. 2dly, We may remark, that Ignorance is the Mo-
ther of Zeal. They were full of Wrath. For what?
Why for Diana of Ephefus. A God created by a Stone-
cutter; an infenfible Piece of Rock, guarded by a Band
of Prieſts, who, hard as it was, picked a fine Livelihood
out of it. But Paul had opened fome Mens Eyes, and
the Loaves began to come in but flowly. This enraged
the Craftſmen, and they enraged the People. The Priests
loft Cuſtomers, and the People loft their Senfes. Such is
the Power of Delufion over dark and flaviſh Minds! Let
but the Prieſt point at a Windmill, and cry the Church is
falling, his Congregation will venture their Brains to
ftop the Sails. What a rare Army does Zeal raiſe, when
Religion and Reaſon do not ſpoil the Mufter, or ſtop
their March?
The next is the 29th Verfe; And the whole City was
filled with Confufion; and having caught Gaius and Ari-
ftarchus, Men of Macedonia, Paul's Companions in Travel,
they rushed with one Accord into the Theatre.
And the whole City was filled with Confufion. Who
doubts it, when Church was the Cry, and the Prieſts had
begun it? Give them but their Way, and allow them
but to affert their own Claims, they will quickly turn all
things, human and divine, topfy-turvy. Here is a whole
City
The Craftsmen.
245
City thrown into Confufion, purely becauſe a Branch of
the prieſtly Trade, infamous, forged and irreligious, was
like to fall before the Word of God preached by Paul.
ift, This fhews, Sirs, that there is nothing fo lying,
and fo vile, that they will not juftify. They knew that
their Church was a Creature of their own compofing;
that the Worſhip performed in it was burlefque Worfhip,
contrived by themſelves, and paid to a fenfeleſs Image;
and they knew that the whole was an impudent Delu-
fion, framed by human Invention. And yet, you ſee,
my Beloved, how they raife Heaven and Earth in De-
fence of their Forgeries and Superftitions. Not a Tittle
will they part with, not a Shrine, not a Ceremony. No,
rather than this, they publifh Lies, they deceive the
People, they decry fober Piety, they raiſe a Sedition,
and confound all things. By this Craft we have our
Wealth.
2. Behold here, 2dly, the different Behaviour of Truth
and Falfhood; or, in other Words, of Paul and the
Craftſmen! When Men contend for Truth, they do it
calmly, becauſe they are fure it will fupport itſelf. But
Error, conscious of its weak Foundation, flies inftantly,
for Support, to Rage and Oppreffion. Paul reafons
peaceably and powerfully; Demetrius deceives, fcolds,
and raiſes a Mob. But I defy the Craftſmen to fhew
me one Mob of Paul's raifing in all the New Tefta-
ment.
The Apoſtle wanted no Mob; he neither blended Po-
litics nor Gain with his Doctrine; he had no factious
Deſigns; he meddled not with human Affairs; he taught
Peace, and he practiſed it; he had no Grimace to fup-
port; no mock Reverence to acquire or defend; he ab-
horred pious Fraud, and expofed it; he fhewed the
People the manifeft Truths of the Goſpel, and of Rea-
fon, and that preſently opened their Eyes to fee the im-
pious Delufions, and bold Impofitions of the reigning
Prieſts; and hence began the Rage of Dr. Demetrius and
his Mob.
3. From this you may learn, 3dly, my Friends, that
one Man, with Truth on his Side, is enough to frighten
a whole Army, yea, a whole Hierarchy of Craftſmen,
and to defeat them, if he has but a fair Hearing. You
L 3
fce
246
The Craftfmen.
}
fee alfo the gracelefs Methods that red-hot High Priefts
take to confute fuch a Man: First, they drefs him up as
an Atheiſt, and an Enemy to the Church, and then fet
the Mob upon him; for the Law was not againſt Paul,
as we fhall fee preſently, and yet they meant to deſtroy
Paul against Law. An implacable Tribe! No Power
can fatisfy them, that has either Mercy in it, or Bounds
to it: Craft is their Calling, and Lyes and Violence the
Tools of their Trade.
Oh, my Chritian Friends! what Wolves are Men,
yea, what Wolves are Prieſts, when they have hardened
themſelves againſt the Grace of God? Without Meek-
neſs and Peace there can be no fuch thing as the Fear of
the Lord, Witnefs Dr. Demetrius, and thofe that are
like him, Let us pray for their Amendment, that it
would pleaſe the Lord to take away their reprobate
Mind.
And having caught Gaius and Ariftarchus, Men of Ma-
cedonia, Paul's Companions in Travel, they rushed with one
Accord into the Theatre.
Gaius and Ariftarchus, Diffenters to be fure, and Non-
conformist Preachers! Men of Macedonia; Foreigners
too, ever the Averfion of High-Church! Paul's Compa-
nions in Travel. How! bare Companions? Methinks
that is fomething familiar, unlefs, perhaps, they were
Lords Archbishops of fome Country where they did not
refide. But Paul, you fee, had no ſpiritual Pride, nor
received his Fellow-Chriftians upon the Knee, as ſome
who pretend to be his Succeffors at Rome, and elſewhere,
do in our Days.
They rushed with one Accord into the Theatre. Ay, they
had got their Prey, a Brace of Non-cons, and carried
them into the Play-houſe to bait them. What hooping
and hallooing, I warrant ye, about the two godly Chri-
ftians? How many Fanatics, think ye, they were called,
and Diſturbers of the Peace of Diana's High-Church?
Doubtless they were charged with writing Books and Pa-
pers against Diana's Clergy, and the eſtabliſhed Gew-
gaws; and perhaps Paul was fufpected for having a
Hand in them, and fome of his Epistles were produced
to make good the Charge. Well here they are, the
Prieſts their Accufers, the Mob their Judges, and Truth
their
The Craftsmen.
247
their Crime! Men and Wickednefs are ftill the fame ;
we have ſeen the like in our Times.
And when Paul would have entered in unto the People,
the Difciples fuffered him not, ver. 30.
Here is, on one
hand, the Boldneſs of a Man, who has God for his
Guide, and on the other, the Prudence of Men, who
knew the Mercy of Priefts and Mobs. And therefore
certain of the Chief of Afia, ruhich were his Friends, fent
unto him, defiring him that he would not adventure him-
felf into the Theatre.
The 32d Verſe is pregnant with Inftruction: Some
therefore cried one thing, and ſome another; for the Aſſem-
bly was confufed, and the more Part knew not wherefore
they were come together.
Some cried one thing, and fome another. The true Ge
nius of a Rabble, led by their Prieſts and their Paffions,
againſt Peace and againſt Religion! They are united in
their Zeal to do Mifchief, but they differ how they ſhall
go about it. They are for the Church. Diana's Church,
it is true; and fhew it by Rage and Noife: But they
are under no Rules, except the general one taught them
by the Craftfmen, namely, to be fierce for the Church,
againſt the Apoſtle; for the reft, every Man is his own
Mafter, and every Man will be heard firſt.
A rare Picture for our prefent Mob, headed by one
of themſelves in a Gown; I mean, our modern Deme-
trius. I think the Man is no great Craftsman; but he
has got Diana in his Head, and he himſelf is in the
Head of the Rabble: But, as to the Point of Under-
ftanding, we may throw him and his Rabble together
into one ſhort Prayer, and cry with our bleffed Lord,
when the Jewish Prieſts were putting him to Death, for
bearing Witnefs against their carnal Inventions, their
Hypocrify, and their Cruelty; Father, forgive them;
for they know not what they do.
The Affembly was confused. There was no Order, no
Reafon, no Moderation among them. The very Type
of our High-Church Mob again! And the more Part
knew not wherefore they were come together; that is, tho'
as I faid before, they came determined to do Miſchief,
yet they were at a Lofs what Species of it to go about,
till their General, the Prieft, gave them the Word. Oh,
L 4
my
248
The Craftsmen.
my Beloved, let us lament the horrible State of thoſe
poor unregenerate Souls, whoſe Paſtors feed them with
Poifon inſtead of the Food of Life, and teach them
Rage inſtead of Religion. Take Warning, Sirs, I fay
unto you, take Warning; beware of Diana, and her
Craftſmen; and cleave to your Bibles, as you love your
Souls.
And they drew Alexander out of the Multitude, the Jews
(the believing Jews) putting him forward. And Alex-
ander beckoned with his Hand, and would have made his
Defence unto the People. But when they knew that he
was a Jew (that is, a believing Jew) all with one Voice,
about the Space of two Hours, cried out, Great is Diana of
the Ephefians! ver. 33, 34.
Was there ever fuch a Couple of Twin-cafes as theirs
and ours! Verily, our High-Church Bigots and Raga-
muffins are the undoubted Defcendants of Diana's Tories
at Ephefus fixteen hundred Years ago. Nor is the Breed
one whit mended; they are ftil the Black-guard of the
Craftſmen, blind, outrageous, and loud.
We too, my Brethren, would, like the good Alex-
ander in my Text, make our Defence unto the People;
and they will not hear us. Pray mark the different
Manner of our difputing from theirs, and the contrary
Arguments we ufe; we appeal to the Bible; they cry
the Church! and anſwer the Word of the Lord with a
Brickbat: Oh horrible!
Great is Diana of the Ephefians! High-Church for
ever! and 'tis likely they fwore to it. This was the
Cry for the Space of two Hours. Poor Souls! it was all
that they could ſay, and all that their Prieſts had taught
them to fay, Great is Diana of the Ephefians! Was
ever Church more pithily defended! Certainly the Craftf
men of our Days have learned their Logic from their
Ephefian Predeceffors. Great is Diana of the Ephefians!
I have heard a Sermon, a full Hour long, upon the
fame Subject, and yet not more ſaid, nor better.
You have already, my Beloved, heard two Speeches,
one from the Craftsmen, and the other from the Mob.
Dr. Demetrius being in the Chair, tells his Brethren of
the Trade, that by his Craft (obferve, by this Craft!)
they had their Wealth. This is the firft Part of his Ser-
mon ;
The Craftsmen.
249
mon; and in troth, he puts the beſt Leg foremost, and
uſes his ſtrongeſt Argument firft: He fairly puts the
Streſs of his Faith upon the ready Rhino, and in the very
Dawn of his Difcourfe, fhews himſelf to be orthodox.
I dare fay, the whole Convocation was convinced. He
has, however, a rare Gudgeon behind for the Mob;
and what ſhould that be, trow ye, but a Charge of He-
refy againſt Paul? The Apoftle had the Affurance to
publifh, forfooth, that they be no Gods which are made
with Hands: Terrible Atheiſm againſt the eſtabliſhed
Divinity! and you fee what a bitter Spirit it raiſed.
This, my Friends, was the Prieſt's Speech or Sermon:
Now, hear the Mob's Speech once more; for it is a Ra-
rity, as we fay in Berkshire, Why they cried out till
their Throats were jaded, Great is Diana of the Ephefi-
ans; and lugged a Couple of painful Diffenting Mini-
fters into the Bear-Garden, where I am forry we must
leave them to the Mercy of High-Church Men.
Now, my Chriſtian Friends, you fhall hear a third
Speech, which by his Honefty, Moderation, and
good Senfe, will refreſh you after all the Knavery and
Impudence in the Craftsmen, and all this Sottiſhneſs and
Fury in the People.
And when the Town-Clerk had appeafed the People, he
faid, Ye Men of Ephefus, what Man is there, that know-
eth not how that the City of the Ephefians is a Worshipper
of the great Goddess Diana, and of the Image which fell
down from Jupiter? Seeing then that thefe Things cannot
be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and do nothing raſk-
ly: For ye have brought hither thefe Men, which are nei-
ther Robbers of Churches, nor yet Blafphemers of your God-
defs. Wherefore, if Demetrius, and the Craftſmen which
are with him, have a Matter against any Man, the Law
is open, and there are Deputies: Let them implead one ano-
ther, ver. 35, 36, 37, 38.
This is the Speech of a Layman, and a Lawyer !
Think ye not, my Friends, that he was a Low-Church
Man? I wot he was.
Seeing then that thefe Things cannot be spoken against.
Right, Mr. Town-Clerk! their dowdy Image was efta-
bliſhed by Law; and if it had been a Broom-ftick, it
would have had the Prieſts on its Side, and muſt have
LS
been
250
The Craftsmen.
been worſhipped: Where the Carcafe is, there will the
Ravens be gathered together.
Ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rafkly. So they
would, if the Prieſts had let them alone. But the Craftſ-
men had goaded their Sides with the Cry of the Church,
till the poor Reprobates were ſtark mad.
What Man is there, that knoweth not, &c. Why, every
body knew, that Madam Diana's Palace at Ephefus had
more Superftition and Peter-pence paid to it, and confe-
quently had a greater Swarm of Chaplains, than all the
Divinity-Shops of Afia befides. She had Men and Mo-
ney of her Side. What! could not all this fecure her?
No; her Bully-boys were afraid of Jefus Chrift, and
two or three Diffenting Teachers, his Servants.
And the Image which fell down from Jupiter. Fell
down from Jupiter! what great Lyars fame Prieſts are,
my Beloved! They will needs fetch all their Fables, and
filthy Ware, out of Heaven itſelf; and yet who has lefs
Intereft there? Their very Ballads and Raree-fhews are
fathered upon Divine Right. Oh, Sirs, the brazen
Front of fome Men! The Town-Clerk here conforms
himſelf to their Manner of fpeaking: But, take my
Word for it, the Man knew better.
The Image which fell down from Jupiter. As I was
juft now faying, all the Priefts Lumber comes from
God;
and yet they are fcared out of their Wits, left
Men fhould take it from them; as if God could not
defend his own Gifts and Inftitutions. This prepoſterous
Conduct bewrays them. Either they believe not in
God, or know that they belye him: Both Cafes, my
Brethren, are very common. Whosoever feareth the
Lord, need not fear what Man can do unto him.
Mr. Town-Clerk proceeds: For ye have bronght hi-
ther theſe Men, which are neither Robbers of Churches,
nor yet Blafphemers of your Goddess.
Well urged, "If the Men are innocent, why do you
"abuſe them? If they preach falfe Doctrine, why do
ye not confute them? If they come not to your
"Eftabliſhed Church, why do ye not convince them,
"that they ought to come? Or, becauſe you cannot
anfwer them, do ye therefore mob them? It is plain,
that
The Craftsmen.
251
"that the honeft Men have neither ftolen any of
your
"Madam's confecrated Trinkets, nor called herWhore.
Wherefore, if Demetrius, and the Craftſmen which
are with him, have a Matter against any Man, the Law
is open, and there are Deputies: Let them implead one
another.
Better ftill! This is Reafoning now; a Practice
which the Craftſmen do not care for; the Arm of Fleſh
is their beſt Argument, and at that too they are gene-
rally laid in the Dirt. "Gentlemen (fays the Town-
"Člerk) it is evident, that ye diſtruſt your Cauſe, by
66
not truſting the Merits of it to the Law. All exter-
"nal Advantages are for you; ye are in your own
"Town; ye have moft Friends, and moſt Money;
"and let me tell you too, Gentlemen, you have moſt
"Affurance; elfe I ſhould never have found you here
bawling for your Church, and breaking the Law,
"and to your eternal Scandal, befetting with your
"Numbers a few harmleſs Men, whofe only Arms lie
"in the Innocence of their Lives, and in the Force of
"what they ſay. If you are vanquiſhed at theſe Weap-
ons, have the Honefty to own it, or for Shame be
"filent. If thefe Men, Gentlemen, fpeak againſt the
"Law, why puniſh ye them not by the Law? But if
ye have no Law againſt them, neither have they any
Tranfgreffion."
'
What Anfwer, trow ye, did the Craftsmen, or the
Calves, the Multitude, make to this? Why, verily, fuch
an Anſwer, I gueſs, as they are wont to make to us eve-
ry Day: I fuppofe they damned him for a Whig, and fo
got drunk, and went home.
Oh, my Friends, the deplorable Condition of Men
that are out of Chrift! And fuch are they who take their
Religion from the Craftsmen. The Worshippers of Dia-
na would have been as outrageous for one of her Beagles,
had the Craftſmen told them, that the Beagle came down
from Jupiter. My Brethren, let us cleave to our Bibles ;
yea, I fay unto you, let us cleave to our Bibles.
III. I come now to my third and laft general Head,
namely, to end my Difcourfe with a fhort Word of Ap-
plication; having, as I went along, anticipated myſelf,
and made feveral Obfervations which would elfe have
arifen patly here.
L 6
The
252
The Craftsmen.
The great Inference I fhall make is, that Craftsmen, os
High-Church Men, are at Odds with Confcience and
Truth, and afraid of them. And, indeed, to do them
Juſtice, though in relation to God and Religion, there is
no believing what they fay; yet, whenever they reaſon
from their own Intereſts, they reaſon well: By this Craft
we have our Wealth. As to their Flourish about Diana,
and her High-Church, it has not, in point of Argument,
common Senfe in it. All they affert is, that all Afia
worshipped her; as if, becauſe Diana was then upper-
moft, therefore Jefus Chrift ought to have been kept un-
dermoft: They could not ſtand Paul's Logic; he appeal-
ed to Facts, he appealed to Reaſon, he appealed to Con-
fcience.
They therefore (that is, Diana's High Priefts, or the
Overseers of her Fopperies, and Fingerers of her Gain)
form a Defign to opprefs a Man whom they could not
anſwer. There was no bearing it, that Men fhould be
conducted in their Religion by inward Conviction, and
the Grace of God, and not by them, who had no Ad-
vantage from either, for the Support of their Impofitions.
Befide, if all external Trumpery and Grimace in Re-
ligion were certainly ridiculous and vain, as the Chriftian
Religion certainly teaches; if Poftures, Cringes, Shrines,
Mufic, and the like bodily Devotion, were fo far from
fignifying any thing, that they were a certain and perni-
cious Contradiction to the fimple Inftitution of Jeſus,
whofe Will was fulfilled by believing in him, and living
well; then were the Craftſmen like to be but little reve-
renced, and to have but little Cuftom for their Shrines,
and their ſmall Wares. A Prieſt dreſſed up in an antic
Coat, and making Mouths before a dead Image, would
make a merry Figure before the People, instead of an
awful one, as formerly; and in the midst of all their holy
Hubbub and Solemnity, a Chriſtian need but aſk them
one fhort Queſtion, Who required thefe Things at your
Hand? and they were confounded.
What do they therefore in this Cafe? Do they defend
the Church-gear by Reafon, or by Reafon confute Paul?
No: Paul afferted, that that they be no Gods which are
made with Hands; the most felf-evident Truth that ever
was afferted by any Man. They cannot answer it; nor
yet
The Craftsmen.
253
yet will they own themſelves in the Wrong; but they
will puniſh the Apoſtle for being in the Right. Well, in
order to do this, do they go to Law with him? Not that
neither: Paul and his Companions had offended no
Law: They were peaceable Men, they were loyal Sub-
jects, and good Livers: They were Contenders for Vir-
tue and Piety; and they had not uttered a Syllable a-
gainſt Diana's Idol, but what refulted from the eternal
Truths which they delivered.
What Courſe then do the Craftſmen take with them?
Why, a very extraordinary one in itſelf, but very com-
mon with them; even the Courfe of unprecedented
Power and Oppreffion. They were chargeable with no
legal Crime: All their Offence was, that they enraged
the Craftsmen, by opening the Goſpel Day-light upon
the dark Minds of the miſled Multitude. They there-
fore fhew their Rage, and have the innocent Men ſeized,
and deprived of their Liberty, without the Shadow of
any legal Proceſs againſt them. Nay, it does not appear,
that they had found a Name for the Crime that they al-
ledged; but the Men were confined at Random, and
probably put to great Charges.
This fhews their Spirit; and that priestly Rage will be
gratified over the Belly of Truth, of Innocence, of Hu-
manity, of Law, and of Religion itſelf. It cannot brook
the leaft good Office done to human Kind; all its Abfur-
dities are facred; and yet nothing is facred enough to
mollify or reſtrain it, ever unforgiving, ever gnafhing
its Teeth. Truth will perpetually be its Foe, and there-
fore it will perpetually be in a Flame.
And this fhews too the Amiableneſs of an oppofite
Spirit; I mean, the amiable Spirit of the Goſpel. Where
did ever our bleffed Saviour, who held all Power in
Heaven and Earth, and could command Legions of An-
gels; where, or when did he, in the midſt of Dangers,
Oppofition, and Abuſes, ever oppreſs or puniſh even his
unbelieving and implacable Enemies? Where did ever
Paul, who had the Power and Affiftance of the Holy
Ghoft, and who had the Power and Afiftance of Mira-
cles; where and when did he ever fhew any Refentinent
to his bittereſt Foes among the Jews, or his moſt idola-
trous Gainfayers among the Gentiles?
And
254
The Craftſmen.
And what Account is to be given for this diametrical
Oppoſition between thefe two Spirits; I mean the Spirit
of the Gospel, and the Spirit of High Priefts? Why,
none but this, that Chrift and his Apoftles fought no
Empire but over Wickedness and Error, by the fole
Means of Grace, Gentlenefs, and Perfuafion; and they
who have oppofite Ends to ferve, muft bring them about
by Delufion, Violence, and Force, This, I will main-
tain, is a certain Criterion to mark out Truth and Falf-
hood, and true and falfe Teachers: And I defy all the
Priefts upon Earth to fhew, that the internal Religion of
Jefus wants, for its Stay, or its Advancement, the ex-
ternal Influence of worldly Power. It was always pureft,
and flouriſhed moit, when all human Power was againſt
it. Slaves and Hypocrites may be made by it; but Re-
ligion rejoices in Liberty and Sincerity.
When Men are angry in Defence of their Opinions,
and opprefs for their Sake, let them not belye Chrift,
and fay, it is for him; but let their Paffions be made to
anſwer for what nothing but their Paffions can produce.
Why muſt Ambition, Avarice, and Revenge, be father-
ed upon Religion, which abhors them all? Why muft
Bitterneſs and Cruelty be laid at the Door of the Fa-
ther of Mercies? Pudet hæc opprobria nobis, &c.
We cannot bear fuch Violence offered to our Reaſon,
and our Language, as any longer to hear Things called
by wrong and unnatural Names, or to fee barbarous
and impious Actions varniſhed over with holy Colours,
and Godly Pretences. Its gets the better of our Pati-
ence, and is an Affront to our Religion. We cannot
find Christ in the Actions of Belial; nor can we ſee the
holy Man in the Oppreffor. They that would refemble
Fefus Chrift, muft do as he did, and not do what he ne-
ver did; and they who will in any Cafe follow the re-
ligious Meaſures taken here by Idolaters of Diana, in
the Cafe of Paul, muft forego their Title to Chriſtianity,
and argue as thefe Idolaters did, By this Craft we have
our Wealth: And then the Religion of the New Teſta-
ment will not be profaned in their Quarrel.
But why feize Paul, or any body that belonged to
him? Is one Man fuch a Terror to many, that he muſt
be punished before it appears that he deferved any
Puniſhment
The Craftsmen.
255
Puniſhment at all, and before he is heard? Or, is it dan-
gerous to hear him? And are they afraid of his Defence
in a legal Trial, as much as of his Preaching, and of his
Reasoning?
It is plain, that downright Oppreffion, that is, Power
without Law, was the whole Scope of their Proceedings,
and Revenge their only Motive. It is plain, that Paul
was not running away: His whole Bufinefs was to pub-
lifh Truth; he was at Ephefus on Purpofe; he did it
every Day; he preached in Public; he taught in their
Synagogues, he difputed in their Schools: And he did
all this fo publicly and fo effectually, that the Arch-
Craftſman charges him with having perfuaded and turned
away much People. Ay, that griped; his Reaſoning pre-
vailed, and the Craft was in Danger.
Let us now, my Beloved, mark the very different Si-
tuation of Paul and his Adverfaries; they were in Pof-
feffion of an eftablished Church, and of all its Revenues,
and of the Superftition of the People, who run mad for
the Church at the Pleaſure of the Prieft. The Law, no
doubt, was partial to them, being made by Men of their
own Religion; and the Judges and Magiftrates were all
of the fame. The People were of Opinion, that their
Church was of divine Inſtitution, and that Heaven was
on their Side. The Philoſophers, and all they who go-
verned their Schools, and had the Education of Youth,
were of that Church, being every one Heathens, except
perhaps a few, who judged for themfelves, and could
diftinguish Natural Religion, inftituted by God, from
the abfurd Medley of Rituals, invented by the Prieſts.
The Chriſtian Religion was as yet but in its Infancy. In
fhort, the Craftſmen governed all Things; Earth was in
their Poffeffion, and Heaven they pretended was their
Champion.
Here are Securities and Advantages enough to put
Truth out of Countenance, had Truth been amongſt
them. In reality, ſhe wants not fo many: But Falſhood
can never have enough. The Craftſmen knew this, and
fhewed that they did fo, by their outragious Behaviour.
Let us now view Paul, and fee what terrible Arms he
bears, that are ſo frightful to the Craftsmen; he was a
Stranger, he was a Diffenter; he had no Equipage to
·
dazzle
{
256
The Craftsmen.
dazzle People's Eyes; no pompous Garments to win
their Reverence, nor Wealth to bribe their Affections;
he fought no Popularity, by indulging Men in their
Vices, or encouraging them in their Errors. In short,
all the numerous Advantages of his Adverfaries, the
Prieſts, were ſo many Obftacles and Difadvantages to
him, the Apoſtle. To conclude, he had only Truth on
his Side; which rendered him an Over-match for all
the Prieſts then in the World. All the Privilege, all the
Advantage, which he defired, was a fair Hearing. This,
it feems, he had obtained of the Town; and it had its
Effect. Here was his Crime, and here began the prieſt-
ly Fury, the fierceft, the most brutish of all others.
Shameleſs Men! Was it not enough, that Reaſon and
Religion were both againſt you; and that you would
neither be Profelytes to them yourſelves, nor fuffer, with
your Wills, that others fhould; but muft you likewife
be proclaiming their invincible Power, and your own
Imbecility and Nakedneſs, by virulently uſing direct,
undiſguiſed Force, to flop their Mouths? What Impu-
dence! What Folly!
What! you that boafted your Conformity to the Law,
and your Eſtabliſhment by the Law! that you were the
Poffeffors of all Scholarship! that were Proprietors of
the Arts and Sciences, and of the great Endowments
given for their Support! you that inftructed the Young
and the Old, and controuled the Confciences of both!
you that were the facred Adminiſtrators of Religion!
you that ſhut and opened Heaven and Hell! you that
were the Privy-Counsellors of the Gods! In the Name
of Amazement what could undermine you; what could
annoy you? Or, if you are not hurt yourſelves, why do
you oppreſs others? By this Method you do but fhew
your cloven Feet. Jefus we know, and Paul we know ;,
but who are ye?
G.
A
( 257 )
j
A Serious Expoftulation with the Right Re-
verend the Lord Biſhop of London, on
his Letter to the Clergy and People of
London and Weftminſter.
Thofe eighteen, upon whom the Tower of Siloam fell and
flew them, think ye that they were Sinners above all
Men that dwelt in Jerufalem? Luke xiii. 4.
By THOMAS GORDON, Efq;
My LORD,
Τ'
Anno 1750.
HE two fucceffive Shocks of an Earthquake,
which have lately alarmed the Cities of London
and Westminster, and your Lordship's Letter on
the Occafion to the Clergy, and Inhabitants of thoſe
Cities, have led me to fearch into Hiftory for a memo-
rable Inftance of greater Calamities, and of the Conduct
obferved in the Midft of real Defolation by a celebrated
fpiritual Paftor, who afterwards attained to the Epifco-
pal Dignity. In that melancholy Era, while the Na-
tion, fingle, and unallied, was ftruggling with three
great Powers confederated against her, when a Pestilence
had exhauſted the City of London in 1665, and a Fire in
the ſubſequent Year had laid thirteen thoufand of its
Buildings in Aſhes ; that very City, whofe Zeal in pro-
moting, but a few Years before, a Cauſe the moſtˇob-
noxious to the Church, had merited the whole Refent-
ment of the Clergy, could yet draw from the juſtly ad-
mired Dr. Sprat, the following generous, and manly
Confolation, together with the moſt laboured Applauſe,
which his Eloquence could furnish, in Honour of the
Conftancy, Magnanimity, and Vigour, exerted by the
Inhabitants, both in fupporting, and repairing the heavy
and general Calamity.
• The
258
A ferious Expoftulation
<
<
The Plague was indeed an irreparable Damage to the
• whole Kingdom; but that which chiefly added to the
Mifery, was the Time wherein it happened. For what
could be a more deplorable Accident, than that ſo ma-
ny brave Men fhould be cut off by the Arrow that fiies
• in the Dark, when our Country was ingaged in a fo-
reign War, and when their Lives might have been ho-
nourably ventured on a glorious Theatre in its De-
• fence? And we had ſcarce recovered this firſi Misfor-
tune, when we received a ſecond and a deeper Wound;
which cannot be equalled in all Hiſtory, if either we
confider the Obfcurity of its Beginning, the irrefiftable
• Violence of its Progrefs, the Horror of its Appearance,
or the Widenefs of the Ruin it made, in one of the
'moft renowned Cities of the World.
<
<
6
Yet when, on the one Side, I remember what Deſo-
lation theſe Scourges of Mankind have left behind
them; and, on the other, when I reflect on the Mag-
nanimity wherewith the English Nation did fupport the
• Miſchiefs; I find, that I have not more Reaſon to be-
• wail the one, than to admire the other.
C
Upon our Return, after the abating of the Plague,
⚫ what elſe could we expect, but to fee the Streets un-
frequented, the River forfaken, the Fields deformed
⚫ with the Graves of the Dead, and the Terrors of Death
• ftill abiding on the Faces of the Living? But inſtead of
fuch difmal Sights, there appeared almoſt the fame
Throngs in all public Places, the fame Noife of Bufi-
nefs, the fame Freedom of Converſe, and, with the
• Return of the King, the fame Chearfulneſs returning
on the Minds of the People as before.
• Nor was their Courage lefs, in fuftaining the Second
Calamity, which deſtroyed their Houſes and Eftates.
This the greateſt Lofers indured with fuch undaunted
• Firmneſs of Mind, that their Example may incline us
to believe, that not only the best natural, but the best
moral Philofophy too, may be learned from the Shops
of Mechanics. It was, indeed, an admirable Thing
to behold, with what Conftancy the meaneft Artificers
faw all the Labours of their Lives, and the Support of
their Families, devoured in an Inftant. The Affliction,
it is true, was widely fpread over the whole Nation;
6
every
with the Bishop of London.
259
6
<
6
$
<
every Place was filled with Signs of Pity and Commi-
feration; but thoſe who had fuffered moſt, ſeemed the
leaft affected with the Lofs: No unmanly Bewailings
were heard in the few Streets that were preferved;
they beheld the Aſhes of their Houfes, and Gates, and
Temples, without the leaft Expreffion of Pufillanimity.
If Philofophers had done this, it had well become their
• Profeffion of Wiſdom; if Gentlemen, the Nobleneſs
• of their Breeding and Blood would have required it :
But that fuch Greatnefs of Heart fhould be found
amongſt the poor Artifans, and the obfcure Multitude,
is no doubt one of the moſt honourable Events that
ever happened. Yet ftill there is one Circumftance be-
hind, which may raiſe our Wonder higher; and that
is, that amidſt fuch horrible Ruins, they ftill proſecuted
the War with the fame Vigour and Courage, against
'three of the moſt powerful States of all Europe. What
• Records of Time, or Memory of paft Ages, can fhew
us a greater Teſtimony of an invincible and heroic Ge-
'nius than this, of which I now ſpeak? That the Sound
of the Heralds proclaiming new Wars fhould be plea-
fant to the People, when the fad Voice of the Bellman
was ſcarce yet gone out of their Ears? That the In-
<creaſe of their Adverfaries Confederates, and of their
own Calamities, ſhould be ſo far from affrighting them,
'that they rather feemed to receive from thence a new
Vigour and Refolution? and that they ſhould ſtill be.
eager upon Victories and Triumphs, when they were
thought almoft quite exhaufted, by fo great Deftruc-
tions?' Hift. of the Royal Society, p. 120.
6
..
<
<
C
The fatal Alteration both in the Temper of the People,
and in the Conduct of their fpiritual Guides under the
bare Apprehenfion of Calamity, may be evidently ſeen
by the late fhameful Deſertion of London and Westminßer,
and by your Lordship's Letter. Happy had it been for
the Reputation of the People and Paftor, if another Sprat
had appeared among us at this Time of our apprehended
Misfortunes.
Far from awakening the fuperftitious Fears of the Mul-
titude, or perverting their Fortitude and Vigour to Hu-
miliation and Defpair, as he then took the manly Part of
fupporting their Spirit by Confolation and Praife, fo
now
260
A ſerious Expoftulation
now would he undoubtedly have employed his masterly
Pen in adminiftring Comfort to a People already too
much terrified with an Appearance, neither uncommon,
nor dangerous, in this Country. He would not have
fnatched an Occafion, like this, to deject the Courage,
to blind the Reaſon, and inhance the Terrors of his
Countrymen, by conftruing a meer Accident of Nature
into a Judgment from Heaven, well knowing, that this
has been one of the primary Arts practifed by Prieftly-
pride, and endured by Lay-bigotry in the neighbouring
Nations, till the Liberty and Underſtanding of Europe,
for the greateſt Part, have been ſubjected to an implicit
and fervile Dependence on the moſt cruel, the moſt info-
lent and ignorant Clergy. He would not have offered
Arguments, which ſhould have given co-operating Aid
to the Dreams of a poor lunatic Soldier, nor, in order to
diftinguish this great Metropolis as the fingle Mark of
God's Anger, have rafhly hazarded his principal Argu-
ment on the Locality of the Earthquake, nor, in Confe-
quence of the fame Appearances in different, and more
diftant Parts of the Kingdom, have found himſelf ex-
poſed to the moft mortifying Confufion, without the
Poffibility of Shelter or Defence. He would have pro-
tected us againſt the Terrors in our own Pofoms, againſt
the Viſions of Enthufiafts, and againſt the uncharitable
Denunciation of Almighty Vengeance on two Cities,
one of which, at leaſt, may ſtand up and challenge all
others to produce equal Examples of Vigilance, Difcre-
tion, and Impartiality, in the conftant Adminiftration of
Juſtice, tempered with Humanity and Mercy. He
would have fpared us the Difgrace of adding one more
Inſtance of national Pufillanimity to that ſhameful Panic
in the late Rebellion; two Marks of Difhonour, which
together ſerve but too plainly to demonftrate, that all
that Conftancy and Magnanimity, which a Century paſt
were the juſt Subjects of his Praiſe, have now no longer
an Exiſtence in this Country. He would have convinced
our Underſtanding, that there is no Retreat from that
fupreme Hand, which is felt every Moment of Life in
the various Operations of Nature; that to fearch and
diſcover her moft hidden Laws is the laudable Object of
our Enquiry, and the fublimeft Exertion of thofe Lights
imparted
禽
​with the Bishop of London.
261
imparted to us by our Creator; that already thefe fuc-
ceſsful Diſcoveries have, in many Circumftances re-
moved the Fears, and erafed the Superftition of Man-
kind; that hence, if left to the Guidance of Reaſon,
we are led to believe, that the moſt infcrutable Appear-
ances of Nature, however formidable and deſtructive,
are but the Effects of natural Caufes, a Satisfaction to
all, whether fearing, or feeling fuch Difafters, that they
are not driven from the Earth by the diſtinguiſhed
Wrath of their Maker, to become immediate Partakers
of eternal Vengeance; herein Philofophy inforcing, and
uniting with the moſt comfortable Doctrine of Chrift,
who declares for the Quiet of our Minds under fuch ge-
neral and unavoidable Misfortunes, that neither thoſe
Galileans, whom the cruel Hand of a Tyrant was per-
mitted to deſtroy, nor thoſe whom a falling Tower over-
whelmed with its Ruins, were more finful than other
Men.
But if, amid real or apprehended Danger, the indivi-
dual Sinner will take Warning for himſelf, and call his
own Heart to a ſtrict Account; if thofe, whom the Ex-
cefs of Riot and Debauch have carried to Violence and
Outrage, will make due Compenfation to their infulted
Neighbour; if thoſe who have built their Fortunes on
Extortion and Rapine, will make a due Retribution to
the Injured; if thoſe who are grown grey in one con-
tinued Courſe of Venality and Corruption, and have fold
their Confciences and their Country to fatiate the Thirſt
of Wealth and Power, will employ their ſcanty Remains
of Time in repairing the Ruins which their own Proſti-
tution hath made, then may fuch Sinners be allowed to
make a laudable Uſe of the dreadful Phænomena in Na-
ture. But I leave to your Lordſhip the Perufal of the
following Extract from Dr. Sprat, where he moft amply
delivers his Senſe of thofe, who impute thefe public Ca-
lamities to the Sins of others, as well as his Opinion in
favour of thoſe whom you ftile little Philofophers.
Thus far, I truft, it will be confefled, that Experi-
ments are unblameable. But yet there is much more
behind, of which many pious Men are wont to expreſs
• their Jealouſy. For though they fhall be brought
to allow, that all theſe Doctrines which I have named,
⚫ may
2 6 2
A ferious Expoftulation
may
ſeem to remain fafe amidft the Studies of Natural
Things; yet they ftill whiſper, that they may chance,
by Degrees, to make the Sincerity of Devotion appear
ridiculous, and to bring the Strictnefs of holy Life out
of Faſhion: And that fo they will filently, and by
• Piece-meals, demoliſh Religion, which they dare not
openly encounter. I will therefore next endeavour
the Removal of thefe Scruples, though I fufficiently.
• underſtand that it is a very difficult Work, to confute
fuch popular and plaufible Errors, which have the Pre-
tence of the Caufe of God to confrm them.
،
The chief Subftance of real and fober Piety is con-
tained in the devout Obfervation of all thofe Ways,
whereby God has been pleafed to manifeft his Will,
and in a right Separation of our Minds from the Lufts
• and Defires of the World. The moſt remarkable
Means, whereby he has made known his Pleaſure, are
• thoſe which have been fixed and revealed in his Word,
or elfe the extraordinary Signs of his Authority and
• Command.
'
<
• Concerning our Acknowledgment of his revealed
Will in the Scripture, I have already ſpoken. And
our Obedience to the latter, confifts chiefly of two
Kinds; an humble Submiffion to divine Prophecies,
• and a careful Obfervance of all remarkable Providences.
In both which experimental Philofophy may well be
juftified. It may perhaps correct fome Excelles which
are incident to them: But it declares no Enmity againſt
the Things themſelves.
The Sum of the whole Doctrine of Prophecies is this,
that the great Creator of the World has the Prerogative
of foreſeeing, appointing, and predicting all future
Events That he has often, in former Ages, made
• uſe of this Power, by the Viſions and Raptures of holy
Men infpired from above; that his infinite Wiſdom
has ftill the like Ability to do the fame; that whenever
fuch Predictions are accompanied with undeniable
• Teſtimonies of their being fent from Heaven, they
ought to be preferred before all human Laws.
€
The true Foundation of divine Prodigies, is much of
the fame Nature with the other: It relies on theſe Sup·
pofitions, that all the Creatures are fubject to God's
'Word,
with the Bishop of London.
263
Word, by which they were made; that he can alter
• their Courſes, exalt or deſtroy their Natures, and move
them to different Ends from their own, according to
his Pleaſure; that this he has often done heretofore;
that ftill his Arm is not weakened, nor the fame Om-
nipotence diminished; that ftill he may change the
• wonted Law of the Creation, and difpofe of the Beings
and Motions of all Things without Controul; and that
when this is done, it is with a peculiar Deſign of pu-
niſhing, or rewarding, or forewarning Mankind.
C
6
C
<
To the Belief and Affertion of thefe Doctrines, we
are obliged by the very End of Religion itſelf. But
yet their counterfeit Colours have feduced many virtu-
ous Minds into manifold Miſchiefs.
The Miſtakes about Prophecies may arife, either
from our abufing of the old, or a vain fetting-up of
6 new. We err in the firft, when we tranflate the an-
cient Prophecies from thofe Times and Countries,
which they did properly regard, to others which they
• do not concern. And we offend in the fecond, when
we admit of new prophetical Spirits in this Age, with-
out the uncontroulable Tokens of heavenly Autho-
rity.
We are guilty of falfe Interpretations of Providences
• and Wonders, when we either make thofe to be Mi-
racles that are none, or when we put a falfe Senfe on
thoſe that are real; when we make general Events to
have a private Afpect, or particular Accidents to have
• fome univerfal Signification. Though both thefe may
feem at firft to have the strictest Appearance of Religion,
yet they are the greateſt Ufurpations on the Secrets of
the Almighty, and unpardonable Prefumptions on his
high Prerogatives of Puniſhment and Reward.
C
C
And now, if a moderating of thefe Extravagancies
• muſt be eſteemed Prophaneneſs, I profefs I cannot ab-
folve the experimental Philofopher. It must be grant-
ed, that he will be very fcrupulous in believing all Man-
ner of Commentaries on prophetical Viſions, in giving
Liberty to new Predictions, and in affigning the Cauſes,
and marking out the Paths of God's Judgments amongſt
his Creatures.
'He
264
A ferious Expoftulation
•
•
He cannot fuddenly conclude all extraordinary
• Events to be the immediate Finger of God, becauſe he
familiarly beholds the inward Workings of Things;
and thence perceives that many Effects, which uſe to
affright the Ignorant, are brought forth by the com-
mon Inftruments of Nature. He cannot be fuddenly
inclined to paſs Cenfure on Men's eternal Condition,
from any temporal Judgments that may befal them;
• becauſe his long Converſe with all Matters, Times and
• Places, has taught him the Truth of what the Scripture
fays, that all Things happen alike to all. He cannot
blindly confent to all Imaginations of devout Men,
about future Contingencies; feeing he is fo rigid in
examining all particular Matters of Fact: He cannot
be forward to affent to fpiritual Raptures and Revela-
tions, becauſe he is truly acquainted with the Tempers
• of Men's Bodies, the Compofition of their Blood, and
the Power of Fancy; and fo better underſtands the Dif
•ference between Diſeaſes and Infpirations.
<
<
C
But in all this he commits nothing that is irreligious.
It is true, to deny God has heretofore warned the
• World of what was to come, is to contradict the very
• Godhead itfelf; but to reject the Senfe which any pri-
vate Man fhall faften to it, is not to difdain the Word
of God, but the Opinions of Men like ourſelves. To
declare againſt the Poffibility that new Prophets may
be fent from Heaven, is to infinuate that the fame in-
finite Wiſdom, which once fhewed itſelf that Way, is
now at an end. But to flight all Pretenders, that come
without the Help of Miracles, is not a Contempt of
the Spirit, but a juft Circumfpection, that the Reafon
• of Men be not over-reached. To deny that God di-
rects the Courſe of human Things, is Stupidity; but
to hearken to every Prodigy that Men frame againſt
their Enemies, or for themſelves, is not to reverence
the Power of God, but to make that ſerve the Paffions,
and Intereſts, and Revenges of Men.
It is a dangerous Miftake, into which many good
Men fall, that we neglect the Dominion of God over
the World, if we do not diſcover, in every Turn of
human Actions, many fupernatural Providences and
miraculous Events. Whereas it is enough for the Ho-
nour
with the Bishop of London.
265
nour of his Government, that he guides the whole
• Creation in its wonted Courfe of Caufes and Effects:
• As it makes as much for the Reputation of a Prince's
Wiſdom, that he can rule his Subjects peaceably, by
•his known and ſtanding Laws, as that he is often forced
to make ufe of extraordinary Juftice to punifh, or re-.
• ward.
C
6
6
4
Let us then imagine our Philofopher to have all
• Slowneſs of Belief, and Rigour of Trial, which by
fome is mifcalled a Blindneſs of Mind and Hardneſs of
• Heart. Let us fuppofe that he is moft unwilling to
grant that any thing exceeds the Force of Nature, but
where a full Evidence convinces him. Let it be allow.
ed, that he is always alarmed, and ready on his Guard,
at the Noife of any miraculous Event, left his Judg-
ment ſhould be furprized by the Difguiles of Faith.
Eut does he by this diminish the Authority of ancient
Miracles? Or does he not rather confirm them the
more, by confining their Number, and taking Care
that every Falfhood ſhould not mingle with them? Can
he by this undermine Chriſtianity, which does not now
ftand in need of ſuch extraordinary Teftimonies from
Heaven? Or do they not rather indanger it, who ftill
venture all its Truths on fo hazardous a Chance? Who
require a Continuance of Signs and Wonders, as if the
Works of our Saviour and his Apoſtles had not been
fufficient: Who ought to be eiteemed the most carnally
minded, the Enthufiaft, that pollutes his Religion with
his own Paffions, or the Experimenter, that will not
• uſe it to flatter and obey his own Defires, but to ſub-
due them? Who is to be thought the greatest Enemy
of the Gospel, he that loads Men's Faiths by fo many
improbable Things, as will go near to make the Rea
lity itſelf fufpected, or he that only admits a few Ar-
guments to confirm the Evangelical Doctrines, but then
chooſes thoſe that are unquestionable? It cannot be an
ungodly Purpoſe to ſtrive to aboliſh all holy Cheats,
' which are of fatal Confequence, both to the Deceivers
and thofe that are deceived: To the Deceivers, becauſe
they muſt needs be Hypocrites, having the Artifice in
their keeping: To the Deceived, becauſe if their Eyes
' fhall be ever opened, and they chance to find, that
VOL. II.
(
C
M
⚫ they
266
A ferious Expoftulation
A
<
they have been deluded in any one Thing, they will
C be apt not only to reject that, but even to defpife the
very Truths themfelves, which they had before been
taught by thofe Deluders.
6
It were indeed to be confeffed, that this Severity of
Cenfure on religious Things, were to be condemned
⚫ in Experimenters, if while they deny any Wonders,
that are falfely attributed to the true God, they ſhould
approve thofe of Idols or falfe Deities. But that is not
⚫ objected against them. They make no Compariſon
• between his Power, and the Works of any others, but
only between the feveral Ways of his own manifefting
himfelf. Thus if they leffen one Heap, yet they ſtill
increaſe the other: In the main they diminiſh nothing
of his Right. If they take from the Prodigies, they
add to the ordinary Works of the fame Author.
6
And
thofe ordinary Works themfelves, they do almoft raiſe
to the Height of Wonders, by the exact Difcovery
• which they make of their Excellencies: While the En-
thufiaft goes near to bring down the Price of the true
⚫ and primitive Miracles, by fuch a vaſt, and ſuch a ne-
gligent augmenting of their Number.
C
6
A
<
By this I hope it appears, that this inquiring, this
fcrupulous, this incredulous Temper is not the Dif
grace, but the Honour of Experiments. And there-
•fore I will declare them to be the moſt ſeaſonable Stu-
dy, for the prefent Temper of our Nation. This wild
amufing Men's Minds with Prodigies, and Conceits of
• Providences, has been one of the most confiderable
"Cauſes of thofe fpiritual Diſtractions of which our
Country has long been the Theatre. This is a Vanity,
to which the English feem to have been always fubject
above others. There is fcarce any modern Hiftorian,
that relates our foreign Wars, but he has this Objection
against the Difpofition of our Countrymen, that they
⚫uled to order their Affairs of the greateft Importance,
according to fome obfcure Omens or Predictions, that
paffed about amongst them, on little or no Foundations.
And at this Time, efpecially this laft Year, this gloomy
and ill-boding Humour has prevailed. So that it is
now the fittest Seafon for Experiments to arife, to
'teach us a Wiſdom which fprings from the Depths of
Knowledge,
<
<
<
with the Bishop of London:
267
* Knowledge, to fhake off the Shadows, and to ſcatter
the Mifts which fill the Minds of Men with a vain
• Confternation. This is a Work well becoming the
moft Chriftian Profeffion. For the most apparent Ef-
•fect which attended the Paffion of Chrift, was the put-
ting of an eternal Silence on all the falfe Oracles, and
diffembled Infpirations of ancient Times.
6
There have been, it is true, fome peculiar Occafions
wherein God was pleaſed to convince the World from
• Heaven in a vifible Manner. But if we confider the
Arguments that uſed to move him to it, we may con-
<clude that fuch wonderful Signs are not often now to
• be expected.
5
C
C
.
He has either done it in Times of grofs Ignorance,
or in the Beginning of a new Way of Religion, or for
the peculiar Puniſhment of fome prevailing Wicked-
nefs Upon the Account of the two firft, we have no
Reafon to expect Wonders in this Age; becauſe all
Sorts of Knowledge do fo much abound, and becaufe
we have a Religion already eſtabliſhed, againſt which
the Gates of Hell fhall never prevail.
The third Time has been, when God has taken to
himſelf the exemplary Punishment of fome heinous
Sin. From this, indeed, our Age is no more exempted,
than it is free from thote Vices that are wont to provoke
the Divine Vengeance. This then we confefs, that
even at this preſent God may declare himſelf againſt
the Iniquities of Men, by the fupernatural Tokens of
his Difpleasure: But yet the Interpretation of fuch
• Puniſhments ought to be handled with the greateſt Ten-
derneſs. For as it is faid of the laft and general Judg-
ment, that no Man knows the Time when it shall hap-
pen; fo we may alfo affirm of theſe particular Judg-
ments, that there is no Man who underftands the Cir-
• cumftances, or Occafions of their Infliction, but they
are one of the deepeſt Parts of God's unfearchable
Councils.
<
.
مرگم
• Whenever therefore a heavy Calamity falls from
• Heaven on our Nation, an univerfal Repentance is re-
quired; but all particular Applications of private Men,
except to their own Hearts, is to be forborn. Every
• Man muft bewail his own Tranfgreffions, which have
increaſed
.
M 2
268
A ferious Expoftulation
[
<
increaſed the public Mifery. But he muft not be too
hafty in affigning the Caufes of Plagues, or Fires, or
Inundations, to the Sins of other Men. Whoever
• thinks that Way to repent, by condemning the Mif-
carriages of thofe Parties that differ from his own, and
by reproving them as the Authors of fuch Mischiefs,
he is grofly miſtaken: For that is not to repent, but
to make a Satire: That is not an Act of Humiliation,
but the greateft fpiritual Pride.'
6
But you, my Lord, come in all Humility, not as our
Accufer, but as our faithful Servant and Monitor in Jeſus
Chriſt, and tell us, that your Heart's Defire and Prayer
to God is for us, that we may be faved. Whom do you
mean to fave, my good Lord? Thofe who frequent
Plays, Operas, Mufic, Dancings, Gardens, Cock-fight-
ing and Prize-fighting? And why not thoſe who frequent
Maſquerades, and Venetian Balls? Surely your Lordship
cannot be a Stranger to the frequent legal Prefentments,
which, founded on the declared Senfe of all fober Men,
have ftigmatized thefe diffolute Affemblies with the fe-
vereſt public Cenfure; nor can you be ignorant, that
Venetian Balls, in their own native Soil, exhibit or occa-
fion the most various Scenes of exaggerated Lewdnefs,
which that moſt lewd, and effeminate of all Regions,
Italy, can produce? Or did you, in the Innocence of
your Heart, take it for granted, that our Imitations of
thefe Balls were fo purified by the Prefence of the Great-
eft, as to make you fear the Cenfure of Uncharitable-
nefs, at least of Indelicacy, had they been included in
your black Catalogue of finful Recreations? Who knows,
my Lord, that your courtly Omiffion of this new im-
ported Diverfion has not been the Means of fanctifying
its further Ufe, for the very next Day after the expected
Earthquake I obferved one of theſe Venetian Balls adver-
tifed in the public Papers, as the firſt Place for our af-
frighted Countrymen to affemble and rejoice in, after
the Diffipation of their Fears.
Yet, contrary to my firſt Deſign, I trifle with a feri-
ous Subject: I feel for the Vices of this Nation as much
as your Lordſhip, not principally for thofe Vices which
you enumerate; they merit but a ſmall Degree of Ani-
madverfion and Concern, when compared with thofe
which
Ar
with the Bishop of London.
269.
which ſhall now become the Subject of a more impartial
and unfpairing Detail than yours; Enormities which
you, though profeffing to unfold the Sins of a whole
People, in the awful Name of Chrift Jefus, have thought
proper to paſs over in Silence, and conceal.
That all-beholding Eye, which controuls the Univerſe,
pierces through all Difguifes, and perceives, that the
Diffufion of Vice through this Nation is derived from
one Source, the Corruption of the Great; which, pro-
moted by the moſt affiduous Arts, and vindicated by ve-
nal Eloquence, has at length abforbed all Regard for
the Community into the two felfiſh Paffions of Ambition
and Avarice: And, when the most vigorous Effort was
made to purge that Place, which, once cleanfed, would
have transfufed its own Purity through all Orders and
Degrees of Men, did not the flagitious Oppofition to that
Attempt, fo effential to the very Being of Virtue, and
folicited by the earneſt and univerfal Cry of the People,
produce an Inftance of fupererogatory Proftitution,
which drew Wonder even from a Minifter? For Want of
this Barrier to confine Corruption, Honefty has been put
up to public Sale, and found its Price to the Cost of a
Nation, twice betrayed; hence a Loofe has been given
to public Profufion, and Rapine, unchecked, and un-
chaftifed; and the illicit Gains have been as profufely
fquandered by Individuals in Luxury, Senfuality, and
every unmanly Gratification; and hence the Means of
obtaining thefe ignominious Emoluments have been pur-
chafed by involving the Nation in Perjury, Treachery,
and a general Diflolution of Manners. Ridicule and
Contempt have been caft on the Laws, and principally
by thoſe whoſe Influence and Power fhould have given
them Countenance and Effect: The recent Prohibition
of Gaming, calculated to extirpate that Offspring of
Avarice, that Parent of Selfifhnefs, that Enemy to Hu-
manity, Compunction, and every focial Virtue, has been
fhamefully baffled by the Shelter afforded to that Enor-
mity under the privileged Roofs of the Great, and met
with a more open and contumelious Difregard from Per-
fonages inveſted with the moſt facred Enfigns of Autho-
rity, in Places of public Refort, among the Gay, the
Giddy, and the Young, where the native Allurements
M 3
of
270
A ferious Expoftulation
of Vice have long been too prevalent to want Aid and
Encouragement from fuch venerable and powerful Auxi-
liaries The flagrant Example of thofe in high Station.
has neceffarily extended its pernicious Effects to the low-
eft; then who has moft Right to complain, either to
God, or Man, a People abandoned by their Superiors to
Corruption, or thofe who have encouraged the Example
of Profligacy, to complain of the People?
Severity and Decency of Manners in high Life would
command a fimilar Behaviour in the Multitude; a ftrict
Execution of the Laws would come in Aid; fince the
virtuous Great muſt know, that the due Exertion of the
legal Power is a principal Part of their Duty: Idleneſs,
Debauchery, and wanton Recreations would not then
have a Being among us to become the Objects of Ani-
madverfions and Cenfure, which leaving the Fountain-
head of Vice untouched, and attempting the impracti
cable Taſk of reſtraining the Torrent at a Diſtance from
its Source, moſt clearly denote the Parade of Reforma-
tion without the Reality, or even the Intention.
You conclude with recommending to the Mafters and
Miftreffes of Families, a religious and moral Education
of their Children; addrefs yourfelf, my Lord, to the Off-
fpring of high Life, as well as to the Children and Ap-
prentices of Tradefmen; nor confine yourfelf to the ge-
neral Phrafes of Religion and Morality, but explain to
the Great, wherein a religious and moral Education
confifts: Teach them to inftil into the Bofoms of their
Youth, Moderation and Oeconomy, Benevolence and
Charity, to love their Neighbour as themſelves, and to
do unto others, as they would they were done unto; and
early to know, and never to forget, that as the Public
protects them in the Poffeffion of fuperior Honours and
Emoluments, fo that Public in Return expects, and me-
rits from their Hands, a fuperior and more difintereſted
Care of its Welfare, than from others.
Let thoſe who are defigned for the holy Cloth, and to
be real Ornaments of the Church, be taught to acquire a
double Portion of Humility; let Hypocrify, Flattery,
and above all, Avarice be rooted from their Hearts;
let them, if engaged in Controverfy, be inftructed to dif
dain the Proſtitution of advancing at one Time Doctrines
and
with the Bishop of London.
271
[
5
[
r
and Opinions, which may be confuted out of their own
Writings at another; let them be taught to fhun, like
Perdition, the Smiles, the Hints, the Whifpers from
Court-Clofets; and, if endowed with the moft diftin-
guished Abilities, and adorned with all the Acquirements
of Learning, let them avoid the School of Politics, as in-
compatible with the Churchman's Sanctity, let all their
Accomplishments, both from Art and Nature, be rendered
fatal, inſtead of uſeful to Society; and when they rife
to that Degree of Dignity, where the Rights, Privileges,
and Liberty of a Nation are intrufted to their Confciences
and Protection, amid their many Advantages let them
remember, that they are made for their Country, and
not their Country for them, to be fold on every Occafion,
which offers a better Preferment.
If thofe of exalted Condition, both in Church and
State, would frame their Conduct on Principles, like
thefe, the Manners of the middling and inferior Claffes
would be free from Blame; but without the Example of
the Great, no Laws, no Warnings, no threatened Judg-
ments can fave a People from Deftruction, I mean from
Slavery.
I am,
My Lord,
?
Your Lordship's
Moft obedient,
And moft bumble Servant,
A CITIZEN of LONDON,
Sealonable
M +
272
Seafonable Advice to the
Seaſonable Advice to the Electors of Great
Britain; with a Word or two relating
to the Influence of the Clergy in Electi-
ons.
By JOHN TRENCHARD, Efq;
Anno 1722.
I'll thunder in their Ears their Country's Caufe,
And try to rouse up all that's Roman in 'em.
Mr. Addifon's CATO.
GENTLEMEN,
Y
OU are now proceeding to a new Election, and
what may depend upon it, God only knows! it
behoves therefore every true Briton, to confider
well with himſelf, and not to be be over-hafty in giving
his Vote, but to weigh Matters thoroughly and impar-
tially, fince we cannot tell what may be the Confequen-
ces of this great Affair.
You will pardon me, therefore, my Countrymen, if
I have the Prefumption to direct you in this Juncture,
when I tell you that it is out of the Love I owe to my
dear Country; which I conceive I cannot better exprefs
at prefent, than in giving fome feaſonable Advice to
thofe who have it in their Power to make us happy and
glorious.
And though I would not be thought to know more
than others, yet give me Leave to fay, that what I
have here fet down are indifputable Points. Don't
wonder then, if I have not entered into fmaller Mat-
ters, or Things of lefs Confequence, when thoſe of a
greater and higher Nature call for your Confideration +
and without which, I will be bold to fay, that all other
Qualifications (how good foever) ought to be confidered
as nothing.
I have
Electors of Great Britain.
273
I have avoided to entertain you with falfe and fcan.
dalous Reports (though it is the Faſhion of the preſent
Time to do fo) I have endeavoured to ſpeak the Truth,
and not harangue you with groundlefs Jealoufies and
nonfenfical Obfervations. As therefore a whole King-
dom lies at Stake, as the Honour of your King, the
Happineſs of your Country, and the Security of our
holy Religion are concerned, read and confider the fol-
lowing Advices.
In the firit and chief Place, you fhould promote the
Intereſt of thoſe who are true Friends to his Majefty
King George, and the Succeffion, as by Law established,
in his Royal Houſe; as it has been obferved by a very
great Man, That this is the very Life and Soul of thefe
Kingdoms: So you ſhould fix your Eyes on thofe, who
have sherun a particular Regard to the Proteftant Suc-
ceffion, when moft in Danger †. You cannot be too care-
ful in this Point; you will do well to confider who are
the Men that have obstructed the public Affairs, who
you may have Reaſon to ſuſpect of their Loyalty, let
fuch be never thought on but with Difdain; on the
contrary, efpoufe the Caufe of thoſe, whofe Zeal for
the Service of their King, have furmounted all private
Views, and who have facrificed their juft Refentments
to the public Good and Welfare.
The next Thing you are to confider of, is your Re-
ligion and Liberties; you will, therefore, take the
greateſt Pleaſure in voting for thofe, who have been
for ftrengthning the Proteftant Intereft, fince without
this, all other Hopes are vain and fruitless; on this de-
pends your own and Pofterity's Happineſs: O think,
then, with how much Trouble, Anxiety and Lofs of
Blood, our Fore-fathers handed down our Religion and
Liberties! Think what they underwent for our Sakes,
to tranſmit us the Bleffings we now enjoy! For Heaven's
Sake, then, put it not in the Power of any to lay Re-
ftraints on your Confciences; this is that Property
whereby God has given every Man Power to judge for
himſelf; that Perſon, therefore, who would fetter your
M 5
Con-
* Earl Cowper's Speech at the giving Sentence to the Six
Lords.
The King's first Speech to his Parliament,
274
Seafonable Advice to the
Confcience, and lead captive your Reafon (under what-
ever Denomination he may go) is only an Agent of Rome,
and an Emiffary of fome defigning Priefts. Look to it
then, that you fix on thoſe who will guard your Liber-
ties, and not deftroy them. And though fome Men
would now ſeem the only Advocates for your Liberties,
who when they have had it in their Power, have always
endeavoured to fubvert them; let theſe be watched a-
gainſt with the utmoſt Caution, theſe are the Men who
make Mountains of Mole-hills, and would have all
People ufe a magnifying Glafs, as well as themſelves.
But I am afraid there is another Confideration, which
you will expect I fhould offer to you, and which, if
rightly confidered, may be as ufeful at this Time, as
any thing that can be faid; I mean our late Misfortunes in
relation to the wicked Management of the South-Sea
Scheme; though in my own Opinion I cannot think it
fo important as the others which I have offered to you.
You cannot be ignorant how this has been made ufe of
by defigning Men, and how it has mifled many well-
mcaning People; and here, Gentlemen, be not over-
hafty in your Cenfures on this Head. Confider, in the
first Place, that all Men are liable to Miſtakes, that there
may be fuch a Thing in the World as involuntary Er-
ror; that Men may defign very well, and the Confe-
quences be very bad. I would not be here understood,
that I am vindicating any who defigned to plunder us,
or was in the Bottom of that Mystery of Iniquity. No, I
would only fet Matters right: Allowing, therefore, that
two, or three, or more, fhould have been Plunderers,
for God's Sake don't think a whole Community, or Par-
ty is guilty, don't condemn a whole Adminiſtration for
the Sake of a few who have corrupted themſelves;
this is a Way of thinking and acting that becomes ab-
ject Minds and low Spirits, and not that of Britons.
For Shame, therefore, Gentlemen, roufe your wonted
Zeal and Bravery, I don't mean falfe Zeal (for that
carries Men beyond the Bounds of Reafon) but that
Zeal which is commendable in a good Caufe, and fure
the glorious Cauſe of Liberty fhould have this Zeal;
be not led therefore by any Miſtakes, let not defigning
Men guide you to work your own Ruin, and though
·
We
Electors of Great Britain.
275
we were in as bad a Condition as they would reprefent
(which thank God is not our Cafe) yet let us take Care
not to truſt thoſe now, that we have formerly (for very
good Reaſons) oppoſed; for, can we think the Enemies
of our Country are altered, or have they changed their
Sentiments and Cauſe, have they kept themſelves clear
and honeft in a Time of Degeneracy and Infatuation,
or rather, have they not been as deeply concerned in our
Misfortunes as others? In fhort, are they not the Men
that now oppofe the Healing of our Differences? Have
we forgot their known Maxim, That no Government is
worth ferving without Jobs? Why then fhould we truft
fuch, and think thoſe now the only difintereſted Men,
who, when in Power, have been the moſt wicked and
corrupt of any in the World?
But, Gentlemen, confider farther, if thofe Perfons
whom you call Plunderers, will not be your Choice,
be ſure take care that you do not change for thoſe worſt
of Plunderers, even thoſe that would fell, not only their
own, but your Birth-right; theſe Plunderers exceed the
worſt of any others, as far as Heaven exceeds the Earth:
You ought moſt ſeriouſly to confider this, think what it
is that lies at Stake, 'tis your Liberties, and if ever you
put it in the Power of thoſe who are known Enemies
to you, the Curfe will fall on your own Heads as well
as others; and the better to know theſe Enemies of the
common Caufe, think of the Men, who, though they
have taken the Oaths to the King, yet think they owe
him no Duty; who have abjured the Pretender, but not
forgot him; who perhaps never engaged in any Rebel-
lion or Invafion, yet have either in Words, pleafing
Looks, or finally, by an avowed Silence, aided or wifh-
ed well to a Popish Pretender; when the Cauſe of the
King, the Proteftant Religion, and the Liberties of Eng-
land were in Danger. Theſe are the Perfons that when
they have it in their Power, will plunder your Liberties,
and theſe are the Plunderers you ought moft to fear and
defpife. Let thofe, therefore, that would inflave you,
know, that though fome of you may have loft your
Money, yet that you are refolved not to part with your
Senfes, nor to lofe your Liberties; let them know, that
the true British Spirit ftill prevails among you; and by
M 6
the
276
Seafonable Advice to the
the Choice you make, let the World fee, that you have
had a Regard to fuch, who have fignalized themſelves
in Defence of the beſt King, and the beft Cauſe in the
World.
There is one Thing more which I must caution you
against (which, Heaven be praiſed, is not fo needful
now as formerly) that you would take Care not to fol-
low a Multitude to do Evil; by this I mean, that you
would not follow the Clergy, i. e. that you will not be
Prieft-ridden; for however uſeful their Profeffion may
be to our Souls, we find the Generality of them
no great Friends to our Bodies. It may be there-
fore at fome County Elections, you may behold great
Numbers of the facred Cloth, on the Side of what they
call the C-h, for where the Carcaffes are, there
will the Eagles be gathered together. It is my Advice,
Gentlemen, that you would fhun the Side which has
got the Majority of thefe fpiritual Guides with them;
unleſs the Priests fhould, at this Election, turn honeft,
which, not to fay impoffible, is at prefent very impro-
bable. This Hint, therefore, may not be altogether
ufelefs; however, let not the Word Ch, guide you
one Way or other, you know it is a ftale Artifice, and
an old Ecclefiaftical Bite, that has formerly hurried
great Numbers of ignorant People to work their own
Deftruction; let not therefore this fenfeleſs Noiſe of a
Stone Wall, confecrated Bricks, and other holy Lum-
ber, be of any Weight with you in this Affair; remem-
ber that empty Sounds and noify Words are no Argu-
ments; and to follow fuch, is at once to give up your
Senfes and Reafon.
It is highly neceffary that all Places, who fend Re-
prefentatives to Parliament, fhould fix on fuch Perfons,
who either know, or are intereſted in Trade and Com-
merce; and as we depend on Trade for our chief Sup-
port, fo none can be better Judges who is fit to repre-
fent them, than the Inhabitants themſelves; I only re-
commend it to them, that they would chufe fuch Gen-
tlemen who are qualified for fo great a Truft, either to
gain new Advantages for our Trade, or redrefs fuch Grie-
vances which may have obftructed it. I doubt not but
there may be found out enough of that Character I have
been
Electors of Great Britain.
277
been pleading for; I infift on the Qualifications I have
mentioned, as abfolutely neceffary, and without which I
fhall ever defpair of feeing Truth and Juftice prevail :
But if we ſhould be fo happy as to know our true In-
tereft, and diftinguish between Light and Darkneſs,
what glorious Effects may we not expect from fo wiſhed-
for a Choice! we may then hope to fee the King reign
peaceably, and beloved at home, his Arms conquering
or dreaded abroad, true Religion and Liberty flourish,
and Virtue once more lift up its Head! We may then
hope for an happy Union among all Proteftants, whilft
Rebellion, Bigotry, Perfecution and Prieftcraft fhall lie
groveling beneath our Feet.
A Gentleman of my Acquaintance having been at
the Pains to paint a certain Set of Men in their heredi-
tary Colours, I have (with his Leave) added it at the
End of theſe Advices; perhaps it may be of fome Ser-
vice to thofe Genuine Sons of the Church, who have not
feen their Pictures for a long Seafon; it may be uſeful
to others, who have parted with their own Eyes to
make uſe of the Parfon's: In fhort, 'tis offered to all
that will take the Pains to read it; and then I doubt
not but it will ſpeak for itſelf,
as
278
The true Picture of a
The true Picture of a Modern Tory; or a
High-Churchman painted to the Life.
By THOMAS GORDON, Efq;
Anno 1722.
A
Tory is a Monſter, with an English Face, a
Popish Heart, and an Irish Confcience; a
Creature of a large Forehead, a prodigious
Mouth, fupple Hams, and no Brains: Noile and De-
bauchery, Oaths and Beggary, are the four Elements
that compofe him; his Arms are thofe of Ifachar, an
Afs coachant, of which the two Supporters are Paffive
Obedience and Non-Refiftance. He feems to be deſcend-
ed from Eſau, for he would fain truck away an in-
valuable Birth-right for a Popish Pretender; he has ſo
great a Kindneſs for Popery and Slavery, that when-
ever they fhall make a Match, he'll be fure to put in
for a Bride-man: But though fome would fetch his
Defcendant from Efau, yet others (not without Reaſon)
run his Pedigree a great deal higher, and take him to
be a Noadite, or one of the Race of Cain, that would
fain be perfecuting his Brother, merely becauſe he is
more righteous than himſelf.
With refpect to the State, a High-Churchman is a
Caterpillar that devours every green Thing in a flouriſh-
ing Kingdom, and would ftab Liberty and Property to
the Heart, that he and his Fellow-Brutes, like Beaſts of
Prey, might live wholly on Spoil and Rapine; they are
fit only to be Subjects to Nebuchadnezzar, when (be-
reaved of human Senfe) he herded with the wild Af-
fes of the Defart. Though they boaft themſelves Eng-
lifhmen, yet they act in all things like Antipodes to their
deve Country, and feem rather the Spawn of fome
yench Jefuit; they are a Sort of wild Boars, that would
rain root out the Conſtitution, and break the Balance of
our happy Government, by rendering that defpotic,which is
established
Modern Tory.
279
eſtabliſhed and bounded by Law: He is fo certain that
Monarchy is Jure Divino, that he looks upon all Peo-
ple, living under Ariftocracy's or Democracy's, to be in a
State of Damnation; and fancies that the Grand Seig-
nior, the Czar of Muscovy, and the French King dropt
down from Heaven with Crowns on their Heads, and
that all their Subjects (except the Priests) were born
with Saddies on their Backs. A right High-Flyer is as
fond of Slavery, as others are of Liberty, and will be
at as much Charge and Pains to obtain it; for he envies
the Happineſs of Canvas Breeches and Wooden Shoes: He
admires the Mercy of the Inquifition, and prays for an
Ecclefiaftical Commiffion; he rails at Magna Charta as
the Seed-plot of Sedition, and fwears it was first obtain-
ed by Rebellion, and that all our Fore-fathers were Fools
and Rogues, and did not underſtand Prerogative: He
wonders why People ſhould fquander away their Time
at the Inns of Court, or what need there is either of the
Common Law, or the Statute-Book, fince the King may
at any time, with quicker Difpatch, declare his Pleaſure
in any Point or Controverſy. But 'tis plain he means
not his Majefty King George, whom he acknowledges
to be fo, becauſe he has taken the Oaths to him.
will indeed boaft of his Loyalty, but we never ſee any
thing of it, unleſs it be to undermine the Government,
he roars and fwaggers, and promifes Mountains, but
performs Nothing, and by Lies and Mifreprefentations,
gives falfe Meaſures; and if he happens to be in a
Place, or wear the King's Cloth, it is not the Cauſe but
the Cruſt that he barks for.
He
With relation to the Church, our Tory is either a Crab
Proteftant, that crawls backwards as faft as he can to
Rome, or is at beſt but a Cats-foot, wherewith the Romish
Monkies claw the Proteftant Religion; he is one that does
their Drudgery, though he has not the Wit to fee it,
and the Wages he muft expect, is Polyphemus's Courte-
ſies, to be devoured laſt: He is a Flambeau, kindled by
the Jefuits, and flung in to make a Combuſtion among us:
He pretends High for the Church of England, but as
he underſtands not her Doctrines, fo he difhonours her
by his lewd Converſation; the only Proof both of his
Religion and Courage is, that he fears moft fervent-
ly
280
The true Picture of, &c.
ly; his Chriſtianity confifts in curfing all thofe that dif-
fer from him; his Tongue is always tipped with Dam-
me, and Forty-One, and upon all Occafions belches out
Huzza's as faſt as Mount Etna does Fire and Brimftone.
He mortally hates Occafional Conformity, though him-
felf can occafionally be prefent at Mafs; and whilft he
clamours at Differters for not coming to Church, he
thinks it canonical enough to fleep over the Sabbath
Day, to digeft the Fumes of Saturday's Debauch; or
elſe he takes a Walk in St. Paul's, peeps at the Preach-
er, and prefently retires to the Tavern for a Whet to
Dinner; if he happen to be of a more ferious Temper,
he is as fuperftitious a Bigot as any in the Romish Church,
and he had rather have no Preaching, than that the
Surplice fhould be left off, and thinks his Child not
chriſtened, if it be not done with the Sign of the Cross;
he counts Opus Operatum fufficient, and thinks it a great-
er Abomination to eat Fleſh on a Friday, than to defile
his Neighbour's Bed; and he abhors more, not to bow at
the Syllables of the Word Jefus, than to fwear by the
Name of God; he is fure the Priefis have a Divine Right
from Jefus Christ, to do as much Wickedneſs as they
pleaſe, and that it is the Duty of the Laity to bow down
to them with their Faces to the Earth; he is fully per-
fuaded, that the Clergy are fo like the Apoftles, that
they came in an uninterrupted Succeffion from them; tho'
he feems to believe there are not more Gods than One,
yet he knows there is no going to Heaven without a
Ticket from the Lord's Ambaſſadors, whom he firmly
believes have the fole Right of difpofing of Heaven and
Hell If you talk foberly with him about Religion, he
flaps you over the Face with Herefy, Schifm, and Faction,
tells you he is of the Church, as by Law established, and
fo you are at once confuted by his unanswerable Argu-
ments; he combats Truth with Curfes, and Mercy with
Madness; he takes Miſchief for Merit, and his Prieft for
his Maker. In a Word, a Tory is a Tool of Rome, an
Emiſſary of the Pretender's, a Friend to Pricftcraft, an
Enemy to his King and Country, and an Underminer of
our happy Conftitution, both in Church and State.
$
( 281 )
A Sermon preached before the Learned So-
ciety of Lincoln's-Inn, on January 30,
1732, from Job xxxiv. 30. That the
Hypocrite reign not, left the People be
infnared.
Fieri poteft, quod fit in multis quæfiionibus, ut res verbofior
illa fit, hæc brevior.
By THOMAS GORDON, Efq;
Anno 1733.
CIC.
N the thirty-fourth Chapter of the Book of Job,
and the thirtieth Verſe, it is thus written:
I
the Hypocrite reign not, left the People be infnared.
Friends, Brethren, and Countrymen,
That
I prefent myſelf before you, on this Occafion, with
the greater Alacrity and Affurance, for that I am con-
ſcious of no Engagement to any Party or Opinion repug-
nant to Truth, and the general Intereſt of my Country:
I am under no Pay or Influence to fupport ancient Pre-
judices and falfe Reafonings: under no Biafs to flatter
particular Fraternities and Factions, nor awed by the
Fear of offending them. For the Rule and Guide of my
Politics, I have the Conſtitution and Hiftory of England;
and in my Religion, I am governed by the Bible and
common Senfe. He who walks by thefe Rules walks fe-
curely; and he who follows the arbitrary Notions, fo-
phiftical Diftin&ions, and bare Averments of Men, is
fure to be deceived, at least can never know that he is
not.
That the Hypocrite reign not, left the People be in-
fuared.
The Tafk which from thefe Words I propofe to my-
felf, is to defend the Right of every Man to private Judg
ment
282
A Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
ment and Opinion, to fhew the Abfurdity and Wicked:
nefs of fetting up Authority againſt Confcience, and to
manifeft the pernicious Tendency and Effects of Power
and immoderate Wealth in the Clergy. As I go along,
I ſhall apply my Reaſoning to the Purpofe of the Day;
and, at the Conclufion, add a Word concerning the un-
happy Prince, whoſe Blood was ſhed on this Day; with
the proper Ufe to be made of it.
Good Senfe is our first and laft Guide, fince by that
we are to judge of all other Guides; and there is more
Sound than Meaning in the Objection which ſome make
to the Guidance of Reafon, when they afk, "Whether
we are to judge of that by which we are to be judged,"
namely, the holy Scriptures; fince we muſt recur to Rea-
fon to know whether the Scriptures be holy, and whe-
ther we are to be judged by them. "Tis to little Pur-
pofe to tell us, that for this we must take the Word
and Authority of holy Men." For, we muft ftill con-
fult our Reafon whether theſe be holy Men or no, and
whether we ought to believe them or no; feeing there
are many Sets of Men all pretending to be holy, all
claiming this Authority to themſelves only, and all de-
nying it to every other Set.
Our Reaſon must therefore determine, which of all
thefe are the most holy, and whether any of them be
more fo than ourſelves. If the Ways of Holiness and of
Knowledge be as obvious to us as to them, we may
have as much of either as they have; and, in Truth,
the Sources of both are as open to us as to them. Bc-
fides, it ought to mortify their Pride, and be a Leffon
of Humility to them, as it is furely one of Caution to
us, to ſee that they never agree with one another; that
even thoſe of the fame Society, profeffing the fame Faith,
fubfcribing the fame Articles, and profeffing to believe
the fame Scriptures, agree not in the Rules and Expla-
nations which they exhibit to us. Great is their Vari-
ance, not only about Ceremonies, Circumftantials and
Difcipline, but even about Effentials, about Principles to
be believed, about Duties to be practifed, and even about
the Nature, Operations, and Attributes of the Deity;
nay, equally great and fignal is their Want of mutual
Charity, as is their Want of Concord. Are thefe to be
Our
A Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
283
our Guides, who thus pull us various and oppofite Ways?
Can they teach mutual Love and Forbearance, who
hate and revile each other? And is it not notable Want
of Modeſty in them, who cannot agree with one ano-
ther, to expect that we ſhould agree with them all, or
with any of them, when we approve not, or compre-
hend not, what they fay, or when what they fay is evi-
dently for their Intereft and againſt ours, as all their
Aims at Power and Wealth evidently are?
This Reasoning, if it be true, as I think it is, will
ferve to condemn Archbishop Laud and his Affociates,
who exacted a blind Obedience to their own Tenets and
Schemes, a rigid Conformity to all their Ceremonies,
Inventions, and Innovations, and cruelly perfecuted all
who preferred Confcience to Complaifance, and were
better Chriftians than Churchmen and Courtiers.
Surely it ought to check and cool the Fiercenefs of Re-
ligionists of all Sorts towards each other about Difference
in Opinion, to behold how flaming and rigorous every
Man is in behalf of his own; to behold the moſt ridicu-
lous and pernicious Opinions defended with equal Ob-
ftinacy and Bitterneſs. The few, the Papist, the Ma-
hometan, the Banian, have all equal Satisfaction in their
own ſeveral Syſtems, have all equal Deteftation for one
another, and for every different Sect.
Is not this a pregnant Proof, that all this furious Zeal
is falfe Zeal, that it is all miferable Bigotry and Preju-
dice, or conftitutional Intemperance of Spirit? A zeal-
ous Feru, had he been bred a Papift, would have been
equally zealous for Popery, and perhaps for burning
thofe very Jews who are now his Brethren. Had the
late Dr. Sacheverel been educated in the Scottish Kirk,
he would, doubtlefs, have breathed as fierce Perfecution
against Prelacy as he has done for it, and treated it with
as foul and uncomely Names, as he treated Diffenters
and falfe Brethren.
The fame is true of Archbishop Laud, and of other
hafty and paffionate Zealots; provided always, that all
other Preferments in another Way be taken away; elfe
the Batteries of their Zeal are often quickly changed,
and turned againſt the Party for whom they were firſt
erected: Witneſs Parker, Bishop of Oxford, and Ward,
Biſhop
284
A Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
Bishop of Sarum, once both holy, praying, and rigid
Prefbyterians, afterwards both rigid Perfecutors of Pref
byterians. Is it not probable that they would have died
Preſbyterians, had the Church Preferments been out of
their Reach?
This Confideration therefore, that every Man is fond
of his own Opinions, and not the lefs fond for their be-
ing very fooliſh and extravagant, ought to keep Men
from quarrelling about any Opinions, and to look up.
on thoſe who promote fuch Quarrels as Monſters, and
their worft Enemies. This Enmity about Notions, Chi-
meras, Ceremonies, and other idle Difputes; this War
about Words, and Creeds, and Articles, a War and Dif-
pute which have produced fuch mighty Bloodshed and
Defolation in the World, has been the fole Work and
Contrivance of ambitious Clergymen; who, for Ends of
their own, and the Gratification of their Fride and Fury,
and other evil Paffions, had the Art and Cruelty to make
the Laity thus to perfecute and butcher one another.
What infamous Inhumanity was this in Clergymen ?
What Frenzy and Infatuation in the Laity? But fuch
are ever the Effects of implicit Belief, which is naturally
followed by implicit Obedience, which is the certain
Beginning as well as the certain Confequence of Slavery.
All this Evil, Uncharitableneſs, and Barbarity, aroſe
from the wicked and impoffible Attempt to force or fup-
prefs private Judgment and Confcience. Of fuch mighty
Confequence it is, that the Hypocrite reign not; fince,
where-ever he does, the People will furely be infrared.
What added to this Evil and Infolence, this hellish
Cruelty upon the Score of Opinion, and made it ftill
more provoking and intolerable was, that it was all
perpetrated in the Name of Chrift, of the meck Jefus,
and faid to be for his Church and Caufe: A Declara-
tion fo impudent and incredible, that it could only be
made by Men who were void of Shame, to Men who
wanted Eyes. It was as falfe as the Goſpel was true;
nor could a Revelation which inſpired or warranted any
Degree of Bitterneſs or Cruelty, ever have come from
God, or from any but the Antagoniſt of God and Ene-
my of Man, from Hypocrites reigning, that is, tyran-
nizing in the Name of the Lord.
Yet
·A Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
285
Yet fo theſe hardened Deluders argued, trufting to the
Power of Delufion; efpecially when to that Power of
Delufion they had added a good Share of fecular Power .
And before they could make the Laity fuch blind Tools as
to be the Tormentors and Executioners of one another,
they had eradicated every Grain and Principle of Cha-
rity out of their Hearts, yet made them believe them-
felves the only true Chriftians.
This was the Ufe which fuch Clergymen made of the
boundleſs Truft and Power given them by the Laity;
and over the Laity they exercifed it without Bounds or
Mercy. Such was the Power of Laud and the Clergy
of his Time, and fuch the unhallowed and inhuman Ufe
which they made of it; yet that Ufe was the uſual and
natural Ufe, the Power itſelf being unnatural. Indeed,
worldly Power and Opulence in fuch as preach the Gof-
pel, are fo repugnant to the Spirit and Precepts of the
Gofpel, that it is no Wonder they cannot thrive or in-
deed fubfift together; but the Goſpel muft either deſtroy
them, or they the Goſpel. It is too vifible on which
Side the Victory has chiefly turned. Whatever fills
Men with Pride and Hatred, and prompts them to Seve
rity and Revenge, may be Popery or Mahometanifm,
but is juſt as contrary to Chriftianity, as Chriftianity is
to all Pride and Hatred, to all Rigour and Vengeance.
From hence it is plain who they are, what Set of Men,
that have hurt and abuſed, perverted and abolished Chri-
tianity moft. I am forry to fay it, but it is too true,
that in many Countries, and at many Times, the Church
and Religion have been very diftinct and oppofite Things:
Sure I am, that I have feen very good Churchmen who
were very bad Chriftians, and fome who were no Chri-
ftians at all. I will not fay that Laud was no Chriftian ;
but I may boldly affirm, that he refembled not the firft
Chriftians, nor poffeffed a Chriftian Temper: An ex-
treme good Churchman I readily own him.
That it is not Religion or Chriſtianity, but chiefly, if
not only, Paffion and Prejudice, which determine Men
to a Fondness for their own Set of Notions and for their
own Community, appears from hence, that if a vicious
Man be on their Side, eſpecially if he profeſs much Zeal
for his Party, they cherish and extol him; whilt upon
a very
286
A Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
a very unblameable and pious Man, who is not of their
Party, they are apt to beftow very ill Language, and
often ill Ufage. This is not the Spirit of true Religion,
but of Paffion and Partiality: Yet this Spirit too many
derive from their particular Religion, which they think
the best, but which furely is very bad; and it were bet-
ter they had none, than one which baniſhes their Reafon
and Humanity. Now, if fuch a Spirit fhould ever hap-
pen to poffefs thofe who profefs to be our Guides, we
may judge how wife and fafe it would be to truft to their
Guidance, or even to own them as Guides. Had there
been no fuch Guides about an hundred Years ago, we
ſhould not, in all Likelihood, have had this Day now to
folemnize. The ſtrange Doctrines and bitter Oppreffions
in thofe Days, naturally produced fuch a Day as this
Day.
It is not Religon, at least not the Chriftian Religion,
that heats and animates fuch Men; it is only Faction, a
Complication of evil and unhallowed Paffions. Whoever
loves or hates, blefies or curfes, from Anger or Fondneſs,
from Obligation or Refentment, belies Religion, if he
pretend, under its holy Name, to hide bafe Ends, and a
worldly and partial Heart. It is by fuch ſelfiſh and un-
worthy Ways that the Church and Religion have fome.
times come to fignify contradictory Things: It is thus
that Men who have had no Religion or Virtue, have
been extolled as excellent Churchmen: It is thus that
Men of the higheſt Religion and Virtue, have been,
and often are, reviled and condemned as bad Church-
men; and it is thus that pious Chriftians have been pu-
niſhed, fometimes burned, by fuch as were ſpecial
Churchmen, but not Chriftians. And indeed, whenever
fuch falfe Zealots manifeft fuch a Spirit of Impatience,
of Rage and Reviling, they cannot give a clearer Proof
that fuch Spirit is not of Chrift, fince it is fo oppofite to
his Spirit. Nor can Men who fhew themfelves full of
Bitterneſs and want of Charity, be at all commiffioned
by him, who was all Meeknefs, and gave to his Difciples
a new Commandment, that they should love one another,
and even love their Enemies. Yet who fo fudden to wax
wroth as many of his pretended Succeffors? Who more
forward and unmanly in calling unfeemly Names; a
Fra&ice
A Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
287
Practice as common with many of them, as with the
meanest Men, and even the loweſt Sort of Women ?
Heretic, Atheist, Infidel, are amongst fuch Churchmen
Words of Reproach, equivalent to the foul Language
which the Vulgar throw at one another, and equally
fhocking to well-bred Men and true Chriftians.
Surely, from Men who come from God, and are
Vicegerents to his Son, one would naturally expect a
Godlike Behaviour, with an uncommon Store of Chriſtian
Meeknefs and Benevolence. How does Rage, how do
grofs Names of Abuſe, how does Uncharitableneſs, Re-
venge, Avarice, Ambition, and the most favage Paffions
and Demeanour, fuit with a Commiffion from Heaven,
and the Gift of the Holy Ghoft?
I proceed now to difcourfe more directly upon the un-
due Wealth and Power of the Clergy, and the great
Evils attending the fame; from whence will appear the
Calamities and certain Thraldom attending the Reign of
Hypocrites.
The Clergy, whenever they were left to take as much
Power and Wealth as they pleaſed, rarely thought the
Whole too much; nor do I remember any Inftance
where-ever they owned that they had enough. Thus
they have ingroffed fome Countries whole; of others
the greateſt and beſt Parts; and as much as they could
of all. Where they have the Soil, they have the Power
in Courſe; and where they have both (that is to fay in
Popish Countries) they are the moſt unmerciful of all
Landlords, and the moft oppreffive of all Magiftrates.
Look over the fine Continent of Italy, and other Climes
where Prieſts riot and tyrannize, you will find the Laity
there and every where ftarving, when the Clergy are the
Land Owners.
Ought not the Laity in other Countries to take Warn-
ing by this? And is it not monftrous and unnatural for
any Number of Laymen to concur with the Clergy in
their exorbitant Claims? Should not the Laity too learn,
by the Example of the Clergy, to take Care of them-
felves? What Wealth the Clergy have, they have from
the Laity By the Power that they feek or aflunie, they
would bind and govern the Laity. Is it natural, or jult,
or
288
A Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
or wife in the Laity, to impoverish themſelves in order
to enrich the Clergy, to forge their own Chains, to ex-
alt their own Creatures and Penfioners into Tyrants and
'Tafkmafters ; or to fuffer them fo to exalt themſelves?
Can they forget the Infolence and Tyranny of Archbi-
fhop Lard, the terrible Height of Power which he had
ufurped, with his afpiring Views to raiſe the Clergy
above the Laity and the Law? Can they forget his
faucy Declaration, that he hoped to fee the Time when në'er
a Jack Gentleman in England should dore to be covered be-
fore the meanest Prieft? And as an Indication how much
many of the Clergy thought, and withed, and defigned,
as he did, they of this Stamp have been ever fince ado-
ring and extolling this ufurping Archprieft, this Perfe.
cutor and Oppreffor, this Inftrument and Prompter of
Oppreffion.
The Man who contends for Power and Riches to the
Friefts, is ever popular with the High-Priesthood, ever
their Darling; nor are they always over anxious about
the Soundnefs of either his Faith or Mora's. Is not this
too a Rule and Example to the Laity? And ought not
the Laity to prize and protect, and encourage auy Lay-
man who afferts the Rights and Privileges of his Bre-
thren the Laity? Is it not equally fair, and grateful, and
honourable, to cherish and esteem any Clergyman, or
Number of Clergymen, who are candid enough to main-
tain the Intereft and Independency of the Laity? Is it
not foolish, ungrateful, difhoneft, and even barbarous,
to revile or evil-intreat fuch Clergymen; to abuſe and
weaken theſe our Friends, and to join with our Enemies,
with fuch as would enthral us, and bring us under their
blind Guidance? Where the Clergy are opulent, do not
the People ſtarve? Where the Clergy have Power, are
not the People Slaves? Is it not thus in Spain, thus in
Italy? In theſe Countries, where they are Proprietors of
all Things, and govern all Men, can they be even faid
to be Teachers, or even to be Chriftians? No; their
Teaching is deceiving, their Do&trines are Lies and Im-
pieties, and their Lives antichriftian. Chriftianity and
Truth would undo them. They have therefore baniſhed
Chriſtianity and erected the Priesthood; and for Chrift
and Truth, they preach themfelves and Fables. Every
one,
A Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732:
289
one, from the leaft even unto the greatest, is given to Co-
vetcufness; from the Prophet even to the Priest, every one
draleth falfely. Jer. viii. 10.
This is the Effect of Power and Wealth in Churchmen;
two Things which have proved fuch a certain and heavy
Curfe upon Religion and the World, as if the holy Au-
thor of both meant thence to convince Mankind, how per-
nicious, how deftructive they every-where are to his
Church and People, and to warn all Men and Nations
against fuffering or encouraging them.
Great Power and Revenues in Churchmen have not
only produced and multiplied every Mifchief formerly
known in the World, but alſo produced Miſchiefs fo new
and terrible, as the World, even the Pagan World, ne-
ver knew before; fuch as Perfecution and Butchery for
Confcience and Opinion, Wars and national Maffacres
for Religion, with that mighty Compendium of all that
is horrid, treacherous, and cruel, upon Earth, the exe-
crable Tribunal of the Inquifition. What had Paganifm
fo fhocking and horrible, as to be compared to this?
Not even their human Sacrifices, which were few in
Comparifon, occafional, and ſtated. The Inquifition is
a continual human Slaughter-houſe; and in it Men,
Myriads of Men, have been immolated, after tedious
Macerations in dark and frightful Dungeons, after un-
relenting Racks and Tortures, with every Species of
Treachery, Mifery and Terror; and all for the beſt
Thing which they could do, for their Sincerity and Piety
in worshipping the Deity in the Way which they were
perfuaded he liked beſt.
Now, as the Inquifition is nothing but the higheſt Im-
provement of Perfecution, which begins with Tefts and
negative Penalties, but ends in Fires and Halters, I will
enumerate a few of the many Cauſes for which Men are
committed to it; and they are fuch, and fo various, that
no Man, who in the leaft exercifes his own Faculties, or
practifes coinmon Charity and Mercy, or even has com-
mon Commerce with the World, can avoid it. -If he
has heard a Heretic preach or pray (that is, if he has
thus heard the beft and wifeft Man upon Earth, who
differs from the Extravagancies of Churchmen :) If when
he is fummoned he appear not: If being excommuni-
VOL. II.
•
N
cate,
290 A Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
cate, he fue not for Abfolution: If a Heretic (for Ex-
ample, a Mr. Locke, or a Sir Isaac Newton) be his Friend :
If he do any Act of Kindness for a Heretic; vifit him,
treat him, affift him, or fhew him Pity, or give him
Counſel: If he fufpect the Truth of their lying Legends
and forged Miracles: If he affert the Indifference of
Meats or of Days, or interpret Scripture according to
his own and to common Senfe: If he conceal any Here-
fy, his own or other People's: If he fpare Father or
Mother, Wife or Child, he is for thefe, or any of
theſe Cauſes, and for a thoufand others, liable to the un-
parallel'd Cruelties of the Inquifition.
Let me add,
that by Hereſy is meant every confcientious, honeſt, ra-
tional, and benevolent Opinion, differing from the ſenſe-
lefs, narrow, barbarous Whims and Grimaces of the
Prieſts.
As a Proof what quick Havock fuch a Tribunal muſt
make in a Country, Cardinal Turquemeda, the first In-
quifitor-General in Spain, even in the Infancy of the In-
quifition, brought an hundred thouſand Souls into it in
the fmall Space of fourteen Years: Of theſe, fix thou-
fand were burnt alive. Obferve too, that when fuch
Perfons are ſeized, all that they have is alfo feized, and
their Families left to ſtarve, or fent thither too, if they
fhew Pity, or attempt Afſiſtance.
Can the merciful and wife God, can the meek and
compaffionate Jefus, who laid down his Life for Men,
have any thing to do with fuch a Church, or with fuch
hellish Inftruments and Butchers, impudently calling
themſelves holy, and their Scene of Butchery the holy
Office? Wifely did our firft Reformers difown her being
a Church: Laud, afterwards, and his Followers, la-
boured to reſtore her Credit, contended for her being a
true Church, and even derived themſelves from her;
nay, ftrove to fhew themfelves worthy of the Kindred
and Defcent, by affuming her Pride and Cruelties:
Witneſs their numerous Impriſonments, exceffive Fines,
Whippings, Difmembrings, and other Barbarities; to
their own Infamy, and to the Dishonour of Proteftants
and of our Nation.
Equal to its other Horrors is the black Treachery prac-
tifed by that deteſtable Court, and by all who belong (0,
cr
A Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
29r
or affift it. In order to infnare a Man into the Inquifi-
tion, they will travel Countries, and croſs the Seas, to
become acquainted with him; will court, carefs and
flatter him, treat him, make him Prefents, lend him
Money, adminifter to his Pleaſures, feem to love and
adopt his Opinions, rail at the Church, curſe his Perfe-
cutors and the Inquifition, and fwear him an eternal
Friendſhip all with a black and murderous Purpoſe,
to feize him in a proper Place, and carry him off to the
Fires and Racks of that infernal Tribunal. But where
the Intereft of that Church is concerned, Villainy changes
its Nature, and becomes meritorious; and the blackeſt
Perfidy, and even Perjury, is eſteemed and practifed as
good Policy. Thus the Pope's Legate, at the Head of
a Crufade against the Albigenfes, entrapped their Protec-
tor and General, the Count de Beziers, folemnly sworn
not to hurt him, and then feized and impriſoned him.
Let me just add upon this Head, that Blafphemy, or
any outrageous Words and Defiance offered to Almighty
God, is not punishable, nor cognizable in the Inquifi-
tion The great Crime and Purfuit there is Herefy;
that is to fay, Blafphemy againſt the Trade and Opinion
of Prieſts. So that any profane Wretch may blafpheme
God without Fear of the Inquifitors, provided he blaf-
pheme like a good Churchman, and fay nothing againſt
the Priests or their Gear: But if Herefy be mixed with
his Blafphemy, he cannot hope to eſcape. Moft re-
markable too and ſhocking is the Impudence and Hypo-
crify of theſe Inquifitors, when after having long ftarved
in their horrid Dungeons the wretched Offender; after
having long terrified, mifufed and tortured him, they
at laft deliver him over to the fecular Arm: They have
the folemn Afſurance, to befeech the Civil Magiftrate, in the
Borvels of Jefus Chrift, not to hurt his Life or Limb; yet
would excommunicate the Civil Magiftrate, if he did
not burn him alive.Such is the terrible Power and
Falfhood of Hypocrites reigning.
I am far from thinking that what I have faid about
the Inquifition is a Digreffion. That terrible Part of
Popery, or indeed any other Part of Popery, which is
all terrible, is too little known in England. For fome
time after the Reformation, a due Horror was kept up
N 2
amongſt
292
A Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
;
amongst the People by our Preachers againſt the Church
of Rome: And it was done like Proteftants, and is their
Duty at all times; and they who omit it are unworthy
of the Name, and I doubt have dark and unproteftant
Defigns. But when our Clergy began to contend for
equal Dominion and Wealth, they found that they
could not confiftently rail at the Church of Rome, and
yet follow her Example. And fo far altered was their
Stile at laſt, that inftead of painting and reviling her,
as an old withered Harlot, the Mother of Abominations
and Whoredoms, and drunk with the Blood of the Saints,
it became fashionable to defend her, nay, to praiſe her,
and even to puniſh, fuch as expofed her fuch uncom-
mon Friends The found in Laud and his Adherents. It
is true, he and fome others of that Caft wrote Books
againſt fome Parts of Popery. But what fignified
writing againſt Papifts, when he was introducing and
practifing Popery at home? For, all Cruelty, or even
Severity for Opinion, and all Authority affumed over
Conſcience and the Soul, is Popery, by whatever Name
it be called. Befides, it was natural for Laud, who
was acting as Pope himſelf, to deny the Power of the
other Pope, at leaft here; and for the bare Notions,
the Ceremonies, the Grimaces and Mummery of Pope-
ry, they are of little Confequence, any farther than as
they tend to introduce and preferve its Power, by cre-
ating or continuing Delufion in the People.
Laud and his Adherents were notorious Perfecutors;
and all Perfecution is Popery; and every Degree of it,
even the fmalleſt Degree is an Advance towards the In-
quifition. As negative Penalties are the firft Degree, fo
Death and Burning is the laſt and higheſt; all the other
Steps are but natural Gradations following the firſt De-
gree, and introducing the laft. For the ſmalleſt implies
the Neceffity of a greater, where the former fails; and
confequently of the greateft of all, which is the Inqui-
fition.
Was it now at all wonderful, that Laud and his Af-
fociates were chargep with being Papifts, when they
were openly introducing and exerting all the terrible
Parts of Popery, Church Power and Perfecution, and
thus eſtabliſhing Church Tyranny and an Inquifition?
For
A Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
293
For, it was thus that that bloody Court was eſtabliſh-
ed; and the like Claims and Practices will always in-
troduce and eſtabliſh it. Madam de Motteville, in the
Memoirs of Anne of Auftria, fays exprefly, upon the
Authority and Information of King Charles the First's
Queen, that Laud was a good Catholic in his Heart. It
is certain, that he brought in what was moft terrible
in Popery, its Power and Cruelty, with not a few of
its Fooleries and Superftitions. Whoever is a Tyrant
and Perfecutor is a Papiſt, in the only Senfe of the
Word that Proteftants and Freemen are concerned a-
bout.
Let fuch as claim Power to controul Confcience and
Opinion confider this, if they have not confidered it
already. Let thofe too over whom fuch Power is claim-'
ed confider it, and look upon the Men who claim it, as
Enemies and Deceivers, that would feduce them in or-
der to inflave them. How would any Man, any Pro-
testant (who dares own his Opinion) like the In-
quifition? Without doubt he would abhor it: Let him
likewife abhor the Ways and Practices that lead to it;
for it is fupported entirely by the Power of the Clergy,
which nevem has, never can produce any Good. As
Dominion over Thoughts and Notions is in itſelf a
Monſter, the greatest of all Monsters, it must be fup-
ported by monftrous Means, even by Priefts wielding
or directing the Civil Sword; the pretended Followers
of the humble Jefus, treading upon the Necks of Na-
tions, engroffing their Wealth, and fpilling their Blood.
Is any Man fond of his Liberty, as all Men natu-
rally are, and of his own Opinions (for this too is na-
tural) and of examining all Opinions; which every
Man has a Right to do? Would he worship God after
his own Way, be fubject to no Man's infolent Rebukes
and Controul, be exempt from vexatious Suits and Pro-
fecutions, from clerical Curfes followed with Civil
Puniſhments, with Dungeons, and (as they fay) with
Damnation? Would he preferve his Confcience, his
Perfon, his Time and his Property, and all that is dear
to him, ſafe and intire? He is in confequence of all
this obliged for ever to oppofe all Power in the Clergy,
at it has been ever found utterly repugnant to whatever
え
​N 3
is
294
A Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
is dear to Men and Societies. I know not that ever
they poffeffed Power without ufing it perniciously: I
know not that ever they could perfecute, and did not
perfecute: Such of them as had moft argued and in-
veighed againſt Perfecution, when they were under it,
exercifed it afterwards without Shame or Remorse,
whenever they got the Rod into their own Hands. Thus
the Catholics acted againſt the Arians; thus the latter
afted againſt the former; both complaining heavily of
Perfecution, both heavy Perfecutors.
St. Athanafius could at one time argue,
"that the
"Devil does therefore ufe Violence, becauſe he has a
“bad Cauſe, and the Truth is not on his Side. Jefus
Chriſt, on the contrary, ufes only Exhortations, be-
"cauſe his Caufe is good: If any Man will be my Dif
ciple, let him follow me. He forces no Man to fol-
"low him; nor enters by Force where he is fhut out,"
Whence that Father obſerves, "that this perfecuting
“Sect could not be of God.” So argued all the Or-
thodox upon that Occafion, and I think very truly. St.
Hilary urges the fame Argument to an Arian Emperor
and Perfecutor, and denies the Arians to be the true
Church, for this very Reafon. But the Orthodox, when
they were uppermoft, changed their Tone; and never
were there more merciless Perfecutors, Oppreffors, and
Butchers than they. Hence. their own Reaſoning has
been frequently turned upon them; and the Heretics
have charged them, in their Turn, as being none of
Chrift's Flock, becauſe they had renounced his Spirit,
and exerciſed Force and Cruelty. The Donatifts par-
ticularly infulted them upon this unchriftian Inconfift-
ency.
But fo it hath eternally happened, that no Reafon-
ing, not even their own Reaſoning, could ever reſtrain
Churchmen, orthodox or heterodox, when they were in-
vefled with Power, or with the Direction of Power,
from ufing it violently. The Prefbyterians juftly ex-
claimed against the Violence and Tyranny of Archbi-
fnop Laud and his Brethren, for haraffing, imprifoning,
fining, and perfecuting them, and even driving them
from their native Homes, to feek Peace and Shelter, and
the quiet Worſhip of God in the Woods of America. He
had
A Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
295
had converted the High Con.miffion Court into an In-
quifition; nay, every Bishop's Court was become an In-
quifition; and many of the beſt Churchmen were fi-
lenced, fined, and even deprived, for adhering honeſtly
to the Doctrines of the Reformation, to primitive Strict-
nefs of Manners, and for obferving the Sabbath.
Did the Prefbyterians afterwards, thefe very Prefbyte-
rians, who had thus groaned and fmarted under Perſe-
cution, and complained of its Injuftice and Fury, exer-
cife Charity and Forbearance towards others who dif-
fented from them, when they were become Mafters of
Ecclefiaftical Rule? No: Never was a more bitter, un-
tolerating Race, or more rigorous Exactors of Confor-
mity, Every Man who differed from them was an Ene-
my to the State, an Innovator, forfooth, whom it be-
hoved the State to fupprefs. They had forgot that
Laud had brought the fame Charge againſt them but a
little before, and how unmercifully they had been then
ufed as public Incendiaries, Enemies, and Innovators.
Nor do any Set of Priefts fail to draw down, if they
can, the Anger of the Crown upon any Man who has
merited theirs. Thus the Monks of St. Denis in France,
in the twelfth Century, accufed the famous Abelard,
then amongſt them, with being an Enemy to the Glory
and Crown of France, only for denying that their Found-
er was Dionyfius the Areopagite, mentioned in the New
Teftament. It is indeed a Charge which all domineer-
ing Priefts in the World have ever brought, will ever
bring, againſt all who offend them, againſt all who
withdraw from their Power, and difown their Syſtems.
The Prefbyterians, when undermoft, felt this to be true,
both before and afterwards; and always when they felt
it, exclaimed againſt it; but took it up themſelves with-
out bluſhing, as foon as ever they tafted of Dominion.
The Churchmen too, they who had perfecuted the
Prefbyterians without all Mercy, the Moment they found
themſelves perfecuted by Prefbyterians, made heavy Out-
cries againſt Perfecution, and preached and wrote for
Toleration. It was then that Dr. Taylor publiſhed his
Book, intitled, The Liberty of Prophesying: An excellent
Book it is, and was then extremely applauded by his
Brethren of the Epifcopal Profeffion. But did thefe
N 4
Church-
296
A Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
Churchmen, did even Dr. Tayler, after the Reftoration,
obferve their own Reaſoning and Writings for Indul-
gence to Diffenters? No; it was the great Buſineſs of
the Churchmen, when they had refumed their old Seats
and Revenues, to preach, to write, to folicit ſevere Laws,
and then the Execution of thefe Laws, againſt their Pro-
teftant Brethren, during all that long Reign.
In
Was not all this ftrangely inconfiftent, as well as
- ftrangely unchriftian, on both Sides? And was it not
ftrange Madness, as well as Wickedness, in the Civil
Power, to gratify the four and afpiring Spirit of the
Ecclefiaftics, by plaguing and punishing the People
about Religion? There is no End of their Demands,
nor of the Unreaſonablenefs of fuch Demands.
Spain, where they profefs to burn Heretics, that is to
fay, Proteftants, they complain of it at the fame time,
as Perfecution in a Proteftant Country, to impriſon a
Romish Prieft, however factious and buſy he be in per-
verting of Proteftants. The High Clergy in England,
though avowed Enemies to a Toleration here, would
think it terrible Perfecution to deny it to themſelves, or
their Brethren in Scotland. Ay, but we of the Church
of England are the true Church of Chrift, fays the Eng-
life Epifcopalian: And fo fays Rome of herfelf, fo fays
Scotland, fo fays Geneva and Greece, and fo ſay all
Churches in the World; and each of them would per-
fecute and aboliſh all the reſt as falſe or defective.
'This is not the Spirit of Religion, nor of its Author,
but an open Departure from that Spirit. It is the
Spirit of Faction and Fury, which utterly blinds Men,
and extinguishes that of Peace and Charity, without
which Men cannot be Followers of Chriſt.
Did we
not daily fee it, it would be incredible, to what Ex-
travagancies religious Difputes will carry Men. Daniel
Tilenus, a learned Man, and public Profeffor (I think,
of Divinity) became fo heated in favour of Arminiafm,
in oppofition to Calvinism and Predeftination, that he
declared, were he obliged to change his Religion, he
would turn Turk fooner than Calvinist; for he denied
that the Calvinifts believed in God, and owned that the
Turks did. Grotius, when Ambaffador for Saveden in
France, had two Chaplains, a Calvinist and a Lutheran,
who
A Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
297
who preached by Turns. What they principally la-
boured was to revile one another, and their Sermons
were only Invectives. The Ambaffador, tired and a-
fhamed of the Extravagancies of theſe reverend Mad-
men, begged them to explain the Gofpel, without wound-
ing Chriftian Charity. This good Advice neither of
them reliſhed. His Lutheran Chaplain particularly re-
plied, that he must preach what God infpired; and went
on in the old Strain. For, all the Ravings of hot-head-
ed Divines are fathered upon God. Grotius at laſt or-
dered him either to forbear railing or preaching. The
meek Preacher turned away in great Wrath, expreffing
his Amazement, that a Chrißian Ambaſſador ſhould ſhut
the Mouth of the Holy Ghoft. This he thought terrible
Ufage, and Perfecution, and publiſhed his Complaints
every where, that Grotius had fut the Mouth of the Holy
Ghoft; that is, his Chaplain's Mouth.
I return to confider the Confequences of Power and
great Wealth in the Clergy. Thefe Acquirements of
Opulence and Dominion were fo foreign to the firſt
preaching of the Gofpel, fo little known to its Author,
and his Difciples, that 'tis no Wonder they aſſorted ſo
ill with it, and at laſt ſo ftrangely transformed it, and
even baniſhed all but the Name. What can be feen of
Chriſt and his Humility, of the Apostles and their Po-
verty, in the Pomp and Pride, in the Fiercenefs and Do-
mination of Priests? Is ought of the Plainneſs and
Simplicity of the Gofpel to be found in the Intricacies
of School Divinity, in the endiefs Wranglings and won-
derful Diſtinctions of Ecclefiaftics? Does the Pope, or
fuch as reſemble, or would reſemble the Pope, bear any
Likeness of Chrift, or of St. Peter? Did the Ambition
of the Bishops and Clergy, their Avidity for Power and
rich Churches, for which they contended with Blows,
and Bloodshed and Slaughter, come from Chrift, or from
the Genius of his Religion? Were the Seditions, Tu-
mults and War which enfued fuch ambitious Purfuits,
the Effects of a Chriftian, or of a Clerical Spirit? Yet
were not fuch Evils and terrible Calamities immediately
derived from the Thirft of the Clergy after Grandeur
and Authority?
N 5
At
298
A Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
At first they had no Revenue but Alms, and of thefe
Alms they had only a Share; but to that Share they at
laf added (I had almoſt faid feloniously) the Whole,
cheating the Donors, and robbing the Poor. They af-
terwards greatly enlarged thefe Revenues (which were at
first chiefly ufurped) by Arts and Contrivances fufficient-
ly wicked and vile, even by deceiving filly Women and
Bigots, and felling them Salvation for prefent Money
and Rents; by terrifying the Weak and Dying, and
forcing them to compound for Heaven, by parting with
all that they poffeffed on Earth. Father Paul, that ra-
tional and honeft Clergyman, fays, that the Church is
beholden for her greateſt Legacies and Donations, to the
Bounty of infamous Women, Strumpets and Proſtitutes,
or to that of peevish People, who thus gratified their
Spite towards their own Blood and Relations.
And as
the Church had no Riches but what were freely given
her, or taken or gotten unjustly by her; fo fhe had no
Power but what was either begged or ufurped. What
Uſe they have made of both, we have already feen. It
is moſt natural, that what is ill gotten, fhould be ill
ufed.
It would make a curious Hiſtory, to difcover and ex-
plain minutely, from what particular Men, and by what
particular Arts and Application, every Farm, every E-
ftate and Donation, now poffeffed by Churchmen, was
at first acquired. I queftion, whether any Revenues in
the World were ever fo wickedly procured; fince to in-
rich the Church, all Means, even Wickedneſs, Murder
and Impiety, were deemed lawful. Thus Affaffins and
Blafphemers merited Protection and Abſolution; Tyran-
ny and Oppreffion were warranted and fanctified; holy
Snares were laid, falfe Terrors fpread, Miracles forged,
God's Name belied, and Jefus and his bleffed Mother
profanely perfonated by Priefts, to delude Enthufiafts;
as if theſe heavenly Beings had thus honoured them with
a Vifit in Perfon.
It were endleſs to enumerate all the Arts and Impie-
ties, Impoſtures and Lies, by which Churchmen for-
merly filled their Coffers, at the Expence, and through
the Stupidity of Laymen. And though no Poffeffions
were ever fo impiouſly obtained, I never heard any In-
Rance
A Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
299
ftance of their parting with them from Remorfe or Shame,
even whilft the right Heirs, by being thus deprived of
their Eftates, were ftarving, and the Poffeffors (or rather
Ufurpers) gorged with more Wealth than they could
ufe even in their Luxury and Debauches. Whatever
was once annexed to the Church, in thefe Days of Ufurp-
ation and Darknefs (however knavifhly or violently
obtained) was forthwith facred and unalienable; nay,
it became no lefs than Sacrilege, to diveft her of what
The had gained by Robbery and Fraud. For, whatever
was once hers, even her Frauds and Crimes, were holy;
and it was profane to cenfure them, or indeed to fee
them; and he was profane, nay atheiſtical, who did it.
Whoever found Fault with the Church, was an Enemy
to the Church; and he who was an Enemy to the Church,
was an Atheiſt. Hence the frequent and ridiculous Ap-
plication of Atheiſm and Blafphemy, till theſe two
Words, of themfelves very awful, grew contemptible.
As to the Quantity of the Church's Wealth, the never
knew any Stint or Bounds; but whilft the Laity had to
give, he took, till in fome Countries fhe had all, and
they Rags and no Bread.
Even in this Proteftant Nation, it is computed, that
they have a fifth Part of our Wealth; yes, that fifteen
or twenty thousand Priests are endowed with the fifth
Part of the Property of eight Millions of People. Are
they fatisfied with this? And do they never aim at more,
or complain of this as too little? If they do, 'tis not
for the Reputation of their Modefty: I am forry to add,
that they are in a Way of draining and monopolizing all
the Wealth of England. It is thought, that the Reve-
nue of the Churchmen is at prefent as large as in the
Times of Popery, notwithſtanding the Demolition of
fo many Monafteries, and the Seizure of their Reve-
nues; confidering that the Clergy then maintained the
Poor, who are now fupported chiefly by the Laity, at
an immenfe Charge, no lefs than two Millions a Year.
There are indeed fome Individuals who have very ſmall.
Salaries: But whofe Fault is that? Are there not others,
who wallow in Thouſands, yet do lefs Duty than ſuch
as are in conſtant Service with Appointments of ten or
twenty Pounds a Year? Why fhould not the Wealth of
N 6
the
300
A Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
the Church be more equally and charitably divided. But
fo it often is, that the more Churchmen have, the more
they feek, yet the lefs they do. To all this I wish it were
not in my Power to add, but it is true, and I muſt add
it, that whatever Corruptions have crept into the Church,
did fo by the Contrivance, at leaſt by the Connivance, of
Churchmen, and were never afterwards removed by
their Confent.
They are always forward to complain of Innovati-
ons, and of diſturbing Things that are ſettled. But who
have made more Innovations than Churchmen? Who
have more diſturbed and changed' Religion and States,
by their Ambition, by their Difputes, by their turbulent
Behaviour and exorbitant Claims? And, who are fo
much given to change? What Changes, what violent
and lawlefs Changes were there not wrought by Laud
and his Brethren in his Time, and always attempted by
thoſe of his Spirit ever fince? The Laity have been
only on the defenfive, warding off the Attempts and
monftrous Demands of fuch of the Clergy, and anſwer-
ing their wild Writings. What is a great Part of Ec-
clefiaftical Hiſtory, but a continual Detail and Repeti-
tion of the Efforts of the Clergy to govern Mankind,
and to mafter the World? Was not this an Innovation
with a witnefs, a Propenfity to change, and actual and
alarming Change? Were they not continually attempt-
ing to be what they were not, to have what they had
not, ftill to be richer, ftill to be greater? Could there
be a greater Change than from the Almímen of the
People to become Lords and Princes; from Poverty and
Humility, to rife to Mitres and Diadems, and Domini-
on? And could fuch a Change, a Change fo mighty
and unnatural, be accompliſhed without turning the
World upfide down?
This is fomething more than quieta movere, fome
thing more than disturbing Things that were quiet. Did
not Laud actually mafter and abolish the Laws of his
Country, affert the Independency of the Clergy upon
the Civil Power, and terrify the Judges from iſſuing
Prohibitions, as they were actually fworn to do? And
did the Spirit of Laud, and this Paffion in the Clergy of
his Stamp, for Dominion, Independency, and Princely
Revenues,
A Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
301
Revenues, die with Laud? No: They have even im-
proved upon his Scheme, and added, if poflible, to his
wild and enflaving Pretenfions; and, as a Proof that
they were the Ptetenfions of the Body, at leaſt of the
Majority, the Convocation could never be perfuaded to
cenfure them.
In fhort, whoever doubts, whether they (I mean all
along, fuch of the Clergy as ambitiouſly purſued Power)
have not been the Authors of Changes in the World, of
great and calamitous Changes; whether they have not
themſelves changed and degenerated from their Patterns
and Original, need only read Hiftory, and compare
them with Chrift and his Apoftles, compare their Prc-
tenfions, Pomp, Luxury, and Poffeflions, with the Sim-
plicity, Humility, Labour, and Difintereſtedness of the
Primitive Chriftians.
The Truth, I doubt, is, when they make this Com-
plaint, which is very uſual with them, the it is not ſafe
to diſturb Things which are eſtabliſhed, they only mean
to difcourage People from disturbing them in their fa-
vourite Purfuit after Power and Riches. Whatever is
cftabliſhed by the New Teftament and the Law, no Man
that I know is for diſturbing. But if they have Aims
and Demands which are neither warranted by Chriſt
nor the Conſtitution, it is right, and chriſtian, and le-
gal, to diſturb, and even to defeat them.
Such high Claimers, therefore, of Princely Rule and
Opulence (if there be any fuch) are the Men given to
change; and it is always juſt to oppofe Ufurpation, to
redrefs Grievances, remove Nuifances, and to attack
Fraud, Avarice, and Nonfenfe.
It would be endleſs to deduce Particulars. But fup-
poſe any affuming Clergyman were fo extravagant and
daring, and had fo little Regard to Confcience and pub-
lic Tranquillity, as to attempt to eſtabliſh an Ecclefi-
aftical Tribunal in our Colonies abroad, to the Terror
and Affliction of our Brethren there, who were many
of them firſt driven thither by the Oppreffion and Bar-
barity of fuch Courts here, eſpecially in Archbishop
Laud's Reign; would not fuch an Attempt tend to a
bold Innovation, and diſcover a bufy, an arrogant and
dangerous Spirit in fuch a Clergyman; and would he
not
302
A Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
not be a good Subject and an honelt Man, who fet him-
ſelf againſt ſuch a lewd Attempt, and expofed its wick-
ed Tendency?
Suppofe any other Clergyman fuch an Enemy to the
Civil Conftitution, and to the Church of England, or
fuch a Deferter from it, as to contend for the Indepen-
cy of the Clergy, for their Exemption from the Civil
Laws, nay for trying a Clergyman when he is tried, by
a Jury of Clergymen; would not fuch a Man deſerve
fevere Animadverfion and Punishment; and would it
not be honeſt and meritorious, to defend the Laws, and
repulfe this their Enemy, this Innovator, this Papiſt ?
Suppofe any other defigning Prieft, fond of promot-
ing Superftition for the Ends of Authority and Gain,
fhould abufe the Credulity of the People, by pretend-
ing to convey Holiness into Ground and Stone Walls;
as if Earth or Stone, or any thing inanimate, were ſuſ-
ceptible of S.nity, or their Quality to be altered by
folemn Words; and all this without any Colour of War-
rant from Law or Gofpel, but in Oppofition to the Spi-
rit of both; would not fuch a crafty Priest be a falſe
Guide, an Innovator, who relinquifhed Truth and the
Proteftant Religion, to promote Error, and to introduce
Popery and Delufion? And would not he who refifted
and confuted him, be a Friend to Society, a Defender
of Truth, and a Foe to Fraud?
Suppofe any Clergymen fo bent upon exalting Church-
men and their Revenue (for the fureWay of raiting Them
is to raiſe That) that he encouraged Deſigns and Schemes
for transferring the whole Wealth of a Nation, by no
flow Degrees, into the Coffers of the Clergy; would
not ſuch a Man be a Promoter of Change, of a univer-
fal and melancholy Change, and a declared Enemy to
the Laity? And would it not be becoming Laymen,
nay, incumbent on them, to be upon their Guard, to
ſecure their Eſtates, and to preſerve themſelves and Po-
fterity from Poverty and Vaſſalage?
Suppofe (once more) that any other Clergyman fhould
have the Boldnefs to declare publickly, that a Brother
Clergyman (a Bishop, for Example) ftill continued a
true Biſhop of the Church of Chrift, even though he
Bood convicted of, and deprived for the higheſt and
blackeft
t
A Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
303
blackeft Crimes, namely, Perjury, Difloyalty, Confpi-
racy, Treafon and Rebellion; would not fuch a Decla-
ration be highly infolent, fcandalous, and punishable?
To tell thofe who make Prieſts, that they cannot unmake
them, nor one of them, would be to tell them, that
Prieſts are above the Law and the Laity; that the Cler-
gy have a Power and Deſignation which Laymen can-
not take away, though the Laity and the Law actually
create them, and confer upon them the only Defigna-
tion that they can have, nay, confer their whole Office;
nor does our Conftitution particularly own, or know
any Character in any Subject whatſoever, but what the
Law alone beſtows; and all the Clergy renounce upon
Oath all Power whatſoever but what they derive from
hence. An Act of Parliament would to-morrow effec-
tually degrade all the Clergy in Great Britain; that is,
reduce them all to Laymen, and create fo many Prieſts
immediately out of the Laity, without a Jot more Ap-
paratus or Ceremony. Whoever is declared to be a
Prieft by any Society, is a Prieſt to them, and ceaſes to
be one the Moment they declare him none. The ftrange
Notion of an indelible Character is arrant Nonſenſe
and true Prieftcraft, nay the Ground-work of all Prieſt-
craft. Would it therefore be borne by an Affembly of
Law-makers, fo tender of their Liberties and of Pro-
teſtantiſm as ours are, to have this fame indelible Cha-
racter, this Root of Popery, maintained to their Faces ?
And would it not draw down their Indignation and Cen-
fures upon the bold Offender, I had almoſt faid, De-
ceiver? Surely it would; and therefore
I mention theſe Inftances as bare Poffibilities, which
can never be ſuffered in this free Proteftant Country,
but are common in Popiſh Countries, nay, are fome of
the reigning Tenets and Practices which fupport Popery.
How zealous Laud was in fuch Popish Practices and Te-
nets, I have not now Time to explain. Read his Life
and Trial.
It is now high Time to draw towards a Conclufior,
by confidering briefly what produced the Tragedy of
this Day; a Confideration which will lead us to fee
how fuch Tragedies are to be prevented. The imme-
diate Inftruments of the King's Murder were violent
Men, fupported by a powerful Army, gained and com-
manded
304
A Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
manded by a Ufurper. This Power in the Army, and
his Power over it, were the Effects of the Civil War,
which was itſelf caufed by the Mifunderſtanding and
Struggle between the King and Parliament. What ori-
ginally produced this Mifunderſtanding, which pro-
duced all the reft, is what we are principally to attend
tɔ. It is of much leſs Moment to know by what Hands
the King fell, than to know how fuch Hands, or any
Hands, came to be lifted up againſt him.
Now, if we enquire into the firſt Cauſe, from which
all the reft naturally followed, we fhall find that the
Violence of his Reign caufed his violent End. It is not
to be denied nor difguifed, that from the very Begin-
ning the Court aimed at arbitrary Power, openly pur-
fued it, and for fifteen Years together practifed it, raifing
Money without Law, and againſt Law; which was Rob-
bery in thoſe who enforced the Collection of it; im-
prifoning Men, the beſt and greateſt Men, without Law
and againſt Law; which was lawless Cruelty; feizing
the Lands and Eitates of others, without Right and a-
gainſt Right; which was flagrant Oppreffion and Vio-
lence; affuming and exercifing a Power to difpenfe with
Laws, that is, a Power to make and annul Laws; which
was manifeft Ufurpation; and, in fhort, eſtabliſhing an
Arbitrary and Turkish Authority over the Perfons, and
Rights and Fortunes of the People; which was apparent-
and undeniable Tyianny.
Between Law and Violence, between Right and Ty-
ranny, there is no Medium, no more than between Ju-
ftice and Oppreffion. If King Charles had no Right to
act thus, then his acting thus was Tyranny. If he had
a Right, of what Force are Laws and Oaths, and where
is our Conftitution, and boaſted Birthrights of Engliſh-
men, and our ancient Magna Charta? Why was his Son
King James turned out? why declared to have forfeit-
ed? And I would ask the Admirers and Defenders of
King Charles I. how they would have liked, how borne
fuch Violences, fuch lawleſs Doings and Mifrule in
King William; how in the late Reign; how in this?
How would they have reliſhed the Impriſonment of
their Perfons, Taxes laid on and exacted without Con-
fent of Parliament, arbitrary and exceffive Fines, their
Eftates
A Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
305
1¦
Etates feized, their Families impoverished or famifi.-
ing? Doubtless, no Men would have been louder in the
Cry of Tyranny; and very juſt and natural would have
been fuch a Cry. No fort of Men talk more warmly
and frequently now in favour of Liberty and Law. How
do they reconcile fuch Zeal and Profeffions with an
Approbation of the Reign of King Charles I. which was
one continued Series of Oppreffions, had aboliſhed Li-
berty and Law, and eſtabliſhed univerfal Slavery? How
would they have borne fuch terrible and tyrannical U-
fage? Very impatiently, I dare fay. If they fay other-
wife, no reaſonable Man will believe them, nor have
they, upon Trial, ever fhewed much Paffivenefs of Spi-
rit. Befides, if they juftify the enflaving Meafures
then; they are not in earneft, or utterly inconfiftent
with themfelves now, when they extol public Liberty,
and are for reftraining Kings and their Miniſters to
Reafon and Law.
What we have therefore to do on this Day, is not on-
ly to abhor the bloody Death of the King and wicked
Inftruments of it, but to abhor alfo his evil and wicked
Government for fifteen Years together; abhor the impi-
ous Principles which were then countenanced and pre-
vailed, with the traiterous and ungodly Broachers and
Promoters of fuch; and all the evil and arbitrary Coun-
fellors then and fince. And as we lament his latter End,
let us deteft the Beginning and Courfe of his Reign,
which was as enormous and guilty, as his Cataftrophe
was mournful and barbarous. Was it crying Guilt thus
to cut him off, as furely it was? Was it not alfo crying
Guilt in the Crown, to abandon its Duty, to violate the
Coronation Cath, to tread upon Law and Juſtice, to
perfecute Confcience, to rob and opprefs the People, and
from limited and lawful, to become lawleſs and arbi-
trary? And is it not equally reaſonable, equally be-
coming us, as Engliſhmen and Freemen, to commemo-
rate and deteft an Adminiſtration fo pernicious and de-
vouring, Meatures fo black and lawlefs? Is it not our
Duty to take Warning by them, and whenever we are
threatened with them, to guard against them; to watch
every Principle of Slavery, and fupprefs it betimes; to
rejoice that we live in happier Times, live in a free Go-
vern-
306
A Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
to
vernment, and under the free Courfe of the Laws
pray for the Continuance of fuch an invaluable Bleffing,
and be dutiful and affifting to that good and great Prince
who fecures it to us, and claims nothing to himſelf, but
what our Parliaments and the known Laws give him?
Let us alfo learn a Leffon from the Behaviour of the
Clergy at that Time; and as they were then become
wanton with extravagant Power, and ufed it very cruel-
ly, in perfecuting and oppreffing their Fellow-Subjects;
let us take Care for the future, that they who are ſet
apart for the Purpoſes of Holinefs, be not fpoiled by the
unnatural Poffeffion and Exercife of worldly Bufinefs and
Authority. Methinks it is profaning holy Men, as they
are, to embark them in fecular Affairs, in the Commerce
and Occupations of Laymen and Worldlings. As they
miferably mifled that unhappy Prince, King Charles I.
it may ferve as a Warning to other Princes from being
led by them: And as they promoted and justified all un-
lawful and mercilefs Impofitions upon the Laity; as they
contended that we were obliged to undergo all Servitude,
to be tame Slaves to the mere Will of the Prince, and to
obey it as our only Law; we may from hence infer,
that whenever they leave preaching the Gofpel, and turn
Courtiers and Politicians, they are out of their Element,
and thence grow more wild and extravagant, as well as
more wicked, and fhameleſs and falfe than other Men
are.
It would never have entered into the Heart of a Lay.
man, that the merciful God authoriſed Iniquity, Perju-
ry, Perfidiouſneſs and Tyranny; and that any miferable
Wretch, who had all theſe crying Sins to anſwer for, was
ſtill facred, and the Vicegerent of God; or that God, who
hates Wickedneſs, had forbid to refift, that is, to reme-
dy the highest and most complicated Wickedness, nay
damned all who had Senfe and Virtue enough to do ſo.
Theſe Poſitions were Moniters, formed by Clergymen
out of their Sphere, and in high Fafhion with Laud and
his Affociates. Was it very natural for the Laity to love
and reverence fuch Clergymen, or thefe monftrous Pofi-
tions? The Lord faid unto me, The Prophets prophely Lies
Name; I fent them not, neither have I commanded
them, neither pake unto them: They prophesy unto you a
in
my
fulfe
A Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
307
falfe Vifion and Divination, and a Thing of nought, and
the Deceit of their Hearts. Jer. xiv. 14. Would it not
therefore be prudent to keep all Clergymen from thus
expofing themſelves to Hate and Ridicule, and from pro-
moting Miſchief and Mifery amongst the Laity? And is
not this their Guilt infinitely more heinous and aggra-
vated than that of the greateſt private Sinner can be, as
it affects and involves whole Nations, and is impiously
covered with the Veil of Religion?
According to this Rule, and I think it a true Rule, the
blackeſt Felon that ever fuffered, was an Innocent in
Compariſon of Laud, and thofe of his Leaven; and had
Laud confumed his Time in Debauchery, he could have
done but ſmall Hurt, compared to what he did as a
Troubler and Seducer of the World. His Morals, as a
private Man, did but heighten his Credit to do Miſchief.
With what an ill Grace muft fuch Men rebuke private
Vice and the Detail of Sins, they who vend and com-
mit Sins by the Grofs? This is indeed to fwallow Ca-
mels and ftrain at Gnats. Crimes are to be meaſured
by their Confequences; and he who perfecutes Men, he
who miſleads them and enflaves them, is the moft guilty,
the moſt monstrous and gigantic of all Criminals. Had
Laud been a Pariſh Prieft, and confined himſelf to the
Duties of one; or being a Biſhop, had he done fo; he,
who was a Man of Learning and Morals, might have
been an innocent, nay, an ufeful Man. But as he and
his Brethren would needs fway the Court and the Nation,
they overturned both by the wickedeft of all Means, even
by an Excefs of Tyranny and Oppreffion. It was they
who raiſed, or at leaft increaſed the Storm, which at laſt
ruined the Public, and overwhelmed them in the public
Ruins.
Theſe therefore are the Things and Perfons now pro-
per to be commemorated. From thefe we are to take
our Marks and Warnings againſt a Relapfe into the like
evil Days and Calamities: And if there be any Curfe
ftill fubfifting, derived from the King's Blood, it muſt
justly lie upon them who approve the Men and Meaſures
that firft rendered him arbitrary and oppreffive, and
thence unpopular and diſtruſted. Here the Evil began,
and from hence it was propagated like a Train. Had
he
368
A Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
he always ruled, as he afterwards too late propofed to
rule, when Men were irritated and engaged, and full of
Diftruft, there had been no civil War, nor a conquering
Army, nor an Oliver, nor confequently Royal Blood
fpilt. His Defign and Promiſes to govern better after-
wards (when he found that the Laws and Conftitution
would prevail) have been often urged and repeated, and
are a Confeffion that he had governed ill before. Per-
haps he meant to perform them. It is certain his Mif-
rule had been fadly felt; nor is there any Proof but his
Word, that he intended to change: That Word had
been often and egregiously broken, efpecially in the Bill
of Rights, which he folemnly promiſed to obferve; yet
he afterwards openly violated that juft Bill.
How this Prince comes to be fill fo extremely popu-
lar amongst many of the Clergy, and confequently
amongst many of the Laity, influenced by them, is ob-
vious enough. He was a very great Bigot to the Church,
to Ceremonies and Shew in Religion, and to the Power
and Pomp of Churchmen. Theſe he cheriſhed, and ex-
alted, and obeyed; inveſted them with his own Power,
and ſurrendered to them almoft the whole Supremacy;
and not only fuffered them to enjoy the Ufe of it as a
Prefent from hin, but fuffered them to feize it for them-
felves, and even to deny his Title to it. For fuch Court
and Favour to them, for humouring them in their Per-
fecution of the Puritans, for his glutting them with
Power, and becoming their Creature, rather than Sove-
reign and Head of the Church, they promoted and con-
fecrated all the Exceffes, Oppreffions, and lawleſs Mea-
fures of his Reign, becauſe all theſe Violences were ex-
ercifed over the Laity; and the Churchmen were ſo far
from feeling them, that they fhared in his Domination,
and acted the King too in their Place and Turn. This
is the true Source of fo much Merit and Praife; for
this he is adored and fainted; for this he has been often
compared to Jefus Chrift in his Sufferings; and for this
the Guilt of murdering him has been reprefented as
greater than that of crucifying our bleffed Saviour.
Theſe their Panegyrics are, in truth, partial and
fhameful in all Refpects, as well as impious and pro-
fane; fince thence they who utter them make it evident,
that
A Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
309
that they care not how a Prince abufes his Truft, and
oppreffes his Lay Subjects, if he will but humour and
aggrandize the Clergy; elfe why fo much Incenſe and
Applauſe beſtowed upon a Prince who actually did fo?
This is partial and diſhonourable; nor can there be a
greater Infult upon the Laity, than to defire, or even
hope, that they ſhould join in fuch Praiſes and Applaufe.
They who feel Oppreffion, cannot extol him who com-
mits it, nor reckon him a good King, who uſes them
like Slaves.
No Sort of Men are more tender than the Clergy,
when their Property, or Perfons, or Privileges are touch-
ed, or more fevere and refenting, or even more unfor-
giving towards ſuch as meddle with either. I fear much,
that had the Clergy been then ufed as the Laity_werc,
treated like mean Slaves, worried with arbitrary Power
and Impofitions, and imprifoned upon mere Will and
Command, this Day would not have been commemo-
rated at all, or perhaps commemorated in a very diffe-
rent Manner. Why should not the Laity too have felt
and refented Indignities donc, and Violences committed
againſt the Laity? Was it natural or poffible to praiſe
and honour the Author of fuch Violence and Indignities?
When the Clergy were pleafed and gratified, they might
rejoice, though it be not generous to triumph when
others fuffer, nay, by their Sufferings. But the Laity
could not exprefs Joy, when they had juft Cauſe to for-
row and mourn; or was it poffible they fhould?
Such is the Difference between the Laity and the
High Clergy, with regard to King Charles I. and Arch-
bishop Laud. They adore the Archbishop, becauſe he
raiſed their Power beyond all Reafon and Law, and
was furious in the Exercife of fuch ufurped Power :
They adore the King for fuffering fuch Encroachment,
for being fubfervient to the Pride and Purfuits of Church-
men, and for dividing the Sovereignty with them. But
as both the King and the Archbishop abuſed their Power,
oppreffed and perfecuted the Laity, the Laity can com-
mend neither; and have good Reafon to pray, that
they may never ſee fuch a King, nor ſuch an Archbiſhop,
any more for ever, and blefs God for their prefent happy
and different Situation. This is indeed juft and copious
Caufe
310 A Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
Caufe for Joy and Thankſgiving. King George reigns,
the Jaws prevail, Diffenters and private Confcience are
protected, the Clergy have their Dues, and to all Men
their Property is religioufly fecured. This is Protection,
this is Liberty, this is Renown, and we are happy',
and ought to be dutiful and content.
As to fuch Churchmen who will be contending, that
the Clergy are a diftinct Body from the Laity, with fc-
parate Interefts and Views, they cannot be furprized to
fee, that the Laity improve the Hint and Example, and
take Care of themfelves. It is very natural for the Laity
to remember, that they alone give and continue to the
Clergy what they have, and make them what they are.
It is natural for them to be alarmed, when they hear the
lawleſs Rule of King Charles I. applauded, his lawlefs
and oppreffive Measures juftified of excufed, and him-
felf fainted and adored. This is a bold and awakening
Infult, and a full Declaration, that if High-Churchmen
can but flouriſh and domineer as they did then, they care
not how much the Laity droop and decay; nay, ap-
prove and encourage the Bonds and Diſtreſſes of the
Laity And as a Proof how violently in earneſt ſuch
High-Churchmen are in their Panegyrics upon that King
and his Reign, they treat as Monſters and falfe Bre-
thren, all impartial Clergymen, that refufe to falfify and
daub as they do; infomuch that fuch reaſonable and mo-
derate Clergymen as confefs the Truth, and love the
Law and the Laity, and are willing to do Juftice to both,
are fcorned and derided, and reviled, as bad Church-
men, that is, as Friends to the Conftitution, to Liberty,
and Laymen, and fuch only as the Laity ought to
efteem. Surely the Laity cannot but confider as open
Foes, fuch Men as vindicate the Oppreffion and Bond-
age of the Laity: And that the Laity were thus ufed
by that King, is Fact; and it is Fact alfo, that in ufing
the Laity thus, he was abetted and prompted by all
High-Churchmen then, and juftified by all fuch ever
fince. Is it not full time for us Laymen to fee thefe
Things, to refent fuch Infults, and to mark fuch In-
fulters? Is it not fair in us, is it not natural for us, to
diſtinguiſh with all Countenance and Favour, thofe Cler-
gymen alone, who contend for the Liberty and Rights
of
A Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
311
of the Laity, and condemn all the mad and extrava-
gant Claims, and all the felfifh and violent Tenets of
High-Churchmen?
As to the black Fact committed on this Day, all Men
agree to condemn and abhor it, as utterly unlawful, vio-
lent, and full of Guilt. But this is not enough for
High-Churchmen, unlefs all the Oppreffions and Ex-
ceffes, all the wicked Counsellors and Inftruments of
that Reign be likewife excufed, if not extolled. This
is what they themselves have ever confidently undertaken
to do, in the Face of the moſt glaring Truth and Facts.
How we Laymen ought to confider this Day, and theſe
Men, I have already faid. In truth, had not there been
fuch Men then, there had not been fuch a Day now.
By them the unhappy King, of himfelf, very vain of un-
bounded Power, and fond of fetting Royalty above Right,
was abetted and encouraged to purfue fuch Measures as
ended in much Mifery to him, as well as to his People:
By fuch Men his Son was tempted to try the ſame dan-
gerous and guilty Experiment; and by trufting to fuch
Men, to their unnatural Whims and deadly Flattery,
he loft his Crown and his Honour, lived an Exile, and
died a Beggar.
From hence, and from all that has been faid, let us
learn a Leſſon proper for this Day, and for every Day;
that is, let us take great Care, according to the Words
and Warning of my Text, that the Hypocrite reign not,
left the People be infnared.
P. S. The Author of this Sermon finding his Matter
increaſe, and his Sermon already too long, referves what
he has farther to fay, to a Supplement, which he will
foon publiſh, addreſſed to a very important and moſt ſo-
lemn Churchman.
A
312
A Supplement to the
A Supplement to the Sermon preached at
Lincoln's-Inr, on January 30. 1732.
Addreffed to a very important and most
folemn Churchman, Sollicitor-General for
Caufes Ecclefiaftical.
I
By THOMAS GORDON, Eſq;
Holy Father,
Anno 1733.
Apply to you without Form or Compliment, about
certain Doubts and Difficulties, which, I am told,
no Man is fo fit as you to anſwer and refolve. Your
great Abilities (I do not fay in Divinity; for that is a
very different thing, but) in Canons, Diſtinctions, Dif-
cipline, and all Parts of Church-Attorneyfhip, are al-
lowed by all Men; even fuch as difpute his Ma-
jefty's Title to the Crown, allow you that of an Ex-
cellent Churchman. As I aim at no Preferment, and there-
fore bring no Incenfe, I was willing to fhew you, that
it was poffible to dedicate to you without Worship or
Daubing. Befides, I take this my Addrefs to you to be
exceeding fuitable; fince you, who have made Church-
Power and Church-Revenues fo much your Care and
Purfuit, are a proper Judge, whether what I have faid
of the evil Influence of Church-Power and Revenue
over Religion and human Society be true.
You, who muſt have traccd Ecclefiaftical Grandeur up
to its firſt Sources, and marked its Progrefs, Improve-
ments and Variations, can readily explain how it arofe,
how it was uſed, whether righteously acquired, whether
honeftly employed, how it affected the Laity, how the
Clergy; what Tendency it had to advance Religion,
and civil Happineſs, what Succefs in mending the Mo-
rals, and increafing the Humility and pious Labours of
Churchmen,
You,
Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
313
You, who are known to contend for Ecclefiaftical
Authority, can demonftrate what that Authority is,
whence derived, by whom and over whom to be exer-
cfed, how to be reconciled to Confcience, Chriftianity,
and common Senfe; whether it can produce or preſerve
Conviction, and make Men Chriftians, or continue
them fo; and whether fuch Authority be confiftent
with Reafon and Grace, or whether Reafon and Grace
do not exclude and deftroy fuch Authority; as alfo how
fuch Authority confiits with the Oaths of the Clergy,
who fwear to renounce all Claim to any Power of
any Kind or Sort whatſoever, but what they derive
from the Crown.
Pray tell us, what any Clergyman can do, which any
Layman, who can read and write, cannot do, and
may not do, if the Law appoint him? Is it not the
Law alone, which has the Power to qualify, and can
alone difqualify? Whoever maintains the contrary, in-
curs a Pramunire. Have the Clergy any Revelation
but the Bible? And is not fuch Revelation made to
the Laity, and indeed, without Reſtriction, to all Men ?
And are not the neceflary and practical Parts of the
Bible very plain and intelligible to Laymen? And have
Clergymen ever agreed about explaining the dark
Parts? I with none had ever endeavoured to darken the
cleareſt Parts of it, or to hide and fupprefs the Whole.
If the Aflertion of any Powers inviſible in Men, that is,
Powers which have no visible Effect, be other than a
Dream and Forgery; you will do well to fhew what they
are, whence they are, and how they effect their ftrange
and inviſible Feats. To read Prayers, and Scriptures,
and Sermons; to give Bread and Wine, and fay Words
over them; to fprinkle Water upon Babes; to declare
what offends God and his Law; and to wear Gowns
and Bands, and broad Hats, are Exploits which may
be performed by very mean Men amongit the Laity:
And to judge and declare who are qualified to perform
them, is a Task as eafy as the reft. Will you fay,
that fuch Functions are lefs effectual in a Layman, or
more fo in a Clergyman? Who told you fo? It may
be fo faid in the old Popith Canons, or Schoolmen, and
VOL. II.
о
in
314
A Supplement to the
in the extravagant Writings of fome Ecclefiaßics; but
no where in the New Teſtament.
Will you fay, that God blefies any pious Office done
by a Layman, lefs than when done by a Clergyman?
And what Idea would this give us of God? Will you
fay that a little Infant, free from Offence, and incapa-
ble of offending, is therefore debarred from Heaven, or
any Part of Blifs, becauſe he dies unbaptized, or was
baptized by a Layman? And what Idea does fuch a Te-
net exhibit of the divine Being? Or, if a Layman can
do this facred Office effectually, why not more Offices,
and all ?
You know what impious Notions many Clergymen
have broached and held about Baptifm, as if no Salva-
tion could be had without it, and no Baptifm without
them. This is one of the mcnftrous, I had almoſt ſaid
blafphemous, Whims refulting from the other monftrous
Whim, that of an indelible Character; which is a Whim
fo very ftrange and inconceivable, that where 'tis once
believed and eſtabliſhed, 'tis no wonder to fee the wild-
eft Extravagancies, and even Impoffibilities and Con-
tradictions maintained and believed in confequence of
it: Since from any fenfelefs Pofition whatſoever, endleſs
Deductions of Nonfenfe can be drawn, and may feem
naturally to follow; and one Contradiction fhall pro-
duce, and illuſtrate, and prove an hundred Contradic-
tions. Thus, if either the indelible Character, or apo-
itolic Succeffion, or Infallibility, or Power of binding
and loofing be but allowed; from thefe, or any of
thefe, all the moſt fraudulent, fanatical, and engroffing
Claims of the Pope and Popish Clergy, may be deduced
and eſtabliſhed.
May not a Layman perform all fpiritual Offices, where
there are no Clergymen ? Is a Chapter of the Bible leſs
edifying, when read by a Layman, than when read by
a Clergyman? I ask this the rather, becauſe I knew a
Tradefman, who read Prayers and the Scripture on Sun-
days, at a foreign Fishery, where there were no Clergy,
and he was therefore thought proper to be put into
Deacon's Orders, as if he had been thence the better
qualified for reading Prayers and the Bible. Was this
Employment in him, either more facred, or
more ef-
fectual
Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
315
festual afterwards than before? If it was, what an Idea
does this too give us of the Great God? Or, have the
Clergy fucceeded better than Laymen, in appointing
one another? Father Paul fays, and Hiſtory fays, the
contrary. That excellent Writer lays it down as Fact,
that the beſt Bishops were made by Princes; and that
whenever the Clergy had the conducting of their own
Elections, infinite Diforders enfued: So little, or fo ill
Effect had their indelible Character in making and ap-
pointing one another. Was not this Pretence to an in-
delible Character, one great Source of Popery and the
Inquifition, and of all the Terrors, Frauds, and Defor-
anities of Prieftcraft? And was it not natural for Indelibi-
lity to produce Infallibility; and is there more to be faid
for the former than for the latter?
I fhould alfo be glad to hear you difcourfe rationally
about Pluralities and Commendams, and fhew their Con-
fiftency with the Duty and Call of fuch Churchmen as
poflefs them. As they who do not refide, do not labour,
Should fuch as do no Work, receive Pay? Beneficium
propter officium, was the Stile of old; and Benefices
were given for fpiritual Purpoſes. Indeed, the temporal
Part was only confidered in a fecond and circumftantial
Senfe. "Afterwards, fays Father Paul, the fpiritual
"Part was forgot, and nothing but the Profits regard-
"ed." This was lamentable Corruption; yet fuch as
dealt in it, and, in truth, in little elfe, called themfelves
holy Men that is, the moſt fordid, the moſt corrupt
and covetous, fuch as made Traffic of Churches and
Souls, affumed to be holy, and claimed an indelible
Character.
;
In the primitive Times, it was fcandalous and for-
bidden, that any Clerk fhould quit his Cure, though
ever fo poor, for another though richer. It was alledg-
ed and ordained, That if any Biſhop defpifed his Bi-
fhopric for being fmall, and fought after a greater Dio-
cefe and larger Rents, he ſhould not only never obtain
the greater Bishopric, which through Avarice he defired,
but even lofe that which he already poffeffed, and thro'
Pride defpifed. What can be a more facred Truft than
a Truft of Souls; what fo important? Does it not re-
quire all the Time and Attention that mortal Men can
beſtow?
O 2
316
A Supplement to the
beſtow? And how is fuch Duty to be reconciled to
Pluralities and Commendams, how to Non-refidence?
The holding of more Churches than one, was adjudged
by fome principal Fathers of the primitive Church, to
be fpiritual Polygamy: And I queftion, whether a Plu-
rality of Wives, though Felony by our Law, be fo fin-
ful, or can have fuch bad Confequences, when we con-
fider that fome Paftors, who are greatly endowed, hard-
ly ever fee the Faces of their Flocks: Some have feveral
Flocks, and feed none of them, but take vaft Pay for
nothing, and employ Underlings for poor Wages. If
thefe Underlings, and thefe poor Wages are fufficient,
as by their Practice thefe great Clergymen fhew that
they think, Is it not natural for the Laity to defire to
make as good Bargains as the Clergy? Is it not natu-
ral to conclude, that fince the higheſt and moſt folemn
Offices may be performed at a fmall Expence, as is ma-
nifeft from the hiring of Curates, it would be but Pru-
dence to ſave fuch high Revenues given to fuch as do no-
thing but hire others?
How a fpiritual Truſt once conferred, could be after-
wards delegated to another, the Truft itſelf transferred,
and the Advantages referved, I could never yet account
either from the Goſpel of Chrift, or from the natural
Ideas of Morality! Yet are not great Revenues daily
defired upon the Erection of any new Church, though
he who is to enjoy them, often does no Duty at all, but
leaves it to a cheap Hireling? And is not that Service for
which the Pariſh is to pay many Hundreds a Year, often
performed for thirty or forty Pounds a Year? Some Ci-
vil Trufts may be thus executed by Deputies; but is
this a Way to deal (I had almoft faid to traffic) with
Souls, and to be anfwerable for them? Is this ſpiritual
Fatherfhip? Is this apoftolic, or are thofe who do fo
till Succeffors to the Apoftles? I fhould be glad to
hear you explain this, and fhew whether any Man who
profeffed to turn Religion into a Trade, could act in
different or more lucrative manner.
I have likewife fome Doubts to propofe to you about
Excommunication, which, I fear, is little underſtood,
and greatly abuſed. If it were originally no more than
turning a Man out of a Society with the Laws of which
he
Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
317
he would not comply, as was really the Cafe, and as is
daily done in common Clubs, and in Juntoes of Tra-
ders; is it not notorious Abufe, as well as extremely
daring and wicked, to conftrue it into the difmal De-
livery of a Soul to the Devil and Damnation? Will you
fay, dare you venture to fay, that a Perfon excom-
municated is in the Power of Satan, and that fuch a
Sentence fends him thither? If it do, they who pro-
nounce it muſt be the moſt wicked and impious of all
Men; nor can any earthly Confideration excufe them.
Is it forTithe? Then is their Tithe dearer to them than
an immortal Soul. Is it not for Tithe, but for Contu-
macy, in not appearing and owning their Jurifdiction?
Then is their Pride and Jurifdiction of more Weight
with them, than the Salvation of Men? But if Excom-
munication have no fuch Effect, why is not the Bug-bear
removed, by explaining it into a reaſonable and a chri-
tian Meaning? Or rather, why is a Practice which
cannot be of God, fuffered to continue, why impiouſly
continued in his Name? And can any Man who de-
fends Excommunication, argue againſt Purgatory? The
temporal Effects of it are fufficiently heavy and hard;
fo hard, that nothing under the higheft Confideration
can juftify the Man who brings them down upon ano-
ther. Its fpiritual Operation, were it true, would in-
deed be fhocking and frightful. But who would affront
the Divine Being, by believing that he, the Author of
Mercy and Wiſdom, could contradict his own Nature
to gratify the Feevifhnefs and Cruelty of weak and re-
vengeful Men ?
They who are apt to bring the Charge of Blafphemy
against others, often upon very fmall, fometimes upon
very ludicrous Occafions, would do well to confider,
Whether there can be higher Blafphemy, than to affert
a Power in Man of directing or obliging the Almighty;
a Privilege to apply the Might and Terrors of Omnipo-
tence to the Perdition of Men? I prefume you will not
fay of Excommunication, what I am told the reverend
Dr. Fiddes fays of Popifh Indulgences in his Hiſtory of
Henry VIII. That they were a Treafure which the Church
bad been long in Poffeffion of
0 3
I le
318
A Supplement to the
I leave it therefore to your Judgment, whether this
fpiritual Engine be for the Service of Chrift's Church,
or for the Credit of fuch as call themfelves his Mini-
fters; and whether what is fhocking to Senfe and Hu-
manity, can ever be true in Religion, or a Part of Re-
ligion, I mean of the Chriftian Religion.
I would alfo humbly propofe it to your ferious
Thoughts, whether amongst your public Admonitions.
and Reproofs to the Laity, you might not think it ad-
vifeable, and find Caufe, to let your Brethren the Clergy
have their Share. Are there no prevailing Miſtakes or
Diſorders amongst them? No ftrange and unreaſonable
Claims maintained by them who are called Orthodox,
no extravagant Writings published, no wild and paffio-
nate Sermons preached? Is Orthodoxy alone never pre-
ferred by you to eminent Piety and Sufficiency, under
Sufpicion of Heterodoxy? Is the Man who afferts Chriſt's
Kingdom not to be of this World, as dear to you as they
who would found worldly Power upon the Goſpel of
Chrift, and erect a Priesthood with Power, in virtue of be-
ing Succeffors to him, who had no Power, and diſclaimed
all Power? Are you equally tender to the Failings of
Laymen, as to thofe of Clergymen? Or, is it your
Opinion and Policy, that the fame fhould be conceal-
ed and diffembled, at least not expofed to the profane
Laity?
I remember an Inftance, where I thought the Partia-
lity of a more than Reverend Clergyman too apparent;
for whilft He manifefted much juft Zeal for capitally
puniſhing certain beaftly Offenders againſt the Law, and
Purity and Defign of Nature, I mean Lay-Offenders; all
His Źcal cooled, at least produced fmall Effect, in the
Cafe of a Brother Doctor found to have been flagrantly
guilty of that Abomination for many Years, and often
in a very facred Place; yet this Doctor efcaped with
an Admonition and a ſmall Fine, in a Court too where
that more than Reverend Clergyman was thought to
have no fmall Influence. And I fuppofe, that that un-
natural Sinner was ftill efteemed to be a true Minifter
of the Church, fince he is ftill left to act as fuch, and
to receive the Stipend of fuch, doubtless to the great
Edification of Souls, and Credit of Orthodoxy and of E-
pifcopal
Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
319
-
pifcopal Courts. So far was that more than Reverend
Clergyman from applying, on this Occafion, to the ſe-
cular Arm, though He had juſt before praiſed it for find-
ing out, and pouring down its deadly Terrors upon,
fuch beftial Criminals.
A little of your public and private Advice to your
Brethren, recommending to thein more Meeknefs and
Moderation, with a Behaviour more complaifant and
lefs litigious towards the People, would be of uſe. I
hear that you give them very different Advice. even to
be as troubleſome and vexatious to their People as they
can, by departing from fettled Cuſtoms, and ſtarting
new Demands. Such Advice is by no means proper
for them, nor do they want it. It is certain, they would
do well not to render themſelves daily more unpopular
and obnoxious by Haughtinefs, Greedinefs, and Law-
Suits. My Lord Clarendon owns, that the Clergy of
that Time, fupported and animated by Archbishop
Laud, grew affuming, and lived not well with their
Neighbours in the Country. This bred ill Blood to-
wards them; and when they were pulled down, it was
remembered how infolently they had behaved when
uppermoft Hence the eafier Way was made for the
fowre and gloomy Set who fucceeded them.
The prefent daily Increaſe of their Property, their
Monopoly of Advowfons, their breaking all the Mo-
dus's, their frequent Succefs in trouble fome Suits, and
their apparent Fondneſs of fuch, help to footh and ex-
alt them: But all this is feen, and felt, and regretted
by the whole Body of the Laity, it may bring a St-m
ftrong enough to overthrow all theſe Advantages. Per-
haps too, Abuſes, not now thought of, will be then
fought, and found, and feverely redreffed.
This Thought is really painful to me; in the Since-
rity of my Heart I fpeak it; for I dread all great
Changes, and all Approaches towards fuch. I would
therefore have the Clergy provoke none: They must
not, in this inlightened Age, and an Age of Liberty,
think themſelves a Match for the Laity, were the Laity
once tempted to exert themfelves. Perhaps they were
never lefs a Match for the Laity than now. Times and
Countries have been, when the People were fo blind, or
04
fo
320
A Supplement to the
ío awed, that though Religion was turned publickly into
Power and Gain, they could not perceive it, or durft
not cenfure it. Such Times are no longer, nor is Eng-
land that Country now.
Modefty and Meekneſs, in the Language and Writ-
ings of the Clergy, is likewife always commendable,
and no more than good Policy. The fierce and provok--
ing Stile is not the Chriftian, nor the gaining Stile;
and Pride and Paffion are ill Proofs of Religion. But
moſt unpardonable is the Practice of fuch, who, when a
Man differs from them in any Ecclefiaftical Point, though
utterly foreign from Religion, yet charge him confident-
ly with Infidelity, let his Stile be ever fo Chriftian, and
his Profeffions for Chriftianity ever fo ftrong. This
Practice, follow it who will, is unchriftian and malici-
ous, but ſhamefully common. I therefore like Dr. Co-
nybear's late Book for his Temper and Civility; nor, as
far as I have looked into it, could I find any Strokes of
Pertnefs or Anger; two Ingredients very common in
the Works of Ecclefiaftics. Another Doctor, of fome
Name in Controverfy, and an Advocate and an An-
fwerer on the fame Side, hath fhewn fuch wild Trauf-
ports, fuch Virulence and Scurrility, that it is not to be
determined, whether the Madman, the Scold, or the
Executioner, predominate moft in his Compofition.
I have heard that even you, holy Father, with all
your Affectation of Smoothneſs and Temper, have treat-
ed Gentlemen with very coarfe Names, for no other
Reaſon, than that they differed from you about Matters
of Power and Speculation. This was not wife: (that
it was Hl-bred, I do not wonder) and it might tempt,
and perhaps warrant Gentlemen fo ufed to treat you
very roughly. A Monfier is by no means a proper
Name for Gentlemen, fome of them as well efteemed
and as generally beloved as you are. I could paint fuch
Ufage in Colours which you would not like. I could
likewife draw fuch a Character of fome who are dead
(for upon the Dead and Living, Monfter and Infidel are
Names which, it feems, you freely throw): I ſay, I
could repreſent ſome of them in fuch Lights, fuch true
Lights, as would equal, and, I doubt, much foil the
belt that you can be fhewn in. I could reprefent their
amiable
Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
321
amiable and benevolent Minds, their great Knowledge,
their elevated Capacity, their univerfal Integrity and
Love of Mankind, their Scorn of Hypocrify and little
Party Views, of narrow Spirits, and of every mean and
felfish Artifice.
But I want Room and Time to enter fully into the
pleafing and mournful Theme. Neither do I think my-
felf qualified to make equal Returns to coarfe Ufage.
Let me juft fay, that the Words Infidel and Infidelity, as
they are grown Terms of Anger and Reproach, can
feldom become the Mouth or Pen of a candid or well-
bred Man. Pardon me, when I affert, that every Man
living has as good a Right to differ in Opinion from
you, as you have to differ from him: If you think, or
maintain the contrary, you have a monstrous Share of
Pride or Folly; nor do I know a greater Monfter amongſt
Men, than the folemn Hypocrite, who pretends to de-
rive Pomp and Power, and worldly Wealth out of the
New Teftament; who would confine the uncontroul-
able Freedom of the Soul by human Articles and Re-
ftrictions, and treats fuch as follow Reaſon and not him,
with Spite and faucy Language.But I check myfelf;
nor will I finiſh my Picture of this Sort of Monſter, leſt
the Likeneſs might be too glaring. I therefore return
to adviſe you; and here let me affure you, that it is
repugnant to all Candor, and unworthy your Charac-
ter, to defcend to mean Solicitations, and to teaze for
Proſecutions againſt fuch Writings and Authors as thwart
you. In Matters of Religion, no Book which can be
anſwered, ought to be profecuted; nor can you find any
Honour in fuch Profecution, no more than you can
fhew Charity in procuring it. A Minifter of Truth
begging the Aid of worldly Penalties, in a Diſpute a-
bout Spirituals, makes a poor, a ſtrange, and a ſcan-
dalous Figure. Such Conduct feems only to fuit with
worldly Deſigns, and to bewray, if not the Weakneſs
of his Cauſe, at leaſt his Infufficiency to defend it.
To oppofe Force to juſt Reaſoning, is unjuft; to an-
fwer falfe Reaſoning by Force, it fooliſh and needlefs.
A bad Caufe is quickly refuted, a good Cauſe eaſily de-
fended; and Chriftianity, though it can bear much Se-
verity and Violence, can never exercife nor warrant
05
any 3:
322
A Supplement to the
nor was the Chriftian Name ever more abufed, than
when proſtituted to juftify Rigour and Violence: And
Puniſhment for Opinion might indeed be of Ecclefiafii-
cal, but could never be of Chriftian Pedigree.
You have, Holy Father, the Reputation of a strong
Churchman; and Charity obliges me to believe you a
Chriftian; (for the Chriftian Spirit is not fufpicious no
more than revengeful) be the Churchman ſtill; but let
the Chriftian predominate, and then I dare fay you will
never follicit another Profecution. The Clergy, to a
Man, believe your Heart bent upon Church Power, and
upon all the Means that lead to it. You have alfo
thoroughly convinced the Laity in this Point, though
'tis faid that you had rather they were not fo convinced,
and are wont to ſpeak to them in a Stile not at all fa-
vouring of a Paffion for facerdotal Rule: Which Beha-
viour in you is only artful, and muft not be called falſe
or infincere, fince Infincerity is not a Chriſtian Virtue.
But fuch Art, when found out, lofes its Ufe: You would
therefore do well to drop fuch of your grand Views as
bode not well towards the Laity; for they are upon their
Guard, and I would not have you put them upon try-
ing their Strength and Mettle.
Rather take a contrary and ſecurer Method; furrend-
er your weak Paffes, give up indefenfible Points, claim
nothing but what the Conftitution gives you, affect not
to be more than what the Law makes you; feparate not
yourſelf and Brethren too much from the Laity; for
woe be to you, if ever they ſhould feparate themſelves
from you. If upon Examination you find any Milftones
about the Neck of your Cauſe, any exceffive Abfurdi-
ties, any contradictory Tenets, any terrible Claims, any
hurtful or oppreffive Practices, any unpopular Princi-
ples or Rules, fuch as fquare not with the general In-
terefts and Sentiments of the Laity: Begin, O holy Fa-
ther, to throw off ſuch Milftones into the Sea, left they
pull you thither after them. 'Tis better to quit, with a
good Grace, even the moſt favourite Point or Miſtake,
than be forced to quit it with Shame and the Imputation
of Obstinacy.
What thofe Milftones, thofe indefenfible Points are, I
pretend not farther to explain to one of your Sagacity.
Some
Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
323
Some of them I have named. In your Reſearches for
others, perhaps it may merit fome Inquiry, or perhaps
very little, whether Ecclefiaftical Courts be any confider-
able Support or Credit to the Caufe of the Church (for
I think Religion has little to do with them). I will
venture to fay, that Excommunication is a Matter of
very ſerious, of very melancholy Attention to every Man
who believes in God, and has a Regard for the Bodies
or Souls of Men. Are there not moreover fome Things
in the Oath given to Church-wardens, hard, if not im-
poffible to he kept; either obliging them to be perjured
themſelves, or uneafy, and even intolerable to their
Neighbours? And are there not certain odd and contra-
dictory Oaths in the Univerfities, which are a Scandal
to Religion, and a Contradiction to Learning, and even
to Morality? And, does it not become the Zeal of any
Chriftian Paftor, to remove all fuch Scandals? And,·
would they not be removed, if Religion were as much
confidered, as Ecclefiaftical Policy and Power?
I would likewife humbly propoſe, whether a true, a
good, or even a Chriftian Ufe has been generally made
of the 30th of January? whether thofe of your Order
have generally acted upon it like Ambaffadors of Truth
and Peace? and whether either the Civil Government of
King Charles I. or the Ecclefiaftical Government of
Archbishop Laud, be proper Patterns to be followed in
a free and Chriſtian Country? I think that, in my Ser-
mon, I have amply fhewn that they are not.
Let me
add here one remarkable Paffage out of Rubworth:
"About this Time (in the Year 1636) the new Statutes
"for the Univerſity of Oxford were finiſhed and pub-
"liſhed in Convocation. The Preface difparaged King
"Edward the VIth's Times and Government, declaring
"the Difcipline of the Univerfity was difcompofed by
"that King's Injunctions, and that it did revive and
"flourish again in Queen Mary's Days under Cardinal
"Pool; when, by the much-to-be defired Felicity of
"thofe Times, an inbred Candor fupplied the Defect
"of Statutes.'
Was there ever in any Declaration, even from the Va-
tican, more of thePopish Stile and Spirit? The Times and
Government of that excellent Prince, that pious Pro-
0 6
teſtant
324
A Supplement to the
teftant and Reformer, Edward the VIth. are traduced by
an English Convocation, for his having unfettled the old
Popish Diſcipline, and reduced it nearer to the Genius
of the Reformation. The Days of that Popish Bigot,
Queen Mary, are wifhed for; that is, the Days when
Popery, with all its Power and Fury, was reſtored, the
Proteftant Religion aboliſhed, and Proteftants openly
and mercilefly burned; a Romish Cardinal is mentioned
and extolled for his Church Government, and Popish
Superftition, and Bigotry, and blind Obedience, are re-
preſented as inbred Čandor.
Say, Holy Father, were the Members of this Convo-
cation Proteftants, or was Laud, who governed them, a
Proteſtant? And, was it any Hardſhip or Wonder, that
he and they were repreſented as Papifts? And what was
that King who fubmitted to, and affifted them in, all
their violent and popiſh Purſuits? nay, was their Ad-
vocate against himſelf; when, inſtead of afferting his
Prerogative and Supremacy, and fupporting the Uni
verfity of Cambridge, who oppofed Laud's Vifitation of
them, as what he could not undertake without the King's
Commiffion; he, even the King in Perfon, argued for
this Ufurpation, for this Invafion of his Royalty, for
this Seizure and Impropriation of his Power and Dig-
nity?
Strange Condefcenfion and Folly in him, as well as
Inconfiftency of Character! fond of exalting the Prero-
gative over the Belly of Law and Juftice where the Laity
were concerned, yet poorly laying it under the Feet
of the Clergy, where the Protection of his People, and
his own Duty and Honour, called upon him to preſerve
and exert it. I ſhall here add a further Catalogue of
his Oppreffions, as the fame are fummed up in a lively
manner, by the late excellent Mr. Trenchard, in his Short
Hiftory of Standing Armies in England..
CC
"This King's whole Reign was one continued
"Act againſt the Laws: He diffolved his firſt Parlia-
ment for prefuming to enquire into his Father's Death,
though he loft a great Sum of Money by it, which
they had voted him: He entered at the fame time in-
"to a War with France and Spain, upon the private
"Piques of Buckingham, who managed them to the
eternal
Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
325
C.6.
eternal Dishonour and Reproach of the English Na-
tion; witnefs the ridiculous Enterprizes upon Cadiz
and the Ifle of Rhec: He delivered Pennington's Fleet
into the French Hands, betrayed the poor Rochellers,
and fuffered the Proteftant Intereſt in France to be
quite extirpated: He raiſed Loans, Excifes, Coat
"and Conduct-Money, Tunnage and Poundage, Knight-
hood and Ship-Money, without Authority of Parlia
"ment; impofed new Oaths on the Subjects to difco-
"ver the Value of their Eftates; imprifoned great
"Numbers of the most confiderable Gentry and Mer-
"chants for not paying his arbitrary Taxes; ſome he
"fent beyond Sea, and the poorer Sort he preſſed for
"Soldiers: He kept Soldiers on free Quarter, and ex-
"ecuted Martial Law upon them: He granted Mono
polies without Number, and broke the Bounds of the
"Forefts: He erected arbitrary Courts, and enlarged.
others; as the High Commiffion Court, Star-cham-
"ber, Court of Honour, Court of Requeſts, &c. and
unfpeakable Oppreffions were committed in them,
" even to Men of the firft Quality. He commanded
"the Earl of Briſtol and Biſhop of Lincoln not to come
to Parliament; committed and profecuted a great
many of the moſt eminent Members of the Houſe
"of Commons for what they did there, fome for no
"Caufe at all; and would not let them have the Bene-
66
65
fit of Habeas Corpus: Sufpended and confined Arch-
bishop Abbot, becauſe he would not licenſe a Sermon
"that afferted defpotic Power, whatever other Caufe
"was pretended: He fufpended the Bishop of Gloucester
"for refuſing to fwear never to conſent to alter the Ġo-
"vernment of the Church: Supported all his arbitrary
"Minifters against the Parliament, telling them, he
"wondered at the foolish Impudence of any one to think
"he would part with the meanest of his Servants upon
" their Account: And indeed in his Speeches, or rather
"Menaces, he treated them like his Footmen, calling
"them undutiful, feditious, and Vipers: He brought un-
"heard-of Innovations into the Church, preferred Men
"of arbitrary Principles, and inclinable to Popery, ef-
KC
pecially thofe Firebands Laud, Montague, and Man-
"aring, one of whom had been complained of in
« Par-
326
A Supplement to the
66
Parliament, another impeached for advancing Popery,
"and the third condemned in the Houfe of Lords: He
difpenfed with the Laws againſt Papifts, and both
encouraged and preferred them: He called no Par-
liament for twelve Years together, and in that time
governed as arbitrarily as the Grand Signior: He
"abetted the Irish Maffacre, as appears by their pro-
ducing a Commiffion under the Great Seal of Scot-
"land; by the Letter of Charles the Second, in favour
"of the Marquis of Antrim; by his ftopping the Sac-
cours that the Parliament fent to reduce Ireland, ſix
"Months under the Walls of Chester; by his entering
"into a Treaty with the Rebels, after he had engaged
"his Faith to the Parliament to the contrary; and
bringing over many Thoufands of them to fight a-
"gainst his People.-
.66
66
Upon Pretence of the Spanish and French War, he
"raifed many thoufand Men, who lived upon free Quar-
ter, and robbed and deftroyed where-ever they came:
"But being unſucceſsful in his Wars abroad, and pref-
66
fed by the Clamours of the People at home, he was
"forced to difband them. In 1627 he fent over
30000l. to Holland, to raiſe three thoufand German
"Horſe to force his arbitrary Taxes; but this Matter
66
taking Wind, and being examined by the Parliament,
"Orders were fent to countermand them. In the 15th
"Year of his Reign, he gave a Commiffion to Strafford
to raife cight thoufand Irif to be brought into Eng-
"land: But before they could get hither, the Scots were
"in Arms for the like Oppreffions, and marched into
"Northumberland; which, forcing him to call a Parlia-
ment, prevented that Deſign, and ſo that Army was
"difbanded. Soon after he raiſed an Army in England
to oppofe the Scots, and tampered with them to march
"to London, and diffolve the Parliament: But this Army
6:
being compofed, for the most part, of the Militia,
"and the Matter being communicated to the Houſe,
"who immediately fell on the Officers that were Mem-
"bers, as Afhburnham, Wilmot, Pollard, &c. the Deſign
came to nothing."
I could quote much more from the fame Pamphlet ;
but, to use the Words of the Author, it is endleſs to enu-
merate
Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
327
merate all the Oppreſſions of his Reign. What think you,
holy Father, of the Panegyrics made upon fuch a Prince
for almoſt a Century paft by the Clergy, or of the Cler-
who made and make thofe Panegyrics either upon
him or Laud?
gy
I think nothing is more manifeft, than that in thoſe
Days there was a fettled Purpoſe, both in the Court and
in the Churchmen, to overturn the Reformation and the
Conſtitution; nay, each of theſe Deſigns was well nigh
accomplished; and it was already the Faſhion, not only
to treat fuch who adhered to the Law againſt the Vio-
lence and mad Maxims which then prevailed, as Trai.
tors; but the Name of Traitors and Rebels were, by
Laud's Followers and Creatures, bestowed upon our firſt
pious Reformers; and with the Reformation itfelf great
Faults were found, eſpecially with thofe Parts of it
which retrenched the Wealth and Power of the Clergy :
Popish Ceremonies were daily reftored, with the Bow-
ings, Grimaces, Pictures, and Forms ufually feen at Po-
pith Chapels and Maffes; and all Men were perfecuted,
many ruined, who oppofed fuch fcandalous Innovations,
tending only to advance Superftition and Pricftcraft.
Why many of thefe Innovations, and fuch Defection
from the Reformation ftill continue, I leave you, Holy
Father, to confider and explain. I defire this of you the
rather, for that I am told, that you often hold up your
Hands, and wonder how Clergymen can, by their
Writings, contradict what they have once fubfcribed.
That you ſhould wonder at this, is indeed matter of
Wonder. Is there one of you that conforms to the ge-
nuine Senſe, or even to the Words of the Articles? Are
not thefe Articles Calvinistical? Were they not compo-
fed by Calvinists? And are you not now, and have been
long, all Arminians? And do you not preach and write
againſt the Preſbyterians who defend Predeftination, which
is one of your own Articles?
Will you ſay that Articles, will you fay that Oaths,
are to be taken in a Senſe different from the Words, dif-
ferent from the Meaning of thofe who compofe them ?
If you do, then you maintain that Papifts, nay, that
Mahometans may fubfcribe our Proteftant Articles, and
be
328
A Supplement to the
be fill Mahometans and Papifts; and that Jacobites may
take the State Oaths, and be ftill Jacobites.
What Subfcriptions or Declarations, or indeed what
other Ties can bind Men, who, after they have folemn-
ly teftified that they are called by the Holy Ghost, yet fub-
fcribe the direct contrary to what they believe, fubfcribe
the Doctrines of Calvin, yet remain Antagoniſts to Cal-
vin? Is this Practice, this folemn Affertion of a Falfe-
hood, for the Honour of Religion, or of Churchmen ?
Or, is it not the direct Method to harden Men against
Truth and Confcience, and to turn holy Things into
Contempt? Yet you ftill go on to fubfcribe thofe Ar-
ticles, fill to difbelieve and contradict them, yet never
attempt to alter or abolish them. Does fuch contra-
dictory Doings fhew any Regard for Religion, or for
Truth or Decency?
After fuch Departure from the doctrinal Articles, you
cannot, with any Decency, blame fuch who differ from
your Notions about Church Power and Diſcipline. The
Church and Conftitution of England neither owns nor
knows any Clergymen but fuch who derive all their
Power from the Law: All others are Pretenders, or ra-
ther Deferters, and would be Ufurpers, if the Laity and
the. I aw would let them. Such Clergymen therefore as
diſclaim all Power, and Pomp, and Revenue whatfo-
ever, but what the Law and Laymen give them, are the
only Clergy that Laymen ought to reverence, or indeed
acknowledge: All the reft, who affert a prior Right,
and have fuperior Demands, fhould be confidered as
lurking Enemies, or bold Invaders, and carefully watch-
ed and refifted. Nor is it fmall want of Modeſty in
you, and ſuch as are like you, to cenfure fuch Clergy-
men as adhere to the Law and Conftitution, whilft you
affume to yourſelves a Latitude to diffent from your very
Articles, with fpiritual Characters and Powers, fuperior
to the Law, and independent upon it.
Can any Layman, who has common. Senfe, or com-
mon Notions of Truth and Liberty, bear with Patience.
a Spirit fo arrogant, with fuch a faucy and inconſiſtent
Behaviour? Far different, and indeed quite oppofite was
the Spirit of the Reformation. Nor is Reverence due
to any Clergyman in whom this laft Spirit is not found.
Neither
Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
32.9
Neither are they at all Clergymen of the Church of Eng-
land, in whom the contrary Spirit is found. Can any
Layman be at a Moment's Lofs to know, what Sort of
Clergymen are moſt uſeful and amiable to him; they
who fet up to command him, and confequently to put
Chains upon him; or they who claim only the Liberty
to inſtruct and adviſe him, and therefore leave him ſtill
as free as he was before?
Be pleafed alfo, holy Father, to inftruct me in the Na-
ture and Efficacy of Abfolution. Is it authoritative, and
proceeding from the Power of the Priest only? or is it
conditional, and only a Declaration that God will ac-
cept, or hath accepted fincere Repentance? If God par-
dons, upon Repentance, what Force is in Abfolution,
or what Ufe, further than to eafe poor Sinners, by af-
furing them, that if they have repented, God has for-
given them? If this be all, any Man, even the Sinner
himfelf, may pronounce fuch a Declaration upon him-
felf. Or does God ſtay to forgive, even after Repent-
ance, till the Prieft pronounces Abfolution? If fo, has
not the Prieſt a greater Share than God in faving Men:
nay, a fuperior Power, if his Part comes firft, and his
Abfolution takes place of, and introduces God's Par-
don? If Repentance fuffices without a Prieſt or Abfolu-
tion, then what fignifies either upon fuch Occafion, fur-
ther than for a Declaration of Comfort? And without
Repentance, what avails Abfolution? Will you ſay that
it avails? Or has our bleffed Saviour ever faid fo? You
muſt needs know what extravagant Pofitions, and what
impious Claims of Power, have been confidently de-
rived from this Privilege of Prieſts to pronounce Abfo-
lution, as if it inferred a Power to damn and fave; tho'
it be really no more than what any Man may pronounce
to another, or to himfelf, or to many, if they defire it,
or will hear it. Has not this, therefore, as well as
many other pious Practices, been horribly abufed and
perverted by the ungodly Craft of ſelfiſh Prieſts?
Whilst I am giving you all this Trouble, and tiring
you with fo many Questions, permit me, holy Father,
to mix a little Comfort with fo much Freedom and Im-
portunity. I am told that your Eafe and Reſt are great-
ly interrupted and broken by the Increaſe and Prevalence
of
330
A Supplement to the
of Free-thinking. Pe not too much frightened; the Mob
and the Many will always be orthodox, always true to
the Church, to Holy-days, and pious Rioting, for Rea-
fons too apparent to need mention. The Number of
Free-thinkers, that is, of Men who bring all Things to
the Bar and Trial of right Reaſon, can never be fo very
great as juftly to alarm the Clergy, can never greatly di-
minish the Majority of a Country, who will always be
of the Church in vogue, always have Religion, if not
that of Reaſon and Nature, yet furely that of Authority
and of the Priesthood, who are themfelves always con-
formable to Eſtabliſhments and to Tithes, and the pre-
vailing Faith.
I doubt it will not be equally pleafing to you, to be
told, at leaſt to have the Public told, that it is by no
means Free-thinking which fills the Gaols, or loads the
Gallows, or even peoples Exchange- Alley, or increaſes
public or private Knavery, or contributes at all towards
jt.
Was the South-Sea Scheme the Effect of Free-think-
ing? Sir John Blunt was a great Saint and Frequenter
of the Ordinances; nor were any of his Confederates
fufpected of Deifm. Was it Free-thinking that contrived
or promoted national Maffacres, that of Ireland or of
Paris? Has it produced or affifted the Inquifition or
Perfecution? Was the Monk St. Dominic a Free-thinker,
or was Bifhop Laud one? Has Free-thinking encou-
raged, or have Free-thinkers perpetrated particular Mur-
ders or Affaffinations? Was Ravillac a Free-thinker?
Or was he who murdered the Prince of Orange? Or was
he one who offered to murder the late King? Are the
Banditti and Affaffins in Italy Free-thinkers? Are not
thefe Villains good Catholics, and Frequenters of
Churches? Do any of our own Thieves die Free-think-
ers? Do they not generally die good Churchmen, Ca-
tholic or Proteftant, and always of fome Religion? Was
the famous Murdereís Sarah Malcolm a Free-thinker?
Did the die one, or declare that he had lived one?
No; Holy Father: Free-thinking has no Profelytes in
Newgate or Exchange-Alley. I doubt it will be found
that it is not Free-thinking that steals in Shops, or cheats
behind Counters, or robs Houfes, or cuts Throats. Nor
is it Free-thinking that abfolves Criminals of any fort,
much
Sermon on Jan. 30. 1732.
331
much lefs Traitors and Affains; nor confequently en-
courages fuch Crimes. I could, had I time, enlarge
with Succeſs on this Subject, and convince all Men,
that Free-thinking diſclaims all Alliance with Vice and
Mobs, and diffolute Men; and leaves all Knaves, Pro-
fligates, and Hypocrites, to Conformity and Creeds, and
the numerous Train of Orthodoxy.
It ſeems you have likewife found great Evils occafion-
ed by People's not coming to Church. My own Opi-
nion is, that when People find themſelves edified by go-
ing, they will go; when they are not edified, their go-
ing avails not. If the People had the Choice of their
own Miniſters, as in the primitive Times they had, it is
more than probable they would go oftener. But when
they neither like the Man nor the Matter, it is not like-
ly that they will hear either. I was therefore furprized
to hear that fome of your Scouts and humble Agents (em-
ployed, I fuppofe, to try the Pulfe of the Public) have
mentioned compulfory Laws, ftill in Force, to oblige
People to go to Church. Pray, can you reconcile fuch
a Law, if there be one, to the Principles and Laws of
Toleration! Could any fuch Law be at first procured
but by the Solicitations of the perfecuting Clergy? Or
could any but Perfecutors follicit fuch a Law? Is it juſt
or chriſtian, to force any Man to hear what or whom he
likes not? Would a High-churchman care to be forced
to hear a Preſbyterian Preacher, fuppofe in a Country
where there were no other, as in Geneva? And ſhould
he not do as he would be done by? No penal Laws
whatſoever were, or ever could be, prompted by a
Chriſtian Spirit. And befides this Confideration, I won-
der how any Man can contend for the Continuance of
Tefts and Penalties here in England, as you do, and yet
be againſt the Exerciſe of ſuch in Scotland. Is this equal
Juftice, or equal Charity?
I fhould be quite too tedious to my Readers and my-
felf (to you, Holy Father, I have been fo already) fhould
I but touch every Topic that deferves your Animadver-
fion and that of the Public. I cannot forbear mention-
ing one Practice very common amongſt you Churchmen,
though it be deſtitute of all Candor, of all Truth and
Charity. Whenever any clerical Folly, or Artifice, or
Ufurpation,
332
A Supplement, &c.
Ufurpation, or faife Pofition, is attacked, he who does
fo, fcarce ever fails of being accufed, of having at.
tacked whatever is ferious and facred; and he is confi-
dently charged with Irreligion, though he has evidently
efpoufed and defended Religion against fuch as had pro-
faned it, and blended it with Superftition and Power.
This Method of yours may have fome Effect upon the
Vulgar; but with Men of Senfe, it hurts you, by dif-
covering what you mean by Things ferious and facred. If
by thefe Words you underſtood only the Gospel, and Con-
feience, and the Duties enjoined by either, you could
have taken no Offence at any Writings which commend
and vindicate Christianity, and only expofe what wea-
kens and defaces it, even the Pride and Violence of do-
mineering and fuperftitious Priefts. That there are fuch
Priefts, I prefume you will not deny; nor that fuch
Prieſts act not in all Things, or indeed hardly in any,
upon the Foot and Motives of the Goſpel.
That my late Sermon
late Sermon is intirely upon the Chriftian
Scheme, and in the Chriftian Stile, I aver, and every
Man may perceive; and therefore no Man, who regards
Christianity and civil Liberty, can poffibly diflike it.
What it attacks is clerical Wantonnefs, clerical Super-
ftition and Fury, Tyranny and Ufurpation, both in the
State and in the Church. If therefore that Sermon pro-
voke you, it is manifeft what pleaſes you, what you ap-
prove, and what you purfue. For myfelf I can fay
truly, and therefore boldly, that my Writings are intire-
ly conformable to the Religion and Laws of my Coun-
try: Nor can any impartial Judge affirm of that Ser-
mon, or of any Performance of mine (if there be any
more of mine, beſides that and this) what I have often
heard the ableft Lawyers in this Nation affirm of a bulky
Performance of yours, That it is a Libel upon the Lares
and Conftitution of England, and ought to be burned by the
Hand of the common Hangman.
Here I humbly bend my Knee, Holy Father, and
kiffing your Veltment, fubfcribe myfelf, with profound
Adoration,
Your Great Admirer and Dutiful Son,
Lincoln's-Inn,
March 8. 1732-3-
A LAYMAN.
A
( 333 )
A Letter to the Reverend Dr. Codex, on
the Subject of his modest Inftruction to
the Crown, inferted in the Daily Journal
of February 27th, 1733. From the Se-
cond Volume of Burnet's Hifiory.
The Fourth Edition, Corrected and Enlarged.
By THOMAS GORDON, Efq;
Reverend S IR,
T
Anno 1734.
HE Vacancy now in the Church hath been
long unfupplied, and the World have beheld
this Accident with that Regard which is fo jutt-
ly due to Supreme Authority. No Man hath prefumed
to allow himfelf Liberties on this Subject beyond the de-
cent Bounds of private Animadverfion; and to theſe rea-
fonable Limits fuch Perfons as are the moft tenderly in-
tereſted in this Affair, would have reftrained their Re-
flections, had not you, Sir, made your Appeals to the
Populace, as privileged beyond other Men, how much
foever above you in Rank, or Dignity, or Merit.
What I mean by your making Appeals to the Popu-
lace is beft to be explained by reciting a Paragraph in-
ferted by your Direction in the Daily Journal of Fibru-
ary the 27th. Your Care and Expence, at all Times be-
ftowed in fo judicious a Manner, can never be too much
applauded, but it deferves a moft particular Acknow-
ledgment, that you fhould be at the Trouble and Charge
of informing the Public, in a Paper of Coffee-houſe In-
telligence, That In the ſecond Volume of Bishop Bur-
net's Hiftory, p. 119. published a few Days fince, there
is this remarkable Paſſage, viz.
• The State of Ireland leads me to infert here a very
particular Instance of the Queen's pious Care in the
• difpofing
334
A Letter to Dr. Codex.
'
difpofing of Bishoprics. Lord Sidney was fo far en-
gaged in the Intereft of a great Family of Ireland, that
' he was too eaſily wrought on to recommend a Branch
of it to a vacant See. The Repreſentation was made
with an undue Character of the Perfon; fo the Queen
granted it; but when ſhe understood that he lay under
a very bad Character, fhe wrote a Letter, in her own
'Hand, to Lord Sidney, letting him know what ſhe had
heard, and ordered him to call for fix Trib Bishops,
• whom ſhe named to him, and to require them to certi-
fy to her their Opinion of that Perfon. They all
agreed, that he laboured under an ill Fame, and till
that was examined into, they did not think it proper
to promote him, fo that the Matter was let fall. I do
not name the Perfon, for I intend not to leave a Ble-
miſh on him, but fet this down as an Example fit to
be imitated by Chriſtian Princes.'
C
6
6
This prudent and modeft Inftruction, which you thus
have fet forth for Chriflian Princes, will undoubtedly
draw their Acknowledgments, as well as mine, in your
Favour. To Perfons of their Diftinction, who cannot
have the Leiſure, or Opportunity, or Inclination, of
tracing your Steps, as I have done, the Confideration,
that none but you could be fufficiently intereſted to fet
forth this remarkable Paragraph, as you call it, and that
none but you could poffibly confider it as remarkable,
more than any other Paragraph: This will to them be as
proper a Ground for their Thanks as if they were in the
fame Light with myſelf, and poffeffed the fame Evidence
which I am Mafter of, concerning the Perfon who hand-
ed it to the Preſs, and paid for its being inferted in that
Paper.
if the Merit of fo much Zeal to find out fit Examples
for the Imitation of Chriftian Princes, could admit of
any Delay, it might poffibly be objected to the Manner
of fuch a Procedure, that Princes may be applied to by
much more decent Means of Information, than by a Pa-
ragraph inferted in a common News-Paper, for the
Amufement of Coffee-houfes. It may be objected, that
the Dignity of Princes forbids any particular Subject to
dictate publicly to their Conduct, or to make that Coun-
fel public which he fubmits to their private Confider-
ation:
A Letter to Dr. Codex.
335
ation: That to exhibit Inftructions to Frinces for the
Exercife of any particular Prerogative, or for the Deci-
fion of any depending Conteft, and to do this in one of
the Daily Papers, is a rude Attempt upon the Liberty
of the Royal Judgement; an Attempt that rather pre-
fcribes to Frinces than advifes them; an Attempt that
lays a Foundation for Clamour and Abuſe.
It doth not
fo much convey Matter of Confideration to Princes as it
points out a Matter of Cenfure to partial unexamining
Men; fo that the Prince who is thus directed by a pub-
lic Advertiſement of an Example fit for him to imitate,
muſt, if he act otherwiſe than the Inftruction requires him
to act, either defcend to publiſh minute Accounts in Ju-
ftification of his own Conduct; or he will be reproached
for the free Uſe of his own Judgment in the Exercife of
his own lawful Authority, and will be faid to have acted
contrary to an Example fit for all Chriftian Princes to
imitate.
Give me leave, Sir, to warn you on this Head with
all the Caution of a Friend. You convey to the World
a Paragraph fuggefting the Character of a Perfon whom
you do not approve, to be very bad; you infinuate that
he labours under an ill Fame, endeavouring thereby to
draw the Diſpleaſure of his Prince upon him. You
ought to be strictly careful, on a double Account, in all
Attempts of this Nature, that you do not indulge your
own Malice againſt ſuch Perfons as you accufe, and that
you do not furniſh Matter to the Malice of others againſt
thoſe Princes whom you thus propoſe to influence.
If you, Sir, fhould ever have had the Honour and
Happineſs of free Approaches to fuch Princes, it may
ftill inflame the Charge against you, that you take the
Freedom of inftructing them in their Behaviour by Pa-
ragraphs printed in News Papers: And perhaps fome
Princes might be of Opinion, that a Perfon who knew
no better how to employ the Privilege of adviſing them,
fhould, for the future, have no other Means of convey-
ing Advice to them.
If fuch a Paragraph can be remarkable more than any
other, if fuch an Example can be fit for Imitation, more
than any other mentioned by the Reverend Hiftorian,
it can be fo in no other View than this, that particu-
lar
3.56
A Letter to Dr. Codex,
lar Princes have now a parallel Cafe before them. And
if
you mean any thing at all, you must intend to fug-
geft, that there is a prefent Recommendation to a va-
cant See, which appears to you in the fame Light with
Lord Sidney's Recommendation to a Bishopric in Irdland.
You thus fuggeft that a Great Counsellor of the Crown
hath recommended a Perfon to the Favour of the Crown,
with an undue Reprefentation of his Character; that
fuch Perfon lies under a very bad Character; that he
ought not to be promoted till fix Bishops have certified
their Opinion of him; that if they these fix Bishops agrce
he labours under an ill Fame, he is not to be promoted.
And this is fet down as an Example fit for Chriftian
Princes to imitate.
If this is a Method of trying and ftigmatizing Cha-
raders that I fhould inake Exccptions to, I would not
be underflood to reflect, at this Diftance of Time, on
the Wiſdom or Justice of that excellent Queen under
whom this firſt Inſtance happened. We can have no
other Lights of fuch a Tranfaction, than what this Pa-
ragraph in Burnet's Hiftory affords us; and we may in
Charity believe, that the Accident was circumftanced as
be relates it to have been, that the Perfon fet afide did
labour under an ill Fame; that the Queen heard it from
no malicious Whiſperers, or interefted Tale-bearers ;
that it could not aniwer any felfiſh Purpoſe to reprefent
him as one of a bad Character, if he really deferved a
good one; that the fix Bijkops who were referred to, and
ho certified their ill Opinion of him, were equal, un-
biatled, indifferent Judges, incapable of any Intention
to shake off their due Dependency on the Royal Supremacy;
incapable of any Scheme or Project to turn their Hierar -
chy into an Aristocracy; incapable of fetting on Foot a
Cabal to take the Nomination of Bishops to themſelves,
in Prejudice and Difhonour of the Crown; incapable of
any malicious Defign to defame and ftigmatize all Men,
however virtuous or deferving, who would not con-
form to the Obedience required, and become fubfervi-
ent to the Intrigues carried on by fuch a fpiritual Cabal;
incapable likewife of being the Creatures and Slaves of
a proud, ambitious, and mercenary Prelate, who afpired
to
A Letter to Dr. Codex:
337
to engrofs Ecclefiaftical Power, and to ufurp on the fa-
cred Prerogatives of the King his Sovereign.
I make theſe liberal Conceffions in favour of thofe fix
Biſhops, becauſe however willing I am to think candidly
of their Certificate, that the Man whom they fet afide
laboured under an ill Fame, yet it is too plain, ſhould
fuch a Method prevail of trying and difqualifying Can-
didates for Ecclefiaftical Preferments, it muſt give a dan-
gerous Scope to all the Practices which I have enume-
rated, and therefore I do not think it a fit Example for
Chriftian Princes to imitate, nor a fit Example for a free
People to be fond of.
I need not tell you, Sir, how odious the Cabals of
Ecclefiaflics are to the Laws of this Kingdom; you
very well know the Law that reftrains the B- -ps
from mecting together without the King's Authority is.
any Company beyond a certain Number; you know
the Supremacy which you have all fworn to maintain
in the Crown; you likewife know, that in virtue of this
Prerogative, the Crown hath an uncontroulable Power
of making Bishops and Dignitaries in the Church, which
before the Reforination Ecclefiaftics had wickedly in-
croached on, pretending to the Right of electing one
another, and that the Confirmation of fuch Elections be-
longed to a fovereign Pontiff All which, Sir, you
have renounced by your Oaths, are ipfo fa&to excom-
municate, if you pretend to any fuch exorbitant Power.
and incur the Penalties of a Premunire, whereby you
forfeit your Goods and Chattels, the Revenue of your
Lands, and the Liberty of your Perſon.
It avails nothing at all in Senfe of Juftice, or to the
Safety of Mankind, that theſe wife Provifions were
made by our Anceſtors, if B-ps, eluding the Laws,
and their Oaths, fhall ever claim that Power from the
Grace of the Crown, which they renounce all Right to
by the moſt folemn Sacraments. It would be a much
more dangerous Practice than any which can be attempt-
ed; becauſe, at the fame time that it might ſeem to ac-
knowledge the Force of the Law, it would deſtroy the
Effect of it, and whilft it might ſpeciouſly ſubmit to the
Forms of the Conftitution, would fubvert the Founda-
tion of it.
VOL. II.
P
You
338
A Letter to Dr. Codex.
You will therefore allow me, Sir, to confider this
Scheme of trying all Candidates for Preferment in the
Church with more Indignation, as it tends to give a
Junto of B-ps a Negative upon the Nomination to
any Bishopric, than it might be proper to exprefs, with
regard to that Malice and Defamation which may at
any time be employed to deprive a particular Perfon of
the Advancement intended him.
It muſt be admitted, that nothing can be more cruel,
difhoneft, and deteftable, than to defame an innocent
Man, and to fix, by malicious Arts, an ill Fame upon
him, in order to make him lofe his Preferment. But
there are Views and Defigns which may be the Motives
of fuch an Attempt, and which will make it infinitely
more alarming than any Hardſhip done to a fingle Per-
fon. There may be the Project of bringing all Promo-
tions in the Church into the Hands of a few ambitious
arbitrary Churchmen, fo that the higheſt Counſellor of
the Crown fhall not recommend the Friend whom he
beſt loves, and the Man whom he moſt approves, with-
out expofing fuch Perfon to be deprived of his Reputa-
tion by those who may be averfe to his Advancement:
And the Prince on the Throne, if he ſhall eſpouſe the
innocent Party, after fuch Reverend Defamers have
teftified their Diſlike of him, fhall be expofed to the
fame Ecclefiaftical Malice, nay, fhall be fet forth to all
his Subjects, by one who is the Creature of his Power,
and the Abufer of his Favour, as an Example not fit for
Chriſtian Princes to imitate.
r
It is Part of the Impeachment of the Houfe of Com-
mons againſt Archbishop Laud, Article VI. "That he
traiterouſly affumed to himſelf a Papal and Tyranni-
"cal Power, both in Ecclefiaftical and Temporal Mat-
ters, over his Majefty's Subjects in this Realm of Eng-
"land, and in other Places, to the Difherifon of the
"Crown, Dishonour of his Majefty, and Derogation
"of his fupreme Authority in Ecclefiaftical Matters.'
65
""
The Commons proceed in the Eighth Article of that
Impeachment, to charge him, "That for the better ad-
"vancing of his traiterous Purpofe and Defign, he did
"abuſe the great Power and Truft his Majefty repofed
"in him; and did intrude upon the Places of divers
(C great
A Letter to Dr. Codex.
339
great Officers, and upon the Right of other of his
Majeſty's Subjects, whereby he did procure to him-
"felf the Nomination of fundry Perfons to Ecclefiafti-
"cal Dignities, Promotions and Benefices belonging
"to his Majeſty, and divers of the Nobility and Cler-
gy, and others; and hath taken upon him the Com-
mendation of Chaplains to the King, by which means,
"he hath preferred to his Majefty's Service, and to
"other great Promotions in the Church, ſuch as have
"been Popiíhly affected, or otherwife, unfound and
corrupt, both in Doctrines and Manners."
I chufe, Sir, to cite thefe Articles for your Confide-
ration, to fhew you the Senfe and Judgment of Parlia
ment, on the Matter before us; and if it fhould ever
appear in a National Enquiry, that Bps have affum-
ed to themſelves the Nomination of Biſhops, that they
have haughtily and arbitrarily claimed the fole Right
of advifing and recommending in Ecclefiaftical Promo-
tions, pretending that the higheſt Counſellor of the
Crown hath no Right to offer his Advice, on fuch Oc-
cafions, it may beget a Queftion, which I am afraid,
fome Perfons will know not how to anſwer.
!
For Inſtance, if an infolent domineering Prelate fhould
ever pretend to advance it as his Right, to nominate Bi-
flops in the Manner as the Lord High Chancellor of
Great Britain adviſes the Crown, in the Nomination of
Jadges, if he ſhould be arrogant enough to affirm, that he
might as properly interfere in fupplying the Vacancies of
Westminster-Hall, as that Great Officer may recommend
to vacant Sces, there can be no Difference made between
fuch a Behaviour, and the Cafe of Laud himſelf, as
defcribed in thefe Articles of Impeachment before us.
The Clergy of this Kingdom have fworn to the Royal
Supremacy, and hold all their Powers, Emoluments
and Ecclefiaftical Offices, by the Gift of the Civil Go-
vernment; and as the Order of Biſhops arifes from the
Inftitution of Temporal Laws, its Vacancies are to be
fupplied by the Mediation of Temporal Officers. You
know, Sir, it is the Great Seal alone, that hath any
Virtue or Effect in the Ordination of Bishop. Without
it the Clergy can have no Dignitaries amongit them, and
the Holy Ghoft muſt ceaſe in this Kingdom, as to its
P 2
Effect
340
A Letter to Dr. Codex.
ties.
Effect in conferring of Characters. The Chancellor
may refuſe to affix this Seal, if he fhall fee Cauſe in his
own Diſcretion; for, neither the Conge d'Elire, nor any
Inftrument which relates to the making of Bishops, are
Writs of Right, nor is he bound to pafs them ex officic,
nor implicitly to obey the Warrants which tranfmit them
to him. He hath no Perils or Fears attending his Refu-
fal; though if he fhall think it proper to affix the Great
Seal in fuch Cafes, the Clergy of all Orders and De-
grees must obey it, on pain of the most fevere Penal-
To feal fuch Inftruments of Nomination is, on
his Part, an A&t of Conſcience, wherein he is to adviſe
with his free Judgment, and freely to offer the King his
Opinion But, if he feals them, the Conformity of the
Church and their Obedience to the Crown, are Acts of
the higheſt Neceffity, wherein they are no more allow-
ed a Latitude of judging or confidering, than Sheriffs
are in obeying the King's Writs of Execution. They
perform them as Acts of the moft fimple and uncondi-
tional Obedience, which admit of no Delays, nor De-
liberations, nor Refcriptions to the Prince. When the
Clergy of this Kingdom are without Bifhops, they have
no Right to any but from the King's Pleafure, who may
keep the See vacant to an indefinite Term; for no Time
lapfes with the Crown. When it is the Royal Pleaſure,
that fuch vacant See fhall be fupplied, the Chapter of
the Dioceſe have Leave to elect, and Letters miffive pafs
with the Conge d'Elire, requiring them to elect fuch Per-
fon as the King therein nominates. If they do not re-
turn the Conge d'Elire, according to the Requifition of
the Letters miffive, within twelve Days, the Act of Par-
liament made in the five and twentieth Year of Henry
VIII. Chapter the twentieth, exprefly fays, "that the
King's Highneſs, his Heirs or Succeffors, at their Li-
berty and Pleaſure, fhall nominate and prefent, by
their Letters Patents under their Great Scal, fuch a
Perfon to the faid Archbishopric or Bishopric, as
"they fhall think able and convenient for the fame.”
The Statute proceeds in the next Section thus : “ And
"be it enacted by the Authority aforefaid, that when-
"ever any fuch Prefentment or Nomination fhall be
"made by the King's Highnefs, his Heirs or Succef-
"fors,
A Letter to Dr. Codex.
341
fors, by Virtue and Authority of this Act, and ac-
cording to the Tenor of the fame, That then every
Archbishop and Bishop, to whofe Hands any fuch
"Preſentment and Nomination fhall come, ſhall with
all Speed and Celerity inveſt and conſecrate the Per-
"fon nominate and prefented by the King's Highness,
"his Heirs or Succeffors, to the Office and Dignity
"that fuch Perfon fhall be ſo preſented unto, and give
"and uſe to him all Benedictions, Ceremonies, and
Things requifite for the fame."
The fame Statute proceeds ftill more vigorously in the
fixth and feventh Sections of the aforefaid Cap. 20. viz.
VI. And be it further enacted, by the Authority a-
"forefaid, That every Perfon and Perfons being here-
"after chofen, elected, nominate, prefented, inveſted
"and confecrated to the Dignity or Office of any Arch-
bishop or Bishop within this Realm, or within any
"other the King's Dominions, according to the Form,
Tenor, and Effect of this preſent Act, and fuing their
Temporalities out of the King's Hands, his Heirs or
"Succeffors, as hath been accuftomed, and making a
66
66
corporal Oath to the King's Highnefs, and to none
"other in Form as afore rehearfed, fhall and may from
henceforth be trononifed and inſtalled as the Cafe
"fhall require; (2) And fhall have and take their only
"Reftitution out of the King's Hands, of all the Pof-
"feffions and Profits belonging to the faid Archbishopric
or Bishopric whereunto they fhall be fo elected or
prefented, and fhall be obeyed in all manner of
Things, according to the Name, Title, Degree and
Dignity that they fhall be chofen or prefented unto,
"and do and execute in every Thing and Things
touching the fame as any Archbishop or Biſhop of
this Realm, without offending the Prerogative Royal
"of the Crown, and the Laws and Cuſtoms of this
"Realm might at any Time heretofore do.
sc
<<
VII." And be it further enacted by the Authority afore-
“faid, That if the Dean and Chapter of any Cathe-
"dral Church where the See of an Archbishop or Bi-
fhop is within any of the King's Dominions after fuch
"Licence [or Conge d'Elire] as is afore rehearſed, ſhall
"be delivered to them, proceed not to Election, and
"fignify
P 3
342
A Letter to Dr. Codex.
66
46
46
46
fignify the fame according to the Tenor of this
"Act within the Space of twenty Days next, after
fuch Licence fhall come to their Hands: (2) Or
elſe if any Archbishop or Bishop within the King's
Dominions, after any fuch Election, Nomination or
Preſentation, fhall be fignified unto them by the
King's Letters Patent, fhall refufe, and do not con-
«firm, inveſt, and confecrate, with all due Circum-
ftance, as is aforefaid, every fuch Perfon as fhall be
"fo elected, nominated or prefented, and to them fig-
"nified, as is above-mentioned, within twenty Days,
"next after the King's Letters Patent of fuch Signi-
fication or Prefentation fhall come to their Hands.
(3) Or elfe, if any of them, or any other Perfon or
Ferfens admit, maintain, allow, do or execute any
Cenfures, Excommunications, Interdictions, Inhibi-
"tions, or any other Act or Procefs, of what Nature,
"Name, or Quality foever it be to the contrary, or
"lett, or Hindrance of due Execution of this A&t, (4)
"That then every Dean, and particular Perfon of the
C
66
46
"
Chapter, and every Archbishop and Bifhop, and all
"other Perfons fo offending, and doing contrary to
"this Act, or any Part thereof, and their Aiders, Coun-
"fellors, Abettors, fhall run in the Dangers, Pains and
"Penalties of the Eftatute of Proviſion and Premunire,
"made in the five and twentieth Year of King Edw. III.
"and in the fixteenth Year of King Richard II." Vide
1 Ez. I and 8 Elix. I.
Thus the Law of the Kingdom, makes the Clergy of
the Kingdom, howfoever dignified or diftinguished, the
meer paffive involuntary Agents of the Crown, moved
by the abfolute Will of the Sovereign, fignified to them.
by Writ or Patent under the Great Seal, to be iffued
or refuſed according to the Conſcience of him who hath
Cuftody thereof. Whomfoever the Pleafare of the
Crown fhall prefer as a Biſhop, the Clergy have the
Honour to adopt as their Election. And though he is to
all Intents and Purpoſes, a Bishop without their Electi-
on, yet ftill they are under the ftricteft Neceffity to elect
and confirm him, how little foever he, or the King
prefenting him, ftands in need of their Election or Con-
firmation which the Wiſdom of our Law hath appa-
;
rently
A Letter to Dr. Codex.
343
rently enacted to fhew, that they, the Clergy, are at
the fame time entirely ufelefs, yet abfolutely dependent.
They are without Power, to do any thing in the Cafe,
but to fhew their moſt humble Obedience. They are,
without the ſmalleſt Portion of Liberty, to delay, or
deliberate about the Election or Confecration required
of them. They may, by the King's Permit, make his
Nominee their Bishop, who whether they will or not,
muſt in all Events, by the King's Patents, be made
their Bishop. Whether he is made by Election or No-
mination, they must confecrate him, and whether he is
elected or confecrated, the King's Authority, which in
that Cafe can create, will likewiſe inftall him Biſhop
with full Epifcopal Power, fo that the Great Seal makes
him a Bishop of his particular Church, and makes him
at the fame time, Bishop of the Church at large. Thus
whilſt the Clergy are bound by all theſe penal Laws,
the Chancellor is under the Injunctions of none; and it
is moft clear, that as well the Mandates of Confecration,
as the Letters of Nomination, are equally trufted to the
Difcretion and Remonftrances of the Lord Chancellor,
for the Time being, equally to be obeyed by the Clergy
implicitly, and under the stricteft Penalties; whereby it
muſt appear, that the Power of the Great Seal is the
only Source of Ecclefiaftical Holinefs, and Stamp of
imagined indelible Characters.
Thus in the making of Bifhops or other Dignitaries,
Submiffion, abſolute and unreſerved Submiffion to Royal
Prerogative, is the only Share which the Clergy are, by
the Laws of England intitled to; but the Chancellor, who
affixes the Great Seal to every Inftrument of Election or
Creation, He, who by his Office gives Life to every
Nomination of Bishops, Dignitaries, and Churchmen
preferred by the Crown, it is his Right, and it is his
Duty to adviſe the Crown. It belongs fo juſtly to his
Province, that were he to neglect it, there can be no
Doubt that it would be a Crime in his Conduct, and he
is fo far from being reftrained as Churchmen are from
advifing in thefe Matters, that he is fworn to it when he
receives the Great Seal, nor ought to affix that Seal in
fuch Cafes, until he hath difcharged this Duty.
P 4
Do
344
A Letter to Dr. Codex,
Do you not fee that the higheſt Churchman of this
Kingdom was impeached in Parliament, for that not-
withſtanding he had taken the Oath of Supremacy, he
took to himſelf the Nomination of Ecclefiaftical Dig-
nitaries, in high Diſhonour and Diſteriſon of the Crown.
Shall then a fubordinate Churchman pretend more Right
to adviſe the Crown in the Exercife of this Prerogative,
than his Metropolitan is by Law intitled to? And, fhall
he, with fuperior Infolence, pretend a greater Right than
the Great Keeper of the King's Confcience? That Of-
ficer, whofe Capacity for advifing and judging in Eccle-
fiaftical Promotions the Law of this Kingdom acknow-
ledges with the moſt favourite Diftinction, by repofing
fo high a Confidence in his Wiſdom and Integrity, that
it is the inherent Right of the Great Seal to preſent to
All the Livings in England, valued in the King's Books
under 201. per Annum. The Perfon who hath Cuftody
of that Seal fupplies all Vacancies in the Church of this
fort, by his own official Authority, without any War-
rant whatever. Can it, after this hath been mentioned,
be doubted, where the Law of England hath veſted the
Prefentations of the King, to fo vaft an Extent in the pure
Diſcretion of his Chancellor, that it hath not given him
as large a Right to adviſe in Promotions above that Va-
lue, as it hath given him plenary Power to difpofe of all
under that Value? And, can it be conceived, that this
Officer of the Crown, who hath Authority to act in this
Extent for the Crown, hath not a much more extenſive
Province to act in as an Adviſer of the Crown? Shall
then a fubordinate Churchman, whom the Laws have
exprefly reſtrained from acting or advifing at all, pro-
ceed against the fundamental Principles of the Conflitu-
tion, incroaching upon the Rights of the Seal, and in-
truding upon the Royal Prerogative? And, fhall not the
Chancellor of Great Britain remember the Oath which
he fwore when the King delivered the Seals into his
Keeping, "That he fhall not know, or fuffer the Hurt
"C
or Difheriting of the King, or that the Rights of the
"Crown be decreaſed by any Means, as far forth as he
may let or hinder; and if he may not let or hinder it,
"he fhall make it clearly and exprefly known to the
King with his true Advice and Counfel."
64
You
A Letter to Dr. Codex.
345
You have now, Sir, fcen, that this Great Officer hath
an undoubted Right of adviſing, as well in the Nomi-
nation of Bishops as of Judges; and that Churchmen
have no Right of interfering in the Nomination of ei-
ther. This is most evident from the Laws, and appa-
rent from Reaſon. If the Head of that learned Pro-
feffion is adviſed with in the Promotion of Judges, it is
moft undoubtedly true, that none are fo fit as Lawyers
to recommend thoſe who are beft fkilled in the Science
of Laws; and it can by no means in the World hurt or
endanger the Public, that they recommend one another:
On the other hand, it is as true, that the Cafe is very
different in the Church, where the effential Qualifications
of Priests being Charity, Humility, and Chriftian Piety,
may eafily be judged of by the Meaneft of the People;
where likewife the due Difcharge of the Truft repoſed
in them depends more on their Honefty and Moderation,
than on their Learning and School Sufficiency; and
where the Courſe of Church Preferment cannot ariſe
from a Cabal of Churchmen, without indanger-
ing the Royal Prerogative as well as the Rights of the
People.
It would not indeed furprize any Man, who knows
the World, if he fhould hear a Churchman pretend,
that he has as much Right to nominate Judges, as a
"Chancellor hath to advife in the Nomination of Bi-
"fhops." I fear fuch afpiring immoderate Men, would
be glad to nominate one, as well as the other, if it
might be permitted them; and confidering that won-
detful Codex, which you have compiled, I ſhould think
it extremely natural, that one of your Talents and Tem-
per, in framing a Syftem of Law, fhould have an extra-
ordinary Paffion for introducing a Set of Judges to fup-
port it.
You will give me Leave to refreſh your Me-
mory with fome Particulars in our Hiſtory. When
Biſhops nominated Biſhops, they made themfelves Chan-
cellors likewife. When they once incroached ſo far on
the Rights of the Great Seal, they foon obtained the
Cuftody of it, as the Privilege of their Function. But
the Reformation of the Church reſtored the Authority
of the Law, and when an exorbitant Churchman began
to unravel the Reformation, he made it a Part of his
Scheme
P 5
346
A Letter to Dr. Codex.
Scheme, to fubdue the Power of the Law. He took
the Nomination of Bishops to himſelf; he took upon
him the Power of controuling the Courts of Justice, and
as a Commencement of his Člaim, in making of Judges,
he prevailed on the King, to injoin the Lord Chancel-
lor, that half of the Maſters in Chancery fhould be ap-
pointed from among the Doctors of the Civil Law, be-
caufe Civilians ufually practife and officiate in the Courts
of the Bishops.
This Ufurpation of a Papal and Tyrannical Power,
both in Spiritual and Temporal Affairs, to uſe the
Words of the Commons in their Impeachment againſt
him, drew the Weight of that Profecution upon him,
and as the Lord Clarendon wifely obferves, the Justice of
the Kingdom, will at fome time or other, be too hard for
the strongest Oppofers and Oppreſſors of it.
you,
It is to be hoped, that after fo heavy a Cenfure on
one who was placed at the Head of his Profeffion, for
affuming illegal Powers, and unwarrantable Functions,
no fubordinate Churchman, will ever pretend to act in
that Capacity, which, if it were a lawful one, could on-
ly belong to the Head of his Order. What would
Sir, fay, if ever your Fate fhould mount you up to the
Top of the Ladder Ecclefiaftical, and one of your Suf-
fragans ſhould affume, in Exclufion of yourſelf, the moſt
exorbitant Powers, that any in your own exalted Sta-
tion ever pretended to; defpifing the Authority of the
Law; invading the Rights of the Crown; dictating to
Lords High Chancellors what belongs to their Office
and dictating to the King, his Sovereign, by public In-
ftructions in printed Papers, what Examples are fit for
Chriftian Princes to imitate.
;
I hope, Sir, you will agree with me, that if ever any
fuch daring Pretender to lawlefs and unrighteous Domi-
nation over us ſhould appear amongst us, it will be our
Duty, and I truſt we ſhall neither want Spirit nor Means,
to defeat him. An honeft Englishman, and a dutiful
Subject, muſt be moved in this Cafe, by the ſtrongeſt
Dictates, which Love to his Country, or Allegiance to
his Prince, can in any Cafe fuggeft to him. Whenever
an affuming Prelate, whofe felfiſh and arbitrary Views
are as evident as his Malice and Cruelty against all who
oprole
A Letter to Dr. Codex.
347
oppofe them; whenever fuch a Prelate fhall lay claim
to the Nomination of Perfons to Ecclefiaftical Promo-
tions, Dignities and Benefices in the Difpofition of the
Crown, the Succefs of his Attempt muft indanger the
King, and the fundamental Conftitution. If once he
prevail in this Practice, and gain fuch an undue Share
of Favour, as to recommend in fupplying vacant Sees,
and to fet afide in fuch Promotions, all who are diſagree-
able to himſelf, he will bring the whole Power of the
Crown in Ecclefiaftical Affairs, into his own Poffeffion ;
he will draw all the Church Endowments and Dignities
belonging to the Royal Nomination, within the Circle
of his own Creatures and Dependents; he will diveſt
the King of his princely Prerogative, to reward the
Merit of his moft deferving Subjects, and to attach the
Affections and Gratitude of thofe who might be moſt
ufeful to his Service: And when fuch a Prelate hath
long proceeded in this Courfe of advancing to the high-
eft Stations, and the moft valuable Promotions, his own
Set of Flatterers and Slaves, it will not, I fear, be found
that they hold themſelves under Obligations to their
Prince, but to this Proteftant Pontiff, who will teach
them, that the Power delegated to them by the Crown,
may be a Weapon in their Hands, to wound the Prero-
gative of the Crown. Whatever Ufurpations he ſhall
attempt on the King's Authority, he will incite them to
join with him in, for the Advancement of their common
Ambition And if fuch Ambition and Infolence ſhall
at any time be repreffed by a Prince jealous of his Ho-
nour, and juftly attentive to the Prefervation of the an-
cient Rights belonging to his Crown, they will threaten
to cabal againſt him; they will tamper with Civil Fac-
tions, to revenge the juft Rebukes which they may re-
ceive from their injured and offended Sovereign; they
will contrive Bargains with Parties, to diſtreſs the Crown
for the Exaltation of themſelves; they will employ the
Weight and Intereft of their Temporalities to make Di-
vifions in the People, to influence the public Councils,
and even Parliamentary Elections: Evils, none of which
can happen, if the Crown fhall retain to itfelf intire, the
Exercife of its own Prerogatives: For, if the Prince on
the Throne fhall continue to advife with his Civil
:
P 6
Coun
348
A Letter to Dr. Codex.
Counſellors, or refort to his own Knowledge of Man-
kind, in all his Nominations to Ecclefiaftical Dignities;
if he ſhall conſtantly promote Men whom he knows to
deſerve his Favour, and to regard him with faithful
Affection, if he does this without the Interpofition of
any ſelfiſh deſigning Churchman, however poffible it is,
that fome Miſtakes may happen in Particulars, yet on
the whole, it is morally impoffible, that the Dependence
of thoſe he promotes can belong to any Intereft but to
that of the Crown; they will owe the Crown their na-
tural Gratitude; and having received the Favour of
their Advancement from the King alone, none will ſtand
in the Way to intercept that Duty and Service which
they ought to return him; whereas if he fhould, at any
time to come, fuffer his Church Promotions to be mo-
delled by any fingle Prelate, he will fee that Prelate
veſted in a fhort time with a Power almoſt able to con-
troul fupreme Authority; he will fee the Devotion which
ought to be paid to him alone, in right of his Royal-
ty, paid in his high Difhonour and Wrong to a Prieſt,
a proud affuming Prieft, who will threaten, that if his
own Creatures are not advanced, or if any Perfon, dif-
agreeable to his Humours or Intereſts, ſhall be advanced,
that he will never be ſeen in the Court, nor appear in
the Service of his Prince; and even that he will arm
all the Ecclefiaftics in the Kingdom with Clamour and
Fury, to avenge his unchriſtian Quarrel.
Such a Spirit as this, or any that refembles it, ought
to be fuppreffed with early Care. There is no Service
to a Court, that can pretend to palliate the Growth of
fuch alarming Encroachments upon the Power of the
Crown, and there is no Encroachment upon the Regal
Prerogative, fo dangerous to Mankind, to Civil Liberty,
and common Safety, as the Ufurpation of Ecclefiaftics.
If ever the leaſt Sign of fuch Encroachment fhould ap-
pear, ftop the Progrefs of it immediately. If indul-
gent Grace and Favour may at any time fuffer it to go
too far, let nothing be neglected to reſtrain it. Nothing
can be too great a Venture, to rifque in the Undertak-
ing. Nothing can be a more dreadful Hazard, nay,
more certain Ruin, than to fuffer that it ſhould proceed.
If ever is Progrefs fhould appear to be beyond Re-
ftraint,
A Letter to Dr. Codex.
349
ftraint, the Power of the Crown, the Legal Prerogative.
of the King, is then fwallowed up, perhaps, beyond
Recovery; and the Prince on the Throne, who ſhould
fuffer his Clergy to flatter him out of his moft eſſential
Authority, would find fuch Flatterers become his Ty-
rants, and the Power with which he parted to oblige
them, would be employed to diftrefs his Affairs; nay,
to deſtroy himſelf and his Family; he would be but the
Cypher of Royalty; he would be environed by the
Power of the Church, and engroffed by a vile Cabal
of infolent Ecclefiaftics.
It is most evident, that the Growth of this Ecclefi-
aftical Tyranny would take its Rife, Sir, from that
Scheme which you propofe for the trying and difqua-
lifying Candidates to Church Preferments ; I must
therefore adhere to my former Opinion, that the Ex-
ample which you advertiſed for the Ufe of Chriftian
Princes, in the Daily Journal of February 27, is not fit
for Chriftian Princes to imitate.
I am apt to fear you have made an ill Applicatson of
an excellent Treatife fet forth fome Years fince by a
reverend and eminent Perfon, to conciliate the Minds
of the Clergy, when they were divided by a Commit-
ment of one of their Bishops, on a Charge of High
Treafon. This Letter to the Clergy, which was pub-
liſhed in the Year 1722, is ftill preferved in the 24th
Volume of the Political State of Great Britain; and as
it is there faid, by Mr. Abel Boyer, was generally rc-
ported to have been written by the R. R. Dr. G
then L- B of L- In. Now, fince fo great
an Authority muſt have paſſed-into every Man's Hands,
it must be confeffed, there were fome Paffages in that
Letter, which coming from one fo defervedly trufted in
the Depth of Ecclefiaftical Secrets, may poffibly have
mifled the Weak and Undifcerning, to entertain falfe
and incongruous Notions of the Manner in which our
Church is governed.
72
I fear, moſt worthy Dr. Codex, you have imagined,
that fuch a Scheme as you have propofed for trying of
Ecclefiaftical Candidates, might one Day or other pre-
vail, becauſe the Rev. Dr. G, if he was the Au-
thor of that Letter, after he hath faid in the first Divi-
fion
350
A Letter to Dr. Codex:
fion of his Difcourfe, Far. IV. that it had been his
Majefty's continual and prudent Rule to confult or be
directed by his Bifhops, in the Difpofal of Preferments
of every Rank in the Church, proceeds in this manner
to exult upon the Occaſion, "What, fays the Reverend
"Writer, can fhew a greater Truft placed in, or De-
"ference paid to, his Biſhops, than to fhare as it were
"his Royal Prerogative with them, and make himſelf
"but a kind of Executor of their Pleaſure. Here
"then adds the Letter-Writer, let us, the Clergy, re-
joice, &c."
66
Now, fhould this amazing Paffage be thought too
much for a modeft Clergyman to fay of his own Order
or of his anointed Head, fhould it be thought ftupen-
dous Infolence, to tell the World that the K-
him-
felf is directed by B ps, that he fhares his Royal
Prerogative with Ecclefiaftics, and is but an Executor
of their Pleafure: Let us afk ourſelves at the fame time,
hath not this very Clergyman, who writes in this man-
ner during thirty or forty Years paft, both preached and
fworn to maintain the Royal Supremacy of the King
his Sovereign in all Caufes, and over all Perfons as well
Ecclefiaftical as Civil? And how is fuch a Clergyman
to be regarded, when after having intitled himſelf to fo
many Dignities and Emoluments, by the Repetition of
fuch Oaths, he fhall, in Defiance of them, affirm that
the K- himfelf, his fupreme Head and Sovereign,
hath been directed by B-ps, who have fworn to be
directed by him; or that a Prince of fo fublime a Dig-
nity could ever fubmit to fuch Dishonour and Difheri-
fon of his Crown, as to fhare his Royal Prerogatives
with his Ecclefiaftics: And what is ſtill more injurious
to Imperial. Majefty, and ignominious to his facred
Character, that He, our Sovereign Lord the K g
could ever make himfelf to be confidered and fpoken of
as but the Executor of the Pleafure of Priests!
Were thefe Expreffions ever to be defcribed in the
Language of an Impeachment, and in the vigorous
Stile of Parliaments, they would be charged by an Houſe
of Commons, as infolent, wicked and traiterous Words,
expreffed in high Contempt and Derogation of the Roy-
al Authority, in Diminution of the fupreme Dignity of
the
A Letter to Dr. Codex.
351
1
the Imperial Crown of thefe Kingdoms, and highly dif
reſpectful to the facred Perfon of our Lord the K-
tending to infufe ground!efs Jealoufies into his Majefty's
Subjects, that his Royal Prerogative is fhared, and his
Adminiſtration directed. to the Prejudice of the People,
and to the Diſhonour of the Crown, and tending to lef-
fen that Reverence which all his Majefty's Subjects owe
to him their liege Lord and Sovereign.
Yet whilft the Meaning of this Reverend Letter-writer
comes under theſe alarming Confiderations, we are ſtill,
if poffible, ftartled more by what he fays in the fecond
Part of his Difcourfe, Section I. Far. V. where enume-
rating the Oaths taken by Clergymen, among which the
Oath of Supremacy is one, he adds, "That after this
"Gordion Knot is fastened on the Confciences of Clergy-
men, which no Art or Time can loofen, and which
nothing but Violence and Wickedness can cut, how
"muft they appear to the World? How black, how
r
66
deteftable, if they act contrary to this facred Engage-
"ment? How much muft the Chriftian Religion, how
"much muſt even Natural Religion be weakened by
"fuch a Behaviour in the Clergy? Eelieve me, Bre-
"thren, continues the Writer, that no Imputation, no
"Stain can fix fo faft to our Church as this.
It is a
“Stab almoſt in a vital Part, and only a vifible con-
66 trary Behaviour in us can be the effectual Remedy in
a Cafe of fo much Danger."
Tell me, Sir, what your Opinion must be of a Writer,
who, whilst he was cherishing fuch a Spirit and Difpo-
fition in his own Mind, and whilft he was advancing
fuch Pretenfions, in the Letter which he was writing,
hath in the fame Breath loaded them with fuch Weight
of Guilt and Infamy, as the laft recited Paragraph con-
tains.
Dr. G- n, or the Author of that Letter, was like-
wife pleafed to fay in the fixth Paragraph of his firft Di-
vifion, in this Difcourfe, That it had been experienced,
that it was much fafer to lay the Loins of the Law upon a
Layman, than the little Finger of it upon a Clergyman.
However poffible it is that vain and ignorant Men
may feed their Hopes with fuch Imaginations, let me as
a Friend, warn you not to err on this Head, for if ever
your
เ
352
A Letter to Dr. Codex.
your Practices fhall deferve a public Enquiry, or an ex-
emplary Puniſhment, you will find, as the worthy Lord
Clarendon faid, That the Juice of the Kingdom will one
Day or other be too hard for you, however strongly you may
off ofe´or opprys it.
Do not therefore indulge a Dream which reflecs fo
much Dishonour on the Juftice of the Kingdom. Do
not imagine, that in thefe Times it can be at all fafer to
lay the Loins of the Law on a Layman, than the little
Finger of it on a Clergyman. Dr. Gn, however he
happened to drop this Expreffion, will be fo far from
fupporting you, that he will be cited to fhew you the
Folly and Wickednefs of fuch vain Apprchenfions.
Give me leave then, Sir, to lay before you his Senti-
ments on the Crimes of Ecclefiaftics, and the Punish-
ments which Societies ought to provide against them. A
Leilon which I hope will have fome Influence on your
Conduct, as it comes from fuch Authority.
In the tenth Paragraph of the last cited Divifion of his
Letter, he addreffes himfelf to the Clergy in this remark-
able Manner.
"I prefume, ſays he to his Reverend Brethren, there
"is no Proteftant among us who believes that a Bishop,
as a Biſhop, is, or ought to be, exempt, from civil En-
quiries. That erroneous Notion was banished from
our Ifle with Popery, long ago, and the King's Supre-
"macy over all his Subjects is not doubted of by any
"Member of our Church. Indeed, when a Prelate acts
..
within his proper Sphere, a larger Portion of Refpect
is due -But whenever any one of that high Station
"acts contrary to his Religious Character, and ſtrikes
at the Establishment of his Country, it is his Intereft
"that his facred Office be not regarded in the Queftion,
" left it ferve only to aggravate the Crimes proved
CC
against him; or to fpeak in the Language of the great
"St. Paul, to make his Sin excceding finful. It may be
"confidered further, that a Crime against the Constitu-
"tion is equally dangerous, whether it be carried on by
"Lay or Epifcopal Hands, by one that wears a Sword,
or a Habit of Lawn. That State muft be unwife to
a Proverb, which will not take the fame neceflary
Precautions against the one as the other; for, the
"Care
$ C
เ
A Letter to Dr. Codex.
353
"Care of the Public is above any private Regard, be-
"cauſe it includes in it all other Relations, whether na-
<<
tural, civil, or ecclefiaftical- For my Part, fays
" Dr. G———-”, I cannot but look upon this as an Inſtance
"of steady and impartial Justice, fuch as every Govern-
ment ought to obferve; and I would not with myfelf
a Member of a more Platonic Commonwealth, than
where every Man who enters into fuch Meaſures as
endanger my Liberty, my Property, or my Religion,
be he civil or facred, wear he a Garter or a Mitre, is,
"upon Diſcovery of his Defigns, brought to a fair
Trial, and does, upon Conviction, pay that Debt
of Puniſhment which the known Laws of his Country
"demand."
6 C
66
In the next Paragraph, he ſtill ſpeaks in the fame juft
and forcible Manner, That the Juftice and Safety of
"the Nation require that all Delinquents be confidered
"and cenfured as Delinquents, without any Regard to
"the Office, or Title, or Honour, which they bear."
I hope, Sir, after this you will never delude yourſelf
to think, that it can be fafer to lay the Loins of the
Law on a Layman, than the little Finger of it on a
Clergyman. You will be of Opinion with me, that it is
a Pofition full of Infolence and Scandal to the Juftice of
the Kingdom; a Poſition which is fraught with Malice
against our Conftitution, and which imputes the moſt
partial, oppreffive, and unjuſt Proceedings to the good
People of England.
If, Sir, you fhould ftill entertain any Fondness for
theſe detellable Notions, let me expoftulate with you in
the admirable Words of the Reverend Writer, in the
third Paragraph of his firſt Diviſion, where he tells us,
he is appeafing the little Jcalonkes and Sufpicions which
fuch as you are apr to harbour in
ઃઃ
you.
"I know, fays Dr. G- -7, that it is natural for
"Men of all Societies, even of incorporated Trades,
though never fo mean in the Efteem of the World, to
"be alarmed at any Thing which may feem to reflect
"Dithonour on them as a Body, or which brings the
"Perfons of their particular Governors in Danger;
for, where there is an Union of Intereft, there is al-
"ways a common Jealoufy of Danger. But why should
66
not
354
A Letter to Dr. Codex.
"not we, Gentlemen, addreffing himself to the Clergy,
we who are bred up to Letters, and have received
"that generous Education in our Univerſities, which is
66
(
ufually thought not unworthy the Youth of the high-
"eft Quality; why fhould not we, who underſtand how
"to diftinguish and feparate thofe things in our Minds
"which the unwife and unlearned confound, fee clearly,
"that it may be reaſonable and neceffary for the Go-
"vernment to animadvert upon one of our Order, even
"in the ſtricteft Manner, at the fame time that it reve-
rences the holy Fun&tion with which he is invefted.”
You will not imagine, now you have heard fuch Re-
citals from this judicious Divine, nor durft you fuggeft,
that Dr. G—— can poffibly ferve you as an Authority
in any of your unwarrantable Claims, or cover you
from the Cenfures due to your unlawful Ufurpations.
If any thing, Sir, could reclaim you to the Humility of
a Chriftian Clergyman, or to the Dnty and Allegiance
of an English Subject; if any thing could infpire you
with a juft Senfe of your Caths and Obligations, it muſt
be the Words of this great and able Churchmah, whofe
Letter of Advice to the Clergy, I can never be weary of
tranfcribing.
6C
The fecond Part of his Difcourfe, Section the firft, is
opened in thefe Words. "Give me leave to reprefent
"that with too many Men, we the Clergy lay under the
"Scandal of being a reflefs and ungovernable Body.
"The Charge, I know, is not a true one, but it would
grieve the Heart of a good Man, to find that there
"fhould be any the leaft Handle for fuch an unworthy
"Afperfion; for, Sedition, or Defigns againſt the Con-
ftitution, is in a Clergyman an accumulated Crime;
"it is a whole Clufter of Sins in one, and as many
more Aggravations when committed by us than by
any others. For,
46
LC
64
"We have folemnly dedicated ourſelves to the Mini-
ftry of holy Things, we have turned our Backs upon
"the Cares of a fecular Calling, and have confined
"curfelves to the more immediate Service of Religion;
"fo that for us to be concerned in public Affairs, which
are not made a Part of our Duty by the Laws, even
though we ſhould act in them uprightly, is hardly
64
juftifiable,
A Letter to Dr. Codex.
355
g
<<
juftifiable, and may well feem a temporary Departure
"from the Bulneſs of our Calling: Befides, we never had
yet much Reputation for our Skill in judging of pub-
lic Matters-Why then fhould we quit that facred
"Province in which our Fellow Subjects will eaſily al-
"low us to be able Judges of Divinity, for that in
"which (let us confefs it fieely for all the World knows
it, and I think it for our Credit) we are not, we can-
"not well be Judges of Politics.
"We are all of us Men appointed to promote the
"Peace of Mankind, and to preach the Doctrine of Obe-
"dience to the higher Powers in being, and of mutual Love
" and good Will to one another; and can it ſeem less than
"a vile Hypocrify, or a direct Disbelief of the great
Truths of Scripture, if we give any juft Occafion for
"our civil Governors to fufpect us as feditious and dif-
"obedient Subjects? We fay, and rightly too, in our
"Sermons, that we are an Order of Men neceffary to
"Government: Let us then, by our Actions, prove this
"Truth to thofe who think otherwife of us.
We are
"fome of us eloquent and copious, in proving that So-
"ciety cannot long fubfift without Teachers of Religi-
"on: Let us then, I befeech you, make it vifible to all
"Men, that we endeavour to fupport the Society in
"which we are fo happily planted, and labour, with
"all our Power, to difappoint the Attempts of thoſe
"who would overturn it.
"We of all Men do, with an ill Grace, endeavour to
"work up our Audience into Fury, efpecially againſt
the State; it is the very Reverfe of our Profeffion,
"and is just fuch a Solecifin in Divinity as Superftition
"in Philofophy.
"We are to confider ourfelves ftill further, as in fome.
"fort Penfioners to the State in which we live. Left
"this be not underftood as it is meant, give me leave
"to exprefs myfelf more clearly, by faying, that though
we have a Claim from Scripture and Reafon, to a
"Maintenance in the Labour of the Gofpel, yet the
"particular Affignment of that Portion which we enjoy,
is the Free Gift of our Government; or if any one
"will make a Difficulty in allowing this, yet he cannot
"deny that the large Revenues, as well as the Honours
"attending
&
356
A Letter to Dr. Codex.
(C
attending the higher Stations of the Church, do in-
tirely flow from the Bounty of our Laws, and are
"the Penfions which a wife Society pays to its diftin-
guiſhed Ecclefiaftics, for the Reward of their uncom-
mon Piety and Learning, and of the Pattern which
they are fuppofed to give, of Submillion to their civil
"Governors. Some of us enjoy not only what is necef-
fary for fupporting us in the facred Bufinefs of our
Calling, but have an Abundance fufficient to make
"us fit down in the Rank of the Great and Wealthy.
"And I have often thought, that if fome amongst us,
"who have been the warmelt Advocates for the divine
Right of our Incomes, were flrictly to take the Mea-
"fure of them from what is faid concerning them in the
*
Gofpel, they would lofe at least one half of their Reve-
"nues in the dangerous Experiment, and perhaps have
"but the Tythe left them of what they now enjoy from the
"Munificence of the Legiſlature. This therefore is an
"Argument of much Weight! and may teach us, that
as our civil Governors are our Benefactors, whoever
"refiſts them muft appear bafely unthankful, and can-
not ſhake off his Obedience, without taking upon
" himſelf a full Load of the Infamy of Ingratitude.
I have now compleated fuch Extracts from this Letter
of Dr. G n, as can be fit for your Attention, moſt
Reverend Dr. Codex. You have now feen the Judgment
of Parliament in the Impeachment of a former fpiritual
Offender, for taking to himfelf the Royal Nomination.
to ecclefiaftical Dignities, and intruding upon the Place
of great Officers appointed to advife the Crown. You
have feen the fevere Animadverfions of the grave Au-
thor, your Reverend Brother, fo often cited against you ;
and it may be expected you will not hereafter advance a
Claim of Right, that any of your Profeffion ſhould di-
rect the K- or that any Ecclefiaftic whatever ſhould
fhare his Royal Prerogative, or that his Majefty fhould
make himſelf but the Executor of your Pleafure.
,
It is however clear and inconteftable, that this will be
the Cafe, this daring and dangerous Encroachment will
be carried on, if ever a governing Prelate ſhould affume
to himſelf the Right of repudiating Characters, when
they fhall be recommended to ecclefiaftical Preferment.
Let
A Letter to Dr. Codex.
357
Let any Man confider the Confequence of this Practice,
and he muſt ſee, that Ambition and Avarice would by
fuch Means have the largeſt Opportunity of extending
their moſt deſtructive and rapacious Projects. If an In-
quifition were lodged in the Hands of one or
more
Churchmen, to try and judge any Candidate for Royal
Promotion in the Church: If this might be done by the
Evidence of low and profligate Perfons; by Difcoveries
of looſe Words and private Converfations, pretended to
have happened at any former Diſtance of Time, fo that
the Opportunities may be irrecoverably loft, of recol
lecting every material Circumftance, of fetting Things in
their true Lights, and bringing thoſe who were prefent,
befides the infamous Informer, to bear Witneſs of what
was really spoke in his Hearing: If this, I fay, is to be
the Scheme and Procefs of fuch an Inquifition, no arbi-
trary Churchman, in future Times, will ever be without
a Retinue of Ecclefiaftical Affidavit Makers, and Spiri-
tual Preferment Stoppers, who will proſtitute their Oaths
and Inventions, to blaft the Characters of all Men, whọ
may be likely to rife in the Church contrary to his Inte-
refts, fo that he may indulge his Love of Power, his Luft
of Lucre, his Envy, his Hatred, his Caprice or Whim,
to ruin the fairest Reputations: And as the best Men in
the World will be the moſt obnoxious to his Refentments,
the moſt formidable to his Power, and the most to be
dreaded by his jealous Ambition, fuch Men will be the
firft to feel the Fury of his Inquifition, and to be defamed
by the peftilent Tribe of his abandoned Informers.
Such were the Practices common in this Kingdom,
before the Reformation of the Church, when Edmund,
the cruel and violent Bishop of London, eclipſed the
Power of the Crown, branded the moft deferving of the
Clergy, and butchered the moft innocent of the Laity.
As he carried on every iniquitous Project, he retained
every infamous Proſtitute; and a memorable Inftance of
his vengeful Temper occurs to my prefent Recollection.
He had feen a Clergyman rife to a Deanary by the Affift-
ance of very honourable Patrons, whofe Power he con-
fidered with as much Awe as he beheld it employed to
his fore Vexation: Whilft the Affair depended, he had
tried
358
A Letter to Dr. Codex.
tried every decent Artifice to defeat ther ; he was not
immediately willing to break with them, and thought.
that his Ends might be carried by fmooth Expedients;
but when once he found his Intrigues were baffled by
their fuperior Difcernment, and the Promotion was ob-
tained fo much to his Difappointment, he gave the ut-
molt Scope to his Malice and Revenge. The firft vacant
Bishopric was made ufe of as the fitteft Occafion for the
Exercife of both. The very Perfon whofe Advance-
ment he had fo lately laboured to obfruct, did he him-
felf officiouſly name to fupply that vacant See, when
no Man aſked or expected it: And this moſt infidious
Offer he made with exprefs Defign to poffefs himſelf of
a proper Opportunity, whereby he defamed the Perfon,
and fet him afide in the Promotion which he with fo much
'Treachery had officioufly pretended to defign in his Fa-
your; making his Reputation the Butt of fpiritual In-
formers, and fixing his Prelatical Brand on his Name, as
a lafting Puniſhment due to that Ecclefiaftic who had
dared to rife in the Church without his Confent, and as
a perpetual Incapacity ever to rife in any future Inftance.
I muſt not difmifs this Affair without a juft Remark. It
was the Glory of a moſt renowned Proteftant Queen,
that fhe mortified the Pride, and cruſhed the Power of
this unchriftian Prelate.
If I ſhould view this Scheme of an Inquifition, in the
Lights of your own Intereft, I believe I could eafily de-
ter you from purfuing any fuch pernicious and deteftable
Project. Are you, Sir, fo warm in your Situation, that
you defire no earthly Advancement, or are you fo ſecure
in your Reputation, that fuch a Method of Practice,
fuch an Inquifition, might not eaſily deſtroy it? And
are you fure that you have no Enemy in the World,
whofe Averſion to your higher Promotion, might not in-
duce to feek out Witneffes of your former Life and Be-
haviour? Think then, that if a proud, ambitious, and
malicious Frelate, fhould ever have the Opportunity of
obftructing your Exhaltation, by fixing a Stain on your
Character, Whether his Refort among your old Com-
rades might not furnish fuch an Adverfary with fit In-
flruments to afperfe you? And whether the Lure of his
Favour,
I
{
A Letter to Dr. Codex.
359
Favour, might not feduce fome hungry ftarving Ecclefi-
aftic, to teftify that which every Man would reject with
Scorn, were it not fanctified by thofe Solemnities which
provoke our Abhorrence? Suppofe that any one ſhould
have fo much Ill-will, and allow himfelf fo large a Li-
berty, as to aver against you, Sir, that thirty Years fince,
or upwards, you were a moft virulent Jacobite, and not
only expreffed the utmost Rancour against the Revolu-
tion, but pledged, in divers Companies, the moſt un-
lawful Healths, and refuſed the Oaths by Law required:
Or that fuch a Charge hath been fo notorious, and you
fo extremely fenfible of its Weight against you, that the
laft Incumbent of the See now vacant, was by your Arts
and Influence obftructed for ten Years together, in his
Rife to a Bishopric, becauſe he had faid, that you was a
Jacobite by Nature, and a Whig by Grace. Do you not
think, that were it poflible to procure fuch Depofitions,
it would be very hard upon you, if Encouragement
fhould be given to evil or envious Men, in the Bufinefs
of defaming you, and that fuch Defamation fhould pre-
vent you from the Benefit of fuch Promotions, as the
greateſt Perfons had endeavoured to procure, or Royal
Favour intended to give you? And would you have
been content to have loft a Bishopric, or would you be
willing to hazard an higher Promotion on fuch an Expe-
riment, as bringing to Light the Iniquities which might
be poffibly charged on the Courfe of the Life, in a
Train of Exactions, Extortions, Oppreffions, and Acts
of Injuftice?
Do not therefore recommend fuch Schemes to the
Public, or to the Crown, as muft, and will be, one Day
or other, the Introduction of this Practice, and may be
the Deſtruction of your own Credit. If you did but re-
flect on what fome Men have done, you would tremble
to confider what Perfons of their Complection may do.
I have heard of a Churchman, who promoted a Profe
cution againſt a very ſcandalous Offence; and on the
Accufation of that unnatural Sin, many were purfued,
even to the laft Sentence and Execution of the Law.
This Perſon, with great Oftentation, boafted of this Ser-
vice which he had performed to the Caufe of Religion
and
360
A Letter to Dr. Codex.
and Virtue. It nevertheless happened, that a Prieft, in
the Diſtrict where he had Authority, a Man of the moſt
profligate Principles, and in all Refpects of the moft in-
famous Character, was known to him by the meritorious
Diftinction of a most violent Bigot; as he was known to
all the World by every immoral Practice, and by his
avowed Difaffection to the Royal Family. This wicked
Man, and what better could be expected from him, was
as unnatural in his Vices, as he was odious in his Beha-
viour. He had long been made fcandalous by his moſt
fhocking Amours, and at length was expofed by one of
a flagrant kind carried on with the Clark of his own Pa-
riſh; he had, by his Practices on this Perfon, brought
him into the Hands, and under the Operations of Sur-
geons. The Fact was too notorious for the Crime to
pafs unpunished, The honeft Laity thought it a Matter
ht for the Cognizance and Correction of the civil Ma-
giftrate; but whilft this Purpofe was in Agitation, his
Reverend Superior interpofed, for the Honour of his
Order, defiring that this vile Delinquent might be first
profecuted in the fpiritual Court, where having once
been formally divelled of his Ecclefiaftical Character, he
might then be decently delivered up to the Secular Power,
and puniſhed in his Lay Capacity, for Crimes which he
actually had attempted in his Clerical Habit. The Pro-
fecution under this Management, was begun, was fpun
out with tedious Delays, and after the molt trifling De-
fence, was at length concluded to the Condemnation of
the accufed Party. An Appcal was then lodged, was
protracted in an extraordinary Manner, and the Appel-
lant found Guilty again of thofe unnatural Practices
which had been laid to his Charge. See now the Uſe
of thefe Delays! The Profecution had been fo long de-
pending, that it would have had no Countenance in the
Civil Courts, had an Indictment been preferred fo long
after the Fact was committed. The Father of the flock
having therefore, with this Defign, prevailed by his In-
fluence, that the Procefs fhould continue fo long depend-
ing, did, at luft, with great Humility and brotherly
Love, by his good Offices, moderate the Judgment, and
fcreen the unnatural Offender from Juftice, fo that the
fpiritual
A Letter to Dr. Codex:
361
fpiritual Judge condemned him as guilty of all thofe unna-
tural Practices, yet difcharged him by a Commutation of
100 7. Cofts, reproving him in the graveft Style for this
criminal Converſation with his Clerk, and enjoining him
not to commit fuch filthy Sins in Time to come. Thus
was Juftice difarmed of her Power to punish the worſt
Offences! Thus did an intriguing Ecclefiaftic fcreen
Enormities in his own Order, which he had followed
with all the Vengeance of Law in the Cafe of other
Men; And do you not think, that were fuch a Man to
be intrufted with fupreme Power in the Church, he would
employ it as wickedly and as partially, in ftigmatizing
fome, as he hath employed it in fcreening of others?
And that as he can protect the worſt ſort of Men in their
Crimes, for being fubfervient to his exorbitant Projects,
he would blacken the fair Reputation of others, for be-
ing too honeft to join in fupporting his Iniquities?
Such Behaviour in any Churchman, contributes more
than all the Works of Infidelity, to blemish the Honour,
and fubvert the Foundation, of the Chriftian Religion.
Thoſe who have the Caufe of Virtue and Piety moft at
Heart, loſe their Zeal in the Service or the Support of a
Church, whilst they fce Churchmen acting in fuch a
Manner, and Church Authority proftituted to fuch un-
chriftian Ends. One Paftor of this Complection con-
futes all the Paftoral Letters that ever were written;
and the World will be apt, however unjustly, to con-
ceive, that nothing was ever charged on Ecclefiaftics,
which was not true, if ever they fhall fee there is no-
thing immoral, but what fome of the Order can commit,
efpecially if fuch Offenders fhould be of fuch Rank.
that their Example cannot be of more extenfive Influ-
ence, than it ought to be of lafting Infamy.
But if ever we fhould have the Misfortune to ſee the
Scheme which you have recommended to the Imitation
of Chriftian Princes, obtain under our Conftitution; if
ever we ſhould ſee a diſhoneſt and a defaming Church-
man, endeavour by his Calumnies and his Informers, to
propagate Falfhoods, and promote Perjuries, thereby to
difgrace an innocent Man, whofe Merit he envies, and
whofe Integrity he looks on with fearful Eyes; if thus
VOL. 11.
Q
he
362
A Letter to Dr. Codex.
he fhall labour to circumvent the most worthy, and ruin
the moſt amiable Character, may there never be want-
ing a great and powerful Patron to fuftain the Cauſe of
Innocence, whofe Authority to protect him, may be as
irreſiſtible as that Eloquence with which he fhall vindi-
cate his Fame, and whofe Honour fhall make him inca-
pable of giving up his Friend to the Lofs of his deareſt
Reputation, when the Favour which he fought to pro-
cure him, ſhall have incited ſuch ſcandalous Church Job-
bers to difgrace him.
It is a Security, as it is a Comfort to us, that the
Honour of the Crown, and the Wiſdom of that Prince
who wears it, will never permit his Favours in the
Church to be ingroffed by any ambitious Churchman,
nor his Royal Grace, at any Time intended to be con-
ferred on a deferving Clergyman, to be intercepted by
the baſe Attempts of proftitute Informers. He will be
too jealous of his Imperial Dignity, to fuffer that any
Ecclefiaftic whatever fhall openly boaft, in Derogation
of his Royal Supremacy, That the K is directed by
him, that his Majefty fhares his Royal Prerogatives with
him, and makes himself but the Executor of his Pleasure.
Our Sovereign, Sir, is not to be treated with fuch In-
folence and Pride. He hath fhewn to the World that he
will be King of his People; and will be as far from allow-
ing an ambitious Churchman to divide his fovereign Au-
thority, as he will be from fuffering any fuch Scheme of
Ambition to be carried on by the vile Arts of perjured
Information. He will neither gratify the Wicked in
their unjuft Ufurpations, to the Diminution of his own
Glory, nor give up the Worthy and Innocent a Prey to
their vindictive Revenge. He will, whenever he finds
it expedient, abate the Pride of fuch Men, though they
fhould be as infolent in their Threats of oppofing his
Service, as they were indecent in their Boafts of making
him the mere Executor of their Pleasure; and they will
fee, when they provoke his Royal Indignation, that in
the ſteady Courſe of impartial Juſtice, it is as ſafe to in-
flist the Puniſhment of Law on an offending Clergyman,
as on any Layman whatever.
As
A Letter to Dr, Codex.
363
As this is the Light in which every faithful Subject
regards his Prince, I hope, Sir, that fince it is your Duty,
you will foon find it to be your Intereft to treat his Royal
Perfon with the fame Refpect and Decency; and that
you will apply to Chriſtian Princes, on future Occaſions,
in a much more becoming Manner, than by Paragraphs
printed in the Daily Papers, fetting forth to the World
what Examples are fit for fuch Princes to imitate.
Lincoln's Inn,
March 1733-
I am,
SIR,
Your most humble Servant, &C:
}
Q 2
A
:
(364)
The Preface to the Fourth Collection of
Cato's Letters.
By THOMAS GORDON, Efq;
Readily comply with the Defire of the Publiſher to
write a fhort Preface to the new Collection he has
made of my Letters for the laft four Months. I
am more concerned than furprized, that theſe Letters
fhould be ill underſtood, and maliciouſly apprehended
by thofe, who, having no Principles of their own, are
apt to wreft my Principles to favour their own Preju-
dices.
Thefe Men are Friends to Truth out of Anger or
Chance, and not for her own Sake. I am, however,
glad that they have been brought to read and approve a
general Condemnation of their own Scheme.
It is more
than ever they did before; and I am not without Hopes,
that what they have begun in Paffion may end in Con-
viction I am happy, if I may have been the Means of
bringing thoſe Men to think for themſelves, whofe Cha-
racter it has been to let other Men think for them
:
a
Character which is the higheſt Shame and the greateſt
Unhappineſs of a rational Being. Thefe Papers having
opened the Principles of Liberty and Power, and render-
ed them plain to every Understanding, may, perhaps,
have their Share in preventing, for the time to come,
fuch Storms of Zeal for Nonſenſe and Falfhood, as have
thrown theſe Kingdoms more than once into Convul-
fions. I hope I have helped to cure and remove thoſe
monstrous Notions of Government, which were inſtilled
by the crafty Few into the ignorant Many.
For those who profeſs to entertain the fame Sentiments.
with myſelf upon this Subject, and yet have been offend-
ed ; as this their Offence was neither my Fault nor In-
tention, I can only be forry, for their Sakes, that the
Principles which they avowed at all Times, fhould hap-
pen
Preface to Cato's Letters. 365
pen to diſpleaſe them at any Time. I am willing to be-
lieve that it was not the Doctrine, but the Application
that diſobliged them. -Nor am I anſwerable for this ;
they themſelves made it, and often made it wrong. I
abhor all Attacks upon the Perfons and private Cha-
racters of Men, and all little Stories and Calumnies in-
vented or revived to blacken them. Theſe are baſe and
diſhoneſt Practices; the Work and Ambition of little and
malicious Minds only. Nor wanted I any fuch ill-bred
and contemptible Artifices to gain Readers. I attended
only to general Reafonings about public Virtue and Cor-
ruption, unbiaffed by Pique or Favour to any Man. I
can ſay this with as much Truth as any Writer ever
could. As I have abuſed no Man's Perfon, and courted
no Man's Fortune, I have dreaded no Man's Refent-
ment.
The Faults found with thefe Letters are fo frivolous
and ill grounded, that to mention them is almoſt ſufficient
to anſwer and expoſe them. The putting fome Words
in Italics, or different Letters, has given Offence; and I
own, in fome Instances it has been indifcreet: But
though it was none of my Doing, and I have often
blamed it, yet I dare anfwer that it was not maliciouſly
done. However, I have directed it to be altered in this
Collection.
Other Letters and Paffages and Advertiſements in the
Journal, have been diſhoneſtly blended with Cato's Let-
ters; and when they were called Crimes, Cato has been
called the Criminal A wicked and a bafe Charge!
Any intelligent Man may fee that Cato has nothing far-
ther to do with the Journal, than the writing thofe Lct-
ters which are figned with his Name.
But the
I know it has been faid, and but faid, that Cato has
fpoken difreſpectfully, nay infolently, of the King. If
this were true, I fhould be the first to own that all the
Clamour raiſed against me, was juſt upon me.
Papers vindicate themfelves; and it is certain, that no
Prince was ever treated with more Duty and Regard, in
any public or private Writings, than his prefent Majeſty
has been in theſe. In Point of Affection and Principle
his Majefty has not a better Subject than myſelf; and if
he has any bad ones, they are none of my making. I
23
know
366
Preface to Cato's Letters.
know that this Nation cannot be faved without this
King; and I am still perfuaded, that nothing tended
more to his Advantage and Popularity, or more to the
Credit of the Miniſtry, or more to the Security of the
Subject, than the purfuing, with quick and impartial
Vengeance, thofe Men who were Enemies to all Men.
And I have the Votes and Proceedings of Parliament,
to fhew that that great and honourable Affembly were
guided by the fame Sentiments, as were the whole Na-
tion.
But it ſeems I once ſpoke Latin to his Majeſty, and
fpoke to him in the fingular Number- — quis te vitu-
peravit. If this be a Libel, they who make it ſo, are
the Libellers. In itſelf it is a Panegyric; nor could it
be a Satyr in my Mouth, who have ever thought and
fpoken dutifully of the King, and endeavoured that all
others ſhould do fo. As to the Word, Te, addreſſed 10
his Majesty in the fingular Number, which is the Ob-
jection, I am told, of fome able Lawyers; I would, in
answer, acquaint thefe learned Goths, that the Purity of
the Latin Tongue warrants that way of fpeaking, and
no other, and that none but Monks and Pedants practiſe
any other. VOS regere imperium-
And he VOBIS
-would be beautiful Emendations in a
new Edition of Virgil. But as the above ridiculous Ob-
jection was made by no Lawyer of Genius or Politeness,
it is no Reflection upon his Brethren.
erunt artes.
Thus much I think is more than a fufficient Defence
against this Latin Crime; which however I have cancel-
led, though not for their Sakes who make it one.
In answer to thofe deep Politicians, who have been
long puzzled to know who were meant by Cicero and
Brutus; intending to deal candidly with them, and put
them out of Pain and Doubt, I aflure them that Cicero
and Brutus were meant: That I know no preſent Cha-
racters or Story that will fit theirs; and that thofe Let-
ters were tranflated for the Service of Liberty in general,
without intending by them either Reproof or Praiſe to
any Man living. And if thefe gueffing Sages are in
Perplexity about any other Paffages in Cato's Letters, it
is ten to one but the fame Anſwer will relieve them.
IQ
Preface to Cato's Letters.
367
In Brutus's Letters it is faid, we do not dispute about the
Qualifications of a Mafter; we will have noMafter. Which
is the genuine Senfe of the Latin-Nifi forte non de fer-
vitute, fed de conditione ferviendi recufandum eft a nobis.
From hence fome have inferred, that, becauſe Brutus was
againſt having a Master, therefore I am againſt having a
King-a ftrange Conftruction, and a wild Confequence!
As if in tranflating Brutus's Letter, I was not to follow
the Senfe of Brutus; or as if there was no Difference in
England between a King and a Mafter, which are juſt as
oppofite as King and Tyrant. In a neighbouring King-
dom, indeed, they fay that their Monarch is born Ma-
fter of the Kingdom, and I believe they feel it too; as
they do with a Witnefs in Turkey-But I hope it is not
fo here. We have a King made and bound by the
Brutus having killed one Ufurper, was oppofing
another, overturning by Violence all Law. Where is
the Parity, or Room for it?
Law;
It may, perhaps, be expected I fhould fay fomething
here of a late Attempt, to anſwer this and all other
Writings, in a Way that was never before taken, nor
heard of a new Way without a new Occafion! And
a Way more terrible to Liberty than to me! Nothing is
the best Thing I can fay of it; and even for that I de-
ferve the Thanks of the Projectors: May it be for ever
covered with Oblivion! A Wiſh, in which I dare ſay I
have their hearty Concurrence. No Man defires to be
remembered but with Honour.
Thus much by way of Preface, I thought might be
modeftly faid, in defence of a Paper which has more
Friends and Readers, than any Paper that has hitherto
appeared in the World; and for its Foes, they are, as to
their Number, inconfiderable.
As to myſelf, who perhaps have more public Spirit
than private Prudence, having done my Duty, I can fay
with Tully, Quid eft, prob deum hominumque fidem! In quo
ego Reip. plas hoc tempore prodeffe poffim? Quid eft,
quod aut populo Rom. gratius effe debeat, aut fociis extcrifq;
nationibus optatius effe poffit, aut faluti fortunifque omnium
accommodatius fit? Quis tandem effet qui meum concili-
um aut fa&tum poffet reprehendere?
124
"I ap-
368 Preface to Cato's Letters.
"I appeal to Heaven and Earth, whether I could
"have done more for the Benefit of the Public in this
"its woful Distress? -What more agreeable to the
"Intereſt and the Wiſhes of our People at home, what
more conducive to our Reputation abroad, or what
more defirable for the Security of the univerfal Rights
"and Properties of all Men? What Falfhood have I
"uttered, what evil Counſel have I given, and do the
"Innocent accuſe me?
ડ
The Preface to the Sixth Collection of
I
Cato's Letters.
By THOMAS GORDON, Efq;
Have faid fo much by way of Preface to the other
Collections of thefe Papers, that little is left for me
to fay in This. The prefent is a Collection of all
the Papers written laft Winter and till now upon Go-
vernisent, ex propofito, and in a Syftem; and thofe about
Cefar being near a-kin to the Defign, and containing a
good Part of the Argument, I have joined then to the
reft, as I have done two late ones about Elections, for
the fame Reafon; and to the Whole 1 have prefixed
one written laft October, concerning the general ill Con-
dition of Mankind.
I leave the Argument handled in thefe Letters to
jultify itfelf, as it is ftated there, I cannot help think-
ing it is fupported by the united Confent of Experi-
ence, Reaſon, and Nature; and is not like to be ſhak-
en by any thing that can be faid againſt it. The
Sum of the Queſtion is, Whether Mankind have a Right
to be happy? or, whether any Man has a Right to
make them miferable?
I am
Preface to Cato's Letters.
369
I am not ſo much furprized, that many of the Tories
fhould affent to the Lawfulneſs of killing Cafar, be-
cauſe Men out of Power are naturally in the Intereſt
of Liberty; as I am forry that any of the Whigs fhould
deny it. Is the Unlawfulneſs of killing Tyrants main-
tained at laſt by the Whigs, whofe very Spirit and Cha-
racter is founded upon the very oppofite Principle? I
wish they would define and explain this modern Whig-
ifm, especially upon the Principles of the old, and di-
ftinguish it from the moſt obnoxious Part of Toryiſm. I
doubt I have fet them a hard Taſk.
They who wildly apply to the Court what has
been faid about Cæfar, make the Court but an ill Com-
pliment, whatever they may intend.
How can any
Court, which does not do what Cefar did, be affected
with what was done to Cæfar, or with what is ſaid
about him?
CATO.
05
The
(370)
The Creed of an Independent Whig; with
an orthodox Introduction, concerning
Canons, Councils, Myfteries, Miracles,
and Church Authority.
By THOMAS GORDON, Efq;
Anno 1720.
To all Believers, the orthodox Author fendeth
T
Greeting;
HE Opinions of Mankind are as various as
their Complexions; and he must be a very bad
Markfman, who fhoots among a Crowd of
People, and miffes every one: But notwithſtanding there
is fuch a Diversity of Faith in the World, yet I am
perfuaded I ſhall meet with many who will heartily em-
brace my Sentiments in the following Creed. I chal-
lenge the Univerſe to difprove any one Article; and
what makes me the more fanguine herein, is, that I am
very well affured that there is not a Tenet which can be
justly called Pfeudodox.
I am fenfible of the numerous Herds of Bigots, who
will not allow a Man to have a Competency of ortho-
dox Learning, who has not trifled away a few Years at
a Univerfity; but if we would follow the Example of
the good Hufbandman, and purge our Granaries, we
ſhould quickly find more Tares than good Corn.
It grieves me to fee that the World has fuch a juſt
Caufe to reflect on Alma Mater, and affirm, that (for
many Years paft, and even to this Day) inſtead of ad-
miniftring wholeſome Nouriſhment, fhe has, and does,
viciate the moſt hale Conſtitutions. Oh, that ſhe would
retrieve her loft Reputation of being one of the beſt
Nurfes
The Creed of an Independent Whig. 371
Nurfes in Christendom! But her Milk is become four,
and curdles in each tender Stomach.
I have ſpent many a tedious Night in fearching dili-
gently into the Lives and Characters of the primitive Be-
lievers; nor have I been remifs in endeavouring to dif-
cover the Manners and Behaviour of the Moderns: For
the Satisfaction therefore of our Houfhold, to corrobo-
rate the Weak, to eſtabliſh the Wavering, and in full
and certain Hope of making Profelytes, I have with
much Pains and Watching, Fatigue and Study, finiſhed
my Creed; a Work much defired, and long wanted.
Take heed, my Brethren, that ye do not relapſe into
Infidelity; let me caution ye not to be deluded by the
Wiles and Artifices of a particular Set of People called
Hocus Pocus Blades: Theſe Sons of the Craft pretend to
prove a Succeffion of Legerdemain Gentlemen from the
firft Juglers, and treading in the Paths of their Predecef-
fors, have entered into a mutual Compact to bambouzle
our Senfes, and to deprive Mankind of Reaſon.
Thefe Men have more Ways of impofing upon you,
than by their Hands, though I must acknowledge That
to be the chief Impofition of any. You may fafely be-
lieve one Thing which they tell you, though at the fame
time they would not have you give Credit to theirWords,
viz. If your Eyes are not as nimble as your Fingers, they
avill deceive you.
So I have feen a Carpet laid, and when the proper
Utenfils were ſpread upon the Table, a Jugler begin his
Farce with this hort Prologue.
Behold my little Cups and little Ball;
Sec, there are no falje Bottoms here at all.
You may eafily judge from this inimitable Piece of
Poetry, that the fubfequent Oratory mult needs be very
elegant. He has an admirable Knack of deluding the
Credulous with three little Balls, which you fee him
place fairly under three Cups; but by using a few of
his Rhetorical Flourishes, as Prefto, pass, begone; the three
Balls are not to be found, but inſtead of them, you be-
hold one large one. Now, to convince you that he is
a Maſter of Art, he again pronounces the aforemention-
26
ej
372 The Creed of an Independent Whig.
ed Words, which are of fuch Efficacy, that the one Bal
vaniſhes, and the Three appear in fatu quo. Nay, he
will bring back the one Ball, and change it into a liv-
ing Body; as a Hen, a Chicken, or the like: How
great then is the miraculous Power of Hocus-Pocus ? But
I fhould have told you, that if you have but Ten-pence
in your Pocket, he will demand one with an authori-
tative Air, which you must pay for being deluded; fo
that he is fure to have you here or there, as he terms it
in the Prologue.
There are another Set of People, whom you ought
carefully to avoid, Men of pretended Sanctity, I mean
Priefts, whofe Love to their Bottle and Miftrefs exceeds
any Layman's. And by the Bye you may note (for it is
an Axiom that will not bear Contradiction) that much
autward Piety is an infallible Indication of an Exube-
rance of inward Knavery. They will offer to perfuade
you that they can wash an Ethiopian white, and releaſe
you from your Debts; but beware that you rely not on
their Words, left you incenfe your Creditor, and he caſts
you into Prifon for being infolvent.
A Prieſt, with much Importunity, was prevailed upon
to quit his Pipe and Glafs, and attend a Gentleman who
was making his Exit. The holy Father was very dili-
gent in the Execution of his Office, and performed all
the fuperftitious Ceremonies customary to be done to a
dying Perfon. It happened, that while he was pro-
nouncing the Abfolution, and one Hand was figning
the Gentleman with the Mark of the Cross, the other
(through Inadvertency rather than Defign) was very bufy
in picking his Pocket; the fick Man's Thoughts were
not ſo very intent upon the other World, as might be ex-
pected from one in his Condition, but obferving what
the Prieſt was doing, ſtarts up in his Bed, and laid hold
of his Breeches. By this fudden Motion he broke an
Impofthume which was within him, and had caufed his
being fo very weak; and recovering his Health in a
few Days, renounced the Heterodox Faith in which he
had been educated, and embraced and adhered to that
which was orthodox.
The laft Advice which I fhall give you is, to weigh
Things maturely before you proceed to a final Determi
nation :
The Creed of an Independent Whig. 373
nation: Condemn not other People becauſe they cannot
be of the fame Opinion with you in all Matters; for by
the fame Parity of Reafon, they may condemn you.
Remember that there are more Ways to the Wood than
one. Does that Man merit the Name of Saint, Pope, or
Biſhop, who in a diabolical Paffion fhall pronounce whole
Nations damned, who cannot fwallow all and fingular
of his Abfurdities? Who fhall deliver over to the Devil
and his Angels the major Part, not only of the Chriftian
World, but alſo of all the Inhabitants of the Earth, to
be tormented in Hell for ever; merely becauſe they
will not facrifice their Reaſon (that noble Characteriſtic
of Man, that Portion of Divine Goodness) to Forge-
ries and Blafphemy? Muft we be damned for oppofing
this falfe Doctrine? This is a hard Saying, and who
can bear it?
As I have laboured hard in the Vineyard, fo I hope
I have brought forth Wine; and they who approve the
Juice of my Grapes, ſhall drink, make their Hearts
glad, and be welcome. I will force no Man; Compul.
fion is neither hofpitable nor lawful; I fhall therefore
allow a Liberty to all Men, obferving the golden Rule,
of doing as I would be done unto. I fhall not ſpeak in
dark Parables to deceive any Man, but am willing to
declare the Truth, and abide by it, tho' perhaps this
may be deemed a Work too dirty for the Sons of Levi ta
medille with; which Practice I recommend to you my
Fellow Believers, and perfuade myfelf you will fight
manfully under fo glorious a Banner, even though the
Jefuits, or any of the Order of Friar Francis fould op-
pofe you.
T
of
The INTRODUCTION.
HE Impofition of Creeds is looked upon by all
thinking People to be analogous to the Impofition
fomething elfe; and, indeed, if the Tradi-
tions of Men are not to be admitted as a Standard of
Faith, which no Proteſtant will allow, I do affirm, that
we ought not to depend on the Decrees of Councils and
Synods. The former has been condemned by our Sa-
viour Chrift, and the latter cannot be deemed orthodox,
if
374 The Creed of an Independent Whig.
if we look into the Hiftory of the Ancients; becaufe
each of them has cenfured and declared fome, if not all
the Articles of their Predeceffors to be heterodox.
From hence I would infer, that their Credenda were
not the Dictates of a Divine Spirit, becauſe they contra-
dict and claſh against each other; but were rather the
feeming Opinions of fuch as were biaffed by Intereſt or
Policy. I do not fay abfolutely that this is a true State
of the Cafe, but to me it feems to carry a Face of Pro-
bability; and as I will not pin my Faith upon the Af-
fertion of any Body of Men whatever, fo I fhall leave
every Man at Liberty to believe what, and as much as
he judges requifite. Provided, nevertheless, that no
Man fhall believe all, becaufe he will not then leave a
Share for his Neighbours; and I muſt needs own I hate
a Monopoly of any Kind; for which Reafon I wifh
there were a Law to prevent ingroffing of
He that can read, and has a common Portion of Rea-
fon, may find fuch plain and eafy Directions in the Naru
Teftament, as will inftru&t him how to find the ready
Way to Heaven; by which he will avoid the tedious
Ambages of a mercenary Guide. I think that the Gen-
tleman managed the Tack with Prudence, who refolving
to travel to the Lands-End, contracted for the Journey:
If he had hired a Guide by the Day, no doubt but the
Fellow would have conducted him the fartheft Way
about.
Happy the Man who fwallows the Abfurdities of the
Popish Religion; he need not be anxious of his Wel-
fare hereafter; and I could name another Religion,
which has gained fo much Ground, that it is thought
'twill come up with, if not overtake, the former: They
refemble the Bank and the South-Sea Companies in vy-
ing with each other; and I wish that we may not at laft
difcover a Miffiffipi in both.
That the Bible is the Rule of Faith, abftracted from
its Interpolations and erroneous Tranflations, dare not
be denied by the most confummate Prieft-craft; and
therefore he who endeavours to perfuade me that fuch
Articles are neceffary to Salvation, which are not made
fundamental in Scripture, palms his own, or another's
Sug-
The Creed of an Independent Whig. 375
Suggeſtions upon me, and gives great Caufe of Sufpi-
cion that there is fome vile Roguery at the Bottom.
How pathetically does St. Paul fpeak! how noble are
his Thoughts! how beautiful and how amiable his De-
ſcription of Charity! and he concludes with affuring us,
that all Moral Virtues, that even Faith without Charity
availeth nothing. If therefore Charity is fo effential,
what Opinion muft we entertain of that Creed, in which
Uncharitableness is placed in the moft glaring Light,
and made an Article of Faith a Creed, whofe Author,
or Authors, cannot be proved, nor its Tenets plainly
made out from Scripture.
There is a Religion which has three Creeds, and yet
properly ſpeaking, they Three are but One. This is very
Emblematical, and I love an out-of-the-way Fancy;
'tis fomething new, and may be of great Emolument in
this improving Age.
I could mention a Creed, which has its Title from
fome Men, who were as little concerned in the Compo-
fure of it, as the late King's James's Queen: And there
is one Article or two, which have been proved by a
Gentleman now living, to be foifted upon us by fome
zealous
This Gentleman is as well verfed
in the Divinity, as in the Laws of his Country; and if
Merit may be allowed to take Place, he ought not to
give the Right-hand to any of the Long petticoat Tribe,
of what Denomination foever.
I have Reafon to imagine, that there is not a Shop
where Titcry, Quorum, or Gin (call it by what Name
you will) is fold, but what has its peculiar Devotees,
and peculiar Sect of Faith. And if it be an undeniable
Maxim, that Orthodoxy muft furely be found where the
Spirit is most predominant, then the Diftiller can fur-
nith us with Infallibility, either by Wholeſale or Re-
tail.
Faith has of late Years been bandied about like a
Ball in a Tennis Court; and every old Woman believes,
as juftly as any young Levite, that he has a Right to
dabble in Politics, find Fault with the Adminiſtration,
and meliorate our Conftitution; and truly I think the
one has as legal Pretenfions as the other.
Sir Peter King, who wrote on the Apoſtle's Creed,
Sir
376 The Creed of an Independent Whig.
any
Si. Toby is a very eminent Lawyer, and took the
Oaths when tendered to him; declaring, that he defied
Parliament to frame an Oath which he would refufe;
for, fays he, I will truft G-d with my Soul, before I
will truft Man with my Eftate. How ftupendous is fome
Men's Faith! no doubt but the Knight had an Exube-
rance; and though I will not fay that he can remove a
Mountain, yet I affirm he has removed many a weighty
Caufe.
The Creeds of the Papifts are innumerable; I ſhall
therefore recite only two Articles of their voluminous
Catalogue, the Legend which carry the fureft Face of
Probability: This I propoſe to do with all the Brevity
imaginable.
£
St. Agatha was a Virgin of the ſtrictest Virtue, Pie-
ty, and regular Way of living; fhe was the Domina-
• of a Nunnery, to which fome Corn-Fields were ap-
propriated for the Support of the Faithful. It hap-
pened, that fome wild Geefe infefted thofe Fields,
and eat up the Fruits of the Earth; but upon Com-
plaint to the Saint, fhe ordered 'em to furrender them-
felves Prifoners to the Steward, who confined the paf-
five Enemy in the Barn. It happened that one of the
Sifterhood was in a longing Condition, and yet the
had preferved her Chaſtity; and by the Confent of
fome others, killed one of the Geefe, and eat it. St.
Agatha taking into Confideration the Sufferings of the
Captives, who had faſted forty Days, which was Pe-
• nance enough, as fhe thought, diſmiſſed 'em; how-
ever not without a Reprimand for the Sacrilege they
had committed, and upon Promife not to offend for
the future. The Prifoners were releaſed, but hovered
about the Nunnery for three Days. St. Agatha com-
manded their Leader to declare their Grievance,
who, in a proftrate manner, thus fpoke; O thou mer-
ciful and forgiving Virgin, ſome of your Houshold have
killed and caten one of our Flock, contrary to the Arti-
cles to which ave confented. The compaffionate Saint
inquired into the Merits of the Complaint, and find-
ing them to be true, commanded the Gooſe to rife
from the Jcakes, affume its Feathers, which had been
• feat-
G
¿
$
C
* He fouliſhed about forty Years ago in Ireland.
The Creed of an Independent Whig. 377
6
fcattered by the Wind, and join with its Affociates.'.
This was effected as foon as ſpoken; but 'tis faid that
all the Flock foon turned Tail.
✔
(
The Devil appeared to St. Francis in the Shape of
a Flea, who being as nimble as one of the French
Harlequins, fkipped up and down, to and fro, and
disturbed the Friar in his nocturnal Lucubrations.
The pious old Man, by inceffant Prayer, prevailed to
have Dominion over the Devil, and confine him to
ftand Centinel on the Page of his Book when he left
off reading.
This he did conftantly till the Time of his Con-
• finement was elapfed. But the Devil refolving to
tempt him again, effayed many Ways to delude the
Saint, but did not prove ſucceſsful; for the Friar hav-
ing a Power given him, ordered him upon Duty a fe-
'cond time, to hold a Candle in his Hand, which he
was forced to obey, till he burned his Fingers to the
Stumps; and then he was releafed.' Some People
affirm, that 'tis a hard thing to hold a Candle to the
Devil, but fure 'tis the Devil to hold a Candle to a
Friar. However the reftlefs Fiend would not defift,
• but (not regarding the Proverb, Beware of the third
• Time) makes another Effay, with all the Raſhneſs and
vain Hopes of a Modern Tory. The good Saint
• Francis finding that wholeſome Severities rendered the
• Devil more obftinate and daring, made a Noofe of
his Girdle, and flipping it about Satan's Neck, hang-
ed him on a Beam in the Monaftery, till he was
dead, dead, dead.'
I fhall now haften to a Conclufion, believing that e
Word to the Wife is fufficient; and fhall only give this
Advice to my Readers,
Cum focio credere finge tuo.
This, I hope, will not be looked upon as an En-
couragement of, or promoting Hypocrify; for we ought
to become all Things to all Men, in order to fave fome.
The
373 The Creed of an Independent Whig.
The CRE E D.
BELIEVE that no Bishop nor Prefbyter, Priefſt or
Deacon, of what Church or Perfuafion foever, whe-
ther England, Rome, or Geneva, can remit Sins ; and
he that pretends to it, does blafphemcufly ufurp the Pre-
Fogative of God, and furreptitiously make void the Me-
diatorfhip of Chrift.
I believe that the Proteftant Religion is the most pure
and undefiled of any Religion in the Univerfe; never-
thelefs it may admit of Emendations.
I believe that the Mystery of the Bleed Trinity cannot
be proved by the Light of Nature; and he that attempts
to do it must be a Man of much Vanity, and an Impoftor.
His Vanity is manifefted in afferting what is in its own
Nature abfurd which no Man of Learning, Piety, and
Integrity ever; effayed; and his impofing upon the
Credulity of the World, his empty Arg ments, Self-
Contradictions, and ridiculous Sophiftry declare him to
be a Knave.
I believe that the Inferior Clergy are a Sett of Clean,
Spruce, Sociable, Fashionable, Spiritual Beaus.
I believe that King George (whom God long preferve)
has a juft Title by the Laws of God and Man to the Im-
perial Crown of thefe Realms; and that the Perfon called
the Pretender was not begotten by King James, or came
from the Body of his Queen Mary.
I believe that it is neceffary to have a Regimen in the
Church, fuch as is now Etablished; and that they
ought not to be independent on the State.
I believe that the Clergy exercife a Jurifdiction, which
Chrift and his Apoftles never did, or ever gave them Au-
thority to do.
I believe that few of the inferior Clergy adhere to the
Canons of the Church, or to the Oaths they have takın,
or the Subfcriptions they have made.
I believe there are three Things, which will prove a
Blot to Old England for ever: The Cafe of the Rochellers,
the horrid Regicide of King Charles the First, and the
Sacrifice of the brave Catalans.
I
The Creed of an Independent Whig. 379
ין
I believe that Church-Organs are not very edifying to
fuch who have no good Ear, or Judgment in Mufc.
I believe that the Nonjuring-Clergy are Men of more
Confience and Probity than Thofe who for Intereft ſwear
Allegiance to King George, yet difown him in their
Hearts, and countenance Rebellion. —
It was not
my Enemy did this; but thou my Familiar, my Friend, and
Acquaintance, whom I truſted.
I believe that St. Paul was no Prevaricator, maugre
the Opinion of Mr. Secretary H-gs; but I concur with
that pious Gentleman in faying there are many erroneous
Tranilations in the Bible; and 'tis hoped that he will
speedily favour the World with his new Verfion of the
Revelations; a Piece of many Years Work.
I believe his Subfcribers would rejoice to fee their
Money returned, or to have the long promifed Book.
I believe that the Apotles and Primitive Chriftians
foon wrought the Redemption of their Brother's Covering,
when St. Paul told them that he left his Cloak at Treas;
but had that Declaration been made in our Days, I B-
lieve it might have laid dormant till Moth-Eaten.
I believe it was once deemed a Crime to ſpeak in Fa-
vour of the Hanover Succeffion; I Believe fuch evil
Times will never return.
I believe I fhall not be hanged for plotting against his
Majefty King George, or any of his Family, being Pro-
teftants.
I believe it is no Crime to drink to the Memory of
the Dead, efpccially to a certain Monarch lately deceaſed;
with Submiffion to that once great Lover of KingWilliam,
of ever Glorious and Immortal Memory, Dr. Peter
Browne, the prefent Bishop of Cork.
I believe the fureft way to get a good Place is not to
fand in need of one.
I believe I fhall difpleafe fome People, and pleafe
others.
I believe that as the Corruption of the Army in the
late Wars proceeded from the many Upftarts who were
in it, feeing there were Men in Commiffion, who had no
other Qualifications to recommend them than their being
Pimps, Pages, or Valets; fo the Corruption of the High
Clergy proceeded from the Ordination of Beardless Young,
Men, and Indigent Souls.
380 The Creed of an Independent Whig.
I believe that Religion is not a Cheat, though many
of its Profeffors do juftly fall under that Denomination.
I believe that St. Paul ſpoke Truth, when he faid, He
that covets the Office of a Bishop covets a good Thing.
Ib.lieve that all Men have Portions in this World and
therefore I adviſe them to follow my Example, and each
Man take unto him a Wife.
I believe it is better to Marry than Burn; yet Mar-
riage produces many a Heart Burn.
I believe that a Rich Man's getting into a Shop-keeper's
Book is like a Lawyer's getting a Foot into a poor Man's
Eftate; if he can make no farther Encroachment, he will
be fure to keep his Poffeffion.
I believe that Daniel de Foe was in the Right when he
faid.
Of all the Plagues with which Mankind are curßt,
Ecclefiaftic Tyranny's the worst.
I believe that the People of England talk more of Reli-
gion, and practife it lefs than any one Nation under the Sun.
I believe that a Beau,who has Wit, and a Courtier that's
affable are as great Rarities as a Brace of Wood-cocks at
Mid fummer.
I believe that Great-Britain is the Land of Promise.
I believe that Dr. Sacheverell will not be fobb'd off
with an Irish Bishoprick.
I believe that a Weftminster Juftice has a good Benefit
Ticket.
I believe that a Day of Judgment will come, when the
Secrets of all Hearts will be opened; and then we fhall
fee 'Squires who have no Right to their Eftates, Lords
who have no Title to their Honour, and Soldiers who
fought more for Intereft than Principle.
I believe the Pretender will not want an Heir, provided
the Polish Young Princefs be fruitful.
I believe there is many a broad-fhouldered brawny-
backed Prieſt in Italy; and the Rhemish Bible afferts, we
may do Evil that Good may come of it.
I believe the best Way to reform the Age, is for the
Inferior Clergy to begin a Reformation of themſelves.
I believe that the Czar will be glad to make Peace,
when the Squadrons of England and the Allies appear in
the Baltick.
I believe that the Regulation of the Army was very a-
propos.
I
The Creed of an Independent Whig. 381
I believe there's as much Honefty in a Stock-Jobber,
as Sincerity in a Jew, or Chaftity in a Bawd.
I believe that Exchange-Alley has ruined more Families,
than the Groom-Porters or the Royal-Oak-Lottery.
I believe we have very good Laws, but very ill exe-
cuted,
I believe that many a Scoundrel jumps into Prefer-
ment, while many a Loyal Poor Gentlemen lofes his
Aim.
I believe there is little Regard to Merit.
an attractive Virtue,
Gold has
I believe there are more Plays than are good, more Ser-
mons than are orthodox, and more Whores than will ever
be reclaimed.
I believe there are four, I may fay five, Things in this
World, which we fhall not be troubled with in the
World to come. Saucy Valets, Corrupted Juries, Per-
jured Clergymen, Cannibal Creditors, and Scoundrel At-
torneys.
I believe that the Word Church, an innocent Word in
its Nature, has done more Miſchief, than ever I fear it
will do Good; for when Artfully mouth'd by a Prieft, it
ftirs up the People to Rebellion, and is made a Cloak
for Murder and Treaſon.
I believe that the Author of the Independent Whig is a
facetious, witty, ſmart Fellow; but hang him, he'll ne'er
make Profelytes, becauſe he has fuch an unfeaſonable
Knack of ſpeaking much Truth.
I believe there are many, who go to Church with the
fame Intention which draws 'em to a Play-Houfe; to
fee and be ſeen. But fure he must needs be endued with
the Apathy of a Stoic, who cannot be moved with the
Geftures of Harlequin, or the Grimaces of Scaramouch.
I believe there is as much Sanctity in a Black-Cloak
as in Black-Gown.
I believe that many a Man has paid through the Nofe
for taking up Linnen, and being benevolent to his Neigh-
bour.
I believe the Poor Prifoners will greatly rejoice when
the Bill for the Relief of Infolvent Debtors has paffed.
I believe if every one's Faults were wrote in the Fore-
head, Maſks would be much more in Fafhion than Hoop-
Petticoats.
I
82 The Creed of an Independent Whig.
I believe that he who has a good Wife ought to make
much of her; for 'tis a thoufand to one if e'er he geis
another.
I believe that he who marries, does well; but he who
does not marry, may do better. And if there be no
Harmony without a Diffonant, Matrimony muft fure be
a pleaſant State.
I believe if there be any fuch Place as Purgatory, it
must be in Newgate or the Marfalfea.
I believe the Apostles never took Money for Baptizing
thofe who required it, or for Vifiting the Sick; I with
I could fay as much for all our inferior Clergy.
I believe I fhall never become a Subfcriber to the
Charitable Society in Spring-Garden, even though I ſhould
be worth Fifty Pounds, and all my Debts paid.
I believe I have very good Reafons for faying fo.
I believe that the Iefiminfler Bubble will never catch
half as many Gudgeons as have been hooked by the Bub-
bles about the Royal Exchange.
I believe that the Man is unworthy to eat the King's
Bread, who reflects on the late Expedition to Vigo.
I believe Mr. Law is as much embarraffed to keep
up the Credit of his Miffifipi Project, as our Neigh-
bours the D to find Ways and Means to make good
Deficiencies.
I believe that the Great Athanafius was not fo wicked
as fome Writers have made him; and I believe there is
no Neceffity for putting him into the Kalendar.
I believe he was not the Author of the Creed which
goes by his Name.
I believe the Story is true of the Butcher's cleaving
the Pericranium of a Levite, whom he caught in Bed
with his Wife; and that the Clergyman ipoke from
his Heart, when (upon the Jury's acquitting the Butcher
of Murder) he faid, If fuch Things are Juffered, there
will be no living for us.
I believe that Sir Harry Wetton fpoke with the Spirit
of an Englishman, who, when he was afked by a Monk,
Where was your Religion before Luther? anfwered with-
out Hefitation, In the Bible, where yours never was.
I believe there was many an honeft Gentleman in the
Army, who never faid Amen heartily to the following
Peti-
The Creed of an Independent Whig. 383
Petition in our Common-Prayer-Book; Give Peace in our
Time, O Lord.
I believe that Self-prefervation is the firft Law of Na-
ture, and confequently that Refiftance is lawful on many
Accounts, any thing contained in Dr. Sacheverell's Doc-
trine to the contrary, notwithstanding.
I believe that Ariftocracy is inconfiftent with the Con-
ftitution of Great Britain.
I believe there are many of our Priti Youth who
glory in deflouring a Virgin: 'Tis ftabbing a Perfon
that's weak and defencelafs; and I believe the Mock
Hero will gain as little Applaufe by the Action, as a
General who fhould draw down all his Forces and Ar-
tillery, to oblige a poor Country Village to furrender.
I believe that Lord have Mercy upon us ought to be
writ on every Man's Door, if it be a damnable Sin to
refift upon any Pretence whatſoever.
I believe there is Prief-craft in England, as well as
in Popish Countries.
I believe that one Man cannot ferve two Mafters; if
fo, how can Pluralities be juftified?
I believe that no Ecclefiaftic has Power to force or
bind Men's Confciences.
I believe there are more Ways to Paradife-Row, than
going through Chelsea-College.
I believe that Thrce are more than One, and One is not
as many as Three.
I believe it is better to continue the War with Spain,
than to give up Gibraltar or Port-Mahon.
I believe he's no Friend to Great Britain, who would
advife the Surrender of either.
I believe that thofe B-s were Proteftants who
figned an Addrefs to his Majefty, declaring their De-
tellation of the late unnatural Rebellion.
I believe that the late Duke of Ormond repents his fly-
ing from England.
I believe he had never been impeached had he ftaid,
I believe he has Reafon to curfe the Hour in which
he was Prief-guided.
I believe that Scammony is a Drug of the Convolvulus
or Caterpillar kind; that our prefent Scammony is diffe-
rent
384 The Creed of an Independent Whig.
rent from the Scammony of the Ancients, and is adultcè
rated; that which is black is not much eſteemed.
I believe that Scammony wants a Corrector, and is very
adhefive.
I believe that the Compilers of our Common-Prayer-
Book were very fenfible, that every Man muft needs be
in a languiſhing Condition, who enters into the State of
Matrimony; elfe why did they place the Vifitation of
the Sick immediately after that Piece of Formality.
I believe that Cardinal Alberoni is in Lim. Pat.
I believe that the Jacobite Faction do not relish his
Confinement.
I believe there are many in Places of Profit, who were
averfe to the Hanover Succeffion.
I believe I could name fome.
I believe a perpetual Motion may be found at Bil
ling fgate.
I believe that fome of our inferior High Clergy have
ſtudied Rhetoric in the Billing/gate Grammar.
I believe that too much Learning will ne'er make
'cm mad.
I believe that Tory and Traitor begin with a Letter, fo
do Prift-craft and Perjury.
I believe I need not paufe long to determine, whether
they are fynonimous Terms.
I believe that to find out a Longitude, a Man would do
well to attend a Law-Suit in the Chancery of Ireland.
I believe that a Woman is generally at the Bottom of
Miſchief, and that great Mifchief is generally at the
Bottom of a Woman.
I believe I could prove, by the Rule of Good-fellow-
hip, that a Beau makes a Figure only among Cyphers, and
that he is a Cypher among Figures.
I believe that my very good Friend, Mr. Congreve,
was in the Right, when he queftioned whether the Bible
faved more Souls in Wefiminfter-Abbey, than it damned
in W'eftminster-Hall.
I believe that fome Lords are wife, and fome are
atherife.
I lelieve that Father Abraham was older than his Son
Ifaac.
I believe that three Groats make one Shilling, and
not thrie Shillings.
I be-
The Creed of an Independent Whig. 385
I believe that the Anathemas of our inferior Clergy
are not ratified in Heaven; and that there is a Power
on Earth which can reverſe them, maugre the Opinion
of the charitable and meek Dr. Sacheverell.
I believe that the faid Gentlemen love Eating and
Drinking as well as their Neighbours.
I believe that fome Lords deferve to be Kenmurized
who now fleep in a whole Skin.
I believe that Gregg was a Fool and a Traitor.
I believe
Sat eft quod fufficit.
There are now in the Press, and will ſpeedily be published,
the following Books, viz.
1. TH
1.THE Independency, Supremacy, and Divinity
of the P Clergy afferted. By Harry of
Helbourn.
2. A Canker in fome Men's Eftates, or the Neceffity
of restoring Abby-Lands. By St. Michael of Hammerſmith.
3. Faith without Reafon: Or, The Laity have no
Right to their Senfes. By the wealthy Dean of C▬▬▬r.
4. Modern and orthodox Inconfiftencies: Or, Papifts
better Friends to the Church than Diffenters. By Luke
Prifbyter.
5. St. Peter robbed of his Keys: Or, the Porters of
Heaven found guilty of Fraud and Corruption. By
twelve Laymen.
6. An Argument proving that to preach the Lawful-
nefs of Vice and Immorality, is the moſt effectual Me-
thod to prevent thofe Evils. By a Lover of the Mathe-
matics.
Nitimur in Vetitum.
7. The Clergy reformed. A very valuable Piece.
Diu multumq; defideratum.,
* Qu. What Church?
VOL. II.
R
Priefia
(386)
Prieftianity: or, A View of the Disparity
between the Apostles and the Modern in-
ferior Clergy.
By the Author of The Creed of an Independent
Whig.
Anno 1720.
The PREFACE.
To promote Peace and Quietness, to endeavour a Re-
conciliation among Neighbours, is undoubtedly a Duty
incumbent on all Mankind; but ſurely They, who call
themselves the Servants of the Lord, the Succeffors and
Followers of the Apostles, are under a double Obligation to
perform this Christian Office. If we make a Scrutiny into
the Actions and Ingratitude of the Inferior Clergy, we
fhall find, that, Viper-like, they attempt to fting the Bo
Som, which took Compaffion on them, nourished them, and
gave them (as it were) fecond Life. If we fearch for the
Original of our domeftic Feuds and petty Quarrels, we shall
difcover that they are caused by the Chaplain, or one of his
Tribe; at least it will appear, that he was the Encou-
rager, if not the Author, of them. When a Shepherd will
intruft a Wolf with the Care of his Flock, then I shall
confent that a Prief may be Superintendant of my Family.
Whether it be by Nature or Compact, I shall not at pre-
fent inquire; but it is demonftrable beyond Contradiction,
that a Prieft is no fooner admitted into a Family, than he
begins to worm himſelf into every Secret; and when he has
difcovered their Failings (for who is there that does not
fall feven Times every Day?) he lords it over them with
a fupercilious Countenance, and haughtily ufurps an arbi-
trary Sway. He glories that he has it in his Power to
create Quarrels, and foment Animofitics; he expects great
Advantage from troubled Waters, and, if Threats will
not prevail, creates Divifions in the Family, difunites the
Affec-
PREFA C E. `
387
Affections (thofe mutual Bands of harmonious Wedlock)
and fcruples not to put afunder whom God has joined.
But thefe fpiritual Bufy-bodies do often meet with Punish-
ment; though not in proportion to their Demcrit: The good
Man of the Family (to use the Country Phrafe) perceiving
the Tricks and Artifices of the well-fed Levite (not to
mention his Amours and Intrigues) gives him a Dimittis,
and reduces him to his primitive Neceffity of Preaching
and Praying for Bread.
If as due Care was taken in the Execution of our Laws,
as in the Enacting them, it would conduce much to the Pre-
frvation and Continuance of that Oeconomy and good Or-
dir, that Amity and even Temper, which is requifite in
every Family. There is a Penalty on every Mafter and
Minrifs, who shall take any Servants without a Certifi-.
care of their good Behaviour from the Pcrfon by whom
they were last employed; and this Law was thought to be
ſo reaſonable and juſt in its Nature (and who can make
any Objection to it?) that it affects all Men alike: The
highest Quality are as liable to this Penalty, as the inferior
Subjects. If therefore they, who are refolved to keep
Chaplains (whether from a Motive of Pride, and to gain
the Esteem of the World, or for Fashion-fake only) would
demand a Certificate from fuch as cringe for the Office;
ave ſhould find few Levites, who could produce Credenti-
als fufficient to intitle them to a fecond Reception. Befides,
much Confufion and Heart-burnings might be avoided by
complying with this Law; and much more be prevented,
if no Prieft were admitted to direct or dictate to a Fa-
mily, but when he appears in his confecrated Afylum.
A Levite, take him in the Capacity of a Chaplain or
Parish-Prieft, is but a menial Servant; and I have met
with one only, (and never heard of another) who was
fo just to his own Confcience, and ingenious to the World, to
confefs that undeniable Pofition. Will they preach or pray
without Hire? No. Will they guide and direct you with-
out a Reward? No. Are they not maintained by the Pa-
rish, or by fuch Perfons avho unhappily take them into their
Houſes? No Man can deny it. Why therefore should they
difown the Appellation which their Wages intitle them to?
We can affign no other Reason than an innate Difpofition to
Pride and Arrogance. If they were kept at that Distance,
avhich
R 2
388
PREFAC E.
*
A
which is abfolutely necessary for the Humiliation of a Ser-
vant, they would be more mannerly and lefs afpiring.
pampered Chaplain flatters himſelf with having as much
Right to my Lady's Favours as her Lap-dog, and no
doubt but he could willingly fupply his Place; while the
Parish-Priest, through our Indulgence and Familiarity, firft
affumes to be our Equal, and then commands Admittance to
our Wives and Daughters. There is one Thing worthy of
our Notice, clean Straw and flender Dict (to peak in the
Language of Sportſmen) preſerves a Spaniel's Nofe, and
caufes him to remember his Duty.
I know not any Subject which is fo liable to Laugh-
ter and Ridicule, no Topic, which lays jo juftifiable a
Foundation for Banter, as to hear the Inferior Clergy af-
firm, that they are indued with the Holy Ghost. If they
ftudied to do Religion a Differvice, they could not more ef-
fectually accomplish it, than by fuch an Affertion. I own,
indeed, that they pretend as much to Religion, as the
Warming-pan Gentleman does to the Crown of Great-
Britain; but their Actions manifeft a Disfruft of their
Doctrine, and run counter to their own Rules. From what
Period of Time do they date the Gift of Inspiration?
From the Moment, no doubt, of their Ordination: It will
fellow, therefore, that all who receive Holy Orders, are
endued with that divine Bleffing. If this be granted.
then it is impoffible for a Pricft to preach or write amifs,
or indeed to be guilty of any Crime. But we are con-
inced by Experience, that they preach and write what
is not Orthodox, and lead enormous and irregular Lives :
From whence it is evident, that they pretend to have that
heavenly Gift, which they have not.
Can the Holy Ghoſt ſpeak with a double Tongue? No
Man fure will be fo prefumptuous to own fuch glaring-Blaf-
phemy: And yet we must give Credit to this, if we believe
acknowledge the Tribe of Levi to be infpired. For let us
enquire into the Tenets of the Priests of Rome, and those
of England (omitting all others) and we shall find them as
oppofite to each other as North to South: Yet no Man will
deny the Validity of their Ordination. Nay, let us compare
the Doctrine of our Engliſh Priefts with one another, and
we fhall find them to clash violently; fo that we are brought
under this Dilemma, that the Holy Ghoft contradicts him-
Self,
PREFAC E.
389
felf, or the Priests are not inspired: It is execrable Blaſ-
phemy to affert the former, and a bold but neceffary Truth
to affirm the latter.
It is impoffible to foretel what may be the Fate of the
infing Treatife; but if I were certain that it would meet
an ill Reception from the World, yet it should not give me
the leaft Uneafiness. I am fenfible, that many a Book has
been made a Sacrifice for telling what is [improperly
called] unfeafonable Truth; becaufe (like a Mirror) it dif
covers thofe Deformities, which Flattery might have var-
nished over.
When I bekold a Prieſt with ſo much San&iity in his
Countenance, that it portends the D——l and all of
in his Heart, it calls to my Remembrance, what Hiflory
informs us of a certain Apple in the Eastern Parts of the
World: This Fruit has a beautiful Outfide, while Tempta-
tion is ſo very firong, that it allures many an unwary
Traveller to partake of its hidden Poifon. As therefore
our Nature is so easy to be impofed upon, we ought to be ve-
ry circumspect, and guard ourselves from the Wiles and So-
phiftry of Prieftcraft. And indeed it behoves us to be doubly
watchful, and keep a ftrict Eye upon our Children, when
ave fuffer them to be tutored by a Prieft, or imbibe their
Sentiments. For awe know by avoful Experience, that they
will infufe fuch Principles into them, as are most confift-
ent with Priestly Intereft, and will advance their Power
and Authority.
There is not one Obfervation in this Book, but might
furnish Matter enough for a large Volume; but I have
ufed all the Brevity imaginable, becauſe I would not tire
my Reader with dwelling too long upon the fame Subject,
nor be thought to aggravate the Crime, which I endea-
vour to expoſe.
As I have no perfonal Pique against any Clergyman, or
against the Body of the Clergy in general, fo I cannot
junly be charged with writing out of Envy or Revenge ;
my fole Intent being only to expose their Vices, in hopes
they will one Day convince us of a thorough Reformation:
And it is my conflant Cufiom to put forth fome pious Eja-
culation, fo i bifcech Almighty God, that as Charity covers
a Multitude of Sins, he would pour down a double Por-
tion of this Blefing on all Priefts, who are in fo great
Need of it.
R 3
Mr.
390
PREFACE.
Mr. Collier tells us, that Chaplains are like fo many
Houfhold-Gods, aud ought to be efteemed as fuch: To
which Orthodox Report I readily confent. But tho' this
was intended as a Compliment to his Reverend Brethren, yet,
in my Opinion, there cannot be a more fevere Satyr against
them. For we are fenfible, that the Houfhold Deities of
the Ancients were errant Blockheads, kept more for Show
than Ufe; they had nothing in them, and were juftly deemed
to be Lumber, and fuperftitious Trumpery. And indeed
if every Chaplain had his Sportula, as his Office naturally
requires, each Family might fare the better, and the Sancti-
fied Interloper would learn Humility.
It was cuftomary with Archbishop Laud to say, that he
hoped to fee the Time, when ne'er a Jack Gentleman
in England fhould dare to ftand before a Clergyman
with his Hat on. Such an haughty and imperious Ex-
preffion manifested the genuine Spirit of the Sons of
High-Church: And no doubt but this Upstart, Semi-Pro-
teftant Prelate, would have endeavoured to fulfill his Hopes,
had not God Almighty, thro' his infinite Goodneſs, thought
fit to cut him short, and deliver our World from fuch a
Plague. But in Return to his graceless Grace's meek and
bumble Wish, the Author of the following Pages heartily
and fervently defires, that a Day may speedily come, when ne'er
a Scoundrel who pretends to Divinity, [whether a Strip-
pling, or an overgrown Penfioner] jhall be admitted into
the Company of his Betters, be they Gentlemen or Peaſants,
except he fupplicates with his Hat in his Hand; even tho'
he be equipp'd with his Spiritual Harneſs.
I am the more fanguine in my Expectations, becauſe I pcr-
reive that the Britiſh Spirit begins to re-affume its Reaſon ;
that it shakes off the Bigotry of Prieftcraft, and daily dif-
efteems the Delufion of jugling Impoftors. Can there be a
greater Slur upon an Engliſhman, than to ſay that he dares
to act bravely, yet dares not to think freely? Is not Liber-
ty of the Mind preferable to the Liberty of the Body? If
therefore we have preferved the One from Foreign Enemies
at the Expence of our Blood and Treajure, we ought to fecure
the Other from Domeftic Invaders. And let us always lay
before us this falutary and glorious Maxim,
Non minor eft virtus, quàm quærere, parta tueri.
It
PREFACE.
391
It would puzzle the wifeft Heads in the Universe to ac-
count for the Defection among his Majesty's Subjects, and the
Alienation of their Allegiance, did they not confider the Pow-
er of Priestly Men. The bad Clergy are like fo many male-
volent Planets, which feed their baleful Influence, and affect
the Inhabitants of this World; And how many are there,
who eagerly faallow whatever proceeds from the Mouth of
a Prieft? They take for good Food and wholefome Nourish-
ment, what they too often find by Experience to be rank Poi-
fon to their Minds. Such are the dir ful Effects of Bigotry
and the Want of Thought! Such the pernicious Confequence
of facrificing our Reaſon to the arbitrary haughty Will of
an afpiring Chorahite !
How like Patriots and Britons did the People in the
Weft behave themselves at the Time of the Revolution !
They were truly fenfible that they must inevitably have facri-
ficed their Religion, Liberties and Properties to the Humour
of Tyranny, had they not joined King William of ever Glori-
ous and Immortal Memory. And indeed Twelve Years
are not elapfed, fince thofe very People (of my own Know-
ledge I speak it) retain'd a juft Senfe of those inestimable
Blefings, which their Monarch had fecured and confirmed
to them: Nor did they fail to manifeft their Gratitude, and
acknowledge the Goodness of their Benefactor with unfeigned
Hearts, upon every Occafion.
But alas! Tempora mutantur- -And how many of
thefe once Glorious Men have (to their eternal Shame) con-
verted their Loyalty into Rebellion! The Unanimity, Love
and Affection, which was formerly fo confpicuous among
them, is now changed into Diſcord, Hatred, and burning
Envy. They will not hearken to Reafon, nor fuffer then-
felves to be convinced of their Errors; no Arguments can
prevail with them, or the plaincft Demonftrations work up-
They are ftupid and obftinate, and will not be un-
deceived: They have Eyes, but fee not; Ears, and hear not :
Which confirms the following Obfervation, that they who
are debauch'd in their Principles, will quickly be fo in
their Intellectuals.
on em.
Now if we enquire into the Time and Cauſe of this un-
happy and deplorable Metamorphofis, we shall quickly be able
to give entire Satisfaction in those Particulars. Whig and
Tory, High-Church and Low-Church, [Words of Ignominy,
R 4
invented
392
PREFACE.
invented to nourish Fallion] avere perfect Strangers to our
Ears, or at least grown obfolete, and buried in Ollivion ;
but when the Spiritual Hydra began to belch forth his
Poifon, when the Convicted Priest avent his Progrefs, the
Air was corrupted with his Breath, and the fell Contagion
Spread itſelf far and near. The Snakes, which had lain fo
long in the Grafs, began to shew their Heads, and bifs;
they flung many, and did much Mifchief for the Space of
four Years, or thereabouts: But Providence deprived them
of their Sting in due Seafon, and now the Party-coloured
Animals are infignificant.
Had this furdy Boutefeu been endued with a juft Senſe of
the Priesthood, he must needs have known, that Humility was
one of the fundamental Pillars that fupported it; and corfe-
quently that he was fapping her Foundation, when he rode
in Triumph round the Country (rejoicing in the Pride of his
Heart) attended with faciious Crowds, and received by dif-
affected Magiftrates. But had he been treated according to
his Demerit, a Cat-of-nine-tails and a Cart would have
graced him better, and his Progress ought to have been from
Newgate to Tyburn.
From hence we may date the Era of all thofe Animofities
and Heart-burnings, thofe Divifions, Seditions and Rebellions,
which have plagued our Sion: And as they had their firſt
Rife from the Pulpit, fo they are as wickedly and induftri-
cully fomented from Pulpits or private Converfation to this
Day.
い
​I do not ſo much wonder, that the Vulgar, and more illi-
terate Part of the Kingdom were feduced and deluded with
the fpecious and falfe Notion of the Church being in Danger,
auben Irefect, that too many Men of Parts and Education
fell under the fame Infatuation: But that they should fill
continue under that Delufion is unaccountable.
If the Church had no better Friends to protect and support
her than her black Guard, we might justly fay, that fic were
in Danger; but as it is manifeft, that he flourishes under
the Guardianship of the best and most pious of Princes, to Hỉ m
furely we ought to return cur fincere and hearty Thanks,
and pay the Allegiance and Love to Him, which our Duty
requires from us, and our Religion calls upon us to perform.
As the inferior Clergy call themselves the Phyficians
of the Soul, fo they ought to confine themselves to that par-
ticular Pradice; but when they deviate from this, and pre-
tend -
PREFACE.
393
tend to a Knowledge of what is beyond their Sphere, they
may truly be called fpiritual Quacks, and no Regard ought
to be paid them. He runs a great Rifque who ventares
himself under their Management; and ten to one but he
comes off a Sufferer in the End.
Notwithstanding the Cafe is fo plain and undeniable, yet
they have rivetted themselves into the good Opinion of the
common Herd, who not allowing themselves Time to think,
place an implicit Faith in these Empirics; and not admit-
ting the Advice of able Fudges and found Practitioners,
their Wounds must turn to a Gangrene. So Mountebanks,
by their Afurance and l'olubility of Tongue, vend their
poisonous Packets at a cheap Rate, and ingratiate them-
felves with the Vulgar; while regular Phyficians and
Surgeons, who make the Health of Man their Study, are
laughed at and deſpiſed, their Practice poftponed, and their
falutary Prescriptions and Medicines fet at nought, under-
valued, and neglected.
An ill Story in the Mouth of a Clergyman runs like
Hedge-firing from one to another, till it has paffed the
whole Line: And no Confideration is bad, whether there
are any juftifiable Grounds for fuch a calumnious Rumour-
And indeed if they will not spare their own Fraternity,
(as we have a recent Infiance of their not doing ſo, in a
late Controversy among the Doctors of the Church;) hovs
Should the Laity expect to find better Quarter from fuch
Hand's. Fama vulgi is a weak and bud Foundation, yet
we know that too many Reputations have been facrificed
upon no other Proof: So that fuch Clergymen, who give a
Looſe to their Tongues, and mangle a Man's Character, may
not improperly be called Spiritual Butchers.
He that relates a Tale to any of the inferior Clergy,
with a Defign that it should pass no further, will find
bimfelf miferably baulked in his Expectation: It could not
poffibly spread further, had he put it into the Gazette. Ex-
amples of this Kind arc numerous; but Iſhall only mention
one, which is of the fresheft Date.
A Gentleman, without Premeditation, or any malicious
Intent, told a young Prieft, in private Converfation, a Story
which he had heard relating to one of his Acquaintance. It
is not proper to mention the Particulars, because the Words
are of a glaring Nature; and the Gentleman, I find (hav-
R 5
ing
394
PREFACE.
ing traced the Story) is intirely innocent of what he is
charged with, the Accufation being as falfe as fcandalous.
However, the Suckling in Divinity growing big with his
Burden, and impatient to be delivered, haftes to the ufual
Place of Rendezvous, and there difembogues himself to his
Fraternity, who, you may rest affured, refolved that the
Story fhould not lie dormant. How confiftent the rash Be-
haviour of this pious Strippling was with good Fellowship
and Charity, I leave the World to judge; nay, I'll fubmit
it even to his own Friend's Determination.
He that
has a Mind to be further informed, need go no farther than
the Charter-houfe Coffee-houſe, and affociate himſelf with
the Black Locusts.
I little thought, when I began this Preface, that I
Should have dwelt fo long upon fuch a dirty and unfavory
Subject. I shall therefore conclude with the following
Epiftle, which was fent to Cardinal Alberoni during his Ad-
miniſtration of foreign Affairs.
May it please your EMINENCE,
WE
E have an High-church Prieft among us, who
condemns your Politics in endeavouring to
"excite the People of France to Commotion and Re-
bellion, while others applaud your Defign: For this
"Son of Levi alledges, that you have only copied after
him, with this Difference: You acted by Agents no
way qualified for fo grand an Enterprize; but he
"rode about the Country, poiſoning, viva voce, the
"Minds of the deluded People, who moft eagerly im.
"bibed the Venom. Thus he had [as he moſt impi-
66
oufly terms it] his Defire cover his Enemies, by ap-
pearing in propriâ perfona; whofe brawny Shoulders
"and fmooth Face, recommended him to the kind
"Graces of the Fair Sex, who at that time were La-
"dies of the Afcendant over their Huſbands, and their
* Purfes.
ર
"To diffipate that chagrin Air, which is no way a-
greeable to a Perfon of your fanguine Temper and
Vivacity, permit me to relate a Tavern Jeft. I was
lately invited to drink a Glafs at the Pope's Head;
"our Room was commodious, our Wine had a true
"Flavour, but every Man complained of the cold
"Weather.
PREFACE.
395
66
"Weather. One of the Company called for the Car-
"dinal, another for the Doctor, the Fire being much
upon a Level with the Credit of us Tories, viz. almoft
"extinct. I could not for my Life imagine what they
"would be at, till I faw the Drawer come up with
an Inftrument in his Hand, ycleped a Fire-pan; I
quickly perceived, that its Property was to raiſe a
"Flame in an Inftant. I fmiled to myfelf, judging the
Appellation to be very à propos.
"The Queſtion was put, Whether your Eminence
"could not lay a jufter Claim to this Tool of Combuſtion,
"than the Doctor? After a long Debate, it was car-
"ried in the Negative; being urged ftrenuously, and
proved to a Demonftration, that the Doctor had
"been a more fuccefsful Engineer (and your Senior)
"in fetting Fire to the Mines he had laid, and inflaming
66 a whole Nation. However, it was agreed, nemine
66
CC
contradicente, that if you can make Intereſt at Rome
"for the Doctor to fill one of the Vacancies in the fa-
"cred College, he fhall give you the Right Hand in
"this Afair, and promife to renounce all Claim and
"Title to it for himfelf, and his Heirs for ever. I
"have the Honour to be
Your EMINENCY's, &c.
R 6
Prieft
(396) 1
Prieflianity: Or a View of the Disparity between
the Apostles and the modern inferior Clergy.
T
HAT the Contempt of the modern inferior
Clergy increaſes daily, is obvious to every
Man; nor will it be otherwife, while Men are
allowed to fee with their own Eyes, and hear with their
own Ears, except the Sons of Levi begin a Reformation
among themſelves. Vain and groundlefs is the Caufè
which they affign for the Diſreſpect that is fhewn to them,
viz. a Combination of a Set of People, who call them-
felves Free-thinkers, to aſperſe the Gentlemen of the
Long Petticoat Tribe, and caft an Odium upon them
And this, they fay, is done without any juftifiable Foun-
dation, without any Regard to their Function, which
ought to be held facred.
:
I know no Man who difefteems the Priesthood: But
fince there is almoſt a total Defection among the Prieſts,
and no Sign of Amendment; fince they are become ſu-
pine and indolent, and will not put a Stop to the grow-
ing Evil, which may eaſily be effected; fince their Prin-
ciples are bad, and their Morals worfe, it is a Duty in-
cumbent on every Chriftian to reprove them openly. For
he that refpects and countenances fuch Ferfons, may be
justly faid to approve their wicked Ways, or at leaſt to
encourage them to perfevere therein.
There is a Nefcio quid in the Face of a good Clergy-
man, which naturally commands Reverence and Re-
fpect; and he merits not the Name of Man, who pays
them not with Chearfulneſs. But there is fcmewhat fo
Tour and diſtafteful in the Looks of a bad Clergyman,
that he draws an Odium from us inftead of Efteem: To
the former therefore of theſe Gentlemen we are willing,
and rejoice to grant fuch Honours as may juſtly be attri-
buted to them; but no honeſt Man can allow that the
latter have the leaft Pretence to a Share of them.
Almighty feems to have fet a Mark upon theſe reprobate
Animals, as he did upon Cain; and which is hourly vi-
fible in the ſcattered Jews, and the perjured Bailiffs:
And as Providence never did any thing in vain, we cer-
God
tainly
Prieftianity.
397
tainly deferve to be cenfured, if we neglect and defpife
fo falutary a Caution, or endeavour not to fhun fuch
common Enemies to our Peace and good Society.
I cannot chime in with the black and numerous Herd,
who would perfuade us, that an equal Refpe& ought to
be paid to all Perfons in holy Orders, without enquiring
into their Worth and Merit. I muft confefs, that their
Argument to enforce this Acknowledgment feems to car-
ry a good Colour with it, namely, their being the im-
mediate and peculiar Servants of Chrift: And therefore,
they fay, we ought to honour them for their Mafter's
Sake. But with Submiffion to thefe afpiring, pious Men,
we may argue, by the fame Parity of Reafon, that a
Traitor, a Murderer, or a Profligate, might claim a due
Deference from us, because they have been employed in
fome honourable Family, or defcended from ancient and
Praife-worthy Ancestors. So that the Argument which
they bring to countenance, or rather to fupport their
Aflertion, is fo far from being of any Service to them,
that it quite overthrows it: And this is demonftrable
from the following Maxim, which will not admit a Con-
tradiction or Exception.
Tantum confpe&ius in ſe
Crimen habet, quanto major, qui peccat habetur.
Now, fince thefe Abiramites, thefe falfe Apoftles,
would deceive us with an Opinion of their being Succef-
fors to Chrift, and his Difciples; fince they claim a Pri-
vilege' extraordinary, and an uncommon Refpect from
thence; I fhall make a Scrutiny into their Morals and
Behaviour, and fhew how alien their Characters are from
the holy Twelve, and their Brethren. This I purpoſe to
do with all the Sincerity imaginable; and fo ingenuous
a Declaration will furely take away all Umbrage of Ma-
lice or Partiality.
Many fubftantial and very good Reafons may be
given for our Saviour's chufing fuch laborious and pains-
taking Men for his Apoftles; to mention which would
be digreffive from my prefent Purpofe; I fhall therefore
avoid all Ambages, and begin with obferving, that the
Apoftles were Men of fuch a mean Extraction, that there
was
\
398
Prieſtianity.
was no room to boaft of their Pedigree, if their Incli-
nations had prompted them to it. It would be no diff-
cult Matter to prove, that most of the Clergy are upon
a Level with them in this Particular; but as they are
willing that the cenforious World may remain in Igno-
rance of their Affinity to each other as to this Point, I
fhall keep my Mouth as it were with a Bridle, being al-
ways cautious not to lay a Stumbling block of Offence
in the Way of our weak Brethren. Wherefore I now
proceed to my fecond Obfervation, namely,
That the Apoftics had an immediate Commiffion from
Chrift to preach the Gospel, and baptize all Nations,
with a Power to remit or retain Men's Sins.
The Clergy pretend to have the fame equal Power and
Authority, though not immediately from Chriſt; for
they affert, that their Commiflion is derived from the
Apoſtles by a long Succeflion, who granted to their Suc-
celfors for ever fuch Power as Christ had invested them
with. I am apt to think, if any Man fhould queftion
the Validity of their Power, they would chufe to plead
Preſcription for remitting or retaining Sins, rather than
be put to prove it. Chrift very well knew, that he could
confide in the Sincerity and Uprightnefs of his Apoftles,
when he delegated ſuch a Power; but I do not find that
he entailed it upon their Heirs and Succeffors; nor is
there Reaion to think he did, becauſe he forefaw their
Degeneracy and Corruption: Therefore the Apofties
had no Tide to, and consequently could not give and be-
queath a Power to their Succefors, which was fettled
upon them only during Life. But to put the Matter be-
yond Difpute, fince the Clergy do claim an equal Power
with the Apoſtles, let them convince us by an ocular
Demonſtration, as our Forefathers were convinced: Let
them work Miracles, and we will give Credit to their
Teſtimony. If they fail in the one, as they themselves
are fenfible they do, then we have all the Reafon and
Juftice in the World to conclude them to be Ufurpers
and Impoftors in the other.
A third Obfervation is, that the Apoſtles were meek
and humble; they called themfelves the Servants of
Chrift; they meddled not with State Affairs, or denied
the Authority of the Civil Magiftrate.
Nothing
1
Prieſtianity.
399
Nothing can be more engaging in Society than Cour-
teouínefs and Affability; they are two Qualifications ef-
fentially neceffary to conftitute a Gentleman. and with-
out which, the Name is an empty Word. Is it not there-
fore ftrange, that the modern Clergy, who are as covet-
ous of the Appellation as any Men living, fhould mani-
felt a Behaviour fuli of Pride, Haughtinefs, and Info-
lence. They ridicule and defpife a Lonefs of Spirit,
[which Chrift recommends to his Apoftles from his own
Example] calling it an Indication of a vulgar and Ple-
beian Soul. Pride is a Diftemper fo catching, that it has
infected the Clerks, and in time may reach the Sextons:
Look on that Lump of Mortality, that Emblem of a
Chaos Man Hugh. He thinks that he floops very low,
if he vouchſafes a Nod to a Shopkeeper, though the ho-
neft Tradefman unvails his Head, and makes his Obei-
fance with all the Humility imaginable. Now, what
fhall we fay to this? Why, truly, Man Hugh obſerves
the Faſhion, and treads in his Master's Footsteps. He
knows the old Proverb, Trim Trem. What l'ity it is
that theſe two, who are upon rifing Ground, are not
rafed higher! Heaven grant they may be advanced ac-
cording to Merit, fince they are in the great Road to Pre-
ferment.
•
We may reaſonably imagine, that the Garb of the
Apostles was plain and innocent, and their Deportment
agreeable to their Garb; but the inferior Clergy are
wifer than their Predeceffors. They look upon a Fantee
Air and Mien to be excellent Virtues; and he that is not
a Man of Mode will gain few Profelytes. There is a je
ne fçay quoy (they fay) in the decent Adjuſtment of a Cam-
brick Band; and when a Spruce Bob is placed in a due
Decorum, or when the Ringlets of the Hair fall in nice
Order, they manifeft a captivating Power. Is not a bril-
liant more attractive than a Cramp-ring? A Cloth-gown
and Caflock preferable to a Frize-Jacket and Trowzers?
A fmooth-faced Prieft, with his Lilly-hand, fixes the
Eyes, and confequently the Ears of his Audience; but
one of the Barkin Tribe, with weather-beaten Counte-
nance, and freckled Fift, would throw the tender-hearted
Ladies of this delicate Age into Convulfions.-Oh! that
I may live to fee [what is yet in the Womb of Time]
the
400
Prieftianity.
the Day when fome enterprizing Son of the Laudean
Race fhall exchange his Inkhorn for a Bilboa Blade, and
convert his canonical Rofe into a white Feather! Who
fhall frequent Operas to improve his Voice, and the
Theatre to regulate his Port and his Mien! Who fhall
become a pious Sir Foplin, or a holy Sir Courtly!
A farther Manifeftation of the wide Difference be-
tween the Apoſtles and the Clergy is, that the latter do
ambitiouſly arrogate to themſelves the Titles of Shepherds
of our Souls, and Heaven's Ambafadors. But with Sub-
miffion to thefe religioufly, aſpiring Priefts, they would
do well to take Care of their own Souls, before they pre-
tend to be Guardians of other Men's. If I fee a Binker
profufe of his Money, will not the World condemn me
as a Fool or a Madman, if I entrust him with mine?
They will acknowledge that Chrift is Head of the Church,
provided that you own them to be the Body, and the
Laity the Members: To which they add an indefeaſible
Maxim, that all rotten Members ought to fuffer Ampu-
tation. Indulge me, ye Men of Humility, to carry the
Metaphor farther, and fay, that Corrofives ought to be
applied to proud Fleſh; and if fo, what will become of
the Church's Body? Will it not quickly appear a mere
Skeleton?
Rifum teneatis?
Can there be a more romantic Notion, than for a
Prieſt to call himſelf Heaven's Ambajador? This is Pre-
fumption in the Superlative. Ambafadors! Can a great-
er Indignity be offered to the King of Kings? Are not
all the People in the Univerſe, Princes and Potentates,
as well as the inferior Sort, his Subjects? To whom
then fhould he fend Ambaffadors ? Not to his own Vaf-
fals. However, to gratify their afpiring Humour, we
will admit their Title of Honour, if they produce their
Credentials; that is, let them heal the Sick, give Sight
to the Blind, make the Deaf to hear, and the Lame to
walk.
Politics are now become an univerfal Theme, and we
hear more of them from the Pulpit than Soul-faving Doc-
trine: No Man is reckoned orthodox, who does not
dabble
Prieftianity.
401
dabble in State-Affairs. As foon as a beardlefs Youth is
accoutred with his fpiritual Habiliments, he begins to
arraign the Conftitution which nourishes him, and con-
demn the Proceedings of the Prince's faithful Minifters
under whom he lives. He ufurps an Authority to which
he has not the leaft Shadow of Pretence; nor will he de-
fift till his Wings are clipped, and his Ambition pinioned.
But to do Juftice to the Innocent, I muft own that this
Crime is to be found only among Popish and Half-Pro-
teftant Priefs, viz. High Church.
The Apostle Paul, who was a Roman, and a loyal
Man, fubmitted to be tried by the civil Magiftrate; but
Prieft Paul, who was an Englishman, and a Traitor, de-
nied that the civil Power had any Jurifdiction over him,
or that he ought to be tried by any other Power than the
Spiritual: And there are few Clergymen, who do not ad-
here to the fame Principle. The Reafon is fo very obvi-
ous, that to mention it would call the Judgment of my
Reader in queftion.It is faid, that when Kid, the
Pirate, was going to Low-water Mark, he cried, Had
Avery been my Judge, and twelve of the Madagaſcar
Buccaneers my Fury, I should not have feared a fafe De-
liverance.
A fourth Obfervation is, that the Apoftles met fre-
quently to eat Bread and drink Wine; whofe Lives and
Converfation were conformable to their Doctrine.
It fnuft be owned by the moft inveterate Enemies of the
Clergy, (if any fuch there are) that the Sons of Levi have
more frequent Meetings than the Apoftles had, efpecial-
ly when they hear of good Wine and liberal Parishioners.
But then, perhaps, it may be objected, that the Apoſtles
met in a religious and fpiritual Manner, and the Clergy
in a more fociable and natural one. I must concede to
this Objection, knowing what is moft agreeable to Priefts.
Nevertheless, to alleviate the Imputation of their fre-
quenting Taverns and Coffee-houfes, [in which they
fpend a triple Proportion of Time, to what they do in
their Churches and Clofets] we must do them. the Justice
to fay, that as they are not endued with as large a Por-
tion of Grace as was given to the Apoftles, ſo con-
fequently they cannot undergo the great Burden and Fa-
tigue of preaching once, and reading Prayers thrice a
Week,
402
Prieftianity.
Week, without recruiting their exhaufted Spirits. Now
if this cannot be done in a private Houfe, at the Expence
of fome of their Flock, why fhould they be cenfured, or
efteemed blame-worthy, if they go to a Tavern, cat their
Bread with Joy, and drink their Wine with a merry Heart ?
Why fhould not the diligent Labourer be indulged in re-
freshing Nature? Has he not as keen an Appetite, as
diftinguishing a Palate as another Man? Befide, Wine
enlivens the Underſtanding, and gives fresh Vigour to a
jaded Invention: And let me tell you, a well worded
Expreffion in Converfation may furniſh a Man with To-
pics for an orthodox Sermon.
Precept without Example avails little in making Pro-
felytes; it were therefore to be wished that Prieſts would
adhere to the Rules which they lay down for converting
Infidels to Chriftianity, and confirming thofe who are
converted. I frankly confefs, that they will fometimes
give us the beft Advice how to fave our Souls, though
they neglect their own; and it is undoubtedly a Mark of
Tenderneſs to put us in the Way to eternal Happinefs,
and a particular Token of their Civility and polite Breed-
ing, not to joftle us in the Road. They exclaim against
Ufury and Extortion, yet try all the Ways and Wiles
imaginable to gather Riches. Oh! that I were fo well
fkilled in Divinity, to know what Length a Man may
take to improve his Talent! They recommend Fafting and
Abftinence as neceffary to fubdue the Lufts of the Flesh;
how near they conform to thefe Recipes, let their fat
Joles and ruddy Cheeks bear Witnefs. They inveigh
againſt Profufenefs in Drefs and Apparel, yet think it
no Crime to give an extravagant Price for Wigs, Hats,
and Holland Shirts. Decency indeed is commendable;
and to the Praiſe of the inferior Clergy be it faid, that
they take Care to make clean the Outfide of the Platter.
A fifth Obſervation; the Apoſtles were charitable.
Charity is fo often in the Mouths of the Clergy, that
there is too much Caufe to fufpect it feldom enters into
their Hearts; or if they have any, it begins at home (ac-
cording to the Proverb) and thore I fear it will end. St.
Paul has ſpent a whole Chapter in praife of this moſt ex-
cellent Virtue; Prophecy and Learning cannot come in
Competition with it, and Faith profiteth nothing with-
out
Prieſtianity.
403
out it. No Chriftian furely will dare to question the
Authority of St. Paul, and fince Charity is fo abfolutely
necellary, and that we cannot go to Heaven without this
Paffport, this Badge of Admiflion; what Cpinion mut
we entertain of thofe Priefts, in whom the leaft Glimpfe
of Charity does not appear? Can we reafonably think,
that they believe a future State, who will not embrace
and manifeſt the Means which muft bring them thither?
It is not my Bufinefs to fhew the Latitude of the Word
Charity; I fhall leave it for thoſe, whofe Duty it is to
do it, and heartily wish that they would convince us of
the Neceffity of this divine Virtue by practising it. I
never heard or met with a Clergyman, who declared his
Want of Charity, [and that too in the moft barefaced
Manner] except the Pious and Reverend Doctor *
who lives between Newgate and Tyburn.
An intimate Friend and Acquaintance of the Doctor's
wrote a Letter to him, in which he recommended the
Bearer as the Son of a very worthy and orthodox Cler-
gyman, who had been bred up in the Principles of the
Church, and never fwerved from them, who had Uni-
verfity Education, and was an honeft, loyal Gentleman,
though in narrow Circumftances. For thefe Reaſons he
requeſted, that as the Doctor was to preach before the
Sons of the Clergy, and the reft of that honourable So-
ciety, he would recommend the Gentleman to the Stew-
ards as a proper Object of, and as one juftly intitled to,
their Charity. The Doctor, having read the Letter
(and out of a Pique, I fuppofe, to the Name, which he
could not digeft fince a remarkable Trial in Westminster-
Hall) anfwered, I have no Charity for those who are not of
my Church. The Doctor being called upon to explain
what he meant by his Church, would have evaded the
Charge; but being clofely preffed, replied, The Gentle-
man was educated in the Principles of the Church of Ireland,
and I in the Church of England.-O rare! Name, if
you can, any Differences in their Doctrine, Rites, and
Ceremonies. Cede mejoribus, ye Men of Levain and
Sr. Omers; or match, if you can, the uncharitable
Doctor.
* Sacheverell.
A
404
Prieftianity.
A fixth Obfervation is, that the Apoftles preached
conftantly, and in all Probability without Hire; they
baptized thofe who were worthy of Baptifm; they vifited
the Sick, and prayed with them gratis.
Preaching is accounted the moit apoftolical of all the
Acts of the Ministry; and Gregory fays, Cenfemus eos,
qui Apoftolorum figuram tendent, prædicare. Thomas Aqui-
nas afferts, that Prædicatio eft actus principaliffimus & pro-
prius; and St. Chryfoftom calls it, Omnium bonorum fum-
mum. St. Paul gives a ftrict Charge of Preaching to Ti-
mothy, who was a fickly Man: His Words are, I charge
thee before God, and the Lord Jefus Chrift, who fall judge
the Quick and the Dead, at his appearing, and in his King-
dem, preach the Word, be inftant, &c.
-
How happy would it be for the inferior Clergy, how
pleafing to God, and acceptable to Man, if they were
half as diligent and affiduous in the Salvation of Souls,
as they are in obtaining a rich Benefice! But, alas!
when they have once obtained the defired Port; they
grow fupine and negligent, and imagine that they dif-
charge their Duty, if they procure a Journeyman to of
ficiate for them. A rich Prieft will vifit his Flock, and
preach to them perhaps as often as he comes in Perſon to
fleece them, viz. twice a Year, to receive an Equivalent
for his Tithes. The labouring Car is given to fome in-
digent Hireling, while the lazy Man of God (I cannot
fay the Man after God's own Heart) eats the Eread of
Idlenefs. He that will work cheap fhall be firſt employ-
ed, though a Novice in his Bufinefs; but what will the
Lord fay to his negligent Sterward, when he comes into
his Vineyard and finds rotten Fruit?
The Validity of Lay-Baptifm has been often contro-
verted, but never refuted; and if Original Sin cannot
be washed away by any other Hands than the Prieft's,
how hard and deplorable is the poor Man's Cafe! Muſt
a Soul perish for want of a Piece of Silver? Muft Chriſt
lofe a Subject through the Avarice and Extortion of one
who calls himfelf his Servant? Will not his Death be
required at the Levite's Hand? I do not find that there
was a Book of Rates in our Saviour's Time, when he
commanded the Apostles to baptize all Nations; their
Commiffion was not limited to the Rich and Wealthy;
the
Prieftianity.
405
the Poor and Needy had an equal Claim to the Benefit
of their Adminiflration: They gloried in having an
Opportunity to vifit the Sick, the Diftreffed, and thofe
who were in Prifon: They comforted the Fatherlefs
and the Widow; they fed the Hungry, and cloathed
the Naked; they rejoiced in Things Spiritual: but the
inferior Clergy glory in Things Temporal: They did
all Things for the Sake of Chrift, and the Clergy will
do nothing but for the Sake of Mammon..
No Peany,
no Peter-nofter. This is a Saying too often verified.
>
A Perfon paft Hopes of Recovery fent for the Priests
of the Tarifli, who promifed to come, but did not:
Whether they were hindered by Love, or a Bottle, I
fhall not determine. At the Expiration of three Days,
Application was made to Dr. K- who faid he would
go, provided the Perfon fhould pay the Expence of his
Coach-hire. The Meffenger confented to this, but the
Conditions could not be performed till the fick Perfon's
Apparel (which lay on the Bed, and kept off the Cold)
was fent to the Pawn-broker's to raife Money.
Doctor was an Eye-witness to this, and graciouſly took
but two Shillings.
The
What fays the Prophet? Tour Prieſts teach for Hire:
I think he might alſo have ſaid pray for it. I will
not be fo uncharitable to affirm, that the inferior Clergy
will do an ill Thing for Money; but this I may fay, I
never knew them do a good one without it.
A ſeventh Obfervation: The Apoftles were Men of
Moderation; they ufed not Compulfion to oblige People
to conform to their Doctrine; they reaſoned with their
Hearers.
Moderation is one of the fhining Characteristics of a
Chriſtian; but Moderation among the modern Clergy,
is like King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table,
much talked of, but never feen. We exclaim against
the Tyranny of Rome, and the Spaniſh Inquifition, but we
may find unchriftian Treatment in Courts nearer home.
I do not find by the Laws of God, that an Ecclefiaftic
has a Power to puniſh the Body or Pocket of a Lay-
man: There were no Libels, Citations, Articles, Pe-
nance, Impriſonment, (and a long Train of Etceteras to
* Micah. iii II.
be
об
Prieſtianity.
be read in the fpiritual Catalogue) when Chrift and his
Apofles were on Earth: There were no pecuniary
Mulets or Commuting in thofe Days, for a Lapfus Lin-
gue, or Things of fmall Moment. Will not the Ac-
ceptance of a pecuniary Mul&t bear this Interpretation ?
The rich Man may fornicate, while he that is poor ſhall
be debarred the moft intenfe Pleaſure. The Apoftles
were averfe to fuch inhuman and diabolical Inventions
as wholeſome Severities; and yet who are more ready
to put them in Practice than the Half-proteſtants ?
What are wholefome Severities but the Fire and Fag-
got, Whips and Dungeons? Are they not the killing
Arguments of Dragooning Jefuits? How cloſe they ſtick
to the Letter of the Text! Compel them to come in. Tis
true, indeed, our Saviour gave fuch Command; but I
challenge the Clergy to give me one Inftance of Seve-
rity ufed by Chrift or the Apoftles. They were certain-
ly the best Interpreters of their Mafter's Words; they
ufed no other Compulfion than folid Arguments. But
there is a Generation of
who value them-
felves upon the Wiſdom of this World, and would dif-
play their Christianity by favage Cruelties. As if Re-
ligion, like the Laws of Draco, were to be founded in
Blood. How pleafing is Perfecution to a tyrannizing
Prieft! How oppofite to a Chriſtian Spirit!
Implicit Faith is the Doctrine of worldly Men, and
though we are injoined to fearch the Scriptures, becauſe
in them we have eternal Life, yet I could name a Perfon
within ten Miles of Hammersmith, who faid, That we
bave had no good Times fince the Laity were permitted to
read the Bible, nor ſhould we have any till they were pro-
hibited the Use of that Book. Is this conformable to
the Proteftant Religion, or incompatible with it? Me-
thinks it has an ill Smell, and fquints wifhfully at Rome.
God Almighty does not require us to make Brick
without Straw; he does not expect to reap where he has
not ſown; but fince he has given us Reaſon whereby
we may diſtinguiſh between Good and Evil, it behoves
us to fet a true Value upon this glorious Talent, and not
facrifice it to the ipfe dixit of any fpiritual Jacobite
whatever. Let every Man fteer by his Reaſon, and he
that offers to deprive you of it is a defigning, crafty
Knave.
Prieflianity.
407
Knave. Every Man living has a Right to think freely,
and Reaſon ought to direct him: This I will maintain,
though every Levite ſhould become an Opponent. For
he who takes up his Religion upon Truft, may with
Eafe be deluded into the moſt erroneous and damnable
Opinions. Try all Things, fays St. Paul, and bold faft
that which is beft. Now, how can we try or judge
what is good, what bad, if we do not make ufe of our
Reafon? The Apoftles did not upbraid thoſe whom
they could not convert, with opprobrious and infamous
Names: But the inferior Clergy ftigmatize them who
are not on their Side, and call them Deifts, Socinians,
Libertines, Atheists, &c. Nay, that excellent Pattern of
true Proteſtant and Chriftian Piety, Archbishop Tilletfon,
is called a grave Atheist; but there is no other Caufe for
this unjuft Imputation than his having a larger Share of
Religion and found Learning than other People.
Confcience in the Apoftles is an eighth Obfervation.
He that can fathom the Confcience of a Prieſt, may
quickly diſcover the Depth of the Ocean, and find out
the Longitude. He is feldom for giving, but always for
getting And when his Heart is opened, which hap-
pens as frequent as a Jubilee at Rome, he manifefts his
Liberality with a Finger and Thumb, as if the other
Parts of his Hand were feized with the Gout. But
when you make an Offering, he receives it with as keen
an Appetite as an hungry Jack; and had Solomon lived
in our Days, he might with Reafon have faid, There
are Things which never are fatisfied.
What fhall we fay in favour of our High-church
Clergy, who fwear Allegiance to King George, yet ſe-
cretly own, and privately pray for a Popish Pretender?
And, what fhall we think of others who take the Oaths,
yet countenance Men difmiffed from their Lectureships
for fcandalous Words, and black Infinuations againſt the
moft merciful Prince on Earth? They may hoodwink
the Vulgar, but Men of the leaft Penetration will fee
that Birds of a Feather will flock
This
touches fomebody's Copyhold, but I fhall not ſay a
Word of the uncharitable Doctor.
I could mention a certain Levite, of no ordinary
Rank, who called the late Rebellion a Rifing of the
People;
408
Prieftianity.
•
People; for a Rebellion, fays he, is taking up Arms a-
gain a lawful Sovereign: Wherefore he would not ac-
knowledge the Prefen Prifoners to be Rebels. This
fcrupulous Gentleman abjured the Pretender, and no
doubt he is a Man of Confcience-very capacious.
Search all the Records of Time, and find out a Plot the
blackest that Hell ever hatched, and a Priest will appear
at the Bottom.
A ninth Obfervation is, That the Apoftles were zea-
lous for the Church of Chrift at all Times, without that
jefuitical, and confequently modifh, Diltinction of High
or Lore.
I am very well aware, that fome clever ftaunch Bigot
will take me up fhort, and fmartly aſk me, if I dare de-
ny that the orthodox inferior Clergy (as they term them)
are for the Church? To which I ingenuoufly anſwer in
the Negative, provided they mean High-Church. And
therefore fhould any one queftion me, why did the Peo-
ple fo furioufly rage, and why did a Convict become
an Itinerant? Oh, for the Church. Why are their Ser-
mons ftuffed full of double Entendres, and why do they
ail at the Friends of King George? Still for the Church.
Why are the Priests and the Prophets prophane? And
why I do they err through ftrong Drink? Why do they
reach in an orthodox Billing/gate Stile? And why do
they flander, defame, back-bite, and fnarl at Diffenters ?
All, all for the Church.
If the inferior Clergy had heartily efpoufed the Wel-
fare of the true Proteilant Church, or had any Regard
for the Purity of our most holy Religion, immediately
after the fcandalous Peace of Utrecht, they might juftly
have faid we were falling a Sacrifice to the Roman Baal.
We then ftood on the Margin of the deep and terrible
Abyfs, when Providence of its tender Mercy brought
forth the Firft of Augufi, and made the potent George our
fccond Deliverer. There was room in thoſe Days for
· Dr. Sacheverel to have faid truly, we were in Perils a-
mong falfe Brethren. He fhould then have told bold
Truth, and preached in Seafon, as he did out of Seafon
at St. Paul's; his Harangue on the Fifth of November
having little in it that was pertinent to the Bufinefs of
* Dr. Sacheverell.
Jer. xxiii, 11. ‡ Ifa, xxvii. 7.
the
Prieſtianity.
409
the Day, being calculated to reflect on the Prefbyterians,
and cait an Odium on the happy and glorious Revolu-
tion.
That the Apoſtles did not condemn or ftigmatize other
People, for preaching and adhering to that Doctrine,
which they themſelves were under an Obligation to
preach and adhere to, is my tenth Obſervation.
Here is a fpacious Field to traverſe; a Subject fit for
a Polemic Writer. I might with Eafe demonftrate that
there is not one Sect of Religion now upon Earth, which
does not differ widely from the Apoſtles in this Particular :
But as I defign to write with all the Brevity imaginable,
I fhall only give one flagrant Inftance of our own Inferi-
or Clergy's Deviation from the Apoftles in this Matter.
I have been told by a Gentleman in Black, [and may
the other Gentleman in Black reward him, if he has de-
ceived me] that every fmart, dapper Fellow, who ſtands
Candidate for fpiritual Authority, muft fubfcribe his Af-
fent to, and inculcate the orthodox Doctrine of the
Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England, before
he be admitted a Dictator to a Congregation.
That Predeftination is the Doctrine of the Church of
England, appears from the feventeenth Article among
the Thirty-nine which were agreed upon by the Arch-
bishops and Bishops of both Provinces, and the whole
Clergy in the Convocation holden at London in the Year
1562, and was approved and allowed to be holden and
executed within the Realm, by the Affent and Confent
of Queen Elizabeth, and fubfcribed to by the Arch-
bishops and Bishops of the Upper Houfe, and by the
Subſcription of the whole Clergy of the Nether Houſe
in their Convocation, in the Year of our Lord 1571.
Fide Thirty-nine Articles.
66
I fhall tranfcribe as many of the Words as are moft
neceffary to my Purpoſe.
Predeftination to Life
"is the everlafting Purpofe of God, whereby (before
"the Foundations of the World were laid) he hath
"conftantly decreed by his Counſel, fecret to us, to de-
"liver from Curfe and Damnation thoſe whom he
"hath choſen in Chrift out of Mankind, and to bring
"them by Chrift to everlaſting Salvation, as Veffels
"made to Honour.
As the godly Confidera-
“ tion
VOL. II,
S
410
Prieftianity.
CC
❝tion of Predeftination, and our Election in Chriſt, is full
"of fweet, pleaſant, and unſpeakable Comfort to godly
"Perfons, and fuch as feel in themſelves the Working
"of Chrift, &c. fo for curious and carnal Perfons,
lacking the Spirit of Chrift, to have before their Eyes
"the Sentence of God's Predeftination, is a moft dan-
gerous Downfal, whereby the Devil doth thruſt them
“ either into Defparation or into Wretchleffneſs of moſt
unclean Living, no lefs perilous than Defperation."
Now, if any Regard is to be had to Oaths and Sub-
fcriptions (which no Corinthian Prieſt will, I hope, de-
ny;) furely thofe facred Ties and Obligations will
prompt them to cherish and propagate the Doctrine
which they have fo openly and fo folemnly efpoufed. But,
alas! how many are there who warmly embrace, and
cordially believe and fupport this Tenet! Or, rather
how many are they who rail at, and vilify thofe who
preach this Doctrine, branding them with the Name of
Predeftinarians (viz. all the Diffenters of what Denomi-
nation foever) as a Mark of Infamy, Contempt and
Pfeudodoxy !—Are thefe the legitimate or fpurious
Sons of the Church? Are thefe Men the true Servants
of the Omnipotent, Juft and Merciful God? Tell it
not in Gath, publiſh it not in Aſcalon.
The eleventh Obfervation is, That the Apoftles went
from Place to Place to make Converts, and ftrengthen
thoſe whom they had converted; without taking any
Money to defray their Expences, or furnishing them-
felves with Neceffaries requifite for the Time of their
Abode among the Brethren.
There is no Religion whatever, which has not its
Itinerants, who keep clofe to this Example of the A-
poſtles, except our own Inferior Clergy; among whom
I cannot find one Example. I must own, indeed, that
there is ſometimes a Tranfmigration from one Pariſh
to another, where one Minifter (with Pockets well
lined) will fwop a Sermon with his Brother: A fure
and certain Symptom of a Debauch, or idle Week.
*
"What Pity it is, that among the many Projects
now on foot, fome pious and zealous Chriftians will
"not open a Book for Subfcriptions to erect Houses of
* Call, where lazy, well-fed, pampered Priefts may
“find
Prieſtianity.
411
"find a Labourer for the Day of Sabbath! No doubt
but this would be of more Emolument to the Un-
"dertakers, than the Project for the Grand Fishery,
"and many indigent Souls would be capacitated to
pay for a Dinner, who had no other Dependance,
"than the Affiftance of the Spirit, to appeafe his mu-
"tineering Inteſtines, and prevent them from flying in-
to Rebellion."
Upon fecond Thoughts, it is no difficult Matter to
prove, that feveral Minifters have travelled fourfcore or
an hundred Miles to preach the Gofpel: But then we
muft take notice, that it is for the Sake of a more pro-
fitable Benefice: That they do not travel without Mo-
ney, without Company; but carry with them their Bags
and Baggage, Wives and Children, Maid-ſervants and
Men-fervants, their Cattle, and all that are within their
Houfes and Gates. So charitable are they even to the
brute Beafts! And yet I believe there is not one of them,
who, if he ſpeaks from his Heart, can fay with the Phi-
lofopher, Omnia mea mecum porto.—
A twelfth Obfervation is, That the Apoſtles diſagreed
not among themfelves concerning Fundamentals necef-
fary to Salvation; neither did they contradict one ano-
ther in their Definitions and Notions of Myſteries and
Fundamentals.
The Opinions of Men, relating to the Means condu-
cive to eternal Salvation, are as different as their nume-
rous Sects and Divifions: However, all the Nations in
the Univerſe agree in this one grand Point, an Object
of Worſhip and Adoration. This was allowed through-
out the World, before the Coming of our Saviour; but
with this Difference, that fome worshipped the True God,
cthers (like the Papiſts) moft religiously bent their Knees
to Gods made with their own Hands. Now that they,
who profefs and call themfelves Chriftians, and have
but one unerring Compaſs to fteer by, fhould purfue
fuch Courſes as are diametrically oppofite to each other,
in hopes of reaching the defired Port at laft, is a Sub-
ject which affords much Speculation. I have here a
fpacious Field before me, and ſhould I enter into a De-
tail of the Principles of every Chriftian Sectary, I ſhould
Sa
deviate
412
Prieftianity.
deviate from my firft Refolution, and fwell this little
Tract into numberlefs Volumes.
As there are many Divines and Enthufiafts, who have
undertaken to explain and unfold the Mystery of the
Blefed Trinity, (a Taſk too difficult for the Performance
and Comprehenfion of human Frailty, and which indeed
is a prefumptuous Undertaking;) I shall here recite their
own Words, and fhew how they contradict and claſh a-
gainſt each other. * Some of the inferior Clergy make
the Three Perfons to be external Relations of the one Sub-
itance of the Deity to Mankind, viz. Creator, Redeemer,
and Sanctifier: and the fame Reverend Perfon makes
each Perfon a Third of God, as † Length, Breadth, and
Thickneſs make a Cube; or as || Three Groats make a
Shilling, or Three Nobles a Pound.
$ Some make the Perfons to be Eternal Modes of Sub.
ftance, or Internal Relations of the Subftance of the
Deity it feir.
Some maintain Three Diftinct, Unequal, Eternal
Beings; the Firſt whereof is alone Self-exiftent, and
the Second and Third fubordinate.
* Some maintain Three Diftin&t, Eternal, Equal Beings,
vhofe Unity is partly numerical, and partly fpecifical.
Again Some make the Doctrine of the Trinity to
confift in Three Diftinct, Eternal, perfectly Equal Be-
ings agreeing in a Specific Unity.
CC
** Mr. Puzzle-Text, the Anthropomorphite, is of a dif-
ferent Opinion from all the Divines who ever wrote up-
on the Trinity. He fays, "There are Three Lives;
and that fuch a Notion will very much contribute to
“the Honour of God, the Eaſe of good Chriſtians, and
"the Difcouragement of Heretics. How can it comport
66 • (con-
* Wallis's Letters of the Trinity, Let. III, p. 4c, 41.
Firf Letter, p. 13.
Third Letter, p. 42.
Dr. South's Animad. and Tritheiſm charged.
I Fowler's 28 Prop. Bulli Defenf. Fid. Nic. Cudworth's Intellect.
Syltem. Payne's Sermon.
Sherlock's Vind. of the Trinity and its Defence.
↑ Braddock's Doctrine of the Fathers, &c. Part. 1.
An Antidote against Arianiſm: By Erafmus Warren, Rector of
Worlington, Suffolk, Anno 1712,
Prieſtianity.
413
(continues he) with God's infinite Goodneſs, or con-
fift with his infinite Wiſdom, and fo conduce to his
"Honour and Glory to make the main Article of the
"Chriftian Faith fo puzzling and intricate, as that none
"of 'em yet could underſtand it themſelves, or explain
"it competently to others? Nay, which is far worſe,
"and fo difhonourable to God, as not to be endured..
"Were Chriſtians obliged to believe the Trinity accord-
ing to the common Notion, or ſtanding Model of it,
"in order to their future Blifs, they must then affent to
et
a thing impoffible, to a rank Contradiction, and to a
"notorious Lie, to obtain Salvation; even that Three
"Modes are Three diftinct Perfons, and fo every one of
"them God moſt truly,
"For the Body of Chriſtians to recommend unintelli-
gible Things, and to impofe it on its Members; and
"induce People to fwallow them, to tell them that they
"are profound Myfteries, when they are perfect Non-
"fenfe, what can be more infamous and difparaging?
He afferts, That all Men had a wrong Notion of the
Trinity to this very Day.
cr
"For Chriftians (fays he) to enjoy the Benefit of the
Gofpel for feventeen hundred Years; to be baptized
"into a Trinity, and profefs that they believed it as a
prime and fundamental Article; and yet during all
"thofe Centuries, to have no Notion of it among the
“Learned and Wife, but what was light and empty,
filly, impertinent and nonfenfical; to fay no worſe,
(if fearched to the Bottom) is not this fad´and difinal ?”
But his Notion of a Trinity runs tňus :
?
CC
"Allow the Divine Effence to be an Infinite, Eternal'
"Spirit, quickened and actuated by Three diftinct Lives,
"and the Firft naturally and from Eternity fpringing up
“in it, and as naturally and eternally begetting the Se-
"cond Life, they True by a like Prerogative Power breath-
"ing or fending forth a Third; in which the prolific
"Force and Virtue of Divine Life was fully fpent, and
"did fully terminate; and the Adorable Trinity is moft
perfectly and gloriouſly conftituted, and, I think, in-
"telligibly enough."
Let the Reader judge, whether this Notion is more
intelligible than any of the reft.He further obſerves,
that
S 3
• The
414
Prieſtianity.'
"The Three Divine Perfons have each of them an
Image in human Figure, fymbolically reprefenting
"their Adorable Selves.
This he proves from feveral Texts of Scripture; but
fure he had little Regard to, or had forgot the ſecond In-
junction in the Decalogue. I remember the Time
when a Book not half fo glaring and barefaced as this,
was deemed worthy of a flaming Sacrifice; and I admire
that no pious Informer, out of the Abundance of his
Zeal for the Athanafian Fundamental of Chriftianity,
has been moved by an internal Impulfe of Religion or
Malice, to preſent and profecute this Pamphlet. No
Scourge, no wholeſome Severites for this audacious Levite !
He is one of the Inferior Clergy, a weak Brother ; and
theſe are Motives fufficient to protect him from the Re-
fentment of other prieftly Deliquents.
The Thirteenth Obfervation is, That the Apoftles
were ſtrict Followers of their own Conftitutions, or By-
Laws.
I must confefs, that this Obfervation might very na-
turally have fallen under the Tenth; but fince I omitted
to recite it in that Place, what follows, I hope, may be
allowed as an Appendix to it.
If I fhould affert, That there is not any Religion
whatever, whofe Laws and Canons have not been vio--
lated by the Inferior Clergy, I fhould incur the Cenſure
of Zealots and Enthufiafts: But I fee no Reaſon for
loading fuch Affertion with the Calumny of Rah Fudg-
ment, fince it is a Truth daily Obfervation confirms. I
fhall not defcend to give particular Inftances of each.
Kind, but hope it will fuffice for the preſent to mention
one of our own Canons, and fhew how our High-Church
fpiritual Worthies, or Half-Proteftants, do become Delin-
quents: Which ſmall Sketch may give us an Idea of the
whole.
Ex pede Herculem.
The 55th Canon enjoins every Priest to pray for the
King upon the Throne nominatim, in the Prayer preced-
ing the Sermon. But tho' theſe Conſcience-Difpenfers
have taken the Oaths to King George, (and would
difpenfe with an Hundred more as big as St. Paul's, for a
Living half as large) yet what Evafions and Quibbles do
they
1
Prieftianity.
415
they uſe! One fays Pray ye; another, we are commanded
to pray, but does it not: Such a Servant ſhould be beat-
en with many Stripes. A Third, Let us pray, but ban-
ters his Audience like an Orthodox Juggler; for he does
not pray for the King, tho' he mentions his Name. A
Fourth, with an hereditary Corinthian Face, legitimate-
ly High-Church, regards not the Injunction of the Canon.
Now may we not fay to theſe Hypocrites, what our Blef-
fed Saviour faid to their Brethren the Scribes and Phari-
fees? Woe unto ye!
T
P. S.
O avoid the Cenfure of each fnarling Prieft-rid-
den Cynic, who talks much of the Church and
Religion, yet frequents not the one, or practiſes the
other; I am obliged, in Juftification of myfelf, and
to fatisfy my Friends and Acquaintance, to declare,
That I have not any Defign to ftrike at the Prieſthood.
For I am thoroughly convinced, that there ought to be:
a Regimen in the Church, and its Government by Bi-
fhops is neceffary and fcriptural; but yet I will not pre-
fume to determine, whether they are fuch by a Divine
or Human Inftitution..
As
Good Clergymen are (to me) like beautiful and ftrong
Pillars in an antique and ftately Edifice; but vicious
Priefts are the Emblems of corrupted Rafters.
among the Apostles there was one falfe Brother, whom
the Papifts acknowledge as the Foundation of the Church,
viz. Peter; one Traitor, as Judas; ambitious Perfons, as
James and John, who prevailed with their Mother to folli-
cit the moſt honourable Places from Chrift: This to fit on
his Right Hand, That on his Left: So likewife there were
fome, who were wholly fpiritual, and had no ambi-
tious, no worldly Views before them. And tho' among
the Tribe of Levi, there are Proud, Perfecuting, Covetous,
Rebellious, Perjured Priests; yet there are fome [and oh!
that they were a thoufand times more in Number, than
what Abraham propofed to God for the Preſervation of
Sodom and Gomorrah] who are of an humble and meak Spi-
rit, Religious, Loyal, Charitable Men; Men of Confcience
and Moderation.
But
416
Prieftianity.
But after all, I greatly fear that the crying Evils of
the Inferior Clergy will never ceafe, till a Stop be put to
the Ordination of Beardlefs Boys and indigent Souls.
Theſe are the Perſons who come before they are called; and
creep in at the Window, when they ſhould enter at the
Door of the Temple. Thefe are they whom Neceffity ob-
liges, or Prejudice perfuades to act contrary to the Laws
of God and Man, to humour their Patrons, and fupport a
Party. Theſe are they of whom the Pfalmift ſpeaks, they
are corrupt and become abominable, Happy would it be
for this Nation, if the Tares which are now growing,
and thoſe which are already run to Seed, where rooted
out!
As I am refolved not to be deluded by Prieftcraft; fò I
could wish that every Man would refume his Reaſon, and.
not regard any Clergyman, of what Title or Ďenomi-
nation foever, merely becauſe he is a Clergyman; but
be guided in this Particular by the Words of St. Ambroſe,.
and give a more than ordinary Attention to them. Nikil
eff in hoc feculo excellentius Sacerdotibus, fublimius Epif
copis, fi Nomen congruat Actioni, & Actio refpondeat Nomi-
ni; finon, Nomen inane, Crimen immane. Ambrof. de Dig-
nitat. Sacerdot.
The End of the SECOND VOLUME,
CONTENTS
THE
HE Senfe of the People concerning the preſent State
of Affairs, with Remarks upon fome Paffages of our
own and the Roman Hiftory. In a Letter to a Member
of Parliament. By John Trenchard and Thomas
Gordon, Efquires,
Page 3
A compleat Hiftory of the late Septennial Parliament ;
wherein all their Proceedings are particularly 'enquired
into, and faithfully related; with proper Remarks, and
many fecret Memoirs interfperfed, concerning the late
Times. To which is prefixed, Honeft Advice to the Free-
holders of Great Britain. By T. Gordon, Eſq;
31
An Eſſay on the Practice of Stock-jobbing, and fome Remarks.
on the right Ufe, and regular Improvement of Money. In
a Letter to a Gentleman, and a Proprietor of South-
Sea Stock. By T. Gordon, Efq;
83.
An authentic Narrative of the late Proceedings and cruel
Execution at Thorn; with two Letters written upon.
that Occafion by Britannicus, in the London Journal.
To which is prefixed, An Account of the Rights and
Privileges of the City of Thorn. By T. Gordon,
Efq;
91.
A fhort View of the Confpiracy, with fome Reflections on
the prefent State of Affairs. In a Letter to an Old
Whig in the Country.. By Cato.
127
Royal Gallantry: or, The Amours of a certain Kg of a
certain Country, who kept his Crt at a certain-
Place,
CONTENTS.
Place, much in the fame Latitude with that of W-ſt·~·
m-nit―r, related in the unhappy Adventures of Pal-
miris and Lindamira; in which the Characters of Ter-
fander and Cæfarina are vindicated from the Afper-
fions that have been, or may be, caft upon them ; and
the unfortunate Death of the former fet in a true
Light. Done from the French. By T. Gordon,
Efq;
160
A Letter to a Gentleman at Edinburgh, concerning the
bufy and aſſuming Spirit of the Ecclefiaflics, and their
extravagant Demands upon the Laity. By T. Gordon,
Efq;
211
The Craftsmen: A Sermon, or Paraphrafe upon ſeveral
Verfes of the 19th Chapter of the Acts of the Apoſtles.
Compofed in the Style of the late Daniel Burgeſs. By
T. Gordon, Efq;
232
A Serious Expoftulation with the Right Reverend the Lord
Bishop of London, on his Letter to the Clergy and Peo-
ple of London and Weftminſter. By T. Gordon,
Efq;
257
Seafonable Advice to the Electors of Great Britain; with
a Word or two relating to the Influence of the Clergy
in Elections. By J. Trenchard, Efq;
272
The true Picture of a Modern Tory; or, A High-Church-
man painted to the Life. By T. Gordon, Eſq;
278
A Sermon preached before the learned Society of Lincoln's-
Inn, on January 30, 1732, from Job xxxiv. 3o. That
the Hypocrite reign not, left the People be infnared.
By T. Gordon, Efq;
281
A Supplement to the Sermon preached at Lincoln's-Inn, on
January 30. 1732. Addreſſed to a very important and
moft folemn Churchman, Sollicitor-General for Caufes
Ecclefiafical. By T. Gordon, Eſq;
312
A Letter
CONTENTS.
A Letter to the Reverend Dr. Codex, on the Subject of
his modeſt Inſtruction to the Crown, inferted in the Daily
Journal of February 27th, 1733. From the Second Vo
lume of Burnet's Hifiory. By T. Gordon, Eſq;
The Preface to the Fourth Collection of Cato's Letters.
T. Gordon, Efq;
The Preface to the Sixth Collection of Cato's Letters.
T. Gordon, Efq;
333
By
364
By
368
The Creed of an Independent Whig; with an orthodox
Introduction, concerning Canons, Councils, Myftcries, Mi-
racles, and Church Authority. By T. Gordon, Efq;
370
Prieftianity: or, A View of the Disparity between the
Apoftles and the Modern inferior Clergy. By the Author
of The Creed of an Independent Whig.
386
}
FINI S.
IS.
Juft publish'd, Price 3 s.
ORDERS, STANDING ORDERS, and
RESOLUTIONS of the Honourable Houfe of
COMMONS, relating to their FORMS of
PROCEEDING, PRIVILEGE, &c. &c.
Collected out of the JOURNALS, and digefted
under their feveral HEADS.
F it is reaſonable to wonder, that this Manual was
never publiſhed before, it will be fo much the lefs
neceffary to apologife for publifhing it now: And, fure-
ly, if it appears, that not only all who have Seats in
Parliament, or who are in a Capacity to fit, or who have
Bufinefs to tranfact there, but the whole People in gene-
ral, are intereſted in the Rules and Orders of their Repre-
fentatives, it will not be difputed, that they ought to be
acquainted with them; and the Perfons will rather de-
ferve their Thanks than Cenfure, who put it in their
Power to be fo.
Now, barely to read them, is to be convinced of this;
for they will be found to reach almoſt all Orders of Men,
either mediately or immediately. And it is fit for thoſe
without Doors to reflect, with a due Mixture of Reve-
rence and Attention, that the Word Privilege is become
as facred as the Word Laru; and that Ignorance may
be held as infufficient a Plea, in cafe of an Offence,
againſt the one as the other.
Then for thoſe avithin, if we may prefume to fpeak
of them at all, it can fcarce be faid, that they are qua-
lified for the Truft repofed in them, till they are ac-
quainted, in fome Degree, with the Methods in which
it is to be diſcharged: And this is a known Truth, that
Men of very flender Parts, by rendering themfelves
thorough Mafters of the Forms of the Houfe, have made
themſelves confiderable, have fancied themſelves to be
more fo; and, by the mere Dint of calling to Order,
and quoting Journals and Precedents, have fometimes
defeated Arguments they could not anſwer, and triumph-
ed over Talents and Abilities that infinitely tranſcended
their own; which is all that need be faid to recommend
a Study, hitherto, perhaps, too much neglected; and
to justify this Publication.
t
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
A
3 9015 01314 3121
AC
7
Trenchard
T79
v.2
Collection of
✓
tracts
040497
1
A 504293
DUPL