Selected quad for the lemma: act_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
act_n	king_n	law_n	prerogative_n	3,673	5	10.4433	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93137	A a [sic] letter to a friend, concerning a French invasion, to restore the late King James to his throne And what may be expected from him, should he be successful in it. Published by authority.	Sherlock, William, 1641?-1707.	1692 (1692)	Wing S3296; ESTC R232295	16,807	14

the Church of England when they so vigorously opposed th● Bill of Exclusion and how he also rewarded them we all lately saw and felt An● shall Protestants after this think of obliging such Princes by their Merits They understand better that Merit is no Protestant Doctrine and that there can be none out o● the Church of Rome And why should any body expect that which cannot be Na● should the late King return again and be as much at the Devotion of his Non-swearin● Friends as they promise themselves he will be I very much doubt what the Church 〈◊〉 England will gain by this If we may guess at the Spirit of the Party by the bitt●● Zeal which inspires all their Writings I can expect nothing from them but as fierce Persecution of the Church of England as ever it suffered from Papists or Fanaticks excepting Smithfield Fires which possibly may be exchanged for Tyburn All who li●● in the Communion of the Church of England as now Establ●shed are in their accou●● and constant Language no better than Hereticks and Schismaticks and Perjured Apostates much greater Crimes than the Traditores were guilty of which was the onl● pretence for the Donatist Schism and Persecution They seem to comfort themselv●● under their present Sufferings more with the sweet hopes of Revenge than any gre●● expectations of future Rewards that they shall live to see the Swearin● Bishops and Priests Apol. for the new Separats the contempt of Princes and People for if th● 〈◊〉 B. of York who is particularly named cannot escape them I dou●● they will make but very few exceptions And is not this a great e●couragement to any who have complyed with the present Gov●rnment to help the● Men to Power again Must not the Nobility and Gentry expect their share of Ve●geance a● well as the Clergie And is not the Church of England then in a ●ope●● state which must be purged and reformed into Jacobite Principies and by a Jacobi●● Spirit These are all very sensible roots as ●ar as we can reason about such matters how ●●●tle good is to be expected from the return of the late King with a French Power He must return the lame Man he went and then Popery and Arbitary Povver must return ●vith him nay he must return much vvorse than he vvent because he must return ●ore a Vassal to France vvhich I suppose vvill not mend the Condition of English Subjects ●uring his Reign These things ought to be vvell considered for if his Government vvas so uneasie be●●re and gave us such a frightful prospect as made the Nation very vvilling to part vvith him when he thought fit to leave them it vvould seem very strange to by●anders should they novv grovv fond of his return vvhen it is certain if he does re●urn and returns by the Methods novv intended Popery and Arbitrary Povver must ●e more Triumphant than ever He vvanted nothing but povver to make himself Absolute and to make us all Papists ●r Martyrs or Refugees and that he will now have For if a French Power can Conquer us it will make him as Absolute as the French King will let him be or to ●peak properly it will make him though not an Absolute Prince yet an Absolute Vice-●oy and Minister of France He will Administer an Absolute Power and Government ●nder the influence and direction of French Councils and then we know what will become of the Liberties and Religion of England And have ●e so long disdained the ●houghts of subjection to France Has a French League been thought such a National Grievance Has the pretence of a War with France been found such an excellent ex●edient to get Money of English Parliaments Ha● the expectation of it fired English ●pirits and upon occasion filled our Armies and Navies without need of Pressing or ●eat of Drum Have we so detested the French Cruelties to Protestants And shall we ●ow so willingly stoop to the yoke and think it a great favour that they will vouchsafe ●o Conquer us Let us never complain hereafter that our Chains pinch and gall us when we our selves are ready with ●o much joy and thankfulness to put them on And whatever some fancy they will find it a very easy and natural think for the late King if he return by Force and Power to make himself Absolute by law Princes always gain new Powers by the ineffectual opposition of Subjects If they lose their Crowns and recover them again they receive them with an addition of some brighter Jewels and turn disputed Prerogatives into Legal and undoubted Rights Thus we know it was when King Ch. 2. Returned from a long Exile all the New Acts are Declarations were made in favour of the Crown and Subjects bound to their good Behaviour as fast as Laws could bind them for in all such Revolutions those who suffered with or for their Prince return with zeal and resentment and take care in the first place to establish all such Prerogatives of the Crown as were disputed before and to grant such new Powers as they think are wanting And others there are always forward to make their fortunes by Complementing the returning Prince and to expiate their former crimes by a forward and flaming Loyalty and the rest are over awed and frighted into a compliance and thus it is commonly seen that between zeal and Flattery and fear the King increases in Power and the People forfeit their Libert es and we must not expect that it should be otherwise now should the late King return The first Complement that must be made to him is a Jac●bite Parliament and God knows what such a Parliament will do Will they deny him a Toleration ●o● papists the repeal of the Test the forfeitures or surrenders of Charters and a new Regulation of Corporations Will they dispute nay will they not declare his Dispensi●g power and approve his Ecclesiastical Commissions Will they make any scruple to declare the Legitimacy of the Prince of Wales or to leave the manner of his Education to those who will certainly bre●d him up in Popery Will they not take care for new Jacobit● Tests to renounce and abhore all the several Hypotheses and Principles of Government● which have been urged to justify our Submission and Allegiance to their present Majesties And when they have done this How easy will it be for a down right Popish Parliament which will be the next step that will be made to do all the rest It is very evident what advantages the Priests and Jesuits will have in such a juncture to make Proselytes while the People are in a fright and grown giddy with such frequent Revolutions and those who in the late Reign were the great Advocate of the Protestant Cause are disgrac'd at Court threatned into silence their Authority weakned and their Persons reproach'd both by Papists and Jacobites Numbers of Conv●rts was their great want before and the press and the pulpit their great hindrance but Jacobites