told them that the King of his Grace and Favour upon their granting 12 Subsidies to be paid in three Years would forbear levying Ship-Money and abolish it and for their Grievances they should rely upon his Royal Promise and give as much time now as may be and after at Michaelmas next and that the King expected a positive Answer Hereupon the House was turned into a grand Committee and spent the whole Day upon the Message but came to no Resolution and desired Sir Henry Vane to acquaint the King that the House would next day proceed upon the King's Supply But next Morning early Secretary Windebank in actual Correspondence and Conspiracy with Richlieu's Chaplain for subverting our Religion and introducing Popery commanded the Speaker to Whitehall and the same Day the King dissolved the Parliament and the next Day the Lord Brook's Study Cabinet and Pockets were searched for Papers and Mr. Bellasis and Sir John Hotham were convened before the Council to answer concerning Passages in Parliament and giving no satisfactory Answer were committed Prisoners to the Fleet till further Order from the King and Council and Mr. Crew was committed close Prisoner to the Tower till further Order from the Council and no Cause shewed in either of these Warrants The greatest Objection against Hereditary Monarchy is that Princes Ears are always open to Minions Flatterers and Sycophants whereby they rarely understand the state of their own Affairs or of their Subjects To attemper this the Wisdom of our Constitution ordains That Parliaments be frequently held to represent to the King the state of the Nation and so to inform him of Grievances that they may be redressed And so inviolably has this mutual Correspondence between the King and Parliament been observed in all Ages that I do not believe any King or Queen of England and of the English Race since Henry 3. ever dissolved one Parliament in Displeasure before King James whereas of eight Parliaments these two Kings of the Scotish Race dissolved seven in Displeasure Yet never did Parliaments in any Reign demean themselves more chearfully to any King than to these two and I challenge any one to shew that in any one respect they intrenched upon any just Prerogative of either of these Kings or did any Act not warranted by former Precedents It 's true Queen Elizabeth would not endure to have the Parliament to meddle with the state of the Church as 't was established nor hear of declaring a Successor and when either of these were moved contrary to her express Order she would commit the Members but easily dismiss them otherwise I believe in no Age any Member of Parliament was ever committed or censured by any King of England before King James for debating or reasoning of the state of the Nation or Church In the 20th of Edward 3. John of Gaunt the King's Son the Lords Latimer and Nevil were accused in Parliament for misadvising the King and were sent to the Tower for it and Henry 4. Rot. Parl. 5. upon the Complaint of the Commons against four of his Servants and Counsellors that they might be removed declared openly That tho he knew nothing against them in particular yet he was assured that what the Lords and Commons required of him was for the Good of himself and Kingdom and therefore he banish'd them and at the same time declared he would do so by any other who should be near his Royal Person if they were so unhappy as to fall under the Hatred of his People Whereas this King tho the Duke of Buckingham were accused of more Crimes in Parliament than is recorded of Pierce Gaveston and the Spencers in 2d's time and of the Duke of Ireland Tresilian and Belknap in 2d's time and of the Death of this King's Father to boot yet rather than the Duke shall be brought to Trial the King dissolves the second Parliament of his Reign And in his Declaration for dissolving the three Parliaments calls the questioning his Ministers an Invasion upon his Prerogative and that through them they endeavoured to wound their Soveraign's Honour and Government Since the Statute De Tallagio non Concedendo in the Reign of Edward the I I think no mention has been made that ever any King of England taxed the Subject before this King and his Father except Edward the IV by Benevolence for which his Memory is bitterly stained in the Parliament-Roll of the second Chapter of Richard the III tho it be not in the printed Statutes and by a Loan demanded in the Reign of Henry the VIII by Cardinal Wolsey the raising of which had near raised a Rebellion which when it came to the King's Ear he laid the Blame upon the Cardinal and said he would not rend his Subjects from the Law and forbid further proceeding in it Arch-bishop Abbot excepts against his Licensing Sybthorp's Sermons for that the King 's taxing Loans by his own Authority was neither by the Laws nor Customs of England the King in his Answer says He did not stand upon the Laws and Customs of England for he had a Precedent for it and would insist upon it The Arch-bishop replied He thought it was a Mistake and feared there was no such Precedent and that Henry the VIII desired but the sixth part of Mens Estates but the King required the full six Parts so much as the Men are set at in the Subsidy-Book And when the Commons in the third Year of his Reign made a Remonstrance against the King's taking Tunnage and Poundage not granted by Parliament the King calls this a detracting from their Soveraign and commands all who have or shall have any Copies of it to burn them upon Pain of his Indignation and high Displeasure The King for Causes of dissolving this Parliament the last he shall ever dissolve begins with the usual Stile That he well knows that the Calling Adjourning Proroguing and Dissolving Parliaments are undoubted Prerogatives inseparably annexed to his Imperial Crown of which he is not bound to give any Account but to God alone no more than of his other Regal Actions But quid gloriaris Did ever any King of England say this before his Father and himself Or in what common-Law or Acts of Parliament is this to be found Or if he had such Power Why does the King so often boast of it Sure it had been better done by another than himself Is this a time of day when this Prince had lost all his Honour abroad to magnify himself that he has Power to dissolve Parliaments at home and thereby obstruct those Ways by which he might unite himself to his Subjects and then glory that he is only accountable to God for all his Actions Nebuchadnezzar's Boast Is not this the Babel which I have built was but a Bauble to this He said this but once and God sent him seven Years among Wild Beasts and he saw his Pride and he repented This King upon all Occasions makes his Boasts but I do not
of his Majesty's Subjects who are Dissenters in Matters of Religion from the Church of England And a Bill passed the House accordingly but was stopt in the House of Lords Causa patet the dead Weight joining with the Caballing Party But whatever the Commons thought of the King 's Dispensing Power in England Lauderdale the fifth in the Cabal in England was of another Opinion in Scotland for in the second Parliament c. 1. held by him he gets an Act declaring That by Virtue of the King's Supremacy the ordering the Government of the Church does properly belong to his Majesty and Successors as an inherent Right of the Crown and that he may enact and emit such Constitutions Acts and Orders concerning Church-Administrations Persons Meetings and Matters as he in his Royal Wisdom shall think fit c. any Law Act or Custom to the contrary notwithstanding And that he might not be less active in Scotland than his Brother Clifford was in England and Buckingham and Arlington were in Holland being armed with these other Powers he made all sorts of People depose upon Oath their Knowledg of the Persons of Dissenters not Popish Meetings in the Exercise of their Worship upon Penalty of Fining Imprisonment Banishment and Transportation to be sold for Slaves imprisoning all outed Ministers who shall preach out of their Families till they give Security of 5000 Marks Scot not to do the same again every Hearer being a Tenant to pay 25l Scot and Cotter 12 toties quoties they shall offend and that it shall be Death for any to preach in Fields or Houses where any are without doors and 500 Marks Reward for any to secure such dead or alive and gave Orders That every Man for himself and all under him should give Bond not to go to Field-Meetings and to inform against pursue and deliver up all outed Ministers to Judgment The Execution of these Orders was not by legal Officers but by an Army of Highland Robbers who quartered upon the Country so that it may be a Question whether the French King did not take his Measures in his Dragoon-Reformation by the ground-work laid by Lauderdale But his Grace which it seems did work irresistibly did not stay here for his Highland Army which consisted of eight or nine thousand Men not only lived upon Free Quarter upon all sorts of the King 's peaceable Subjects but in most places levied great Sums of Money under the Notion of Dry Quarters they had only regard to the Duke 's private Animosities for the most part of the Places where they quartered and destroyed had not been guilty of Field-Conventicles The King's Subjects were denounced Rebels and Captions issued out for seizing their Persons for not entring into Bond That neither they nor any under them shall go to Field-Conventicles and the Nobility and Gentry were disarmed who had ever been faithful to the King and assisted in suppressing Field-Conventicles Indictments were delivered in by the King's Advocate in the Evening to be answered next Morning upon Oath otherwise they were to be reputed guilty These and many more of this kind in the Matters relating to Lauderdale's Administration of Affairs in Scotland were represented to the King and that by his Command and are in Lauderdale's and his Lady's Impeachment which are all in Print Notwithstanding all this it was this Lauderdale who had procured an Act of Parliament to raise 20000 Foot and 2000 Horse to march into England to serve the King upon all Occasions And tho the Duke to prevent the Fame of his Actions arriving in England had by a Proclamation forbid all Subjects to depart the Kingdom without Licence yet the Noise of his Actions flew every where in England not less than the Censures of the Star-Chamber and High Commission in Laud's Regency did in Scotland and in due time the Duke shall hear of them Can any Man now believe That the King by his Declaration of Indulgence intended any Benefit to the Dissenters in England whilst Lauderdale without doubt by his Order was acting these things in Scotland The House of Commons could not at first step forget all the Loyalty they before profest to the King nor yet would they own the Dutch War and therefore they voted the King 1238750 l. to supply the King 's extraordinary Occasions but before they would let this Bill slip through their Fingers they tack'd a Bill to it by which no Papist should have any publick Employment This Bill catch'd my Lord Treasurer Clifford the first in the Cabal who was forced to resign his Treasurer's Place or renounce Popery which he would not do his Pensioners not being against it hoping thereby to get the Places which the Popish Party held and even my Lord Chancellor Ashley from Delenda Carthago now sets up for the Country Party against the Designs of the Cabal so moultry are all Designs which are not cemented in Justice and Honour The King having got the Bill for the Money the further Sitting of the Parliament became uneasy to him whereupon the Parliament was adjourned till the 20th and after to the 27th of October viz. 1673. During this Recess there were three Sea-Fights between the English French and Dutch Prince Rupert Admiral in all which the French stood aloof looking on whilst the English and Dutch battered one another only Monsieur de Martell for engaging was recalled checked and dismissed As the English thrived no better by Sea so neither did the French by Land for first the Elector of Brandenburg then the Emperour and at last the King or Queen Regent of Spain apprehensive of the Danger common to them all of the French subduing the Dutch Provinces entred into a mutual League for their Defence and by their Conjunction the Prince of Orange recovered many of the Vpland Towns in almost as little Time as the French had taken them In this state the Swede now broke loose from the Triple League whereby he opened the Gap to let in this Confusion and became a Pensioner to France and proposes a Treaty of Peace to be held at Cologn and thither the King the Emperor the French King and the King of Spain send their Plenipotentiaries to treat of it The French King's Propositions were so insolent that if granted our King could have nothing yet the King pudet haec insisted That tho he was contented with such Propositions as he required so as accepted in ten Days yet if granted by the States they should be of no force nor will he enter into any Treaty of Peace unless his most Christian Majesty shall receive Satisfaction from the States in his Particular After the French King should have all the King's Demands were a Regulation of the Trade to the East-Indies a Settlement of the Freedom of Navigation in Europe the Arrears for the Fishing-Trade upon the English Coast to assert a settled Revenue to the Crown for every Buss or Dogger-boat for the future and to make Satisfaction for the Damages
of Luxemburgh from the Spaniard notwithstanding the late Treaty of Mutual Assistance between the King and Spain and had encreased his Men of War at Sea to be more and greater than those of the King 's and his New-found-land Fishery to be twenty fold more than it was 1660. and the English fallen not to 1 â of what it was yet in this dreadful State the Feuds of Whig and Tory no ways abated and both so stupid as if neither were concerned in this Design common to them both But though this most religious and gracious King for so the Tories will have him to whom all their nonsensical Doctrine of Passive Obedience is due had by the help and indefatigable Industry of the Tories laid this Foundation for the Ruine and Destruction of this Church and State yet he lived not to compleat this goodly Structure for he died upon the sixth of February 1684-85 it may be the sooner because he made no more haste to do it in the thirty seventh year of his Reign computing it from his Father's Death after he had lived fifty four Years eight Months and eight days The Character of King Charles II. HIS Person was of a very well composed Structure tall above the ordinary Stature of other Men not much much more resembling his Grandfather Henry IV. of France by his Mother than his Father or his Grandfather King James And as in his Person he more resembled Henry than either his Father or Grandfather James so did he in his Humours for both had lively and pleasant Wits and would be wondrous facetious and pleasant with those which humour'd them in their Pleasures and were of free Access whereas King Charles the Father was grave and severe in his way hard of Access and that by such strained Terms of Submission as were never heard of before in England and I believe no where else and King James was slovenly in his Behaviour and more servile to his Favourites than they to him Like his Grandfather Henry Charles gave himself up to all sensual Pleasures without any Controul but unlike his Father who was temperate and chaste Like his Grandfather Henry in Profession of his Religion for both seemingly professed that which neither believed Unlike his Father who while he did what he would was severely addicted to what he professed Unlike to his Father and Grandfather Henry in Covetousness but like his Grandfather James in profuse Prodigality to his Favourites but unlike his Father and Grandfather Henry in Parsimony ill becoming so great Kings like his Father and Grandfather James in laying the Foundation of the Ruin of the Grandure of England abroad and the Church and State at home unlike his Grandfather Henry who laid the Foundation of the Grandure of France Tho Henry and Charles were esteemed Clement and Merciful Princes till the Rage of the latter end of Charles's Reign yet both were most vindictive against any who reproached their licentious Liberty in their lustful Pleasures as appears by Henry's putting the Duke of Biron to Death more as Sir Walter Raleigh observes for the Taunt he gave when Henry brought Madam Gabriel to the Siege of Amines That she was the Fortune of France than for Biron's Conspiracy with the Duke of Savoy and by that of cutting off Sir Coventry's Nose for the Report which was of Sir John that he asked the Question Which of the King's Favourites Men or Women Unlike to both Father and Grandfather James Charles was to his own Cousin-German the Elector-Palatine for they both at least seemingly endeavoured to have restored the Prince's Father to his Country after he was dispossessed of it by the Emperor and King of Spain whereas after this Prince was restored to a part of it by the Treaty of Munster this King without any Offence or Provocation given him by the Elector assisted the French to ruin and destroy it But he 's gone God knows by what means and the Possession of the Crown takes away all Attainders And now he 's gone he left the Nation more vitiated and debauched in their Manners than ever it was before by any other King having not only squander'd away the antient Revenues of the Crown which were esteemed sacred and which should have supported it against foreign Force and intestine Discord but left such a Debt upon it as never before was heard of nor contracted by such means having prostituted the Majesty of his Crown in becoming a Pensioner to France and advancing that Interest to be as formidable and dangerous to the rest of Christendom as to his own Dominions and embroiled ãâã Subjects in intestine Feuds and Discords as if thereby he designed them an easy Prey to the French and Popish Interest and having by Bribery and Corruption so vitiated all publick Offices both Sacred Civil and Military that they became habitual and so fix'd that it would become difficult if possible to reform them And as this King's Actions were little and dark so was his Funeral for never any King who died possest was so obscurely and meanly buried hurried in the dead of the Night to his Grave as if his Corps had been to be arrested for Debt and not so much as the Blue-Coat-Boys attending it his Brother then King shewing as little Gratitude to him for all his Favours as he had done to the Nation for all their Loyalty and incredible Sums of Money poured upon him And as his Father and Grandfather had not a Stone to cover their Graves thereby to preserve their Memories in future Generations so neither had he nor any of his Name hereafter is like to have as King of England But now he is gone all the dreadful Presages of the four last Parliaments are come upon the Nation and nothing left to secure the Nation 's Fears unless that the Crown being so in Debt and the Excise for the King's Life dying with him the Parliament would not be so prodigal of their Bounty as to grant this King's Successor such a Revenue which might enable him to attain his Ends by the Ruin of the Church and State of England The Good Deeds of King Charles II. 1. HIS dispensing with the Act of Navigation in the first Dutch War whereby he was enabled to continue the War against the Dutch two Years longer than he did and the Dutch otherwise might have fired the Ships in our Harbours a Year sooner and forced the King to a more inglorious Peace than that he made in the Year 1667 whilst the Parliament in the Temper it was in sat still and took no notice of these things Objection If the King has Power to dispense with the Act of Navigation by the same Reason he may dispense with other Laws and so the Laws of the Nation will be loose and subject to the King's Will at his Pleasure Answer I. I wish all Legislators in passing Laws would be of another Temper than when the Rump made this Law which was in spight of the Dutch without
Gaunt's elder Brother So that of the Succession of 14 Kings after the Conqueror there were but four viz. Richard the First Edward the First and Second and Richard the Second which succeeded as Heirs to the Conqueror or his Heirs Admit Edward the 4th succeeded right as Heir to Phillippa Daughter of the Duke of Clarence yet if it be true which Richard the 3d says and which is confirmed by the Authority of the Act of Parliament 1 Rich. 3. that Edward was contracted to Eleanor Boteler before he married Elizabeth then did not Edward the 5th if it may be called a Succession succeed right nor could Henry the 7th claim any Right to the Crown of England in Right of his Wife Elizabeth the eldest Daughter of Edward the Fourth But whether it be true or not that Edward was contracted to Eleanor Boteler before his Marriage yet Richard the 3d succeeded not as Heir Edward Earl of Warwick the Son of George Duke of Richard's elder Brother being then alive Of all the Kings of England that succeeded the Conqueror Henry the 7th had the least Pretension to any Title to the Crown for tho he were supposed to have been descended from John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster yet it was the Duke's Paramour Katherine Swinford whose Issue by the Duke tho by Act of Parliament they were legitimated to all other purposes yet were not capacitated to succeed to the Crown of England but if the Title of Lancaster had been preferable to that of York and Henry had been of the legitimate Line yet could not he have succeeded as Heir his Mother under whom he claimed being then alive and out-lived her Son Nor did the King's Marriage with Elizabeth eldest Daughter of Edward the 4th improve his Title to his Succession the Marriage being subsequent to it and before it the Crown by Act of Parliament was entailed upon Henry the 7th and the Heirs of his Body and after Marriage he never used her Name in calling any Parliament or in any Proclamation or the Coin or passing any Act of Parliament and as he reigned without her before Marriage so he did after her Death for he out-lived her tho she left two Sons Arthur and Henry after Henry the Eighth and two Daughters Elizabeth Queen of Scotland and Mary after Queen of France It seems to me that Ferdinand King of Castile and Arragon had the same Opinion which Richard the 3d and the Parliament had that the Issue of Edward the 4th were not legitimate for he would not assent to the Marriage of his Daughter Katherine with Arthur Prince of Wales so long as the Earl of Warwick Son of the Duke of Clarence lived and there a fine Trick was found out to put the poor Prince to Death for endeavouring to make his Escape out of the Tower with Perkin Warbeck and in him ended the Masculine Line of the Race of the Plantagenets who had governed the English Nation after Stephen to Henry the 7th above 340 Years So that from the Conqueror to Henry the 8th scarce one of four of the Kings of England succeeded in a right Line as Heirs to the Conqueror As the Saxon Dynasty ended in Edward the Confessor and the Norman began in the Conqueror so it seems to me that the Norman ended in Richard the 3d and another of the British was erected in Henry the 7th who was the Son of Edmund of Hadham the Son of Owen Tudor by Katherine Daughter of Charles the 6th of France Wife of Henry the 5th of England and Mother of Henry the 6th So that Henry the 7th's Title to the Crown of France was better than that to the Crown of England for that of England was from a Maternal Ancestor Margaret Countess of Richmond no otherwise related to the Crown of England than descended from John of Gaunt by Katherine Swinford his Paramour Tho I do not find that Henry the 7th or any of his Descendants ever assumed the Sirname of Tudor So that tho the Crown of England neither in the Saxon nor Norman Race of Kings was always Hereditary so neither was the Succession to the Crown elective For in elective Kingdoms after the Death of one King there is an Establishment of the manner of Elections and in the mean time there are Custodes Regni appointed whose Power ceases upon the Election of a King but neither of these were ever heard of in either of the Saxon or Norman Race and tho sometimes it 's said the Kings were chosen as of Edward the Son of Alfred by the Nobles and so of Athelstan and so in the Norman Race Henry the First was said to be chosen for that he promised to abrogate all the Oppressions and Errors brought into the Government by his Father and Brother tho his eldest Brother Robert was then alive and restore the good Laws of Edward the Confessor and Stephen was chosen by the Clergy and Londoners yet this was rather a form of Speaking in those days than any formal Election and the manner differed according to the different Humours of the Times Nor do we read that ever the Parliament meddled with the Succession of the Crown before Henry the Fourth for tho the first Parliament of Edward the Third renounced their Allegiance to Edward the Second and are said to have chosen Edward the Third yet they went no further and such an Election was no more than a Declaration of their Submission as when the Council declared James the Second King But whether the Crown of England was Hereditary in the Saxon and Norman Race it 's evident it was not so in this British Race for as it began in Henry the Seventh so it was entailed by Act of Parment upon him and Heirs of his Body before his Marriage with Elizabeth the eldest Daughter of Edward the Fourth So the inheritable Right of Edward's Issue and all the Norman Race was barred by this Act. Before we proceed in the Succession of the British Race we 'll take a view of the Genealogy of it John of Gaunt by Katherine Swinford had Issue John created Earl of Somerset who had Issue John created Duke of Somerset who had Issue Margaret After the Death of Henry the Fifth Katherine his Wife Sister of Charles the Sixth of France married Owen Tudor a Welch Gentleman who had Issue Edmund of Hadham created Earl of Richmond who married Margaret Daughter and Heir of John Duke of Somerset who had Issue Henry the Seventh Henry the Eighth succeeded his Father without any Contradiction for the Wars between the houses of York and Lancaster had destroyed the whole legitimate Lancastrian Line and Richard the Third after the Murder of his Brother Clarence and Death of Edward the Fourth had murdered his two Nephews Edward and Richard Sons of Edward the Fourth and himself was killed in the Fight in Bosworth-fields and after that Henry the Seventh had put Edward Earl of Warwick Son of the Duke of Clarence to Death none of all
the Royal Line of the Plantagenets were left to be Competitors with him yet his Succession could not be Hereditary for his Grand-mother under whom his Father claim'd out-lived her Son and so Henry the Eighth could not claim from her Yet this is observable That as his Father Henry the Seventh entailed the Succession of the Crown of England upon the Heirs of his Body so by Act of Parliament 28 Hen. 8. Henry the Eighth might dispose of the Succession of the Crown by his Will for want of Issue of his Body so little was the inheritable Succession of the Crown of England regarded by these Kings of the British Race It seems the Council in Edward the Sixth's Reign had as little an Opinion of the Hereditary Succession of the Crown as the Parliament had in the Reign of Henry the Eighth for by the Advice of Edward's Council he by his Will disposed of the Succession to his Cousen the Lady Jane Gray Grand-daughter to Edward's Aunt Mary Queen of France contrary to the Will of his Father Henry the Eighth which ordained his Daughter Mary to succeed Edward in case he died without Issue I say that by the Law of Inheritance in England Queen Mary could not inherit the Crown from Edward she being but of half-Blood to him and by the same Reason Queen Elizabeth could not inherit to Queen Mary but Mary the Daughter of James the fifth of Scotland being of the whole Blood to Edward and descended from the elder Daughter of Henry the Seventh could For the Opinion of the Judges after King James came in that the Succession of the Crown of England differs from that of the Inheritance of Subjects in regard of an Alien born and those of half Blood may inherit the Crown it 's Gratis dictum and said to please the King for there never was any such usage in England nor any such Act of Parliament to warrant their Opinion But admit the Crown of England were inheritable from Henry the Seventh and Half-Blood no Bar to the Succession yet Mary and Elizabeth could not both succeed for one of them was Illegitimate Elizabeth being born in the Life of Katherine Queen Mary's Mother If the Parliament in the Reign of Henry the 8th had little or no Opinion of the Inheritable Succession of the Crown of England and therefore impowered the King to dispose of it by Will The Parliament in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth had less and therefore often petitioned her and that with Importunity to declare her Successor without Consent in Parliament and declared it 13 Eliz. Cap. 1. to be High Treason to affirm that the Crown of England might not be disposed of by Act of Parliament in her Life and a Premunire after her Death Here I make these Remarks upon the Race of the Plantagenets and the Succession of the British Line that as the Plantagenets inherited the Name from Jeffery Duke of Anjou who was never King of England so Henry the 7th if he had any Title derived it from John of Gaunt by an Illegitimate Succession who never was King of England From England we step into Scotland and see how the Hereditary Succession was observed there after the Reign of Alexander the 3d in whom the direct Line of the Race of their Kings failed which was so near as I can compute about the Year 1278 and leave the Succession of their 93 Kings before to the Scrutiny of the Scotish Antiquaries and Heraulds The Scots if they be not clearer in the Genealogy of their 93 Kings before Alexander the 3d than my Author is of retrieving it after the Death of Margaret Daughter of Alexander the 3d do make but a blind Genealogy of their 93 Kings before however we 'll take it as we find it David Brother of William King of Scotland but whether William was Father Brother or Uncle to Alexander the 2d my Author says not and Earl of Huntingdon had Issue by Maud Daughter to the Earl of Chester three Daughters Margaret married to Allen of Galloway the second not named was married to Robert Bruce the third to Henry Hastings Earl of Huntingdon Allen of Galloway had a Grand-daughter named Dornagil married to John Baliol. Bruce was Great Grand-child to the second Daughter of David Earl of Huntingdon but being a Male pretended he was to be King before Dornagil a Female though a Degree nearer and descended from the elder Sister Henry Earl of Huntingdon made no claim So the Right between Baliol and Bruce was referred to the Determination of Edward the first King of England who adjudged the Right to be in Baliol and soon after Baliol by Dornagil had a Son named Edward so that Bruce's Pretension of Title as being Son vanished by the Birth of Edward Baliol being descended from the eldest Sister But The Scots or a prevailing Party not liking Baliol's Reign in the Year 1306 crowned Robert Bruce King In the Year 1310 Bruce by Acts of Parliament had the Crown of Scotland entailed upon him and his Heir-male and for want of Issue to his Brother Edward This Robert had Issue a Son named David and a Daughter married to Robert Stuart and by Act of Parliament settled the Crown upon his Son David and for want of Issue by him to Robert Stuart his Grand-child by his Daughter So here is the Succession of the Crown of Scotland twice differently settled by Parliament to the disinheriting of Edward Baliol. But in the Year 1332 Edward Baliol the right Heir was received and crowned King of Scotland After that David Bruce recovered the Kingdom of Scotland and afterwards was taken Prisoner by the Queen of England in the Absence of her Husband Edward the 3d in France and being released he died Ann. 1370. Robert Stuart Grand-son of Robert Bruce by his Daughter succeeded David who married Euphemia Daughter of the Earl of Ross but before he was King had Issue by Elizabeth Moor his Concubine two Sons John and Robert and by the Queen he had Issue Walter Earl of Athol and David Earl of Strathern yet by Act of Parliament the King disinherited his Legitimate Issue and settled the Crown upon his Issue by Elizabeth Moor from which Issue all the Kings of Scotland have since descended This was the most unaccountable Accident if we consider the Cause and Consequence I think that is recorded in any History That a King and Parliament by the Importunity of a Slut should disinherit his Legitimate Offspring from the Succession to the Crown of Scotland to advance her spurious Issue It 's true for some Reasons of State the right Heir is set aside as Edward Son of Ethelred after the Confessor being young and not a fit Match to oppose the Danes Edmund Ironside tho Illegitimate for his Strength and Courage was said to be chosen King as most likely to withstand the Danish Invasions so Edward the Confessor observing the heavy and slow Nature of Edgar the Grandson of Edmund Ironside not to be a fit
one the 4th of Edw. the 3d c. 14. the other 36 Edward 3. c. 10. and when Parliaments thus frequently met Grievances were nipt in the Bud the Courts of Law kept to the Administration of Justice uprightly the Ambition of great Men restrained Factions and Innovations suppressed and when the Parliament met thus frequently the King had an Account of the State of the Nation and upon Redress of Grievances if any were the Parliament in acknowledgment of their Duty gave the King a Gratuity sometimes a Fifteenth other times a Subsidy and at other times a Subsidy and a Fifteenth and sometimes a Subsidy and two Fifteenths but never more before the 35 of Eliz. and the King in return granted a general Pardon to his Subjects with such Exceptions as the Parliament pleased and thus a mutual Love and Understanding between the King and his Subjects was nourished and encreased Whereas by the long discontinuance of Parliaments Grievances multiply and take Root so as they become so much more difficult to be redressed by how much longer the Discontinuances last The Favourites by their flattering the Prince not only keep him in Ignorance of the State of his Subjects but fix the Prince so to their Will that it becomes so habitual in him that the Prince prefers them before his Subjects and their Flatteries before the Advice of his Parliament and often takes their parts before that of the Parliament and Nation These long Intervals of Parliaments you 'll see will beget long Parliaments and the Members get to be chosen by the Favour of great Men and vast Expence so that the Grievances with the Parliament should redress become diffused into the Body of the Parliament than which nothing can be more dangerous to the Constitution of Parliament Besides that the publick Business may not be interrupted during the Sessions of Parliament the Members of both Houses have Privileges whereof they are the only Judges both in their own Persons and of their Servants whereby they are exempted from Arrests or any Process at Law which is not only grievous to the Subjects but oft the Ruine of them But now it 's time to see what the King's Proclamation for calling his first Parliament tended to Before King James his coming to the Crown of England the Election of Members in the House of Commons was so free that the Letters of the King or any Noble Man to chuse a Member was judged Cause sufficient to render the Election void but the King by this Proclamation gives order what Sorts of Men and how Qualified should be chosen by the Commons and concludes We Notify by these Presents That all Returns and Certificates of Knights Citizens and Burgesses ought and are to be brought to the Court of Chancery and there to be filed upon Record and if any be found to be made contrary to this Proclamation the same is to be rejected as unlawful and insufficient and the City or Borough to be fined for the same and if it be found that they have committed any gross or wilful Default or Contempt in the Election Return or Certificate that then their Liberties according to the Law are to be seized as forfeited And if any Person take upon him the Place of a Knight Citizen or Burgess not being duly elected and sworn according to the Laws and Statutes in that behalf provided and according to the Purport Effect and true Meaning of this our Proclamation then every Person so offending to be fined and imprisoned for the same Never was such a Prelude to the Meeting of a Parliament by any of the Kings of England either of the Saxon Danish Norman or British Race and if the King in the Beginning thus extends his first Note above ELA to what Pitch will he strain his Prerogative hereafter However since Forfeitures of Charters Fining and Imprisoning of Members not elected and returned according to this Proclamation were the Penalties imposed by it for the better Execution it might have been declared who should judg of these Elections and Returns or by what Law It fell out unluckily I think I may say designedly that upon the opening of the Parliament several of the House of Commons one of which was Sir Herbert Crofts coming to hear the King's Speech in the House of Lords had the Door shut upon them and were repulsed by a Yeoman of the Guard one Bryant Cash with the uncivil and contemptible Terms of Goodman Burgess you come not here The King in a long and tedious Speech which you may read at large in Stow's Chronicle after he had expressed his Thanks to the whole Nation for their Universal Acclamations in receiving him for their undoubted Sovereign which so much conduced to their Happiness in the Union of all Claims in his Person being the undoubted Heir of Hen. 7 and Elizabeth the Eldest Daughter of Edward the 4th wherein the Titles of the Houses of York and Lancaster were reconciled He tells them the Wonders which he will do both in reference to the inward and outward Peace of the Kingdom which how well he performed you will hear hereafter But as to the Glory which he ascribes to himself of being King by inherent Birthright from Hen. 7. and his Queen I think he could not have taken a worse Topick for what he so much gloried in For no hereditary Monarch has a better Title to his Crown than the Ancestor from whom he first claims had and it is evident Henry the 7th had no Colour of Title to the Crown of England by Inheritance being only descended from John of Gaunt by Katherine Swinford his Concubine when John of Gaunt's Wife was alive nor could the King claim any Title from the Wife of Henry the 7th for Henry himself would never own she had any reigning not only during her Life without naming her in the Coins Proclamations or Laws but after her Death and was not only crowned without her but called a Parliament without her ere he was married to her and had the Crown entailed upon him and the Heirs of his Body before he married her Besides there is no Averment against an Act of Parliament and the Act of the first of Richard the 3d declares all the Issue of Edward the 4th by the Lady Grey the Mother of Henry the 7th's Wife to be Illegitimate and so uncapable of any Inheritance to the Crown of England But how edified soever the Commons were with the King's Speech they were little pleased with the Yeomen of the Guards usage of their Members which in due time the King shall hear of However the King who since his coming in had been acquainted only with Flatteries introduced with the Epithet of most sacred which I find rarely applied to any of his Predecessors and how properly applied to him giving himself up to a dissolute and prophane Life let another judg was buoyed up with a mighty Expectation of the Success of his Proclamation and Speech which did not succeed
Angely Gergeau Sancerre and Saumur which were all the Cautionary Places which the Reformed had upon the Loire and also Suilly Merac and Caumont King James that he might as much appear for the Reformed as he had done for his Son-in-law sent Sir Edward Herbert after Baron Herbert of Cherberry his Ambassadour into France to mediate a Peace between the King and the Reformed and in Case of Refusal to use Menaces which Sir Edward bravely performed to Luynes and after to the French King himself which being misrepresented to King James Sir Edward was recalled and the Earl of Carlisle was sent Ambassadour into France in his room and the Earl finding the Truth to be otherwise than was represented by Luynes acquainted the King with it Hereupon Sir Edward kneeled to the King and humbly besought him that since the Business between Luynes and him was become publick that a Trumpeter if not an Herald on Sir Edward's Part might be sent to Luynes to tell him That he had made a false Relation to the King of the Passages between them and that Sir Edward would demand Reasons of him with Sword in Hand on that Point but the King was not pleased to grant it and here began the Downfal of the Power of the Reformed in France and the Rise of the French Grandeur by Land In this rotten and teachy State of Affairs before the Meeting of the Parliament the King issued out a Proclamation of which he was as prodigal as bountiful to his Favourites forbidding Men to talk of State-Affairs as if his Favourite Buckingham who governed all was so mindful of them nor was the King less jealous of the Parliament's meddling with State-Affairs than of the Peoples talking of them out of Parliament so that the King upon the opening of the Parliament the 30th of January told them of the Constituting Parts of a Parliament and how it was twelve Years since he had received any Aids from Parliaments and how that though he had prosecuted a Treaty of Marriage between the Prince and Infanta of Spain which if it were not for the Benefit of the Established Religion in England and of the Reformed abroad he was not worthy to be their King and though he had refused to assist his Son-in-law in his Election to the Kingdom of Bohemia being a matter of Religion contrary to what he had wrote against the Jesuits yet that he could not sit still and see the Patrimony of his Children torn from them by the Emperor and therefore was resolved to raise an Army next Summer and that he would engage his Crown his Blood and Soul for the Recovery of the Palatinate And having before told the Commons of their Duty to petition the King and acquaint him with their Grievances but not to meddle with his Prerogative he after tells them that who shall hasten after Grievances and desire to make himself popular has the Spirit of Satan The Parliament notwithstanding the violation of their Privileges the last Parliament by the King 's imprisoning their Members yet being zealous to assist the King against the Emperor and King of Spain in favour of the Palsgrave and though the Nation at no time before so much abounded in Corruption and Grievances yet to humour the King inverted the Methods of Proceedings in Parliament and the Commons granted the King two entire Subsidies and the Clergy three before they entred upon Grievances which so pleased the King that in a Speech in the House of Lords he declared it was more acceptable to him than Millions it shewing he reigned in the Love and Affections of his Subjects but he did not long hold in this Mind At this Sessions of Parliament if it may be called so no Act but that of the Subsidies passing Sir Giles Mompesson and Sir Francis Michel were sentenced and degraded for erecting new Inns and Ale-houses and exacting great Sums of Money by pretence of Letters Patents granted for that purpose Sir Giles fled and so escaped a farther Punishment but Sir Francis was condemned to perpetual Imprisonment in Finsbury Goal Sir Francis Bacon Viscount Verulam and Lord Chancellor was likewise censured deposed fined and committed Prisoner to the Tower for Bribery and Bacon's Fall was Doctor Williams's Rise Dean of Westminster to be Lord Keeper of the Great Seal But the Commons debating the Growth of Popery and the dangerous Consequences of the Spanish Match contrary to the King's Speech and Inclinations he upon the Fourth of June which the Commons took to be an Invasion upon their Privileges by Commission adjourned them to the 14th of November and by a Proclamation forbid the talking of State-Affairs In this recess the Spaniards took Stein in the lower Palatinate and the Duke of Bavaria all the Upper Palatinate and the Arms of Lewis prevailed more upon the Reformed in France yet none of these prevailed upon the King further than to mediate a Suspension of Arms in order to treat an Accommodation between the Emperor and his Son-in-law and the French King and the Reformed which had no other Effect but to make the King contemptible in Germany as well as France his Power and Authority being bounded up only in Words and Messages which the King's ill-Willers blazing abroad cost the King more than would have recovered the Palatinate However the King abated nothing of his Pleasure and dissolute Life but according to the usual Methods of his Life in the Autumn went to New-Market to divert himself with Hunting from the trouble of Affairs either foreign or domestick leaving his Favourite Buckingham Dictator of all his Affairs when the Parliament met again But how remiss soever the King was of his Affairs the Commons were not perhaps heated by their Adjournment and alarmed at the Progress of Lewis against the Reformed in France and of the Emperor and King of Spain not only in the Palatinate but all over the Empire against the Protestants and also with the Liberty which the Popish Party took upon the hopes they conceived would accrue to them by the Spanish Match still as fervently pursued by the King and Prince as ever the King being encouraged hereto by the Earl of Bristol the King's Ambassador in Spain but more by the Spanish Ambassador Gundamor here A Person as Nâni observes who with a stupendous Acuteness of Wit so confounded pleasant things with serious that it was not easy to be discerned when he spoke of Business and when he rallied he had so insinuated himself into the Mind of the King that he need not take any further care of restoring his Son-in-law to the Palatinate but by Prince Charles his marrying with the Infanta the Treaty whereof now is 8 Years old being brought to Maturity and Perfection so soon as the Pope should grant a Dispensation The House of Commons hereupon being ill satisfied with the Distribution of the Subsidies before granted to the King resolve to proceed upon Grievance before they granted more Supplies and to that end drew up
Molestation other than by Censure of the House it self for or concerning any speaking reasoning or declaring any Matter or Matters touching the Parliament or Parliament-business And that if any of the said Members be complained of and questioned for any thing done or said in Parliament the same is to be shewed to the King by the Advice and Consent of all the Commons assembled in Parliament before the King give Credence to any private Information If the King was alarmed at the Commons Remonstrance this Protestation of the Commons was such an Invasion upon his Sacred Prerogative Royal that neglecting his Pleasures and Health which he took such care to preserve by retiring into the Country up he now comes to London and upon the 30th of December and in a full Assembly of Council and in the Presence of the Judges declares the said Protestation invalid annull'd and void and of none effect Manu sua propria takes the said Protestation out of the Journal-Book of the Clerk of the Commons House of Parliament and commanded an Act of Council to be made thereupon and this Act to be entred in the Register of the Council-Causes And on the 6th of January the King by his Proclamation dissolved the Parliament Shewing that the meeting continuing and dissolving of Parliaments does so peculiarly belong to him that he needs not give any account thereof to any other yet he thought fit to declare that in the Dissolution of this Parliament he had the Advice and Vniform Consent of his whole Council and that some particular Members of the Commons took inordinate Liberty not only to treat of his High Prerogatives and sundry things not fit to be argued in Parliament but also to speak with less respect of Foreign Princes That they spent their time in disputing Privileges and descanting upon the Words and Syllables of his Letters and Messages and that these evil-temper'd Spirits sowed Tares among the Corn and by their Carriage have imposed upon him a necessity of discontinuing this present Parliament without putting to it the Name or Period of a Session And lastly he declared That tho the Parliament were broken off yet he intended to govern well and shall be glad to lay hold on the first occasion to call another CHAP. IV. A Continuation of this Reign to King James his Death THE first Act the King did to make good his Promise in his Proclamation to govern well was his Commitment of Sir Edward Coke and Sir Robert Philips to the Tower and Mr. Selden Mr. Pym and Mr. Mallery to other Prisons and Sir Dudley Diggs Sir Thomas Crew Sir Nathaniel Rich and Sir James Parrot into Ireland Sir Thomas Overbury had a Cause assigned for his Commitment to the Tower but yet it was observed an Hardship upon him without any Precedent that he should be confined a close Prisoner for a Contempt whereas these were not only confined but close Prisoners for ought I can find I am well assured Sir Edward Coke was not only without any Cause shewed but for performing a publick Trust reposed in them Nor did the Commons only suffer under this Fury of the King for performing their Duty but the Noble Earl of Southampton was imprisoned for his freedom of Speech and for rebuking Buckingham for his disorderly speaking in the House of Lords as you may see in the first Part of Keeper Williams's Life fol. 62. tit 8. But of all others this Storm fell most severely upon Sir Edward Coke and by several ways his Ruin was contrived First By sealing up the Locks and Doors of his Chambers in London and in the Temple Secondly By seizing his Papers by virtue whereof they took away his several Securities for Money as a learned Lawyer Mr. Hawles hath observed Thirdly It was debated in Council when the King would have brought in the General Pardon containing such Points as he should think fittest by what ways they might exclude him from the benefit of it either by preferring a Bill against him before the Publication of it or by excepting him by Name Fourthly If the King's Name were used by Northampton and Somerset to confine Sir Thomas Overbury so close that neither his Father nor Servants should come at him so was the King's Name used here that none of Sir Coke's Children or Servants should come at him and of this I am assured from one of Sir Edward's Sons and his Wife Fifthly In this Confinement the King sued him in the King's-Bench for 30000 l. 2 s. 6 d. for an old Debt pretended to be due from Sir William Hatton to Queen Elizabeth and this was prosecuted by Sir Henry Yelverton with all Severity imaginable but herein the King's Counsel were not all of one piece for when a Brief against Sir Edward was brought to Sir John Walter I think then Attorney-General he returned it again with this Expression Let my Tongue cleave to the Roof of my Mouth whenever I open it against Sir Edward Coke however after the Trial the Verdict was against the King Mr. Selden got his Liberty by the favour of my Lord Keeper Williams but the rest must abide by it till the breaking of the Spanish Match necessitated the King to call another Parliament But lest the King's Word in his Proclamation for governing well should not pass currant and without dispute the King ordered the Judges in their Circuits to give this in their Charges That the King taking notice of the Peoples liberal speaking of Matters far above their reach and also taking notice of their licentious undutiful Speeches touching State and Government notwithstanding several Proclamations to the contrary the King was resolved no longer to pass it without severest Punishment and thereupon to do exemplary Justice where they find any such Offenders The King having in the ninth Year of his Reign borrowed 111046 l. upon Privy-Seals which the Writer of the Historical Narration of the first 14 Years of King James his Reign Tit. Monies raised by him fol. 14. says were unrepay'd Now since he could receive no more Money in Parliament orders the Privy-Council to issue out an Order for raising Money out of Parliament for the Defence of the Palatinate and also sent Letters to the Justices of the Courts in Westminster-Hall and Barons of the Exchequer to move them and perswade others to a liberal Contribution for the Recovery of the Palatinate according to their Qualities and Abilities Nevertheless if any Person shall out of Obstinacy or Disaffection refuse to contribute thereto proportionably to their Estates and Means they are to certify their Names to the Council-Board Letters to the same effect were directed to the High-Sheriffs of Counties and Justices of Peace and to the Mayors and Bayliffs of every City and Corporation within the Kingdom requiring them to summon all before them of known Abilities within their Jurisdictions and to move them to a chearful Contribution according to their Means and Fortunes in some good measure answerable to what others well
c. and hac vice This was 7 Ric. 2. 4. Sometimes to have Intermission and to vary lest the King should claim them as Duties as 2 s. 18 d. 3 s. 5 Ric. 2. 9 Ric. 2. 10 Ric. 2. 5. 3 s. for Tunnage of Wine and 2 s. 6 d. for Poundage for one Year 11 Ric. 2. 6. 3 s. for Tunnage of Wine and 1 s. for Poundage hac vice 13 Ric. 2. 7. 6 d. for Poundage and 18 d. for Tunnage of Wines for three Years 14 Rich. 2. 8. 8 d. for Poundage and 2 s. for Tunnage of Wine 2 Hen. 4. 9. 12 d. for Poundage and 3 s. for Tunnage of Wine for three Years 4 Hen. 4. 10. 12 d. for Poundage and 3 s. for Tunnage of Wines for several times upon Condition sometimes for one Year 6 Hen. 4. 11. 12 d. for Poundage and 3 s. for Tunnage of Wines for four Years 1 Hen. 5. 12. The like Subsidy was granted to Hen. 5. in the third Year of his Reign for Life for carrying on the War against France 13. Tunnage of Wine and Poundage was granted to Edw. 4. for Life with no Retrospect but for time to come 4 Edw. 4. These were continued to all the Kings and Queens of England after Edw. 4. to King Charles 1. but these were of Wines only but these were always granted for the guarding the Seas and of the free good Will of the Subject So that the first Grant of these Duties of Tunnage and Poundage for Life began at Hen. 5. but that was but for that part of his Life for time to come being granted in the third Year of his Reign and so were those in the Reign of Edw. 4. which were granted in the fourth Year of his Reign and Hen. 7. would not take them till they were granted by Parliament and Sir Robert Phillips who was a Member of Parliament Primo Jac. says in his Speech in Parliament Mr. Rushworth mentions it fol. 644. that by reason of the Sickness primo Jac. the Parliament was prorogued and then some were so bold as to demand the Duties of Tunnage and Poundage for which they were questioned in Parliament But after the Duties of Tunnage and Poundage were given to King James and settled by a Book of Rates King James which none of his Predecessors ever did before imposed higher Duties upon several sorts of Merchandise than were granted in Parliament by his own Will and so continued them to his Death and after his Death his Son by his own Will took not only those Duties granted by Parliament but those imposed by his Father neither would he permit the Parliament to sit to establish a Book of Rates but prorogu'd or dissolved them before they could accomplish it And this was the Right he charges the Commons to endeavour to take away by his granting the Petition of Right The King goes on and says This the Right to Tunnage and Poundage alledg'd to be given away by the Commons is so prejudicial to me that I am forced to end this Session some few hours before I meant being unwilling to receive any more Remonstrances to which I must give a harsh Answer And since I see that the House of Commons begins already to make false Constructions of what I granted in your Petition lest it be worse interpreted in the Country I will now make a Declaration concerning the true Intent thereof The King should have declared whether he saw this false Construction of the Commons with his own Eyes or the Eyes of another if with his own Eyes Why does he not declare wherein the Commons made this false Construction of his Grant Or if he saw or heard of this false Construction of the Commons from another the King should have said who told him so Now let us see if the contrary of what the King so injuriously charges the Commons with be not true The Commons say No King of England ever claimed these Customs but by the free Gifts of his Subjects Does the King deny this or shew that ever any King of England claimed them otherways or by any other Right The Commons say His Father raised them to the height they then were without Act of Parliament or free Gift of the People Does the King deny this to be true And that the King continues to take these Customs without any Act of Parliament or Gift of the People Does the King deny this Do not the Commons tell the King That out of their Zeal to his Service and especial Regard to his pressing Occasions they had under Consideration so to frame a Grant of a Subsidy of Tunnage and Poundage to his Majesty that he might have been the better enabled for the Defence of his Realm and Subjects by being secure from all undue Charges for the Security of Trade the Profit of the King and Strength of the Kingdom Does the King deny this With what Conscience and Justice then does the King say the Commons made false Constructions of his Answer alledging he had given away his Right to the Customs by his Answer to the Petition of Right When or where is any such Allegation in any part of the Remonstrance The Commons say that since the King will not permit them to finish their intended Subsidy they have no Course left without manifold Breach of their Duty to his Majesty and their Country save only to make this humble Declaration That the receiving Tunnage and Poundage and other Impositions not granted by Parliament is a Breach of the Fundamental Liberties of this Kingdom and contrary to your Majesty's Answer to the Petition of Right Does the King shew that it was not the Commons Duty to represent this to him or that the Commons alledged he had any Right to the Duties which he had given away by his Answer to the Petition of Right Now let 's see the King's Declaration of the true Intent of his Answer to the Petition of Right The Profession of both Houses in the time of the Hammering spoke like a King this Petition was no ways to trench upon my Prerogative no more it did saying They had neither Intention or Power is hurt it therefore it must needs be conceived that I have granted to new but only to confirm the antient Liberties of my Subjects Yet to shew the Clearness of my Intentions that I neither repent nor mean to recede from any thing I have promised you I do here declare my self That those things which have been done whereby many have had some Cause to expect the Liberties of the Subject to be trenched upon and indeed was the first and true ground of the Petition shall not hereafter be drawn into Example for your Prejudice and from time to time on the Word of a King ye shall not have the like Cause to complain But as for Tunnage and Poundage it is a thing I cannot want and was âever intended by you to ask nor meant by me I am sure to grant Nor did
resolve that Religion shall have the Precedency in their Debates and make this Vow WE the Commons in Parliament assembled do claim protest and avow for Truth the Sense of the Articles of Religion which were established by Parliament in the 13th Year of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth which by the Publick Acts of the Church of England and by the general and currant Exposition of the Writers of our Church have been delivered unto Vs And we Reject the Sense of the Jesuits and Arminians and all others wherein they differ from us But the true Reason why the King would not take the Duties of Tunnage and Poundage from the Commons was for fear the Commons should not grant the Duties imposed by his Father and taken by him which he was resolved to continue whether the Parliament would or not The House had a Petition from the Printers and Booksellers in London complaining that Laud Bishop of London who had been so but from the 15th of July last had restrained Books written against Popery and Arminianism and the contrary allowed of only by him and had sent Pursevants for many Printers and Booksellers who had printed Books against Popery and that Licensing Books was only restrained to the Bishop of London and his Chaplains This is the Patron and Saint-like Martyr of the Church of England And all this Ado in the House of Commons was upon Sir Elliot's Speech against Neal Bishop of Winchester a zealous Promoter of Arminianism and Weston Lord Treasurer a Papist in whose Person he said All Evil is contracted acting and building upon those Grounds laid by his great Master the Duke and that his Spirit is moving to these Interruptions and they for fear break Parliaments lest the Parliament should break them That he finds him the Head of all the great Party That Papists Jesuits and Priests derive from him their Shelter and Protection c. But the Speaker upon Motion of the House refused to put the Question being he said otherwise commanded by the King Whereupon the House adjourn'd till Wednesday the 25th and from thence to the 2d of March when the Speaker again refused to put the Question the Success whereof was said before What now was the Crime of the House It was their Endeavour to preserve the Religion of the Church of England and the Laws and Liberties of the Subjects of England and since the Speaker refusing to do his Office they could not represent their Duty to the King they made their Protestation in the Defence of the Church and State And Masters oft-times upon Disobedience of their Servants do that which at other times they would not have done The King having made Peace abroad was resolved now to prosecute a vigorous âar at home against those Noble Gentlemen who in a Parliamentary Way had asserted the established Religion and Laws of England The Duke of Buckingham who was stabb'd the 23d of August before you need not fear had furnished the King with Judges Privy-Counsellors and Star-Chamber-Men who should do the King's Work and now let 's see the Order and Method by which it was carried on Upon this very Day viz. the 2d of March a Proclamation was drawn for the Dissolution of the Parliament but not proclaimed the King afterwards doing it himself in Person upon the 10th But next Day Warrants were directed from the Privy-Council for Denzil Hollis Sir Miles Hobert Sir John Elliot Sir Peter Hayman John Selden William Coriton Walter Long William Stroud and Benjamin Valentine Esquires to appear before the Council next day Mr. Hollis Sir John Elliot Mr. Valentine and Mr. Coriton appeared and for refusing to answer out of Parliament for what was said or done in Parliament were committed close Prisoners to the Tower and Warrants were given for sealing up the Studies of Mr. Hollis Mr. Selden Sir John Elliot Mr. Long and Mr. Stroud who not then appearing a Proclamation was issued out for apprehending of them The 10th of March the King comes into the House of Lords and tells the Reasons of his Dissolution of the Parliament that it was the undutiful and seditious Carriage in the lower House but says not wherein calls them Vipers who must look for their Reward and Punishment but promises the Lords the Favour and Protection that a good King oweth to his loving and faithful Nobility and then the Lord Keeper dissolved the Parliament CHAP. II. This Reign detected to the Second Parliament in 1640. JUstice like Truth is one and consists in entire Parts and will not admit of more or less but Injustice like Falshood and Error is distracted into infinite Discord and Confusion King James upon the Dissolution of the Parliament of the 12th and 18th Years of his Reign without any Trial but only by the Prerogative of his own Will commits several Members of Parliament to Prison for presuming to represent the Grievances of the Nation to him for Redress without Bail or Main-prize But this King puts a face of Justice upon his fining and imprisoning the Members of Parliament for their Debates and Transactions in it which was so much worse than his Father's Actions by how much the affixing a sacred Character to a bad Act and Justice is sacred renders the Act so much worse as Perjury is a greater Crime than simple Falshood and to murder a Man under pretence of Justice a greater Crime than simple Murder The Members thus close imprisoned after the Dissolution of the Parliament viz. in Trinity-Term following Mr. Selden was brought by Habeas Corpus to the King's-Bench with the Cause of his Detainer and also the same day Sir Miles Hobert Mr. Benjamin Valentine and Mr. Hollis appeared by Habeas Corpus directed to their several Prisons with their Counsel to argue their several Cases But when the Court were prepared to give their Opinions the Prisoners were not brought according to the Rule of Court Then Proclamation was made to the Keepers of the several Prisons to bring their Prisoners but none appeared But the Marshal of the King's-Bench said that Mr. Stroud was removed out of his Custody the day before to the Tower by the King 's own Warrant and so it was done by the other Prisoners But in the Evening the Judges received a Letter from the King containing Reasons why he would not suffer the Prisoners to appear yet that Selden and Valentine should appear the next day and about three Hours after the Judges received other Letters that upon mature Deliberation neither Selden nor Valentine should appear And the same Term four Constables of Hertfordshire pray'd Corpus's to several Pursevants to whom they were committed by the Lords of the Privy-Council which were granted but then they are committed to other Pursevants and so they were upon every other Habeas Corpus so that the Constables could have no benefit of them The Members as well as the Constables being thus shifted from one Prison to others to prevent the Returns of their Corpus's by special Order from
that rather than forsake their Seats in Parliament they 'll lose their Places at Court You have heard how my Lord Privy-Seal became Lord Chief-Justice of the King's-Bench after which the King made him Earl of Manchester Lord Privy-Seal and President of the Council my Lord-Keeper Coventry was upright in all his Decrees but my Lord Privy-Seal sets up the Court of Requests to have a concurring Jurisdiction with the Chancery and Men whom my Lord Coventry did not please brought their Causes into the Court of Requests so that in a short time the Practice of this Court swell'd so much that my Lord Privy-Seal made more Clerks and Attorneys than ever was known before King Charles sent to the Bishop of Ely that he the King would have Hatton-House in Holborn for Prince Charles his Court and that the King would be at the Charges for maintaining the Bishop's Title tho the Bishop told me it cost him many a Pound so in the Bishop's Name a Suit was commenced in the Court of Requests for Hatton-House Before the new Buildings were built Hatton-Garden was the âânest and greatest in or about London and my Lady Hatton had planted it with the best Fruit Vines and Flowers which could be got but upon commencing this Suit she destroy'd all the Plantations yet defended her Cause with all Opposition imaginable But at last in 1639 notice was given to my Lady to hear Judgment and at the day my Lady appear'd in Court when my Lord Privy-Seal demanded of my Lady's Counsel If they had any more to say otherwise upon his Honour he must decree against my Lady Hereupon my Lady stood up and said Good my Lord be tender of your Honour for 't is very young and for your Decree I value it not a Rush for your Court is no Court of Record And the Troubles in Scotland growing higher the King had no Benefit of the Decree nor my Lord any Credit in his Court ever after Nor were the Descendants of many of the King's Favourites more faithful to the King than their Fathers as the Lord Kimbolton Sir Henry Vane jun. Sir John Cooke Henry Martin c. Now when it was too late like a Man who begins his Business the last day of the Term the King seems to alter his Countenance and indulge another sort of Men in Church and State who were opposite to the Principles in Bishop Laud's Regency Dr. Williams censured and imprisoned in the Tower has all the Proceedings against him in the Star-Chamber and High-Commission revers'd and taken off the File and Mountague Bishop of Norwich dying in the beginning of the Parliament Dr. Hall is translated from Exeter to Norwich and Dr. Brownrig a most learned and zealous Anti-Arminian is made Bishop of Exeter c. my Lord Chamberlain Pembroke is removed and the Earl of Essex put in his place Sir Robert Holborn made Attorney-General and Oliver St. John Solicitor both which were Mr. Hambden's Counsel against the Legality of Ship-Money But neither these Actions nor the King 's repeated Royal Word could gain Credit with the Parliament I mean the Houses who tho at another time they would have dreaded a standing Army now resolve to maintain two till their Grievances were redrest And sure now it was a lamentable State the King was reduced to he that before rather than hear of what he had done did not care what he did and therefore dissolved four Parliaments now every day hears of what he had done yet cannot help it His Judges which before had refused to bail his Subjects committed by the King without Cause are themselves now committed against the King's Pleasure and no Bail to be taken for them The King's Customers who by the King's Order seized and sold the Merchants Goods for non-payment of Duties not legally imposed are themselves seized and fined more than they are worth Herein the King was only passive but the Houses would not stay here but tho the Commons at first impeached the Earl of Strafford before the Lords in their Judicial Capacity wherein the King's Consent was not actually necessary yet they after proceeded against him by Bill wherein the Attainder must be actually assented to by the King personally or by Commission which the King did my Lord Privy-Seal and the Earl of Arundel I believe very unwillingly being Commissioners and the same day passed an Act That the Parliament should not be Prorogued Adjourned nor Dissolved without their own Consent which proved as great a Grievance as the King 's proroguing and dissolving them at Pleasure And the passing these Laws so frightned my Lord Treasurer Juxton the Master of the Court of Wards and the Governor of the Prince that they all resign'd their Places Besides these the King passed an Act for a Triennial Parliament to meet if not by usual means then by others whether the King would or not And an Act for the utter abolishing the Star-Chamber and High-Commission Courts And to make it a Praemunire in every one of the Privy-Council to determine any Causes cognisable at Common Law An Act to abolish the Court of the Council and President of the North and an Act to rescind the Jurisdiction of the Court of Stanneries An Act to repeal the Branch of a Statute made the first of Eliz. cap. 1. to authorize Ecclesiastical Persons natural born Subjects of England to reform Errors Heresies Schisms c. An Act for declaring Ship-Money and all Proceedings therein void An Act for ascertaining the Bounds and Limits of the Forests as they were in the 20th Year of King James And an Act to prevent the vexatious Proceedings touching the Order of Knighthood These Acts thus passed the Houses thought themselves secure enough and so paid off and disbanded the English and Irish Armies and sent the Scots into their Country again The much greater part of the Gentry and also of the Members of both Houses would have been content to have staid here and many believed if the Parliament had met at York or Oxford they would but this could not be without disgusting the City of London from which only the Loan of 200000 l. could be raised for Payment of the Armies till Provision could be made by Parliament But it was decreed that things should not rest here and that the Faction in the House of Commons might get a Majority at one Vote as they order'd it they voted all those who had been instrumental in Monopolies or in Ship-Money or Collectors of the Customs out of the House and others to be chosen in their Places And the Rabble in the City in Tumults exclaim'd against the Bishops and Popish Lords Votes hereupon the Bishops enter their Protestations against all Proceedings till they might sit and vote freely whereupon they are committed to the Tower and a Law was passed to disable the whole Hierarchy for the future to have any Place in Parliament As the Scots began their Reformation with a Covenant so the Commons began theirs with a
and before his Answer made to it which came forth shortly after to all the Heads of it Now let any shew a Precedent when one State in Parliament appealed to the People and arraigned the King and the other two States unheard and against the King's express Desire and he shall be my great Apollo And if the End be first consider'd in every Action what could be the End of publishing this Remonstrance Or how could it tend to the settling the Distractions of the Kingdom I make this difference between Reproof and Reproach Reproof is privately to admonish another of such Speeches and Actions as tend to the hurt of his Reputation and Fortune so as this other may avoid them for the future Reproach is to divulge the Speeches and Actions of another to the lessening of the Fame and Credit of that other Reproof is the Act of a Friend Reproach of an Enemy And was this a time of day for the Commons thus to reproach the King for his past Actions after he had redressed all their Grievances and given up his Evil Counsellors to their Justice Or was it ever known before that when the King had redressed Grievances they should be after rip'd up to reproach him The first Effects of this Remonstrance Mr. Whitlock mentions is That during this time and taking the opportunity from these Differences between the King and Parliament divers of the City of the meaner sort came in great Numbers and Tumults to Whitehall where with many unseemly and insolent Words and Actions they incensed the King and went from thence in like Posture to Westminster behaving themselves with extream Rudeness towards some of the Members of both Houses and tho the King sent to the Lord Mayor to call a Common Council to prevent these riotous Assemblies yet I do not find the Commons took any Care herein and how these Actions of the Commons tended to settle the Distractions of the Nation or the Relief of Ireland let any impartial Man judg But of all this Mr. May takes no notice yet does of the Parliament's petitioning the King for a Guard for the Security of their Persons being informed of a Plot contrived against them such another as that of Scotland and the Earl of Essex to command it which tho the King denied he promised to take care for their Safety Since Mr. May had no better luck with his Scotish Plot he 'll be sure of one now by the King 's entring into the House of Commons attended by 300 Gentlemen and seated in the Speaker's Chair and demanded five Members viz. Mr. Hollis Sir Arthur Haslerig Mr. Pym Mr. Hambden and Mr. Stroud to a fair Trial and would be as careful of their Privileges as ever any King of England was But in regard Mr. May is so short and partial in this we 'll state the Case as reported by Mr. Whitlock f. 50. a. The King being informed that some Members of Parliament had private Meeting and Correspondence with the Scots and countenanced the late Tumults from the City he gave a Warrant to repair to their Lodgings and to seal up the Trunks Studies and Chambers of the Lord Kimbolton Mr. Pym Mr. Hambden Mr. Hollis Sir Arthur Haslerig and Mr. Stroud which was done but their Persons were not met with The King caused then Articles of High Treason and other Misdemeanours against those five Members to be exhibited 1. For endeavouring to subvert the Fundamental Laws and Government and deprive the King of his Legal Power and to place on Subjects an Arbitrary and Tyrannical Power by foul Aspersions on his Majesty and Government to alienate the Affections of his People and ãâã make him odious 2. To draw his Army to Disobedience and to side with them iâ their Traiterous Designs 3. That they traiterously invited and encouraged a Foreign Power tâ invade England 4. That they traiterously endeavoured to subvert the very Right and Being of Parliament 5. For endeavouring to compel the Parliament to join with them ãâã their Traiterous Designs and to that end have actually raised and countenanced Tumults against the King and Parliament This great Breach of Parliament-Privilege Mr. May says happened in a strange time to divert the Kingdom from relieving Ireland And did not the Commons Remonstrance against the King and House of Lords do so too And when Men especially Princes are reproached and defamed regular Actions are not always consequent The Censures of the King's Act was variously scanned by Men of different Affections The Royalists said Privilege of Parliament extends not to Treason Felony or so much as Breach of the Peace And the Commons frame and publish a Declaration That there was never such an unparallell'd Action of any King to the Breach of all Freedom not only in the Accusation of their Members ransacking and searching their Studies and Papers and seeking to apprehend their Persons but now in a Hostile Way He the King threatned the whole Body of the House This was Jan. 5. 1641. And after the Commons published another Vote That if any arrest a Member of Parliament by Warrant from the King only it is a Breach of Privilege and that the coming of Papists and Souldiers to the number of 500 armed Men Mr. May says but 300 and Mr. Whitlock says with his Guard of Pensioners and follow'd by about 200 of his Courtiers with the King to the House was a traiterous Design against the King and Parliament They vindicate the five Members and declare That a Paper issued out for apprehending them was false scandalous and illegal How could they tell before they heard both Parties and they ought to attend the Service of the House and require the Names of those who advised the King to issue out that Paper and the Articles against the five Members Which if the King had done they would have been exposed to more Violences of the Rabble than those which befel the Bishops and other Members of Parliament by a great Number of Persons which came from the City to Westminster where they offered many Affronts to the Bishops and others in a tumultuous manner See Whit. Mem. f. 51. a. But of this no notice was taken by the Commons or Lords that I can find so that as the Temper of the Times then went it was a notorious Breach of Privilege in the King to demand five Members to answer Articles of High-Treason but none in the Rabble in a tumultuous manner to affront and use Violence to the Bishops and others who were coming to do their Duties and Service in Parliament These Actions Mr. May p. 41. calls petitioning by the Rabble and many times to utter rude Speeches against some Lords whom they conceived to be evil Advisers of the King which however it was meant produced ill Consequences to the Commonwealth and did not so much move the King to be sensible of his grieving the People as arm him with an Excuse of leaving the Parliament and City for fear of what might
Kingdoms of England Scotland and Ireland and Destruction upon the King when is was not in the Power of those which first raised the War against him to save his Life which they would have done I am told that the last Part of this Paragraph is an unjust Charge upon the Parliament in that they acted defensively in this War and that the King first raised Arms and this by the Authority of Mr. May. If I be mistaken I have the Authority of him who could best know I mean the King at his Death who declared That he never did begin the War with the two Houses of Parliament as all the World knows that they began with him it was the Militia they began upon they confest that to be his but they thought fit to have it from him and to be short if any body will look into the Dates of those Commissions theirs and his and likewise to the Declarations they will see clearly that they began these unhappy Troubles not he See Whit. Mem. f. 369. a. and all the Writers of those times If this be not Authority sufficient to shew the Parliament began the War the first Scuffle between the King and Parliament was about the Business of Hull where the Parliament had committed the Charge of the Town and Magazine to Sir John Hotham one of the Members of the Commons who was sent down thither to remove the Magazine to London but the Country of York petitioned it might still remain at Hull for securing the Northern Parts especially the King residing there Hereupon the King taking a Guard of his Servants and some Neighbouring Gentry upon the 23d of April went to Hull but contrary to Expectation found the Gates shut and the Bridges drawn up by Sir John and his Entrance denied though but with 20 Horse which so moved the King that he proclaimed Hotham a Traitor and sends to the Parliament for Justice against him To this the Parliament return no Answer but justify Sir John Hotham and order that the Sheriffs and Justices of the Peace do suppress all Forces which shall be raised or gathered together against Hull or to disturb the Peace nor did they stay here but put the Power of the Militia in Persons nominated by them excluding the King in ordering any thing together with them and authorized Hotham by his Warrants to raise the trained Bands in Yorkshire to march with their Arms into Hull where he disarmed them and turned them home again See Whit. Mem. f. 55 56. So I submit this to Judgment whether this was not raising Arms against the King being done by Subjects and contrary to the King's Command and if the King did encrease his Guards yet this was subsequent to the excluding the King from having Power in the Militia and Hotham's Raising Arms and Disarming the Trained Bands of Yorkshire Mr. May says p. 55. the Parliament being then intent upon settling the Militia by Land took care also to seize the Navy into their Hands and ordered the Earl of Warwick to be Admiral to put this in Execution but the King had chosen Sir John Pennington to that place instead of the Earl of Northumberland and sent a Command to the Earl of Warwick to resign the Place to him Pennington But the Earl chose rather to obey the Ordinance of Parliament and with great Courage and Policy got the Fleet into his Hands tho many of the Captains stood out against him but the Earl deprived them of their Commands and possest himself of the Ships taking shortly after another Ship called the Lyon of great Import coming out of Holland and laden with Gun-power which proved a great Addition to his Strength So here was a double Beginning of the War by the Parliament both in seizing the Fleet and taking the Lyon and this before the King committed any Act of Hostility And for the carrying on this War which Mr. May calls the Cause the Parliament upon the 10th of June made an Order for bringing in Money and Plate to raise Arms for the Cause and the Publick Faith for Repayment to them which brought it in So here the Parliament raised Money as well as Forces for carrying on the War before the King levied any And so I leave it to Judgment who first began the War Objection The Parliament raised Arms for their own Defence and Security of the Nation Answer This is said but of no kin to Truth or Reason for Men defend what they are possest of and the King was possest of the Militia and Fleet when the Parliament ravish'd both from him nor did the King use either against the Parliament when they invaded them Besides the King at least as he declared endeavoured to defend the established Religion and Laws of the Land whereas the Parliament contended to abolish the Established Religion and to exalt themselves above the Laws of the Land Objection 2. That the King had so often violated the Laws and Constitutions of the Nation and governed so Arbitrarily that the Parliament could have no Security for the future to prevent his so doing again so long as the King was possest of the Militia Answer The Case was not the same then when the King resolved to have no more Parliaments as now when the King had made this Parliament perpetual and had passed the Triennial Bill for Parliaments to meet whether he would or no And tho Favourites and Flatterers instill'd those things into the King when they were without any Fear or Apprehension of being questioned by a Parliament yet now the Parliament had so severely prosecuted and punished such Men and being perpetual or at least to meet Three Years after every Dissolution none would presume to advise the King in things derogatory to his Honour and the Interest of the Nation And now we proceed to the ensuing War The Parliament before the King set up his Standard at Nottingham Aug. 22 Voted That an Army should be raised for the Defence of the King and Parliament that the Earl of Essex should be Captain General of the Army and the Earl of Bedford General of the Horse The War began first between the Marquess of Hartford for the King in the West and the Earl of Bedford for the Parliament the Earl being worsted by the Marquess at Sherborn-Castle Goring got into Portsmouth and held it for the King but could not hold it long for the Country joining with Sir John Meyrick forced him to surrender who thereupon went into Holland and my Lord Say St. Johns and Weemen with Colonel Whitlock enter Oxford and keep it for the Parliament But the Face of Affairs soon changed for the King having made the Earl of Lindsey his General and the Parliament the Earl of Essex upon the 23d of October the Armies met and fought at Edghil with uncertain Victory which both sides claimed the Earl of Lindsey was mortally wounded and taken Prisoner the Right Wing of the King's Horse commanded by Prince Rupert brake the Left
seem to court the King and the Parliament sent Propositions of Peace to the King at Hampton-Court the same they sent to the King at New-Castle when he was in the Power of the Scots which you may read in Whitlock's Memoirs fol. 120. b. and 121. a. But now the Mystery of Iniquity works for Cromwel was as fearful the King should agree with the Parliament as the King was unwilling to agree to them and therefore Cromwel gave Instructions to the Commissioners That if the King would assent to Propositions lower than those of the Parliament that the Army would settle him again in his Throne Hereupon the King returned Answer to the Parliament That he waved now the Propositions sent to him or any Treaty upon them and flies to the Proposals of the Army urges a Treaty upon them and such as he shall make professes he will give Satisfaction to settle the Protestant Religion with Liberty to tender Consciences to secure the Laws Liberty and Property and Privileges of Parliament and of those concerning Scotland he will treat apart with the Scots Commissioners See Whitlock ' s Memoirs fol. 271. b. Upon the reading of the King's Answer a Day was appointed by either House to consider of it and that in the mean time it be communicated to the Scots Commissioners There was a Report at that time and so yet continues tho I cannot find the bottom of it yet I am confident in time it will appear that Cromwel made a private Article with the King That if the King closed with the Propositions of the Army Cromwel should be advanced to a Degree higher than any other as Vicar-General of England as Cromwel was in the Reign of Henry 8. But the King was so Uxorious that he would do nothing without communicating it to the Queen and wrote to her That tho he assented to the Army's Proposals yet if by assenting to them he could procure Peace it would be easier then to take off Cromwel than now he was the Head that govern'd the Army Cromwel who had his Spies upon every Motion of the King intercepts these Letters and resolved never to trust the King again yet doubted that he could not manage his Designs if the King were so near the Parliament and City as Hampton-Court therefore Cromwel sent to the King That he was in no Safety at Hampton-Court by reason of the Hatred which the Adjutators had to him and that he would be in more Safety in the Isle of Wight Hereupon the King upon the 11th of November while the Parliament and Scots Commissioners were debating the King's Answer to their Propositions at Night made his Escape having Post-Horses and a Ship provided for him at Southampton accompanied only with Sir John Berkley Colonel Leg and Mr. Ashburnham and came to the Isle of Wight which would morally have been impossible if Cromwel and his Agents had not put the King upon it But how concealedly soever Cromwel and his Son-in-law Ireton had carried the Business of the King's Escape to the Isle of Wight yet the Adjutators had some Jealousy upon them that they designed to have the King establish'd and possest the Soldiers with much Prejudice against them Fairfax doubting the Event of these Practices dismist the Adjutators to their several Regiments and sent most of their Officers to their several Charges and appointed a General Rendezvouz of the Army at Cork-bush-field between Hertford and Ware upon the 14th which the Adjutators endeavour'd to have prevented The next Day many Soldiers of five whole Regiments mutiny'd against their Officers and wore Marks of Distinction to be known from the rest Cromwel Ireton and some other of the Officers struck at by the Adjutators were very active in suppressing them and seized upon some of the principal Mutineers and one or two of them were shot before their Troops were reduced and most of the Mutineers and the Officers which favoured them were tried at Court-Martials and cashier'd and three of them condemned to die And for this Cromwel had the Thanks of the House but it will not be long before they shall find little Joy of it From the Isle of Wight the King upon October the 18th sent to the Members for a personal Treaty of Peace at London which after much Debate was agreed to upon these four Preliminaries 1. An Act For Raising Settling and Maintaining Forces by Sea and Land within the Kingdoms of England and Ireland and the Dominion of Wales 2. An Act For recalling all Declarations Oaths and Proclamations against the Parliament or those who had adhered to them 3. An Act That those Peers who were made after the Great Seal was carried from the Parliament may be made uncapable of Sitting in the House of Peers 4. That Power may be given to the Houses to adjourn as they shall think fit The King it may be not knowing Cromwel had intercepted his Letters to the Queen and so trusting to Cromwel's Promises and the Scots Commissioners flatly protesting against these Preliminaries as opposite to Religion the Crown and Agreement of the Kingdoms refused to sign any Propositions till a Peace was made which might comprehend all Interests Which had no other Effects than that the Lords and Commons Voted 1. That they will make no further Applications or Addresses to the King 2. That no Addresses or Applications be made to the King by any Person whatsoever without Leave from both Houses 3. That the Person or Persons that shall make Breach of this Order shall incur the Penalty of High Treason 4. That they will receive no more Messages from the King and that no Person do presume to bring any Message from the King to both or either Houses of Parliament or any other Person But these Votes were too hot to hold long These Votes were so pleasing to the Army that it was declar'd by a Council of War the 17th of January That they resolved to endeavour to preserve the Peerage and Rights and the Rights of the Peers of England notwithstanding any Scandals upon them to the contrary Yet within little more than a Year the Rump set up by the Army shall turn them out of doors as dangerous and useless Here see what a Labyrinth Men run into when they forsake the Paths of Justice for as Socrates says Plato Eutiphro If Men in Dissension will not submit to some certain Rule which may determine them their Dissensions will be endless and that the Will of the Gods if it be divided cannot be the Rule to determine Justice for Men in obeying one God may disobey another If therefore the Laws and Constitutions of the Nation may not be the Rule which may determine the Controversies between the King the Members the Scots and the Army then nothing can for else what pleased one would displease the other The King would gladly have had the Law to have determined the Controversies for this would have vested him in his Royal Power and by the 18th of Henry
being 12 a Clock at Night it could not then be reduced to Writing but he promised it should next Morning when the King gave them a Paper quite contrary whereupon the Treaty broke off See Whitlock's Memoirs f. 65. a. b. For in the next Treaty at Vxbridg which was in December 1644 the Parliament not only insisted that the King's Nephews Rupert and Maurice though Princes Foreign born and so no Subjects to the King of England but many of the principal Lords and Gentry who assisted the King in this War and who by the 11 Hen. 7. 18. were protected for assisting the King should be excepted out of Pardon by an Act of Indempnity which if they had had no Law to have protected them yet the King could not in Conscience have offered them up a Sacrifice for assisting him But another Difficulty arose in this Treaty which the Parliament would have imposed upon the King contrary to the Laws and Constitutions of the Nation viz. To extirpate Episcopacy and to impose the Scots Covenant and Directory upon the Nation though the Bishops were excluded their Sitting in the House of Lords by an Act in 1641 and none in Orders to exercise any Civil Office So that the Houses not content with what had been already granted but grasping at more they lost all for in the first Parliament Car. 2. they were restored to their Seats in Parliament again Objection But if Episcopacy were Jure Divino as the King was informed by his English Bishops and therefore the King could not in Conscience submit to the abolishing of it then it is Jure Divino in Scotland as well as England and if the King of his own Accord could go out of England to abolish it in Scotland Why should the King against the Advice of both Nations not do the same in England Answer He that shall answer for all the Actions of this Prince shall have a great Task Nor can I give any other Answer to it than that because a Man has done an ill Act it shall be a Precedent to him to do it again But if the King should have consented to abolish Episcopacy in England and set up Presbytery I do not see any Benefit the King could have reaped by it according to the Covenanters Practice and Principles For if the Scots after the King had abolished Episcopacy in Scotland and set up Presbytery there and that the Scots had thereupon promised all Obedience to the King in time to come and declared by Act of Parliament That it was detestable and damnable Treason in the highest Degree for any of the Scots Nation either conjunctly or singly to levy Arms or any Military Forces upon any Pretence whatsoever without the King's Command could raise Arms unprovoked by the King and against his express Command and invade England why should the English Covenanters after the King should have abolished Episcopacy in England be more obliged to perform any Agreement they made with the King in England then the Scots Covenanters were in Scotland When the King desired the Scots Parliament upon the breaking out of the Irish Massacre and Rebellion to assist him against the Irish they refused because Ireland was not subject to Scotland and tho England be not subject to Scotland yet the Scots against the King's Command can assist by Arms the Parliament against him So that if the Covenant could entitle the Scots to be so false perfidious and treacherous to the King after he had abolished Episcopacy in Scotland Why should not this be a Precedent for the English Covenanters to be so in England after the King should abolish Episcopacy in it and establish Presbytery The Overtures for a Treaty at Oxford in November 1644 preceded that at Vxbridg whence upon the King's Desire it was adjourned and Passes reciprocally of safe Conduct were granted to Commissioners on both sides to meet the 29th of January wherein the Commissioners from Scotland were included The Scots Commissioners being included in this Treaty you need not doubt but their principal Care shall be to establish their Solemn League and Covenant and the Presbyterian Government as firm in England as in Scotland and to this end the three first days were set apart for Religion three other Days for the Militia and three other days for the Settlement of Ireland How humble soever the Scots were if you 'll take their Word yet the first Debate arose between the English and Scots Commissioners concerning Precedence which you may read in Whitlock's Memoirs f. 122. a. b. But when the Business concerning Religion came to be debated nothing less than that Presbytery was Jure Divino would down with the Scots nor was Episcopacy less Jure Divino by the English Commissioners for Religion But both these Assertions are false and blasphemous for Jus Divinum is so inseparably inherent in God as cannot be communicated to any Creature and though God by Divine Law or Institution did impower Bishops and Priests with Episcopal and Priestly Power to perform their Offices designed by God for the planting and continuing the Gospel yet the Jus Divinum from whence these Institutions were derived remains the same in God as before As God by the Law of Nature gives Parents a Dominion over their Children and Husbands over their Wives yet the Divine Right which gives these Powers is the same as before and Parents and Husbands have no Divine Right hereby but a Temporal Right by Nature or the Law of Nature so Bishops and Priests have no Divine Right to exercise their Ghostly Powers but a Spiritual Right given them by God's Law or Institution supernaturally or extraordinarily given If Bishops and Priests had a Divine Right they might create Divine Laws which in Terminis I believe none of them will affirm However you may see how the Theologues as they call themselves impose by this Cant upon the World and what endless Discords Factions and Wars have been raised hereby no Man conversant in History can be ignorant of The Principal whereof was Dr. Steward and Mr. Henderson and Marshall for Presbytery but the Zeal on both Parts being so obstinate as well as contradictory would have taken up more than all their Time in these Broils if a Stop had not been put to them upon the Motion of the Marquess of Hartford on the King's Part and the Earl of Pembrook Mr. Hollis and other Commissioners on the Parliament's that they might proceed upon the other Points of the Militia and Ireland In both these there was as little Agreement as in that of Religion not any one Point being agreed to by the King's Commissioners so the Treaty ended and nothing concluded The other Treaties at New-Castle Hampton-Court and the Isle of Wight we have taken notice of before So that the King was as unsuccessful in his Treaties as in his Arms. The Catastrophe of this Tragedy resolves into the King himself for this Juncto after called the Rump-Parliament having thus purged the House
had gained him before and he discovered all to Cromwel and that he had no Concern for them nor Obligation to them as you may see in Dr. Gumble's History of Monk ' s Life pag. 73. So that Monk was not now of the same Mind as he was afterward when Lambert turn'd the Rump out of doors All other Obstacles thus removed and Cromwel heightned in his frantick Resolutions by the Expectation of Mountains of Gold from the Dutch upon the 20th of April with a Party of Soldiers with him marched to the House and led a File of Musqueteers in with him and the rest he placed at the Door of the House in the Lobby and entring the House in furious manner bid the Speaker leave the Chair and told the House That they had sat long enough unless they had done more Good I could have told him they had done two good Deeds for him one in taking away the King's Life to let him into his Throne the other that they had made him General to enable him to turn them out of doors That some of them were Whore-masters looking towards Henry Martin and Sir Peter Wentworth That others of them were Drunkards and some corrupt and unjust Men and scandalous to the Profession of the Gospel and that it was not fit they should sit any longer as a Parliament and desired them to go away But the Speaker not stirring from his Seat Col. Harrison took him by the Arm to remove him from his Seat which when the Speaker saw he left the Chair Some of the Members rose up to answer Cromwel but he would suffer none to speak but himself He bid one of the Soldiers Take away that Fool 's Bawble the Mace and stay'd himself till all the Members were out and then caused the Doors to be shut up We will look upon this Act in a threefold Consideration viz. In the Doers to whom done and in the Manner of it 1. The Doers were the Rump ' s Servants raised by the Rump and no ways provoked by the Rump So little do Benefits received by ill Men create any Obligation of Gratitude in those who receive them 2. The Rump were a Parliament which were impowered to make War or Peace or were not if they were not then Cromwel and his Assistants Commission from the Rump to judg the King to Death and all the Acts of Hostility which they did during these Wars were Murder or Rapine but if they were a Parliament who might grant Commissions in War and make Laws then Cromwel and his Assistants were greater Rebels and Violators of the Liberties of the Nation than either the Irish or Scots were against the King or the Royalists against the Parliament for the Irish and Scots pretended Grievances and Oppressions against the present Powers whereas Cromwel and his Assistants pretended not one categorical Complaint against the Rump and the Royalists foâght to preserve the Establish'd Laws and Constitutions of the Nation which Cromwel and his Assistants did not Besides herein Cromwel and his Assistants assumed a Power above Regal in deposing the Rump if it were a Rightful Parliament which the King could not do without their Consent 3. For the Manner of Cromwel's Deposing the Rump it was so barbarous and rude as I do not think you will find the like among the most Savage People unless it were when Cromwel and his Agents deposed the Secluded Members Yet sure there was a Divine Justice in both for as the Covenanting Members expelled the Royalists for not taking the Covenant or joining with them in the Innovations which the Covenanters brought into the Church and State so Cromwel and the Rump expelled them for their Covenanting and set up themselves instead of them and now Cromwel does the like by the Rump to exalt himself Thus by their own mercenary Servants and not a Sword drawn in their Defence fell the Haughty and Victorious Rump whose mighty Actions will scarcely find Belief in future Generations and to say the Truth they were a Race of Men most indefatigably industrious in Business always seeking for Men fit for it and never preferring any for Favour nor by Importunity You scarce ever heard of any revolting from them in England Scotland or Ireland during their time except by the Levellers 1649. See Whitlock's Memoirs fol. 385 386 387. No Murmur or Complaint of Sea-men or Soldiers employ'd by them either by Sea or Land for want of Pay In all the Ports of England during the Dutch War Money or Credit was found to pay off the Sea-men whenever their Ships were designed to be laid up Nor do I find they ever press'd either Soldiers or Seamen in all their Wars And as they excelled thus in their Management of Civil Affairs so it must be owned they exercised in Matters Ecclesiastick no such Severities as either the Covenanters or others before them did upon such as dissented from them And as the Rump were thus industrious and victorious in War so were they not negligent in reforming the Abuses in the Practice of the Common Laws and to that end in October 1650 order'd that all the Books of the Laws be put into English and that all Writs Process and Returns thereof and all Patents Commissions Indictments Judgments Records and all Proceedings in Courts of Justice shall be in the English Tongue and not in the Latin or French or any other Language See Whitlock's Memoirs fol. 459. a. The Rump further ordered a Committee for regulating the Law and the Committee reported the Draughts of several Laws viz. 1. The taking away Fines upon Bills Declarations and Original Writs 2. Against Customary Oaths of Fealty and Homage to the Lords of Mannors 3. For taking away common Recoveries and unnecessary Charge of Fines and to pass and charge Land intailed as Lands in Fee Simple 4. For more speedy Recovery of Rents 5. Touching Pleaders and their Fees 6. For more speedy regulating and easy Discovery of Debts and Damages not exceeding 4 l. and under See Whitlock ' s Mem. fol. 504. a. Whether the Rump passed these into Laws I do not find but if they did not they might have done if Cromwel had let them alone and they sat not four Years and three Months But how industrious and victorious soever the Rump was in War they were not so wise in Counsel by making the Act of Navigation and tho we have before demonstrated the manifold Mischiefs and Inconveniences which this Law has brought upon this Nation and shall more particularly hereafter if God pleases in Answer to those Reasons which Sir Josiah Child and Sir Francis Brewsier pretend in Defence of it yet it 's fit that we here shew how that the Rump was mistaken as well in the End as Causes of this Law If we look upon Britain it is an Island and divided into two Kingdoms England and Scotland and both these Kingdoms before they were united under one King viz. James I. by immâmorial Prescriptions were possessed of
Norway for Timber Pitch and Tar and to Liefland and Prussia for rough Hemp and Flax for which Trades the English never built one Ship since this Act and by reason of the Dearness and Inconveniences of our English Ships in these Trades the Norwegians have encreased their Navigation from 6 Ships of about 60 Tun to above 200 of three four five and six hundred Tun and the English pay near double the Price for these they did before the Act. And as the Inhabitants of Liefland and Prussia rarely or never trade with us in rough Hemp and Flax so the Dutch importing these by the Cheapness of their Navigation one third cheaper than the English and when they are made into the Manufactures of Cordage Sails and Nets the Dutch by the Act of Navigation may import them whereby the English in their Fisheries and the Foreign Vent of their Commodities have lost the Manufactures of them and by a Foreign Expence buy them of the Dutch and French as much to their enriching and Employment of their People as to our Impoverishment and the Loss of employing ours It 's fit to give this light Touch of the Mischiefs and Inconveniences this Act has brought upon the Nation but hereafter I shall enlarge upon them when I reply upon Sir Josiah Child and Sir Brewster's Defence of it as before CHAP. II. A Continuation of this Treatise during the Vsurpation of Oliver Cromwel WHEN Men forsake the plain and foreknown Ways of Justice and Righteousness they not only run into Confusion or contrary Extreams but these they endeavour to sanctify by previous swearing to them and imposing them upon other Men. In Scotland 1638 the Scots without the King's Consent made their Covenant wherein they abjure Episcopacy and swear a mutual Defence of one another herein against all Persons whatsoever without excepting the King and imposed this upon all Sorts of People with Violence and Menaces as beating tearing of Clothes drawing of Blood and exposing thousands to Injuries and Reproaches and notwithstanding several Laws to the contrary expelled all Professors of Colleges and Ministers out of their Places who refused to subscribe their Covenant See Baker's Chron. fol. 461. a. To encounter the Scots Covenant by a contrary Extream the English Convocation in the Year 1640 after the King had dissolved the Parliament imposed without Consent in Parliament an Oath wherein they swear That they approve the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church of England as containing all things necessary to Salvation that they will not endeavour to bring in any Popish Doctrine contrary to it That they will not consent to alter the Government of this Church by Arch-Bishops Bishops Deans and Arch-Deacons c. as it now stands and ought by right to stand nor to subject it to the Vsurpations and Supersttitions of Rome That this they do plainly and sincerely acknowledg and swear and do it heartily and willingly Thus was God's Sacred Name exposed to cover their Ambitious Designs on both sides and for which neither gave any Reason Nor did this Convocation stay here but imposed without Consent of Parliament six Subsidies upon the Clergy to be paid in six Years for carrying on a War against the Scots the refusers to be suspended and excommunicated Thus you see now In Nomine Domini on both sides these Feuds began at the Clergy and the King to secure the Convocation set Guards about Westminster Abby Here let 's examine and compare these two Oaths The Covenanters in Scotland swear That according to their Places and Callings they shall endeavour the Preservation of the Reformed Church of Scotland in Doctrine Worship Discipline and Government At this Time there was no Reformed Church in Scotland but the Episcopal unless the Scots Covenanters erected another So here the Scots do not distinguish which Church they swear to endeavour to preserve nor say what the Doctrine Discipline Worship and Government of the Church of Scotland was So that herein in the first part of the Oath they swear equivocally and in the second they swear by Implicit Faith without declaring wherein their Doctrine Discipline Worship and Government does consist That they shall also endeavour the Extirpation of Popery Prelacy Superstition Heresy Schism Prophaneness c. All Oaths are to be taken in Truth viz. of what a Man knows or truly intends Can any Man believe that every Scot which swears the Covenant knows what Popery Prelacy Superstition Schism and Prophaneness are especially when they have an c. joined to them I do not believe that ever the Church of Rome or any other Nation ever imposed such an Equivocal and Canting Oath as this Covenant by a Rout of Men and contrary to the establisht Government in being and against the King's express Will And to make all sure they swear to defend all those that shall enter into this Covenant and shall zealously and constantly all the Days of their Lives continue therein But God shall soon blast this abominable Swearing to the Destruction of these Covenanters The Oath of the Covenant was purely promissory wherein they swear what wondrous Acts they would do in Preservation of their Kirk c. and for the Extirpation of Popery Prelacy c and for the mutual Defence of one another But the first Part of the Convocation-Oath is assertory wherein they swear that they approve the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church of England as containing all things necessary to Salvation so as there is no further need of searching the Scriptures and no Man needs further to seek his Salvation with Fear and Trembling if he be conversant in the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church of England The next part of it is negatively Promissory that they will not bring in any Popish Doctrine contrary to it The third part of it is partly Promissory and partly Assertory Promissory not to give Consent to alter the Government of this Church by Archbishops Bishops Deans Arch-Deacons c. Assertory as it now stands and ought to stand The fourth part is Promissory not to subject it to the Usurpations and Supersitions of Rome without declaring what these were The last part of this Oath is Assertory That this they do plainly and sincerely acknowledg and swear and do it heartily willingly and truly Now let 's see the Success of this jumbled Oath and Grant of these Subsidies first the King never got one Groat of them Secondly The very next Year after viz. March 10th the Commons voted that no Bishop should have any Vote in Parliament nor any judicial Power in the Star-Chamber nor Authority in Temporal Matters and that no Clergy-man shall be in Commission of the Peace and upon the 22d of June the High Commission Court and Star-Chamber wherein Laud and the Prerogative Clergy plaid their Pranks were abolished by Act of Parliament and soon after viz. January 12th Twelve of the Bishops were committed to the Tower for High Treason for protesting against all Votes and Orders of
Ringleaders of these were Bidle Cops Fry Erbury Saltmarsh c. But more blasphemous than these was one James Naylor I saw him when he stood in the Pillory before Westminster-hall who personated our Saviour and was like his Picture in his Words and Gestures and so mad was he and many of his Crew that getting upon a Horse-Colt an Ass would have becom'd him better he came riding to Bristol his Sect strewing his way with Leaves and Boughs of Trees crying Hosanna Blessed is he who cometh in the Name of the Lord. Nor did he stay here but imitated our Saviour in affecting his Divinity as that he could Raise the Dead Heal the Sick and Fast 40 Days In these Distractions without to prevent which Cromwel took little Care Cromwel had little Peace within He was obey'd by none for Love had no Title to his Greatness but by Barebone's Parliament of his own making his own Will and the Flattery of some of the Officers of his Army yet the Body of the Army and a greater part of the Officers look'd upon him as a Tyrant and Usurper and with these the Generality of the Commonwealth Party agreed The Presbyterian Party hated him and he knew the Royalists would never obey him if ever they could find an Opportunity to get rid of him The Crown-Lands and the established Revenues he reserved by his Instrument of Government would not near maintain the Charges of his Intelligence and Army which in a manner lived upon Free Quarter and the Decimation of the Royalists bore no Proportion to support them His Expendition to Hispaniola from which he expected Mountains of Gold proved not only dishonourable but thereby he contracted so great a Debt as he could never live to overgrow In these Disquietudes of Mind his Looks were intent upon new and unusual Spectacles He took particular notice of the Carriage Manners Habit and Language of all Strangers especially if they seemed joyful He never stirr'd abroad without strong Guards wearing Armour under his Clothes and offensive Arms too never came back the common Road or the same Way he went and always passing with great speed had many Locks and Keys for the Door of his Houses seldom slept above three Nights in one Chamber nor in any which had not two or three Back-doors and Guards at all of them To these Dr. Bates in the second Part of his Elenchus adds this That Cromwel being much troubled with the Stone used sometimes to swill down several sorts of Liquors and then stir his Body by some violent kind of Motion as riding hard on Horseback jolting in a Coach c. that by such Agitation he might disburden his Bladder Wherefore one Day he took with him his Secretary Thurlow that they two might privately use this Exercise in a Coach in Hide-Park When they came thither Cromwel got into the Coach-box drawn by six brave Horses lately presented to him by Count Ollenburg and so soon as Cromwel began to snap his Whip the Horses ran away and the Postilion was thrown off the Fore-horse the Horses fretting and growing unruly tost Cromwel from his Seat upon the Pole and falling from thence upon the Ground was intangled in his Coat and dragged up and down till he received many Bruises a Pocket-Pistol in the mean time going off ââd his Coat rent but a Guard of Horse which waited at the âate seeing the Disaster hasting toward his Assistance disââtanâed him out of the Danger However Cromwel to establish his ill-acquired Greatness in his Family makes his Son Henry Lieutenant of Ireland and fain would have made his Son Richard Governour of Scotland but Monk would not budg there which it may be was as great an Affliction to Cromwel as all those he laboured under before Now was Cromwel driven to a Forc'd-put if a Parliament could not help him he had lost his Game So he in September 1656 sets up a new Bawble call'd a Parliament Cromwel set his Wits upon Tenterhooks to have those chosen for England to be for his Turn he cared not so much for those sent from Scotland and Ireland being sure of them To this purpose his Major-Generals used all their Endeavours equally to hinder the Elections of Royalists and Republicans for neither would sute with Cromwel's Designs However Cromwel would not suffer any to enter the House before he subscribed to the Authority of the Protector These Men chose Sir Thomas Widdrington Speaker who June 1657 begirt Cromwel in Protectorean Robes for King he would not be and told him That the Robe of Purple is the Emblem of Magistracy which imports Righteousness and Justice the Robe of Mixt Colour Justice and Mercy and a great deal more of such Stuff which Cromwel regarded no more than he did Barebone's Parliament and his Instrument of Government To ease Cromwel of the Trouble this Parliament put down the Major-Generals who were become troublesome to Cromwel himself as well as the Nation in general and made it Treason to conspire Cromwel's Death and that the Royal Family should be renounced These gave Cromwel the Customs and a Triennial Tax upon all Houses built upon New Foundations in London and within ten Miles round that every one of them should pay Cromwel a Year's Rent And to endear him the more this Parliament gave Cromwel Leave to name his succeeding Protector which he kindly accepted By this you may see the Nature of the Beast for when Cromwel's former Parliament disputed the Authority of his Instrument of Government he told them It was the Foundation of Government upon which they must build and not destroy and therefore it was unalterable by Act of Parliament and by the Instrument his Council was to chuse a Successor But now 't is for his Turn the Parliament may alter his Instrument and give him Power to name his Successor This Alteration of naming a Successor had another Effect too for Lambert who expected to succeed Cromwel and therefore told Cromwel's former Parliament That unless they would confirm it they the Officers of the Army would call another and a third and fourth till the Instrument of Government was confirmed Now his Hopes of Succession were balk'd he tack'd about and seem'd to join with the Republican Party Hereupon Cromwel took away Lambert's Commission and made his Son-in-law Fleet-wood Lieutenant-General in his place So that tho Cromwel got a Power after his Death he distracted his Power whilst he was alive And as Pedlars which have not Gold yet will shew something which may glister like it so Cromwel that his Parliament may seem like a Parliament will have a House of Lords too but these are not Lords with Titles but Lords of the Lord knows what If you 'll take the Measures of the rest I 'll give you a List of some of them There was Pride the Brewer Huson the Shooe-maker Barkstead the Thimble-seller Cooper an Haberdasher of small Wares Whaley a Broken Clothier c. Yet these Lords must not be
I cannot prove negatively that my Lord Chancellor did not first propound the King's Marriage with the Infanta of Portugal yet it seems to me reasonable he did not for these Reasons I never heard of any Discourse of this Match before the Arrival of the Queen-Mother in England or if any were it 's probable that Monsieur Courtin had this in his Instructions as well as that of moving the King not to abandon Portugal for both these tend to the same end and the French King all his Reign after sought to attain his Ends by Women as well as other Ways Nor can it be believed that the Prince of Portugal now engaged in War against Spain should pay the Queen's Portion 400000 l. I believe he did what he could give up Tangier and Bombay to the King which last Place he leased to the East-India Company for 10 l. per Annum but the Money was paid by the French King Though the Factions had such ill Success with previous Swearing which every one imposed upon the Nation when it was uppermost and which no Man regarded when another succeeded yet upon the Restoration of the King the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy which latter was only imposed upon certain Sorts of Men and as my Lord Verulam says sinks deep into the Conscience and was therefore interpreted by Queen Elizabeth in her Injunctions which were after confirmed by Act of Parliament were imposed upon all sorts of People and the Refusers looked upon as Enemies to the King and Favourers of the late Times And tho the Convention sate but from the 25th of April 1660 to the 29th of December following yet by this time the outward Face of almost all the Nation was quite changed the Cavalier Party under the Persecution of the late times lived quietly upon that part of their Estates which was permitted them after their Compositions and the Governing Factions put on a Countenance of Godliness and Sobriety whereas in the Jollity of the King's Restoration all sorts of Men even the Factions endeavoured to imitate the profuse Prodigality and Luxury of the Court which scarce entertained any but upon those Terms To humour the King the Publick Theaters were stuffed with most Obscene Actions and Interludes and the more Obscene pleased the King the better who graced the opening of them with his Presence at the first Notice of a new Play In this State the Convention was dissolved and a Parliament met the eighth of May 1661. where that they might outvy the Convention in Loyalty in the first Chapter they make Words to compass or imagine any Bodily Harm Imprisonment or Restraint upon the Body of the King or to Depose him or levy War against him to be High-Treason And if any shall any ways affirm the King to be a Heretick or Papist shall be incapacitated to hold any Ecclesiastical Civil or Military Imployment And that it shall be a Premunire in any to say The Long Parliament begun in November 1640 is not dissolved or that there lies any Obligation upon any one from any Oath to endeavour a Change of Government either in Church or State or that one or both Houses of Parliament have a Legislative Power and declare the Oath commonly called The Solemn League and Covenant to be an unlawful Oath and imposed upon the Subject against the Fundamental Laws and Constitutions of the Nation And Chap. 5. declare against Tumultuary petitioning the King or Parliament And Chap. 6. declare the sole Right of the Militia to be in the King This Parliament upon the thirtieth of July was adjourned to the twentieth of November This being but an Adjournment and so the Act of the Houses for as yet the King did not exercise his Prerogative of Proroguing them which hereafter you will see him very prodigal of I do not find that this Adjournment was made that the King might better proceed in his Bargain and Sale of Dunkirk to the French Yet I do say that before the Parliament met it was as I remember in September that the Bargain and Sale was perfected and Dunkirk put into the Power of the French But neither the Sale of Dunkirk without nor the keeping up a standing Army within called the King's Guards after it was disbanded and paid off by the Covention nor the King's Manner of Life could any ways abate the Loyalty of this Parliament to the King and keep him they would whatever came of it And to all the Provisions for Security of his Person and Power they will add that to keep him in which the Rump in its last Breath did to keep him out viz. To swear to keep him out And therefore the Parliament Chap. 2. made the Corporation-Oath to be taken by all the Members of Corporations viz. I A. B. do declare and believe that it is not Lawful upon any Pretence whatsoever to take Arms against the King And that I do abhor that Traiterous Position of taking Arms by his Authority against his Person or against those who are commissioned by him So help me God This I think is one of the first Laws that ever was made to swear to Opinions and Belief And sure if Swearing would determine Controversies and Beliefs all Learning Reasoning and Instruction would be at an end and he that swears most is the best Logician and the Godliest Man We will therefore consider the Nature of an Oath and those who are to take this Oath If we consider Man and other Sensitive Creatures in their Creation and Generation they were all passive and they were created and generated without any Act of their own Will or the Counsel or Concurrence of any Creature but of a Divine and Omnipotent Power and by a Providence and Prescience not less wise and good than the Power was Omnipotent they had Food and other Means for their Continuance in this World provided before they were created or generated But though God without the Act of the Will of any Creature did make Man and other Sensitive Creatures by an inimitable Power which he communicated to no Creature and by an unscrutable Wisdom and Goodness did provide for them before they were made or generated yet did he not in vain make them Organical Bodies endued with Life Sense and Motion so that after they were made they might seek food which God had before provided for them and preserve themselves from other Creatures which might be hurtful to them As Sensation is naturally common to Man and other Sensitive Creatures so are the Passions of Love Fear Hatred and Desire viz. Love of those things which conduce to their Welfare and Preservation Fear of those things which are hurtful to them accompanied with an Hatred of them and a Desire of generating their Like in other Bodies Besides these Attributes common to other Creatures God endued Man with an Intellectual and Reasonable Soul which is proper to Man exclusive to other Creatures and made all things in this our Habitable World for the Use of
deadly Enemies and shall never decline his Majesty's Power and Jurisdiction as they shall answer it to God And all Persons who refuse to take this Oath to be uncapable of any publick Trust and to be look'd upon as Persons disaffected to his Majesty's Authority and Government And the 11th Act of the first Session says That it is the inherent Privilege of the Crown and undoubted Prerogative of the Kings of Scotland to have the sole Power of chusing Officers of State c. and of holding and dissolving Parliaments c. and That it is High Treason in any of the Subjects to make Leagues with Foreigners or among themselves without his Majesty's Authority first had c. And therefore the League and Covenant and all Treaties thereon are not obligatory and that none presume to require or renew the swearing the said League and Covenant The next Act I cannot say of Parliament for it was purely arbitrary was the total rooting out the Presbyterian Government in Scotland and upon this Occasion Mr. James Sharp Mr. Hamilton Mr. Farwel Mr. Leighton but whether sent for by the King or sent by the Kirk-Party I do not find came in 1661 to London and were ordained Deacons and Presbyters and after consecrated Bishops by the Bishop of Winchester and two other Bishops The Acceptance of which was a Renunciation of their Presbyterian Ordination nay it was a Declaration of the Invalidity of their former Ordination and thereupon the King on the 6th of September 1661 issued out a Proclamation declaring his Royal Pleasure to be for the restoring the Government of the Church of Scotland to be by Arch-bishops and Bishops as it was exercised in the Year 1637 and that he had nominated and presented Arch-bishops and Bishops to their several Bishopricks and to have the same Authority they had in the Reign of his Grand-father Thus you see the Presbyterian Government which was set up by such odd swearing without the King is by his sole Authority utterly subverted In Obedience to this Proclamation the Privy-Council the 9th of January following did discharge all Ecclesiastical Meetings in Synods Presbyteries and Sessions until they be authorized by the Arch-bishops and Bishops upon their Entry into the Government of their respective Sees which was to be done speedily Tho this Proclamation and Intimation of the Privy-Council had prevented the Parliament yet to make sure Work of both the Parliament in their second Sessions Redintegrated the Bishops to the Exercise of their Episcopal Function and to all their Privileges Dignities Jurisdictions and Possessions due and formerly belonging thereunto And another Act did ordain all Ministers to repair unto their Diocesan Assembly and concur in all Acts of Church-Discipline as they should be thereunto required by the Arch-bishops or Bishops of the Diocess under pain of being suspended from their Office and Benefice till the next Diocesan Meeting for their first Fault and if they amended not to be deprived and the Church to be declared vacant In the Year 1649 when there was no King in Israel the Parliament at the Instance of the Kirk by the 39th Act Discharge all Patrons and the King not excepted from Presentations to Church-Benefices for that the Estates of Parliament were sensible of the great Obligations that lie upon them by the National Covenant and the Solemn League and Covenant and by many Deliverances and Mercies from God and by the late solemn Engagement unto Duties to preserve the Doctrine and vindicate the Liberties of the Kirk of Scotland and advance the Work of Reformation therein to the utmost of their Power And considering that Patronage and Presentation of Kirks is an Evil and Bondage under which the Lord's People and Ministers of the Land have long groaned and that it hath no Warrant in God's Word but founded on the Common Law and is a Custom Popish and brought into the Kirk in time of Ignorance and Superstition and that the same is contrary to the 2d Book of Discipline in which upon solid and good Grounds it is reckoned among the Abuses that are to be reformed and unto several Acts of the General Assembly and that it 's prejudicial to the Liberties of the People and planting of Kirks and unto the free calling and entring of Ministers unto their Charge This Act did not hold long for next Year Cromwel enter'd Scotland and overturned all the Tables of Presbytery nor was this much mended after the King's Restoration for in the second Session of the first Parliament 1662 the Parliament did ordain All Ministers who had enter'd to the Cure of any Parish within Burgh or Land in or since the Year of God 1649 to have no Right unto or up-lift the Rents of their respective Benefices modified Stipends Marsh or Glebe for this instant Year 1662 nor for the Year following unless they should obtain a Presentation from the lawful Patron and have Collation from the Bishop of the Diocess where he liveth before the 20th of September next Tho the High Commission which Laud so zealously endeavour'd to erect in Scotland was put down by Act of Parliament 1641. in England yet the King by the inherent Right of his Crown and by the Virtue of his Prerogative Royal and supreme Authority in Causes Ecclesiastical erected one in Scotland The Commissioners were partly Ecclesiasticks and partly Lay-men who or five of them whereof one to be a Bishop had a more arbitrary Power over the Clergy than was practised in England under Laud and more than Laud could have expected for a High Commission for Scotland in the King's Father's Reign Thus you see the Kirk which would be a distinct Table and independent upon the Crown of Scotland are by the Prerogative of it committed to the arbitrary Mercy of the Prelates whom for above 24 Years they had been railing against and by many Oaths sware to extirpate But the Tribulations of the Kirk for the time to come do not end here for the Parliament resolve to stigmatize them for their Actions past and therefore upon the 5th of September 1662 they form a Declaration to be subscribed by all who shall have any publick Charge Office and Trust within the Kingdom in these Words I do sincerely affirm and declare That I judg it unlawful for Subjects upon Pretence of Reformation or any other Pretence whatsoever to enter into Leagues and Covenants or to take up Arms against the King or those Commissionated by him and that all these Gatherings Convocations Petitions Protestations and erecting and keeping Counsel-Tables that were used in the beginning and for carrying on the late Troubles were unlawful and seditious and particularly That those Oaths whereof the one is called the National Covenant as it was sworn and explained in the Year 1638 and thereafter and the other entitled A Solemn League and Covenant were and are in themselves unlawful Oaths and were taken by and imposed upon the Subjects of this Kingdom against the Laws and Liberties of the same
and that there lieth no Obligation upon me or any of the Subjects from the said Oaths or either of them to endeavour any Change or Alteration of the Government either in Church or State as it is now established by the Laws of the Kingdom Thus you see the Parliament throw this upon the Son which his Father so zealously contended for even to the Loss of his Life and when they had done all they could the Son little cared for what they had done For the Year after viz. 1663 the King granted a Toleration and Indulgence to Dissenters from the Church Thinking Men thought this strange that the King should the Year before pass the Act of Vniformity as the best Means to secure the Church against Popery and Fanaticism and in this grant a Toleration It could not be in Favour of them termed Fanaticks who kept him from his Crown and last Year Venner with his Party would have expell'd him again And this Year Swarms of Pamphlets were spread abroad to defame his Person and Government For printing some of which Twyn the Printer was hanged Thinking Men considered too the time when this Indulgence was granted for as the King in the Sale of Dunkirk chose to do it in the Interval of the Sitting of the Parliament so he did grant this Indulgence I think in November when the Parliament was prorogued to February But tho the Parliament would take no notice of the Sale of Dunkirk they did of this and therefore the Commons upon their Meeting entred into a serious Debate about it and made an Address to the King humbly representing How it would reflect upon the Wisdom of the Parliament to have such an Alteration made so soon and that for ought they could foresee would end in Popery And sure the Commons were true Prophets herein However whether the King fearing the Continuance of the Indulgence might retard the Commons in giving him Money or that time was not yet ripe enough to insist upon it at present he recalled his Declaration So that tho the King did establish a High Commission in Scotland by his Prerogative Inherent in his Crown which the Parliament agreed to in Scotland yet this Indulgence had not the like Effect in England This Indulgence may seem more strange if we look into Ireland where the Irish this very Year were contriving a Massacre of the Protestants and holding Intelligence with the French King which you may read at large in Plunket's Trial and this proved by Popish Witnesses I do not find the Irish had any Countenance herein by the King nor do I believe the French King acquainted his Brother of England with it Yet the Insincerity of the King's Intentions of any Benefit the Protestant Dissenters should have by this Indulgence will appear by this that when the Parliament seeing the Danger which the Prosecution of Protestant Dissenters might bring upon the Nation had prepared Bills for the Ease of Protestant Dissenters the King would not pass them However the Memory of the Rage and Tyranny of the late Times took deeper Impression in the Parliament than the Fear of Popery intended by the King's Toleration and Indulgence and therefore the Parliament from new invented Swearing and new invented Declaring proceed to new invented Laws against Dissenters and Conventicles and the Act of the 16 Car. 2. c. 4. does declare the 35 of Eliz. c. 1. to stand in full Force and ought to be put in Execution and did also enact That if any Number above Five more than the Family shall meet in any Assembly or Conventicle upon Colour or Pretence of Religion in any other manner than is allowed by the Liturgy and Practice of the Church of England he shall be committed Prisoner for the first Offence there to remain for a Term not exceeding three Months unless such Offender shall pay a Sum of Money not exceeding Five Pounds for the second Offence to be committed to Prison for a Term not exceeding Six Months or pay a Sum not exceeding Ten Pounds and for the third Offence to be transported beyond the Seas for the Space of seven Years unless he pay one hundred Pounds I will not dispute the Justice of these Laws but I say no Human Laws can divest Men of Human Nature but that Man as well as all other Creatures will endeavour by such Means as they are endued with to preserve their Being and Subsistence in this World And herein I again observe the unhappy State of this Nation in the Education of Youth in the Grammar-Schools and our Academical Learning as 't is called For tho a great Part of the Youth of England have Means to maintain them after they have lost their time of Youth under this unprofitable Breeding whereby they are no way instructed how to live and converse in this World yet double if not treble Numbers of Youth are thus bred who have little or no Means to maintain them after they become Men and more than can be maintained by the Revenues of the Church as they are established I say therefore this kind of Breeding Youth shall eternally create Feuds and a kind of Civil War between those who are in Church-Preferments and those excluded from them and these for their necessary Subsistence shall become Patrons of Factions opposite to the Church within the Kingdom and to the promoting the Popish Interest without In the late Times when the Presbyterians bare the Sway were there not enow of that Party to supply the Vacancies of the Sequestred Clergy besides such Swarms of the Patrons of Independency as were more numerous than they and who turned them out Yet was there a large Relick for to promote the Popish Faction Upon the Restoration of the King when the Sequestred Clergy were restored were there not Multitudes of such Clergy as would have conformed yet could not get any Preferment in the Church Thus excluded what other means had they to subsist but to become Nurseries of Factions which were opposite to the Church and tho these Laws were intended against Protestant Dissenters who had no other means of living but dissenting yet you shall soon hear of another Sort of Dissenters and these secretly countenanced by this most Religious and Gracious King which shall be much more dangerous to this Church and State than those against whom these Laws were made And I say the Vnreasonableness of Separation from the Communion of the Church of England will no more prevent this than Origines Sacrae by not only confounding but inverting all Rules and Methods of Reasoning prove a Deity or the Authority of the Sacred Scriptures thereby making them the Creatures of a Creature and the Production of a Fantastick Brain CHAP. II. A further Account of this Reign to the End of the Second Dutch War THe King being thus established in England and Scotland tho he was not so in Ireland this Year shews the Effects of his Power by making a War upon the Dutch and even this War
paid or was one tenth part so highly caressed by their Subjects in a time of Peace Was it not strange then that the King should be in such Necessities for Money as to borrow such great Sums of the City for carrying on this hasty War before the Parliament should meet to supply him Whereas when Queen Elizabeth came to the Crown her Revenue besides the Court of Wards and the Dutchy of Lancaster was but 188179 l. per Annum and the Crown left in Debt by her Father Brother and Sister which she afterwards paid and for the four first Years of her Reign the Parliament gave her but one Subsidy and two Fifteens about 120000 l. Yet in these Years she fitted up her Navy Royal so as it was not only superiour to those of all the Neighbouring Nations but of any Prince in the World and also sent a Fleet and Land-Army into Scotland with which she expelled the French out of it And the Parliament in the fifth Year of her Reign gave her but another Subsidy and two Fifteens wherewith she assisted the Princes of the Reform'd Religion in France Whereas the Parliament in the fifth Year of this King 's actual Reign gave him 2467500 l. for carrying on the War against the Dutch I will not dispute the Justice of this War yet sure never was any made with such Precipitancy and Inconsideration both abroad and at home for as the King entred into no Alliances or Confederations abroad in it so on the contrary France and Denmark our next Neighbouring Nations join'd with the Dutch against the King and that tho the Spaniard stood Neuter in it yet the King had little reason to expect any Benefit from him having been so used in the King's Sale of Dunkirk to the French and joining with the Portuguese and French against the Spaniard And as the King had made no Foreign Alliances abroad so had he not laid up any Naval Stores at home and which is worse he had the Act of Navigation tho made by the Rump yet the Parliament 13 Car. II. confirmed it or set the Royal Stamp upon it to struggle with to supply himself with Naval Stores for carrying on the War For the Rump were as hasty in making the Act of Navigation as the King was in entring into this War and made it general without any Consideration of Time either in War or Peace and herein their Zeal to make this Law outrun their Wit or Memory for these very Men about ten Years ago viz. 16 Car. I. 21. which yet stands unrepealed taking notice of the manifold Mischiefs tho in time of Peace which happened by reason the Importation of Gunpowder was prohibited contrary to Law viz. That the Price of Gunpowder was excessively raised many Powder-Mills decayed the Kingdom much weakned and endangered the Merchants much damnified many Mariners and others taken Prisoners and brought into miserable Captivity and Slavery many Ships taken by Turkish Pirates and many other Inconveniences thereby ensued and like to ensue Therefore this Act made the Importation of Gunpowder Salt-petre and Brimstone free to Strangers as well as Natives and a Premunire to hinder it Whereas in this War if the East-India Company shall set double or treble the Price upon Salt-petre or if their Ships should miscarry yet by this Act it is Confiscation of Ship Goods Tackle Apparel and Ammunition for the Subjects of any other Nation to import Salt-petre or Gunpowder The King tho this were a Naval War having laid up no Stores for it yet if the Swede from any Port of Norway but Gottenburg or if the Bradenburgher Lubeker Hamburgher or Emdenber should import any from any Port of Norway or any rough Hemp or Flax from Leifland or Prussia for making Cordage or Sails this had been Confiscation of Ships Goods Guns Tackle Ammunition and Apparel by this Act. This Act restraining the English in the Newcastle Trade and to the Plantations to navigate their Ships by three fourths English the King was forced to man his Fleet with pressed Men the greater part whereof were Land and Water-Men Whereas if it had been free for the English during the War to have imployed Foreigners in these Navigations the King might have above twenty thousand of his best Sea-men more than he had to man his Fleet and the City of London and other Parts of England throughly supplied with Coals at half the Prices and with more Security The King by reason of this Act in the first Year of this War was forced in the dead of Winter to send Sir John Harman to Gottenburg with a Squadron of Men of War for Masts Pitch and Tar where by the Coldness of the Season some of the Ships were frozen up and many of the English lost their Noses and were benumm'd in other Parts with the Cold Yet all agreed if the King had not been supplied with Naval Stores by this Fleet he could not have fitted out a Fleet next Year These things tho evident to any Stander-by yet the Parliament took no notice of them However the King wisely dispensed with the Act of Navigation so far as it related to the Importation of Naval Stores and Hemp and Flax with this different Success that tho the Parliament the Year before boggled at the King 's dispensing with the Penal Laws against Dissenters yet they took no notice of the King 's dispensing with the Act of Navigation Tho this War was thus hastily begun yet was it managed more carelesly and prodigally than ever any was before The Officers of the Fleet like those of the Guards bought their Places to sell their Lives the poor common Sea-men not paid and wanting Money to pay their Quarters were forced to take Tickets for less than half their Wages whilst Favourites swelled into incredible Riches by the Ruin and Spoil of the Nation The innumerable Prizes taken from the Dutch were so far from contributing to the Charges of this War that many of them were given to Women and Favourites and became a Charge to the King no Inspection must be into the defraying the Monies given for the War for this was to distrust the King The Officers who had bought their Places in the Fleet instead of minding their Business made it their Business how to be Gainers for the Purchase of their Places and caballed how they might improve their Interest at Court However the King receiving no Satisfaction from the Dutch for the Injuries done to Sir William Courten and Sir Paul Pindar upon the 17th of May 1665 granted Letters of Reprisal to Sir Edward Turner and George Carew their Executors c. against the Dutch till they should be satisfied 151612 l. This Grant to stand in force notwithstanding any Peace to be made till Sir Edward Turner c. were fully satisfied of the said Sum with all their Costs and Damages Sir Thomas Allen opened the first Sea Campagn by falling upon the Smirna-Fleet and took four of them richly laden and the
third of June following the English Fleet commanded by the Duke of York Prince Rupert Admiral of the White and the Earl of Sandwich of the Blue fought the Dutch off the Coast of Harwich where the Dutch were put to flight Opdam their Admiral was blown up and Cartinere Stillingwolf and Stamp Flag-Officers killed and eighteen of the Dutch Fleet sunk and taken and if it had not been for fear of disturbing the Duke in his next Night's Sleep it 's believed the whole Dutch Fleet might have been destroy'd But in this Fight the English lost the renowned Earl of Marlborough who tho Admiral in King Charles the First 's Reign died a private Captain in this Fight Rear-Admiral Sanson was killed in it and Vice-Admiral Lawson soon after died of his Wounds The Duke of York was of too estimable a Value to be ventur'd any more in this War for in his Person the Hopes of this War and Declaration of Indulgence resolved So the Earl of Sandwich was made Admiral Sir Thomas Allen of the White and Sir Thomas Tiddiman of the Blue Squadrons The Dutch were so damaged in the first Fight that they were not in a Condition to set out another Fleet this Year But the Dutch having lodged their East-India and other Fleets in Bergen in Norway the English Fleet sailed thither to attack them in it But Sir Thomas Tiddiman who was ordered to do it did not sail into the Harbour as he might have done upon his first Approach but sent to the Governour of the Castle to treat without the Dutch within alarm'd at the Danger set all hands on work that Night so that by the Morning they had so fortified the Castle that it was impossible for the English to force a Passage and the Weather growing boisterous it being towards the latter end of September the English Fleet was forc'd to return nor could the Dutch Fleet stay in Bergen and in their Return home two of their richest East-India Ships and about 80 Sail of their other Ships fell to the English share but tho they were deep laden when the English took them they became much lighter before they came into the English Harbour It seems God was not pleased with these things for this Year he sent a horrible Plague which raged over almost all the Parts of England The greatest Plague which happened since Edward the Third's time in England was in the first Year of this King's Grandfather yet a greater in the first Year of his Father's Reign and now a greater than either in the sixth Year of his actual Reign And as the Plague drove the Parliament to Oxford in his Father's Reign so did it now in his But neither the Mourning of the Land because of Oaths the Plague this Dutch War nor the King's Declaration of Indulgence for dispensing with the Penal Laws against Dissenters could abate the Parliament's Zeal in prosecuting Protestant Nonconformist Ministers but they made a Law called the five-mile-Five-Mile-Act whereby they were banished five Miles from any Corporation or Market Town and had this Oath imposed upon them I A. B. do declare That it is not lawful upon any Pretence whatsoever to take up Arms against the King and that I do abhor that traiterous Position of taking up Arms by his Authority against his Person or any that are commissionated by him in pursuance of such Commission And I do swear that I will not at any time to come endeavour the Alteration of the Government either in Church or State So help me God The poor Non-conforming Ministers did quietly submit to this in England but the Presbyterians did not so to the High Commission erected in Scotland for about this time they rose in Arms at Pentland against the Persecution of the Prelates who disturbed them in the Execution of their Ministry but were soon broken and a terrible Execution follow'd upon them as Traitors and Rebels In England the Parliament at Oxford granted the King 1250000 l. for carrying on the War against the Dutch and in the Spring 1666 the Plague ceasing the King set forth a Fleet under the Command of Prince Rupert and the Duke of Albemarle Sir Thomas Allen Admiral of the White and Sir William Berkley of the Blue But the Dutch and French now try to do that by Craft which they could not do by Force and Plain-dealing And to this purpose it was given out that the French had fitted up a strong Fleet to join the Dutch and this so prevailed upon the King and Council that upon the 29th of May a remarkable Day when the English Fleet was riding in the Downs Prince Rupert in all haste was ordered with the White Squadron to sail to the West to fight the French Fleet coming to join with the Dutch I desire to be particular in some part of what followed because I had it from Sir John Harman himself who was Vice-Admiral of the Blue At the same time Prince Rupert sailed from the Fleet the Dutch put out to Sea the Wind at North-east a fresh Gale this brought the Dutch Fleet on the Coast of Dunkirk and carried the Prince to St. Helens on the Isle of Wight but the Wind suddenly turning into the South-west blew a strong Gale which brought the Dutch and Duke to an Anchor when Captain Bacon of the Bristol by firing of his Guns gave notice to the Duke of the Approach of the Dutch Hereupon the Duke summoned all the Captains on board him not to consult whether to fight the Dutch but to order them to weigh Anchor and fight the Dutch This was the 1st of June the Wind at South-west blowing a stiff Gale so that the Dutch were forced to cut their Cables not having time to weigh Anchor and tho the English had the Weathergage of the Dutch yet the Wind so bowed the English Ships that they could not use their lowest Tire when they came up to fight the Dutch Sir Berkley's Squadron led the Van but the Duke when he came on the Coast of Dunkirk to avoid running on a Sand made a sudden Tack which brought his Top-mast to the Board whereupon he was forced to lie by 4 or 5 Hours till another was set up but the Blue Squadron knowing nothing of this sailed on fighting through the Dutch Fleet which were 5 to 1 of the Blue Here Sir William was killed and his Ship the Swiftsure a second Rate and all her Guns Brass taken so was the Essex a Frigat of the third Rate and Sir John Harman in the Henry got among 9 Ships of the Zeal and Squadron commanded by Vice-Admiral Everts and these so disabled the Henry that Everts offered Sir John Quarter if he would yield but Sir John told him 't was not come to that yet and gave him a Broadside and killed Everts Hereupon this Zealand Squadron sailed to assist their Fellows behind and only left Sir John to the Mercy of 3 Fireships one of which grappled the Henry on her Starboard Quarter The Dutch
Value of the Lands of England Observation VI. Suppose that we had no Act of Navigation but our Western Men might have built and fitted out Ships for the Newfound-Land Fishery as cheap as the French yet by this Act against Importation of Irish Cattel the French being enabled to victual Ships cheaper from the Ports of Ireland than we from the English the French from this only Cause may have the foreign Vent of the Newfound-Land Fishery whilst the English are necessitated to vend theirs only in England which is as much a Grievance as the Importation of Irish Cattel for the Expence of them will as much fall the Price of Flesh as the Importation of the Cattel Observation VII By this Law the English have lost the Benefit of Victualling foreign as well as English Ships from our own Ports and established them in Ireland to the lessening the Value of the Lands of England and this in time of Peace And in time of War by how much cheaper foreign Nations can victual Ships from Ireland than we can from England so much cheaper they may manage War and continue it longer Observation VIII The Wools of Ireland are generally better than those of England I have it by very good Authority and by the 14 Car. II. 18. it's Felony to export any out of England or Ireland The Reason given is it would decay the Woollen Manufactures ruin many Families and be the Destruction of the Navigation and Commerce of England and Ireland And why would it decay the Woollen Manufactures and ruin many Families to export Wool The common Reason given is That the Natives of other Countries would work them cheaper than the English whereby we should lose the Employment of our People If this be a Reason this Irish Act was made in an ill time to make Provisions dearer which will necessarily resolve into a further Dearness because those who work our Woollen Manufactures must live by Food and so much the dearer Food is so much dearer must Mens Labours be But I say this is not the Reason for no People in the World in like Circumstances take so much Pains for so little Profit as the Combers Spinners and Weavers do in our Woollen Manufactures and I 'm sure the Wools and Fullers-Earth in England are cheaper here than can be had elsewhere and an English Man or Woman hath a better Habit of Body and as good a Wit as a French or Dutch Man or Woman and that in Holland they pay as much for Excise for Meat and Drink as in England is paid for them I 'll give the true Reason why if the Dutch or French get our Wools and Fullers-Earth they may vend the Manufactures cheaper in foreign Trade than the English The Wools of Derbyshire Nottinghamshire Leicestarshire Warwickshire Lincolnshire Rutlandshire Northamptonshire Huntingtonshire Hertfordshire c. are in the dead of the Winter brought by Land-Carriage to Norwich and Colchester and even the Wools of the Sheep killed in London are carried to Colchester to be wrought there and then by another Land-Carriage they are brought to London as our Western Cloths are And then none but the Free-men of London must buy them at it may be 20 per Cent. cheaper than they might be sold if the Trade were free then they must be vended abroad in English-built Ships double as dear by the Act of Navigation and these sailed by near double the Hands of foreign Ships of like Dimensions and if any Returns be made they shall pay twofold more Duties than if they were imported into Holland and Hamburgh And upon other Terms ouâ Poor must not be employed working Woollen Manufactures It 's agreed the vast Riches of France arise by the Trades which the English Dutch Dane Hamburgher Embdener Lubecker and Bremeners drive trading into France for Wines Brandies Salt Paper and the English besides these for Linen Cordage and Sails Suppose then the French King should by Edict ordain that these should be first brought by Land-Carriage to Paris and then none but the Free-men should buy them at what Rates they please and then these should vend them in foreign Trade only in French-built Ships and these sailed by three fourth parts French whether they have Ships or Men or not and the Returns made of them to pay him twofold more than if they were imported into Holland or Hamburgh c. Would not any Man think he were mad Yet what would that differ from our Practice At this rate we have in England more Wools than we can work and by this Act the Irish are forced to breed Sheep upon the Grounds they bred their Cattel before the Act and by the Act of 14 Car. II. 18. it's Felony to export the Wools so as the Irish are necessitated to work them where Provisions are cheaper than in England and where they shall not be at the unnecessary Land-Charges of Carriage of their Wools and Re-carriage of their Cloths where they shall not be restrained to the vending of them to Free-men of Corporations at 20 per Cent. Loss and where their Ports are better and more convenient for foreign Trade than those of England and then the English must condescend to the Terms of the Irish or these will undo more Families and more decay the Trade of our Woollen Manufactures than if Foreigners wrought the Irish or English Wools. Observation IX Ireland is a Kingdom depending upon England and Trade and Commerce create a mutual Correspondence and Interest between Countries so as this Law makes the Correspondency and Interest of Ireland to depend upon other Countries whereas it is the Interest of England that England should have been the Mart or Store-house of all the Wools Hides Tallow c. renewed in Ireland as England is the Store-house of the Product of our Plantations or as Holland is of the Spice-Trade These ruinous and mischievous Consequences this Law has brought upon England and Ireland only that the Northern and Western Men might have a Monopoly of imposing what Rates they pleased upon the Eastern and Southern Parts of England I may safely say to the lessening the Rates and Value of those Lands at 30 per Cent. and I dare say from many less Causes or if this Partial Law had been imposed by any King out of Parliament it might have caused a Rebellion in England and Ireland too Yet it had been the Interest of the Northern and Western Men to have continued the Importation of Irish Cattel for in breeding Cattel they can make but one Return in five Years whereas they might make four Returns in one Year by the Irish Cattel imported Yet in many Land-Taxes the Parliament taxed the Southern and Eastern Parts of England near double more than the Northern and Western But neither the King's Management of Business this Infant-Law the Fire of London the pulling down the Houses upon the Tower-Ditch the Plague nor the Act of Navigation now sixteen Years old could allay the Parliament's Heat from
sustained by the Depredations upon the Ships and Lading taken from Sir Paul Pindar and Sir William Courten c. In this Interval of the Parliament's Recess the King took the Seals from my Lord Chancellour Ashley now made Earl of Shaftsbury and gave them to Sir Heneage Finch a Person of singular Integrity Eloquence and Veracity who to those insite Excellencies which were natural to him improved them by the great Example of his Uncle John Finch likewise Keeper of the Great Seal in the King's Father's Reign yet with a different Fate for the Temper of the Times would not bear his Uncle's Integrity Eloquence and Veracity whenas the Nephew with prosperous Gales continued his Course till he arrived at Lord Chancellour Lord Daventry and Earl of Nottingham and kept the Seals to his dying Day which not one of his three Predecessors could do And Sir Thomas Osburn succeeded Lord Treasurer So C. and A. are out we shall soon see what became of B. A. and L. At last the 20th of October came and the Parliament met again when at the opening of the Session the new Lord Keeper with admired Eloquence and Veracity which he retained to his dying Day made a large Deduction of the Dutch Averseness to Peace their uncivil Demeanour to the King 's Plenipotentiaries at Cologn and how indirectly they dealt with the King in all the Overtures of Peace and therefore a necessary Supply proportionable to the Greatness of the King's Affairs was not only demanded but Care to be taken for Payment of the Bankers Debt otherways Multitudes of the King 's Loyal Subjects would be undone But neither the Keeper's Eloquence nor his Veracity would down with the Commons for during this Recess the Terror of the French Progress had alarm'd the Nation as well as the rest of Christendom The French Legerdemain at Sea was so much more taken notice of as our Loss was more by their looking on whilst the English and Dutch destroyed one another The Commons were frighted at the standing Army in England commanded by a Foreigner and an Irish Papist taking all Military Liberty as in Time of War It was more than whisper'd the Conditions proposed by the King 's Plenipotentiaries at Cologn were impossible which tho granted yet no Peace was to be had unless the French King was answer'd in his Demands nor were the Commons content with their Prorogation till the Marriage with the Princess of Modena was past Cure Hereupon the Commons on the 31st of October bound themselves by a Vote That considering the present Condition of the Nation they will not take into further Consideration any Aids or Charges upon the Subject except it shall appear that the Obstinacy of the Dutch shall render it necessary nor before this Kingdom be effectually secured from Popery and Popish Counsels and other Grievances redressed This early Vote of the Commons was so much more surprizing to the Band of Pensioners who as yet had not earned their Bread by how much they expected Mountains of Gold should fall from my Lord Keeper's Eloquence and Veracity And now is the King like his Father when he went to York to fight the Scots reduced to a fine state all the Monies received from the French King like Water spilt upon the Ground never to be collected Besides the Band of Pensioners he had a Land Army to maintain and a Fleet at Sea which the French Subsidies would not one fourth maintain He could not avoid the Clamours of his Subjects whose Monies were shut up in the Exchequer nor the Merchants who had supplied his Navy in this and the former Dutch War yet their Graces the Dutchesses of Cleveland and Portsmouth must be maintained sutable to their Qualities so must the Dukes of M G S N R St. A and Earl of P besides Portions to be provided for many of his Off-spring of the other Sex He had already provided Titles for the Cabal except Buckingham who could not be greater However you 'll see this Vote of the Commons will work powerfully notwithstanding the Agreement at Vtrecht that the King shall not make a separate Peace without the French King nor any Peace with the Dutch unless the French King shall be satisfied in his Particulars at Cologn Nor did the Commons stay here but C. and A. being gone one dead the other turned to t'other side they fell upon B. A. and L. and addressed themselves to the King that they might be removed from his Councils Presence and all publick Employment and upon the 4th of November moved 1. That the Alliance with France was a Grievance 2. That the evil Counsel about the King was a Grievance to the Nation 3. That the Lord Lauderdale was a Person grievous to the Nation and not fit to be trusted in any Office or Trust but to be removed The Rump of the Cabal thus used frighted the whole Band of Pensioners into a Fear their Turn would be next at least their Pensions not paid and therefore to undo all that was done in a Hurry the Parliament was prorogued to the 7th of January following not having sat eight Days But the Commons needed not to have been so fierce upon B. A. and L. for B. was now going off and A. being the King's Brother-in-law was spited that he was twice balked in being Lord Treasurer and if he did not turn to t'other side yet he would never be reconciled with my Lord Treasurer Only L. now remained to be quit with the Commons to get an Act of Parliament in Scotland to raise 20000 Foot and 2000 Horse to serve the King upon all Occasions The King having so hastily begun this War by two such Acts as were without Precedent viz. The shutting up the Exchequer and the Attempt upon the Dutch Smyrna Fleet was now as forward to make a Peace with the Dutch even upon any Terms tho but last Year his Plenipotentiaries had agreed at Vtrecht with the French King not to make Peace with the Dutch without him and this Year at Cologn to grant no Peace unless the French King be satisfied in his Particulars By this time the CABAL was degenerated into a Juncto and this was compounded too of five viz. My Lord Keeper F L Lauderdale Arlington and Secretary Coventry in room of Secretary Trevor now dead It was agreed by the whole Juncto That Sir William Temple was the most proper Agent for making this Peace not only for his Abilities and great Reputation he had acquired in concluding the Triple League but for the Honour and Esteem the King of Spain and States of Holland held of his Integrity and Conduct And in order hereunto my Lord Arlington from the King and Juncto complimented Sir William and told him He would not pretend the Merit of having named him Sir William upon this Occasion or whether the King or my Lord Treasurer did it first but that the whole Committee joined in it and concluded That since a Peace was to be made no
positive Refusal that the Blow came to be eluded which could not otherwise be avoided as Sir William Temple says tho I believe it was intended even when the Prince went out of England However about the latter end of December 1677 the King sent to Sir William Temple to the Foreign Committee and told him he could get no positive Answer from France and therefore resolved to send him into Holland to make a League there with the States for forcing France and Spain into a Peace upon the Terms proposed if either refused To which Sir William told the King what he had agreed was to enter into a War with all the Confederates in case of no direct and immediate Answer from France That this perhaps would satisfy the Prince and Confederates abroad and the People at home But to make such a League with Holland only would satisfy none of them and disoblige both France and Spain Besides it would not have such an Effect or Force as the Triple Alliance had being a great Original of which this seemed an ill Copy And therefore excused himself from going And so the King sent Mr. Thyn with a Draught of the Treaty to Mr. Hide who was then come from Nimeguen to the Hague upon a Visit to the Princess which was done and the Treaty signed the 16th of January tho not without great Dissatisfaction to the Prince This Tergiversation of the Court set fire to the Jealousies in Holland especially at Amsterdam that the Prince by this Marriage had taken Measures with the King as dangerous to the Liberties of Holland and make it there believed that by this Match the King and Duke had wholly drawn the Prince into their Interests and Sentiments The French hereupon proposed other Terms of Peace to the Dutch far short of the King 's and less safe for Flanders restoring only six Towns to the Spaniard and mentioning Lorain but ambiguously which would not have gone down in Holland but for the Suspicions raised by the Prince's Marriage among the People there who had an incurable Jealousy of our Court and thereupon not that Confidence in the Prince that he deserved If we take this Reign as one thing you 'll find it made up of almost infinite Confusions and Disorders and scarce one regular Act in it and now we are come to one which is without any Precedent which was this You heard before how the King to gratify the French Ambassador for not acquainting him with the Marriage with the Prince had prorogued the Parliament to the 8th of April next viz. 1678. And now Mr. Thyn had made this League with the States the King thought this a good occasion to get Money from the Parliament upon it and was loth to stay till the 8th of April for it and therefore by his Proclamation commands the Parliament to meet upon the 15th of January before the 8th of April Prorogations of Parliaments are new and I think were never heard of in England before the Reign of Henry VIII and are said to be the Acts of the King but Adjournments the Acts of the House to a certain Time and Place and both Houses must be sitting and in being when they are either so prorogued or adjourned I remember upon the discovery of Câleman's Letters the Court were mightily surprized at it and the Parliament was to have met some few days after upon a Prorogation which the King in that Surprize unwilling they should did therefore call a Council to advise whether he might not prorogue them to a further day without the Houses meeting and 't was said my Lord Chancellor Finch was of Opinion he might and thereupon Sir Edward Seymour Speaker of the House of Commons having Occasions in the Country went out of Town but some body acquainted the King of the Doubtfulness of the Chancellor's Opinion and desired the King to advise with old John Brown who had been Clerk of the Parliament for near forty Years the King did so and John Brown was positive that in case the Houses did not meet at the Time and Place appointed the King by his Proclamation could not prorogue them but it would be a Dissolution of the Parliament Whereupon the Speaker was sent for back again and so many of both Houses met as would make a Parliament which it 's said is forty Commoners and seven Lords and then the King prorogued them But this Consideration was not that I find taken notice of by either House tho both met according to the King's Proclamation The Houses thus met the King acquainted them with the League he had made with Holland and demanded Money of them to carry on the War against France in case France did not comply with the League whereupon the Parliament granted him a Tex by Poll and otherways which amounted to 1200000 l. not for Peace but to enter into an actual War with France But this Tax shall only beget another to disband an Army raised upon that Pretence tho no War was entred into against France But so far was the French King from giving up any Towns notwithstanding the Agreement the King had made with the Prince or the League he had made with Holland that about the latter end of January he had made an Attempt upon Ipre and threatned Ostend and in March following by open Force takes both Ipre and Gaunt yet the French Ambassador here continued his Court and Treaty with all the Fairness that might be The French having now taken Ipre and Gaunt were so far from proceeding in any Treaty either with England the Confederates or Holland or in the Treaty at Nimeguen that about the first of April the French King made publick Declaration of the Terms upon which he resolved to make Peace which tho very different from those agreed upon between the King and Holland and more from the Pretensions of the Allies yet this way of treating the French pursued in the whole Negotiation afterwards declaring such and such were the Conditions which they would admit and no other and upon which the Enemies might chuse either War or Peace and to which France would not be tied longer than the 10th of May after which they would be at Liberty to change or restrain as they should think fit But how imperious soever the French were abroad yet they dreaded a Conjunction of England either with the Dutch or Confederates and therefore thought fit to wheedle our Court till the Affairs of the Confederates should become so desperate as to submit to what Terms the French King should impose upon them And to this purpose Mr. Mountague now Earl sent a Pacquet to my Lord Treasurer giving an account of a large Conference Monsieur Louvoy the French King 's grand Minister of State had with him by the King his Master's Order wherein he represented the Measures they had already taken for a Peace in Holland upon the French Terms and that since they were agreed there they hoped his Majesty would not be
be kept with Hereticks which he esteemed all others in England but those of his own Romish Faction to be Could the King believe that the Duke's Succession could be any Security to the Protestant Religion as the King calls it which the Duke esteemed Heresy and to be rooted out by Fire and Sword or that any other but the Duke's Faction could be protected by him when he esteemed them Hereticks Schismaticks Church-Robbers and no Christians It 's true at this time the King of Portugal was made a Prisoner to restrain him from his immoral and wicked Actions whilst his Brother in his Imprisonment acted as Regent of Portugal in his Brother's Name But upon the Duke's Succession how could a Regent act when the King was not a Minor but of full Age double and at large in the King's Name and contrary to his Will and Pleasure and this to consist with the Security of the Protestant Religion or Laws In the Debates in the House of Commons many Expedients were propounded how the established Government in Church and State could be preserved and none could be found in case the Duke succeeded so the Country Party moved that the Court Party would propound Expedients herein but either they could not or had no Instructions from the Court to warrant such Expedients as they should propound But if the due and legal Descent of the Crown must be preserved though to the Destruction of the Church and State they who advised the King to be so positive herein should have done well to have declared what Law in England declares the Descent of the Crown of England or how this becomes due I am sure the Act of the first of Henry the IV intailed the Crown upon the King and the Heirs of his Body and so did that of the first of Henry VII before he married the Lady Elizabeth Edward the Fourth's Daughter and if Henry the seventh's Title to the Crown had been good by inherent Birth-right yet he had been an Usurper For his Mother under whom he claimed lived all his Reign and so she did some time after Henry the VIII became King as you may read in Stow's History p. 487. And how was the due and Legal Succession of the Crown of England observed in the Reign of Henry the VIII when by his Will he might name what Successor he pleased as has been said or in Queen Elizabeth's Reign when it was in Parliament declared Treason to affirm the Parliament might not dispose of the Succession of the Crown in her Reign and a Premunire at this Day And let any Man shew that ever there were three Kings before these of the Scotish Race in the Saxon Danish or Norman Race which succeeded successively by inherent Birth-right I will submit that all I have said is not true and why then must such a Stress be put for the preserving the Descent of the Crown in its due and legal Course without declaring what is that due and legal Course to endanger the Subversion of the Church and State of England Then the King recommends to the Parliament a Strict Enquiry into the Popish Plot and that the Lords in the Tower be brought to a speedy Trial without which he did not think himself or the Parliament safe The constant Vogue was That the King dissolved the two last Parliaments to preserve the Lords in the Tower from being brought to Trial and I am sure that you will soon hear that the King did not believe his and the Nation 's Safety did consist in the Trial of the Lords in the Tower Then the King tells the Parliament what Danger Tangier was in and what vast Expence he must be at to keep it And the Commons last Parliament drew up an Act to settle it upon the Imperial Crown of England and that they who did advise the King to part with Tangier to any Foreign Prince or State or were instrumental therein ought to be accounted Enemies to the King and Kingdom And what Care the King took to keep it will soon appear tho 't was said the Parliament I think it was out of the Chimney-Bill gave him 40000 l. per Annum towards the Preservation of it to the Crown of England The King goes on and says That above all the Treasure in the World which he was sure would give him greater Strength both at home and abroad than any Treasure can do is a perfect Union among our selves yet says not wherein we should unite Truth and Unity are one and consist in intire Parts but Falshood and Discord are infinite What Truth or Unity could be in the King 's loose and irregular Actions so confounding and every day varying from what he had promised before Or how is it possible for the Nation to unite under Terms which are inconsistible and impossible viz. Unite to preserve the Constitutions of the Kingdom and yet be at no Discord with the King who they were morally certain would make it his Business to subvert them If we should be so unhappy the King says as to fall into such Misunderstanding among our selves as would render our Friendship unsafe to trust to it will not be wondred at if our Allies shall begin to take up new Resolutions and perhaps such as may be fatal to us and advised them not to gratify our Enemies and dishearten our Friends by any unreasonable Disputes viz. to take all by an implicit Faith I do not understand what the King means by Misunderstanding among our selves which may render our Friendship to our or his Allies unsafe nor does he say wherein such Misunderstanding consists I 'm sure the Parliament misunderstood him when they gave him 1200000 l. to enter into an actual War against the French King in the Defence of these Allies and when he had got the Money to make a separate Peace with a Faction of the Dutch to the Ruine of his Allies and take French Money for it and to get the Parliament twice over to disband this Army for fear he should turn it against them and the Nation and now 't was disbanded to give Money to raise another upon Pretence of assisting these Allies now they were forced to such a dishonourable Peace with the French or that our Allies as the King calls them would ever trust to any more of his Alliances If any should so happen the King says the World will see it is no Fault of his for he had done all that was possible for him to do to keep us in Peace while he lived and to leave us so when he died Can any Man believe the King believed himself herein Or that any Man will be his Voucher for it Even my Lord C. F. out of the Field of his sweet lisping Eloquence could not gather one Rhetorical Flower to make a Flourish upon this Speech nor assure the Parliament upon his Veracity that Now Now was the time to secure their Religion and Properties nay the Commons gave so little Credit to this
for repealing the said Act of 35 Eliz. which passed the Commons upon the 26th of November and was sent up to the Lords who agreed to it As the Lords joined with the Commons in passing this Repeal so did the Commons join with the Lords in their Vote the 4th of January viz. Resolved by the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament assembled That they do declare that they are fully satisfied that there now is and for divers Years last past there hath been an horrid and treasonable Plot and Conspiracy contrived and carried on by those of the Popish Religion in Ireland for massacring the English and subverting the Protestant Religion and antient established Government of that Kingdom To which the Commons added That the Duke of York being a Papist and the Expectation that Party had of his coming to the Crown hath given the greatest Encouragement to the Popish Plot as well in Ireland as here But the Lords ran counter to the Commons in the Bill intituled An Act for securing the Protestant Religion by disabling James Duke of York to inherit the Imperial Crown of England and Dominions and Territories thereunto belonging for after the Reading it the first time in the House of Lords and the Question being put whether it should be read a second time it was resolv'd in the Negative by above a double Majority of Votes If the Lords and Commons ran counter in some things the King and Commons ran counter almost in every thing The King 's main End in calling this Parliament was to get Money for the Preservation of Tangier and in perfecting the Alliance he had made with Spain The Commons would not give any Money upon the Account of Tangier for three Reasons One was For that as the state of the Nation stood it might augment the Strength of the Popish Party and encrease the Danger of the Nation Another was There were several Regiments besides the Guards in pay in England which might be transported to Tangier with little Charge and be maintained there as cheap as here And the third was That that Garison was the Nursery of Popish Officers and Soldiers The Commons would not give Money for the pretended Alliance of mutual Obligations of Succour and Defence with Spain for three Reasons 1. The Jealousy they had of the King's Sincerity in this Alliance and the more because the King did not declare to them what manner of Alliance this was and it might be more to the Prejudice than Benefit of this Kingdom or if it should have been to the Benefit of the Kingdom they could have no more Assurance of the Performance of it than they had of the Triple League that made with the Prince of Orange or that made between the King and States of Holland by Mr. Thyn on the King's Part which were all broken almost as soon as made 2. The Impossibility of any Benefit which could arise to England and Spain by such an Alliance for if all Christendom after the separate Peace which the King joined with the Dutch Faction in could not uphold Spain and the Spanish Netherlands from falling under the Dominion of the French how could the King in the feeble and distracted state of the Nation be in a condition to support it without them 3. The Unreasonableness of giving Money upon this Account for tho oftentimes the Kings of England have demanded Supplies for maintaining vast Wars yet never any King of England before demanded Supplies for making Alliances and not declare what such Alliances were But if any such mutual Alliances of Succour and Defence were made between our King and the King of Spain I 'm sure they were ill observed by the King for two Years after viz. 1682 the French blocked up the City of Luxemburgh and the next Year took Courtray one of the six Towns delivered back to the Spaniard by Beverning's separate Treaty from the Confederates and keeps it to this Day and so the French King does Luxemburgh which he took by plain Force from the Spaniard the next Year after viz. 1684. I wish I could find any mutual Succour of Defence the King gave the King of Spain in any of these either by this Alliance or as the King was Guarantee in the Treaty of Aix la Chapelle which in his Proclamation against the Dutch in the second Dutch War he declared he would maintain Nor did the Commons only run counter to the King's Designs of getting Money but considering the dangerous and weak state of the Kingdom as by the Debt the King had contracted by shutting up the Exchequer and his squandring away almost all the antient Revenues of the Crown and to prevent the like upon the Revenue settled upon the King since his Restoration upon the 7th of January resolved 1. That whosoever shall lend or cause to be lent by way of Advance any Money upon the Branches of the King's Revenue arising by Customs Excise or Hearth-money shall be adjudged a Hinderer of the Sitting of Parliaments and be responsible for the same 2. That whosoever shall accept or buy any Tally or Anticipation upon any part of the King's Revenue or whosoever shall pay such Tally hereafter to be struck shall be adjudged to hinder the Sittings of Parliaments and be responsible therefore in Parliament Now let 's see wherein the King run counter to both Lords and Commons After the Lords had agreed with the Commons in the Repeal of 35 Eliz. the Bill was taken from the Lords Table and never heard of after which no Man durst have done without the King's Command at least Privity Herein you may observe the Insincerity of the King's Indulgences for dispensing with the Penal Laws against Dissenters when he nourished those Ends by them which the Parliament dreaded and now the Parliament would have legally eased them the Bill must be ravished away Here is a greater Wonder yet to be told of this Parliament for notwithstanding all these Discords between the Lords and Commons and the King and the Lords and Commons yet they all reconciled in making the Act against the Importation of Irish Cattel c. perpetual thereby to perpetuate the Discords between the Kingdoms of England and Ireland as much as those between Whig and Tory. And in this posture of Affairs the King prorogu'd the Parliament from the 10th to the 20th of January 1681 and upon the 18th dissolved them This Dissolution caused a great Amazement in the Nation but in some measure to allay it the King summons another to meet the 21st of March following at Oxford This rais'd a Jealousy in the Nation and many of the Nobility that there was some hidden Design nourished in the Court which might have dangerous Influences upon the Nation and the Parliament too Hereupon 16 of the Nobility petitioned the King against the Meeting of the Parliament at Oxford and my Lord of Essex upon the Delivery of it made a short Speech which I believe was not forgotten afterwards The
to preserve Fire and Water mingled together and was not the Monarchy of Scotland preserved though his Grandfather reigned twenty Years in Scotland while his Mother was alive without her and so continued after her Death That no Expedient would be entertained but a total Exclusion nor could be nor did the King ever propound any how otherwise the established Religion might be preserved That the Business of Fitz-Harris was carried to that Extremity that there were no hopes of a Reconciliation c. and put the Houses out of a Capacity of transacting Business it was upon Friday the twenty sixth of March the Commons sent up the Impeachment of Fitz-Harris and there were but Saturday and Sunday between this and the Dissolution of the Parliament and the Houses sat not on Sunday so that the King 's no Hopes or indeed Fears of a Reconciliation were very sudden Why might not the Lords if they had been permitted to have sat upon Conferences with the Commons and hearing their Reason have altered their Resolutions which is usual and it seems this Resolution of the Lords was very sudden and admitted of no great Debate to receive the Impeachment of Fitz-Harris and the same Day to throw it out which caused him to put an end to that Parliament However the King says that notwithstanding the Malice of ill Men who laboured to perswade the People that he intended to lay aside the Use of Parliaments he declared that no Irregularity in Parliament should make him out of love with them and that he was resolved to have frequent Parliaments yet lived near four Years after and never called another and in the Intervals would use his utmost endeavours to extirpate Popery and redress the Grievances of his Subjects the truth of this will best appear hereafter This Declaration which carries the Title of his Majesty's Declaration to all his loving Subjects was ordered to be read in all the Churches of England but if the Matter of it were so surprizing and amazing to the Nation the Manner of it was not less For never any King of England before as King no not this King's Father or Grandfather ever spake to his Subjects but either personally in Parliament or under the Broad Seal of England Whereas this Declaration is only Signed Francis Gwyn it might have been as well Edward Coleman and the Subjects as much obliged to have taken notice of the one as of the other And the Reason is twofold one That the Chancellor or Keeper is responsible if he puts the Seal to any Declaration or Proclamation not warranted by Law and therefore my Lord Chancellor Finch's Sagacity in not putting the Seal to this Declaration was as apparent as his Veracity which he would not expose in seconding the King's Speech at the opening the last Westminster Parliament And the other is to avoid all Impostures and Cheats which might otherwise be imposed upon the Nation under the Name of the King That we may take a better View of the rest of this King's Reign if it be worthy to be called so it 's fit we look into Scotland and see what 's doing there for the Discovery of the Popish Plot but it 's fit to look a little back and take notice that the King in his Speech at the opening of the Second Westminster Parliament told them that to take away all room for any Jealousy of his not prosecuting the Discovery of the Popish Plot he had sent his Brother beyond Sea but having by the Duke of Monmouth wholly suppressed the Kirk Party in Scotland he fairly sends for the Duke of York back again and from an Exile made him Vice-Roy or Regent of Scotland where all things lay open for him to prosecute his Designs as he pleased When the Duke came into Scotland the Earl of Argyle was one of the first that waited upon him The Earl's Story will better appear if first you take his Character He was Son of the Earl of Argyle after made Marquess by King Charles the First who so preferred him to take him off from heading the Kirk Party and thereby to oblige him to become of the King's side which had no Effect for the Marquess above any other of the Scotish Nobility was a most zealous Assertor of the Kirk's Power and was the Head of them when Montross took up Arms against them but though the Marquess was most unfortunate in it yet it no ways abated his Zeal to the Kirk nor was he less esteemed by them When Cromwel had overthrown Duke Hamilton and taken him Prisoner who came into England not to establish the National League and Covenant but to deliver King Charles out of Prison The zealous Kirk Party were highly offended at it and the Marquess of Argyle was the principal Agent to call Cromwel into Scotland to suppress the Hamiltonian Faction and to establish the Kirk which Cromwel then did though he undid it soon after and for this the Marquess was the first Year after the King's Restoration condemned and executed for High Treason upon which he lost all his Honours as well as his Estate But in all the Marquess's Actions his Son the Lord Lorn run counter to him and when this King Charles was in Scotland he was of all others the most obsequious to him and afterward when Middleton made some Incursions into Scotland for the King Lorn was most assisting in them Hereupon after the Marquess was attainted and executed King Charles restored his Son to all his Father's Estate and Honours except that of Marquess Afterward the Earl of Argyle continued constant in his Integrity to the King in all his Civil Affairs and was most zealous and forward in suppressing Tumults and Field-Conventicles so that before the Duke came into Scotland the King had so entire a Confidence in the Earl that he gloried that in thirty Years which must be computed from the King 's going into Scotland in 1650 he never received one Frown from the King how he should become such a prejured Traitor after the Duke's coming into Scotland is now to be enquired into The Earl of Argyle was one of the Lords of the Articles and by the Duke made one of the Committee for the Articles of Religion which by the Custom of Scotland and by the King's Instruction was to be the first thing treated of In this Committee an Act was prepared for securing the Protestant Religion which approved the Confession of Faith and also the Act containing the Coronation Oath to be taken by all the Kings and Regents of Scotland before their entry to exercise their Government This Act as drawn was less binding to the Successor of the Crown as to his own Profession yet did oblige as strongly the Maintenance of the Protestant Religion in the publick Profession by all others as before and added a Test to be taken by all in publick Emploiments to exclude the Popish Party out of them and because in case of a Popish Successor all Fines and
Forfeitures by Papists would be insignificant viz. remitted this intended Act did ordain that such Fines and Forfeitures one half should be to the Informers the other to charitable Uses But this Act being so contrary to the Duke's Design the Committee of Religion was discharged from meeting again and another short Act was brought into Parliament ratifying all former Acts for securing the Protestant Religion so that in this first Act the Duke pursued not his Instructions but went contrary to them and to the Custom of Scotland At the passing this Act the Earl of Argyle proposed that all Acts against Popery might be added which was opposed by the King's Advocate and some of the Clergy yet seconded by Sir George Lockhart and the President of the Sessions it passed without a Vote but such was the Jealousy of the Parliament that this did not secure the established Religion that several of the Members desired other Additions and Acts which the Duke in open Parliament promised when Time and Opportunity offered should pass but when at any time this was proposed the Test was obtruded If the Parliament were so zealous to secure the established Religion the Duke was not less to secure the Succession of the Crown of Scotland shrewdly struck at in England in the very Person of the Duke and to that end a Bill was brought in and passed wherein it was declared High Treason to affirm that the Succession of the Crown of Scotland can be altered from the next of Proximity of Blood but how agreeable this was to the Title of the Bruces and Stuarts who had no Title to the Succession of the Crown of Scotland but by Act of Parliament has already been shewed and how disagreeable this Act was to the Duke's Grandfather's Succession to the Crown of Scotland without any Act of Parliament let any Man judg This Act was not only thus contrary to the Laws and Usages of Scotland but the Act is equivocal if not contradictory to the Duke's Design for there is a difference between the next Heir and the next in Proximity of Blood as if a Man had several Sons and the eldest has a Son or Daughter his Father living and after his Father dies his eldest Son's Son is Heir and his other Sons and Daughters are next in Proximity of Blood the Heir being a degree in Blood further removed from the common Ancestor than his Uncles or Aunts and this was the case of Richard II. of England Son of the Black Prince Edward the Third's Eldest Son who succeeded to the Crown of England though his Uncles the Dukes of Clarence Lancaster York and Cambridg were nearer of Blood to Edward the Third This Act for the Succession of the Crown of Scotland was succeeded by another called the Test as contradictory to it self as contrary to the Act of Succession to be taken by all Persons in publick Trust in Scotland wherein they solemnly Swear in the Presence of the Eternal God whom they invoke as Judg and Witness of their sincere Intention of this their Oath That they own and profess the true Protestant Religion contained in the Confession of Faith recorded in the first Parliament of King James the Sixth and believe the same to be founded on and agreeable to the Written Word of God That they will adhere thereto and endeavour to educate their Children therein and never consent to any Change or Alteration contrary thereto and renounce all Popish and Fanatical Doctrines inconsistent with the said Protestant Religion and Confession of Faith And by this their solemn Oath they Swear That King Charles the Second is the only Supream Governour of this Realm over all Persons and in all Causes as well Ecclesiastical as Civil and renounce all Foreign Jurisdiction of the Pope or any other Person and promise to bear true Faith and Allegiance to the King his Heirs and Lawful Successors and to their Power to defend all their Rights and Prerogatives And by this their solemn Oath they Swear They judg it unlawful for Subjects upon pretence of Reformation or any Pretence whatsoever to enter into any Covenants or Leagues or to convene c. in any Council to treat of any Matter of State Ecclesiastical or Civil without his Majesty's special Command or express Licence or to take up Arms against the King or those commissionated by him That they will never rise in Arms or enter into such Covenants or Assemblies That there lies no Obligation upon them by the National Covenant or the solemn League or Covenant or any other way to endeavour any Change or Alteration of the Government either of Church or State as by Law established and promise and swear to the utmost of their Power to maintain the King's Jurisdiction against all deadly and as they shall answer it before God and that they took this Oath in the true and genuine Sense and Meaning of the Words without any Equivocation Mental Reservation or Evasion and never to accept of any Dispensation from any Creature So God help them By these two Acts you may observe the Scotish Temper whether it were natural or in contradiction to the Kirk-Party I will not say nor how much higher it flew than the Tory in England but because of the extraordinariness of these two Acts it 's fit to make some Reflections upon them Such another Law as that of the Succession was made the twenty first of Richard the Second in the Case of Roger Mortimer which lasted not longer than the next Year after when the Law was not only repealed but Henry the Fourth succeeded contrary to it whereas this Law continued for above eight Years after when it not only lost its Force but another Face appeared in Scotland and so continues in spight of this Law Now from this treasonable Law let us make some Remarks upon this ranting swearing Law called the Test We have said elsewhere that all Oaths are assertory of the Truth of Things Speech and Actions in time past or promissory to do or forbear to do some Act in time to come and now let 's consider what is Truth and the End of an assertory Oath Truth is proper to intellectual and reasonable Creatures and is either the apprehension of intelligible Beings as God a Law the Soul Time c. which can never be the Objects of Sense and of the Causes and Consequences of Intentions Speech and Action for Sense is not of Futurity but of present Things and Actions the Consequence or Inference will be whether good or bad just or unjust c. However all intelligible Beings and the Causes of Things and Actions are ever assumed not sworn to and if another does not nor will assent to them swearing to the Truth of them will be to no purpose So it is of the Consequence of Speech and Actions if another be not convinced from the Reason of such Consequence or Inference swearing it to be so will never do it But though sensible Things Speech and Actions
Design to bring Trouble upon a Handful of poor Catholicks that would live peaceably however they were used but that it should light upon others Now the Design appears barefac'd for would you think it the Earl having delivered the Explanation of his taking the Test by the Duke 's peremptory Command this is interpreted a publishing of it and upon Tuesday the eighth of November a Council was called without calling the Earl to it and an Order was sent by one of the Clerks of the Council to the Earl that before 12 a Clock next Day he should enter himself a Prisoner in the Castle of Edinburgh and a Warrant was sent to the Deputy Governour to keep him Prisoner wherein the Word Sure firmance tho fairly writ was struck out The Earl obeyed and by himself alone in a Hackney Coach rendred himself a Prisoner accordingly And now you 'll see how absolutely in this deputed Authority the Duke demeaned himself without Reserve what then might be expected from him in Case he should become King The Earl some Days after he had rendred himself Prisoner wrote to the Duke telling him how he had obeyed his Highness and Council's Order in rendring himself a Prisoner and how that he wrote no sooner lest he might be thought too impatient of Imprisonment which appeared to be the Effects of high Displeasure which he hoped he no ways deserved and was resolved to continue all Duty and Obedience to his Majesty and Highness and begg'd to know what Satisfaction was expected where and how he might live in his Highness's Favour to which no Answer was returned but a Summons charging the Earl with leasing making and depraving of Laws And after another Summons came out and published with Sound of Trumpet charging the Earl with Perjury and Treason but when it was told the Duke that such a Process threatned the Earl's Life and Fortune the Duke said Life and Fortune God forbid The very Day November the eighth that the Council ordered the Earl to render himself a Prisoner the Council sent a Letter to the King wherein they sent the Earl's Explanation of his taking the Test and how they had commanded his Majesty's Advocate to raise a Pursuit against the Earl upon it yet expecting his Majesty's Commands for their further Prosecution of it But the King might command what he pleased his Commissioner and Council would do what they would with it for before any Return of their Letter they caused the King's Advocate to exhibit an Indictment against the Earl upon the Points of slandering and depraving And after the Return of the King's Letter they ordered a new Indictment against the Earl containing besides the former Points the Crimes of Treason and Perjury before they acquainted the King with it The Earl thus mewed up that he might not give any Offence twice petitions the Duke and Council that Sir George Lockhart might be his Advocate to plead his Defence yet both times refused the Reason of these Petitions were that without Leave none would dare to plead the Earl's Cause for fear of the King's Displeasure However by the Act 11 Jac. 6. Cap. 90. It is the undeniable Privilege of all Subjects accused for any Crimes to provide themselves Advocates to defend their Lives Honours and Lands against whatsoever Accusation So by the 11 Jac. 6. c. 90. it is declared That in case Advocates refuse the Judges may compel them Hereupon the Earl drew up a Letter of Attorney constituting Alexander Dunbar to require Sir George Lockhart to plead for him which the Duke no sooner heard but said If Sir George Lockhart plead for the Earl he shall never plead for my Brother nor me But the Earl might set his Heart at rest for whatever Counsel he had his Case was fore-judged before heard However for forms sake upon the Twelfth of December 1681 the Earl was brought by a Guard of Soldiers before the Justice Court where the Earl of Queensberry was Chief Justice General and the Lords Narin Collingtoun Newtoun and Hirkhouse Lords Justiciary sitting in Judgment It is inconsistent with the Design of this Treatise to set down the Earl's Speech at large and the long and learned Pleadings of Sir George Lockhart and Sir John Dalrymple for the Earl's Defence and the King's Advocates pleading against the Earl and their Doubling's and Tripling's yet it 's fit to say something of them and leave the Reader at Liberty to read them at large in the Earl's Case which is printed The Earl in his Defence only claims the Privilege of the meanest Subject tho under an ill Character to explain his own Words in the most benign Sense and how strange and impossible it would be to believe he intended any thing but what was sutable to the Principles of his Religion and Loyalty though he did not express himself at all Then he enlarged how from his Youth he had made it his Business to serve his Majesty faithfully constantly and to his Power especially in all times of Difficulty and never joined or complied with any Interest or Party contrary to his Majesty's Authority and so that he never received a Frown from his Majesty these thirty Years and that even in this Parliament how he had shewed his Readiness to serve the King and Royal Family in so vigorously asserting the Lineal Succession of the Crown and in offering Supplies to his Majesty and Successor and that he had always kept his Tenants in Obedience to his Majesty How strange then is it that Words spoken for the clearing his own Conscience should be wrested into Treason especially where the same was done before by many Orthodox Clergy whole Presbyteries Synods and some Bishops so that an eminent Bishop took the Pains to write a Treatise that was read over in Council and allowed to be printed and a Copy given to him which contains all the Expressions he is charged for and many more may be stretched to a worse Sense and having wished all Happiness to the King and a Continuance of the Lineal Succession left his Defence to his Advocates Sir George Lockhart and Sir John Dalrymple then several Letters from General Middleton and the Earl of Glencarn were read testifying the Earl's Loyalty and Services to the King The Treason charged upon the Earl in the Indictment consists of these six Heads 1. That the Earl considered the Test and was desirous to give Obedience to it as far as he could clearly insinuating thereby he was not able to give full Obedience 2. That he was confident the Parliament never intended contradictory Oaths therebâ to insinuate to the People that the Parliament did impose contradictory Oaths 3. That every Man must explain for himself and take it in his own Sense whereby that excellent Law lost its Obligations 4. That he took the Test so far as it was consistent with it self and the Protestant Religion which depraved the Test and misrepresented the King's Parliament's Proceedings in the highest Degree 5. That he did not mean by taking the Test to bind up himself from wishing and endeavouring any Alteration in a lawful Way which he shall think fit for advancing the Church and State where by his Example he invited others to be loose from the Test to make Alterations 6. That he understood this as part of his Oath which was Treasonable Invasion upon the Royal Legislative Power as if it were lawful for him to make to himself an Act of Parliament For
any Consideration of the dreadful Consequences it has brought upon the Nation both within and without or in another Temper than the Parliament was in in the twelfth Year of the King when they passed or confirmed this Law without any consideration of Times whether in War or Peace II. If the Act of Navigation had been in general a good Law yet Times must be distinguished and in War Civil Laws are silent so that for the Preservation of the Publick the King may destroy particular Mens Interest as in case of firing the Suburbs of a City to preserve the City and destroy the Fruits of the Ground rather than these shall sustain an Enemy to the endangering the whole Nation but it was much more reasonable for the King to grant Liberty without any Destruction or Wrong to his Subjects to dispense with the Act of Navigation and give all Foreigners Liberty to import Gunpowder and all sorts of Naval Scores c. for the Nation 's Preservation in the time of War with the Dutch And I say it was Prudence in Oliver tho in time of Peace to dispense with the Act of Navigation in reference to the Trade to Norway and Sweden after the Norway Merchants had represented to him how grievously the Norwegians by this Act imposed upon not only the English Subjects but upon Oliver himself in building and fitting up his Men of War 2. The second better Act of King Charles was his dispensing with the Law against Foreigners partaking the Benefits of the natural-born Subjects of England by permitting Brewer and his Walloons tho Papists after they fled from the Rage of the French Ravages in Flanders in 1667 to plant and settle themselves in the West whereby the English became instructed how to make and dye fine Woollen Cloths 30 per Cent. cheaper than they could before and herein the King imitated two of his most glorious Predecessors that ever reigned in England I mean Edward III. and Queen Elizabeth Princes who no ways affected Tyranny or Arbitrary Power I say the King might justly and legally do this for tho the King cannot dispense with Laws which have a complicated Interest with himself and Subjects to the Wrong of his Subjects yet the King may dispense with those Penalties which properly belong to him even in criminal Cases as to the Life and Estate of an Offender and therefore much more where there is no Offence and the End for the publick Good as in this Case of Brewer and all other Foreigners the Penalty is if they trade they shall pay Strangers Duties but this is to the King and if he pleases he may take to other Duties than his natural-born Subjects pay whereby the Foreign and Fishing Trades which are carried on in Holland might not be carried out of England and thereby the Navigation of England become double or treble to what it now is and the ruined and even desolate Coast-Towns of England flourish as Hamburgh Amsterdam Gottenburgh Diep St. Maloes and other Ports Would not this be not only for the enriching but strengthning the Nation and that in a double Proportion for we should be so much more rich and strong here as other Nations would be less and in a worse state to make War upon us Nay should we only make our Ports free as Leghorn Marseilles and as of late the Pope has Civita Vecchia would not the Nation be so much more enriched as the Goods imported are more I would know from whence else it was that France became so enriched above all other Countries for Mines they have none but from the vast Trades the English Dutch Swedes and Danes drove in France And suppose the King should dispense with Foreigners purchasing Lands in England and not take them as he may do if he pleases whereby Millions of Money would be brought into England the Lands we shall have still and would not the Nation be so much more enriched hereby as the Purchase-Monies are more And would not the Nation be so much more peopled and strengthned as the Purchasers are more and the King's Revenue by Excise and Customs so much more encreased as the Consumption of these and their Descendants shall be more Merchants to enrich themselves and the Nation run great Hazards and are often undone in their Merchandizing whereas the Nation nor any Man else runs any Hazard by Foreigners purchasing Lands in England Ambitious Princes to acquire more Subjects run great Hazard and destroy and make Men miserable and ruin Countries to accomplish their Designs whereas none of these attend the Permission of Foreigners to trade and inhabit among us and when they are once settled theirs and the Nation 's Interest will be the same and both alike obliged to defend them Xenophon in Cyropaedia says That by reason of the Goodness and Justice of Cyrus's Reign many Nations became his Subjects Will any say Cyrus was less a King hereby Or should we be less a Nation if by the Benefit of our many Advantages in Trade we should by others encrease our Trade which we cannot of our selves Nay should we not so much more enrich and strengthen our selves When I consider these things I wonder Foreigners should be at such Charges to purchase their Freedom by an Act of Parliament whenas the King may do it if he pleases unless it be that their Posterity shall not inherit but if the King may permit Foreigners to purchase without taking the Forfeitures or grant them a Licence to purchase he may grant them a Licence to settle their Estates as they please 3. The third good Act of K. Charles was his marrying the late Queen to his present Majesty tho by the manner of it it seems to me he did it by Surprize and I 'm apt to believe if he could well have come off from it again he would as appears by the Story 4. We may add this fourth That he bred up the late Queen and her Sister after the Religion of the Church of England A DETECTION OF THE Court and State of England DURING THE REIGN OF King JAMES II c. BOOK V. WHAT before King Charles II. acted in Masquerade King James did bare-fac'd and here you 'll see how plain and easy a Passage the Absolute Will and Pleasure-Men and Passive Obedience-Men had made for this King to overthrow the whole Church and State of England and by what steps he proceeded in it the King's Speeches looking one way and he going quite contrary Upon the 6th of February in 1684 85. the Day of his Brother's Death the King declared in Council That since it had pleased God to place him in that Station to succeed so good and gracious a King as well as so kind a Brother that he thinks fit to declare his Endeavours to follow his Brother's Example more especially in that of his great Clemency and Tenderness to his People and make it his Endeavour to preserve the Government both in Church and State as it is by
It was by two Judges only and but two Arguments upon it and no Reason given of it And Thirdly it was ushered in but two Days before by pretending the discovering of a Plot to amuse the Nation so as no Man presumed to take notice of the Legality of this Judgment for fear of being prosecuted for Arraigning the Justice of the Nation and flying in the Face of the Government Hereupon Swarms of the richer Sort of Corporations surrendred their Charters and took new ones as the King pleased and paid dear for them and the King in return of their Kindness granted them new Fairs and Markets but tho the richer Sort of the Corporations could pay the Keeper North and Attorney Sawyer sound Fees for their Purchase yet a Multitude of the meaner Sort could not come to their Price and without Money no New Charters could be had which put a Rub to the compleating this Work in King Charles his time yet the good Will of the Members of these petty Corporations was not less The King's Care for the Knights of Shires was less than for the Corporations for the Sheriffs Lords and Deputy-Lieutenants and Justices of Peace being of the King's Nomination and the Tory Party having perfectly subdued the Whigs the King by the same Power which made North and Rich Sheriffs could have what Knights of Shires he pleased King James made good his Word he promised his Privy Council that he would never depart from the just Rights and Prerogatives of the Crown of which no Question is to be made but those which his good and gracious Brother had left him possest of were the principal and how hasty soever he was after in his Actions yet he took great Care how to exercise the Prerogative his Brother assumed in modelling Corporations to improve it to his utmost Advantage and therefore though his Brother died upon the 6th of February 1684-85 yet no Parliament met till the 19th of May and then they did not sit to act before the 28th which is much more than threefold the time from the issuing out of the Writs and the 40 Days of their Meeting In the mean time all Hands are set on work to chuse such Members as should do the Court's Work they were sure enough of such Corporations as had surrendred their Charters and bought new ones the beggarly ones which could not come up to the Price of renewing their Charters were graciously promised to have new ones Gratis as they after had if they behaved themselves well in the Choice of their Members The Lords and Deputy-Lieutenants were as imperious in the Choice of Knights of the Shire as my Lord Mayor was in the Choice of North and Rich for Sheriffs But that we may take a better View of the Acts of the Parliament of King James it 's fit to consider how the Case stood with the King King James while he was Duke of York was observed to be constant to his Word and a true Friend which made him more courted than his Brother he had a Revenue of near 150000 l. per An. and was a frugal and careful manager of it and this he brought as an Accession to the Crown when he became King K. Charles had more built and better furnished his Royal Palaces which he had not given away than any King of England before and the Parliament about six Years before his Death had given him 600000 l. for building thirty new Men of War to make his Fleet more formidable than that of the Dutch or French King and the Nation in Peace unless among our selves so that it might have been reasonably expected a much less Revenue than what King Charles had added to that of the Duke's might have supported the ordinary Expence of the Crown if no extraordinary should happen Notwithstanding all this the King upon the 28th of May told the Members such as they were the same things he told his Privy Council that he might not seem to have said it by chance and in return thereof he expected they should settle his Revenue because he had taken it without them during his Life as it was in the time of his Brother for the Well-being of the Government which he must not suffer to be precarious which I believe was the first time any King of England so caressed a Parliament but these if they were worthy to be called a Parliament being made to his Hand the King might do and say to them what he pleased Before the Kings of the Scotish Race came to bear rule over us the Methods of Parliaments were to represent the Grievances of the Nation and upon Redress of them the Parliament gave the King a Gratuity which before the 35th of Queen Elizabeth did never exceed one Subsidy and two Tenths of Fifteenths and the King in return granted an Act of Pardon to his Subjects Thus a mutual Correspondence was entertained between the King and Kingdom But when King James the first came to the Crown the representing the Grievances of the Nation by his disorderly Reign was Language intolerable to him so that of four Parliament which were all he had in his Reign in the last he boasted He had broke the Neck of three of them and his Son broke the neck of the four first Parliaments of his Reign yet such was the Temper of those Times that to humour thâse Princes the Parliament of 18 Jac. I. and the 1st Car. I. altered the Methods of Parliament and that of the 18th gave King James two entire Subsidies and that of the 1st Car. I. gave King Charles two entire Subsidies before Grievances were redressed King James I. in return of their kindness not only brake the Neck of the Parliament but committed many of the worthiest Members close Prisoners to the Tower for preââming to debate them King Charles did not commit any Members of this Parliament tho he did in his 3d and 4th Parliament but brake the Neck of the Parliament rather than they should enquire into the Duke of Buckingham's Actions and the imbezelling the Monies given by the Parliament for the Support of the Palatinate Heretofore Grievances were in the Nation whereas at the Death of King Charles the II. the whole Nation was in a most grievous and dangerous State which the Parliament of King James if it be worthy to be so called took so little notice of that instead of representing the State of the Nation to King James they without redressing any gave him a Revenue to enable him to ruin Church and State upon the Foundation which his Brother had laid The 1st Act was to settle the Customs and temporary Excise upon the King as it was settled before upon his Brother but the King had little reason to thank them for that for he took both before they gave them and called them by that Title His Revenue The 3d Act was an Imposition upon Wines and Vinegars imported between the 24th of June 1685 until the 24th of June
1693 towards a Supply for Repairs of the Navy and providing Stores for the Navy and Ordnance and other his Majesty's weighty and important Occasions They shall soon find the weight and importance of his Majesty's Occasions But this was not the only Reason the Customs which were 800000 l. per annum as granted to his Brother and a greater Revenue than any King of England except the religious Houses granted to Henry the VIII had before would have done this They add their thankful Acknowledgment of his Majesty's favourable and tender regard of his Commons They had but little experience of it yet and shall find less afterward The 4th Act grants in Imposition upon all Tobaccos and Sugars from the 24th of June 1685 to the 24th of June 1693 for the Repairs of the Navy and providing Stores for the Navy and Ordnance and the payment of Debts due to his late Majesty's Servants and Family and other the King 's weighty and important Affairs But this Act being represented to be dangerous to the Trade of our Plantations some of the Members said for the King if it succeeded so the King promised not to collect them so the Act passed But the Plantations being sore oppressed by this Act claimed the Benefit of the King's Promise but were answered It was Insolence in any Subject to challenge the King of his Promise which was all the Benefit they reaped by it The 5th Act granted the King an Imposition on all French Linens and all East-India Linen and several other Manufactures of India and French wrought Silks and Stuffs and all Brandies imported from the first Day of July 1685 to the first day of July 1690. The reason of this Act was the Duke of Monmouth's Rebellion and the Acknowledgment of his Majesty's favourable and tender regard of his Commons And that there might be a nearer Conjunction between the King and his dear Brother of France for carrying on their great and important Affairs the Parliament repealed the Prohibition of French Wine Vinegar Brandy Linen Cloth Silks Malt Paper or any Manufactures made or mixed with Silk Thread Wool Hair Gold or Silver or Leather being of the Growth and Manufacture of France by the 29th and 30th of King Charles the Second The 9th Act enables the King to make Grants Leases and Copies of Offices Lands Tenements and Hereditaments of the Dutchy of Cornwal or annexed to the same and if this were not enough it confirms the Grants already made so that all the sacred Patrimony of the Crown which was not squandred away by his Brother this King is intituled to do by Law Yet after all this that this good King might be at no unnecessary Charges the 10th Act makes provision for necessary Carriages for him in his Royal Progress and Removal how grievous soever to the Subject The 11th Act provides Carriages by Land and Water for the use of his Majesty's Navy and Ordnance And after all this the 12th Act grants the King five Shillings per Tun extraordinary upon every Voyage which any Foreign Ship shall make from Port to Port in England and twelve pence per Tun for every Voyage which a Foreign built Ship not free shall make I have heard this Revenue with the Hereditary Excise and the other Revenues of the Crown computed at 2400000 l. per Ann. to which Revenue if you add 150000 l. per Ann. which the King had when he was Duke of York the whole will amount to two Millions five hundred and fifty thousand Pounds per Ann. which was threefold more than ever any King of England except Hen. VIII had before this King's Brother But Quorsum haec for except the Tumult which the Duke of Monmouth raised the Nation was at Peace abroad so that by granting the King this Revenue one of these two Consequences would necessarily follow either the King might maintain an Army of forty thousand Men to ride the Nation as he pleased or if he would contract his Expence to 700000 l. per Ann. which I say was a greater Revenue than ever King of England except Hen. VIII had before his Brother he might in less than seven years time hoard up more Money in his Exchequer allowing ten Millions to be in England than was in the Nation and thereby render the Nation in as bad a State as Egypt was in the Reign of Pharaoh in the seven Years Famine when the Egyptians were forced to sell the King their Land to buy them Bread Now let 's see to whom this Revenue was given and who gave it This King was a profest Jesuited Papist whose Principles are That not only the Givers of this Revenue but the whole English Nation except the Popish Faction are Schismaticks Sacrilegious Persons and Hereticks with whom no Faith is to be kept and could any Man believe this profuse Donative which these Men gave who called themselves a Parliament could change the King's Nature and the Principles of the Jesuits which forsooth must be infallible so that the King should neglect these and imploy this Revenue for the benefit of Schismaticks Hereticks and Sacrilegious Persons And if in all free Assemblies a Violence or Contempt upon any one who hath a Right of Suffrage invalidates all the Acts of that Assembly what then shall be deemed of this House of Commons where such Violences were offered in the Election of the Knights of Shires and where so many Corporations were either over-aw'd to surrender their Charters or had perfidiously against their Oaths given them up to take new ones as the King pleased And if the first Act of Henry IV. repealed all the Acts of the 21 Rich. II. because they intrenched upon the fundamental Rights of the Nation I 'm sure there is more Reason for the Parliament to repeal the Acts of this pretended Parliament where so many Violences and Frauds were done before their Assembly which we do not read were done before the Parliament of 21 Rich. II. met And as this grave Assembly heaped such a Revenue upon the King without redress of one Grievance so they took no care to secure the Nation by a general Act of Grace or Pardon for time past but left all to the King 's good Nature who had promised to imitate his good and gracious Brother but especially in his great Clemency and Tenderness to his People And now the Parliament had done the King's work they had done their own too and for the time to come he will do what he pleaseth without them yet at present he only prorogued them till November following when they shall hear more of his Mind And now 't is time to see what the King acted between The first Act of Gratitude which the King testified to the Memory of his good and gracious Brother was his obscure and mean Burial of him as you have heard before And after the King had defeated the Tumult raised by the Duke of Monmouth his next Act of Gratitude to his kind Brother was to
luxurious and vicious Prince and that Ferdinand II. after the Victory at Prague endeavoured to subject the Freedom of Germany by force which brought the Swedes into Germany and the French siding with the Swedes took Philipsburg and Brisac upon the Rhine which opened the two Passages into the Empire by which this present King has been enabled to make those Wars and Ravages in the Empire which have since succeeded After the Restoration of King Charles II. the whole Series of his Reign was employed in assisting the French in all their ambitious Designs so did the Dutch and Dane when he had engaged them in a War with England and the Oxford Parliament first made the Act against the Importation of Irish Cattel whereby they disjoin'd the Interest and Dependency of Ireland upon England and fixt it upon France and other Countries which traded with them and enabled the French and Dutch to victual Ships cheaper in their Fisheries and other Trades than the English could as much to their Benefit as Prejudice to the English How King James II's Conjunction with the French had brought these Nations and Christendom to the Brink of Destruction was said in his Reign In this state these Kingdoms stood when God was pleased to give them Deliverance by the Interpoâtion of his present Majesty and now all the neighbouring Nations upon France I mean Spain the Empire Savoy and the Dutch as well as England were alarmed at their common Danger by the French Ambition and Grandure and all their Eyes were upon England as if from thence they expected Safety and now was the King of England again become the Arbitrator of Christendom after the four former Kings were so contemptible and neglected by it But in two things the French King's Ambition or rather Madness put some Check to his aspiring Designs viz. his Contests with the Pope about his Franchizes at Rome and the Regalia's of France and by the Extream on the other side in his revoking the Edicts of Nants and his Dragooning and Reforming the Protestants of France whereby he lost innumerable of his Subjects to the weakning of his own Power and that in double Proportion for his Enemies as he made them became so much the more numerous and stronger for those which became Exiles being an industrious sort of People had contributed highly to the Encrease of the Wealth of France so that now the Charge of the War must have been supported by those he left yet in this state France alone for above six Years made an offensive and victorious War by Land against Germany Spain Holland the Spanish Netherlands and the Duke of Savoy tho all these were assisted by the Power of England and Scotland Tho England embraced their Deliverance by the King Ireland did not nor was it their Interest for why should the Irish join with the English who would have no Trade with them against the French upon whom the Irish depended by their Trade and Commerce And it 's observable That tho the French assisted the Irish above three Years in their Wars against the English yet it may be a Question Whether the French did not gain more by their Trade with Ireland for Wools Tallow Raw Hides and Provisions for their Fleet than their Expence for carrying on the War against the English did amount to whereas the English in the War were at a foreign Expence and being a Naval War were forced to victual their Fleets at one third greater Expence than the French could do from Ireland Another Advantage the French had over the English in this Naval War was that Brest lying South of Ireland every Wind not North in one Course carries their Fleet to Ireland whereas Chatham from whence the English sent their Fleet to oppose them lies fivefold more remote from Ireland than Brest does nor can the Ships from Chatham be carried to Ireland but by different Winds and steering different Courses almost from all the Points of the Compass for it must be after the Ships are come within the Buoy of the Nore a South or South-west Wind to carry them to the Buoy of the Gunfleet before they turn into the Deep Waters then a quite contrary Wind brings them into the Downs and Channel and when they have sailed above a hundred Leagues another Wind carries them to Ireland From hence it was principally that the French for above three Years together so long as the War lasted sent out their Fleets upon the Coast of Ireland did their Business and returned to Brest before we could get out our Fleets to oppose them Yet Falmouth and Milford-Haven are much better Ports and lie better and more conveniently than Brest Milford much more to have relieved Ireland and oppose the French Designs at Brest yet from neither did we send one Ship to do it I suppose if the Reason hereof be asked it will be answered That there were no Docks Shipwrights or Naval Stores in either to have supplied our Men of War in those Ports But from whence comes this to pass There were two Reasons hereof from within and from without from within Foy and Haverford-West and the Port Towns generally of England are Corporations and the Inhabitants poor yet proud of their Prerogatives in excluding the rest of the Nation and so have so much less means for building Ships Docks or carrying on the Fishing or any foreign Trades as the Inhabitants are fewer and poorer and generally they are all Beggars The other Reason from without is the Act of Navigation against Foreigners partaking equal Benent in Trade with the Natives of England so that tho God and Nature have endowed this Nation with more excellent and noble Ports than any Nation in the World of like Bigness except Ireland for the Benefit and Convenience of the Nation yet by the Iniquity and Folly of our Laws we have made them vain and of no use to our selves nor any other Nation whereas I am confident the French King would give any of his new conquered Provinces in the Spanish Netherlands to have one such Port as either Falmouth or Milford Haven upon the Coast of Normandy or Bretaign within the Channel Notwithstanding these Obstacles the Kingdom of Ireland is again reduced to the Dominion of the Kingdom of England But I say tho we should destroy the French Fleet of War yet if we do not redress the Oppressions which the English in their Trades and Navigation lie under the Nation will be no ways secured from the growing Greatness of either French or Dutch for the same Causes will have the same Effects EXPEDIENTS by which the English Nation may be secured against the growing Greatness of the French and Dutch APOLOGY WE have epitomized the Causes of the declining of the Wealth Strength and Trade of England in this Epilogue that they may be more obvious to the Reader than if he should look for them as they lie dispersed in the Body of the History and I am conscious to
been bound Apprentices in them whilst these Free-men by the Prerogative of their Freedom impose what Rates they please upon the poor Artificers and set their own Prizes upon the Nobility Gentry and others who buy of them He that begins any Work labours under manifold more Difficulties and is more subject to Error than another who builds upon his Foundation This is my Case and therefore am more excusable for the Frailties and Errors I may have committed in this Design but upon the Discovery of any I promise to recant it I am sure my Intention is honest herein being for the Good of my Country and those Labours are best which are spent in the Benefit of it FINIS ERRATA PAge 20. line 16. r. as fierce P. 52. l. 16. del this l. 17. r. this House P. 57. l. 16. del the Parentheses P. 100. l. 5. del Comma after not P. 118. l. 28. after drawn add P. 119. l. 41. del the last that P. 132. l. 15. r. Spanish Secretary P. 135. l. 24. r. then went P. 167. l. 30. r. then P. 374. l. 15. del Comma after God P. 378. l. 10. and 379. l. 20. for former r. first P. 398. l. ult after confirmed put Comma P. 530. l. 10. r. they will P. 540. l. 37. r. 20 l. P. 646. l. 1. â and not to do it and give An Alphabetical TABLE OF THE Principal Matters contain'd in this BOOK A. ABbot Arch-bishop zealous for the Elector Palatine 93. His plain Letter to the King 111 112. Refuses to license Sibthorp's Sermon 197. Is basely dealt with on that account ib. 268. His Character and Death 238. Abhorrers of Petitions for Parliament prosecuted by the Commons 555 556. Act of 35 Eliz. repeal'd by Parliament 557. but not by the King 559. Act of Vniformity 439. Adjutators in the Army 318. Albeville Marquess his Memorial at the Hague 649. Algerines at War with the English and Dutch 452. Alliance with Spain the Commons Votes concerning it 558. Amboyna the Dutch Cruelty there 121. Ancre a French-man his lamentable End 86. Ann K. James's Queen her Character 75. Is averse to Villiers and foretels what he would be ib. 76 124. Her Death 88. Apprentices 663 665 678. Arbitrary Notions see Cowel Archy K. James's Fool 112. Argyle Marquess executed 444. His Character and Story 568 569. Earl his Character c. 568 570 575 578. His Explanation of the Test for which he 's tried and condemned but escapes 578 586. Aristotle's Logick censur'd 22. Arlington Lord rudely treats the Prince of Orange but fails in his Design 508. Arminians severe against their Opponents 242. See Mountague c. Army declares for the King 319. yet draw up a Remonstrance against him march to London and exclude most of the Members 328. Articuli Cleri see Bancroft Ashley Cooper made Lord Chancellor 478. Joins with the Country Party and is turn'd out 492. His Life most unjustly aim'd at 596 598. Is clear'd by the Grand Jury 599. Remarks on his Case ib. Askew Sir George his Success at Sea 353 354. Avaux the French Ambassador discovers his Master's and K. James's Designs 649 650. Audley Palace what it cost 77. Author Story of his Father Brother and Himself in Cromwel's time 392 396. B. BAcon Sir Francis censur'd for Bribery 97. Bancroft ABp for Absolute Power in the King 57 59. Barebone's Parliament 373. Their Thoughts of the Dutch 374 375. Their Articles with them 376. Their Acts resign their Power to Cromwel 377. Barnvelt Head of a Dutch Faction 33 121. Takes Advantage of the ill Posture of K. James's Affairs 80. Loses his Head for opposing the Prince of Orange 121. Batton Sir William joins Prince Charles at Sea 326. Bedlow discovers Godfrey's Murder 534. Bill of Exclusion rejected by the Lords 557. Billeting of Souldiers voted a Grievance 207 217. Bishop of London his Motion to debate the King's Speech 629. Is suspended by the High Commission 639. Bishops in Scotland re-ordained 122 262. In England voted out of Parliament 276. Oppose several good Bills 490 629. Several of 'em both in England and Scotland most profligate Persons 639 640. Seven refuse to read K. James's Declaration are tried and clear'd 644 645. Remarks thereon and on their Prayers for the King 645 647 650. Blake Governour of Taunton 312. Commands at Sea 327 351 353 355. Bohemia History of that Kingdom 89 93 101 102. Chuse Frederick Count Palatine their King 93. Booth Sir George overthrown by Lambert 409. Bridgman Lord Keeper his Speech on K. Charles's Treaties 475. Is turn'd out 478. Bristol see Digby Britain its Situation Bounds c. 12. Justly claims the Soveraignty of the Seas 659 660. See Grotius Buckingham see Villiers C. CAbal in 1671. who they were 478. Their pretended Causes of the Dutch War 479. Another in 1673. 495. Care Henry sentenc'd for writing his Weekly Packet 546. Carr Sir Rob. has an extravagant Boon order'd by K. James 61. Made Viscount Rochester and courted by the Countess of Essex 63. Procures the Ruin of Overbury 64 68 70. Created Earl of Somerset and married in extravagant Splendor 70 71. His Fall 74. His Pardon refus'd to be sign'd 76. His vast Estate 77. which is seiz'd by the King 79. Tried for Overbury's Murder ib. Castlemain sent Ambassador to the Pope 642. Cavaliers slighted by Charles II. 424 426. Cecil Lord Treasurer saves K. James 15000 l. and how 61. Charles I. while Prince his breach of Faith in Spain breaks off his Match 116 117 128. Is proposed to the French King's Daughter 119 125 140. yet her Portion not a tenth of the Infanta's 142. The extravagant Articles of her Marriage 142 143. Berule's Deputation for a Dispensation for it 143 145. First 15 Years of his Reign perfectly French 153. His great Wilfulness and Levity 156 187. Makes War on Spain at Buckingham's Instigation 157. Commands Pennington to deliver up his Ships to the French 162. His Warrant in favour of Papists dispenses with the Laws 165 168. His first Breach with his Parliament 166. His many Mistakes the first five Months 171 172. His ill Success in the War with Spain 172 173. Breaks his Word with the Keeper 179. His peremptory Message to the Commons with their Answer and his threatning Reply 183 184. Reproves his Parliament 184 185. His Reasons for blasting Bristol's Articles against Buckingham 187. The Lords Reasons against his 188 189. His Arbitrary Declarations after dissolving the Parliament in favour of Buckingham descanted on 190 192. Is accountable only to God 190 210 219 236 268. Demands Money of his People out of Parliament 196 228 252. Imprisons the Gentry for refusing to pay and keeps up a Standing Army on free Quarter 199 228 236. His dissembling and threatning Speech at the opening of Parliament with large Remarks upon it 202 206. His Message to the Commons to hasten Supplies 210 211. His Answer to the Petition of Right 213. which he resolves to abide by 214. Passes the Petition 216. His unaccountable
488. His Success against the French 492 495. Fights the French at Mount Cassel 505 513. Comes into England 507 515. Opposes a separate Peace 507 508 511. Advises concerning the Lady Mary 509. His brave Resolution against the King's Answer at which he 's much disgusted 515. Is married 516. Treats of a Peace with France 516 517. Is suspected by the Confederates and why 518 520. but afterwards clear'd 525. Routs the French before Mons 528. His generous Design to save these Nations from Ruin 648. Orleans Dutchess see Dover Ormond Marquess makes Peace with the Irish 343. His Design for the Prince defeated 402. Ossery Lord his Friendship with the Prince of Orange 508. Overbury Sir Tho. his Story is destroy'd by the King's Favourites 62 64 68 70. His Advice to Rochester 64. His Murder discover'd and how 77 79. Overton Col. conspires against Monk 396. Oxford Parliament see Parliament Treaty there broke off and why 314. P. PApists to be tolerated 674 675. see Popish Parliaments their Constitution Ends c. 48. Ought to be Annual 49. Vsed to redress Grievances before they gave Money 49 97 616. Never dissolved in Anger till the Stuarts 205 267. Endeavour'd to be overthrown by Char. II. 614 630. Parliament in 1640 redress the Nation 's Grievances 276. Enter into a Protestation 277. Charg'd with beginning the War 280 286 296. Take the Militia from the King 293 294. Seize the Fleet 295. Raise an Army 296. Their ill Success the two first Years 296 298. Treat with the Scots for Assistance 298 Take their Covenant 299. Place no Trust in the King 315. Send an Army into Ireland 317. Their Affairs inverted by the Army 319 320. Order the King to London 321. Send Propositions to him 322. Their warm Votes concerning no further Treaty with him 324. See Commons Parliament of Char. II. their first Acts 430 431 439. Address against the King's Indulgence 447. Their Severity to Dissenters 448 458. Prohibit the Importation of Irish Cattle 462. Grant a Tax for the War against Holland 467. for the Triple League 473. for a War against France 475. Pass a Bill against Papists enjoying Places 491. See Commons at Oxford Lords petition against its meeting there 559 560. Sits but 7 days their Proceedings 564 566. K. James's pack'd one 615 616. Scarce deserv'd the Name 616 617 619. Their Acts 617 618. The Commons Address concerning Popish Recusants 628. Remarks upon it 628 629. Passive Obedience unknown to our Fathers 206. It s Inconsistence 531. Peers Jurisdictions in Appeals question'd by the Commons 502 504. Penruddock Col. beheaded after Articles granted him 386. Pensioners in Parliament 490 500. Pentland Scots rise there but are terribly routed 458. Petition of Right oppos'd by Buckingham c. defended by Williams c. 207. The Lords Saving to it oppos'd by the Commons 208 209. Is passed 210 216. but broken by the King 218 227 228 236. Is printed by the King with his Answer to it 228. Philip III. of Spain his Character 36. Philips Sir Rob. against the Court 174 180 229. Plague a great one in 1 Jac. I. 37. A greater in 1 Car. I. 153. A yet greater in II's Reign 458. Pontfract Castle surrendred to the Parliament 327. Popery some of its Antichristian Doctrines 149 150. Is promoted by K. James 642. Pope's Nuncio heads a Rebellion in Ireland 277 343. His Despotick Tyranny there 343. One arrives in England 642. Popish Party conceive great hopes of England from the Match with Moderna 499 500. Have Commissions for raising Souldiers 535. Are favour'd by K. James see James II. Plot the Parliament's Votes concerning it 535 557 587. The Evidence in it justified 539 540. Some Account of it 540 541. It s Discovery supprest and how 546 547. Ports excellent ones in England 658. Portsmouth surrendred to the Parliament 296. Dutchess who she was 474. Prague see Frederick Presbyterians join with the Royalists 409. Printers petition against Laud 231. Privileges of Parliament discust 552 554. Proclamations against talking of State-Affairs 96 97. Prorogations of Parliament not used till Hen. 8. Account of one in Char. 2d's time 520 521 533. Protestants in France suffer by James I. 96. and by Charles I. see Char. I. and Rochel Puritans increase 154. Oppos'd by Laud c. 122 157 227. Persecuted by him 258. Pyrenean Treaty 421 422. Broke by the French K. 427 428 471. Q. QVeen proclaim'd Traitor by the Parliament 298. Arrives in England on some dark Designs 428. Quo Warranto see Charter R. RAcking Men declar'd to be against Law 227. Raleigh Sir Walter his Story 82 85. Is beheaded the he had been pardoned 85. Rents whence their Fall 463. Republicans conspire against Cromwel 386 399. Restore the Rump 408. Revenue of Q. Elizabeth 32. of James II. which see Richlieu some Account of him 141 142 176. Is parallel'd with Laud 239 240. Promotes the Contentions in England and Scotland 265 272 279. Engag'd in the Irish Massacre 277 343. Rochel Fleet subdued by the French English and Dutch 174. Not reliev'd by the English as promis'd 225. Miserably reduc'd 226. Roman Empire the Causes of its Ruin 17 24. Rothes Earl Commissioner in Scotland 454. Rump Parliament their Votes concerning the King with Remarks 332 333. Erect High Courts of Justice one of which takes off the King 333 346 347. Abolish Monarchy 342. Their prodigious Acts ib. Their Success in Ireland 343 344. in Scotland c. 345 347 350. against the Dutch 351 353 356. Propose a Coalition with them 350. Their Demands of them ib. 353. Their Answer to the Dutch Excuses 352 353. Their Letter to the States of Holland 357. to the States General 358. Are turn'd out by Cromwel 362. Their Character c. 363 364. Are restored by the Republicans 408. Turn out Lambert c. and constitute a Council of War 409. Are turn'd out again 410. and put in again by Fleetwood 416. Send to Monk ib. Rupert Prince lost several Battels by his Rashness 297 307 311. Forc'd into France 327. Saves the King's Life at Windsor 541. Rushworth commended 8. Russel Lord murder'd 601. S. SAndwich Earl affronted by the Duke of York is slain 480 481. Scotland Account of its Church-state 260 263 440 441. It s Alteration endeavour'd see Laud. Great Persecution there see Lauderdale Scots oppose Common-Prayer c. and enter into a solemn Covenant against it 263. Vp in Arms propose an Accommodation 265. Declare against Episcopacy 270. Declar'd Traitors enter England 271. Keep not the Articles of Pacification 280 281. Began the War 280 286. Break their Word with the King and join the Parliament 300 331. Murder in cold Blood 316. Sell the King 317. Their Government not lik'd in England ib. Are routed by Cromwel which see Their Government chang'd by the Rump 347. Have four Citadels built to curb them 410. Their happy State under Monk ib. Parliament appoint May 29. an Anniversary Thanksgiving 443 444. Their other Acts abolish Presbytery 444 447. Grant
A DETECTION OF THE Court and State OF ENGLAND DURING The Four Last REIGNS And the INTER-REGNUM Consisting of Private Memoirs c. With Observations and Reflections AND AN APPENDIX discovering the present State of the Nation Wherein are many SECRETS never before made publick As also a more impartial Account of the CIVIL WARS in England than has yet been given In Two Volumes By ROGER COKE Esquire The Third Edition very much corrected With an Alphabetical Table London Printed for Andr. Bell at the Cross-keys and Bible in Cornhill MDCXCVII AN APOLOGY TO THE READER THAT Man has lived long enough who has out-lived the Love and Piety he owes to his Native Country by my Native Country I do not mean the fertile and pleasant Soil of Britain nor the sweet and temperate Climate of it nor the manifold Varieties which it naturally abounds with for the use and conveniencies of humane Life nor yet the pleasant and excelling Rivers which water it nor the noble Havens and abundance of most open Ports from which it supplies other Parts of this our habitable Globe with the super-abundance of those Commodities wherein it excels and whereof the Inhabitants of those Parts stand in need and where the Waters flow as well as ebb as if they invited the World to trade with us as well as we with them But by my Native Country I mean the Constitutions and Laws of the English Monarchy which have continued for near Nine hundred Years viz. since King Egbert made a Decree that laying aside the Names of Britains and Saxons the whole Nation of that part of Britain under his Dominion should be called England Vnder these Constitutions and Laws have all English Men ever since without any Act of their own Will been born in Subjection and by them have been protected in their Lives Liberties and Estates and to govern by these Constitutions and Laws have been the Claims of our Hereditary Monarchs who have ever since governed England and though the Succession of the Kings of England have been often changed in the Saxon Danish and Norman Race of Kings yet these Laws and Constitutions have been ever since preserved notwithstanding the Attempts of many of the Kings of the Norman and I may say of the Scotish Race too to have subverted them which I believe is more than can be said of any other Monarchy in the World out of Britain So that in our English Government the Constitution and Laws of it are as well the Rules of the King's Dominion as of the Subject's Allegiance to the King and when the Majesty of the King is arrayed in Judgment Justice and Mercy then for his Subjects to resist him is High Treason in this World and Damnation in that to come and I think I may truly say no People in the World are more Honourers of their Kings yet more jealous of preserving their Constitutions and Laws than the English whereby they have preserved their Government now France and Spain whose Government was like ours have lost theirs But when the Kings of England will not make the Laws and Constitutions of England to be their Will but their Will differing from these to be the Laws and Constitutions of it then a divided Dominion will necessarily follow and it will be impossible for the Subject to obey both The King hereby puts himself out of God's Protection whose Vice-Gerent he is in governing by the Laws and misplaces his Majesty which is founded in the Honour Love and Obedience of his Subjects upon Minions and Favorites whose Servant he makes himself and these shall be the first who shall forsake him when any Adversity shall come upon him Our Chronicles give Instances hereof in the Reigns of King John Hen. 3. Edw. 2. and Rich. 2. And the design of this Treatise is to shew the Consequences that have been produced hereby in the Reigns of the Kings of the Scotish Race In this regular Monarchy the Kings of England do not abrogate old Laws or impose new or raise Monies from the Subject above the Revenues of the Crown without Consent in Parliament and hereby the Kings of England reign in the Love and Obedience of their Subjects and are freed from the Imputation of Tyranny in Sanguinary Laws and from Oppression in the Taxes granted in Parliament which no absolute Monarch is and are more absolutely obeyed in both than any absolute Monarch who makes his Will the Law of his Subjects The Division of the Will of a King of England does not only distract the Allegiance of his Subjects so that the divided Will of the King must necessarily prevail over the Laws and Constitutions of it or these prevail against the divided Will for both are incompatible and cannot subsist together But this Distraction gives Life and Motion to the ambitious Humour of Male-contents who are impatient as well of Regal Government as of submitting to the Laws and Constitutions of it And I submit my self to the Judgment of any Impartial Reader if this Divided Will in the Prince did not give that Life and Motion to the Ambition of the Factions in England Scotland and Ireland which not only raised Civil Wars in all of them but brought destruction upon K. Charles the First as well as the Laws and Constitutions of them However I will take Notice of the Loyalty of the English Nation both to K. James the first and K. Charles the first that tho these Kings were foreign born to our Laws and Constitutions yet it patiently submitted to their Vsurpations for above 35 Years whereas when King Charles the first thought he had wholly subdued this Kingdom to his Will and endeavoured to have done the same in Scotland his Native Country the Scots would not endure it so many Weeks as the English had done Years but rose against it first in Tumults after in open Arms and the discontented Parties in England joining with them however disjoined from one another brought on those Civil Wars in all the Kingdoms of England Scotland and Ireland which procur'd Destruction to the King as well as the Kingdoms In writing this History I cannot say with the noble Baptista Nani I have any Command from my Prince or any other to do it neither will I pretend to such great Advantages as he had gratis by a free access to the Records and most secret Counsels of my Country tho I must not say I have been wholly destitute of some for else such an Vndertaking would render me guilty of the highest Arrogance but what those have been I judg not pertinent here to relate they will best appear by the Work it self Yet I can say with Nani that I have not suffered my self to be defiled with Partiality which hath so prevailed in all the Writers of the late and present Times that I have seen but passing by the Privilege of venerable Antiquity which to a face of Truth hath another close adjoining that of Falshood I have chosen to expose my self
Spaniard not considering the Strength and Glory of every Country consists in the well peopling and governing of it and that Desolation is the End of all God's Judgments upon any Country Here note that no Art or Science comes to pass by Fate Inspiration or Chance but by Education Learning Conversation and Experience in Arts and therefore wherever People are thin they are rude ignorant poor heathenish and idle and of little Use to their Country and also where the generality of the People of any Country be not imployed in Labours to supply other Men they become a Burden to the Country to maintain them so that Spain in this state not only lost their antient Virtue and Military Discipline but the Inhabitants being more religious and idle People than in any other part of the World became hereby not only the feeblest of all other Countries but the poorest and notwithstanding the Millions of Treasure which were yearly imported into Spain yet it could not support the Luxury of the Religious and maintain the poor idle Persons in it But Spain could not contain the bloody Superstitious Rage and Tyranny of Philip but he endeavoured to have brought in the Inquisition and Castilian Government into the Netherlands which were Provinces more rich and abounding with People and had more great and populous Towns than any other part of the known World of like Bigness and the Inhabitants of a warlike Constitution these Countries were made free by Philip's Father from their dependance upon France for after Charles had taken Francis the first Prisoner it was one of the Articles for his Enlargement that he should remit the Fealty which those Countries paid him The Fleming for so the Inhabitants of these Provinces were generally called from Flanders the greatest of them did not as the Moors run out of their Country but stoutly stood upon their Liberties and Privileges and rose up in Arms in defence of them and these Wars continuing above 80 Years not only put the Kings of Spain to a greater Expence than the Revenues of those Provinces and the Returns of the Plate Fleets from America could support but after all above seven of these Provinces rent themselves quite from the Dominion of Spain and erected themselves into a Free-state nor till the Duke of Bavaria became their Governour would the Kings of Spain trust the Inhabitants of those which continued in their Subjection with Arms to defend themselves against the French whereby the Government of those Countries became more chargeable to Spain than it could support yet so weak that they could not resist the Insults of the French nor the revolted Provinces and in this State Spain stood when King James became King of England and so continued except the Truâe made in 1609 till the Treaty at Munster in 1648. It hath been observed in the Treatises of the Reason of the Decay of the Strength Wealth and Trade of England and also of the equal Danger of the Church and State c. of England how much the State of England resembles that of Spain for if the Excursion of the Spaniards into America so much dispeoples Spain so does the Excursion of the Inhabitants of England into our American Plantations and in repeopling Ireland dispeople England and if the Inquisition in Spain be a Bar to keep out Supplies in Spain for their Expence into America so is the Law against naturalizing of Foreigners here in England It is true no Law or Usage in England forbids Marriage to any for supplying future Generations yet I 'le leave it to the Reader to judg if as the Case stands in England it be not worse than if Marriage were forbidden to the ordinary and meaner sort of People in England for in all the Countries of England more poor Children are born than can be employed in Rural or Country affairs and their poor Parents have not means to bind them Apprentice in Market-Towns and Corporations which exclude all other from Trading with them but those which have been bound Apprentice and served their Apprenticeship nay the 5th Act of Eliz. c. 4. excludes all from being bound Apprentices but the Children of Free-men or such whose Parents had 40 Shill per Ann. and by the Act of Eliz. 31. 7. no Cottages shall be built in Country Villages which shall not have 4 Acres of Ground annexed to them which poor Labourers cannot do so that the poor Children not being permitted to inhabit in Country Villages and excluded out of Market-Towns and Corporations are forced either to fly their Country or to be Tapsters Ostlers and Drawers Alehouse-keepers or Strong-Water-Sellers if they can get a Licence so little was the Interest of the Nation understood heretofore for the Strength and Wealth of every Nation is founded in the Number and Industry of the Natives and therefore to neglect to instruct Youth how to employ themselves or to debar any Man from the Benefit of his honest Imployment is not only unjust but impolitick And as these Corporations in excluding other Men are unjust and impolitick so are they dangerous to the Government otherwise as they are Marks of Faction and Distinction in it and as they make themselves to be the only Free-men in them whereby they exclude the rest of the Nation Now let 's see what a Sort of Men these are which claim these Prerogatives over the rest of the Subjects of the Nation but generally a Sort of Shop-keepers Retailers and whole-sale Men who neither labour nor are otherwise of any Use to the Government but by the Prerogatives of their Freedom set what Price they please upon the Labour of poor Artificers who are the Soul of the Nation and impose what Rates they please to the Buyers of these again of them whereby their Riches arise from the Oppression of the Labourer while they are idle and by imposing upon the Nobility Gentry and others in selling whereas it 's said and I believe it that in Holland a Retailer or if you will a Forestaller is not permitted unless to them who are reputed honest and by Misfortune are fallen into Decay so that as London grows rich by its Freedom of Trade with the Nation so Amsterdam and other Towns in Holland grow rich by foreign Trade The Act 3 Jac. c. 6. is of better Authority than any thing I can say and more livelily describes the manifold Mischiefs and Abuses both to the King and Kingdom which attended our foreign Trades by Companies exclusive to other Subjects of the Nation I 'le only therefore observe this in it which the Act does not That these Companies who manage foreign Trades exclusive to other Men are more tyrannous and injurious to their fellow Subjects than any of their Enemies are as has been shewed in the East-India and African Companies and hereby have no reason to expect any Assistance from the Nation to support them against the Insults of the Dutch and French upon them for why should the Nation assist them
unanswerable Reasons of a National Interest and the manifold Inconveniences the incorporating those Trades in a Company brought to the Navigation of the Nation both in the Foreign Vent of our Manufactures and in their Returns to the Ruin of infinite Artificers Sea-men and Shipwrights and to the Diminution of the King's Revenue Whereupon these Trades were declared free and have ever since continued so to the inestimable Benefit of this Nation But tho the Reasons in this Act extend to all other Beneficial Trades as to Turkey the East-Country and Hamburgh Trades and to Africa and the East-Indies yet all these Trades are monopolized into Companies exclusive to other Men as much to the Prejudice of the Nation as the making the Spanish Trade free was beneficial to it About this time the Clergy at least a Faction which stiled themselves the Clergy made an Attempt to try how far their Doctrine of Absolute Power in the King had taken root in him they had gained their Point so far as the King had declared his Command to the Commons as Absolute King and now they 'll see whether the King would assert it and the Case was this Arch-bishop Whitgift a Prelate of singular Piety and Humility died the last day of February in the first Year of the King and Doctor Richard Bancroft a Man of a rough Temper a stout Foot-ball-player as zealous an Assertor of the Rights of the Church of England or rather a Faction of Church-men who arrogated to themselves the Title as Julius the 2d was of the Papacy exhibited to the King and Council 25 Articles in the Name of all the Clergy of England called Articuli Cleri which were desired to be reformed in granting Prohibitions tho there were a Parliament and Convocation then sitting which I do not find had any hand in it This Exhibition as it ascribed an Absolute Power to the King so it struck directly at the Constitution of Parliaments the principal End of which is to redress Grievances and Abuses in the Nation and if the King's Council during the sitting of a Parliament shall ascribe to themselves this Power then the great End of Parliaments redressing Grievances and Abuses is in vain However Bancroft herein not only makes the King's Council to have a concurring Power with the Parliament but paramount to it by exhibiting these Articles in the sitting of a Parliament and Convocation but the Judges gave so clear and distinct an Answer to them all that the King did not think fit to meddle in them yet did not Bancroft rest here as you will hear hereafter The Articles and the Judges Answer to them you may read at large in Sir Coke's second Institute tit Articuli Cleri Whilst Bancroft was thus ascribing to the King this Absolute Power and exalting a Faction of Church-men above the true State of the Clergy which is one of the three States of the Nation and above the Nobility and Commonalty which are the other two The Popish Faction were plotting a Design not only to destroy the Church of England but the very Person of the King with the Nobility and Commons convened in Parliament which was to have been executed upon the fifth of November following the day on which the Parliament were to meet The Popish Party hoped and it may be not unreasonably that the King in regard of his Mother's Religion was not averse to theirs so that if he became not of their Church which in his Speech at the opening the Parliament he owns our Mother-Church at least hoped to have their Religion tolerated whereas finding the King in his Speech after he had declaimed against the Heresies and Abuses crept into their Church and the Pope's having arrogated an Imperial Civil Power over Kings and Emperors by dethroning and decrowning them with his Foot and disposing of their Kingdoms and the Jesuits Practice of assassinating and murdering Kings if they be cursed by the Pope That so long as they maintained these they were not sufferable in the Kingdom From this time forward and it may be before a Popish Crew contrived how to bring in their Catholick Religion they cared not which way so it might be done At last it was agreed upon the opening of the Session of Parliament upon the 5th of November one part of the Conspirators should blow up the Lords House while the King Prince with the Nobility and Commons were in it having prepared all things in a readiness whilst another part should seize upon the Lady Elizabeth after Queen of Bohemia and proclaim her Queen But the Plot being discovered the Conspirators were defeated of both their Designs The Horror and Terror of this Conspiracy the Discovery whereof was industriously divulged and believed to be by the King 's great Wisdom and Care reconciled for a time all Differences between him and his Parliament and the Parliament to gratify the King the Clergy gave him four Subsidies at four Shillings in the Pound and the Temporality three Subsidies and âix Fifteenths which was threefold more than any Parliament in one Session gave Queen Elizabeth before that of the 35 Eliz. notwithstanding the Payment of her Father's Brother's and Sister's Debts her expelling the French out of Scotland the building and repairing the Navy Royal the Support of the Reformed in France the subduing the Rebellion in the North the Support of the Dutch in the Netherlands the Irish War and the Overthrow of the Spanish Armada in 88. The Parliament enacted the Oath of Allegiance which Bellarmine under the Name of Tortus wrote against and Andrews Bishop of Winton under the Name of Tortura Torti defended it The Parliament too ordained the Anniversary of the Fifth of November to be celebrated for a perpetual Thanksgiving-Day for the King and Kingdom 's Delivery from this Conspiracy All Heats about Prerogative and Privilege were now laid aside the Pulpits and our Universities rang with Declamations against the Heresies and Usurpations of the Church of Rome and now the King gave himself wholly to Hunting Plays Masques Balls and writing against Bellarmine and the Pope's Supremacy in arrogating a Power over Kings and disposing of their Kingdoms and thus the Case stood for four Years after wherein I scarce find any thing worth mentioning This and the next Year was almost wholly spent in Debates concerning the Uniting of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland which the King eanestly solicited and which ended only in Contests and Arguments for the House of Parliament refused to join with the King in it however the King obtained a Judgment in Westminster-Hall in a Case called Calvin's Case that the Post Nati in Scotland after the King's Assumption to the Crown of England were free to purchase and inherit in England But whilst the King was thus wallowing in Pleasure he wholly gave himself up to be governed by Favourites to whom he was above any other King of England except Henry the 8th excessively prodigal not only in Honours and Offices but of
Destruction upon himself having first seen his Son Walter slain in the Design he intended to raise his Fortunes by Tho the King was never poorer than at this time yet the Nation was far richer than in all the long Reign of Queen Elizabeth by reason of the English Trade with Spain made free by that celebrated Law of the 3d of the King cap. 6. and at this time and many Years before the King of Spain made Count Gundamor his Legier Ambassador in England the Count would ape the King iâ all his Humours but his Cups and hereby became so intimate with the King that he discover'd all his Designs and the Secretâ if ther were any of the Court In this Posture of Affairs Sir Walter informs the King that ãâã he would grant him a Commission he would bring Mountains of Gold into the King's Exchequer from Guiana the King who had stopt his Ears to Sir Walter 's Advice concerning the Dutch Fisheâ upon the Coasts of England and Scotland opens them both to Sir Walter 's Project and grants him a Commission directed Dilecto fideli meo Waltero Raleigh Militi But this Commission ill agreed with the Treaty made between the King and the most renowned King of Spain his dear and loving Brother in the second Year of his Reign wherein in the first Article it was agreed That they should use one another with all kind and friendly Offices and by this Treaty the English were restrain'd to their Trades in Europe For the King of Spain was as jealous of his West-Indies as the Apple of his Eye or the Pope ãâã of his Triple-Crown or the King of his Prerogative The Fame of Sir Walter and the Expectation of the Mountaiââ of Gold to be poured into the Exchequer by this Expedition bââzed it all abroad so as Gundamor gave the King of Spain aâ account of it and this became so much the more publick by how much the King could not contribute any thing but his Commission towards it and tho Sir Walter 's Fame induced many Nobles and Gentlemen to join with him in it yet this being distracted and divided into so many Interests it went on more heavily and became every day more known so that tho Sir Walter intended to have proceeded on his Voyage this Year in the beginning of April it was upward in August before he set out In his Passage a terrible Fever overtook Sir Walter now in the 76th Year of his Age which yet the Strength of his Constitution overcame to bring him to his End by a worse Fate When he arrived at Guiana he found all the Marks which he and Sir Nicholas Kemish had made either worn out by Time being twenty Years before or alter'd by the Spaniards who had so long before had notice of his Design so that Kemish and Sir Walter fell at such odds about it that Kemish killed himself besides the Spaniards to prevent Raleigh's Design had built many new Fortifications unknown to Raleigh or Kemish Hereupon Sir Walter stormed the Town of St. Thomas wherein he lost his Son Walter but took the Town and sack'd it and here the Souldiers took great Spoil but with little Profit to Sir Walter or any of the Adventurers with him For the Souldiers and Sea-men being Reformades and being under no severe Discipline kept what they had got Now was Sir Walter in a most desperate State he had no Friends at Court and which made the matter worse he had disgusted all the Nobles and Gentlemen who had engag'd with him in this Expedition he need not consult the Augurs what should be his Fate upon his Return to prevent which he endeavoured to have got into France and carry his Ship with him but the Sea-men who now had his Fortune in Contempt would not forsake their Wives and Children to partake with him in his Misfortunes and so brought him back again into England It was resolved that Sir Walter 's Misfortunes should lose him his Head but how to do it with a face of Justice was the Question for his Commission protected him from any Prosecution for the sacking of St. Thomas and it would seem strange to execute him upon the Conviction in Cobham's Conspiracy sixteen Years before especially since the King had discharged his Imprisoment upon it and had granted him a Commission wherein he called Sir Walter his beloved and faithful Sir Walter However this was the best Face could be put upon it and upon the 28th of October next Year 1618 Sir Walter was brought from the Tower to the King's-Bench to shew Cause why Sentence of Death should not pass upon him Mountague being Chief Justice upon his former Conviction to which Sir Walter pleaded his Commission which pardoned his Crime For he could not be a Traitor and the King 's beloved and faithful Servant at one and the same time but this was over-ruled by the Court which answered That Treason could not be pardoned by Implication but by express words And next day he had his Head cut off in the Palace-Yard at Westminster In granting Sir Walter Raleigh this Commission you may see by what an undistinguished Power Covetousness governs the Actions of Princes as well as meaner Men against their Honour and Interest for at the same time when the King granted this Commission he was by Sir John Digby after Earl of Bristol treating a Marriage between Prince Charles and the Infanta of Spain upon the Terms of a Portion of two Millions of Money with her but if this Act of Raleigh's and the difficulty of raising such a Portion put no stop to the Progress of it you 'll soon see an Accident which shall make it utterly impracticable with the Maxims and Policy of Spain yet so far was the King blinded with the Covetousness of getting the Portion that he shall put his only Son into the Power of the Spaniards to obtain it Tho young Villiers and the King's Favourites governed the King without any Controul by the English Conchino Conchini an Italian Marquess d' Ancre and Marshal of France and his Wife succeeded not so well in France for after the Death of Henry the Fourth of France these two governed Henry's Relict and Regent as absolutely as our young Favourite did the King which put the Princes of the Blood and Nobility into such a Ferment that they several times rose in Tumults and Arms against them Yet such was their Power with the Queen that they continued as insolent after the King was declared of Majority as before whereupon the Feuds of the Princes of the Blood and Nobility grew higher hereupon Luynes the King's Favourite prompted the King to take off Ancre any way which was so ordered that Ancre coming into the Louvre and reading a Letter Vitry Captain of the King's Guard arrested him Me said Ancre Yes you by the Death of God answered Vitry who cried out Kill him whereupon he was killed by three Pistol Shots the King owning the Fact But
in Parchment for to perswade and encourage him in the Perversion of the Prince But how steady soever the Duke was in his French Garb in Spain and of Compliance with the Spaniard in the Popish Religion yet he was not so when he returned into England for then he turns quite contrary and assumes a popular Way and joins with the Prince and thereby over-ruled the King as they pleased and closed with the Nobility and Puritan Party opposite to Spain As you may read in Rushworth fol. 107. Nor was the Duke's Covetousness and sacrilegious Desires of robbing the Church's Patrimony less than his Hypocrisy in Religion for whilst he was in this Godly Fit he treats with Dr. John Preston Head of the Puritan Party how the King might seize the Dean and Chapter Lands as you may read in the Bishop of Litchfield's Life of Doctor Williams 1st Part fol. 202. After the Return of the Prince and Duke into England and Bristol left in Spain both contrive how to ruin the Earl of Bristol bound up with contrary Instructions and to dissolve the Prince's Match with the Infanta so solemnly sworn by both Kings and the Prince and could find no other Pretence to do it but by the King's Letter to the Earl of Bristol before he delivered the Powers for consummating the Marriage to procure from the King of Spain either by publick Act or under his Hand and Seal a direct Engagement for the Restitution of the Palatinate and Electoral Dignity by Mediation or Assistance of Arms but in regard this must be now insisted upon let 's see how this stood during the Treaty In all the Treaty for this Match the Restitution of the Palatinate was laid aside as Rushworth observes fol. 91. and my Lord of Bristol in his Defence against the Duke's or King's Charge fol. 302. says that his Instructions from King James the 14th of March 1621 were express that he should not make the Business of the Palatinate a Condition of the Marriage and that of the King 's of the 30th of December 1623 I think it was 1622 were fully to the same Effect But now the whole Treaty which was so solemnly agreed upon and sworn to by both Kings and the Prince and that the Marriage should be consummate within 10 days after the Dispensation came from Rome which it did about the beginning of December 1623 must be all dasht without the Restitution of the Palatine to his Country and Electoral Dignity which being perplext with such Variety of Interests as the Duke of Bavaria's having possest himself of the upper Palatinate and the Restitution of the Palsgrave being an Act of the Emperor and Empire was not in the King of Spain's Power Nay the Proxies left with the Earl would not admit of a Treaty in this Case for the Marriage was to be consummate within ten Days after the Arrival of the Dispensation from Rome The Earl of Bristol for not obtaining these new impossible and inconsistible Conditions is recalled from his Embassy and a new Treaty of Marriage between the Prince and the Princess Henrietta Maria youngest Daughter of Henry the Fourth of France is as suddenly set on Foot as that of Spain abruptly broke off and that by this time the King of Spain and the Earl had frequent Advice of the Prince and Duke's Designs to ruin the Earl The King of Spain therefore made a threefold Proffer to the Earl either to write to the King James and if need were to send a particular Ambassador to mediate for him to satisfy the Earl's Fidelity and Exactness in all the Treaty or to make him a Blank wherein the Earl should set down his own Conditions both in Title and Honour in Spain whereunto the Earl answered He was sorry and afflicted to hear such Language and desir'd they should understand that neither the King nor Spain were beholden to him For whatever he had done he thought fit to do for his Master's Service and his own Honour having no Relation to Spain and that he served a Master from whom he was assured both of Justice and due Reward nothing doubting but his own Innocence would prevail against the Wrong intended by his powerful Adversaries and were he sure to run into eminent Danger he had rather go home and cast himself at his Majesty's Feet and Mercy and therein comply with the Duty and Honour of a faithful Subject though it should cost him his Head than be Duke or Infantado of Spain and that with this Resolution he would employ the utmost of his Power to maintain the Amity of the two Crowns and to serve his Catholick Majesty and thirdly the King of Spain desired him in private to take 10000 Crowns to bear his Charges but the Earl answered one would know it viz. the Earl of Bristol who would reveal it to his Majesty King James Now if any Man can shew in any Authority antient or modern wherein a Treaty of this Nature was thus begun thus managed and thus broken off wherein a Noble Lady of highest Birth and noblest Fortune adorned with all the Excellencies of Beauty in her Person and the more excelling Virtues of her Mind in all the Perfections requisite in her Sex was thus baulkt and see her self made a Stale to advance the Avarice and covetous Desires of others he shall be my great Apollo So we 'll leave this Affair here and see what Comfort King James had of his Affairs elsewhere In the Year 1619 King James and the Dutch States entred into and concluded a Treaty of Trade between the English and Dutch in the East-Indies at this time and for many Years before the English had at Amboyna one of the Scyndae or Setibe Islands lying near Seran which had several smaller Islands depending upon it five several Factories two at Hitto and Lerico and two at Latro and Cambello in the Island of Seran but the principal of them was at Amboyna Amboyna was and is the principal Place in all the East-Indies where Nutmegs Mace Cinamon Cloves and Spice grow and from these Factories the English supplied not only England and Europe with Spice but Persia Japan and other Countries in the East-Indies The Treaty of Commerce between the King and the Dutch States was scarce three Years old when the Dutch in the East-Indies contrive how they may dispossess the English of the Spice-Trade which above all others is the best in the East-Indies at least which was then or now is known It seems says my Author William de Britain in his Treatise of the Dutch Usurpation fol. 14. that the English in all these Islands were better beloved than the Dutch and had built a Fortress in Amboyna for the Safety of Trade which the Dutch having two Hundred Soldiers there forced from the English and thereupon feigning a Plot between the English and Japonesses I think he means the Natives of Amboyna to betray the Fortress again to the English the Dutch with Fire and Water in an
horrible manner massacred many English and seized upon the English Factories there to the Value of four hundred thousand Pounds and made the rest of the English Slaves and sent them into other Islands which the Dutch had possessed themselves of This was in the Year 1622. Nor did the Dutch stay here but seized upon the English Factories in Seran Nero Waire Rosingen Latro Cambello Hitto Larica Lantare and Poloroone possessing themselves of their Goods and Factories there and took 1800 English which they sent into other Islands and Plantations which they had forced from the Indians Let 's see now how highly King James resented these things he only sent to the Dutch Ambassador and told him He never heard nor read a more cruel and impious Act than that of Amboyna But I do forgive them and I hope God will but my Son's Son shall revenge this Blood and punish this horrid Massacre nor never further vindicated his own Honour or his Subjects Blood and loss of their Goods and Trade herein Whereas about a Year before when he heard of the Commons horrid Invasion upon his Prerogative by asserting their Rights and Privileges in a Fury he dissolves the Parliament and sick as he was or seemed to be to the indangering of his Health he came in a hurry from Theobalds called his Council and Judges about him and propria Manu cut the Commons Protestation out of their Journal-Book and committed many of their Members close Prisoners without Bail or Main-prize and banished others That we may take a better View of the latter end of this Reign and the following one of King Charles it will be convenient to look into Holland and herein observe That Barnevelt and the Dutch States after they had retrieved their Cautionary Towns from King James Barnevelt assisted by Hugo Grotius nourished a Faction in Holland called the Arminian from Arminius who maintained 5 Heads contrary to what Calvin had taught in his Institutions which was the Doctrine of the Church set up in Holland and the other Vnited Provinces By this Faction thus countenanced by Barnevelt and Grotius they endeavoured to have deposed Maurice Prince of Orange State-holder tho he and his Father and Uncles were the principal Instruments whereby the Dutch became States But Maurice proved too hard for them and cut off Barnevelt's Head and had hanged Grotius if his Wife had not conveyed him away in a great Chest pretending it contained Arminian Books This was in the Year 1620. Tho Barnevelt and Grotius propagated the Arminian Tenets to have deposed the Prince of Orange and advanced their Democratical Government yet the Church-men of England who preached the King's absolute Power and exalted his divided Will from the Laws and Constitutions of the Nation above his Royal Will in Governing by them promoted these Tenets and those that opposed them were stiled Puritans The principal Stickler herein was Dr. William Laud a Man of a most turbulent and aspiring Disposition and one of the first Acts for which he was taken notice of was to marry the Earl of Devonshire to the Lady Rich Mother to Robert Earl of Warwick and Henry Earl of Holland when her Husband was alive but this was so far from advancing him that the King was highly incensed against him for it Yet Laud's aspiring Humour could not contain him in a private State but follow the Court he would yet could never arrive higher than to be one of the King's Chaplains by means whereof he sometimes got the King's Ear. The King hated the Presbyterian Government and had got the Bishops in Scotland to be re-ordained by three of the English Bishops as a distinct Order which the Kirk in Scotland took for an abominable Usurpation over them and also in the Year 1618 got the five Articles commonly called The five Articles of Perth to be settled as more agreeable to the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church of England but this was to the further Indignation of the Kirk-party and herein King James set up his rest as having gained an high Point but tho the King hated the Presbyterian Government yet he opposed the Arminian Tenets Arch-bishop Abbot observed of him when he was at Court he was Buckingham's only inward Counsellor sitting sometimes with him privately whole hours and feeding his Humour with Malice and Spite and when he was at Oxford his Business was to pick Quarrels in the Lectures of publick Readers and to advertise them to the Bishop of Durham Neal the great Countenancer of the Arminian Tenets and Promoter of the King's Prerogative that he might fill the Ears of King James with Discontents against the honest Men that took pains in their Places and settled the Truth which he called Puritanism in their Auditors As you may read in Rush fol. 444. Nor could Laud forbear when he could get the King's Ear but he urged him more than once to promote the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church of England in Scotland after the obtaining the passing of the five Articles at Perth this frighted King James who better knew the Temper of his Country-men and how difficultly he had got the Articles of Perth to pass that Laud ignorant of the Temper of the Scotish Nation should be so audacious to put the King upon this which might as it after did embroil all Scotland in Tumults and Wars and now becomes more averse to Laua's Promotion than before But this was no Consideration to Buckingham whether the King would or nor Laud should rise And soon after Williams was made Lord Keeper the Bishoprick of St. Davids fell and Buckingham resolved Laud should have it and the Keeper must be the Man to propound it to the King and receive no Denial But it 's fit to observe here in what an humbling manner this Promotion was accomplish'd on the part of Laud and take it as it was sent me by a Gentleman with the Attestation of Col. L. and R. L. Esq who often heard Mr. Francis Osburn speak of it as a certain Truth and who had taken notice of it in some of his Works not made publick As soon as Laud had Information that the foresaid Bishoprick was vacant he hastens to wait upon the Duke of Buckingham for that Preferment but found the Duke was not stirring but being impatient of Delay prevails upon one of the Duke's Gentlemen to acquaint him he had earnest Business with his Grace and begged immediate Admittance which being granted the Doctor enters his Grace's Chamber and finds him a-bed with a Whore the Duke asks his Business Laud told him the Bishop of St. Davids was dead and that he came to beg his Grace to recommend him to the King for the vacant See The Duke told him that he had been represented to him as the proudest Man alive and therefore he could not in Honour recommend him to the King Laud assures his Grace that what had been said of him upon that Head was utterly false and the effect of
two Treaties which were for the Spanish Match and Recovery of the Palatinate and that his Father being thereby engaged in a War for the Recovery of the Palatinate they would now assist him in the carrying of it on The Speech you may read in Rushworth fol. 175 176. But Mr. Rushworth is mistaken and I wonder Nalson and Franklin took no notice of it that my Lord Keeper Coventry did second it for it was my Lord Keeper Williams whose quaint and learned Speech you may read in the second Book of the Life of the Keeper by the Bishop of Litchfield fol. 9 10. Nor was Williams displaced till the 23d of October following as you may see fol. 27. The Commons before they enter'd upon Grievances Sir Edward Coke moving it to ingratiate themselves with the King voted him two entire Subsidies and the last Parliament but the Summer before gave his Father three Subsidies and three Fifteens which were more than ever any Parliament granted the King in threefold the time before But that we may better look forward look a little back King James upon the Rreach of the Spanish Match put forth a Proclamation for putting the Laws in Execution against Popish Recusants but upon the first of May King Charles sent this Warrant to my Lord Keeper Williams Charles Rex RIght Reverend and Right Trusty c. Whereas we have been moved in Contemplation of our Marriage with the Lady Mary Sister of Our dear Brother the Most Christian King to grant to Our Subjects Roman Catholicks a Cessation of all and singular Pains and Penalties as well Corporal as Pecuniary whereunto they be subject or any ways may be liable by any Laws Statutes Ordinances or any thing whatsoever or for or by reason of their Recusancy or Religion in every Matter or thing concerning the same Our Will and Pleasure is and we do by these Presents authorize and require you upon the Receipt hereof That immediately you do give Warrants Order and Directions as well unto all our Commissioners Judges and Justices of the Peace as also unto all other our Officers and Ministers as well Spiritualas Temporal respectively to whom it may appertain that they and every of them do forbear all and all manner and cause to be forborn all manner of Proceedings against our said Subjects Rom. Catholicks and every of them as well by Information Presentment Indictment Conviction Process Seizure Distress or Imprisonment or any other Ways and Means whatsoever whereby they may be molested for the Causes aforesaid And further also That for time to come you take notice of and speedily redress all Causes and Complaints for or by reason of any thing done contrary to this our Will and this shall be unto you and to all to whom you shall give such Warrant Order or Direction sufficient Warrant and Discharge in that Behalf And this is so much more remarkable that this Warrant was granted when Buckingham was so busy in setting out the Fleet against the Rochellers Here was a Suspension of the Laws with a Witness by the King 's absolute Will and Pleasure notwithstanding all the Officers by Law were under the Obligations of their Oaths to the contrary and for the first-Fruits of this Warrant the King granted upon the 10th of May a special Pardon to twenty Roman Priests of all Offences committed by them against the Laws Can any Man now believe that the Parliament 18th Jac. should be so jealous that the Spanish Match would be a Door to let in a Toleration of Popery and therefore advised the King to break off the Match with Spain and yet this Parliament should be so purblind as not to see this put in Execution at the Instance of the French in this King's Reign especially whenas the Spaniards unless in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth were the English Friends and Allies and with whom the English had a most beneficial and gainful Trade for 22 Years in King James's Reign whereby they became doubly more enriched than in the 44 Years Reign of Queen Elizabeth whereas the French as they were a Neighbouring Nation were ever faithless and Enemies to the English Nation and with whom it always had a Trade to the English Loss as much to the enriching France as to the impoverishing the English Hereupon the Commons sent Sir Edward Coke with a Message to the Lords to desire their Concurrence in a Petition to the King against Recusants which was agreed to and presented to the King who answered That he was glad the Parliament were so forward for Religion and assured them they should find him as forward that their Petition being long could not be presently answered Nor were the Commons less alarmed at the countenancing the Arminian Sect whose Tenets next to Laud Mr. Richard Mountague propagated and about the latter end of King James his Reign published a Book entituled A new Gag for an old Goose which the Parliament took notice of and referred it to the Archbishop of Canterbury who disallowed it and sought to suppress it and ended in an Admonition given to Mountague but after King James his Death who was an Enemy to these Tenets Mountague then printed it again and dedicated it to King Charles now Buckingham and Laud ruled all Hereupon the Commons brought Mountague to the Bar of their House and appointed a Committee to examine the Errors therein and gave Thanks to the Arch-bishop for the Admonition to Mountague whose Books they voted to be contrary to the Articles established in the Parliament to tend to the King's Dishonour and Disturbance of the Church and State and took Bond of Mountague for his Appearance But the King intimated to the House that the things determined concerning Mountague without his Privity did not please him for he was his Servant and Chaplain in ordinary and that he had taken the Business into his own Hands whereat the Commons seemed much displeased This was the first Breach between the King and Commons and here let 's see what hasty Steps Laud took to fulfil King James his Prophecy of him in making Dissensions and to be a Fire-brand to set the Nation on fire by fomenting and exasperating the Factions in it In this Act of Mountague you may observe a twofold Crime First his Contempt and Disobedience to the Church of England which Laud pretended so much to exalt and to the Parliament that his Book being questioned in Parliament and by the Commons committed to the Arch-bishop who not only disallowed and suppressed it but Mountague being admonished against it he should upon King James his Death presume to reprint it in Defiance to the Metropolitan of England contrary to his Canonical Obedience and to the Commons thereby to make a Dissension between the King and them And secondly his being so audacious as to dedicate it to the King thereby to engage the King in defence of his Arrogance and Disobedience and for a Reward of this special Piece of Service before King James was two
Months dead to be made the King's Chaplain in Ordinary to be thereby protected from Justice But if it be asked how it does appear that Laud was concerned in this Act and Promotion of Mountague I answer there is a threefold Reason to induce the Belief of it First the end for which this Book was wrote for Promotion of Arminian Tenets whereof Laud was so great a Stickler Secondly none else but Laud could have such an Ascendant in things of this kind and to cause to early a Promotion for such a piece of Service but Thirdly which clears the Question when the King's Necessities caused him to call another Parliament about six or seven Months after Laud fearing the Commons falling again upon Mountague as they did Laud sounded the King by Buckingham whether the King would leave Mountague to the Parliament and finding the King determined to do it in great Zeal said I seem to see a Cloud arising and threatning the Church of England God in his Mercy dissipate it as you may read in Rush f. 203. as if the questioning a seditious and a disobedient Fellow to his Superiour in the Church were a Cloud to threaten the Church of England If Laud was the first that sowed Dissension between the King and Parliament upon the Pretence of the Church of England Buckingham shall be the second upon the Account of the Church of Rome and herein you 'll see the Temper of Buckingham to any which should presume to give him good Counsel The Dissension between the King and Commons began with Mountague at London where the Plague than raged and all England over so that most of the Members shrunk away to flee the Danger of it and those that staid were in danger of their Lives This put the King into a marvellous Strait what to do for his Necessities as Buckingham managed Affairs and his being imbroiled in the Spanish War were such as the Subsidies granted the King his Father the last Year and those granted the King now could not support Hereupon the King calling a Council at Hampton-Court what to do the King proposed upon the 10th of July to adjourn the Parliament to Oxford which was mainly favoured by the Duke my Lord Keeper Williams opposed the Proposition for two Reasons First That the Infection had overspread the whole Land so that no Man that travelled from his own Home knew where to lodg in Safety that the Lords and Gentlemen would be so distasted to be carried abroad in so mortal a time that it 's likely when they came together they would vote out of Discontent and Displeasure that his Majesty was ill counselled to give Offences in the Bud of his Reign tho small ones Secondly the Parliament had given two Subsidies at Westminster tho they removed to Oxford it is yet the same Sessions and if they alledg it is not the Use of the House to give twice in a Sessions tho I wish heartily they would yet how shall we plead them out of Custom if they be stiff to maintain it It is not fit for the Reputation of the King to fall upon a probable Hazard of a Denial The Duke which heard this with Impatience said That publick Necessity must sway more than one Man's Jealousy The Keeper hereupon besought the King to hear him in private and acquainted the King That the Duke had Enemies in the House of Commons who had contrived Complaints and made them ready to be preferred and would spend time at Oxford about them And what Folly were it to continue a Sessions that had no other Aim but to bring the Duke upon the Stage But if your Majesty think that this is like an Hectick quickly known but hardly cured my humble Opinion is That the Malady or Malice call it what you will may sleep awhile after Christmas there is no time lost in whetting the Sithe well I hope to give an Account by that time by undertaking with the chief Sticklers that they shall supersede their Bitterness against your great Servant and that Passage to your weighty Counsels may be made smooth and peaceable But why said the King do you conceal this from Buckingham Good Sir said the Keeper fain would I begin at that End but he will not hear me with Moderation And because it was the Mishap of the Keeper to give the first Notice of this Storm that was gathering the Duke in Defiance bid him and his Confederates do their worst and besought the King that the Parliament might be continued and he would confront the Faction tho he looked upon himself in that Innocency that he presumed they durst not question him Buckingham's Will must be a Law so on the 10th of July the Parliament was adjourned to Oxford to meet the first of August But to sweeten them the Keeper in the Presence of both Houses in the King's Name promised them That the Rigour of the Law against Popish Priests should not be deluded Here see the Levity of the King and the Dominion Buckingham had over him for upon the 12th of July the King caused a Warrant to be sealed to pardon six Roman Priests When the Parliament met at Oxford the Speaker had no sooner taken his Chair but a Western Knight enlarges the Sense of his Sorrow that he had seen a Pardon for six Priests bearing test July 12th whereas but the Day before it when they were to part from Westminster the Lord Keeper had promised in the King's Name before them all that the Rigour against the Priests should not be deluded Hereupon the Members were in such a Heat that they strived who should blame it most What! their Hope 's blasted in one Night But for the Lord Keeper that brought the King's Message and knew it best and for a Bishop to set the Seal to such a Warrant for him to do wrong to Religion it was enormous Hereupon Mr. Bembo a Servant to the Clerk of the Crown confess'd he brought the Writ to the Keeper to be sealed but it was stopt Mr. Devike Servant to Sir Edward Conway brought it from his Master but it could not speed It was my Lord of Buckingham's hard Hap to move the King to command the Warrant to be sealed in his Sight at Hampton-Court the Sunday following The Commons hereupon turned about to clear the Keeper and commend him but what pleased the Parliament at Oxford did not please the Court at Woodstock where this had not pleased the King The Commons in this Heat desired a Conference with the Lords in Christ-Church-Hall in the Afternoon where Sir Edward Coke open'd the Complaint sharply against my Lord Conway and like an Orator did slide away with a short Animadversion upon the Duke the Commons enlarged hereon that the Duke that put the King upon this was the highest in the King's Favour and that all the important Places of Honour and Offices by Sea and Land were in his Disposal which you may read at large in the Life of the
they might But these were no Considerations where Buckingham and Laud govern'd all and those worthy and honourable Statesmen the Archbishop of Canterbury the Keeper Williams and the noble Earl of Bristol were not only discountenanc'd but disgrac'd and not permitted to come into the Council How unsuccessful soever the Expedition was yet another Fate attended that Fleet lent to the French for the Dutch joining a Fleet in conjunction with the French Fleet commanded by the Duke of Momerancy fought the Fleet of the Rochellers and utterly subdued it and then reduced the Isles of Rhee and Oleron to the French Power But tho the miserable Fate of the Reformed began here yet the Dishonour of the English Nation shall soon after follow it so that now Richlieu might write florebunt Lilia Ponto Tho the King dissolved the first Parliament to prevent their impeaching Buckingham yet it was not in Buckingham's Power to supply the King's Necessities but they put him upon the Necessity of calling another And here you may see the little Artifices the King 's grand Ministers of State put him upon for the attaining his Ends and how quite contrary they succeeded There were five Persons whom the Duke took to be his Enemies if they were not so he had given them Cause enough to be so two of them were Peers and three of them Commoners the Peers were the Earl of Bristol and Bishop of Lincoln the Commoners were Sir Edward Coke Sir Robert Phillips a Person whose Memory I revere and should be glad I knew any of his Descendants to whom I could acknowledg it and Sir Thomas Wentworth these Persons the Duke feared would be leading Men in both Houses and was resolved that to his Power he would keep them out He was sure the Earl and the Bishop as Peers of Common Right would have their Writs of Summons and was as sure the other three would be chosen Members of the House of Commons In looking a little back you 'll better see forward You have heard how by the Duke's Power in King James's Reign the Earl of Bristol was first kept back from coming into England and after he was come over was kept under Restraint and denied Admission into the King's Presence lest he should have spoiled the Duke's fine Tale in Parliament concerning the Spanish Match and also after he had answer'd every Particular of it without any Reply and that after King James had promised the Earl should be heard in Parliament against the Duke as well as the Duke had been against the Earl King James fell sick and died thereupon before the Parliament met again After King James's Death the Earl wrote a most humble Letter to King Charles imploring his Favour and desiring the Duke's Mediation which the Duke answered the 7th of May 1625 that the Resolution was to proceed against him without a plain and direct Confession of the Point which he the Duke had formerly required him to acknowledg and in a courtly manner told him That he would advise him to bethink himself in time what would be most for his good In the mean time the Earl received his Writ of Summons to the Parliament whereupon the Earl sent to the Duke that he would do nothing but what was most agreeable to his Majesty's Pleasure which the Duke answered I have acquainted his Majesty with your Requests towards him touching your Summons to the Parliament which he taketh very well and would have you rather make your Excuse for your Absence notwithstanding your Writ than to come your self in Person Hereupon the Earl desired a Letter of Leave under the King's Hand for his Warrant but instead thereof he received from the Lord Conway an absolute Prohibition and even to restrain and confine him as he had been in King James's time tho the Earl was freed from it by King James and in this Restraint the Earl continued three Quarters of a Year during which time he was remov'd from all his Offices and Places he held during that King's Life and tho he had laid out the greatest part of his Estate for their Majesties Service and by their particular Appointment he could never be admitted so much as to clear his Accounts yet hereof the Earl never made the least Complaint Upon the King's Coronation when Princes usually confer Acts of Grace and Favour the Earl addressed himself to the Duke and then became an humble Suitor to the King for his Grace and Favour to which he receiv'd an Answer so different from what the King's Father and the King himself had given him since the Earl's Return into England that the Earl knew not what Construction to make of it After the Writs of Summons for the meeting of this Parliament were out the Earl addressed himself to my Lord Keeper Coventry to be a Suitor to the King in his behalf that the Privilege which of right is due to every Peer might not be denied him which not taking effect the Earl petitioned the House of Peers to mediate to the King for his Writ which was granted but accompanied with a Letter from the Keeper not to take his Place in Parliament As Bristol was the worthiest Statesman in either of these King's Reigns and whose Integrity in all these Varieties of Employments none but Buckingham and Conway presumed at least that I can find or ever heard of so much as to carp at so Lincoln's quaint and excellent not pedantick Learning both in Divinity History the Civil and Canon Law and not a Stranger to our English excelled all others These were adorned with a lively and excellent Elocution and with a wonderful promptness and presence of Mind in giving Judgment in the most nice and subtile dark Points of State and accompanied with an indefatigable Industry in Prosecution of them These Parts were so well observed in him by King James that without any Solicitation of Buckingham or any other but whilst he solicited for another the King conferr'd the Lord Keeper's Place upon him as you may read in his Life fol. 52. tit 62. and after unsought for the King promised him the next Avoidance of the Arch-bishoprick of York or any other Ecclesiastical Preferment and so steddy stood he in King James's Favour that Buckingham's Attacks could no ways shake him in it In Chancery he mitigated the Fees and all Petitions from poor Men were granted gratis and was so far from prolonging Suits that in the first Year he ended more than in seven Years before yet with such Caution that he would have some of the Judges but principally Sir Henry Hubbard to be assisting so that notwithstanding his Celerity in Dispatch in all the five Years of his being Lord Keeper not one of his Orders neither by Parliament nor by the Court of Chancery were ever revers'd Cardinal Richlieu is much celebrated for the Speech he made in the Convention of Notables which you may read at large in Howel's Life of Richlieu f. 162 163 164. to excite
hasty in it that the King's Promise that the Bishop of Lincoln now no more Lord-Keeper should enjoy the King's Favour was scarce three Months old when they put not only the King out of mind of his Promise but the Bishop out of the Duty of his Place but that Laud should perform it whether the Bishop would or not It has been said with what Difficulty the Bishop of Lincoln for so we must now call him procured Laud the Bishoprick of St. David's and the Bishop staid not there but retained him in his Prebendary at Westminster and so after gave him a Living in the Diocess of St. David's of 120 l. per Annum to help his Revenue These two last being Additions to Laud's Preferment coming from the Bishop of Lincoln voluntarily and unsought for by Laud he by Mr. Winn returned his Thanks to the Bishop with this Expression His Life would be too short to requite his Lordship's Goodness But these Favours were not eighteen Months planted when Laud became the Bishop's sharpest Enemy as you may read in the first Part of his Life f. 108. and his Malice grew so high that the Countess of Buckingham the Duke's Mother took notice of it which the Arch-bishop Abbot takes notice of Rushw f. 144. as well as the Bishop of Litchfield As Acts of Grace and Favour usually were accompany'd by our Kings at their Coronation so in this King's Reign the quite contrary must be practised not only to the Earl of Bristol but much more to the Bishop of Lincoln for he was not only denied to do his Homage to the King with the rest of the Spiritual Lords at the Coronation but his Office as Dean of Westminster in assisting the Arch-bishop in the Solemnity of it and yet this too must be done by Laud as the Bishop's Substitute whether he would or not This was the first noble Favour the King extended to the Bishop according to his reiterated Promise when they parted The second was he was denied his Writ of Summons as a Peer in Parliament which met in four days after the Coronation viz. Feb. 6. which was due ex debito Justitiae and which was never denied to Prisoners or condemned Persons even in his Father's time and at last when he obtained it yet he must not presume to sit in Parliament and had much ado to have his Proxy left with the Bishop of Winchester Dr. Andrews as you may read in the second Part of his Life f. 69. But tho the Privilege of Peers a little eclipsed the Power of the mighty Buckingham yet he was resolved to keep Sir Edward Coke Sir Robert Phillips and Sir Thomas Wentworth out of the Commons House by the King's Prerogative as it has been of late used in making them Sheriffs whether they be returned by the Coroner's Inquest of the Counties or not and by this Prerogative Sir Edward Coke was made Sheriff of the County of Bucks Sir Robert Phillips of Somerset and Sir Thomas Wentworth of Yorkshire It made a mighty Noise and an Inquiry which otherwise would not have been that Sir Edward Coke in his extream Age now 77 Years old and who had been Chief Justice of both Benches and Privy-Counsellor should be made a Sheriff of the County and the more for that Sir Edward Coke took Exceptions to the Oath of a Sheriff whereupon it was altered These were the Counsels which govern'd this King in the Infancy of his Reign Now let us see the Success The Commons were so far from granting Subsidies now as in the last Parliament before Grievances were redrest that upon their first Meeting they fell upon Examination of Grievances and the Miscarriage of the Fleet at Cadiz the evil Counsellors about the King's Misgovernment and Misimployment of the King's Revenue and an Account of the three Subsidies and three Fifteenths granted the 21st of King James That new Impositions and Monopolies were multiplied and settled to continue by Grants Customs enhanced by the new Book of Rates and that Tunnage and Poundage was levied tho by no Act of Parliament and the Guard of the Seas neglected However these were Generals but the first Particular fell upon Mountague in five particular Articles wherein he had broken the Laws and Statutes of the Realm and disturbed the Peace both of the Church and Commonwealth 1. Whereas by the Articles of the Convocation holden in the Year 1â62 it is determined That the Church of Rome is at present and has been for above 900 Years past so far wide from the Nature of a true Church that nothing can be more he the said Mountague in several places of the Book called The Answer to the Gagg and his other Book called The Appeal advisedly affirms and maintains That the Church of Rome is and ever was a true Church since it was a Church 2. Whereas in the 16th Homily of the second Book of Homilies it is declared that the Church of Rome is not built upon the Foundation of the Prophets and Apostles and in the 23d Article that Transubstantiation overthrows the Nature of a Sacrament and in the 25th Article that the five other Sacraments are not to be accounted Sacraments yet he the said Mountague maintains in his Book called The Answer to the Gagg That the Church of Rome hath ever remained firm upon the same Foundation of Sacraments and Doctrine instituted by God 3. In the 19th of the same Article it is maintained That the Church of Rome hath erred not only in their Living and Matters of Faith and Ceremonies he in his Book called The Gagg does maintain that none of these are controverted in their Points between the Papists and Protestants and tho in the 35th Article it is resolved that the Sacrifice of Masses in which it is commonly said the Priest did offer Christ for the Quick and the Dead to have Remission of Pain and Guilt too is a blasphemous Fable and dangerous Deceit this being one of the controverted Points between the Church of England and the Church of Rome he in his Book called The Gagg does maintain That these controverted Points are of a less and inferiour Nature of which a Man may be ignorant without any danger of his Soul at all and a Man may oppose this or that without peril of perishing for ever 4. Whereas in the second Homily entituled Against the Peril of Idolatry and approved by the 37th Article it is declared That Images teach no good Lesson neither of God or Godliness but all Error and Wickedness he the said Mountague does maintain Images may be used for the Instruction of the Ignorant and Excitation of Devotion 5. That in the same Homily it is plainly expressed That the attributing certain Countries to Saints is a spoiling God of his Honour and that such Saints are but Dii tutelares of the Gentile Idolaters yet the said Mountague in his Book entituled A Treatise concerning the Invocation of Saints affirmed and maintained That the Saints have not only a
Honour nor sit with Honour here That Man is the Grievance of Grievances let us set down the Causes of all our Disasters and all will reflect on him As for going to the Lords that is not via Regia our Liberties are now impeached we are concerned it is not via Regia the Lords are not participant with our Liberties Mr. Selden advised That a Declaration be drawn under four Heads First To express the House's dutiful Carriage to the King Secondly To tender the Liberties violated Thirdly To present what the House was to have dealt in Fourthly That that great Person viz. the Duke fearing to be questioned did interpose this Distraction All this time said he we have cast a Mantle on what was done last Parliament But now being driven again to look on that Man let us proceed with that which was then well begun and let the Charge be renewed that was last Parliament against him to which he made an Answer but the Particulars were sufficient that we may demand Judgment upon that Answer only In Conclusion the House agreed upon several Heads concerning Innovations in Religion the Safety of the King and Kingdom Misgovernment Misfortune of our late Designs with the Causes of them and when the Question was putting that it should be instanced that the Duke was the principal and chief Cause of all those Evils the Speaker came in and said that the King commands for the present that the House adjourn till to Morrow and that all Committees cease which was done accordingly And upon the 7th of June the King in Parliament passed the Petition of Right whereupon there was an universal Joy all over the City and the Commons returned to their own House with unspeakable Joy and resolved so to proceed as might express their Thankfulness and order the grand Committees for Religion Trade Grievances and Courts of Justice to sit no longer but that the House proceed only in Consideration of Grievances of most moment which was their Remonstrance to the King of the weak distracted and dangerous State of the Kingdom which was done in the most pathetick and humble manner which could be expressed and presented to the King in the Banqueting-House upon the 17th of June It 's very long and consisted of these six Branches 1. The Danger of the Innovation and Alteration of Religion This occasioned by First The great Esteem and Favour many of the Professors of the Romish Religion receive at Court Secondly Their publick Resort to Mass at Denmark-House contrary to his Majesty's Answer to the Parliament's Petition at Oxford Thirdly Letters to stay Proceedings against them Lastly The daily Growth of the Arminian Faction favoured and protected by Neal Bishop of Winchester and Laud Bishop of Bath and Wells whilst the Orthodox Party are silenced or discountenanced 2. Dangers of Innovation and Alteration in Government occasioned by Billeting Soldiers by Commission of procuring 1000 German Horse and Riders for the Defence of the Kingdom by a standing Commission granted to the Duke to be General at Land in time of Peace 3. Disasters of our Designs as the Expedition to the Isle of Rhee and that lately to Rochel wherein the English have purchased their Dishonour with the waste of a Million of Treasure 4. The Want of Ammunition occasioned by the selling 36 lasts of Gun-powder at low Rates 5. The Decay of Trade by the Loss of 300 Ships taken by the Dunkirkers and other Pirates within the three last Years 6. The not guarding the narrow Seas whereby his Majesty has almost lost the Regality Here note That none of these except Billeting of Soldiers which was yet continued were contained in the Petition of Right Of all which Evil and Dangers the principal Cause is the Duke of Buckingham his excessive Power and Abuse of that Power and therefore humbly submit it to his Majesty's Wisdom whether it can be safe for himself and Kingdom that so great Power should be trusted in the hands of any one Subject whatsoever It 's observable how cross the King set himself against the Commons in this Remonstrance for in the last Parliament when the Commons impeached the Duke and the Earl of Bristol exhibited Articles against him the King ordered the Attorney-General to exhibit an Information against the Duke in the Star-Chamber for the great Misdemeanours and Offences complained of against him by the Commons and Earl thereby to have stopt their Proceeding against the Duke in Parliament as he would have taken the Earl's Cause out of Parliament and proceeded against him by Indictment But the King hearing of this Remonstrance of the Commons against the Duke the Day before the Commons presented it viz. upon the 16th of June caused the Attorney-General to take the said Information and all the Proceedings to be taken off the File for that his Majesty was fully satisfied of the Duke's Innocency in all those things mentioned in the Information as well by his own certain Knowledg as by the Proofs taken in the Cause This was the first Fruit the Parliament and Nation reaped by the Petition of Right Now let 's see the next and whether the Commons deserved such a Censure as the King made upon them at the Prorogation of the Parliament After the Commons had presented a Remonstrance of their other Grievances to the King they then took into Consideration the preparing a Bill for granting his Majesty a Subsidy of Tunnage and Poundage as might uphold the King's Profit and Revenue in as ample a manner as their just Care and Respect of Trade would permit But this being a Work of Time and would require much Time and Conference with Merchants and others and being often interrupted by Messages from the King and the Shortness of Time limited by the King for concluding this Sessions and fearing the King might be misinformed of this Particular they were forced by the Duty which they owed to his Majesty to declare That there ought not any Imposition to be laid upon Goods of Merchants exported or imported without Common Consent by Act of Parliament For Manifestation whereof they desired his Majesty to understand That tho the Kings of this Realm had often Subsidies granted them upon divers Occasions especially for guarding the Seas and Safeguard of Merchants yet the Subjects have been ever careful to use such Cautions and Limitations in these Grants that they did proceed not from Duty but the free Gift of the Subjects and that heretofore they used to limit a time for such Grants and for the most part but short as for a Year or two and at other times it has been granted upon occasion of War with Proviso that if the War ended in the mean time then the Grant should cease and of course it has been sequestred into the hand of some Subject to be employed for Guarding of the Seas very few of the King's Predecessors had it for Life until the Reign of Hen. VII who was so far from conceiving he had any Right
leaving a Horse alive still in hopes of the Relief promised from England they held out so long till but 4000 of 15000 were left alive most of them died of Famine and when they began to be pinch'd with Extremity of Hunger they died so fast that they usually carried their Coffins into the Church-yard and other Places and therein laid themselves and died great Numbers of them being unburied and many Corps eaten with Vermin Ravens and Birds when the French Army entred the Town The Outrages committed against the Reformed Churches in France were so high as constrained them to implore King Charles his Aid in these Expressions That what they wrote was with their Tears and Blood But how unhappy soever this Prince's Fate was in War abroad yet it had been happy for him if he had not made his Fate worse at home and now let us see what Steps he made towards it even in this short Recess of the Parliament's Meeting Upon the 15th of July the King made Sir Richard Weston who died a declared Papist Lord Treasurer of England and the same Day translated Laud the Firebrand of the Arminian Faction to the Bishoprick of London whose next Step was Arch-bishop of Canterbury who that he might testify his Zeal to this Cause which after set all these Nations on Fire got Richard Mountague to be consecrated Bishop of Chichester the 24th of August following This Mountague was fierce for Arminianism and wrote a Book call'd A new Gag for an old Goose for which he was questioned in the Parliament of 23 Jac. and the Cause was committed to Arch-bishop Abbot which then ended in an Admonition and though the Arch-bishop disallowed the Book and sought to suppress it yet it was reprinted and dedicated to King Charles under the Title of Appello Caesarem Hereupon the Commons 1 Car. questioned Mountague for this and gave Thanks to the Arch-bishop for what he had done but this displeased the King who took the Business out of the Commons Hands but they had taken Bond of Mountague to appear I desire to be more particular herein because Arminianism was not only turn'd up Trump for the flattering Clergy to play their Game but for the Popish Party to undermine the Church of England as it was established by Law and the Canons Doctrine and Homilies of it and now Mountague's Cause was recommended to the Duke of Buckingham by the Bishops of Rochester Oxford and Laud Bishop of St. Davids as the Cause of the Church of England Thus this Cause stood when the King dissolved the first Parliament the 12th of August 1625. But the King's Necessities as he managed Business forcing him to call another before assembled Laud procured the Duke to sound the King whether he would leave Mountague to a Trial in Parliament which the King intended to do whereupon this pious Man Laud said I seem to see a Cloud arising and threatning the Church of England God of his Mercy dissipate it Note that all those who were not of this Faction of Arminianism were stiled by them Puritans these Mountague treats with bitter Railing and injurious Speeches and inserts divers passages in his Appeal dishonourable to King James the Commons therefore prayed that the said Mountague might be exemplarily punished and his Books supprest and burnt Yet this is the Saint that Laud in the first Act of his Regency as it may be called after he became Bishop of London must have made Bishop of Chichester and after Bishop of Norwich But this is observable that while Neal and Laud were consecrating Mountague News came of the Duke's being stabb'd This was the first step after Laud's Preferment the next was a Pardon for Mountague and Manwaring of all Errors by speaking writing and printing and you cannot believe that Laud would be less kind to Manwaring than to Mountague and therefore notwithstanding Manwaring's Censure he procured Manwaring the fat Rectory of Stamford Rivers in Essex and a Dispensation to hold it with the Rectory of St. Giles in the Fields That you may see the Kindness of this Bishop of London to our Laws in the very Infancy of his Power When Felton was brought before the Lords of the Council for murdering the Duke Laud threatned Felton with the Rack unless he would confess his Inducement for murdering the Duke but the King then in Council refused till the Judges were consulted and said if it could be done by Law he would not use his Prerogative but though the Judges determined he could not be put to the Rack by Law the King was graciously pleased not to use his Prerogative yet this was no thanks to the Bishop of London Now let 's see the Fruits of the Petition of Right and the manifold-Declarations of the King for maintaining the Laws of the Land and the just Rights and Liberties of the Subject but here you may understand that though he had taken the Customs not granted by Parliament yet by virtue of his Prerogative Royal he had enhanced the Rates such as were never granted by any Parliament and declared it his absolute Will and Pleasure besides that of Wines that the 2 s. and 2 d. Duties upon every Hundred of Currants by the Book of Rates should be advanced to 5 s. and 6 d. in the Hundred The first that suffer'd under the King 's absolute Will and Pleasure was Mr. Chambers who was committed by the Lords of the Council this Michaelmass-Term and was bailed by the Court of King's-Bench for which the Judges were check'd having done it without due Respect to the Privy-Council Next Mr. Vassal's Goods were seized for not paying the 5 s. 6 d. upon every hundred pound Weight of Currants upon which the Attorney General Sir Robert Heath exhibited an Information against him in the Exchequer to which Mr. Vassal pleaded the Statute De Tallagio non concedendo and that this was neither Antiqua seu Recta Consuetudo to which the Attorney demurred and Mr. Vassal joined in the Demurrer but the Court would not hear Mr. Vassal's Counsel and said the King was in Possession and they would keep him so and imprisoned Mr. Vassal for not paying the Duty thus imposed About the same time the said Mr. Chambers's Goods were seized by the Customers for not paying such Customs as were demanded by the Farmers Mr. Chambers sues a Writ of Replevin the Barons grant an Injunction against it Mr. Chambers offers to give Security for Payment of such Duties as the Court should direct which the Court refused unless he should pay such Customs as demanded by the Farmers which Chambers refusing the Court ordered the Officers to detain double the Value of Chambers's Goods demanded by them The same Course was taken with Mr. Rolls's Goods though a Parliament-Man one of the Commissioners saying Privilege of Parliament extended only to Persons not Goods another more boldly told Mr. Rolls if all the Parliament were in you we would take your Goods These Proceedings so ill sorting with the Petition
of Right the King as Norton the Printer said commanded the printing of the Petition with other Additions besides the King's Answer and that he had printed 1500 Copies with the King's Answer without the other Additions but these were suppressed by Warrant and the Attorney General commanded no more should be printed and those which were should not be divulged These were the Just and Religious Acts of this pious King and can any Man believe the Parliament at their Meeting should without Breach of a publick Trust sit still and not represent these things to the King The Parliament did meet according to their Prorogation the 23d of January 1628. and debated these Practices against Church and State which hapned since the 26th of June before but now see the Artifice of this little Prince rather than hear of any thing in this kind he commands the Speaker Sir John Finch the late Lord Chancellor Finch's own Uncle to put no Question upon Debates of Grievances So that the House could do nothing but sit still or adjourn and this continued till the 2d of March when the Commons met and urged the Speaker to put the Question concerning Grievances who answered I have a Command from the King to adjourn the House till the 10th of March and put no Question and endeavouring to go out of the House he was held by some Members till the House had made this Protestation 1. Whosoever shall bring in Innovation of Religion or by Favour or Countenance seem to extend or introduce Popery or Arminianism or other Opinions disagreeing from the Truth and Orthodox Church shall be reputed a Capital Enemy to this Kingdom or Common-Wealth 2. Whosoever shall counsel or advise the taking or levying the Subsidies of Tunnage and Poundage not granted by Parliament or shall be an Actor or Instrument therein be likewise reputed an Innovator in the Government and a Capital Enemy to the Kingdom and Common-wealth 3. If any Merchant or Person whatsoever shall voluntarily yield or pay the Subsidies of Tunnage and Poundage not being granted by Parliament he shall likewise be reputed a betrayer of the Liberties of England and an Enemy to the same This Act consisted in two Parts the Speaker and the House the Speaker's of three Parts a Command by the King to put no Question to adjourn till the 10th of March and an endeavour to go out of the House In the former Session of this Parliament Secretary Cook the 10th of April from the King desired the House not to make any Recess those Easter Holy-days that the World may now take notice how earnest his Majesty and We were for the publick Affairs in Christendom which would receive Interruption by this Recess To which Sir Robert Phillips answered that the 12th and 18th Jac. the House resolved it was in their Power to adjourn or sit and that this may be put upon them by Princes of less Piety and that a Committee consider of the House's Right Sir Edward Coke said the King makes a Prorogation the House adjourns it self That a Commission of Adjournment the House never read but say the House adjourns it self yet here the Speaker verbally says I am commanded by the King to adjourn till the 10th of March. His second Command was to put no Question So here was a Speaker which might not speak what did he there then He sits there by the King in his Highest and Regal Capacity under the broad Seal to put the Question and now if you 'll take his Word he says he has a Command from the King to put no Question The third Act was his Endeavour to go out of the House which the House conceiving him to be their Servant would not suffer Here you may understand that the King had privately made Peace with France though not proclaimed at Paris till June following and soon after with Spain so that in his Speech this meeting he did not begin with The Times are for Action and the Eyes of all the World are upon us and therefore demands Supplies in the first place but that without loss of Time they would pass the Bill of Tunnage and Poundage but the House seeing the Dangers of the Church and State in not only pardoning but preferring Mountague and Manwaring and seizing Merchants Goods and imprisoning their Persons even in this Recess they resolve to secure their Religion and redress Grievances before they grant the Customs of Tunnage and Poundage in both they could not but take notice of the Orders of the Star-Chamber Privy-Council Judges and Customers And these were the Invasions upon the King's Perogative Royal which for the future he resolved never to suffer yet he shall live to hear more of them But in regard it may seem strange that Customs of Tunnage and Poundage ever since the Reign of Richard the 3d had been granted to the Kings and Queens of this Realm for securing the Soveraignty of the narrow Seas and of the English Merchants yet was not granted to this King The Reason was this the House of Commons in their Grievances in the two first Parliaments of this King and the former Sessions of this complained that the Duke of Buckingham being Lord High Admiral of England neglected to guard the Seas to the Dishonour of the King and endangering the Trade of England and feared if the Duke were not removed the End designed by the Parliament would be diverted to supply the intolerable Pride and Luxury of the Duke but the King rather than endure this dissolved the two former Parliaments and prorogued this when they were upon settling the Duties of Tunnage and Poundage That the Parliament had Reason for this it appears in their Charge against the Duke in the 2d Year of this King and that in ten Years time he had received of King James and this King 284395 l. besides the Forest of Leyfield the Profits of the third of Strangers Goods and the Profits of the Moiety of the Customs of Ireland besides the Tricks he used to get Money as he was Lord High Admiral of England and Ireland Master of the Horse Lord Warden Chancellor and Admiral of the Cinque Ports and the Members thereof Constable of Dover Castle Justice in Eyre of all his Majesty's Forests and Chases on this side of Trent Constable of Windsor Castle and Gentleman of the King's Bed-Chamber To these might have been added the Duke's Venality in selling all Places in Church and State at least preferring such Men in Church as should propagate Arminianism and such Judges as shall do what the King and he bid them Objection But the Duke was now dead in this Session of Parliament and so the Reason ceasing the Duties of Tunnage and Poundage ought to have been granted Answer The King would not suffer the Commons to come at it neither in the last Sessions nor this for the Religion of the Church of England and the Laws and Liberties of the Subject being so shaken in this Recess the Commons
how to erect a High Commission Court in Scotland by the King's Authority without Consent in Parliament for proceeding against such as would not submit to the Common-Prayer Book and Canons enjoined by the King and Bishops of Scotland and upon the 28th of February the Arch-bishop consecrated Dr. Manwaring Bishop of St. Davids a worthy Successor to so Saint-like and pious a Predecessor for this Bishoprick was Laud's first Preferment You have seen his Grace of Canterbury's Temper towards the King's Subjects now see how it was towards the King His Grace being as high as England could admit viz. Metropolitan and first Peer thereof would visit both Universities by his Metropolitan Right and not by Commission from the King and signified so much to both to which both answered That to admit it without a Warrant from the King was a Wrong to the Vniversities his Grace was Chancellour of Oxford and the Earl of Holland of Cambridg The Cause came to a hearing before the King and Council the 21st of June 1634 where the Attorney General Banks was for his Grace against the King Mr. Gardener the Recorder of London âor Cambridg and Serjeant Thyn for Oxford the Cause was shortly this Both sides agreed in this that both Universities were of the King's Foundation and so might be visited as they had often been by Commission from the King But this would not do with his Grace he would to use his own Words visit by his own Right Serjeant Thyn urged against this the King's Foundation of the University of Oxford and that never any Arch-bishop so visited But the Recorder could not say so of Cambridg which happened upon this Occasion In the Reign of Richard the Wickliff's Doctrine prevailed much in both Universities and Arundel then Arch-bishop of Canterbury as zealous to suppress the Wicklevites as Laud was the Puritans to suppress them did visit Jure Metropolitano but Oxford opposed him forti Manu Upon this Arundel appeals to the King who being a weak Prince and as zealous for the then Church as King Charles was for Laud's declares the Right to be in the Bishop so did Henry the 4th the Current running against Wickliff which was after confirmed in Parliament but Cambridg was not in it Yet never before did any Arch-bishop visit Oxford nor Cambridg since the Year 1404 Jure Metropolitano as his Grace would do and so the Cause went for the Arch-bishop Plum'd thus in his own Feathers all black and white without one borrowed from Caesar whereby the more he assumes to himself the less he leaves the King he now soars higher the Bishops of the Province of Canterbury in their own Names enjoin the Removal of the Communion Table in the Parish-Churches and Universities from the Body of the Church or Chancel to the East of the Chancel and cause Rails to be set about the Table and refuse to administer the Sacrament to such as shall not come up to the Rails and receive it kneeling that the Book of Sports on Sundays be read in Churches and enjoin Adoration I do not find that Adoration was ever enjoined before nor any of the fore-named Injunctions in any Canon of the Church sure I am they were never publickly put in Execution so that whether these were any of the Canons of the Church or not was not understood by one of 10000 and the Lecturers Chaplains and School-masters who had no Maintenance from the Church being principally struck at by these Injunctions make all the sinister and worst Constructions they could invent against them so that though those Injunctions had been founded in the Canons of the Church yet the contrary was believed and so had the same Effect as if they had not been founded in the Church-Canons Here I cannot omit one Passage That several were deprived by the Bishop's Authority for refusing to read the Book of Sports on Sunday Whereas King James the 2d allowed the seven Bishops a legal Trial for refusing to enjoin the Clergy to read his Declaration for Liberty of Conscience and the Bishops were acquitted That the Legality of these Proceedings might be manifest a Proclamation was issued out that it was the Opinion of the Judges that the Act of the 1 Edw. 6. 2. which ordains that Bishops should hold their Ecclesiastical Courts in the King's Name or by Commission from him was repealed by the 1st of Queen Mary though this Act was repealed by the 1 Jac. 25. and so the Act 1 Edw. 6. 2. was revived and so resolved upon a full Debate in Parliament 7 Jacobi The Thunder of those Canons the terrible and unheard of Execution of them in the Star-Chamber against all Opposers by Speech or Writing so terrified the Puritans which would not submit that incredible Numbers of them left the Kingdom to inhabit in foreign Plantations especially in New-England where these Ecclesiastical Canons could not well play upon them But to restrain the further Evasion of them the King by Proclamation the 30th of April 1638 stops all the Ports of England to keep them in it The Reason was no doubt that they might be better instructed in the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church of England here than elsewhere But Ship-Money notwithstanding my Lord Keeper Coventry's Charge to the Judges last Year that in their Circuits they should give Charge how justly the King required Ship-Money for the common Defence and with what Alacrity and Chearfulness they the Subjects are bound in Duty to contribute yet this did not pass-for true Doctrine with all for Mr. Hambden upon Advice with Holborn St. John and Whitlock denied the Payment whereupon several other Gentlemen refused also Hereupon the King was advised by the Lord Chief Justice Finch to require the Opinion of his Judges which he did in a Letter to them and after much Solicitation by the Chief Justice promising Preferment to some and highly threatning others whom he found doubting he got from them in Answer to the King's Letter and Case their Opinion in these Words We are of Opinion that when the Good and Safety of the Kingdom in general is concerned and the whole Kingdom in danger you may by your Writ under the Great Seal of England command all your Subjects of this your Kingdom at their Charge to provide and furnish such number of Ships with Men Victuals and Ammunition and for such time as your Majesty shall think fit for the Defence and Safeguard of the Kingdom from Peril and Danger And that your Majesty may compel the doing thereof in case of Refusal or Refractoriness And we are also of Opinion that in such Case your Majesty is sole Judg both of the Danger and when and how the same is to be prevented and avoided This Opinion was signed by Davenport Denham Hutton Croke Trevor Bramston Finch Vernon Berkly Crawley and Weston See Whitlock ' s Memoirs f. 24. The King having previously extorted the Judges Opinions exparte gave order for the Proceedings against Mr. Hambden in the
Protestation wherein they Promise Vow and Protest in the Presence of God to maintain the true Protestant Religion expressed in the Doctrine of the Church of England and according to their Duty and Allegiance to maintain and defend his Majesty's Royal Person and Estate the Power and Privilege of Parliament and Liberties of the Subjects and to preserve the Union and Peace between the Kingdoms of England Scotland and Ireland but herein was the Difference between the Scots and English the Scots would improve their Covenant and establish it in England but the English scarce ever after care for their Protestation However the Commons prevail with the Lords to take it and then impose it upon the Nation upon the Penalty of being deemed Malignants and Disaffected The King little pleased with what he had done and less with what the Houses had done without him follows the Scots into Scotland and there cajoles the Covenanters with all Courtship imaginable makes Lesley the Scots General Earl of Leven and confers other Honours upon the Covenanters calls a Parliament and consents to the Extirpation of the Hierarchy and establishes Presbytery as fully as the Kirk of Scotland could desire The Scots at present promise all Duty and Obedience to him but how well the King found it in a short time will appear Whilst the King was thus busied in Scotland a horrible and hellish Massacre was perpetrated in Ireland by the Irish upon the English wherein it 's computed above 200000 Protestants Men Women and Children were butcher'd after which followed an universal Rebellion excepting in Dublin Londonderry and Inniskillen which was headed by the Pope's Nuncio a most proper Head for such a Body Yet so intent were the Factions in England and Scotland in establishing their Designs that little care was had of the miserable Relicks of the Protestants in Ireland It appears evident to me that Richlieu's Scarlet was deep dy'd in the Blood of the poor English in this Massacre for these Reasons 1. That the Scots who at this time were Pensioners to France were not medled with in their Lives and Fortunes as you may see in Sir Richard Baker f. 315. a b. 2. The King being in Scotland when he heard of the Massacre of the English and Rebellion of the Irish he moved the Parliament of Scotland then sitting for a speedy Relief to the English which they refus'd And it 's strangely observable That tho the Massacre and Rebellion in Ireland brake out the 23d of October yet the King did not proclaim them Rebels till the first of January and then by Proclamation gave a strict Command that no more than forty of them should be printed and that none of them should be published till his Majesty's Pleasure was further signified Upon the King's going into Scotland the Parliament prorogued themselves to a certain Day But the Commons appointed a Committee to prepare Business against their next Meeting yet send Spies to observe all the King's Actions and after the King 's Return to London which was upon the 25th of November 1641 the House of Commons upon the 5th of December make a Remonstrance of all the King's Miscarriages abroad and of the Grievances and Illegalities of his Ministers at home from the beginning of his Reign and that the King might be sure to see it as well as hear of it they print and publish it The King not being used to such Language was stung to the quick by the Commons Declaration and to retaliate it in Act upon the third of January enters the House of Commons and demands five of their Members to be tried for High Treason for holding Correspondence with the Scots Than which he could not have done a more imprudent Act for by it he unravelled all that he had done in Scotland by involving the Scots in the same Crime But the Members had their Agents in the King 's most secret Councils and had notice of the King 's coming before and so the five Members were withdrawn This Act of the King did not only set the House in a Flame and put the City into Tumults but brought Petitions from Buckingham-shire where Mr. Hambden one of the Five Members was Knight that the Privileges of Parliament might be secured and Delinquents brought to condign Punishment All this while poor Ireland lay bleeding The King as unstable in his Resolutions as inconsiderate in his Actions retracts all he had done and promises not to do so again But to no purpose for the Members resolve not to trust his Royal Word Prerogative and absolute Will and Pleasure and therefore will tear the Power of the Militia from him Rather than suffer this tho upon the Pretence of Tumults the King resolves to leave London But before the King left London my Lord Mayor Sir Richard Gurney Sir George Whitmore Sir Henry Garoway and other principal Citizens waited upon the King and engaged if he would stay they would guard him with 10000 Men if occasion were and told him If he went he would leave the City open for the Members to do as they pleased and that they were sure to be first undone the King told them he was resolved Then Sir Henry Garoway said Sir I shall never see you again However his Eldest Son Mr. William Garoway a worthy Gentleman who yet lives went with the King and followed him in all his Wars The worthy Citizens proved true Prophets for soon after the King left London the Members imprisoned my Lord Mayor Sir Henry Garoway Sir George Whitmore and all others whom they suspected would be faithful to the King and then in London began to assume the Power of the Militia After the King left London he went to York and from thence went towards Hull but is shut out of the Town by Sir John Hotham whom the King proclaims Traitor and now before it came to Sword and Pistol Men began a War with their Pens And herein it is observable that the Writers for the King chiefly maintained his Cause out of Sir Coke's Pleas of the Crown which by Order of the King's Council was upon Sir Edward's Death-Bed seized as dangerous and seditious and I do not find any who wrote for the Parliament ever used any one Topick out of it to justify their Cause tho it and Sir Edward's other Books of the Comment upon Magna Charta and Jurisdiction of Courts were printed by Order of the House of Commons and by them petitioned that the King would deliver the Originals to Sir Robert Coke Sir Edward's Heir Whilst things were in this Hurly-burly in England Portugal and Catalonia revolt from the Spaniard which as it was a mighty Blow to Spain so it much conduced to the Advancing the Designs of Cardinal Richlieu in France In England things could not hold long at this Stay but upon the 22d of August the King comes to Nottingham and hastily sets up his Standard there and invites all his loving Subjects to come to his Assistance against the Rebels
Never was Nation shuffled into such unhappy Circumstances for to join the King was to return to his Prerogative Royal and Absolute Will and Pleasure and I have oft heard several of those who followed the King in the War say They as much dreaded the King's overcoming the Parliament-Party as they feared to be overcome by them And the Houses had broken the Fundamental Constitution of the Nation so as no Man could tell where they would stay Now are things brought to that pass Richlieu design'd them viz. England and Ireland in Civil Wars and Scotland Pensioners to France so as he might now securely carry on his Designs of advancing the Grandeur of France without any Fear of Disturbance from hence And now you may see the miserable Condition the King's Minions and Favourites had brought upon the King and all his Kingdoms Yet it is observable how great the Loyalty of the Nobility and Gentry was to the King that from so low Beginnings in all Appearance they would have subdued the Parliament-party if the Scots next Year had not come to their Assistance whereas in the Reigns of Edward the 2d and Richard the 2d though the Grievances of the Nation were more in one Year of this King's Reign than in both their Reigns yet both were expelled and lost their Lives their Subjects not drawing a Sword in their Defence An Apology BEfore we enter upon the War between the King and Parliament it will not be amiss to enquire into the Causes of it and who first began it and whether the King or Parliament or both designed it And I am the rather induced hereto because I am told that I have unjustly charged the Parliament with beginning the War and that the contrary appears by a Treatise written by Tho. May Esq of the Causes and Beginning of the Civil Wars in England So that the Question between us is not who first designed the War but who began it But because Designations and Intentions precede Action I will begin so far as appears to me Whether the King or Parliament first designed this War or whether it were not intended by both And give me leave to shew a little of Mr. May's Partiality in the Business I say Mr. May is partial where page 13 he says after the Pacification made with the Scots 1639 that when the King came to London his Heart was again estranged from the Scots and Thoughts of Peace he commanded by Proclamation that Paper which the Scots avowed to contain the true Conditions of the Pacification to be disavowed and burnt by the Hands of the common Hangman So that he makes the Scots Parties and Judges in their own Case without mentioning the Articles of the Pacification or what the Scots avowed to contain the true Conditions of it We will therefore set forth the Articles of the Pacification and let another Judg whether the Scots observed them or had any Thoughts of Peace The Articles were 1. The Forces of Scotland to be disbanded within 24 Hours after the Agreement 2. The King's Castles Ammunition c. to be delivered up 3. His Ships to depart after the Delivery of the Castles 4. All Persons Ships and Goods detained by the King to be restored 5. No Meetings Treaties or Consultations to be by the Scots but such as shall be warranted by Act of Parliament 6. All Fortifications to desist and be remitted to the King's Pleasure 7. To restore to every Man their Liberties Lands Houses Goods and Means The Articles were signed by the Scots Commissioners and a present Performance of them on their Parts promised and expected The King justly performed the Articles on his part but the Scots kept part of their Forces in being and all their Officers in pay and the Covenanters kept up their Fortification at Leith and their Meetings and Councils and inforce Subscriptions to the late Assembly at Glasgow contrary to the King's Declaration they brand those who had taken Arms for the King as Incendiaries and Traitors and null all the Acts of the College of Justice as you may read in Mr. Whitlock's Memoirs f. 29. So that tho the King performed all the Articles of Pacification on his Part the Scots performed not one on their Part. Nor did the Scots stay here but published a Paper very seditious against the Treaty which is that which Mr. May speaks of I do not find the Copy of it but even Mr. Whitlock no great Friend to the King's Cause calls it so Nor did the Scots stay here but levied Taxes at ten Marks per Cent. and made Provision for Arms as you may read in Sir Baker's History f. 408. and more at large in the second part of Rushworth's Collections and all this before the King commanded the Scots Paper to be burnt by the Hand of the Common Hangman And therefore the King justly commanded the Scots Paper to be burnt by the Hand of the common Hangman And Mr. May says The honest People of both Nations began to fear another War But why does Mr. May say the honest People began to fear another War Was it honest in the Scots to break all the Articles of the Pacification to keep their Forces in a Body and their Officers in Pay contrary to the Pacification to raise Taxes and make Provision of Arms and after all these honest Men to begin to fear another War Mr. May goes on and says The King in December told the Council he intended to call a Parliament in England in April following But rational Men did not like it that it was deferred so long and that the Preparations for a War in Scotland went on in the mean time The last part is gratis dictum by Mr. May nor does he mention any Preparation for a War in any one particular nor do I find this said by any other But admit the King had made Preparation for a War with Scotland yet by all Laws of God and Man the King might justly have done it after the Scots had broken all the Articles of Pacification kept an Army on foot against it levied Taxes by their own Authority and made Provision of Arms without the King's Authority which besides the Perfidiousness of the Scots is Treason in the highest degree And I would be glad to be informed by what other means the King could vindicate his Honour or relieve his oppressed Subjects otherwise than by a War Mr. May goes on and says They these rational Men were likewise troubled that the Earl of Strafford Deputy of Ireland a Man of deep Policy but suspected Honesty one whom the King then used as a bosom Counsellor was first to go into Ireland and call a Parliament in that Kingdom And what then Why might not the King call a Parliament in Ireland as well as in England or Scotland And if these rational Men did not like it as he says that a Parliament should be deferred so long in England why should these rational Men be so troubled that the King
Northumberland side by force of them passed the Tine and killed and took 300 English Prisoners and after took New-Castle and seized four great Ships of the English laden with Corn and imposed a Tax of 350 l. a day upon the Bishoprick of Durham and 300 l. a day upon the County of Northumberland upon pain of Plundering and the Scots committed many Injuries and Insolencies upon the English where the Scots quartered as you may read in Mr. Whitlock's Memoirs fol. 34 35. Thus was the state of things altered Mr. May says pag. 34. it should be pag. 18. And that War which was intended for an Enslavement of both the Nations truly said but untruly intended became the Bond of Concord between them God defend the Nation for time to come of such Concord or such Causes of it The Parliament Mr. May says began with Matters of Religion divers Ministers who had been of good Lives and Conversations conscientious in their ways and diligent in their Preaching and had by the Bishops and those in Authority been motested and imprisoned for not conforming to some Ceremonies which were imposed on them were now by the Parliament relieved and recompensed for their Suffering and others who had been scandalous either for loose wicked living or else Offenders in way of Superstition both which to discountenance the Puritans had been frequently preferred were censured and removed Here Mr. May is right but yet partial in that he does not tell how that the Orthodox Clergy as the Bishops of Lincoln Williams Dr. Hall of Norwich Dr. Prideaux of Worcester Dr. Brownrig of Exeter Dr. Morton of Durham c. and all the Orthodox Anti-Arminian Heads of both Universities and also Dr. Saunderson Dr. Featly and many others underwent the same Fate with those Ministers which Mr. May speaks of Pag. 38. which should have been 24. Mr. May says That the Parliament ordered that the Scots should be recompensed for all their Charges and Loss by that mischievous War which the King had raised against them Here Mr. May is not only partial and unsincere but the contrary hereof is true for the Scots in the former War took up Arms and seized the Regalia at Sterlin took Towns in Scotland and other ways committed Acts of Hostility before the King raised Arms to suppress them as is before and so they did in this latter raise Arms in Scotland before they invaded England before the King raised any Army See Whitlock's Mem. fol. 276. Where Mr. May had this unless framed by himself I cannot tell but Sir Richard Baker recites the Demand at large and the Commons Answer to them And this Mr. May speaks of is the sixth Demand Wherein they desire from the Justice and Kindness of the Kingdom of England Reparations concerning the Losses which the Kingdom of Scotland hath sustained and the vast Charges they have been put unto by occasion of the late Troubles To which the Commons answer That the House thinks fit that a Friendly Assistance and Relief shall be given towards the Supply of the Loss of the Scots and that the Parliament did declare that they did conceive that the Sum of 300000 l. is a fit Proportion for their Friendly Assistance and Relief formerly thought fit to be given towards the Supply of the Loss and Necessities of their Brethren of Scotland and that the Houses would in due time take into Consideration the Manner how and when the same shall be raised Now let any Man shew out of Mr. May where that mischievous War which the King had raised against them is to be found If Mr. May had been a faithful Historian he should have made Truth and not the Distempers of a distracted Time nor the Clamours of his prejudic'd Brain to have been the Measures of his Story He should have set forth how like Pedlars they treated the English in their Particulars in their 8th Demand of 514128 l. 9 s. besides the Loss of their Nation to 440000 l. Yet they did not give in that Account with an Intent to demand a total Reparation of all their Charges and Losses but were content good Men in some measure to bear a Remnant Mr. May should have set forth how perfidiously the Scots dealt with the English Nation when in their Remonstrance at their first coming in they professed that they would take nothing of the English but for Money or Security whereas they plundered and taxed Northumberland New-Castle and the Bishoprick of Durham so that those Places could not recover their Losses in 20 Years as Sir Benjamin Rudyard in open Parliament charged them and that the English formerly established the Scots Reformation at their own bare Charges whereas the Scots presumed to require a greater Sum than was ever given the King Which you may read more at large in Sir Rich. Baker fol. 417. These are the Parliament's Brethren for whose Brotherly Assistance they voted 300000 l. towards a Supply of the Losses and Necessities note that of our Brethren of Scotland and that the Parliament would in due time take into Consideration the Manner of raising and Days of Payment and in the mean time leave New-Castle Northumberland and Durham a Prey to these devouring Scots But lame-footed Vengeance shall overtake this Fraternity and that by no visible Power at present but what shall arise from among themselves I could add many more Particulars of Mr. May's Partiality and Insincerity but this already said is sufficient And now it 's time to enquire whether the King or Parliament or both designed the ensuing War and who first designed it tho the Distemper of the Times was so distracted and variable that it 's hard to judg of Intentions by Actions The Royalists excuse the King from any Intention of a Civil War in England in that he protected no Man from the Justice of the Parliament and that he had put away all those which the Parliament called Evil Counsellors both in Church and State having made Mr. St. John his Attorney and Mr. Holborn his Solicitor both which were his Antagonists in imposing Ship-Money and upon his going into Scotland made the Earl of Essex Chamberlain and General of his Forces on this side Trent and in the Church reversed all the Proceedings in the Star-Chamber against the Bishop of Lincoln and preferred Dr. Hall from Exeter to the Bishoprick of Norwich and made Dr. Brownrig Bishop of Exeter and Dr. Prideaux Bishop of Worcester who were the most Learned of the Church of England and most opposite to the Arminian Tenets and of most exemplary Life and Piety and before his going into Scotland passed all Bills presented to him by the Houses even that of not dissolving the Parliament without their Consent which he would never have done if he had had any Intention of raising a War against them or a Civil War in England Mr. May p. 43. it should be p. 25. tells us of a twofold Treason against the Parliament if you 'll take his word and that the
See the Life of General Monk p. 23 24. written by his Chaplain Dr. Gumble The Parliament having recruited the Earl of Essex's Army he forced his Passage and relieved Glocester the King's Army retreat to Newbury where it was charged by Essex and worsted and in the Fight the Ornament of the Age the learned and most ingenious Lord Falkland tho weary of his Life and presaging his own Destiny was slain as were the Earls of Sunderland and Carnarven If the King's Army had such bad Success before Glocester my Lord of New-Castle had worse before Hull for lying in a moorish unhealthy place in a sickly season of the Year viz. September and October the whole Army fell into Fluxes and other Distempers so as they were forced to raise the Siege having done nothing considerable in it besides at this time Lyn-Regis in Norfolk a Place near as considerable as Hull was seized by the Gentry of Norfolk and might have been relieved if New-Castle had not been engaged in besieging Hull Tho the English and Scotish Parliament agreed in their Solemn League and Covenant yet so did not Sir John Hotham and his Son with the Preferment of Sir Thomas Fairfax and others in the North so that Sir John Hotham refused to serve under Fairfax Hereupon the Parliament intended to have displaced Hotham which when he heard of both he and his Son treated with the Marquess of New-Castle to deliver Hull to the King and the Parliament suspecting the Design sent Sir Matthew Bromton Sir John's Brother-in-law to seize both Father and Son which Sir John little suspecting till it was too late fled to Beverly where he was seized by his own Soldiers and carried to Hull from whence Sir Matthew sent both Father and Son to London where soon after both lost their Heads When the Parliament sent Commissioners to invite the Scots to come to their Assistance the King sent Letters to disswade them from it urging the manifold Grants he had given to them when he was in Scotland last which compleated all they could ask and their solemn Protestations to be for ever his Majesty's most obedient Subjects See the Act cited by Sir Rich. Baker fol. 514. That it should be detestable Treason in the highest degree for any of the Scots Nation conjunctly or singly to raise Arms or any military Force upon any Cause whatever without the King's Commission But now unprovoked by the King and against his express Command they in open Hostility enter England a second time against him so little Faith or Honour was to be trusted to from these Covenanters for the Scots having made their Market with the King resolve to improve it with the Parliament and besides their Pay or Wages of Iniquity will have the Covenant and Kirk-Government imposed upon the English as well as Scots Nation and tho the King's Letters were signed by 19 Lords the Scots ordered them to be burnt by the common Hangman and in order hereunto General Lesley now Earl of Leven upon the 16th of January enters into England again with an Army of above 20000 Scots The King to add Reputation to his Arms summoned the Members of Parliament which followed him to meet at Oxford upon the 22d of January where they voted the coming of the Scots to be Treason and Rebellion but because they would not come up to the King's Desire in Voting the Members at Westminster to be no Parliament the King in great Displeasure with them and in his Letters to the Queen calls them his mungrel Parliament such was the Kindness the King shewed those Noble Lords and Gentry for sacrificing their Lives and Fortunes for his Service And to oppose the Scots the King makes a Cessation of Arms with the Irish and draws back into England the English which he sent to oppose the Irish but these were every where beaten 1500 of them cast away by Sea and the greatest Body of them commanded by Sir Michael Ernley Major General Gibson Sir Francis Boteler and Colonel Monk who shall unravel all the Parliament and Scots were now weaving were totally routed and dispersed by Sir Thomas Fairfax joining with Sir William Brereton near Nantwich and all these with Colonel Gibs Harmon Sir Ralph Dawns with 14 Captains 26 Ensigns and other inferiour Officers and 1500 common Soldiers taken Prisoners with the loss of their Cannon and Baggage So that as Serjeant Whitlock observes f. 79. a. these Irish never did the King any considerable Service But to sweeten this Prince Rupert at the close of this Year beat Sir John Meldrum a Scot who besieged Newark and his Army surrendred up their Arms Upon which the Parliament-Garisons in Gainsborow Lincoln and Sleford quitted these Places to the King's Forces And here we will end the Year 1643. and take notice how Mr. Serjeant Whitlock f. 64. b. errs in point of Time where he says the Scots passed the Tyne in 1642 under General Lesley to assist the Parliament and f. 67. a. he says the Queen was brought to Bed at Exeter of the Princess Henrietta Maria which for ought appears was before the Queen landed from Holland for she was born the 20th of June 1644. See Sir Baker's Hist f. 434. a. Anno Reg. 20. Dom. 1644. The Wonders which succeeded these two Years in England will better appear if a View be taken of the present Posture of Affairs as they stood in the beginning of this Year England and Scotland are united in one Solemn League and Covenant in January last Lesley or Leven enter'd England with an Army of 18000 Foot and 3500 Horse and Dragoons and soon after the Earl of Calendar enter'd England with an Army of 10000 Scots more these commanded by old and experienced Officers and the English Parliament's Armies were commanded by as brave and resolute Commanders as were to be found in Europe The Fleet wholly at the Parliament's Devotion and so was the City of London So that if you look upon the Superstructure nothing could appear more strong and lasting And all this time you hear little of Oliver Cromwel more than that he was a Captain of Horse and being of a bold and active Spirit secured the Town of Cambridg for the Parliament and was very diligent in obstructing several Levies for the King in Cambridgshire Essex Suffolk and Norfolk For these Services he had a Commission to be a Colonel of Horse and having an insinuating and canting way of preaching and seeming very Godly raised such a Regiment of Horse as was no where to be found the Riders spirited with Zeal to the Cause yet not of the Scots mode and to secure them without Oliver took care to provide them able Horses and to be well arm'd and accoutred so as every one of them beside Sword and Pistol had Pot Back and Breast Musquet-proof He was Nephew to Sir Oliver Cromwel who had a very great Estate but his Father being a younger Brother had not above 300 l. per Annum as was said Their
and in September appoint a Conference with the King at Newport in the Isle of Wight to continue for 40 Days and to that purpose take the King out of Prison and allow him the Liberty of the Island and the King upon the Matter with Reluctancy enough grants the Scots and Members their own Demands But neither the Laws and Constitutions of the Nation nor the Endeavours of his Loyal Subjects nor the joint Desires of the Scots and Members who had brought the King to this Condition could protect this unhappy Prince from his approaching Ruin for the Army every where victorious over the Scots and Royalists draw together and make a Remonstrance against all Peace with the King that Justice may be done upon him that the Crown and Church-Lands be sold to pay their Army and that the present Parliament be dissolved and another called which they present to the Members the Twentieth of November And herein Cromwel and his Son-in-law Ireton were the principal Promoters But the Members were intent upon the King's Answer to their Propositions and laid aside the Army's Remostrance which they take as a slighting of them and then seized the King in the Isle of Wight and make him Prisoner in Hurst-Castle an unhealthy Place and march to London puââââ Garisons into Whitehall Noble-Mens Houses and posted themselves about the Palace Yard Notwithstanding the Memberânââ upon the first of December and vote the King's Concessions to be a sufficient Ground for a Peace and then adjourn for a Week But when the Members were to meet again they found all the Avenues to the House beset with Soldiers who exclude all which were not of their Faction from entring the House which were not one fourth part and make the Residue Prisoners So that if the Mayor Sir John Gage and the Aldermen his Brethren were guilty of High Treason for committing a Force upon the Parliament viz. for continuing the Militia of London in the City the Year before how much more was it High-Treason in Cromwel and his Agents to keep back by Force three Fourths of the Members from entring the House and making them Prisoners that the Rumps of the rest might do his Journey-work So farewel Presbytery and all the Scotish Trumpery in England nor shall these secluded Members ever meet more but to dissolve themselves and make room for another Parliament which shall legally persecute them and their Solemn League and Covenant as much as they by it persecuted the King and their fellow Subjects against Law Nor was Presbytery much longer liv'd in Scotland where they shall never see it restored by this now Race of Kings which shall plague them with the Exercise of Archbishops and Bishops which by their Covenant they are sworn to abolish and cut off the Head of the principal of their Faction allowing them as little place for the Exercise of Presbytery as they now do the Episcopal Party Having tho but in Epitome seen the various Accidents in War whereby the King came to be in this Distress before we declare his End and the manner of it it 's fit in short to take notice of the several Treaties of Peace between the King and Parliament and the Improbability of the good Success in any of them The first Propositions for Peace which the Parliament sent to the King was June the 2d when the King was at York before the War broke out which were Nineteen which you may read at larger in Sir Richard Baker f. 518. a. b. In these Propositions no mention is made either of the Scots Covenant or abolishing Episcopacy yet some of them were so inconsistent with Monarchy and Arbitrary in the Parliament as the King in Honour and Conscience could not condescend to them I say the King could not in Honour or Conscience condescend to the 9th Proposition 15 and 16 Propositions to settle the Militia as the Parliament have ordered without the King That all Forts and Castles of the Kingdom be disposed of by the Parliament viz. The Houses and that the King discharge all his Guards and Forces and not to raise any but in case of actual Rebellion But how could this be done by the King when the Militia and Forts of the Kingdom were in the Power of the Houses So here the King who by Virtue of his Office is obliged to preserve the Laws and Constitutions of the Nation and to suppress all Disturbers of them at home and to defend the Nation from all Foreign Invasion has no means to do any of them Objection But the King had so often violated the Laws and Constitutions of the Nation by being armed with these Powers that the Nation could be in no Safety if they were continued in him Answer It 's true the Nation was in a very calamitous Estate herein But if the Members had only made it their Business how to have restrained the King herein and to have preserved the Laws and Constitutions of the Nation it would have had another Face than now when the Members are setting up themselves to do the same thing which they feared the King should act I say the King could not in Honour or Conscience agree to the 13th Proposition That the Justice of Parliament viz. the Members should pass upon all Delinquents and they to appear and abide by their Censure For Delinquent is a Word unknown to our Laws and so equivocal that it may signify whatever the Members pleased So that if the King had agreed to these Propositions he would have been a King that could neither have executed Justice nor shewed Mercy and the Houses have an unlimited Arbitrary Power to do whatever they pleased To the Propositions the King returns a sharp Answer That the Houses contrary to Law had pressed their Ordinances upon the People wrested from him the Command of the Militia countenanced the Treason of Hotham and had directed to the People Invectives against his Government and asperst him with favouring Papists and therefore protested that if he were utterly vanquished and a Prisoner in a worse Condition than any of his most unfortunate Predecessors had ever been reduced to he would never stoop so low as to grant these Demands and to make himself of a King of England a Duke of Venice But when the Covenanters in Scotland sent their Proposition to his Majesty he returned Answer he would rather die than submit to them and from a King of England make himself a Duke of Venice Yet the next Year of his own Accord went into Scotland and by Act of Parliament granted the Covenanters all they desired which yet perplext all the subsequent Treaties of Peace in England and more as the Case now stood The next Treaty was at Oxford in the beginning of 1643 which broke off the 15th of April and nothing agreed to upon this Score The Parliament Commissioners gave such Reasons for the King to assent to one of the most material Points of the Treaty that the King assented to it but
before we will lay to the Charge of Cardinal Mazarine We will therefore see if the French King was not as little a Slave to his Word in this League as Mazarine was in any before and you 'll see that in all the Leagues this King after made he was as little a Slave to his Word as in this Treaty We have in the former Book set down particularly the Article whereby the French King upon his Honour and the Faith and Word of a King did promise neither directly nor indirectly to assist Portugal against Spain yet at the beginning of the Treaty they secretly conveyed Troops into Portugal in several Bodies And when upon Complaint of the Marquess de la Fuente they sent publick Orders to the Governours of their Ports not to suffer any Souldiers to embark for Portugal they did not abstain by Connivance under-hand to let them pass Nay when Marshal Turene made publick Levies to assist Portugal it being complained of by the Marquess de la Fuente they answered it was a particular Act of the Marshal and the Court of France had no Hand in it And also continually supplied Portugal with Corn and all sorts of Ammunition And France also fomented the Obstinacy of Portugal to continue the War when Spain offered them advantagious Terms of Peace This and much more you may read in the second Article of The Buckler of State and Justice Nor did the French King stay here but being become the dearest Confident with his Brother of England almost as soon as the King was settled the French sent Monsieur Courtin to move the King not to abandon Portugal nor did he yet stay here but Mazarine dying much about the latter end of Summer having a Stone in his Heart so the French Pasquils said in September or beginning of October the Queen-Mother came over seemingly to treat with her Son for a Marriage between Monsieur of France and her fair Daughter Henrietta Maria the King 's beloved Sister Yet it seems to me the Marriage of the King with the Infanta of Portugal was not less designed than that with Monsieur And besides these you will soon hear of something else which brought the Queen-Mother into England As the Designs of the Queen's coming over were dark so I acknowledg I have not seen any of the Treaties or Transactions concerning them but must take Measures by what followed and so far as I had Light from what went before yet in all of them it seems evident to me that the Queen shewed her self to be more affectionate to her Daughter than Son and to be more a Daughter of France than Queen of England But before I proceed it will be convenient to take notice of the deplorable State of Spain which their Ambition in seeking so many Foreign Dominions and a Tyrannical Government had brought it to For before the Accession of their American Dominions which they acquired by unjust War and unheard-of Cruelties in all the ten Years War between Ferdinand and Isabella with the Moors who had seven hundred Years been possessed of the Kingdoms of Granada Murcia and a great part of Andaluzia every Year the Moors and Christians brought near a hundred thousand Men into the Field to fight one with another yet the Kingdoms of Arragon Navar and Portugal were Neutral in all the War Whereas now all the Kingdoms of Spain except that of Portugal were united under this King Philip the Fourth yet out of them all he could not raise an Army to fight the Portuguese but trusting to the French Faith in the Pyrenaean Treaty sent the Army in Flanders under the Command of the Marquess Caracene to do it The King imbraced the Overtures of both Marriages and now the French King doubly if not trebly assured of his Brother of England as well by the Treaties of these Marriages as by his Message by Courtin no longer acts covertly in assisting the Prince Regent of Portugal against Spain but bare-fac'd sent Marshal Schomberg with an Army and Fleet to their Assistance yet this Army was not sufficient to make an Offensive War against Spain but Portugal stood only upon the Defensive The Want of Money a little retarded the Marriage of the Princess with Monsieur but this might be easily help'd if the King would give up Dunkirk to the French whereby he might pay 200000 l. for his Sister's Portion which was more than his Father had with his Mother and also receive 200000 l. more for himself Nor was this all he might save the Charges of maintaining a Garison there yet the Parliament in the Hereditary Excise allowed him 60000 l. per Annum for the Support of it I do not find this mentioned in the Body of the Act yet several Members assured me it was so intended in the passing the Act. All this the King agreed to and so Dunkirk and Mardike Fort were given up to the French against all the Laws of Humanity Justice and Prudence I say it was against all the Laws of Humanity for the Spaniard entertained and relieved the King when the French had expelled him and joined with Oliver the Usurper of all his Dominions It was against Justice for the Soveraignty of Dunkirk was of Right and Justice the Spaniards And against the Rules of Policy and Prudence the French Nation being the Natural Enemies of the English and the next Neighbour to it and of all Nations the most formidable It had been happier for the poor Spaniard and the English Nation if the Unkindness of the King to the Spaniard had ended in his giving up Dunkirk to the French but it ended not here for the King imployed the Army which should have kept Dunkirk against the Spaniard in Portugal and with these and another Band of the disbanded English Army joined to them the French Portuguese and English or rather the English without them routed the whole united Army of the Spaniard at the Fight of Elvas So as now the French had a new Inlet into Flanders and the Spaniard no Army to defend it This was a foul Blot in the Spanish Politicks by their King 's trusting to the Faith of his Brethren of England and France But this will not stay here as hereafter you will see Here I take leave so well as I can to vindicate the Memory of my Lord Chancellor Hide from two Aspersions as I conceive cast upon him one That he was the Adviser of the giving up Dunkirk to the French The other That he was the Procurer of the King's Marriage with the Infanta of Portugal For the first I was assured by a credible Person tho a Confident of my Lord Chancellor's that he was so far from advising the King to give up Dunkirk to the French that only he and my Lord Treasurer Southampton upon whose Honour my Lord Chancellor relied more than any other of all the Council entred their Protestations against it The Truth of this may be resolved by inspecting the Privy-Council's Books It 's true
are commissionated by him So help me God So that from swearing Negatively to Belief in the first part of this Oath we come to swear Affirmatively in this part of it But this part not being Promissory of Time to come is an Assertory Oath too if any besides the taking God's Name in vain or worse An Assertory Oath is of what a Man knows to be certainly true and what was immediately the Object of Sense Here a Man swears not that he knows but abhors and what does he abhor That Traiterous Position of taking Arms by the King's Authority against his Person or those commissionated by him Is Traiterous Position the Object of Sense and immediate so as the Swearer knows what the meaning of Traiterous Position is Which I believe not one of twenty does Or is not some Inference deduced from some Law or Usage which cannot be the Object of Sense and so not to be sworn to The End of an Assertory Oath is to inform the Judg and Jury so that Justice may be determined by it but here is neither Judg nor Jury to inform What can be the end of this Swearing Why 't is because otherwise the Swearer cannot be a Member of the Corporation but if I cannot take his Word I 'll not take his Oath And he that swears most to get Places is least worthy of them And I dare say he so much less understands his Duty in any Place by how much the more he is ready to swear to get into it And you will see that those Men who are so ready to swear by this Oath which they did not understand to get to be Members of Corporations shall be more ready to forswear themselves in giving up their Charters which they had sworn to maintain and keep and which they understood they ought to do Religion Piety Judgment Justice and Righteousness are the ways by which God is honoured and Peace and Happiness established in Nations and Kingdoms And will God instead of these suffer his Sacred Name to be prostituted by vain Swearing so as to pass unpunished Did not the Prophet Hosea Ch. 4. v. 3. of old complain That the Land mourned because of Oaths And hath not our Land mourned ever since the Convocation after the Dissolution of the Short Parliament 1640 did enjoin the Oath I A. B. swear that I approve the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church of England as containing all things necessary to Salvation and will not consent to alter the Government in the Church by Arch-bishops Bishops Deans and Arch-Deacons c. to be taken by all the Clergy Was God well pleased that his Sacred Name should be affixed to such Stuff Or did this establish this Hierarchy Did not the Parliament about a Year after expel the Bishops out of the Lords House and imprisoned their Persons and made them and all Deans and Arch-Deacons uncapable of Temporal Jurisdiction And did not England and Scotland about two Years after join in a Covenant and swear to extirpate Arch-bishops Bishops Deans and Arch-Deacons Did not the Engagement expel the Covenant and the Recognition to Oliver out the Engagement till Men neither regarded what they had sworn nor cared what they swore to Monk before he came out of Scotland caused the Scots to abjure the King and his Interest So in his coming to London he did by the Officers of the Irish Brigade and the Rump died abjuring the King and Royal Family yet in less than four Months after the King was restor'd Before the Scots would admit the King to land in Scotland the 23d of June 1650 they made him with his Hands lifted up swear in the Presence of Almighty God the Searcher of all Hearts his Allowance and Approbation of the National Covenant and Solemn League and Covenant and Directories of Worship and not only to give his Royal Assent to Acts of Parliament enjoining the same in all his Dominions but to observe them in his private Family And upon his Coronation on the 11th of January 1651 repeated the same Oath Yet how little did this avail him or the Covenanters for in less than eight Months Cromwel drove him and his Covenanters quite out of Scotland And I dare say the King never after made use of them in his private Family nor ever after give his Assent to any Act of Parliament enjoining the Covenants tho he were restored to all his Dominions From swearing the Corporation-Oath the Parliament proceeds That all Members of Corporations declare against the Solemn League and Covenant in these words I A. B. do declare That I hold there lies no Obligation upon me or any other Person from the Oath commonly called the Solemn League and Covenant and that the same was in it self an unlawful Oath and imposed upon the Subjects of this Realm against the known Laws and Liberties of the Kingdom This Declaration is as vain and more wild than the Corporation-Oath for 't is but matter of Belief or Opinion and so no Issue can be taken upon it but if there could in him who declares yet none can be taken upon that part which declares there lies no Obligation upon another and I 'll put it upon this Issue that such a Declaration was never before enjoin'd by any Law And if the Covenant be an unlawful Oath in it self because imposed by no lawful Authority yet I say that no Authority under Heaven can make the taking God's Name in vain lawful much less to take a vain or superfluous Oath From new invented swearing and declaring to keep the King in the Kingdom the Church makes many new invented Prayers for him especially that for the Parliament wherein they tell God that the King is their most Religious and Gracious King as if he were so and God did not know it and if he were not so to perswade God he was so De Jove quid sentis Will God be mock'd Is not he Omniscient and knows the Secrets of every Man's Heart Has he any need to be informed what Man is Or did this King's manner of Life induce the Church to inform God that he was most Gracious or full of Grace Or his devout Behaviour at his seldom Presence in Divine Service declare him to be most Religious This King's Father and Grand-father's Flatterers went no higher than to flatter them that they were bound by no Laws and accountable to none but God for all their Actions and that their Subjects were bound to obey them in all under Penalty of Damnation They never went about to perswade God they were most Religious and Gracious in so doing The Parliament chimed in with the Church and by the Act of Vniformity enjoin That every one who holds an Ecclesiastical Promotion shall publickly declare before his Congregation his unfeigned Assent and Consent to every thing contained and prescribed in the Book entituled The Book of Common-Prayer c. Put these together I. A. B. do declare my unfeigned Assent and Consent That the King
Charles II. is my most Religious and Gracious King If he be so how came you to know it And if you do not know it how came you so unfeignedly to assent and consent that he is so But tho to get your Living you tell the Congregation so when you do not know it I think it 's dreadful for you to tell God Almighty he is so if you be not very well assured he is so But you 'll soon see what Care this King took of the Church of England which took such Care for him Was God well pleased with these things You shall soon see unjust Wars and dishonourable Peace Such Judgments of Plague Fire and Invasion into our Ports as never before were heard of And tho God's Judgments were in the Land the People did not learn Righteousness but continued a divided and factious Nation and a People laden with Iniquity The Honour of the Nation not only lost abroad but a joining with a neighbouring Faithless Boundless and Ambitious Prince to the endangering the Subversion of the Religion Constitutions and Liberties of the English Nation Now let 's see what is doing in Scotland If a Man reads Buchanan's and Drummond's History of Scotland they will better judg of General Monk's prudent Government and Conduct in it for eight Years together For from the Contest between Bruce and Baliol for the Succession to the Crown of Scotland about the Year 1280 till James VI. came to the Crown of England I scarce find five Years Peace together in any of the Reigns between And if for some time the Scots were freed from open War yet scarce at any time were they freed from Feuds among the Nobility or the Nobility at Discord and Variance with their Kings After the Reformation of Religion in Scotland which began in the first Year of Queen Elizabeth by her assisting the Nobility with an Army by Land and a Fleet by Sea whereby the French sent by Henry the Second of France Father of Francis the Dauphin who had married Mary the Scotish Queen to subdue Scotland to a Conformity to the Romish Church were outed the Kirk of Scotland set up a Jurisdiction as independent from the Civil as the Romish was and held it up during the Reign of Mary and after they had expelled her and chosen her Son James King about fourteen Months old in the Regency of Murrey they got their Church-Discipline established by Act of Parliament This was in the Year 1567. The Kirk being possest of this Power during the Minority of King James and several of the Nobility having got a great share of the Crown-Lands of Scotland the King upon his Majority was so poor that he was not in a Condition to keep up the State of a King much less to curb the Insolence of the Kirk the Nobility who had got the Crown-Lands joining with them Tho Queen Elizabeth did not love the Kirk-Party yet was she content to have Scotland in this State for thereby she preserv'd the English Borders free from the Depredations which the Scots usually made upon them and therefore secretly countenanced both the King and Nobility who had got the Crown-Lands However ever she allowed the King a Pension yearly whereby she kept the King as well as Kirk and Nobility depending upon her In this State England and Scotland stood till the Death of Queen Elizabeth but it was ill timed of King Charles I. to grant Commissions to enquire into the Crown-Lands usurped in his Father's Minority and soon after to endeavour to set up Laud's Injunctions and High-Commission in Scotland which made the Nobility as well as Kirk so fierce in opposing them King Charles offended at the Proceedings of the Parliament of England in 1641 goes into Scotland and establishes the Kirk in all their Pretensions and disclaims all Title to the Crown-Lands usurped in his Father's Minority which no ways mollified either But next Year the Scots sent an Army under Lesley made an Earl by the King against him in Aid of the English Parliament But tho the Kirk and Nobility were thus insolent against their Kings they patiently submitted to Monk during his Government in Scotland except some few Disturbances made by General Middleton For neither Cromwel nor the Rump before him trusted to the Scotish Oaths or Solemn League and Covenant but after they had subdued them bridled them with Forts built upon the principal Passages of Scotland and disarm'd all the Nobility and Gentry and thereby kept them in Peace which King Charles by all the Condescensions he submitted to could not procure And hereto that the common sort of Scots lived in more Freedom under Monk than under their Lords and Lairds so that neither the Kirk or Nobility could form the Body of an Army against the English Before the King was restor'd the Army which would have kept him out was dissipated the Year before by Monk and after his Restoration was disbanded and so the English Nation was restored to its former Government But it was not so in Scotland for not only the Forts which bridled them but the Army which conquer'd them was still kept up Nor had the Scots any hopes of being freed from these Fetters but by an intire Submission to the King Upon the King's Restoration many Debates were in the Council in England about the calling a Parliament in Scotland and the demolishing the Forts for keeping the Scots in Subjection but neither were so easily determined for in all Scotland after Montross was butcher'd I do not find there was one of the Nobility except his Son which were not Popish or Presbyterian and the Presbyterian Party had been so rigid against the King when he was in Scotland and intolerable to his Father that above a Year past before any Resolution was taken in either Lauderdale as before said was taken Prisoner after the Fight at Worcester and from that time kept Prisoner in Windsor-Castle from whence he was set free upon the King's Restoration but became so poor that it 's said he could not meet the King for want ãâã Money to pay for a Pair of Boots This Imprisonment was doubly happy to him for during the Restraint of his Body he enlarged the Faculties of his Mind and being a Man of Parts improved them by Contemplation and Study wherein he met with more Helps than it may be he could have found in Scotland whereby he became of greater Abilitieâ to serve the King than could be found in any other of his Countrymen and being in England found better Opportunities to have them known to the King than any of his absent Country-men could In the late Wars between the King and Parliament he with Sir John Cheesley were ordered Commissioners by the Kirk-Faction to the Parliament in England for propagating the Presbyterian Government But this being most detestable at Court Lauderdale to raise himself set himself with all his Skill to oppose it and by it at first got to be made Principal Secretary
of State of Scotland and as Runnagadoes from Christianity become the greatest Persecutors of Christians so was Lauderdale of the Kirk and Presbyterian Government However Lauderdale seemed zealous for calling a Parliament in Scotland and demolishing the Forts thaâ bridled the Scots which Monk opposed and hereby Lauderdale became popular in Scotland so that all Applications to the King from thence was by Lauderdale In this state it was not easily determined who should be Commissioner in Scotland in case a Parliament should be called for Affairs were not yet ripe enough to make a Popish one nor would the Court trust a Presbyterian one and Lauderdale would not forsake his Post at Court where he govern'd all but continue it that all the Motions in Parliament might receive their Life from him At last it was agreed That Middleton who first served the Kirk against King Charles I. and after changing Sides made some Bustle in Scotland after the King left it should be created an Earl and made Commissioner and a Parliament should be called in Scotland The Nobility and Gentry of Scotland clearly saw there was no other way to redeem Scotland from being a conquered Nation and a Province to England but by an entire Submission to the King Lauderdale knew this as well as they and therefore resolved to make them pay dear for their Deliverance and now you shall see the Nobility and Gentry which with the Kirk united against King Charles I. divide under his Son and sacrifice the Kirk and all their Discipline to make an Atonement for themselves The first Act which was shewed herein was upon this Occasion The firy Zeal of the Kirk-men burnt up all Rules of Prudence or the Consideration of the present State of Scotland so that even in this state Crowns and Scepters must submit to the Kirk And that the King might know his Duty a Company of them met together and drew up a Supplication as they said but in nature of a Remonstrance to the King setting forth the Calamities they groaned under in the Time of the Usurpers by their impious Incroachments upon the Kingdom of Jesus Christ and the Liberties thereof which of themselves they were not able to suppress and overcome and the Danger of the Popish and Prelatical Party now beginning again to lift up their Head they press him to mind his âaths and Covenant with God c. The Committee of Estates well knowing how ungrateful this would be to the King upon the 23d of August 1660. sent a Party and apprehended these Men whereof one Mr. James Guthry was the chief of whom you 'll hear more hereafter and committed them Prisoners to Edinburgh-Castle and from thence Guthry was sent Prisoner to Dundee for treasonable and seditious reflecting on his Majesty and on the Government of England and the Constitution of the Committee of State and tending to raise new Tumults and kindling a new Civil War among his Majesty's good Subjects This was the first Spark which soon burnt into such a Flame as totally consumed the whole Kirk-Party in Scotland and left them in a much worse plight than before when they suffered under the Usurpation as they called it of the English For during the late Usurpations the Kirk enjoyed a Liberty of Conscience but it 's the Nature of some Men that unless they may persecute other Men they 'll exclaim they are persecuted themselves and therefore since they were not able to do it themselves they minded the King of his Covenant with God to extirpate Heresy Schism and Profaneness and to remove the stumbling which the King had given them in admitting Prelacy Ceremonies and Service-Book in the King's Chappel and other Places of his Dominions But these Men were mistaken in their Measures for after the King was expelled from Scotland by Cromwel he little I may say never observed the Directory of Worship Confession of Faith and Catechisms in his Family according to the National and Solemn League and Covenant as he repeated in his Coronation-Oath and less the establishing Presbyterian Government in England and Ireland and least of all in Scotland For one of the first Acts of the first Sessions was an Anniversary Thanksgiving to be observed on every May 29 with this Proem The States of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Scotland taking into their Consideration the sad Condition Slavery and Bondage this antient Kingdom has groaned under these twenty three Years the time when the Troubles arose in K. Charles the First 's Reign in which under very specious Pretences of Reformation a publick Rebellion has been by the Treachery of some and Misperswasion of others violently carried on against sacred Authority to the Ruin and Destruction so far as was possible of Religion this King's Majesty and his Royal Government the Laws Liberties and Property of the People and all the publick and private Interests of the Kingdom so that Religion it self hath been prostituted for the Warrant of all these treasonable Invasions made upon the Royal Authority and disloyal Limitations upon the Allegiance of the Subjects Therefore upon the 29th of May be set apart for an Holy Day c. Yet soon after the King's Restoration he wrote to the Presbytery of Edinburgh promising to countenance the Church as by Law established But Lauderdale knew his Mind better Here it 's observable That in 1638 when the Kirk were so zealous with lifted-up Hands in the Presence of the Eternal God to swear to establish their National Covenant there was not one of the Nobility but the Popish except the Marquess of Hamilton and the Earl of Traquair but joined with the Kirk expresly against the King's Command Traquair the Kirk-Party proceeded against as an Incendiary and after Hamilton secretly joined with the Covenanters for which King Charles I. made him Prisoner in Pendennis-Castle from whence he was discharged when Fairfax had it surrender'd And not one of the Nobility except Argile and Cassels but declare this and all the Kirk-Proceedings since Treasonable Rebellion against the Laws Liberties and Property of the People and Prostitution of Religion and this Declaration was celebrated with a double Sacrifice the Marquess of Argile being executed as a Traitor for holding Correspondence with Cromwel and his Head set where Montross's stood on the Monday before and Mr. Guthry on Saturday after for refusing to own the Jurisdiction of the Judges in Ecclesiastical Affairs had his Head set upon one of the Ports of Edinburgh This was a sad Presage to the Kirk of what followed For as they without the King would impose their Solemn League and Covenant upon England now by the King and Parliament an Oath of Allegiance in the very Nature if not the Words of the Oath of Supremacy in England is imposed upon them wherein they are to swear That the King is the supreme Governour over all Persons and in all Causes c. and That they will maintain defend and assist his Majesty's Jurisdiction aforesaid against all
was entred into the King and States were mutually engaged to supply each other with a certain Number of Men and Ships in case of any Foreign Invasion upon either yet now the King hath Subsides given him by the French King to join with him against Holland which by the Defensive Alliance the King was obliged to assist The King who was so great in the Love of his Subjects and Parliament for the Triple League and had received such vast Sums for it now at the Instance of the French King sends Mr. Henry Coventry to the Court of Sweden to dissolve it which he did so effectually that that King not only stood Neuter at the beginning of the War with the Dutch but in it joined with the French King against the Confederates and this Success Mr. Coventry had that for this Business which put all Christendom into a Flame he was by the King made principal Secretary of State and it may be presented with his fine Ranger's Place in Enfield-Chase too and that perhaps with thrice more by the French King Whereas Sir William Temple who was the principal Instrument in the Peace at Nimeguen lost 2200 l. by it and his only Recompence was to be Secretary of State in Mr. Conventry's Place if Sir William would give him 10000 l. for it The Triple League thus dissolved all Obstacles which might retard the Progress of this pious Work must be removed And now my Lord-keeper Bridgman having done by his Speech the Conspirators Work for Money has done his own too and is turn'd out of his Place and my Lord Ashley Cooper Chancellor of the Exchequer is made Lord Chancellor of England and Earl of Shaftsbury Mr. Clifford after Lord Clifford Lord High-Treasurer of England and my Lord Arlington Chamberlain to the King's Houshold and Prince Rupert the Duke of Ormond and Secretary Trevor discarded from the Committee of Foreign Affairs so as the CABAL viz. Clifford Ashley Buckingham Arlington and Lauderdale govern all The first Result of this sacred Conclave was the shutting up of the Exchequer wherein the Bankers who formerly had furnished the King with mighty Sums of Money at extorsive Interest had lodged between 13 and 1400000 l. of the Subjects Money this was in January 167 1 2. One would think these Monies added to the Aids granted in the last Session of Parliament with those received from France might have carried on the War against the Dutch on the King's Part but to make sure the Fleet for which the Parliament gave such vast Sums to be equal with the French or Dutch is set out under Sir Robert Holmes to surprize the Smirna-Fleet which he vainly attempted the thirteenth and fourteenth of March 167 1 2 and to sanctify so Herotick an Act at this very time the Declaration of Indulgence was printed and published the fifteenth The French King having gotten the King into his Net let 's see how he used him The French King openly declar'd that 't was none of his Quarrel and that he only engaged in it out of respect to his Person and therefore before any War was declared the King must first break the Peace by the Attempt upon the Smirna-Fleet The Dutch alarm'd at the Attempt upon their Smirna-Fleet and being in no Condition to resist both Kings sent Deputies to both to know upon what Terms they would agree to Peace Those sent to our King were denied Audience and kept at Hampton-Court till it were known what the French King's Pleasure was but those sent to the French King had Answer That what the King had was his own and what he should conquer should be his without an Equivalent and declared the States might deal with England as they pleased and come off as cheap as they could because by their Treaty they were not bound to procure them any Advantages Yet all this the King as patiently submitted to now as before he suffered one Marsilly to be broken on the Wheel at Paris without one word from him in his behalf for being his Agent to the Swiss to invite them to join in the Guaranty of Aix who upon the Scaffold had twenty Questions asked him in relation to his Majesty's Person and a strict Enquiry of the Particulars that passed between the King and him all which you may read at large in Mr. Secretary Trevor's Appeal And this pitiful Story you may find in a little Treatise termed Colbert's Ghost printed at Cologn 1684. I find little difference in the Causes of this War by these two Kings The French King 's was that the Dutch had acted in Diminution to his Glory but says not wherein The King of England's was the Dutch had not yielded him the Honour due to his Flag The Cabal sought for a fourfold Cause of this War the Insults upon the English in the East-India Trade the detaining the Engglish Planters in Surinam against the Treaty at Breda and horrid Pictures in Defamation of his Majesty and his Flag To this purpose the Committee for the East-India Company was summoned to shew Cause who answer'd and gave it under their Hands That since the Treaty at Breda they knew no Cause nor as yet the Dutch could pretend to no more than was granted by it they having not as yet assisted the young King of Bantam against his Father and made use of the young King's Name to expel the English Factories from the Pepper Trade as before they had the Spice Trade For detaining the English Planters in Surinam it was answer'd the Planters were not willing to forsake their Subsistence and be turned into the wild World to seek it and that the Dutch perform'd their Part with Mr. Secretary Trevor and therefore it was no fault of theirs if it were not observ'd nor did they hinder them when they were transplanted to repair the Ruin of the English Plantation in St. Christophers made by the French For the Pictures the Dutch answered they knew of none except one Medal which might be liable to any such Construction but so soon as they knew of it they caused the Stamp to be broken For that of the Flag the Case stood thus the Dutch having fitted up a Fleet of Men of War in jealousy of the French were riding near their own Coast when one of the King's Yachts discharged a Gun at the Admiral to strike Sail which the Admiral not doing was the cause of the Breach for the War tho the States disown'd the Refusal and offer'd to make any Satisfaction the King should require But it is the End which crowns the Work in every Act and therefore the Declaration concludes That notwithstanding this War the King will support the Treaty at Aix la Chapelle according to the Scope and Intent of it and preserve the Ends of it inviolable As if the getting the Swede out of it and joining with the French against the Dutch diametrically contrary to it were the Support of that Treaty or that the subduing Holland so that the French
should be Lord on both sides of the Spanish Netherlands could be to protect them against the Power of the French Good God! Did these Men believe Heaven or a God! But all Moral Vertues and whatsoever may be called sacred must give way to the Advancement of the Catholick Cause By this time the French King by the Benefit of the Act of Navigation Oliver's Peace with France and War with Spain our King's supine Negligence and the Addition of twelve great Men of War built by the Dane and Dutch in the former Dutch War had got a Navy equal to the Dutch or English yet how to damage or destroy these and to instruct his Men to fight is the French Game now to be play'd And therefore for this time the French permitted the English to have the Red Flag and the French were content with the White Yet here it 's observable That in all the former Fights with the Dutch when the French and Dane joined against the English except that when the Fleet was divided the English put the Dutch to flight whereas in all the Fights which were four wherein the French joined the English the English came off with more Loss than the Dutch Things thus order'd the Duke of York was Admiral of the Red or the whole Fleet Monsieur D'Estree of the White and my Lord of Sandwich of the Blue And thus they rode at Anchor in Sould-Bay the 28th of June 1672 the Wind blowing at North-East a stiff Gale And upon that day there was a mighty Sacrifice to Ceres and Bacchus on board the Fleet by the Flag-Officers and at the same time the other Captains in imitation of their Admiral went on Shoar to perform the same at Alborough Dunwich and Sould. In their Jollity on Board my Lord Sandwich not at good Terms either with the Duke or with the French said that as the Wind stood the Fleet rode in danger of being surprized by the Dutch and therefore thought it adviseable to weigh Anchor and get out to Sea The Duke retorted upon him as if this had been said out of Fear which the next day 't was thought was the loss of the Earl and the brave Ship the Prince Royal. The Sacrifice ended and when all were Vino somnoque sepulti the Thunder of the Cannon of the Scout-Ships about two in the Morning gave Notice that the Dutch Fleet was approaching to call the English to an account for their Yesterday's Jollity Now all things were in Confusion our drowsy Officers were in no case to go to Counsel nor had time for weighing Anchor the Cables therefore were cut to avoid being burnt by the Dutch Fire-Ships and the Long-boats were sent near the Shoar to wait upon their sleepy Officers Here was no time to draw into a Line of Battel but it happened that about four in the Morning a Calm fell which continued till after six whereby the Captains had time to get on Board tho not to consider how to fight And I have heard experienced Sea-men say if this Calm had not happened the whole English Fleet had been in danger to be stranded or burnt The Coast of Sould-Bay lies near North and South the North-most part inclining into the East called Eastonness being the most Eastern Part of England but towards the South it inclines into the West The French lay South the Duke's Squadron in the midst and my Lord Sandwich on the North so as the French had most Sea-room and the Blue least When the Dutch engaged the Fleets the Wind was South-East and the Dutch did not fight close with the French yet the French shot furiously but their Shot fell short But with great Courage the Dutch fell upon the Duke's Squadron and more fiercely upon the Blue the Dutch having near one third more than the English and thus the Fight held till about 11 when the French by this time might have weathered the Dutch and disingaged the English but did not Now the Wind had got North-East and Van Gent the Dutch Vice-Admiral with three Men of War whereof one lay across his Haulser sorely distressed my Lord Sandwich when Sir Joseph Jordan Vice-Admiral of the Blue who might have disengaged the Earl sailed to the Red to assist the Duke and it 's believed the Earl might have done so too if his great Spirit could have digested his yesterday's Taunt So this noble Earl and his brave Ship perished with many young Gentlemen besides Mariners Towards two the English got the Weather-gage of the Dutch and then the Fight ended nor did the French serve the English better in any of the other Sea-Fights which let others tell I have had enough of this Tho the Dutch could thus cope with the English and French at Sea yet they found another kind of Task of it by Land And let 's look back a little and see how this Calamity came upon them and some things we are necessitated to resume here tho mentioned before upon another occasion to make Matters more plain and obvious There is no Man conversant in the Stories of those Times but understands that the Foundation of the Dutch States was laid by William Prince of Orange Father of Maurice and Henry Frederick Grand-father of King William who and his Brothers all lost their Lives in establishing it with the Assistance of Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth however she made use of the Dutch to curb the aspiring Dominion of the Spaniard knew their Nature so well as never to trust them and therefore bridled them by keeping the Brill Ramakins and Flushing the Keys of the Maeze and Scheld in her Dominion The Queen in assisting the Dutch made one Article That two such English Men as she should name should sit and vote in their States But the Dutch growing mighty by her Assistance and withal ungrateful formed a private Cabal at Amsterdam where they managed all the secret Affairs of their State and in this Barnvelt was the Head The Queen incensed herewith in the Year 1598 called the States to an account for all the Monies she had expended in their Support which was 8000000 Crowns or two Millions Sterling the Dutch pleaded Poverty and their Inability of Payment and beseeched her that as she excelled all others in Glory and Power so she would continue her Mercy and Pity to these distressed States The Queen answered them She had been often deluded by their deceitful Supplications and ungrateful Actions and pretences of Poverty and that they bare no Reverence to Superiors nor took any Care but for themselves The States were confounded with this Answer and to appease her promised to pay her the whole Debt after the War and during the continuance of it to pay her 100000 l. per Annum and that the English Garisons in the Brill Ramakins and Flushing should be paid by the States The Queen tho not much trusting the States yet wisely considering that if she refused these Offers the States might alter and put themselves under
another like that of the Meal-Tub but was carried on with higher Countenance for the Countess of Powis was the greatest concerned in that but you 'll see a greater concerned in this tho the Design was as dark as secret and the Discoverâ of it by all Court-ways endeavoured to be suppressed So much as was suffered to come to Light was Edward Fitz-Harris was the Son of Sir Edward Fitz-Harris ãâã it 's said was an Agent in the Irish Rebellion if not in the Massacre in 1642. and this Edward Fitz-Harris was a great Correspondent with the Dutchess of Portsmouth and her Womân Mrs. Wall and the Confessor of the French Ambassador and the Dutchess had several times supplied Fitz-Harris with Money and at one Time with 250 l. Fitz-Harris became acquainted with one Everard beyond Sea where they were in the French King's Service There was a strange Story of this Everard for after the King's Restoration he was ãâã about three Years kept in a dark Dungeon in the Tower where 't is said the Nails of his Fingers and Toes grew like the Takeâ of a Hawk but the Fact for which he was committed was as ãâã as was Fitz-Harris's Design About the Beginning of February after the Parliament ãâã dissolved Fitz-Harris renews his Acquaintance with Everard and represented to him the Advantages he might have by forsaking the English Interest and ingratiating himself into the ãâã and Popish Fitz-Harris told Everard he might be serviceable to this Intereââ if he would make a Pamphlet which might reflect upon the Kingâ to alienate him from the People and the People from the Kingâ Everard said he would do any thing for his Interest but did ãâã understand this to be so yet Fitz-Harris upon the 21st of ãâã gave some Heads by Word of Mouth to draw such a Pamphlet Everard acquaints several with what Fitz-Harris had said and perswaded one Mr. Smith in a concealed manner to hear the further Discourse between Fitz-Harris and him Everard also perswaded Sir William Waller to be there in like manner Upon the 22d Mr. Smith came to the Place appointed but Sir William Waller did not there Fitz-Harris gave Everard Instructions That the King and all the Royal Family must be traduced to be Popishly and Arbitrarily affected from the Beginning that King Charles the First had a hand in the Irish Rebellion and that King Charles the Second did countenance the same by preferring Fitz-Gerald Fitz-Patrick and Mont-Garret who were in the Irish Rebellion that the Act forbidding the calling the King a Papist was to stop Peoples Mouths when he should encline to further Popery which appeared by his adhering so closely to the Duke of York's Interest and hindering him from being proceeded against in Parliament and hindering the Officers put in by the Duke to be cast out and for that the Privy-Counsellors and Justices of the Peace which were for the Protestant Interest were turned out of all Places of Trust and that it was as much in the Peoples Power to depose a Popish Possessor as a Popish Successor and seeing there were no Hopes the Parliament when they should meet at Oxford could do any Good the People were bound to provide for themselves After this Everard and Fitz-Harris agreed to meet there the next Day and in the mean time Everard sent a Letter to Sir William Waller to meet there and be concealed to take notice of the Passages Sir William came and was secretly placed by Everard but before Sir William was so placed Everard gave him two Copies of the Instructions which Fitz-Harris gave Everard to draw up into a Libel which Sir William marked Soon after Fitz-Harris came and enquired of Everard what he had done who answered he had drawn two Copies of the Business and prayed Fitz-Harris to see how he liked them Fitz-Harris altered one of them yet thought it not full enough but would have it fair wrote out for the French Ambassador's Confessor After that Everard desired Fitz-Harris to give him his Instructions in Writing in which Paper Fitz-Harris wrote That it was in the Peoples Power to depose a Popish Possessor as well as Successor and other treasonable Heads And next Day Fitz-Harris came to Everard for a Copy fair written out which was delivered to Fitz-Harris who promised Everard a Recompence which was to be the Entrance into the Business but Everard should be brought into the Cabal where several Protestants and Parliament-Men were to give an Account to the French Ambassador of what was transacted But before Fitz-Harris was to receive the Libel back he was to go to my Lord H of Escrick Before this Fitz-Harris had received of the Dutchess of Portsmouth 250 l. to bring my Lord H to the King's Interest Mrs. Wall said which Fitz-Harris pursued so well that my Lord waited several times upon the Dutchess and found the King there and the Night before my Lord Stafford's Sentence Fitz-Harris came to my Lord from the King and told him that the King would take it as a great Resignation of my Lord to the King's Will and Pleasure if the next Day my Lord would go vote for my Lord Stafford This Design was to be carried on in the Name of the Nonconformists and put upon them and to be dispersed by the Penny Post to the Protesting Lords and leading Men in the House of Commons who were to be taken and searched so soon as they received it Everard said the Court had a Hand in it and thââ the King had given Fitz-Harris Money and would give him moââ if it had Success and the King told Sheriff Cornish that Fitz-Harris had three Months before his Apprehension been with the King and acquainted him that he was in Pursuit of a Plot which much related to his Majesty's Person and Government which the King did countenance and gave him some Money Sir William Waller acquainted the King with the Particulars he had taken whilst he was concealed the King thank'd Sir William and commanded Secretary Jenkins to issue out a Warrant for apprehending Fitz-Harris and Sir William to take Care for the Execution of it But Sir William was no sooner gone but Sir William said he was informed by two worthy Gentlemen that the King was highly offended with him and the King said he had broken all his Measures and that he would have him taken off one way ãâã other Sir William was as forward in taking Fitz-Harris as before he was in discovering his Plot and having apprehended him he was committed to Newgate where he was examined by Sir Robert Clayton and Sheriff Cornish to whom Fitz-Harris declared his Willingness to discover the whole Design the next Day after but Fitz-Harris next Day was removed to the Tower which was not done to Sir Thomas Gascoign and the Popish Lords Upon the 21st of March the Parliament met at Oxford the Members of the Commons were generally the same as the last Parliament and those which were not were of the same Kidney ãâã
are perceived by the Senses and understood to exist or be yet these are known to be by some and not by others and in Justice and Judgment the end of an assertory Oath is to inform the Judg of the Truth of what a Man knows which otherwise might be concealed and here I say that as God's Name in Religion Piety and Justice is to be invoked when it is not in vain but for God's Honour so otherwise to use or abuse his sacred Name in vain is dishonourable to God and makes it vile and contemptible Now let 's see how the ranting Swearing of this Test agrees with the Religion and Obligation of an Oath and observe it in its Particulars or Confusion It begins I solemnly swear in the Presence of the Eternal God whom I invoke as Judg and Witness of this my sincere Intention of this my Oath that I own and profess the true Protestant Religion contained in the Confession of Faith recorded in the first Year of King James the Sixth So that here is a most horrible Swearing and Invocation of God's sacred Name and yet neither an assertory nor promissory Oath for an assertory Oath is of some Act or Speech in time past which was transient and not when the Oath was taken and a promissory Oath is of time to come whereas in this Oath the Taker swears in the present time he does own the Protestant Religion recorded in the Confession of Faith in the first Year of King James the Sixth I believe there is such a Record intituled The Confession of Faith in the first Year of King James the Sixth because Spotiswood and other Scotish Authors say so but to swear by the Eternal God that it contains the true Protestant Religion when the Name is not in it is such an implicite Faith as can scarce be found in the most superstitious in the Church of Rome Christian Faith is a Belief of God's Revelations in the Scriptures to which if any add or dimniish his Name shall be blotted out of the Book of Life Rev. 22. 18 29. But where the Scots found their Confession of Faith in the first Year of King James Knox no where tells tho he was the Founder of it And I believe the same to be agreeable to the Written Word of God But what need you swear by the Eternal God you do so If you demonstrate or give the Reason of your Belief which you do not this might convince another which your Swearing never will That I will adhere thereto and endeavour to educate my Children therein The more obstinate Man you and so much the worse for your Children And never consent to any Change or Alterations thereto This might have been left out for if you adhere to it you cannot consent to any Change or Alteration And renounce all Popish and Fanatical Doctrines inconsistent with the said Protestant Religion and Confession of Faith I take a Renunciation to be a Disclaimure of what was before so that if you renounce all Popish and Fanatical Doctrines c. it seems before you owned them yet you neither tell what these Popish and Fanatical Doctrines are or wherein they are inconsistent with the Protestant Religion and Confession of Faith or how you come to know so and if you do not it ill becomes you to prostitute God's sacred Name to swear to what you do not know And by this my solemn Oath I swear that King Charles the Second is the only Supream Governour of this Realm over all Persons and in all Causes as well Ecclesiastical as Civil By which of your Senses do you know this by your seeing smelling touching or tasting Or if it be by another's having told you so will you swear to whatever another tells you Or if another should tell you that King Charles the Second is not the only Supream Governour c. will you swear by the Eternal God he is not so or if King Charles should be dead when you are swearing this which he may for ought you know how long will you hold of this Mind And that I renounce what again all foreign Jurisdiction of the Pope or any other Person If I cannot take your Word I 'll not think the better of it for your swearing to it And promise to bear true Allegiance to the King his Heirs and Lawful Successors 'T is well if you hold long in this Mind but before you renounced all foreign Jurisdiction of the Pope suppose and be not affrighted at it King Charles the Second and his Lawful Successor should now be contriving the bringing in this Foreign Jurisdiction how by the Eternal God would you beââ Faith and Allegiance to them herein And to my Power defend all their Rights and Prerogatives c. Yet you neither declare what these Rights and Prerogatives are which you swear to defend and 't is twenty to one you do not know these Rights and Prerogatives and so you solemnly swear to you know not what or suppose the King and his Lawful Successor should say it was one of his Prerogatives to bring in the Papal Jurisdiction how would this consist with your solemn Faith and Allegiance to the King and his Lawful Successors and your renouncing all Foreign Jurisdiction And I judg it unlawful for Subjects upon Pretence of Reformation or any Pretence whatsoever to enter into any Covenants or Leagues or to convene c. in any Council to treat of any Matter Ecclesiastical or Civil without his Majesty's special Command and express Licence or to take up Arms against the King or those commissionated by him So that here you judg without any Reason of your Judgment and must have your Judgment pass for currant because you swear to it and at this rate you may swear and judg as you please and sure never before was ever Religion or Judgment established upon such Foundations That I will never rise in Arms or enter into such Covenants or Assemblies For all your swearing to this yet I believe my Lord Commissioner will not trust to your Oath and the rather because you were so loose to it in observing your solemn League and Covenant which you sware with as servent Affection as you now seem to do to this and with Hands and Heart lifted up to the most high God That there lies no Obligation upon me by the National Covenant ãâã solemn League and Covenant or any other way to endeavour any Change or Alteration of Government either in Church or State as now established Does there lie no Obligation upon you by the solemn League and Covenant c. to endeavour any Change or Alteration in Church or State why you as solemnly sware that as this and by that you sware to extirpate Prelacy and here you swear never to endeavour any Change of it Or do you think you please his Highness my Lord Commissioner herein whose Business it is not only to make Alterations but to subvert your Church and State And if you will
the better understanding the Earl's Case it 's fit to consider first the Test was not to be imposed upon any but those who bear Office and the Earl was desirous to have laid down all his Offices which was denied him Secondly it was not to be imposed before the first of January whereas all these Proceedings against the Earl upon the Test were not only unwarrantable but the Council usurped the Royal Legislative Authority by imposing the Test upon the Earl before Thirdly that this Explanation of the Test by the Earl was by the Duke's Command and Allowance of the Council one Day and the next Day made Treason for publishing it the Earl being peremptorily commanded by the Duke to deliver the Explanation he had drawn in Writing to the Council 1. The Earl's Counsel insisted that the Earl having before always dutifully and loyally behaved himself to the King his Words and Intentions ought to be interpreted in the best Sense and in his Favour 2. That the Act against Leasing-making and depraving the King's Laws were for plain Words and Speeches tending to make Discords between the King and People and were never intended against a Person in Judicature required to give the true Sense of a Law to the best of his Skill and Conscience and that it would be strange in such a Case that this should be a Crime if one Man differ from another whereas oftentimes not only learned Lawyers but the Judges themselves differ about the Interpretation of Laws 3. That the Act of Parliament does not impose the Test generally but as a Qualification for those who shall bear publick Office and therefore it is just and commendable in any Person who has a Scruple of Conscience upon him to declare his meaning in taking of it how he understands it it matters not whether he errs or not for Conscientia etiam erronea obligat especially where a Man's Conscience is opposite to his Interest as in this Case to lose his Preferment nor was this any Reflection by the Earl upon the Act of Parliament nor their Prudence in imposing the Test 4. Tho the Earl could not take the Test otherwise than he explained it yet by the Act there was no greater Penalty than that Habetur pro recusante he should not hold his Places of Trust 5. That the Counsel allowed the Earl's Explanation by bidding him take his Place after he had made his Explanation 6. The Earl's Explanation could not be treasonable viz. Animo defamandi whenas he only made it to the Council when required whereas some Bishops whole Presbyteries and Synods had made Explanations of the Test and in downright Terms charged it with Inconsistencies and Contradictions and these allowed to be printed before the Earl made his and even the Council themselves had made an Explanation of it before the Earl was tried tho the Parliament was then in being and this made publick Q. If this were not more Treason than the Earl's tho his Counsel durst not say so 7. That the Earl by making his Explanation has assumed a Legislative Power to which it was answered The Legislative Power extends to all but the Earl's Explanation refers only to himself how he understood he might take the Test and this was done without any Diminution to the Legislative Power of making or interpreting Laws and if the Legislative Power be not satisfied it cannot extend any further than that the Earl shall be a Refuser of the Oath which is neither Treason nor Perjury as was charged upon the Earl 8. That the Earl was ready to give Obedience as far as he could did not import the Parliament had imposed an unlawful Oath for here is no Impeachment of the Justice or Prudence of the Law-giver nor can any Law be so plain especially affirmative Laws as this is that every Man shall understand it alike and if one Man declare one Sense of it and another otherwise how does this become Treason in one or the other or import the Injustice or Illegality of the Law 9. That the Earl was confident the Parliament never intended contradictory Oaths which was so far from being treasonable that considering the plain downright Objections spread abroad of the Inconsistencies and Contradictions of the Test it was a high Vindication of the Parliament 10. Therefore he thinks no Body can explain it but for himself which having no reference to any other this cannot be taken for any diminution of the Parliamentary Authority or depraving of the Law 11. That he takes it so far as it is consistent with it self and the Protestant Religion if this be a Crime the Earl is neither the Beginner nor Promoter of it so many Bishops Synods and Presbyteries having before printed it with Allowance from the Council nor the Promoter of it for the Earl said this only for himself and was passive in it being required by the Council to make his Explanation and if they divulged it 't was their Fault 12. That he did not bind up himself in his Station and in a lawful way to wish and endeavour any Alteration he thinks to the Advantage of the Church or State not repugnant to the Protestant Religion and his Loyalty This has reference to the Earl in his Station as he is a Peer of Scotland who has not only a Right in Parliament to debate freely of any Law in being but is a Member which has a Legislative Right and Vote to repeal as well as make Laws and herein can no more bind up himself than one Act of Parliament can bind another Parliament Note the Earl does not say this is part of the Test-Oath but part of his Oath in the Sense he takes the Test which makes no alteration of the Test The King's Advocate Sir George Mackenzy being one of the Conspiracy in contriving the Earl's Destruction you need not fear but he 'll strain his Wit to make good his Indictment of the Earl He begins with a long Invective against the jugling Covenant and this excellent Law the Test was established to prevent the like for the future and that no Law is of private Interpretation and if it were Men would be loose from Obedience to all Law and concludes with a Lie that there was no force upon the Earl to take the Oath that he took it for his own Advantage It 's true no private Interpretation of any Law is of force to bind another and whatsoever Interpretation another makes of any Law it makes no Alteration in the Law but if a
Man be asked his Opinion of any Law or Point in Law and he gives it according to the best of his skill shall this be taken for Treason and depraving of the Law and a Man be in danger of his Life for it This was the Earl's Case he was called upon by the Duke to take the Test with his Explanation before he did it and whereas Mackenzy says there was no Force upon the Earl I 'm sure if my Author says true the Earl refused to give in the Paper whereof he is indicted and proffered to lay down his Offices upon it till the Duke peremptorily commanded him to do it if this were not Force I would know what is I 'm sure there was no Force but Corruption and Bribery upon the Advocate to enter into this villanous Conspiracy against this Noble Earl to murder him under the Pretext of Justice which is to be esteemed sacred And let any Man read his whole Harangue and see if there be any thing in it but forced and strained Inferences or any one Proof against the Earl within the Act 60 Parl. 6. Mary or the 9 Act. Par. 20. Jac. 6. which makes it Treason to make false Construction of Laws to others with a Design to raise Sedition and Dissension among the King's Subjects so that some Overt Act or Speech to others with a Design to raise Sedition c. must be proved and not what is said in the Council or any Court of Judicature However as was the Advocate such were the Assizers whereof the Marquess of Montross the Earl's Father's most bitter Enemy was the Fore-Man and the rest of the Pack of the same Stamp who with one Voice found the Earl guilty of Treason Leasing-making and Leasing-telling but like conscientious Men having made the Earl to have forfeited his Life Honour and Estate by a Majority they find the Earl innocent of Perjury which they could get nothing by So that the Noble Lord Lorn is become the Forlorn late Earl of Argyle yet the Earl not to be wanting to himself in this deplorable State next day but one viz. December the 15th by a Friend humbly intreated to speak with the Duke who returned Answer It was not ordinary to speak with Criminals except with Rogues on some Plot where Discoveries might be expected By this you may see what Spirit governed this Prince and what might be expected from him if he became King The next Day after the Earl's Sentence viz. December the 14th the Council gave the King notice of it and expected his further Pleasure now the Work is done to his Hand but it seems his Highness was very impatient till he had the Earl's Blood for he said If the Express from the King came not timously he would take upon himself what was to be done by which you may see what an Ascendency the Duke had over the King However the Earl upon the sixteenth petitioned the Duke that he might send a Petition to the King which was refused Things brought to this Extremity and the Earl hearing that some Troops and a Regiment of Foot were to be brought down from the Castle to the Common Goal from which Criminals were usually brought to Execution he resolved to try to make his Escape and the rather because about seven at Night he had notice that new Orders were given for further securing him and that the Castle Guards were to be doubled and that none were suffered to go out without shewing their Faces and therefore a Friend advised him not to attempt it No said the Earl now is the Time and so he attempted it and it pleased God he escaped Hereupon the Lords of Assize upon the twenty third of December pronounced the Earl guilty of the Crimes of Treason Leasing-making and Leasing-telling for which being detained in the Castle of Edinburgh out of which since the Verdict having made his Escape therefore they adjudged the said Earl to be executed to Death and his Name Memory and Honours to be extinct and his Arms to be riven forth and delete out of the Book of Arms swa that his Posterity may never have Place nor be able hereafter to bruick or joyse any Honour Offices Titles or Dignities within this Realm iâ time coming and to have forefaulted all his Lands and Tenements c. But tho the Earl be escaped out of Prison whereto shall he flee For Terras I 'am sure Britannicas Astraea reliquit he had some thoughts of casting himself at the King's Feet but those soon vanished for the same Counsel which governed in Scotland raged all England over and so privately he passed into Holland where for some time we leave him and see what 's doing in England Mr. Hawles in his Remarks upon Fitz-Harris's Trial F. 18. out of Tully's Offices lays this down for a Rule That nothing is profitable but what is honest for which Tully gives many Reasons but nothing so convincing as the Examples he brings in publick and private matters and tho the Empire was vast and he bore a great Figure in it and was very knowing in the Greek and Roman Histories yet was he not able to bring a hundredth Part of Examples to prove his Position as had been in this little Island in the space of eight Years And in his Preface gives six Reasons for the Disaffection to the late Government viz. Exorbitant Fines cruel and illegal Prosecutions outragious Damages dispensing with the Test and penal Laws and undue Prosecutions in criminal but more especially in capital Matters But these I take to be the Effects of those Councils which governed in England ever after the King's Restoration tho they did not so manifestly appear till the Duke was sent into Scotland and after the Dissolution of the Parliament at Oxford and for these first six Years after the Dissolution of the Parliament at Oxford the Tories in England as well as in Scotland were the Tools which the Popish Faction made use of for carrying on their Designs then they were laid by and the Whigs set up as they thought to finish the Work The Tories were so far from being suppressed by the Proceedings of the Commons against them last Westminster Parliament that they only so much more irritated them against the Whigs after the Dissolutions of the last Westminster and Oxford Parliaments and this was what the Popish Party desired The King's Declaration signed Francis Gwyn was not only obeyed by the Tories but entertained with unexpressible Joy and celebrated with manifold Returns of Thanks to his Majesty and now nothing but Halcyon Days were expected and an absolute Dominion over the Whigs and the King to gratify the Tories in their Jollity and after the Bill for repealing the Act of 35 Eliz. was taken out of the House of Lords before it was passed which little sorted with the King's Declarations of Indulgence has this Law now put in Force against the Dissenters and prosecuted with that Violence that many thousands of Families
were undone by it yet little of the Money levied upon them was brought into the Exchequer and you may be sure the Prosecutors would take their own share and it was no difficult Matter to get a Grant or at least a Pardon for the King 's Among the rest of the Worthies in this pious Business one Jenner a Lawyer was one who for this and other meritorious Acts was after knighted and made one of the honourable Barons of the Exchequer and Sir Dudly North the Keeper's own Brother was another and though these Men were excepted out of the Act of Indemnity made by this King and Informations against them in the Exchequer and among the rest against this Jenner yet upon pleading their Pardons I do find no great matttr came of them And now since the Meal-Tub Plot and that of Fitz-Harris had no better Effect the Court sets up another to throw the Popish Plot upon the Nonconformists You have heard before how there appeared to be a Popish Plot carried on in Ireland ever since the Year 1665 for establishing the Popish Religion and that several Witnesses were brought out of Ireland to prove it and how that the Lords in Parliament having throughly enquired into it did upon the sixth of January last viz. 1680-81 send this Message to the Commons Resolved by the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament assembled that they do declare that they are fully satisfied that there now is and for divers Years last past hath been an horrid and treasonable Plot continued and carried on by those of the Popish Religion in Ireland for massacring the English and subverting the Protestant Religion and the antient Government of that Kingdom to which they desire the Concurrence of this House to which the Commons agreed The Evidence by which the Lords discovered this Plot were generally Irish and of the Popish Religion and it 's probable were Partakers of the Design of this Massacre and had not their Pardons or if they had they were poor and had no means to subsist now the Oxford Parliament was dissolved and no Prospect of another especially having now lost their Friends and Dependance for having given their Evidence of the Discovery of the Plot and were in a strange Country In this state the Court imployed a sort of Men partly by Terror and partly by their Necessities to work upon the Irish to pervert their Evidence another way And the Cause being the same it had the same Effect upon others as well as the Irish for the Oxford Parliament being dissolved and all Hopes of Enquiry further into the Popish Plot growing desperate Dugdale Turbervile and Smith not having that I can find gotten their Pardons and having lost their Dependances upon their having given their Evidence and being reduced to the same Necessities the Irish Witnesses were were easily wrought upon to smother the Popish Plot and to swear another upon the principal Inquirers into the Popish nay even my Lord H tho not in the like Circumstances could not procure his Pardon till his Drudgery of Swearing was over The Foundation thus laid now we proceed to shew how the King made good his Declaration for calling frequent Parliaments and in using his utmost Endeavours of extirpating Papacy and it is without any Precedent that ever any King before did truckle to such vile and mean things to invert his Declaration and his manifold repeated Promises to the Parliament The 28th of March the Parliament at Oxford was dissolved and upon the 27th of April following an Indictment of High Treason was preferred against Edward Fitz-Harris to the Grand Jury at Westminster for the Hundred of Oswalst but the Grand Jury having the Vote of the Commons of the 27th of March so fresh in their Memories desired the Opinion of the Court whether they might safely proceed upon it and you need not doubt but the Court gave their Opinion they might So the Grand Jury found the Bill From the time that Fitz-Harris was removed from Newgate to the Tower which was 10 Weeks before this Indictment he was kept so close Prisoner that his Wife nor any others were permitted to come at him whereas the Lords impeached in Parliament had the Liberty of the Tower and for any Man to visit them Yet Fitz-Harris's Wife foreseeing the Design of the Trial of her Husband had gone to Counsel and had a Plea drawn to the Jurisdiction of the Court to which the Attorney-General demurred and Fitz-Harris's Counsel joined in the Demurrer It were Vanity and extream Arrogance in me to judg of the nice Pleadings on both sides concerning the Form and Substance or to give a Reason why the Court over-ruled Fitz-Harris's Plea since the Court did not Yet I say the Reports of Coke Dier Plowden and others would have proved dry Businesses if the Courts of Westminster-Hall had given such Judgments as the King's Bench did in Fitz-Harris's Case And I say also That no Man lives out of Society and Commerce and that in every Country there are Laws for the Preservation of Mens Lives and to protect them in Society and Commerce and that in every Country there is a Power which is loose from these Laws and gives Laws to all the Subjects of those Countries But because all Laws are vain unless they be executed every Country has Judicatories wherein these Laws are executed which differ in different Countries The supreme Power of this Nation resides in a Parliament whereof the King is the Head and the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and the Representatives of the Commons are the Body These Courts of Judicature have their distinct Jurisdictions and are restrained to certain Rules and Methods the highest of these Courts are the Body of the Parliament viz. the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and the Commons which have distinct Jurisdictions but are not bound up in their Judicatories by such strict Rules as other Courts are Other Courts take Cognizance of civil and criminal Cases between particular Men but these Courts of Parliament take Cognizance of the State and Grievances of the Nation where only they find Relief and tho no other Courts take Cognizance of Matters transacted in Parliament yet either of these Courts take Cognizance of all Proceedings in other Courts and not only reverse all illegal Proceedings in them but punish the Judges of all other Courts for any Errors or Abuses committed by them so if any Person or Person shall grow so great as to be dangerous to the Publick tho they be out of the Reach of other Courts yet they are subject to these Courts of Parliament and by these Courts the English Nation have preserved their Liberties and Laws now France and Spain have lost them which before had their Assemblies of the States all one with our Parliaments and in losing them have lost their Liberty and Laws to the Arbitrary Will of their Princes The Jurisdiction of Parliaments hath been in all Ages in England esteemed sacred so that other Courts rarely
purpose 3. Oates said Turbervile said a little before the Witnesses were sworn at the Old-Baily That he was not a Witness against Colledge nor could give any Evidence against him and that after he came to Oxford he had been sworn before the Grand Jury against Colledge and that the Protestant Citizens had deserted him and God damn him he would not starve John Smith swore Colledge's speaking scandalous Words against the King and of his having Armour which he shewed Smith and said These are the things that will destroy the pitiful Guards of Rowley and that he expected the King would seize some of the Members of Parliament at Oxford which if done he would be one should seize the King that Fitz-Gerald had made his Nose bleed but before long he hoped to see a great deal more Blood shed for the Cause that if any nay Rowley himself came to disarm the City he would be the Death of him 4. To confront this Evidence Blake testified that Smith said Haynes's Discovery was a Sham-Plot a Meal-Tub-Plot Bolron said Smith would have had him swore against Sir John Brooke my Lord Shaftsbury and Colledge things of which he knew nothing and told him what he Bolron should swear lest they should disagree in their Evidence Oates testified Smith said God damn him he would have Colledge ' s Blood and Mowbray testified that Smith tempted him to be a Witness against Colledge and Sir John Brooke and said if the Parliament did not give the King Money and stood on the Bill of Exclusion that was Pretence enough to swear a Design to secure the King at Oxford And Everard and others testified Smith said he knew of no Presbyterian or Protestant Plot and said Justice Warcup would have perswaded him to swear against some Lords a Presbyterian Plot but he knew of none These were the material Evidences thus confronted which should prove Colledge's Treason and Misdemeanour for taking away his Life But this Evidence was so baffled that for Shame the King's Counsel never play'd them after against any other but my Lord of Shaftsbury but were forced to set up for new against my Lord Russel Colonel Sidney c. Objection In criminal Cases especially of Treason if Evidence did not arise from the Conspirators who are supposed to be ill Men scarce any other means can be found for preventing or punishing these and that Dangerfield was of an ill Fame and Dugdale Smith and Turbervile were Witnesses in Discovery of the Popish Plot and so their Evidence is to be credited as well in this as in the Popish Plot. Answer Nor would the Popish Plot have been believed if it had no Foundation but the Credit of the Witnesses but Coleman's Letters Sir Godfrey's Murder and Harcourt's Letters of it that Night to Evers my Lord Aston's Confessor c. gave more than sufficient Evidence of the Popish Plot beside the Evidence in the Popish Plot did arise from the Evidence of their own Accord not hired and sought to give it as in this And can any Man believe that Colledge so zealous a Protestant should design the Destruction of the King and contrive it by Papists to whom he was so averse And it were Madness to think Colledge could do this alone for none of all the Evidence swear any other to be concerned with him in it There were other Evidence against Colledge viz. Mr. Mâsters Sir William Jennings about Words which Colledge should speak and Atterbury Seywel and Stevens concerning finding Pictures in Colledge's Possession when they seized him but as Mr. Hawles observes these by no Law in England could be made Treason admitting all they said to be true But tho at Colledge this Scene began and he was executed as a Traitor it did not end in him as he prophesied For Colledge's Blood was too mean a Sacrifice to appease the offended Ghosts of the martyred Roman Saints and was but an Inlet to spill nobler Blood therefore upon the 31st of August he was executed and upon the 24th of November following 1681. the Earl of Shaftsbury had a Bill of High Treason at the Sessions of the Old-Baily London preferred against him I will not here curtail any of the Remarks which Mr. Hawles has made upon this Bill or the Trial of my Lord Russel Colonel Sidney's Mr. Cornish's and Wilmer's Trials but leave them entire to the Reader it 's enough for me to shew how well the King by these Trials made good his Declaration of preserving the Protestant Religion and his utmost Endeavour to extirpate Popery yet I shall make some Remarks upon my Lord Shaftsbury's Case which Mr. Hawles either has not or not so fully Upon the 20th of April 1679 the King after he had sent the Duke into Holland dissolved his old Privy Council and chose a new one whereof the Earl of Shaftsbury was President and in Parliament declared the ill Effects he had found of single Councils and Cabals and therefore had made Choice of this Council which next to the Advice of his great Council of Parliament which he would often consult in all his weighty and important Affairs he would be advised by this Privy Council and to take away all Jealousy that he was influenced by Popish Councils he had sent his Brother beyond Sea But now quanto mutatus No more Parliaments so long as this King lives The Council whose Advice next the Parliament he would take is now dissolved and the President 's Life is sought for the Duke of late sent away that he might not influence the King's Councils is now returned and governs all and made High Commissioner of Scotland where at this time he is contriving the Destruction of the noble Earl of Argile whilst his Brother is doing that of my Lord of Shaftsbury and both act their Parts under the Vail of sacred Justice But how to bring the Earl of Shaftsbury upon the Stage was Matter of great Inquiry other Evidence besides Irish and those Colledge had so baffled could scarce be found and this Evidence 't was feared would no more prevail upon a London Grand Jury than before it did when the Bill was preferred against Colledge Captain Henry Wilkinson was a Yorkshire Gentleman who having served King Charles I. in his Wars and been very instrumental in the Restoration of King Charles II. being fall'n into Decay a Fate usually attending the Cavaliers who served either of those Kings was for his Sufferings Integrity and Honesty preferred by the Earls of Craven and Shaftsbury to be Governour of Carolina and one of his Sons to be Surveyor-General of it and another a Register Captain Wilkinson made use of the little Stock he had left and such Credit as he could procure to fit himself upon this Account and hired a Ship called the Abigail of a hundred and thirty Tuns and victualled her for the Master and ten Men and such other Passengers as he should take in In this Number one Mr. John Booth desired that he and his
in taking the Customs without Grant of Parliament and such as were never granted by Parliament and in further raising Ship-Money and imprisoning the Members of Parliament without Benefit of their Corpus's yet he thought best to do it by such Judges as he should make So this King in the Executions of Fitz-Harris and Colledge would have the Colour of Justice by a Form of Law for which there was no Law But as the Knights of Malta could make Knights of their Order for eight Pence a-piece yet could not make a Soldier of Sea-man So these Kings tho they could make what Judges they pleased to do their Business yet could not make a Grand-Jury from whom the Judges in all criminal Cases between the King and Subject must take their Measures these Grand-Juries in London are returned by the Sheriffs and the Sheriffs are chosen by the Livery This Difficulty after my Lord Shaftsbury's Case put the Court to their Trumps and at present a Stop to their Proceedings The Assistance of the Duke of York was necessary but at this time he was as busy in Scotland about my Lord of Argyle as his Brother was in England about my Lord Shaftsbury The City upon the Dissolution of the Four last Parliaments were aware of the Designs of the Court and chose Sheriffs accordingly when Colledge's Bill was preferred Mr. Cornish and Bethel were Sheriffs and now another such was preferred against ãâã Lord of Shaftsbury Sir Thomas Pilkington and Mr. Shute were Sheriffs who tho at other times Sheriffs would rather fine than serve yet at this time none refused to serve so that unless Sheriffs of another Stamp were chosen all would be to no Purpose It 's scarce credible what a Noise the not finding my Lord Shaftsbury's Bill made all Justice now the Tory Party cried was stopped if these Ignoramus Juries were not set aside R. L. S. proclaimed Forty one would inevitably return and this countenanced by the Court flew out of the City all the Country over so that scarce any other thing was to be heard but of Ignoramus Juries and what would follow from them It was the latter End of Michaelmas Term the great Inquest returned an Ignoramus upon the Bill of High Treason preferred against my Lord Shaftsbury and in the Vacation all Wits were set on work how to take the Election of the Sheriffs of London out of the Power of the City and no other Expedient could be found out but by taking away their Charter which if it could be done would not only entitle the Court to making of Sheriffs but open a Gap to their making a House of Commons for near 5 6 of the Commons are Burgesses and Barons of the Cinque Ports who would not dare to contest their Charters if the City of London could not hold theirs So that in Hilary Term following a Quo Warranto was brought against the City for two hainous Crimes viz. That they had made an Address to the King for the Parliament to sit for Redress of Grievances and to settle the Nation yet King Charles the First thought the Parliament's Vote of non-Addresses to him was a Deposing of him and that the City had raised Money towards repairing Cheapside Conduit ruined by the Fire of London The City pleaded their Right and the King replied upon which there was a Demurrer but Judgment was not given upon it till Trinity Term 1683. However the Novelty of the thing caused an Amusement upon the Generality of the City and Nation too whereto this tended In the mean time the Duke having done his Work in Scotland was returned to London and his Zeal for promoting the Catholick Cause outwent his Patience for the Court's Judgment upon the Demurrer to the Quo Warranto so that Courtiers of the First Magnitude appeared barefaced for the next Election of Sheriffs and Sir Dudley North Sir Francis's own Brother and Sir Peter Rich were returned one by a shameless Trick the other by open Force Tho the Court had gained this Point they thought not fit to push it further till the Demurrer to the City Charter were determined in which such Haste was made that only two Arguments were permitted on either Side one in Hilary Term 1682-83 and the other in Easter Term following and so Judgment was given in Trinity Term next after against the City The Judgment against the City was as strange as the Election of the Sheriffs for it was without any Reason and by two Judges only one was Sir Francis Withens who had heard but one Argument and I believe understood but little of that and who after in the Absence of Sir Edward Herbert delivered that for his Opinion which Sir Edward when present disowned and Sir Thomas Jones However they said Justice Raimond was of their Opinion and so was Saunders the Chief Justice tho he was past his Senses and only had Sense enough to expostulate with them for then troubling him when he had lost his Memory But the Court of Kings Bench were not so ripe for this hasty Judgment as that at White-Hall was for Discovery of Plots against the Government and Justice of the Nation of which they set three on Foot viz. A Plot to surprize the Guards the Rye-Plot to murder the King and Duke as they should come from New-Market and the Black-Heath Plot for the People to rise upon a Foot-Ball Match if those Sheriffs would not do the Court's Work you may be sure the next should where the King should have the Nomination but these were as trusty as any the King could make and it was now Graham and Burton's Work to find Good Jury-Men and then the Sheriffs would be sure to return them In all these Plots for ought I can find the Fox was the Finder my Lord H and Rumsey in that of the Guards Lee and Goodenough in that of Black-Heath Keeling and West in that of the Rye-Plot Lee was set to trapan Rouse and Baker in the Black-Heath Plot. Rumball at whose House 't was said the Rye-Plot was to be acted upon his Death denied he ever knew of any But the Great Design was upon my Lord of Essex and my Lord Russel one the most eminent of the Nobility for his great Honour and all eminent Vertues the other of the Commons and both zealous Protestants and Opponents to the Design of introducing Popery and Arbitrary Power I will not again curtail Mr. Hawles's learned Remarks upon my Lord Russel's Trial on the Thirteenth of July 1683. yet I must observe how that that Day whether my Lord of Essex killed himself or was to be killed the King and his Brother were both in the Tower when the Act was done and immediately Notice was sent to the Old-Baily to give Notice of it to the Court that in the worst Sense Use might be made of it by the King's Counsel against my Lord Russel The Blaze of the Earl's having murdered himself having had its designed Effect upon my Lord Russel's Trial
Law established Commends the Church of England's Principles and Members knows likewise that the Laws of England are sufficient to make the King as great a Monarch as he can wish and therefore as he will never depart from the just Rights and Prerogatives of the Crown so he will never invade any Man's Property The next Sunday after his Brother's Death the King went publickly to Mass and that Week I think he order'd his Brother's dying in the Communion of the Church of Rome and before his Death his receiving his Viaticum and other Ceremonies of that Church and attested by Father Huddleston to be printed and also the Papers taken out of the King's Strong-box shewing that however he outwardly appeared otherwise in his Life yet in his Heart he was sincerely a true Roman Catholick So that however he promised to preserve the Church of England as by Law established yet his Profession was of the Church of Rome which curses the Church of England and declares them Hereticks Schismaticks and Sacrilegious Persons with whom no Faith is to be kept The King's Father Charles I took the Customs before granted by Parliament this King took both Customs and the Excise granted only for the Life of his Brother before they were given him by Parliament How this corresponded with the King's Promise but the Week before that he would never invade any Man's Property I do not understand for tho in every Government no Man has Property against the Supream Power yet by the English Constitutions the Supream Power of the Nation is in the Parliament in Conjunction with the King and the King 's taking both the Customs and Temporary Excise for his Brother's Life by his only Will and Pleasure was as much a Violation upon the Property of the Subject as if he had taken the rest of their Goods and Inheritances To the King's Promise of preserving the Church and State of England as by Law established he adds That he will imitate his kind Brother in his great Clemency and Tenderness of his People The first Act of the King's Clemency and Tenderness to his People was extended to Dr. Oates but tho the Act was compleated in this King's Reign the Scene was laid in his good and gracious Brother's when Oates was Fined 100000 l. for Scandalum Magnatum against the Duke of York in saying The Duke was reconciled to the Church of Rome and to be kept close Prisoner till the Fine was paid Oates being thus mew'd up upon the King 's coming to the Crown an Indictment of Perjury is contrived against him upon two Points one That Ireland was not in London from the 3d of August in 1678 till the 14th of September next following when Oates in Ireland's Trial said He was in a Consult concerning the killing the King about the middle of August The other was That Oates was at St. Omers all April and May in 1678 when Oates in Harcourt and Whitebread's c. Trials swore They were at a Consult the 24th of April concerning killing the King and establishing the Popish Religion But that a better View may be had of this Trial of Oates it 's fit to look back into King Charles II's Reign It seems evident to me That after the Dissolution of the Parliament at Oxford and I believe it will to any other that shall read King Charles's History that he designed never after to have another Parliament until he should get the Corporations to surrender their Charters so as they should elect no other Members than pleased him and in the mean time to take off the Heads of those who were zealous in prosecuting the Popish Plot. Upon the Dissolution of the Parliament at Oxford the Feuds between the Whigs and Tories were in highest Ferment so that whatever was done against the Whigs was cried up by the Tories and Addresses made by them to the King that they would live and die with him in them And because the Whigs as they were called would not find Bills against my Lord of Shaftsbury and Colledge they resolved to carry the Election of Sheriffs in 1682 wherein Mr. Dubois and Mr. Papillon Whigs stood Candidates against Sir Peter Rich and Sir Dudley North Tories but they resolved by Right or Wrong Rich and North should carry it and so they did but by what Right you may judg by the Prints The Tories having gained this Point Sir R. S. Gra. and Burt. are Instruments for packing Juries the Judges North Pemberton and Saunders c. shall do their parts for declaring Charters void and for Trying Fitz-Harris my Lord Russel Colonel Sidney Sir Thomas Armstrong c. But the taking off the Heads of the Whigs was but half this Design the impeached Lords in the Tower must be let loose or the Game was but half play'd This was so ticklish a Point that neither Pemberton nor Saunders could be brought up to it but Saunders dying and Pemberton removed to the Common Pleas Sir Geo. Jeffries was set up to do this Work which he did to content and so was initiated to do what other Journey-work the Court should order And now before him Oates is to be tried for Perjury upon the two Points aforesaid Ireland was tried above six Years before viz. in December 1678 before a Jury of Judges in the Old-Baily and so was Whitebread and Harcourt within about a Month less than six Years viz. in June 1679. Ireland pleaded he was not in London from the 3d of August till the 14th of September and Whitebread Harcourt c. pleaded that Oates was at St. Omers all April and May in 1678 so that if their Witnesses said true 't was impossible Oates's Testimony of Whitebread's being at the Consult in April and Ireland's in August could be true That Oates was in Town in April and May in 1678 was proved by Sir Richard Barker Mr. Walker a Minister Mr. Clay a Romish Priest Mrs. Mayo Sarah Ives Mr. Oates's Schoolmaster with whom Oates dined about the Beginning of May Mr. Page and Butler Sir Barker's Coachman But besides Oates and Bedlow's swearing Ireland was at the Consult in August only Sarah Pain who had been Servant to Grove one of the Jesuits swore Ireland was in Town in August Oates thus mew'd up the St. Omers Boys are sent for over in all haste and you need not doubt had new Instructions and the Crew of Staffordshire Witnesses the Boys to swear Oates was at St. Omers all April and May the Staffordshire Witnesses that Ireland was in Staffordshire or thereabouts in August and September Jeffries was the Judg and you need not doubt of a Jury to chime into Jeffries summing up the Evidence Things standing in this Posture Oates is tried upon the 9th of May upon Perjury upon these two Points At the Trial Oates could get only four Witnesses to appear and 't was a Wonder he could get any viz. Mr. Walker the Minister who after so long time durst not trust to his Memory to swear positively
Doctrine of Passive Obedience had made a plain and easy Passage for the Popish Faction to take Possession of this Power The Bishop of London therefore after the Lords had voted an Address of Thanks to the King's Speech moved in the name of himself and all his Brethren that the House would debate the King's Speech which as it was extraordinary and unusual in the House so was it not less surprizing to the King and Court who now dreaded the Lords would concur with the Commons in their Address to prevent which the King first prorogued and then dissolved the Parliament and never called another in all his Reign And thus the King made good to the Parliament in his Speech to them the 28th of May That the best Way to engage him to meet them often was to use him well and did expect that they would comply with him in what he desired and that they would do it speedily that it might be a short Sessions and that he and the Parliament might meet again to all their Satisfactions and for the Bishop of London the King shall remember his Motion in due time when he shall plead no Privilege of Parliament The King having so ill performed his Promise to the Parliament of often meeting of them where he might hear of it again which by no means he would endure after he had dissolved them had a fair Field without any Rub to do what he pleased and to petition him or represent the Grievances of the Nation out of Parliament shall be a great Crime next to High Treason And now 't is time to observe the Steps the King proceeded by to maintain the Church and State of England as by Law established His Brother had laid the Foundation of making a Parliament felo de se by hectoring and making Bargains with Corporations to surrender their Charters and taking new ones from him whereby he reserved a Power that if they did not send such Members as pleased him he would resume the Charters he granted them and herein he made a great Progress till his Keeper and Attorney General refused to grant Patents to such poor Corporations as could not pay their Fees so as a new Keeper or Chancellor and Attorney-General must be had who would grant Patents gratis or a Stop would be made in the Progress of so noble a Design In a lucky Hour my Lord Keeper N died at Astrop-Wells I think when Jeffries was in his March to the West and for a Reward of my Lord Jeffries's Clemency that he shewed had the Seals given him with the Title of Lord Chancellour but the Attorney was not so lucky but lived to be turned out and another put in his Place which would perform his Office more charitably to these indigent Corporations which could not pay their Fees in taking new Patents after they had perfidiously betrayed their old But this was but one Step towards this Holy Work the King to make a thorow Reformation will make the Judges in Westminster-Hall to murder the Common Law as well as the King and his Brother designed to murder the Parliament by it self and to this end the King before he would make any Judges would make a Bargain with them that they should declare the King's Power of dispensing with the Penal Laws and Tests made against Recusants out of Parliament However herein the King stumbled at the Threshold for it 's said he began with Sir Thomas Jones who had merited so much in Mr. Cornish his Trial and in the West yet Sir Thomas bogled at this and told the King He could not do it to which the K. answered He would have Twelve Judges of his Opinion and Sir Thomas replied He might have Twelve Judges of his Opinion but would scarce find Twelve Lawyers of his Opinion The Truth of this I have only from Fame but I 'm sure the King's Practice in reforming the Judges whereof all except my Lord Chief Baron Atkins and Justice Powel were such a Pack as never before sat in Westminster-Hall gave credit to it But if the Lord Chief Justice Thorp for taking a Bribe of 100 l. was adjudged to be hanged and all his Lands and Goods forfeited in the Reign of Edward the 3d because thereby as much as in him lay he had broken the King's Oath made unto the People which the King had intrusted him withal and if Justice Tresilian was hanged drawn and quartered for giving his Judgment that the King might act contrary to one Act of Parliament and if Blake the King's Counsel Vsk the Under-Sheriff of Middlesex and five more of Quality were hanged in the Reign of Henry the 4th for but assisting in Tresilian's Judgment What then did these Judges deserve which made Bargains with the King before-hand to break the King's Oath he had made to the People and entituled the King to a Power to subvert the Laws and gave Judgment before-hand to act contrary to them Andrew Horn in his Mirror of Justice tells us That King Alfred the Mirror of Kings hanged Darling Segnor Cadwine Cole and 40 Judges more because they judged in particular Causes contrary to Law But sure this was not more to Alfred's Honour than it was to the Dishonour of King James to make Bargains before-hand with Judges to give Judgment contrary to the Laws themselves and unless they would break the King's Oath to his People they should not be his Judges The Laws and Constitutions of this Nation as has been already noted make it a Kingdom whereof the King is Head and the Nation the Body so that if you take away the Laws and Constitutions of the Kingdom there is neither King nor Kingdom Did not the King then descend from his Majesty in rending himself from his Kingdom by breaking Laws whereby he ceases to be a King and the Nation to be a Kingdom And what was it for that the King would not be content with the Soveraignty he had over the Nation wherein his Majesty consisted but would strain it into a Tyranny over the Nation It was to introduce a foreign exploded Dominion of the Pope denied by our Saviour and asserted by the Devil whereby how absolute soever the King would be over his Subjects yet himself and Kingdom must be at the Pope's Disposal to be deposed and destroyed as the Pope pleased Bishop King in the State of the Protestants in Ireland fol. 18. gives this Account of one Moore a Romish Priest who preached before the King at Christ's Church in Dublin in the Beginning of the Year 1690 where he told him to his Face that he did not do Justice to the Church and Churchmen and amongst other things said That Kings ought to consult Churchmen in Temporal Affairs the Clergy having a Temporal as well as Spiritual Right in the Kingdom but Kings had nothing to do in the Management of Spiritual Affairs but were to obey the Orders of the Church Thinking Men could not conceive this dispensing with the Penal Laws
and Tests against Dissenters was any ways intended in favour of the Protestants for notwithstanding the Slaughter Jeffries had made of them in the West the rest all over England were imprisoned and forced to give Security for their good Behaviour Nay my Lord D. of Albermarle who had done the K. so signal Service in keeping the Devonshire Men from joining with the D. of Monmouth must be sent out of England to Jamaica and the Earl of Pembroke and others who had been so active in suppressing Monmouth were scarce thanked and but coldly entertained at Court If things were acted with this indeed bare-fac'd dissimulation in England they were not less in Ireland for the King having revoked the Duke of Ormond from his Lieutenancy and given Talbot an independent Commission to make such a reform of the Army there as is aforesaid made my Lord Clarendon Deputy-Lieutenant and Sir Charles Porter Chancellour who arrived there the 10th of January 1685-86 with a Charge to declare that the King would preserve the Acts of Settlement and Explanation inviolable and to assure all his Subjects he would preserve these Acts as the Magna Charta of Ireland but this Declaration compared with Talbot's reforming the Army in Ireland seemed as strange as that the King 's dispensing with the Penal Laws and Tests was in favour of the Protestant Dissenters in England In Scotland the King had so settled Affairs there when he was Commissioner that after the cutting off the Earl of Argyle he did not doubt to carry on his Designs more bare-fac'd there than in England or Ireland and therefore tho he did not call a Parliament till April 1686 yet in his Letter to them of the 12th he takes no Notice of the Protestant Dissenters but recommends to them his innocent Roman Catholick Subjects Who had with their Lives and Fortunes been always assistant to the Crown in the worst of Rebellions and Vsurpations tho they lay under Discouragements hardly to be named These he heartily recommended to their Care to the end that as they have given good Experience of their true Loyalty and peaceable Behaviour so by their Assistance they may have the Protection of his Laws and that Security under his Government which others of his Subjects had not suffering them to lie under Obligations which their Religion cannot admit of by doing whereof they will give a Demonstration of the Duty and Affection they had to him and do him most acceptable Service This Love he expected they would shew to their Brethren as they saw he was an indulgent Father to them all The King having settled his Prerogative in Westminster-Hall by dispensing with the Penal Laws and Tests in the Beginning of the Year 1686 granted a Commission of Ecclesiastical Affairs but it was not opened to act till the 3d of August following why it lay so long dormant I do not find but only guess that the King might the better settle his Dispensing Power in the Country by such Judges as he had made as well as in Westminster-Hall and that he might be more at leisure to carry on the Design for surrender of Charters wherein one Robert Brent a Roman Catholick was a prime Agent and great Care was taken that the beggarly Corporations might surrender their Charters and take new ones without paying Fees and if any should be so honest as to insist upon their Oaths and Trust reposed in them for Preservation of their Charters to be prosecuted as riotous and seditious Persons But in regard the Commission of Ecclesiastical Affairs was not printed that I can find nor is in the State Tracts I thought fit to insert it here as I had it in Manuscript from a learned Hand JAMES the Second by the Grace of God King of England Scotland France and Ireland Defender of the Faith c. To the most Reverend Father in God our Right Trusty and Right well-beloved Counsellor William Lord Arch-Bishop of Canterbury Primate of all England and Metropolitan and to Our Right Trusty and Right well-beloved Counsellor George Lord Jeffries Lord Chancellour of England and to Our Right Trusty and Right well-beloved Cousin and Counsellor Lawrence Earl of Rochester Lord High Treasurer of England and to Our Right Trusty and Right well-beloved Cousin and Counsellor Robert Earl of Sunderland President of Our Council and Our Principal Secretary of State and to the Right Reverend Father in God and Our Right Trusty and well-beloved Counsellor Nathaniel Lord Bishop of Duresme and to the Right Reverend Father in God Our Right Trusty and well-beloved Thomas Lord Bishop of Rochester and to our Right Trusty and well-beloved Counsellor Sir Edward Herbert Knight Chief Justice of the Pleas before us to be holden assigned Greeting We for divers good weighty and necessary Causes and Considerations Us hereunto especially moving of our meer Motion and certain Knowledg by force and virtue of Our Supream Authority and Prerogative Royal do assign name and authorize by these our Letters Patents under the Great Seal of England you the said Arch Bp of Canterbury Lord Chancellor of England Lord High Treasurer of England Lord President of Our Council Lord Bishop of Duresme Lord Bishop of Rochester and our Chief Justice aforesaid or any three or more of you whereof you the said Lord Chancellor to be one from time to time and at all times during our Pleasure to exercise use occupy and execute under us all manner of Jurisdiction Privileges and Preheminences in any wise touching or concerning any Spiritual or Ecclesiastical Jurisdictions within this our Realm of England and Dominion of Wales and to visit reform redress order correct and amend all such Abuses Offences Contempts and Enormities whatsoever which by the Spiritual or Ecclesiastical Laws of this Realm can or may be lawfully reformed ordered redressed corrected restrained or amended to the Pleasure of Almighty God and encrease of Vertue and the Conservation of the Peace and Unity of this Realm And we do hereby give and grant unto you or any three or more of you as is aforesaid whereof you the said Lord Chancellor to be one thus by Us named assigned authorized and appointed by force of Our Supream Authority and Prerogative Royal full Power and Authority from time to time and at all times during Our Pleasure under us to exercise use and execute all the Premises according to the Tenour and Effect of these our Letters Patents any Matter or Cause to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding And We do by these Presents give full Power and Authority unto you or any three or more of you as is aforesaid whereof you the Lord Chancellor to be one by all lawful Ways or Means from time to time hereafter during Our Pleasure to enquire of all Offences Contempts Transgressions and Misdemeanours done and commited contrary to the Ecclesiastical Laws of this Our Realm in any County City Borough or other Place or Places exempt or not exempt within this our Realm of England
have a Commission but by Law is utterly disabled and disarmed Will you exchange your Birth-right of English Laws and Liberties for Martial and Club-Law and help to destroy all others only to be eaten up at last your selves If I know you well as you are English Men you hate and scorn these things And therefore be not unequally yoked with idolatrous and bloody Papists Be valiant for the Truth and shew your selves Men. The same Considerations are likewise humbly offered to all English Seamen who have been the Bulwark of this Nation against Popery and Slavery ever since 88. The first Lightning which the dormant Commission of Ecclesiastical Affairs produced fell upon the Bishop of London a Person of Exemplary Vertue and Loyalty and who besides the Nobility of his Birth had his Father slain in the late Civil Wars in defence of the King's Father's Cause and had himself and all his Brothers freely and valiantly exposed their Lives in defence of it The Crime alledged against him was that by the King's Letter he did not suspend Doctor Sharp then Dean of Norwich now Archbishop of York for preaching a Sermon against the Frauds and Corruptions of the Church of Rome by a Power as Arbitrary as that by which the Commissioners acted and for this these Commissioners suspended the Bishop tho every one understood the true Cause was the Bishop's Motion in the House of Lords to have debated the King's Speech Tantum Religio potuit swadere malorum I 'm perswaded King Charles the II. to make a Roman Hierarchy in Scotland made the Bishops out of the most obnoxious of the Clergy who besides their profligate Lives run the King's Prerogative there to a higher pitch than Laud in the King's Father's time did in England And that towards the latter end of his Reign he laid the same design here for the Bishopricks of Oxford York St. David's and Chester becoming void about the latter end of his Reign or beginning of King James's I 'll not name the Bishoprick of Litchfield and Coventry for the Petticoat governed in that Election Dr. Samuel Parker whom Mr. Marvel in his Rehearsal transposed calls Bays a Man of a virulent Disposition and who by railing against the Church got into Preferment and when he was in became a zealous Railer against them without was made Bishop of Oxford Dr. Cartright as high for the Prerogative as Parker was made Bishop of Chester and the Succession to these two Bishopricks was the more observable because Parker succeeded Dr. Fell and Cartright Dr. Peirson Men of Piety and Learning equal to any in their time and one Watson an obscure Man was made Bishop of St. David's but the Archbishoprick of York was reserved for a Person of another Temper whom these Bishops were making way for The Presidentship of Magdalen College in Oxford becoming void and the Fellows fearing a Mandamus would be imposed upon them for some Person not qualified by the Statutes and whom by their Oaths they could not submit to chose Dr. Hough for President a Person qualified by their Statutes for that Place As the Fellows feared so it came to pass for the King sent them a peremptory Mandamus to chuse the Bishop of Oxford Bays their President but he being a Person not qualified by the Statutes of their College which the Fellows were sworn to observe they in a humble Answer excused themselves as being otherways obliged as well by their Oath as Statutes I will not repeat the Anger the King express'd hereupon 't is in Print but sure such Language was never used by any Prince before But if the King 's harsh Language will not work the Fellows to his Will he will send the Commissioners of Ecclesiastical Affairs among them to turn them out of their Fellowships wherein they had as much Property as any other had to any real or personal Estate nor shall these Commissioners stay here but by a new strain of Tyranny never practised but by Absolute Tyrants they make the Fellows uncapable of any other Ecclesiastical Preferments The Fellows thus expelled the Statutes of the College are thrown out of Doors to make room for a Seminary of Jesuits and Popish Priests as much tending to the Subversion of the established Church of England as the Statutes of the College But see how God in his Providence blasted these things for the Bishop of Oxford had scarce taken possession of his thus new-acquired Presidentship when he died and you 'll soon see the Fellows restored again in spite of these Commissioners and Dr. Hough made Bishop of Oxford as well as President of Magdalen College If the King were zealous in advancing his Prerogative Royal both in the Church and State of England he will not be less in Scotland whereupon the 12th of February 1686-87 he issues out his Proclamation for Toleration of Religion which you may read in the State Tracts wherein he asserts his Absolute Power which he says his Subjects ought to obey without reserve But the Toleration which the King allows his Roman Catholick Subjects in Scotland he 'll scarce permit to his Protestant Subjects in Ireland for Tyrconnel for so has Talbot merited for his Service in Reforming the Army is not only made an Earl but Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the room of my Lord Clarendon and one Fitton made Sir Alexander an infamous Person detected for Forgery not only at Westminster but at Chester and fined in the House of Lords was brought out of the King's Bench in England to be Chancellor and Keeper of the King's Conscience in Ireland in place of Sir Charles Porter The first Proclamation which Tyrconnel issued out was dated Feb. 21. 1687. wherein he promised to defend the Laws Liberties and established Religion but leaves out the preservation of the Acts of Settlement and Explanation But tho at first he only left out the Acts of Settlement and Explanation being resolved first to out the Protestants and let the Irish into their forfeited Estates yet did he not stay here and Bishop King in his Treatise of the State of the Protestants in Ireland gives so particular and methodical an Account how he proceeded in the destroying the Church and State of Ireland as by Law established that I refer the Reader to it not intending to lessen it by taking parts of it When the Judges had been above a Year propagating the King's Power in Westminster-Hall and in their Circuits of dispensing with the Penal Laws and Tests against Dissenters from the Church upon the 25th of April 1687 out comes the King's Declaration to all his Subjects for Liberty of Conscience wherein the King declares That it had been a long time his constant Sense and Opinion that Conscience ought not to be restrained nor People forced in Matters of meer Religion and that it was contrary to his Inclination as he thought it to be the disinterest of the Government by spoiling Trade and depopulating Countries c. Sure no Prince ever acted
so in Extreams yet his Actions so diametrically opposite to his Profession Here you see a Jesuited Prince pleading for Liberty of Conscience to the breaking down the âaws which before he had so often professed to maintain and for such a sort of Men whom but little before he had slaughter'd banished and imprisoned as if he had designed to extirpate the whole Race of them If to reconcile these to Truth or Reality be not as great a Miracle as is in any of the Popish Legends I 'll believe them all and be reconciled to the Roman Catholick Church how inconsistible soever the Terms be The generality of the Protestant Dissenters having for near seven years together been so severely treated by the Tories were as forward to congratulate the King for his Indulgence in manifold Addresses as the Tories were in King Charles his time in their Addresses of Abhorrence to petition the King to call a Parliament to settle the Grievances of the Nation However this Declaration was so drawn in the sight of every Bird that of my knowledg many of the sober thinking Men of the Dissenters did both dread and detest it That this Declaration might be more passable Popish Judges were made in Westminster-Hall and Popish Justices of the Peace and Deputy-Lieutenants all England over the Privy Council was replenished with Popish Privy Counsellors the Savoy was laid open to instruct Youth in the Romish Religion and Popish Principles and Schools for that purpose were encouraged in London and all other Places in England Four Foreign Popish Bishops as Vicars Apostolical were allowed in Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction all England and Wales over From instructing the St. Omers Boys how to behave themselves in their Evidence to prove Oates was at St. Omers all April and May in 1678 my Lord Castlemain is sent Ambassador to the Pope to render the King's Obedience to the Holy and Apostolical See with great hopes of extirpating the Northern pestilent Heresy In return whereof the Pope sent his Nuncio to give the King his Holy Benediction yet I do not find that he beforehand sent for Leave to enter the Kingdom as was observed by Queen Mary Henry VIII and before The Judges in their Circuits had their private Instructions to know how Men were affected with the King 's Dispensing Power and those who were disaffected to it were turned out from the Lieutenancy and Commission of the Peace Justice Judgment and Righteousness support the Thrones of Princes but these were Strangers to this King's ways other Means must be found out to support and carry them through a standing Army is judged the best Expedient and as the King told the Parliament at their second Meeting he had encreased his Army to double what it was before so he made his Word good that he would employ Men in it not qualified by the late Tests and to this end Tyrconnel having disbanded the English Army in Ireland qualified by the Tests sends over an Army of Irish not qualified by the Tests to encrease the Army in England This Army thus raised against Law committed all manner of lawless Insolences though the King by several Orders would have had their Quarters restrained to Victualling-Houses Houses of publick Entertainments and such as had Licences to sell Wine and other Liquors the Officers too when they pleased would be exempt from the Civil Power And though the King had no other Wars but against the Laws and Constitutions of the Nation yet he would have the Act of the 1 2 Edw. 6. 2. which makes it Felony without Benefit of the Clergy for any Souldier taking Pay in the King's Service in his Wars beyond Sea or upon Sea or in Scotland to desert from his Officer to extend to this Army thus raised by the King And because the Recorder of London Sir J. H. would not expound this Law to the King's Design he was put out of his Place and so was Sir Edward Herbert from being Chief Justice of the King's Bench to make room for Sir Robert Wright to hang a poor Souldier upon this Statute and afterward this Statute did the Work without any further dispute Thus this Prince did not only assume a Power to controul the Laws of the Nation at his pleasure in Civil Affairs but when he pleased made them bend to his Will to establish an illegal Army and countenance the Effusion of Christian Blood but you 'll soon see God will blast these ungodly Ways and that not the Arm of Flesh but Judgment Justice and Righteousness establish the Thrones of Princes Thus Affairs stood in England Scotland and Ireland in the year 1687. wherein I suppose no History mentions so great and violent Alterations in so little time as in this King's Reign all tending to introduce a Foreign Power and to enslave the Nation yet so patiently endured by it but the Dangers of these Designs were not circumscribed within the bounds of this Nation but extended into France where for above twenty years a Conspiracy was carried on for promoting these Designs thus far advanced so that the Year 1688 had a much more terrible Aspect upon England than the Year 1588 had when Philip the II. designed the Conquest of it for then the Nation was firm and intire for its own Interest whereas this Year it was not only torn in pieces by internal Discords but had an Army and Fleet designed to join with the French King in propagating his boundless Ambition not only upon England but upon the Empire of Germany Spain Holland the Duke of Savoy and other Princes of Italy About the beginning of the year 1688 a Gentleman of High Jesuited Principles told me The States of Holland were Rebels against the King of Spain and that I should soon see the King of France would call them to an Account for it and humble them and that the French King would assist our King with Men of War I took more heed to this because I knew that he was frequently visited by several Jesuits in whose Counsels I believe the French King's Designs this Year were locked up for my Lord of Sunderland in his Letter recited in the History of the Desertion fol. 32. protests he knew nothing of a League between the King yet you will see it come out another way But my Lord of Sunderland says that French Ships were offered to join with our Fleet which was refused however this shews there was a Design contriving by these Princes yet at present the Affairs of France seemed to look another way and a French Fleet and Souldiers in them are sent to Canada the Design and Success you will soon hear of The King having thus as he thought laid a Foundation tho it proved a very Sandy one of his Designs and to shew how Absolute he would be in them upon the 4th of May passed an Order in Council that his Declaration of Indulgence should be read in all Churches and Chappels in England and Wales in time of Divine
of Indulgence was an unlawful Act and that if they had submitted to the King's Will to have enjoined it to have been read in all Churches and Chappels of their respective Diocesses it had been an unlawful Act which was one Reason they could not comply with the King's Will and that this Declaration was not intended a Favour to the Protestant Dissenters but a Design to ruin the established Religion and Church of England and the enjoining the Bishops to have read was a Design upon their Persons as well as the Declaration was upon the Church and that the King professed himself to be of the Popish Religion which they believed and declared to be Idolatry in the worshipping Images and derogatory to God's Honour by Invocation of Saints whereby they grant to Creatures an Omniscience which is inseparable from God and only to be ascribed to him and that the King had owned the Papal Power which not only claims a Dominion over all Kings and Kingdoms to be at the Pope's disposal and who had declared the Church of England to be Heretical Schismatical and Sacrilegious Persons with whom no Faith is to be kept but had assumed a Power equal or superiour to God himself in dispensing with God's Laws and setting its own above them by sending his Ambassador to the Pope and receiving his Nuncio With what Conscience then could the Bishops approach God's Altars in their highest Acts of Devotion and in the Prayer for the Parliament declare to God that he is their most religious King and in the Litany to pray to God to keep and strengthen the King in the Worship of God or Religion which the King profest And how could they delare to God he is their most gracious Sovereign when he had imprisoned them for not submitting to his unlawful Will and had owned a Power which had declared them Hereticks Schismaticks and Sacrilegious Persons who were by all ways and means to be extirpated from the Face of the Earth Yet the Bishops by their Canonical Obedience were as much obliged hereto and to enjoin the Clergy in their respective Diocesses to offer these Praises to God as they were not to obey the King's Will by enjoining the King's Declaration of Indulgence to be read by all the Clergy in their Diocesses To this Dilemma had the flattering Church and State in King Charles the II's Reign tho intending it against the Presbyterians by their Act of Vniformity brought the Church and State too in the Reign of King James But lest this establishing of Popery should have no longer support than in the King's Life a new Miracle is to be added to the Legend for the next day after the Bishops were committed to the Tower the Queen was brought to Bed of a Prince of Wales so that now they had got a Prince of Wales and the Queen received the Consecrated Clouts and the Pope by his Nuncio is become God-father a Foundation so infallible is laid for exalting the Papal Chair and extirpating the Pestilent Northern Heresy that it's Heresy to doubt it But Man purposes and God disposes and in truth without God's special Assistance not only these Dominions of England Scotland and Ireland but all the Western Parts of Europe were not to be retrieved out of I may say even a desperate State for in England the King had a standing Army of above 20000 Men and the Whigs were but too forward to congratulate the King in his Designs and in humouring him in giving him up their Charters as the Tories in King Charles his Reign in their Abhorrences of the King 's calling a Parliament and as forward then as the Whigs now in surrendring their Charters The Protestant Army in Ireland not only disbanded by Tyrconnel and a Popish Army set up but the Protestants disarmed and Scotland so perfectly subdued that there the King 's Absolute Will without reserve must pass for Law The King of Spain so weak as not able to defend himself much less relieve others the Empire engaged in a War against the Turks in the East so as the Western Parts were in no Condition to repel the Impression the French should make upon it The Kingdoms of Sweden and Denmark remote and at such natural Enmity with one another that if one should side with France or England the other would engage against it and tho Holland were considerable elsewhere at Sea yet their Strength at Sea was inferiour to the English but much more in Conjunction of the French with the English However something must be done for Modesty in this State had been the highest Crime and of all Foreign Princes the Prince of Orange was most immediately concerned not only in the Oppression of the French King upon his Principality of Orange and the Dangers which threatned the Vnited Provinces by the swelling Grandeur of the French but by the King 's Arbitrary Proceedings in England for the Princess was the Presumptive Heir to the Crown of England and Scotland And since it is the Laws and Constitutions which erect these Nations into Kingdoms whereof the King is the Head then if the King destroys the Laws and Constitutions he is neither King nor the Princess of Orange Presumptive Heir to them besides since the King had assumed a Power of Dispensing with the Laws he might as well in Dispensing with the Succession and the Prince was well assured neither those about the King nor the Pope would much favour his or his Lady's Title to the Crown nor was the introducing the Prince of Wales into the World intended to have either the Prince or Princess come to the Crown of England The Prince of Orange thus injured by both these Kings and being denied the Benefit of any Humane Laws for redress has recourse to God and his Sword for relief and opposes the Justice of his Cause against the Potency of his Adversaries Nor does he take up his Sword to vindicate his own Rights only but for restoring the Kingdoms of England Scotland and Ireland to their antient Rights Laws and Privileges invaded by King James and to put a stop to the French King 's boundless Ambition and Tyranny in Murdering Ravaging and Destroying rather than making a War upon all his neighbouring Princes not dispossest and ruined by him A Design so great by so little a Prince as no less than a Divine Power could inspire him to such an Undertaking The Prince these two last years had several Conferences with the Electors of Brandenburg Saxony and the Princes of the House of Lunenburg and other Princes of Germany it 's believed in concerting Measures how to behave themselves against the Designs of these two Kings but the Results were so secret that I find no mention of them But how secret soever these Results were yet the Preparations to put them in Execution could be no Secret especially the Naval Preparations by Sea though the Dutch Ambassador assured the King they were not intended against him yet refused to communicate
the Design At this time there was not only a high Ferment in all the Nation against the King's Proceedings but in the Army against its mixture with Irish Officers and Soldiers which put the King into a great Agony which was increased by the Dutch Preparation Whereupon the Marquess d' Albeville the King's Envoy at the Hague upon the 2d of Sept. N. S. 23d of Aug. O. S. put in this Memorial to the States General High and Mighty Lords THE great and surprizing Preparations for War made by your Lordships by Sea and Land in a Season when all Action especially by Sea is laid aside giving just Cause of Surprize and Alarm to all Europe obliges the King my Master who has had nothing so much in his Mind since his Accession to the Crown as a Continuation of the Peace and Correspondence with this State to order the Marquess d' Albeville his Envoy Extraordinary to know your Highnesses Intentions thereby His Majesty as your antient Ally and Confederate believes it just to demand this Knowledg which he hoped with good Reason to have heard from your Ambassador but as he sees this Duty of Alliance and Confederation neglected and that such Power is raising without communicating the Intent in the least to him he finds himself obliged to reinforce his Fleet and to put himself in a Condition to maintain the Peace of Christendom The States paused upon an Answer to this Memorial when upon the 9th of September N. S. or the 30th of Aug. O. S. Monsieur d' Avaux the French Ambassador put in a Memorial to the States wherein he foolishly discovers the Contrivances which had been so long hatching between his Master and King James for after a long Story of his Master's Desire of maintaining the Peace of Europe now he had actually broke it he impertinently tells the States All these Circumstances and many others that I may not here produce perswade the King my Master with reason that this Arming threatens England Wherefore His Majesty hath commanded me to declare to the States on his Part that the Bonds of Friendship and Alliance between him and the King of Great Britain will oblige him the French King not only to assist him the King of Great Britain but also to look on the first Act of Hostility that shall be committed by your Troops and your Fleet against his Majesty of Great Britain as a manifest Rupture of the Peace and a Breach with his Crown Though the Dutch made no Answer to this Memorial yet they made no Bones to make this Answer to the Marquess d' Albeville's That they had armed in Imitation of his Britannick Majesty and other Princes and that they had thereby given no just Cause of Offence by arming when all other Princes were in Motion and that they were long since convinced of the Alliance which the King his Master had treated with France and what had been mentioned to them by Monsieur le Count d' Avaux in his Memorial This Answer King James took all one as if the Dutch had declared War against him and all the Eyes of England are now turned toward Holland as if from thence they expected Deliverance from the Designs of King James and his Popish Crew and the Fathers and Sons too of the Church of England are at as much Variance in their private and publick Prayers to God as Whig and Tory were in their Humours for in their private Prayers they pray for Prosperity to the Prince of Orange and in the Liturgy they pray that God would be King James's Defender and Keeper giving him Victory over all his Enemies God was pleased to prefer the private Prayers of the Church-men before those of the Church and to have granted both had been impossible and to put a hook into the French King's Nose who turned those Forces which he had raised not for the Peace and Tranquillity of Europe as d' Avaux said in his Memorial to the Dutch States upon the Empire where without any Declaration of War or Cause alledged he first fell upon Philipsburg which he took and after Heydelberg and Mainheim and while he was thus engaged he left the Prince of Orange free to vindicate his Cause against King James whereas if the French King had turned those Forces which he employed against the Empire upon the Spanish Netherlands and he might as justly have done this as that the Prince of Orange would have had little Force and less Leasure to have made any Attempt upon King James Thus God is pleased often to turn the Wisdom of the Crafty I will not say Wise into Folly and Destruction You have heard before how the French King in the beginning of the Year had sent out a Fleet to Canada whereupon the Company of Hudsons-Bay represented to the King their Apprehensions it was a Design upon their Factories and Plantations and so it succeeded for the French seized upon a Fort and Plantation of theirs called Fort Charles Towards the latter end of the Summer the King without the Knowledg of Hudsons-Bay Company entred into a Treaty of Commerce with his Brother of France in reference to the Trade of Canada wherein it was concluded that the Forts and Factories should be reciprocally enjoyed in the same state they were at the Conclusion of this Treaty the French having taken the Fort and Factory of Charles about three Months before So little did this King regard the Safety and Welfare of his Subjects wherein his Majesty and Honour was founded for to pleasure and endear his Brother of France from whom he expected mighty things for the Advancement of his Prerogative without reserve in England Scotland and Ireland Thus have I brought down the History of this King's Reign to the History of the Desertion where at large and particularly you may read how by a Wonder equal to King Charles his Coming in King James went out And if no human Prospect could have foreseen where the Tyranny of King Charles the I's Reign would have ended if the Long Parliament in 1640 had not put a full Stop to it so no uninterested Person was so purblind as not to see if the Heroick Magnanimity of this King in his Queen's his own and the Nation 's Right and for the common Safety of Christendom had not put a Stop to King James his Designs but the Popish Superstition and French Tyranny would have been imposed upon these Kingdoms and have overspread Christendom We admit these four Kings of the Scotish Race had an Hereditary Title to have governed England by the Laws and Constitutions of it yet no Hereditary King hath any higher Title nor any Man a Right to do Wrong and for an Hereditary King to govern otherways is a greater Tyranny than if an Usurper does by how much he adds Perfidiousness and Breach of his Trust to it Yet so it was that these four last Kings of the Scotish Race which should have been the Guardians of England in preserving the
Laws and Constitutions of it and to have maintained the Honour of it abroad made it their Business to have subverted them and being thereby always at Variance and Contentions with their Subjects lost their own and the Nation 's Honour abroad and by taking no Care of the foreign Concerns of the Nation became contemptible to other Nations Nay the last three Kings instead of restraining the French Ambition and Tyranny joined with them in advancing of them as if they designed to make the French King an Universal Monarch as well as to destroy the Constitutions of England And I would know a Reason why now his Majesty King William has by God's Blessing redeemed this Nation from the imminent Danger which the French King in conjunction with King James designed upon the Western Parts of Christendom as well as these Kingdoms of England Scotland and Ireland any Christian should endeavour or desire the Restitution of King James any more than the Primitive Christians did Dioclesian Maximiâ and Maxentius after God had freed them from their Rage and Persecution by Constantine APPENDIX MY Lord Bacon compares Times to Ways some more plain and easy to pass others more rugged and more hard to pass the former is better for him who lives in them the latter is better for the Reader not only in the Pleasure of reading the Variety of Accidents in them but because in their Contests fine Notions arise which otherwise might have been concealed and which may be beneficial to the Readers in succeeding Times and also in shewing the Causes of these Distempers succeeding Generations may be admonished hereby to prevent them in time to come In these Treatises we have given an Account of the manifold Varieties of Accidents which have hapned for above 80 Years in the Kingdoms of England Scotland and Ireland France Spain and the States of the Vnited Netherlands and though the Roman and Grecian Histories may give Instances of the like by Land yet none of them can shew the like of the French Grandeur by Sea in little more than forty Years but more especially in that this was acquired in the Face of two neighbouring Nations either of which could have prescribed Laws to all the World besides herein the one claiming the Dominion of the British Seas the other of the Indian and Southern Ocean On the other Side Spain which in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth was both the Envy and Dread of these Western parts of Christendom is now fallen into that abject State as it is scarce in the Power of Christendom to uphold it from falling under the Dominion of the French and this History in some Measure hath shewn the Causes both of the Grandeur of France and the Cadency of Spain To the natural Advantages which the French had above other Nations after the Death of Queen Elizabeth was added that James the first and Charles the first of England whose Interest it was to have restrained the ambitious and aspiring Humour of the French were degenerous Princes wholly given up to be governed by Flatterers and Favourites and made it their Business to usurp another Jurisdiction over the Nation than they could claim by their Inherent Birth-right so that if the Long Parliament in 1640 had not put a Stop to Charles his Career no mortal Creature could have foreseen where it would have ended King James not to disturb his licentious and voluptuous Pleasures stood only still and looking on whilst Lewis the 13th had near broke the Interest of the Reformed in France but Charles in the first Act of his Reign lent the French a Fleet to subdue the Rochellers at that time superior to Lewis by Sea and as inconsiderately in the second Year of his Reign made War with France having in the first Year made War against the Spaniard whereby both Spain and France joining against the English brought that Loss and Dishonour upon the English in the Expedition of the Isle of Rhee and Charles being as loose in his Resolutions as inconsiderate in his Actions after the Death of the Duke of Buckingham who had engaged him in both these Wars made a secret Peace with the French and left the Reformed out of it though he engaged them to join with him in the War whereby the whole Interest of the Reformed was rooted out So that the Original of the French Grandeur by Sea and Land may be truly ascribed to these two Hereditary Princes James and Charles After the Tyranny of Charles his Reign had degenerated into the Usurpations of the Rump they thinking to prejudice the Dutch made the Act of Navigation which crampt up all the foreign Trades of England and the fishing Trade which above all others is the Nursery of Seamen and encrease of Navigation to English-built Ships and sail'd with ¾ English whether there be Ships or Mariners or not and without any Consideration of Times whether of War or Peace Though we have in this History and in The Reasons of the Decay of the Strength Wealth and Trade of England and also in the View of the Act of Navigation in reference to the Laws which yet stand unrepealed to the Trades for Masts Rafters Boards foreign Oak Timber Pitch and Tar and to the Trades for rough Hemp and Flax and to the fishing Trades and also to the Safety of the Nation against Foreign Powers at large demonstrated the Iniquity of this Law and the dangerous Consequences of it yet it is fit even here to take some Notice of it and of the Navigation of the Nation before the Act and how the Case stands now by reason of it Before the Rump contrived the Act of Navigation the English as the Traders told me alone fished upon the Coasts of Iseland and Westmony for Ling and the Cod-fish called Haberdin and at that time the Town of Alborough in Suffolk as I was informed fished yearly to those Seas with 35 Sail of Vessels called Iselands-Barks and the Town of Sould or Southold with 15 and Great Yarmouth with manifold more the Number I cannot tell but this I can tell That besides London and other parts of Norfolk and Suffolk which they supplied with this sort of Fish as also the Navy Royal and other Ships with this sort of Provision the Town of Yarmouth yearly exported to Calice St. Valery Diep Havre de Grace St. Maloes Brest and other parts of France 150000 Haberdin and Ling and by their Trades with these returned Sails and Nets for their Navigation and Fisheries Wells and Lyn in Norfolk too drove Trades into these Seas but I am not informed in how many Vessels but I have heard the Inhabitants of Wells complain that they have almost lost their Trades and I belive Lyn wholly Before the Act of Navigation the English from the Western Ports drove threefold a greater Trade in the Newfound-Land Fishery than the French whereas the French now drive above twenty-fold more the Trade to Newfound-Land Fishery than the English do And I have
and found the Captain on Board and falling into discourse with him among other things I told him how scarce Timber was in Suffolk but I hoped it was not so in the West he told me it was much less there than in the East and that he was forced to get Timber for building the Frigat from beyond Worcester which was above fifty Miles from the Place yet the Forest of Dean between which Queen Elizabeth called one of the Nurseries of her Navy Royal. About five Years since one Captain Frame undertook to build two Men of War for the King and he bought Timber for building them in Norfolk and Suffolk near 20 Miles from Great Yarmouth from whence it was carried to Hull by Water to him and I have a Tenant in Suffolk who contracted about three Years since with Timber-Masters to be paid Sixteen Shillings a Load or Tun for carrying of the Timber for the Dock at Ipswich to build their Ships which is I am confident more than the Dutch pay for their Timber delivered at their Docks down the Rhine and Maes Objection But if the English buy Ships for the Foreign Vent of our Manufactures our Ship-Carpenters will be undone for want of Imployment Answer So here the Interest of Ship-Carpenters is opposed to the Interest and Safety of the Nation but if these built Ships as good and convenient as other Nations the Merchants would not look further but is there any reason because they cannot do it the Nation must be undone let them continue building Ships for New-Castle still and they know no better yet this is observable that though our English Builders in this Trade have had a Monopoly in it above these Hundred Years yet having no better Skill in it and being too wise to be instructed at last about six Years since they found out that it was better to build them somewhat longer yet these are the Artists our Merchants must trust to and no other I am confident that the French King understands the Advantages France reaps by the Act of Navigation and that this was the Reason King James in his last Declaration promised to observe this Act inviolably Expedient XIII That the foreign Vent of our English Manufactures and the Product of our Plantations be as free to the English in all Trades as they are to Spain and Italy When any Man shall give a rational Answer to any of those manifold Reasons given by 3 Jac. 6. for the Freedom of Trade to Spain c. I will recant all which hath been said in any of these Expedients or that there are not the same Reasons for the Freedom of the English in venting our Manufactures and Product of our Plantations in all our foreign Trades as well as to Spain except to Holland who by the Cheapness of their Navigation may vend them again cheaper in Muscovy all the Countries and Kingdoms within the Sound and also to Spain Portugal Italy and Turkey than the English can by their Navigation but this is yet but problematically said not granted But in case the English Navigation were as free and easy as it is in Holland then the Question would be at an End I do not speak this against the English trading in Consort or Companies for I know many Trades may be better carried on in Companies than by particular Men but against the Usurpation and Tyranny of Companies who because they trade therefore no other English shall and this I say that if Companies as the Turkey Company which of all others is least liable to Exception carry on their Trades best for the Interest of the Nation no particular Merchant could set up in competition with them but if they leave Room enough for the Dutch the French and Venetians to trade to Turkey with their Woollen Manufactures why should any English Merchant not of the Turkey Company be excluded herein yet these Trades free to other Nations The East-India Company by their Charter claim a Liberty of Trade exclusive to the rest of the Nation from the Cape of Good Hope to the North of China which if you take in both sides of the Red-Sea and Gulph of Persia and the Circuits of the Islands between the Cape of Good Hope and the North of China is above half the Circumference of the Earth So do the African Company from the Kingdom of Morocco to the Cape of Good Hope which if you take the Coast of Africa as it lies is more than a Quadrant of the Circumference of the Earth so that these two Companies claim a Trade exclusive to the English of above 3 4 of the Circumference of the Globe of the Earth and if they had Power as great as their Claim they might give Laws to all the Princes of the World as well as their poor fellow Subjects and it may be a Question whether they would use them better And is not the Hamburgh Company broke And have not the East-Country Company upon the matter lost our Trade into the Sound which within these sixty Years was the best Trade the English had for Woollen Manufactures in the World Expedient XIV That the Customs upon the French Wines consumed in England be 1 3 more than upon Portugal Spanish and Italian Wines whereas the Duties upon these are 1 3 more than upon the French because our Trades to Portugal Spain and Italy are beneficial Trades to the Nation which by the Abatement of these Duties may be increased whereas by the Ballance of our Trade with France taken in the eighth Year of King Charles the Second the Nation lost near a Million yearly in their Trade with France Expedient XV. That the Duties imposed upon Salt Wines and Brandies be paid by the first Buyer after they are imported and not the whole Cargo charged upon the Merchant so that what is not consumed may be exported again The Reason of this is that so much more as Ships are fuller fraught so much cheaper will the Navigation be not only of these but of all other Merchandize which compound the Fraight of the Ship and hereby the Dutch besides the Cheapness of their Ships by compounding their other Merchandize with Salt Wine and Brandies which they import cheaper than the English make all their Trades to Muscovy and all the Countries and Kingdoms within the Sound so much more easy and cheap as their Vessels are more full fraught by these Objection If Salt Wines and Brandy imported may be exported again the King will lose his Customs Answer I say not at all for how do they do in Holland and by the 4 Jac. 2. the additional Duties upon Tobaccos and Sugars are paid by the first Buyers and by charging the whole Cargo these are damned to a Consumption here in England and if you did not the King shall be paid for all that is consumed On the contrary I say the King is more secured of his Duties hereby than if the whole Cargo be charged for let the Penalty stand that
against the Lords Jurisdiction in Appeals from Chancery 502 504. Their Bills to prevent the French Designs c. 503 555. Address the King for a League with the Dutch 505. Their Votes for disbanding the Army 536. for the King's Safety 539. against the Tories c. 552. concerning the Revenue 558 559. Confederates their Success against the French 504. Complain to our King of the French Ravages 513. Exclaim against the separate Peace 529. Convention act hand over head in restoring Charles II. c. 423 424. Sent him 50000 l. 425. Convocation frame an Oath to preserve the Church and grant the King a Benevolence 273 367. Cooke Rob. a Pythagorean his manner of living c. 664. Cornish Alderman his hard Vsage is murder'd 622 624. Corporation-Oath see Oaths Corporations unjust in excluding Foreigners 27 658. Cotton Sir Rob. his Advice to the King 199 200. Covenant see Scots Covenanters rise in Scotland their Proclamations c. 542. Their Actions are routed 543. Coventry Lord-Keeper his Speech on the King's behalf 184. Mr. Henry breaks the Triple-League is made Secretary of State 477 478. Offers to sell his Place 514. Cowel his Interpreter incenses the Commons 59 60. Croke Judg a remarkable Story of him 259. Cromwel Lord his Letter to Buckingham 157. Oliver his Pedigree and Character how he rais'd himself 301 302. Designs against him 303 305. His first Success and Loss 310. Treats with the King his Ambition therein 322 323. Intercepts the King's Letters 323. Storms Drogheda and reduces all Ireland 344. Is declar'd General of all the Forces his Success against the Scots 345 346. and at Worcester 346. Contrives how to set up himself 348 358 361. Summons several great Men about settling the Nation with their Opinions 348 349. Furiously dissolves the Rump with Remarks thereon 362 363. His first Manifesto to the Nation 370. Summons a Council to govern the Nation his Speech to them 372 373. Gets rid of 'em 377 378. Appoints another Council is declar'd Protector his Instrument of Government with Remarks 379 380. Treats with the Dutch his Design against the Pr. of Orange 381 382. His Selfishness c. 383 387. His pretended Parliament and Speech to 'em 385. Is highly disgusted and dissolves 'em 386. Makes an unjust War with Spain with the ill Success of it 387 388. Assists the French against them 389 390 401. His Ways to raise Money 392. Is ill belov'd under great Disquietudes his Misfortune by a Coach 397 402. His third Parliament 398. His House of Lords 399. Is attempted to be kill'd ib. Compar'd with the greatest Tyrants 399 401. His fourth Parliament 401. His ill Success at Ostend 402. His Army of Volunteers and Death 403. His good Deeds 404 405. Rich. declar'd Protector 405. Has 90 Congratulatory Addresses presented him 406. Recogniz'd by his Parliament which he is forc'd to dissolve and thereupon is depos'd 407 408. D. DAnby Earl impeach'd by the Commons 536 538. Dangerfield discovers the Meal-tub-Plot is vilified by the Chief Justice 546. His Trial barbarous Punishment and Death 638. Dean Admiral slain by the Dutch 371. Sir Anth. sent into France to build Ships 497. Delinquents first use of the Word 274. Denbigh Earl sent to relieve Rochel but did not 225. Derby Earl routed and beheaded 347. Deserters hang'd against Law 643. Dewit John his Character and Actions 484 485. He and his Brother assassinated by the Mob 487. Digby Earl of Bristol his noble Character and severe Charges against Buckingham 109 110 118 137 187. His Ruin design'd by the Prince and Buckingham his Defence of himself is recall'd from Spain 119 138 139. Refuses the K. of Spain's generous Offers 120. His Reasons for his Proceedings in Spain 128 129. Is confin'd and petitions the King 139 175 185. Petitions the Lords for his Writ whereon 't is sent him 186. Is accus'd by the King c. ib. Is committed to the Tower 192 193. Follow'd Charles I. in all his Adversity 193. Discords in Religion often arise from Kings 17. Dispensing Power see James II. Dissenters a Bill for their Ease past the Commons but fiting out by the Lords 490. Fierce Laws against them in Scotland ib. Severâly persecuted by the King and Tories 587. Too forward to address K. James 642 647. Dover Treaty 474. Dumbar Fight 345. Dunkirk sold to the French 429. Dutch declar'd Free States 26 61 339. Much in our Debt 32 33 54. Pay Tribute for fishing 32 61. Get their vast Debt remitted and their Cautionary Towns 80 81. What they detain'd from the English 115 121 249 250 338. Dispute the Sovereignty of the Seas with the English 244 c. Refuse a Coalition with England 350 374. Their Engagements at Sea with the Rump 351 354 356 371 372. Their pretended Excuses c. therein 351 352 358 372. Animate Cromwel against the Rump 361 371. Are in great Confusion 374. Their advantageous Theaty with Cromwel 383. Court Charles II. to a League 426. An Account of their former Encroachments c. 450 452. Their double-dealing 452. Their Engagements at Sea with Charles II. 457 461. Enter the River and burn our Ships 468. Get a beneficial Peace with K. Charles 469. yet their Smirna Fleet set upon send Deputies to the English and French Kings 478 479. whose Fleets they rout 481. Recapitulation of their History 482 483. Make a separate Peace with France 523 527. Complain to the English Court of the French 524. Assist the Pr. of Orange in saving these Nations 649. Their Answer to Albeville's Memorial 650. E. EAst-India Company incorporated by Cromwel 338. Edghill Battel there doubtful 296. Education of Youth 23 240 448 665. Egerton Lord Chanc. refuses to sign Somerset's Pardon 76. Eikon Basilike disown'd by Charles II. 425. Elector Palatine see Frederick Elizabeth Queen forbid French and Dutch building Ships 30. Granted the Dutch Licence to fish 32. Her sharp Answer to them 33. Allow'd K. James in Scotland a Pension 34. Elliot Sir John against the Court 189 213 231. Information against him in Star-Chamber 234 235. Essex Earl the Parliament's General 296 297 303. His ill Success 307. Lays down his Commission 310. Essex Earl murder'd in the Tower 601 602. Exchequer shut up by the King and his Cabal 478. F. FAirfax Sir Tho. for the Parliament 298 300 306. Is made General 310. Lord favours Monk 412 414 416. Falkland Lord slain his Character 299. Felton stabs Buckingham 225. Is threatned with the Rack 227. Finch Sir Joh. refuses to put any Question concerning Grievances with Remarks thereon 229 230 232. Is made Chief Justice and complies with the King 's illegal Actions 253. Made Lord-Keeper 266. Sir Heneage made Lord Chancellor c. 492 493. His Veracity Speeches 493 501. Fines excessive granted the Duke of York 602. Fire of London with Notes upon it 461 462. Fishing Trade and fishing on our Coasts 32 61 83 87 243 364 376 390 391 450 653 654 675 676 679. Increases Navigation 390 676. Fitton an infamous
Person made Chancellor of Ireland 641. Fitz-harris his Plot against the Dissenters 562 564. Is committed to Newgate but his Discovery prevented 564 588. Is tried and hang'd against the express Votes of the Commons 591. Five-mile-Act against Dissenters 458. Design'd to be reviv'd by the Lords with Remarks thereon 501 502. Flanders overrun by the French 470. Fleetwood made General 408. Is advis'd to bring in the King 415. Foreigners to be naturaliz'd and otherwise encourag'd 556 607 608 674 675. but kept out of our American Trades 660. France how bounded 11 28. It s Grandure owing to the Stuarts 160 480 496 498 651 652. It s Success against Spain 256. Franche County invaded 473. Frederick the Palsgrave marries the Princess Elizabeth 67. Has no Relief from his Father-in-law 93 94 95. Enters Prague with an Army 93. Totally routed and retires into Holland 95. Goes to his Army in Disguise 107. which is routed 108. Takes the Covenant and has a Pension from our Parliament 309. Free Ports 679 680. French routed at Sea by the English 354 378. Look'd on while the English and Dutch fought 492. Beat Spaniards and Dutch at Messina 503. Endeavour a separate Peace with the Dutch 509 511. Their Imperiousness 521. Wheedle the English and Dutch 522 529. French King breaks the Pyrenean Treaty 427 428 471. Expels the English out of S. Christophers 460. Pretends to join the Dutch 461. Breaks his Word with the Irish 472 533. Procures the Triple League to be broke 474 484. Sets out a Fleet against the Dutch 475. Declares War to propagate the Catholick Cause 477. His Perfidiousness c. 484 498 604. His Success and Ravages on the Rhine Netherlands c. 485 487 505 513 524 530. Makes Prize of English Ships 498. Endeavours to break the Confederacy 509. His Promise to the States reflected on 523. Falls upon the Empire without declaring War 650. and the English Factories at Canada 644 650. Impolitick in his Persecution 657 662. G. GLemham Sir Tho. for the King 313 316. Godfrey Sir Edmundbury murder'd 533 534. Goodman Bp of Glocester suspended at Mountague's Instigat 273. Grievances increas'd by Intervals of Parliament 49 61. Grotius for the Arminians 121. His Mare âiberum answer'd at large 244 252. Gundamor Spanish Ambassador here his Character 98. Guthry Mr. James imprison'd and beheaded 443 444. H. HAmbden refuses to pay Ship-Money 258. Is prosecuted 259. Is routed 298. Hamilton Marquess sent to quiet the Covenanters 264. Marches into England on behalf of the King and is routed 326. Is executed 342. Harman Sir John his great Danger in the Dutch Fight 459 460. Beats the French Fleet in America and reduces Surinam 468. Haslerig Sir Arthur against the Army 409. Hatton Lady refuses to part with Hatton-House 274 275. Hayton Capt. his noble Act against the French at Sea 378. Hemp and Flax 677. Henry IV. of France his Character 28 29 67. His great Design prevented by his Death 29 66 67. Henry Pr. of Wales his memorable Sayings and noble Character 65 66. Suspected to be poison'd and why 66 79. Herbert Sir Edw. sent Ambassador to France is misrepresented but boldly offers to clear himself 96. Hewet Dr. put to Death by Cromwel 403. Hide Lord Chancellor vindicated concerning the Sale of Dunkirk and the Match with Portugal 429 430. His Fall and Character 470. High Court of Justice see Rump Holland privately seeks a Peace with the Rump with their canting Letter to 'em 356 357. Agree to exclude the Pr. of Orange 382. Holmes Sir Rob. falls upon the Smirna-Fleet 478. Colonel his suffering in the West a remarkable Story 621. Hotham Sir John conven'd before the Council 267. Keeps Hull for the Parliament 279 294. but after endeavours to deliver it up to the King 299. for which he and his Son lose their Heads 300. Hubert hang'd for firing the City to prevent a Discovery 462. Hungary commended its Story 89 90. Huntley Marquess loses his Head 316. I. JAmes I. his Arbitrary Act at Newark 35. Prodigal of Proclamations 35 48. Caress'd by all especially the Dutch ib. Glories in his Birth-right c. 34 38 51. Historical Remarks thereon 38 47. His profane Swearing and Drinking 36 71 151. Hates the Puritans and is highly flatter'd by the Bishops 37. His Arbitrary Proclamation at calling his first Parliament 50. Quarrels with the Commons about deciding an Election 52. Le ts the K. of Spain raise Forces in his Dominions 54. Monopolizes the Trade to Spain and Italy 56. Is excessive prodigal to his Favourites 59 62 77. Afraid to demand what 's due from the Dutch 60 71 121. His Ways of raising Money out of Parliament 62 106. Invades the Privileges of Parliament 72. His loathsom way of kissing his Favourites 78. Much impos'd on by the Dutch 80 81. Treats of a Marriage for his Son with the Infanta 86 98 100. Commits all to Villiers 87 98. Is contemn'd by the Dutch 87. by France and Germany 97. by the Spaniards with Lampoons 109. Hates Parliaments 88. Huffs his Parliament in a Letter to the Speaker 99. His long Invective against them 100 102. Annuls the Commons Protestation and dissolves them by an Arbitrary Proclamation 104. Imprisons several Members and the Earl of Southampton 104 105. His Arbitrary Charge to the Judges 105. His fickle and perplex'd State at breaking off his Son's Match 114 115 156. Resolves to fall in with Parliaments 115 125. Pretends no favour for Papists 126 145. His Speech on behalf of Buckingham and doting on him 136 137. His weak Letter to the French King on account of his Son's Match 140 141. His Speech to the Lords of the French Council 145. His Death which seem'd suspicious 147. His Character 106 107 148 152. Could meet Popery half way 148. Charg'd his Son to call Parliaments often 156. James II. while Duke of York engages the Dutch 457 480 481. His two Sons die 468 476. Is propos'd to the Arch-Dutchess of Inspruck but married to the Princess of Modena 476 477. His Designs against England in conjunction with France 500 502. The Commons Votes against him 541 557. Is sent Commissioner into Scotland 545 568. His Actions there 570. His Designs against the Earl of Argyle 575 c. His rude Answer to him 585. Has 22000 Scots ready to assist him 604. His Declaration to the Privy-Council on his being King 609 610. which he often broke 610 613 617 620 624. Takes the Customs and Excise before given him 610 614. His unparallel'd Cruelty 613 620 623 638. His vast Revenue 615 617 618. His ridiculous Pardon 622. His Proceedings in Ireland 624 625 632 641. His Favour to the Papists 625 626 632. Gets Judges to declare for his Dispensing Power with Reflections thereon 630 632 642. Grants a Commission of Ecclesiastical Affairs 633 c. Toleration in Scotland 641. and Liberty of Conscience in England which is descanted on ib. Keeps a standing Army in time of Peace 642 643. Orders his Declaration of
Service and that all the Bishops in their respective Diocesses should take care to have this done accordingly The Bishops who knew the Declaration of Indulgence was designed to conjoin the Protestant Dissenters with the Popish to ruin the Established Church easily foresaw that the Order to them was to pick a Quarrel with them for the King might have ordered it to be read without as well as by them And besides the Injustice of it it was deemed an undecent thing that the Fathers of the Church in time of Divine Setvice should be the Instruments to give a Liberty to all whether they should come to Divine Service or not Besides the Bishop of London who stood suspended thes Bishops viz. the Archbishop of Canterbury the Bishops of Bath and Wells Ely Peterborough Chichester St. Asaph and Bristol were in or about the Town and this Order of Reading the Declaration in Churches was served upon them The Bishops in a humble Petition to the King gave their Reasons in Writing but so cautiously that after it was drawn up they would let no other Man see it before they presented it why they could not comply with the Order of Council The Chancellor tho he thought his Commission big enough to suspend the Bishop of London and Vice-Chancellor of Cambridg and expel the Master and Fellows of Magalen College in Oxford yet it seems did not think it sufficient to suspend these Bishops and therefore advised the King 't was said to try them upon an Information of High Misdemeanour in the King's Bench and in order to it they were committed Prisoners to the Tower Accordingly the Bishops were tried in the King's Bench in Trinty Term following upon an Information of High Misdemeanour for their Petition to the King but how secure soever the King and Chancellor thought themselves of the Judges and tho Sir Robert Wright who was Chief Justice and Sir Richard Allibone a known Papist were two of them yet they were not all of a Piece for Mr. Justice Powel both learnedly and stoutly defended the Bishops Cause If we look down to the Bar we shall see as strange a mixture as in the Bench for the late Attorney-General Sawyer and Solicitor Finch who were so zealous to find my Lord Russel Colonel Sidney and Mr. Cornish c. guilty of High Treason and for Surrender of Charters now they are turned out are as zealous for the acquittal of the Bishops and the then Solicitor-General of a most zealous Prosecutor of Abhorrers and Searcher into the bottom of the Popish Plot as zealous for finding their Misdemeanour However the Jury acquitted the Bishops Unless it were when Monk came into the City the 12th of February 1659-60 and Colonel Cloberry told the Citizens at Guild-Hall they should have a free Parliament or when King Charles came into London the 29th of May following never were such loud Acclamations of Joy exprest as upon the Acquittal of the Bishops nor did the Bounds of the City terminate this Joy but it flew like Lightning to Hounslow Heath where the King would be present to see the Army exercised wherein he trusted more than in Justice and Righteousness to accomplish his Design It seems the King was treated that Day by my Lord of Feversham General of the Army in his Tent when the News of the Bishops Acquittal arrived at the Army which entertained it with a general Shout the King 't was said was startled at it and sent the Earl to enquire the Cause the Earl in return told the King 't was nothing but the Souldiers Joy for the Acquittal of the Bishops And call you that nothing replied the King who was much discomposed upon it and well he might for now he saw how little Confidence was to be imposed in the Army he so much relied upon It 's a Duty incumbent upon Mankind to honour and worship God and give him Thanks for the Benefits received from him and to petition and pray to him for continuance of them Next after God it 's the Duty of all Subjects to honour the King for the Benefits they receive by his Justice and Protection and to petition and pray Relief from him for Oppressions and Injuries which cannot be redressed by the ordinary Course of Law or where the Ministers of the Law either cannot or refuse to do Justice It 's therefore the Wisdom of our Constitution that Parliaments frequently meet not only to receive Petitions against Oppressions or Injuries received which were not or could not be redressed by the King's Ministers of the Law but also to correct and punish the King's Ministers themselves if they transgressed or neglected their Duty But tho frequent Parliaments are the most proper Expedients for the Subjects herein yet oftentimes Accidents may be which will not stay for relief by Parliament as in Case of the Bishops In May they are ordered to have the King's Declaration of Indulgence read in all Churches and Chappels of their respective Diocesses and to do it and to give no Reasons why they could not do it would have been a manifest Contempt of the King's Authority they could not do it either in Honour or Conscience and by an humble Petition and Address represent this to the King and for ought appeared then the King never intended to call another Parliament till he had modelled them as much to his Will as Cromwel did Barebone's Parliament This Petition is made a High Misdemeanour and the Bishops committed upon it and Father Petre the Club of Jesuits the Attorney and Solicitor-General Graham Burton c. are all plotting how to make it so So as now the Kingdom is without all hopes of a free Parliament and yet it is a High Misdemeanour to address to or petition the King And that this Order upon the Bishops to enjoin the Reading of the King's Declaration for Indulgence was a Design upon their Persons as well as upon the Church is apparent for after their Acquittal Orders from the Commissioners of Ecclesiastical Affairs were sent into all parts of England to return an Account to the Lord Chancellor of those that refused to read the Declaration of Indulgence that they might be proceeded against for their Contempt but the Reign and Rage of these Commissioners was too hot to last long and now let 's see what return of Praises and Thanksgivings the Bishops can make to God for their Deliverance God requires Truth in the inward Parts and that it should govern all the Intentions Speech and Actions of every Man in his Conversation with Man yet more in his Prayers and Petitions to God and if it be an High Crime of Hypocrisy to speak or act contrary to a Man's Knowledg or Belief for the end designed thereby is to deceive another though God cannot be deceived it 's a greater Crime to approach his Omniscience with Prayers and Petitions contrary to a Man's certain Knowledg or firm Belief I take it for granted that the Bishops understood the King's Declaration