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A27382 The loyalty of the last Long Parliament, or, A letter to an English gentlemen at Florence shewing that the late Parliements address'd against did not so much intrench on the prerogative as that of XVIII years continuance, of whom His Majesty said \"never any king was so happy in a House of Commons as I in this,\" King's Answer, 20 Febr. 1663. T. B. 1681 (1681) Wing B187; ESTC R5136 12,054 22

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THE LOYALTY OF THE LAST Long Parliament OR A LETTER TO AN English Gentleman AT FLORENCE SHEWING That the late Parliaments Address'd against did not so much Intrench on the PREROGATIVE as that of XVIII YEARS Continuance of whom His Majesty said NEVER any KING was so happy in a House of Commons as I in this King's ANSWER 20 Febr. 1663. LONDON Printed for Francis Smith Senior 1681. THE LOYALTY OF THE LAST Long Parliament And their APPROVERS In a LETTER to an English Gentleman at Florence SIR I Received yours of Sept. 1. Stilo Novo wherein you are pleased to discover to me your Sentiments concerning the state of the Parties among us and the division of Minds about publick Affairs whence I readily perceive how obnoxious you that live in Popish Countries are to Mis-informations and False-conceptions of the state of your own Country For whilst you take your Measures either from publick Prints or private Letters written either by the Popish or Yorkian Party and such are all that are brought over and entertain'd by the Men of Intelligence where you are You are altogether as unable to give a right Judgment as he that determines a Cause having heard only one Party Hence it is you imagine that we here are now again divided in our Minds and Actings relating to Government just as we were forty years ago and that they are the same Men or those that succeed in the same Principles that are now prosecuting the same Ends even the alteration of Government both in Church and State and instead of Episcopacy and Monarchy to introduce Presbytery and Democracy Indeed it cannot be wonder'd that you who have liv'd so many years out of your own Country amongst strangers should harbour such conceits when even here where men have such plentiful means of true Information the Popish and Mercenary Agents working upon Prejudice in some Malice Envy and Revenge in others Jealousie in one sort and affectation of Prudence in another Prevail with many to forget Coleman's Letters Sir Edmundbury Godfrey's Murder and the Tryal of my Lord Stafford much more the dreadful Burning of London the the two Armies one of 73 the other of 78. The Declaration of Indulgence the Popish Designs of Clifford the Impeachment of Danby and the Popish Lords by divers Parliaments the many Sham-plots especially that discover'd by Dangerfield or the Meal-tub Plot the Subornation of Witnesses to take away the Life of the Duke of Buckingham and Dr. Oates by odious Accusations the Assassination of Justice Arnold and Attempts to corrupt Bedlow and others not to speak of the Tryal and Judgment given and executed upon Coleman and upon Godfrey's Murderers and upon the Jesuits and many other things which demonstratively prove the Plot of introducing Popery and Slavery into these Nations or in Coleman's own phrase Of utter subduing a pestilent Heresie c. And according to my Lord D. of Governing without a Parliament It cannot be wonder'd at I say that such as you should falsly conceive of the State of these Kingdoms But if you will have the patience to look a little back upon some few things that are past and compare them with things present you will easily perceive that it is not some factious men of Commonwealth Principles nor the Clamours of Non-conformists against Popery and Arbitrariness that forms the discontented and agrieved People among us but it is in truth the old and loyal Friends of the KING RELIGION and GOVERNMENT of England such as assisted His Majesty and his Royal Father in their Wars and Councels and the Successors and Adherents of such who constitute the Bulk of the substantial Men and Protestants in the Nation with whom the Dissenters joyn and fall in These are the men who for these nine or ten years last past have seen and set themselves against the Popish and Arbitrary Designs carried on by Cabal Councels and Parasites Indeed the Discovery of the horrid Popish Plot and Treasons did open the eyes of many who would not see these mischievous Designs till they had a Meridian Light That this is the Naked Truth will appear plainly to you if you consider with what earnest desire joy and applause His Majestry was restored to his Crown was ever any people so transported with Joy and Triumph as the people of England Insomuch that even those who where obnoxious to and suffered Capital Punishments afterwards were lull'd into a hope of Impunity by the universal Congratulation Then as soon as might be was the King 's Long Parliament call'd whilst the people was in this passion and they chose to be sure those especially whom they apprehended most grateful to the King and his Prerogative and most averse to the Principles and Practices of foregoing times This appear'd in all the Votes Addresses and Bills of that Parliament for many years wherein they set themselves with all their skill to assert the King's Power and Authority against Parliamentary Pretensions and had almost rais'd his Revenue to such a prodigious height that he should never need Supplies from his People They were so fully addicted to please the King that he Answ 20 Fe● 1663. says Never any King was so happy in a House of Commons as He in this And surely he judg'd aright concerning them if the King's happiness consist in the Parliaments Concurrence with Cabinet Dictates Notwithstanding the Gentlemen of this House began after the dreadful Burning of London which to a Committee of their House was prov'd by many shrewd Evidences to be done by contrivance of the Papists to make Addresses against the Papists to repress their Insolencies But in the Year 1672 after the Plotters had procur'd the Exchequer to be shut up and the Properties of many Thousands of the People in it and that the Tripple League which cost the people so great Sums of Money in favour of it was dissolv'd and a War against Holland in Conjunction with France was commenc'd and the penal Laws against Papists and Dissenters dispenc'd with by Declaration the Commons in Parliament saw clearly which way they were driving and therefore as soon as they were permitted to sit Addrest the King against that Declaration of Indulgence informing Him That penal Statutes in matters Ecclesiastical cannot be suspended but by Act of Parliament And though ●●br 4. ●672 His Majesty tell them in answer That they question His Power in Ecclesiasticks which he finds not done in the Reign of any of his Ancestors Yet they reply That his Majesty hath been very much misinformed since no such Power was ever claim'd or exercis'd by any of his Predecessors In fine His Majesty was induced to cancel that Declaration and declare it should be no President for the future Hereupon I would gladly ask our Boasters of Loyalty and Exclaimers against the late Parliaments excepting open and secret Papists for whose Interest this Indulgence was procur'd whether they approv'd of what the King did or of what the Parliament did in this
stand upon his justification and put himself upon his Tryal but pleads his Majesties pardon thereby implicitely confessing his guilt And that is of the highest nature that can be no less then subverting the antient and well established Form of Government in this Kingdom and introducing an Arbitrary and Tyranical way of Government But that which is more to my purpose is the consideration of the persons that exhibit this charge I have told you already who they were such a House of Commons so Loyal so oblig'd in Interest and Affections to Prerogative so abominating all Principles and pretences against it or that may seek to intrench upon it as never can a better on that account be expected in England now if this House find such horrid Crimes in Court-councellors And if the three Parliaments we have had since have but proceeded in the same Methods which this Parliament took and led them into then the inference from these Premises are very Obvious as 1. That the Court is in the Opinion of the Kings best Subjects and Friends liable to be abus'd by not only ill and hurtfull but by treasonous and destructive Councels 2. That which is the thing I under took to shew you not only the best the wisest the loyalest but the Body of the Nation is of this mind and will ever be so as there is great reason to conclude 3 That they who would perswade His Majesty and the People that the actions of the late Parliament which are but the same or of the very same Nature with those of this Long Parliament are irrugelar factious seditious injurious to the Kings Prerogative and the Government do in plain consequence find fault with the constitution of the Government and legislative Power of England by King Lords and Commons and desire and endeavour the subverting of it That the Body of the People the loyalest and most substantial part of the Nation is thus minded and will in reason alwaies be so appears from the Nature of the Long Parliament and the continuance of it and the Successors of it For that Parliament continued about 18 years and we have had three since in these 3 years and all agreeing in the same Councels in opposition to Court Councels and actings Now if the People can never be expected in any circumstances to be better inclin'd to chuse a Prerogative Parliament than they were at the choice of that and that the Parliaments since have been of the same temper and judgment and this for 21 years 3 lives of single persons how can it be imagin'd we should ever have a more Prerogative Parliament And then my third Inference follows that they who Inveigh against these Parliaments do in true construction inveigh against the constitution of Parliaments in England and desires the Subversion of the Government For if all the Individuals be naught the Species must needs be naught which subsists in these Individuals If all Parliaments that have been these threescore years have been in these mens Opinion seditious and injurious to the Kings Rights and are ever like to be so surely there ought to be a Reformation for injury ought not to be done to the Kings Rights and there remains no way to remedy this but the alteration of the antient English constitution and either to throw off Parliaments wholly or to reduce them to the present State of the French Parliaments that they may not dare to oppose or not to affirm and ratifie every of the Kings Edicts or according to the Scoth Oracle Duke Lauderdale That the Kings Edicts are not only equal to Laws but ought to be obeyed in the first place Now I hope Sir you cannot imagine that the Body of the People can be weary of their Old English Government or that any but such as I spoke of at first persons obxnoious to the Justice of Parliaments their Friends and Favourers Deputies the envious and revengeful Papists or indifferent to any Religion or those that hate all that are not of their minds or whose Interest it is to desire a French Government together with some dull Spirits that think it the only way to peace and quietness yield up all to Court-councels of what kind so ever such as these are the Party the Faction the Clamorers against the late Parliaments and in them against all English Parliaments whatsoever Here Sir I that to have concluded having in my Opinion said enough to shew that the present Lovers of Parliament Councels are both the greatest part or body of the Kingdom which appears from their choice of Representatives for the Commons in Parliament do best speak the Voice of the people and also the most loyal and true Lovers of His Majesty and the English Government but I crave your leave to add some more things that occur to my mind in reference to this matter And you may remember if at least you were then in England that in the Year 75. there was a great Contest between the Lords House and the House of Commons about Priviledges insomuch that the Lords enter'd into a Debate and put the Question Whether they should Petition His Majesty to dissolve that Parliament and call a new one which had been carried in the Affirmative if they had decided it by the greater number of Lords then present at the Debate but they but they call'd in the Aid of Voices by Proxy and so concluded it Negatively thereupon the affirming Lords make Protestation against it and give their Reasons which Reasons and many other Objections against the continuance of that Parliament were answered in a Pamphlet intituled A Packet of Advices to the Men of Shaftsbury which tho' it was written by a mercenary Pen yet there 's no doubt that I ever heard of it's being written at the Instigation of the then Lord Treasurer and contains as high praises of that Parliament as can be given I 'le instance but in one or two passages pa. 15. A Parliament saith that Author which hath had the honour to re-settle the Crown and Kingdom after it had by a wonderful hand of God been but newly rescu'd out of the ruines of a late Rebellion a Parliament that hath done perhaps more for the preservation of this well-temper'd Monarchy than many other of the best Parliaments put together ever did before and I may boldly say because it can be prov'd by Instances of Fact that they have done more towards the containing of Monarchy Power in its just bounds than any Parliament ever did that may be counted to have been the most popular and publick hearted And p. 56. the generality of this House of Commons are known to be men of the best Quality and of Estates and of the best Vnderstanding they understand what the true Interest of the Crown is and as they have ever been so they still are right and firm to it and the Government This was the Earl of D. judgment of this House in those days but when they came to