Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A47752
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Querela temporum, or, The danger of the Church of England in a letter from the Dean of ----- to ----- Prebend of.
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Leslie, Charles, 1650-1722.
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1694
(1694)
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Wing L1142; ESTC R7679
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24,869
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29
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had been left to their own Inclinations For when the College of Justice in Edenburgh and others in whom remain'd what was left of any Right to Govern after King James quitted England and before any other Establishment was Fram'd took Arms against this murdering Rabble in the Defence of the Episcopal Clergy and Themselves for such an Inundation threatened All a Proclamation came out from the Prince of Orange commanding All to lay down their Arms. This was obey'd by the College of Justice and the rest of the Episcopal Party as thinking it tending towards Peace and Settlement But not at all by the others Saying they knew it was not intended against Them And accordingly made use of it their Enemies being thus Disarm'd to commit more insolent Barbarities against the Clergy than before And in Reward for their Zeal were not only continu'd in Arms but made the Guard of the Convention which soon after met under their Gracious Protection and acted by their Influence Theirs who thought it Merit and the Cause of God to assassinate the Archbishop of St. Andrews on the High-way and declared it their Principle to murther by whatever means every Bishop and every King and Man who took their part Theirs who for Declaring and Acting pursuant to such Diabolical Principles though All the Genuine Effects of their common Mother the Covenant were out of meer Shame disown'd by other their Pharisee Brethren of the Presbyterians for throwing off the Sheeps Cloathing and acting the Wolf so plainly and above Board For Abdicating not only the Simplicity of the Dove but the Prudence of the Serpent of whom they retain'd nothing but the Sting And who could have any other thought than that Episcopacy was Reserved only for Execution when it was placed under such Cameronian Guards And when the most Violent and Bigotted Phanaticks were made the Principal Ministers of State But who was it chose those Ministers That must be the Kings Inclination He chose them according to his own Inclinations and then took their Word for the Inclinations of the People And can we think his Inclinations are different in England otherwise than as Reason of State moves him The Experiment must Begin in Scotland And according to the Success there the Measures are to be taken here And do we not see the same Measures taken here though perhaps in somewhat a slower March Has not a certain great Man of an Interest very contrary to that of the Church one whose Treachery towards it has made him an irreconcilable and inveterate Enemy to it been brought from behind the Curtain where he acted so much Mischief unseen and now in a manner publickly set upon the Stage Has he not acted indeed as one desperate and that knows himself unsafe under any thing but a Fanatick Party established in both Kingdoms as one that can hope for no forgiveness from another Interest which he has so perfidiously treated and where all those that are leading and respected Men know him so well have felt him and are sure neither to be imposed upon by him more nor ever to forget what he has done to the Church and against them as the Patrons of it Have we not seen how things have turn'd since this Was not not the whole Ministry changed to bring in that Gang How had such a Fellow as Jack Trenchard or Somers been hoisted upon a sudden where they now are but meerly on this Accompt that they only were thought deep enough in a Fanatick Interest to caâ—ry on this Design and to support this new Foundation of some great Men who must make good what they are engaged in and secure themselves by thorow work or soon fall and come to that end which they deserve My Lord Nottingham a Man who they offer to reproach with nothing but his Fidelity to our Church and his constant Care of its Interest one of such allow'd Capacity Vigilancy and indefatigable Diligence in his Office and of such known Fidelity to the Crown and this Government such a Man as this we see of a sudden removed and without any reason given but what is thus plainly left for any one to infer thrust out of his Employment disgraced and driven at as one ready to be Impeached which Design it was no great wonder to see carried on under such as could not prevent their being themselves Impeached were the Government as it ought to be or the Church restored to that Place which it ought to have and which one may very justly say it must have unless Monarchy be design'd for Ruin The Justification which the Parliament last Year gave to the Admirals after the most malitious and false Aspersions imaginable did not hinder their being thrown out with all the Disgrace that could be put upon them At least those Two that were the Chief and chiefly noted for their Firmness to the Church were so served What are the rest of the Changes in the Admiralty and every where else What are the Russels and the Whartons that are now in such Credit and have their Friends every where advanced Who knows not the Cabal at Court and that Lord Sh who first went out of Court upon this bottom and is now returned again upon the same is of this Confederacy and both too early and too deeply engaged with this Party to be a Head or a leading Man any where else Our Friends are shifted out apace And now openly and above Board there have been new Regulations of all the Commissions of the Peace and Militia through England of the Lieutenancy of London the Customs c. on purpose to fill all with the Fanatical and Whiggish Tribe who have out-grown us and are too many for us in all Places of Trust and Profit * Either professed and open Dissenters or the more dangerous Church Fanaticks who keep in our Communion no otherways than as Spies who ridicule us and do us all the ill Offices that is in their Power and but watch an Opportunity to destroy us and our Constitution Of such Principles most Iniquous to the Church are the present Attorney and Solicitor General and almost all the King's Council as Wi. Williams Serjeant Tompson Mr. Hawles c. Baron Letchmore Baron Turton that little Baron Tell Clock Mr. Bradbury and others upon the Bench. And with Russel are joyn'd in the Commission of the Admiralty that virulent Whig Col. Austen and Rich and Hublon two rigid Fanaticks Such are Montague and Smith two of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury indefatigable Sticklers for the Whig Party Papillion and Mayne in the Victualling-Office and Hill of the Navy-Office Sir J. Foach Sir Steph. Evans Ed. Clark Tho. Hall J. Danvers the only Son of a Regicide and Foot Onslow in the Excise Parkhurst Murray Vernon and Paschal in the Prize Office Col. Kirby Shepherd and Welwood in that for the Sick and Wounded Ashurst in that of the Hackny Coaches and Franklin in the Post-Office And in the Custom-house
no more sincerely on his side than they were by some of us it was a Force on both sides and not like longer to last than the first Opportunity either could get to put themselves into hands they could better Trust They told us too That he would begin with Scotland and according to the Success he had there would take his Measures as to England There is not a Step has been made which they have not faithfully and truly foretold It is easy for Managers to be Prophets of what is design'd I wish what is to Come of their Prediction may not prove as True as what is Past That is That having Divided the Church of England among themselves they would through Fears or Hopes gain the major Number to come over to their Doctrine of Resistance whereby having proclaimed themselves to have been False-Teachers heretofore they would easily prevail with the People not to Trust them for the time to come And so by consequence gain the Cry on their side and have their turn in setting up upon the Inclinations of the Peoples and overturn Episcopacy here as they have done in Scotland Indifferency in Lovers is a certain Forerunner of a Breach And the People of England who were so excessively Enamour'd of us when the Bishops were in the Tower that they hardly forbore to Worship us are now I wish I could say but Cool and very Indifferent towards us What the End of all these Things will be is what dear Brother has tortur'd my Thoughts and makes me vent them so freely to you who I know partake in a great measure in them with my self But O good God! If we have not been Sincere with Him he knows our Hearts If Temporal Advantages have been any Biass to us Or if as Uzzah we have put forth our hand beyond our own Rank and Order going but in the least out of the plain Road of our Duty tho as we thought to save the Ark from falling oh what will our Judgment be if those Methods we have taken to preserve the Church prove as it sadly now threatens to her and our own utter Destruction We see the Enemy already Roar in the midst of our Congregations and they have set up their Banners for a Token We seem now to hold our Post but at their Discretion till they are ready to give the Word as in Scotland No more Episcopacy No more Church of England But we shall not fall like them They fell altogether every Bishop in the Kingdom and almost the whole Number of the inferiour Clergy They may rise again and will rise Glorious asserting still the same Principles as we did before in the Restoration 1660. But as for us now Whether shall we cause our Shame to go Will not the Scots upbraid us Where was our Zeal for Episcopacy or Foresight of our own Danger when we stood silent by and saw their Fall without putting in one Address or shewing the least Concern for our Brethren They will mind us for we have not thought of it of the Zeal which the English Bishops shew'd in the Case of the Archbishop of Glasgow unjustly Depriv'd by Lay-Authority in the Reign of Charles the Second though there was an Act of Parliament there to countenance it they Espous'd it as their own Cause for so indeed it was till they prevail'd with the King to have him Restor'd But now we could see not only all the Bishops in that Kingdom but our own Renowned Metropolitan and near half of the then Bishops of our own Kingdom Depriv'd by meer Lay-Authority not to mention the Dispute of the Validity of that Lay Authority and the Cause which none of us did think sufficient for a Deprivation without Interposing one Word on their behalf or so much as for having that Allowance made good to them which was provided for them by the Act of Parliament either by K. William to whom the Act entrusted the Disposing of it or if not from his Justice yet at least from the Generosity of those who came Unwilling and Sorrowful as they pretended into their Places Nor did our Convocation once complain of the Absence of their Archbishop and so many of their other Bishops or make any Address on their behalf or desire any Conference with them to know their Reasons and endeavour any Accommodation No we did none of these things We were seized with I know not what panick Consternation Though all were well Inclin'd and every one would gladly have been a Second yet none durst Begin We were Passive here to a superlative Degree Our Courage and our Souls have left us We lie under the Load though we see our selves sinking with it What is this but Infatuation and the End must be Destruction But now at last if we have any Spirit left though we have not made any Address or shewn our selves Concern'd for the Case of our Brethren in Scotland or for our Depriv'd Bishops and Clergy here yet let us not sit still and by a supine Negligence be so wanting to our selves as at least not to Petition to Represent our Fears and our Danger to the King and Government to Desire some Redress to our just Grievances That there may be an Alteration of the Persons employed in publick Offices and such only set at the Head of Affairs as are sincerely for the Church of England and let us make our Exceptions against those whom we know to be of a quite different Interest We ventur'd upon all this and more to King James and had good Success in it Who knows but upon our appearing Zealous and Active for the Safety of the Church others of our Flocks may joyn with us At least they will Approve and Justify us in asserting our and their true Interest But who will stir for us or stand by us if we Dare not so much as open our Mouths in our own Behalf It is our Office to Lead and Instruct them They will love us the better for it And we may by this Recover many whom we have lost But we shall loose all if we Render our selves wholy Insignificant and Insensible of the Encroachments which are daily made upon us And our Posterities may curse us in whose Power it was to have stem'd this Tide if we had taken it in time The People will never believe that we can be hearty to them and stand in the Gap for preservation of their Rights and Privileges as we have heretofore done and were Honour'd for it while they see us so very Dispirited and Negligent in our own At least this we shall Gain by it That if a Deaf Ear be given to all our Applications we may then rest assur'd of what is Determin'd against us 17 July 1694. FINIS