may very well be believed to be one of these Sinister respects which may have prevailed in this Case And as there is no small reason from what I have said to believe it so I find it commonly believed by those who in all probability little considering these things which I have now mentioned must therefore have some other reasons from matter of Fact for their belief We have seen Remarks upon the ill Consequences of Buying and Selling of Offices lately published in Print and by a publick Intelligencer who had either reason to believe that it is our own Case or his Remarks were very impertinent and not only impertinent but something worse and if he did believe it his expressing himself as far from granting any such Practices to be in use here in England savours more of that vulgar Wisdom lately in fashion than of those Virtues I mentioned before For my own part I was never privy to any such Negotiations and therefore can say nothing of it of my own particular knowledge but for the reasons before mentioned and others besides common report upon the Observation of the course of our Affairs I make no question of it And this I can say that when not long since I recommended a Person who was a stranger to me but I understood by others and by a Certificate under his Captains hand had behaved himself well in the last Eagagement and deserved Preferment to a Noble Lord to be by him recommended to the Commissioners of the Admiralty I understood by him that such Recommendations were not well taken there Which I confess looks to me as a sign of some Sinister Respects too prevalent amongst them for otherwise such Recommendation of such Persons is a thing desirable for th◠Service of the King and Kingdom And I hope the late Miscarriages at Sea will make this business be more narrowly looked into for the future For I cannot think that Torrington alone could ever have done so great Mischief if there had not been others too ready to comply with him And to conclude this matter I look upon Insatiable Desire of the superfluous things of the World to be one of the great Corruptions of all sorts of People of this Nation at this time and a principal Impediment of generous Actions for the Publick Good even in those who are otherwise Well-wishers to it They who have so little sense of the Concerns of their Countrey as to dispose of Publick Places and Offices of Trust for private Gain to themselves will be apt to do as much for Favour and Affection to their private Friends and Relations without regard to their Merit or Qualifications for the Service of the Publick But besides these there is another sinister Respect which is very prevalent upon many who it may be scorn to take Money upon any such account and usually imposeth upon them under the Appearance of Service to the Publick to the King and Government and that is Faction This hath had no small share in the introducing of many very ill men into Employments and keeping out many very good cordially affected to the Government and as well qualified for the Service and by these and other Means besides hath been a principal Occasion of retarding our Progress and of the Disappointments we have met with This Nation hath been long pestered with a Combination of two pernicious Factions and from them and the Principles of their generation hath lately upon the late Revolution proceeded a third and that the most dangerous of all So that now it is become a Tripple Faction a Beast with three Heads according to the Sacred Representations of such things The two former were the Old Court Faction and the Old Church Faction The third which hath risen of late do most of them agree with the former in other matters but being perswaded that King James could not any way forfeit his Right nor did really abdicate it believe he hath still a Right and yet not satisfied to sit still and enjoy their Estates their Rights their Religion and their Consciences under the present Settlement in quiet and be thankful to God for their Deliverance from those dangerous Conspiracies which began to be put in practice as divers worthy Persons who have otherwise the same sentiments with themselves do will needs engage in such Employments as oblige them to act in Council or in War against him whom notwitstanding they believe to be their King de Jure And thus while they own two Masters and cannot possibly serve both they are in great danger to serve neither faithfully As to the disposing of Places they all agree in this to keep out all they can who are not of their Party though otherwise never so cordial Friends to K. William and Qu. Mary and the present Settlement never so zealous for the Common Cause never so well qualified for the Service never so Pious and Vertuous if they be not of the Party or Faction But be they but zealous for the interest of their Party thô they be never so vitious debauch'd or profane never so empty and shallow never so blustering and inconsiderate never so meanly qualified they shall be embraced as honest Men nay as good Church of England Men and recommended to serve not only in Parliament for which there are none now who think not themselves sufficiently qualified but other Employments of greatest weight and moment And while they all agree to keep out all that are not of their party this new Faction take care to bring in as many as they can of theirs that is such as acknowledging King James his Right still to remain and continue are not satisfied to enjoy their own in quiet but for their own advantage will pretend and undertake to act against him By these means is the King and Kingdom deprived of the Service of a great part of the best and most serviceable of the People and our Offices and Places are filled with Persons of no Worth or of as little Affection to the Service and such as are apt upon occasion by secret Services to ingratiate themselves with King James and so wise as not to disoblige him by overacting to his prejudice when they can with any colour avoid it And how any great Work managed by people so affected to it is like to succeed is no hard matter to guess That this is plainly our Case cannot I am perswaded but be casily perceived by all Parties by some with no little satisfaction and by others with no less Indignation and Trouble to see so Noble and at first so prosperous a Cause thus obstructed and disappointed by a mixture of vitious and careless and of treacherous and unfaithful People while others who are both serious and heartily affected to it are kept out of the Service But how it may most effectually be helped is not so easily apprehended nor well understood Two or three things there are which may be proposed with a great deal of
and not easily perswaded to act in a doubtful Case when without doubt they may lawfully abstain and therefore they who are easily perswaded to it upon a Prospect of Preferment may justly be suspected But they who in such Case thrust themselves forward may be concluded to be Men of little Conscience Honesty or Honour And therefore I am of Opinion that they who believe in their Conscience that the late King hath yet a right to Reign and that King William and Queen Mary are only King and Queen de Facto and therefore refuse and oppose a Recognition of them to be rightfull King and Queen cannot in Honour or Honesty act in Council or War in this Case And for the same reason I am also of Opinion that neither can any Prince who acts not as a private Man for his own Interest but as a publick Person for a whole Society of Men and as our present Case is for the common Concern of divers other Princes and People in Prudence or Honour commit any such Employment to any Person of that Opinion For it is plainly to tempt him first to be false to his own Conscience for the sake of the Employment and next to be false to him who employs him for the sake of his Conscience For no Man can long act vigorously and steddily reluctante Conscientia and the Consideration that Right that is what he takes to be so may one day take place will be a continual check upon him for ever doing any considerable Service against it and a continual Motive to hearken to any probable Overtures for it And this Consideration that the King cannot in Honour commit any such Employment to them as things stand at present ought to be another Motive to them to abstain even out of Respect to the King if they have any for him and if they have not he hath the less reason to employ them But otherwise I would not have them abridged of the least benefit of the Revolution that their Hearts can in reason desire These several sorts of Persons are most of them of the Nobility Gentry Clergy or Citizens of some particular Cities or Officers in our Fleet and Armies But of all our Nobility or however of our Gentry Clergy and Citizens of the several Cities of the Nation I hope the greatest part by much and our Yeomanry and the great Body of the People and the Sea-men are beyond all dispute generally all entire for the present Settlement and Right of the present King and Queen And all these are also firm for the Protestant Religion and for the Common Good of the Nation and for the Common Cause of the Confederates And therefore it is all the reason in the World that all these that is the King and Queen the Protestant Religion the Common Good of the Nation and the Common Cause of all the Confederates should have the common and United Assistance of them all Nor can I believe that any will oppose it but such as are in truth in the bottom more hearty for a Party than for the Christian Religion for a Faction than for the common Good of the Nation for King James than for King William or for the Corruptions and Abuses of Popery than for the Purity and Power of the true Religion and for the Usurpations Incroachments and Tyranny of the French Nimrod than for the just and noble Cause of the Confederates And if this be true that I say and I be not greatly mistaken it will hence follow that the King himself is oblig'd in Prudence in Justice and Honour to recommend the Removal of all Impediments by the Statutes of the two last Reigns to the Parliament with all Earnestness and that he being a Protestant Prince hath great reason to resent any Opposition that shall be made to so necessary a Proposition and to take Notice of the Persons and Places which send any of them as such as are still so levened with Faction that they do not discern that the great Heats and Animosities which have long disturbed this Nation were principally occasioned and heightened to serve the Interest of the Papists or a mischievous Faction And since this Parliament was chosen before the Act of Pardon was pass'd and the Elections and Returns in many Corporations where were many Criminals were made with great Heat and Faction by such as were concerned to save themselves and all the Interest they could make as appears in the many Petitions before the Committee of Elections if this Parliament will not agree upon what is necessary for the Common Good it may prove a good Expedient to dissolve them and call another speedily which probably may be chosen more fairly and indifferently And thus much I thought fit to add to what I had mention'd before on the same Subjects because they are matters of so great Concern And now as to the special Qualifications of the Persons to be employed this poor Nation hath been long in a very pitiful Condition in this respect while this which ought principally to be regarded hath apparently been least and last of all sought after King Charles heartily favouring very few who would not either comply with him in his voluptuous Courses and Luxury or serve him either in his Illegal Projects and Designs or in abusing the Nation out of their Money and King James as few who would not one way or other serve the Interest of Popery And while these Princes studyed only to serve themselves and their own Humours it is no wonder if they were served but by few who did not the like that is more regarded their own private Gain and Advancement than the common Good of their Countrey And though we have now a Prince of a quite different Temper who industriously and vigorously prosecutes the Publick Good not only of these Kingdoms but of his Neighbours and Confederates also yet is he plainly under some difficulties by reason of the Persons he found in Imployments and whose Qualifications he could not so well know 'till he had some tryal and experience of them And therefore both the People of this Nation and our Confederates have great reason to bear patiently our Disappointments hitherto in great hopes to see things in a better posture another Year But though this Experience may satisfie him of the Fidelity and good Qualifications of many and of the Unfitness of others to be employed or trusted yet will he stand in need of good Advice and Information concerning others to supply their Places and the more by reason of the great Corruption of the Manners of this People by the last two Reigns which hath tainted them to say nothing here of other Immoralities with Unfaithfulness Greediness of Gain and narrow-soul'd Selfishness under superficial Appearances and plausible Pretences contrary to the true English Genius which is plain honest and trusty and stout hardy and industrious for the good of their Countrey And it is I doubt too true that those who were
Abominations be removed either by the Reformation or Removal of the Persons or by the Destruction of most of them in a long continued War without Honour to the King or Satisfaction to the People 'till that be done And I may be bold to say it is desir'd and expected of him by all the Serious Virtuous and Pious that is the best and which will prove in conclusion the most prevalent Part of the Nation Christianity will certainly revive here in a short time in its ancient Power and Splendor and nothing can be so glorious and advantageous to this King as to be a vigorous Instrument in it This Foundation being well laid we may proceed to the rest with Confidence of the Divine Favour and Blessing upon us and that no Opposition shall be able to stand before us And the next Business will be to put the Management of our Affairs into the hands of such as the King may reasonably Confide in for their Integrity and Affection to his Cause and sufficient Qualifications for the Imployments committed to them And this is a Duty which the King owes both to the Kingdom and to his Confederates in this great Cause and he cannot in Honour no more than in Prudence do otherwise Nay I will say more it is a Duty which he owes to God whose Cause it is who hath raised him up to be his Instrument in it who hath given him so great Experiments of his Conduct and Protection and is still ready to prosper him in it provided he be faithful to his Conduct and do not dishonour him by relaxing his Confidence therein and yielding to the Temptation of vulgar Politicks which would but weaken his Interest and prove deceitful and a Snare to him Fidelity of Soul to God is the great business and exercise of all our Lives but in them who are raised up to be Instruments in any great Work it is in a special manner required that it be firm and steddy as becomes those who are experienc'd Masters in it not mutable and unstable like Novices and Learners To this is required great Courage and Vigour grounded upon firm Trust and Confidence in the infallible Wisdom and Power of God with an intire resignation of the Event of all to his Will But there is also required true Wisdom to improve all Opportunities and Advantages and to avoid all Inconveniences and truly to distinguish which are which And there is moreover required Righteousness without which there can be neither true Wisdom whatever specious appearance it may have nor Fidelity to God for it would be a departure from his Ways and a Distrust of the sufficiency of his Conduct and a Dishonour to him And whoever steps out of his Way will certainly intangle himself and lose all his labour at the least Such courses shall never prosper or bring a Man benefit if they bring not greater Mischief upon him I speak of his good Instruments for good and not of his Instruments for Correction and Vengeance such as Evil Spirits and Evil Men whom he frequently lets loose to satisfie their own wicked Appetites for punishment of others I have already distinguished with relation to this business four sorts of People in this Nation one part who are zealous for restoring of the late King James and that these are not to be employ'd I need not use many words to demonstrate but yet I think that they also are to be distinguish'd and that such of them as never submitted to this Government but appear fairly as Enemies are to be treated no worse than Enemies of War and not as Traitors but such as appear and act in publick as Subjects and yet shall be found in secret Conspiracies against this Government may justly be dealt with as Traytors Only thus much Favour I should be for ever for them that whereas I doubt not but there have been many this Summer actually engaged in or privy to a most dangerous Conspiracy and that not only for their King James but under that pretence with the French who are Enemies to their Countrey yet if they will confess how far they have been concerned in any such matter and either give sufficient assurance to submit and live peaceably for the future or declare themselves and depart the Kingdom they should be free so to do but they who will not are to be looked upon as Traytors and it is part of that Fidelity which the King owes both to God and to the People who entrusted him with the Government to cause diligent and strict Enquiry to be made into it least we be involved in greater Michiefs before the next Summer be over Another sort are such who from some mistaken Notions of Government which they had unthinkingly imbib'd are perswaded that the late King James hath still a Right but considering his Religion and to whom he hath subjected his Conscience for Information and Direction and what Confusions and Mischiefs were thereby begun and likely in time to have been brought upon these Nations and our Confederates are sensible of the Providence and Mercy of God in sending us such a Deliverance and therefore thô they will not foolishly and ungratefully resist this gracious Providence of God but are willing to enjoy it in quiet yet think fit not to stain or strain their Consciences in acting against him who they think hath a Right And these in my apprehension are right honest Men and deserve all the Favours and Kindness they can in reason desire And I shall endeavour in a more proper Place to do them some Service by shewing them their Error but I have no more to say of them here in relation to such Employments as I speak of for like honest men they will not accept them A third sort are of those who have the same Opinion of the Right of King James that the former have and will not recognize the present King and Queen to be rightful King and Queen yet make no scruple to swear Allegiance to them to act under their Authority and not only so but to act in Council and War against him whom they believe to have the Right still and they know hath had not long since the Possession also I know very well that by our Laws what is done for or against a King de Facto is equally justifiable or punishable as if he was also King de Jure and good reason there may be for it viz. That honest well-meaning People may not suffer for what they do in the sincerity of their Hearts believing it to be just and right and That the Peace of the Kingdom may not be disturbed upon pretence of or for the Right of a particular Person though King de Jure But this just and reasonable Law cannot I doubt excuse in foro Conscientiae such as for private temporal respects or unnecessarily act against one whom they believe to have the Right and to be King de Jure All honest Conscientious Men are very cautious
A PLAIN RELATION Of the Late Action at Sea Between the ENGLISH DUTCH and the FRENCH FLEETS From June 22. to July 5. last WITH Reflections THEREUPON And upon the Present State of the Nation TOGETHER WITH A Preparation for Death and a Perswasive to Criminals to do Right to their Countrey and a Specimen of a BILL for Reformation of Manners drawn for the Bishops and mentioned in the following Reflections LONDON Printed for Iohn Harris at the Harrow in the Poultrey MDCXC By whom also is Sold A Compleat Collection of the late Writings of the same Author as The true English Government c. Reflections upon the last Years Occurrences c. An Apology for Mr. Stafford c. and others for the Service of the Publick TO THE READER READER WHoever thou art if thou knowest it not already know that the Author of these Papers is a sincere Friend and hearty Well-wisher to King William and Queen Mary the present Settlement these Nations and the Common Cause of the Confederates as very Just and Honourable and no Enemy to the late King James the late Admiral Torrington or to the Persons of any of those whom he believes or suspects to have had an Influence in the Production of our Disappointments but to their Miâ—carriages only that they may be duely Corrected Reformed and the like Prevented for the future That he hath Written nothing maliciously or falsly to his own Knowledge but all with great Candour and Integrity for the Service of God the Good of his Countrey the Promotion of this Great and Righteous Common Cause against a Proud Insolent Nimrod and for thy own Good if thou understandest it aright Know therefore also if thou canst be offended with him who Wishes so well to thy Countrey and no ill to thy self thou art no good Man and so wishing thou mayâ—st be better and wiser he bids thee heartily Farewell Advertisement THere is newly Published The present State of Europe Or the Historical and Political Mercury Giving an Account of all the publick and private Occurrences that are most considerable in every Court for the Month of September 1690. with Reflections upon every State to be continued Monthly from the Original publish'd at the Hague by the Authority of the States of Holland and West-Friezland The Mercury for the Month of August last is likewise done they are both to be Sold by Iohn Harris at the Harrow in the Poultrey A Plain Relation Of the Late Action at Sea BETWEEN The English Dutch and the French FLEETS from June 22. to July 5. last ON Sunday June the 22. about Ten in the Morning the French Fleet which had been seen the Friday before off of Plimouth and the Saturday off of Portland were seen from the Isle of Wight off of Fresh-water-Bay of which our Fleet then riding in S. Helens road had no Notice 'till about Ten that Night from the shore So that had not the Wind which brought them with a very fresh Gale as far as Fresh-water-Bay where they Anchored then slack'd and turned Northerly they had been in with us and fir'd our Ships for want of Scouts out as some say to give Notice But that night upon that Notice we staved our Cabins made clear our Ships and about 12. unmoor'd The next morning Monday the 23d the Admiral halled home his Fore-top-sail-sheets and fired a Gun to Weigh and soon after all the Fleet were under sail and we stood out to Sea and about 3 in the afternoon came to an Anchor Dunnose S. W. by W. The next morning Tuesday the 24th betwen 5 and 6 we weighed and stood to the S. E. and that Afternoon the Lyon and several Dutch Men of War which made them a Squadron of about 17. Ships joined us S. E. of the Isle of Wight And at 9 at night we anchored Culver Cliff N. W. and by W. about 7 Leagues Wednesday the 25th at 6. in the morning we weighed the Wind N. N. E. and about 8. the Weather which was thick before clearing up we saw the French Fleet the Body of them bearing W. S. W. about 3 Leagues distant And we had a fair Opportunity to engage them the Wind S. S. E. and they under our Lee between us and the English shore in very much Disorder And in all probability had we then Engaged them we had beaten them down upon our English shore our Fleet being very well provided for it our Ships all in good Order and our Men full of Courage and very desirous of Action At 12. Culver Cliff N. W. half N. 4. Leagues off the Wind S. S. E. and between 7. and 8. we Anchor'd Dunnose N. W. and by N. 5. Leagues the French Fleet Leeward about 3. Leagues The next morning Thursday the 26th the Admiral made a Signal and call'd a Council of Flagg-Officers where it was agreed not to fight the French supposing them too strong for us but to plye to the East the Wind being E. as far as the Flats of the Foreland and there intangle them in the Sands rather than fight them but yet to keep sight of them least they should land which notwithstanding we did not but plyed out of sight so that they might have landed if they would From that time he kept turning to the E. every Tide from day to day which the French observing kept turning after 'till Sunday Evening the Wind continuing Easterly all that time insomuch that the Seamen being greatly discontented at it began to murmur and exclaime against him for it But then a Signal was made for a Council of the Flagg-Officers where it was resolved to Fight the French the next day but no Notice thereof was given to any of the Fleet besides The next Morning being Munday the 30th the Signal was given for a Line of Battle when most of our Ships having no Notice before were unprepared yet our Men threw up their Caps and shewed all demonstrations of Joy at the Notice and made ready as fast as they could and the French probably supposing we had still kept turning to the E. as we did before and therefore turning after both Fleets came near about Eight that Morning in two Lines cross the Channel our Fleet standing about 4 Leagues to the West of the Beachy-Head the Dutch squadron in the Van toward the English shore the Red in the Body the Blew in the Rear toward the French Coast and the Bloody Flag being hoisted before about 9. both Fleets came to Engage The Dutch leading the Van and part of the Blew in the Rear joining near them made them give way but the Red except two or three Ships not going so near as they should but standing aloof which brought our Fleet into the form of a Half moon the Body of the French Fleet having none to engage them made up with the Dutch and did them great Damage whereas at the same time the Rear of the French ran from those of the Blew who fought them
force of their whole Fleet but made them bear away Item Damnum emergens Loss actually sustain'd in several respects As It. Of Men. It. Of Ships It. Of Rigging c. It. Of Honour It. Of Time and Expences in refitting It. Of Trade while the French ride Masters at Sea It. Distraction of the Countrey from their Harvest to serve in the Militia upon Occasion of the French Fleet lying upon our Coast to the great Charge of the Countrey It. The Advantages gotten by our Enemies which may be computed as a Loss to us such as these 1. Of Honour 2. Of Courage they being animated by it 3. Of Leisure and Opportunity It. Disappointment for some time of the entire reducing of Ireland proceeding from the Enemies Apprehensions of our Disappointment at Sea which occasions the greater Charge and longer Diversion of our Forces from other Service besides the hazard of what may happen in the mean time or upon that occasion And Lastly Much of this Loss is a Loss not only to the King and to this Nation but to the Common Interest of the Confederates So that the King and this State are obliged not only in Honour and Prudence for themselves but also in Justice to the Confederates and especially to the Dutch who behaved themselves so bravely were so basely deserted and thereby suffered so much to enquire impartially into the Miscarriages and punish them as they deserve REFLECTIONS Upon the Precedent Relation IN the Occurrences of the last Year we had besides the Loss of our Expence only a kind of Lucrum cessans a Disappointment in the Opportunities and Advantages we had to have promoted our own Settlement and the common Cause to compute And therefore as it was the more easie for any one who thought fit to apply his mind to it to invent some plausible Pretences to cover the Miscarriages which were then committed in the Management of Affairs so such Pretences then would the more easily pass with such as were more concerned to keep fair with all Men for their own advantage than to promote the Publick Interest of their Countrey and the common Cause especially by any such Means as might possibly produce any Prejudice or Disadvantage to their own But besides all this in the late Action at Sea when the Heavens had favoured us first with a special Deliverance from a very dangerous Surprize and then with as favourable Advantage as our Hearts could wish and that continued for many dayes together not only to neglect the same to neglect it though provoked by the Courage and by the Danger also of our Allies and of some of our own Ships besides but moreover to desert such as were disabled and so desert as by turning against the Wind to invite and animate the Enemy who of themselves it seems had otherwise no mind to it but rather expected a more vigorous Engagement of our whole Fleet to follow and triumphantly seize or destroy them is such a Miscarriage and that aggravated with so great a Loss Damage and mischievous and dangerous Consequence as requires a Person of rare Invention of equal Impudence and void of all sense of Honour and Love to his Countrey to compose a Vindication of this Transaction or so much as with Confidence and hope of Success endeavour to cover it and People of no less stupidity and easiness to be imposed upon by such Pretences Indeed the Miscarriage was so gross and palpable as moved the Indignation even of some of the Vindicators of the last Years Transactions to reslect with some warmth upon it and extorted their Remarks upon the ill Consequences of such Miscarriages as were before palliated Such in short as none will offer to excuse who are not either Partners in the Crime or no good Friends to the Cause or admit of any Excuse who are not either such or such as are too apt and easie to be imposed upon by smooth Tongues and fallacious Pretences of others And as the Miscarriage is too gross to be covered so is the Loss Damage and evil Consequence thereof too great to be buryed in Oblivion In point of Honour it ought to be enquired into strictly to the bottom and punished severely for satisfaction to the World and in point of Justice no less for satisfaction to all our Confederates in the same common Cause which suffers much by the Disappointment but more especially the Dutch who beside have sustained so considerable a Loss peculiar to themselves And certainly no less ought to be done in point both of Justice and Interest for satisfaction at home both to the whole Nation in general not well pleased to see their Trade thus at a stand and their Money the while wasted upon a Company of debanched impious wicked Wretches for two Years together with so little effect and more particularly to the Sea-men who think it hard that they who are Free men and willing to serve their Countrey under Officers whom they like should be pressed and forced as if they were Gally slaves to serve under such as they think neither otherwise well-qualified nor very good Friends either to them or to the Cause they engage in To all which we must add another Point of Prudence to prevent the like for the future by Cashiering at least such as are found guilty or not well qualified for the Service however they came by their Places and by good Examples of necessary Discipline to deterr others from undertaking what they are not sit for or from deserting or neglecting what they have once undertaken And certainly that to which so many Obligations and considerable Motives concurr must needs be very necessary and it would therefore be a great sign of a very weak and languishing State to let so great and mischievous a Miscarriage be lightly passed over under the cover of such superficial Pretences as every Tarpaulin and common Sea-man can see through without some proportionable Animadversion upon the Delinquents and effectual Purgation and Reformation of the Fleet upon so notorious an occasion All this Mischief I know is commonly imputed to our Admiral Torrington Not only the Letter printed in the French Gazet from the E. of Nottingham to my Lord Dursley in Holland but a Relation printed in France as I am inform'd by that Kings Authority lays it chiefly upon him The Letter amongst other Passages concerning the Fight hath one to this effect The Holland Squadron behaved it self with so much Bravery that if my Lord Torrington had done his Duty we should in all probability have had a Compleat Victory but at present we retreat before the Enemy Which is in few words the summe of what the Relation of the honest Seaman hath more particularly informed us and no little Confirmation of it And indeed he being so notoriously faulty it cannot be expected that vulgar Spectators should look any farther into the matter but be well satisfied with the just Punishment of him alone For whoever else might be concerned
Reason and I confess do deserve to be well considered yet if we look no farther I am well satisfied will either never be effected or if they be will never of themselves produce the Effects expected from them The first is that the King who hath so far exposed his own Royal Person to danger for us and for the common Cause of the Confederates may not be longer deprived of the Service of such as are his sincere Friends and ready to do the like for him for it and for the whole Nation by a superfluous clause in the letter of the Law no way necessary to the declared scope of it I mean the Stat. 25. Car. 2. c. 2. which among other things enacts That all and every Person and Persons so to be admitted as aforesaid shall also receive the Sacrament of the Lords Supper according to the usage of the Church of England within three months after his or their Admittance in or receiving their said Authority and Employment in some publick Church upon some Lord's Day commonly called Sunday immediately after Divine Service and Sermon This Act was made for preventing Dangers which then might happen from Popish Recusants as appears by the Tiâ—â—e is declared in the very beginning of the Act and is emphatically expressed by the words Popish Recusants which restrain it to them alone of all Dissenters And though there be some words as according to the usage of the Church of England and in some Publick Church which restrain the admittance to Conformists only yet it is plain that that restraint neither was necessary nor was designed by the Act for that purpose or in order to that end and therefore considering the Practice of those Times it is not to be doubted but they were put in partly by the Papists to divide the Protestants in that as well as in matters of Religion that so they might have a party of Protestants in the same condition with themselves which was a very common Policy among them and partly by the Faction that they might ingross all And though at that time it might be thought fit to let it pass so rather than hazard the loss of the Bill yet now that we have a Prince whom we may safely trust and great Reason to unite our whole strength against the common Enemy not to remove that Obstacle by so easie an Expedient as instead of according to the usage of the Church of England in some Publick Church to make it in some solemn or Publick Assembly of Protestants and the Certificates to be by the Persons who administer and three or four credible Persons of the Assembly or something to the like effect may be thought in them who oppose it an argument of greater affection to the late King James than to the present King William and to the Papists or the Faction than to the true Protestant Interest since such an alteration doth not in the least impede the design of the Act so fully as before declared Another is That we do not intangle our selves in our own Policies by stooping to little Arts and pieces of vulgar Craft but proceeding steadily upon Principles of Justice Humanity and true Wisdom unnecessarily exasperate none give all fair and reasonable Terms Conditions and Benefits that can be desir'd to all but never expose a good Cause by so mean Compliance as to commit matters of great Trust and weight to such as are not entirely for it but whose declared Principles make such a Condescention as little honourable as safe To be plain the People of this Nation being divided in Opinion upon the late Revolution part holding that the Right of the late King James by his own Actions and the Declaration thereupon of the Lords and Commons by their Representatives fairly chosen is fully determined and that the Royal Authority is justly and effectually to all intents and purposes transferred to the present King and Queen but others being of opinion that King James is still King de Jure and King William only King de Facto These last are again divided among themselves into two or three parties one part being satisfied to live peaceably and quietly under the present Government but not to swear Allegiance to the present King nor act under him against the former another part being zealous for the restoring of King James And a third of such who though they declare their Opinion that King James is still King de Jure yet make no scruple to act under the present King not only in little matters but in such matters of State and War wherein they must either act directly against him whom they acknowledge to have the Right or else be false to him who entrusts ' em And this is the Party that I mean whom because I cannot see how in Conscience they can act as they do I cannot see how in prudence they can be trusted And therefore I should think it no hard or unreasonable matter to secure the Government against all the Dangers which may arise from Men of those Principles for if they may freely enjoy not only their own private Rights but also all such publick Employments and Preferments as are confirment with their Principles for them to execute which is as much as in Honesty and Conscience they can desire or in Honour and Prudence can be committed to them they have no reason to complain but rest satisfied therewith and thankful to God for his Deliverance from a worse condition and those who professing these Principles are yet not satisfied with all that may justly be suspected as Persons either of vain and ambitious minds or of turbulent and ill Designs and therefore not to be admitted to any publick Employment at all or to be discharged if already in any such For these are the Men whom I apprehend to have been the most effectual Remora's in our Proceedings and chief Occasions or Instruments in all our Disappointments And indeed I have all along from the beginning look'd upon a certain Condescention to a Compliance with some of this Party to be one of the first false Steps which have been made since the beginning of the Revolution and a Daubing into which we were Betrayed by the pedantick Policies of some who had special reason to have made better use of a good Caution against it a thing of so pernicious Consequence to his Majesty that I look upon the Miscarriage of Torrington to be but a Trifle in comparison to it and as inconsistent with true Divinity as with true Policy Poor Prince how did my Heart ake for him about that time though I knew not what was the matter But Princes are Men and subject to the like Infirmities with other Men and to such Oversights as bring many times much Trouble and Disturbance after them But what Error in Divinity was here committed I will leave to the Consideration of those whose Office it was to have discerned and given faithful Notice of it rather than prove a
the Passion of our Saviour to the time of the Reformation where the Celebration of that blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist was not a part as it is the peculiar part of the Christian Worship of their ordinary publick Worship of God insomuch that it was commonly called Sacrificium quotidianum their daily Sacrifice The Principal Uses of it are 1. A solemn Act of Recognition of our Redemption and of the Dominion of our Saviour thereby acquired over us 2. A Representation of the Passion of our Saviour to God the Father in our solemn Assemblies as effectual to all intents and purposes in the Churches of the Gentiles as were any or all the Sacrifices of the Jews under the Law 3. A Spiritual Communion between God and the Souls of the Faithful as real as was that between our Saviour and the faithful Woman who touch'd his Garment when he felt Vertue go out of him 4. A Sacred Communion and Confederation between the Faithful themselves And where all this is neglected what can it be imputed to but either want of Devotion and of a grateful Sense of our Redemption and a supine Neglect of our own greatest Concern or Infidelity and Ignorance which as I said is the best though sufficiently shameful excuse we can make In the Greek Church where this Neglect first began as is noted by St. Ambrose and much complain'd of by Chrysostom it was follow'd with dismal Contentions Divisions and Confusions And I am of opinion that not only the great Decay of Christian Piety but the unhappy Divisions of our Church may be imputed to this Neglect among us as one principal Cause And I am well satisfied that our want of a daily Christian Sacrifice among us is one of the principal Prejudices which hinder the Reconciliation of the best of the English Papists to us which would be much more easie if that and two or three more Points of Controversie were but a little better look'd into and setled But our Second Service as we use it with no little inconvenience in many Churches is peculiar to us a Novelty such as was once introduced in France and called Missa sicca and Missa nautica but soon exploded as a jejune and barren thing and bears witness against us for our neglect of that without which our Liturgy or Service in the Judgment of Learned Men and of Bishop Andrews in particular is imperfect Besides our Offices and Collects are defective and not sufficient for all occasions as may be perceived by the Bills which are daily put up to the Readers or to express the Devotion of many pious Souls in the ordinary Service For the Doctrin of the Church of England declared in our Articles it is certain that most of the Dissenters are as much for it as those of our Communion and more than divers of them are and therefore I need say nothing of that But much of the Doctrin which hath been taught too often in our Churches since the Return of King Charles the Second with a great deal of confidence hath been so far from the genuine Christian Doctrin that it tends very much to the Subversion thereof to divert People from the Life and Power of Religion by reproachful Imputation of Fanaticism and Enthusiasm from the strict consciencious observance of it by the like reproachful terms of Bigottry and Presbyterianism and to introduce instead of the Spiritual Life and Heavenly Conversation of genuine Christians a kind of superficial Formality and Pharisaical Morality abstaining indeed from gross scandalous Sins which any Man of sense would do for his own Reputation but leaving the Soul as much immersed in terrene Affections as if those eminent Vertues of Humility Contempt of the Word Heavenly-mindedness Devotion to God and universal Charity to all sort of Men so much studied and practised by the Ancient Christians were things rather to be pitied in them as weakness or unnecessary trouble or Superstition than imitated by us Of our Clergy I thank God we have many of good Learning Vertue and Piety Men of Moderation and Charity to all Men but especially to all serious and pious Christians though of different opinions concerning many things disputed in matters of Religion and well content they should quietly enjoy the freedom of their Religion and Civil Rights and serve their Country and be admitted into the Communion and Service of our Church upon as easie terms as may be But there are again no small part who are grosly scandalous or if not so grosly scandalous yet make a Trade of Divinity apply themselves to it as others do to Trades and Civil Professions to get their Living Estates and Preferments by it preach indeed and read Prayers if they cannot keep Curates but have little care more of the Souls committed to their charge and therefore never scruple at any charge though never so great so the Profits to their Purse be but great and though not so grosly scandalous give great offence to People of the higher Ranks and Parts by their eager and insatiable pursuit of Preferments and thereby tempt them to suspect that they believe not themselves the Doctrin which they preach as I was not long since upon such an occasion told by a Person of great place and parts that he thought them all Atheists which though I suppose more than he did indeed believe yet shews how apt it is to tempt Men to it and I doubt not but prevails with some And however that be it is certainly so great a temptation and incentive to Worldly-mindedness Covetousness Pride and Ambition that it utterly disables them to preach with any Life and Success against those Vices and Sins which though not so scandalous in vulgar Reputation as some others are not less ensnaring to Souls and pernicious to States and Human Societies And indeed a great part of our Clergy are plainly infected and overspread with Formality and Pharisaism almost in all the instances of it except the best that is Zeal for making Proselites But as to that I doubt the whole Church of England hath much to answer for before God who hath left them destitute of no Means or Opportunity to propagate the Gospel to the remotest parts of the World yet have they not all equalled what hath been done by one single Gentleman a Lay-man Nay even at home neither in England Scotland or Ireland is the Gospel yet so throughly planted but that vast Fields may be truly said to lie still uncultivated And if we enter a little farther we shall see yet greater Abominations than these even in this great and populous City What great numbers of People have we who have either no Parish-Churches to repair to or not capacious enough to receive them and what numbers of Clergy-men walking about the Streets seeking for Employment and some to my knowledge in great straits and necessities I could say more but I forbear while the Fat of the Land is ingrossed and devoured by others ill
in it they at Land being out of the Action may be thought far enough out of Suspicion and they who at Sea were in the Action if it may be properly so said of them who stood still and acted not at all unless in retreating from the Enemy they have a fair pretence of his Authority to cover their own Miscarriages And yet possibly none of them may be so secure as they thought themselves For his Honour is now so broken by this Miscarriage and his case so desparate that I know not what should or can oblige or restrain him not to discharge himself of so much of the Odium as is properly due to those who by any means either induced him to or concurred with him in so base dishonourable and mischievous a Miscarriage or impose upon him either to suffer himself to be abused and Colemanized with vain hopes and expectations or tamely bear the burden of others no better than himself who by unfaithful concurrence at least were some occasion of his Unhappiness and 't is like when he is once gone will be as forward as any to cast dirt upon his Memory to clear themselves of all suspicion And if his Affliction as sometimes it doth should awaken in him any sense of Religion Repentance Justice or love to his Countrey all these do plainly oblige him to detect all He can certainly make no such step toward a reparation to his King and Countrey as by detecting those who have already been unfaithful or are unfit for such a trust that being difcharged and otherwise punished as they deserve they may be prevented from doing the like mischief for the future And for them it is in truth though this brutish sensual Generation are not sensible of it much better that they should be judged here accept of their Punishment and bear their Iniquity than be condemned hereafâ—er But to retorn that none should be culpable in this business but Lorrington doth not at all seem probable to me He was indeed the Principal in the Miscarriage because he had Authority sufficient to have prevented it or at least to haâ—e done so much as must have left some others inexcusable But it is not likely he would have behaved himself as he did if he had not had some Encouragement at least by a willing and easie compliance And it 's likely if the truth were known there were several Accessartes not only at Sea but at Land also Such was the Behaviour of others at Sea that the eamen generally blame the Officers very few excepted And when the Commissioners who were sent to examine the matter sat at Sheerness it was observed That several of the Officers had prepared an Account of the Action in writing under their hands calculated for the Interest of Torrington and were very high and upish in the morning and carried it toweringly and jarring with some of the Blew Squadron though when they came after to be examined upon their Oaths which it was guessed they did not expect and some of the Blew spake their Judgments freely their Carriage was observed to be much altered and they looked more calmly And upon the whole matter there were some Observations then made which are very proper to be here inserted viz. 1. That a great part of the Commanders of this Fleet are absolute Creatures of Torrington Otherwise if they had been Men of Freedom and Principles they would have been more forward to have made their Complaints against him And if it be found a Fault in him all those must be Fools or Knaves that either did not See it or endeavoured to Excuse it And to speak plain many of those Gentlemen are esteemed to understand better how to Dress and to Eat and Drink well c. than to perform a Charge which requires great Discretion and Resolution 2. That the Conduct of those Gentlemen may be reflected upon that have suffered one Person almost to fill the Fleet with his own Creatures and shewn no more regard to the Qualifications of Vertue and Merit than to preferr many Men meerly for Favour and Affection or according to the time they have served in the Fleet So that there are in some second and third Rates Men that have given little or no Proof of their Worth when others that have eminently distinguished themselves have either been wholly neglected or put into small Ships 3. That this sort of Commanders are grown to a kind of Faction and make it their Endeavour to introduce Men of their own Stamp into those Employments maintaining a kind of Animosity and Hatred against those Persons who are not of their Temper and are put into Men of War for the sake of their Experience or Merit Than which there can can be no readier way to introduce a Degeneracy from Virtue and Bravery in our Navy and to lose our Ancient Reputation for Maritine Performances when the Management shall come into the Hands of men of little Experience or Conduct Of which our late Disgrace is too fresh an Instance 4. That many of these Commanders are so hated by the Seamen that a Mutiny is rather to be apprehended from them than a going chearfully to adventure their Lives with them 5. That able Seamen are much wanting in the Fleet and the Ships will require longer fitting than is talked of so that I scarcely expect this Fleet can goe out this Month. 6. That if this Commission of Enquiry were continued with the addition of two or three more Persons as Assistants who were well skilled in Maritine Affairs and could not be imposed upon by fraudulent Answers or invented Pretences there might be matter enough found to charge divers Officers and shew that there is an absolute necessity of making a great Reform in the Fleet and no less in the Office of Admiralty 7. That untill we are so Reformed I dare presume to say without pretending to be a Prophet that we shall never regain our lâ—st Honour These are the Observations which were made at that time intire as they came to my hand By which it appears that the Geâ—â—leman who made them whoever he was was of the same Opinion that there were Accessaries at Land as well as at Sea to this Miscarriage And it is probable that there were more than he had then occasion to reflect upon and such as were really and properly Accessaries in that particular Miscarriage Such as it is very fit upon all the Considerations before mentioned that the State should inquire of But 't is likely there are some who are and have been Accessaries it may be more remotely and therefore not so easie to be charged yet no less effectual but rather Prime Causes in this and all the rest of our Disappointments both of this and the last Year and which is worse are like still so to be in more for the future unless the Occasions thereof be speedily taken into good Consideration and with great steadiness and Resolution as effectually reformed and prevented
as may be The Mischiefs thereby done to this Nation and to the Common Cause are greater already than most Men are well aware of We have promoted nothing are in no better a condition than we were in the Spring last was twelve month Our Condition has been much like that of a bewitched Cart we have whip'd and heav'd and made a great stir and yet are in effect but where we were if Ireland was now wholly reduced For it might certainly have been reduced at first with less difficulty than the taking of Limrick now at last Tyrconnel then wanted only some body to quit it to with some such Force and Power that he might do it honourably It is not to be doubted but there were some Hushat's then about the King who â—â—â—k the Occasion of his being a Stranger to impose upon him with specious dilatory Counsels Misieprosentations of things and ill Recommendations of Persons which was the more easie then to be done when most of our great Men were so intent upon improving the Opportunity for their own peculiar Advantage that they minded little else 'till they had secured what they could for themselves But this is not all besides the Loss of so much Time we have lost a great many Lives more without doing any thing than were necessary to have secured the whole Countrey at first We have lost much of our Trade not only at Sea but at Land also as much as depends upon our Trade at Sea and also lost vastly in what we had out before and was returning home or sent out since and besides lost it to our Enemies which makes it in effect a double loss to us And which by that means falls the heavyer upon the Nation have not done what we have done at last without so great Expence as will make our Supplies come so much the harder And all these are Losses actually sustain'd But in a true and just Estimate of the Mischief the Hazards and Dangers it hath brought us into ought also to be computed the common Hazard of War the great Trouble that a Disappointment at first in that Expedition might have occasioned and the Hazard of his Majesties Person to prevent it And one more which is of very great importance but such as few are so sensible of it as it deserves and that is the Confederacy lest a Dissolution or such Interruption therein as may retard their Proceedings should happen Which all things considered may very easily be and that makes the improvement of the Opportunity the more valuable and â—o much the more aggravates the Miscarriage of those who hinder it And though no such hath yet happened yet are we by this means still in more and more danger of it both by reason of the Charges of the War so long continued and of many unexpected Accidents which may occurr before the next Summer I say nothing here of the great Opportunity and Advantage of proceeding against France then under a great Consternation which was lost because it is not understood or considered nor perhaps will be believed And without that the other Mischiefs and Disappointments we have had and may still expect if the Occasions be not removed are sufficient to make all that have any sense and concern look about them The immediate Occasions of these Disappointments which have all proceeded from the Miscarriages of the Persons imployed were the imploying of such Persons as were not duely qualified And this leads us directly to the Persons who imployed them that is who either by Authority or by Recommendation were the immediate Causes or Occasions that they were imployed It is true they were all imployed by the King in some respect as by his Authority but all or most either immediately by others who were intrusted and Commissioned by him or at least by the Recommendations Perswasions or Advice of others And if any of these did act therein upon any sinister respects they were really and effectually Accessaries to the Disappointments which proceeded from the Miscarriages of the Persons so imployed Now what Sinister Respects might prevail in this matter and might therefore be the Original Occasions of the Employment of such Persons is not hard to be perceived by any Man who considers the present Disposition of a great part of this Nation and especially of those who souffle for Places or are very forward to catch at them There was not any Vice more propagated by the Evil Example of King Charles the Second than Greediness Vnfaithfulness and Knavery The Nation was cheated of their Money by corrupting their Trustees their Representatives in Parliament which was one of the greatest Knaveries that could be practised And this came at last to some of the grossest Shutting up the Exchequer seizing peoples Charity for the Redemption of Slaves and surprizing the Dutch Smyrna Fleet. And by such means were those about him taught to do the like and even to cheat himself which produced such a general Corruption in that respect that Cheating and Knavery came into Fashion and was affected so it could be done neatly as a recommendation of Wit and Parts and Honesty and Plain-dealing was despised as Ignorance of the World and Folly And so notorious were the Frauds and Cheats practised in his Reign as had never been known in this Nation before But this was not all it had this other pernicious Influence that many even of those who were not corrupted by it so far as to plain Knavery were yet plainly thereby infected with insatiable Avarice and Over-valuation of the things of the World and those generous and heroick Virtues of Piety and Charity and Faith which overcomes the World which make Men more active for the Service of God and their Countrey than for the Advancement of themselves or their Families in Estates or Honour among Men were either totally extinguished and suppressed or at least despised and reproach'd if they dared to appear with any confidence of their Innocence and Sincerity as Folly Madness Enthusiasm Fanaticism Precipitant Zeal Indiscretion Melancholly and whatever the selfish temporizing Genius of the times could imagine And the only Wisdom then in Fashion was Self-preservation and Self-seeking Pretences of Loyalty and Zeal for the Government and Self-Interest passed current as an excusable if not commendable End of all Mens Actions But the improvement of all Advantages and making the best of ones own was unquestionable And such in particular was the Selling of Places receiving of Gratifications for them or conferring them by way of Gratification or for Affection to Relations or Friends without much regard to the Service of the Publick This had so far prevailed then and excited such Emulation and Appetite in most Spectators and many who were then kept off at a distance that it is not credible that it should have ceased of it self since the late Revolution which brought many new Incentives with it but hath not yet produced any such Charms as were like to lay it This therefore