Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A25574
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An Answer to the author of the Letter to a member of the convention
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Sherlock, William, 1641?-1707. Letter to a member of the convention.
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1689
(1689)
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Wing A3387; ESTC R163
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6,158
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6
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inform us of the number as he can of the Thoughts and future Actions of these Loyalists Well but if they should happen to be Persons of known Prudence Abilities Integrity Honesty tho they were never so few and never so tame it would give a terrible stroke to this tottering Government Why Sir all or the greatest part of such Men in the Nation were a dreadful Body tho they were and ever will be few but Sir there must be a considerable Body of such Men first satisfied in the Convention a number without Doors are already satisfied and more will when the States have passed their Resolves and the remainder of the Men of this High Character who will still remain discontented if they are any thing peaceable though not over tame will never be able to shock the most tottering Government in the World by their Examples how well soever he thinks of them Yet § 10. He endeavours to shew the number will not be small because many who joyned with the Priâ—ce are ashamed of what they have done and ask God pardon for it and are ready to undo it as far as they can Well Sir how many such do you know besides your self A List of these Men were worth the having and may perhaps be easily taken if one knew how to separate them from the rest however I should not fear greatly the terrible Shock of these wonderful Men till I had better information of their Numbers than you can possibly give us They were not willing to part with the King tho they were horribly afraid of Popery Why Sir has the King changed his Religion in France or are these Gentlemen so fond of the King that they would now be contented to suffer all that Popery threatned so lately Or are they become as weary of their Delivery as they were before of Popery Or will they sacrifice their Laws Religion old Foundations and Free Parliaments to their Allegiance to their King If you say yes I have done if no then you would have what was not to be had and will not be contented with what may be had and if the Number of these Men is great farewel to the Liberties Laws Religion and Priviledges of England and its Wealth and Inhabitants too and what is left you may be pleased to divide amongst your Men of Character To all this he assures us § 10. There will be a Thousand Occasions of discontent just a Thousand neither one more nor less besides those springing from the Sense of Loyalty and Conscience Strange that these Two should be so troublesom as to equal if not exceed the whole Thousand that went before He that had been before so liberal of his Information now sets us to guess in the § 10. How many will be discontented in the new Court for want of Preferment Why Sir If you please to inform me how many days in February shall be clear and how many shall be cloudy I will fall a guessing how many in the new Court shall be pleased and how many shall be dissatisfied but when I have done it will not be worth the while because this ever happens and Courtiers have an odd way of keeping these Malecontents in hope till they fall off or gain what they desire and so if there should happen to be a Thousand of them they will not be able to shock the Government if there is no other cause of Discontent than that Well but here Duty and Discontent will mix because they are sensible of their Mistake when it is too late For as they ought not to have fought for Popery nor against the Laws and Liberties of their Country so neither ought they to have deserted the defence of the King's Person and Crown but have brought the Prince to Terms as well as the King Why Sir Nemo tenetur ad impossibilia The King was never brought to Terms nor perhaps never will So that if they had fought at all it must have been for Popery and against both our Laws and Liberties Sir shew when and where the King offered us or the Prince any Terms and I will pass my word you shall be employed to frame Laws for the Convention which is certainly a good Employ for one that is so expert at it as you pretend to be Well § 13. A heavy Tax must be laid upon the Nation to defray the Charge of this Expedition Why Sir Are you of the Privy Council to the Prince Surely he will be able to find some other cause or not make the Tax so very heavy But Men will be very sorry to lose their King and pay so dear for it too Yes doubtless a gracious King is a great Loss but if he will be gone and involve us in a War too Taxes must be paid yea heavy Taxes to support the Charge of it or Louis will in a short time teach us what the Prince's Expedition was worth whatever it cost But this is not all we must part with our Church too the crazy Title will require the giving the Church to the Dissenters § 14. The Dissenters have of late acted very well and perhaps if a wise Man has the managing of them and the Popish Emissaries be carefully looked after we may compound the Quarrel better cheap than the parting with our Church Sir I am well assured a great deal less will for the present content them and the King is not immortal and whenever he dies the Crazy Title will be sodered again if no body be to be blame for giving it another terrible Shock § 15. Should the King be deposed or any other ascend the Throne it will be necessary to keep a standing Army to quell such Discontents You may be a good Law-framer for ought I know but I will swear you are no States-Man this whole Section is meer Whimsey borrowed from the Dutch Design Anatomized who had the folly to talk of Governing England by an Army of Dutch and Germans but why God knows except it were because a few were brought over to deliver us and cannot presently be returned back to Holland The Prince is both a wise and a good Prince and knows the Consequence of keeping those Forces long here better than a Thousand such Lâ—w-framers Suppose the King should return with a Foreign Force to recover his Kingdom how ready will the Men of Conscience be and the Men of Discontent to joyn with them nay to invite him home again This looks so like a Roman Catholick Zeal that if I were not assured he is a Church of England Man I could not believe but it was a Disciple of S. Omers But will the conscientious Mea invite the King home again with all his Apostolick Vicars Jesuits Ecclesiastical Judges Dispensing Power and a round Army of French Dragoons to teach us the French Faith after the French Fashion Are these the Men of Character Prudence Ability Integrity or of Conscience either Would one of the Primitive Christians have talked thus