Dissent on all sides And to six this â—â—putation upon them are there any of our Laws made all along against Nonconformists but whose Preamble runs upon any less Topick than the Breach of the Peace and the Underniining the very Foundation of the Government and all for deserting the Church of England and meeting in their own Religious Assemblies to offer up their Prayers and Devotions to God according to their Consciences Was there ever a late Conventicle disturb'd with any other Warrant than as Riotously and Routously Assembled and thereupon punish'd with Fines Imprisonments Sequestrations and Banishments sometimes to the Ruine of whole Families Whilst our Laws with the same Masquerade as in the Popish High Treason before charges the meer meeting to Worship God with no less then Sedition and Disloyalty But wherein lay this Sedition and Disloyalty Was it in their so Meeting No sure for as the Intention makes the Guilt the Intention was only a Religious Worship and not a State-Disturbance Was the Sedition then in the Doctrines they Preach'd or Printed If so Why was it not proved against them Their Writings are not only publick enough to stand that Test but also their Meeting house Doors stood open and their Enemies have all along been both Potent and Namerous enough to hear and detect any Seditious Design or Doctrines against the Church or State And the Law was furnish'd both with Rods and Axes to punish any Crime of that kind according to its Demâ—rit before the Penal Laws were so much as thought on Besides to clear them in this Point what Writers are so Voluminous as the Dissenters And to prove our Episcopal Spectacles read no such Seditious Doctrines amongst them How comes it that several of the Dissenters Books as Owen and Caryl's Works c. have been thought worthy to instruct our most Orthodox Clergy when so many of them are to be sound in all their Sudies and Libraries If then they neither publickly Preach nor Print any such Doctrines of that Seditious and Disloyal Stamp do they in Conversation Own or Avow any such Trayterous or Disloyal Principles No sure they have more Wit. If they are so hardy as to do that we have other Laws to noose 'em without the help of those Religious Penal Statâ—tes Do they then commit any open Act of Treason Sedition c. Let them do that if they dare If we once catch them at that Game the Government has 'em fast enough either Popish or Protestant Dissenters by the Heels and the Necks too Nor is any thing of this the Treason or Disloyalty that these Statutes pretend to Arraign Who ever heard of any Overt Act of Treason or Sedition Indicted by the 23d or the 35th of Elizabeth Then if neither Preaching Printing Speaking or Acting of any thing Traytorous or Seditious be the Capital Guilt these Statutes are level'd at certainly thinking of â—reason must be the Crime A Popish or Protestant Recusant is such an Offeader that by the very Affections of his Soul cannot be Loyal to the Crown And to prove this Infallible Accusation true the Protestant Wisdom has by Divine Inspiration formd a Law to Arraign and Condemn the very Thoughts of the Heart of which God only can be Judge And truly to make the Calumny stick the faster they have Establish'd it by a Maxime held almost as Sacred as Gospel No Bishop no King. No though Sedition and Disloyalty was the pretence it pâ—â—cht not there The Dissâ—ters grew too Numerous and the Church of England began to see her Grandâ—ur her Diana Grandure shrink and her Dear Dominion lessen and therefore for Enacting this and indeed all other her Penal Laws her old Arts must be once more her Refuge The Non-conformists must be crusht and supprest and to avoid ad â—mputations of Oppression and Cruelty Sedition and Riots and what not must be the Charge against them and the Law gilded over with that â—air Title to make it swadowable 'T is true indeed the Church Indignation has generally contented it self with omiting the latter part of the Execution viz. Death as a Pelon However it has too often laboriously taken care to make their Purses if not their Veins bleed for it and that too sometimes by so â—otal a Drein that whole Families have been reduced to the condition of Starving which is the very next Door to it And aâ— things considered Liberty next to Life is so dear that whole Years of Noysome Imprisonment have been very little the easier Punishment Take then the whole Penal Laws together the Rubbish so industriously piled up by our Protestant Bulwark-makers for the gaeat Fence of a Church and â—ome to the full Result of all Here 's the Church of England so poorly Prevaâ—icating as to â—ollow those very steps which with all her highest Noise and Exclamations she pretends are her greatest Detestation and Abhorrence And whilst the plainer Râ—manist Enacts Executes his most Capital Laws against Heresie from his Church under the downright Name of Heresie our poorer spirited Law-makers are for punishing Heresie from their Church under Masque and Disguise obtrâ—ding their Penal Laws upon the World under the meanest of Hypocrisie Imposture Besides 〈…〉 sent in 〈…〉 thing is not 〈…〉 would render it how 〈◊〉 the Church of England to treat so many 〈◊〉 Protestant States and Kingdoms with that 〈◊〉 as Brethren Professors of Truth when not one of all those Protestant Kingdoms but is a Dissenter from the Church of England and yet â—o vigourously Persecutes her own 〈◊〉 Subjects for the very same Dissent with all the forementioned stiâ—matizing Braâ—d c. Having given you this pâ—rtrait of our Penal Laws I shall only and some 〈◊〉 Lineaments more and so finish the Pâ—â—ce And to make a further Balâ—ance betwixt ourselves and Rome in that Point how unchristian or unwarrantable soever all such Penal Inflictions for meer Conscience may be the Church of Rome has or at least fancies she has some little pretext for such Laws For under her Famous Tenent of extra Ecclesiam nulla salus and her consinement of Salvation only within her own Boundaries she may have sometimes consented to the practice of cutting off a stray Sheep to terrisie the rest of the Flock from leaping the Fold as imagining to her self in so doing and in Sacrificing some lost Sons of Perdition for such she accounts them and thereby lopping off some corrupt Member already past hope of Redemption she only secures possibly the whole Body as she thinks from Apostacy and Damnation And consequently such examplary Acts though of the greatest Rigour how mistaken soever are only intended as absolutely necessary for that great end Vniversal Salvation But alas our more charitable Church that dares not bound the Grace of God but by a larger Latitude and more extended Operation of the Blood of Christ equally allows Salvation to true Zeal and Piety in both Churches and indeed in all Christian Professions Under all this Concession I say
as wise as himself make a Court of Judicature and Record to convict a Dissenter and that too in no less a Cause then Where his very Loyalty if the Statute tels Truth is concern'd and all this from the Mouth of two Witnessâ—s generally known by the name of Informers Persons that sometimes have mounted Pillories a sort of Men not always of the most substantial unshaken veracity especially considering the Temptation of 〈◊〉 third Snip in the Fineâ— which in Twenty Pounds and Forâ— Pounds at a Fine from the Preacher besides the lesser â—ulcts from all the whole Auditory may with good management rise to a Sun. Take these Penal Laws all together I cannot tell what greater or more glorious Design his Gracious Majesty can undertake then by repairing so deep a Breach wrought through the very Fundamentals of His Peoples Orriginal Freedom and Birthrights nor is thâ—â—e or has been a greater Friend or Patron of the Church of England than His present Majesty who Himself alone tenders her the means and oppertunity to wash off those Stains and Blots which either the Petulance or Remisness of her Protestant Defenders of her Faith through these Penal Statutes have east or left upon her and so to restore and maintain her Whiteness and Innocency Having made this fair inquest into the Penal Laws I shall take a little scearch into the Test and lay down those Reasons that equally oblige us to concur with his Majesty in a Repeal of that too In order to which it behoves us first to sum up all the great and popular Arguments if I may so call 'em thâ— in reality rather the Language of Fears and Jealâ—â—â—es than the Voice of right Reason daily urged for the Preservation of the Test viz. That the whole Defence of the Protestant Religion relyes on that Basis If the Test were once abrogated the Church of England would soon be blown up when all Offices both Ecclesiastical and Civil and all Power and Authority both in Church and State shall be lodged in Roman Catholicks and what not To answer which hideous and formidable Out-cry we 'll begin first with the pretended Dangers threatned the Church of England by Repeal of the Test Not to insist upon his Majesties reiterated Word and Honour his inviolable Engagements to maintain the Church of England as now by Law Establisht in her uninterrupted Rights and Priviledges all her Churches and Church-Livings whatever thereunto belonging c. in it self alone â—o little Security But waving that Plea the Ecclesiastical Government and the Church of England neither are nor can be shaken or touchâ— by the abrogation of the Test the Test being indeed no part of her Defence For first the vâ—ry taking off the Test is no part of the Qualification of any of the Clergy of England nor was ever so much as mentioned or thought upon to be impoted or tendred to the Clergy as such the tnedring the Test to the Bishops relating only to their Peerage as Members of the House of Lords No as Jealous the Founders of that Test were or pretended to be of the danger of Pâ—pery and as Zealous as they could be for the Security of the Protestant Religion they very well knew the Church of â—â—England had two impregnable Bulwarks the two great Acts of Uniformity that themselves alone sufficiently establish'd guarded and preserved the Church of England in all points without any Fortification from the Test nor indeed was the Test wanted in the Ecclesiastick Administration those very Statutes being a greater and stronger Test before For by those Statutes is the whole Liturgy the Administration of the Sacraments and indeed all the Canons and Articles of the Church supported for by the Pence of those Laws first no Romanist can be admitted into the Clergy unless under the most damnable Hypocrisie which no humane Test can discover an Hypocrisie too no waies beneficial to the Romish Cause whilst tied up to the Divine Service as now by Law establisht Secondly No other Divine Service as the Mass or the like can be introduced into our Churches already constituted or assigned for the Divine Service of the Church of England The strength of these two Laws His Majesty very well knows and is so far even from the thought of hurting or infringing the least Particle of either of those Laws or the Security our Church has does or can receive from them by abrogating any Penal Laws or Tests whatsoever that on the contrary there is not undoubtedly that farther Confirmation of those Laws and the Religious Observance of them or any thing conducing thereunto that may or shall be offer'd to His Majesty in Parliament that His Majesty shall not readily assent to and as inviolably maintain And that in all and every Part and Particle of those Laws that relates to the Orthodox Qualâ—fication of our Clergy the Establishment of our Liturgy Rites and Ceremonies and the securing all other the Regalia of our Church as now by Law establisht Her Tormenta and Flagella only excepted And indeed His Majesty has instanced His peculiar Aversion to any Invasion of our Church's Right in that point that He has not so much as taken a Chappel of Ease from them witness the Late establish'd Lord Mayors Chappel lying shâ—t up rather thâ—n invade our Church by the admission of a Dissenter only pro temâ—â—re Iâ— then the Church of England Her Administration and Government as 't is plain stand of themselves alone secure and firm without any borrow'd prop or support from the Test whâ—â—ever the Test therefore is only a Buttrice or at least so intended to the Civil Magistracy as first excluding all Roman Catholicks from all Offices of Trust in the State secondly from all Domestick Services near the Person of the KING and thirdly from all Right to Session in Parliament These three Incapacities are by the Test thrown upon the Romanists and for confuting all suspicions and jealousies let us examine where how far and what part of the Test His Majesty desires to have repealed what Reasons induce him to desire it and lastly what Influence such a Repeal can have over the present Estabisht Church of England In the first place as to the Civil Government What Office in the State can a Roman-Catholick hold any waies impowering him to prejudice the Church of England Suppose even in the Courts of Judicature for if any apparition of any such power 't is there were 〈◊〉 imagine in all those Offices Why 〈◊〉 not a Sir Thomas Moore be as honâ—â— as a Lord Chief Justice Hales and execute his Office with as great Inteâ—rity and Justiceâ— Why not men of equal abilities he of equal uprightness in all Religions Besides the distribution of mâ—um and 〈◊〉 more especially when Liberty of 〈◊〉 shall be past into a perpetual Law and all Penal Inflictions for Matter of 〈◊〉 thrown out of their Jurisdictions will then be the whole business that lies before them And wherein is a Roman-Catholick
peaceably a recovery of so sacred a Right by a Restitution from the same Parliamentary Power that that rob'd him of it What can the Kingdom fear or the Protestant Religion be more threaten'd by conceding the perpetual Repeal of that part of Test Law then it does from the Prerogative which daily at this present dispenses with it The Roman Catholicks are and will be in all Posts of Power and Trust whenever the King's Favour and their own Abilities shall raise them to it without the Dissolving of the Test And when dissolved what more 〈◊〉 they do or how higher can they rise by i◠〈◊〉 â—oo His Majesty in the Universal 〈◊〉 of his People in matter of Religion and under his Resolution of a perpetual 〈◊〉 of Liberty of Conscience with the Repeal of all Penal Laws for that very Reason ought to think himself obliged not to leave the â—est uncancell'd For as there are very severe Penalties and Forfeitures contain'd in the Test which every Person entring into pubâ—ick Employ without a Qualification from receiving the Test incurrs What are these Penalties when duly examin'd any more than for meer matter of Conscience For if a Romanist as we see daily and Universal Examples in all Posts of Trust acts with equal Integrity and steddy Justice with the Protestants themselves without any Male-Administration in discharge of such Power or Authority what is the charge against them from the Test Penalty for Nonqualification any more at the bottom than meer matter of Conscience not for any Ministerial incapacity of executing that Trust but only a Consciencious Incapacity of subsâ—â—bing a Religious Declaration contrary to the Sentiments of their Faith requireâ— by that Test And that the Test Penalties 〈◊〉 particularly strike at Matters of Religion all Male-Administrations in Papists or not Papists with or without Tests are liable to Legal and Just Censure and Condign Punishments from other more ancient strokes of Law than the Hand of the Test And for some little farther Inquest into this Test Law and the Exclusions from Trust enaâ—â—ed by it I shall refer you to a Command I hope as Authentick as that of an Act of Parliament viz Honour thy Father and thy Mother c. In that Precept we are told that â—â—ey the King is included And if so suppose a Roman Catholick Prince Commands a Roman Catholick Subject to serve him as an Officer in his Military Affairs or a Sheriff Justice of the Peace ar what else in his Civil Administration In all which places his Religion can be no Incapacity for a Romanist in one Post may have as much Courage and Loyalty and in the other as much Integrity and Uprightness as another Subject And shall this Romanist in refusing either of the aforesaid Trusts be acquitted from a Breach of God's Commandments in disobeying his King by an excuse of his Tenderness to a Law of Man. And pray has this Novel Test Law a sound Root at the bottom that pretends to superâ—ede and exclude that Fundamental Indispensable Duty of Obeying the Immutable Laws of God. Now to come to the last point the Qualification of Members in Parliament And to begin with the Exclusion of the Popish Pees from Sâ—ssions in Parliament by Virtue of the Test His Majesty desires their Restoration and consequently the Relavation of that part of the Parliamentary Test And the Reasons moving him thereunto are the undoubted unquestion'd Birthright of the â—eers so unnaturally and so notoriously invaded and destroyed by this Parliamentary Exclusion A point so well handled â—ud so often before by several better Pens and so altogether unanswerable that I shall only add that as the Nobility of the Land are all Branches and Emanations from the Imperial Fountain of Honour His Majesty is in equal Justice obliged to recover a Gemm from their Coronets as a Ravisht Jewel from his own Crown And indeed his Majesty in so doing is in the highest degree a Champion for the very Dignity and Foundation of Parliaments themselves for truly when rightly considered how are our present Parliaments the Comprehensive Body of the Nation when so many of the Peers who neither are nor can be there by Representatives are shut out Nay how much is the Sanction and Honour of the very Laws they make and the very Constitution of our laâ—er Parliaments impair'd and lessen'd by such an Exclusion And truly when His Majesty by this intended Religious Charter resolves to establish and confirm all his Subjects Civil Rights Properties Freedom and Franchises on that solid and immoveable Basis above the reach of any Religious Tyranny or the shock of Conscience to move it would be very hard to leave his Barons of all his Subjects the only deserted whilst â—ifled and divested of so Original and Importan a Heritage as their Session in Parliament Thus far and no farther does His Majesty desire the Repeal of the Penal Laws and Test wherein 't is highly remarkable His Majesty's Alleviation of some visible burthen Oppression or Injustice lying upon all or some part of his people under the pressure of the Penal Tests in all the foremention'd Cases is so signally manifested that nothing but a wilful Blindness can plead Ignorance However to convince the very Infidel World and to clear his unblemisht Honour Candour and Integrity from all the â—eeble Clâ—uds that Malice and Ingratitude have rais'd to shade those inviolable Oracles his Protestations of desending the Protestant Religion His last Declaration of continuing the Test in the House of Câ—â—â—mons so totally dispels every least shadow of the popular fear and puts that stamp upon the Word and promise of a King and so eternally silences all those â—rightful Apparitions of the Romish Influence over the Protestant Religion that this very Religious Liberty so setled as purposed with the continuance of the Test in the House of Commons joyn'd in the security cuts off even the very Intaâ—l of all Legislative power from Popish Hands even to the end of the World. For whilst the Test consines in the House of Commons there cannot be to much as one Individual Member by the Test Qualification but must be a Protestant And possibly the very conceding of the other point viz. The establishment of a Religious Charter of Liberty with our Compliance with His Majesty in Repeal of the Penal Laws and â—est in all other Stations may be one of the most effectual means if not the only expedient to continue that Test in the House of Commons unshaken and immoveable aâ—d consâ—quenâ—ly 〈◊〉 Exclusion of the Romans from all Legâ—slative Power to endless Posterity For whilst at present the Penal Laws 〈◊〉 in fâ—rce the Papist has some considerable strength and Allies to joyn hâ—m as havinâ— indeed so vast a Body as the 〈◊〉 Dissenters under disguâ— and disoblâ—gation to friend the Romish Party as fellow sâ—fferers under the weight of Penal Oppressions and which upon any Parliamentary refusal of repealing those Penal Laws may make them but more and stron 〈◊〉 riveted into one joynt interest with the Roman Catholicks if no worse Ferment follows and consequently render their power so united more formidable But after the Sanction of a Religious Liberty the Protestant Dissenters will have so far gain'd the Ultimate of their Desire and Ambition that then in course they will fall in with the Church of England For all Repeals of that kind end in that greatest of Interest SELF and when their own self interest shall be so intirely satisfied from so ample and open a Field of Liberty as that Religious Charter the Bapists that poor diminitive handful of Men for ever after must and will inevitably stand alone and whilst the Parliamentary Test can only by Parliamentary Authority be dissolv'd where shall there be one individual Man of them whether Church of England or dissenting Member that shall so much as listen even to the least Whisper that inclines to any farther Popish Concessions more than their granted Liberty much less to any such threatning station as an Access to Parliament And more and above when this Parliamentary House of Commons Test shall be enacted by the Royal Fiat from a Roman Catholick Prince and that Qualification of the Legislative Authority together with the Church of England Establishment founded even by such a hand it may undoubtedly put no little Check in all Romish Successions so much as to every start that shall but arise to either of their prejudice or violation and when Liberty of Conscience shall even by a Roman Catholick Prince be so solemnly own'd and avow'd a Fundamental and Original Franchise of the people of England and so exemplarily ratiâ—ed as such what dread can we have from Romish daâ—gers when not only our Parliament Walls shall be so eternally barr'd against them but also so asserted and so potent a free born English Right shall stand up to confront all future Popish Pretensions whatever And all that Popish Tyranny over Conscience which almost in all Mouths and in all Pamphlets has been all along the Gorgon that frights half Mankind out of their little Senses as being so industriously represented the only Indelible Romish Principle and indeed their ultimate aim and desiâ— in England must now vanish into air when this Parliamentary Exclusion shall leave them no hands to grasp it should it enter into their Hearts to endeavour it To conclude Wherein are His Majesty's Demands unreasonable in asking the Repeal of the Penal Laws in which so great a part of the Vox populi as their Addresses testifie joyns with him and the principles of Nature Humanity and Conscience plead for him Or in asking the Repeal of the Test in those Branches formentioned for the asserting of his own Honour and recovering the Birth-right of a King by endeavouring to shake off the most shameful Vassalage that Monarch ever truckled under And why must his Endeavours of doing his People so much right in the first and himself so much right in the last be so poorly misinterpreted by the unnatural Surmizes of his ungrateful People But let us blush and mend and by giving up of these Laws do Equity in return of Clemency and Mercy FINIS