Realm who owned to a Person of known Integrity that he believed the Prince of Wales to be as truly born of the Queen's body as his own Son of his Wife 's and that therefore they were resolved to pluck up both Root and Branch which in other words is to change the Government If I say all these Particulars be true as we dare affirm them to be and are ready to pâ—ove by unquestioâ—able Testimonies and as most of them are most notorious then we may safely conclude that the Birth of the Prince of Wales was no just Occasion of a War nor consequently can be derive hence a Right to the Government by the Law of Nations justifying his Invasion as this Gentleman pretends I pity his Weakness in compaâ—ing p. 15. this open Carriage of things in the Birth of that Prince before Multitudes of People of all sorts indifferently to a Juggâ—e between Three the pretended Father and Mother and a Mâ—dwife to suboâ—n a false Chiâ—d He thinks it too of great Weight That the Juâ—y upon hearing the whole Evidence gave Iudgment that tâ—at Child was supposititious What Straws wil Men catch at when their Cause is sinking But why does he not tell us what Evidence the Jury he speaks of proceeded upon Because it would shame his alleadging it 'T is this as I have been informed The Hereford 〈◊〉 Woman was held Incapable of Children which made the next Heir to the Estate suspect no Child was born A crafty Lawyer who undertook to discover it first made Enquiâ—y what poor Women the midwife ' had delivered about that time and found that â—ne of them had her Child missing having discovered this he fâ—ights the Woman by telling her there was a great Rumour that the had murthered her Child and that she should be hanged if she did not produce it alive or dead Hereupon she made known the whole Intrigue of the Midwife and the pâ—etended Parents and the Juggle came to be consist Is this in any Regard like our Case None were sworn there but the two Persons immediately conâ—erned who hoped to enjoy the Estate and a Countrey Midwife who was to have a share in it for her Project at least we may be sure a good lusty Bribe So that here waâ— in really but One Witness the pretended Parents being barred from witnessing in their own Câ—use Counâ— now the Number of our Witnesses and weigh their Worth and how that they were not Persons 〈◊〉 out but came accidentally as they hapt to hear of the Queen's Coâ—â—ition and it will appear impossible they should be capable of a Confederacy or Subornation Again The Queen was never held to be barren She had had formerly divers Daughters and a Son and it was likely and no more but what by the course of Nature is generally expected that She should at another time have a second Male-Child ' Nor did any Mother of the Child appear to own it as the Lying Parts a goâ—d wâ—â—e pretended she would all those kind of Romances serv'd like Buttâ—esses or Scaffolds to raise this new King to his Height and build up our New Governâ—ent and therefore when things were better settled and could stand without them they were taken down again and laid aside as useless In a word let him bring an Evidence in any degree like that which his Herefordshire Jâ—ry had and we shall acknowledge the Wrong done to the Natioâ— and to the Râ—yal Family and grant the War had there been any just Till then let not such Personages lie under such intolerable Slanders let not Christianity and Duty be so wickedly violated nor the People of England deluded and scandalized with such Talk without Proof and sâ—ch heavy Câ—arges laid without the least colourable Shadow of Evidence to juâ—â—ifie that they are so much as in any degree Probable much less as he mouths it great and violent Presumptions and least of all what they ought to have been absolutely certain Truths Thus much of his great and violent Presumptions c. Next follows for though he be a very slender Prover yet he is still a very big Pretender his Too gâ—eat Evidence of a form'd Design to subvert the Establisht Religion and Civil Liberties of the Nation I suppâ—se he calls it Too great Evidence because 't is so great that it dazles the Night as the Sun does at Noon-day so that no Man can see it or bâ—hold it else why is it too great Now when a Man has too much of a thing 't is very unkind and even ill-natur'd and hard-hearted not to spare a Little of it to his Friends to whom he owes it and who both want it and expect it from him But we mistake his Genius he is a Praâ—ing not a Proving Writer Nor does he evidence the Calumny otherwise than by referring us again to his Alcoran the Prince of Orange's Declaration Whatever he finds there he makes account is a First Principle and so bring of too great Evidence it can need no Proof An impartial Narrative of matters of Fact known to most in England will give us a true Light to judge of this Point King Iames his Religion and the hatred which the generality of the Nation had against it made all those who were of a different Persuasion look with a jealous Eye upon his Actions and apt to make the worst Constructions of every thing he did in favour of Papists Nor is it to be thought that he wanted many Enemies of the Old Excluding Faction who stood watching all Opportunities to bâ—eed him Vexation and disaffect his Subjects by malicious Insinuations Those of our Church who were heartily Loyal did grieve exceedingly to see him give his Enemies too fair occasions to work him Mischief They judged that the setting up the High Commission Court over Ecclesiasticks were there nothing in it but the Novelty of it should not have been attempted in such Circumstances if at all The making one of the Iesuits Men more odious to our Nation than Turkish Mâ—sties a Privy-Counsellor could they fear'd have no other likely Effect but to exasperate all England to the highest degree They conceived that the Dispensing with the Test and putting Roman-Catholicks promiscuously into Offices Civil and Military might have been let alone 'till the Test it self were Abrogated which would certainly have been more easily obtained had not this forward Anticipation put our Church of England out of humour and made them more warily stand upon their Guard and resolve unanimously to part with nothing that could any way he likely to advantage them But that which most Startled our Church was the Design of giving Liberty of Conscience to all Dissenters they had sadly experienced in the long Parliament's Time and in Oliver's Days how those Men had trampled the Church of England under Foot and they feared that this setling them by Law on an even level with themselves might in time give those restless Men opportunity to play the same Franks over again In
or any one of them was positively true and consequently he attempts not to make good nor â—ffers the least Proof that the War upon this Score was Iust nor that the Law of Nations he so much talks of gives the Invader any Right or Title to the Crown nor lustly that there were great and as he only phrases it violent Presumptions of this Injury to the Right of Succession Whence follows that he has not even said one single Word in juâ—â—â—fication of this New Government or of the Swearing Party and so he is infinitely short of clearing the whole Matter as he in big Words pretended at the beginning of this Discourse Certainly our Governours were either very unwise in clinsing no better a Wâ—iter to defend their Cause or else which is the very Truth their Cause it self can bear no better a Defence Since then this stout Champion of our new Government is so mightily in love with Iâ—s it were not amiss to ansâ—er him with more Ifs than he brings which moreâ—ver a thing he â—o where does for fear of a Confute we dare vouch to be true We affirm then That if this Invasion was intended above three quarters of a Year before it was executed or more the French King sending King Iames word of it half a Year before If it was long befoâ—e concerted between the Prince of Orange and the Confederates to dethrone King Iames without any Respect to the Prince of Wales as yet but a young Embrio if so much or to the maintaining our Religion or Liberties or to any of those other specious Pretences taken up afterwards but on the Confederates parts at least merely for fear he might be brought to 〈◊〉 with France or stand Neuter and to make the silly English lose their Lives and beggar themselves to maintain the Quarrel of Foreigners If the main thing that encouraged the Confederates to that Uâ—dertaking was the Knâ—wn Hatred of the English Men in general â—o King Iames's Religion that King's Zeal to make those of his Persuasiâ—n â—s free is the rest of their Fellâ—w Subjects which they hop'd would highly disgust very many â— and theâ—r Assurance that they had a Factions Lying and Discontented Party here who would make way for his Ejectment by giving about and countenancing such Stories and Libels as would encline great part of the Nation to a Revolt If among the rest this Flam of a supposititious Prince of Wales nor dream'd on by any till then wâ—s comed â—â— the Politick Mint at the Hague sent over into England to be made current here by their Party and then the Dissatisfaction which themselves had raised hâ—re was taken up for a Pretence and inserted in the Prince of Orange's Declaration to give the idle Story a greater Authority and to gloss over such an unnatural and so unjust an Invasion If ample Satisfaction was given by the Oaths of Multitudes of Credible and Honourable Witnesses when the Dissatisfaction came to some height it being highly unwise for a King to humor every idle Report or honor it with such a solemn Examination If the Queen's Deliveâ—y was far from being carried secretly and suspitiously as one of his Ifs shameâ—â—â—y â—ints but in opâ—n Day-light before a Multitude of People of All sorts indifferently no Person of Honor being denied Entrance who had the Curiosity to be present If the Prince and Princess of Orange who were Two of the Persons chiefly concern'd being absent far off in Holland and not denied coming over if they would might have sent some whom they could trust to be present or at least had press'd their Sister who was here and whose Joint Concern it was to be exactly curious in a Business so highly importing â—hâ—m all and yet none of them though so hugely obliged by then Interest to doe this did ever make any kind of Means or Applicaâ—ion in order to their so just Satisfaction which it had been a Madness not to have done had they indeed had any real Doubt Nay more If to carry on the politick Sham the Princess of Denmark who was the Third Person so nearly concerned after having avoided with all the Industry imaginable to be present at the Queen's rising and going to Bed left she should be forced to see what she was loth to know and resolved not to wâ—tnâ—ss viz. the Queen's Pregnancy would needs coâ—trary to the Will of her Father who express'd some Trouble that she should then â—e absent because she being satisfied in the Thing her self might be the better able to satisfie her Relations run out of the way to the Bath and to be purposely absent just at the time the Queen reckoned to be delivered though she had most pressing reasons of Interest to be here at that time nor could without most manifest Injustice be denied all the Liberty allowable â—o one of the same Sex both to satisfie her sâ—lf and others though at the same time it was given out that she was sent away by her Fâ—ther lest she should discover the pretended Cheat Iâ— none of the Three nearly concâ—râ—ed nor any other made the least Scruple nor pretended the least Dissatisfaction in the World when the Queen was â—elivered of other Chiâ—â—ren formerly though not half the number was presenâ— untill a Male Child was born which to thâ—iâ— Râ—gret put them by the Hopes and Expectaâ—ion of succeeding in thâ—ir turns â—he Next If instead of offering any Proof at all or any one Witness of the contrary to invalidate or counteâ—balaâ—ce in the least degree this consonant Testimony of so many Persons of untaiâ—ted Honour and Sincerity this Farce to gull â—nd mad the silly credulous People was carried on and abeâ—â—ed with nothing but Multitudes of Lyes printed and baw'd about to serve a present Turn as that the Woman whose Child it was was come out of Holland and would appear to justifie it that it was brought to St Iames's sometimes in a Coach someâ—imes in a Warming-pâ—n that the Midwife had coâ—fessed the Cheat c. All which are eâ—iâ—ced to be Falshoods by this that they werâ— never prov'd or attempted to be prov'd thâ—ugh it was so highly necessary If the factious Members in the Conventiâ—n that voted up this new King were pâ—est by the loyal Party to call this matter into Examination yet could never be brought to doe it though it were in it self of the highest Concern imaginable to our Nation and withall most absolutely necessary to justifie this otherwise barbarous Invasiâ—n of the Prince of Orange and their own Treasonable Abdication of King Iames Lastly If this heavy Charge against the Kiâ—g and Queen of trumping up a Sham Prince of Wales was induâ—â—riously spread throughout the Three Kingdoms not out of any real Zeal of presâ—rving the â—â—ue Succession but onely as a fit occasion to throw off That and the Monaâ—chy too as hereditary by Lineal Descent by changing it into an Elective as frankly acknowledged by one of the greatest Abdicating Pâ—ers of the
his Faction would handle it could light on none but himself So that it was out of kindness to himself not to King Iames or the Nation that he let him escape Yet he Magnifies this Indulgence of the Prince of Orange exceedingly but I would ask him in what this Civility differs from that of Robbers who first strip the poor Travellers of all they have and then turn them a Grazing without a Penny in their Purse or as this pretty Gentleman phrases it p. 24. Allow them great Freedom to go where they please I would ask him too what one Thing was done by the Prince which look'd either Generous Civil or in the least degree Respectful towards a King and a Father and not rather most Barbarous and Rude Or what one Action of his gives us Reason to think he intended to accommodate Things with the true King and not rather to set up for himself The Martyr out of Love to his Native Countrey resented that All the new Methods of settling the Nation have hitherto made it more miserable poor and exposed to Foreign Enemies What says he to this Can Impudence it self deny this to be true Is not the Interest of England torn piece-meal and every Nation has a Limb of us Is not the Charge of securing Scotland reducing of Ireland the hiring Souldierâ— from Denmark and other Places the Bribing of Holland the Suiss-Cantons Savoy and other poor Confederates the keeping and paying two great Armies in Flanders and Ireland and the setting out a vast Fleet at Sea gone all out of our Pockets Has not the driving out King Iames and the Protecting our new Governor and his only put us upon such an expensive War that we are upon our last Legs it being absolutely impossible to squeeze Five Millions more out of our drain'd Purses to keep the War on foot another Year which is the least Summ that can now be expected For if Five Millions this Year have done nothing at all 't is to be fear'd that Seven Millions will scarce enable us to do much the next A certain Person employ'd in the Treasury who has the opportunity to know exactly the Incomes and Issues of the Exchequer assured a worthy Friend of mine that this Michaelmas there will have been paid out of it since this Revolution Fifteen Millions and that there is still an Arrear behind to the Army to the Navy and for Stores of Five Millions more And this besides many Thousands perhaps a Hundred of Thousands owing for the Wages of transport Ships and that for want of ready Money the Creditors are paid with Tallies so that those who have them can raise no Money without abating Four or Five Shillings in the Pound until the next Parliament gives Money to pay off all these Back-reckonings The insuperable Difficulty of doing which and withall of raising Seven Millions more to carry on the War the next Campaign not to mention the repaying the Money we have borrowed will make the great Work of Conquering France go but slowly on Every wise Man even of our State-Party clearly seeing and with regret complaining that in all appearance the War is as far from an End as it was at the Beginning Now where is all this Money to be had or whence to be raised Are not our Ships taken in great Multitudes our Traffick decay'd abroad our Trade at home the Tenants unable to pay their Landlords so that sometimes instead of bringing in their Rents they are forc'd to send to them for Money to pay their Taxes or else they must throw up their Farms Are not they already forced in many Places for want of Money to exchange one Commodity for another in the Markets Is not half our Cash gone out of the Nation so that in Holland alone our Guineas and Mâ—ll'd Money have been as frequent as their own Coin Is not Clipp'd Money which is not worth Transporting now in a manner the only currant Coin left in the Nation And to prevent the possibility our good Money should ever return again it is melted down in Holland into the drossie Alloy of their Sebellings and Stuyvers But the Transporting our Coin'd Money is not all They have invented more Expedients than One or Two open ones to impoverish England the Decus Thâ—amen inscribed on the Edges of our new Coin was Judg'd an effâ—ctual Preservative from Clipping and Fyling But now the Clippers who by the Law are to suffer as Felows are become the best Friends to the Trafficking part of the Nation and if they be not conniv'd at and the Melters down of our Mâ—ll'd and Vncircumcised Money into Bullion transported in vast quantities every Year into Holland as appears by the Entries in the Custom-house be not severely punish'd we must in a short time be contented with onely Copper and Tin Farebings or else be forc'd to debase our Money to the Dutch Standard If Captain Guy and several other Masters of Yatches and other Vessels both Dutch and English were strictly 〈◊〉 they could tell them what prodigious Number of Chests of Money in Specie or in Bullion have been transported these Three last Years into Holland and Flanders We have indeed some Returns from thence for they bring us prohibited Goods so that both in Exporting and Importing our English Laws are still Dispensed with without any permission from the Parliament and no Man though our Ruin depends upon it dares complain There is yet another odd Commodity imported which would much encrease the Revenue if it did but pay Custom and that is Shoals of Caterpillars that come over to devour the Fruits of our Labours the Dutch I mean and other Foreigners with their Wives and Children of which scarce a Ship or Hoy comes hither that brings not from Ten to Sixty c. These and the French Hugenots are transported hither to make up several new Colonies and compose a Secret Militia to be ready at a dead lift to enslave our Countrey if our Eyes being at length opened to see our impending Ruine we grow Head-strong and refuse to wear the Yoke which is preparing for us Again Have we felt nothing from the Insolencies of the Dutch Danes and other Foreigners wherever they come Lastly What are all those Losses put together in Comparison to the loss of so many English-men's Lives who have perish'd either by War oâ—â— through want of Necessaries or else by strange Diseases in Ireland and at Sea A Thousand or Two are swept away at a clap in this late prodigious Storm The loss of the Coronation and the other Ships that perish'd and the damage done to all the rest that suffered in their Rigging and otherwise in that Hurricane is not worth the mention by those who are so inur'd to continual losses of sundry kinds as we are though I 'm told by a knowing Person that the Repairing of that one Mâ—sfortune will require some Hundreds of Thousands of Pounds to be added to the former large Audit of the