accused our Church and Government of Popery for retaining those innocent and indifferent things agreeable to the primitive practice to make a publick declaration of their abhorrence of Romish principles and practices such as I have already charged them withal To which I may adde their claiming of a Supremacy above Princes and Parliaments in matters Ecclesiastical and divers other things which are the most pernicious and Antichristian Doctrines and Practices of that Church which have drawn the greatest reproach and odium on the Reformation And if they would heartily perform this duty I doubt not but they would see a necessity of returning to the Communion of the Church as it is now established and to assist her in her conflicts against the Church of Rome than which there is no means more probable to keep out that Popery against which they pretend so great an aversion And to induce them hereunto I shall recommend to their serious consideration how far the Principles and Practices of the Jesuits under the name of Doleman and of the old Regicides under that of Bradshaw and our new Conspirators under the Notions of Sidney do agree as it is fitted to my hand in this Parallel THE PARALLEL 1. DOLEMAN THere can be no doubt but that the Commonwealth hath power to chuse their own fashion of Government as also to change the same upon reasonable Causes In like manner is it evident that as the Commonwealth hath this Authority to chuse and change her Government so hath she also to limit the same with what Laws and Conditions she pleaseth Conference about Succession part 1. cap. 1. pag 12 13. All Law both Natural National and Positive doth teach us That Princes are subject to Law and Order and that the Common-wealth which gave them their Authority for the common good of all may also restrain or take the same away again if they abuse it to the common evil The whole Body though it be governed by the Prince as by the Head yet is it not Inferiour but Superiour to the Prince Neither so giveth the Commonwealth her Authority and Power up to any Prince that she depriveth her self utterly of the same when need shall require to use it for her defence for which she gave it Part 1. cap. 4. pag. 72. And finally the Power and Authority which the Prince hath from the Common-wealth is in very truth not Absolute but Potestas vicaria delegata i. e. a Power Delegate or Power by Commission from the Commonwealth which is given with such Restrictions Cautels and Conditions yea with such plain Exceptions Promises and Oaths of both Parties I mean between the King and Commonwealth at the day of his Admission oâ— Coronation as if the same be not kept but wilfully broken on either Part then is the other not bound to observe his Promise neither though never so solemnly made or sworâ—â— Part 1. cap. 4. p. 73. By this then you see the ground whereon dependeth the righteous and lawful Deposition and Chastisement of wicked Princes viz. Their failing in their Oath and Promises which they made at their first entrance Then is the Commonwealth not onely free from all Oaths made by her of Obedience or Allegiance to such unworthy Princes but is bound moreover for saving the whole Body to resist chasten or remove such evil Heads if she be able for that otherwise all would come to Destruction Ruine and publick Desolation Part 1. cap. 4. p. 77 78. 2. BRADSHAW THe People of England as they are those that at the first as other Countries have done did chuse to themselves this Form of Government even for Justice sake that Justice might be administred that Peace might be preserved so Sir they gave Laws to their Governours according to which they should govern and if those Laws should have prov'd inconvenient or prejudicial to the Publick they had a Power in them and reserved to themselves to alter as they shall see cause Kings Tryal p. 64. CHARLES STUART King of England The Commons of England assembled in Parliament according to the fundamental Power that rests in themselves have resolved to bring you to Tryal and Judgment p. 29. If so be the King will go contrary to the end of his Government Sir he must understand that he is but an Officer of Trust and he ought to discharge that Trust and they are to take order for the Animadversion and Punishment of such an Offending Governour p. 65. Sir Parliaments were ordained for that purpose to redress the Grievances of the People And then Sir the Scripture says They that know their Masters will and do it not what follows The Law is your Master the Acts of Parliament p. 66 67. This we know to be Law Rex habet superiorem Deum Legem etiam Curiam and so says the same Author and truly Sir he makes bold to go a little further Debent ei ponere fraenum They ought to bridle him p. 65. That the said Charles Stuart being admitted King of England and therein trusted with a limited Power Vid. Char. p. 30. The House of Commons the Supream Authority and Jurisdiction of the Kingdom p. 48. Which Authority requires you in the name of the People of England of which you are elected King to answer them p. 36. Sir you may not demur the Jurisdiction of the Court they sit here by the Authority of the Commons of England and all your Predecessors and you are responsible to them p. 44. For there is a Contract and Bargain between the King and his People and your Oath is taken and certainly Sir the Bond is reciprocal Sir if this Bond be once broken farewel Soveraignty p. 72. Sir though you have it by Inheritance in the way that is spoken of yet it must not be denied that your Office was an Office of Trust Now Sir if it be an Office of Inheritance as you speak of your Title by Descent let all men know that great Offices are seizable and forfeitable as if you had it but for a year and for your Life p. 73. And Sir the People of England cannot be so far wanting to themselves which God having dealt so miraculously and gloriously for they having Power in their hands and their Great Enemy they must proceed to do Justice to themselves and to You. p. 75. 3. SIDNEY And other of The True Protestant Party GOd hath left Nations unto the liberty of setting up such Governments as best pleased themselves The Right and Power of Magistrates in every Country was that which the Laws of that Country made it to be Sidn Pap. p. 2. St. Peter 1 Pet. 2.13 14. stiles Kings as well as the Governours under him the Ordinance of Man which cannot have any other sence but that Men make them and give them their Power Hunt's Postsc p. 37. By all which it is evident That the Succession to the Crown is the Peoples Right And though the Succession to the Crown is Hereditary because
endeavouring to raise a Rebellion to seize and destroy the Kings Guards to deprive the King and put him to death The Attorney-General urged That the Duke of Monmouth the Lord Gray Sir Tho. Armstrong Mr. Ferguson and this Lord with the Earl of Essex then dead were of a Council for a general Rising to which end they received several Messages from the Earl of Shaftsbury who being disappointed by Mr. Trenchard who had promised to raise a thousand Foot and two or three hundred Horse he and Ferguson left the Kingdom The Witnesses were Col. Rumsey Mr. Shepherd and the Lord Howard on whose evidence he was found guilty and sentenced to die and accordingly he was beheaded in Lincolns-Inne-Fields July 21. 1683. The next was the Tryal of Mr. Rous against whom Mr. Leigh Mr. Lee Mr. Corbin Mr. Richardson gave such evidence that he was presently found guilty and received sentence to die and was executed accordingly Captain Blague being indicted for conspiring to seize the Tower of London received his Tryal but was acquitted Algernon Sidney was tryed at the Kings-Bench-Bar on the 7th 21th and 27th of November 1683. His Indictment was almost the same as the former onely there was added to it his sending of Aaron Smith into Scotland to excite and stir up the Subjects to a Rebellion there and his being the Author of a traiterous Libel containing among other seditious discourses these words viz. The power originally in the People of England is delegated unto the Parliament He the most serene Lord Charles the Second now King of England meaning is subject unto the Law of God as he is a man to the People that makes him a King inasmuch as he is a King the Law sets a measure unto that Subjection and the Parliament judges of particular cases thereupon arising He must be content to submit his interest to theirs since he is no more than any one of them in any other respect than that he is by the consent of all raised above any other If he doth not like this condition he may renounce the Crown but if he receive it upon that condition as all Magistrates do the power they receive and swear to perform it he must expect that the performance will be exacted or revenge taken by those that he hath betrayed And in other places these traiterous Sentences are contained viz. We may therefore change or take away Kings without breaking any Yoke or that is made a Yoke which is not one the injury is therefore in making and imposing and there can be none in breaking it c. In p. 23 24 25 26. many other things were read at the Tryal out of that Libel particularly p. 26. where speaking of a King he says When the matter is brought to that that he must not reign or the People over whom he would reign must perish it is easily decided As if the Question had been asked in the time of Nero or Domitian whether they should be left at liberty to destroy the best part of the world as they endeavoured to do or it should be rescued by their destruction And as for the Peoples being Judges in their own case it is plain they ought to be the onely Judges because it is their own and onely concerns themselves The Attorney-General p. 13. says The whole Book is an Argument for the People to rise in Arms and vindicate their Wrongs He i. e. Sidney lays it down That the King hath no authority to dissolve the Parliament but 't is apparent the King hath dissolved many therefore he hath broken his Trust and invaded our Rights And concludes We may therefore shake off the Yoke for 't is not a Yoke we submitted to but a Yoke by Tyranny that is the meaning of it imposed on us The Witnesses who swore to the Indictment were Mr. West Col. Rumsey Mr. Keeling the Lord Howard Sir Andrew Foster Mr. Atterbury Sir Philip Lloyd Mr. Shepherd Mr. Cary and Mr. Cooke upon whose evidence the Jury found him guilty of High-Treason and accordingly sentence was pronounced against him and he was executed on Tower-hill Decemb. 7. 1683. I shall adde onely a few Remarks on the dying Speeches and Confession of these men and first of Col. Sidney He had no other Apology for himself but that he had been engaged from his youth in that Old Cause for which he prayed in these words Defend thine own Cause and defend these that defend it stir up such as are faint direct those that are willing confirm those that waver give wisdom and integrity unto all Grant that I may die glorifying thee for all thy mercies and that at the last thou hast permitted me to be singled out as a Witness of thy Truth and even by the confession of my Opposers for that Old Cause in which I was from my youth engaged and for which thou hast often and wonderfully declared thy self Now the Old Cause wherein Col. Sidney was engaged was the destruction of the Church and the Royal Martyr to set up a Commonwealth in which he acted as a Colonel and one of the Judges of the Royal Martyr yet he calls these Treasons Gods Truth In what Religion this Gentleman died God onely knows for he made no profession at all whether Presbyterian Independent Anabaptist or Quaker but a Protestant at large as any of those Factions term themselves As to the Lord Russel he was also unhappily engaged in the same OLD CAVSE from his youth as may appear by the following Relation Mr. Johnson the Author of the Life of Julian confirmed him in his riper years in those opinions which * This Lewis was a stickling Presbyterian that had gotten the Sequestration of Totnam-high-cross from Mr. Wimpew a loyal Minister of the Church of England To this Lewis many Noblemen and Gentlemen sent their Sons for Education among whom was the late Lord Russel And to divert his Scholars he composed a Farce wherein the young Gentlemen were to be Actors The Farce had all the Formalities of a High Court of Justice President Sollicitor Witnesses c. The Criminal was an old Shock Water-Dog which he called Charles Stuart This Dog was arraigned tryed condemned and executed by cutting off his head By which action he instilled the Principles of Ring-killing into his Scholars as if the murdering of a King were no more than the cutting off a Dogs neck Mr. Lewis and Dr. Manton had educated him For Mr. Johnson having written that Traiterous Book to defend the mischievous Doctrine of Resistance this unhappy man could not be extricated from that snare to his death And it was long before his acquaintance with this Seditious Author that Dr. Manton a great Abettor of the first War and a Favourite of Cromwel had instilled the same Principles into him For in his Comment on St. James 4.1 he proposeth this Question Whether Religion may be defended by Arms To which he answers That sometime the outward exercise of Religion and
Ireland or any other person 〈◊〉 do the same which he expresly denyed saying He did it on his own score Whereupon the House Voted Resolved c. That the House doth utterly disapprove of the proceedings of Colonel M. in the Treaty and Cessation as they called it made between him and Owen Roe Oneale and that this House doth detest thoughts of any closing with any Party of Popish Rebels there who have had their hands in shedding English Bloud Nevertheless the House being satisfied that what the said Colonel did therein was in his apprehension necessary for the preservation of the Parliaments interest the House is content that the farther consideration thereof as to him be laid aside and shall not at any time hereafter be called in question Upon these proceedings the Author notes 1. The Armies Doctrine and Vse of apprehended necessity and good intentions to justifie evil actions approved of by this Parliament 2. This Agreement though it were twelve weeks before publickly known in England and divulged in licensed News-books was never scrupled until that first the said Agreement was expired And 3. That Oneale was so beaten by the Lord Inchiquine that as their News-books said he was inconsiderable and must suddenly joyn with Ormond or be destroyed 4. That these Votes call this Agreement but a Treaty and Cessation which was a League offensive and defensive against Ormond Inchiquine and all that upheld Monarchy For which the Author gives these Reasons Because the second Article says That on all occasions both Parties be ready to assist one another till a more absolute Agreement be made by the Parliament of England And the third Article saith That the Creats of Ulster residing in the Quarters of the Parliaments Army shall pay Contribution to General Owen Oneale which is a granting of Taxes against Law and it seems Oneale became a Mercenary being taken into pay Article the fourth saith That if Oneale shall happen to fight against the Forces under Ormond Inchiquine or other Enemies of the Parliament and thereby spend his Ammunition if he be near to their Quarters and want Ammunition they shall then furnish him This was actually performed when Inchiquine besieged Dundalk The fifth Article allowed Oneale the use of any Harbours within their liberty By which Premises we may rationally conclude that the Factions are not so averse from the most bloudy Papists but if occasion require they are ready to joyn interest with them to maintain their Good Old Cause against the Crown and Church of England which will farther appear by the Correspondency and Agents which the successive Parties that were uppermost maintained in foreign parts to betray the present Kings Counsels while he was in banishment for which Manning a Papist was executed for whom many Dirgies were sung in several Churches And when his Majesty was invited into Scotland the Marquess of Huntly and other Lords and Heads of the Popish Faction made a great Party to oppose his Reception unless he would grant a Toleration of their Religion But the Presbyterian Party having then the greatest power admitted him on such terms as they thought fit and served him no longer than they could serve their own designes For the clearer manifestation of the ASSOCIATION between Oneale and the Parliament there are lately come to the Council of State saith the Author of the Hist of Independ p. 245. two Letters out of Conaught from Sir Charles Coote dated the 14th and 15th of August 49 informing them with how much zeal to the Parliaments interest Owen Oneale had freely raised the Siege of London-derry On which Letters and the Votes and Proceedings of Pride 's Parliament I commend to the Readers observation these particulars First the 15th of August the Letters inform them that Oneale freely offered his assistance to Coote professing much affection to the Parliament of England and an earnest desire to maintain their interest He had formerly stiled the Parliament Monstrosum Parliamentum but now the case is altered 〈◊〉 calls them the Honourable Parliament as driving his interest against Monarchy and Protestancy In the Letter of the 14th he informs the Parliament that he hath found Oneale and his Army very punctual and faithful in all their promises and ingagements and make◠no doubt but they will continue so to the end The 16th of August he says that Oneale i◠his Express to Coote inclosed some Letters received from Col. M. and among the rest 〈◊〉 Copy of a Letter in answer to a Letter of the Lord Inchiquine charging the Colonel for joyning with Oneale and his party wherein the Colonel insinuated as if Oneale 's submission to use the Parliaments power were already accepted by them In that of the 15th Coote hath this expression in his Letter Calling to mind that it is no new thing for the most wise God to make use of wicked Instruments to bring about a good designe Aug. 15. the Letter says that Coote called a Council of War and resolved it was better to accept of the Assistance of those who proclaimed themselves Friends to us and our interest we fight for The same Letter says that we added to the Article this proviso Not use their Assistance longer than the approbation of the State of England should go along with us therein In that of the 14th Coote says Oneale was pleased to communicate to him certain proposals which were long since transmitted to the Parliament and though for his part and the prime Officers with him they do not doubt but the proposals are already yielded to by the State yet in regard their Army and party in all other parts of the Kingdom cannot be satisfied therewith till the Parliament declare more publickly therein he hath therefore desired me humbly to intreat your Lordships to declare your Resolutions therein with as much speed as may be And in a Vote of Parliament it 's said The House is well satisfied of the diligence faithfulness and integrity of Sir Charles Coote in preserving the Garison of London-derry Which says my Author was preserved by the conjunction of Oneale who raised the Siege But to return to England where though the Jesuits and Priests did not appear so visibly as in the Wars of Ireland yet that they had great influence on the Councils and Armies of the Fanaticks from the beginning to the end of the War is industriously proved by Mr. Prynne in several books especially in his Introduction to the Archbishop's Tryal and in Romes Master-piece Works of Darkness brought to light The Royal Favourite c. The first War begun with the clamour of Popery That it was admitted not onely at the Court but into the Church particularly that the King was a great favourer of Papists and the House of Commons instance in one Goodman a Romish Priest who was condemned at the Sessions in the Old-baily Whereupon the House remonstrates That it was more necessary to put the Laws in execution at that time than in any before That at