thence to Collingburn and so to Littlecot where he came on Saturday Decemb. 8. In the mean time the Lords Commissioners viz. the Marquess of Hallifax the Earl of Nottingham and the Lord Godolphin appointed by the King to treat with the Prince of Orange were come to Hungerford being the Place agreed on for that purpose by the Prince To whom a VVriting subscribed by their Lordships was delivered in these following VVords SIR The King has commanded us to acquaint you That he observeth all the Differences and Causes of Complaint alledged by your Highness seem to be Referred to a Free Parliament His Majesty as he has already declared was resolved before to Call one but thought that in the present State of Affairs it was Advisable to Defer it till Things were more composed Yet seeing that his People still continued to desire it he hath put forth his Proclamation in order to it and has issued forth his Writ for Calling of it And to prevent any Cause of Interruption in it he will consent to every Thing that can be reasonably required for the Security of all those that shall come to it His Majesty has therefore sent us to attend your Highness for the Adjusting of all Matters that shall be agreed to necessary for the Freedom of Elections and the Security of Sitting and is ready immediately to enter into a Treaty in order to it His Majesty proposeth that in the mean time the respective Armies may be Restrained within such Limits and at such Distance from London as may prevent the Apprehensions that the Parliament may in any Kind be Disturbed being desirous that the Meeting of it may be no longer Delay'd than it must be by the usual and necessary Forms In Answer to which these following Proposals were made by the Prince with the Advice of the Lords and Gentlemen Assembled with his Highness 1. That all Papists and such Persons as were not Qualified by Law should be Disarmed Disbanded and Removed from all Imployments Civil and Military 2. That all Proclamations which Reflected upon his Highness or any that was come over to him or had declared for him should be Recalled and if any Persons for so doing had been Committed they should be forthwith set at Liberty 3. That for the Security and Safety of the City of London the Custody and Government of the Tower be immediately put into the hands of the said City 4. That if his Majesty shall think to be at London during the Sitting of the Parliament his Highness might be there also with equal Number of Gards Or if his Majesty should rather chuse to be in any Place from London his Highness might be at a Place of the same Distance 5. That the Respective Armies should Remove 30 Miles from London and no more Foreign Forces should be brought into the Kingdom 6. That for the Security of the City of London and their Trade Tilbury-Fort be put into the hands of the said City 7. That to prevent the Landing of French or other Foreign Troops Portsmouth be put into such hands as by the King and Prince should be agreed upon 8. That some sufficient Part of the Publick Revenue be assigned his Highness for the Maintaining of his Forces till the Meeting of the Parliament The King upon the View of these Proposals Resolved upon a speedy Retreat into France The Prince of Wales so called was sent for before-hand to go thither along with the Queen who accordingly set out December 10. And the next Day early in the Morning the King attended by Sir Edward Hales went away from White-kall Incognito Before his Departure he sent Notice of it to the Earl of Feversham by a Letter framed in these Words MY LORD Things being come to that Extremity that I have been forced to send away the Queen and my Son the Prince of Wales that they might not fall into my Enemies hands which they must have done if they had staid I am obliged to do the same Thing and to indeavour to Secure my self the best I can in hopes it will please God out of his infinite Mercy to this unhappy Nation to touch their hearts again with true Loyalty and Honour If I could have relyed on all my Troops I might not have been put to the Extremity I am in and would at least have had one Blow for it But tho I know there are many loyal and brave Men amongst you both Officers and Souldiers yet you know that both your Self and several of the General Officers and others of the Army told me it was no ways advisable for me to venture my self at their Head or think to fight the Prince of Orange with them What remains is only for me to Thank you and all those both Officers and Souldiers who have stuck to Me and been truly Loyal not doubting in the least but that you will still retain the same Fidelity to Me. And tho I do not expect you should expose your selves by Resisting a Foreign Army and a Poisoned Nation yet I hope your former Principles are so inrooted in You that you will keep your selves free from Associations and such pernicious Things Time presses so that I can say no more J. R. The Earl of Feversham upon the Receipt of the Letter immediately dispatched a Messenger to the Prince to let him know That having received a Letter from the King with the Vnfortunate News of his Going out of England and his Majestics Order as he expresses it to make no Opposition against any body he thought himself obliged to acquaint his Highness with it as soon as it was possible to prevent Effusion of Blood To which purpose he had given the last Order to all the Troops that were under his Command Before the King's Departure several Papists foreseeing the Revolution had withdrawn themselves beyond Sea Now the Priests and Jesuites who expected no Quarter began to shift for themselves and run some one Way some another Those among the Protestants who were the most Obnoxious and had so basely comply'd with the Times were also put to their Shifts Some of both sorts were Apprehended but most made their Escape or lay Undiscovered The Lord Chancellor Jeffreys a Mezzo-tinto Protestant as forward as any Papist to Comply with King James's Designs was taken in a Disguise at Wapping Dec. 12. and committed to the Tower where he pined away and died some time after The Earl of Peterborough being secured in Kent as he was making his Escape was also sent to the Tower In the mean time the Disbanded Army dispersed it self up and down the City and Country in an unusual and unwarrantable manner to the great Disturbance of the Publick Peace and Quiet The Mobile on the other side taking an Advantage of this State of Anarchy fell to work by burning pulling down and otherwise defacing several Houses and publick Buildings of the Roman Catholicks rifling and plundering the same And without any Regard to the Character of Embassadours
Succession would not as he thought recoil and leave him now in the lurch who so lately had made unto them new Protestations of his particular Favour and Protection The Dissenters were then under the lash of the Law and not without some apprehension of the French Thus with this prospect of Things the King fell presently to work by feeling first under-hand the Pulse of Men in Credit and Authority amongst his Protestant Subjects But whilst he was taken up with these gentle Motions a Storm was raised all of a sudden in Scotland by the late Earl of Argile and at the same time another in the West of England by the late Duke of Monmouth Who both appeared in Arms with their Parties in their several Stations but so unsuccessfully that after the loss of many Mens Lives in the Field they lost their own upon the Scaffold These two Rebellions which startled so much the Popish Party till they saw the Issue of it gave them a great Advantage and raised their Expectations of Success to an Infallibility The King had now a great Army on foot And tho the VVork was done for which the same was raised yet he would not part with it but kept it still on foot contrary to Law for his further Designs and to keep the Nation in aw For the Preservation of our Laws Religion and Liberties it was provided by the Wisdom of our Parliaments upon the Growth of Popery in the late King's Reign That all Persons appointed to bear any Office in Church or State should declare themselves to be not Papists but Protestants by taking the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy and the Test and receive thereupon the Sacrament according to the Church of England But upon the Raising of the foresaid Army the King was pleased to protect against those Laws many Popish Officers that served in the Army without taking the Oaths And in his Speech to both Houses of Parliament on the 9th of Novemb. 1685 he told the Parliament in plain words That though the said Officers were not Qualified according to the late Tests for their Employments yet he would neither expose them to Disgrace nor himself to the Want of them And tho the Parliament did highly except against it as an open Violation of those Laws which were our main Bulwark against Popery yet his Majesty would by no means recede from his Word A Debate was held to dispence those Unqualified Officers then actâ—ally in Service with the Fenalty of the Law provided no more were admitted But this would not serve the King's turn Who to prevent any further Heats about it prorogued the Parliament tâ—ll Feb. 10 following and so put it off by further Prorâ—gations till it was at last Dissolved Mean whiâ—e he made it his business to New-model his dearly beloved Army now consecrated to more pious I ses and kept on foot to accomplish the great Work of resturing Popery Both Officers and Soulâ—iers were Reformed and such of both sorts put in as would incourage and promote the Design â—o lose no Time whole Sholes of Priests and Jesuits with Multitudes of Lay-Papists came over daily from France and other Parts as often as the Wind would permit some to Convert us and others to Cut our Throats The first like the Pharisees came over by Sea and Land to make Proselytes and liked England so well that they stuck to it like Burr Whilst poor Lapland and other wretched Countries are left to their Temporal and Spiritual Darkness seldom visited by those Lights of the Roman Church And first to take off from our Minds the frightful Notions we had of Popery they laid aside the old way of Controversies from Scripture Tradition and Reason and so new-vamped their Roman Tenets after the Bishop of Meaux late invented Dress that it was hard to discern at first view the Popish from the Protestant Religion Such was their Resemblance that it was Alter Ego But the Cheat was quickly found out and hissed at here by all Men of Reason and Understanding Then was held a Disputation at White hall in the King's Presence wherein his Party came off so shamefully that his Majesty was fain to excuse their Weakness by saying That a good Cause might be baffled Yet notwithstanding these Repulses the Popish Emissaries having now contrary to Law the liberty of the Press ply'd it hard to get Proselytes but still with little Success Providence had so ordered it that the Church of England was never stocked with so many Sound Pious and Learned Divines as we had in this Juncture So that this Spiritual War begun by Priests and Jesuits ended to their Confusion The Church of England bore the brunt of it all and the Dissenters would not meddle for fear of giving Offence nor was there any need of it The King found by this time how little was to be expected from Roman Emissaries and that Compulsion at last must do the Work France shewed him the Way where the holy Design was now ripe for Execution without any fear of a Check from England For now King Lewis fairly pulled off the Mask and by his Edicts Anno 1â—85 told the World in plain terms that his Design of Reconciling his Protestant Subjects to the Holy Church was from his Coming to the Crown that all his former Edicts in their behalf his Acknowledging and Registring in Parliament their great Services to the Crown and his Advancement of many of them to the highest Dignities Civil and Military were but so many Blinds to cover his Design for which he calls God to witness to abolish their Religion by degrees And to shew what Opinion he had of Protestants he declared them Incapable to claim the benefit of Treaties Promises or Oaths made to them by the Papists According to these his Vnchristian Principles he broke the sacred Ties of Religious Oaths by Revoking his Protestant Subjects grand Charter of Priviledges the famous Edict of Nantes which from its very Foundation was counted Irrevocable and by forcing his Religion upon them through the miraculous Virtue of his Apostolick Dragoons Who 't is true had no Commission to take away their Lives but all the Comforts thereof by Want and barbarous Usage Spoiling and Plundering dark Prisons and loathsom Dungâ—oâ—s by parting the Husband and Wife and robbing Parents of their dearest Children But lest the VVorld should think that the French King's Zeal was confined within the Bounds of his Dominions he lost no Opportunity to make it known that his Design was against the whole Body of Protestants and first against the English whose Conversion would much facilitate that of other Protestant Nations This appears by that noted Speech made to him at Versailles in the Year 1685. by a French Bishop in the Name of the whole Clergy of France VVherein the Bishop having magnified the King for his Zeal in Suppressing the Protestant Religion in his Kingdom tells him that England offered to his Majesty one of the most glorious Occasions
your Country to your Selves and to your Posterity which You as Men of Honour ought to prefer to all private Considerations and Ingagements whatsoever VVe do therefore expect that you will consider the Honour that is now set before you of being the Instruments of Serving your Country and Securing your Religion And We will ever Remember the Service you shall do Vs upon this Occasion by placing such particular Marks of our Favour on every one of You as your Behaviour at this time shall deserve of Us in which VVe will make a great Distinction of those that shall come seasonably to joyn their Arms with Ours In short you shall find Us to be Your Well-wishing and Assured Friend William Henry Prince of Orange The Prince's Army began now to be in good heart and one Man was as good as two when they came first to Exeter Every day his Highness went out to view the Country with the Mareschal de Schomberg and went once as far as Autry 12 miles from Exeter In the mean time Mr. Seymour was made Governour and one Major Gibson Deputy-Governour For the managing the Revenue here the Lord Wiltshire Mr. Herbord and Mr. Row were appointed Commissioners The Prince's Court began also to swell For besides those great Persons which had attended his Highness from Holland hither viz. Mareschal Schomberg Count Nassaw Count Solms the Lords Zulestein Bentick and Overkirk of the English Nation the Earls or Shrewebury and Macclesfield Viscount Mordant Lord Wiltshire end Colonel Sidney and of the Scotch the Earl of Argile with several other Persons of Quality here came to his Highness the Lord Cornbury the Earl of Abington and the Lord Colchester besides a great Number of Gentry Who all entred together into an Association to Assist the Prince of Orange in the Defence of the Protestant Religion Laws and Liberties of the People of England Scotland and Ireland in these Words An Ingagement of the Nobility at Exeter to stand by the Prince of Orange We do Ingage to Almighty God and to his Highness the Prince of Orange and with one another to stick firm to this Cause and to one another in the Defence of it and never to depart from it until our Religion Laws and Liberties are so far Secured to us in a Free Parliament that We shall be no more in Danger of falling under Popery and Slavery And whereas we are ingaged in the Common Cause under the Protection of the Prince of Orange by which means his Person may be exposed to Danger and to the desperate and cursed Designs of Rapists and other bloody Men We do therefore solemnly Ingage to God and to one another That if any such Attempts be made upon Him We will pursue not only those that made them but all their Adherents and all We find in Arms against Us with the utmost Severity of just Revenge in their Ruin and Destruction and that the Executing any such Attempt which God of his infinite Mercy forbid shall not deprive Us from pursuing the Cause which We do now undertake but that it shall Incourage us to carry it on with all the Vigour that so barbarbous an Approach shall do serve By this strict Association the Prince saw how well these Noble Lords and Gentlemen were disposed towards his Highness and for the promoting the Good of the Common Cause In the mean time he received Intelligence of the first Skirmish that hapned between the two Armies at Wincanton To which Place a small Party of Major General Mackay's Regiment being advanced to provide Carriage Collonel Sarsfield having Notice of it marched thither with a Detachment of 70 Horse and 50 Dragoons and Granadiers in order to cut them off Who hearing of Sarsfield's Approach resolved upon a stout Defence notwithstanding their small Number being but 25. In order to which Cambel their Lieutenant posted them in a small Inclosure at the East end of the Town where there was a good Hedge between them and the Road. Here they made a vigorous Defence and several were killed and wounded on both sides when of a sudden upon a false Alarm of a strong Party of the Prince's Horse coming Sarsfield and his Men retreated with all speed and in some disorder And tho he had little Cause to boast of this Action yet our Gazette did so magnifie it that by it's Account of it 30 of the Prince's Men were killed out of 25 besides 6 taken and 15 that made their escape One would think the King by this time had done with Proclamations His Majesty was two to one at least as to the Number of Forces and yet to Ingross all to himself he put out a Proclamation at Salisbury Nov. 22. to Intice away all the Prince's Army and so leave him by himself By this Proclamation first He Offers and Grants his Pardon to all his Subjects that had taken up Arms with Foreigners and Strangers against Him and their Native Country And next to all such Foreigners as should come over to Him promising either to Entertain them in his Service or Grant them if they should desire it freedom of Passage and liberty to Return to the Respective Countries from whence they came But this Stratagem would not do And his Highness having now received an Account of the Motions and Proceedings in the North for the Support of the Common Cause prepared all Things for his March towards the King's Army The Lords concerned in the North were the Earls of Devonshire Stamford and Damby the Lord Delamere and others who being met at Nottingham with great Numbers of the Gentry and a competent Force of Horsemen well appointed to repel all Opposers unanimously subscribed to this Declaration Nov. 23. the same Day that the King put out his Proclamation The Declaration of the Nobility and Gentry c. at the Rendezvous at Nottingham We the Nobility Gentry and Commonalty of these Northern Counties assembled together at Nottingham for the Defence of our Laws Religion and Liberties according to those Free-born Liberties and Priviledges descended to Vs from our Ancestors as the Vndoubted Birth-right of the Subjects of this Kingdom of England not doubting but the Infringers and Invaders of our Rights will Represent us to the rest of the Nation in the most malicious Dress they can put upon us do here Vnanimously think it our Duty to Declare to the rest of our Protestant Fellow Subjects the Grounds of our present Vndertaking We are by innumerable Grievances made sensible that the very Fundamentals of our Religion Liberties and Properties are about to be Rooted out by our late Jesuitical Privy Council as has been of late too apparent 1. By the King 's Dispensing at his Pleasure with all the Established Laws 2. By Displacing all Officers out of all Offices of Trust and Advantage and Placing others in their Room that are Known Papists deservedly made Incapable by the Estabished Laws of our Land 3. By Destroying the Charters of most Corporations in
the Land 4. By Discouraging all Persons that are not Papists preferring such as turn to Popery 5. By Displacing all honest and conscientious Judges unless they would contrary to their Consciences declare that to be Law which was merely Arbitrary 6. By Branding all Men with the Name of Rebels that but offered to justify the Laws in a Legal Course against the Arbitrary Proceedings of the King or any of his corrupt Ministers 7. By Burdening the Nation with an Army to maintain the Violation of the Rights of the Subjects 8. By Discountenancing the Established Reformed Religion 9. By Forbidding the Subjects the Benefit of Petitioning and construing them Libeliers so rendering the Laws a Nose of Wax to serve their Arbitrary Ends. And many more such like too long here to enumerate We being thus made sadly sensible of the Arbitrary and Tyrannical Government that is by the Influence of Jesuitical Counsels coming upon us do Vnanimously Declare That not being willing to deliver our Posterity over to such a Condition of Popery and Slavery as the aforesaid Oppressions inevitably threaten We will to the utmost of our Power Oppose the same by Joyning with the Prince of Orange whom we hope God Almighty has sent to Rescue us from the Oppressions aforesaid and will use our utmost Indeavours for the Recovery of our almost ruined Laws Liberties and Religion Wherein we hope all good Protestant Subj cts will with their Lives and Fortunes be Assistant to us and not be Bug-beared with the Opprobrious Term of Rebels by which they would fright us to become perfect Slaves to their Tyrannical Insolencies and Vsurpations For We assure our selves that no rational and unbiassed Person will judge it Rebellion to Defend our Laws and Religion which all our Princes have Sworn at their Coronation Which Oath how well it has been observed of late We desire a Free Parliament may have the Consideration of We own it Rebellion to Resist a King that Governs by Law But he was always accounted a Tyrant that made his Will the Law and to Resist such a one we justly esteem no Rebellion but a necessary Defence And in this Corsideration We doubt not of all honest Mons Assistance humbly hoping for and imploring the great God's Protection that turns the Hearts of the People as pleases him best For it has been observed that People can never be of one Mind without his Inspiration which has confirmed the Saying Vox Populi Vox Dei The present Restoring of Charters and Reversing the oppressing and unjust Judgment given of Magdalen College Fellows is plain are but to still the People like Plums to Children by deceiving them for a while But if they shall by this Stratagem be fooled tâ—ll the present Storm that threatens the Papists be past as soon as thâ—y shall be Re-settled the former Oppression will be put on with greater Vigour But we hope in vain is the Net spread in the sight of the Birds The Old Rule of Papists is so well known that Faith is not to be kept with Hereticks as they term Protestants tho the Popish Religion is the greatest Heresy 'T is well known how ill Q. Mary observed her Promises to the Suffolk Men that helped her to the Throne And how the Pope Dispenses with the Breach of Oaths Treatises or Promises at his Pleasure when it makes for the Service of the Holy Church as they term it These are such convincing Reasons to hinder Vs from giving Credit to the aforesaid Mock-shews of Redress that We think our selves bound in Conscience to rest on no Security that shall not be approved by a Freely Elected Parliament to whom under God we Refer our Cause To this Declaration the Northern Commonalty sensible of the Justice of it and Influenced besides by the Interest and Example of so many Lords and Gentlemen did readily Subscribe and the Militia was Raised upon it who gave a great Stroke towards the Revolution For the News of it coming to the Kings Ears at Salisbury struck such a Damp upon his Spirits that he began now to think his Case desperate To the same Effect was a Paper delivered from the Nobility and Gentry of the North by the Earl of Devonshire to the Mayor of Darby where his Lordship Quartered the 21 of November that is for the Meeting and Sitting of a Parliament freely and duly Chosen With a declared Resolution therein That in case any Interruption should be given to the Proceeding of a Parliament they the Nobility and Gentry of the Northern Parts of England would to their utmost Defend the Protestant Religion the Laws of the Kingdom and the Rights and Liberties of the Subject In the County of Norfolk the Duke who bears that Title found the Gentry and Common People in the same Disposition Being come to Lyn attended by many of the Principal Men in the County he received an Address in the Market-place presented in these Words to his Grace by the Mayor attended by the Body and many hundreds of the Inhabitants My Lord Address of Lyn to the Duke of Norfolk The Daily Alarms we receive as well from Foreign as Domestick Enemies give us just Apprehensions of the approaching Danger we conceive to be in and make us apply our selves with all earnestness to your Grace as our great Patron that we may be put into such posture by your Directions and Conduct as may make us appear as Zealous as any in the Defence of the Protestant Religion the Laws and Ancient Government of this Kingdom Which is the Desire of many Hundreds who most humbly challenge a Right of your Graces Protection To which his Grace was pleased to Answer thus Mr. Mayor The Duke of Norfolk's Answer I am very much obliged to You and the rest of your Body and all here present for your good Opinion of me and the Confidence you have that I will do what in me lyes to support and defend the Laws Liberties and Protestant Religion in which I will never deceive you And since the Coming of the Prince of Orange has given us an Opportunity to Declare for the Defence of them I can only assure you that no Man will venture his Life and Fortune more freely for the same than I will do especially with all these Gentlemen here present and many more of the same Principles In order to which you shall see all possible Care shall be taken to answer your Expectation Whereupon the Militia was ordered to be raised throughout the County Which being thus put into a posture of Defence his Grace was pleased to deliver himself in these Words to the said Corporation The Duke of Norfolk's second Speech I have indeavoured as you see to put you into the Posture you desired by sending both for Horse and Foot of the Militia and am very glad to see such an Appearance of this Town in so good a Condition I do again renew my former Assurances to you that I will ever stand by