Selected quad for the lemma: england_n
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A52459
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Natural allegiance, and a national protection, truly stated, being a full answer to Dr. G. Burnett's vindication of himself
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Northleigh, John, 1657-1705.
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1688
(1688)
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Wing N1300; ESTC R18568
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74,173
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110
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Reserve as of the very Mass it self yet such is his reasoning notwithstanding that Antipathy he has against the Name for this is plain that the Demands that were made of him from the States is founded upon the Matter and Substance and not the formality of the Word for where it is formally us'd in Civil Actions there Letters of Relaxation are granted to the Partys if they satisfie the Debt within a Year and a Day and so acquitted which shews that the Term Rebel is there meerly us'd for form but where in the other case he is a presum'd Rebel both by Matter and Form there though he be Relaxt of his Letters of Horning by his Appearance yet he might be hang'd for a Rebel after he appears and I suppose that may be one of the Reasons why the Reflecter stands out in Contempt but then he ought to have consider'd further of what follows in his Country usually in such cases which makes a greater difference that after the publication of these Letters and a year elaps'd in his case the King's Advocate can issue out another sort of Writ call'd Letters of Intercommuning whereby all the Subjects of that Kingdom are forbid to converse with him to supply him with any Necessaries upon the Penalties of High Treason and this to extend not only to such of the King's Subjects as reside at home but to any that are Inhabitants with him in Holland or if he had translated himself and his Allegiance with the Hollanders to Japan So that from this it will appear that even by the Law of Scotland a Man against whom the Writt of Horning is directed importing High Treason is a Rebel of an higher nature till he come and take his Tryal and that before the Letters of Intercommuning are issued out though Terms in Treatises are to be taken in the common acceptation as our Author tells us not as in Courts of Justice yet * Lib. 2. c. 16. Sect. 84. Grotius will tell him too that there is also a great Liberty to be allow'd to conjecture in Homonimous Expressions and Amphibologys and that Terms of Art such as Majesty and Parracide and we may add Rebels and Fugitives must be all explain'd by Men most skill'd in the Law. But because there can be no fairer way of dealing with your Adversary but by consuting him even from his own Concessions for Arguments that are Diametrically opposite do but in a more Eloquent manner give one another the Lye wee 'll suppose with him for once that these Letters that denounce him a Rebel mean nothing but that he is a little Contumacious that they are meerly but so many Writs of Rebellion which here that Honourable Person he so reviles does many times issue out of Chancery wee 'll suppose our Author retir'd into Holland only for some disorder in his affairs or for a little imaginary Debt yet even in those very Civil Actions the Laws of Nations allow such a Latitude that Letters of Request may be made to the Forreign State and if they are deny'd those of Reprisals Vid. Rolls Abridgment fol 530. a Case to this purpose may be granted and if Private Subjects have such Remedys it will be hard to deny a Prince to demand satisfaction for a publick offender and the Dilemna was never so much as doubted but that a Tryal was to be order'd by the Forreign State or the Criminal surrender'd to the offended one I gave our Author several Presidents for these Proceedings but he that pretends to Vid. Parliam Pacif. answer all left them all unanswer'd I shall present him more of the same nature when we come to a more proper place but it is somewhat more apposite here since he would make his Treason but a sort of Civil Action and himself no more than the King's Debtor to tell him that in Edward the Second's time some Merchants of Florence having receiv'd the King of England's Rents run away with the Money to Rome the King sends his Request to the Pope demands the Goods to be secur'd and their Person seiz'd and neither of them deny'd The like was done to one that fled into Lorrain with 500 l. of the King's Money the Duke upon demand seizes the Person and secures his Goods where-ever they were found till he had satisfy'd to the full so that I hope from hence may be concluded that even a Man that does not * Vid. Vind. pag. 3. pay his Debts or retires into Holland only for a disorder in his Affairs may give our Government a right to demand him For if it be granted in the Case of a Forreigner it will be good in a Native's a fortiori To summ up all the Substance of this Point It seems very strange that the Proceedings of the Justice in Scotland should be so Arraign'd where the Laws are so favourable to Offenders as to make the very Judges the greater Criminals if they should offer to do the least wrong and Injustice and liable to the most * Jam. 1. p. 2. 6. 45. Jac. 5. p. 7.104 rigorous Punishment where the Witnesses are in such danger for their given false Evidence that they expose themselves to the Punishment of those they accuse if they can be ever convicted of the Perjury and falshood and that whither it be Pecuniary Corporal or Capital and where by particular * Jam. 6.11 p. c. 49. Act Calumniators in High Treason are if the accused Party be acquitted guilty of the same Crime expos'd to the same Punishment And it will be no easie matter when they are expos'd to such terrible Consequences for the Perjury to procure Knights of the Post though it were to serve even an Interest of State * Vid Six Papers p. 49. to fasten pretended Crimes as our Author has it on those they have a mind to destroy There is a Society our Author has a mind to destroy and I think some of the Members not long since were as miserably destroy'd for want of this Severity with us against such Profligate Evidence as accus'd them The Dr. knows this to be true and is so far for verifying it that he would have his * 1. Note That the second Citation does not invalidate the first much less prove the Witnesses forsworn and he confesses that the Matter agrees with the former Id. p. 3. Accusers accordingly punisht even before they are Convicted of any falshood and himself not so much as try'd or acquitted Thus have I done all that Justice to a Nation even in its Judicial proceedings that they could expect from a Forreigner from his little Learning and less Examination into their Laws which he found even upon that little he has made both agreeable with the ancient Roman Equity in many things Consonant with our own and in some cases recited already beyond ours more equitably Just so it will seem somewhat harder to be born that this Nations Justice should be so much arraign'd by
* Id. Heath's Chro. That also in the Year 6¾ they cashier'd our Regiments would have had them take a New Oath to their States which they all generously disdain'd refusing to betray their natural Lord by that treacherous Expedient of translating their Allegiance And such an Aversion the whole Nation had then against this political Project of our Author's Opiniatre which he so prides himself in that the Opinion of the whole Parliament was against him and when the Dutch propos'd this new Oath they past a Bill of Attainder against all such as went over into their Service and that though the Laws had made it Felony before these I consess were Heroical Attempts of the Dutch upon the Subjects of the King of Great Britain to tempt them to betray their Master but our Author being experienc'd in that point wanted no Temptation and if he will have one Heroical Attempt more upon Honesty we know how his new Masters betray'd us who when our Embassadors were entring their Town to treat most Heroically enter'd our River to burn and destroy and who tho' we are so falsly upbraided with a French League did once really conclude a League with France to betray England which as I am well inform'd the late King had under their own Hands to produce and now this Heroical Invasion without the least denunciation is most becoming the Dutch and another Instance of their fair dealing with Princes but Time may shew that England dare not only resent this but revenge it too Could it possibly have been avoided from the Contents of his Papers I would not have given our Author the Glory who of his own accord is too much given to affect it of making his Cause that of a Nations but since in this very piece he has labour'd so much to make it so and those that are his Defenders by Publick Instruments Solemn Replys and Resolutions which our Adversary here with his Name affix'd openly insists and relies on have thought fit to interest themselves so far in his defence His Majesty's Honour requires as defensatory an Apology and our English Nation as well as private Pens reduc'd to a necessity of maintaining it Argument I am sure is an inoffensive Weapon especially when only us'd by them that perhaps have some reason to be offended and till our Author returns us as much Reason and Law President and Examples from History and Fact to justifie his Cause as I may perhaps with Modesty say has been here offer'd to overthrow it The Memorials of the King of Great Britain in spight of this Author's Reflections will appear to the reasonable part of the World and all People unprejudic'd to be well grounded and notwithstanding the Reply from the States to be still unanswered SECT IX AND now to come to this Vindication of himself of which there has been nothing like it unless it be the words in the Title Page he Charges me for laying to his Charge several * P. 6. Papers that I do not prove upon him I confess I cannot Swear to the Truth of them neither can it be expected that I should unless I were in the same Confederacy with our Author for the defaming of his Country and his King and had been a * Vid. p. 6 7. Scribler more despicable and mean than any but himself can make me i. e. his Amanuensis But though he will not allow * P. 2. Similitude of Hands to be Proof enough to hang him I hope Similitude of Styles and of Circumstances of Affairs may be sufficient or good Evidence only to guess at an Author and a bad Man. More particular Proof of my Charges might I suppose been as well referr'd to his legal Tryal as he does his Innocency and Defence his Justifying and Clearing of himself but since he is not contented even with that Charge which he dares not deny I must shew the World upon what it was grounded 1. The Papers then that I arraign'd for his in one of Vid. Parl. Pac. the former Treatises and that for the most audacious Reflections on the Crown and almost on the Memory of all His Majesty's Royal Predecessors were those Sir that as confidently carry in their Front this Author 's celebrated Name They are Printed in Holland which from the Letter and Paper and manner of Printing I can prove being no such Stranger to Dutch Books and it may be easily guest from whence we might expect Dr. Burnett's These Papers are all Pag'd in Common with those Letters of His that were sent to the Secretary of State on purpose I suppose to let us see they were all of a piece They contain all of them either the peculiar Concerns of this Author or else what is as much his peculiar Province the highest Defamations of the King and his Government which for farther satisfaction I have in this Treatise specify'd and repeated These Libels were long before by a Praeliminary Menace †1 Lett. to my Ld. M. of Displeasing His Majesty with a Recital of Affairs threatned to be sent us and the Dr. was indeed so civil before he began his War with the Crown to send a solemn Denunciation and the defying of his Prince was an arrogance so agreeable to such a Subject that it supersedes Proof and a Man need not seek far to find out the Champion Though I must confess too that the foolish affectation of his having had such a * Vid. Ib. share in Affairs for this Twenty years did not the Author's Vanity prevail against the Truth of the Fact and a probable Credibility one might be brought to believe then none of Dr. Burnett's I do not hear of his having been to either Crowns a Secretary of State or a Privy Counsellor and by what has appear'd he was ever reputed the worst man in the World for to be one a Secretioribus Consiliis since if we can credit his own Relation * Vid. Vind. p. 7. only of my Lord Lau d's Affairs and the Character he had from an Archbishop of Scotl. he was not well qualify'd for so much as one a Sacris Domesticis Some things are so * Vid. Baldus ut Supra Notorium probatione non indiget plainly probable that they supersede the pains of any Proof and that Moral Certainty we have of his having writ these Six Papers is as good as Demonstration The next Papers that I have quoted as his are the Reflections on Mr. Varilla's no one that I ever yet met with did ever mistrust them for any others and himself has taken all the Care in the World that they should be known for his alone His Itinerary Letters that I have touch'd upon I hope he does not dispute or has not taken so much the Liberty of a Traveller as to have occasion to be asham'd of the Relations The Enquiry against the Book of the late Bishop of Oxon has so much in it of our Authors malice and revenge that it