may have Learning enough to use those Four ordinary Words none of them being artificial Law Terms but such honest English as every Gentleman that converses with Persons above the lowest Rank is capable of understanding and using But this candid Gentleman seeing his Cause could not be maintained but by Tricks for this whole turn of Government was nothing but a Trick of Policy disjoyns by his Discourse illiterate from unskill'd in the Law and refers the Four cramp Words to the former and his passing a peremptory Iudgment about our Laws to the latter and when he has done he tells us very sadly one may justly wonder at it and indeed it is very wonderful For to play so many jugling Tricks in so little room wresting almost every Word 'till he has made it crooked and then gracing every Flam he gives us with such a demure Hypocrisie is altogether Monstrous He tells us p. 9. That the Loyal Martyr design'd two Things To assert his Principles and to testifie his Innocency and he sets himself to prove that he did neither As for the former he grants that by the Faith of the Church of England Mr. Ashton meant the Doctrine of Passive Obedience and then confutes him most learnedly by telling us That he suffered not for Passive Obedience but for want of it and that had he regulated his Life by this Principle he had preserved it Did ever any Man's Reason turn tail so aukwardly The constant Doctrine of the Church of England was Passive Obedience to a lawful King and he is the lawful King according to the Constitution of our Government who has Title to it by immediate Succession Now comes this acute Gentleman and pretends without Shame or Wit that the Doctrine of the Church of England is not Passive Obedience to the legal King whom all the World did ever acknowledge for such in their clear unbâ—ass'd and 〈◊〉 in us Thoughts but to anoâ—her who has dispossest this legal King of his Kingdom and whose Title is quite annulled by our English Laws nor own'd by any but some of those who got their Advantages in doing so or who dare not do otherwise And then after he had prevaâ—icated thus eg egiously he teâ—ls us very gravely That certainly there must be some gâ—eaâ— mistakes about the Doctrines and Principles of our Church Whereas if there be any 't is manifestly on his side but to say the plain Truth there is no mistake at all even on his side but an open Prevarication and a wilful shuffling and shifting the whole Subject of the Church of England's Tenet making our Passiâ—e Obedience regard not only a wrong but an opposite Object which is to make the Principles of our Church face abâ—ut with the Times and point as a Weather-cock does to the Wind to a Dispossessour of the true Prince so he gets but Power enough to make himself a strong Party and keep under or Murther by his new Laws and new Judges those who dare be Loyal He pretends that The Doctrines and Principles of our Church are to be found in the Articles and Constitutions of it If he means that only some of them are found there it reaches not home to his purpose But if he means that All the Doctrines of Faith which our Church holds are found there he shews himself to be very weak Sure he cannot forget that God's written Word and it only is our intire and adequate Rule of Faith and that the best Interpreter of it for us to follow is the most unanimous Exposition of it avow'd by the Doctrine of our Church-men and the agreeable and constant Practice of our Church If then he would prove that our Church does not hold Passive Obedience and Indispensable Allegiance to our lawful King upon our Rule of Faith that is does not hold it part of her Faith he should have produced such and so many genuine grave and eminent Members of one Church as are beyond Exception who have unanimously declared themselves to understand the Scripture in an opposite Sense and upon that ground held the contrary I except always from that Number Dr. Sherlock who is so flexible a Complier with every side that I fear he is of no side and ready to be of any as God-Mâ—mmon shall inspire him by proposing a good fat Deanry or some such irresistible Temptation As for the Practice of our Church giving us light to know her Faith it cannot be possibly manifested better than by her Carriage towards King Charles II. in the Protector 's days who had Abdicated twiâ—e if the leaving England to avoid danger to his Person might be called Abdicating and there was another actual supreme Governor who had got all the Power into his Hands and so was Providentially Settled in Dr. Sherlock's Sense yet none of the genuine Sons of our Church flincht from their Allegiance to their King in those happy days when honest Principles as yet unantiquated made our Church shine gloriously even in the midst of Persecution but all adher'd to their legal King though all of them suffered in their Estates and many lost their Lives rather than forego their Duty But as our Author told us formerly that Mr. Ashton died for want of that Passive Obedience which the Church of England holds so he tells us here that he might have believed himself obliged by his Religion to look upon his rightful lawful Prince whatever his Principles were or his Practices might be as God's Vicegerent and accountable to God only from whom he received his Power All this says he he might have done and have been alive still because as he contends King William was his rightful lawful Prince So that it seâ—ms let King William be of what Principles he will even though he were as zealous a Papist as King Iames or let his Practices be what they will even to the Subverting all our Liberties Properties nay the most Fundamental Laws of the Land still we are to believe our selves obliged by our Religion to look upon him as on God's Vicegerent accountable to God only and consequently to obey him as such Which ridiculous Partiality overthrows a good part of his Book and makes all the Deserters and fiâ—st Adherers to the Prince of Orange and the whole Parliament that set him up for their King and the Consent of the Nation he talks of to be Irreligious and Wicked For since King Iames was confessedly at that time their rightful lawful King nor can he be pretended to have worse Principles and Practices than those mentioned which comes within the compass of his whatever his Principles are or his Practices might be and this Man confesses that notwithstanding all this they were obliged by their Religion to submit to him as God's Vicegerent it follows unavoidably that we are to believe they violated the Principles of Religion in the highest Degree who deserted him opposed him turned him out and set up a Stranger in his stead Yet this Action of theirs confest
but Possession It makes the saying of the Thâ—eves This is mine I stole it very strong Reason and good Sense He 'll say these Cases are not parallel to his But why are they not if a true Prince has as good Right to his Crown as a Subject has to his Money or his Goods For if he has then a Possession transfers the Right of a Crown so it must transfer the Right of a Purse a Cloak c. And with so much the more Reason as the Right of the Crown on which the common Good of the Nation depends ought to be more fixt and unalienable than the Right of private Men to their Goods which are of an inferior Concern Now if the Law of the Land require us to swear Allegiance as due to any present Possessor the same Law declares that Allegiance and consequently the Crown is his Right otherwise the Law would oblige me to swear false And if the Law of the Land declares the Prince of Orange has Right To what end did this Gentleman all this while run about to the Law of Nations to patch him up a Title It must be a pitiful Cause that makes a Man who otherwise has wit enough still interfere thus with himself But he says That if an Oath of Allegiance should not follow Possession there would be infinite Snares to the Consciences of all such who are requir'd to obey but are not bound to enquire into the Right of War Note by the way one of those shuffling Tricks of which his Book is full He begins with Oaths but proceeds as if only Obedience were required As if a Man could not live quietly under a Government without Swearing and calling God to witness that the Governor has Right to the Kingdom and consequently to our Allegiance whether we know he has or no. But let us apply our selves to his Discourse All the play of these Men is to persuade the World that this business of Allegiance due to King Iames only is a Kind of dubious Case and then if they can but get their Judgment to bover they hope that Interest or Fear may turn the Ballance and make them swear to King William Whereas we maintain that 't is a most plain Case which none but byass'd Men can doubt of Is it not evident to all that King Iames was Three Years agoe the undoubted Supreme Governor and that all the World held that none but he had Right to the Crown and consequently that Allegiance would then be lawfully sworn to none but him Is it not evident that he is living and has not given up his Right and so by the common course of the World 't is evidently his still Is it not evident even to themselves that the new Right of the Prince of Orange is obscure that Men are in several Minds about the Ground and Reason of it some alledging one Thing others another which shews that England it self is not satisfied with the Truth of his Title but is led on by Fear or Interest Is it not evident that very many conscientious and good Men amongst whom are the Primate and some Bishops and many reverend and worthy Pastors of our Church do refuse to take the New Oath whose Authority far outweighs all the others in regard they have no Motive but pure Conscience since they are ruin'd for refusing whereas the Complying Party find Interest and the Favour of great Men by their mercenary Submission Is it not manifestly evident to every sincere Christian's Conscience even of the most ordinary Capacity that Oaths are most Sacred Things and that those Oaths which were due or have been sworn upon certain Grounds to an undoubted and indisputable Authority ought not to be unsworn again by swearing Allegiance upon uncertain Grounds to a dubious at least and disputable Authority So that here is no moot Case in the Business as he would pretend but plain Sense which every sincere and conscientious Christian is capable of comprehending There is no danger then of infinite Snares as he madly calls them not of any at all but those of weak Fears or base Interest which have already ensnared many Consciences and are spread every where as the Devil's Nets to entangle and ensnare the unwary unstable and worldly minded Men. He asks p. 26. If it be Perjury and Rebellion in the now French King's Conquests for the Inhabitants to take Oaths of Fidelity to the French King Now this is a very pleasant Gentleman and for all his objecting p. 19. The admiring the French Conduct to this sort of Maiâ— Mr. Ashton's Friends He hath said more for the French King than any Iacobite in England will say and the rankest French Man in the World can say no more and that is that he hath a Right to all the Places he has over-run with his Arms in Flanders Savoy yea and the Principality of Orange too But then Where is that independant Sovereignty which our Author talks of as necessary and essential to make a Title by Conquest For he is possess'd of the Principality of Orange and therefore according to our Author the King of France is Prince of Orange and no body else And not to meddle with what Right Conquest conveys as being foreign to the present Question here is this vast difference in the two Cases The King of France actually Conquered these Places and People the Prince of Orange did not Conquer England and none but a Mad-man will say he did And therefore if the Author would have made the Case parallel he should thus have put his Question Whether it would not have been Perjury for the Inhabitants of those Places to have put the Government into the French King's Hands to transfer their Allegiance and to take an Oath of Fidelity to him when it was in their Power to resist nay when he could not do it otherwise but by themselves and by their own Contrivance and Assistance In that Case which is plainly ours I stick not to affirm that it is Perjury and Rebellion with a witness and no Man who hath not his Ear bored and is became a Slave to Interest can have the Face to deny it And yet for all that he goes on If it be not Perjury and Rebellion in those Conquer'd Provinces How comes it to be so here By which we say again he is ready to maintain for he does here manifestly suggest it already That England is the Prince of Orange's by Conquest and all our Lives and Estates are at his Disposal And there wants nothing but one of his infinite Snares a good rich Deanry or Bishoprick to make him perfectly hold and openly maintain that Opinion Parliaments had best look to such Libels in time left the pretended Conqueror come to abdicate them too as Vseless or Obstacles to the pretence of Conquest and make all our Countrey-men become Slaves to his Ambition But what meant he by his instancing p. 26 27. in the Portugueze's swearing Allegiance to the Duke
this Had the Prince of Orange pursued only the Ends express'd in his Declaration and obliged King Iames as he might easily have done to redress Abuses here and make a lasting League with the Confederates abroad it had in all likelihood by this time reduced the French King to a low Condition For then King Iames had been able to unite all the Force of England Scotland and Ireland and bend them unanimously against the Common Enemy Whereas now our Men and Money too are employ'd in Fighting against one another in Scotland and Ireland nor only so but England it self whose free Consent he so much brags of is so Distracted that we know not how soon we may fall into the same Misfortunes some out of Conscience not daring to hazard their Souls in Swearing Allegiance to one whose Title the most zealous Adherers to him cannot agree on nor themselves are satisfied with and far more of them being disgusted to see our Countrey beggared to maintain the Quarrel of Foreigners and enrich our greatest Enemies the Dutch so that this Pretence of pulling down the Heighth of France though I doubt not but it was the Intention of the Confederates was far from being the main Design of the Prince of Orange He could then have no other Motive of Invading England Driving out his Father and Usurping his Throne but mere Ambition seconded by Dutch Policy making use of our Rebelliousness silly Credulity and our addictedness to Lying that they might cheat us of our Money make us defend their Quarrel and impoverish us to that degree that we should not dare to resent it when they get our Trade and câ—zen us of our Plantations as they have done often and then to crown the Dutch Jest laugh at us for a Company of dull-headed block headedly Fools when they have done But I must not forget the Instances he brings to prove this Invasion to be agreeable to the Church of England's Doctrine and vouch'd by the Law of Nations and those are these Three First he Instances in Queen Elizabeth giving Assistance to the Dutch against the King of Spain p. 16. Now this hath been so well answered already in the Defence of the Bishop of Chichester's Dying Declaration that I do not see any Reason to concern my self with it and methinks this Answerer should have first answered what had been alledged there before he ventured on this Instance but some Men have a peculiar Confidence to bring in Things over and over though they have been answered sufficiently and yet never take notice of the Answers However it is sufficient here to observe that this is nothing at all to his purpose he tells us but four lines before That what he is to make out is that the then P. of O by his Relation to the Crown had a just Right to concern himself in the Vindication of our Religion and Liberties and that this is not repugnant to the Doctrines of the Church of England p. 15. And I pray good Sir Had Queen Elizabeth any Relation to the Government of the Low Countries And if not how does this Instance prove that which he is to make out that the Prince of Orange by virtue of his Relation to the Crown had a just Right to concern himself and his Instance proves that any Prince whether they have any such Relation or not have a just Right to concern themselves And what I pray is all this to a Title by Conquest Let it be admitted but not granted and which I suppose will not be easily proved that no Foreign Prince hath a just Right to make War upon another Prince for Invading the Liberty and Religion of his own Subjects hath he therefore a just Right to make a Conquest of these People whose Liberties he pretends to defend and to set himself King over them Or had Queen Elizabeth upon pretence of securing the Dutch Liberties a just Right to make her self Queen over them In my Opinion it is a preâ—ty odd way of rescuing People's Liberties to make a Conquest of them and if this be the Case Princes and their Flatterers may talk of Piety and a Care of the People but all the World will see that the Design is not Religion nor Liberty to the People but a Crown to themselves and it cannot chuse but be very Pious and Religious to gain a Crown His next Instance is in King Iames's time When the Prince Elector was chosen King of Bohemia And how does this prove his Point Why he sent to King James for Advice and he had no mind he should engage in it And therefore the Prince of Orange hath a just Right to concern himself and to make himself King according to the Principles of the Church of England I perceive it is not for every body to make Consequences for who but our Authour could ever have found out how such wonderful Things followed from King Iames's denying his Son to engage in it Well But the Arch bishop wrote a Letter to the Secretary and said that he was satisfied in his Conscience that the Bâ—bemians had a just Cause and that the King's Daughter professed she would not leave her self one Iewel rather than not maintain so Religious and Righteous â— Cause And that may be too but without Reflection on that Princess that is no Evidence of the Righteousness of a Cause for some Kings Daughters will not leave themselves a Jewel rather than not to take away and keep a Kingdom from their Own Father and which is neither a Religious nor a Righteous Cause His Third Instance is in the time of King Charles the First When the King of Denmark had taken Arms to settle the Peace and Liberty of the Germans and was Defeated and King Charles thought himself concerned to assist him and Arch-bishop Laud drew up a Declaration setting forth the Danger and requiring the People's Prayers and Assistance to prevent the growth of Spain c. Now it does not appear whether thâ— King of Denmark's pretence of taking Arms was just or unjust for our Authour has a peculiar faculty of talking of Things at random and never stating them and bringing them down to the matter in Dispute But let that be as it will it makes no difference in the present Dispute for let the Cause of his taking Arms be originally what it will I hope King Charles might assist him to prevent his being over-run thereby securing the Peace and Safety of his own Kingdom And this was plainly the Case The King of Denmark had made War upon the Empire and was defeated and it â— had â—een â—eâ—t without Assiâ—â—ence the Emperour might have wholly subdued him which would not â—â—ely have ruined Denmark but have endangered all the Northern Princes and especially England as the Declaration it self speaks there will be an open way for Spain left to do what they pleased And what is this to our Authour's purpose Is there no difference between Assisting one Prince actually at War
Nation 's Accounts And will this Man persuade us that all this and many other such are no Miseries He runs from the Mâ—tter to talk of the French King but the true point to which he ought to have spoken is Whether we were burden'd with any such Taxes or felt these Miseries of War and Poverty under King Iames Had we any concern with France either by abetting or opposing it in his Days Had the Prince of Orange or our selves used the King Dutifully as we ought we might have secur'd our selves whilst that Prince was here against either Popery or Slavery which we pretended to dread being forc'd upon us we might have enjoy'd Peace Plenty Trade and Riches and have reapt incomparable Benefits and vast Advantages by the Distractions of all others round about us This we might have done and if we saw Cause to fear that France meant to disturb us when we medled not with it which that King is too Politick to do we might by joyning with other Disinterested Princes have kept the Ballance of Europe even at our pleasure and have stipulated with Holland and the rest of the Confederates to bear the Charges of the War whilst we stept into their Assistance whereas now we are forc'd to hire them at a dear Rates to assist us to keep a Man in the Throne who has no Right to it All this we might then have done had we been wise but a Rebellious Spirit which had possess'd and infatuated us hurried us inconsiderately into a War for no other Reason but to maintain obstinately that Sin which we ought to have repented of And that War unless God's undeserv'd Mercy do prevail over his Justice will by a just Iudgment of the same God prove our utter Ruine He seems â—maâ—'d p. 25. for he seems Twenty times to wonder when he wants something to say that Mr. Ashton should say That the Religion we pretend to be so fond of Preserving is now much more than ever likely to be destroy'd Nor do I wonder at his Amazement for he makes account Religion consists only in having Benéfices conferred on Ecclesiasticks and secured to them let the Incumbents be of what Principles they will This I told him of formerly and here he makes my Words good for p. 25 26 27 c. he reckons up Three Things as putting our Religion out of Danger viz. The same Laws the same Protection the same Encouragement But Principles which are the Main and Essential to a Church are the least part of his Thought Let but a Church have True Principles preserved Sincere by her Bâ—shops and Pastors and she will be a Church and a Glorious One too in the Eyes of God and all good Men in despight of all the Opposition that wicked Men or Hell it self can do though she had neither Laws Protection nor the least Encouragement to befriend her nay though the Laws and the State were bent against her As for our new Principles then let him but open his Eyes and he may see Rebellion made now a chief point of Religion He may see Oaths of Allegiance made to Persons whose Title to the Government as appears by what has been amply prov'd above not one Man in England certainly knows and not one knowing and disinteressed Man is satisfied in forc'd upon Men's Consciences to make the Kingdom as far as lies in their Power a Nation of Knaves and all those who make a good Conscience of their ways a Company of Beggars He may see the Commandments laugh'd aâ— and those who dare boldly stand up for them branded and persecuted for Traitors and put to death as the worst of Malefactors Besides the foremention'd Miseries there is still One that is no less Galling to Persons of Honour and Probity who for themselves and the Reputation of the Nation would preserve the Characters of Just and Upright Loyal and Pious Conscientious and keepers of their Faith to God and Man these now lie under the heavy Sentence of Violaters of all the Cardinal Vertues with which Character when Foreign Nations once brand a People it sticks upon them to all succeeding Ages In former days we were reputed Valiant Hospitable inviolable Observers of our Compacts Faith and Honesty But we can't forget what an Odium the Murther of King Charles I. brought upon the whole Island of Britain yet there was then some just Apology to be made for that Barbarity That Tremendous Fact was not committed 'till after Six Yeas Civil War ' wherein the Victorious Rebels had conquer'd disarm'd and utterly impoverish'd the Loyal Party yet there still remain'd a numerous Part of the Three Kingdome who made many generous Attempts to restore King Charles II. and the whole Nation wearied with their endless Miseries and the Succession of Usurpers at last happily effected it Now what shall we say for our selves who have Abdicated our King without shedding One Ounce of Blood or adventuring a bloody Nose in his Defence All Nations from the Orcades to the extreamest Indies must judge us to be a People who have no regard to the most Sacred Oaths the most ungrateful of all Mankind a Nation fitted for Slavery degenerating from our Loyal Ancestors the Off-spring or By-blows of Prostigate Rebels Yea we are still so much worse than those of the last Age in that now so numerous a Party of the very Clergy who should and do know the Oligation of the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy which every single Man of them took to their lawful King have by unpardonable Perjury renounc'd their King and sworn Allegiance to One whom they know in their Consciences and have often declar'd upon Occasion hath no legal Right no not so much as Cromewell the Wicked These are the Men who have brought an indelible Scandal and Hatred upon our Religion Miratur Orbis se tam cito factum esse Arrianum was the pathetical Exclamation of a holy Authour of Old What would he have said if he had liv'd in our Age to see a National Clergy Apostatise from the Establish'd Doctrine of their own Church in the point of Allegiance and Non-resistance By the Conduct of these Men one would be almost tempted to look upon all Religion as a mere Cheat and to believe that they themselves own'd no God Whether they do or not I shall not give my self the trouble to enquire but I am sure some of them do as good as own no Hell by Teaching Men that notwithstanding those terrible Threatnings God in his holy Word has denounc'd against the Incorrigible and Impenitent of everlasting Fire everlasting Punishment c he has not obliged himself to the literal Performance of them since he that threatens keeps the Right of punishing in his own hand and is not obliged to execute what he hath threatned any farther than the Reasons and Ends of Government do require c. Dr. Tillot son's Sermon before the Queen March 7. 1690. pag. 13. And that these Threatnings c. do not restrain God