distinctly As what thing spoke in Council is distinctly heard and considered by all Yet it being certain that they did all approve it it is sufficient to the Earl And it is only their concern whether in approving what they did not hear they observed their Oath De fideli c. or not His Highness who the Earl was most concerned should hear did certainly hear as himself afterwards acknowledged 2. The Advocate says That the hearing and allowing the Earl to sit is no relevant Plea yea further though all the Council had allowed him that day yet any of his Majesty's Officers might have quarrelled him the next day But first I would gladly know upon what head For if upon obtruding a sense of his own it is undeniable that whatever the sense was the obtruding of it was purged by the Council's acceptation and it became theirs and was no more his But if the Advocate doth think that even the matter of the Explanation though allowed and accepted may still be quarrelled Then 1. I hope he will consider in what terms he doth it for if he charge it after it becomes the Councils as in truth he hath done already with the same liberty wherewith he treats it as the Earl's he runs fair to make himself the arrantest Defamer and Slanderer of the King and Council that ever yet attempted it But 2dly It merits a worse name than I am free to give it to say That an Explanation allowed by the Council in the administrating of an Oath proper to be administrat by them doth not secure the Taker as to that sense both in Law and Conscience Seeing in effect this quite takes away the best grounds of assurance among men and turns their greatest security to their greatest snare And 3dly If this be sound Doctrine it is worth the enquiring what security the Clergy to whom the Council as you have heard did indulge an Explanation have thereby obtained For as to such Laicks as did only at their own hand take hold of and snatch at this Indulgence not provided for them by the Councils Act it is clear their doom is dight It is not here debated how far that Explication of the Council's may satisfy and quiet Conscience let such concerned see to it Some please themselves with a general notion That if the sense given by the Administrator be sound then it is also safe whether it be agreeable to the plain and genuine meaning of the Oath or not nay whether it be agreeable to the sense of the first Imposers or not But others who consider more tenderly what it is to swear in Truth and in Judgment think it rather a prophanation and a sinful preferring of the Credit of Men to the glory of the Almighty to offer to smooth an Oath by a disagreeable interpretation when in effect the Oath it self ought to be changed But the thing in question is about the security of life and fortune for seeing the Council's Explanation is at least to say no worse liable enough to the Calumnies of an inventive malice and the Advocate telleth us Though all the Ceuncil had allowed a man to swear with an Explanation yet any of His Majesty's Officers may the next day quarrel him it is evident that this allowance can afford him no security It is true the Advocate may alledge and possibly find a difference betwixt the Council's emitting and their accepting of an Explanation But as in truth there is none more than betwixt a Mandat and a Ratihabition so I am confident if ever the thing come to be questioned this Pretence will evanish and come to nothing It is likewise to be remembred That when the Earl the next day after he took the Test was questioned for the Explanation he had made and required to exhibit a Copy which was afterwards made the ground of his Indictment so soon as he observed that some began to carp he refused to sign it demanded it back and would have destroyed it as you have heard which were all clear Acts of disowning and retracting for eviting offence and of themselves sufficient to have prevented any further enquiry there being nothing more just and human than that words though at the first hearing offensive yet if instantly retracted when questioned should be past But this as well as other things must in the Earl's Case be singular and whether he plead the Councils allowing or his own disowning as in effect he doth both it is equally to no purpose the thing determined must be accomplished You heard before how that a Reverend Bishop and many of the Orthodox Clergy did take a far greater liberty of Explanation than the Earl pretended to you see also that first the Council allows his words whereupon he rests And when he finds that they begin to challenge he is willing to disown And withal it is undeniable and acknowledged by the Council themselves that the Test as it stands in the Act of Parliament is ambiguous and needs to be explained And the Earl may confidently aver that of all the Explanations that have been offered even the Councils not excepted his is the most safe sound and least disagreeable to the Parliament's true sense and meaning And yet when all others escape he alone must be seised and for a thing so openly innocent clearly justifiable and undeniably allowed found guilty of the worst of Crimes even Leasing-making Leasing-telling Depraving of Laws and Treason but all these things God Almighty sees and to him the Judgment yet belongs And thus I leave this Discouse shutting it up with the Case of Archbishop Cranmer plainly parallel to the Earl's to shew how much he was more favourably dealt with by the King and Government in those days than the Earl now is though he live under a much more merciful and just Prince than that worthy Prelate did for Cranmer being called and promoted by Henry VIII of England to be Archbishop of Canterbury and finding an Oath was to be offered to him which in his apprehension would bind him up from what he accounted his duty he altogether declined the Dignity and Preferment unless he were allowed to take the Oath with such an Explanation as he himself proposed for salving of his Conscience and tho this Oath was no other than the Statute and solemn Oath that all his Predecessors in that See and all the mitered Clergy in England had sworn yet he was admitted to take it as you see in Fuller's Church Hist of Britain lib. 5. p. 185 and 186. with this formal Prorestation In nomine Domini Amen Coram vobis c. Non est aut erit meae voluntatis aut intentionis per hujusmodi juramentum vel juramenta qualitercunque verba in ipsis posita sonare videbuntur me obligare ad aliquid ratione eorundum posthac dicendum faciendum aut attentandum quod erit aut esse videbitur contra Legem Dei vel contra illustrissimum Regem nostrum Angliae Legesve aut
desolationibus tam sanctae Eccles quam Reg. factis per hoc iniquum Concilium Domini Regis contra magnas Chartas tot toties multoties emptas redemptas concessas confirmatas per tot talia Juramenta Domini Regis nunc Dominorum Henrici Johannis ac per terribiles fulminationes Excommunicationis sententiae in transgressores communium libertatum Angliae quae in chartis praedictis continentur corroboratas cum spes praeconcepta de libertatibus illis observandis fideliter ab omnibus putaretur stabilis indubitata Rex conciliis malorum Ministrorum praeventus seductus easdem infringendo contravenire non formidavit credens deceptive pro numere absolvi à transgressione quod esset manifestum regni exterminium Aliud etiam nos omnes angit intrinsecus quod Justiciarii subtiliter ex malitia sua ac per diversa argumenta avaritiae intolerabilis superbiae Regem contra fideles suos multipliciter provocaverunt incitaverunt sanoque salubri consilio Ligeorum Angliae contrarium reddiderunt consilia sua vana impudenter praeponere affirmare non erubuerunt seu formidaverunt ac si plus habiles essent ad consulendam conservandam Rempublicam quam tota Universitas Regni in unum collecta Ita de illis possit vere dici viri qui turbaverunt terram concusserunt Regnum sub fuco gravitatis totum populum graviter oppresserunt praetextuque solummodo exponendi veteres Leges novas non dicam Leges sed malas consuetudines introduxerunt vomuerunt ita quod per ignorantiam nonnullorum ac per partialitatem aliorum qui vel per munera vel timorem aliquorum potentum innodati fuerunt nulla fuit stabilitas Legum nec alicui de populo Justitiam dignabantur exhibere opera eorum sunt opera nequitiae opus iniquitatis in manibus pedes eorum ad malum currunt festinant ac viam recti nescierunt Quid dicam non est judicium in gressibus suis Quam plurimi liberi homines terrae nostrae fideles Domini Regis quasi viles ultimae servi conditionis diversis Carceribus sine culpa commiserunt ibidem carcerandi quorum nonnulli in carcere fame maerore vinculorum pondere defecerunt extorquerunt pro Arbritrio insuper infinitam pecuniam ab eâ—â—dem pro redemptione sua crumenas aliorum ut suas impregnarent tam à divitibus quam pauperibus exhauserunt ratione quorum incurriverunt odium inexorabile formidabile imprecationes omnium quasi tale incommunicabile privilegium per Chartam detest abilem de non obstante obtinuerunt perquiviserunt ut à lege divina humanaque quasi ad libitum immunes essent Gravamen insuper solitum adhuc sive aliquo modo saevit omnia sunt venalia si non quasi furtiva proh dolor Quid non mortalia pectora cogit Auri sacra fames Ex ore meo contra vos O Impii tremebunda coeli decreta jam auditis Agnitio vultuum vestrorum accusat vos peccatum vestrum quasi Sodoma praedicavistis nec abscondistis vae animae vestrae vae qui condunt leges scribentes injustitiam scripserunt ut opprimerent in judicio pauperes vim facerent causae humilium populi ut essent viduae praeda eorum pupillos diriperent vae qui aedificant domum suam injusticia coenacula sua non in Judicio vae qui concupiverunt agros violenter tulerunt rapuerunt domos oppresserunt virum domum ejus imo virum Haereditatem suam vae Judices qui sicut Lupi vespere non relinquebant ossa in mane Justus Judex adducit Consiliarios in stultum finem Judices in stuporem mox alta voce justum Judicium terrae recipietis His auditis omnium aures tinniebant totaque Communitas ingemuerunt Vide Mat. West Anno 1289. p. 376 li. 13. dicentes heu nobis heu ubi est Angliae toties empta toties concessa toties scripta toties jurata Libertas Alii de Criminalibus sese à visibus populi subtrahentes in locis secretis cum amicis tacite latitaverunt Anno vero 1290. 18. Ed. 1. deprehensis omnibus Angliae Justiciariis de repetundis praeter Jo. Metingham Eliam de Bleckingham quos honoris ergo nominatos volui judicio Parliamenti vindicatum est in alios atque alios carcere exilio fortunarumque omnium dispendio in singulos mulcta gravissima amissione officii Spelmans Glossary p. 1. co 1. 416. alios protulerunt in medium unde merito fere omnes ab officiis depositi amoti unus à terra exulatus alii perpetuis prisonis incarcerati alii que gravibus pecuniarum solutionibus juste adjudicati fuerunt AFter that the King for the space of three Years and more had remained beyond Sea and returned out of Gascoign and France into England he was much vexed and disturbed by the continual clamour both of the Clergy and Laity desiring to be relieved against the Justices and other His Majesties Ministers of several oppressions and injuries done unto them contrary to the good Laws and Customs of the Realm whereupon King Edward by his Royal Letters to the several Sheriffs of England commanded that in all Counties Cities and Market Towns a Proclamation should be made that all who found themselves agrieved should repair to Westminster at the next Parliament and there shew their Grievances where as well the great as the less should receive fit Remedies and speedy Justice according as the King was obliged by the Bond of his Coronation Oath And now that great day was come that day of judging even the Justices and the other Ministers of the King's Council which by no Collusion or Reward no Argument or Art of Pleading they could elude or avoid The Clergy therefore and the People being gathered together and seated in the great Palace of Westminster the Archbishop of Canterbury a man of eminent Piety and as it were a Pillar of the holy Church and the Kingdom rising from his Seat and fetching a profound sigh spoke in this manner Let this Assembly know that we are called together concerning the great and weighty Affairs of the Kingdom too much alas of late disturbed and still out of Order unanimously faithfully and effectually with our Lord the King to treat and ordain Vide Fleta Cap. 17. p. 18 19. Authoritas Officium ordinarii Concilii Regis Ye have all heard the grievous complaints of the most intollerable injuries and oppressions of the daily desolations committed both on Church and State by this corrupt Council of our Lord the King contrary to our great Charters so many and so often purchased and redeemed granted and confirmed to us by the several Oaths of our Lord the King that now is and of our Lords King Henry and John and corroborated by the dreadful thundrings of the sentence of Excommunication against the Invaders of our common Liberties of England in
such Assemblies which times are as ancient as any Memory of the Nation it self hence I infer that no Summons from the King can be thought to have been necessary in those days because it was altogether needless Secondly The Succession to the Crown did not in those days nor till of late years run in a course of Lineal Succession by right of Inheritance But upon the death of a Prince those Persons of the Realm that Composed the then Parliament Assembled in order to the choosing of another That the Kingdom was then Elective though one or other of the Royal Blood was always chosen but the next in Lineal Succession very seldom is evident from the Genealogies of the Saxon Kings from an old Law made at Calchuyth appointing how and by whom Kings shall be chosen and from many express and particular Accounts given by our old Historians of such Assemblies held for Electing of Kings Now such Assemblies could not be Summon'd by any King and yet in conjunction with the King that themselves set up they made Laws binding the King and all the Realm Thirdly After the Death of King William Rufus Robert his Elder Brother being then in the Holy Land Henry the younger Son of King William the First procured an Assembly of the Clergy and People of England to whom he made large Promises of his good Government in case they would accept of him for their King and they agreeing that if he would restore to them the Laws of King Edward the Confessor then they would consent to make him their King He swore that he would do so and also free them from some oppressions which the Nation had groan'd under in his Brothers and his Fathers time Hereupon they chose him King and the Bishop of London and the Archbishop of York set the Crown upon his Head Which being done a Confirmation of the English Liberties passed the Royal Assent in that Assembly the same in substance though not so large as King John's and King Henry the Third's Magna Charta's afterwards were Fourthly After that King's Death in such another Parliament King Stephen was Elected and Mawd the Empress put by though not without some stain of perfidiousness upon all those and Stephen himself especially who had sworn in her Fathers Life-time to acknowledge her for their Soveraing after his decease Fifthly In King Richard the First 's time the King being absent in the Holy Land and the Bishop of Ely then his Chancellor being Regent of the Kingdom in his Absence whose Government was intolerable to the People for his Insolence and manifold Oppressions a Parliament was convened at London at the Instance of Earl John the Kings Brother to treat of the great and weighty affairs of the King and Kingdom in which Parliament this same Regent was depos'd from his Government and another set up viz. the Arch-Bishop of Roan in his stead This Assembly was not conven'd by the King who was then in Palaestine nor by any Authority deriv'd from him for then the Regent and Chancellor must have call'd them together but they met as the Historian says expresly at the Instance of Earl John And yet in the Kings Absence they took upon them to settle the publick Affairs of the Nation without Him Sixthly When King Henry the 3d. died his Eldest Son Prince Edward was then in the Holy Land and came not home till within the third year of his Reign yet immediately upon the Fathers Death all the Prelates and Nobles and 4 Knights for every Shire and 4 Burgesses for every Borough Assembled together in a great Council and setled the Government till the King should return Made a new Seal and a Chancellor c. I infer from what has been said that Writs of Summons are not so Essential to the being of Parliaments but that the People of England especially at a time when they cannot be had may by Law and according to our old Constitution Assemble together in a Parliamentary way without them to treat of and settle the publick Affairs of the Nation And that if such Assemblies so conven'd find the Throne Vacant they may proceed not only to set up a Prince but with the Assent and Concurrence of such Prince to transact all Publick business whatsoever without a new Election they having as great Authority as the People of England can deligate to their Representatives II. The Acts of Parliaments not Formal nor Legal in all their Circumstances are yet binding to the Nation so long as they continue in Force and not liable to be questioned as to the Validity of them but in subsequent Parliaments First The two Spencers Temp. Edvardi Secundi were banished by Act of Parliament and that Act of Parliament repealed by Dures Force yet was the Act of Repeal a good Law till it was Annulled 1 Ed. 3. Secondly Some Statutes of 11 Rich. 2. and attainders thereupon were repealed in a Parliament held Ann. 21. of that King which Parliament was procured by forced Elections and yet the Repeal stood good till such time as in 1 Henry 4. the Statutes of 11 Rich. 2. were revived and appointed to be firmly held and kept Thirdly The Parliament of 1 Hen. 4. consisted of the same Knights Citizens and Burgesses that had served in the then last dissolved Patliament and those Persons were by the Kings Writts to the Sheriffs commanded to be returned and yet they passed Acts and their Acts tho never confirmed continue to be Laws at this day Fourthly Queen Mary's Parliament that restored the Popes Supremacy was notoriously known to be pack'd inso much that it was debated in Queen Elizabeth's time whether or no to declare all their Acts void by Act of Parliament That course was then upon some prudential considerations declined and therefore the Acts of that Parliament not since repealed continue binding Laws to this day The reason of all this is Because no inferiour Courts have Authority to judge of the Validity or Invalidity of the Acts of such Assemblies as have but so much as a colour of Parliamentary Authority The Acts of such Assemblies being Entred upon the Parliament-Roll and certified before the Judges of Westminster-Hall as Acts of Parliament are conclusive and binding to them because Parliaments are the only Judges of the Imperfections Invalidities Illegalities c. of one another The Parliament that call'd in King Charles the Second was not assembled by the Kings Writ and yet they made Acts and the Royal assent was had to them many of which indeed were afterwards confirmed but not all and those that had no Confirmation are undoubted Acts of Parliament without it and have ever since obtained as such Hence I inferr that the present Convention may if they please assume to themselves a Parliamentary Power and in conjunction with such King or Queen as they shall declare may give Laws to the Kingdom as a legal Parliament The Thoughts of a Private Person about the Justice of the Gentlemens Vndertaking
be miserably diminish'd sooner than we are aware But there remains yet another part of our Message which we have to impart to you on the behalf of your People They find in an antient Statute and it has been done in fact not long ago That if the King through any Evil Counsel or foolish Contumacy or out of Scorn or some singular petulant Will of his own or by any other irregular Means shall alienate himself from his People and shall refuse to be govern'd and guided by the Laws of the Realm and the Statutes and laudable Ordinances thereof together with the wholsom Advice of the Lords and great Men of his Realm but persisting head-strong in his own hare-brain'd Counsels shall petulantly prosecute his own singular humour That then it shall be lawful for them with the common assent and consent of the People of the Realm to depose that same King from his Regal Throne and to set up some other of the Royal Blood in his room H. Knight Coll. 2681. No Man can imagine that the Lords and Commons in Parliament would have sent the King such a Message and have quoted to him an old Statute for deposing Kings that would not govern according to Law if the People of England had then apprehended that an Obedience without reserve was due to the King or if there had not been such a Statute in being And though the Record of that Excellent Law be lost as the Records of almost all our Antient Laws are yet is the Testimony of so credible an Historian who lived when these things were transacted sufficient to inform us that such a Law was then known and in being and consequently that the Terms of English Allegiance according to the Constitution of our Government are different from what some Modern Authors would persuade us they are This Difference betwixt the said King and his Parliament ended amicably betwixt them in the punishment of many Evil Counsellors by whom the King had been influenced to commit many Irregularities in Government But the Discontents of the People grew higher by his After-management of Affairs and ended in the Deposition of that King and setting up of another who was not the next Heir in Lineal Succession The Articles against King Richard the Second may be read at large in H. Knighton Collect. 2746 2747 c. and are yet extant upon Record An Abridgment of them is in Cotton's Records pag. 386 387 388. out of whom I observe these few there being in all Thirty three The First was His wasting and bestowing the Lands of the Crown upon unworthy Persons and overcharging the Commons with Exactions And that whereas certain Lords Spiritual and Temporal were assign'd in Parliament to intend the Government of the Kingdom the King by a Conventicle of his own Accomplices endeavoured to impeach them of High-Treason Another was For that the King by undue means procured divers Justices to speak against the Law to the destruction of the Duke of Glocester and the Earls of Arundel and Warwick at Shrewsbury Another For that the King against his own Promise and Pardon at a solemn Procession apprehended the Duke of Glocester and sent him to Calice there to be choaked and murthered beheading the Earl of Arundel and banishing the Earl of Warwick and the Lord Cobham Another For that the King's Retinue and a Rout gathered by him out of Cheshire committed divers Murders Rapes and other Felonies and refused to pay for their Victuals Another For that the Crown of England being freed from the Pope and all other Foreign Power the King notwithstanding procured the Pope's Excommunication on such as should break the Ordinances of the last Parliament in derogation of the Crown Statutes and Laws of the Realm Another That he made Men Sheriffs who were not named to him by the Great Officers the Justices and others of his Council and who were unfit contrary to the Laws of the Realm and in manifest breach of his Oath Another For that he did not repay to his Subjects the Debts that he had borrowed of them Another For that the King refused to execute the Laws saying That the Laws were in his Mouth and Breast and that himself alone could make and alter the Laws Another For causing Sheriffs to continue in Office above a Year contrary to the tenor of a Statute-Law thereby incurring notorious Perjury Another For that the said King procured Knights of the Shires to be returned to serve his own Will Another For that many Justices for their good Counsel given to the King were with evil Countenance and Threats rewarded Another For that the King passing into Ireland had carried with him without the Consent of the Estates of the Realm the Treasure Reliques and other Jewels of the Realm which were used safely to be kept in the King 's own Coffers from all hazard And for that the said King cancelled and razed sundry Records Another For that the said King appear'd by his Letters to the Pope to Foreign Princes and to his Subjects so variable so dissembling and so unfaithful and inconstant that no Man could trust him that knew him insomuch that he was a Scandal both to himself and the Kingdom Another That the King would commonly say amongst the Nobles that all Subjects Lives Lands and Goods were in his hands without any forfeiture which is altogether contrary to the Laws and Vsages of the Realm Another For that he suffered his Subjects to be condemned by Martial-Law contrary to his Oath and the Laws of the Realm Another For that whereas the Subjects of England are sufficiently bound to the King by their Allegiance yet the said King compell'd them to take new Oaths These Articles with some others not altogether of so general a concern being considered and the King himself confessing his Defects the same seemed sufficient to the whole Estates for the King's Deposition and he was depos'd accordingly The Substance and Drift of all is That our Kings were antiently liable to and might lawfully be deposed for Oppression and Tyranny for Insufficiency to govern c. in and by the great Council of the Nation without any breach of the old Oath of Fealty because to say nothing of the nature of our Constitution express and positive Laws warranted such Proceedings And therefore the Frame of our Government being the same still and the Terms of our Allegiance being the same now that they were then without any new Obligations superinduced by the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy a King of England may legally at this day for sufficient cause be deposed by the Lords and Commons assembled in a Great Council of the Kingdom without any breach of the present Oaths of Supremacy or Allegiance Quod erat demonstrandum MANTISSA WHen Stephen was King of England whom the People had chosen rather than submit to Mawd tho the Great Men of the Realm had sworn Fealty to her in her Father's life-time Henry Duke of Anjou Son of the said Mawd afterwards King Henry the Second invaded the Kingdom An. Dom. 1153 which was towards the latter-end of King Stephen's Reign and Theobald Archbishop of Canterbury endeavoured to mediate a Peace betwixt them speaking frequently with the King in private and sending many Messages to the Duke and Henry Bishop of Winchester took pains likewise to make them Friends Factum est autem ut mense Novembris in fine mensis EX PRAECEPTO REGIS ET DUCIS Collect. pag. 1374 1375. convenirent apud Wintoniam Praesules Principes Regni ut ipsi jam initae paci praeberent assensum unanimiter juramenti Sacramento confirmarent i.e. It came to pass that in the Month of November towards the latter end of the Month at the summons of the King and of the Duke the Prelats and Great Men of the Kingdom were assembled at Winchester that they also might assent to the Peace that was concluded and unanimously swear to observe it In that Parliament the Duke was declared King Stephen's adopted Son and Heir of the Kingdom and the King to retain the Government during his Life I observe only upon this Authority That there being a Controversy betwixt the King and the Duke which could no otherwise be determined and settled but in a Parliament the Summons of this Parliament were issued in the Names of both Parties concerned Quisquis habet aures ad audiendum audiat FINIS
With several other Informations concerning other Fires in Southwark Fetter-Lane and elsewhere 27 5. Votes and Addresses of the Honourable House of Commons assembled in Parliament made 1673. concerning Popery and other Grievances 49 6. A Letter from a Parliament-man to his Friend concerning the Proceedings of the House of Commons this last Session begun the 13th of October 1675. 53 7. A Speech made by Sir William Scroggs one of His Majesty's Serjeants at Law to the Right Honourable the Lord Chancellor of England at his admission to the Place of one of His Majesty's Justices of the Court of Common-Pleas 56 8. A Discourse upon the Designs Practises and Councels of France 59 9. An Answer to a Letter written by a Member of Parliament in the Countrey upon the Occasion of his reading of the Gazette of the 11th of December 1679. wherein is the Proclamation for further proroguing the Parliament till the 11th of November next ensuing 67 10. The Right Honourable the Earl of Shaftsbury's Speech in the House of Lords March 25. 1679. 71 11. The Instrument or Writing of Association that the true Protestants of England entred into in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth 73 12. The Act of Parliament of the 27th of Queen Elizabeth in Confirmation of the same 74 13. A Word without doors concerning the Bill for Succession 76 14. A Collection of Speeches in the House of Commons in the Year 1680. 81 15. A Copy of the Duke of York's Bill 91 16. Some particular Matters of Fact relating to the Administration of Affairs in Scotland under the Duke of Lauderdale 93 17. The Impeachment of the Duke and Dutchess of Lauderdale with their Brother the Lord Hatton presented to his Majesty by the City of Edenburgh The matters of fact particularly relating to the Town of Edenburgh humbly offered for His Majesty's information 96 18. His Majesty's Declaration for the dissolving of His late Privy Council and for constituting a New One made in the Council-Chamber at White-hall April 20. 1679. 99 19. The Mâ—ssage from the King by Mr. Secretary Jenkins to the Commons on the 9th of November 1680. 102 20. The Address to His Majesty from the Commons on Saturday the 13th of November 1680. Ibid. 21. The Address of the Commons in Parliament to His Majesty to remove Sir George Jeffreys out of all publick Offices 103 22. His Majesty's Message to the Commons in Parliament relating to Tangier 104 23. The Humble Address of the Commons assembled in Parliament presented to His Majesty on Monday the 29th of November 1680. in answer to that Message ibid. 24. The Humble Address of the House of Commons presented to His Majesty on Tuesday the 21st of December 1680. in answer to His Majesty's Gracious Speech to both Houses of Parliament upon the 15th day of the same December 107 25. The Report of the Committee of the Commons appointed to examine the Proceedings of the Judges c. 109 26. The Report from the Committee of the Commons in Parliament appointed by the Honourable House of Commons to consider of the Petition of Richard Thompson of Bristol Clerk and to examine Complaints against him And the Resolution of the Commons in Parliament upon this Report for his Impeachment for High Crimes and Misdemeanors on Friday the 24th of December 1680. 116 27. Articles of Impeachment of Sir William Scroggs Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench by the Commons in Parliament assembled in their own Name and in the name of all the Commons of England of High Treason and other great Crimes and Misdemeanors 119 28. The Humble Petition of the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor Aldermen and Commons of the City of London in Common Council assembled on the 13th of January 1680. to the King 's Most Excellent Majesty for the sitting of the Parliament prorogued to the 20th then instant together with the Resolutions Orders and Debates of the said Court 122 29. Vox Patriae Or the Resentments and Indignation of the Free-born Subjects of England against Popery Arbitrary Government the Duke of York or any Popish Successor being a true Collection of the Petitions and Addresses lately made from divers Counties Cities and Burroughs of this Realm to their Respective Representatives chosen to serve in the Parliament held at Oxford March 21 1680. 125 30. The Speech of the Honourable Henry Booth Esq at Chester the 2d of March 1680 1 〈◊〉 his being elected One of the Knights of the Shire for that County to serve in the Parliament summon'd to meet at Oxford the 21st of the said Month. 147 31. An Account of the Proceedings at the Sessions for the City of Westminster against Thomas Whitfield Scrievener John Smallbones Woodmonger and William Laud Painter for tearing a Petition prepared to be presented to the King for the sitting of the Parliament with an Account of the said Petition presented on the then 13th Instant and His Majesty's Gracious Answer 150. 32. The Judgment and Decree of the Vniversity of Oxford passed in their Convocation July 21 1683. against certain pernicious Books and damnable Doctrines destructive to the Sacred Persons of Princes Their State and Government and of all Humane Society 153 32. The Case of the Earl of Argyle Or an Exact and Full Account of his Tryal Escape and Sentence As likewise a Relation of several Matters of Fact for better clearing of the said Case 151 33. Murther will out Or The King's Letter justifying the Marquess of Antrim and declaring that what he did in the Irish Rebellion was by direction from His Royal Father and Mother and for the Service of the Crown 217 34. Vox Populi Or The Peoples claim to their Parliaments sitting to redress Grievances and to provide for the Common safety by the known Laws and Constitution of the Nation 219 35. The Security of English-mens Lives Or The Trust Power and Duty of the Grand Juries of England explained according to the Fundamentals of the English Government and the Declarations of the same made in Parliament by many Statutes 225 36. The Speech and Carriage of Stephen Colledge before the Castle at Oxford on Wednesday Aug. 31. 1681. taken exactly from his Mouth at the place of Execution 255 37. The Speech of the late Lord Russell to the Sheriffs together with the Paper delivered by him to them at the place of Execution July 21. 1683. 262 38. To the King 's Most Excellent Majesty the Humble Petition of Algernoon Sidney Esq 266 39. The very Copy of a Paper delivered to the Sheriffs upon the Scaffold on Friday Dec. 7. 1683. by Algernoon Sidney Esq before his Execution there 267 40. Of Magistracy 269. Of Prerogatives by Divine Right 270. Of Obedience 271. Of Laws 272. By Mr. Samuel Johnson 41. Copies of two Papers written by the late King Charles II. published by His Majesty's Command Printed in the Year 1686. 273. 42. A Letter containing some Remarks on the Two Papers writ by His late Majesty King Charles II. concerning Religion 274
43. A Brief Account of particulars occurring at the happy death of our late Soveraign Lord K. Ch. 2d in regard to Religion faithfully related by his then Assistant Mr. Jo. Huddleston 280 44. Some Reflections on His Majesty's Proclamation of the Twelfth of Feb. 1686 7. for a Toleration in Scotland together with the said Proclamation 281 45. His Majesty's Gracious Declaration to all his Loving Subjects for Liberty of Conscience 287 46. A Letter containing some Reflections on His Majesty's Declaration for Liberty of Conscience Dated April 4. 1687. 289 47. A Letter to a Dissenter upon Occasion of His Majesty's Late Gracious Declaration of Indulgence 294 48. The Anatomy of an Equivalent 300 49. A Letter from a Gentleman in the City to his Friend in the Countrey containing his Reasons for not reading the Declaration 309 50. An Answer to the City Minister's Letter from his Countrey Friend 314 51. A Letter from a Gentleman in Ireland to his Friend in London upon ocasion of a Pamphlet entituled A Vindication of the Present Government of Ireland under his Excellency Richard Earl of Tyrconnel 316 52. A Plain Account of the Persecution laid to the Charge of the Church of England 322 53. Abby and other Church Lands not yet assured to such possessors as are Roman-Catholicks dedicated to the Nobility and Gentry of that Religion 326 54. The King's Power in Ecclesiastical matters truly stated 331 55. A Letter writ by Mijn Heer Fagel Pensioner of Holland to Mr. James Stewart Advocate giving an Account of the Prince and Princess of Orange's thoughts concerning the Repeal of the Test and the Penal Laws 334 56. Reflections on Monsieur Fagel's Letter 338 57. Animadversions upon a pretended Answer to Mijn Heer Fagel's Letter 343 58. Some Reflections on a Discourse called Good Advice to the Church of England c. 363 59. The ill effects of Animosities 371 60. A Representation of the Threatning Dangers impending over Protestants in Great-Britain With an Account of the Arbitrary and Popish ends unto which the Declaration for Liberty of Conscience in England and the Proclamation for a Toleration in Scotland are designed 380 61. The Declaration of his Highness William Henry by the Grace of God Prince of Orange c. of the Reasons inducing him to appear in Arms in the Kingdom of England for preserving of the Protestant Religion and for restoring the Laws and Liberties of England Scotland and Ireland 420 62. His Highnesses Additional Declaration 426 63. The then supposed Third Declaration of his Royal Highness pretended to be signed at his head Quarters at Sherborn-Castle November 28. 1688. but was written by another Person tho yet unknown 427 64. The Reverend Mr. Samuel Johnson's Paper in the year 1686. for which he was sentenc'd by the Court of Kings-Bench Sir Edward Herbert being Lord Chief Justice and Sir Francis Wythens pronouncing the Sentence to stand Three times on the Pillory and to be whipp'd from Newgate to Tyburn which barbarous Sentence was Executed 428 65. Several Reasons for the establishment of a standing Army and Dissolving the Militia by the said Mr. Johnson 429 66. To the King 's Most Excellent Majesty the Humble Petition of William Archbishop of Canterbury and divers of the suffragan Bishops of that Province then present with him in behalf of themselves and others of their absent Brethren and of the Clergy of their respective Diocesses with His Majesty's Answer 430 67. The Petition of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal for the calling of a free Parliament together with His Majesty's Gracious Answer to their Lordships Ib. 68. The Prince of Orange's Letter to the English Army 431 69. Prince George his Letter to the King 432 70. The Lord Churchill's Letter to the King 432 71. The Princess Ann of Denmark's Letter to the Queen 433 72. A Memorial of the Protestants of the Church of England presented to their Royal Hignesses the Prince and Princess of Orange 433 73. Admiral Herbert's Letter to all Commanders of Ships and Seamen in His Majesty's Fleet. 434 74. The Lord Delamere's Speech 434 75. An Engagement of the Noblemen Knights and Gentlemen at Exeter to assist the Prince of Orange in the defence of the Protestant Religion Laws and Liberties of the People of England Scotland and Ireland 435 76. The Declaration of the Nobility Gentry and Commonalty at the Rendezvouz at Nottingham November 22. 1688. 436 77. His Grace the Duke of Norfolk's Speech to the Mayor of Norwich on the 1st of December in the Market-place of Norwich 437 78. The Speech of the Prince of Orange to some principal Gentlemen of Somersetshire and Dorsetshire on their coming to join his Highness at Exeter Novemb. 15. 1688. 437 79. The True Copy of a Paper delivered by the Lord Devonshire to the Mayor of Darby where he Quartered Novemb. 21. 1688. 438 80. A Letter from a Gentleman at Kings-Lynn Decemb. 7. 1688. to his Friend in London With an Address to his Grace the most Noble Henry Duke of Norfolk Lord Marshall of England Ibid. 81. His Grace's Answer with another Letter from Lynn-Regis giving the D. of Norfolk's 2d Speech there Decemb. 10. 1688. 439 82. The Declaration of the Lord 's Spiritual and Temporal in and about the Cities of London and Westminster Assembled at Guild-Hall Decemb. 11. 1688. Ibid. 83. A Paper delivered to his Highness the Prince of Orange by the Commissioners sent by His Majesty to treat with him and his Highness's Answer 1688. 440 84. The Recorder of Bristoll's Speech to his Highness the Prince of Orange Monday Jan. 7. 1688. 441. 85. The Humble Address of the Lieutenancy of the City of London to his Highness the Prince of Orange Decemb. 12. 1688. 442 86. The Humble Address of the Lord Mayor Aldermen and Commons of the City of London in Common-Council Assembled to his Highness the Prince of Orange 443 87. The Speech of Sir Geo. Treby Knight Recorder of the Honourable City of London to his Highness the Prince of Orange Decemb. 20. 1688. Ibid. 88. His Highness the Prince of Orange's Speech to the Scotch Lords and Gentlemen with their Advice and his Highness's Answer with a true Account of what past at their meeting in the Council Chamber at White-Hall Jan. 7. 1688 9. 444 89. The Emperor of Germany's Account of K. James's Misgovernment in joining with the K. of France the Common Enemy of Christendom in his Letter to K. James 446 90. The Declaration of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons Assembled at Westminster concerning the Misgovernment of K. James and filling up the Throne Presented to K. William and Q. Mary by the Right Honourable the Marquess of Hallifax Speaker to the House of Lords with His Majesty's Most Gracious Answer thereunto 447 91. A Proclamation Declaring William and Mary Prince and Princess of Orange to be King and Queen of England France and Ireland c. 449 92. The Declaration of the Estates of Scotland concerning the Misgovernment of K. James the 7th
and does hereby Dissolve it and from this time excuses your farther attendance here but with his repeated Thanks for your Service hitherto and with the assurance of his Satisfaction in you so far that he should not have parted with you but to make way for this new Constitution which he takes to be as to the Number and Choice the most proper and necessary for the uses he intends them And as most of you have Offices in his Service and all of you particular Shares in his Favour and good Opinion so he desires you will continue to exercise and deserve them with the same Diligence and good Affections that you have hitherto done and with confidence of his Majesty's Kindness to you and of those Testimonies you shall receive of it upon other occasions Therefore upon the present Dissolution of this Council his Majesty appoints and commands all those Officers he hath named to attend him here to morrow at Nine in the Morning as his Privy-Council together with those other Persons he designs to make up the number and to each of whom he has already signed particular Letters to that purpose and commands the Lord Chancellor to see them issued out accordingly which is the Form he intends to use and that hereafter they shall be signed in Council so that nothing may be done unadvisedly in the Choice of any Person to a Charge of so great Dignity and Importance to the Kingdom Names of the Lords of His Majesty's most Honourable Privy-Council HIS Highness Prince Rupert William Lord Archbishop of Canterbury Heneage Lord Finch Lord Chancellor of England Anthony Earl of Shaftsbury Lord President of the Council Arthur Earl of Anglesey Lord Privy-Seal Christopher Duke of Albemarle James Duke of Monmouth Master of the Horse Henry Duke of Newcastle John Duke of Lauderdale Secretary of State for Scotland James Duke of Ormond Lord Steward of the Houshold Charles Lord Marquess of Winchester Henry Lord Marquess of Worcester Henry Earl of Arlington Lord Chamberlain of the Houshold James Earl of Salisbury John Earl of Bridgewater Robert Earl of Sunderland one of his Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State Arthur Earl of Essex first Lord Commissioner of the Treasury John Earl of Bath Groom of the Stole Thomas Lord Viscount Falconberg George Lord Viscount Hallifax Henry Lord Bishop of London John Lord Roberts Denzil Lord Holles William Lord Russel William Lord Cavendish Henry Coventry Esq one of his Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State Sir Francis North Knight Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. Sir Henry Capell Knight of the Bath first Commissioner of the Admiralty Sir John Ernle Knight Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir Thomas Chicheley Knight Master of the Ordnance Sir William Temple Baronet Edward Seymour Esquire Henry Powle Esquire Whitehall April 11. 1679. HIS Majesty being this day in Council did cause such of the aforementioned Lords and others who were then present to be Sworn Privy-Counsellors which being done they took their places accordingly His Majesty was also pleased to declare that he intended to make Sir Henry Capell Knight of the Bath Daniel Finch Esquire Baronets Sir Thomas Lee Sir Humphrey Winch Sir Thomas Meers Edward Vaughan and Edward Hales Esquires Commmissioners for the Execution of the Office of Lord High Admiral of England And his Majesty being afterwards come into the House of Peers in his Royal Robes and the House of Commons attending his Majesty was pleased to make this Speech My Lords and Gentlemen I Thought it requisite to acquaint you with what I have done now this day which is That I have Established a new Privy-Council the Constant number of which shall never exceed Thirty I have made choice of such Persons as are Worthy and able to Advise Me and am Resolved in all My Weighty and Important Affairs next to the Advice of my Great Council in Parliament which I shall very often Consult with to be Advised by this Privy-Council I could not make so great a Change without acquainting both Houses of Parliament And I desire you all to apply your selves heartily as I shall do to those things which are necessary for the good and safety of the Kingdom and that no time may be lost in it The Message from the King by Mr. Secretary Jenkins to the Commons on the 9th of November 1680. CHARLES R. HIs Majesty desires this House as well for the satisfaction of His People as of Himself to expedite such Matters as are depending before them relating to Popery and the Plot and would have them rest assured That all Remedies they can tender to his Majesty conducing to those Ends shall be very acceptable to him Provided they be such as may consist with preserving the Succession of the Crown in its due and legal course of Descent The Address to his Majesty from the Commons Saturday November 13. 1680. May it please your most Excellent Majesty WE Your Majesty's most Loyal and Obedient Subjects the Commons in this Present Parliament assembled having taken into our most serious Consideration Your Majesty's Gracious Message brought unto us the ninth day of this instant November by Mr. Secretary Jenkins do with all thankfulness acknowledge Your Majesty's Care and Goodness in inviting us to expedite such Matters as are depending before us relating to Popery and the Plot. And we do in all Humility represent to Your Majesty that we are fully convinced that it is highly incumbent upon us in discharge both of our Duty to Your Majesty and of that great Trust reposed in us by those whom we represent to endeavour by the most speedy and effectual ways the Suppression of Popery within this Your Kingdom and the bringing to publick Justice all such as shall be found Guilty of the Horrid and Damnable Popish Plot. And though the Time of our Sitting abating what must necessarily be spent in the choosing and presenting a Speaker appointing Grand Committees and in taking the Oaths and Tests enjoyned by Act of Parliament hath not much exceeded a Fortnight yet we have in this Time not only made a considerable Progress in some things which to us seem and when presented to Your Majesty in a Parliamentary way will we trust appear to Your Majesty to be absolutely necessary for the Safety of Your Majesties Person the effectual Suppression of Popery and the Security of the Religion Lives and Estates of Your Majesties Protestant Subjects But even in relation to the Tryals of the Five Lords impeached in Parliament for the Execrable Popish Plot we have so far proceeded as we doubt not but in a short time we shall be ready for the same But we cannot without being unfaithful to Your Majesty and to our Country by whom we are entrusted omit upon this occasion humbly to inform Your Majesty that our Difficulties even as to these Tryals are much encreased by the evil and destructive Councels of those Persons who advised Your Majesty first to the Prorogation and then to the Dissolution of the last
we were Sworn and stood bound to be hereby subverted and changed and that thereupon we are not only Absolved and Acquitted from the Allegiance and Fealty we were formerly under to his Majesty but are indispensably obliged by the Ties and Engagements that are upon us of maintaining and defending the Constitution and Government to apply our selves to the use of all Means and Endeavors against him as an Enemy of the People and a Subverter of the legal Government wherein all the Interest he had or could lawfully claim was an Official Trust and not an Absolute Power or a Despâ—tical Dominion the first whereof he hath deposed and abdicated himself from by challenging and usurping the latter And should any Scots Dissenter either in his entrance upon the Liberty granted by this Proclamation or in Addressing by way of Thankfulness for it take the least notice of this Freedoms flowing from the King which cannot be done without Recognising this Absolute Power in his Majesty as the Fountain of it he is to be look'd upon as the worst of Traitors and deserves to be proceeded against both for his Accession unto and justifying the Subversion of the Laws Liberties and Government of his Country and for betraying the Rights of all Free-born Men. For those few Reflections in the foregoing Sheets which this new Proclamation may not only seem to render useless and frustrate the end whereunto they were intended but may make the publishing any Animadversions upon that which the King by departing from does himself Censure and Condemn be esteemed both a failure in Ingenuity and Candor and a want of regard to those Measures of Justice which ought to be observed towards all Men and more especially towards Crowned Heads I shall only say that as the Proclamation arrived with me too late to hinder and prevent the Communication of them to the Publick so I have this farther to add in Justification of their being published that it will thereby appear that what his Majesty stiles Sinistruous Interpretations made of some Restrictions mentioned in his former are no other than the just natural genuine and obvious Constructions which they lye open unto and are capable of and which a Man cannot avoid fastning upon them without renouncing all Sense and Reason And while the King continues to disparage and asperse all sober and judicious Reflections upon that Royal Paper by charging upon them the unjust and reproachful Character of Sinistruous Interpretations it is necessary as well as equal that the whole matter should be plainly and impartially represented to the World and that the Dection be remitted and left to the understanding and unbyass'd part of Mankind who are the Calumniators and Slanderers they who accuse the Proclamation of importing such Principles Consequences and Tendencies or he and his Ministers who think they have avoided and answered the Imputations fastened upon it when they have loaded them with hard and uncivil Terms For tho he be pleased to assume to himself an Absolute Power which all are bound to obey without reserve and in the virtue of which he Suspends Stops and Disables what Laws he pleaseth yet I do not know but that his Intellectuals being of the Size of other Mens and that seeing neither his Sovereignty nor Catholicalness have vested in him an Inerrability why we may not enter our Plea and Demur to the Dictates of his Judgment tho we know not how to withstand the Efforts of his Power Nor shall I subjoyn any more save that whereas his Majesty declares so many Laws to be disabled to all Intents and Purposes he ought to have remembred that beside other Intents and Purposes that several of them may hereafter serve unto as the Papists may possibly come to have Experience there is one thing in reference to which he cannot even at present hinder and prevent their Usefulness and Efficacy and that is not only their raising and exciting all just Resentments in the minds of free-born and generous Men for his challenging a Power to Suspend and Cassate them but their remaining and continuing Monuments of his Infidelity to the Trust reposed in him of his departure from all Promises made at and since his entering upon the Government and of his Invading and Subverting all the Rules of the Constitution The Declaration of His Highness William Henry by the Grace of God Prince of Orange c. Of the Reasons inducing him to appear in Arms in the Kingdom of England for Preserving of the Protestant Religion and for Restoring the Laws and Liberties of England Scotland and Ireland IT is both certain and evident to all Men that the Publick Peace and Happiness of any State or Kingdom cannot be preserved where the Laws Liberties and Customs established by the Lawful Authority in it are openly Transgressed and Annulled More especially where the Alteration of Religion is endeavored and that a Religion which is contrary to Law is endeavored to be introduced Upon which those who are most immediately concerned in it are Indispensably bound to endeavor to preserve and maintain the established Laws Liberties and Customs and above all the Religion and Worship of God that is established among them And to take such an effectual Care that the Inhabitants of the said State or Kingdom may neither be deprived of their Religion nor of their Civil Rights Which is so much the more Necessary because the Greatness and Security both of Kings Royal Families and of all such as are in Authority as well as the Happiness of their Subjects and People depend in a most especial manner upon the exact Observation and Maintenance of these their Laws Liberties and Customs Upon these grounds it is that we cannot any longer forbear to Declare That to our great Regret we see that those Counsellors who have now the chief Credit with the King have overturned the Religion Laws and Liberties of those Realms and subjected them in all things relating to their Consciences Liberties and Properties to Arbitrary Government and that not only by Secret and Indirect ways but in an open and undisguised manner Those Evil Counsellors for the advancing and colouring this with some plausible Pretexts did invent and set on foot the King 's Dispensing Power by virtue of which they pretend that according to Law he can Suspend and Dispence with the Execution of the Laws that have been enacted by the Authority of the King and Parliament for the Security and Happiness of the Subject and so have rendered those Laws of no Effect Tho there is nothing more certain than that as no Laws can be made but by the joynt Concurrence of King and Parliament so likewise Laws so enacted which secure the Publick Peace and Safety of the Nation and the Lives and Liberties of every Subject in it cannot be Repealed or Suspended but by the same Authority For tho the King may pardon the Punishment that a Transgressor has incurred and to which he is condemned as in the cases of
humbly Pray That His Majesty would Consent to this Expedient in order to a future Settlement And hope that such a Temperament may be thought of as that the Army now on Foot may not give any Interruption to the proceeding of a Parliament But if to the great Misfortune and Ruin of these Kingdoms it should prove otherwise we further declare That we will to our utmost defend the Protestant Religion the Laws of the Kingdom and the Rights and Liberties of the Subject A Letter from a Gentleman at King's-Lynn December 7. 1688. To his Friend in London Sir THE Duke of Norfolk came to Town on Wednesday Night with many of the chiefest of the County and yesterday in the Market-place received the Address following which was presented by the Mayor attended by the Body and many hundreds of the Inhabitants To his Grace the most Noble Henry Duke of Norfolk Lord Marshal of England My Lord THE daily Allarms we receive as well from Foreign as Domestick Enemies give us just Apprehensions of the approaching Danger which we conceive we are in and to apply with all earnestness to your Grace as your great Patron in all humble Confidence to succeed in our Expectations That we may be put into such a posture by your Grace's 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 Being the desire of many hundreds who must humbly callenge a Right of your Grace's Protection His Grace's Answer Mr. Mayor I Am very much obliged to you and the rest of your Body and those here present for your good Opinion of me and the Confidence you have that I will do what in me lies 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 hath 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 Defence of the Laws Liberties and Protestant Religion than I will do and with all these Gentlemen here present and many more will unanimously concur therein and you shall see that all possible Care shall be taken that such a Defence shall be made as you require AFter which the Duke was with his Retinue received at the Mayor's House at Dinner with great Acclamations and his Proceedings therein have put our County into a Condition of Defence of which you shall hear further in a little time our Militia being ordered to be raised throughout the County Our Tradesmen Seamen and Mobile have this morning generally put Orange Ribbon on their Hats Ecchoing Huzza's to the Prince of Orange and Duke of Norfolk All are in a hot Ferment God send us a good Issue of it Lynn-Regis Decemb. 10. 1688. Sir BY mine of the 7th Instant I gave you an Account of the Address of this Corporation to his Grace the Duke of Norfolk and of his Grace's Answer thereto Since which his Grace has sent for the Militia Troops and put them in a posture of Defence as appears by the ensuing Speech The Duke of Norfolk's second Speech at Lynn I Hope you see I have endeavoured to put you in 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 And I do again renew my former Assurances to you that I will ever stand by you to Defend the Laws Liberties and the Protestant Religion and to procure a Settlement in Church and State in concurrence with the Lords and Gentlemen in the North and pursuant to the Declaration of the Prince of Orange And so God save the King The Declaration of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in and about the Cities of London and Westminster Assembled at Guild-hall Dec. 1688. WE doubt not but the World believes that in this great and dangerous Conjuncture we are heartily and zealously concerned for the Protestant Religion the Laws of the Land and the Liberties and Properties of the Subject And we did reasonably Hope that the King having Issued His Proclamation and Writs for a Free Parliament we might have rested Secure under the Expectation of that Meeting But His Majesty having withdrawn Himself and as we apprehend in order to His Departure out of this Kingdom by the pernicious Counsels of Persons ill-affected to our Nation and Religion we cannot without being wanting to our Duty be silent under those Calamities wherein the Popish Counsels which so long prevailed have miserably Involved these Realms We do therefore Unanimously resolve to apply our Selves to His Highness the Prince of Orange who with so great Kindness to these Kingdoms so vast Expence and so much Hazard to his own Person hath Undertaken by endeavouring to procure a Free Parliament to rescue Us with as little Effusion as possible of Christian Blood from the Imminent Dangers of Popery and Slavery And we do hereby Declare That we will with our utmost Endeavours assist his Highness in the obtaining such a Parliament with all speed wherein our Laws our Liberties and Properties may be Secured the Church of England in particular with a due Liberty to Protestant Dissenters and in general the Protestant Religion and Interest over the whole World may be Supported and Encouraged to the glory of God the Happiness of the Established Government in these Kingdoms and the Advantage of all Princes and States in Christendom that may be herein concerned In the mean time we will endeavour to preserve as much as in us lies the Peace and Security of these great and populous Cities of London and Westminster and the Parts adjacent by taking care to Disarm all Papists and secure all Jesuits and Romish Priests who are in our about the same And if there be any thing more to be performed by us for promoting his Highness's generous Intentions for the Publick good we shall be ready to do it as occasion shall require W. Cant. Tho. Ebor. Pembroke Dorset Mulgrave Thanet Carlisle Craven Ailesbury Burlington Sussex Barkelay Rochester Newport Waymouth P. Winchester W. Asaph Fran. Ely Tho. Roffen Tho. Petriberg P. Wharton North and Grey Chandos Montague T. Jermyn Vaughan Carbery Culpeper Crewe Osulston WHereas His Majesty hath privately this Morning withdrawn Himself we the Lords Spiritual and Temporal whose Names are subscribed being assembled at Guild-hall in London having Agreed upon and Signed a Declaration Entituled The Declaration of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in and about the Cities of London and Westminster Assembled at Guild-hall 11. Decemb. 1688. Do desire the Right Honourable the Earl of Pembroke the Right Honourable the Lord Viscount Weymouth the Right Reverend Father in God the Lord Bishop of Ely and the Right Honourable the Lord Culpeper forthwith to attend his Highness the Prince of Orange with the said Declaration and at the same