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ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A26677 Allegiance and prerogative considered in a letter from a gentleman in the country to his friend, upon his being chosen a member of the meeting of states in Scotland. Gentleman in the country. 1689 (1689) Wing A955; ESTC R11003 11,569 18

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Beneplacito For when Men hold these places at pleasure it is certainly a great temptation to them who are not of a very firm Honesty to comply with any Designs of the Court and humours of the present chief Favourites And when an honest Man stands his ground and refuses such a Servile Complyance against his Honour and Conscience Then as we have seen he is presently to be turned out and some plyable Tool that will receive any Impressions from these hands put in his place and so our Judicatures filled with Men who will give themselves up to a blind Obedience to the Dictates from Court. And what Justice can the Nation expect from such Judges I do not say the abolishing Commissions Durante Beneplacito will ascertain us of Just Judges But to be sure it will free them whom we shall have from many Temptations to be unjust and secure to us more firmly these that are just and honest So it is well worth the while There is one thing I cannot pass about our Judges tho it be not hujus loci I think it would be much our interest to have Crimen Ambitus in force amongst us as to Session and Justiciarie especially Many wise People have thought that a Man's sueing and Soliciting for such Offices was a just Ground to make him Suspected as unworthy of the Trust This is certain if such Methods were strictly discharged and every one at his admission to these Offices oblidged to purge himself of them we might justly expect they should go more by Merit then they can do while men are allowed to Brigue and Intrigue for them For commonly Cunning and False Men are most Assiduous and Dexterous at Insinuating into a Court. 6. I think the Kings Ecclesiastick Supremacy as it stands now Asserted by Acts of Parliament ought to be Abrogated I will not enter on the debate what power is allowable to a Christian Magistrate in or about Eccl●siastical Matters but leaving this as unnecessary to be discussed here I shall prove the Assertion from these two considerations first if there is any such Supremacy allowable in a Christian Nation to any Civil persons or Judicature it cannot with safety be trusted but where the Legislative power is Lodged 2dly It appears uncharitable and unchristian to enact or leave in Force any Laws Declaratorie of such a Supremacy First Then consider that by this Supremacy the King has Power to turn off any Churchman Summary without any Process of this we have seen several instances he hath also Power thereby at pleasure to Crush any set of Clergy or Church Government he thinks uneasie to him and advance any Party or Model he hopes to be better served by He has by this Supremacy likewise Power if not in express terms yet by very natural Consequence to Suppress all Assemblies Convocations of the Clergy Synods Presbyteries Sessions or any other meetings of Churchmen necessary or convenient for preserving Order in the Church From consideration of these things it is evident and clear as Sun shine That if such a Supremacie be allowed to our Kings then they shall have Power to introduce Corruptions in our Religion by a Corrupt Clergy to raise constant Schisms in our Church to nourish and Foment a Spirit of Animositie and Persecution by one party of Clergy against another to the great reproach of our Religion and danger of our State as past experience may teach us finally they shall have power to dissolve and unhing our Church by depriving Her of all means necessary for establishing and preserving of Order and Discipline without which no Society can subsist And surely these things cannot happen in a Christian Nation without bringing deadly Convulsions upon the Civil State. Now I am confident that after very little reflection on the whole you and every Rational Man will Anticipate me in the Inference and conclude that such a Supremacy is of the last Importance both to the Religion and Civil Interest of the whole Nation and not to be trusted to any but reserved to King and Parliament if it is allowable to any Civil Power Secondly That it is Vncharitable to enact any Laws Declaratorie of such a Supremacie will evidently appear from this that it gives great scandal to good Protestants and p●aceable Subjects and is no wayes necessary Surely then it is very unbecoming Christian Charity and Moderation to give great Offence and lay a stumbling block before such Officiously and Needlesly Now all the World knows this Supremacy has been a st●ne of stumbling both to Jew and Gentile if I may so speak for not only the Presbyterians have still declaimed against it as an Antichristian inchroachment upon Christs prerogative but many Episcopal have judged it an Invasion and Diminution of the intrinsick power consigned by CHRIST to his Church whereupon severall minent amongst that Clergy resused our Test Thus as the Offensive Nature of such Laws is evident So every considering Man must acknowledge That they are useless because all Laws about Church Government should only be founded on these Grounds That What is thereby injoyned is agreeable to the Word of GOD most consonant to the practise of the purest Churches and most proper and conducing for the Advancement of Truth Piety and good Order in this Church Now on these Reasons onely let every thing in Relation to the P●licy of the Church be Enacted in Parliament without pretending or Declaring by any Act what power they have in such Matters Thus I am sute King and Parliament may do their Duty in this Matter from time to time and a great Deal if not All the Offense would be removed For it cannot be denyed That the Legislative power being in them what Form of Government they apply their civil Sanction to it becomes the Legal Government of the Nation Which is all needs be claimed and their medling in such Matters cannot be quarrelled since all Protestants do not only approve the Parliaments Ratifying of our very Confession of Faith but ordinarly plead that thereby we have greater priviledges and right for defence of it than any principle of Religion it self gives us The only hazard is that they may Err in their choice but I know no Remedy for this unless we go to Rome for Infallibility and I fear we should loose our Labour except That no such Laws be imposed Rigorously to be owned by all but a reasonable Toleration allowed to peaceable Dissenters Seeing then there is no use for such Declaratory Laws of an Ecelesiastick Supremacy Were it not very uncharitable to keep them on foot for a snare and for ginn to so many of our Christian Brethren of the same Religion I may add further it were very Dangerous to the publick peace for certainly from this Fountain many of Our intestine commotions have sprung and these streams are not yet dryed up 7. And Lastly Having already far exceeded the due bounds of a Letter and the brevitie I designed I shall Croud all that