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A59291 Animadversions upon a paper entituled, The speech of the late Lord Russel, &c. Nalson, John, 1638?-1686.; Settle, Elkanah, 1648-1724. 1683 (1683) Wing S2658; ESTC R10580 5,752 5

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ANIMADVERSIONS Upon a Paper Entituled The SPEECH OF THE LATE Lord RUSSEL c. THE words of Dying Persons are apt to give the deepest impressions upon the Minds of the Living and though possibly there is no point in which I am more tender than in treading upon the memory of such who are out of the capacity of making their own Defence yet resolving to comport my self with all decency which I would do if the person were living I think it a necessary duty to endeavour to hinder the spreading of that Contagion which has proved so fatal to the pretended Author of this Speech and I fear will prove so t●●●●●rs if they be not charitably undeceived and truly if the Dissenters who do so g●●edily swallow down all that is said in that Paper as if the supposed Author were a Martyr and the words as true as Gospel do not open their Eyes to see the wondrous Contradictions which Providence has so visibly opposed to those Insinuations my fears for them are extraordinary that they are hardened to their own destruction and let them be never so angry I will do all I can to prevent the mischief they will certainly pull upon their own heads whilst they prepare it for others I confess I have the utmost difficulty to believe this Speech to be the Lord Russel's and cannot but suspect the finger of Job to be in it and my reason is because there is so much Panegyrick as is not at all consistent either with the modesty or humility of a Person born of worthy good Parents and who has had the advantages of a Religious Education as it is there expressed for he could not then miss of the Divine Precept of the wisest of mere mortal Men Let another Man praise thee and not thine own Lips The office of making Inventories of the Virtues as well as Goods of the deceased and the care of embalming their Memories as well as Bodies has ever been committed to the discretion of their Friends who may without Vanity or Ostentation say those things which would no ways become themselves And since that unfortunate Lord tells us He could never consent to do a base thing I think it is a service to vindicate him from the most indecent and abject of all Follies the blazoning himself and proclaiming his own Praises which is at the least one third part of that sheet of Paper But to let pass the Panegyricks as the most innocent though not most wise I shall only give them this Remark That whoever was the Penman of that Paper has not done it without a most injurious design of insinuating into the heads of the intoxicated Rabble such a Poyson as may turn them round since the natural and easie inference from thence is That this Gentleman being a person of those Excellencies and innocent as he averrs of the Crimes for which he dies the Loss is the greater his Case the harder and the Injustice done him so much the worse And we are not unacquainted how far ill Men carry on their Reflections to the disparagement of the Justice both of God and Man and to run the wild Mobile into the utmost Frenzies of Extravagance against and detestation of the Government and their Governours I shall not insist upon some Expressions which seem next to Equivocation as his living and dying of the Reformed Religion a true and sincere Protestant and in the Communion of the Church of England and many such-like words so ambiguous that all the several Sects will pretend to an interest in him and though the scandal of suffering for High-Treason be not very reputable for any sort of Men yet I am glad for the sake of the Loyal Church of England that he does not say he is of the Reformed Church of England as by Law established which teaches all her true Children not only not to conspire or act Treason upon any pretence whatsoever but not so much as to Curse the King in a thought in their safest Retirement from discovery or danger even in their Bed-chamber That which I would chiefly lay my stress upon is the obviating some things which are of malicious and dangerous consequence not only to the Government but to the Dissenters from it who I fear may for want of his giving Glory to God as he ought become more obstinate in persisting in the belief of their mistakes which without Repentance will certainly prove fatal to them possibly in this World but certainly in the next And first I observe that the great scope and drift of the Speech is to perswade foolish people that they are in the utmost danger of Popery as particularly P. 2. I did believe and do still saith he that Popery is breaking in upon the Nation This very Topique has already cost this Nation 40 Millions of Treasure and 100000 lives and one which was more valuable than them all that of our late Martyred Soveraign King CHARLES the first for whose innocent blood I fear divine Vengeance is now calling the Dissenters to an account and making inquisition for blood With this fear of Popery it is that the people have been so far mislead as to give the late Conspirators hopes to be assisted by them even by the confession of this Speech to undo us all to Murder the best and most Gracious of Princes and subvert the easiest of all Governments And now let all the world judge who knows best or is most likely to prevent the 〈◊〉 in of Popery the King who upon all occasions has condescended so far as to avow to his people that he will do all that lyes in his power to keep out Popery or my Lord Russel's Speech which affirms to the contrary it is not only good manners to believe the King who is as an Angel of God rather than all the malicious Speeches of men to the contrary but I do aver that whoever gives credit to this Calumny against the Kings avowed Declaration the known rule and practice of the Law to suppress Popery is not only an uncharitable and ill Christian but a most disloyal Subject since it is notorious that this old Shaftsbury's cloak of fear of Popery is the very mantle of Rebellion The next thing is the innocence of this Gentleman which is very positively aversed in the spoken Speech where 't is said in the words of a dying man I profess I know of no Plot either against the Kings life or the Government What know of no Plot I profess it is boldly said and I doubt not but will be readily believed by the whole Party But it were well for them if it had been as plainly proved and truly had the Speech stopt here without the following comment upon the Text it would have been some difficulty to have expounded it and others may do what they please but I cannot chufe but attribute the Printing and industrious dispersing of this Speech to a superiour hand which has appeared so marvellously visible in the
discovery of this hellish Treason What so many discourses as are confessed of the feazibleness of seizing the Kings Guards p. 3. my Lord exclaiming against it and asking if the thing succeeded what must be done next c. the Duke of Monmouth tells him my Lord Shaftsbury and some hot men would undoe us all and asks him at another time Did you ever hear such a horrid thing and yet to say he dyes innocent or knows of no Plot against the King's life or Government I protest I stand amazed at the contradiction for the Evasions are too silly and thin to think that the horrid thing was only killing the Guards or that which would undo us all was some disorderly thing or other which the hot men would do if great care were not taken Alas that any man should be so weak himself as to think to impose upon others such foolish inconsistencies No certainly the horrid thing such as was never heard of that would undo us all must be Crimes of another nature than this palliating Speech insinuates and can be of no other import than Treasons of the blackest complexion And after the knowledge of such things to say a man knows no Plot and that he dyes innocent cannot be said unless Plotting and knowing of it be no Treason and that the same person may be the greatest Criminal and the most innocent at the same time I would fain be Answered one Question And that is What should this discourse about seizing the Guards be so often debated and to what purpose can it be supposed to be done He must be stupid that does not see it carry Treason in the face of it either in Seizing or Assassinating the Kings Person or both successively but still the knowing of this must be misprision of Treason It was well my Lords Council knew better things when they advised him not to confess matter of Fact plainly for if he had confessed as much as this Speech does he would have saved the Witnesses a labour and the easie and willing Jury as the Speech calls them would not have had occasion to withdraw from the Bar for their Verdict The Law says there are no accessaries but all are principals in Treasons He confesses he was pressed with this that he was acquainted with these heats and ill designs and did not discover them page 3. and infers this is but misprision of Treason at most but his Lawyers knew better and though it can do him no service yet because it may do others who think not revealing Treason no Crime or that the bare difcoursing it is so little a thing I will give the opinion of one of the Oracles of their Party Mr. St. Johns in his Argument concerning the attainder of the E. of Strafford as I find it in Dr. Nalsons 2d Vol. of Collections published the other day folio 196 where he proves that bare Machination to raise War is Treason He gives several instances and one most remarkable as follows In the 3d year of King Henry IV one Balshal coming from London found one Bernard at plough in the Parish of Ofley in the County of Hertford Bernard asked Balshal What news he told him that the news was that Richard II. was alive in Scotland which was false for he was dead and that by Midsummer next he would come into England Bernard asked him What were best to be done Balshal Answered get men and go to King Richard In Michaelmas Term in the 3d. year of Hen. 4th in the Kings Bench Rot. 4. This advice adjudged Treason One Story in Q. Eliz. time practised to Levy War nothing done in pursuance of a practise the intent adjudged Treason and he Executed upon it even before the Act of the XIII Eliz. which made intention Treason during Her Life For this Case was adjudged in Hillary Term the Parliament begun not 'till the April following Now let us infer if Seizing the Kings Guards and making them Prisoners which cannot be done without Arms be Levying War and Levying War be Treason and the debating this matter be also Treason and there can be no accessories but all Principals in Treason and my L. Russel was at many of these debates and acquainted with these ill designs What becomes of his innocence most assuredly in the sight of God and Man he is Guilty Nor is he so innocent neither in that commonly call'd Gentile Quality which he seems next to his pretended innocence so much to value himself upon that he saith he hopes no body will imagine that so mean a thought should enter into me as to go about to save my self by accusing others It seems he could then if he had not thought it base and mean but truly if he had too much gallantry to save his Body he ought to have had enough Religion to save his Soul And I tremble to think that some persons who should have done otherwise have dealt so unfaithfully with him as to let him dye glorying and impenitent of two most horrible sins For first here is a most manifest Perjury which by this not accusing all he knew guilty of these heats and ill designs he stands manifestly in Articulo Mortis convict of by his own Confession For as a Member of the Commons House how often as well as in other capacities he hath fworn by the Omnipotent God upon the Holy Evangelists the Oath of Allegiance of 3 Jac. To do his best endeavour to disclose and make known to His Majesty his Heirs and Successors all Treasons and Traiterous Conspiracies which he shall know or hear of to be against him or any of them And yet out of a piece of Gallantry it is too mean a thing to accuse others So brave a thing it is to break the Oath of God and without infinite Mercy to leap headlong into Damnation and excuse it as a piece of Bravery O! wretched Conductors of this poor Gentlemans Soul to let him pass into Eternity with that dreadful Imprecation annexed to this Oath of So help me God unthought of and unrepented of There were some things said at Shepheard ' s by some the Speech tells us with more heat than Judgment These things ought by the force of this Oath to have been revealed upon the no less danger than renouncing all help from God and all hopes of happiness and it will be a poor plea for a shivering soul before the dreadful Tribunal of infinite Justice to say as the Speech does that he did then sufficiently disapprove them when he was under the indispensible obligation of a most solemn and sacred Oath and of the forfeiture of mercy and Heaven bound to disclose and reveal them to the King Nor is it a little sin whatever men may think not to give Glory to God by a public acknowledgment and repentance for that Guilt and those Crimes for which his justice has brought any person to such publique and exemplary punishment For besides the injustice which is done to the Righteous Judge of all men in not vindicating his Glory by a clear and ingenuous confession it hath this dangerous influence upon others that thereby they are hardned in their impenitency and even after death a person may become criminal and accessary to all the ill and dangerous consequences which may be the effects of this supressing of truth I pray God some people be not sensible of this to their utter Ruins For I cannot without strange apprehensions see the people swallow this deadly draught of Poyson and endeavour to stifle the most horrid and barbarous Conspiracy the most clearly proved and most miraculously both detected and disappointed that any Age or Story can parallel A Conspiracy which would have laid these Nations weltering in Blood and would have made our Posterity the most absolute Slaves to Tyranny and Usurpation of any in the Christian World And it amazes me to hear people talk That what these Conspirators did was only for preservation of the Protestant Religion and not against the King's Life when the Sun is not more clear than this discovery that nothing could so entirely have ruined the Government and the Reformed Religion as this Conspiracy had it taken effect was designed to have done There are a Thousand other things might be said and very necessarily but I thought it more proper though with too swift a hand to do something towards the stemming of the Tide than to let it overrun all the Banks for want of a little early care to stop the first breaches and I doubt not but some others will give this Speech a more deliberate Answer than can be expected from these hasty lines which are the effect of a perfect duty and Loyalty to my King zeal to the Glory of God and the good of all my fellow Subjects excuses I hope sufficient to procure a Pardon for a Paper writ it may be with more affection than any other Ingredients which might have rendred the composure proportionate and exact God preserve his sacred Majesties person the whole Royal Family the Government our Religion Lives Laws and Liberties from the Conspiracies of such men as think Treason Innocence and concealing it a Glory and may all the yet secret Machinations of wicked Achitophels and Rebellious Absaloms be for ever defeated and discovered LONDON Printed for Thomas Dring over against the Inner-Temple Gate in Fleet-street 1683.