A Regency is more tolerable because a Nation must be governed and none so proper to govern it as the next Heir but I should think none who expect to wear a Crown should countenance Subjects in deposing their King nor accept of a Crown upon such Terms as to take it off of a Fathers Head It is a dangerous thing for a Prince who has a Title to the Crown to own that the Crown may be forfeited or demised by such a withdrawing if this be not so the Princess has no Right to the possession of the Crown yet and if it be so her Crown is worth a great deal less than formerly it was especially if she own this Secret by accepting the Crown which her Ancestors always concealed and which the best Subjects of England would not believe before what they may do after this I know not Thirdly The next Design I verily believe without the knowledg or thought of the Prince who has too great a mind to think of any thing which in the opinion of any wise Man could stain and fully his Glory is to give the Crown to the Prince of Orange for it must be a Gift if any thing for he has no immediate Title to it that I know of This is upon a pretence that the Government is dissolved and therefore we must begin de novo which is very ridiculous when the King is still alive and the Laws in as full force as ever only the Regular Administration of Government at present interrupted by the King's absence but this is not the worst of it for it is a dangerous pretence too especially to Men of Quality and Estates as you are for if the Government be dissolved our Laws are dissolved and Honor and Property dissolved with them and then I doubt the Mobile will come in for their share in the new Division of the Lands and set up for Men of as good Quality as any for if our Laws are gone we return to a state of Nature in which all Men are equal and all things common this I believe you will not be for for the Reason above-mentioned If then the Laws continue the Government is not dissolved and the Crown is not a Gift but an Inheritance still as much as your Estate is and then the Prince of Orange cannot have it in his own Right because his own Princess and the Princess Anne are befoe him consider then what the consequence of this Proâ—ect would be 1. This alters the essential Constitution of the English Government by changing an Hereditary into an Elective Monarchy a thing which I know some Men are very fond of for then the next occasion they can find to quarrel with their Prince they may with as much ease turn it into a Common-Wealth for when the Crown is at the Peoples disposal they may if they please keep it to themselves 2. This will entangle all Men of Conscience in new Difficulties for the Oath of Allegiance does not only bind us to the King but to his Heirs and Successors which must be understood of the next lineal Heir where there is no Authority to alter it and whatever a Parliament may be thought to have with the Authority and Consent of the King no Man pretends that a Convention of the Estates has any Legal Authority to do it I should be as heartily glad as any Man to see the Prince of Orange legally seated on the English Throne but these are Difficulties I cannot break through Thus I have given you my hasty Thoughts and pray God to direct you I am Yours POSTSCRIPT There is one thing more I would beg of you that the Story of the French League to cut Protestants Throats in England may be well examined for this did more to drive the King out of the Nation than the Prince's Army and if this should prove a Sham as some who pretend to know say it is it seems at least to be half an Argument to invite the King back again In short remember you are a Convention not a Parliament and therefore nothing can give Authority to what you do but the good liking of the People and as Necessity only can justifie your meeting without the King's Writs so I hope you will take care to do nothing but what will justifie it self to God the King and your Country
A LETTER TO A Member of the Convention SIR I Hear you are elected a Member of this next Convention and therefore expect to see you very suddenly in Town but I can tell you my mind more freely in Writing and you may think better of it when you see it before you and therefore I have rather chose to give you the trouble of this Paper than to leave all to a personal Conference at our next meeting I will not dispute with you about what is past or what is to come it is too late to do the first and as for the second whatever becomes of other Arguments Interest is most apt to prevail and therefore all that I beg of you is to take care that you do not mistake your own and the Nations Interest in a matter of such high Concernment There is no less Affair before you than the Fate of Princes and of three Kingdoms which requires the most calm mature and deliberate Advice and yet when you come to London you will find such Distractions and Divisions in Mens Counsels that all the threatning Dangers of Popery were not a more formidable prospect to considering Men all old Animosities are revived and new ones fomented every day some are visibly acted by Ambition others by Revenge the Dissenter is very busie to undermine the Church and the Common-wealths Man to subvert Monarchy and the Lord have Mercy upon us all I doubt not but you will readily confess that it is the common Interest to have things setled upon such a bottom as is most like to last and then I am sure you must consult both Law and Conscience in the matter and keep to your old establishment as near as you can for when there are so many Distempers in Mens Minds and such contrary Interests it is no time to innovate it is no time to lay new Foundations when there are frequent Earthquakes which will not give them time to settle The Revolutions of State have been so quick and sudden of late that all prudent Men will be cautious how they try Experiments which are commonly dangerous and uncertain but especially in matters of Government which depend on the good liking of free and moral Agents and when se many Hundred Thousand are to be satisfied you can never guess at the prevailing Opinion by the major Vote of a Convention Let us then consider what is most likely to give the most general satisfaction to the Nation for that I am sure is most likely to be lasting and because you may be a Stranger to these matters yet I will give you an Account of the different Projects now on foot as well as I can learn them Some are for sending to the King and treating with him to return to his Government under such legal restraints as shall give security to the most jealous Persons for the preservation of their Liberties Laws and Religion and if he will not consent to this to make the next Heir Regent Others are for declaring the Crown forfeited or demised and proclaiming the Princess of Orange Others will have the Government dissolved and begin all de novo and make the Prince of Orange King or crown him and the Princess together and Postpone the Title of the Princess Anne till after the Prince's Death if he survive the Princess I shall not pretend to tell you which of these I should prefer were it res integra for the question is not which you and I should like best but which will be the firmest Foundation for the Peace and Settlement of these Kingdoms 1. As for the first though it be horribly decried and such Men foolishly exposed as Friends to Popery and Arbitrary Power yet I could never meet with any Man yet who had the face to reject all Treaty with the King upon any other pretence but that it was in vain that it is impossible he should give any Security to the Nation that he would govern by Law which is so ridiculous a pretence that it will satisfie no body but those who are resolved that he shall never return For as little as I am versed in this matter I could frame such Laws as should put it utterly out of the King's power to invade our Liberties or Religion However I am sure we should have thought our selves very secure would the King have called a Free Parliament and given them liberty to have made what Laws they Pleased and that which would have given such general satisfaction before had it been granted I suspect should it be now granted and refused that would give as general dissatisfaction nay the very refusal to treat will be thought such a scandalous neglect of our Duty to a Sovereign Prince and give such Jealousies to People that those who oppose it are only afraid that the King should comply as will be the foundation of universal Discontents which will shew themselves upon the first occasion It is certain would the Convention treat with the King either they would agree or they would not agree if they could not agree upon the proposal of reasonable Securities this would satisfie multitudes of People that they had tried if they did agree this would give universal satisfaction and there were an happy end of all our Troubles But now let us suppose that Part of the Convention should prevail which is against treating with the King and for deposing or setting him aside without more ado let us consider what is like to be the most probable consequence of this It is certain this fundamental Change in the Government cannot be made by any legal Authority for the Convention will not pretend to any such legal Power and there can be no Parliament without a King and a King whose whole Authority depends upon a Convention that has no such Authority is but in a weak state as to Civil Right No Man will think himself bound in Conscience to obey him and when every Mans Conscience is free let such a Prince beware of Epidemical Discontents And let you and I calmly consider what Discontents may probably arise upon such a juncture 1. First then all those who think themselves bound by their Oath of Allegiance to defend the Kings Person his Crown and Dignity who wonder at Men of Law who talk of a Forfeiture or Demise of the Crown while the King lives and flies out of his Kingdoms only for the safety of his Person and because he will not trust himself in the power of his Enemies I say all such Persons will be greatly discontented at deposing the King and will never own any other King while their own King to whom they have sworn Allegiance lives and tho you should suppose such conscientious Men to be very few yet if these few should happen to be Persons of Character of known Prudence and Abilities Integrity and Honesty in Church or State their Examples would give a terrible shock to such a new tottering Government tho they were never so tame and
peaceable void of Faction and Sedition themselves And yet let me tell you you must not judg of the Numbers of these Men by the late general defection The whole Nation I confess was very unanimous for the Prince great numbers of Gentlemen nay of the Kings own Soldiers went over to him very few but Papists offered their Service to the King but the reason of this was very evident not that they were willing to part with the King and set up another in his room but because they were horribly afraid of Popery and very desirous to see the Laws and Religion of the Nation setled upon the old Foundations by a Free Parliament which was all the Prince declared for but many who were well-wishers to this Design will not renounce their Allegiance to their King and now they see what is like to come of it are ashamed of what they have done and ask God's Pardon for it and are ready to undo it as far as they can 2. Besides a thousand occasions of Discontent which may happen in such a Change of Government as this which no body can possibly foresee and yet may have very fatal Consequences there are some very visible occasions for it besides the sense of Loyalty and Conscience How many Discontents think you may arise between the Nobility and Gentry who attend the new Court Every Man will think he has some Merit and expect some marks of Favor to have his share of Honor and Power and Profit and yet a great many more must miss than those who speed and many of those who are rewarded may think they ha'n't their Deserts and be discontented to see others preferred before them and those whose expectations are disappointed are disobliged too and that is a dangerous thing when there is another and a rightful King to oblige for Duty and Discontent together to be revenged if a new King and to be reconciled to an old One will shake a Throne which has so sandy a Foundation the like may be said of the Soldiery who are generally Men of Honor and Resentment and have the greater and sharper Resentments now because they are sensible of their mistake when it is too late yet as they ought not to have fought for Popery nor against the Laws and Liberties of their Country so neither ought they to have deserted the defence of the King's Person and Crown but have brought the Prince to Terms as well as the King. Thus you easily foresee what a heavy Tax must be laid upon the Nation to defray the Charge of this Expedition and I believe the Country would have paid it very chearfully and thankfully had the Prince restored to them their Laws and Liberties and Religion together with their King but you know Men are apt to complain of every thing when Mony is to be paid and it may be it will be thought hard to lose their King and to pay so dear for it too And tho what the Convention does is none of the Prince's fault no more than it was his design yet angry People don't use to distinguish so nicely But there is a greater difficulty still than all this There are no Contentions so fierce as those about Religion this gave Life and Spirit to the Prince's Design and had the main stroke in this late Revolution And though Popery were a hated Religion yet most Men are as zealous for their own Religion as they are against Popery Those of the Church of England are very glad to get rid of Popery but they will not be contented to part with their Church into the bargain for this would be as bad as they could have suffered under Popery The several Sects of Dissenters are glad to get rid of Popery also but now they expect glorious days for themselves and what they expect God Almighty knows for I am confident they don't know themselves Now consider how difficult it will be for any Prince who has but a crazy Title to the immediate possession of the Crown to adjust this matter so as neither to disgust the Church of England nor the Dissenters and if either of them be disobliged there is a formidable Party made against them This being the Case should the King be deposed and any other ascend the Throne it will be necessary for them to keep up a standing Army to quell such Discontents for where there are and will be Discontents without any tye of Conscience to restrain Men there can be no defence but only in Power and this will raise and encrease new Discontents for it alters the frame of our Constitution from a Civil to a Military Government which is one of the great Grievances we have complained of and I believe English People will not be better pleased with Dutch or German or any foreign Soldiers than they were with their own Country-Men and I believe English Soldiers will not be extremely pleased to see themselves disbanded or sent into other Countries to hazard their Lives while their Places are taken up by Foreigners who live in ease plenty and safety And when things are come to this pass which is so likely that I cannot see how all the Wit of Man can prevent it I will suppose but one thing more which you will say is not unlikely that the King return with a foreign Force to recover his Kingdoms how ready will the Men of Conscience and the Men of Discontent be to joyn him nay to invite him home again and if he returns as a Conqueror you will wish when it is too late that you had treated with him and brought him back upon safe and honorable Terms Secondly Let us suppose now that all this should be over-voted for I am sure it can never be answered and the Convention should resolve to proclaim the next Heir 1. You must be sure to examin well who is the next Heir that is you must throughly examin the Pretences of the Prince of Wales and yet if you have not good Proofs of the Imposture you had better let it alone For tho the Nation has had general presumptions of it yet a Male Heir of the Crown is mightily desired and People would be very fond of him if they had one and seem to expect some better Proofs than mere Presumptions against him because common Fame has promised a great deal more and if you should either say nothing to it or not what is expected it would be a very plausible pretence for discontented People â—o quarrel 2. Suppose the Princess of Orange should appear to be the next Heir what if a Lady of her eminent Virtue should scruple to sit upon her Father's Throne while he lives Or what if she should scruple it hereafter and place her Father in his Throne again This is not impossible for Virtue is greater than a Throne For my part I think you will put a very hard thing upon so excellent a Lady and I pray God give her Grace to resist the Temptation