THE ANSWER OF The BURGESSES and other INHABITANTS of the Parish of Buckingham, To a late scandalous Pamphlet set forth by Sir TIMBER TEMPLE.  
ALthough we have been so extremely unfortunate, by our late Election of the Lord Latimer and Sir Timber Temple for our Burgesses this next Parliament, to disoblige not only the honest Gentry of the Neighbourhood, but of the whole County of Bucks, as also the better part of the Kingdom; yet having seen a most false and scandalous Pamphlet, pretended to be written for our Justification by Sir Timber Temple, which impartially, we must confess, contains in it (and that notoriously known to thousands that were present at the County Election) as many falsehoods as Sentences, and that the said foolish Pamphlet hath some malicious and insignificant Reflections upon an honest and well-deserving Gentleman of the Neighbourhood, viz. Sir John Busbie, our constant and chiefest Benefactor; as also upon others that are, and have been our best friends: Therefore we think ourselves obliged in Justice and Gratitude, to vindicate the Honour and spotless Reputation of that prudent and most worthy Gentleman, Sir John Busbie, from those unjust reproaches he is most falsely charged withal by Sir Timber Temple in the said Pamphlet, alleging the said Sir John Busbie to be a great incendiary amongst his Neighbours, and to be a professed Enemy to Buckingham; whereas we know, and must all confess, that the said Sir John Busbie hath been for these many years (as it is said before) our chiefest Benefactor, a Gentleman and Friend, that hath always contrived and studied our welfare, that hath yearly at his Training nobly feasted us, that hath endeavoured to suppress the raging malice of our Enemies, and of those that sought and threatened our ruin and confusion; that hath most freely upon all occasions spent his Money amongst us, notwithstanding his near Neighbourhood to Winslow, still labouring to bring Trade and Traffic to our Corporation; that hath always taken part with us when we had a good Cause, and chief to whose favour we own the General Meetings of the Gentlemen at our Town, and to whom we have had constant Address in all our necessities, misfortunes and difficulties, for advice and counsel, which he ever, with much discretion, gave us, to our certain advantage, if we had the luck to follow it: And we must here all candidly acknowledge, that if we had in due time taken his advice concerning the choice of our Burgesses to serve in Parliament, which was not only in private, but publicly by him given to us all, we had not been so obnoxious to our Neighbours as we now are, nor distasteful to the Kingdom; for the scorn, scourge, and reproach we now lie under he did then judiciously foresee, and tell us, would assuredly be our doom, if we should be so unadvised to make choice of Sir Timber Temple; so that we cannot any longer excuse our follies, which we now see and feel, to our own sorrow and amazement; neither can we silently suffer this good Gentleman, our great Friend and best Neighbour, to be thus unworthily and injuriously traduced, a Person of that known Integrity, Judgement, and Industry, to serve his King and Country, that he is become the Favourite of all good men, and the fearful Dread of all lewd debauched Persons, and of all such like Disturbers of his Majesty's Peace. And this further we cannot but take notice of in his behalf, that what was intended by the detracting Libeler to disgrace him, doth infinitely magnify his Credit, since it appears, that the worst of his Enemies, swelled with prying envy and malice, after the strictest inquiry into his Life and Conversation, cannot in truth fasten upon him the least imputation of guilt or unworthiness. It is not the intent of this our Answer to make Reflections upon Sir Timber Temple, for that would still more condemn our choice, which we do most hearty and humbly repent of, begging pardon of our Countrymen for the same: But our chief aim is, hereby to vindicate our Friends from the false aspersions of that scandalous Libel, which calumniates not only the Living, but the Dead, and reproaches Mr. John Dormer, lately deceased, and that cannot speak for himself, of the like offence, the Author of the said Pamphlet hath so lately been guilty of, viz Bribery; for else we must ingeniously confess, though to our own shame, since we acknowledge our fault and repentance, that Sir Timble Temple had never been chosen, or perhaps thought of, to serve for the Town of Buckingham, either in the last, or in this next Parliament, by reason he was so backwards in performing those first engagements which he formerly made to us by many Vows and Protestations, when we chose him Burgess of the late long Parliament, that he now insolently denies that he ever made any such promise; whereas the thing is so plain and apparent, that no man living, but himself, would deny such a known truth, attested and confirmed by his name, Sir Timber, that shall eternally remain, in spite of Oaths and Perjury, to him and his posterity for ever. As to that passage in the said Pamphlet, relating to his Grace the Duke of Buckingham, who is said, at the former Election, in a very strange and extraordinary manner, to espouse Sir Peter Tyrrell's interest, we know not what Sir Timber Temple cavils at, unless he will be angry, that his Grace, and the rest of the honest Gentry, then appearing for Sir Peter Tyrrell, did not think him worthy of that favour and countenance; and thereupon Sir Timber Temple, in his foaming displeasure, will not allow his Grace the privilege of a Commoner, because he did not appear in his behalf; alleging, that the intermeddling with Peers of the Realm in Elections made by the Commons, is very Illegal; and we wish he could say and prove, never before practised in other places, nor should be for the future; though we must acknowledge it, as our greatest crime and folly, that we did not hearken to that wise and grave Counsel his Grace was so favourably pleased to give us. And concerning that eminent and overbusy Person the Pamphlet speaks of, still reflecting, in dark terms, upon his Grace the Duke of Buckingham, who is said to strike at the head of the High Sheriff's Son with a great Truncheon of Oak, and that missing his blow, the Truncheon brushed upon the young Man's belly; all which is so notoriously false, that thousands can witness, that the Dude of Buckingham was then at a distance, and scarce ever saw the Sheriff's Son that day; and we know of no other eminent Person that road with a Truncheon in his hand; so that if there was any riotous Assembly that day that concerned themselves in our County Election, it was Sir Timber Temple's own Party, being about eight or ten inconsiderable persons, that were met together by Sir Timber Temple's procurement and instigation, on purpose to give the honest Freeholders' all the disturbance they could in their free Election; for which purpose also the day before, Sir Timber Temple had cajoled the High Sheriff to adjourn his Court from Alisbury to Buckingham, which he did accordingly; intending also to adjourn from Buckingham to some other place, with a design still to weary out the Freeholders': Sir Timber Temple also having over night at Buckingham caused a Drum to be beaten, a Company of Tatterdemalion Boys of our Town, headed by Justice Rifely, Sir Timber Temple's wise Brother in Law, being gathered together, crying up, A Chester and a Verney. And we are certainly informed, that the proceed of Sir Timber Temple in this A 〈◊〉 were so spolish and ridiculous, and did so highly exasperate the Freeholders' that were met together to make a free and good Election, being about ten thousand persons, all of one mind, that if he had appeared amongst them in the Field, the same Schoolboy's fate of the High Sheriff's Son, would, without doubt, severely have fallen upon him, and he had been, according to his deserts, Caned and Whipped out of the Field home to his Custom house for his Boyish misdemeanours. But because it is much wondered abroad, what was the end and design of Sir Timber Temple's proceed in this manner, contrary to the vogue of the whole County; we that were then his Confederates, and for whom he pretendedly acted, must give you this true account, that Sir Timber Temple's chief design was, to heighten the charge of those two worthy Gentlemen, Mr. Wharton and Mr. Hampden, that stood to be chosen for the County, being Gentlemen of another stamp, and of excellent Principles, quite different to Sir Timber Temple, that hoped thereby to cool their zeal for the Protestant Religion, and the good of their Country; and the rather, as he supposed, because the said two Gentlemen had been at a vast expense in Treating the Country at the former Election at Alisbury, where they paid for above ten thousand Ordinaries. And his other great motive was, to compliment us his Friends of Buckingham, at the general Charge of us the Freeholders' of the County, which he thought would excuse him two or three Entertainments at his Custom-house, besides those usual Presents his pregnant Lady made to our Wives and Daughters. But what is deceitfully suggested relating to the High Sheriff's honour, Sir Timber Temple had not the least regard unto; and it is much to be admired, how they two could have any fair correspondence one with another, for that Sir Timber Temple, by his implacable and vexatious Suits, tending to overthrow the said High Sheriffs new Enclosures, hath lately caused him to expend in Law above five thousand pounds. We hope that what we have here inserted, in answer to that false, nonsensical, and malicious Libel, will sufficiently clear those Gentlemen our good friends, whom Sir Timber Temple hath so much in vain laboured to reproach; and we do hereby solemnly protest, that if any thing of the like nature shall hereafter be attempted by Sir Timber Temple, or any of his malicious Complices, against us, or any of our friends, we shall particularly, without any false imputation, at large set forth and make known to the World (what we are here willing in some measure to conceal) ziz. the villainous Practices, damnable Cheats, Briberies, Extortions, Perjuries, and Subornations of Perjuries, Treachery, Whoredoms, and depraved Nature of this abominable Satirist; for though he doth conceal from us those execrable Crimes he hath so darkly committed, for which by Law he deserves the Gallows; yet we can fully charge and prove against him, with addition, all the former wicked and detestable impieties. Finally, we do again hereby profess our great obligations to Sir John Busbie; and although our present Bailiff, Mr. George Dancer, as also Henry Heyward the Barber, two sworn Confederates with Sir Timber Temple, we fear to the utter ruin of themselves, and our unhappy Corporation, will not give us their subscriptions to this Recognition, yet all the rest of us, both Burgesses and Inhabitants, do most freely and unanimously make this our answer and acknowledgement, which we shall for ever sign and own, in spite of Sir Timber Temple and his accursed Complices.  
Buckingham, Septemb. 16. 1679.