A LETTER FROM A MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS TO HIS FRIEND IN THE COUNTRY.  
THe coffy house and street news, Sir, is but too true. Our new King continues entirely an Hollander still, and means our purses shall pay his gratitude to the State's General for the suceour which he squeezed out of them.  
That forward zeal for Protestant Religion with which the Hollanders clothed their manifest, and those desinteressed succours which they gave in alms to England for the reestablissement of our liberty, have cheated many a man: but so much generosity is not the virtue of merchants, who sacrifice all to their interest. They have now declared that they never intended, the ships and Soldiers lent the Prince of Orange, for his enterprise, should be at their charge. They swell the account to 600000. l. and urge payment; we must allow the account as they give it in on their word, and may be sure, interest and the hazard of their money is not forgotten.  
They have made the Prince of Orange their Factor, and he prowess zealously faithful. He never served them so well when he was their subject, as now we have made him our King. He set on his emissaries to tamper with all his well affected members, before the motion was made to the house, and we proving a little slow in taking a motion so unexpected and so unresonable into consideration, he plied us with message after message and at last got Mr. Hamden to undertake the business, and report the account to the house.  
In the time of our past liberty you yourself can witness how matters passed in debates of free and lawful Parliaments, and with what freedom every one delivered his opinion of what he judgeed expedient or prejudicial to the nation. But 'tis not now as it has been. We are no longer the same Englishmen, who knew not what fear meant as often as our rights and privileges came in question, and who were so unshakably unanimous against impositions contrary to the good and advantage of the Nation. We have got traitors among us wholly devoted to their private interests and their new master, and these so fright the honest men with their threats, that we are grown spiritles in our own defence: fear 'tis up our tongues, and with as much indignation as most of us heard a motion made to enrich foreigners with our money, and send so vast a sum out of the kingdom, no body durst open his mouth. The house was struck dumb, and forced to adjourn the debate to the next day. I was one of the first that left the house, with the grief of a true Englishman stung to the quick with the unhappy condition to which we are reduced *** and *** and some more who yet in their hearts preserve a love for their lost liberty, followed me home where we found ourselus all of a mind, very desirous to withdraw and avoid at least the reproach of being complices in what passes against our liberty and laws: but K Williane being it seems secure that those, whom threats and promises have made sure to him, will always carry it in Parliament, will needs force us tarry in the house, and make it a punishable matter to take the air in the country. 'tis for this reason his creatures have got an order to oblige absent Members to return by a day prefixed: so that they are not content to impose upon us the yoke of a new tyranny, but bart us the poor comfort of not being witnesses to what is done against us, and if we will not concur with our consent, make us in spite of our teeth concur at least by our presence.  
This is the result of our seducing hopes when we came into the house. They told us the Prince of Orange was the defender of our liberty, and desired a Convention only to set due bounds to Royalty, secure Protestant Religion against the attempts of the Papists, and by excluding the groundless pretence of dispensing power for ever, reanimate the laws with a fresh vigour They told us that coming purely for the good of the English, he would trust wholly to them, and send back his foreign soldiers to Holland, of whom he had no need, and that looking upon the restoration of our liberty as his own work, he would be the Protector and Defender of it.  
We believed him upon his word, and this credulyty will be the source of all our misfortunes. We know his false dealing, his boundless ambition, and insatiable avarice. But what remedy? and what way left to avoid taking his will for law, when against all law, he keeps his foreigners to authorise his do, and enslave us at at pleasure? so that till God put in a helping hand, and cure us of our blindness, he will do here, what ever he has a mind to.  
His 600000 l. motion to gratify the Hollander will certainly take. We know well enough there is no justice in it, we know the Hollanders declared in their manifest of 28. October past, that being advertised that the Kings of France and England hand made a league to pull down and quite destroy their state, they had consented to the enterprise of the Prince of Orange, and resolved to assist him with men and ships. They themselves therefore own that they acted for themselves and their own interest: and yet we shall give them what they ask never the less for that: Nay I expect the Members, who are of the Privy Counsel, shall be ordered to carry his Majesty the thanks of the house for his Goodness and love to the English, in contenting himself with so small a sum for the Hollanders. I see our Nation heretofore so jealous of its liberty accustom's itself now to kiss the iron rod which scourges them; and those who formerly would have laid down their lives to purchase a Common Wealth, drive furiously on for a despotik power such as is known no where but in Asia.  
The truth is he carries it yet with us, in appareance, with some moderation. What a noise did his releasing chimney money make? and what trumpetting was there of his tenderness and liberality. Alas! he means we shall pay dear for that small ease, and make up his petty loss with gain to the purpose 'tis already insinuated that the reduction of Ireland will cost considerably, and a War at home and abroad ask a great deal of money; and these insinuations will quickly become votes and Acts. We have no will of our own left; we are going to be over whelmed with tax upon tax; Our laws already undermined, are upon the point of falling and if God give us not courage enough to resolve to maintain them, farewel to our estates and liberty for ever.  
We might have taken warning by our Neighbours, and by what he has done in Holland, certainly known what he would do in England He was born a subject to the Hollanders, yet found means to become their Master; and engross a sovereign power over them, without the title. Besotted we! could we think it a likely matter, that he would go less when he was King of England, and depend on Parliaments? And then we find by experience that the same courses are taken here, which have enslaved Holland: those chosen into all employments who are blindly devoted to him, and all others excluded; promises to corrupt one, and threats to frighten another, and the art of ridding those out of the ●…y whose free spirits will not bend, and sweeping away all ●hat resist him.  
Nothing can keep the vast projects of his irregular ambi●…on within compass. Religion is but an useful tool to work ●pon the fools which will be cheated; and we shall quickly ●ee ours destroyed by his hands, who in his Letters, his Declarations and even in his flags has declared himself the Proector of it. The oath of Supremacy which acknowledged Kings ●o be the supreme Governors of the English Church, is already gone; Ceremonies and the Music in Whitehall Chappel, 〈◊〉 thing in use in our Churches, sent packing; Prayers changed, very ancient Rites abolished: and all this upon pretext of uniteing Episcopacy and Presbytery, but in reality to bring the Episcopal party over to the Presbyterians. Not that he troubles himself much with either Religion: but the fidelity of Bishops to powers lawfully established by God, is not for the turn of usurpers; Calvinist or Independent Principles do much better when one has a mind to fly at all; Principles by the which every one may believe as is most for his purpose, break oaths made to lawful Princes without scruple, acknowledge no subordination whither in Church or state. This suits a great deal better both with his own present interest, and that of Protestant Princes, of whose assistance he thinks, he may have occasion. Let that interest change, he will change too, and follow it wherever it go, whether to Head or Member of the Church, and Episcopal, Presbyterian, Independent or Quaking Member, Stateholder in Holland or King in England, but Tyrant by whatever 〈◊〉 or title dignifyed.  
The frights in to which our abdicating King and his popery put us were nothing to this Tis-true he would need employ Papists, and dispense with conscience laws But for destroying the Religion established by law in England, he neither had the will, nor the means; a lawful Parliament without which he could do nothing, would always have been in a condition to oppose, and redress what bad Counsel might suggest amiss. That relief is now out of do●es: The Parliament is a pack of his creatures slavishly obedient to the pleasure of our new King and those who in their hearts preserve the love of their Religion and laws, so cruelly ●…ken, are bridled by the fear of a Prince, who stands 〈◊〉 upon dispatching a man who opposes him, without 〈◊〉 ado out of the way, and has a foreign army at hand, ready to execute whatever order he gives them.  
In a word our Laws are already overturned; our Religion totters, and will not long stand; and to this state of violence our credulous weakness has reduced us, 'tis time I think to wake out of our swound, to acknowledge the hand of God upon us for deserting our lawful Prince, and return to him. He who sets up the standard of liberty any where is sure of crowds of helping hands flocking in to him from all parts; and the fidelity which we owe to the true interests of the Nation cannot fail to be crowned with success, and immortal glory. I remain, etc.