THE LATE Plot on the Fleet, Detected: WITH The Jacobites Memorial to the French King: And an Account of those Gentlemen, who Invited the French Fleet to Invade our English Coasts, etc.  
TO see the French (in a manner) Masters at Sea, and the English Glory, for the present, thus sunk in the Eyes of all Christendom by a Complication of Disasters, has been the occasion of great Enquiry into the Source and Cause of so important Events. If any are so Ignorant as not to know by what means the French of late came to have so much Shipping (who, but in the days of Queen Elizabeth, durst not put a Ship on the Stocks without leave from England) let him peruse Andrew Marvel's Growth of Popery, and the Secret History of the Two late Reigns, and he may be sufficiently informed. The design of this Paper is to , briefly, the Persons that Invited the French Fleet into the English Channel: The King and Queen being no sooner settled in the Throne, than the Spirit of Murmuring begins to exercise itself on a sort of Gentlemen, who had made so great a noise in the World, with their Doctrines of Jure Divine and Passive Obedience, tho' to any body, but those that are wilfully Ignorant, the Inviting and Assisting His Majesty against the late King, before the Crown was conferred upon him, was a greater Invasion of their darling Principles, than the Swearing to him, and justly Obeying him, after He is declared and acknowledged King by the Parliament.  
The first step of Contrivance, this part of the Clergy made, was the Writing against the taking the new Oaths to their Majesties, enjoined them by Act of Parliament; and the buzzing into the Ears of their poor Votaries, the Unlawfulness of these Oaths, and the continuing Right of King James to the Crown: This piece of their Artillery, it was thought would have done some considerable Execution: But alas! many of the Gentlemen themselves who had been to persuade others to Refuse the Oaths, they could so little digest the loss of their Live, as they chose rather to take these unlawful Oaths (as they called them) than to expose themselves to the least Suffering.  
The next step of the Plot was, to Cheat the World and their own Consciences with a ridiculous and foolish distinction of taking the Oaths to a King de facto, but not the jure. The design of this distinction was first to salve their own Conscience, and to vindicate themselves from the Reproaches of their Comrades, who had absolutely refused to take the Oaths. And secondly, To bear it in upon the Minds of the People, That their Majesties were not lawful and rightful King and Queen of England, but de facto only, that is, in plain English, downright Usurpers.  
This distinction did not only give them scope to take the Oaths to their Majesties, but also to Pray for them by Name in their Pulpits. But many, of more Sincerity than the rest, would not Pray for them by Name at all; and yet, to prevent any trouble from the Law, they wisely prayed in general terms for the King and Queen. Here was a pretty way of playing fast and lose with God Almighty, he might sake it in what sense he pleased.  
These steps of the Plot were to be backed with another Engine of theirs; and that was the publishing to the World the History of Passive Obedience; although most of the Citations of this Pamphlet, be far wide of the Question, and refer only to Obedience to Majestracy in general, and the unlawfulness of private Persons, their rising up against the Government upon every frivolous Pretext. The next and greatest Engine of their Plot, is the happy result of a kind of Occonomick Council of the whole Party: The Liturgy of the Church of England must be laid aside, and a new one must be Calculated for the Meridian of King James' Tottering Fortune; and the greatest wonder of all is, That the Council which published this new Liturgy, did not usher it in with, It seems good to the Holy Ghost, and to us.  
In this new Liturgy they insinuate to the World, That in effect, we're without King, without Priest, and without God in the World. A dreadful Doom before a terrible Tribunal! None are indeed at this rate, within the compass of the Church, but this Jacobite-Club and their followers. But let us hear the very words of this part of the Liturgy; Restore us again, say they, the public Worship of thy Name, the reverend Administration of thy Sacraments; raise up the former Government both in Church and State, that we may be no longer without King, without Priest, and without God in the World.  
They afterwards proceed to pray for the Prosperity of the Arms of King James, and the French King, against their Majesties and Government.  
But now I come to the main points of this Noble Contrivance. His Majesty from a Noble and Boundless Courage, will needs venture His Person once more for the safety of these Kingdoms.  
The King being gone; Admiral Killigrew being in the straits; and Sir Clowdesley Shovel in St. George's-Channel, and the Holland Squadron not yet joined ours, nor ours fully met; then was the time for our Plotters to put their long thought-on design in Execution. In order to which, at one of their General Meetings in London, where it was necessary some of the Clergy should be present to Bless so Pious a Work; It was concluded to give in a Memorial in the Name of the Loyal and Distressed Subjects of England, (for so they named themselves) to his Most Christian Majesty; Humbly Inviting him out of his extraordinary Goodness, and for the Affection he always bore to oppressed Virtue, That he would assist them in restoring Their lawful King, His Ancient Ally and Confederate to his Throne; and in breaking the Yoke of Usurpation, under which these Three Nations were at this time so heavily Groaning. But it will be absolutely fit here to insert the very Words of their Memorial itself, as it has been discovered by a certain Person of late, and as it was expressed in the French Tongue, in which it was Originally written, and given in.  
The MEMORIAL is thus:  
To the Most Serene, and Most Invincible Prince, Lewis the Great, his Most Christian Majesty; The Memoria of the Loyal and Distressed Noblemen, Clergy, Gentlemen, and others, of all Ranks within the Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, at present under the Fetters of a Cruel Usurpation.  
Great and Invincible Monarch,  
THe resplended Rays of Your Majesty's Virtue● have rendered all the World your Adorers: And that Inherent Goodness of which Your Majesty stands so transcendently possessed, d●es render You the only Sanctuary of all the Distressed. It's in the Confid●●●● which this Your Unparalleled goodness gives us, That we in all humble Duty presume to lay our sighs at Your Majesty's feet: And that we Implore your Royal Favour and Assistance, to rid us of the great and insupportable Afflictions we lie under at present.  
It's in your Royal Arms and Bounty we repose our Hope and Confidence; and expect to see our lawful King, Your Ancient Friend and Ally, restored to the rightful Throne of his Ancestors, out of which wicked Men have thrust him. And because this is the most proper time for your Majesty to assist us with the assured expectation of success, we have presumed to lay before you the present favourable Circumstances, that do concur to make your Majesty's glorious Enterprise the more easy; which are principally these, 

1. The Prince of Orange, the Usurper, is just now on his Journey to Ireland; And b●ing once arrived in that Kingdom, if a part of Your Majesty's Fleet were able to block up St. George 's Channel, the usurper's Army would certainly be starved, being all their Provisions come by Sea from Scotland and England; And that part of the Country they are Masters of, is already harassed and ruined by both the Armies, both the last Year and This.  
2. The Usurper has partly sent before and partly takes along with himself the whole, almost, and the better Disciplined part of the Army: And leaves behind him but a very few of the English Regiments; who serve him mere out of necessity and fear, than out of any Love to him, or to the Interest.  
3. The Forces he leaves behind are so very few, that they are scarce capable to keep Guards in the Tower, the Savoy, , and at Whitehall all together: And the three Regiments that are sent for out of Holland, will not be yet ready for some weeks to Embark; neither is it thought they will stir a foot, because of want of Pay. Like as both Officers and Soldiers are not entirely Devoted to the Usurper's Interest, the most of them being in the service of our Lawful King, before he was necessitated to leave us.  
4. Most of our Fleet are at so great distance one from another, that they cannot this year make any consider-Body. There being the best and ablest Seamen and Ships with Killigrew in the Straits, and with Shovel in St. George 's Channel, amounting together to more than nineteen Ships of War.  
5. There are likewise employed for Convoys, and about the Western Coasts of Scotland, to the number of five or six ships, all separately.  
6. The Dutch squadron is in no appearance to be here to join ours of a sudden; both because they are not yet in a readiness, and that the Admirals of Holland make scruple, and are highly discontented to serve under our English Admiral Moreover, though they were joined us, they will but make up at the most but Twenty sail of ships; and them none of the best, considering their Tallest and best manned ships are out upon Conv●y●.  
7. Our own Fleet is ill manned, and the Soldiers and Seamen extremely discontented for want of their Pay; and several of the Officers were those tha● belonged to our King before he went away.    
There are Five more Articles in this Memorial, that for certain Reasons I will not Copy out; only I'll tell the Reader, they are of piece with the rest, and full as ill. Here are some Truths, but a great many more Lies; and such as none but People of their gang could be capable of. And if the Reader's Curiosity tempt him to be very inquisitive how this Memorial came to light: let him wait but a little and perhaps he will see both i● and the Deliverers and Contrivers of it made public enough.  
The French King giving ear to the Representations and Importunities of these Gentlemen, put all his Wit on the rack to get Money to equip the greatest Fleet that ever that Nation set to Sea; and at a vast charge he brought the Thoulon Sqadron round the whole Continent of Spain, and through the straits, to join his Breast Fleet. He left not behind one Seaman that could be found in France, and scarce one Ship more of any Force in all his Harbours. Upon the notice given him by his Trusty Pensioners here, he directs this French Armado strait for the Isle of Wight, where our Fleet was to Rendezvous; and if it had but Arrived there some few days before it came, we had not had Twenty Ships together at that place: Yet so near were we to Ruin, that albeit our Fleet was become by that time pretty strong, and though most of the Ships arrived; yet if Heaven had not turned the Wind in a Moment, they had every one of them, in all probability, been Burned at Anchor. The French Fleet passed in sight of Weymouth, the Mayor of that place did very wisely dispatch two Expresses, one for the Queen, and another for my Lord Torrington, the Admiral: But the Wind blowing a fair ●●●sh Gale, the French Fleet had certainly been amidst ours, before the Weymouth Express could possibly reach Portsmouth, if the Wind had continued but some hours longer. Our Fleet being in this imminent 〈…〉 most inevitable hazard, and the French being within a few Leagues of them, the Wind in an instant turned about, and put a stop to their designed and easy Victory, by obliging them to lie by.  
This happy Providence counter-acted all the Plots of our Enemies both at Home and Abroad; and we had time given us to prevent the Destruction that threatened us. And to complete the Mercy, it f●ll out, that as that very precise time this happened, there was a full Discovery made by some Persons here, who had been concerned in the Plot all along, of their whole Affairs and Transactions both with France, and at Home.  
I am very inclinable to believe; that all the Officers and Seamen of the Fleet have been Proof against the Insinuations of our Plotters; and that they have not yielded to the Temptations of French Gold; though at the same time, I do not doubt, they have been assaulted with both: And if so, the wonder is the greater, if it be true, that is talked so freely up and down, That a great many of the Officers have bought their Places with Money. It's hard to believe that there are any such practices in England, as the buying and selling Places, especially those in the Fleet, upon which depend both the Safety and Glory of England: But if any such thing be, than the Retreat we have been forced to make, will certainly open the eyes of our Governors, to see the mighty and almost irrecoverable prejudices that attend such slavish Methods of getting Commands; and will put them upon employing fit Persons, in whose Fidility and Valour we may safely trust.  
Our Murmurers and Plotters were strangely elevated with the expectation of its Success. In their fond imaginations King James was already at White Hall; and some of them were publicly in Coffee Houses ading the part of a Herald, in Marshalling his Triumphant entry into London. And the ordinary subject of their discourse was, the Greatness and Magnanimity of the French King, the number and force of his Fleet, the weakness of ours; and sometimes a defect of his Majesty's forces in Ireland, to keep them in heart. Their impudence was arrived at that height, that in open Exchange, one of the long Robe was pleased to say with relation to the Hollanders loss in the late Engagement at Sea, That they were well paid off for the Present they had sent us twenty Months ago.  
But that none of that Party may want the due praise their Writings deserve, I'll give the Reader a Dedication made by one of them, and him of the long Robe too) to the French King not many Months since, when the Plot was just upon the wheel, and which for the Nobleness of the stile I must commend, though the matter of it be downright Blasphemy. To the Immortality and Eternity of the Name and Divinity of Lewis the Great Emperor of France, Victorious, Happy, Merciful, Allwise, August; in acknowledgement of his Royal goodness and bounty towards the afflicted Princes of Britrain, These Verses Written in English, are in name of the British Isles most humbly Consecrated by, etc. Thus we see how far an English Jacobite can outvie a French Poet himself, in the art of Blasphemous Flattery.  
But how soon are all these kind of People's hopes laid in the dust, upon the arrival of the news of His Majesty's Glorious Victories in Ireland? And how far has it counterpoised the joy they had some days ago for the Action between the two Fleets? A little time will show, that notwithstanding of all they have done to Ruin him, no Body will be more forward than they to fawn upon his Majesty's good Fortune, whenever once they are quite out of hopes of King James' retrieving his: But sure the Government will be Wiser, than ever to dart any of his warm Teams upon such kind of Creatures, any farther than to let them live the Scorn of all Honest Men, and the Hatred of every one that loves their Country and their Religion.  
FINIS.