Popish Treaties not to be relied on: In a Letter from a Gentleman at York, to his Friend in the Prince of ORANGE's Camp. Addressed to all Members of the next Parliament.  
THE Credulity and Superstition of Mankind hath given great Opportunities and Advantages to cunning Knaves to spread their Nets, and lay their Traps in order to catch easy and unwary Creatures; these being led on by Ignorance, or Stupidity, they by Pride or Ambition, or else a Vile and Mercenary Principle; Therefore seeing we are in this State of Corruption, bred up to believe Contradictions and Impossibilities, led by the Nose with every State Mountebank, and Monkish juggler, moved like Puppets by Strings and Wires; it seems high time to vindicate Humane Nature, and to free her from these Shackles, laid upon her in the very Cradle; for Man (who ought to be a Free and Rational Animal) in his present State is only an Engine and Machine, contrived for the Vanity and Luxury of Priests and Tyrants, who claim to themselves, and seem to Monopolise the Divine Stamp, tho' we are all made of the same Materials, by the same Tools, and in the same Mould, equal by Nature, met together and linked in Societies by mutual Contracts, placed by turns one above another, and entrusted for some time with the Power of executing our own Laws, and all by general consent for the Public Good of the whole Community; this is the genuine Shape and Figure of Primitive and Sound Government, not distempered and fatally infected with the monstruous Excrescencies of Arbitrary Power in one single Member above all the Laws of the whole; Infallibility, Divine Right, etc. started by Knaves and Sycophants, believed by Fools, who scarce ever heard of the Greek and Roman Histories, and never read their own. I shall therefore give some Examples (out of an infinite number) of People ruined and utterly destroyed by their easy Credulity, and good Nature, matter of Fact being a stronger Proof, and better Rule to steer Mankind, than the empty Notions of the Schools, invented only to perplex and confound our Ratiocination, lest it should discover the naked Truth of things. The present Letter will confine itself only to Public Promises, Oaths, and Solemn Contracts, scandalously violated by the Roman Catholics▪ not with Heathens and Heretics only, but amongst themselves: We will begin with the more remote Countries.  
The Spaniards and Portuguese have acted so treacherously with the Africans, and the Natives of both Indies, that the Cruelty of the History would be incredible, if it was not related by their own Historians; their Leagues and Treaties (the most sacred Bonds under Heaven) were soon neglected, and the Spirit of their Religion broke all before it; how many Millions of those innocent Creatures were murdered in cold Blood, and for Pastime sake, with all the variety of Torments that the Devil could inspire into them; how soon were the vast Regions of Mexico, New Spain, Peru, Hispaniola, Brasel, etc. depopulated, above twenty Millions of the poor harmless Inhabitants being put to death in full Peace, and they the best natured People in the World, and very Ingenious; tho' they may seem Savages to a sort of Men, who think all Barbarians that differ from them in Habits, Manners, Customs, Diet, Religion, Language, etc. not considering that alwise Nature hath contrived a different Scene of things for various Climates; Nay, such is the Inhumanity of these Catholic Nations here at home, that they will frequently bring Strangers (settled amongst them by the Laws of Commerce) and their own fellow Subjects into the Inquisition▪ especially if they are Rich, upon a pretence of some Heretical opinion, tho' they themselves at first protect and licence the Opinion; as in the case of Molino, whose Book had received an Imprimatur from most of the Inquisitors of Spain and Italy, and even from the Infallible Head of the Church, yet afterwards it was burnt, and he himself together with many of his Followers miserably tortured; the Pope scarce escaping the Punishment. The Generous Marshal Schomberg (driven out of France for his great Services) who had won many Battles for the Portugueses, and saved their Country, could not be suffered to end his Old Age amongst them, but was forced in the midst of Winter to commit himself to the Sea, and fly to an inhospitable Shoar.  
The present French King renounced all his Pretences on Flanders, concluded the Pyrenean Treaty, and swore at the Altar, not to meddle with that Country, but how well he observed that Sacred Covenant, Baron D' Isola will best inform you in his Bouclier d'Etat, for which he was thought to be poisoned; neither hath the French Monarch been contented to break all Faith and Measures with the Spaniard, but he hath gone about to deceive and ruin the Pope, Emperor, all the Princes and Electours of the Empire, the Prince of Orange, Duke of Lorraine the Swizzes, the Dutch, and the English, and not only these his Neighbours and Allies, but his own Protestant Subjects, who had all the Security that Solemn Edicts, Oaths, and Promises could afford them, besides many other obligations upon the Crown for bringing the King to the Throne; yet all of a sudden they found themselves oppressed and destroyed by his Apostolical Dragoons▪ their Temples razed, their Wives and Children taken away, their Goods and Estates confiscated, themselves cast into Prisons, sent to the Galleys, and often shot at like Birds: His seizing of Lorraine, Franch Compte, Alsace, Strasburgh, Luxemburgh, the Principality of Orange, the County of Avignon, Philipsbourg, the whole Palatinate, the Electorates of Mentz, Treves, and Cologn, his building of Citadels in the Empire and in Italy, etc. are so contradictory to National Agreements, and Public Treaties, that scarce a jesuit or a Frenchman can have Impudence enough to defend them; a Bandito, a Pirate, or a Pickpocket would be ashamed of such Actions; and an ordinary Man would be hanged for a Crime a Million times less. His seizing upon Hudson's Bay, and leading the English into Slavery; the French Treachery in the Engagement at Sea between us and the Dutch, their frequent seizing of our Ships, are light things, not worthy our Resentment, being under the Conduct of a Monsieur whom the World so justly vilifies and despises.  
The Emperor can have no good Pretence to condemn the King of France, or any other Catholic Prince for breach of Common Faith and Honesty, since he himself hath played the same Game with his Protestant Subjects, inviting some of the Chief of the Hungarian Nobility to Vienna, under the colour of Treaty and Friendship, and then cutting off their Heads, seizing their Estates and Properties, destroying their Pastors and Churches, and extirpating the whole Reformed Religion, after he had promised and stipulated to protect and give them the liberty of their Consciences. The Parisian Masacres were carried on and executed under a Mask of Friendship, all the Principal Protestants of France being invited to the healing Marriage, to Revel and Caress, were Barbarously Butchered at the Toll of a Bell in their Beds, when they dreamed they slept securely. The Irish Massacre of above 200000 Protestants was no less Treacherous, it was a Copy of the Spanish Cruelty in the West Indies, to whom the Irish are compared by Historians for their Idleness and Inhumanity, tho' not for their Wit.  
The Persecutions of the Protestants in the Valleys of Piedmont, are another instance of Popish Immanity and baseness; they were under the common shelter of public Pactions and Treaties, and had been solemnly owned by the Dukes of Savoy, to be the most Loyal and the most Courageous of their Subjects. The present Duke, who undertook this last Persecution, was not content to destroy them with his own Troops, but called in the French to assist at the Comedy, to shoot them off the Rocks▪ to hunt them over the Alps, and to sell the strongest of them to the Galleys, that the very Turkish Slaves themselves might deride and insult over them▪ Catholics, who have not Power or Opportunity to execute the same things▪ seem to condemn the Conduct in Public, but sing te Deum in Private, and as soon as ever they have got a sufficient Force, commit the like Barbarities, so essential to their Religion, that all the instinct of Nature cannot separate them. The Holy Father at Rome (tho' he sets up for a moderate and merciful Pontificate) ordered te Deum to be Sung up and down, for the extirpation of Heresy out of France and Piedmont; and our English Catholics have given us (as their Army and Interest increased) several proofs, how well they can juggle and disguise themselves; setting up Courts of Inquisition, turning Protestants out of all Employs▪ and even out of their Freeholds, dispensing with Laws, Ravishing Charters, packing Corporations, etc. and all under a notion of Liberty or a Divine Right; they with their Accomplices defended illegal Declarations, and set up an Authority above all our Laws, under the Cloak of a shame Liberty of Conscience▪ racking at the very same time the Consciences of the Church of England Men, and undermining the Foundation of our State: If Mr. Pen and his Disciples, had condemned the unlawfulness of the Declarations and the Dispensing Power, when they wrote so fast for Liberty of Conscience, they had then showed a generous zeal for a just Freedom in Matters of Religion, and at the same time a due veneration to the Legislative Power▪ (Kings, Lords, and Commons) but the secret of the Machine, was to Maintain and Erect a Prerogative above all Acts of Parliament, and consequently to introduce upon that bottom Tyranny and Popery; yet, notwithstanding all this uncontrollable Power, and show of Grandeur, an Easterly Wind, and a Fleet of Fly-Boats, would cancel and undo all again. Our Monkish Historians relate of King john, that being in some distress, he sent Sir Tho. Hardington, and Sir Ralph Fitz-Nichols, Ambassadors to Mirammumalim the great Emperor of Morocco, with offers of his Kingdom to him, upon Condition he would come and aid him, and that if he prevailed, he would himself turn Mahometan and renounce Popery.  
I will not insist upon the violations of Laws and Treaties in the Low Countries, or the Spanish Tyranny over them▪ because the Spaniards have got so much by that Persecution and Cruelty, that they might be tempted to practise the like again; for by forcing the Netherlanders to take up Arms for their defence, and by necessitating Queen Elizabeth to assist and preserve them, they have set up a Free and Glorious State (as they themselves have called them in some Treaties) that hath preserved the languishing Monarchy of Spain, and the Liberty of Christendom.  
The Base and Cowardly Massacre of that great Hero William Prince of Orange, of the Renowned Admiral Coligny, and the Prince of Conde; the many Bloody Conspiracies for the Extirpation of the whole Race of the House of Orange; the Murders of Henry the 3 d▪ and Henry the 4 th', are all Records and everlasting Monuments of Popish Barbarity▪ what incredible Effusions of Blood hath been occasioned by the frequent revolts of the Popes against the Emperor's▪ by the Image-Worship, and the Holy Wars? What Treachery in the Bohemian Transactions and Treaties? What Inhumanity in burning Jerome of Prague, and john Hus? when they had the Emperor's Pass, and all other public securities from the Council itself, that put to Death those two Good Men.  
The Reign of Queen Mary, is another Scene of the Infidelity and Treachery of the Church of Rome, what Oaths did she take, what Promises and Protestations did she make to the Suffolk Men who had set the Crown upon her Head, and yet they were the first that felt the strokes of a Persecution from Herald Read her History in Fox's Martyrs, and Doctor Burnet's History of the Reformation.  
The many Conspiracies to destroy Queen Elizabeth and King james, the Gunpowder-Plot, the Counsels carried on in Popish Countries to take off King Charles the First, and the many late Popish Plots are a continued Series and Thread, carried on by the Church of Rome, to break thro' all Laws both of God and Man, to erect an Universal Monarchy of Priest-Craft, and to bring the whole World under their Yoke. The Sweeds have taken an effectual and commendable way, to keep Popish Priests and jesuits (those Boutefeus' and disturbers of Societies, the declared Enemies to the Welfare of Mankind) out of their Countries, by Gelding them, and consequently rendering them incapable of Sacerdotal Functions, though the Priests have found out a Salvo, and will say Mass and Confess, if they can procure their Testicles again, and carry them in their Pockets either preserved or in Powder: In Aethiopia, China, and japan, the Roman Priests have been so intolerably turbulent, and such extravagant Incendiaries, that they have been often Banished and put to Death; so that now they disguise themselves all over the Eastern Nations, under the Names and Characters of Mathematicians, Mechanics, Physicians, etc. and dare not own their Mission to propagate a Faith, which is grown ridiculous all over Asia.  
The long and dreadful Civil Wars of France, the many Massacres and Persecutions, and lastly the Siege of Rochel, are living Instances how far we may rely upon Engagements and Laws, both as to the taking of that Bulwark, and the promised relief from hence, The Protestant Defenders of it, refusing to rely any longer upon Paper Edicts, and the word of a Most Christian King, had this City granted them as a cautionary Town for their Security, for before they had always been deluded out of their Advantages by fair Promises, insignificant Treaties, and the word of a King; yet Lewis the 13. following the vicious Examples of Treacherous Princes, fell upon this Glorious City, which, upon the account of their Laws and Privileges, made a resistance and brave defence, (having never heard of Passive Obedience amongst their Pastors) thinking it more lawful to defend their Rights, than it was for Lewis to invade them.  
As for the late and present Reign here in England, they are too nice and tender things for me to touch; whether the Transactions of them are consistant with the Coronation Oaths, the many Declarations, Protestations, public and solemn Promises, I am no fit Judge; they are more proper for the Gravity of an Historian, or the Authority of a Parliament to handle, than for a private Gentleman in a Letter to his Friend: The Bishop's Papers, and the P. of Orange's Declarations are the best Memoirs of them, but they only begin, where the two parts of the History of the growth of Popery and Arbitrary Government left off, and how far we may trust to Catholic Stipulations, Oaths and Treaties, the facts of past and the present Age are the best Criteria and Rules to guide and determine us; for what happens every day▪ will in all probability happen to morrow, the same Causes always produce the same Effects; and the Church of Rome is still the same Church it was a hundred years ago, that is, a Mass of Treachery, Barbarity, Perjury, and the highest Superstition; a Machine without any principle or settled Law of Motion, not to be moved or stopped with the weights of any private or public Obligations; a Monster that destroys all that is sacred both in Heaven and Earth▪ so Ravenous that it is never content, unless it gets the whole World into its Claws, and tears all to pieces in order to Salvation; a Proteus that turns itself into all shapes, a Chameleon that puts on all Colours according to its present circumstances, this day an Angel of Light, to morrow a Belzebub. Amongst all the Courts of Christendom where I have Conversed, that of Holland is the freest from Tricks and Falsehood; and tho' I am naturally jealous and suspicious of the Conduct of Princes, yet I could never discover the least Knavery within those Walls, it appeared to me another Athens of Philosophers, and the only Seat of justice and Virtue now left in the World; as for the Character of the Prince of Orange, it is so faithfully drawn by Sir Will. Temple, Doctor Burnet, and in a half sheet lately Printed, that I, who am so averse from Flattery, that I can scarce speak a good word of any Body, or think one good thought of myself, will not write any further Panegyric upon his Highness, only that he is a very Honest Man, a Great Soldier, and a Wise Prince, upon whose Word the World may safely rely. A late Pamphleteer reviles the Prince with breaking his Oath when he took the Statholder's Office upon him, not considering that the Oath was imposed upon his Highness in his Minority by a French Faction, then jealous of the aspiring and true Grandeur of his Young Soul; that the States themselves (to whom the Obligation was made) freed his Highness from the Bond; and that the necessity of Affairs, and the Importunities of the People forced that Dignity upon him, which his Ancestors had enjoyed, and he so well deserved, that he saved the sinking Commonwealth (their Provinces being almost all Surprised and Enslaved by the French) compared to the gasping State of Rome after the loss at Cannae; His Highness was no more puffed up with this Success, than he had been daunted with Hardships and Misfortunes; always the same Hero, Just, Serene, and Unchanged under all Events, an Argument of the vastness of his Mind; whereas on the contrary, Mutability, (sometimes Tyrant, sometimes Father of a Country, sometimes Huffing, other times Sneaking) is oftentime a Symptom of a Mean and Cowardly Soul, vile and dissolute, born for Rapine and Destruction.  
As for the Princess, she may without any flattery be styled the Honour and Glory of her Sex; the most Knowing, the most Virtuous, the Fairest, and yet the best Natured Princess in the World; Beloved and Admired by her Enemies, never seen in any Passion, always under a peculiar Sweetness of Temper, extremely moderate in her Pleasures, taking delight in Working and in Study, Humble and Affable in her Conversation, very pertinent in all Questions, Charitable to all Protestants, and frequenting their Churches: The Prince is often seen with her at the Prayers of the Church of England, and she with the Prince, at the Devotion of his Church; she dispenses with the use of the Surplice, Bowing to the Altar, and the Name of jesus, out of Compliance to a Country that adores her; being more intent upon the Intrinsic and Substantial Parts of Religion, Prayer and Good Works: She speaks several Languages even to Perfection, is entirely Obedient to the Prince, and he extremely dear to her; in a word, She is a Princess of many extraordinary Virtues and Excellencies, without any appearance of Vanity, or the least mixture of Vice; and upon whose Promise the World may safely depend: As for the many Plots and Conspiracies against this Royal Couple a short time may bring them all to light, and faithful Historians publish them to the World.  
Lastly, We may observe that whereas it hath been the Maxim of several Kings, both at home and abroad of late years, to contend and ourvie each other in Preying upon, and Destroying not only their Neighbours, but their own Protestant Subjects, by all methods of Perfidiousness and Cruelty; the only way to establish Tyranny, and to enslave the natural Freedom of Mankind, being to introduce a general Ignorance, Superstition, and Idolatry; for if once People can be persuaded that Statues and Idols are Divinities and adorable, and that a Wafer is the Infinite God, after two or three Ridiculous Words, uttered by a vile Impostor and Impudent Cheat, than they may easily be brought to submit their necks to all the Yokes that a Tyrant and a Priest can invent and put upon them; for if once they part with their Reason, their Liberty will soon follow; as we behold every day in the miserable enslaved Countries where Popery domineers. On the contrary, it hath always been the steady and immutable Principle of the House of Orange to rescue Europe from its Oppressors, and to resettle Governments upon the Primitive and Immortal Foundation of Liberty and Property; a Glorious Maxim, taken from the Old Roman Commonwealth, that Fought and Conquered so many Nations, only to set them Free, to Restore them wholesome Laws, their Natural and Civil Liberties; a Design so Generous, and every way Great, that the East groaning under the Fetters and Oppressions of their Tyrants, flew in to the Roman Eagles for Shelter and Protection, under whose Wings the several Nations lived Free, Safe and Happy, till Traitors and Usurpers began to break in upon the Sacred Laws of that virtuous Constitution, and to keep up Armies to defend that by Blood and Rapine, which justice would have thrown in their Face, and Punished them as they deserved; the Preservation and Welfare of the People being in all Ages called the Supreme Law, to which all the rest ought to tend.  
From the foregoing Relation of matter of Fact, it appears most plain, that the Roman Catholics are not to be tied by Laws, Treaties, Promises, Oaths, or any other bonds of Humane Society; the sad experience of this and other Kingdoms, declares to all Mankind the invalidity and insignificancy of all Contracts and Agreements with the Papists, who notwithstanding all their Solemn Covenants with Heretics, do watch for all Advantages and Opportunities to destroy them, being commanded thereunto by their Councils and the principles of their Church, and instigated by their Priests.  
The History of the several Wars of the Barons of England, in the Reigns of King john, Henry the Third, Edward the Second, and Richard the Second, in Defence of their Liberties, and for redressing the many Grievances (under which the Kingdom groaned) is a full representation of the Infidelity and Treachery of those Kings, and of the Invalidity of Treaties with them; how many Grants, Amendments▪ and fair Promises had they from those Princes▪ and yet afterwards how many Ambuscades, and Snares were laid to destroy those glorious Patriots of Liberty; what Violations of Compacts and Agreements, and what havoc was made upon all Advantages and Opportunities, that those false Kings could take: Read their Histories in our several Chronicles.  
FINIS.