AN ANSWER To a Scandalous Pamphlet, ENTITLED A LETTER TO A DISSENTER CONCERNING His MAJESTY'S LATE Declaration of Indulgence, etc.  
SIR,  
I Being a Dissenter, your Letter was delivered to Me, whether by mistake, or no, I cannot tell, nor shall examine; But this I am sure of, That it concerns all sorts of Men under that Denomination, to consider, as well the End to which your Councils tend, as the Motives from whence they Spring.  
It is no ways material to them whether Fear, Interest, Resentment, or pure Politics undertakes to be their Guide, but to what they are driving, and they ought to be careful of their Conductor, when to miss the right way to Repose, leads to no less than perpetual Ruin and Misery. You confess you differ in Opinion from Dissenters, and consequently are within the Pale of Conformity; wherefore you must not wonder if your Sincerity, Friendship, and Charity be doubted: You are at present, disarmed of your dangerous Weapons, the Penal and Sanguinary Laws, therefore your Fury is not now felt; But can you think the memory of Seven and Twenty years sorrowful Sufferings will not last half a one, or that they who have had such woeful experience of your Brotherly Love to the sub-division of Protestants, must not be jealous at least of your Officious Friendship at present, and what sort of Us your Arguments are necessary to preserve.  
It cannot be such to whom your Party have constantly imputed the Exclusion, and Rebellion; for the condition of those you confess calls for present Ease: And now their immediate Cure is prescribed by the only Physician on Earth for that Distemper, you would persuade them to refuse to take it, for fear their Enemies should grow Sick with Envy at their Wonderful Recovery. But if they be Infatuated to that degree as to take your Council, let me beg this Favour for them in their future Miseries, That they may be removed from the Collum of ill Men, to that of Mad; for they who possess such Public Spirits as to be delighted with Eternal Torments, and Miseries for the Preservation of their only Enemies, aught at least to be relaxed from the Infamy of their Sufferings.  
But I have heard strong Proofs offered by Dissenters, to lay both the Exclusion and Rebellion to the charge of some very Zealous Conformers; And did not your un-intelligible, as well as much repent Doctrine of Nonresistance dis-heard all unsucessful Rebels from being Church of England-Men, it would be hard to distinguish them from the most active Parrators you have.  
But passing over all Reflections differing Parties are apt to make on one another, we will consider the Two parts of your Advice, with this assurance, That I believe the new Friendship, has no Fondness in it, and is as you say, to be suspected, and consequently Examined; But whether in your Method, or no, remains a Question.  
We will take for granted, That the common Interest of the Established Church, and His Majesty's Royal Predecessors in the four last Reigns had so joined them together, that it had been as well unnatural, as undutiful in the Roman Catholics to have made Court to any other Party of the Nation, And it had (perhaps) been as Imprudent in His Majesty not to proffer them the first Fruits of His Favour and Protection; that being no ways inconsistent with the Kindness He intended to those of His own Communion, nor the Indulgence He always designed to His other Peaceable Dissenting Subjects: But how ungratefully He has been dealt with by the Established Church, for His Generous Condesentions and Compliments, I will not repeat, because as you say, What is unnecessary, must be tedious; And the truth of this Assertion is so plain, that could it admit of a Dispute, your Letter would put an end to it, for it is in well Composed Sentences, and Periods, the Universal Voice of the Party who have much (against his will) forced the King to discern, that their magnified Loyalty was merely their Interest, and that they were Disciples of the Crown only for the Loaves. He must too at last perceive, that the severity of the Laws made against the very Nature of the Reformation, to force a Conformity to a Fallible Authority, compelled Protestant Dissenters to seek for Relief from Rebellion, having Examples of success in that method to their Brethren in Foreign Countries, as well as their Fatal prevailing thereby at Home: But to the Honour of them, let this truth be remembered, That their Natural Prince on His Promise of Liberty of Conscience, was most dear to them all, and made them with Universal Joy, like true English-Men, bring Him back with Triumph to His Dominions, from whence their Swords, and Interest had driven Him: Nor can it be believed, they would ever have had Recourse to their Swords again for the Remedy, if they had not found their old Disease, Oppression return.  
As to the Alliance betwixt Liberty, and Infallibility which you are pleased to Redicule, it seems to the Dissenters no such impossible thing as you would persuade them, when mutual Interest is the Cement of the League: For tho' it should be true, that a Church which pretends to Infallibility, cannot in its own Nature, consent to the Propagation of Error: Yet Experience shows by Holland and many other places, that the Members of such a Church, can be Good and Friendly Neighbours with those they think in the wrong; But on the contrary side, a Church that had its only Beginning, Form, and Foundation in Severe Sanguinary and Penal Laws for Extirpation of the Religion they found in Possession, and for preventing any other whatsoever but its own, and yet pretending to no Infallibility, but its Power: It is hard, I say, to believe such a Church can willingly part with its only Supporter, Force: And therefore there is a necessity, where there is a Warrantable Opportunity for all Parties they would Oppress, to join together to put it out of their Power to do it.  
Protestant Dissenters, are by their Lawful Prince put in Possession of Liberty, and are invited to make that Indulgence lasting to them by Law, on condition all Men may share in it: You would persuade them, to cast away this Opportunity, in hopes the time may come, you will be so good natured to remember the Courtesy, and not be so severe to them as you have been, Alleging, That the Church of England convinced of its Error in being severe to them, the Parliament, when ever It meets, issure to be Gentile. The next Heir Bread in the Country which they have so often Quoted for a Pattern of Indulgence, a General Agreement of all thinking Men, etc. Makes you say all things conspire to give them Ease, and Satisfaction, if by too much haste to anticipate their good Fortune, they do not destroy it: Pretty plausible Sophistry, to make Men neglect the present Possession of their Desires, in hopes of a future Possibility of gaining them: This plainly shows you do not believe you have to do with Thinking Men, for such well enough can see the difference between Possession and Hopes, especially supported with Untruths: For all men know the next Heir was Bred in the Strictest Form of your Church and adheres to all the Ceremonies of it, in a Country where they are not only more Hated, but more Contemptible, and Ridiculous than those of the Mass, to which by the multitudes of Papists they are well accustomed; And would you make the Dissenters believe, That Princess would begin an Indulgence She has been Educated to think is Criminal; But if the Dissenters once get Possession of it under Her Royal Father, the strong Argument of Numbers will certainly secure them against Her recalling the Favour, as well as make it impossible for that Party, who are as you confess, but as One to Two Hundred, from Oppressing the common Interest of the Whole.  
I am not willing (you see) to carp at your squinting Term of the next Heir: But this I must assure you in general a more Disloyal and Dangerous Paper, both to His Majesty and His Children, did not see Day in the hottest Times of Exclusion; as I could easily Illustrate, but shall avoid to do so, since it becomes all true Lovers of their Country in some degree to be humble Imitators of His Sacred Majesty; whose stock of Mercy to His People, seems impossible to be Exhausted; and whose Healing Temper gives apparently the Lie to all the Scandals His Enemies ever invented of Him to deprive Him of His Right.  
The Dissenters have the Word of this Glorious Prince; That they shall be sure of their present Ease during His Reign; and that it shall be none of His Fault, if it be not made Perpetual to them, not only by Recinding the Laws that can Hurt them, but also to confirm the Right of free enjoyment of Conscience to every English Man for ever, by a Magna Charta, equal to that by when they hold their Estates: And this Disinterested Favour of His Majesties, with the Infallible Security it may be confirmed to them by: You would have them thrown away and despise, to rely upon the single Promise of T. W.  
But Sir, you must, I believe, be better known before you are so far Trusted: For though you seem Plenipotentiary for your Church, yet your Credentials may be Forged; and whilst your Memorial speaks plainly the Sense of your Party in the Scandalous Reflections it makes on His Majesty's Actions and Alliances; yet it is in their Power to disown you for one of their Church, when ever it is necessary for them to Boast Immaculate Loyalty again: So it may happen that T. W. may be Hanged for a Traitor, the Dissenters undone for taking his Word, and the Church of England still continue in its Original Innocency: A conveniency (I confess) peculiar to your Party, all others being forced to bear their Iniquities, and undergo the Reproach of their brethren's Sins.  
But to examine a little closer what you would be at, and what you expect from the Dissenters: In your Treaty, it appears to be That they should not be so linked to their New Friends, as to Reject an Indulgence the Parliament may offer them, without comprehending the Papists.  
A very surprising Proposal in the Circumstances of the Times, and seems, as if you would offer to restore to them that of 42. For I know no other Parliament can make good your Word, whilst His Majesty lives: But these sort of Expressions are no Sin in your Circumstances, having Numbers enough to back them if they would be Laughed out of their Doctrine of Nonresistance, His Majesty's best Security (as you would Insinuate) for his Crown. But believe it Sir, discerning Men know this Boast of yours is but a Copy of your Countenance; for His Majesty's Indulgence and the Addresses you are so troubled at, leaves your Church but a Thin Muster, should she Renounce her pretended Principle: And what you say in other parts of your Paper, proves sufficiently, that That Doctrine you would formerly have robbed all other Churches of, to Adorn your own, is from its Ornament, become only an excuse, and will in the end prove a Thinner Covering for her Nakedness then Fig-leaves were to our Forefathers shame.  
If yourself had not known this to be true, you had spared the Pains of your Ingenious Paper: But truly, I confess, you ought in this Juncture to be Indulged a little Liberty of Conscience too, for the Propagation of your Faith: For since you have lost the Power of Pressing men to your side; it is but reasonable you should be allowed to Bear up for Volunteers. For this Cause I shall say little more to you, either about the Reflections you make on His Majesty, or those that Address to Him, but will close up all with these few Memorandums to your next Labours.  
That you take care to show, what King you expect will be so mad to part with his undoubted Prerogative of Dispensing with Penal Statutes; when he judges it convenient for the Service of Himself and Kingdom, now it is Recognised to be His Right by Law.  
Next you are to prepare strong Reasons to induce that King to be such a felo de se to his Title and Power.  
Then you are to show the Use of the Test in matters of Places; for to a Catholic King it can be no Hindrance to employ Papists, since he can Dispense with the taking it; and to a Protestant 'tis needless, since his own Aversion to that Party, will (it may be supposed) sufficiently Exclude them: Then since it can be of no Use in a Papist or Protestant Princes Reign; It seems unreasonably Fractious not to recind it at the Request of a Prince, who is ready to Grant so many Favours in consequence of such a Repeal, and is against it, as it is plainly more against Christ's, than his own Prerogative.  
As to your suggestion against Repealing the Test in its Legislative use; let it be but Impartially considered, that the Making of it did, as the Continuance of it does, strike at the Root, and destroys the very Foundation of English Liberty; since against the true intent of Magna Charta, it deprives Men of their Birthright, without any Crime or Trial of their Peers; and may be an Inlet by Faction to all manner of Slavery. But a Recognition in Parliament, that it is void in itself; for that cause, will not only restore the Nation to its true Liberty and Property; but be a Bulwark against the like Law for Destruction of any other Party, may chance to be out of fashion.  
I am, I confess one of those Dissenters, who would be glad His Majesty's Favour was turned into a Law, since there is no Probability any future conduct of Catholics could meet with the same Circumstances to cause new Statutes to be made against them; like those, the doubtful Title of Queen Elizabeth occasioned; And I hope you do not expect to be accounted a Conjurer, for finding out the Secret, to tell the other Dissenters, That Papists themselves do not rely on the Legality of this Power to make it Perpetual; Since it is plain, that to our Sorrow, as well as the Nations loss, We cannot hope His Majesty will be Immortal: Though to our Comfort at the same time, few of us doubt, but he will live long enough to carry his own Glory beyond any of his Predecessors; and to lay a lasting Foundation for the Felicity of his People. Which that he may do, will be the Prayers of all his Honest Subjects, as they are of one, that wishes your Polite Pen better employed, then to the Disturbance of your King and Country, which is,  
Sir, Your Humble Servant. Henry pain.   

London, Printed for N. T. Anno Domini 1687.