HIS GRACE THE Duke of Buckingham's SPEECH FOR Liberty of Conscience In M.DC.LXXII.   

Licenced  
April 25th 1689.   

TO THE READER.  
HAving by me a short Speech of the late Duke of Buckingham's, under his own Hand, relating to Liberty of Conscience, I thought this a proper Season to Publish it. If you are not of my Opinion, it will take up so little of your time to read it, that you may easily Pardon  
Your Humble Servant JO. HARINGTON. 25th April 1689.   

MY LORDS,  
THere is a Thing called Property, which (whatever some Men may think) is that the People of England are fondest of, it is that they will never part with, and it is that His Majesty, in His Speech, has promised us to take a particular Care of.  
This, my Lords, in my Opinion, can never be done, without giving an Indulgence to all Protestant Dissenters.  
It is certainly a very uneasy kind of Life to any Man that has either Christian Charity, Humanity, or Good Nature, to see his Fellow Subjects daily Abused, Diverted of their Liberty and Birthrights, and miserably thrown out of their Possessions and Freeholds, only because they cannot Agree with others in some Niceties of Religion, which their Consciences will not give them leave to consent to; and which even, by the Confession of those who 〈…〉 upon them, is no way NECESSARY TO SALVATION.  
But (my Lords) besides this, and all that may be said upon it, in order to the Improvement of our Trade, and the Increase of the Wealth, Strength, and Greatness of this Nation, (which, under Favour, I shall presume to discourse of at some other time) there is, methinks, in this Notion of Persecution, a very gross Mistake, both as to the Point of Government, and the Point of Religion.  
There is so as to the Point of Government, because it makes every Man's Safety depend on the wrong Place, not upon the Governor, or a Man's living well towards the Civil Government Established by Law, but upon his being transported with Zeal for every Opinion that is held by those that have Power in the Church then in Fashion.  
And it is, I conceive, a Mistake in Religion, because it is positively against 〈◊〉 ●express Doctrine and Example of Jesus Christ.  
Nay, (my Lords) as to our Protestant Religion, there is something in it yet worse; for we Protestants maintain, That none of those Opinions, which Christians differ about, are Infallible; and therefore in us, it is somewhat an inexcusable Conception, That Men ought to be deprived of their Inheritance, and all the certain Conveniences and Advantages of Life, because they will not agree with us in our uncertain Opinions of Religion.  
My humble Motion therefore to your Lordships is, That you will give me leave to bring in a Bill of Indulgence to all Dissenting Protestants.  
I know very well, That every Peer of this Realm has a Right to bring into Parliament any Bill which he conceives to be useful to this Nation: But I thought it more respectful to your Lordships to ask your Leave for it before, I cannot think the doing of it will be of any Prejudice to the Bill, because I am confident the Reason, the Prudence, and the Charitableness of it, will be able to Justify itself to this House, and to the whole World.  
FINIS.   

LONDON, Printed for J. Curtis near Fleet-bridge, 1689.