NEWS from the Sessions-House. THE Trial, Conviction, Condemnation, and Execution OF POPERY, FOR High-Treason; IN Betraying the Kingdom, and Conspiring the Ruin, Subversion, and Death of the Protestant Religion. WITH Her last Speech and Confession at Tyburn. A Commission of Oyer and Terminer, being issued forth for the Trial of Popery, the Judges repaired to the Bench, and the Court being set, after Proclamation made for silence, the Trial thus proceeded. Clerk of the Crown. Jailer, set Popery to the Bar. Popery, hold up thy hand, here thou standest Indicted by the name of Popery, late of the City of Rome, in the Province of Babylon: not having the fear of God before thine Eyes, but being moved by the instigation of the Devil, didst of thine own free will, voluntarily create. make, and devise several damnable Principles, and Diabolical Practices contrary to the Word of God, pernicious to mankind, and repugnant to human Society; and thou the said Popery to further thy aforesaid devices, the duty of thy Allegiance not weighing, didst, as a false Traitor, against our Sacred and most Illustrious Prince, Sergeant his broad Seal, and thereby with Force and Arms, didst Seal up his Majesty's Laws, both Civil and Divine: and instead thereof didst Command Obedience to thy Devilish Intentions; and the aforementioned Popery, thoroughly to accomplish thy aforesaid designs, didst with Force and Arms aforesaid, Usurpatiously endeavour to exalt thyself, in the said City of Rome, equal with God, Blasphemously saying, thou couldst Pardon Sins, Damn, etc. And thou the said Popery didst with the Devil combine by his Assistance to allure, entice, and enforce Kings, Queens, and Princes to retain thy Damnable Religion, to the utter destruction of their faithful Subjects; and whereas many Royal hearted Christians ejected, and opposed thy Erroneous Principles, thou the said Popery didst Savagely and Inhumanely Invade their Nations, Assassinate Kings, Murdered thousands, Burned their Cities, Robbed their Houses, against the Peace of our Sovereign Lord the King, his Crown and Dignity, and against the Laws and Statutes made, and provided in that Case. What sayest thou for thyself, Popery? Art thou Guiley of these Treasons, Rebellions, Murders, etc. whereof thou standest Indicted, or not Guilty? Pop. Not Guilty. Cl. of Cr. Culprit, How wilt thou be Tried? Pop. By God, and my Country. Cl. of Cr. God send the a good deliverance. Cl. of Cr. Popery, these men that thou hast here called and personally appear, are to pass between our Sovereign Lord the King, and you, upon Trial of your Life and Death; if therefore you will Challenge them, or any of them, your time is to speak, as they come to the Book to be Sworn; and before they are Sworn. Cryer, call Holy Scriptures. Popery, My Lord, I except against him; there is a sufficient Gentleman stands by, pray let him be put in his place. L. C. J. What is his Name? Pop. Goodworks. L. C. J. You must not be your own chooser, but that you may have as fair Trial as can be, he shall be one. No other being challenged, the Names of the Jury that, were sworn, are as follows; Righteousness, Evangelists, Sacraments, Goodworks, Hope, Faith, Charity, Protestantism, Impartiality, Judgement, Fathers, Mercy. Cl. of Cr. Cryer, Count these. Righteousness. Cryer. One, and so the rest. Twelve good men and true, stand together and hear your Evidence. Cl. of Cr. Cryer, make Proclamation. Cryer. O Yes, if any will give Evidence for our Sovereign Lord the King against Popery, Prisoner at the Bar, let him come forth, and he shall be heard; for the Prisoner stands at the Bar upon his deliverance. Cl. of Cr. You Gentlemen of the Jury look upon the Prisoner at the Bar, and hear his Cause; he stands Indicted by the name of Popery, late of the City of Rome, in the Province of Babylon: upon his Indictment he hath been Arraigned, and there unto hath pleaded Not Guilty, and for his Trial hath put himself upon God, and his Country; whose Country ye are; your Charge is to inquire whether he be Guilty, in the manner and form that he stands Indicted, or not Guilty? Att. Gen. May it please your Lordship, and you Gent. of the Jury, Popery stands here Indicted of Great and Heinous Crimes, yet not greater than hath been by him committed: it is not unknown to us that he is of the Race and Progeny of Cain, and his Murders are greater than have been perpetrated by any since the Creation of the world; that he might the more plausibly Commit his Villainies, he hath shaded himself under the serene Veil of Christianity; what name so lovely as Jesus, yet whose operations so odious as Jesuits? he hath also styled himself with Istud nomen Blasphemiae, Universal; which he says he derived Successively from Saint Peter, tho' it will puzzle his greatest Doctors to prove that Peter was ever at Rome. Thus having strengthened himself in Iniquity, Usurping over Kings, and Princes; bringing people and Nations into Thraldom, and Slavery; thought Nature had given him a perpetual writ of Ease, and made every part of the Christian world feel his Tyranny. But as the Jews, who sold Christ for thirty pieces of Silver, came at last themselves to be sold thirty for a penny; so shall he know that the Arm of Vengeance hath been long lifted up, that it may now fall down the heavier upon him. To prove the Indictment, we might call many witnesses, but we shall call only some principal ones; and first, Sir Naked Truth, who hath been greatly persecuted by him. Cl. of Cr. Cryer, call Sir Naked Truth. Cryer. My Lord, here is the Gentleman, which was thrust out from being one of the Jury, desires to know whether he may give Evidence against the Prisoner at the Bar? L. C. J. Who? Holy Scriptures. Cryer, Yes, my Lord. L. C. J. Holy Scriptures, what canst thou say against the Prisoner at the Bar? Holy Script. My Lord, Popery, now Prisoner at the Bar, hath broached many damnable Heresies contrary to the word of God, and particularly that it is not a Rule of Faith, but as a Nose of wax, to be turned which way the Church pleases whereas the word of God saith, that all Scripture is given by Divine inspiration, yet he wickedly prefers his own Carnal Traditions before it, as also his Principles are directly against the Ten Commandments: Against the first, in making a God of the Bread in the Sacrament. Against the Second, in bowing down thereunto. Acainst the Third, by profane Swearing by God, and the Saints. Against the Fourth, in preferring his Saints days, which are of his own Institution, before the Sabbath, which is of Divine, Against the Fifth, in declaring that Children of his Religion own not Obedience to their Parents, which are not of the same. Against the Sixth, in maintaining the lawfulness of Robbing, Plundering and endeavouring to Ruin, by Firing Houses; or otherwise, all those that are not of his Opinion. Against the Seventh, in setting up, and allowing of common Stow's, &c. Against the Eighth, in bloody and inhuman Muthering, and Massacring of Protestants, under the Names of Heriticks, and endeavouring to maintain the lawfulness thereof. Against the Ninth, in making Leagues with Princes for his own advantage, and then breaking them, saying, Oaths may not be kept with Hereticsts. Against the Tenth, in a greedy coveting of Gold, he pretending to give out Pardons to Commit all manner of villainies whatever. Besides my Lord, there is scarce one Commandment of the first Table free from his innovations, nevertheless he is not ashamed to say that a man of his Religion may keep all the Commandments, contrary to the word of God, which saith, that there is not a just man that liveth and sinneth not, and also, that if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, etc. L. C. J. Sir Naked Truth, what sayest thou against the Prisoner at the Bar? Sir N. T. My Lord in the year 110 Popery seeming as an Universal Deluge to overspread the whole Christian World, I with Sir Constant Patience lived privately at Lions in France: enjoying the glorious Gospel, with many others of our honest Friends, and Neighbours; but Popery the Prisoner at the Bar there found us Massacred and Tortured many of us for confessing the cause of Christ: put us to most Exquisite Torments, and exercised Savage Cruelties upon us: from thence flying to Germany, passing through Flanders, we saw Popery preparing a fire to burn several of our Adherents, which clavae to Christ: on of our Friends there suffering, I remember, before he went into the Fire, took two Stones in his hands, saying, when I shall eat these two Stones, our Religion shall cease, not before. When we were come to Germany we found no rest there, for Popery pursued us thither, and he going through Bohemiah murdered many of the Peers of that Realm. In Germany he commanded all to be killed, that were suspected, saying, God knows who are his. From thence we fled into Spain, where we were taken by Popery's bloody Inquisition, in this manner, a Messenger came to us, and told us, that the Lord Inquisitors had something to say to us, and therefore we must wait upon them: we being come, they enquired our names, and sent us to Prison: we having entered the first Gate, the Jailor asked us, whether we had a Knife about us, and under pretence to search for one, took from us all our Jewels and Money, thereby left us nothing to help ourselves; then were we cast into a stinking Dungeon, where we continued Six Months, then being brought forth, Popery, Prisoner at the Bar, endeavoured by all means to extort from us a Confession, which we not doing, he said we should be racked; being brought to the Rack, Popery sitting on a Scaffold by the Rack, in came our Tormentor, and we being stripped, had our hands bound with Cords; then they tied us to the Poultry, and fastening Weights to our Heels, they hoist us up by degrees; thus hanging in great Torture they bade us accuse all we knew of our Religion, which we denying, they racked all our Bones out of Joint, and then sent us to Prison again, and at last dismissed us. From thence we fled into England, but here was the like; and so we fled again into France, where we lived quietly for some time, but at last Popery pursued us, and disguised with a Vizard of Friendship invited us, with most of our Brethren, to a Marriage, but being come, he murdered in one Night above 20000. From thence we fled to Ireland, but Popery pursuing us thither, committed the most barbarous and execrable Murders, Villainies, sparing neither Man, Woman, or Child, ripping up Women with Child, ravishing chaste Matrons, drowning, putting to the Sword, etc. many thousands of innocent Protestants; from thence we again fled into England, where we were soon pursued, and though here he set not upon us so openly as before, yet his will was to do us the most hurt: In the year 1666 he burned down the famous City of London, and hath not ceased to endeavour to perpetuate his bloody Villainies; only by many speçial Providences of God he hath been hindered; for we certainly hear he would here quite extirpate us to the utmost of his power: Nay I heard credibly, that he was resolved not to leave one drop of Protestant Blood, and like his other Devilish Policy, could be glad to cast these Treasonable Conspiracies on the innocent Protestants. My Lord, he is so dangerous, and so wickedly subtle, that we live in daily hazard of our Lives, and when he may destroy us all, God only knows, if timely course be not taken. L.J.J. Sir Constant Patience, what can you say against the Prisoner at the Bar? Sir Con. Pat. My Lord, it would be too tedious for me to rehearse all that Sir N. Truth hath spoken, we were Companions together in all he hath declared, and I aver the truth of what he hath spoken. L.C.J. Are there any more Witnesses? Cl. of Cr. Yes, my Lord, Light of Nature. L.C.J. Let him come up What canst thou say against the Prisoner at the Bar? Li. of Na. My Lord, Popery did really combine with the Devil to promote his Designs, and hath been guilty of great Conjurations; I have seen him in the Woods in the shape of a Boar, he hath also been a cruel Murderer; for I saw a Pond of his cleansing, and thence ta●e● out 60 children's Skulls, and it is computed that in about 50 years' time he hath massacred 15 millions of Protestants. L.C.J. What sayest thou Popery? Thou art now admitted to speak for thyself? Pop. My Lord, the first witness, that is suborned against me, is pretended Holy Scriptures, which if I go to disprove, you will say that I speak against God's Word: Had I thought I should have had a Just Trial, I would have prepared my witnesses, and made my defence. But how can I expect equity from those in my adversity, which were always barking at me in my prosperity? L.C.J. You shall not be suffered to icandalize the King's Court of Judicature. Then my Lord proceeded, and spoke as follows, You Gent. of the Jury, you hear the Prisoner is indicted for contriving Heresy, contrary to the Word of God; and to gain Proselytes thereunto, he hath been guilty of Treasons, Murders, and Blasphemies; the first part of the Indictment hath been largely confirmed by a Peer of this Realm, whose Name is Holy Scriptures. And the second by two worthy Knights: Also we have had a fourth witness, which as the other hath fairly laid open his Villainies; and he for his defence hath only cast foul Aspersions upon the Justice of the Court, his sins are great, and cry aloud for vengeance, and if Justice be not executed against him, we may fear lest we be partakers with him of his plagues. The Evidence is so clear, I think you need not withdraw. Cl. of Cr. Gentlemen, are you agreed upon your Verdict? Omnes. Yes. Cl. of Cr. Who shall speak for you? Omnes. The Foreman. Cl. of Cr. Popery hold up thy hand: Gentlemen of the Jury, look upon the Prisoner at the Bar, how say ye, is he Guilty of the Treasons, Murders etc. whereof he stands Indicted, or not Guilty? Forem. Guilty. Cl. of Cr. Of all? Forem. Yea of all. Cl. of Cr. What Goods or Chattels? Jury. He is made Rich by the Kings of the Earth. Cl. of Cr. Cryer make Proclamation. Cryer. O yes: My Lord, the King's Chief Justice, strictly charges and commands all manner of Persons to keep silence whilst Sentence is pronouncing against the Prisoner at the Bar. L.C.J. Popery, thou hast delighted thyself to make Bonfires of the Saints, and this thy Devilish Nature, if thou mightest live here for ever, thou wouldst still retain, and still act thy abominable Villainies, thou hardenest thy heart, yea, and now wouldst; if it lay in thy power, commit as bad on me, and every one of us, as thou hast done heretofore against our dear Friends. Therefore the Sentence of the Court is; Thou shalt go back to the place from whence thou camest, and from thence shalt be slain, and cast into the Pit of Topher, there to be tormented day and night, where the smoke of thy Torment shall ascend up for ever, and ever, and all thy riches and pomp shall with thee be burnt with fire, and as thou hast filled to God's Saints, they shall fill unto thee double. Then a great shout and acclamation of Joy made, the Trumpet sounding, Babylon is fallen, Babylon is fallen, the Court arose. LICENCED, January 15. 1688/9. LONDON, Printed by William Beale, for J. Gibbs. 1689.