m HA 503 714 .A 86 Sectiou 5C 7765 Englifh Advice ^^^ 1-1928 T O T H E \$>. . • FREEHOLDERS £ O F ENGLAND by i — JL£. -f- Nee vates Helenas ', cum mult ft horrendx moneref^ Hos mihi fradixit luffm, nee dirt, C'eLeno. Printed in the Year, i 7 1 4. (3 ) I Am firmly perfuaded that there is not in their way a better Sett of Men generally fpeaking, than the Freeholders of tnglmiL They are a brave, open, plain and direft People and when fairly left to themfelves to chufe their Repre- sentatives, always chufe fuch as are, or appear to be, true bnends to the ir Country. I could inftance feveral Eleaions for- nerly, and one or two of late, where the Temper of the People VKhout any Alliftance or Countenance from Court or TreafuV, :arr,ed it for Honeft Men under great Temptations to the con- rary; and I cannot recoiled one bad Parliament, but may be afily accounted for from the Electors being Bribed, and notori- 'S? 7 n 8 * pCrd "?k f r 0m l iKt ReCurns made b V Sheriff * a "d .ther Officers, or laftly fromfome extravagant Prejudices fcattered nd cultivated among the People, who wanting proper Means of ^formation are obliged to take Things at fecond Hand, and are lerefore liable to grofsMiftakes. As the Cafe now {lands, the honeft Part of the Nation is to 'reftlewith each of thefe Difad vantages in a higher degree than ^rhaps was ever known; and we can fcarce expert Things will ke a happy Turn, unlefs one Side abates confiderably of their eal, and the other recovers new Spirit : Neither of which feems nypromifingasyet; fince nothing is omitted on the one hand Poiicm the Country, and on the other fcarce any Thins is at- mpted by way of Antidote. Not that there is wanting a good ifpofition in the People : In many Places feveral of the ordinary i a V e f kr ° L 1C ^ertue t0 refufe Thir V> Fm J> * Hunirel unds a Man for their Votes ; and indeed throughout the whole ngdom they feem fully allarmed at the prefent Pofture of Af- rs: But I don t know how, there is a Defeft fomewhere the nigs outdo us in Induflry as much as in Money , Neither are \lZnl ruT i nd b ° Id in P ubliflli "S ^e Truth, as they in anting l-allhoods * rhey go on fecurely, without Fear or Remorfe, to tell you :re was formed and fettled a Scheme by the late Miniftry, and the ef of the Church Party, wirh the Queen at the Head of them let the IroteftantSucceffionafide, and introduce the Pretender* lis they fay loudly, in their Clubs, Coffee-Houfes, Address' I, by what appears, have thereby made an Impreffion on the nds of thofe, who might be better informed if they would afe to hear more than one Side. The Prefs fmarms with thefe the hke monftrous Forgeries; but not one fingle Proof is at- ipred only a parcel of Inveftives and Libels againft thofe, who c no Crime teanfwer for, but too great Lenity when in Power, too fupme a NegleS of themfelves ; Faults indeed that could cr juftly be imputed to their Antagonists. The Sheriffs and A z other (4) other Officers through the feveral Boroughs and Counties, arc moft of them Men for the purpofe, who know their Bufinefs, and are to be covfided in. Bank Bills, Places, Lyes, Threats, Promifes, Entertainments are every where employed to corrupt Men's Af- feftions, and m'flead their Judgments. Boroughs are rated on the Xoyri Exchange, like Stocks and Tallies ; the Price of a Vote is as well known as of an Acre of Land ; and it is no Secret who are the monied Men, and confequently the beft Cuftomers. The Country Gentlemen who have flood the Heat of the Day for Five or Six and twenty Years, are now almoft quite worn out and harraffed bv Taxes and Elections : Each Eleaion hath been a kind of Campaign, where Men were to fight pro am 8 jocis at the Expence of the Landed Intereft, which I take to be the po- litical Blood of the Nation. Their Enemy was a real Hydra, a thriving Enemy, that daily gained new Recruits, and improved upon Conteft. The Wars abroad, the Support whereof weakened the Country Gentlmen, furniibed the Whigs with Forces to carry- on the War with Advantage at home ; and now that by their Mil- leprefentations of Things and Perfons they have got a vaft Acquifi- tion of Strength, they will, it is to be feared, be enabled to com- pafs their Schemes, fo long projeaed, for the Deftruftion of the Church and landed Intereft. They have, as they boaft themfelyes, the Game in their Hands; and, to do them Juftice, they act like Men in earned, who are refolved to play it to purpofe. This then being our Cafe at prefent, I (hall examine into our Circumftances, and fpeak my Mind, as to Fafts, with great tree- dom and Impartiality : But am refolved not to meddle with the CharaSers of particular Perfons (a Field in which I do not re- light) any farther than the Subject will neceflanly lead me._ My Endeavour mall be to bring what I have to urge into as narrow a Compafs as I can, that every Candid Reader may fee the Foot we are upon; what it is we have to hope and tear ; wno thofe are from whom we mav expeft an Attack upon our Lonlti- tution; who are the likelieft Perfons to ftand in the <3ap to de- fend it ; and confequently who deferve beft to be chofen Members of the enfuing Parliament. A ov .r n A \ Nor is this an Affair offmall Importance, our A11 ; under Uod, . depends upon the next Elections ; our Religion, our Rights our Liberties, our prefent Laws, and our future Security are at frtake. ) If we make a wrong Step at this Junaure all the Comfort ue . can have is, that probably it will be o^Jaft Fault of the Kind i becaufe we (hall never have it in our Power to be Gu. Ity of J another. For if now there mould happen a fatal Conjund on M a corrupt Parliament and a corrupt Miniftry, a thing not a, £S e -| ther inconfiftent nor unprecedented; if the One fliould be as I ready to eive up the Conftirution, as the Other to demand it, wc| a Lve g no Refource, but mull be Bought and Sol 1 beyond al Poffibiliry of Redemption: For I hav:> too good an Opin on of I the Underftandin* of the Whigs, to think they ^ we f P" C " "J cur Power hereafter to make Reprifals, cr retrieve paft M jcarfl ria^es, a (5) rlages. If they fuccccd, according to all human Views and Pro- bability, the next will be our la ft Parliament that Can be called Free, and even that, I fear, can only be called fo. I muft own; I cannot, without great Indignation, obferve the Lukewarm, Indolent, Cowardly, Lazy, Defponding, ana IShyrow Tempers of fome among us : To their Shame be it laid, they pro- fefs honeft Principles, nay, and are really Honeft in tbeir Incli- nations, but yet relinquish the Caufe, and think they deferve Com- mendation, becauie they do not concur in the Iniquity of the Times. You fhall therefore hear Men of fuch a Compofmort make a Thoufand trifling Excufes, according to their feveral Weak- neifes and Frailties: One will tell you, That his fianding as Can- didate fignifies nothing , That the Sheriff will not Return him^tho' he Jliould hive double the Number of Voices his Competitors have A Second cries, Why ftould 1 put ?»yfelfto Trouble and Extence f 1 was not fo well Rewarded for my laji Services. A Third urges, That all is in vain, and that a Defeat will but Jhew the Weahnefs of the Party, A Fourth advifes Folks to be quiet, and not provoke ; there is i Lion in the Way, a Lion in the Street : With other laudable Speeches to the fame Purport, all in Juftification of the Coward's Maxim, That a Man fhould fufFer his Enemies to Deftroy him for certain, and without Opposition ; becaufe there is a chance, that if he flxould oppofe them, he might pofllbly come to the Worft. But not to exert one's Utrnoft, in a Cafe of this Nature, is slm^ii as Blameable, as an Overt- Act againft one's Country : Although the Crime be not fo Unnatural, it is to all Intents as Prejudicial. Ic is in this as in High Treafon ; whoever doth not what in him lies to difcover and prevent the Treafon, he knows is Hatching, is, in the Eye of the Law, (which is grounded upon the Reafon of the Thing) as guilty as the principal Offender ; or at bed is adjudged guilty cf, what the Lawyers call mifpriiion of Treafon. So that admitting the Comparifon, thofe, who ftupidly fubmit to the invading Fa- ction without exerting their Abilities in their feveral Stations to divert the Danger, may in all reafon be faid to betray thtir Coun- try as much, as thofe very Men who have form'd the mod defpe- rate Dellgns ?.g.iinft it : They may promife themfelves the Eentflc of an Indulgence, as the Reward of their InaSivity ; but let them reft aflur'd, this will only laft until it comes tr> their Turn to be Devour'd ; for Wbiggijb Moderation, like Death, fooner or later, ftrikes all that come in its way. Far be it from me, and every true Briton, to infinuate we have any thing to fear from a Prince of fuch Vertues and Abilities as our prcfent gracious Sovereign. On the contrary, I labour to extricate him out of Difficulties I forefee the Whigs defign to bring him under; if they can Pack a Houfcrof Commons to their Mind, they will leave him no Power to Aft but as they direcf and prefcribe :- They will fubjeft him to the Arbitrary Government of a Junto, who cannot bear to be controlled even by the Rcgnl Power, which, as they fay, is of their own Creation : According to Cuftom, rhey. will pronounce every thing to be Arbitrary and Tyrannical, which they m they have not leave to di&ate. Thus it was they treated the late Queen, until the Kingdom unanimoufly took Fire, and refolved to deliver their Sovereign out of the Hands of fuch Managers. They neither allow'd Her the liberty to fpeak Her Grievances, nor chufe Her Servants, but compell'd Her to live in the midft of perpetual Craving, join'd to Pride and Infolence, not to be endured. Solo- mon mentions Horfe-le aches that have two Daughters , which cry, give, give ; but I could name fome among the Whigs with double that number, all in the fame Tone, and never to be appeas'd by the moft profuft Bounty. Were the Hiftory of thofe Times Penn'd in a proper Stile, that which is really True, might pafs for Ro- mance. They furrounded the Throne with a Wall of Brafs, and committed the Care thereof to an infatiable Witch, who never ad- mitted any to the Royal Prefence, but fuch as came recommended by a Golden Spell. From the Claws of thefe rapacious Harpies it is, every good Sub- jeft wifhes to fee his Majefty fecur'd : And how can this be com- pared, but by the Choice of a Houfe of Commons, fuch as the Laft, fuperior to all Temptations, to the Prejudice of their native Coun« try, Zealous for the Honour of their Prince and the Safety of the Church, not ready to encroach upon his Goodnefs, nor willing to fufFer him to be Monopolizd by His and the Nation's Enemies ? The late Houfe of Commons, wherein the Church Party had a vaft Majority, exprefs'd an early and affectionate Concern for the Illuftrious Houfe of Hanover : They omitted nothing to fhew their Fidelity, which certainly the King is too grateful to forget fo foon. Befide, if we confider his firm Refolurion to maintain the Church of England, his Difpofition to Govern according to our Laws, his great Difcernment in penetrating into Men, and his tender Love for his People, we cannot imagin he will defire a Parliament of a Complexion different from the Two Laft, however the Whigs may attempt or fuggeft the contrary. It would beendlefs to enumerate all that thofe two Parliaments have done for the Good of the Church and State : Nor was it their Fault they did no more : They had a conftant Drawback, a perpe- tual Clog uprn their Proceedings. One, u ho either thro' Knavery or Folly, or both, always cry'd, Tet a little Sleep, a little Slumber, a little folding of the Hands to Sleep : And yer.notwithftanding all the Obftru&ions he threw in,, in fpite of all his Shuffling, his Tricks, his Blunder?, (the only Proof he ever gave of his Talents for Bu- finefs) they provided better for the Publick, and ena&ed more good Laws than all the Parliaments put together, fince the Re- volution. As to the Peace and Treaty of Commerce, which lay before the Two laft Parliaments ; why the firft proceeded fo heavily, is what the Whigs, and that Able Politician the Stiff fas he or his Hireling have Chriftned him, in their late Hiftories) can beft account for : He too cm beft inform the World (if the World will regard what he fays) why the Treaty was nor, in every Circumftance, as ad- vantageous as might have been obtained. Although I ftiM mn & fay> (7) fay, Tuch as it is, and even as he hath puzzled and Involved It, it is a thoufand Degrees more for the Intereft of England, thanTen more or my Lord M g b s glorious Campaigns. To prove which Af- fertion, among many good Arguments, I fhallufe but this one in- conteftable Reafon ; That to this very Peace, this fcandalous Trea- ty, as it is call d, we owe his Majefty's Safe and Undifrurbed Ac- ceflion to the Throne : The Confequence is obvious. Had we been engag d ma War upon the Demife of the Queen, What could we have expefted but to fee the Succeflion difputed Sword in Hand, two foreign Armies raging within the Bowels of the Kingdom, an unnatural Civil War, the End whereof no Mortal could deter- min ; and which would have been worfe than all, to find our felves depnv d of the Bleffings we now enjoy under his Majefty's aufpi- cious Government ? So that whatever Hopes the Whigs might have entertain'd from a Profpeft of fuch Difrratrions, now me- thinks m Compliment to the King, they ought to feem delighted with that, which fecur'd his Succeflion ; and in juftice ought to thank the Promoters of the Peace, fince they thereby have the double Pleafure of feeing the Church Party turned out, and of finding themfelves got into their Places. It ought to be confider'd that if the Peace be bad, the Whigs are anfwerable for it, and in fome benfe may be faid to have made it, becaufe they brought us into a Neceflity of making it, by fquandering away the Reve- nues of the Kingdom, by refufing the Advantageous Terms we might have had at Gertruyienburgh, by their factious Cabals in England, and traiterous Alliances in Holland and elfewhere. We are told, we needed not to have been in fuch hafte - that we could have held out One Campaign More, and One Campaign had done the Work : This had been the Language of fome Men for many Years paft : Still it was One Campaign, and we mould be at the Gates of Part*. This induc'd us to part with our Money and Stnles, until we were almoft entirely ftript of both But we will take it their own way, and fuppofe we were able to continue the War longer, even upon the ruinous Foot the Whigs left it Were we fure the Queen might not have dy'd be- fore the end of it ? Or could we anfwer that fome Accident might not have happened to fet us as far back as ever ? Or, fince Boiu chain was the Work of a whole Campaign under my Lord M gh t fit the Head of One Hundred Thoufand Men, could we depend upon it, that Cmbray might not hold us at Bay another Year V&. Uncienncs a Third, and fo forth ? Or could we be very pofitivc that none of our Allies would clap up a Separate Peace, an d leave us m the Lurch ? Did the Dutch never do any thing of this kind ? Never defert their Friends, nor Sacrifice them for their private Advantage ? And can any Man in his Wits fay, It would have been wifer for us to have protraded the War, under all thefe Ha- zards than to have made an end of it as we did, which hath re- Th ? C tP EUr ° Pe ' and fc ™ red Kin £ Geor & "P™ the Wajb When (8) When one confiders the Conduft of the Church Party ; how they were the Men made and confirm'd the A& of Settlement ; how they were the Men recogniz'd the King's Title, and Pro- claim'd him with all poffibJe Marks of Duty ', One is confounded to think, what Colours the Whigs could ufe to reprefent them as Difaffcfted, and what could provoke the Court to fingle them out as Objefts of Difoleafure ; and much more, What can biafs the Country to reject thofe Men they fo lately chofe. Upon the Death of the Queen, the Church Party exprefs'd a Sorrow for the Lofs of fo Excellent a Princefs ; remarkable for Piety, and every Ver- tue requifite to adorn a Throne and make a People happy : And •was that Sorrow a Crime ? I hope not. Did they omit to Solem- nize the King's Acceflion in all the Forms ? Did they fhew a re- luctance to acknowledge his Title or Proclaim him? No. But feem'd to vye with their Fellow Subjects in all Expreffions of Loyalty ; with this difference ; the Whigs were in Raptures, as if they had been refcued from fome mercilefs Tyrant, from Racks, Prilbns and Tortures : The others did not think they had reafon, or that it was decent, to be fo immoderately tranfported ; but yet were wanting in no Duty towards the SuccefTor : They paid a juft regard both to the Living and the Dead : Which in all reafon ought to be their Recommendation, not their Crime. The Commons as well as Lords immediately Addrefs the King, Invite him over, and fettle upon him Seven Hundred Thoufand Pound a Year, the very fame Eftabliftiment Queen Anne, a Native of our Country, whofe perfonal Merits we were acquainted with, enjoy'd ; and more than both King WiUUm and Queen Mary toge- ther, had to maintain themfelves, the Queen Dowager, the Princefs Anne of Denmark .and the Duke ofGlocefter .- And thefe may at leaft be reckoned as great a Charge as the Prince and Princefs of Wales, who before they came here, had but bare three Thoufand Pounds a Year for their whole Expences: Surely fo bountiful a Gift ftiew'd no dif- afFeftion in the Givers. But over and above this, the Parliament pafs'd an Extraordinary Compliment upon the Ha r Troops, who, tbo in the Queen's Pay, deferted Her General m -Hinders] notwithstanding which, the Faithful Commons voted thofe Troops their Arrears, which I take to be fomething more than Jultice ; all which was done by a High Church Houfe of Commons. And yet this very Houfe of Commons was thought fo little worthy of having the liberty once to meet their Prince, or fo much as to at- tend him at the great Solemnity of his Inauguration, that they were deny 'd the poor Favour of a Me Jal. : Neither could they have had any Motive to this, but their Af- feftion to his Majefty : For it muft be conf.fs'd, they were not en- tirely fatisfy'd with the Perfons or Proceedings of the i^^i j Whether with or without Canfe I will not difptite However, there was not, I am perfuaded, through the whole Three King- dom?, one Churchman of Diftinaion, who appear d in the leaft' Dififfefted to the King, but all unanimoufly concurred m a Sub^ million to his Government, to the inconceivable Mortification of the (9) the Whigs, who poured forth Wiflies for an Infurreftion. But nothing of this kind happened : All remain'd Quiet} and, which hath feldom happened, both Parties agreed in one Wifh, and impa- tiently long'd for his Majcfty's fafe Arrival. Arrive he did at laft, and was receiv'd with loud Acclamations from all Quarters : So here was a fair opportunity for him to fliew himfelf an equal Pa- rent of his People. The Fame of his Wifdom and Moderation had -filled the Mouths and Hearts of all Men before he came. We had been told, with the greateft Air of AfTurance, that he was deter- mined not to fet himfelf at the Head of a Party ; that he did noC come to be King of the Whig*, or King of the Tories, but of all his Subjects indifferently, without Partiality or Diftincfion. Que- ftionlefs this had been his Intereflr, and to have aboliih'd the Nama of Parties ; and furcly never Man had fo happy a Conjuncture to do this in, as he at the time of his Landing. There needed no profound Management to efFe£r. it : Nothing but an open Counte- nance to all who came to Welcome him : A Countenance thac might lhew.no inward Sullennefs or Referve, no Prejudices, n/> Memory of paft Difobligations. This had gain'd him the Hearts of his People, and anfwer'd their Wiflies ; but it was a Policy* that, it teems, did not fuit with the Sentiments of fome People, who confult their own Refentment and Profit more than theic Matter's Honour and Intereflr. It was generally thought a melancholy Omen, that the King's iirft Compliment to his People, after touching Englifl) Ground^ fliould be the removal of the Duke of OrmonA ; the Man of all others the moft Popular and Unexceptionable, and this with Cir* cumftances too well known to be mentioned. There was ob- ferv'd, upon this Incident, a deje&ion in the Countenances of moft Menf excepting of the Perfon removed ; and they had nothing' to keep up their Spirits, but to fuppofe fome extraordinary Keafons which they hop'd could not always fubfifr. Some pretended to account for this Step, by faying, his Grace's not fighting the Tremh in the Campaign, 1712, is not to be forgiven him : Buc this muft certainly be a miftake. All Men know he hath as greac a Thirft after Honour, as much Bravery and as great Contempt for Money, as any One alive : So that his Conduft muft have been the refult of his Obedience to his Queen ; and Obedience to one s Prince will not, I prefume, be thought bad Do&rine in this Reign, whatever it might have been in thelaft. Suppofe the Duke of Marlborough had heen Commander at the Time the Queen fent Orders to Her General not to Fight, be« eaufe the Peace was far advanced ; and Dunkirk was to be given up into Her Hands as a Cautionary Town. In this Cafe I ask, Would the Duke of M — • ■ ■ g b have obeyed or not ? If he would, then the Duke of OrmonA' did but what the other would have done upon the like Occafion ; if he would not have obeyed, then in the Senfe of all Mankind, he had deferved to lofe his Head for that Aft ion alone. Or, if you pleafe, fuppofe General Bula.ro t who commanded the Hm— — r Troops then in JSngUJb Pay, had re- B mained (10) mained with the Englifo General contrary to the Elector's Command, or at leaft without his Leave, what Reward do you think would he have found upon his return home ? I dare anfwer for ir, fuch a one as Count C . The manifeft Reafon of the Thing lhews, that could not be the Duke of Ormonde's Offence ; and by what fince hath happened it appears that his being a Churchman, and a Churchman not to be perverted, is what is not to be forgiven him. What other Temptation could there be to fo poor a Mark of impo- tent Malice, as was that of taking from him the Lieutenancy of Somerfetfbire r a Thing he had kept under all Adminiftrations du- ring the Two late Reigns, and which was continued to him for fome time under the prefent. It was not of Confequence enough to (top the Mouth of any hungry, indigent Courtier. The taking it from the Duke could not prejudice him, and was known to be a Difobligation to all the Gentlemen of that Loyal Country ; nor was the Perfon that fucceeded his Grace in any great degree of Fa- vour at Court : But he is lefs in Favour with the Church-Party ; and the Bufmefs is to fhew thefe that no Meafures will be kept with them: Which will further appear by what followed upon the Duke of Ormonde's being Turned out. In a few Days after his Removal, more Alterations were made than had been in almoft as many Year* before ; nay, more than were upon the Revolution. All, who lay under the Imputation of having been efteemed by the Late Queen, were treated as Ene- mies to the King ; excepting two or three at moft, who, if I mi- stake not, will never go the Lengths are expe&ed, and for that very Sufpicion are already but cloudily received. None, bating a few Trimmers who can turn with every Wind, are in Favour with the prefent Court, but fuch as were in eminent Disfavour with the laft. Every one's Merit is rated in proportion to that Standard. You fhall not fee a Scoundrel, that was either turned out of Employment, or had none under the late Adminiftration, but expe&s to come in now upon the foot of a Sufferer for the Sue- ceffion. For it is to be noted, this is the Phrafe in Vogue to re- commend all who are to make their Court. This you may hear Hundreds repeat with all the Gravity in the World, and, which' is more extraordinary, expect to be believed, tho' they themfelves know, it is all a Farce from beginning to end. If one can ima- gine the Court of Vet failles turned Bugonot, and Monfieur Villars' introducing the French Refugees, les piuvres Refugie^, with thefe or the like Recommendations Voicy un bonne te bomme qui a j'xffert pour la J\eligion, Sec. This boneft Gentleman bit b been a great Sufferer for the Caufe ; be batb been in tbe Callies thefe Four Tears, That otber loft bis whole Eft ate, and was forced to fly from Wife and Family to fave his Life. That poor old Man hath been racked Twelve times, and fo forth. I fay, if one can imagine fuch a Scene, they may have an Idea of what is faid and a&ed every Day at St. Jf Ames's. And I luppofethe next Queftion is, who was that inhuman cruel Ptince, and who thole wicked Inftruwents, that have made fuch Havook anung the Innocent ? Nor ( II > Nor is this prodigious Moderation pra£Kfed here only, but aJfo in Scotland and Ireland, that all Parts of His Majefty's Dominions may feel the Effects of our Glorious Change. In Ireland, two of the Lords Juftices, the Lord Chancellor, all the Judges, I think, and Commiflioners, excepting heneft Mr. Medlicot, and Two more; in (hort, all in Employment, who are fufpefred of but wilhing well to the Church Intereft, are removed. And to fliew the greac Regard had to the Church, the Lord Primate, a Man of the gre?reft Vertues and Abilities, is turned out of the Privy-Council, thefiift Precedent of the Kind, I dare fay, fince the Reformation ; and in his Grace's ftead Mr. Molefaortb, an Enemy to all Religion, is put in. He is a fair Enemy I own, becaufe he openly profefles it. This Gentleman's Merit is a Crime, for which in a Iefs mild Reign than the laft, he would have loft his Ears. The Thing is notorious ; the publickly Affronted the whole Body of the Clergy in the Caftle of Dublin, when they came with their Addrefs to the Lord Lieutenant, applying to them the Words, they that have- turned the World upfide down, are come hither alfo. This Outrage and Prophanenefs the Houfe of Lords refented, as they ought ; the Fatl was reprefented to the Queen, and the Offender excluded the Council. A Punifhment in no degree adequate to the Of- fence. But now he is thought fit to fucceed the Primate at that Honourable Board , and in good time may fucceed him in his Jrchiepifcopal See : In the mean while he hath a Ihoufand Pounds a Year given him for his Services, and I doubt not but that fee will take care to deferve Ten times as much more. According to the fame Model all the lower Offices in that King- dom are furnifhed. 'Tis faid Five hundred Juftices of the Peace are to be turned out upon Sufpicion : This they may do accord- ing to Law ; but they ftrain their Power further, and break Patents, as in the Cafe of one Mr. Edge-worth, to whom, for fome consi- derable Services perform'd by him in the Irijb War, King William. made a Grant of a Place for his and his Son's Life : But my Lord Sund nd, whofe little Finger is heavier even than my Lord Wh — -on's Loins, under pretence of a Flaw in the Form, hath actually given his Employment to another. When Obligations and Patents cannot hold, I am afraid Charters will not be long lived. Such is the Fate of that miserable Nation : And I am told Scot- land is not in a better Condition ; fo that it mud be allowed 'the Whigs are the belt State-Engineers in the World : They fhooc with chained Bullets, and mow down whole Kingdoms before them : The Court believes all they do is right, and that the Churchmen cannot be too ill ufed. Whence this Infatuation fprunsj, and how it hath taken Root; whether it was the effeft of a Weftedy Wind fome Months ago, and of Dutch Air ; of the Earl of Ox inordinary Witchcraft, or the Duke of Al -fr's Mony, I will not take upon me to fay. Perhaps there nrght have been a quantum fufficit of each to make up the Compound. I know there arc fome unriddle the Secret in B a an ( 18 ) an cftfy manner : They fay the King's Stay in HoUar.l was not ca- fual but concerted ; that there it was refolved, who were to be re- moved and who to be employ 'd in England ; particularly that the Duke of M > who had fpun out the War to the Englifi Ruin and Dutch Intereft, fhould be made Commander in Chief ; that my Lord 7 nd, who had provided fo well, by the Barrier-Treaty, for the Trade and Security of Holland, and fo entirely Neglected and Sacrific'd his own Country, fhould be made Secretary ; that my Lord Str d t who us'd to fpeak plain Englijl? to the Began Mogans, {hould be turn'd out, and fucceedcd by an infamous Plun- derer, who had been a joint Inftrument with the Dutch in all the Contributions, Safeguards, Extortions and Rapine, under which the Spanish Provinces have groan'd for the greater part of the laft War. Thefe Things are afTerted, and perhaps not without Grounds ; But whether they be Faft or nor, I will not difpute : Certain it is the Church Party never gave any juft handle for their Difgrace, and that they never difcover'd a diflike to the Houfe of H r, unlefs a dutiful Behaviour to the Perfon in Poffeffion be thought an Injury to the SuccefTor ; a Doctrine that ought by no means to be encourag'd in the prefent Times. Be it as it will, it is not very material to our Purpofe to enquire who were the Authors, or what the Caufcs of the Difcountenance, not to fay Injuftice, the Churchmen now meet with. It is in vain to look back. What behooves every honeft Man is, to examine into the Merits, the Views, the Inrerefts of each fide, and thence to form his Conduct : Upon this foot' we are now to proceed. If up- on a fair difquifition of the matter, we find the Whigs ate gene- rally Men of more Honour and Religion, truer to the Intereft of their Country, and lefs addifted to Strangers than their Compe- titors : If their Views and Defigns fquare better with the Efta- fclifhment in Church and State, than thofe of their Rivals, in the Name of God let all the Perfons in England, that have Votes to give, declare for a Whig Parliament. But if the reverfe of all this be true, or if the Whigs are at beft but Men, liable to Mifhkes and open to Bribery ; if their avow'd Defigns tend to the Over- throw of the Conftitution, and at the fame time it be their Intereft to purfue thofe Defigns, whilft: the only reafonable Profpeft, the only Safety the Churchmen can propofe to themfelves, confifts in the Prefervation of our Religion and Laws as now fettled ; if this I fay be the Cafe, then I prefume it will follow, that it is the In- tereft of both the Church and People of England, to chufe Church- men for the enfuing Parliament. The Argument will appear the ftronger, the better you weigh the feveral Branches of it. As to the Merits of each fide, I have a mind, for once, to fup- pofe fhem equal ; that is, take Man for Man, you will find as many Perfons of Honour, Confcience, Vertue, and Rtligion, among the, Church Party, as among the Whigs j which I conceive cannot be thought an immcdeft Supposition, if we confidtr the of the Wtwgs is coaipofed of Atheifts, Free-T hinkws, and ■ ;hs the feveral Sects of DifTenters under their feveral Denominations. For Example : Give me leave to fuppofe my Lord H rt as equitable a Difpenfer of Juftice, and one of as much Morals as his SuccefTor. Let me fuppofe likewife that the Duke of A hath as much Courage, Honour, Integrity and Generofity as his Grace of M fc, which I believe will fcarce be difputed ; that my Lord T i's Eloquence and Abilities are not brighter than my Lord So fee's j and that one hath at leaft taken as much care of England, by his Tranfa&ions relating to our Peace, as the other by the Banter-Treaty ; which Treaty appear'd fo Scandalous even to my Lord Marlborough, that he declar'd he would chufe ra- ther to lofe his Right Hand than Sign it : That Mr. Br \y is not inferior to the Brihuega. General, either in Vertue, good Senfe, or jReverence for Churches ; And fo on. I fay, for once, I have a ftrong Inclination to fuppofe thefe Pa- radoxes j but am told there is not a Man of the Whigs, but will exclaim againfl this as a dangerous Inquifition into their Lives and Characters ; let us therefore examine what Defigns it is likely, according to appearances, to Men's paft Conduct and Profeflions, and their prefent Mien, each Party hath in View. There is one Point, and I believe but one, wherein they both feem to be upon the Square with each other, and that is with re- gard to Employments. To confefs the Truth, I am of Opinion, neither Side hath much to fay againfl the other upon this Head .- Nor do I fee what Advantage can be made of it, any farther than on all Hands to deteft thofe vile Proftitutes, who defert their Friends and renounce their Principles, to creep into a warm Place, and upon the Strength of a good Salary, namelefs Perquifltes, or the ufual Penfon, bid defiance to Honefty and walking on Foot. Ic is true, fomethiijg may be urg'd in favour of the Mercenaries who are compell'd to do the Drudgery of a Faction for Bread ; but when it is only to add One, to feveral Thoufands a Year a Man hath of his own, it is deteftabJe to Pawn or Sell one's Honour, Confcience, and Country. Even a Wife fond of a Court, and of fitting at the receipt of Cuftom, cannot justify the Infamy of a fuch a Proceeding. To the eternal Honour of fome amongft m, Places and Penfions have been rejected, when proffer 'd upon bafe Terms ; fo that frill, as deprav'd as we are, there are Englishmen Proof againfl: the Witch- craft of Court Favour, and above the Power of Gold. Examples rare, and the more worthy our Admiration ! I am fenfible I fhall offend the Modefty of thofe great Men, who have thus flgnaliz'd themfclves, if I prefumeto name them : But as much as I Honour them, I regard my Country more, and think it fit England, fhould know, that Sir Thomas Han — r refus'd an Employment worth Three thoufand Pounds a Year, which Sir Richzrd On w, (who had always been for the Place-Bill) was glad to accept upon the Terms deflr'd. That Mr. Br ly would nor come into the pre- fent Schemes to get Two thoufand Pounds a Year that was ofFer'd, ro buy him off from the Church Interest ; but flood his Ground with (H) ■with that unfhaken Firmnefs and Integrity, which hath always diftinguifh'd his Character. But not to lay too great a Strefs upon the few Inftances can be produced of this kind, we wiJl confider what Defigns the Whigs charge upon the Churchmen, and what thefe charge upon the Whigs, with the Grounds of the feveral Accufations. TheSubftance of all the many Articles with which the Whigs load us, I take to amount to this ; That we have had it in our In- tentions to introduce Popery and the Pretender ; that we are Ene- mies to the King, and will obftruct his Meafures. The former part of the Indi&ment they have rung in our Ears many Years together : Nor can I blame them, all Things confider'd. It hath upon many occafions been of Service to them. They were in the right to accufe us of what we cannot difprove, fince they had no- thing material to prove againft: us: And againfr this we can make no Defence, becaufe they attempt to bring no Evidence. They pronounce we are Jacobites, and that's enough : They alledge no one fmgle Fact ; fo we can only anfwer for our Hearts and Wifhes, which they pretend to know much better than we our felves. Ask any of their Dabblers in Politicks, wherein it appears that we are in the Intereft of the Pretender ? and he will give you his Oath for it, and affaire you we fhould all have been ruined, fold for Slaves to the G.dlies, or been Maffacred, if the Queen had not dy'd on the firft of Mguji, precifely between the Hours of Eight and Nine in the Morning ; Ten Minutes later and we muft all have funk, Religion, State, llluftriout Houfe, and all. The Men of Senfe argue after another manner ; that we muft have been Jacobites, becaufe it was our Intereft ; that we knew they had (hut the Doors againft us on one fide, and therefore it was natural we mould have recourfe to the other. But neither had this Confideration any Weight with us. We continued firm to our Engagements ; and the generality of the Kingdom fecms fully fonfible, how little we merited either the Reproaches or Treat- ment we have received. If we have been Trafficking in any Hnjuft Defigns, how comes it to pafs the Whigs have never dif- cover'd the lead Advance that way ? Why are none of the Tray- tors feiz'd and examin'J ; no Papers nor Evidence produe'd ? Why is nothing offer'd as a Proof, but the ftale threadbare Lyes of thofe who have no Support for their Falfhoods, but matchlefs Im- pudence, and an intrepidity in Lying ? Is it that the Whigs have another Vx d among them, of too merciful a Difpofition to bring Offenders to condign Punifhment ? I believe not. He, good Man, hath not his Equal upon Earth ; and they are too well read in Politicks to follow fuch Examples. Is it that the Whigs are not diligent enough in their Search? I believe alio that this is nor their F:mlt. They took care betimes to fearch the principal offending Perfon's Olflce, at the fame Inftant that they Vifited and Courted him every Day: But no dangerous Papers were brought to light; no Difcoveries made; belides Mr. HJ.re\ Hat, I hear of nothing feiz'd there, but only a iilver Candleftick and another ( *5> Another Vtetifil, which a Noble Peer took care to Seal tip. Wheilra could it happen, that after all this wonderful Enquiry, no Con- fpiracies were detected ? I am afraid it is, becaufe there are no fuch things in reality, and that an Examination into the Affair would but unravel the whole Myftery. When any thing is done to amufc and throw dull in Men's Eyes, it cannot endure # to batoo nicely pry'd into. But to go farther yet, and fuppofe what does not appear, that the Church-Party mighr once have had fuch a Scheme, yet fince it is now- broke, His Majefty fettled upon the Throne, and a nu- merous Royal IfTue here upon the Spot, out of the Power of the Pope and all his Works y and fince there can be no rational nor even romantick Profpeft of a Revolution in Favour of the Pretender, it is the true Intereft of England to ElecT: a Church Houfe of Com- mons : Of Two Evils the leaft is the Belt, and I dare fay it is a lefs Evil to chufe thofe who once wifhed us harm, but have it not in their Power to injure us, than thofe who having it in their Power, may foon have it in their Intention to overturn the State. The difference is, the Churchmen cannot prejudice the Conftitu- tion, though they fliould defire it, but a Whig Houfe of Commons will both be able and willing to do it. For fuppofing you had juft fuch another Jacobite Houfe of Com- mons as the laft, which pafled an A6: for a Hundred thoufand Pounds to the Perfon who fhall feize the Pretended King parties the Third: I fay, fuppofing you had fuch a Bloody-minded Jacobite Houfe of Commons, how could they prejudice the Conftitutiori either in Church or State ? What Steps could they take ? What Arguments, Funds, Forces Allies, could be of Service to them ? How could they ever get the Houfe of Lords into the ProjeS ? The Houfe of Lords, which will be as thoroughly Whig as Heart can wifh. Nay, one may venture to fay, That if the King him- felf can be fuppofed to have any Inclination to balance or break Par- ties, 'tis his Intereft to have fuch a Houfe of Commons as may check the Houfe of Lords ; by which means he might be at Li- berty to aft, as he fhould think fit. If he is now fo fwayed by a few Whigs, how will he be over-ruled by two Houfes of the fame Principles ? True, cry the Whigs, we have a Houfe of Lords now on our Side, but no Thanks to you. Nor? it is out of your Porver to jbake his Pojftjfson, and therefore in revenge you will not enable the I^ingto make a figure in Europe j i.e. We will not enable him to commence a new War in our prefent Circumfhnces : And in this the Whigs feem to be in the right: for I do not believe the Church Party have fo great an Opinion of their late Knight Errantry, as to be fond of engaging a frelh, unlefs upon new Provocations and better Views than now offer. We may Fight again and beat, and be beaten; may Huzza one Day, and Fair, another, for Ten Years: more, and all to purchafe a Trifle, which when obtained will not anfwer the hundred Pare of what may be laid out in the Pur- chafe. (i6) It is probable we fhall confider the State of the Nation, before we begin a new Rupture, that we may not, out of Compliment to anyone, run blindly into what we are not prepared for. And it mult be owned we are very much unprepared for more Land- Expeditions ; the Publick is in Debt near Fifty Millions, the In- terefl: whereof amounts to near Two Millions and a half Yearly : All the Funds, excepting the Land and Malt Tax, are either An- ticipated or Mortgaged ; a Toll Tax and General Excife, the only reforts in this Cafe, are odious, and not to be fupported by the People ; already fleec'd fo often, they have fcarce enough left to keep them from Perifhtng : Neither havethey the Ability or In- clination to bear the Infolences and Oppreflions of a new Mili- tary Power, and of Knavifh Recruiters : The Prefling honeft Houfekeepers and Tradefmen ; the Quartering Soldiers in private as well as publick Houfes, with infinite more Diforders, the al- moft inevitable Confequences of a new War, are what we are in no Difpofition to endure. We ought alfo to confider how far in our prefent Circum- fiances an Army (hould be trufted in the Hands of an incenfed, corrupt, or ambitious General, and to what Service he may apply it ; whether againfl: French and Popijl) Tyranny, or EvgliJJ) Li- berty ; whether for the King, or for the Whiggilh Faftion ; Que- ftions I cannot think unnatural ; for he that hath betrayed Three Crowned Heads already, out of his boundlefs Pafilon for Money, may find his Account in betraying the Fourth, or in enflaving his Native Country ,3nd then his hearty Endeavours are notto be doubt- ed of And indeed nothing can Parallel the fettingfucha notorious Tr — -or to Kings at the Head of an Army, but putting the Fleet under the Command of him, who was to have betray'd the Eng- lish N.wy to the trench at La Hogue, and was the deepeft in the Confpiracy for the late King James's Reftoration : Which who- ever doubts may be fatisfied of by Sir $ohn Fenvoictfs Papers, which are now upon the Journals of the Houfe of Lords. Ic ihould feem to me one of the moft extravagant Delufions in Nature, for Englijlmen at this Juncture to entertain a Thought of a new War, only that I have often experienced it, that Men are apt to run away with the Sound, without confidcring the Meaning of Words. This is our Cafe : The King is by all means to make a Figure in Europe, and that fliould flop all Mouths ; whereas ic it is not always the Intereft of a People to have their Prince make, what is generally called, a Figure in the World. This is a Scile applied to fuch Princes as are Warlike and Enterprising, and fill the weekly Gazettes with Accounts of their Sieges, Battles, Conquers and Triumphs ; all which rather make a Nation Ter- rible abroad, than Happy at home. The Princes that in this Age make the greateft Noife in Eu- rope, are the King of France, the C\ar of Mufcovy, the King of Sindcn, and King Augvjius : They are all Abfolute, and raife u hr.t Men arid Subfidies they think fir, begin and end Wars as their Humo ir, private Intereft, or Caprice direct } and feldom coni C'7) Conflier the Happinefs of the Subjett, any farther than as it fuiei with their own Grandeur. The former of thefe hath appeared with great Luftre, and not only his Medals, his Panegyricks, but even his Enemies, confefs he hath made a Figure. But pray what are his Subjects the betrei for it ? Nineteen Parts of them are Beggars, proud and poor Slaves ; and even the Twentieth, confifting of Projectors, Financiers, Generals and Courtiers, xvith fine Equipages, and fpacious Hotels, have only the Advan- tage to wear Golden Chains. There is not any thing gives me a greater Contempt for the Levity of that Nation, and Abhorrence of Arbitrary Power, than to fee the poor Wretches in France, without Shoes tcf their Feet, Shirts to their Backs, or Bread or Salt to put in their Mouths, ftrut and talk of their Grand Monarch with a Conceit- ednefs, as if his Grandeur defcended to them. Their ftarving Pride fhews their Minds are as much enllaved as their Bodies. You will fay this is their Happinefs : Be it fo : But neverthe- 3efs I am of Opinion they would be better pleafed, if Lewis h Grand, made a lefs Figure, and They had more Bread to fill theic Bellies, and better Cloths to defend them from the Weather. The Subjects of the C^tr of Mufcovy and the King of Sweden are much in the fame Condition, only that their Yoke is more agreeable to the Climate. The Folijb Subjects of King Auguftus were indeed free, whert they chofe him, from being an Elettor of the Empire, and of a different Religion from theirs, to be their King ; but he being confined to certain Conditions, which he did not like, foon found Means to break them. Their Fail a convema> much like our A&s of Parliament, were only a dead Letter, and could not reftrain him, who had an Army at Command. By whac Means he compafled his Ends I need not mention : It is enough* to our Purpofe, to know that, to make a Figure, he introduced into Voland a Foreign Army, engaged in feveral Wars, op* prefled his Subje&s, was King'd and Unking'd, and King'd again ; and that for feveral Years Poland hath been the Scene of all the Miferies, which can poflibly overwhelm a Na- tion* But not to ramble too far from our Subject, I think the Re- fult of all the WhiggiOi Objections is, Firft, That we were Enemies to the Han r Succeflion ; which is manifeftly falfe, and which, if it were true, could be no Objection to us now * And, Secondly, That we will not confent to Vifionary and Dan- gerous Projefts, that may tend to the Ruin of our King and Coun- try ; however thefe may be difguifed under the fpecious Notion of aggrandizing our Monarch, or recommended by thofe who boaft themfclves his belt and only Friends. It remains now, to examine what the Church-men ob- ject againfr. the Whigs, with the Grounds of the Accufotions. firft, We take ic for granted, Thas the Whigs are refolved C upon (i8) npon an immediate War. This, I conceive, they will fcarcc deny , although perhaps they may give other Reafons for it than we do. They will fay they are concerned for the Honour of theN.nion, Shamefully betrayed by the late Peace, and for the Bencfk of Trade ; and we fay they want a War to fcctire their Power, and encreafe their Wealth. They have Cant on their Side, we Probability on ours. We fay, it is a Maxim agreed on all Hands) that thofe fame Means which have raifed any Ufurped Power, are neceffary to the Eftablifhment of it : That the Whigs feem fenfible of this, as they feldom are wanting to themfelves on fuch Occafions : That they know their prefent Power is the Confequence of the Wars in the Two late Reigns : That moll of their Fortunes were thereby raifed : And that it was the War which Ruined the Landed In- tereft. But it feems the Landed Intereft is not low enough yet, it may have a Refurreftion ; to prevent which, nothing can be fo effectual as another War. A War therefore they muft have, right or wrong, and coft what it will. To this End they Roar and Bellow againfr. the Peace : For the fame End Military Men are employed in the feveral Em- baflles abroad ; and I believe thofe great Generals and Soldiers, lb employed, would think themfelves i 1 ! treated if not reprc- fented as Men that Delight in War. In jfannover the Officers are ordered to rncreafe their Quota's by Fourteen Men in each Company, and Six in each Troop. Here in England, ftnee His JMa- y's Arrival, by fecret and infenfible Degrees, they have taken like Methods to encreafe the Forces. Ail the prefent Mea- fures look apparently towarr?~ K a new War, and a Man muft be "Strangely (hort-fightcd net to perceive the Clouds a gathering. When they are to fall, T will not determine ; but we may depend upon it, whenever that (hall happen, Six Shillings in the Pound, a Capitation Tax, and General Excife, will be the lead: of our Misfortunes. Again, we fay the Whigs refolve, if they can procure a Houfe of Commons to their Mind, to deftroy the Church of England : Whereby I do not me>in that they have fet up Gibbets in their Minds, and defign to Hang, Draw and Quarter every Member of the Church ; nor that all .he Whigs will come into the Scheme. But we are perfuaded that the generality of the Whigs are averfe to the prefent Hierarchy and Government of the Church ; that they neither like our Doctrines nor our Clergy, but would abolifh Bifhops, Priefts and Deacons, afTumethe Church Lands to them- felves, appoint a fmall Allowance to the Parfons, and prefcribe them what Doftrines to teach from the Pulpit ; that they would imroJuce a general Comprehension, and blend up an Ecclefia- ftical Babel of all the Se£ts and Herefies upon the Face of the En th ; and lafrly, deprive the Bifhops of their Votes in the Houfe of Lords; which Panic ilar they have contrived to render the (»9) the lefs Odious, by furnifhing the R-/eren^. Bench, as fir as was in their Power, with fuch M inbers, as few Church- men will pity or regret, when they fhall be Ua-Lorded. It may be faid, Co many Black Articles ought not to be charged upon the Whigs without good Evidence and Proof: It is true, they ought not, and therefore I am fo fa"y convinced of it, that I will give up all I have faid for m°"? r .ft.on and Slan- der, if you can name me one fingle Man among their Leaders, who is not a profefTed Deifl and Enemy to ail Religion, a Lati- tudinarian, or notorioufly Difaffefted to the Clergy of the Church of England. I except the Earl of N w, becaufe he is ftill an avowed Churchman, and only acts with a Party into which he was forced by the Injuries he received from the Earl of Ox ...d ; not that he is, properly fpeaking, of the Party. He indeed is an Inftance, how far Paflion and Refentment, even in the greateft Men, can fway Reafon : But he is no Whig, no more than Ox • i was a Churchman ; fo his Lordfhip is ex- cepted out of my Rule. But among all who call themfelves Whigs, and are of any Confideration as fuch, name me the Man I cannot prove to be an Inveterate Enemy to the Church of England, and I will be a Convert that Inftant to their Caufe. Things being thus, may we not fairly conclude, that when thefe Enemies to the Church mall have both the Reins and Whip in their Hands, they will drive on to deftroy it %oot and Brunch ? Suppofe, for inftance, our next will be as entirely a Whig-Houfe of Commons as that which Impeached Dr. Sacfe- verell, and that they will bring in a Bill for the complere Aba- lition vf Bijhops, Priefls and Deacons (which, as I take it, is no unnatural Supposition) ; how eafy will it be to reprefent tci the King, That the way to inlarge his own Power, is to leneri that of the Clergy j That they pretend to an Independency on the State ; That they have a ftrong Influence upon the People 5 That they are in their Hearts for the Pretender ; That they teach Do&rines oppofire to his Right ; and, That they have vaft PofTeflions in Land, which he, like our Harry the Eighth, may fcize, convert to his own Ufe, or give to his Favourites, as he pleafes (all which the Whigs fay every Hour, both in pri- vate and publick) ; I fay, in this Cafe, is it not manifefi: the Church will be in danger ? I remember when the Difpute about the Danger of the Church was in Agitation in the late Reign, I was one of thole whf? thought it not in Danger ; not but that I was privy to what the Whigs drove at ; but I knew we had the Queen on our Side, and that nothing could ever influence her to aft to the Prejudice of the Church of England; the Rights whereof (he underftood, and always tenderly loved : But we may fay, without Refle&ioii upon any one, the Cafe is prodigioufly altered. C a How (so) How Religious foever the King is, it cannot be imagined he hath any extraordinary Veneration for a Religion, which he came into but the other Day, and to which he was an abfolute Stranger before. The Luther jtj, wherein he was Educated, and which he profefled to the very Hour of his Landing, is entirely diffe- rent, both in Do&rine and Difcipline, from ours ; in that there are no Bifhops, which we think EfTential to a Chureh ; and there are fome Ceremonies and Tenets which border too near, upon Popery. For, to fay the Truth, Lutheranifm and Popery ' m man y Things differ only as that which is abfurd differs from that which is more fo. The Papi/rs, for Example, fay the Confecrated Wafer is Chrift realy and fubftantiaUy in Perfon, and that it retains nothing of the Subftance of the Bread : The Lutherans fay it is Chrift in Subfiance, and Bread in Subfiance too : And from both thefe the Church of England differs widely, as well as in many other Points. So that fince His Majefry, to qualify himfelf for the Crown, was pleafed to depart from his own, to embrace a Religion fo different from it in many, and thofe effentia] Rc- fpefts, it is no remote Thought to apprehend he may confent to the Alteration of ours, for a valuable Consideration to him- felf. Can any Mortal, then, aflign a reafon why he fhould re- fufe to give His Royal Affent to a Bill to Abolifh the prefent Conftitution in Church ? His Coronation Oath obliges him to maintain the Laws of the State as well as the Church ; and fince an Aft of Parliament may Repeal the One, why may He not conclude it may do fo with the Other, fince He can have no Scruples of Conference upon him, as to the Divine Right of our Conftitution ? Would it not be natural for Him to argue, that the Voice of His Parliament is the Voice of the Nation^ and that as thty are His great Council, He ought to follow their Advice ? His Declaration, which fers the I(irk of Scotland upon the Level with the Church of England, (hews plainly he is not particularly devoted to us ; and the great Concourfe and good Countenance, with which the numerous Fry of Short Cloaks are received at St. James's, may give us to understand, that at Jeafl they are as Welcome there as the Long Gown. Nor are we to expeft greater. Favour from the Prince and Trincefs of Wales: His Circumftances as to Religion are the fame with his Father's ; and fhe is fo rigid a Calvinifi, that is, fo rigid a Presbyterian, that hitherto fhe hath not been preaviled upon to receive the Sacrament according to the Inftitution of the Church of England. It is true, by the Providence of God and the Wifdom of our Sovereign, the Event may prove happy ; but ftill it muft be allowed the View is very unpromifing, and $hat cur Fears are not altogether groundkfs. Vpoa <« ) Upon the whole we may lay this down for certain, That the Whigs are fure of the Court and of the Houfe of Lords, and that if they can manage it fo, as to have a Majority in the Commons, and that Providence doth not wonderfully inter- pofe, there will be an end of the pureft Church in the World, tQ make way for a monftrous Compnbenfion, Fxta armis lllafubity mediaq) minans ilhbitur urbi. Another Point with which we accufe the Whigs, fe, That they defign to Repeal or Explain away the chief Limitations in the Ad oj Settlement. By that Aft there are many excellent Provi- lions made for the Good of King and People. Thefe are faid to abridge the Prerogative too much ; although it be evident there is not a Reftnaion in that whole Aft which a wife King would not chufeto lay upon himfelf; not one, which a King could 5 aV f-A £? m P tation to brea k, if he were refolved to Reign like an Etigttjb King, and not like a Foreigner. However, to ingratiate themfelves at Court,' the Whigs al- £ ? C, n a 1C King ' s Hands are Fe "«'d and Manacled by thele Refrnftions ; That we ought to treat him as well as his I redeceffors ; That we feem by this Aft to diftruft him; and, That it will be a perpetual Handle for Mifunderftandings, auipicions and Jealoufies between him and his People: On the contrary I affirm, nothing can give fo much Umbrage, as Hie Repeal or Alteration of that Aft ; either of which will create a hundred Jealoufies for any one that could have been otherwife Men look upon it, in fome meafure, as Sacred as Magna Chana an d think there is not a Tittle in it but fhould be preferv d Inviolable : The Reafon, I conceive, is this. They apprehend if you make a fmall Breach, you will not know- where to Stop ; but by opening it to receive a few Ha ns into Employment, will make the Gap wide enough for all the foreigners m Europe to pafs thorough. It is thought dange- rous PraSice to break Afts of Settlement even in private Fa- milies, and much more fo in publick States ; both as the Con- iequences are vaftly greater in the latter, and as an Error therein, may be irreparable ; but in private Cafes the Law lies open to do the mjur'd Party Juftice. I muft own, I am not entirely of the Opinion of thofe, Tvho think the Whigs, enjoy their prefent Favour at Court, by no other Tenure than an afTu ranee of Repealing thofe Li- mitations : I do believe their Merits are not confined in fo narrow a Circle, but that as they may have given Expiation* l rf UtUre g0od Cond "& , fo they have recommended themfelves by pair Services. However, it is not to be deny'd but they have Engag'd and Promiv'd to Take Off the ReUri- ihons, which they Complain of fo heavily. Their ( 2,2 ) Their dally Difcourfe rouls upon the Hardflitps the King ties under, to have his Hands fo ty'd up. At this rate fay they what is the Crown worth ? To anfwer naturally, I re* ply it is worth Seven Hundred Thou/and Pounds a Year to main- tain the Civil Lift alone, that is, to maintain the King s pri- vate Family ; which is more by one full half, than all Brnfmck, Lunenbourg and Hanover, put together, can raife. And the Courtiers and Whigs talk of making it worth Two Hundred Thoufand Pounds a Year more to the Prince of Waits ; to which purpofe they defign to make a Demand of the next Parliament : As if the Principality of Wdes, the Lands in Com. vaU, and what the King may reasonably fpare out of his In- come, we.e not fufncient to fupport his Son s Princely Dig- nity. The late Queen, for fome Years of Her Reign, gave the Publick a Hundred Thoufand Pounds Yearly, out of Her Revenue ; and fure the King may allow fo much to his bon, without burthening the poor Country with new Taxes. But further : the Crown is Worth the Empire of the bca, pro- vided our good Neighbours the Dutch, have not too great an Influence upon our Council* It had been worth Mr M>ta« a Year to carry on a War, if the Kings Beft Friends, the Whigs, had not contrived to Mortgage all the Funds : And ftill in a few Years it will be worth as much as the # King cm have a lawful Occafion for, if the Peace be continued Trade encouraged, the Natives Countenanced, and the People allow'd a little time to breath from Wars and 1 axes- But there are other Grounds, of more Weight, than Words or Promifes, for believing the Whigs are refo Ived to break the Limitations : Thofe are Gratitude and ?«^ft .two Mo tives which, when United, never fail of irrefiftibly binding them. Whatever others may. think of the Matter, I lank not upon the Whigs to be fo far Antimonarchical, as to ^efuie * due Compliment to a King, that hath found out the Secret of obliging them. If they ean be gratified in %™*l™£\ Particulars, fuch as the Deftruaion of Church and 1 Landed Intereft, and the like, I doubt not but they wil, m th« r way, Ufe their Efforts to make his Majefty • fmtabk ^7 e ? 1 ! no matter at whofe Coft. I own, all the Arguments dedu ced from a Principle of Gratitude in ^.^nnltout be only probable Conjectures ; Conjures b J lk "P "*^. dationnot folid in it felf, but as it depends upon ^ In ereft fo that Intereft is the main Point in debate. Allow it . And Wording to thi" examine every one of the L.mitanon. moft complained of, and you will find it is the Intereft of the Wni.s to break them, at the fame time that the P^rvanon of trSm will appear to be abfolutely neceffary to the Welfare ° f p5KtWthat Aft it is provided, That his Majefty Sball make his Refidence among us, in a fine Country^ «d ( *l ) Whojfome Air, and at leaft with as polite a Nation as any that' can Tempt turn hence : But if he hath a Call to any other pare or the World, and he and his Parliament judge his a b fence cert be of no detriment to the State, he is at his Ekaion to ao where he pleafes. How reasonable foever this be in itfelf i C r j 0t i7 h ^ the Whigs a PP rove: The oftner they can per- iuade his Majefty to be abfent, the more Power they will have here, and the better Opportunities to mifinform him. For al- tho they have provided, almoft as well as if he were not up- on the Spot, that he fhall have no Thoughts, but what they In- spire him with ; altho' they have befieg'd him with their Spies and Agents, and Sequeftred his Friends from him ; yet (till there is a poffibility that an Englishman may get at him to tell him the Truth ; and while there is a poffibility, they are not as Secure as they defire. Nay, altho 5 they have as much Power, in effe£t, as if they were declar'd Regents, yet they liave not the State they enjoy 'd fome Months ago, nor fo con- venient an Opportunity of Infulting their Betters A Second Article with which the Whigs are equally diffatlsfied, is that Claufe which obliges the Perfon who wears the Crownl to join in Communion with the Church of England ; This, for the very Reafons above rehearfed, goes down very ill with them ; tor as it gives a confideraWe Countenance, and fome fmall Se- curity to our EfhbliuYd Religion, it renders the Deftruaion thereof the more difficult, and is another Inducement to tfa* Whigs to Repeal the Aft of Limitation. But that which is of the greateft Moment to the Kingdom, and raoft for the Safety of the King, is that part of the Aft which excludes all Foreigners from any Employments, or Grants of Lands, &c. in thefe Nations; which takes off from the King the Odium of giving up the Rights of Evglijhmn to Out-landifh, Craving Cormorants, and alio may fatisfy the People, that his Majefty s Affeftions are not fettled upon Aliens and Strangers. But this happens to have the Fate of all other Provifions for the Good of England, to be difagreeable to the Intereft and Inclinations of the Whigs : To confirm which I might produce their feveral inconfiftent Schemes of Naturali- zation, whereby they would graft fo many new exotick Sci- ons of quite different and of bafe Species, as entirely to alter the Property of the old honeft Englijh Stock. I might InfWe fome of they: great Men fo exceffively fond of ScraneeM as to bring over Five or Six Thoufand SJuggifh FamilVd Palatines to devour the Bread of the Natives, and Stock us with two of ' e W' ra Plagues at once, Lice and new Difeafes. Ihefe ropicks I might infift upon, and I think with good *f r ? U o r H Ut tbe Ar gument doth not need it : For beiide thefe Confederations, there are two powerful Motives to make the Whigs open then Arras co embrace all Strangers : One is to ( 24 ) t© ftrengthen their Party. For I fcarce ever knew a Foreigner fettled in England, whecher of Dutch, German, French, Italian of ?urkijk Growth, but became a Whig in a little time after mix- ing with us : An Argument that all the World know oar Conftitution better than we ; or that as Strangers have lefs Concern for us, they ftrike in with thofe who are the leaft affefted to England. Another reafon why the Whigs will defire an Inlett may be made for Foreigners into Employments, is to eftabhfli their prefent Power. I am not Ignorant there are fome wife Heads of both Parties, who cry, the Whigs will never do this for their own fakes ; what, will they pave a way for themfelves to be turn'd out, to make room for Strangers ! No But they will feed fome of the King's chief Favourites with Advanta- geous Places and Grants, and by that means fecure their Fa- vour with him, and their Tyranny over their Fellow Sub- jects. This is no refinement of Policy, but plain natural Rea- fon, obvious to the capacity of every Free Mind : For thole Favourites, being unacquainted with the People, Cuftoms and Laws of England, mult aft by others : And who fo likely to direct them, as their dear Friends, who have helped them into Employment, and who, they may fancy, upon a Difobligatiort will kick them out again ? So here is a mutual Friendship and League ftruck up : The Court - Minions are -to kavc Money enough, which is all they want ; and the Whigs are to have the Superintendence of all Affairs, which is the thing they Pant after. , _. , _,, ,. A Nothing is more natural than for the King s Old Subjects to have the Advantage, in point of his Affeftion, over his Ne*r. By fpeaking the fame Language, their Convention is moft agreeable to him; and by having been Partners with him in his Pleafures, which ufually open the Heart, they may know the Seafons and Paffcs, when and how to win upon his Na- ture, and to render themfelves more acceptable, than the Eiu elilh* There is likewife on their fide, a natural Inclination moft People have for their Countrymen. Neither can we, who are upon the Matter abfolute Strangers to him, expect to be trufted like thofc, whofe Fidelity he hath long approv d. For thefe Reafons, among others, I conceive, he keeps about him thofe two Fellows in Turkifi HMts who manage M things at St.fm«\ who do the Offices of P«g« °l xhs *"* Stain admit Lords and other People to him, he in his Room at Nighr, and fcem to have his Royal Perfon entirely in their Care Nor is this contrary to the Aft, becaufe they are not as yet Sworn; the Lord Chamberlain, when .commanded t*> ? ive\hcm the Oaths, having put it off u-til the • *&* of the M For the fame Reafon, I fuppofe Baron Botbmar 1$ trufted with the Privy Purfc, that the King may d.fpofe us Money bsre, or fend it to Mnover, without the Privity or the EKglijk (=5 ) All tins, I fay, is natural ; and if this were All, we mighe he fatisfy'd •• But the Whigs have prepared greater E^s for us, which are not to be oppos'd by the King, becaufe the Whigs are in PofTefiion of the Germans ; nor by the People, be- caufe that would be to oppoie the King. So our Circumftan- ces may eafily be Summ'd up : The King's Crown is to fit eafy upon his Head, his Countrymen are to partake of his Sunfhine , Foreigners are to be admitted as new additional Forces to the Whigs, and under the Name of the King, a Corrupt, Deferrable Junto is to Govern : We are to be made Slaves, by Virtue of a Combination between our New Friends and Old Enemies, and whilft we bear a heavy German Bur- then, the Whigs, who have bridled their Country? will fhev/ the Sovereign UCq of the Prerogative, when lodg'd in good Hands. But thefe are not all the Articles wherewith we tax the Whigs. Thefe indeed mould be enough to influence the Coun- try not to truft their Safety in the Power of Men of fuch> Defigns and Principles ; but over and above ail thefe, we fay, That the Whigs intend to repeal the Aft for Triennial Par- liaments : And when that is done, we may bid adieu to Li- berty. It is true, that Aft hath not been long in force ; and it may be objefted, That as we were Free before there was fuch an Aft in being, fo we may be ftill, after it is Repeal'd. But to believe this, mull be fomething worfe than Delufion s If ever a Nation was ripe for Slavery, we are the People, Some are refolved to make their Markets of the Freedom of? their Country : Some have neither Soul nor Spirit to defend it. Some propofe to have their Share of the Spoil and Plun- der, while it is a going : And thofe few, who have the Vertue to endeavour to make a Stand, muft expeft to be borne down by Noife, Infolence, and Plurality of Voices. How well difpofed foever the King is in himfelf, he knows but little of our Conftitution, hears few or none but thofe^ whofe Intereft it is to deceive him. He was uncontroulable at home ; could command the Lives, Liberties, Fortunes, nay and Wills of his former Subjefts, and probably hath brought with him a Dtfire to be not lefs Abfolute over us : So the Whigs will make him believe, all they deflgn is to enlarge his Power, and raife him to be as Great Here, as he was ac Hs. r ; and in the mean time they will flop up all Avenues, whereby he might difcover their Schemes to Enilave him and the Nation. In this Cafe a New Parliament, according to the Trienriul BiU t might reprefent to the King his true Intereft-, and fo all would be fet right again : But the Repeal of that Aft will perpetuate his Ignorance , and fecure their Ufur- patiorj , indemnify them for paft Crimes , aiid empower them to commit future Ones; fet them, as they fay, above D Truck- Truckling to little Mechanicks and dirty Farmers, and render tnem as terrible as the Long Parliament in Forty Ons. By this means Elections will ccafe : Lefs Mony and Beer will be fpenc in the Country ; and more Jewels and Furniture go to adorn the Houfes and W ives of thofe Noble Patriots. But compleatly to Rivet our Deftruftion, it muft come upon m like an Armed. Man; or which is the fame, muft be impos'd up- on us by a Standing Army ; and this we fay the Whigs arc bent upon. This they aim'd at in King William's Reign, and particularly the Lord H x, now at the Head of the Trea- sury, and fuppos'd to have a great Influence upon the pic' t Meafures, to whom, as much as to any one Man living, oui prefent Mifery may be imputed : He it was that encou- raged moft, if he were not the Original Contriver of that Curfed Expedient of Mortgaging Funds for ready Money : An Evil which perhaps our Grand-Children will not be able to remedy. He was aftive in the Treaty of Partition, which be- got the late War, and all the Sad Effefts of it : He promoted the Scheme for a Standing Army, all he could, in King Wil- liams Reign ; and no doubt will promote the fame now. The Body of the Whigs came into it then, and by their own Language, they owe as much to their Redeemer, King George, as they did to King William, and therefore cannot be averfe from it now. It is to be prefum'd the fame Maxims prevail, fince the fame Tribe of Politicians fit at the Helm. BefideS) without a Standing Army they can never be able to fucceed in their hopeful Projefts : For altho' the Nobility be vitiated to a fhameful degree ; yet, there is ftill an old EngUJb Spirit in the People, necelTary to be fubdu'd ; which all the ftraining of Laws and Pretences of Riots cannot fupprefs, without Red-Coats, the ufual Inftruments of Bondage. This they find by a late Experiment. To try the Pulfe of the Na- tion; there was form'd a Scheme to burn, in many Places, the Common-Prayer Booh and Dr. Sacbeverell in Effigie : The People every where took the Alarm, and were refolved to refcue the Gown and Liturgy from Fanatick Infults. Thereupon fome Scuffles happened, and particularly in Briftol $ but to tame this Courage and Honefty in the People, an Extraordinary Commijjion is difpatch'd with all the Formality imaginable, and the Whigs vow'd no lefs than Twenty Victims , to appeafe the Ghoft of one Hair-brain'd Quaker. However, Things have not anfwerd to their Wifli ; the Judges were Men of Senfe and Men of Honour ; and alrho' the Whigs had fet up their Reft upon this Tryal, to make Examples to all, who dare appear in Favour of the Church ; yet the Footers, as they are called, were acquitted : So that the Civil Power alone, wirh all their Arts, will never do their Bufinefs : This they vilely forefve, and aft accordingly. Hence it is the Officers of <*7> of the Army, thoCe I mean who are devoted to them, arc io much carefs'd at Court ; hence it is thofe Men, who talk loudeft of Storming the Enemies Towns and Trenches abroad, are encourag'd, and as it were dieted, to terrify their Fellow Subje&s at home. For what is the Court now but a down- right Camp ? The Palace, which us'd to be the Place of Education, as well as a Mark of Diftinttion for the Sons of our Nobility, is now a Neft for every little Upftart Offi- cer. There is now no difference between Civil and Military Employments ; the firft are fwallow'd up in the laft ; and thefe Locufts of the Army fwarm , Tea even in the Kjvgs CUmber. We fee how FORTUNATE, I F NOT FAITHFUL, the General has been j he fail'd in his Attempt of getting a Gommifllon of General for Life, buc by encompaffing the Throne with an Armed Band of his own Creatures, he has gain'd much more than an Equivalent for it. But even with all this, I am of Opinion the Cor- ruption of the Army would not reach as far as they defire, were there not more effe&ual and fecret Pra&ifes a Brew- ing. The vafr. numbers of Strangers; and pretended Refugees 3 are Sworn Slaves to a Whig-Miniftry ; not to mention the Engagements of Holland and the Preparations in H r. I dread a Military Power which can have nothing to overcome, but the Liberties of the People. Another Particular which we impute to the Whigs, is a Defign to take away the Liberty of the Prefs. This I own is contrary to their avow'd Principles, but they Copy after their Mother, the Qri, When She is only under a Toleration, then all the Cry is againft Perfecuting the Righteous for Confcience-fake ; but when fhe hath the Secular Arm on her Side, then, Down with Babylon, No Toleration, The Caufe of the Lori will notfuffer Iniquity to be eftablijbed by a Law. So when the Whigs were under a Cloud> the Liberty of the Prefs was Invaded, if they had not the Privilege to Libel the Queen and Government as they pleas'd ; but now that they are in Power, if a poor Scribler, for Half a Piece, is delivered of a Pamphlet, not to their good Liking, immediately a MefTenger feizes him, he is drag'd to Newgate, from Newgate is brought before their Lord Chief fuftice, and then the Wretch hath no- thing for it, but Libera nos Domine. Obferve the different Spirits of the Parties : In all the late Tory-Miniftry there were not above Two or Three profecuted for Writing ; and one of Thofe wrote on their own Side, and had done infinite Services to their Caufe. But in a Whig- Miniftry, even an unguarded ExprefTion in a Sermon, drew the whole Poffe of the Whigs upon the Preacher ; and now, by the help of the Upright Chief fuftice, they are grown fo Terrible, a Man dares not fay it is Neon-Pay at Twelve a Clocks left D 2 they <*8) they fhould think fit to take Offence, and my Lord Tovo-; -d's Warrant contradict it. Nay, the Poor Hawkers, who get their Bread by bawling Titles, they do not underftand, are fent by Dozens and Scores to Bridewell j whilft poor Grubftreet lies in a State of Nan- Entity. Were I in a merry way, I could fit down and cry over Crubftreet. Hie Ilium fuit 3 & ingens Teucrorum gloria. But it is paft a Time for Fooling and Mirth, when the Sword is at a Man's Throat. Laftly, We impute to the Whigs the Outrages offer'd the Memory of the late Queen ; whofe Reign was never Stained by one bloody Scaffold ; who never did an unjuft Action, and who often chofe rather to fuffer Hardfhips Her Self, than let any of Her Subjects think themfelves Injured. Sure 3f ever Prince deferved well of a People, She did ; if Pie- ty, Charity, good Nature, Clemency and Juftice could entitle her to it. But how was She treated in Her Life ! How has Her Memory btn Infuked fince Her Death ! How did the Duke and Dutchefs of Al h affect to Triumph over Her, by their Frantick Cavalcade through the City , almoft before She was Cold in Her Bed : In which I am at a Lofs, which to be moft aftoniihed at, the Ingratitude, Barbarity, or Indifc cretion of it. To Her they owe the Honours, the Palaces, they now enjoy, the Millions they wallow in, and yet that they > ! But their whole Conduit is uniform : This was of a Piece with the reft of their Ingratitude, and that is the beft one can fay of them. The reft of the Whigs follow this Pattern. 'Tis true, not equally, for that is next to impofilble ; but according to the Rancour of their Souls , perform their Parts to Admira- tion. Nothing is omitted even by fome of the Right Reverend Pre- lates to afperfe her Character ; and, without pretending to a Spirit of Prophecy, one may foretel the next Parliament, if of a Whig Stamp, will endeavour to fix fome lafting Stain upon Her Fame : But Pofterity will do Her Juftice, and perhaps the prefent Age may live to regret Her Lofs. If 1 have been fomething warm upon this Head, I cannot but think my felf excuftble ; when I lee there is not a common Decency obferved towards Her in point of Mourning, which, tho' a Trifle and Matter of Form in it fe!f, argues the utmoft Contempt for the Deceafed ; when I fee how ill Her faithful Servants are rewarded, and that common Juftice, in point of their Arrears, is not done Her Domefticks ; when the few Re- lations, She left behind Her, cannot obtain a fmall part of what they have a Right to, by our Englijh Laws ; and this, tho 5 She left behind Her to the Value of Four hundred tkoufxnd Founds ; -\yhea I hear Hie Drawing- RocaiSj X$els> Coffee- Houfes, nay Churches (2 9 ) Churches ring With open Refle&ions upon the heft of Queens, it is with great Difficulty I can preferve my Temper. For my part, I am not as yet Germanised ; I can no more Laugh at the Death of Queen Anne, than I can Rejoice at the approaching Funeral of England. How near this may be, I will not pretend to determine, but if you have a Whig-Parliament, the Cafe is clear : The Inter- pofition of Providence we have no Reafon to expect, becaufe we have done all, in the Power of Men, to deferve the con- trary ; and without that I cannot but think there are Calami- ties treafured up for us, and Yoaks heavier than roe or our Fore- fathers were able to bear. By whom thefe are prepared, and who are to impofe them on us, I have fhewn at length, altho* thefe are Circumftances, which can be of no manner of Comfort to us ; fince, if I am to be a Slave, it is equal to me whether it be to one or many. Of Ufe indeed it may be to confider how near we are to our Ruin, that we may endeavour to prevent it. For this Reafon it may be of Service to confider, that the Dangers and Miferies, to which we are expofed, are entirely owing to the Whigs ; who have fquander'd away near a Hundred and twenty Millions upon two Wars, and would now engage us in a third Iefs defirable, if that can be, than either of the other : To the Whigs, who have debauched our Morals and Principles, and taken away the 'force of all Obligations, Humane and Divine : To the Whigs, who deprived us of the Bleflings we might have enjoy'd under the Queen, and would do the fame as to the Happinefs the Na- ■ tion may have in the King : To the Whigs, who have funk the \ Landed In te re ft, and would deftroy the Church. m Thefe Things it may be of ufe to weigh, as alfo, that this is the moft Critical Junfture ever happened ; that if the Coun- try Errs in their Choice of Reprefentatives now, it will pro- • bably be never more in tjbeir Power to do themfelves Juftice ; laiM t | 13t t [ ie r Churchmen, and to enable Free- thinkers to Write againft God and the Chriftian Religion. VIII. An Encouragement to all Men to fpeak 111 of the Queen and Her Friends. TO TAL, An entire and thorough Revo- lution. Vtrum borum mavis accipe. Chufe which you pleafe. FINIS. % I