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O U tell me you do not wonder at my Concern
/for finding an Order of Council publifh’d in the

    

Liberty afCo27fcz'emze.« But I mull allure you,
that when I heard that the London Clergy’ re-
’ » fus’d to read it, Icou’d not forbeari VVonfcler-
_ Ln . '
That there was angOrder given or the Reading it,  at fiijfi.
li1i'prile me; for the Reafons of it did not immediately occurr ate
my Thoughts : But that any of the Clergy, efpecially the Right
Reverend Fathers the Bilhops, decline the Publiihing of it, furs
prifes me more 5 and the Reafons they give, molt of all. ‘
There is ( I confefs) a great deal in what you have on the El}.-
trance of your Letter fuggefted. For to read the Declaration, is
e not to read the Mafi, nor to profefs the Romy?) Fait/2 ; and tlleree
fore no hurt in reading it; and to llli‘li3I‘ for fuch a Refufal is not to
fall like Confeilo1‘s,‘ but to futier as Criminals, for difobeying‘ the‘
lawful Commands of our Prince. Thus much, you think, will
be the fenfe of fome : And there is fo ‘much caule to move the
confidering mind to conclude thus, that I think you right in your
Notion of it :- and do further believe, that not the Complying,
but the Refufal to comply with this Order, on the Grounds you
do, will provoke all Good Men to delpile and hate us., For,
1. Hitherto the Government has been a Screen betweenour

  T53 Cozintyy Clergyizl/liezfs flfiéver re the

Gazette for reading the King’s Declaration for  

-V -'1»:-Am.-.v". "‘oQe- _

Clergy and the Cenfures of the People. ‘- There are Laws agalinfi l

Dillenters, we cou’d hay, and Laws mull be obfervfd : We had

no handin the making of thole Laws, and cou’d wifh ’em alter’d, ,

but ’twas not in our power to do it. This has been the way we

were forc’d to take, to the end we might be fecur from tl_1e;PeQ-s '

ples

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.’ 4 J
ples Rage and Clamour ;. which by this meansalways pafii over‘
us, and lighted on the Government- But now the Government
being for aiRemove.of’tho{'e.Laws, the Clergies Ptickling fo vet-r-—
ry much for their Continuance, expofes us ;* and we lhall not be

able tofay, it» is the Government; but ’i:will be faid, it is the“

Clergy that were for the Making, as well as Execution of Penal
Laws. Belides,    

2. Youzdo hereby put   of a Capacity. of vindicating, our
{elves from the Reproach of being Perfeczamrs. Hitherto we have
been able with Tome plaufibleneis to fay, That none were punillfd
for theirRel.igion, or their Confisiences ; but for their Faéltion,
their Sedition and Rebellion. Our Laws declar’d the matters Rees
ligious for which any fell under their Lafh_,to be a Crime. againfi
the Civil State. And ’twas for that, the Papéfls £10-C1 PbA<I,%1,tl'c‘4éJ"
fuEFer'd. His Majeihes Grand-father, of Bleflfed Memory‘, inllilisr»
on this; and fo did Si1'.;’~§ai:;2. C cute. But now His Maieiiy di{iin-

r guifhing between matters of mere Religion, F and thofe other Re.

ligious matiters that are fo, blended with the Civil State, that the
Error in Religion is a Crime againfttiie Government, is reiblv’d
to do his part, towards the {eparating the one from‘ the other,
and to extend Liberty to allinimatters of mere Religion,‘ but no’.
further. Ont oppofition therefore unto this, will inlinuate into
the minds of the People, that ‘wedo in good earneiidefire, that‘
Laws may becontinued inforce aga-inli men for matters of mere‘
Religion : whereby we {hall be inevitably involv’d in the odious‘
Reproach of being‘ Perfecutors of Godly Confcientious Men.»
But, v y ' l   , _ t

3. The in*fi{’ting‘0n the I!/cgaizry of the’ Diiipenling-powe:', as‘

a:~Reafon of the Refiifal, is one of the molt impolitickl things in P P
   VVorld. For,

1.: V7 e have hereby~loPt thatmterefi we had all along in the

favour of the Prince. ‘If we will bejufi ‘in ouracknowledgments;
we mtufiiconfeis thatiwe had been long a.go= a ‘loft Church, had

we notthe Crown on our fidezto fupport us. It is the Monarch’
that has been the Bulwark of the Church of England, and we

by afierting the Prerogative, which comprehends within it the.
Difpenfing power, gain’d anIntere{’t1nh1m, whoon all occafions‘

éhazarded himfelffor our Defence. The Bifhop, alierted the Preros

 

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gative, and the Prerogative preferV'd the Bzflvop. And the B2? P
f/oops by oppoling Trerog,zz!z'7/e, have broke down the Bulwark of '
our Church.» And tho’ with Grief, yet in Truth, awe may lay :
Our Glory is gone, ourLStrength» is departed. You have now
made a Divorce between the Cream and the Church of England-
  Mitre; and mull‘ never more expect to be the Darling of a
Crownid-Head. No Prince can take pleafuree in thole that have"
contrary to their avow’d Principles,without any jult provocation,
as you have done, broke the Crown in pieces. P
247)”. We have Condemn'd our felves, and ja£lify’d the 5D;/1
fewer: in this.~ The Reafon why we have for many years toge-
ther Reprelented the Di/ferzters, even from the Po/pity, to be Men
of Fa&ious,s Seditious and Rebellisas Principles, was grounded
on their Narrowing the Prerogative, and Limitingthe Momrc:/9}.-”
which we laid, they did, by refufing to Declare,that they wou’d
not value fuch Commillions as were granted by  Imperial
Power, the Prorogative, more than the Kz';7g’s Authority, which
is the Laws of the Land. We were fenlible of the Miicliief 05‘
the old Porz'temz'ck“Dod?rz'eze, that made the Law to be the Mouth
of the IQ/-2g,‘ andheld, that the Kjzeg was Obey’d and Fought
for, when ’tw-as againll His Perfon, if ’twas in Defenfe of the
Politic/lr Laws. and we clearly faw, that there was no other
way to obviate the Mifchief of this) their Seditious Do8trine ;‘
but iby inventing and impoling the Deolzzratioh of flooorreme, _
which all the Clergy Subfcribe, and in which They Declare 5‘
" Tiger :50/e Commzfliom that are giroezz out o} 2“/3'6 Imperial Power,,j
, contrary to it/ye Lmv,‘r/eufl be mzzoblmore olefir:-‘eel meto, M422 it/ye
Law of rkeL,»z;2d ;» mad that all téofe that /2o/oi 2‘/ye comreiy, are for
the Tmflerous ‘Pofirioz’. i \ ' I r P
But by this Oppofition to His Majef‘ty’s 73-zclarotioa, wereg=a'rd
t not the Imperial Lam; no, nor the Exercileofathe /».’o}ez' Pomei’,
tho’ agreeable to our Laws: And contrary to our Solemn Vows‘
and De'c!omr?o'72.~‘-, have let up the K,z’22g°s Azzr}Jofiz‘)IiiabQ‘J€: His Regal
Power ; and as one of our Divines very lately; do makethe Law,’
the Mouth of the Kjrzg 5 and aver, T/mt otfr ooeazam “mag/i‘ not as
to tbe Private, out Poo/1'61“ Declaration of" Hi: VVz'/[ ; whereby We
run lo far, as to juflilie that Parliament, which Fought againflf
His M.ajel‘ry's Royal Father,;,,Wh-om no’tWitl1l’tanding His engat‘

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gi"r:g»torsitl,)eflo”i§ of‘His'LiFe, in our Q\uarr<3l., Wfrnow condemn 3

and Publilh to the World; That the ‘Dz]feo.ter.r were all along in
L the right. We cannot now lay, that the D1fli$’.i2fz;’?’5 were Foitiouy,
;tS’edz'tz*oo:, and.»1{eoe/liozu heretofore, but by Condemning your
lelvesfor fuch atthis time. i i i A

4{;«- In aword, you have by this Aft,’ expofed our Minillrty

to the greateft Scorn and Contempt. For how can any wil7.:‘

l\/lan’ refieét on what has been the burden ofour Preaching, for
many years together., in the Defence of the , Prerogative, and ee
how We have at once given the Lye to all, and regard us any
more? That we have, as the Emballa.dot's of Chrillr, and in the
Name of the Lord, Publifh’d fo Very much in the Exalting the
Prerogative, under the Notion of 735-vies Tmtb ; and now pre-
tend, that we arebound in Confcience, boldly to contradiét all;
is fuch a So!ifci,oz, as will render it impoffible for Men of C-andor
andlntegrity to entertain any tollerable Thoughts of us or our
Jvizm/try. And thofe very Gentlemen which have wheedl’d you
into this Snare, will neglect and {corn you.   A
The Reafons you give for your Refulal, make our Cale the
more deplorable. You in the firlt place,tal'<e it For g.ranted,Tbot no
Church-of England-Man tort/approve of :5: Declaration. And then

add : Toot Rerzdizeg it, 2': on Overt-A6} of Approootigoiz. Azzd to de- .

clore otberwzfe, is, Protefiatio Contra .Fa&utn.Az7d the very Reading
it will izoflttezzte the Multitude, to do t/Jeir rotmo/Z‘ that Penal Laws
zzmz’ Tefis be taken ofl; and dolw/mt will Re/Ieé? on t/oof e [V05/e-Me/2

and Gotttry, ti/mt /move [ofl t/zeir P/4665 for oeizzg agme it. \ This‘

is the Sum of what you fay ‘: To whichl will di,ftin<°3tl-y Reply.

1/}. To what your take pro coofeflo : None of our Clergy ap-
prove of the 7)ec/orotiozz. IAnfwer, That many fober Men
ratnongft us do approve both of; the Liam, of Coofoieoce, and of

the Di;/j2eofi.og- Power. And there is not that Clergy-Man this day

" in ‘Ettglomd, who has not Exalted the Regal Peozverv much higher

than the Lawof the Land, and are bound to regard the Kz';og'se

Private C ommzmd, as they do.His .Prz'7/ate C ommizf/3022, more than

* His Authority; or, (which is the lame) the Law of the Land.- _

Thus much all our Clergy, before their Inltitution and Induéti-t
on, have folemnly declarid. And no other Reafon can be affigrfd

for our dillike of the Declorotioo, but this; That we are againPc .
  t . a i * Lem, ‘

l
   (<7     =
1Liz'éert}»o/F. Cozefcimce. Itis the King's Difpenfing with thofe Lavyfi 
that are made againft ‘Dzflcmers, that difpleaies you. And fee-
ing, when a Law is made, it muff be put in Execution, or there
muft be a Sufpendng the Execution by a Difpenfing-Power, or a
Repeal: Thofe‘ who are againli the Repeal, as you rundoubtedlyi
are, and alfo againfithe Difpenling with thofe Laws, mufi be for
their E/xecution, 2'. e. for the filling of our Goals with Dagzmm,
Riffling their Houfes,Ruining theirFamilies, and delhoyiiig their
Perfons. This muil: be the thing aim'd at by thofe who cannot
approve of the l(,z';2g’s @t’6.€'zZHlZz'072- for Liberty : And feeing this
is the thing. you wou'd beat, how can you expect the Dzflenrers
fhou’d trul’ryou? Or how can you, without blulhing fay, you s
3'1'€ fOI‘ Clue t€I1d€1‘r3€{§ f0 ‘Dzflwzters, even when you will rather
fiL1H’er your felves, than that the 7)/ifl«’e‘}zter5 enjoy the leaf} eafe?
eally. Tothe Second, Reading is not an 0~ve2~t-Ah?‘ of Appro-
ving : Don’t you remember, how many invidious’Excommunica- l
tionshave been fent down unto us to Publifh ;. which we have
done, without making; our felves a Party : O: can you forget the
Diliinétion we have us’d to eicape the Cenfure of the P/m2z2z.*z'ck».c,
~ about being Confenters to every thing that we Subfcribe unto ?"
,We confentto the Ufe, but not the Sayings. And if Ufing the i-
Cjommm-‘Prajer-Brlolc, which is done by Reading, be not Con-
ienting ; howgcornes it to ‘p.18, that Reading, in the‘ prefent
Cale, mult be Conf enting. Furtlieimore, _ p x ,
3a'g’y. To Read it, and at the fame time to Diflent, is not Pro-l
warn mzzmz Fafizmz. There is a dilierence etween Reading, a
tl1:71»t't‘l]€ Fzrf‘t‘14;:2 ', and Confenting ; and ProtePti1ng again[’t Con-
felnrting, l,_S,1']';T;‘ .P;"0;‘£/fazfioicowrzz Fafifllm. To Read it, and P1“O- ‘
tel]: againli Reading, is ‘Prof?/?.¢:z'o c0}¢l'7’t_i F4197‘/am: But to Read,
and .Protei’t you do not Confent, is not fuch a Protel‘ration.i But,
  _ 45». Readinggthe ‘Dc./c;’.zmrz'o22,’w’ill inflilence the People from ‘
‘ fakirnlg Off a the ‘Pe‘22zz[lL.¢:v'5 and Te/is :, And I ‘am of y0u1'_C)piI'1ion,
in th.iFs,- for, l‘et"tl‘.ae ‘*l\/Iultitude but underfiand, that the Te/Z4’.
Lkmrs ihall gco‘nltin'i'1‘ei'unti§l*we have better‘ fecurity for our Religion,’
  our Civil Righxts and Proiperties, which is the thing His Maje-
fly declares, and ‘it"s‘not to be doubted, but every Man of Senle
will be for taking OFF the Very T:/fr. Butt}/out miPta;ke,'when
YOU add 5 T/mt I/76 —z‘4/ring of 1115 Ten, 2": ope/zizzg the door to let in
a I’opery,gr

 

 

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"??,opei‘y, to the Ruin: of the Church of England. For we need
not fear Paper}, unlefs the ‘Papiflr have Power enough to drive .

us to their Religion by Perlecution. And the taking off the Tefls,
on~the Terms His Ma Jelly Propoles, will give us greater lecurity

againli Perfecution, than now we have. A Legal Ellfiblllhmeflfi
~,:which His Maieliy offers our Church, will give us litch a Securi‘-_

ty, as will pleafe this whole Nation. At preienti our Security is
ereéled on the Spoils of a great part of the Kingdom _; who are
hereby difquieted. For, our Safety lies in this, That no on.e,lbut
a Clwrc/i-Mm be legally interelied in the Favour of his Pr'in_ce_, or
in the Advantages of the Government. Allfothers mull, for

» their C0nfCi€flC€S beiifl Confiant Danger of inevitable Ruine. on

which occalion, we have been look7d on as the ComnionEnemy
to their Peace. But let our Security be fuch, as hurtsnot the
Confciences nor Eltates of others, which may be, by taking
‘oil’ Pemzl Lam: and Tcj/is, the Bond of Contentionw-illbe I‘,_,e..-pt

mov’d, and what is frightful in our Church, will dilappear. t

We {hall be look’d on as a Sifier, and be Treated accordingly.

And to the end that we may be Secur’d from any Dangers that i

may beifuppofed to arife from the Roman Catbolicks, we ifhall
have aclouble Advantage. \ In the firll place, we {hall have a new
Law, confirming us in the free Exercile of our Religion, and

W full Enjoyment of our Polleflions. And in the next place, By

putting it out of the Power of any one Party to Perfecute the
other, we lhall be out of the Power of Topzfi Perfecutions.

And to prevent any change on this Law, W6 lhall hIaV6ithe help»

of all the Dzjfezzting-Protcjimzzr to joyn with "us, «who will be
afiiraid any Alterationfhould be made on it, left thereby they al—
fo lofe their Security.‘ ,\Vhich Security, once obtain’d,i will be
molt grateful unto the Nobility and Gentry you mention.. S

Thus Sir.’ I have freely open’d my lelf you AV].

zimg/,2t)' G04 10 (Q5796 010' Rzgbt 1'36?/'w?ei22diiF4tbér:shore?/l”zjfdom,i
that They may not 56 imposid on éj tlvoflr Cw/via I07/e i’em.i;2ot, 51!!‘ 7.?;2a_'}'
fuddainly he érougbt to that ~Te27'e]i>é2*,i. 1:3/Jiic/7 ii: zzecajfarj tonmr;3i° 2776,
Heqling our Breac/2:5, and the E/Z46/i//jiirgiit/ye Peace-lofioérr iIli*ae1,.

B

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