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<DATE>2011-09-20</DATE>
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<NAME>Alexis Jakobson</NAME>
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<PB N="1" REF="1" MS="y">
<HEAD>A WORD Without-Doors Concerning the BILL FOR SUCCESSION.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>SIR,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>I Am very &s;en&s;ible of the great honour you were plea&s;ed to do me in your la&s;t, which I received immediately after our late unhappy Di&s;&s;olution; but could have wi&s;hed you would have laid your Commands on &s;ome more able per&s;on, to have given you &s;atisfaction in the matter you there propo&s;e rela|ting to the Duke, who, you &s;eem to in&s;inuate, was like (if the Parliament had continued) to have received hard mea&s;ure. I mu&s;t ingenuou&s;ly confe&s;s to you, I was not long &s;ince perfectly of your opinion, and thought it the highe&s;t inju&s;tice imaginable, for any Prince to be debar'd of his native Right of Succe&s;&s;ion upon any pretence what&s;oever. But upon a more mature deliberation and enqiry, I found my errour proceeded principally from the fal&s;e notions I had took up of Government it &s;elf, and from my ignorance of the practices of all Communities of men in all ages, whenever &s;elf-pre&s;ervation and the nece&s;&s;ity of their affairs obliged them to declare their opinion in ca&s;es of the like nature: To the the knowledge of all which, the following Accident I &s;hall relate to you, did very much contribute.</P>
<PB N="2" REF="2">
<P>My occa&s;ions obliging me one day to attend the coming of a Friend in a Coffee-hou&s;e near <HI>Charing-cro&s;s,</HI> there hapned to &s;it at the &s;ame Table with me two ingenious Gentlemen, who accor|ding to the frankne&s;s of Conver&s;ation now u&s;ed in the Town, be|gan a Di&s;cour&s;e on the &s;ame &s;ubject you de&s;ire to be more parti|cularly informed in; and having extolled the late Hou&s;e of Com|mons as the be&s;t number of men that had ever &s;at within tho&s;e Walls; and that no Hou&s;e had ever more vigorou&s;ly main|tained and a&s;&s;erted Engli&s;h Liberty and Prote&s;tant Religion than they had done, as far as the nature of the things that came before them, and the circum&s;tances of time would admit, (to all which I very readily and heartily a&s;&s;ented:) They then added, That the great Wi&s;dom and Zeal of that Hou&s;e had appeared in nothing more, than in ordering a Bill to be brought in for debarring the Duke of <HI>Y.</HI> from inheriting the Crown. A Law they affirmed to be the mo&s;t ju&s;t and rea&s;onable in the world, and the only proper Remedy to e&s;tabli&s;h this Nation on a true and &s;olid Intere&s;t, both in relation to the pre&s;ent and future times.</P>
<P>To which I could not but reply, That I begged their pardon, if I differed from them in opinion; and did believe, that how ho|ne&s;tly &s;oever the Hou&s;e of Commons might intend in that matter, yet that the point of Succe&s;&s;ion was &s;o &s;acred a thing, and of &s;o high a nature, that it was not &s;ubjected to their cognizance: That Monarchy was of Divine Right: That Princes &s;ucceeded by nature and generation onely, and not by authority, admi&s;&s;ion, or approbation of the People; and con&s;equently, that neither the merit or demerit of their per&s;ons, nor the different influences from thence upon the People, were to be re&s;pected or had in con&s;idera|tion; but the Common-wealth ought to obey and &s;ubmit to the next Heir, without any further inqui&s;ition; and if he proved a worthy, vertuous, and ju&s;t Prince, it was a great happine&s;s; if unju&s;t, barbarous, and tyrannical, there was no other remedy, but prayer, patience, and an entire &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion to &s;o difficult a di&s;pen&s;a|tion of Gods Providence.</P>
<P>I had no &s;ooner ended my di&s;cour&s;e, but one of the Gentlemen (that was the mo&s;t &s;erious in the company) &s;eeing me a young man, gravely replyed, That he could not but be extremely concer|ned to hear that &s;uch pernicious Notions again&s;t all lawful Go|vernment had been taught in the world: That he believed they
<PB N="3" REF="2">were in me purely the effects of an Univer&s;ity-Education; and that it had been my misfortune to have had a very high Church|man for my Tutor, who had endeavoured (as it was their con&s;tant practice to all young Gentlemen under their care) to debauch me with &s;uch principles as would en&s;lave my mind to their Hierarchy and the Monarchical part of the Government, without any regard at all to the Ari&s;tocratical and Popular; and that fat Par&s;onages, Prebend&s;hips, Deanaries, and Epi&s;copal Sees, were the certain and con&s;tant Rewards of &s;uch Services: That the place we were in, was a little too publick for di&s;cour&s;es of this nature; but if I would accept of a Bottle of Wine at the next Tavern, he would undertake to give me ju&s;ter mea&s;ures; adding, It was pity &s;o hopeful a Gentleman &s;hould be tainted with bad Principles. My Friend coming in at the &s;ame time, proved to be one of their particular Acquaintance; and both he and I readily complied with &s;o generous a motion.</P>
<P>We had no &s;ooner drank a Gla&s;s round, but the old Gentle|man was plea&s;ed to renew his di&s;cour&s;e, and &s;aid, It was undoub|tedly true, that the inclination of Mankind to live in company (from whence come Towns, Cities, and Common-wealths) did proceed of Nature, and con&s;equently of God, the Author of Na|ture. So likewi&s;e Government, and the Juri&s;diction of Magi|&s;trates in general (which does nece&s;&s;arily flow from the living together in &s;ociety) is al&s;o of Nature, and ordained by God for the common good of Mankind; but that the particular &s;pecies and forms of this or that Government, in this or that manner, to have many, few, or one Governour; or that they &s;hould have this or that Authority, more or le&s;s, for a longer or a &s;horter time; or whether ordinarily by Succe&s;&s;ion or by Election, all the&s;e things (he &s;aid) are ordained and diver&s;ified by the particular po&s;itive Laws of every Country, and are not e&s;tabli&s;ht either by Law Natural or Divine, but left by God unto every Nation and Country, to pitch upon what form of Government they &s;hall think mo&s;t proper to promote the common Good of the whole, and be&s;t adapted to the natures, con&s;titutions, and other circum|&s;tances of the People; which accordingly for the &s;ame rea&s;ons may be altered or amended in any of its parts, by the mutual con&s;ent of the Governours and governed, whenever they &s;hall &s;ee rea&s;onable cau&s;e &s;o to do: all which appears plainly, both from
<PB N="4" REF="3">the diver&s;ity of Governments extant in the world, and by the &s;ame Nations living &s;ometimes under one &s;ort of Government, and &s;ometimes under another. So we &s;ee God him&s;elf permit|ted his peculiar People the <HI>Jews</HI> to live under divers forms of Government; as fir&s;t under Patriarchs, then under Captains, then under Judges, then under High-Prie&s;ts, next under Kings, and then under Captains and High-Prie&s;ts again, until they were conquered by the <HI>Romans,</HI> who them&s;elves al&s;o fir&s;t lived under Kings, and then Con&s;uls, who&s;e authority they afterwards limit|ted by a Senate, by adding Tribunes of the people; and in extra|ordinary emergencies of the Common-wealth, they were gover|ned by Dictators, and la&s;t of all by Emperours. So that it's plain, no Magi&s;trate has his particular Government, or an Intere&s;t of Succe&s;&s;ion in it, by any In&s;titution of Nature, but onely by the particular Con&s;titution of the Common-wealth within it &s;elf. And as the kinds of Government are different, &s;o al&s;o are the mea&s;ures of Power and Authority in the &s;ame kind, in different Countries.</P>
<P>I &s;hall begin (&s;aid he) with that of the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire, which though it be the fir&s;t in dignity among&s;t Chri&s;tian Princes, yet it is &s;o re&s;trained and limited by the particular Laws of the Empire, that he can do much le&s;s in his State, than other Kings in theirs. He can neither make War, nor exact any Contribu|tion of Men or Money, but by the con&s;ent of all the States of the <HI>German</HI> Diet: And as for his Children and Relations, they have no intere&s;t or pretence to &s;ucceed, but onely by Election, if they &s;hall be thought worthy. Nay, the chiefe&s;t Article the Emperour &s;wears to keep at his admi&s;&s;ion to that Honour, is, That he &s;hall never endeavour to make the Dignity of the Empire Hereditary to his Family.</P>
<P>In <HI>Spain</HI> and in <HI>France</HI> the Priviledges of Kings are much more eminent, both in Power and &s;ucce&s;&s;ion; their Authority is more ab&s;olute, every Order of theirs having the validity of a Law, and their next of bloud does ordinarily inherit, though in a different manner. In <HI>Spain</HI> the next Heir cannot &s;ucceed, but by the approbation of the Nobility, Bi&s;hops, and States of the Realm. In <HI>France</HI> the Women are not admitted to &s;ucceed, let them be never &s;o lineally de&s;cended. In <HI>England</HI> our Kings are much more limited and confined in their Power, than either of
<PB N="5" REF="3">the two former: for here no Law can be made, but by con&s;ent and authority of Parliament; and as to the point of Succe&s;&s;ion, the next of kin is admitted, unle&s;s in extraordinary ca&s;es, and when important Rea&s;ons of State require an alteration: And then the Parliaments of <HI>England</HI> (according to the ancient Laws and Statutes of the Realm) have frequently directed and ap|pointed the &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of the Crown in other manner than in cour&s;e it would have gone; of which I &s;hall give you &s;ome Ex|amples in order.</P>
<P>But fir&s;t let us look abroad, and &s;ee how things have been car|ried, as to this point, in other Countries.</P>
<P>Among&s;t the <HI>Jews,</HI> the Laws of Succe&s;&s;ion did ordinarily hold; and accordingly <HI>Rehoboam,</HI> the lawful Son and Heir of <HI>Solomon,</HI> after his Fathers decea&s;e, went to <HI>Sichem</HI> to be crowned and ad|mitted by the People: and the whole body of the people of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> being there gathered together, did (before they would admit him their lawful King) make unto him certain Propo&s;itions for taking away &s;ome heavy Taxes that had been impo&s;ed on them by his Father <HI>Solomon;</HI> which he refu&s;ing to gratifie them in, and fol|lowing the advice of young men, ten of the Twelve Tribes im|mediately cho&s;e <HI>Jeroboam,</HI> a Servant of <HI>Rehoboam</HI>'s, a meer &s;tanger, and of mean Parentage, and made him their King; and God ap|proved thereof, as the Scriptures in expre&s;s words do te&s;tifie: for when <HI>Rehoboam</HI> had rai&s;ed an Army of One hundred and four|&s;core thou&s;and men, intending by force of Arms to have ju&s;tified his Claim, God appeared unto <HI>Semajah,</HI> and commanded him to go to <HI>Rehoboam,</HI> and to the Hou&s;e of <HI>Judah</HI> and <HI>Benjamin,</HI> &s;aying, <HI>Return every man to his hou&s;e, for this thing is of me, &s;aith the Lord.</HI> So that &s;ince God did permit and allow this in his own Com|monwealth, which was to be the Pattern for all others, no doubt he will approve the &s;ame in other Kingdoms, whenever his &s;ervice and glory, or the happine&s;s of the Weal-publick &s;hall require it.</P>
<P>The next In&s;tance I &s;hall give you, &s;hall be in <HI>Spain,</HI> where <HI>Don Alon&s;o de la Cerda</HI> having been admitted Prince of <HI>Spain</HI> in his Father's life-time (according to the cu&s;tom of that Realm) married <HI>Blancha,</HI> Daughter of <HI>Lewis</HI> the fir&s;t King of <HI>France,</HI> and had by her two Sons named <HI>Alon&s;o</HI> and <HI>Hernando de la Cerda;</HI> but their Father (who was only Prince) dying before <HI>Alon&s;o</HI> the ninth then King, he recommended them to the Realm as lawful Heirs
<PB N="6" REF="4">apparent to the Crown: But Don <HI>Sancho</HI> their Fathers younger Brother, who was a great Warrier, and &s;irnamed <HI>El Bravo,</HI> was admitted Prince, and they put by, in their Grandfathers life-time, by his and the States con&s;ent; and this was done at a Parliament held at <HI>Segovia,</HI> in the year 1276: And in the year 1284, (<HI>A|lon&s;o</HI> the ninth being dead) Don <HI>Sancho</HI> was acknowledg'd King, and the two Princes impri&s;oned; but at the Mediation of <HI>Philip</HI> the third, King of <HI>France,</HI> their Uncle, they were &s;et free, and en|dowed with con&s;iderable Revenues in Land; and from them do de&s;cend the Dukes <HI>de Medina Celi</HI> at this day; and the pre&s;ent K. of <HI>Spain</HI> that is in po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion&punc; de&s;cendeth from Don <HI>Sancho.</HI></P>
<P>In <HI>France, Lewis</HI> the fourth had two Sons, <HI>Lothairin,</HI> who &s;uc|ceeded him, and <HI>Charles,</HI> whom he made Duke of <HI>Lorrain. Lo|thairin</HI> dying, left an only Son named <HI>Lewis,</HI> who dying without I&s;&s;ue after he had raigned two years, the Crown was to have de|&s;cended on his Uncle <HI>Charles</HI> Duke of <HI>Lorrain.</HI> But the States of <HI>France</HI> did exclude him, and cho&s;e <HI>Hugo Capetus,</HI> Earl of <HI>Paris,</HI> for their King; and in an Oration made by their Emba&s;&s;ador to <HI>Charles</HI> of <HI>Lorrain,</HI> did give an account of their Rea&s;ons for &s;o do|ing, as it is related by <HI>Belfore&s;t,</HI> a French Hi&s;torian, in the&s;e very words:</P>
<P><HI>Every man knoweth</HI> (<HI>Lord</HI> Charles) <HI>that the Succe&s;&s;ion of the Crown and Kingdom of</HI> France, <HI>according to the ordinary Rights and Laws of the &s;ame, belongeth unto you, and not unto</HI> Hugh Capet <HI>now our King: But yet the &s;ame Laws which do give unto you &s;uch Right of Succe&s;&s;ion, do judge you al&s;o unworthy of the &s;ame; for that you have not endeavoured hitherto to frame your life according to the Pre|&s;cript of tho&s;e Laws, nor according to the u&s;e and cu&s;tom of the King|dom of</HI> France; <HI>but rather have allied your &s;elf with the</HI> Germains, <HI>our old Enemies, and have accu&s;tomed your &s;elf to their vile and ba&s;e Manners. Wherefore &s;ince you have abandoned and for&s;aken the an|cient Virtue, Amity, and Sweetne&s;s of your Country, your Country has al&s;o abandoned and for&s;aken you; for we have cho&s;en</HI> Hugh Capet <HI>for our King, and have put you by, and this without any &s;cruple in our Con&s;crences at all; e&s;teeming it far better, and more ju&s;t, to live under</HI> Hugh Capet, <HI>the Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;or of the Crown, with enjoying the an|cient u&s;e of our Laws, Cu&s;toms, Priviledges, and Liberties, than un|der you the next Heir, by Bloud, in Oppre&s;&s;ion, &s;trange Cu&s;toms, and Cruelty. For as they who are to make a Voyage in a Ship on a dange|rous
<PB N="7" REF="4">Sea, do not &s;o much re&s;pect whether the Pilot claims Title to the Ship or no, but rather whether he be skilful, valiant, and like to bring them in &s;afety to their ways end; even &s;o our principal care is to have a good Prince to lead and guide us happily in this way of Civil and Po|litick life; which is the end for which Princes are appointed.</HI> And with this Me&s;&s;age ended his Succe&s;&s;ion and Life, he dying not long after in Pri&s;on.</P>
<P>And now I &s;hall come home, and give you an In&s;tance or two in <HI>England</HI> &s;ince the Conque&s;t, and &s;o conclude.</P>
<P><HI>William Rufus,</HI> &s;econd Son of <HI>William the Conqueror,</HI> by the a&s;|&s;i&s;tance of <HI>Lanfrank</HI> Arch-bi&s;hop of <HI>Canterbury,</HI> who had a great opinion of his Virtue and Probity, was admitted King by the con|&s;ent of the Realm, his elder Brother <HI>Robert</HI> Duke of <HI>Normandy</HI> be|ing then in the War at <HI>Jeru&s;alem. William</HI> dying, his younger Brother <HI>Henry,</HI> by his ingenuity and fair carriage, and by the a&s;|&s;i&s;tance of <HI>Henry</HI> Earl of <HI>Warwick,</HI> who had greate&s;t intere&s;t in the Nobility; and <HI>Maurice</HI> Bi&s;hop of <HI>London,</HI> a leading-man among&s;t the Clergy, obtained al&s;o the Crown. And <HI>Robert</HI> Duke of <HI>Nor|mandy</HI> was a &s;econd time excluded. And though this King <HI>Henry</HI> could pretend no other Title to the Crown than the Election and Admi&s;&s;ion of the Realm, yet he defended it &s;o well, and God pro|&s;pered him with &s;uch &s;ucce&s;s, that when his elder Brother <HI>Robert</HI> came to claim the Kingdom by force of Arms, he beat him in a Pitcht Battle, took him Pri&s;oner, and &s;o he died mi&s;erably in Bonds.</P>
<P>King <HI>Henry</HI> had one only Daughter named <HI>Maud,</HI> or <HI>Matilda,</HI> who was married to the Emperor; and he dying without I&s;&s;ue, &s;he was afterwards married to <HI>Geofrey Plantagenet</HI> Earl of <HI>Anjou</HI> in <HI>France,</HI> by whom &s;he had a Son named <HI>Henry,</HI> whom his Grand-father declared Heir-apparent to the Crown in his life-time; yet after his death, <HI>Henry</HI> was excluded, and <HI>Stephen</HI> Earl of <HI>Bulloine,</HI> Son of <HI>Adela,</HI> Daughter of <HI>William the Conqueror,</HI> was by the States thought more fit to govern than Prince <HI>Henry,</HI> who was then but a Child. And this was done by the per&s;wa&s;ion of <HI>Henry</HI> Bi&s;hop of <HI>Winche&s;ter,</HI> and at the &s;ollicitation of the Abbot of <HI>Gla&s;tenbury</HI> and others, who thought they might do the &s;ame lawfully, and with a good con&s;cience, for the publick good of the Realm.</P>
<PB N="8" REF="5">
<P>But the event did not prove &s;o well as they intended: for this occa&s;ioned great Factions and Divi&s;ions in the Kingdom; for the quieting of which, there was a Parliament held at <HI>Wal|lingford,</HI> which pa&s;&s;ed a Law, That <HI>Stephen</HI> &s;hould be King only during his Life, and that Prince <HI>Henry</HI> and his Off-&s;pring &s;hould &s;ucceed him; and by the &s;ame Law debarred <HI>William</HI> Son of King <HI>Stephen</HI> from inheriting the Crown, and only made him Earl of <HI>Norfolk.</HI></P>
<P>Thus did the Parliament di&s;po&s;e of the Crown in tho&s;e days, which was in the year 1153. which &s;ufficiently proves what I have a&s;&s;erted.</P>
<P>The &s;um of all I have &s;aid, amounts to this: That Govern|ment in general is by the Law of Nature, and con&s;equently the Ordinance of God; but that the different forms of Government, whether to re&s;ide in one, few, or many; or whether it &s;hall be continued by Succe&s;&s;ion or by Election, together with the different mea&s;ures and limitations of Power and Authority in Governours of the &s;ame kind in &s;everal Countries: all the&s;e things, I &s;ay, are ordained by, and purely depend upon po&s;itive and humane Laws. From whence it will nece&s;&s;arily follow, That the &s;ame humane Authority (re&s;iding in King, Lords, and Commons, here in <HI>England</HI>) which gave being to tho&s;e Laws for the good of the Community, is &s;uperintendent over them, and both may and ought to make any addition to, or alteration of them, when the publick Good and Welfare of the Nation &s;hall require it; unle&s;s you will admit, That an humane Authority, e&s;tabli&s;hing any thing intentionally for the common good of the Society, which in tract of time, by rea&s;on of unfore&s;een circum&s;tances and emergen|cies, proves de&s;tructive of it, has by that Act concluded it &s;elf, and made that accidental evil, moral and unchangeable; which to affirm, is &s;en&s;le&s;s and repugnant.</P>
<PB N="9" REF="5">
<P>AND now, Sir, I hope by this time (&s;aid the old Gentle|man) you begin to think that the Bill for di&s;abling the Duke was not &s;o unju&s;t and unrea&s;onable as was pretended; and that the cour&s;e of Succe&s;&s;ion (being founded upon the &s;ame bot|tom with other Civil Con&s;titutions) might likewi&s;e as ju&s;tly have been altered by the King, Lords, and Commons, as any other Law or Cu&s;tom whatever.</P>
<P>And here I might conclude: But becau&s;e a late PENTIONA|RY Pen has publickly arraign'd the Wi&s;dom, Loyalty, and Ju|&s;tice of the honourable Hou&s;e of Commons, on the account of this Bill, I will <HI>ex abundanti</HI> add a word or two more to that particular.</P>
<P>Whereupon he pluckt a Paper out of his Pocket, entituled, <HI>Great and weighty Con&s;iderations relating to the Duke, and Succe&s;&s;or of the Crown,</HI> &amp;c. Which as &s;oon as he had read unto us, You &s;ee here (&s;aid he) the true temper of tho&s;e men, of whom I fir&s;t gave you caution: There never was an endeavour (though in a Legal and Parliamentary way) after any Reformation either in Church or State, but the Promoters of it were &s;ure to be branded by them with the odions imputations of <HI>Fanatici&s;m</HI> and <HI>Faction:</HI> Nay, if the Country-Electors of Parliament-men will not pitch upon &s;uch Rake-hells of the Nation as are u&s;ually propo&s;ed by them, but on the contrary make u&s;e of their Freedom and Con&s;ciences in chu&s;ing able, upright, and de&s;erving per&s;ons; and if good men thus cho&s;en do but (according to their Duty in the Hou&s;e) enquire into publick Grievances, pur&s;ue in a legal cour&s;e notori|ous Offenders, and con&s;ult and advi&s;e the &s;ecurity of the Go|vernment and Prote&s;tant Religion, the high Church-man imme|diately &s;wells, and in pa&s;&s;ion tells you, That all this proceeds from the old Phanatick-Leven, not yet worn out among&s;t the people: That we are going back again to Forty one; and acting over afre&s;h the &s;ins of our Forefathers.</P>
<P>Thus ignorantly do they complement the Times and Per&s;ons they endeavour to expo&s;e, by appropriating to them &s;uch Virtues as were common to good men in all Ages. But enough of this.</P>
<P>In the next place, pray ob&s;erve how hypocritically the <HI>CON|SIDERER</HI> puts this Que&s;tion, <HI>viz.</HI></P>
<PB N="10" REF="6">
<P><HI>Whether Prote&s;tant Religion was not &s;etled in this Nation by the &s;ame mighty hand of God that e&s;tabli&s;ht</HI> Jeroboam <HI>in the Kingdom of</HI> I&s;rael? [And then adds,] <HI>Whether we (like that wicked King) &s;hould &s;o far de&s;pair of Gods Providence in pre&s;erving the work of his own hands, as never to think it &s;afe, unle&s;s it be e&s;tabli&s;ht on the Quick-&s;ands of our own wicked Inventions?</HI> [<HI>viz.</HI> the Bill again&s;t the Duke.]</P>
<P>And throughout his whole Di&s;cour&s;e he frequently calls all Care of pre&s;erving our Religion, a Mi&s;tru&s;t of God's Providence; and on that &s;core calls out to the Nation, <HI>O ye of little faith,</HI> &amp;c. Now I will allow him, That the lea&s;t evil is not to be done, that the greate&s;t and mo&s;t important Good may en&s;ue: But that the Bill for Di&s;abling the Duke is highly ju&s;tifiable both by the Laws of God, and Con&s;titution of our Government, I think by my for|mer Di&s;cour&s;e I have left no room to doubt; and the <HI>Con&s;iderer</HI> having &s;carce attempted to prove the contrary, it's prepo&s;terou&s;ly done of him to give us his U&s;e of Reproof, before he has clear'd his Doctrine.</P>
<P>However, I owe him many thanks for putting me in mind how Prote&s;tant Religion was fir&s;t e&s;tabli&s;ht here in <HI>England:</HI> It was in|deed by the mighty hand of God influencing the Publick Coun|cels of the Nation, &s;o that all imaginable care was taken both by Prince and People, to re&s;cue them&s;elves from under the <HI>Romi&s;h</HI> Yoke; and accordingly mo&s;t excellent Laws were made again&s;t the U&s;urpation and Tyranny of that Man of Sin. Our Noble Ance&s;tors in tho&s;e days did not palliate a want of zeal for their Religion with a lazy pretence of tru&s;ting in Gods Providence; but together with their Prayers to, and Affiance in Heaven, they joined the acts of their own Duty, without which, (they very well know) they had no rea&s;on to expect a ble&s;&s;ing from it.</P>
<P>But now be plea&s;ed to take notice of the Candor of this wor|thy <HI>Con&s;iderer;</HI> Nothing le&s;s will &s;erve his turn, than the proving all the Voters for the Bill guilty of the highe&s;t Perjury: <HI>For</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>they have all &s;worn in the Oath of Allegiance to bear Faith and true Allegiance to His Maje&s;ty, His Heirs and Succe&s;&s;ors: But the Duke is Heir,</HI> Ergo, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> A very hopeful Argument indeed! But
<PB N="11" REF="6">what if it &s;hould happen (as it is neither impo&s;&s;ible, nor very im|probable to imagine it) that the next Heir to the Crown &s;hould commit Trea&s;on, and con&s;pire the death of the pre&s;ent Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;or, and for this Trea&s;on &s;hould not only be Attainted by Parliament, but Executed too; pray, Mr. <HI>Con&s;iderer,</HI> would the Parliament in this ca&s;e be guilty of Murder and Perjury? I am confident you will not &s;ay it. If therefore the next Heir become obnoxious to the Government in a lower degree, why may not the &s;ame Au|thority proportion the puni&s;hment, and leave him his Life, but de|bar him of the Succe&s;&s;ion? This I &s;ay only to &s;hew the ab&s;urdity of his Argument.</P>
<P>My An&s;wer is this: No man can bear Allegiance to two per&s;ons at the &s;ame time; nor can Allegiance be ever due to a Subject, and therefore my obligation by the word <HI>[Heir]</HI> in the Oath; does not commence till &s;uch Heir has a pre&s;ent Right to, or actual po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the Crown; which if he never attains, either by rea&s;on of death, or any other Act that incapacitates and bars him, then can my obligation to him by the word <HI>Heir</HI> in the Oath never have a beginning.</P>
<P>But be&s;ides all this, it cannot be denyed but that Mr. <HI>Con&s;ide|rer</HI>'s Doctrine does bring great inconveniencies on Succe&s;&s;ion; for the next Heir (by his way of arguing) is let loo&s;e from all the Re&s;trictions and Penalties of Humane Laws; and has no other tyes upon him not to &s;natch the Crown out of the hands of the Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;or, than purely tho&s;e of his own Con&s;cience; which is worthy Mr. <HI>Con&s;iderer</HI>'s highe&s;t con&s;ideration.</P>
<P>I &s;hall onely take notice of one Objection more, and then con|clude, (fearing I have too much tre&s;pa&s;&s;ed on your patience al|ready.)</P>
<P><HI>It's very hard</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>that a man &s;hould lo&s;e his Inheritance, be|cau&s;e he is of this or that per&s;wa&s;ion in matters of Religion.</HI></P>
<P>And truly Gentlemen, were the ca&s;e only &s;o, I &s;hould be entirely of his mind. But alas! Popery (whatever Mr. <HI>Con&s;iderer</HI> is pleas'd to in&s;inuate) is not an harmle&s;s innocent per&s;wa&s;ion of a number of men differing from others in matters relating to Chri|&s;tian Religion; but is really and truly a different Religion from
<PB N="12" REF="7" MS="y">Chri&s;tianity it &s;elf. Nor is the Inheritance he there mentions, an Inheritance onely of <HI>Black Acre</HI> and <HI>White Acre,</HI> without any Of|fice annexed, which requires him to be <HI>par Officio:</HI> But the Go|vernment and Protection of &s;everal Nations, the making of War and Peace for them, the Pre&s;ervation of their Religion, the di&s;|po&s;al of publick Places and Revenues, the Execution of all Laws, together with many other things of the greate&s;t importance, are in this ca&s;e claimed by the word <HI>Inheritance;</HI> which if you con&s;i|der, and at the &s;ame time reflect upon the en&s;laving and bloody Tenets of the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> more particularly the Helli&s;h and Damnable Con&s;piracy tho&s;e of that Communion are now carrying on again&s;t our Lives, our Religion, and our Government; I am confident you will think it as proper for a Wolf to be a &s;hepherd, as it is for a Papi&s;t to be the <HI>Defender of our Faith,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>The old Gentleman had no &s;ooner ended his Di&s;cour&s;e, but I returned him my hearty thanks, for the trouble he had been plea&s;ed to give him&s;elf on this occa&s;ion; and I could not but ac|knowledg he had given me great &s;atisfaction in that affair; what it will give thee, <HI>Charles,</HI> I know not: I am &s;ure I parted from him very melancholy, for having been a Fool &s;o long. <HI>Adieu.</HI></P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>I am thy Affectionate,</HI> J. D.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
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