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<DATE>2009-09-05</DATE>
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<NAME>Mona Logarbo</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B090111.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
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<DIV1 TYPE="letter">
<PB N="1" REF="1"><!-- PDF PAGE 28 -->
<HEAD>TO THE <HI>Annonimus Author</HI> Of the Argument again&s;t a Standing ARMY.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>SIR,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>HAving in the Country receiv'd your Argument again&s;t a <HI>Standing Army,</HI> and your Letter to the Author of the <HI>Balancing Letter,</HI> as al&s;o that, all in Print, I had the Curio&s;ity of de&s;iring to di&s;cour&s;e with you, if po&s;&s;ible, or at lea&s;t to be Inform'd who the Author is; but be|ing hindred on my Journey to <HI>London,</HI> I take this way of Cor|re&s;pondence; I own your &s;aid Letters make me doubt your be|ing the Per&s;on I thought you to be, de&s;erving thanks from tho&s;e that are again&s;t a <HI>Standing Army;</HI> for one would have expected at lea&s;t a Civil, and Gentleman-like An&s;wer to One, who you &s;ay had level'd at you in Soft Language and Gentleman-like Be|haviour. But you therein &s;hew your &s;elf &s;uch a Ma&s;ter of the Art of Ridiculing, that you'll de&s;erve the Doctors Chair.</P>
<P>Now I de&s;ire leave to ask you &s;ome plain Que&s;tions. Whe|ther Ratifications of Peace, Exchang'd between tho&s;e Crown'd Heads, States and Princes, that have been Engaged in the late War, The <HI>French</HI> King's Re&s;toring tho&s;e many Towns, Pro|vinces, Forts, and Ca&s;tles, to tho&s;e from whom they had been unju&s;tly taken, The Cea&s;ing Ho&s;tilities, Di&s;mi&s;&s;ing, Retrench|ing, and Disbanding many of the Forces, may not be &s;ufficient Demon&s;trations of Peace, without an Article of Faith? For it
<PB N="2" REF="2"><!-- PDF PAGE 29 -->&s;eeems by your Suppo&s;ition, <HI>Page</HI> the 4th. that you cannot di&s;|cern it to be an Honourable Peace. In the next place you make a great pother, and Chuck your &s;elf, as if you had gain'd the Garland of a Martial Dance, before <HI>Ammozonian</HI> Ladies! When you wrangle at the <HI>Balancers</HI> calling an Army a Land Force: Pray of what Compo&s;ition is a Regulated Militia, without Swords and Pi&s;tols, Pikes and Muskets, Powder and Ball, to kill Men? The&s;e are you &s;ay, the In&s;truments and Materials of a <HI>Standing Army.</HI> And now you have three Names for one and the &s;ame thing; and your Regulated Militia may for ought you and I know, be as dreadful as a <HI>Standing Army.</HI></P>
<P>Your next Simily is plea&s;ant, but your Con&s;equence wrong; and every Law Conveyancer in <HI>England</HI> will tell you, that 'tis u&s;ual to incert a Covenant for further In&s;urance, in the &s;pace of &s;even Years; and the Warranty for a Year, and a day, in <HI>Holland,</HI> is to the &s;ame purpo&s;e: And good rea&s;on that the Pur|cha&s;er &s;hould have his Land for Ever. But you may as well &s;uppo&s;e, that becau&s;e the Commons in Parliament gave Aids of Four &s;hillings in the Pound from Year to Year, that there|fore the People of <HI>England</HI> mu&s;t pay Four &s;hillings in the Pound for Ever.</P>
<P>Next after your Civil way of Quibling upon Modes, and Fa&s;hions, <HI>Page</HI> 6. and 7. you &s;ay, <HI>Nature hath Armed all Creatures with Weapons to oppo&s;e tho&s;e that a&s;&s;ault them;</HI> And, <HI>That the &s;ole Debate is in who&s;e Hands the&s;e Weapons &s;hould be put;</HI> of which you have, it &s;eems, di&s;cour&s;ed from the 18th to the 26th <HI>Page</HI> of your Argument.</P>
<P>Come, Sir, if in&s;tead of this, you had propo&s;ed how a Regu|lated Militia &s;hall be maintained, and that le&s;s grievous to the People, then &s;uch Supplies as may &s;erve to maintain &s;uch Troops and Companies of the Army as the King Lord and Commons &s;hall agree to keep up, your Argument would have had &s;ome Weight: But I had almo&s;t &s;aid you know little of the matter.</P>
<P><PB N="3" REF="2"><!-- PDF PAGE 29 -->
Are they only Mercenary Soldiers whom you call Butchers, that profe&s;s to kill Men for Six pence a day? What do you call tho&s;e Militia Foot-men, and Hor&s;e-men, who make their Ma&s;ters Pay Three &s;hillings a Day to Carry their Arms, and Five &s;hillings a day to Ride their Hor&s;es with Arms, all boun|cing in words to Kill Men, or Run away?</P>
<P>Are the Mercenary Soldiers Robbers of Henroo&s;ts, and their Officers Damme Blades, Ravi&s;hers of Women, Debauchees, and other dreadful Names, by which you are plea&s;ed to call them.</P>
<P>Then pray, What are tho&s;e Militia Soldiers and Officers, again&s;t whom (when they had been drawn out of &s;everal In|land to the Maritime Counties, upon apprehen&s;ion of Inva&s;ion not long &s;ince) there were Complaints of many Victuallers, Shopkeepers, Farmers, and other hone&s;t Hou&s;ekeepers, that not only their Poultry, but their Piggs, Sheep, and Goods were taken away, and Quarters left unpaid? Ay, and the good People would have made Hue and Cry after &s;everal of tho&s;e Officers, to have kept certain Males, and Females, begotten of their Daughters, and Servants, were it not that thereby they mu&s;t have brought &s;ome Scandal to their Family: Now pray Sir tell the World wherein the Militia Soldiers appear more Vertuous (or le&s;s to be fear'd) then a <HI>Standing Army.</HI></P>
<P>There is no doubt but the Militia of <HI>England</HI> may be made more u&s;eful then it is, or ever was, and I heartily wi&s;h it may be Effected: But this will be a Work of Time, and may be a Matter of great Debate, how Money &s;hall be Levied to defray the Annual Charges; for altho the Number &s;hould be reduced to Sixty thou&s;and, as you propo&s;e, yet that Number will be more Chargeable then Twenty thou&s;and of the pre&s;ent <HI>Stand|ing Army.</HI></P>
<P>And what's to be done in ca&s;e of Inva&s;ion in the mean time? You have not given &s;uch Rules, and Methods, as can be rely'd on.</P>
<P><PB N="4" REF="3"><!-- PDF PAGE 30 -->
To be plain, there is &s;ome Snake in the Gra&s;s, tho your po|pular Topick is <HI>Liberty</HI> and <HI>Property,</HI> and to avoid Arbitrary Power and Slavery. It looks very like a De&s;ign to Gra&s;p the Power, the Government, and the Dominion of this now hap|py Kingdom, or el&s;e you would have let the&s;e Weighty Mat|ters alone to whom it Rightly belongs, The King, Lords and Commons in Parliament, whom God Almighty Ble&s;s and Direct.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><DATE><HI>December</HI> the 16th 1697.</DATE></DATELINE>
And let all the People &s;ay, <HI>Amen.</HI> As doth your Humble Servant.</CLOSER>
</DIV1>
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