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<DATE>2014-07-04</DATE>
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<NAME>Olivia Bottum</NAME>
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<HEAD><HI>CONSIDERATIONS</HI> on the Nature of Par|liaments, and our pre&s;ent Elections.</HEAD>
<P>IT is amazing that a People &s;o zealous for their Liberties, &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ould neglect the natural, &s;afe, and certain way of &s;ecuring them, when they have often had recour&s;e to the mo&s;t vio|lent Remedies, and have run the utmo&s;t hazards to &s;ecure their Property. This is the only Country in <HI>Europe</HI> that enjoys <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ny freedom under a King, and it morti|fies any thinking Man when he con&s;iders in how many &s;ucce&s;&s;ive Reigns our Con|&s;titution has been aim'd at, how preca|tiou&s;ly we hold it now, and how often the opportunities of a &s;ecure E&s;tabli&s;h|ment have been trifled away, when ob|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">in'd by the bolde&s;t Attempts that were <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ade &s;ucce&s;sful by an apparent P<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ovi|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ence.</P>
<P>As the Re&s;toration of K. <HI>Charles</HI> II. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">o the la&s;t Revolution was the work <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">f the People of <HI>England:</HI> nothing could <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ve brought it about in &s;o miraculous a manner, but the weight of the whole Na|tion in oppo&s;ition to the Con&s;pirators a|gain&s;t our Con&s;titution. And if the &s;uc|ceeding Parliaments (which are call'd the Repre&s;entatives of the Nation) have not e&s;tabli&s;h'd by proper Laws tho&s;e Liber|ties, and that Government for which the People drew their Swords, it mu&s;t be concluded, tho&s;e A&s;&s;emblies did not tru|ly repre&s;ent that People.</P>
<P>Whether they have done &s;o ought well to be con&s;ider'd; and if they have not, to find where the fault lay, were a u&s;eful di&s;covery: and it is highly nece&s;|&s;ary that the Boroughs of <HI>England</HI> &s;hould be well appri&s;ed of the pre&s;ent circum|&s;tances of Affairs, and of the &s;entiments of Mankind at this time; that by a pro|per and di&s;creet choice they may &s;ecure at once the Happine&s;s of their Country, and their own Reputation, which are both in danger.</P>
<P>The opinion of the univer&s;al Corrupti|on of this Age cannot be conceal'd; it is made evident by tho&s;e that Elect, by tho&s;e that are Elected; buying Elections, and &s;elling of Votes are Con&s;equences. And if this &s;hould appear to be the pre&s;ent Ca&s;e, &s;uch a Hou&s;e of Commons cannot pa&s;s for a Repre&s;entative of the People, but a Re|pre&s;entative of a few di&s;&s;olute, mercenary Per&s;ons, po&s;&s;e&s;t of Voices in the Boroughs, of <HI>England.</HI> The con&s;equences of &s;uch Thoughts they will do well to con&s;ider: which mu&s;t induce all true Engli&s;h-men (at a proper time) to &s;eek other methods of being better repre&s;ented.</P>
<P>When I &s;peak of a natural, &s;afe and certain way of pre&s;erving the Liberties of <HI>England,</HI> I mean the &s;ecuring a free, un|ingag'd Hou&s;e of Commons, con&s;i&s;ting of the Rich, Hone&s;t and Able Men of the Kingdom. When the balance of the Go|vernment went out of the hands of the Nobility and the Church-men, if a &s;uffi|cient Provi&s;ion had been made for this, now happy had we been, and what Mi&s;|chiefs and Dangers had been prevented to this Nation? From <HI>Henry</HI> the 7th to <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">his time our Annals had contain'd the Names of Princes on the Throne fit to have been the Predece&s;&s;ors to our glorious King: but true it is, he mu&s;t have lo&s;t his Title of <HI>Deliverer,</HI> as we had &s;aved the P<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ce of our Redemption; for our Con|&s;t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">tution would have pre&s;erved us from
<PB N="2" REF="2"> tho&s;e Dangers and Violences from which he came to free us, and we had not had a whole Generation con&s;piring for a hun|dred years together (tho in different ways) again&s;t our e&s;tabli&s;h'd Govern|ment, when &s;worn to &s;upport it. If our new Barrier had been well fortified, and if our Repre&s;entative of the People had been contrived to an&s;wer in deed to the Name, all our Kings had been Q. <HI>Eli|zabeths.</HI> But our Elections in incon&s;i|derable Boroughs, and our Members being qualified to &s;erve two Ma&s;ters, were &s;uch mi&s;takes in our Fundamen|tals, that as they have produc'd our pa&s;t Misfortunes, they mu&s;t produce the like under bad Princes, or evil projecting Mini&s;ters.</P>
<P>A Hou&s;e of Commons cho&s;en truly by the People, incapable of Pen&s;ion, and Place; and the King and Kingdom had been incapable of Misfortune: they had been out of the reach of all human Power, and, with due &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion, above Fate; &s;ince &s;uch a Government would have made us the proper Objects of Divine Pro|tection, and not only have &s;ecured our Greatne&s;s and Glory, but our Religion and Morals too, which I fear are all going together.</P>
<P>In &s;uch Circum&s;tances we &s;hould have had no cau&s;e to fear the Scoti&s;h cunning of K. <HI>James</HI> I. No King of <HI>Scotland</HI> could have made a Scotch Parliament of &s;uch an Engli&s;h A&s;&s;embly. Such a Mon&s;ter as <HI>Buckingham,</HI> and upon &s;o mon&s;trous a foot of Favor, could never have grown to &s;uch an exorbitant &s;ize under &s;uch a Con|&s;titution: he had &s;oon been prevented in the apparent pro&s;titution of our Wealth, in his apparent neglect of the Honor and Intere&s;t of the Kingdom, in his apparent and treacherous dealings with the French, and the publick Enemies: his Iniquities had never been &s;creen'd by a Party; in a word, he had not fallen a Victim to a private Hand.</P>
<P>Under &s;uch a Government his pious Son had per&s;ued the like mea&s;ures in vain: his French Wife, his &s;candalous Fa|vorites, his unlaudable Bi&s;hops, his own in&s;olent and uncon&s;tant Temper could never have brought him to the Block: all the Blood &s;hed to no purpo&s;e in tho&s;e Wars had been &s;av'd; he could never have lo&s;t his Life, nor his King|doms; he would only have lo&s;t his Title of Martyr.</P>
<P>Under &s;o ju&s;t a balance of Power, as the Sons would have avoided the ill Con|&s;equences of their Father's Fate, &s;o would they probably have avoided all the French Infection which they receiv'd in Body and Mind: They had not receiv'd (Sons of the Prote&s;tant Martyr) the French Religion, and above all Contagions a French Incli|nation, the mo&s;t fatal Poi&s;on that could en|ter the Blood of an Engli&s;h King. Such a Government would &s;oon have di&s;cover'd the Prote&s;tant Mask K. <HI>Charles</HI> II. only pull'd off at his death. Such a Parliamen|tary Con&s;titution would not have &s;uffer'd the avow'd and open Apo&s;tacy of the next Heir; the Bill of Exclu&s;ion had then pa&s;t, and had prevented the &s;etting up, the pulling down the late King with &s;uch hazard and expence to this Nation. Such an E&s;tabli&s;hment would have prevented that late damnable invented Project o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>corrupting Parliaments</HI> (which I mu&s;t mention in this place, becau&s;e it began a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> this time) that cur&s;ed Project, which de+feats all our hopes, which poi&s;ons us in our mothers milk, which murders us by the hands of our Parents, which infect<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> the only Cordial that can pre&s;erve ou<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Being, which makes us acce&s;&s;ory to ou<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> own Fate, betray'd by tho&s;e we chu&s;e to repre&s;ent us, made &s;laves by our Protec|tors, and given up by tho&s;e elected t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> defend our Liberties, (but of this, and the terrible Con&s;equences I &s;hall take far|ther notice.) Such a Con&s;titution would
<PB N="3" REF="2"> have prevented that Inundation of Pro|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">anene&s;s, Leudne&s;s, and Immorality, in|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">roduc'd by K. <HI>Charles</HI> II. and his Athe|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ical Wits, to fit the Nation for the in|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ended Yoke of Popery and Slavery. To <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">hat end was all Learning and Virtue ex|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">loded in his Reign, &s;corn of Religion, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ontempt of a publick Spirit, deri&s;ion of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">etters; and a pretending Wit above rule, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">earning, or Scruples, being the &s;ure and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nly recommendations to his Favor, and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ublic Imployments. No Government <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t mu&s;t leave Mankind, as the Deity dos <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">is Creatures, in a &s;tate of Freewill, and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">erefore in an exerci&s;e perhaps of pri|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">at vices, or conceal'd villanies: but in <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ch a true Engli&s;h E&s;tabli&s;hment we had <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ever &s;een a rampant Erench Whore, o|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">enly governing our Councils; we had <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t &s;een an Engli&s;h King (well under|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">anding Seafaring matters) an open In|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ructor to his Brother of <HI>France</HI> in the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">y&s;teries of Navigation, Building and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">rade. And to evince, as I go along, the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">tere&s;t of King and People equally to <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">b&s;i&s;t in a &s;teady, good, and incorrupti|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e Admini&s;tration, the Elder Brother <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">d never died an unnatural death in &s;uch <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> well regulated Prote&s;tant State, as <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ould not have admitted of a bigotted, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ad&s;trong, Popi&s;h Succe&s;&s;or. But let us <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ave this artful King, trick'd in his <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ricks, outwitted by &s;uch a Brother, plot|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">d again&s;t by his Son, unpitied by his <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">bjects, tho making way for &s;uch a Suc|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;&s;or, abandon'd at la&s;t by his Bi&s;hops, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">d with nothing to &s;ave him from a fu|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">re Account, but Extreme Unction from <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e Prie&s;ts of the Whore of <HI>Babylon.</HI></P>
<P>And now to the la&s;t, and in my opinion <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e be&s;t of the wicked Reigns; for the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">oject of a Standing Army under a Po|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;h King did but ha&s;ten our Deliverance, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> did the Expedient of an Heir under a <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">elly of Clouts. The Son mu&s;t really be <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t, and the Army mu&s;t be Prote&s;tant, I do not &s;ay really &s;o, for the Name will do But I &s;hall &s;ay le&s;s of the living Prince, be|cau&s;e of his Misfortunes. He lives, and without a Crown, which is Puni&s;hment great enough for Follies having the excu&s;e of Con&s;cience, and Mi&s;take. Yet I can hardly contain when I remember he is the cau&s;e, that all Mankind have been getting our Wealth, while our own recompence is, that we have got rid of him&s;elf. How|ever I forgive him all the re&s;t, but having left behind that wor&s;t of Evils, <HI>a pretence to a Prote&s;tant Army, in a good Reign, and in times of Peace:</HI> and I will only lay to the charge of his Brother of ble&s;&s;ed memory, <HI>all the Mi&s;chiefs ari&s;ing from corrupted Parliaments.</HI></P>
<P>Now to this great point, and our mo&s;t pre&s;&s;ing Danger, and the pre&s;ent and future Remedies of them. I have hi|therto bin &s;hewing what Violences, what Infamies, what Follies, an uncor|rupted Parliamentary Con&s;titution would have prevented; which evinces &s;ufficient|ly what we have to expect in future times, if a &s;ecure Settlement be not ob|tain'd under a good King again&s;t the notorious increa&s;e of Corruption in our Age. It is now come to &s;uch a height, that it may almo&s;t be &s;aid, A wi&s;e Prince mu&s;t comply with it: for as in a weak and low condition, the Phy&s;ician mu&s;t not apply the proper Re|medy till the Patient has &s;trength to bear it; &s;o in our low and corrupted State, when Patriots mu&s;t be hired to &s;erve their Country, when Whigs go re&s;ty without Pen&s;ion or Place, and begin with untime|ly barking again&s;t the Government in War, to conclude with pro&s;titute baw|ling for it after a Peace; I &s;ay, when this is our ca&s;e, till effectual Laws have re|cover'd our Con&s;titution, it mu&s;t be con|fe&s;t, our Princes have an excu&s;e for practi|&s;ing the ba&s;e arts of Corruption, e&s;peci|ally in times of eminent danger, which
<PB N="4" REF="3"> allow of no delays. This makes it plain that among&s;t Men, Lawgivers mu&s;t only &s;eek for coercive Hone&s;ty; and Legi&s;la|tors remembring that mo&s;t nece&s;&s;ary part of the mo&s;t perfect Prayer, <HI>Lead us not into Temtation,</HI> &s;hould have that principally in view for King and People, that neither be led into it. No Emperor but envies the lea&s;t Bird upon the wing: but &s;ince Flying is impo&s;&s;ible, the great Vicegerents of God upon Earth are content to walk upon two Legs with common Porters; and either Kings mu&s;t drop from Heaven, and then let them be <HI>Jure divino,</HI> or Mankind mu&s;t be Slaves, unle&s;s they provide &s;uch happy and irre&s;i&s;tible Laws as may re&s;train the love of Power, as well in Kings, as in State&s;men. I will only de&s;ire the ex|ample may be given me, of the be&s;t of Kings &s;ucceeding a bad one, who ever made it his choice to give up any Autho|rity or Acqui&s;ition, tho obtain'd by his Predece&s;&s;or by means he would not have practi&s;ed him&s;elf. Since then the Evils of bad Princes are permanent, and the good E&s;tabli&s;hments of ju&s;t ones often overthrown by tho&s;e that are Arbitrary, what Methods for the good of Mankind and Society, but to find Chains &s;trong enough to bind a Tyrant, which can only be made here in <HI>England,</HI> when a good King with upright Mini&s;ters beat the An|vil, and uncorrupted Parliaments find Fire and Materials?</P>
<P>The highe&s;t Compliment I can make this King is to &s;ay, This is the time for &s;o glorious a Work, and we have great rea&s;on to expect his utmo&s;t a&s;&s;i&s;tance: For in truth, Deliverance and Reforma|tion are his very Title. There is this un|an&s;werable Argument to prove it mu&s;t be now or never: Some Infections mu&s;t be check'd in time, or Remedies will come too late; and I am &s;ure we mu&s;t flux now, or never expect to &s;ee a &s;ound No&s;e on the face of the Government. Such a precarious Peace as we have obtain'd is hardly a Ble&s;&s;ing: but becau&s;e it &s;ets Parliaments at liberty to &s;ettle our &s;hat|ter'd State, let no time be lo&s;t then, when we are &s;o un&s;ecure of its la&s;ting. But as I would willingly give &s;ome hints that may be &s;erviceable at all times in the great Cau&s;e of Liberty, &s;o I &s;hall take notice, and that only from Ob&s;ervati|ons of the la&s;t Reigns, what are the mo&s;t dangerous Symptoms threatning a People with lo&s;s of Liberty: and when mo&s;t of tho&s;e Circum&s;tances concur at once (any one of which dos threaten ruin) then I need not &s;ay a Government is mo&s;t in danger, and that the &s;peedie&s;t and &s;tronge&s;t Antidotes &s;hould be pro|vided again&s;t the influence of &s;o many malignant Con&s;tellations join'd together.</P>
<P>To begin then with what the Reign of K. <HI>James</HI> the 1&s;t will afford us: The mo&s;t dangerous Circum&s;tance that could attend a Nation was a rea&s;onable obliga|tion to &s;et upon the Throne a Prince born and bred up in another Country, who mu&s;t retain a Forein Heart, who mu&s;t be partial to the Poople, to the Cu&s;toms of his native Land; who mu&s;t therefore be unacquainted with the Men, Manners, Privileges, and I aws of tho&s;e Territo|ries he is newly come to govern. This Partiality is natural, and for that rea&s;on ju&s;tifiable: and therefore as it &s;eldom happens but that Princes tran&s;plant them &s;elves to a richer Soil (as was the ca&s;e o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> K. <HI>James</HI>) &s;o the Wealth of the mor<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> opulent Nation mu&s;t always be pro&s;ti+tuted to rai&s;e and &s;upply the Favorite of the poorer; and 'tis all can be expec+ted, that they be not rai&s;ed by ha&s;ty an<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> unmerited Favours: be&s;ides, it is almo&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> impo&s;&s;ible but the Intere&s;ts of the Tw<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Nations or People mu&s;t interfere, if h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> retains the Juri&s;diction of both, as thi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Scotch Prince did. How perplext mu&s;t
<PB N="5" REF="3"> the be&s;t of Kings be in his divided thoughts <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">d inclinations? and where, and to <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">hom mu&s;t Nature and Education incline <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">m? It may happen, as in this ca&s;e, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">at the unforc'd Con&s;titution of one <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ountry allow'd a greater Power, and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">eater Prerogatives than was con&s;i&s;tent <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ith the Laws of the other. How &s;hall <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e &s;pirit of a Prince brook the refu&s;al <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> that in one place, which he was us'd <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> the &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion to el&s;ewhere? How <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n he ea&s;ily change a Bent created per|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ps by Nature, and confirm'd by Cu|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">om? In one Country requir'd to head <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">rmies, in another oblig'd to encourage <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">eets: In one Country Troops are the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">pport of Mens Property, in the other <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ey mu&s;t prove the ruin of their Liber|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">es; this di&s;tinction Princes cannot ea|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">y make. Religion too, the great guide <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">f Mens Actions, or at lea&s;t their pre|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nce, differs almo&s;t in all Countries, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">en where it agrees in name: and we <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ow by bloody experience how little <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e Prote&s;tant Religion of the Scots did <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">gree with our Epi&s;copacy. Innumera|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e are the Mi&s;chiefs ari&s;ing from &s;uch a <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ircum&s;tance; but I confine my &s;elf on|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> to what were the apparent dangers in <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e ca&s;e before us.</P>
<P>Another dangerous Symptom appear|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">g in the Reign of K. <HI>Charles</HI> the 1&s;t <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">as this, That all his arbitrary De&s;igns <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ere carried on, and di&s;guis'd under the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ask of the mo&s;t preci&s;e Piety. Such <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">pious Projects as aro&s;e from In&s;olence <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nd Pride, that were carried on by <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">each of Faith, that tended to the effu&s;i|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> of the be&s;t Blood in the Nation, were <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">lways tran&s;acted in Forms, with Fa&s;t|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">g and Prayers. As his Shipmony was <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">aintain'd by his Judges, &s;o were all his <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ther Expedients to in&s;lave the Nation <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">reach'd for by his Church, and labor'd <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">or by his Bi&s;hops.</P>
<P>Another threatning Circum&s;tance was the advantage with which K. <HI>Charles</HI> the 2d came to the Throne. The Nation was then intoxicated with Joy: and he made as ill u&s;e of that opportunity, as <HI>Noah</HI>'s Daughters did of their Father's Drunkenne&s;s; as they went in to him, &s;o he got in to his People, and with all &s;ly Arts and Corruption began the fatal (well-improv'd) Project of <HI>bribing Parliaments.</HI> And that none might have a &s;cruple of Con&s;cience again&s;t this highe&s;t of Crimes, betraying their Country, Religion in his time was the je&s;t of his Favorites: but for him&s;elf, he had a different one rea|dy for every Nation, and &s;ort of People he had to do with; a Papi&s;t in <HI>France,</HI> a Presbyterian in <HI>Scotland,</HI> a Churchman in <HI>England,</HI> a Quaker with <HI>Penn,</HI> an Athei&s;t with <HI>Hallifax.</HI> A mo&s;t dextrous practice this in all Princes that per&s;ue it, who thus ea&s;ily impo&s;e on good people willing to be deceiv'd.</P>
<P>Another certain warning of en&s;uing mi&s;chief (the very Porpoi&s;e before the Storm) is a Standing Army; which tho it prov'd un&s;ucce&s;sful in K. <HI>James</HI>'s time, yet it immediately preceded his intentions of &s;ubverting all our Laws, Human and Divine. He thought his Pro|ject as infallible as his Pope, when &s;o many of his Troops were Papi&s;ts and Fo|reiners; being &s;ecure too of Ships from abroad to tran&s;port more Strangers when wanted. But all this was &s;poil'd with one word, Popery. Heaven had in &s;tore an Antidote again&s;t a Popi&s;h Army, pray God pre&s;erve us at all times from a Prote&s;tant one.</P>
<P>Now having recapitulated all the&s;e Circum&s;tances of approaching ruin, which we &s;o narrowly e&s;cap'd in the foregoing Reigns, what would become of us if the&s;e difficulties &s;hould bear upon us (as in a Hurricane) all at once? Whenever they do, well may the Nation fear their impending Fate. Yet after all I &s;ay, a
<PB N="6" REF="4"> free uncorrupted Parliament would &s;oon di&s;pel the&s;e Clouds. Under &s;uch a Govern|ment as I have mention'd, K. <HI>James</HI> the 1&s;t had bin compell'd to have made u&s;e of Engli&s;h Councils in governing an Engli&s;h Nation: he had bin oblig'd to have pro|vided for his Scots Favorites out of his Scotch Revenue: he had no doubt bin &s;upplied with the Mony of <HI>England,</HI> but forced to have laid it out for the Ho|nor and Intere&s;ts of that People. Sup|po&s;e the Nation prepo&s;&s;e&s;t for him as they were for K. <HI>Charles</HI> the 2d, reliev'd from long Wars, from Confu&s;ion, from <HI>Cromwels</HI> and U&s;urpers; &s;uch a Parlia|ment would not then have &s;at &s;till in idle rejoicing, but wi&s;ely have prevented the Cau&s;es of future mourning: nay, give him the Standing Army of the unfortu|nate Prince of his name (let it be a Pro|te&s;tant one too) yet &s;uch an A&s;&s;embly with their &s;teady Wi&s;dom and Vigor would have re&s;cued their Country from all the&s;e dangers. All I can allow, but the Circum&s;tances of K. <HI>Charles</HI>'s corrupt|ed Parliament: for the Incorruption of that is my only Remedy to all other E|vils; when that falls out with the re&s;t, there is nothing left but for hone&s;t men to &s;how the Nation the Precipice upon which they &s;tand: And much may be expected from &s;o brave a People, when wak'd out of their Lethargy, and well appri&s;ed of their danger. I &s;hall conclude this part with the Que&s;tions of K. <HI>James</HI> the 1st upon his acce&s;&s;ion to the Throne, <HI>Do I make the Bi&s;hops? Do I make the Judges?</HI> If to this he might have added, <HI>Do I make the Hou&s;e of Commons?</HI> To &s;uch fatal Interrogatories the An&s;wer is too plain.</P>
<P>Having treated (and with a Freedom an Engli&s;hman may well take) of the Circum&s;tances of the la&s;t Reigns, I come to a Subject with more difficulty to be handled. What the People and Parli|ament have to do at pre&s;ent may well be gather'd from the foregoing Con&s;idera|tions, yet I mu&s;t &s;ay &s;omething of the Revolution, and what has hapned &s;ince, were it only to acknowledg the Obliga|tions we owe to our pre&s;ent King. The Oppre&s;&s;ions and Dangers from which he reliev'd us were &s;o grievous, and the Ad|vantages we might have procur'd our &s;elves by his coming were &s;o great, that we ow him the utmo&s;t Gratitude, not to be overpaid by any thing but by &s;uch a confidence in his Virtue, as (forgetful of Times pa&s;t and to come) &s;hould make us neglect the Opportunity he has given us of &s;ecuring to our &s;elves, the never being &s;o much oblig'd to any other. This were the wor&s;t requital we could make him, to let it be po&s;&s;ible by our negligence, that any per&s;on &s;hould ever rival him in his glorious Title of Deliverer.</P>
<P>Our pre&s;ent King has now the &s;ame Game he has all his Life bin &s;uccesfully per&s;uing abroad, and the &s;ame bu&s;ine&s;s he has bin bred up to in other Countries; but he has now other Tools to work with, a divided and corrupted People. His Declaration a&s;&s;ures us, he came to &s;ecure our Con&s;titution, &s;o as no ill Prince, no evil Mini&s;ters &s;hould be able to violate it for the future. I &s;hall not now repeat what he has done in per&s;on towards all this; it were unnece&s;&s;ary Flattery to re|peat Actions done in the face of the Sun: but my bu&s;ine&s;s at pre&s;ent is to con&s;ider what has bin deficient; and, as I pro|pos'd at fir&s;t, to give &s;ome hints where the fault lies, and how it came about that we have bin expos'd to &s;uch hazards, and are yet un&s;ecure; and this to the end the Scene of his great Life may be perfected, and his Promi&s;es made good to us, in an E&s;tabli&s;hment &s;ecur'd again&s;t future At|temts.</P>
<P>I mu&s;t confe&s;s I cannot wholly acquit the Convention, and other following Par|liaments.
<PB N="7" REF="4"> I doubt all the unnece&s;&s;ary hazards to which we have been expos'd, all our un&s;uccesful Undertakings, all the mi&s;given and mi&s;pent Trea&s;ure, all that is deficient, or left undone to the com|pleating our Security, mu&s;t in a great mea&s;ure be laid to their charge. It is well known, many in Pamphlets, more <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Di&s;cour&s;e, accu&s;e them both of weak|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e&s;s and corruption: But they &s;hould <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">on&s;ider that &s;uch a War was what ne|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">er came afore into the hands of a Parli|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ment; the dangers and difficulties &s;uc|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">eeding and increa&s;ing from year to year, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ere enough to amaze and di&s;tract the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">reate&s;t A&s;&s;embly. I &s;hall be far from <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">a&s;&s;ing &s;o hard a Judgment upon them; <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">y only wi&s;h is, if they have done well, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">at they may never do otherwi&s;e; if <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ey have committed errors, the like may <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ever happen. My Ambition is their <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">lory; only out of zeal to their Honor, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;hall take notice of &s;ome Complaints <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ade by others; and from my &s;elf take <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e liberty to &s;ay, that this en&s;uing Par|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ment made free by a happy Peace, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">u&s;t make the Nation &s;o for ever, or for <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">er lo&s;e their Reputation.</P>
<P><HI>This is the Time</HI> in which Parliaments <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ould exert them&s;elves for the Nations <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">appine&s;s, and their own Fame. All <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ankind have ob&s;erv'd, this is the &s;econd <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">volution unimprov'd by Parliaments the &s;ame Age; the one as ineffectual the good of <HI>England</HI> in the hands of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">triots, Whigs and Di&s;&s;enters, as the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">er was in the hands of Cavaliers and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">urchmen: Which makes Men apt to <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">clude, the fault lies in that part of our <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n&s;titution on which we mo&s;t rely. And <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> common rea&s;on given by all why Par|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ents have mi&s;manag'd, is, that they <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;o manag'd them&s;elves: They do not <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">y &s;uppo&s;e them &s;ubjected to the power <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ings, to the influence of great Men, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">he arts of old and crafty State&s;men, but accu&s;e them now of being led by beardle&s;s Politicians, by up&s;tart Prenti|ces in bu&s;ine&s;s, neither &s;upported by Fortune, Dignities or Experience, and only buoy'd up by projecting In&s;olence. If this were the ca&s;e, to what are we re|duced? This is not <HI>Phaeton</HI> unfortunate|ly conducting the Hor&s;es of the Sun, but a Carrier driving Pack-hor&s;es, and Bea&s;ts of Burden, which jog on their appointed Stages for their pen&s;ions.</P>
<P>The propos'd limits of a Sheet, and not the Subject, confine me; and therefore I &s;hall repeat but one Objection made to the Wi&s;dom of our National A&s;&s;emblies, which is, that the Members of a Con|vention freely cho&s;en, brought together at this Revolution, and miraculou&s;ly de|liver'd from the highe&s;t Oppre&s;&s;ions, &s;hould admit of the old Underminers of our Liberties for the new managers of Reformation: and this I may &s;ay as to their Integrity, who would have admit|ted of &s;uch Corrupters, but to be cor|rupted?</P>
<P>It may very well be &s;aid to the ju&s;tifi|cation of &s;ome; When there was no Go|vernment, no Mini&s;ters, no Mony, no privy Pur&s;e, who could influence? It mu&s;t be confe&s;t (and here is the fatal Error) if there was Corruption, it was from within: Nay it is plain, they mu&s;t bribe them&s;elves, and only with hopes and expectations; they were qua|lify'd by the Con&s;titution to have places, every Fool was well qualify'd in his own thoughts, and every Knave betray'd his Tru&s;t and his Country to make him|&s;elf worthy.</P>
<P>Men have not only alter'd in our times, but Parties have chang'd their principles and practices: if &s;o, what cau|tions can be great enough in &s;uch an Age? I come therefore to tho&s;e con&s;iderations, what wi&s;e and hone&s;t Men &s;hould do in this critical juncture. I &s;hall propo&s;e
<PB N="8" REF="5"> preventing Phy&s;ick, &s;afe, were there no pre&s;ent Di&s;ea&s;e, were there no Corrupti|on in our Land, were all upright from the Lord to the Commoner: Yet I doubt the Golden Age would not &s;ucceed, were all wi&s;e as <HI>Solomon,</HI> and after God's own heart as <HI>David;</HI> we know the fol|lies committed by the one, the impieties by the other; let no Man depend too much upon him&s;elf, let no Government depend upon Men. Pre&s;umption is the highe&s;t Sin, and Prevention the highe&s;t Wi&s;dom.</P>
<P>I doubt not but &s;ome will think, and more will &s;ay, I have writ a tedious Pre|face to a very &s;hort Treati&s;e; that with|out &s;o much repetition, without enume|rating &s;o many Di&s;ea&s;es, and times of In|fection, I might &s;ooner have given my &s;hort Receipt, which is this; <HI>Good People of</HI> England, <HI>elect tho&s;e to repre&s;ent you this Parliament, who mo&s;t probably will &s;ecure your being truly repre&s;ented for ever:</HI> in other words, <HI>Tho&s;e who have Virtue enough to incapacitate them&s;elves from any Ser|vice but that of their Country, while they take that Tru&s;t upon them.</HI></P>
<P>Now towards making &s;uch a Choice, my In&s;tructions &s;hall be as &s;hort as my Advice; <HI>Chu&s;e Rich Men.</HI> For you may know who are Rich, and cannot know who are Hone&s;t: One you think hone&s;t may take Mony, but one that is rich do's not want it. Let no Character of Party recommend or prejudice: Poor Whigs, poor Tories, want equally Places, and will act alike to get and keep 'em; bu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> be &s;ure if they want Mony much, they have not much Ambition. Therefore a|void the younger Sons of Lords, who ful<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> of Pride, with empty pockets, will en+deavour, at the Nations co&s;t, to becom<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> rich Commoners. It is needle&s;s to ad+vi&s;e again&s;t tho&s;e who&s;e Actions have di&s;+cover'd them in foregoing Parliaments tho&s;e wor&s;t of Villains, who began lik<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Patriots, to conclude like Para&s;ites.</P>
<P>Thus I conclude, like a Quack, under+taking my Remedy &s;hall cure all Di+&s;tempers, whether they lie in the Heart o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> the Brain. No matter what &s;ort of Me<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> con&s;pire, whether the bold Projects (fla+ming like Comets in the Sky) threate<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> multitudes, or whether the &s;ofter Me+thods (like Mines under ground) wor<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> hidden mi&s;chief. Such a National A<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">+<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">mbly, under the Qualifications I hav<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> mention'd, would repel the <HI>Ba&s;haw,</HI> an<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> defeat the Courtier, and prove &s;trong <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">+nough to &s;ecure us from the mo&s;t dange<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">+ous De&s;igns, tho&s;e dre&s;t up with Zea<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> and di&s;guis'd by Improbability. Such <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Parliament would &s;ecure us from <HI>Relig<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">+ous Leudne&s;s, Prote&s;tant Arbitrarine&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI> and <HI>Parliamentary Slavery.</HI></P>
<TRAILER>THE END.</TRAILER>
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