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<DATE>2014-05-06</DATE>
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<NAME>TCP Staff (Michigan)</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="declaration">
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<HEAD><FIGURE>
<FIGDESC>royal coat of arms, circa 1689</FIGDESC>
<P>HONI SOIT QVI MAL Y PENSE</P>
<P>DIEV E<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> MON DROIT</P>
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<HEAD>A DECLARATION Of His Mo&s;t Sacred Maje&s;ty, King James II. To all His Loving SUBJECTS IN THE KINGDOM of ENGLAND.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SIGNED><HI>JAMES</HI> R.</SIGNED></OPENER>
<P>ALthough the many Calumnies and di&s;mal Stories, by which Our Enemies have endeavour'd to render Us and Our Government Odious to the World do now appear to have been advanced by them, not only without any Ground, but agan&s;t their own certain Knowledge; as is evident by their not daring to attempt the proving the&s;e Charges to the World, which We cannot but hope hath open'd the Eyes of Our good Subjects, to &s;ee how they have been impo&s;ed upon by de&s;igning Men; who, to promote their own Ambitious Ends, care not what <HI>Slavery</HI> they reduce Our Kingdoms to: Yet, We cannot but rejoyce, that We have had an Opportunity to demon&s;trate the Fal&s;ne&s;s and Malice of their Pretences, &s;ince Our Arrival in this Our Kingdom of <HI>Ireland;</HI> by making it Our chief Concern to &s;atisfy the Minds of Our Prote&s;tant Subjects: The Defence of their Religion, Priviledges and Pro|perties, is equally Our Care with the recovery of Our Rights. To this end, We have preferred &s;uch of them, of who&s;e Loyalty and Affection We are &s;atisfied, to Places both of the highe&s;t Honor and Tru&s;t about Our Per&s;on, as well as in Our Army. We have, by granting Our Royal Protection to &s;uch who&s;e Minds were &s;haken by the
<PB REF="2" MS="y"> Arts of Our <HI>Rebellious Subjects,</HI> di&s;pell'd their Apprehen&s;ions, and effectually &s;ecured them again&s;t the Attempts, even of their private Enemies. Our Ear hath been always open to their Ju&s;t Complaints; And &s;o far hath Our Royal Mercy been extended, to tho&s;e who were in Arms again&s;t Us, that We have actually Pardoned &s;everal Hundreds of them; and mo&s;t <HI>Notorious Criminals</HI> are kept in an ea&s;ie Confinement (as they them|&s;elves acknowledge.)</P>
<P>We have taken Care that Our Subjects of the Church of <HI>England</HI> be not di&s;turbed in the Exerci&s;e of their Religion, the Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of their Benefices and other Proper|ties; and all Prote&s;tant Di&s;&s;enters enjoy Liberty of their Con&s;cienes, without any mole&s;ttation. And out of Our Royal Care for the Pro&s;perity of Our People, We have recommended to <HI>Our Parliament,</HI> as the Fir&s;t Thing nece&s;&s;ary to be di&s;patched, to &s;ettle &s;uch a Security and Liberty, both in Spiritual and Temporal Matters, as may put an End to the&s;e Divi&s;ions, which have been the Source of all Our Mi&s;eries; Being re&s;olved, as much as in Us lyes, to entail Liberty and Happine&s;s upon Our People &s;o far, as to put it out of the Power of Our Succe&s;&s;ors to Invade the one, or Infringe the other. And this, We take God to Witne&s;s, was always Our de&s;ign; of which We &s;ee Our good Subjects here are more and more convinced, by the great Numbers of tho&s;e, who having been Seduced, or Frightned, by the re&s;tle&s;s Importunities of Our Enemies, are returned to their Country and Habitations; and who a&s;&s;ure Us, daily more would fol|low, if the <HI>Ports</HI> were open: But the <HI>V&s;urpers</HI> know too well the &s;incerity of Our Intentions; to permit a free Pa&s;&s;age of Our &s;aid Subjects; fearing nothing more than that their Experience &s;hould undeceive the re&s;t, who are re&s;trained more through Ig|norance than any ill Intention: And therefore deny them that Liberty which We afford to all, who&s;e de&s;igns We are &s;atisfied tend not to the di&s;turbance of the Peace.</P>
<P>By this Our Gracious and Royal Care of Our Prote&s;tant Subjects here, (where the greate&s;t part of Our Nation is Catholick) and have, as well as We, received the highe&s;t provocation from their Fellow-Subjects of contrary Per&s;ua&s;ions: So that nothing, but Our Own inclination to Ju&s;tice, and de&s;ire to &s;ee Our People Flouri&s;h, could move Us to &s;uch a Proceeding. We hope Our Subjects in <HI>England</HI> will make a Judgment of what they may expect from Us: And We do hereby promi&s;e and declare, That nothing &s;hall ever alter Our Re&s;olutions to pur&s;ue &s;uch, and no other Methods, as by Our &s;aid Subjects in Parliament &s;hall be found proper for Our common Security, Peace and Happine&s;s. And that none may be debarr'd of a&s;&s;i&s;ting Us in recovering of Our Rights, and redeeming Our People from their pre&s;ent Slavery, out of any apprehen&s;ion from pa&s;t Mi&s;carriages; We do hereby a&s;&s;ure all Our Subjects, of what Quality &s;oever, let theirt Crimes again&s;t Us be never &s;o great; That if in Twenty Days after Our appear|ing in Per&s;on in Our Kingdom of <HI>England,</HI> they return to their Obedience, by de&s;ert|ing Our Enemies and joyning with Us, We will grant them Our full Pardon, and all pa&s;t Mi&s;carriages &s;hall be forgot: So little do We delight in the Blood or Ruin of Our People. But if after this Our Gracious conde&s;cen&s;ion, they &s;hall yet continue to a&s;&s;i&s;t Our Enemies and Rebels, We do before God charge all the Blood which &s;hall be af|terward &s;hed, upon Them and their Adherents. And, We doubt not, by the Ble&s;&s;ing of God upon Our Arms, to force the mo&s;t Ob&s;tinate to their Duty: Though, as We have made appear in reducing Our Rebellious Subjects in this Kingdom, We de&s;ire to u&s;e no other than <HI>Lenity</HI> and <HI>Mercy.</HI></P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><HI>Given at Our Court, in</HI> Dublin-Ca&s;tle, <DATE><HI>the Eighth of</HI> May, 1689. <HI>in the Fifth Year of Our Reign.</HI></DATE></DATELINE> <HI>God &s;ave the King.</HI></CLOSER>
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