a poem humbly presented to his most excellent majesty king william the third upon his most miraculuous and happy preservation from that barbarous jacobitish conspiracy to assassinate his royal person, february anno 1695 / by r.b. bovet, richard, b. ca. 1641. 1696 approx. 15 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 7 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2007-01 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a28909 wing b3865 estc r26546 09498396 ocm 09498396 43307 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a28909) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 43307) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1325:7) a poem humbly presented to his most excellent majesty king william the third upon his most miraculuous and happy preservation from that barbarous jacobitish conspiracy to assassinate his royal person, february anno 1695 / by r.b. bovet, richard, b. ca. 1641. 12 p. printed by j. dover for richard baldwin, london : 1696. running title: a poem upon the king's preservation. reproduction of original in the harvard university library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng william -iii, -king of england, 1650-1702 -poetry. lancashire plot, 1689-1694 -poetry. 2006-05 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2006-05 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2006-06 andrew kuster sampled and proofread 2006-06 andrew kuster text and markup reviewed and edited 2006-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a poem humbly presented to his most excellent majesty king. vvilliam the third , upon his most miraculous and happy preservation from that barbarous jacobitish conspirary to assassinate his royal person , february anno 1695. by r. b. — nec ignes nec potuit ferrum ! london ; printed by j. dover , for richard baldwin near the oxford-arms in warwick-lane , 1696. a poem upon his majesty's miraculous and happy preservation from jacobite and french assassines . whilst treach'rous france in his versail secures his guilty mould'ring carcass , and immures in lewd maintinion's arms his conscious soul , which in streams of blood makes gasping europe rowl , and massacres whole countries by surprize , boasting his breach of faith for victories : whilst he t'inglorious poisonings resorts , and in secret murthers makes his great efforts ; sordid attempts ! despis'd by men of arms , honour their blood for just atcheiv'ments warms ▪ these court the glorious field , and seek renown where toyling hero's strive for vict'ries crown : but mean , and abject souls , such as the base case-hard'ned priests , and cain's pale treach'rous race of hated vagabonds , and bigotted fools , bog-trotting ruffians , mercenary tools , ( fit instruments t' advance the vast design in which great lewis , and just james conjoin ) barb'rous attempts these naturally chuse , black as their cause , such are the means they use . the brave are heaven's care , this caesar taught when his frighted pilot in a tempest wrought , proud swelling surges crusht the trembling keel , and made the captain's blust'ring courage reel , mountains of water combate on the main , and into foaming billows dash again ; the scaly legion to the bottom creep t' avoid the fury of the angry deep ; the watry regions glows with sparks of fire , and all the glories of the day retire , dark pitchy clouds obscure the spangled sky , and thunder down their terrors from on high : the crazy vessel like a cork was tost , and th' half-dead seamen yielded all was lost . th' vndaunted hero checques their gloomy fear , and buoys their spirits sinking in dispair : chear up my mates ! the gods of us take care , caesar , and th' empires fortune are lodg'd here : not all the raging floods can swallow's up ; i see a calm from yonder mountain's top : a bright serenity shines in my mind , and shews the empires work is yet behind ; this shatter'd vessel , tho' by tempests tore , shall caesar whaft to the appointed shore , nor will his better stars see him forlorn who was for glory , and an empire born. how oft hath england's greater caesar found his guardian angel shield his temples round ? your sacred head was cover'd from on high when storms of ball obscur'd the ecchoing sky ; when bombs , whose murth'ring thunders rend the air , like the last tempest which the globe shall tear , have set great camps , and cities all on fire as if the world should in that blaze expire ; your heav'n-skreen'd person hath unshaken stood in midst of hurricanes of fire and blood. great cannon-ball , disarm'd of all their force , slide o'er your shoulders , baffled in their course ! some touch your royal garments , and pass by , 's if aw'd by laws of supreme destiny . not all the battles rome's great gen'rals fought , not all the trophies which to rome they brought , with your immortal triumphs e'er can shine , if we regard your glories at the boyn ; or namur's walls , which like to vulcan's forge , or etna's top , thunder , and fire disgorge . this castle france impregnable did boast , here he laid out his utmost care , and cost , in this he vaunted as of babel's tower , 't was the result of all his might , and power : this your great soul with indignation fill'd , this mighty fortress to your sword must yield ! namur's the word , and 't is resolv'd upon france shan't keep towns , and england's king look on ! what conduct here , what bravery was shown , what rage , what arts , in former fights unknown ? this draggoon buffleur with amazement saw , and fill'd chantillie's shaken soul with awe ; they saw the english against rocks aspire , combat with cannon , grapple storms of fire ! courage like this our stout fore-fathers shew'd , they came , they saw , like caesar , and subdu'd . astonisht villeroy the seige beheld , and th' english reap the honour of the field , his hundred thousand french durst not appear , but stood , like statues , petrified with fear . whilst , royal sir , with honour you chastise , your foes resort to feeble treacheries , in camp they basely seek your precious life by poyson , or a consecrated knife ; in your own court their treasons they pursue ; what is 't their guilty fears won't hurry 'em to ? a set of spurious wretches , vile , and base , spawn'd , like their councils , of th' infernal race , the scum , reproach , and pest o' th' human line , as the fall'n angels are of that divine ; alike in rancour , and alike in spight , both fight against almighty power , and light : these are the crew chose by most christian france , his long-projected empire to advance ; now that his priest-blest arms , and councils fail , he 'll try if hell-spawn'd tories can't prevail . sir , 't is your noble vertue makes them dread , and raise their baffled plots against your head ; had you at first but crusht the viprous brood , they had not now been hunting for your blood ! but your mild reign , indulgent to a fault , cherisht those serpents which your life assault ; those home bred foes , more dangerous by far than all the open violence of war : not impious louis with his fleet , and host , of which ( till the late reigns ) he ne'er could boast , could stop the justice of your conq'ring sword , but for the aids our traytors hence afford . now , sir , your thunder let the miscreants share , whom heav'n discovers , let not favour spare : root the malignant race that dare disown your peoples right to give a forfeit crown , who from false toppicks , false conclusions draw , and give the prince a pow'r to null the law ; these , to foment our woes , two titles bring ▪ make one de facto , one de jure king ; such politiciaus would a claim reserve , the french designs to complement , and serve ▪ to pamper their insatiate avarice , they'd europe sell , and england sacrifice . when such as these are from preferments purg'd , and by your justice for their treasons scourg'd , intrigu'ing france shall gain no more from hence , supplies of treasure , and intelligence ; but this will mortify the monsieur more than five campaigns have ever done before ; the gallic power would but weak appear , if not supported by his engins here. great sir , by wonders rais'd , england to save from b'ing a spiritual , and a temp'ral slave , whom the eternal goodness hath preserv'd , and for some greater work to come reserv'd ; on whom all europe fix their suppliant eyes to save 'em from french chains , and cruelties ; see with what zeal your people join in one to guard your person , and secure your throne ▪ th' associating senate lead the van , your lords and commons as one single man ; your loyal city , opulent , and great , 'bove all the glorious sun e'er shin'd on yet ; taking copy from original so fair , express their love , their duty , and their care. no sooner was the welcome tydings hurl'd of their darling's safety thro' your english world , but in rural triumphs they their joy proclaim ; and vow to die for brave king william . in chearful throngs each county crowds to sign , and with their representatives conjoin : this bond of vnion is approv'd by all , and swells from corporate to national . nor will the general pact determine here , but foreign princes in the league appear ; the potentates of europe , one and all , states , and crown'd heads , allies , and neuteral : none can be safe , all government 's destroy'd , when butchers are for holy ends imploy'd . how execrable must this make the names of the twin-cut-throats lou ' le grand , and james ? whilst these fresh treasons wake your friends at land your floating tow'rs , their force at sea withstand ; this to your royal vigilance we owe , soft they approach'd , but found no sleepy foe : soon when your startling squadron came in view , the noisy french armada straight withdrew , th' affrighted flota to the sands do creep , and durst not meet your adm'ral on the deep ▪ their pannick army they debarque again , and heave their cannon in the watry main ; and , tho' in haste their hero to restore , they durst not venture on your english shoar . your royal flagg made ships , and troops to run , they mind the setting of their rising sun. great rvssel stops them in their hot carier , russel , whose name the french with trembling hear . that illustrious captain , monsieur durst not meet , they felt his courage , when he burnt their fleet. thus what false france design'd for england's woe , kind prov'dence turns to france's overthrow , and , well improv'd , will fix your interest more on your people's hearts than ever heretofore . but i must crave your majesty's excuse for an vnpollisht , melancholly muse , who , vninstructed in the arts of verse , presumes your royal story to rehearse , this might become fam'd mouse , or dorset's lyre , whose eloquence can charm , and sence inspire : but , if hearty zeal may for the rest atone , may heav'n-sav'd william long wear england's crown ▪ finis . an account of the late horrid conspiracy to depose their present majesties, k. william and q. mary, to bring in the french and the late king james, and ruine the city of london ... also, some brief reflections on the trials of the lord preston, major ashton, and mr. elliot, who were chiefly concern'd therein, and found guilty / by a gentleman who was present at their trials. gentleman who was present at their trials. 1691 approx. 49 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 16 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2008-09 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a25386 wing a313 estc r957 12952953 ocm 12952953 96003 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a25386) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 96003) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 2:58) an account of the late horrid conspiracy to depose their present majesties, k. william and q. mary, to bring in the french and the late king james, and ruine the city of london ... also, some brief reflections on the trials of the lord preston, major ashton, and mr. elliot, who were chiefly concern'd therein, and found guilty / by a gentleman who was present at their trials. gentleman who was present at their trials. 31 p. printed for j. humphrys, london : 1691. reproduction of original in yale university library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng william -iii, -king of england, 1650-1702. mary -ii, -queen of england, 1662-1694. james -ii, -king of england, 1633-1701. elliott, john, d. 1691. preston, richard graham, -viscount, 1648-1695. ashton, john, d. 1691. lancashire plot, 1689-1694. great britain -history -william and mary, 1689-1702. 2007-01 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2007-02 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2007-03 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2007-03 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion an account of the late horrid conspiracy to depose their present majesties k. william and q. mary , to bring in the french and the late king james , and ruine the city of london . with a relation of the miraculous discovery thereof . also some brief reflections on the trials of the lord preston , major ashton , and mr. elliot , who were chiefly concern'd therein , and found guilty . by a gentleman who was present at their trials . london , printed for j. humph●ys , 1691. the preface , to all that love the protestant religion , king william and queen mary , and old england . i need not tell you , gentlemen , how many and how restless endeavours have been used by the enemies of our dear country and dearer religion , to destroy both ever since the reformation . you cannot but remember with due regret and concern , what deep designs have been frequently laid for this purpose , within the reach of your own observations , ( not to look back to king james the first , or queen elizabeth , of blessed and eternal memory . ) nor are you , i am confident , of so easie and implicit a faith , as to be perswaded by all the popular harangues in the world to contradict your own senses : and indeed , they only may inform us how much we have hitherto been the care of heaven , and what need there was of our being so , since we have taken so little of our selves , but with a sort of stupidity , which looks like incantation , for the most part sate tame and quiet , expectants when the hanging sword would drop on our heads , which so slender a thread as to outward view only supported ; though we ought to believe there was an arm within the clouds , which would not suffer it to wound any further than its commission : for indeed , what else has hitherto preserved us under the two last and the present reign ? for whether the throne has been filled by an open papist , or a pretended protestant , or one who is really such : one thing is certain , that popery , with its infeparable companion , has been all along struggling to get uppermost , and like a true politician , was indeed nearest the obtaining its desire , when it appeared farthest from it . the popish plot in king charles 's reign , although it obtain not its immediate design , yet in the effects thereof , went a great length towards our ruine , like gunpowder in a vault , doing incomparably the more mischief by being stifled . all know what an odd branch was grafted upon it , and how unnatural a fruit it bore ; the jugglers , who managed that show , pretending to change papist into presbyterian : just as effectual a miracle as their turning bread into flesh , while 't is bread still . however , this is more certain , that they went on so fairly , as to juggle one king ( 't is more than probable ) out of his life , and the other out of his throne ; for indeed he was little better than spirited away by the kidnapping priests and jesuites , the merchandise of rome being sometimes the bodies , as well as the souls of men. and one would have thought a fair riddance there had been now made for good and all , the vacant throne being filled by the consent and applauses of all goodmen , with two protestant princes , whose actions as well as words have declared them as true defenders of the faith , as of the undoubted rights and liberties of their kingdoms . but neither must these expect to sit in quiet , like the ancient heroes , they seem born for troubles , and made on purpose to wade through danger and honour . and were their enemies and the protestant religion's ( whose life and very being seems very much bound up in theirs ) but all before 'em ; were there no danger but from the sword of france , or the late king's valour , there would not be so much reason for our apprehension and concern . but when those inestimable lives , as well as all our own , all that we have hazarded , whatever i● dear to us , have paid for , continue to pray , and are ready to fight for ; when all this , and the interest of all europe , shall be still in as much danger as ever , from a sort of people , that mercy is thrown away , and pardon lost upon 'em ; i cannot doubt , but we shall all be inspired with a just iudignation against them : that the law will be , now in earnest let loose upon them ; and that we shall no longer by a foolish pity towards them , endanger our own utter ruine . now as to what their designs are , and have been for some time past , these papers may give some satisfaction , till a larger account shall be thought fit to be made publick . an account , &c. no one can imagine that a plot of so dangerous a nature , and large an extent as this appears to be , which is now brought on the stage by so wonderful a turn of providence , could be of yesterdays growth , but as trees which shoot their roots deep into the earth , and spread wide in the air , may be easily guest to be of no very late planting ; so , for a reason not unlike , we may believe the original of this design is to be fetcht much higher than its discovery , and the event would be apt to make one think there was really more in the memorial , we have been told was last summer presented to the french king , than some persons would have us imagin . and indeed it may be worth another enquiry what became of that plot , for which , after so many proclamations plainly declaring , that there were ill designs then on foot against the government , after so many persons actually seiz'd and committed for the same ; there was never any suffered besides one blockhead that was not worth a saving ▪ whether the reason of this , and of their acquitting all those committed upon that account without any trial , at which time my lord c — , and presto● among the rest , were dismist of their confinements ▪ whether the reason of it were , that the government was resolv'd to try whether an excess of merc● and mildness would work any thing on those concern'd , or intended to let them run to the end of their line , and more clearly discover themselves to all the world , is not our present business to enquire . what 's perhaps more sure , is that as deep as these ●oles lay , they did not work in the dark , but their design were known some time since , to some ministers of state , ( at least one ) and that few steps they took or feet they advanced , were secrets to them against whom they were level'd ; which shews us , that the present government wants not those who can manage things of this nature , perhaps not much less dexterously than a cecil or a walsingham , and has further had a large and a happy influence in opening some persons eyes , which prejudice had so long either blinded or changed their colour in relation to the honour and integrity of a certain noble person , who after all the hot and hasty censures past upon him , has been the chief or sole manager of this detection and discovery . whoever were behind the scenes in this plot , we are certain enough who were publickly engaged in it , and the main go-betweens and agitat●rs for the cause , which were so lately tried for their lives , and so justly found guilty , were my l. preston , one commonly called major ashton , and mr. elliot . ashton had been employ'd formerly by major-general w — , before the late king's abdication , and had married one mr. rigby's daughter , but whether or no embark'd in the same design , time may discover . for my lord preston , he has been sufficiently known e're this , and perhaps it would not be either beyond truth or modesty to affirm , he had been better have suffer'd the former errors of his management to have been forgotten , than by thus meddling in things of such a dangerous nature , given liberty and occasion to look backward , and thereby draw on his own head nothing but infamy , and ruine . it will be readily granted , that the family of the grahams have been not a little obliged to the late king james , and that gratitude , where it leads us no farther than justice , is a very noble and b●●utiful virtue ; but then a mistaken gratitude and honour ought not sure to carry us into such actions as are pernicious to the society , under which we enjoy protection , and to our country towards which we have far deeper and stronger obligations than we can possibly have to any particular person . for i 'd fain know , whether it wou'd be any excuse for a man who shou'd set fire to his own father's house , or the publick magazine of his city , that he had formerly been obliged by the robbers of the one , or declar'd enemys of the other . now how fit a person my lord preston was for an employment of this kind , and as it shou'd seem the general agitator of the whole affair , will easily appear , if we consider his character . he is undoubtedly , to do an enemy justice , a person of the highest form for most accomplishments becoming a gentleman . — his wit is much above the ordinary standard , he is extreamly well verst in business , and as indefatigable in the prosecution of what he undertakes . he has been generally thought a man of courage , and if he appear'd to some more dejected than was usual at the time of his tryal , 't was no great wonder when he found all his fine work unravel'd , the cause ruin'd beyond a possibility of recovery , and his own life at the mercy of offended law , and injur'd justice . after all , it must be own'd he is a great master of address , and his words are so charming , his motions so graceful , that a fitter person cou'd hardly be found out , or even made on purpose to bewitch men from their duty and alegience , and for my part i rather wonder such a man as he , has not made more proselites to his masters interest , than that he has made so many . and if at his tryal he show'd not so great a strength of mind as may have appear'd in other parts of his life , i believe we may blame his ingenuity for it , it being probable that one who knew himself so deeply and palpably guilty could hardly have face enough to insist much upon his innocence . add to this , that he 's a reputed protestant , and had been formerly embassador in france , from the king of england . the other two , being but vnder wheels , to this great mover , will not deserve so much time , or notice , in this short paper , nor are so loaden with commendations as we find he is in almost all the letters , made publick at the tryal from the heads of the party , nor are they of so fair a character as his lordship has had given him . for these yet behind the curtain , time may draw it aside and discover 'em , nor can any one think , that a design of this nature and extent , had only three or four persons imbarkt therein . thus much therefore must for the present satisfie for the characters of the chief managers of this conspiracy . as for the subject and method thereof , it can appear from nothing better , or clearer than the original papers and letters of the very conspirators and managers under their own hand-writing . and indeed there need no colours to heighten or advance it . — the devil is ugly enough of himself , cou'd the painter describe him like what he really is , nor needs the addition of tail and horns to make him more terrible . the truth is , 't was a home-stroak , and there wanted no good will , either in the design or management . 't was neither less nor more , than the overthrowing the government , deposing , if not murthering their majesties , whom god long preserve , to the confusion of their enemies , bringing in an army of french and strangers , and joyning them on their invasion , after having betray'd the strength and condition of the nation to them , and given an exact account of our fleet and forts , laying designs for the destruction of both , and taking a particular and remarkable care to plague london . — which favour the honest citizens can't be forgetful of , and some here at home of another character , one would almost think had been aiming at , a little before the plot was ripened . this in general — more particularly the scene was laid as deep and as subtily as hell it self could contrive it ( though the traytors concern'd , will be apt to say here , as well as in the gunpowder treason , 't was the devil who discover'd it ) to destroy in a few weeks , or months , all that which has been so long and so firmly building , by the wonderful providence of god , and the united wisdom , and valour of the nation at the expence of so much blood and treasure , as it has already cost us . here at home it appears to have been carry'd on ever since , and before the bravado of the french on our coasts the last summer ; for some of the letters taken , mightily lament the disappointment they met with at that time , and assure the enemies of our country , that 't was for want of no good will , but only a handsome opportunity ▪ that they lent not their utmost assistance to destroy it — but you wou'd not have men rebel when they can't do 't , and joyn the french at portsmouth or devonshire , when fast in the tower of london . however they saved their stakes , and by this time it seems were got ●e●dy for another game , their only trouble being ( as they express it ) that their confinements had retarded the affair , but promising with double vigour to prosecute it as soon as discharged of their imprisonment , and recover the ground which they had thereby lost . but one grand obstacle , it seems , the plotters met with in the prosecution of their designs . they knew very well the mortal and unchangeable aversion rooted in the very souls of the generality of the english against popery , ever since the reformation , and which they liked , at least , never the better for what knowledge they had thereof , during the short visit it lately made us : accordingly they could not but imagine this would be a terrible obstacle to their design of reinstating the late king james in his throne , whom the english can hardly think much better or truer for having been so long under the french king's pupillage , nor could believe it so much as possible , that he should return without the destruction of the protestant religion , not only in england , but very probably throughout all europe . this objection , which lay so full against the very center of their design , they found it necessary to obviate e're they could proceed one step further ; and though all the world else thinks it impossible that king james shou'd should ever now return without popery at his heels , the agitatars of this design undertake to prove it possible — which was all it seems they would so much as pretend to ; tho with what reason , or to what end , i can't imagine , only the cause would bear no more , scarcely that it self ; for tho we believe 't is possible , and barely so , for a man to leap over the bridg and not be drowned , or tumble from a precipiece and not be crushed to pieces , ( of both which we have instances ) yet none but a mad-man wou'd offer to repeat the experiment , in hopes of the same event . but that the villany might proceed methodically , they had a formal consult , and conference between divers lords and gentlemen : tories as well as whiggs ( those are the words of the paper which gives an account thereof ; seized among others in ashtons bosom ) wherein it was actually prov'd ; possible that he might return without any injury to the protestant religion . — and wherein were several fine chimeras proposed , which had king james conquer'd the country , and recover'd his throne by the french arms , would have signified just as much as his promise at his first coming to the crown , and his oath at the coronation , to protect the government as then establish'd , in church and state. — but now , they tell ye , he had bit upon the bridle , and known the smart on 't , and if he ever came back agen , he had learnt more wit , then to take such evil courses as had formerly broke and ruin'd him , yes undoubtedly , as much as any highway-man or murderer pardoned , during his happy reign , wou'd leave the road , or cutting-throats , for having been once in sight of the gallows . one wou'd think the former jaunt of almost twenty years long , had been enough to have taught some persons wit and honesty ; if ever they wou'd have been capable of either : or at least , that the sound ruffle they met with from the people of england before they came to the throne , should have taught 'em , when fix'd in it , how to behave themselves there , and what measures to use with a nation ; who , tho 't is not an easie matter to anger 'em , when once they are so , never bite but their teeth meet ; and tho you cut their heads off , won't let go their hold . there 's a proverb of a certain king , a little wiser then him we are discoursing of , which may be with truth and manners enough apply'd — at least to some of his old courtiers , and those inseparable friends , who will to he sure alwaies have his ears and heart — bray a fool in a morter , yet he won't depart from his folly : which was one unlucky objection , which i doubt , those men of projects , and reason , forgot to answer at this conference ; tho it seems , several there present , who pretended great zeal for the protestant religion , ( and without doubt , much according to knowledge ) went away as intirely satisfied in the point in controversie , as one who has never made any experiment of matter of fact , is with some fine hypothesis of mounting to the world in the moon , in a chariot of ganza's . in the mean while they must give other men leave to doubt of what they were pleas'd to be satisfied with , so long at least till they can produce one instance of a bigotted popish prince , who kept his word with his protestant subjects , longer then his interest persuaded him to observe it ; or he wanted power to break it . however , so much we may learn by the title of the conferrence before mentioned : that it is not being of one party , or t'other , makes a man honest : that loyalty is not ty'd up to one side or interest . that there are traytors of both sides ; and that all those who love the government , ought heartily to agree in their defence of it , tho they differ in their sentiments , as to other things , unless they 'd have both that and their selves ruin'd by the common enemy . after this consult , we may believe they push'd on more vigorously than formerly , and have brought things to bear so well , that in their several letters of treasonable correspondence , they rest almost secured of success ; provided , they might be but powerfully assisted by the french , in that manner and time they proposed , and had drawn up in a scheme of the whole . and if they did their part , and a certain person easie enough to be guest at , did but appear in westminster-hall , ( as they express it in one of their cants ) they doubted not but before next easter term , the causes would come to a final hearing . that is before that time , we had been all involved in blood and confusion , and as miserable as these plotters and their masters cou'd make us . to that end , exact lists were sent of all our naval preparations , what ships in repair , and what not , from the first , to sixth rates , not omitting so much as the very yatchts and tenders . so that an account also added of such commanders as were most likely to be drawn to the french interest — so that we need now no longer puzzle our selves to guess which way so many french-pistols creep in among us ; ( twenty four of which , have within this few days been received in no larger a sum then forty pound . ) and yet more villanous ; directions were prepared for the french fleet , how , and where to fight , and destroy oars , their numbers proportion'd , and the time of their setting out , and appearing upon our coast at furthest in march , or the beginning of april , to hinder the dutch fleet and ours from joyning . they were to look to spithead in their way , burn the shipping there , and take the town . to which end , a most exact accovnt was drawn up for them of all the force in portsmouth . the state of the different forts , as south-sea , trevanion , &c. as the number of men in garrison , and the facility of putting a design of that nature in execution . london , to be sure , among the rest , is never to be forgotten nothing is to be done till those proud citizens be humbled — carthago est delenda — destroy that , or that will destroy rome or at least till things are ripe enough , and the rebellion strong enough , let french ships alwaies lie ready on purpose to plague it , as if their fire had not been enough before . but they knew what would be most acceptable to the person who employ'd them , who whilst he remain'd at helm , was so true a pater patriae , who always so dearly lov'd the city , and between which and him there was so little love ever lost . further if it should come to a battle , the very place was agreed on where they should fight the english , not so high as last summer , near the beachy , but rather in the chaps of the channel . and all this with the landing of the french , and the publick defection of his traytors at home , who were immediately to come in to their assistance , to be put in execution as soon as possible after the departure of the king for holland , a proclamation being prepared ( perhaps with as much as coleman's declaration for dissolving the parliament ) to the same effect with what was discours'd in the consult before mentioned , setting all the varnish possible on the cause ; the protestant religion to be as surely established and defended as it was before , they only to have the government , and all the poor harmless catholicks to be left to nothing but their devotions . the dispensing power and prerogative to be left where it was before that controversie begun ; all persons being also required to come under the french standard , and turn traytors by such a day , on pain of being used as if they were so . in order to effect which designs , and carry on a correspondence with the enemies of the nation , several particular cants being invented , under which to cover their treasonable practices . some of the letters were writ on pretence of trade ; advising their correspondents by all means to chuse such factors as were bold and industrious , to fix probable ends , and chuse fit means to bring them to an issue , which they added , was the life of trade as well as government . above all , to be quick and expeditious as possible in their resolutions and actions , the sea being now open , whereas a few months hence 't would be very dangerous sailing . others were disguised in a story of tenants or landlords , acquainting the person to whom 't is writ , that many of the freeholders were dissatifyed with their usage , &c. others related to a law-suit , as has been already mentioned ; some were letters of civility and compliment , as from one acquaintance to another , assuing them that their elder brother and most of their family were their true friends , and would continue so ; enquiring for their little daughter , whom tho' they had not yet seen , they had heard described very pretty and witty. all this under seigned names . to mr. reading and mrs. reading , mr. charleton and others . besides these they had several characte●s and keys affixed to them , the more covertly to carry on the main business ; one wherein all the letters of the alphabet were made use of to signifie persons and things , one letter standing for the k of france , another for k. james , a 3d. for the k. of england , the duke of luxemburgh , the marquess with them , duke powis and his dutchess , england , scotland , ireland , holland , dunkirk , &c. the marquis of carmarthen , the lord devonshire , the lord clarendon , lord preston , and several other great persons , both their friends and enemies . but this was observable in most of their letters , that although they began with some of those sorts of cants already mentioned , and carried on the humour pretty well , yet before the conclusion , they used generally such high and profound expressions of respect and veneration as could agree to none with any common propriety of speech , but those of the first quality , and such as they thought their soveraigns . one good man being so zealous in the cause , as to protest he could venture his hopes of heaven upon it , or an expression little below it , if not the very same . but after all that could be written , said or done , london still sticks in their stomachs , whose citizens or clergy they could by no means be pleased with , the clergy being as the significant memorandums express it , almost all stark naught , and the very worst of the whole nation . i wonder wherein have the clergy of london obliged the lord preston so highly , that he 's pleas'd to do them the honour of so ill a character ? not that 't is a new thing for malefactors to give thofe who detect and prosecute 'em , ill names , while they stile none honest fellows but such as are as great villains as themselves . in the mean time it seems all the luidores yet receiv'd are not sufficient : money is the life of the cause all the world over , which the jacobites want as well as we , and those horse-leeches still cry , give , give , without being ever satisfied . poor king james , must he pay pensions still when he himself is but a pensioner ? the mischief is , his brass money won't go in england , nay would be out of fashon in ireland , had the teagues any other among them — so thick are the complaints , and so bold the beggars , that one may easily conclude their king can't live without them , nor they without him . my lord will acquaint you with my occasions — i have told my lord my occasions . the b●arer knows how i have been prest , how well i have deserv'd — and much more to the same purpose , which the world will shortly see in the printed tryals . after all this , people may chuse whether theyl'l believe any such thing as a plot , they may say and swear ( and yet not be perjur'd ) that this is as great a sham as the popish plot in 78 , and all those who dye for it as ●●rand martyrs as coleman , and as innocent as the jesuits ; nay , had not all this been so strangely discover'd , things had run on in the same current , and the great agitators but got safely off with their papers , or but got them dispos'd of safely into the bottom of the sea ; had all this happen'd , and the french fleet according to appointmnet appear'd on our coast as they did the last summer , who dared have dreamt of a plot in 't , any more than the last time , or that they came for any thing else but to fish for a few herrings on our coast , or make fine lines across the channel in a sunshiny day ? and here i should have closed the account of this cursed design , had not a new and strange accident given us new confirmations thereof . no longer since than the last week , were taken two gentlemen coming ashore from france in a small sloop near lewis in sussex — sir. r. p. who by the greatness of his genius , and meer strength of his own natnral reason ( both of 'em as weighty motives as the jesuits arguments ) left the protestant religion for the roman , in the reign of the late king james , and would fain have had his children educated the same way , had not their virtuous and prudent mother placed them out of his reach . the other collonel m. and old experienced officer : both going to a great papists house in those parts , one of these a man of interest and money , might have done excellently well , lying there perdue till the plot had ripen'd ; then to have rais'd forces for advancing the design ; and the other of more brains and experience , when rais'd to have commanded them . with these were found several letters of dangerous consequence , which it 's said , confirm exactly what has been formerly discover'd . and here we are like to meet with something of ingenuity , tho' not much wit , and the having been with king james at the boyne , ( or rather running away with him there , ) actually and publickly acknowledg'd . it may be worth also to remark the subtle ways the conspirators took to prevent discovery . they indeed did almost as much as men cou'd do , who had no mind to be hang'd , to keep themselves safe , and had provided against every thing but providence . here at land they made use of iron-heels , opening and shutting with a sort of a spring , to be cover'd with leather , and worn in a shoe , wherein to conceal their treasonable letters and papers . but these too , were discover'd as well as the person who made 'em , who lately was seiz'd , and in custody for the same . what they did at sea to the same end and purpose , was very strangely render'd ineffectual , and prov'd only a strong presumption against ' em . and from hence 't will be an easy transition to the wonderful discovery of this so deep and well-laid design . in which , perhaps there may be some passages not yet ripe for publick notice . what has yet appear'd on the open stage in relation to this great affair , is to this purpose . after the scene had been laid , and the scheme of their design'd fix'd as above-mention'd , and the assurances and protestations of the most confiderable persons therein engaged , given under their own hands to be witnesses against 'em ; my lord preston and his two other accomplices , major ashton and mr. elliott , &c. prepared for france , with an account of the whole negotiation . in order whereunto , a vessel was to be hired to convey them to france , and one being found sit for the purpose , the master was to be bargain'd with for the price ; who at the first meeting , wherein he engaged safely to transport em thither , demanded 200 l. for his reward : at the second meeting , he fell to 100 l. ashton and elliott , agreeing with him for the same ; the mony to be deposited in mrs. burdet's hand till the service should be performed ; accordingly 93 guinea's and a 6 d. were paid in , the odd six pence being broke , and one piece left with mrs. burdet , the other mr. ashton had with him , which he was to deliver to the master of the ship as soon as ever he had landed his passengers at any port in france , and on his return and bringing that piece to mr. burdet , on the application and agreement thereof with the other piece in her custody , he was immediately to receive the hundred pounds . according to this agreement , the master prepared his smack for the voyage , and all things being ready , they came to surry-stairs late in the evening , to avoid suspicion , calling a sculler , with whom these 3 , the skipper and my lords man row'd through-bridge to the tower , and over against it near pickle-herring-stairs , went aboard the smack there provided . but the weather being cold , the water-man , as is usual , lent them his coats to keep them warm , which it being late , and he in haste to return , as well as they to get rid of him , were there forgotten ; and on his recollecting himself , and returning , denyed , on which he was forc'd to go home without them . in the mean time the vessel went down the river , as fast as wind and tide cou'd carry it , and soon came to long-reach , where then lay the george-frigat at anchor , of whom my lord preston had some apprehensions , and therefore desired the master to hide them till they past that danger , which he did under the quarter-hatches on the ballast , whence they return'd above-deck , when out of sight of the frigat . but at the block-houses at graves-end , my lord was again for hiding , and accordingly retired to his old hole ; a pinnace being just coming aboard them , which the master thought was only come to press , as captain billop who was in her , pretended all his business there was , who coming aboard with a press-warrant , humoured the business exactly , and askt the master if he had any men aboard ? he reply'd , he had a protection , which he produced : the captain tells him he was sorry for it , but must look further ; and going into the hold , found my lord preston and the other two a top of the ballast , whom he immediately search'd for papers , whilst one of the sea-men who came with him discover'd mr. ashton thrusting somewhat into his bosom , of which he immediately inform'd the captain , who questioning him concerning ashton with presence of mind enough replyed , 't was only his handkerchief , which he immediately pull'd out of his bosom ; but the captain not thinking fit to trust him , clapt his hand after , and found something much more valuable , to wit , that famous packet of letters which did all their businesses , with a small leaden plummet fix'd with a packthred , sufficient to have sunk it deep enough for ever telling tales agen ; which way they would soon have sent it , had not their fear confin'd 'em to a place where it was impossible for them to put a thing of that nature in execution . but there were yet found further evidences against them ; for exactly in the same place whence these papers were taken up by ashton , the same seaman who discovered him doing it , observed something else lying on the ballast , which proved a couple of seals , both my lord preston's ; one the seal of his office , as secretary of state to king james , the other his own coat of arms ; both which he deliver'd to his captain ; observing at the same time my lord preston in great confusion , pale and trembling , and scarce able to speak a word . however my lord and the others treated the captain with a great deal of complaisance and respect , desiring him to go ashore with them for some refreshment , who not judging that so convenient , yet civilly proffer'd to accompany them for that end aboard the george frigat , which lay in their way to london ( and of which they had now no reason any longer to be afraid . ) but finding all those subterfuges render'd ineffectual by the prudence of the captain , they resolve to attack him on the two other sides , on one of which most of mankind lies open , with arguments of profit and honour , offering him some hundreds of guinea's only to dispose of those papers he had taken , which he might easily do , without giving any suspicion to those about him , my lord having another parcel of letters of less concern , to which they might fix the plummet that was on the others , and easily make 'em pass for those he had first taken : adding further , that 't would be a gen●r●us thing for the captain to go along with them . but none of all this prevailed , he still continued faithful to his trust , and altogether unmoveable ; and the pinnace brush'd away roundly towards london , which elliot observing , swore they row'd as if they were carrying them all to prison . and when they came under the bridge , wish'd heartily 't would fall down and crush 'em all to the bottom — but 't was the same thing , the bridg was as stubborn as the captain was before , and stood still in the same place where it has been this two or three hundred year , while the pinnaces were tugg'd lustily , and soon brought their fare to whitehall ; where , just as they were stepping out of the boat , my lord preston clapt some mony into the hands of two of the smack's men , who were brought up with them , bidding 'em when examin'd , say , that the ship was bound for flanders , not for france . no sooner were they landed here , but captain billop waited on my lord nottingham with the packet , which he had seiz'd , which he having open'd and look'd over , deliver'd all of 'em to the captain again , who carried them to the lord president the marquess of caermarthen , who also opening and marking 'em , carry'd 'em to the king , after which my lord sidney had them in his custody , wherein appearing treason enough to have hanged all the plotters in england , my lord preston was sent back to the place from whence he came so lately before , the tower of london , and the other two likewise committed . 't was not long after this , before they were acquainted their tryal was coming on , and time given 'em accordingly to prepare for the same . the bill was found against 'em with little hesitation on thursday , january 15th , and the next day they were arraigned at the old-baily , my lord's petition to have the tryal put off till monday not being granted him . for indeed 't was already more than time to let the enemies of the government know , that it could be angry , and dared both bring 'em to justice for their treasons , and punish 'em for the same . besides , delays in this case might on many accounts be dangerous , and would serve only to encourage the accomplices of these traytors , and dishearten the true friends of the king and kingdom . on his arraignment , my lord preston insisted on his fruitless peerage , ( he being only a knight in england , though a viscount in scotland ) which had been prejudged in an higher place , the house of lords having before thrown it out , and which there was no great likelyhood should ever be allowed him , since his patent was dated at st. germains , after king james his abdication ; and had it been allowed for good here , 't is certain , those who had done it could not have cleared themselves from such consequences as would have been most pernicious and invideous to themselves and the nation . — however this took up some time , and about an hour or two's argument was employed therein , but after all , it was over-ruled by the bench , as any one would easily guess it could be no otherwise . he moved also for a copy of his indictment , and brought presidents , but those were answered , and his request not granted , but a copy of the pannel he had according to custom . the next day being the 17th of january ann. dom. 1691. he came to his tryal , at which was a vast concourse of all degrees present , particularly , besides the lords chief justices , and their brethren , several noble lords of the garter , several lords of their majesties most honourable privy-council and others , my lord president , lord sidny , &c. and here i would not be mistaken in what short reflections i intend to make on the tryals of the petsons then accused and now convicted of this conspiracy , as if my intent were to forestal the publick accounts which will shortly be given of the same . were this an age like such as we have seen which would not bear truth , and the tryals such as wou'd force any one who saw or read 'em to wonder how so many mad-men broke out of bedlam , and got possession of the bench ; and accordingly had we no expectation of a true account of matter of fact , then indeed something of that nature tho' from a private hand might be both necessary and grateful . but now all things have been managed as becomes a court of justice , not as formerly with the decency of a bear-garden , no doubt but the publick will be soon gratified with a true and exact history of the tryal of the persons lately convicted , which make so much noise in the world. all i pretend to here is from my own personal observation and knowledg to compare a little these tryals with those of the former reigns , and to shew the vast difference in the management of the whole in respect both of court , bar and evidence . in the opening the evidence , here was no affected exaggeration of matters , nor ostentation of a putid eloquence one after another , as in former tryals , like so many geese cackling in a row ; here was nothing besides fair matter of fact or natural and just reflections from thence arising . what few witnesses the prisoners had were not affronted or cross-bitten in their legal evidence . the prisoners themselves were treated with that humanity ever due to those who are unfortunate , though the most criminal persons in the world. there was so much reason upon the bench , that they had no need of rayling , and those at the bar had such usage as if they came thither to be tryed for their lives , not baited to death . as for the evidence , t was the clearest and highest the nature of the thing cou'd possibly bear — plain proof , undeniable matter of fact , a desperate plot at home , correspondence with enemies abroad , inviting them hither , shewing 'em where to fall upon us , betraying the strength of the nation to 'em our ships and forts , corrupting and seducing those at home , and taking whatever measures could possibly be thought on for our common ruin. and this seized in the very bosoms of the grand conspirators in their own undeniable hand-writing , nay their seals , even their double seals together with it . these men had fairer play than noble sidny , &c. who were hanged by help of a marginal note , for controversial papers of twenty years standing , to which they made both keys and characters , abused the court as much as dryden's poem , and by a rare new law-figure ( for 't wou'd puzzle one to find it in all vossius his rhetorick ) called innuendo , extreamly obliged the late king charles , by turning him into a tarquin . no art nor trick was there used to make them plead guilty , as with — n , nor one murder committed to facilitate another as with the great and unfortunate earl of essex , whose blood even yet in vain crys for vengeance . every thing here was in its due place and order ; the patriots on the bench , and the malefactors at the bar ; not quite contrary , as we have seen formerly , when the persons arraigned have as far and as visibly out-weighed the judges in sense , as in probity and honour . the juries here were neither frighted nor surprized , nor such as would be so ; the defence made by the prisoners for the most part so weak and enervate , and so much below themselves , that it plainly appeared the fruitless effort of a guilty mind , and 't was easie enough to read their sentence in their foreheads , pronounc'd by a judge within , greater than those who fill'd the visible tribunal . on the whole , my lord preston , was , after a fair hearing , on a long and full evidence , found guilty , about seven in the evening of the same day he was tryed . major ashton , after a defence which took up more time , on the monday after , being jan. 19. and on the same day elliot's tryal was put off until another time ; but whether any of them will obtain or deservk their lives by an ingenuous discovery of all the particulars of a plot , so wide and deep as this will appear to whoever hears or reads the letters which give an account of it , a little longer time will very probably decide : till when , here has been sufficient already brought to light , as to the reality of the plot it self , the horrid and desperate designs thereby to be perpetrated , the manner of its management , and strange discovery ; enough , i should think , to satisfie all persons , who in this point really want satisfaction , and are not themselves either well-willers to the design , or actually concerned therein . finis . the loyal martyr vindicated fowler, edward, bishop of gloucester, 1632-1714. 1691 approx. 189 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 27 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2003-11 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a49353 wing l3353a estc r41032 19579111 ocm 19579111 109147 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a49353) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 109147) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1691:17) the loyal martyr vindicated fowler, edward, bishop of gloucester, 1632-1714. 52 p. s.n., [london : 1691?] caption title. place and date of publication suggested by wing. attributed to fowler by nuc pre-1956 imprints. reproduction of original in the british library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng ashton, john, d. 1691. james -ii, -king of england, 1633-1701. lancashire plot, 1689-1694. 2003-07 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2003-08 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2003-09 judith siefring sampled and proofread 2003-09 judith siefring text and markup reviewed and edited 2003-10 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the loyal martyr vindicated . after mr. ashton's paper had been shewn by the sheriff to those that sit at the helm , and that it was known there were more copies of it given abroad , so that it was impossible to sham or disguise it , it raised in them ( as i am informed ) very sollicitous apprehensions what effects it was likely to work in the minds of all the true sons of the church of england , to see a genuine member of that communion , with his last breath , admonish his prevaricating brethren of the enormous crimes of perjury and rebellion , in which they they had of late so deeply plunged themselves ; denounce prophetically to them the judgments attending their apostacy , if not timely repented of ; profess so stoutly his allegiance to his much injured and unjustly dispossessed prince ; seal our church's doctrine of non-resistance with his dearest blood , and dye so resignedly , chearfully , nay joyfully , in testimony of that christian principle ; could not but be apprehended to our statis's to be the most powerful motives imaginable , to reclaim those who had been misled by false information , or seduced by interest into a repentance of their errors ; and to establish the rest in the loyal principles to which they had hitherto adhered . besides , the honest unaffected reason , which appears in the account he gives of his tenets , and conscientious proceedings , and the christian moderation and sincere piety , which he observed throughout his whole paper , praying heartily for his very enemies , though unjustly thirsting after his blood , ( the proper temper of a dying martyr , ) could not but recommend the contents of it to the esteem of every indifferent reader , and even be able to shock all such as were not resolutely byass'd . nor can i blame them for being so highly concerned , that such a legacy was left to the loyal party . those politick men were well aware of the successful methods by which christianity was propagated at first , and that the blood of the martyrs was the seed of the church ; and therefore they judged it very expedient , that some speedy and effectual means should be taken to stop the prejudicial effects , which it would otherwise produce . it was then thought the best way to seem to slight and undervalue the paper , by printing it themselves , and at the same time to endeavour to baffle and confute it by an answer going along with it , penned with as much plausibleness as the cause could bear : but truth is not easily trampled down . his christian constancy has made too great an impression in the hearts of his admirers , to permit his meritorious sufferings to lie under the scandal of a treasonable guilt ; and has given courage to some of the meanest of them to vindicate his cause , and credit , against the wicked slanders and weak reasons of this mercenary writer ; though he foresees that if they be discovered , they can expect no other reward but the same fatal end. the holland lyon has begun to taste english blood , and finds it so sweet that it draws on an appetite of shedding still more . to fall then to our reply — his first sham ( for the whole piece is a continu'd fardle of such stuff ) is , that the paper is none of mr. ashton's . this , if made good , would ( they hoped ) take off the authority and influence of it , as no● being the proper act of the martyr , but of some other of that party ● it required therefore his best skill to make this credible . let us then examine his arguments : his first proof is , because 〈…〉 with too much art and care to be the work of one , who professes he thought it better to employ his last minutes in devotion , ( p. 8. ) what a ridiculous cavil is this ! his last minutes were at the place of execution which the martyr professeth he thought it better to employ in devotion and holy communion with his god , than in making speeches ; which if they were loyal , and delivered his thoughts fully , were likely to be interrupted , and so not attended with the designed success ; and therefore he chose rather to deliver what he had to say in writing . now comes this gentleman , and pretends ( if his words have any tenour or sense in them ) that he must have compos'd this paper of his a● his last minutes , that is , at the gallows ; which , he says , he could not do with so much art and care , those minutes being taken up otherwise , viz. in devotion ; and therefore ( forsooth ) the paper is none of his : as if he had not time enough between his sentence and the execution of it to compose a paper , both larger , and more full of art and care ( had he minded such advantages ) than this was : or , as if good men , whose piety enclines them to spend their last minutes in holy thoughts , could not in the time anteceding use both their best art and care to pen a true account of their principles , and the cause for which they suffered ; but indeed there is little art or care in the master , or sense of the paper , but a plain and candid discovery of his thoughts and affections both towards god , and the world ; and as for the manner of writing it ( if it were indeed such as this man exhibits it ) there was neither any the least art or care shewn in it , but perfect negligence , or rather great ignorance and folly throughout the whole , as will be seen shortly . his second reason to prove the paper was not the martyr's , is , because mr. ashton , says he , was illiterate and unskilled in the law , and yet uses such bug-words , as impending , prevaricating , premisses , and consequence ; and gives such a peremptory iudgment about the laws of the realm , in a case acknowledged by all ingenious men of his own party to have a great deal of difficulty in it ; this man will say any thing , though never so openly false : not one m●n of his party ever thought there was the least difficulty in this , that it was treason by our laws to resist a legal prince , or acknowledge any other for king while he lives . no not this writer himself , as appears by his not thinking it his best play to alledge the laws of the realm , bu● flying off and recurring to the law of nations : and as for the law as it relates to his own case , he was far from peremptory , as is manifest from his saying — i am told i am the first man that ever was condemned for high-treason upon bare presumption or suspicion : do not these words [ i am told ] sound as modestly as is possible , and bar all shew of his passing such a peremptory iudgment about the laws of the realm , as he puts upon him p. 8 ? what will not this caviller say ? but 't is pleasant to observe what prancks he uses all along . 't is plain mr. ashton meant no more but that he was illiterate ( that is , unlearned ) and unskilful in the law , as appears by his desiring the iudges to observe for him what might be for his advantage . and sure a man who has not made the law his study , ( for the word reaches no farther , ) may have learning enough to use those four ordinary words , none of them being artificial law terms ; but such honest english as every gentleman , that converses with persons above the lowest rank , is capable of understanding and using . but this candid gentleman seeing his cause could not be maintained but by tricks , ( for this whole turn of government was nothing but a trick of policy , ) disjoyns by his discourse [ illiterate ] from [ unskill'd in the law ] and refers the four cramp words to the former , and his passing a peremptory iudgment about our laws to the latter ; and when he has done , he tells us very sadly , one may justly wonder at it ; and indeed it is very wonderful : for to play so many jugling tricks in so little room , wresting almost every word 'till he has made it crooked ; and then gracing every flam he gives us with such a demure hypocrisie , is altogether monstrous . he tells us , p. 9. that the loyal martyr design'd two things . to assert his principles , and to testifie his innocency ; and he sets himself to prove that he did neither . as for the former , he grants that by the faith of the church of england mr. ashton meant the doctrine of passive obedience ; and then confutes him most learnedly , by telling us , that he suffered not for passive obedience but for want of it , and that had he regulated his life by this principle he had preserved it . did ever any man's reason turn tail so aukwardly ? the constant doctrine of the church of england was passive obedience to a lawful king ; and he is the lawful king according to the constitution of our government , who has title to it by immediate succession . now comes this acute gentleman , and pretends , without shame or wit , that the doctrine of the church of england is not passive obedience to the legal king , whom all the world did ever acknowledge for such , in their clear , unb●ass'd , and 〈◊〉 in us thoughts , but to ano●her , who has dispossest this legal king of his kingdom , and whose title is quite annulled by our english laws , nor own'd by any but some of those who got their advantages in doing so , or who dare not do otherwise . and then after he had preva●icated thus eg egiously , he te●ls us very gravely , that certainly there must be some g●ea● mistakes about the doctrines and principles of our church : whereas if there be any 't is manifestly on his side ; but to say the plain truth , there is no mistake at all , even on his side , but an open prevarication , and a wilful shuffling and shifting the whole subject of the church of england's tenet , making our passi●e obedience regard not only a wrong but an opposite object , which is to make the principles of our church face ab●ut with the times , and point ( as a weather-cock does to the wind ) to a dispossessour of the true prince ; so he gets but power enough to make himself a strong party , and keep under , or murther , by his new laws , and new judges , those who dare be loyal . he pretends that the doctrines and principles of our church are to be found in the articles and constitutions of it . if he means that only some of them are found there , it reaches not home to his purpose . but if he means that all the doctrines of faith which our church holds are found there , he shews himself to be very weak . sure he cannot forget that god's written word , and it only , is our intire and adequate rule of faith ; and that the best interpreter of it for us to follow , is the most unanimous exposition of it , avow'd by the doctrine of our church-men , and the agreeable and constant practice of our church . if then he would prove that our church does not hold passive obedience , and indispensable allegiance to our lawful king upon our rule of faith , that is , does not hold it part of her faith ; he should have produced such , and so many genuine , grave , and eminent members of one church , as are beyond exception , who have unanimously declared themselves to understand the scripture in an opposite sense , and upon that ground held the contrary . i except always from that number dr. sherlock , who is so flexible a complier with every side , that , i fear , he is of no side , and ready to be of any , as god-m●mmon shall inspire him by proposing a good fat deanry , or some such irresistible temptation . as for the practice of our church giving us light to know her faith , it cannot be possibly manifested better than by her carriage towards king charles ii. in the protector 's days , who had abdicated twi●e , ( if the leaving england to avoid danger to his person might be called abdicating , ) and there was another actual supreme governor who had got all the power into his hands , and so was providentially settled in dr. sherlock's sense ; yet none of the genuine sons of our church flincht from their allegiance to their king in those happy days , when honest principles , as yet unantiquated , made our church shine gloriously even in the midst of persecution , but all adher'd to their legal king , though all of them suffered in their estates , and many lost their lives rather than forego their duty . but as our author told us formerly , that mr. ashton died for want of that passive obedience which the church of england holds , so he tells us here , that he might have believed himself obliged by his religion to look upon his rightful lawful prince , ( whatever his principles were , or his practices might be , ) as god's vicegerent , and accountable to god only from whom he received his power : all this ( says he ) he might have done , and have been alive still , because , as he contends , king william was his rightful lawful prince . so that it se●ms let king william be of what principles he will , even though he were as zealous a papist as king iames ; or let his practices be what they will , even to the subverting all our liberties , properties , nay the most fundamental laws of the land , still we are to believe our selves obliged by our religion to look upon him as on god's vicegerent accountable to god only , and consequently to obey him as such . which ridiculous partiality overthrows a good part of his book , and makes all the deserters , and fi●st adherers to the prince of orange , and the whole parliament that set him up for their king , and the consent of the nation , he talks of , to be irreligious and wicked . for since king iames was confessedly at that time their rightful lawful king , nor can he be pretended to have worse principles and practices than those mentioned , which comes within the compass of his , [ whatever his principles are , or his practices might be , ] and this man confesses that notwithstanding all this they were obliged by their religion to submit to him as god's vicegerent ; it follows unavoidably , that we are to believe they violated the principles of religion , in the highest degree , who deserted him , opposed him , turned him out , and set up a stranger in his stead . yet this action of theirs , confest by himself to be irreligious , is the true foundation of our new government . hitherto he has begged the whole question , and supposed the present governours to be rightful and lawful king and queen ; and now after he has done this , he sets himself to prove it : certainly this man's logick is very extraordinary . if it might be supposed , it needed not to be proved ; and if it could be well proved , it needed not have been supposed . yet this gentleman , to make this sure work , will needs do both , though the method he takes to do this be very preposterous , his special gift of reasoning , by a neat figure called hysteron proteron , sets the cart before the horse ; and first supposes it , and then goes about to prove it : the question , says he , ( p. 9. ) is not whether rightful lawful kings are to be obeyed , but w●o in our circumstances is our rightful lawful sovereign ? and so he addresses himself to settle king william's title , and put it beyond all disp●te , which being so rare a sight , and so great a novelty and curiosity , it may deservedly challenge our best attention ; especially it being withal our real-interest : for i cannot think that any man of the least degree of wit , would undergo outward disquiets , dangers , and inconveniences , in not submitting heartily to this present government , if his conscience would let him be quiet within : let us see then what we in reason and conscience think of this new title to what was most evidently , by g●d's and man's law too , another man 's right . that party that stickled to make the prince of orange king , do hold that the people have the power to make and unmake the supreme magistrate ; and so they fix his title upon the creation of the people , and make account the same people by virtue of the same power can limit his authority , and annihilate it again , as one of them profest openly in the house of commons : nay , this was the only reason and interest they had , or could have to make him king ; for the commonalty , of whom they pretend to be the best patrons , were not at all burthened with taxes under king iames ; and withall themselves enjoy'd liberty of conscience ; and , lastly , had more than should have fallen to their share in places and offices ; and what could they wish more , except the pulling down monarchy ten pegs lower , and dwindling it into a duke of venice ? which could not be while the legal king governed ; but might , they hop'd , be easily brought about when themselves had the making , and consequently the modelling of their new magistrate : for 't is but reasonable that they who give and bestow a thing , should give as much and as little of it as they please . but this plot was carried too openly , which obliged the house of lords , fearing their ruine by a common-wealth , rather to vote any new king at a venture , than become slaves to the people : nor would a precarious authority satisfie a genius , that naturally aimed at being absolute . so when they had given all the money that they thought could well be raised , without an extreme wrong to the common good of the people , they were packs away ; and home they went gnashing their teeth , that they should be so silly as to bring themselves into a noose they could not untie ; and which in time might come to hang their liberty , property , and ( if they should dare to mutter too rudely ) their persons too . thus that first title fell , which served well enough while the young government was yet in its swaddling-clouts , but when it became bigger it out-grow it , as children do their cloaths . after this our church of england men , who all this while stood trembling left this new king , being in his inclination a perfect presbyterian , and the creature of their adversaries , should come to ever-power them , and trample on them , finding that things did not co●●on well between the ungrateful sovereign , and these his disgusted subjects , but that they grew weary of one another , judged it was now their time to strike in : wherefore they offered him their most humble ser●ice ; which being accepted , they laught in their sleeves at the poor baffled presbyterians , telling them after an upbraiding and scornful manner , you would needs give us a king whether we would or no , and now we will keep him up whether you will or no. so all this was done , not out of love to him , ( for he has the ill luck to have few personal lovers , ) but for fear of the opposite party , and to secure themselves against their emulous competitours , or revenge themselves upon them . if then title ( as it ought ) be that which gives and upholds authority ; his best title after he had now got rid of the hanck the presbyterians had upon him , next to that of the confederacy owning him for his money and assistance , ( which now begins to knock off ) was in reality , the feud between our church and dissenters : which two made up a second and a third title to prop up by turns this feeble authority . money then they voted him , and ( to engratiate themselves by out-bidding the others ) full thrice as much as the dissenters had done ; so that the nation was half begger'd by his transporting it beyond sea , to hire foreign soldiers , and bribe the confederates ; and yet though they thus pleasured him by lavishing away the money and riches of the nation , all the title he could obtain of them unanimously , was to be only king de facto , and not de iure . which encouraged dr. sherlock , who stood watching , his advantage , to face about and build : this new and fourth title upon the events of providence , or ( to use an expression less blasphemous and more proper for a rueling authority ) on the wheel of fortune . but the poor man was so baffled for this new notion of his , particularly by the author of the trimming court divine , and more largely and unanswerably by those two learned and acute treatises , entituled , [ the duty of allegiance settled upon its true grounds , according to scripture , reason , and the opinion of the church , and by dr. sherlock's case of allegiance considered with some remarks upon his vindication ; ] that 't is his best play to sit down with silence , and be content to lull his conscience with his deanry , without awaking or disquieting it by thinking how to answer them , lest it start up in his face , and disturb his peaceful and comfortable enjoyments of his new acquisitions ; for i dare challenge him , particularly in the behalf of the two latter of those three treatises ; that he is so shamefully , confuted that he has not one starting-hole left for his credit to escape by . and yet i must tell him , that unless he answers them fully , he cheats the government , and is bound in conscience to make restitution of his deanry ; for why should he be so bountifully paid for weaving a piece , which , when it comes to be well lookt into , is so full of bracks , stains , and holes , that 't is useless and good for nothing ? thus the fourth title of a king de facto , by the wheel of fortune , was laid flat , and the vnsteady authority of our new governours was bandied most miserably from post to pillar , and could find no foundation to fix upon , nor any basis that would fit it . none had hitherto been so hardy to offer to maintain by reason , that they were rightfull and lawfull king and queen : yet i am credibly informed that a certain gloomy-look't divine , relying , i suppose , on some mystick exposition of the revelation , had preached a sermon which would insinuate that king william had a right to england by conquest ; which was formerly ready to be published , but upon the taking of mons some s●op was put to it at that time . if this be as true as it is told me , with much assurance , we english-men have reason to bless god for that success of the french king , as the most beneficial event of providence that has befall'n us this long time ; for had that project been heartily encouraged , our countrey-men had been all slaves , and every farthing in the nation at the conquerour's devotion , it being indeed , in that case , his own ; so that when parliaments would give no more , he might , by setting up his title , when he pleased , take all ; and this was the fifth title which has been set on foot . at length comes this gentleman , and seeing all the other titles to be but impertinent shifts , and not at all likely to take , he will needs strain a note above ela , and settle it on a higher foundation ; viz. on the law of nations , which allows independent governments to right themselves by force , or by making war on him that injures them : but , because he saw no war was made , no army fought , nor a stroke struck ● so that none who was not mad with revelation could dream of a conquest giving him right over england ; he very politickly twists with it — and with the success of this iust war , ( p. 11. ) the consent of the people too . this , i must confess , is a more extraordinary and more refined notion than any of the other , 't is made of contradictions , and is of a composition altogether monstrous . we use to instance in chimeras by a hirco-cervus ( a goat-stag ) or some such whimsical conceit , that imports two or more different natures clapt together . but this new fangled notion of right , he has invented , consists not of merely different , but opposite natures ; war and force signifie involuntariness in those they are exercised upon , and consent signifies voluntariness . again , the effect of war and force is to subdue resisters , and consent of the whole nation signifies no resisters at all . so that to come in by force of war , and at the same time by consent , is to be beaten voluntarily , to be forced willingly , to resist yieldingly , to submit withall our hearts , yet against our will , or whatever nonsense of this kind this incoherent and self-divided notion of right affords us . but , to say the truth , there was neither a fair war , subduing the resisting nation against their consent , nor a clear , free , and deliberate consent of the whole nation ; but ( as will shortly appear ) a mere trick , manag'd by an ambitious invader , and his confederates , seconded by a party of male-contents and rebellious deserters , and carried on by a complicated series of unproved pretences , and forgeries , to bubble and fool the common people , and bring us into the slavery and beggary we now groan under . we will put this young new-hatcht kingly-title its best cloaths on , and then see how finely the royal robes become it , and how prettily the baby will look . there is besides the laws of the land ( says he , p. 11. ) a law of nations , by which sovereign independent-governments , when injured , may right themselves by a iust war. here were great and violent presumptions of an injury to the right of succession , and too great evidence of a formed design to subvert the establisht religion and civil liberties of the nation , and this war had success ; therefore the sovereignty was duely transferred , and so there can be no dispute left to whom our allegiance is due . this is the full substance of the discourse he had put together , as he told us ( p. 10. ) to clear this whole matter . let us now take it gently to pieces , and lay each part of it down easily , lest it fall asunder of it self , and shatter into incoherent atoms before we come to handle it closely . 't is deny'd then , that there were in our case two nations , or several independent governments . 't is deny'd there were great and violent presumptions of the injury mentioned . 't is deny'd there was too great evidence of the form'd design he pretends . 't is deny'd the prince of orange acquired his authority by making war , or that he righted himself by force , or came by the consent of the people ; and therefore since he has no right either by fair means , or foul means , 't is deny'd he has any right at all ; what he has , how he came by it , or how he still keeps it , shall be declared hereafter . first then , that there is a law of nations distinct from that of particular kingdoms every man knew ●efore ; so that he needed not have been so large in a point so universally acknowledged ; but 't is becoming his small politicks to amp●●fie mightily , and carry all before him victoriously in things which no man living denies : but to be short and slight , or rather perfectly silent in those p●rticul●rs , on which the decision and the truth of the whole business depends ; we grant him then that independent governments may , when injured , have a right to demand , and if it be deny'd them , take satisfaction by force of arms , for 't is no more than every man knows , and yields to ; but 't is deny'd that this comes home to his purpose , or does his cause the least service . for — secondly , 't is deny'd that there were here two independent governments , and so his discourse falls to the g●ound . the s●ates of holland indeed make a government , but those good men , who never told lye in their lives , disclaim'd the action by their ambassador ; and , like wise men , lest it should not succeed , would not be seen in it , but made use of f●ot of w●elp to do their own jobbs , 'till the six hundred thousand pound came to be pay'd them , and then indeed they so far own'd it heartily , and took our money very readily : besides they were allies to king iames , which makes it contrary to the law of nations , to which he recurrs . and , lastly , if they made this war , and had success in it , ( i am sure the prince of orange was not such an independent governour as to make it without them , ) it would follow , by this discourse that they , and not he , are our lords and masters ; a title which the hollanders do not qu●t , but still assert on due occasions , that their state-holder manages england for their behoof , as appears by their carriage in the mogull's countrey , where they seiz'd some of our merchants effects , by pretending that england was now under holland , and that they had sent one of their own officers to govern it on their stead . as for the prince of orange , taken in his own single capacity , he was far from being a separate nation , or independent government , which this gentlemen's discourse proceeds upon , or indeed supreme governour of any nation at all , not of the principality of orange ; for this was by dr. sherlock's event of providence , and by conquest taken from him long ago : nor was the prince of orange a sovereign independent prince in holland , for he was there under the government of the states : nor was it ever heard there was a prince of breda : so that this gentleman's discourse faulters in that which should have been the very subject of it . he should have said that any great man who had received w●ong , might in true reason right himself by the best means that he or his friends could make against any man , who was not his sovereign or fellow subject , and this by the law of reason , or nature , not by the law of nations ; for what had the law of nations to do in the business , when there was no nation injured , or that demanded satisfaction ? for surely he will not say that king iames had done wrong to the principality of orange , or that the person of king william alone , or of his queen either , is a nation : yet one of the two he must say , ●o make his discourse hang together . thirdly , 't is deny'd there were great and violent 〈◊〉 of an injury to the right of succession : this , if made good , might do his cause some service ; let us see then what strong proofs he brings to evince it . two sorts of arguments he alledges to prove it . the fi●st is the prince of orange's declaration ; certainly this man is infatuated . our english proverb [ ask my master if i be a thief ] contains as good a plea as this ; yet the poor man triumphs mightily , and thinks his work is done when he has barely repeated it . but what says the declaration ? why , it says , that all the good subjects of these kingdoms do vehemently suspect , that the pretended prince of wales was not born of the ●ueen , and that many doubted of the queen's bigness , and of the birth of the child ; and yet there was not any one thing done to satisfie their doubts : so says the declaration indeed ; and if a man may be believ'd in his own cause , ( against our own knowledge , ) when he might hope to get three kingdoms by saying so , all is as true as gospel , and as clear as demonstration ; otherwise our reason will , i hope , give us leave to suspect at least misinformation in the case , if not self-partiality . and i do not like either the sincerity , or the care of him that penned it , in saying , first that [ all good subjects vehemently suspected , &c. ] and then dwindling afterwards into [ many doubted , &c. ] a sober man would not have quoted the declaration , unless to defend it ; but this gentleman builds on it as on his principle . but how will he justifie the declaration when it says , that not any one thing was done to satisfie doubters , or himself for hinting so impudently , ( p. 14. ) that the principal persons concerned had not the least satisfaction given them ? was not the testimony of near fifty sworn witnesses of credit , enough to satisfie reasonable men in a matter of fact ? no , says he , ( p. 13. ) no private depositions of such as are dependents , or otherwise liable to suspicion , can in reason be taken for satisfactory evidence . does this man consider how many protestants , how many persons of unblemish'd honour he taints with suspicion of perjury , and treason against the nation , by hinting they are so sworn in attesting the bigness of the q●een , and the birth of the prince of wales ? unhappy mr. ashron , who had such judges , and such jury-men , as though fit to condemn him without any one witness , or any one proof , but merely upon suspicion or presumption ; yet such multitudes of legal witnesses are held insufficient to satisfie those of the ●ame party of the truth of a matter of fact far more evident . certainly this pretended scrupulosity of theirs , which is so loose at some time ; and so strait-lac'd at another , is more lodged in their w●d than in their reason : but on how he bussles , and runs about the world to pretend a flaw in this most sample atte●tation ! the old roman laws are ha●ed in by head and shoulders , ( p. 13. ) though he knows well they are generally no where observed , especially those he mentions ; they being indeed such extravagant n●ceties , that it would look like perfect madness , now a days ; to offer to bring them into play . then comes in our old common law , ( p. 14. ) allowing a writ of inspection , and the old law books giving directions to prevent and discover subernation : now if there were any thing done contrary to our laws , that makes for his purpose , why does he not produce it , and urge it ? especially why did not the contention , when they were so vehemently press'd to it by the loyal party go about to discover this pretended subordination ? why did not they , or any other since this government came in , make us of his writs of inspection , and his chapter in the old law books ? did none of them know old laws , w●its and chapters , but this learned setler of the royal succession ? this i can assure him , that durst the convention have attempted it they should have sound , even at that , time , very many other witnesses of credit , able both to satisfie the nicest scrupulosity , con●ute the calumny , and confou●d the authors and abet●ers of it . but they were aff●aid such an important truth should be made too evident to the whole world , because it would at once have spoiled the prince of orange's declaration , and have shamed their own rebellions resolution of deposing king iames , and setting up another in h●s head : a pretence which was so necessary to be started and upheld , must not be discovered by , the framers and abetters of it to be a manifest impestuce , as they knew well it would have been , had they gone about to examine it . i omit to give a fuller answer to his citations out of the old roman laws , and our old common laws because they have been considered very particularly , in a discourse pu●posely made upon those 〈◊〉 subjects , entituled , de ventre i●spiciendo , or remarks on mr ashron's answerer ; which shews clearly from those laws themselves , in the places he cites , and from those oracles of the law , b●acton and my lord coke , that neither the one , nor the other are at all to his purpose . his other p●oofs of this injury justifying the war , are a company of [ its ] as ( pag. 13 ) i● there was no reasonable care taken to prevous and remove these suspicions ; and ( pag. 14. ) if no such care was taken , &c. if the principal persons concerned had not the least satisfaction given them . if the whole thing was managed with secrecy , and suspicious circumstances , &c. but he no where affirms , that all the particular [ ifs ] or any one of them was positively true ; and consequently he attempts not to make good , nor ●ffers the least proof , that the war upon this score was iust ; nor that the law of nations , he so much talks of , gives the invader any right or title to the crown ; nor , lustly , that there were great , and ( as he only phrases it ) violent presumptions of this injury to the right of succession : whence follows , that he has not even said one single word in ju●●●fication of this new government , or of the swearing party ; and so he is infinitely short of clearing the whole matter , as he , in big words , pretended at the beginning of this discourse . certainly our governours were either very unwise in clinsing no better a w●iter to defend their cause , or else ( which is the very truth ) their cause it self can bear no better a defence . since then this stout champion of our new government is so mightily in love with [ i●s . ] it were not amiss to ans●er him with more ifs than he brings , which more●ver ( a thing he ●o where does , for fear of a confute , ) we dare vouch to be true . we affirm then , that if this invasion was intended above three quarters of a year before it was executed , or more , the french king sending king iames word of it half a year before : if it was long befo●e concerted between the prince of orange and the confederates , to dethrone king iames , without any respect to the prince of wales , ( as yet but a young embrio , if so much , ) or to the maintaining our religion or liberties , or to any of those other specious pretences taken up afterwards , but on the confederates parts at least ) merely for fear he might be brought to 〈◊〉 with france , or stand neuter , and to make the silly english lose their lives , and beggar themselves to maintain the quarrel of foreigners : if the main thing that encouraged the confederates to that u●dertaking was the kn●wn hatred of the english men in general ●o king iames's religion , that king's zeal to make those of his persuasi●n ●s free is the rest of their fell●w subjects , ( which they hop'd would highly disgust very many ● ) and the●r assurance that they had a factions , lying , and discontented party here , who would make way for his ejectment , by giving about and countenancing such stories and libels as would encline great part of the nation to a revolt : if , among the rest , this flam of a supposititious prince of wales , nor dream'd on by any till then , w●s comed ●● the politick mint at the hague , sent over into england to be made current here by their party , and then the dissatisfaction which themselves had raised h●re was taken up for a pretence , and inserted in the prince of orange's declaration , to give the idle story a greater authority , and to gloss over such an unnatural and so unjust an invasion : if ample satisfaction was given by the oaths of multitudes of credible and honourable witnesses , when the dissatisfaction came to some height ; it being highly unwise for a king to humor every idle report , or honor it with such a solemn examination : if the queen's delive●y was far from being carried secretly and suspitiously , ( as one of his ifs shame●●●y ●ints , ) but in op●n day-light , before a multitude of people of all sorts indifferently , no person of honor being denied entrance , who had the curiosity to be present : if the prince and princess of orange , who were two of the persons chiefly concern'd , being absent far off in holland , and not denied coming over , if they would , might have sent some whom they could trust to be present , or at least had press'd their sister who was here , and whose joint concern it was to be exactly curious in a business so highly importing ●h●m all ; and yet none of them , though so hugely obliged by then interest to doe this , did ever make any kind of means or applica●ion , in order to their so just satisfaction , which it had been a madness not to have done , had they indeed had any real doubt . nay more , if ( to carry on the politick sham ) the princess of denmark , who was the third person so nearly concerned , after having avoided with all the industry imaginable to be present at the queen's rising and going to bed , ( left she should be forced to see what she was loth to know , and resolved not to w●tn●ss , viz. the queen's pregnancy , ) would needs , co●trary to the will of her father , who express'd some trouble that she should then ●e absent , because she being satisfied in the thing her self , might be the better able to satisfie her relations , run out of the way to the bath , and to be purposely absent just at the time the queen reckoned to be delivered , though she had most pressing reasons of interest to be here at that time , nor could , without most manifest injustice , be denied all the liberty allowable ●o one of the same sex , both to satisfie her s●lf and others ; though at the same time it was given out , that she was sent away by her f●ther , lest she should discover the pretended cheat : i● none of the three nearly conc●r●ed , nor any other , made the least scruple , nor pretended the least dissatisfaction in the world , when the queen was ●elivered of other chi●●ren formerly , though not half the number was presen● , untill a male child was born , which to th●i● r●gret , put them by the hopes and expecta●ion of succeeding in th●ir turns ●he next : if instead of offering any proof at all , or any one witness of the contrary , to invalidate or counte●bala●ce in the least degree this consonant testimony of so many persons of untai●ted honour and sincerity ; this farce , to gull ●nd mad the silly credulous people , was carried on and abe●●ed with nothing but multitudes of lyes , printed and baw'd about to serve a present turn ; as that the woman whose child it was , was come out of holland , and would appear to justifie it ; that it was brought to st iames's , sometimes in a coach , some●imes in a warming-p●n , that the midwife had co●fessed the cheat , &c. all which are e●i●ced to be falshoods by this , that they wer● never prov'd , or attempted to be prov'd , th●ugh it was so highly necessary : if the factious members in the conventi●n , that voted up this new king , were p●est by the loyal party to call this matter into examination , yet could never be brought to doe it , though it were in it self of the highest concern imaginable to our nation , and withall most absolutely necessary to justifie this otherwise barbarous invasi●n of the prince of orange , and their own treasonable abdication of king iames : lastly , if this heavy charge against the ki●g and queen , of trumping up a sham prince of wales , was indu●●riously spread throughout the three kingdoms , not out of any real zeal of pres●rving the ●●ue succession , but onely as a fit occasion to throw off that , and the mona●chy too , as hereditary by lineal descent , by changing it into an elective , as frankly acknowledged by one of the greatest abdicating p●ers of the realm , who owned to a person of known integrity , that he believed the prince of wales to be as truly born of the queen's body , as his own son of his wife 's ; and that therefore they were resolved to pluck up both root and branch ; which in other words is to change the government : if , i say , all these particulars be true , as we dare affirm them to be , and are ready to p●ove by unquestio●able testimonies ; and as most of them are most notorious , then we may safely conclude , that the birth of the prince of wales was no just occasion of a war , nor consequently can be derive hence a right to the government by the law of nations justifying his invasion , as this gentleman pretends . i pity his weakness in compa●ing ( p. 15. this open carriage of things in the birth of that prince , before multitudes of people of all sorts indifferently to a jugg●e between three , ( the pretended father and mother and a m●dwife , ) to subo●n a false chi●d : he thinks it too of great weight , that the ju●y upon hearing the whole evidence , gave iudgment that t●at child was supposititious : what straws wil men catch at when their cause is sinking ? but why does he not tell us , what evidence the jury he speaks of proceeded upon ? because it would shame his alleadging it . 't is this , as i have been informed : the hereford 〈◊〉 woman was held incapable of children , which made the next heir to the estate suspect no child was born : a crafty lawyer , who undertook to discover it , first made enqui●y what poor women the midwife ' had delivered about that time , and found that ●ne of them had her child missing ; having discovered this , he f●ights the woman , by telling her there was a great rumour that the had murthered her child , and that she should be hanged if she did not produce it alive or dead . hereupon she made known the whole intrigue of the midwife , and the p●etended parents , and the juggle came to be consist is this in any regard like our case ? none were sworn there but the two persons immediately con●erned , who hoped to enjoy the estate , and a countrey midwife , who was to have a share in it for her project , at least we may be sure a good lusty bribe . so that here wa● in really but one witness , the pretended parents being barred from witnessing in their own c●use : coun● now the number of our witnesses , and weigh their worth , and how that they were not persons 〈◊〉 out , but came accidentally as they hapt to hear of the queen's co●●ition , and it will appear impossible they should be capable of a confederacy or subornation . again : the queen was never held to be barren ; she had had formerly divers daughters , and a son ; and it was likely , and no more but what by the course of nature is generally expected , that she should at another time have a second male-child : ' nor did any mother of the child appear to own it , as the lying parts a go●d w●●e pretended she would ; all those kind of romances serv'd like butt●esses or scaffolds to raise this new king to his height , and build up our new govern●ent ; and therefore when things were better settled , and could stand without them , they were taken down again , and laid aside as useless . in a word , let him bring an evidence in any degree like that which his herefordshire j●ry had , and we shall acknowledge the wrong done to the natio● , and to the r●yal family , and grant the war ( had there been any ) just : till then let not such personages lie under such intolerable slanders , let not christianity and duty be so wickedly violated , nor the people of england deluded and scandalized with such talk without proof , and s●ch heavy c●arges laid without the least colourable shadow of evidence , to ju●●ifie that they are so much as in any degree probable , much less ( as he mouths it ) great and violent presumptions , and least of all ( what they ought to have been ) absolutely certain truths . thus much of his great and violent presumptions , &c. next follows ( for though he be a very slender prover , yet he is still a very big pretender ) his too g●eat evidence of a form'd design to subvert the establisht religion , and civil liberties of the nation . i supp●se he calls it too great evidence , because 't is so great that it dazles the night , as the sun does at noon-day ; so that no man can see it , or b●hold it , else why is it too great ? now when a man has too much of a thing , 't is very unkind , and even ill-natur'd and hard-hearted , not to spare a little of it to his friends to whom he owes it , and who both want it , and expect it from him . but we mistake his genius , he is a pra●ing not a proving writer : nor does he evidence the calumny otherwise , than by referring us again to his alcoran , the prince of orange's declaration : whatever he finds there , he makes account is a first principle , and so bring of too great evidence , it can need no proof . an impartial narrative of matters of fact known to most in england , will give us a true light to judge of this point . king iames his religion and the hatred which the generality of the nation had against it , made all those who were of a different persuasion look with a jealous eye upon his actions , and apt to make the worst constructions of every thing he did , in favour of papists : nor is it to be thought that he wanted many enemies of the old excluding faction , who stood watching all opportunities to b●eed him vexation , and disaffect his subjects by malicious insinuations . those of our church who were heartily loyal , did grieve exceedingly to see him give his enemies too fair occasions to work him mischief : they judged that the setting up the high commission court over ecclesiasticks , were there nothing in it but the novelty of it , should not have been attempted in such circumstances if at all . the making one of the iesuits ( men more odious to our nation than turkish m●sties ) a privy-counsellor , could , they fear'd , have no other likely effect , but to exasperate all england to the highest degree . they conceived that the dispensing with the test , and putting roman-catholicks promiscuously into offices civil and military , might have been let alone 'till the test it self were abrogated ; which would certainly have been more easily obtained , had not this forward anticipation put our church of england out of humour , and made them more warily stand upon their guard , and resolve unanimously to part with nothing that could any way he likely to advantage them : but that which most startled our church , was the design of giving liberty of conscience to all dissenters ; they had sadly experienced in the long parliament's time , and in oliver's days , how those men had trampled the church of england under foot , and they feared that this setling them by law , on an even level with themselves , might in time give those restless men opportunity to play the same franks over again . in a word , they apprehended they were to fence with their enemies on both hands , and therefore they combined — veleus testindine factâ — to link themselves unanimously against the universally d●●pensing power , and in maintenance of the test. on the other side , king iames was very earnest to have a general liberty of conscience setled by law. it had ever been his tenet , that persecution purely for conscience sake was vnchristian : besides , he judged it would enrich the nation , as it had done holland , by inviteing strangers hither , and encouraging trade ; the conveniency of our ports , above those of our neighbours , being an efficacious motive to draw the traffick from them to us . he judged too that this universal toleration , if wisely setled and managed , might be a means to compose the bedlam animosities here about religion , which had so often distracted the nation , and , within our memory , turned the government topsie-turvy ▪ nor was it one of his least motives ( though not the only one , as some apprehended ) to gain those of his own religion a toleration among the rest of the dissenters ; a thing ( to speak impartially ) to which both his honour and his conscience could not but exceedingly encline him . these conveniences meeting in one , took such full hold of his judgment , that he was exceedingly fond of a project , which did seem to him so hugely advantageous to the nation . hereupon he try'd all sweet means imaginable to bring it about ▪ but found all his caresses ineffectual to induce our church party to permit it to be enacted in parliament , which was his main design : wherefore he saw there was no other expedient , but to turn out such officers as opposed his intentions , and ( for the present ) to put in dissenters to whom he knew it would be grateful , and by that means to compass such a parliament , as was likely to establish this liberty of conscience by law. he hop'd it would not much displease our church , since he declared he would continue to them the prerogative above others to be still the state-religion established by law , to enjoy all the bishopricks and benefices , and by that means to have vast priviledges a●● advantages over any others whatsoever : but they were jealous that this was not sufficient to secure them for the future . and hence , as it happens , when both parties are stiff in their contrary pre●ensions mutual diskindnesses past towards one another , which ill meaning men laid hold on , and made use of to disaffect the nation ; and so facilitated the way to welcome the invader . now all this while , what had k●ng iames done to make his son in law , and his own nephew , nay his own daughter , turn their father out of his kingdoms ? there was nothing taken from our church but the power of persecution , our principles he meddled not with , nor intruded men of heterodox tenets into our bishopricks and livings ; whereas now we have soctnians and latitudinarians softed into our chief cathedrals , and ou● parish churches ; so that we may expect shortly , without god's special and undeserved mercy , our church will be made an amsterdam of all religions : their swearing allegiance at a venture attones for all their heretical tenets let them be as d●m●able as they will , or can be . had our governour ( for to call him head of such a d●fferent natured church , were to call it a monster ) taken away our ●xternal grandure , or our revenues , it had been less pernice us ●o our church , than what it now suffers . for not outward splendor or r●b●s , but true principles of fai●b are that which make a church ▪ the c●●i●tian church under the ten heathen persecutions , was still a most perfect and pure church , h● keeping her principles untainted ▪ and admitting none into her communion that were polluted with false tenets , though it wanted then all these outward ornaments and accessaries : so that both the very essence and being of our church goes on n●w corrupting every day ; and her revenues too , in great part , are given away to aliens : whereas king iames never injured us , in the least , either in the one of those respects , or the other , ( nor have we any more than a suspicion that he ever meant it ) though he shew'd some resentments against the personal opposition , or rather uncompliance of some of our great ones , which was a trifle in comparison : whereas the prince of orange's declaring he came over to maintain the protestant religion , was a meer pretence , being so far from maintaining , or upholding our principles of faith , or assisting our church ; that , as appears by the event , he has taken care to corrupt the one , and is making haste to destroy the other ; the war therefore ( if any ) cannot be said to be just upon that account . as for what king iames is pretended to have done in prejudice of our civil liberties , which required the prince of orange's over-charitable vindicating them : he was told by his judges that it was his due prerogative ; and suppose he had something extended that , why should this oblige a son and daughter to invade a father ? had he beggar'd the nation by heavy taxes , it had been worse for them when their turn came to enjoy it . but to magnifie the ro●al prerogative had been a high benefit to them , especially in a nation which was in great part of common-weal●hish principles , and ought to have been esteemed meritorions . again : the greatest encroachment upon our civil liberties that was objected , was the dispensing universally with the laws against the dissenters , whence it was inferred , he might by the same reason dispense with any other law , or suspend the execution of it , and then adieu to our civil liberties . but it ought to be remembred , that when he did this , he declared his judgment at the same time , what it estimable common goods it would being to the nation , ( which cannot be pretended the dispensing with any other law whatsoever , ) and he judged himself to be by his office , as indeed he was , ove●seer of the common good. it may be remembred , that it enrich'd not himself , but rather impoverished him ; for he l●st the fines and forfeitures raised upon conventicles : so that 't is manife●● he aimed onely at the common good of the people , and not at his own private interest ; and therefore if he had erred , it ought to have been very pardonable , and not have been made such a heinous fault , as deserv'd an invasion , and the loss of his crown . again : if king iames over-reach'd , it was in order to get universal liberty of conscience settled by law , which suiting so exactly with the dutch methods could not , to a dutch prince , be a just ground for such an vnnatural quarrel ; especially since it was intended to take the grievous yoke of queen elizabeth's laws from off the necks of those of the presbyterian persuasion ; which being the religion that prince had espoused , and been bred up in , it ought rather to have obliged him , than have exasperated him so highly as to draw his sword at his father . this prete●ce then of maintaining our civil liberties , and of justifying the war upon that score , is so open a sham past upon us poor english gulls , that it gives it self the lye , even from the principles of our new governours themselves . fourthly , it is denied there was any war at all , either intended , or proclaimed , or acted . princes that conceive themselves aggrieved , use to be so generous , as first to complain and demand satisfaction ; and if this be denied , then to d●●ounce war , and pr●se●ute it . thi● is the law of nations , and the common custom of the world : but here was no complaint , no demand of sati●f●ction , no● any war proclaim'd , but denied to the very time of their larding ; nor was any battel inten●●d , that warlike and noble prince ( witness his false-hearted declaration ) came over to wheedle , not ●● fight . some th●●sa●●● of souldiers he did indeed bring over with him , and they might cr●●mp , and perhaps muster ; but for coming forwards within the lists , till the king's army had voluntarily dispersed it self , or offer to join b●ttel with them , you must pardon them . alas ! they were so far from the least thought of taking upon them that boldness , that 't is we●l known how upon the delay of our renegadoes coming over to them , they had called a council , not of war , or of fight , but of flight ; for it was there in a panick fear resolved to be gone most valiantly the next day , had not one of them unexpectedly arrived , who brought the reviving tidings of more chief officers to follow ; whose shamefull deserting , as it gave them the courage to stay , so it amused the king , that he durst not venture to trust the rest , not knowing the number of his firm friends , since those who had the greatest obligations in the world to be so , had so dishonourably run to his enemy , and turned traitors . war implies some kind of bravery in its notion , but in this case there was nothing but a sneaking treachery , and a more trick to f●ight ●some with the apprehension of an unive●sal defection of the king's army , and to debauch the rest with shams and lyes . this was the war , this the success of war , which ( p. 11 ) this idle talker so much braggs of , and on which he builds the prince of orange's right to the government . a strange war without doubt , where never a stroke was struck ! and as strange a success of war , which depended not on the battled courage of the dutch , but on the treachery of the english. till now all ma●kind verily judged , that success in war imposed victory or conquests ▪ and can it be called a victory , ●here none fought ? besides , a victor signifies a conquerour ; and then england should be his by conquest , notwithstanding the consent of the people afterwards , unless the people compounded it with the conquerours before hand , as the kentish-men did with william i. otherwise all is his . l●●●ly , 't is denied there was an unanimous consent of the people . he distinguishes ( p. 23 ) between a right to the government , and the manner of assuming it . the right , she says , was founded on the 〈◊〉 causes of the war , and the success in it : but the assuming it was not by any way of forc● or violence , but by a free co●●ent of the people . it see us then the government originally was 〈◊〉 his , even while he was in holland , if he could but catch it ; and so , if he were but so wise as to know his own right , and his own lot 〈◊〉 , of which none can doubt , ●he came over with a design and full intention to get it . yet himself in his de●la●ati●n disclaimed any such intention ; and continued to doe so all along , till the very time of ch●sing him , even after king iames was gone , and his army dispersed ; and consequ●ntly after the success of the war ( such as it was ) was acquired : so that this acute gentleman gives us a new and sixth title to the crown , which was never known to that prince himself , nor ever owned by him , nor hinted in any of his proclamations ; nor ( which is strange ) acknowledged or intimated by the convention ; when they voted him king , and were at an utter loss on what ground to settle his title , while the true king was yet living ; nor , lastly , thought on , d●eam'd on , or heard on by any man in the world , till himself writ ; and one would think , that had not his bad cause suspended his use of common sense , he could not but see that the very word [ acceptance of the government , ] which he here uses , ( pag. 23. ) is clearly relative to their giving him the same government , and ( unless we will wrong the use and signification of words ) giving it as a kindness too , since no man can be said to accept that as a gift which was his own before . but give it they did , and accordingly he left his hand , and thanked them for the favour . and i wonder to what end , if this dis●ourse of his be true , was all that mad clutter about the abdication vote , to make room for a new king , and give him a title : for if k. william had right even then to the government , upon the score of a successfull war , king iames had no right at all , but was absolutely outed , whether he had abdicated or not abdicated . but it seems they were all fools to this gentleman , whose quick sight could descry a title which was hid from the dim eyes of the whole consenting nation . but was there indeed a free consent of the people ? let us see . a consent is said then to be free , when there is neither force over●awing men , nor fraud either circumventing them with false motives , or frightening them with false fears . now the common people were bubbled at that time with a thousand lyes about the prince of wales , smithfield-fares , a league made with france to enslave us all ; nay , that we were all sold to the french king , and in danger to have all our throats cut by him : they conserted then upon such suppositions , not absolutely ; and so these suppositions being found to be false , their true reason consented not , but they were surprized , terrified , and ama●ed into a false grounded passion , which made them in a hurry doe they knew not what ; whereas the most sedate deliberation , and most true rep●esentation of things is requisite to such a free consent , as submits all the subjects lives and fortun●s to the maintaining this new governour in the throne , as they must do , whoever own their allegiance due to him . at least he will say the convention represented the nation , and ●e consented , and that 's enough . i deny all three . it was neither a legal representative , and so let it vote what it will it binds no man , nor consequently is it enough for his purpose : nor did the people who chose the commons intend to empower them to alter the most fundamental law of the land , and make a new king as they pleased . besides , if they would needs do it , they ought to have first repealed the laws for the royal succession , and all those other laws too which make it treason to obey or acknowledge any other but the immediate successour for their king ; otherwise those laws , yet standing , whatever was done against them was beyond all excuse illegal and treasonable in the highest degree . nor , lastly , did the convention unanunorisly and freely consent . the common-wealth●sh party could not 〈◊〉 to bring in a new king , while the old one was alive , and had not resigned . being thus at a loss , when they had computed the number of their faction , who they knew would vote any thing , they put the king's abdication to vote : it was carried , though it was such a piece of bold impudence as was , at another time , ( and will be for all future ages ) enough to make all the convention held mad-men . the king was commanded out of his palace to a prison , and all treaty with him refused , and so , being made justly apprehensive by his father's fate , he had retired for his safety ; but well foreseeing the ambitious drift of the prince of orange , he , both by his letter from rochester , and divers others afterwards , particularly in that to the lords , both claimed the government , challenged their allegiance , desired them to prepare things for his safe return , and signified he would be within convenient distance , to receive and answer their proposals : he told them the right was his , and bid them remember , that none but himself was or could be their sovereign . besides : it was fresh in every man's memory , how his royal brother king charles had retired also for his safety , continued many years out of england ; yet no man living ever thought , nor were his very enemies so senseless and shameless as to object , that he had abdicated his crown : yet notwithstanding all this , and in despight of common sense , claiming was called abdicating , and the challenging their allegiance was voted renouncing it : they might better have voted ; that the huntington colt , driven down to the bridge at cambridge , was a sturgeon ; that an apple is an oyster ; or that chalk is cheese ; for th●se are onely different things , not directly opposites , as a●e the other . no wonder then it cost the factious party such sweat and toil to get such a damnable contradiction enacted : such a solliciting , cajolling , frighting ! such hurry and clamour , [ make him king , make him king , ] enough to put sober mankind out of its senses ! besides ; a dutch army over-awing them , and the fear of being accused afterwards to the new king as disaffected to him , which considering his humour , impatient of opposition in a pretence he was violently bent upon , might either prove their ruine , or at least make them live very uneasie under him . take one short but very significant instance , how things were carried in those mad days , as it was related by a noble pee● ( who was himself very forward for the abdication ) to his friends upon occasion . there being no judges yet appointed , there was a debate in the convention , what gentlemen of the long robe should be made choi●e of to assist in the house : some named sir francis pemberton , sir robert sawyer , and mr. finch ; but the lords mordant , delamere , and some others , took fire suddenly , and brake out into big and boisterous language , telling the house flatly and plainly , [ we will have none of those who have been instruments in the late reign : ] upon which a sudden damp seized all the lords , as if they had been attackt in flank and rear with canons and mortars , or the thunder from mount sinai : for we lookt on them , said that lord , as on so many princes of orange , or such as might not be contradicted for fear of his displeasure ; and in the same manner most votes were forced , till we had the grace to be pliable to what the military lords and their complices proposed . is not this a strange kind of free consent , when the heads of the faction did all at their pleasure , and the rest , who made up the generality , durst do nothing at all , but what was agreeable to the arbitrary will of the prince of orange , and his insolent adherents ? and yet though their own party was so great , and had all those advantages to back them , they were able to carry it but by a very few votes , as appears by the catalogues of each . and which gives a greater blemish in the house of lords , than it had advantage in the house of commons , six dukes , and thirty lords protested solemnly against it , and their protestations stand yet upon record : and the generality of the others admitted it , because they judged it would be a ruine to themselves , and withall worse for king iames , if the government should settle into a common-wealth , than if they should keep up monarchy , by setting up a king de facto at present , which is all they intended at first , as divers of them have declared privately to those friends they durst trust ; though now they are carried down by the current of the times into many treasonable actions , contrary to their first intentions . so dangerous is it to recede from principles , in compliance with any present circumstances whatever . seeing then all this whole turn of our state depends upon the abdication vote , as on its bottom and sole foundation , and no king was chosen , but in supposition of king iames's relinquishing , and voluntary divesting himself of his crown , it follows , that the true ground of king william's right to the government , is a piece of m●re nonsense , which we english men call a bull : and therefore since none of the many minded writ●rs , who have gone about to settle his authority , have light on this seventh and truest title of his , i thought it fit to let them know it , that all his friends may adore this mysterious monster , this bull ; and in their devotions cry aloud , these are the gods that brought our israel out of the land of aegypt , out of the house of bondage ; i.e. from under the government of king james . and for not thinking this bull to be rational , and falling down and adoring it , our loyal martyr suffered . but to put an upshot to this whole business : let any man who has but eyes , and common sense , peruse these following letters of king iames's to the lords of the council , and the house of lords and commons , and he must , whether he will or no , plainly see how prodigiously senseless this pretence is of that king's abdication , on which , ( and which onely ) the convocation grounded their dethroning him , and setting up the prince of orange in his stead . his majesties letter to the lords ; and others of his privy-council . james r. my lords , when we saw that it was no longer safe for us to remain within our kingdom of england , and that thereupon we had taken our resolutions to withdraw for some time . we left to be communicated to you and to all our subjects , the reasons of our withdrawing : and were likewise resolved , at the same time , to leave such o●ders behind us to you of our privy-council , as might best suit with the present state of affairs : but that being altogether unsafe for us at that time ; we now think fit to let you know , that though it has been our constant care since our first accession to the crown , to govern our people with that justice and moderation , as to give , if possible , no occasion of complaint ; yet more particularly upon the late invasion , seeing how the design was laid , and fearing that our people , who could not be destroy'd but by themselves , might by little imaginary grievances be cheated into a certain ruine . to prevent so great mischief , and to take away , not only all just causes , but even pretences of discontent , we freely and of our own accord redressed all those things that were set forth as the causes of that invasion : and that we might be informed by the counsel and advice of our subjects themselves , which way we might give them a further and a full satisfaction , we resolved to meet them in a free parliament ; and in order to it , we first laid the foundation of such a free parliament , in restoring the city of london , and the rest of the corporations to their ancient charters and priviledges ; and afterwards actually appointed the writs to be issued out , for the parliament's meeting on the fifteenth of ianuary : but the prince of orange ●eeing all the ends of his declaration answered , the people beginning to be undeceiv'd , and returning apace to their ancient duty and allegiance , and well foreseeing that if the parliament should meet at the time appointed , such a settlement , in all probability , would he made both in church and state , as would totally defeat his ambitious and unjust designs , resolved by all means possible to prevent the meeting of the parliament . and to do this the most effectual way , he thought fit to lay a restraint on our royal person , for as it were absurd to call that a free parliament , where there is any force on either of the houses , so much less can that parliament be said to act freely wh●re the sovereign , by whose authority they meet and sit , and from whose royal assent all their acts receive their life and sanction , is under actual confinement . the hurrying of us under a guard from our city of london , whose returning loyalty we could no longer trust , and the other indignities we suffered in the person of the earl of feversham , when sent to him by us ; and in that barbarous confinement of our own person we shall not here repeat , because they are , we doubt not , by this time very well known , and may , we hope , if enough considered and refl●cted upon , together with his other violations and breaches of the laws and liberties of england , which by this invasion he pretended to restore , be sufficient to open the eyes of all our subjects , and let them plainly see what every one of them may expect , and what treatment they shall find from him , if at any time it may serve his purpose , from whose hands a sovereing prince , an uncle , and a father , could meet with no better entertainment . however , the sense of these indignities , and the just apprehension of further attempts against our person , by them who already endeavoured to murder our reputation by infamous calumnies , ( as if we had been capable of supposing a prince of wales , ) which was incomparably more injurious than the destroying of our person it self ; together with a serious reflection on a saying of our royal father , of blessed memory , when he was in the like circumstances , that there is little distance between the prisons and the graves of princes , ( which afterwards proved too true in his case , ) could not but persuade us to make use of that which the law of nature gives to the meanest of our subjects , of freeing our selves by all means possible from that unjust co●fi●●ment and restraint . and this we did not more for the security of our own person , than that thereby we might be in a better capacity of transacting and providing for every thing , that may contribute to the peace and settlement of our kingdoms : for , as on the one hand , no change of fortune shall make vs forget our selves , so far as to cond sc●nd to any thing unbecoming that high and royal station , in which god almighty by right of succession has placed vs : so on the other hand , neither the provocation or ingratitude of our own subjects , nor any other consideration whatsoever , shall ever prevail with us to make the least step contrary to the t●●e l●●erest of the english n●●io● ; which we ever did , and ever must lo●k upon as our own . our wall and p●●●sure , therefore is , that you of our privy-council , take the most effectual care to make these our gracious intentions known to the lords spiritual and temporal , in and about our cities of london and westminster , to the lord mayor and commons of our city of london and to all our subjects in general . and to assure them , that we desire nothing more than to return and hold a free parliament , wherein we may hav● the best opportunity of undeceiving o●r people , and shewing the sincerity of those prote●●ations , we have often made of the preserving the liberties and properties of our subjects , and the protestant religion , more especially the church of england as by law established , with such indulgence for those that d●ssent from her , as we have always thought our selves in justice and care of the general wellfare of our peop●e bound to procure for them . and in the mean time you of our privy-council , ( who can judge better by being upon the place , ) are to send us your advice , what is fit to be done by us towards our returning , and accomplishing those good ends. and we do require you in our name , and by our authority , to endeavour so to suppress all tumults and disorders , that the nation in general , and every one of our subjects in particular , may not receive the least prejudice from the present distractions that is possible . so not doubting of your dutiful obedience to these our royal commands , we bid you heartily farewell . given at st. germains en laye the 14th . of ianuary , 1688. and of our reign the fourth year . by hiis majesties command , melfort . directed thus — to the lords , and others of our privy-council of our kingdom of england . his majesties letter to the house of lords and commons , writ from st. germains the third of february , 1688. james r. my lords , we think our selves obliged in conscience to do all we can to open our peoples eyes , that they may see the true interest of the nation in this important conjuncture ; and therefore we think fit to let you know , that finding we could no longer stay with safety , nor act with freedom in what concerned our people , we left the reasons of our withdrawing under our own hand , in the following terms . the world cannot wonder at my withdrawing my self now this second time ; i might have expected somewhat better vsage after what i writ to the prince of orange , by my lord feversham , and the instructions i gave him ; but instead of an answer , such as i might have hop'd for , what was i to expect after the usage i received , by his making the said earl a prisoner against the practice and law of nations ; the sending his own guards at eleven at night to take possession of the posts at white-hall , without advertising me in the least manner of it ; the sending to me at one a clock after midnight , when i was in bed , a kind of an order by three lords to be gone out of my own pallace before twelve the next morning . after all this , how could i hope to be safe , so long as i was in the power of one , who had not only done this to me , and invaded my kingdoms , without any just occasion given him for it , but that did by his first declaration lay the greatest aspersion on me , that malice could invent , in that clause of it which concerns my son ? i appeal to all that know me , nay , even to himself , that in their consciences , neither he nor they , can believe me , in the least , capable of so vnnatural a villany , nor of so little common sense to be imposed upon , in a thing of such a nature as that : what had i then to expect from one , who by all arts hath taken such pains to make me appear as black as hell to my own people , as well as to all the world besides ? what effect that had at home all mankind have seen , by so general a defection in my army , as well as in the nation , amongst all sorts of people . i was born free , and desire to continue so ; and though i have ventured my life very frankly , on several occasions , for the good and honor of my countrey , and am as free to do it again , ( and which i hope i shall yet do , as old as i am , to redeem it from the slavery it is like to fall under , ) yet i think it not convenient to expose my self to be secured , as not to be at liberty to effect it ; and for that reason do withdraw , but so as to be within call , whensoever the nations eyes shall be opened , so as to see how they have been abused and imposed upon by the specious pretence of religion and property . i hope it will please god to touch their hearts , out of his infinite mercy , and to make them sensible of the ill condition they are in , and bring them to such a temper , that a legal parliament may be called ; and that amongst other things , which may be necessary to be done , they will agree to liberty of conscience for all protestant dissenters ; and that those of my own persuasion may be so far considered , and have such a share of it , as they may live peaceably and quietly , as english-men and christians ought to do , and not to be obliged to transplant themselves , which would be very grievous , especially to such as love their own countrey : and i appeal to all men , who are considering men , and have had experience , whether any thing can make this nation so great and flourishing , as liberty of conscience ? some of our neighbours dread it . i could add much more to confirm all i have said , but now is not the proper time . rochester , decemb. 22d . 1688. but finding this letter not to be taken to be ours by some , and that the prince of orange , and his adherents did maliciously suppress the same , we writ to several of our privy-council , and directed copies thereof to divers of you the peers of the realm , believing that none durst take upon them to intercept , or open any of your letters : but of all these we have no account . but we wonder not , that all arts are used to hinder you from knowing our sentiments , since the prince of orange rather chose against all law to imprison the earl of feversham , and by force to drive vs away from our own palace , than receive our invitation of coming to us , or hearing what we had to propose to him , well knowing that what we had to offer , would content all honest and reasonable men , and was what he durst not trust you with the knowledge of . those false and wicked reflections on vs , relating to the french-league , and to our son the prince of wales , we require you to examine into , and thereby satisfie your selves , and all other our subjects , where the imposture lies ; we hope god will not permit you to deprive your selves of a lawful prince , whose education shall be such , as may give a prospect of happiness to all our kingdoms hereafter . we are resolved nothing shall be omitted on our part ( whenever we can with safety return ) that can contribute towards the red●ess of all former errors , or present disorders , or add to the securing the protestant religion , or the property of every individual subject , intending to refer the whole to a parliament , legally called , freely elected , and held without constraint , wherein we shall not only have a particular regard to the support and security of the church of england , as by law established ; but also give such an indulgence to dissenters , as our people shall have no reason to be jealous of , not expecting for the future any other favour to those of our own persuasion , than the exercise of their religion in their own private families . and because many of our well-meaning subjects , whose unnecessary fears for the protestant religion , and the unhappy mistakes of the prince of orange's ambitious designs ( which they did not sufficiently see into time enough ) have been fatally led , beyond what they first intended , ( viz. the preservation of their religion , &c. ) to the breach of all laws , and even to the total dissolution of the an●ient government it self ; and knowing themselves thereby to be obnoxious , may despair of our mercy : we do therefore declare , on the word of a king , that our free pardon shall not only be extended to them , but to all our subjects , to the worst , even those that betrayed us , ( some few excepted , ) resolving in that parliament , by an act of oblivion , to cover all faults , heal all divisions , and restore peace and happiness to all our subjects , which can never be effectually done by any other methods or power . having thus firmly resolved on our part , whatsoever crimes are omitted , whose posterity shall come to suffer for these crimes , we shall look upon our selves as justified in the sight both of god and man and therefore leave it with you , expecting you will seriously and speedily consider hereof ; and so we bid you heartily farewell . given at st. germains en laye the third of february , 1688. and of our reign the fourth year . the letter to the commons was verbatim the same . to the officers and souldiers of the army . james r. the regard we have for you as gentlemen , and souldiers , obliges us to endeavour to restore you to that reputation for courage , loyalty , &c. which has till now been inseparable from english men , which by your late fatal defection from us your lawful prince ( whose particular care you ever were ) is now become contemptible , even to those you joyned with against us , nor can any thing restore you to your former character , but a sudden and hearty return to that duty , which you have so unduly quitted , which we doubt not of , being verily persuaded , that even those that first left our service , had no just prejudice against our person , but were betray'd and decoy'd by persons employ'd by , or in confederacy with the prince of orange , who by most wicked and malicious lyes , had represented us as black as hell to our subj●cts , who , we hope , do now see into their evil designs , which they c●uld never have thus far accomplished , but by deluding you into a belief of the imposture of our son the prince of wales , the french-league , the death of our brother the late king , &c. of all which they well know vs innocent , and da●e not therefore bring on the stage to be examined and searched into , according to their former promises . and can you then without indignation , serve th●se who have thus villanously betrayed , deluded , and made a property of you ? and now having obtained their ends by your assistance , neglect , d●●spise , and evilly intreat you : for to the eternal shame of all english men ●one but foreigners are now trusted in the most honourable p●sts in and about white-hall and london , whilst you are sent ab●oad as mercenaries , and made subservient to them ; cast back your thoughts on the villanies of their actions , who sate in our councils and betray'd vs , adding treachery to the blackest of ingratitude ; enquire into the morals of those general officers that deserted vs , and misled you , and indeed into the principles of most of these , in their present new government , and you will soon be convinced , that 't was not religion ( though that was made the specious pretence ) that influenced their actings , but interest and ambition ; we charge not these crimes but on some particular persons , well knowing that the greatest part both of officers and souldiers in our army , were not faulty in their allegiance : and therefore we shall only look forward , and resolve to reward all according to their demerits , and prefer those first who continue untainted , and shall be quickest in returning to their duty ; which we doubt not , but that e'er long , by god's blessing , we shall by appearing in our own kingdoms , give them an opportunity to do , and consequently to retrieve their own honours , as becomes true hearted english-men , and lovers of their king and countrey . given at st. germains en laye the 14th . of february , 1688 and in the fifth year of our reign . but to return to our discours● — such a free consent , as suffices in this case of transferring a kingdom and the all●giances of all their fellow subjects , ought to have been general of the whole nation , unanimous , hearty , and most deliberate , not done in a sudden heat , not check'd nor overaw'd , not protested against ; especially it ought to have been grounded , at least , upon good tolerable sense ; all which were here wanting . this in case their free cons●nt could do the work : but let their consent be the best qualified in the world , it can never be sufficient for this purpose ; for no consent of those who have no r●ght to a thing , though it were never so free , is able to give away another man's title , who is known to have had a true and undoubted right to it . well , may a conspiracy of my servants , tenants , and of my children joyned with them , have the power to d●ive or fright me out of my house ? but not all these together , though never so many , can give away that right , which the laws of the land , and in our case god's law too , have made my property . thus much for his new coined notion of right by the law of nations , own'd by none but this singular writer , who seeing all other titles of this upstart government baffled , was forc'd , for a shift , to recurr to this whimsie . but since he was pleased to decline the law of the land , and run to a superior law , ( viz. ) that of nations , we shall take leave to mind him ( for he and his party seem to have quite forgot it , or rather indeed to out-brave , and laugh at it ) of the supreme law of all , the law of god , which commands us to honour our , father and mother , and not to covet , much less to rob or cheat another ; and least of all so near , and so revered a relation , of what is rightfully his . let us consider then what good and conscientious christians would have done in the case of the prince , and princess of orange . for , first , if their party , with their consent or connivance , invented those stories , which he makes the just occasion of the war , on purpose to turn out their father , it was in many regards the most hideous , and the most villanous injustice that can be imagin'd . secondly , if those falshoods were suggested to them by others , they knew the genius of the english subjects was apt to raise and believe the most senseless falshoods of him out of hatred to his religion ; and so they ought to have considered , that there was no kind of evidence of this story , nor so much as one witness , that the prince of wales was a counterfeit , nor ( as appears by their not producing it in their justification when it was so necessary ) any one tolerable reason , able to persuade a prudent man , the thing was true : whereas , on the other side there were , as was said , near fifty sworn witnesses of clear honour and reputation testifying the contrary , any two or three of whom were sufficient to carry the greatest estate , or take away the life of any man in england . they knew too , that if the pretended injury done to them were not really true , they must incurr the dreadful indignation of a just god , for breaking divers of his commandments , in that one action , by dishonouring , injuring , and slandering their innocent and near related neighbour ; and who would hazard their soul upon such odds ? thirdly , if they did indeed doubt of it before the birth , they ought ( as was said ) to have sent some trusty persons , or have signified their desire , that some here , whom they could confide in , should be present . if they only doubted of it after the prince was born , they might have demanded that the same persons might have counter-interrogated , and examin'd the witnesses ; now they were bound in conscience to use all such honest and wary means before they proceded thus to the highest extremities . fourthly , if greatest proof against no proof could not satisfie them , why did they not , to clear their honour that they had not acted unjustly , undutifully , or unchristianly since the time they came hither , bring the matter into a new examination ? since nothing could more contribute to settle them in the throne , had it been prov'd an imposture , nor have more ob●iged all england to them , nor have more taken off the scandal of the world , and have satisfied every man of the iustice of their proceedings . lastly , if it had been done for the good of europe , and to bring the french king lower , ( though this could not justifie this invasion , ) yet why was not at least the wisest course taken for this ? had the prince of orange pursued only the ends express'd in his declaration , and obliged king iames , as he might easily have done , to redress abuses here , and make a lasting league with the confederates abroad ; it had , in all likelihood , by this time reduced the french king to a low condition : for then king iames had been able to unite all the force of england , scotland , and ireland , and bend them unanimously against the common enemy : whereas now our men ( and money too ) are employ'd in fighting against one another in scotland and ireland ; nor only so , but england it self , whose free consent he so much brags of , is so distracted , that we know not how soon we may fall into the same misfortunes ; some out of conscience , not daring to hazard their souls in swearing allegiance to one , whose title the most zealous adherers to him cannot agree on , nor themselves are satisfied with ; and far more of them being disgusted to see our countrey beggared to maintain the quarrel of foreigners , and enrich our greatest enemies the dutch ; so that this pretence of pulling down the heighth of france , though i doubt not , but it was the intention of the confederates , was far from being the main design of the prince of orange . he could then have no other motive of invading england , driving out his father , and usurping his throne , but mere ambition , seconded by dutch policy , making use of our rebelliousness , silly credulity , and our addictedness to lying , that they might cheat us of our money , make us defend their quarrel , and impoverish us to that degree , that we should not dare to resent it , when they get our trade , and c●zen us of our plantations , ( as they have done often , ) and then ( to crown the dutch jest ) laugh at us for a company of dull-headed block headedly fools when they have done . but i must not forget the instances he brings to prove this invasion to be agreeable to the church of england's doctrine , and vouch'd by the law of nations ; and those are these three . first he instances in queen elizabeth giving assistance to the dutch against the king of spain , ( p. 16. ) now this hath been so well answered already , in the defence of the bishop of chichester's dying declaration , that i do not see any reason to concern my self with it ; and , methinks , this answerer should have first answered what had been alledged there , before he ventured on this instance ; but some men have a peculiar confidence to bring in things over and over , though they have been answered sufficiently , and yet never take notice of the answers . however , it is sufficient here to observe , that this is nothing at all to his purpose ; he tells us but four lines before , that what he is to make out , is that the then p. of o by his relation to the crown , had a just right to concern himself in the vindication of our religion and liberties , and that this is not repugnant to the doctrines of the church of england , p. 15. and , i pray , good sir , had queen elizabeth any relation to the government of the low countries ? and if not , how does this instance prove that which he is to make out , that the prince of orange , by virtue of his relation to the crown , had a just right to concern himself ; and his instance proves that any prince , whether they have any such relation or not , have a just right to concern themselves . and what , i pray , is all this to a title by conquest ? let it be admitted , but not granted , and which i suppose will not be easily proved , that no foreign prince hath a just right to make war upon another prince , for invading the liberty , and religion of his own subjects ; hath he therefore a just right to make a conquest of these people , whose liberties he pretends to defend , and to set himself king over them ? or had queen elizabeth , upon pretence of securing the dutch liberties , a just right to make her self queen over them ? in my opinion it is a pre●ty odd way of rescuing people's liberties , to make a conquest of them ; and if this be the case , princes and their flatterers may talk of piety and a care of the people , but all the world will see that the design is not religion nor liberty to the people , but a crown to themselves ; and it cannot chuse but be very pious and religious to gain a crown . his next instance is in king iames's time , when the prince elector was chosen king of bohemia . and how does this prove his point ? why , he sent to king james for advice , and he had no mind he should engage in it . and therefore the prince of orange hath a just right to concern himself , and to make himself king according to the principles of the church of england . i perceive it is not for every body to make consequences , for who but our authour could ever have found out how such wonderful things followed from king iames's denying his son to engage in it . well , but the arch bishop wrote a letter to the secretary , and said , that he was satisfied in his conscience that the b●bemians had a just cause , and that the king's daughter professed she would not leave her self one iewel , rather than not maintain so religious and righteous ● cause . and that may be too ; but without reflection on that princess , that is no evidence of the righteousness of a cause ; for some kings daughters will not leave themselves a jewel , rather than not to take away , and keep a kingdom from their own father , and which is neither a religious , nor a righteous cause . his third instance is in the time of king charles the first , when the king of denmark had taken arms to settle the peace , and liberty of the germans , and was defeated ; and king charles thought himself concerned to assist him ; and arch-bishop laud drew up a declaration setting forth the danger , and requiring the people's prayers and assistance to prevent the growth of spain , &c. now it does not appear whether th● king of denmark's pretence of taking arms was just , or unjust , ( for our authour has a peculiar faculty of talking of things at random , and never stating them , and bringing them down to the matter in dispute . ) but let that be as it will , it makes no difference in the present dispute ; for let the cause of his taking arms be originally what it will , i hope king charles might assist him to prevent his being over-run , thereby securing the peace and safety of his own kingdom . and this was plainly the case : the king of denmark had made war upon the empire , and was defeated ; and it ● had ●een ●e●t without assi●●ence , the emperour might have wholly subdued him , which would not ●●ely have ruined denmark , but have endangered all the northern princes , and especially england , as the declaration it self speaks , there will be an open way for spain left , to do what they pleased . and what is this to our authour's purpose ? is there no difference between assisting one prince actually at war with another , to prevent his utter overthrow and destruction , and in such a case for wise and politick ends to stop the exorbitant and dangerous growth of a potent neighbour ; and for the same prince to take away another prince's crown , because he is uneasie and ungratefull to his subjects ? yet after such fallacious inferences , our author with his wonted modesty adds , let those who now with as much ignorance as confidence upbraid men with renouncing the doctrines and principles of the church of england , read and consider these passages , and if any thing will make them more wise and humble , this will. he contends all along to prove from those instances , which are of several independent governours , and so relate to the law of nations , that this proceeding of the prince of orange is not repugnant to the doctrines and principles of the church of england , p. 15. and more particularly afterwards from the homilies , p. 21 , 22. which say , we are bound to obey a heathen tyrant , and to pray for him ; from the jews who were commended to pray for the king of babylon , and for obeying augustus ; lastly , from our saviour's acknowledging the roman president 's power and authority , as given him from god. nay , he argues a fortiori , p. 21. from the homilies , thus : if they ( and consequently the church of england ) declare we are bound by god's word to obey a heathen tyrant , much more ought we , by the doctrines and principles of our church , to pay allegiance to good and religious princes , &c. this is the full force of his argument why we ought to pay allegiance to the present governours . but first , we cannot think th●m good and religious , whilst we see they have wilfully broken , and obstinately continue to break god's holy commandments , the observing of which is the best test of goodness and religion . next he le●ves the main point , which dr. sherlock mentions out of his convocations that are better declarers of the church of england's doctrine than the homilies , ) that the authority of all those conquerours was to be thoroughly settled ; so that there was no mor●l . possibility the former governour ( in case he had been alive ) could ev●r by himself , or his friends , be restored ; and therefore we seldom or never hear that any of such ejected or subdued sovereigns did ever struggle for their kingdoms , or went about to recover them . h●w this suits with our prese●t c●se , where the former supreme governour is living , did ever , and does still claim it , pursues the recovery of it , has a most potent monarch abroad for his friend , who espouses his quarrel has engaged his honour he will either restore him to his crown , or lose his own , is easie to be discerned . but moreover , which is n●●ess material in this business , king iames has great parties in each of the three nations , who do not acknowledge th● present governours ▪ and look upon them as unjust vsurpers of their father's right . besides , ( which alters the case extremely , ) here was no conquest , or subduing england by force ; nay , no war at all exercised upon it : his bad cause forces this mercenary writer to shuffle to and fro , and pretend now one thing , now another ; but all of them , when they come to be scann'd and applied , equally to no purpose . conquest he dares not call it in down right terms , for fear of disgusting all england , by making us all slaves ; yet those instances of rightfall power which he brings , and would have us think to be parallel to this new government , and proper to a●et it , were all true successes in war , and by consequence perfect conquests . 't is easie to discern by these hints what he would be at , and not hard to conjecture what title , though they have agreed of none hitherto , they intend at length to pitch upon finally , unless the patriots of the subjects liberty do in time restrain such audacious attempts . thus far in answer to his settling king william's title , which being shown to be incoherent and ill grounded , in every regard , it follows , that mr. ashton suffered for a righteous cause , and for his due allegiance to his true sovereign , which entitles him to the honour of a glorious martyr , and this in case he had endeavoured to make way for his master's restauration . it remains to vindicate his paper from those other petty exceptions this g●ntleman makes against it . he denies p. 24. that king iames's usage , after the prince of orange's arrival , was very hard , severe , and unjust . let the world judge . a council was held at windsor , upon notice of the king 's being in hold at feversham , where it was debated , whether or no he should be sent to the tower ▪ and 't is well known who they were that voted in the affirmative . but the prince having laid his design , feared that if the king staid here , some accommodation would be made ; so he sent monsieur zuylisten to tell him , he would have him to stay at rochester , which being a port town , and towards the sea , might afford him opportunity to escape out of england . the message mist him ; so he returned to white-hall . the next night the prince of orange sent three lords to him at midnight , to tell him he would have him remove by ten the next morning to ham , a place very unlikely to be approved of , there being ( as the king objected ) neither furniture nor provisions for him ; and therefore as he expected he moved , for his return to rochester , which after his sitting an hour in his barge , waiting his pleasure , was granted : and thither he was pack'd away in great state with dutch myrmidons ; now ( to the eternal shame of english su●jects ) their king's gaolers , under whom he suffered hardship enough ; but he was not allowed out of his own exchequer one farthing to bear his charges . the king had before this sent him a message by the earl of feversham , offering to settle all things in parliament to his and the kingdom 's satisfaction : now had the prince of orange meant sincerely in what he pretended , and come onely for the good of the nation , what could he have wished more ? but what would have obliged and sweetened another , did highly exasperate him ; for he relish'd this condescendence of his so●ll , being indeed unsuitable to the ambitious aim he proposed to himself , that , first , contrary to the law of nations , he made his ambassadour prisoner , and th●n sent his worshipfull command at midnight to his father , to be gone out of his own palace to a prison ; for they told him a guard was appointed for him at ham-house , whither the prince of orange ordered him to go the next morning ; enough to let the king see what he was to expect . he tells the prince of orange could have prevented his going away ; true : but then he feared the nation would only reduce king iames , not depose him , much less chuse another , their own king being present ; it was therefore thought more politick to fright him away , and then pretend abdication , and the necessity of a new government , which he knew well ( as he and his faction would handle it ) could light on none but himself : so that it was out of kindness to himself , not to king iames , or the nation , that he let him escape . yet he magnifies this indulgence of the prince of orange exceedingly ; but i would ask him , in what this civility differs from that of robbers , who first strip the poor travellers of all they have , and then turn them a grazing without a penny in their purse , or as this pretty gentleman phrases it , ( p. 24. ) allow them great freedom to go where they please . i would ask him too what one thing was done by the prince , which look'd either generous , civil , or in the least degree respectful towards a king and a father , and not rather most barbarous and rude ? or what one action of his gives us reason to think , he intended to accommodate things with the true king , and not rather to set up for himself ? the martyr , out of love to his native countrey , resented , that all the new methods of settling the nation , have hitherto made it more miserable , poor , and exposed to foreign enemies . what says he to this ▪ can impudence it self deny this to be true ? is not the interest of england torn piece-meal , and every nation has a limb of us ? is not the charge of securing scotland , reducing of ireland , the hiring souldier● from denmark , and other places , the bribing of holland , the suiss-cantons , savoy , and other poor confederates , the keeping and paying two great armies in flanders and ireland , and the setting out a vast fleet at sea , gone all out of our pockets ? has not the driving out king iames , and the protecting our new governor ( and his only ) put us upon such an expensive war , that we are upon our last legs ; it being absolutely impossible to squeeze five millions more out of our drain'd purses to keep the war on foot another year , which is the least summ that can now be expected : for if five millions this year have done nothing at all , 't is to be fear'd that seven millions will scarce enable us to do much the next . a certain person employ'd in the treasury , who has the opportunity to know exactly the incomes and issues of the exchequer , assured a worthy friend of mine , that this michaelmas there will have been paid out of it , since this revolution , fifteen millions ; and that there is still an arrear behind , to the army , to the navy , and for stores , of five millions more : and this besides many thousands ( perhaps a hundred of thousands ) owing for the wages of transport ships ; and that for want of ready money the creditors are paid with tallies , so that those who have them can raise no money , without abating four or five shillings in the pound , until the next parliament gives money to pay off all these back-reckonings . the insuperable difficulty of doing which , and withall of raising seven millions more to carry on the war the next campaign , ( not to mention the repaying the money we have borrowed , ) will make the great work of conquering france go but slowly on : every wise man , even of our state-party , clearly seeing , and with regret complaining , that in all appearance the war is as far from an end , as it was at the beginning . now where is all this money to be had , or whence to be raised ? are not our ships taken in great multitudes , our traffick decay'd abroad , our trade at home , the tenants unable to pay their landlords ; so that sometimes instead of bringing in their rents , they are forc'd to send to them for money to pay their taxes , or else they must throw up their farms ? are not they already forced , in many places for want of money , to exchange one commodity for another in the markets ? is not half our cash gone out of the nation , so that in holland alone our guineas and m●ll'd money have been as frequent as their own coin ? is not clipp'd money , which is not worth transporting , now , in a manner , the only currant coin left in the nation ? and to prevent the possibility our good money should ever return again , it is melted down in holland into the drossie alloy of their sebellings and stuyvers . but the transporting our coin'd money is not all : they have invented more expedients than one or two open ones to impoverish england ; the decus & th●amen , inscribed on the edges of our new coin , was judg'd an eff●ctual preservative from clipping and fyling . but now the clippers ( who by the law are to suffer as felows ) are become the best friends to the trafficking part of the nation ; and if they be not conniv'd at , and the melters down of our m●ll'd and vncircumcised money into bullion , transported in vast quantities every year into holland , ( as appears by the entries in the custom-house , ) be not severely punish'd , we must in a short time be contented with onely copper and tin farebings , or else be forc'd to debase our money to the dutch standard . if captain guy and several other masters of yatches , and other vessels both dutch and english , were strictly 〈◊〉 , they could tell them what prodigious number of chests of money in specie , or in bullion have been transported these three last years into holland and flanders . we have indeed some returns from thence , for they bring us prohibited goods ; so that both in exporting and importing our english laws are still dispensed with , without any permission from the parliament , and no man ( though our ruin depends upon it ) dares complain . there is yet another odd commodity imported , which would much encrease the revenue , if it did but pay custom ; and that is shoals of caterpillars , that come over to devour the fruits of our labours , the dutch , i mean , and other foreigners with their wives and children , of which scarce a ship or hoy comes hither that brings not from ten to sixty , &c. these and the french hugenots are transported hither to make up several new colonies , and compose a secret militia , to be ready at a dead lift to enslave our countrey , if , our eyes being at length opened to see our impending ruine , we grow head-strong , and refuse to wear the yoke which is preparing for us . again , have we felt nothing from the insolencies of the dutch , danes , and other foreigners wherever they come . lastly , what are all those losses put together , in comparison to the loss of so many english-men's lives , who have perish'd either by war , o●● through want of necessaries , or else by strange diseases in ireland and at sea. a thousand or two are swept away at a clap in this late prodigious storm : the loss of the coronation , and the other ships that perish'd , and the damage done to all the rest that suffered in their rigging , and otherwise in that hurricane , is not worth the mention by those who are so inur'd to continual losses of sundry kinds as we are ; though i 'm told by a knowing person , that the repairing of that one m●sfortune will require some hundreds of thousands of pounds to be added to the former large audit of the nation 's accounts . and will this man persuade us that all this , and many other such , are no miseries ? he runs from the m●tter to talk of the french king ; but the true point , to which he ought to have spoken , is , whether we were burden'd with any such taxes , or felt these miseries of war and poverty under king iames ? had we any concern with france , either by abetting or opposing it in his days ? had the prince of orange , or our selves used the king dutifully , as we ought , we might have secur'd our selves whilst that prince was here against either popery or slavery ( which we pretended to dread ) being forc'd upon us , we might have enjoy'd peace , plenty , trade , and riches , and have reapt incomparable benefits , and vast advantages by the distractions of all others round about us . this we might have done ; and if we saw cause to fear that france meant to disturb us , when we medled not with it , ( which that king is too politick to do , ) we might , by joyning with other disinterested princes , have kept the ballance of europe even at our pleasure , and have stipulated with holland and the rest of the confederates to bear the charges of the war , whilst we stept into their assistance ; whereas now we are forc'd to hire them at a dear rates to assist us , to keep a man in the throne who has no right to it : all this we might then have done , had we been wise ; but a rebellious spirit , which had possess'd and infatuated us , hurried us inconsiderately into a war , for no other reason but to maintain obstinately that sin , which we ought to have repented of . and that war unless god's undeserv'd mercy do prevail over his justice , will by a just iudgment of the same god prove our utter ruine . he seems ●ma●'d , p. 25. ( for he seems twenty times to wonder when he wants something to say , ) that mr. ashton should say , that the religion we pretend to be so fond of preserving , is now much more than ever likely to be destroy'd . nor do i wonder at his amazement ; for he makes account religion consists only in having benéfices conferred on ecclesiasticks , and secured to them let the incumbents be of what principles they will : this i told him of formerly , and here he makes my words good ; for ( p. 25 , 26 , 27 , &c. ) he reckons up three things as putting our religion out of danger ; ( viz. ) the same laws , the same protection , the same encouragement : but principles which are the main , and essential to a church , are the least part of his thought . let but a church have true principles preserved sincere by her b●shops and pastors , and she will be a church and a glorious one too in the eyes of god , and all good men , in despight of all the opposition that wicked men , or hell it self , can do , though she had neither laws , protection , nor the least encouragement to befriend her ; nay , though the laws , and the state were bent against her . as for our new principles then ; let him but open his eyes , and he may see rebellion made now a chief point of religion . he may see oaths of allegiance made to persons , whose title to the government ( as appears by what has been amply prov'd above ) not one man in england certainly knows , and not one knowing and disinteressed man is satisfied in , forc'd upon men's consciences to make the kingdom , as far as lies in their power , a nation of knaves , and all those who make a good conscience of their ways a company of beggars . he may see the commandments laugh'd a● ; and those who dare boldly stand up for them branded and persecuted for traitors , and put to death as the worst of malefactors . besides the foremention'd miseries , there is still one that is no less galling to persons of honour and probity , who for themselves , and the reputation of the nation , would preserve the characters of just and upright , loyal and pious , conscientious and keepers of their faith to god and man ; these now lie under the heavy sentence of violaters of all the cardinal vertues , with which character when foreign nations once brand a people , it sticks upon them to all succeeding ages . in former days we were reputed valiant , hospitable , inviolable observers of our compacts , faith , and honesty . but we can't forget what an odium the murther of king charles i. brought upon the whole island of britain ; yet there was then some just apology to be made for that barbarity : that tremendous fact was not committed 'till after six yeas civil war , ' wherein the victorious rebels had conquer'd , disarm'd , and utterly impoverish'd the loyal party , yet there still remain'd a numerous part of the three kingdome , who made many generous attempts to restore king charles ii. and the whole nation wearied with their endless miseries , and the succession of usurpers , at last happily effected it . now what shall we say for our selves , who have abdicated our king without shedding one ounce of blood , or adventuring a bloody nose in his defence ? all nations from the orcades to the extreamest indies , must judge us to be a people who have no regard to the most sacred oaths , the most ungrateful of all mankind , a nation fitted for slavery degenerating from our loyal ancestors , the off-spring or by-blows of prostigate rebels . yea , we are still so much worse than those of the last age , in that now so numerous a party of the very clergy , who should , and do know the oligation of the oaths of allegiance and supremacy , which every single man of them took to their lawful king , have by unpardonable perjury renounc'd their king , and sworn allegiance to one whom they know in their consciences , and have often declar'd upon occasion hath no legal right ; no , not so much as cromewell the wicked : these are the men who have brought an indelible scandal and hatred upon our religion . miratur orbis se tam cito factum esse arrianum , was the pathetical exclamation of a holy authour of old : what would he have said , if he had liv'd in our age , to see a national clergy apostatise from the establish'd doctrine of their own church , in the point of allegiance and non-resistance ? by the conduct of these men , one would be almost tempted to look upon all religion as a mere cheat , and to believe that they themselves own'd no god. whether they do or not , i shall not give my self the trouble to enquire ; but i am sure some of them do as good as own no hell , by teaching men , that notwithstanding those terrible threatnings god in his holy word has denounc'd against the incorrigible and impenitent , of everlasting fire , everlasting punishment , &c , he has not obliged himself to the literal performance of them , since he that threatens keeps the right of punishing in his own hand , and is not obliged to execute what he hath threatned , any farther than the reasons and ends of government do require , &c. dr. tillot son's sermon before the queen , march 7. 1690. pag. 13. and that these threatnings , &c. do not restrain god from doing what he pleases , though they cut off from the sinner all reasonable hopes of the relaxation or mitigation of them . p. 16. of what comfortable importance this doctrine may be to some , and how necessary under our present circumstances , let any one judge : 't is impossible men should have perpetrated such abominable villanies as have been lately transacted , to the amazement of all that have the least sense of piety or honour left , unless their minds had been first debauched with these or the like principles . he that will audaciously violate the sacred commands of god , acknowledged such by the church of england , his own subscriptions , oaths , and preaching , must necessarily fansie some secret reserves of mercy in the breast of the almighty for the authors and abetters of such horrid crimes , upon some occasions , which will not suffer his justice to pass upon them in another world , or some extraordinary relaxations or mitigations of future torments . the first seems to be despaired of , because there is small hopes of repentance left , the scriptures for that very reason , perhaps , amongst many others , comparing rebellion to the sin of witchcraft ; the latter therefore is pitch'd upon as most congruous to carnal-minded men , who to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season , and not willing to go to heaven through tribulations and afflictions , do rather chuse to undergo a future pu●ishment , especially if it consists onely as to its perpetuity in a bare exclusion from eternal happiness . serm. p. 15. now , i say , such a series of villany as has been hitherto , and shall be farther exposed , being altogether inconsistent with the principles of christianity , which this accursed generation of monsters had not long since most zealously professed , they found it as necessary to abdicate their saviour and his precepts , as well as their king and his rights , as far as they durst . the first thing they did was to ridicule and blasphemously expose the doctrine of the cross , and if they could have drawn over the majority of the convocation to their party , the next thing they design'd was to have expunged out of the liturgie the athanasian creed , which was in effect to have denied the divinity of our saviour , le●t they , should have been charged with rebellion against god , as well as their king , if all power be derived from the second person of the trinity as mediator , and all lawful kings , whether christians , heathens , or mahometans , be his vicegerents , and he hath the disp●sal of their crowns , and the command of their power , and doth actually employ , and makes use of it in the prosecution of the righteous ends of ●is government , as doctor scot has learnedly proved in his christian life . part. 3. as it appeared necessary to reform the doctrines of christianity , to make them square the better with their late practice ; so likewise to procure an alteration amongst our ecclesiastical governours too , it being as much for the interest of this upstart government the metropolitan should be an vsurper , as the supreme governour in the civil state ; like bishop like king , being as true a maxim now , a no bishop no king heretofore . if the metropolitical see had been real●y void , this present nominal archbishop was unqualified for it , being esteem'd an heretick , and by the 84th canon of the apostles , as being an actual rebel , who ought to be deposed , or degraded from his priesthood and though in the present juncture he cannot be convicted and sentenced ; yet his crimes being so notorious , all that understand them ought not in conscience to own him as a christian bishop , or hold communion with him , according to the 33d canon of the laodicean council , that we ought not to pray , or communicate with schismaticks , or hereticks . of what grand concern these particulars are let every good christian seriously consider , and lay to heart . now it is that poison is poured out into our church ; therefore it 's high time for us to avoid the contagion , according to that excellent advice of st. cyprian , keep at a distance from the infection of such men by fleeing from them ; and shun their conversation as you would the cancer or plague , according to the premonition of our lord , mat. 15.14 . they be blind leaders of the blind , and if the blind lead the blind , &c. — let them perish by themselves who are willing to perish , let them alone remain without the church , who have forsaken the church . epist. 40. ad plebem , &c. how can these men pretend to be guides to others , who keep to no certain path themselves ? what certainty can there be in their doctrines , when they vary th●m with their interest , and ever calculate them to serve a turn ? therefore none ought to communicate with them , who value the salvation of their souls , and are not willing to partake of their guilt and punishment . the doctrines and duties of our holy religion have the spirit of truth and holiness for their author , and like him are always the same , without any shadow of change : but from what spirit must these bold attempts upon common christianity proceed ? holloixius in his defence of origen , lib. 3. cap. 6. cites several passages out of his writings , wherein he assigns a different evil spirit to every vice or sin , which he calls inimicas , & adversarias virtutes , and delivers this notion among the rest : there seems to me , says he , to be an infinite number of contrary powers , or spirits ; because in almost every man there are certain spirits , which incite and provoke him to the commission of divers sins : e.g. there is a spirit of fornication , and a spirit of anger , a spirit of avarice , and a spirit of pride ; and if it happens that any man be acted by all these , or more sins , he is to be look'd upon as possessed by so many or more enemies , or evil spirits . surely then , according to this opinion of origen . legion must have taken possession in some of the grandees of this new schisinatical church of england . how obvious is it for any but those who are infatuated , and spiritually blind , to discern the spirit of rebellion , ambition , and emulation ; the spirit of heresie , schism , and persecution ; the spirit of blasphemy , lying , slandering , and apostacy , reigning and triumphing among them . this word apostacy i am very sensible will found very harsh in their ears ; but let any sober and unprejudiced person seriously consult the several acceptations of the word among sacred and prophane authors , and he will soon be convinced , that it will be no easie task for these gentlemen to purge themselves from the imputation of it . grotius , in his appendix to his commentaries de antichristo , tell us , th●t by apostacy is understood all kinds of hostility or con●umacy against a superiour , who has the right of commanding , and proves it from several texts of scripture . sometimes it signifies a defection , or a revolt ; see suidas and stephanus . in its common acceptation amongst christian writers , a departure from the faith , by going over to heresie , &c. maimonides , as he is cited by hottinger , in his thesaur . phil log . l. 1. c. 1. s. 3. amongst the several distinctions of apostates among the iews , reckons those who taught or sollicited others to sin . i shall not make a particular application of these significations of the word apostacy to the forementioned persons , i onely refer the reader to their sermons and other discourses , their very prayers and practices , it being so easie to be observed by the meanest capacity ; but shall onely add this following remark , as an illustration of what has been just now charged upon them . if the abrenunciation , and the solemn stipulation to keep god's holy will and commandments , &c. before baptism were the real tests of the faith and sincerity of the candidate , by which he was obliged to deny himself , and to take up his cross ; i.e. to forsake father and mother , wife and children , lands and possessions , and to lay down even his very life , when ever they should come in competition with his duty ; and we cannot ordinarily be called to the performance of this our vow and covenant , but under unrighteous and persecuting princes , then it follows clearly , that by our entring into christianity we have tied up our hands ( by our own solemn act ) from making any forcible resistence against our supreme governours , upon any pretence whatsoever , and that the doctrine of the cross , or passive obedience , is a fundamental doctrine , or principle of the christian religion ; and , lastly , that whosoever teach or practice otherwise , are renegadoes and apostates from christianity it self . this was very near the assertion of dr. burnet himself , in his sermon on rom. 13. v. 5. p. 36. but , blessed be god , our church hates and condemns this doctrine , ( viz. of deposing and resisting of kings , ) from what hand soever it come , and hath established the rights and authority of princes on sure and unalterable foundations , enjoining an entire obedience to all the lawful commands of authority , and an absolute submission to that supreme power which god hath put in our sovereigns hands . this doctrine we justly glory in , and if any that had their education in our church , have turned renegadoes from this , they proved no less enemies to the church her self , than to the civil authority ; so that their apostacy leaves no blame on our church . if this be the case ( as we have all the reason in the world to think so ) it 's plain and evident to any ordinary understanding , that these men are not true church of england divines , as they would have all the world believe ; neither is the church in possession any more to be esteemed the true , legal , ancient church of england , than the donatists of old were to be accounted the only catholick church . their priesthood is now become schismatical , having erected altar against altar ; their liturgy blasphemous and diabolical , wherein they address themselves to god as the author and fountain of all unjust power , the patron of injustice , and the grand protector , and encourager of the notorious violators of his most sacred laws . what is this , but with the most impudent and horrid blasphemy that ever was heard of , to beseech the almighty to divest himself of his most glorious attributes , and to enter into a league with hell it self , for the support and maintenance of all their detestable impieties . what have they now to say ? confusion and shame must cover them , who are the scandal and reproach of the pure and undefiled religion they should profess . thousands of these could not say ( though in reality the well known pretence of most ) that they swore for bread ; god forgive them they durst not trust providence , wanted the courage to give a good example , or to teach their flocks the danger of perjury : they sinned against god , and his anointed , and their own souls , and knew they did so . in the preceeding age we can scarce name a dignifi'd clergy-man , or any person eminent for piety and learning , in either of the universities , in city or country , who were not outed their benefices for refusing to take the covenant or engagement ; but now the great body of the clergy have been observed to renounce their allegiance , and worship the idol of the hogans : indeed out of this number we must except the most reverend the metropolitan , and seven of his right reverend brethren , and the other clergy and loyal fellows in the universities , who have not defiled themselves with the abominations of their apostate brethren , whose virtue and piety is the only thing left to attone● for these loud and crying sins of our clergy ; and , who incessantly like abraham intercede with almighty god to avert his judgments from this sinful nation , and which the perjury and apostacy , and the general defection gives but too sad an occasion to fear hangs over our heads . in short , whatever hopes we may conceive of ever seeing the true church of england flourish in its true lustre and purity , we must owe it ( next to the infinite mercy of god ) to those never enough applauded heroes of our church , the true arch-bishop of canterbury , and those ejected bishops , &c. who have stood in the gap of schism , and bor●● up loyally against the all over-bearing torrent of the prevaricating party , who have preferred the peace and comfort of a good conscience , before all wordly honour and interest , and fear'd the offending their good god more than their own certain ruine from ill natured men. how will these glorious lights of our church , and true servants of the living god shine after their tryal is over past , when the adorer's of mammon ( those interloping arch bishops , bishops , and those other mean spiritted worldlings , who preferred their profit before their honesty ) shrink , look dim and pale with guilt ; and at length their candlesticks being removed from them , come to be utterly extinguish'd and go out like an ill scenting snuff . some instances he brings ( p. 26. ) to shew we are not singular in perjury and rebellion . he tells us that the law of the land and of nations , require us to swear allegiance to him who is in possession : which lame pretence is answered fully over and over , in the forenamed books against dr. sherlock ; only this gentleman's assertion is more raw than his , for he proceeds upon quiet possession ( as do also our lawyers , whom he speaks of , and would have quoted if he durst . ) but this man makes account that bare possession , however qualified , gives title to our allegiance , nay obliges us to swear it too , which we cannot do unless we can safely swear , that this discourse of his is convictive ; which , i●le be sworn , is most pernicious nonsense , and would , if followed , pervert all the settled order of mankind , and all right in the world. to assert that mere possession of a thing gives a man right to it , is enough to encourage all men to be rebels , vsurpers , robbers , thieves , and cheats . it cries aloud to them all , catch that catch may , my masters ; all that you get is your own , by the law of the land , and of nations , of once you get but possession . it makes the saying of the th●eves [ this is mine , i stole it ] very strong reason and good sense . he 'll say these cases are not parallel to his : but why are they not , if a true prince has as good right to his crown , as a subject has to his money or his goods ? for if he has , then a possession transfers the right of a crown ; so it must transfer the right of a purse , a cloak , &c. and with so much the more reason as the right of the crown ( on which the common good of the nation depends . ) ought to be more fixt and unalienable , than the right of private men to their goods , which are of an inferior concern . now if the law of the land require us to swear allegiance as due to any present possessor , the same law declares that allegiance , and consequently the crown is his right ; otherwise the law would oblige me to swear false . and if the law of the land declares the prince of orange has right ; to what end did this gentleman all this while run about to the law of nations to patch him up a title ? it must be a pitiful cause that makes a man , who otherwise has wit enough , still interfere thus with himself . but he says , that if an oath of allegiance should not follow possession , there would be infinite snares to the consciences of all such who are requir'd to obey , but are not bound to enquire into the right of war. note , by the way , one of those shuffling tricks , of which his book is full . he begins with oaths , but proceeds as if only obedience were required : as if a man could not live quietly under a government , without swearing and calling god to witness that the governor has right to the kingdom , ( and consequently to our allegiance , ) whether we know he has or no. but let us apply our selves to his discourse . all the play of these men , is to persuade the world that this business of allegiance due to king iames only , is a kind of dubious case ; and then if they can but get their judgment to bover , they hope that interest or fear may turn the ballance , and make them swear to king william : whereas we maintain that 't is a most plain case , which none but byass'd men can doubt of . is it not evident to all , that king iames was three years agoe the undoubted supreme governor , and that all the world held that none but he had right to the crown , and consequently that allegiance would then be lawfully sworn to none but him ? is it not evident that he is living , and has not given up his right ; and so , by the common course of the world , 't is evidently his still ? is it not evident even to themselves that the new right of the prince of orange is obscure , that men are in several minds about the ground and reason of it ; some alledging one thing , others another , which shews that england it self is not satisfied with the truth of his title , but is led on by fear or interest ? is it not evident that very many conscientious and good men , amongst whom are the primate , and some bishops , and many reverend and worthy pastors of our church do refuse to take the new oath ; whose authority far outweighs all the others , in regard they have no motive but pure conscience , since they are ruin'd for refusing ; whereas the complying party find interest , and the favour of great men , by their mercenary submission ? is it not manifestly evident to every sincere christian's conscience , even of the most ordinary capacity , that oaths are most sacred things ; and that those oaths which were due , or have been sworn upon certain grounds to an undoubted and indisputable authority , ought not to be unsworn again , by swearing allegiance upon uncertain grounds to a dubious ( at least ) and disputable authority ? so that here is no moot case in the business , as he would pretend , but plain sense , which every sincere and conscientious christian is capable of comprehending : there is no danger then of infinite snares , ( as he madly calls them , ) not of any at all , but those of weak fears , or base interest , which have already ensnared many consciences , and are spread every where , as the devil's nets to entangle and ensnare the unwary , unstable , and worldly minded men. he asks , p. 26. if it be perjury and rebellion in the now french king's conquests , for the inhabitants to take oaths of fidelity to the french king ? now this is a very pleasant gentleman ; and for all his objecting , p. 19. the admiring the french conduct to this sort of mai● [ mr. ashton's friends . ] he hath said more for the french king than any iacobite in england will say , and the rankest french man in the world can say no more ; and that is , that he hath a right to all the places he has over-run with his arms , in flanders , savoy , yea , and the principality of orange too . but then , where is that independant sovereignty which our author talks of , as necessary and essential to make a title by conquest ? for he is possess'd of the principality of orange ; and therefore according to our author , the king of france is prince of orange , and no body else . and not to meddle with what right conquest conveys , ( as being foreign to the present question ; ) here is this vast difference in the two cases : the king of france actually conquered these places and people ; the prince of orange did not conquer england , and none but a mad-man will say he did : and therefore if the author would have made the case parallel , he should thus have put his question , whether it would not have been perjury for the inhabitants of those places , to have put the government into the french king's hands , to transfer their allegiance , and to take an oath of fidelity to him , when it was in their power to resist ; nay , when he could not do it otherwise but by themselves , and by their own contrivance , and assistance : in that case , which is plainly ours , i stick not to affirm that it is perjury and rebellion with a witness ; and no man who hath not his ear bored , and is became a slave to interest , can have the face to deny it : and yet for all that he goes on . if it be not perjury and rebellion in those conquer'd provinces , how comes it to be so here ? by which we say again , he is ready to maintain , ( for he does here manifestly suggest it already , ) that england is the prince of orange's by conquest , and all our lives and estates are at his disposal . and there wants nothing but one of his infinite snares , a good rich deanry , or bishoprick , to make him perfectly hold and openly maintain that opinion . parliaments had best look to such libels in time , left the pretended conqueror come to abdicate them too as vseless , or obstacles to the pretence of conquest , and make all our countrey-men become slaves to his ambition . but what meant he by his instancing , p. 26 , 27. in the portugueze's swearing allegiance to the duke of braganza , though the king of spain had enjoyed the crown for three generations ? the case was this . there were three pretenders to that crown , and most of the universities in europe were emploied to determine which of them had right ; when philip the second , while the thing was yet under debate , seeing them encline most to the duke of braganza , sends the duke d' alva with an army , and very unfairly surprizes and oppresses the headless nation , and decided the controversie by the sword : this was no conquest , but a manifest vsurpation , for no battle was fought , nor resistance made ; was this parallel to the case of us in england ? was our nation headless at the time of the prince of orange's invasion ? was it under dispute whether king iames , or he had right to the crown ? or had king iames usurp'd it , as king philip had done ? was he not in quiet possession of england , which king philip never was ? the portugueze still grumbling and resenting , that they were enslav'd to a foreigner , when a king of their own nation had a title to it . again , their swearing allegiance to king philip , was too , in many regards , more justifiable than ours ; they were kept under by a foreign force , whereas we do it voluntarily : besides , the spanish king had been one of the pretenders , and the question was not decided . had the prince of orange , or his princess , any kind of pretence to england while their father liv'd ? lastly , they rose against a foreign king to introduce one of their own nation , whereas we rose against our own to introduce a foreigner . how shallow then is it to huddle together many instances , and not bring one of them home to his purpose ? how ridiculous to argue all along from matters of fact to matter of right ? which is just as wise as to pretend , that whatever has been done , must be well done ; and is the same , as if he would set himself to prove , that we were not the first , nor the only rebels , traytors , or perjured persons , that have been in the world ; but that there have been others , both of our own and other nations before us , which we never denied . he has not done with his plot , to prove the paper none of mr. ashton's ; but ( take which you will ) tells you p. 28. that either 't is not his , or else that he contradicted himself . in what i beseech him ? why. mr. ashton , at his tryal said he could not but own he had a fair tryall for his life , and yet in his paper he complains of the severe charge of the iudges , and hard measure : and where lies the contradiction ? every man knows that the tryall is over before the charge is given , or the verdict brought in by the jury : so that nothing hinders but the tryall may be fair , and seemingly kind , though the charge which came after did aggravate , and made the worse misconstruction ( as indeed it did ) of every thing , and so was very hard and severe . but does mr. ashton mention no hard measures besides ? does he not object his close imprisonment , the hasty and violent proceedings against him , and the industry used in the return of fi●ting persons to pass upon him , the denying of him a copy of the panel , with an &c. at the end of them ? were not these hard measures , and some of them villanously unjust , and indeed plainly shewed , that since they saw him so heartily honest , that he would not be warpt , the resolution was taken beforehand by the party to have his life , per fas aut nefas ? does he deny these were hard measures , or that mr. ashton said true , when he told us he had receiv'd such hard measures ? he confesses both , by his silence in such main businesses . is it not a rare piece of justice , to cull out a select company of court pick-thanks , who they were sure would hang him ; and yet deny a copy of the panel , that he might except against some chief boute-feus , ( and particularly that malicious jury man he so complains of , ) who would never leave pressing and solliciting the rest , till they brought them ( let the cause be never so ugly ) into the same guilt of murther with themselves ? yet a man who loses his life by such tricks , is ( according to this caviller ) confident , uncharitable , or whatever other character his time-serving spite thinks fit to put upon him , if he do but barely speak of what they did to take away his life . now after all this outcry and heavy charges , to lay load upon the martyr's credit , what was it he said : though i have , i think , just reason to complain of the severe charge given by the iudges , and the hard measure , &c. yet as i hope for pardon at the hands of my god , i do most heartily pray for and forgive them , &c. could any thing be said more sweetly , or more modestly ? he onely spoke it in transcursu , and as a transition to the declaring his charitable forgiving of his enemies : he onely said [ he thought ] he had received ill usage , and why might not he think so , when his lawyers told him the law did not reach him , there being onely presumption , which was incompetent in that case ? yet this uncharitable ca●iller charges him with confidence , and want of common charity , and employs all his little tricks of rhetorick to have it thought he dyed an ill man , and ( which is the worse sin of the two ) to murther as far as he could , his soul , and his credit as a good christian , after the judges and jury had murthered his body . but how does he clear the jury ? he cites my lord coke , p. 29. that the intent is to be discovered by circumstances , &c. but does he or any man say , that those circumstances must not be evidently connected with the intention ; that is , such as could not have light or could not have been put , had there not been such an intention ? otherwise the evidence rises not above presumption , which that lawyer declares to be insufficient ; and therefore he requires good and manifest proof ; and the proof of a man's intention cannot be said to be manifest , unless the over-act was manifestly connected with it . was it so here ? ashton clear'd the occasion of his going over to france to have been upon a quite different account . but the papers , says he , were found about him . what then ? might not another who was in the company , and who onely was conscious of their contents , give them to him to keep ? nay , would not that person who was concerned judge it best in reason , rather to give them to a person which was not at all concerned in them , than to another of his own gang ? certainly he would . nothing more frequent in oliver's days , than for loyal gentlemen going in coach , to give such papers which were treasonable in those days to the coachman , or some gentlewomen in company ; and must such persons who carried them be concluded guilty of treason ? this circumstance then of having the papers found upon him , which were evidently another man's concern , as being writ in his hand , was so far from being manifestly connected with his being concerned in them , or knowing their contents ; that , of the two it rather signifies the contrary . besides , this circumstance is not rightly represented . had they been found upon him when first search'd , it might have born a sleight suspition , that he was the bearer of them ; but when he was first forc'd out of the hiding place , he was search'd , and nothing found about him ; but going down afterwards to the hold of the ship , and finding those papers left , ( which he might suspect my lord preston would not have had found , ) he put them in his bosome , with design to throw them over-board , which being observed , they were found there . well ; but he had a mind to have these papers thrown over-board : what then ? would not any friend do the same , if his friend and fellow-traveller , who by leaving his letters behind him where he lay , had by so doing signified , that he would not have them seen , though at the same time he knew nothing of the contents . did not captain billop at the tryal declare upon oath , that mr. elliot was much more concerned than he was , and yet no presumptive evidence was grounded thereupon against him , of knowing their contents ? again , are there no secrets , and important ones too , but treason ? what man who is versed in the world would have made such a rash conclusion of his knowing the contents of the letters from a carriage , as was lately shew'd has sometimes , and may often be used in other occasions , where he that destroys or conceals any papers of another's , is yet utterly ignorant of what 's in them , or what is his friend's design ? my self in the protector 's days lodged near the pall-mall , when a civil gentleman came to take a room in the same hou'e ; it seems he came over to england about king charles his business , though he kept it to himself , and never in the least had acquainted me with it ; upon a fright he came running from the yard into the house , and feating a search , retired into a safe hiding place , giving me some papers ( which it seems he would not have found with him ) to secure them if i could , or else to burn them . i did not much fear , knowing the constable ; so i lock'd them in a small trunk of mine , and put them under the beds-head . they search'd but found nothing . here is a case parallel exactly , or rather far more obnoxious than was that of mr. ashton's , and more significant , that i was privy to the design of them . now i would ask this inconsiderate jury , whether , had those papers ( which i understood afterwards to be commissions ) been found in my trunk , they would have brought me in guilty ? doubtless such a jury as this would have done it ; and yet i can safely be deposed , that i was then utterly ignorant , both of the business of that gentleman , and of the contents of the papers . i desire those gentlemen of the iury to lay their hands on their hearts , and tell us seriously , whether they durst have ventured their own lives , ( could it have been brought to the tryall , ) that mr. ashton intended to go into france with such a design ? i doubt their hearts would quail at such a dubious wager : and could they think fit to take away another man's life , and hazard to damn their own souls too , on an evidence that they durst not stake their own lives upon . let them reflect how often even very great likelihoods deceive us every day ; nay , sometimes so great , that we should have judged it almost impossible it should have missed ; and yet no wise or good man would venture his life or his salvation upon those highest likelihoods , or think fit to swear the truth of them ; and dare iuror● then hazard to forswear themselves , and to commit murther in to the bargain , by bringing in an illegal verdict , which takes away a man's life upon likelihoods or presumptions ? the law he confesses requires manifest proof ; what says this patron of injustice to the law ? yet this proof ( says he , page 29. ) must still be such as the thing will bear . let us examine the sense of these words . either he means by the word [ thing , ] a fact of such a nature as mr. ashton's is pretended to be , and that such a fact , abstractedly speaking , cannot bear a more manifest proof than this had : or he means that this individual pretended fact , as standing under the circumstances it really had , can bear no better proof than it did , or be made more manifest . he cannot without extreme folly mean the former of these : for it is evident and confessed here , p. 30. by himself , that had the papers been produced writ in his own hand , it would have been a plain proof of his knowing what was in those papers , ( which by the way , is a plain confession , that ( that proof wanting ) there was no plain or manifest proof at all , ) he must mean then , that this fact , no better circumstanc'd , can bear no better proof : which is in less candid terms to say ; we were resolved to hang him , and could have been glad of a plain or manifest proof , but the evidence we could get from all the circumstances , not bearing or affording as such a proof , we were forced to condemn him upon this unmanifest proof , or else ( which would have vexed us ) we must have acqui●ted him . this is what he would say , had he the gift of ingenuity . well then , since there was ( as he confesses ) no plain or manifest proof , what proof will he afford us instead of it ? why , he tells us , there was sufficient proof of his privity to the contents of those papers . sufficient ! what does he mean by that indeterminate and insignificant expression ? no proof is sufficient by the law but what is manifest : but he as good as confesses here , that the proof was not manifest . he can onely mean then by that lukewarm word [ sufficient , ] that the proof was sufficient to take away his life , if such judges and such a jury had the managing of it , who were resolved to sacrifice their consciences and honesty to the fear or favour of men , and blindly submit them ; without scruple , to the pleasure of the state. next he tells us , there can be no direct and plain proofs of a secret intention . how many tricks are coucht in these few words ? what does the word [ direct ] here ? did any man ever pretend he could see a soul directly , or receive impressions from it in a streight line , as light and visible objects come to the bodily eye ? again : what does the word [ secret ] here ? had it not been enough to say , none can have a plain proof of an intention ? but to confound the weak reader , and colour over the paradox , he must add [ secret ] to it . indeed while an intention is secret , 't is undoubtedly secret ; but why can there be no plain proof of an intention , making it become not secret ? certainly the denying this would destroy all humane negotiation , in all its mainest concerns , and make all our chief actions floating and uncertain : it makes all the execution of the law comfortless to the judges and jury , and wickedly injurious to the persons accused ; for by this man's discourse the former can never tell whether or not they condemn an innocent , and the latter sees his life and honor exposed to hap-hazard . 't is the intention , and that onely , which the law regards , nor is any action reputed by it to be felony , murther , treason , &c. unless it be done animo felonico , &c. with a felonious intention , &c. and this intention , according to him , can never be made plain ; so no man ●ving knows , or can know , who dies deservedly , who innocently . let him reflect , that all that the witnesses can do is to atrest the overt-act , or the words spoken imprinted on their senses ; but 't is the duty of the judges and jury , when once they are satisfied of the witnesses integrity , to see that those actions are necessarily connected with such an intention as with its cause , and proceeded from it ; and if they be not satisfied , but that possibly it might spring from another cause , they must be judged not to value how pretious a man's life is , nor to regard much whether they legally condemn an innocent or no , if they bring him in guilty ; and so they incurr the guilt themselves of careless murtherers : nor do the judges deserve a better character , if they fail in the duty of instructing them , that the law requires manifest proof , and that they ought not to proceed upon even high likelihoods or presumptions , which we do experience do often deceive us : but especially if they aggravate and enhance those likelihoods to make the jury proceed upon them as certainties : all which was but too visible in the charge to this easily byast jury . did this gentleman , who denies that intentions can admit of plain proof , never hear of those sayings , that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh , or that the tree is known by its fruit ; i.e. a man's interiour by his outward actions ? can we not know very manifestly , that if a man way-lay his enemy , and out of an ambush assaults and runs him through , he had an intention to do him a mischief ? does not himself confess , that had the papers been in mr. ashton's own hand , it had been a plain or manifest proof of his knowing their contents ; which knowledge is of its own nature altogether as secret as is an intention : lastly , does he not tell us out of my lord coke , that no proof is sufficient but a manifest one ; and yet he sets himself to prove , that there can be no plain or manifest proof of an intention , which makes the law require impossibilities ? what stuff is this to be vented by a man chosen out to support the state , vindicate the judges , and confute the solid paper bequeath'd us by our dying martyr ! after this he pretends , that , in his iudgment , one of the papers was writ in the very same hand in which this speech was written ; that is , it was writ by mr. ashton . but he must pardon us if we dare not believe his judgement , which ( as has been abundantly shewn ) has scarcely judg'd right in one single line of his whole book : but how frivolous is this pretence of his ! had the judges , or the managers of the tryal found the least ground for such a suspition , it had been the easiest thing in the world to have compared that paper with hundreds of accomp●s , acquittances , and letters , which were all seized in his house by order from the state : nor could they have wanted witnesses to have sworn , that they believed such a paper was writ by him , as well as they did in the tryal of my lord preston , which is a very great presumption that they found no such paper under his hand , or so near resembling it as might induce any to swear it . they found indeed another paper of his , which more vext them and hastened his death , than had they found any such other as this gentleman pretends : concerning which take the martyr's own words out of part of that paper left by him in a friend's hands ; which are as followeth . [ being suddenly to give up my accounts to the searcher of all hearts , i think it a duty incumbent upon me to impart some things farther , which neither the interest nor iniquity of these times will , i conclude , willingly bear the publication of , and therefore not fit to be inserted in the sheriffs paper . some time after the prince of orange's arrival here , when it was expected , that , pursuant to his own declaration , and the king's letter to the convention , an exact search and enquiry would have been made into the birth of the prince of wales , there was a scheme drawn up of that whole matter , and of the proofs that were then ( and are still ) ready to be produced , to prove his royal highness's legitimacy ; but no publick examination being ever had , and the violence of the times , as well as interest of the present government , not permitting any private person to move in it , those papers have ever since lain by : but it being now thought advisable by some , to have them printed and published , and ( as at first they were designed ) addressed , at their next meeting , to the lords and commons , entreating them to enquire into that weighty affair , and to call forth , examine , and protect ( for who else dares to appear ) the many witnesses to the several particulars therein offered to be legally proved , &c. i was ordered to carry those papers to the king , my master , for his view , that his leave and approbation might go along with the desires of his good subjects here ; and they being taken with me , with some other papers of accounts , &c. in a small trunck , amongst my linen , and other private things of my own , and not in the packet , ( my lord pre●ton being altogether a stranger to the whole proceeding , ) by this means fell into the hands of our present governours , who , though they wisely waved the producing them as evidence at my tryal , yet have i just reason to believe my greatest crimes were contained in them ; and i do therefore conclude and hope , that i only am designed to be sacrificed , who only knew of them : nor am i surprised at it , since nothing , i think , can be more prejudical to some persons present interest , than the exposing of those papers to the publick , which will set that pretended mystery of darkness in so clear a light , that all mankind must be convinced of his highness's being born of the queen , and of their wickedness , who have malitiously and designedly asserted that innocent prince to be an impostor . the love and compassion that i have for my native countrey , as well as charity , obliges me humbly to implore almighty god to be merciful to it , and not to charge this great sin to the publick account , and that we may not farther provoke his justice by our wilfully continuing in errour and mistake , i beseech him to put it into the hearts of the lords , &c. at their next meeting , to examine into that whole matter , and ( if before that time this be published ) to enquire after , call for , and , if possible , retrieve those papers that were taken with me ; whereby the obstinate will most certainly be convinced , the ignorant informed , the doubtful confirmed , the eyes of all opened , and a sacred most important truth made apparent to the whole world. ] and may we not now with good reason challenge those of the other party to give an answer to those papers , which were the true occasion of his suffering ; and in behalf of justice , truth , and the good of the nation , to demand that the said papers , which are now stiffled , may be produced , and ( if possible ) confuted : for since never greater fedulity was used by any other to set that business in a manifest light ; the answering them must consequently be the surest means to keep the nation from being imposed upon in so weighty a matter . and if this be not done , will not all sincere persons conclude hence that the proofs of the prince of wales's legitimacy , contained in those papers of mr. ashton , are even in the opinion of our stat●sts themselves , absolutely unanswerable , and all england be convinced that the pretence of his being supposititious , was set up for no other end but to bring , by that detestable forgery , the king and queen into odium and disgrace , and to make way for the prince of orange to seize on his crown ; and reflect , that from this one villa●ous cheat , all the calamities that have befallen our deluded nation , have had their true source and origin . i know the observator upon mr. ashton's papers denies there were any such ; but could it be done with our security , we do undertake to prove circumstantially , that they were in his trunck when taken by the government 's order ; and farther that we will clear that whole matter , far more fully than has been done hitherto , by many other witnesses of unquestionable credit , and by most convincing proofs ; and to satisfie all i terrogatories that can be offered by the most inquisitive scrupler . but to return to our juries ; what matters it what was brought to light about those papers afterwards ? the question is , what evidence the jury then had , when they brought in their lawless verdict : if they had at that time no such evidence as the law requires ; i.e. if they had then no manifest proof , he died innocent in the eye of the law ; and nothing can acquit his condemners from being , according to the same law , and god's law too , unconscientious murderers . and 't is of this kind of innocence only the martyr speaks , when he declares himself innocent ; about which p●ssage this gentleman , who can neither understand another man , nor many times himself very well , is very gay and pleasant : though , 't is true , the martyr by owning his duty to his lawful sovereign , does withall , by consequence profess , that , though he had been legally convicted of an intention to restore him , and of acting too , in order to that good end , he had notwithstanding been innocent also before god. the result of all the whole foregoing discourse is this , that our blessed martyr is clearly vindicated from any treasonable guilt , and proved to have died doubly innocent ; in the sight of heaven , in dying for his allegiance , which provok'd this unreasonable malice against him ; and in the eye of the law , by being adjudg'd to die without manifest proof , or legal evidence . may his noble christian fortitude , and his pious example , so influence his prevaricating brethren , that they may repent them of their perjury and rebellion , imitate his constant loyalty , and be partakers of that eternal crown of glory which he now enjoys , for undauntedly owning , and even to death persevering in his duty of allegiance to his only lawful , and only rightful sovereign . an humble petition to the present government . since nature does generally encline every man to avoid his own ruine , and to do that which is apparently best for his own worldly interest and conveniency ; it cannot in common reason and prudence be imagined , but that the generality of those , who do adhere to king iames his title , would be glad to live at ease , and out of danger , by submitting freely to the present government , did not some consideration that is of a superior nature , and concerns their well-being in another world , over-awe them and deter them from owning it . wherefore as we who write this , do in our names , so we justly presume we may in the names of those others , protest in the presence of almighty god , who sees their hearts , that our refusing to take the oath , and pay a voluntary allegiance to the present governours , does not spring from any inclination to faction , nor from obstinacy , nor yet from any disaffection to their persons ; but purely from this , that we cannot be satisfied , either by our own reason , or any thing that has been hitherto writ upon that subject , that they have any title to the crown , either by the law of god or man ; but , on the contrary , that both divine and humane laws are against their wresting it , by a trick , out of the hands of their father , who was the undoubted rightful owner of it ; and that their still possessing and detaining it from him , is no less against the same laws , and consequently a doubly-unjust vsurpation : and therefore our conscience tells us , that we shall incurr the just indignation of almighty god ; and withal , become obnoxious , by our english laws , to the punishments due to traitors , should we yield to such illegal compliances . wherefore we humbly petition , that for satisfaction to our consciences , our governours would please to give order , that some grave and learned man may compile a treatise , shewing their true title to the crown , and manifesting how king iames's legal title , by succession , comes to be annull'd : and let him evince these two main points from any solid principles , of what nature soever , acknowledg'd for such by the indifferent part of the world ; and so that it may appear by their giving authority to that treatise , by such their order , that that is the true ground of their claim , and the title they will stand by . those who have writ in justification of their government , are in so many minds about the ground of their pretended right , that instead of clearing it they have , by their disagreement , satisfied all understanding men , that 't is very obscure , even to their own party ; whereas yet it ought to be of it self , or else be made most evident , e'er it can in any reason be held able to overthrow a tenure so incontestibly evident and legal , as was that of king iames , it being built on a long continued h●reditary succession , abetted by the most fundamental laws of the land , and approved by the universal acknowledgement of the whole world. we humbly request then to be inform'd which of those many grounds , advanc'd by their writers , themselves will think fit to make choice of , and esteem thus evident , which we have not hitherto any light to guess at . their carriage by carressing and advancing dr. sherlock , seems to hint that they most approve of his new notion ; but that flash of his has been so perfectly and so manifoldly baffled , and laid flat beyond all possibility of setting it up again , or supporting it , that ( next to the abdication title ) no tenet in the world was ever so notoriously convicted of folly and inconsistency . we are told that mr. johnson is about publishing something upon that subject , with a disclaim of any other title but that he is setting up : but as we are well assured that the principles that gentleman will proceed upon , ( however he may pretend to wrest our laws to his fancy , ) are purely commonwealthish , and no less confident that our governours will never think it honourable for them to own such a precarious authority ; so we cannot think it safe in conscience for us to acquiesce in such a title , which they themselves will not think fit to acknowledge and abide by . this request is for another regard the more reasonable , because the granting it is clearly the best for the interest even of our governours themselves : for nothing can be more prevalent to unite all england in a hearty subjection to their government , than the making out evidently , and inconfutably ( in case they judge it fecible ) upon what ground we may justly hold the former prince's rightful title is extinguished , and their own rightfully introduced and established . nor can an● thing more acquit them from the heavy imputation of cruelty and murder , ( which odium they will otherwise lie under , ) than will shewing their right to be thus evident : i say evident ; for plain reason very sensibly informs every honest christian , that a title which was never doubted or controverted , nor had the least flaw in it , by any one pretender in the whole world , ought not to be held abolish'd by a title which is controverted and dubious ; and also that o●t●s of allegiance ought not to be sworn to those whose right to our allegiance is doubtful and uncertain . wherefore let them but take away this doubtfulness , by making their title clear and evident ; and then the same reason which makes us yet retain our allegiance to king iames , will oblige us in conscience to become faithful and obedient subjects to the prince and princess of orange ; and will shew , moreover , that we enjoy under them a state of liberty and reason , and are not purely under the slavish condition of force and fear . the granting then this humble petition of ours being every way so reasonable and advantagious to their own honour and interest ; so satisfactory to those who have scruples , which hinder their complying ; so agreeable to the prince of orange's declaration , which promises not to persecute for conscience sake ; so conducive to the peace and union of the kingdom in general ; and , lastly , so necessary to clear the honour of all their own party , now lying under the scandal of complying they know not why , and of sacrificing their consciences to servile fear or base interest : if this be refused by the state , and yet oaths be still press'd upon the iacobites , and they be still persecuted , imprisoned , and put to death , for performing their conscientious duties to him whom they cannot but judge as yet to be their rightful prince , then they do call heaven and earth to witness that they suffer for conscience sake ; and that the pretended governours are resolved to ruine them , for no other reason but that they will not , to second and uphold their unaccountable authority , break god's holy commands , and our own laws ; which all good christians and true english-men are bound to observe . on the other side , their not yielding to this humble request cannot but redound highly to their dishonour ; for all thinking man will easily make this inference from their refusal , that either they do not judge they have any title at all , which will bear the test , or which they will stand to ; or else , that they are most cruel and most unchristian persecuters : while , on the one hand , they refuse , when humbly supplicated , to take order to give satisfaction to men's consciences , in a case which the many controversies about it , and the former long settled and legal title shews to be ( at least ) dubious ; and on the other side , they go on to punish and put men to death , who are desirous to be satisfied , merely for acting according to their consciences ; which those men themselves are not able to satisfie , that they ought to submit voluntarily to the present government ; and those who should be most able are most concern'd , nay absolutely , in many regards , bound to do it , refuse them that christian charity . in a word , let the present governours either satisfie our consciences , or leave off to persecute us for being conscientious ; or , else ( which is only left ) let them speak out , and tell the world in plain terms , what this refusal of theirs will sufficiently intimate , that they will do neither ; but that they are resolved we shall be punish'd as traitors , if we will not be knaves ; and that they will only allow us this sad choice , to be either hang'd or damn'd . finis . the history of the late conspiracy against the king and the nation with a particular account of the lancashire plot, and all the other attempts and machinations of the disaffected party since his majesty's accession to the throne / extracted out of the original informations of the witnesses and other authentick papers. histoire de la dernière conspiration d'angleterre. english abbadie, jacques, 1654-1727. 1696 approx. 235 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 99 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2007-01 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a26368 wing a52 estc r14960 11846474 ocm 11846474 49849 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a26368) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 49849) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 45:17) the history of the late conspiracy against the king and the nation with a particular account of the lancashire plot, and all the other attempts and machinations of the disaffected party since his majesty's accession to the throne / extracted out of the original informations of the witnesses and other authentick papers. histoire de la dernière conspiration d'angleterre. english abbadie, jacques, 1654-1727. [2], 195 p. printed for daniel brown ... and tho. bennet ..., london : 1696. translation of: histoire de la dernière conspiration d'angleterre. reproduction of original in yale university library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng lancashire plot, 1689-1694. great britain -history -william and mary, 1689-1702. 2006-02 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2006-02 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2006-05 john latta sampled and proofread 2006-05 john latta text and markup reviewed and edited 2006-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the history of the late conspiracy against the king and the nation . with a particular account of the lancashire plot , and all the other attempts and machinations of the disaffected party , since his majesty's accession to the throne . extracted out of the original informations of the witnesses , and other authentick papers . london , printed for daniel brown , at the black swan and bible without temple-bar , and tho. bennet at the half-moon in st. pauls church-yard . m dc xcvi . the history of the late conspiracy , &c. since the late conspiracy in this kingdom , has been for some time the principal object of the curiosity of the public , and since it may furnish us with so great a variety of important instructions ; 't is presum'd the history of it will be equally useful and acceptable to the present age and to posterity . here future ages may behold a king , variously censur'd and represented by the several parties of mankind ; lov'd by some , hated by others , but ●steem'd by all , tho' in so different a manner , that some conspire his death for the same reasons that prevail ▪ d with others to offer him a crown : a prin●e to whom his subjects own themselves indebted for immortal obligations , and whom his en●mies for that very reason accu●e as the author of all their mis●ortunes : advanc'd by the gratitude of the one , render'd illustrious by the hatred of the others ; endu'd with a generous moderation , that raises him above his fortune , and makes him the absolute master of his passions . here the reader will find gentlemen and officers dishono●ing the●r birth and character by acting the unmanly part of murderers ; a barbaro●s assassination carry'd on under the spe●ious pretext of a military expedition ; a handful of traitors cont●●ving the ruin of the publi● liberty , and re●dy by one terrible blow to execute their pernicious design ; a secret that had been ex●ctly conce●l'd for six years , discover'd by four men in six days ; the king not only assisted by providence , but establish'd by the treacherous malice of his enemies ▪ endear'd to his subjects by the greatness of the common danger , and receiving new assurances of their affection and fidelity ; e●gland once more deliver'd ; the prince and the people inseparably united by mutual obligations , and more than ever in a condition to procure and maintain the peace and happiness of europe . this is a general view of what the reader may expect to meet with in the following relation . i have mark'd every particular step of a transaction , which is too important to be forgotten , tho it can never be remember'd without horror . and th●t t●e ●rogress and management of the d●si●n might appear in ● clearer ●ight ; i have trac'd it ●●●m it● dark original , and have given a ●●ccinct account of the several projects and attempts that prec●●ded , or mad● way for the conspirac● . i have taken care to ●urnish my ●elf ●it● such instru●●ions as might enable me to compose an exac● history ▪ i have endeavor'd to write without heat and partiality ; nor was there any need of aggravating a crime that is so black in its own nature , and so apt to possess the calmest mind with a just abhorrence and indignation . but , above all , i have been scrupulously careful to mention nothing but what is grounded upon authentic testimonies . to give the reader a just idea of the conspiracy , 't wou'd be necessary in the first place to acquaint him with the importance of his majesty's life ; if it were not unreasonable to suppose that any person can be so much a stranger to the transactions of the age he lives in , as to be ignorant of the interest which the nations of europe have in the preservation of that sacred life . 't was on him that spain founded the first hopes she had the courage to entertain , of seeing a happy turn of her declining fortune . 't is to him , next to the blessing of heaven , that the dutch owe the safety of their state , and the english their laws , religion and liberty . the former entrusted him with the management of all their concerns , and the latter made him their soveraign to secure their own happiness , and to prevent a return of those miseries from which he had deliver'd ' em . the allies , in general , combin'd together to erect a kind of empire for him in the present confederacy ; being sensible that they cou'd not defend themselves without his assistance , and that they might , without any jealousy or apprehension , rely upon his integrity and vertue . and , which is yet a brighter and more surprizing part of his character , 't is certain that none of all these honors which he enjoys , cost him the trouble of asking . the great and important services , which the world had either receiv'd , or might expect to receive from him , were the only solicitations he us'd to obtain these glorious advantages . this is the only circumstance of his life , which shall be particularly consider'd in this place , because 't is this that will contribute most to give light to the following history , and this alone which malice or envy durst ever presume to con●radict . it never enter'd into the thoughts of any considering person , says a late writer , that the prince of orange was so fond of the english nation , as to undertake the security of their liberties , at the expence of so much treasure , and so many fatigues , instead of destroying 'em , as he ought to have done , being the next heir to the crown , after the prince of wales . i cannot forbear observing on this occasion , that this author , though chosen as the fittest person to write a history of the revolutions in england , according to the instructions ; and , as it appears , by the orders of his party , was , at least in this case , a perfect stranger , both to the affairs and temper of that monarch . for , ' ti● certain that his majesty , in so pressing a juncture , cou'd not forget england , without neglecting his own interest , and that of the princess his consort , and without consenting to the irrecoverable ruine of holland , of the protestant religion in general , and of all the princes and states in europe , both protestants and roman-catholics , who were equally threatn'd with unavoidable destruction . and besides it will appear that the author of that history was less acquainted with his majesty's temper , than with his interest and affairs . when that generous prince was plac'd at the head of a potent republic in the heat of his youth ; and when at the importunate solicitations of all the members of that great body , he was advanc'd to such a degree of power and grandeur as might have enabl'd him to execute whatever his ambition cou'd have prompted him to undertake ; 't is known , that he made no other use of so inviting an opportunity , than to settle a good correspondence betwixt the magistrates and the people . 't is known that he refus'd the sovereignty of guelderland , which was offer'd to him , because he wou'd not confirm the jealousy of some persons who seem'd to dread the consequences of such an innovation . and even when an attempt was made to bribe his vertu● with the alluring prospect of the soveraignty of the netherlands , and a promise to favour and support his pretensions to england , at a time when he cou'd not expect to maintain his right without the assistance that was propos'd to him ; 't is known that he rejected the tempting offer , and that his enemies cou'd not forbear admiring a moderation that broke all their measures , and convinc'd 'em that he wou'd never be prevail'd with to accept a crown on the inglorious condition of destroying those who had a title to his pro ection . 't is from such instances as these that we ought to form an idea of his majesty's temper , rather than from the groundless conjectures of a byass'd ●ancy . and all the actions of h s life are so many convincing demonstrations , that he has always look'd upon it , both as his duty and interest , to preserve , rather than to destroy the people . * 't was in pursuance of this maxim , that while there was any hope left of composing the disorders in england , without having recourse to the last , and most violent remedy , he endeavour'd to prevent the ruin of his father in law , and the miseries that threaten'd the nation , by tendering an advice which that prince had the misfortune to reject . this is undoubted matter of fact , and consequently , ought to make a stronger impression upon us than if it were only a probability grounded on plausible presumptions . * nor was he either soon or easily prevail'd with to go over to england ; for he deferr'd that expedition till he cou'd delay it no longer , without neglecting at once his honor , conscience and interest . these who exclaim against so many sovereigns for favouring the descent in england , do at the same tacitely acknowledge , that 't was then the general opinion of those princes , that their common safety and the liberty of europe depended upon the success of that expedition : and 't is plain from the event that they were not deceiv'd . the prince of orange's arrival in england fill'd the world with an impatient expectation of the approaching crisis that was to determine the fate of europe . every man was an attentive spectator of a revolution in which all were so nearly concern'd ; and none but such who are uncapable of regarding the public interest , can be suppos'd to be unacquainted with the circumstances of so important a transaction : and therefore , instead of entertaining the reader with a particular account of his present majesty's proceedings on that occasion , i shall content my self with observing in the general ; that 't was his first and principal desire , that a parliament might be call'd to settle the affairs of the nation ; that , to secure that great assembly from the apprehension of any disturbance or constraint , he offer'd to retire threescore miles from the capital city , provided king james's army wou'd withdraw to an equal distance . that , when the late king fell into his hands , he suffer'd him to make his escape , without considering the dangers to which the life of an implacable enemy , wou'd in all probability expose him . that afterwards he order'd his forces to march out of the places , where the members of the approaching convention were to be chosen , that the elections might be manag'd with an absolute freedom . that at last the representatives of the nation , of their own accord , declar'd the throne vacant , and presented him with a crown which he had never demanded . 't will not i hope be deny'd , even by our enemies , that england is too potent a nation , and too considerable in all resp●ct● to be frighted into a servise complaisance ; and too wife and provident to make so great an alteration , without considering both its nature and consequences . and therefore , since the representatives of such a nation look'd upon this as the only expedient to secure their liberty ; the prince to whom they made their address cou'd neither fancy himself wiser than so great a people , who desir'd his protection , and offer'd him the crown after long and mature deliberations ; nor prefer some private considerations before the general good of a whole nation , or rather of many nations , whose interests were link'd together . 't is plain that an action of this nature may be either censur'd or commended according to the principle from which we derive it , and that the judgment we give in such cases depends on the intention we ascribe to the actor ; and consequently there is nothing but prejudice and ill nature that can hinder us from acquiescing in the justice of his majesty's proceedings . satyr may raise suspicions , or invent crimes , and afterwards endeavour to fasten the imaginary guilt upon those whom she resolves to attack : but unbyass'd history judges a prince's actions by his deportment upon other occasions . those who fancy it unreasonable to suppose that one may be king of england , or even heir to the crown , without endeavouring to destroy the nation , will never be able to comprehend the motives that shou'd oblige his majesty to expose his person for the preservation of his people : they know not , or at least do not consider , that a true king may be distinguish'd by the same marks by which solomon distinguish'd the true mother . however , 't is certain that all the spiteful reproaches which are levell'd against his majesty for accepting the crown , rebound with greater force upon the nation that presented it to him ; and that those who are possess'd with so brutish a fury , as to imagine that he may be assassinated without a crime , because he suffer'd our representatives to place him upon the throne , do at the same time pronounce a bloody sentence against the parliament , and condemn the whole kingdom to havock and desolation . this is the natural tendency of the maxims of that party , and we must do 'em the justice to acknowledge that their actions are sutable to their principles ; for it will appear that the conspiracy against the nation , and the barbarous design against the person and government of its deliverer had the same beginning , and advanc'd with equal steps . immediately after his majesties accession to the crown , he receiv'd advice from germany and holland , and even from france , that several persons were landed in england with a resolution to assassinate him : and not long after he was inform'd that they had left the kingdom , because they cou'd not find an opportunity to execute their design . it seems that he either did not believe , or , at least , did not much regard these informations ; but he cou'd not behold , with 〈…〉 the dangers 〈…〉 his subjects . there was 〈…〉 conspiracy discover'd in 〈…〉 here the secret 〈…〉 government had 〈…〉 such as 〈…〉 for their 〈…〉 to his majesty , to 〈…〉 edenburgh on fire in 〈…〉 different places , and 〈…〉 retire to the highlands : 〈…〉 were not the main efforts of the disaffected party , nor the principal difficulties with which the government was oblig'd to encounter . the late king having put himself at the head of his party in ireland , had reduc'd the protestants of that kingdom to great extremities . if he had consulted his interest , he wou'd never have made so false a step , in a juncture that wou'd have requir'd all the caution and dexterity of the most refin'd politician ; but it seems he cou'd not resist the impetuous motions of a council of french and irish bigots , who were accustom'd to govern him . 't will perhaps be expected , that i shou'd take this occasion to attempt that prince's character ; but i must confess , i have not courage enough to venture upon so nice a task . for 't is certain that , in such a case , the most scrupulous caution can hardly preserve an author from transgressing the narrow limits that are prescrib'd to him , by the respect which is due to those , whose honour , as well as their lives , ought to be sacred even to their enemies . few are capable of managing a subject of this nature with a tender and wary hand ; and even the modestest performances in this kind are obnoxious to the unjust censures of a byass'd reader . and therefore , instead of assuming the liberty to speak of his person , i shall content my self with making some reflexions upon the proceedings of his council , which i cou'd not omit without rendering my work obscure and defective . 't was the opinion of every judicious person , who observ'd their maxims and conduct , that , even from the beginning , they gave the world too plain a view of their designs , and proceeded with too hasty an eagerness in the execution of ' em . here , under their wonted pretext of dispensing with the laws , they establish'd an ecclesiastical commission that was equally terrible to the church and to the state. the incorporations were dispossess'd of their charters , the council was fill'd with roman-catholics , and the universities were depriv'd of their privileges . the temporal lords were oblig'd either to quit their places or renounce their religion , the bishops were imprison'd , and an irish army was brought into the kingdom in time of peace . in scotland , they were so far from observing any measures , that they look'd upon it as too mean a condescension to preserve the least regard for the laws . they perswaded the king to assume a despotic power , and taught him to use a language which till then was unknown to the free-born people of great britain ; for they had the confidence to make him declare that , by virtue of his soveraign authority and absolute power , he abrogated the acts of parliament that were made against the roman ▪ catholics . the unsuccessfulness of the attempt was a convincing argument of the temerity of the project , but cou'd not oblige its contrivers to alter their measures , as it appears by their conduct in ireland ; for the promises that were made in king james's name to the protestant inhabitants of that kingdom , both before and after his arrival among 'em , cou'd not protect 'em from the barefac'd violence of their tyrannical oppressors . their effects , cattle , wool , money and merchandizes , were seiz'd and employ'd in the maintaining of a war against their friends in england ; their lands were laid waste , their houses pillag'd , and the benefices bestow'd on their ancient and most implacable enemies the priests . the act of settlement , which was the only security they cou'd depend upon , was violated , and the roman catholics were authoriz'd by the government to take possession of their estates . both the protestant religion and those who profess'd it were in a manner proscrib'd , and expos'd as a prey to those who were equally prompted by interest and inclination to destroy ' em . the people were persecuted and murder'd by their domineering enemies , who were rather encourag'd than punish'd for their barbarity . they were forc'd to resign their churches , and were even deny'd the liberty of meeting together to perform their devotions . at last all the protestants in dublin were secur'd ; and when the prisons were full , the churches were turn'd to goals . these disorders are particularly describ'd by a bishop of that country , who had the misfortune to be a considerable sharer in the common calamity . the king was so sensibly touch'd with the deplorable condition of ireland , that he resolv'd to go thither in person , tho' he plac'd an entire confidence in the * person whom he had entrusted with the command of his forces : and that generous undertaking was so visibly attended with the blessing of heaven , that in the space of three months he reduc'd two third parts of the kingdom , and gave his enemies a fatal blow which broke all their measures , and ruin'd their unjust hopes . 't was by the wise direction of that providence which had so often deliver'd him from the hands of bloody traitors , and preserv'd a life that was to be expos'd to more honorable dangers , that the wound he receiv'd at the boyn gave occasion to a false report of his death , which occasion'd as public a joy in france , as the true account of his victories did in this , and all the other nations of europe . the parliament thank'd him for exposing that life to the greatest dangers , on which the fate of protestants , and the common liberty of all europe depended : and the happy change that appear'd every where in the public affairs on that occasion , is a more than sufficient ground to vindicate that illustrious body from the imputation of flattery . people were surpriz'd to find themselves safer in the midst of a bloody war , than they were in time of peace : the switzers were no longer apprehensive of their incroaching neighbour : the protestant religion was preserv'd without any prejudice to the roman-catholics : the princes and states upon the rhine were either secur'd from danger , or in a condition to defend themselves : an effectual stop was put to the pretensions and conquests of the chambers of metz and brisac ; the electorates of mentz and cologn were reconquer'd ; and a king of the romans was chosen according to the inclination and interest of the members of the empire . three kingdoms were deliver'd from oppression , and rais'd to their wonted glory of protecting their distressed neighbors . the netherlands had the satisfaction to obey a governor whom they had long and ardently desir'd , but cou'd never obtain till now . the branches of the houses of austria were happily re-united to one another , and to those whose interest 't was to support ' em . england and holland resolv'd at last to pursue their mutual interest , and to cherish an union which is absolutely necessary to their i reservation . france had the mortification to see her self exhausted by the prodigious efforts she was oblig'd to make ; as the rest of the world had the satisfaction to perceive that ere long she wou'd either be confin'd within her ancient limits by our arms , or ruin'd by her own dear-bought victories . these were the glorious consequences of his majesty's establishment upon the throne of england : every nation was sensible of its particular obligations , and the eyes of all the world were fix'd upon their great benefactor . even we , who ow'd all the happiness we possess'd , or cou'd hope to enjoy , to his generous assistance , and whom he had lately deliver'd from the greatest danger that ever threaten'd a nation , cou'd hardly out-do the rest of europe in expressing our gratitude and affection . for , after he had receiv'd the blessings and applauses of his subjects , when the managing of the public interest requir'd his presence at the hague , he was attended by a court of soveraigns , who seem'd to come thither on purpose to present him with the compliments and acknowledgments of europe . but while so many illustrious persons were endeavouring with a kind of emulation to express their esteem for his person , and the confidence they plac'd in his vertue ; and while he was receiving the testimonies of their respect and affections with a modesty that secur'd him from envy in the midst of his triumphs ; there was a design set on foot to rob the world of its hope and delight , by such ways and means as are very rarely suspected or foreseen by persons of his courage and temper . 't was about this time that a french minister of state , whose name makes an inglorious figure in grandval's examination , engag'd one dumont to assassinate his majesty . i dare not charge that minister with the first contrivance of so detestable a project ; since we have so much reason to believe that he acted only in pursuance of the instructions he had receiv'd from those whom he thought himself oblig'd to obey . 't is not without reluctancy that i enter upon a subject , which carries horror in its idea , and is so inconsistent with the common principles of humanity , that the matter of fact wou'd appear incredible if it were not confirm'd by unquestionable evidence . murder in the general , without the aggravating circumstance of assassinating a soveraign , is equally accompany'd with guilt and shame ; and even the most harden'd assassins are oftentimes sensible of the infamy that attends their crime . 't is impossible to imagine a provocation strong enough to excuse either the committing or encouraging of so barbarous an action ; nor wou'd a man of honor be tempted to execute his just revenge by so dishonorable a way . such unmanly resentments as these are peculiar to those mean and degenerous souls , whose merit consists in baseness and envy , and who are only able to defend themselves by villany and treason . but supposing that the french ministers neither were , nor car'd to be reputed , men of honor ; they ought never to have form'd a design , which wou'd have left an indelible stain upon the gratitude of the prince whom they pretended to serve . * 't is known , that when some desperate persons in holland offer'd their detestable service to assassinate that monarch , they were so far from being encourag'd or protected , that an offer was made to put 'em into the hands of those whom they had injur'd . † and both the count d' auaux and mr. dickfelt can testify , that it has been in the power of a prince , whose sacred life has been so often endanger'd by the treachery of his enemies , to execute his vengeance upon 'em by their own inglorious methods . besides , what cou'd be more injurious to the boasted glory of lewis xiv . than that his own ministers shou'd contrive a project which cou'd not be executed without fiixng so black a scandal either upon his virtue or dignity ; for he cou'd not decline condemning it without rendring himself eternally infamous , nor afterwards suffer it to be executed without proclaiming to all the world that he was not master in his own dominions . at least , it might have been expected that the project wou'd have expir'd with its author , and that the succeeding ministers wou'd be either afraid or asham'd to pursue a design that left such a blot upon the memory of its contriver . yet the reader will find that it was carry'd on after his death ; and , i shall have occasion to give a particular account of its progress and success , after i have taken a succinct view of the intended invasion . as soon as the roman-catholics in this kingdom perceiv'd that there was a party form'd in ireland who had openly declar'd for the late king ; they began to carry on the same design here , in secret cabals , tho' with little appearance of success : for the smallness of their numbers secur'd us from open violence ; and the sense of our duty and interest kept us from being deluded by their artifices . they cou'd neither have so mean an opinion of our courage nor judgment , as to imagine that we wou'd voluntarily submit to an impotent and implacable enemy ; or that a few canting sophisms wou'd prevail with us to neglect self-preservation . and therefore , since they cou'd never expect to be masters , they ought to have contented themselves with the quality and condition of subjects . they might have continu'd to enjoy whatever they cou'd justly call their own , under the protection of a mild and easy government , that allow'd 'em all the liberty they cou'd desire , except that of subverting the laws , and destroying their country and fellow-subjects . but their minds were still possess'd with the remembrance of those aspiring hopes that were defeated by the revolution ; and their ambition was rather enflam'd than allay'd by so unexpected a disappointment . besides , they thought themselves oblig'd to support a prince who had sacrific'd his crown to their advancement ; and fancy'd that notwithstanding their present weakness , they might easily make good their pretensions by the assistance of their french protectors . these were the motives that engag'd 'em in a design which cou'd not be carry'd on without disturbing their own quiet as well as that of the nation , and made 'em resolve to shut their eyes against the visible dangers to which they expos'd themselves by venturing upon so hazardous an attempt . 't was on the 18 of october 1689. that a minister of state receiv'd a letter from the assizes , held by adjournment at manchester , by which he was intreated to advertise the council , that many of the roman-catholic younger gentry , some of good quality , were absconded for some months , that to some of the gentlemen now absconded there had been sent from london several boxes with scarlet cloaks , pistols and swords , directed for safer conveyance to protestants , who knew nothing of them , and by that means discover'd . that some had been modelling officers and men preparatory to their hope of an invasion or insurrection , that tho' the goals were full of irish papists , yet many were entertain'd at popish houses , &c. the correspondence which the late king entertain'd with the papists in lancashire , was manag'd by one bromefield a quaker , who liv'd at redland near chester , in the house of one wilson , who was acquainted with , and engag'd in the conspiracy . but perceiving that they began to be taken notice of , and not daring to continue longer in a place where they were look'd upon as suspicious persons , the first fled to ireland and the second to lancashire . after them , the management of the intrigue was committed to gordon , lunt , and thrilfall , who came from ireland with declarations and commissions from king james to the roman-catholics in several counties of england . they landed in lancashire , where they open'd their commissions , by which gordon was appointed to go to scotland , thrilfall to yorkshire , and lunt to staffordshire , cheshire and lancashire . in pursuance of these orders they parted , and went immediately to the respective places that were allotted 'em , where they executed their commissions , tho' with different success . thrilfall had already finish'd his negotiation in yorkshire , and was returning thro' cheshire to ireland , when he was pursu'd upon suspicion , and kill'd as he was endeavouring to defend himself . lunt having perform'd his commission , was sent to london , to levy soldiers , to be destributed among the conspirators in the north. in his return from thence , after he had executed his orders , he was seiz'd at coventry , by one of the kings messengers , brought back to london , and committed to newgate . five months after he was set at liberty ; having given bail to appear next hillary term , at the king's bench , from whence he was sent to be try'd , at the assizes in lancashire . he was committed for high-treason , to the castle of lancaster , upon the evidence of the master of the ship , who brought him over from ireland , and the officers of the custom-house , who found some of king james's commissions among the papers which he left in the vessel . but these were not the most terrible witnesses , that were like to appear against him : for about that time , the conspiracy was discover'd , by two several persons . the first was kelly , who declar'd what he knew , to the mayor of eversham , in worcestershire ; the earl of bellamont , and some persons of quality , in that country , who communicated the discovery to the council . but tho' his deposition remain'd in the hands of the government , his person disappear'd so suddenly , and in so strange a manner , that we cou'd never afterwards hear an account of him . his fate continues a mystery to this day ; but , whether he was kill'd or carry'd away , 't is certain that the conspirators from that very time began to resume their courage , which was extremely sunk upon the news of his discovery . dodsworth was the second who alarm'd the party , by discovering the conspiracy to a member of parliament , who sent an account of it to one of the secretaries of state , by whose order the informer was brought from lancashire to london : and 't was found that his deposition agreed exactly with that of kelly , tho' they were at a hundred miles distance when they were examin'd . dodsworth was sent to the castle of lancashire to joyn his evidence to the testimony of the other witnesses that were to appear against lunt , who , nevertheless , cou'd not be convicted according to the usual forms of law. for , when he was brought to his tryal , the master of the ship , who brought him from ireland , either was , or pretended to be sick : and the officers of the custom-house cou'd not swear that the papers which were produc'd in the court were the same which they found in the ship , because they had forgotten to mark ' em . thus the whole evidence being reduc'd to the single testimony of dodsworth , lunt , tho' apparently guilty , was acquitted ; and both the court and jury chose rather to absolve a criminal , than to violate the least circumstance of the law. a rare instance of justice and moderation , which , at once , may serve to convince us of the mildness and clemency of the present government , and of the extravagant prejudice of those who wou'd exchange it for arbitrary power ; and , of two things which seem to be equally the objects of our admiration , leaves us in doubt , whether we have greater reason to love and esteem the former , or to hate and detest the latter . lunt , by his services and sufferings , had so far insinuated himself into the favor and confidence of his party , that , in a meeting of jacobites at standish-hall in lancashire , he was chosen to go to france , to acquaint king james with the present posture of his affairs here , and to know what assistance might be expected from him . the answer he brought was , that the late king was preparing to come in person to england the next spring ; and that in the mean time , he wou'd send 'em his last instructions by a sure and faithful hand . not long after walmuly and parker came to england by that prince's order , and appointed a meeting of the principal persons of their faction at dungen-hall , where they deliver'd the commissions and presents they had brought from france ; and at the same time assur'd 'em that king james wou'd speedily land in england with a sufficient force to support ' em . in the mean they were putting all things in readiness , at la hogue , for the intended expedition : the preparations they made were very great , and the measures they had taken seem'd to promise success , as it will appear by the following account of ' em . by the articles that were agreed upon at the surrender of limerick , the french had cunningly reserv'd a liberty to retain a very considerable body of the irish forces in their service , whom they design'd , upon the first convenient occasion , to send over to england . these troops consisted of such as were most deeply engag'd in the routed party , and long'd for a second war to make up the losses they had sustain'd in the first . they were rather irritated then discourag'd by their late misfortunes , and so unaccustom'd to labor , that the love of idleness joyn'd to the desire of booty had made 'em forsake their native country . besides , they look'd upon our happiness with envy and rage , and cou'd not endure to be subject to those whom they once hop'd to enslave . such men as these were the fittest to be employ'd in a design of this nature , and , in all probability wou'd have prov'd the most effectual instruments of our destruction , if they cou'd have found an opportunity to join the disaffected party among us . there were three sorts of persons in this nation , whom we might justly look upon as domestic enemies . first the zealous and bigotted roman-catholics , or rather all roman-catholics in general ; for tho' some of 'em appear'd more cautious and moderate than the rest , 't was the general opinion of the party that all the papists in england wou'd take up arms on that occasion . the second order of jacobites consisted of the late king's servants , who ow'd their fortune and preferment to his favor : and the third comprehends those whose interest and safety depended upon the subversion of the laws ; men of turbulent spirits and desperate fortunes , who hop'd to raise themselves upon the ruins of their country . such persons as these are at once our plague and our reproach , but the breed is not peculiar to england ; for every nation has its share in the common calamity , and has the misfortune to produce a set of men who seem to be in love with disorder , and are never more apt to appear in their native and hideous colours , than when they are protected by the indulgency of the laws and the clemency of the government , and meet with an opportunity to cover their pernicious designs with a false pretext of duty and allegiance . they are perpetually talking of fidelity and obedience , and seem to make loyalty their idol ; tho' they are usually the principal promoters of rebellion , and seldom or never well affected to the government under which they live . plotting is their business and recreation ; they love confusion and expect to live by it , and are ready to joyn with every faction upon the cheapest terms that can be propos'd . when there is no present advantage in view , they work for expectation ; plunder is all the pay they require , and their prosperity consists in the desolation of their country . besides , the french were preparing to land a considerable body of forces in this kingdom , to support the disaffected party : for the court of st. germans repented that they had formerly plac'd too much confidence in an army of english men , who lov'd their country and their religion . 't was the general opinion of the party , that the placing of too much confidence in subjects who were unworthy of it , depriv'd king james of the assistance he might have expected from others . they remember'd the advice of some of his councellors , who , looking upon his army as the nerves and support of his undertakings , and the only way to secure him against the obstinacy of those whom neither the lawfulness of his authority , nor his moderation in using it cou'd retain in obedience to the government , wou'd have perswaded him to entertain a sufficient number of catholics in his army to keep the rest in awe , and to put it out of their power to betray him ; and were of opinion that both these effects might have been produc'd by joining the irish troops to such of the english and scotch as were remarkable for their fidelity to his interest . thus we may easily perceive , by the reflexions they made on their former conduct , what measures they resolv'd to take for the future . they concluded that an army of french and irish , with some pretended protestants who regarded neither their country nor religion , wou'd never show king james a copy of his salisbury expedition ; and that with such forces as these they might make an entire conquest of england as soon as they shou'd think fit to undertake it . in pursuance of that design the french labor'd with great application to encrease their naval strength ; ping that , if they cou'd corrupt the officers of our fleet , or be in a readiness to put to sea before the dutch men of war cou'd join ours , they might easily find an opportunity to fight us with advantage , and afterwards land their soldiers without opposition . in the mean time , to oblige us to send our land forces to flanders , and at the same time to hinder our allies from assisting us , the french king appear'd at the head of his numerous armies , as if he had resolv'd , in one campaign , to conquer a country , which for sixty years had been both the seat , and cause of the war. he intended to invade england , if our army continu'd in the netherlands ; or to make himself master of those provinces , if we shou'd be oblig'd to recall our forces . but the principal design of all the vast preparations he had made , was to keep this nation embroil'd in a civil war , till he had broken the confederacy , that he might fall upon us with his united forces , and by subduing england put himself in a condition to conquer all the rest of europe . but tho the conspirators expected a considerable reinforcement from france , and a powerful diversion in flanders ; tho they were sure of the assistance of so many false protestants , and ( as they imagin'd ) of several officers in our navy ; notwithstanding all these advantages , they look'd upon his majesty's life as an invincible obstacle to the accomplishment of their designs , and despair'd of succeeding in their attempt against us , while we enjoy'd the protection of our great deliverer . they dreaded his power , forces and alliances ; but were more afraid of his single person , than of the united strength of the whole confederacy . they had oftentimes had the unwelcome experience of his constancy , resolution , and unweary'd application ; and knew , to their sorrow and cost , that his courage was never shock'd by the most terrible dangers ; that upon a pressing exigency he cou'd brave a thousand deaths , and cut his way through the most vigorous opposition ; that when the posture of his affairs requir'd more prudence than valor , he cou'd proceed with all the coolness and policy of the wariest statesman ; that he was peculiarly happy in baffling the designs of his enemies , and in turning even their most successful contrivances against themselves ; that he was equally unmov'd in good and bad fortune , that he was never capable either of vanity or fear , and cou'd only be overcome by himself . these considerations made his enemies resolve to take away a life that secur'd europe , and england particularly , from the utmost efforts both of their policy and force : and in pursuance of this execrable resolution they engag'd some desperate villains to murder him . but god saw , and blasted their dark contrivances , and deliver'd him whom he had made the deliverer of so many nations . the assassins were taken near bosleduc ; and by their examination it appears , that dumont and grandval were solicited to undertake the assassination of the king. that the design having miscarry'd in 1691. was resum'd the next year . that one leefdael , formerly captain lieutenant of a troop of dragoons in the service of the states , coming to paris , grandval communicated the design to him , and desir'd him to be concern'd in it , with dumont and himself , because he thought dumont wou'd not be able to execute it alone . that grandval went with leefdael and collonel parker to st. germains , and that king james said to him , parker has acquainted me with your business ; if you and the other officers do me this service , you shall never want any thing . that upon this assurance , a " letter was sent to dumont who was then at hanover , desiring him to meet grandval and leefdael in the country of ravestein , where they were to take their last resolutions , and entreating him to hasten his departure , least the king , in the mean time , shou'd return to england . that dumont was to lye in wait , and to kill his majesty as he pass'd the lines , or went to visit the posts at the decamping of the army . that grandval told leefdael , upon the road , that if their design succeeded , the confederacy wou'd be broken , that every p●●nce wou'd recall his forces , that the country being left without defence , the french king wou'd soon make himself master of it , and that king james wou'd be restor'd to his throne . to keep leefdael from being discourag'd by the difficulties and hazards to which the prosecution of their design might expose 'em , he told him that they were only to follow the king , that dumont was to give the blow , and that after the business was done they might easily make their escape and leave dumont to take his fortune . but both dumont and leefdael repented their engaging in so black a villany , and discover'd what they knew of it almost at the same time ; the one to a prince in germany , who was his majesty's particular friend , and the other to some magistrates in holland who had a sincere affection to the person and interest of that monarch . grandval was taken and receiv'd the just reward of his crimes , after he had made a full confession without being put to the torture . he seem'd to be very penitent , and declar'd with some resentment at his death , that he was ruin'd by the authors of that detestable project . there was a detachment made from the duke of luxemburg's army , consisting of three thousand horse , who were to be posted at the advanc'd guard to receive the murderers . this is a circumstance that ought not to be forgotten ; for 't is plain they took this way that the assassination might be look'd upon as a stratagem of war : and 't is probable that either it was propos'd at first as an attempt to carry away the king , or that they resolv'd , after the blow was given , to make it pass under that notion . 't is evident that this barbarous design was the favourite project of the party , since they continu'd to pursue it after so remarkable a disappointment . if we examine the whole course of their proceedings since that time , it will appear that the conspiracy which was lately discover'd in this kingdom , was the same with that in which grandval was engag'd ; and this is more than a bare conjecture , since 't is confirm'd by the deposition of one of the conspirators . the conspiracy , says he , hath been carrying on a great while , for some years . and it originally came from colonel parker , especially as to my knowledge of it , and that was five or six years ago , at st. germains , when i was there : he propos'd it to me , and said he wou'd propose it to my lord melford , &c. we have already observ'd that the assassination of his majesty was contriv'd and resolv'd upon , in order to the invasion of his subjects ; and we have reason to believe that the design of god , in preserving his life , was to make him once more our deliverer : for 't was he alone who oppos'd our impending ruine , and and baffl'd the designs of our enemies . he prevented the loss of the netherlands , by wise delays ; and took such measures as might one day put him in a condition to recover what he cou'd not then preserve . he hasten'd the sailing of the dutch fleet , and fitted out his own with such diligence and expedition , that , notwithstanding the utmost efforts the french cou'd make to prevent us , they were oblig'd to encounter with two fleets , when they expected only to have met with one. when his enemies had recourse to their wonted artifices , and endeavour'd to corrupt the officers of his navy , he not only defeated their treacherous project , but made their stratagem fatal to themselves : for admiral carter was order'd to treat with 'em , and amuse 'em with a seeming compliance , till they sell into the snare which they had prepar'd for us . he sent the earl of portland with secret instructions to the queen , that she might not , even in his absence , be oblig'd to depend upon the advice and opinions of any other council but himself . in pursuance of these orders , warrants were issu'd out to apprehend suspected persons ; the arms , horses and magazines of the disaffected party were seiz'd ; the army was put into a posture of defence ; care was taken to prevent tumults and disorderly meetings , and the officers of the fleet were engag'd by new obligations to continue faithful to the government . these were the measures that were taken to preserve us , and god was pleas'd to bless our industry , and to assert the justice of our cause by a glorious and important victory . the fate of europe was decided in one day at la hague , and every nation had its share in the consequences of that memorable action . we , who were more immediately concern'd in the danger and deliverance , and who had been so long alarm'd with the expectation of the approaching storm , cou'd hardly forbear trembling , even in the midst of our joy , when we reflected on the dismal alterations which we must have beheld if the success had answer'd the hope and design of our enemies . for , after such a victory , the french might have drawn immense sums from england , either as a reimbursment for the charge of the war , or as a subsidy impos'd upon a subdu'd nation . they might have added above a hundred men of war to their fleet , and encreas'd their land-forces with the formidable addition of fifty thousand english men , by whose assistance they might have enlarg'd their conquests , while we shou'd have been oblig'd to entertain an army of enemies , to compleat the destruction of our country , under pretext of supporting the authority of their allie . in ireland the papists wou'd have reacted their former barbarities , and dispossess'd the protestants a second time of their goods and estates . in england , they wou'd have renew'd their claim to the church-lands , and made us feel the severest effects of their irritated fury . in both the kingdoms those who had refus'd to take the oaths to the present government wou'd have been rewarded with the places of those who had taken 'em ; and the non-swearing clergy preferr'd to the richest benefices . the offices of state and the best posts in the army wou'd have been bestow'd on those who had exprest the greatest zeal in enslaving the nation ; and the house of peers wou'd have been fill'd with the most notorious betrayers of their country . the nobility , whom they had the impudence to represent as a company of traitors and villains , wou'd have been punish'd for their fidelity to the state , and for asserting their just privileges with ( at least ) the banishment of their persons and confiscation of their estates ; and the representatives of the nation proscrib'd for loving and serving their country . to conclude , the laws wou'd have been at the mercy of those whose interetst oblig'd 'em to violate and subvert them ; and none must have expected preferment but such as had merited the favour of our enemies , by striving to encrease our misery . these considerations which serv'd to confirm all true english-men in their affection and fidelity to the government , were so many powerful incentives to its enemies to pursue their former designs . they continu'd still to hope that france might repair her losses , and be again in a condition to assist 'em ; but the prospect was too distant to satisfie their eager impatience : and therefore they began to consult how they might be able to destroy the nation without the assistance of foreigners . 't is thought the party were not novices in the art of ruining their fellow-subjects . they have been frequently charg'd with the massacre in ireland , and the burning of london ; and 't is strongly suspected that the public robbers , pirates , incendiaries , debasers of money , spies and assassins , were employ'd , as instruments , in carrying on the great design . the reader is left to judge of the truth or probability of these conjectures . whatever opinion weo ught to have of the design of the conspirators , we must do 'em the justice to acknowledge their skill and dexterity , in contriving the most probable methods and expedients , to accomplish it . of these means and expedients , fome have been long since foretold , some are universally known , our enemies have betray'd their own secret by divulging others , and we may discover the rest by a heedful examination of the proceedings of the conspirators , and the progress of the conspiracy . i will discourse of 'em in order , because the subject is both curious and important . about seventeen or eighteen years ago , titus oates made a discovery to the parliament , which was variously censur'd by persons of different principles and inclinations . some gave credit to it , others rejected it as a meer fable , and there were some who look'd upon it as a mixture of truth and fiction . i will neither pretend to justifie nor condemn all his depositions , but content my self with observing , that there are some things which were look'd upon as incredible , by reason of the enormity of the crimes , tho later experience has convinc'd us that they were really true ; especially what relates to trade , exportation of species , and the debasement of money . oates acquaints us , in the appendix to his information , sworn before sr. edmundbury godfrey , sept. 27. 1678. that the conspirators cou'd not endure king charles ii. because he was not of their religion , and that they resolv'd to cut him off with all possible speed. that they charg'd him with tyranny and designs of oppressing , governing by the sword , and without parliaments , and exposing his most faithful and valiant subjects to be wasted and slain in foreign service . 2. that they aspers'd , derided , expos'd and declaim'd against his person , counsels and actions , in parliament and elsewhere ; and particularly scoff'd at his security and confidence in them , and by this means animated and encourag'd their party and assassins especially , to attempt upon his life , and hasten his ruine . 3. that they disclos'd the king's counsels to france . 4. that they rais'd false news of his affairs . 5. that they disaffected his majesty's allies , holland , spain , the german emperor and princes , by false intelligence , &c. 6. that they disturb'd trade . 7. that they set up , sent out and maintain'd seditious preachers and catechists , and directed 'em what to preach in their own , or other private conventicles or field-meetings . 8. that they animated different parties , one against another to arm and put the people in blood upon the king's death . 9. that our best cities and towns were to be fir'd and plunder'd by irish , french , lay-brethren and others , disguis'd in frocks and otherwise . 10. that they endeavour'd to poyson and assassinate by pick'd quarrels , or otherwise , those whom they suppos'd to be ready or able to detector otherwise obstruct their designs . 11. that they design'd the transportation of trading , people , stock and money , adulterating money and plate ; to which ends they had bankers , brokers , merchants , goldsmiths and other traders , whom they stock'd and set up with money of their society , of which they boasted to have a hundred thousand pounds in cash . those who reflect upon what they see or hear , and consider the temper and actions of these who make a noise in the world , may easily judge whether the party has continu'd to pursue the same methods : and therefore , without insisting longer upon this subject , i shall proceed , in the next place , to take notice of such of their maxims as have been discover'd by themselves . as for parliaments , 't is their opinion , that a king of england's condescension to his parliament seldom produces a good understanding between ' em . and particularly they tell us , that king charles ii. was advis'd to stand firm against the attempts of an assembly that made it their usual custom to oppose and contradict him ; that they wou'd still be starting new claims and demands , and wou'd at last raise 'em to such a height , that his majesty wou'd not be able to grant 'em , without consenting to his own deposition , and consequently wou'd find himself to be still in the same condition ; that is , after a thousand condescensions against his own interest , he wou'd at last be oblig'd to break with his parliament , and find that his complaisance had encreas'd their boldness , and made 'em less afraid to oppose him . they have left no means unattempted to set these stratagems on foot against the present government , by employing all their artifices in a successless attempt to engage the king to invade the liberty of his subjects , or to make the people incroach upon the prerogative of the crown . they endeavor'd to revive the ancient jealousies that disturb'd the quiet of the former reigns ; as if it had been possible to keep us from perceiving the difference betwixt a deliverer and an oppressor , whose characters are so opposite , that they can never agree either in the manner or end of executing their authority ; for 't is a necessary consequence of their respective maxims , that the former shou'd endeavour to preserve , and the latter to destroy his people . 't is both the interest and duty of an english parliament to protect the people whom they represent from a prince who treats 'em as enemies or slaves ; but they cannot , without consenting to their own ruin , oppose a king who makes the honor and prosperity of the nation the end of all his designs and undertakings . and we have reason to adore the favourable providence of god , who has freed us from the apprehensions of so terrible a misfortune , and establish'd his majesty's throne by the most perfect union that ever was observ'd betwixt a king and his parliament . besides these ways to destroy the nation , which they have known and practis'd so long , the present juncture has furnish'd 'em with new expedients . in the beginning of the war , our trade was extremely disturb'd by french privateers ; but since their defeat at la hogue made 'em both afraid and unable to engage our fleet , they seem to make no other use of their men of war than to surprise our merchant-ships . and our treacherous country-men are always ready to give 'em secret and timely notice of our motions , and consequently betray the riches of the nation to its most inveterate enemies . in the mean time they were secretly fomenting our divisions , and animating the different parties that are among us , against us and one another . the scotch presbyterians were incited to take up arms , by sir john cochram , and those of the same perswasion in england were manag'd by mr. ferguson and others . about the time of the siege of mons , sir john cochram sent a person in whom he confided , to king james , assuring him that , in some parts of scotland , there were several presbyterian ministers who were the leading men of the party , and some gentlemen of note that were intirely at his disposal . he offer'd his interest to king james , from whom he had receiv'd fifteen hnndred pounds sterl . which he said he had faithfully distributed among his creatures ; and desir'd him to send three thousand pounds more . in the mean time he pretended an extraordinary zeal for liberty of conscience , and declar'd if king james wou'd not comply with his subjects in that point , he wou'd wade thro a sea of blood to go thither . thus he was equally unfaithful to the nation and to that party which he seem'd to espouse , by selling the blood and liberty of the former for so small a sum ; and by obliging the latter to depend upon the late king's word for an advantage of which they were already in possession , and betraying 'em to those who are particularly animated against ' em . ferguson , the noted contriver of those intrigues which at last prov'd fatal to the unfortunate duke of monmouth , fam'd for inconstancy and treason , that prodigy of plotters whose whole life is one black mystery , was also a busie promoter of this execrable design . the character that is given of him in the history of the conspiracy against king charles ii. and the duke of york , which was written by their order , is very remarkable , and serves to shew us what use the party intended to make of a person , with whose temper they were so well acquainted . the author of that book informs us , that ferguson was not only engag'd in the design of assassinating those two princes , but applauded it as a glorious work , saying , that it wou'd be an admonition to all princes to take heed how they oppress'd their subjects ; and adding upon another occasion , that it was never thought injustice to shoot , or set traps for wolves and tygers . and one of the principal conspirators speaking of a blunderbuss which he intended to use in the assassination of his majesty , broke out into this prophane jest , that ferguson shou'd first consecrate it . in the same book we are told that the duke of monmouth confess'd to the king , that in all their debates ferguson was always for cutting of throats , saying , that was the most compendious way . that ferguson himself , when he took his leave of the conspirators , declar'd , that he wou'd never be out of a plot as long as he liv'd , and that at one of their consults he propos'd , that five or six of the old rich citizens shou'd be kill'd at first , and their estates given to the mobile , to terrifie the rest . that 't was his constant custom to out-do all the rest of the conspirators , by some peculiar circumstance of cruelty of his own invention . that upon all accounts of his restless spirit , fluent tongue , subtil brain , and hellish malice , he was perfectly qualifi'd to be the great incendiary , and common agitator of the whole conspiracy ; and that after shaftsbury's death , he was the life and soul of all , especially for the carrying on of the assassination . while such persons as these were endeavoring to incite the presbyterians to rebellion , the episcopal party was cajol'd by some of the depos'd bishops , or by certain prelates that were sent as private emissaries from king james . and the same design was also zealously promoted by some clergy-men , who despair'd of preferment under a prince , who makes merit and vertue the only objects of his favor and bounty . they were enrag'd to find themselves disappointed of the great expectations they had conceiv'd in the preceding reign , when the government , designing to render the church of england weak and contemptible , made want of merit one of the principal recommendations to advancement . it must be acknowledg'd even by those who envy our present happiness , that the constant care which is taken to bestow the benefices and dignities of the church upon the most deserving persons , and to prefer the desires of the people , in the choice of their pastors , before the most pressing solicitations of particular persons , is one of the distinguishing beauties of this reign . the merit of those who have been advanc'd to the episcopal function since the revolution , is sufficient either to stop the mouths , or baffle the impudence of their most virulent enemies : and 't is known that these worthy prelates are not only encourag'd , but enjoin'd to make a conscientious use of the power with which they are entrusted , by virtue of their office and character to dispose of a considerable number of the inferior benefices . so that 't is hard to imagine where the most impudent malice can find a pretext to censure his majesty's conduct in this point . nevertheless 't is certain , that the conspirators carry'd on their black intrigues in all places , and among all sorts of persons ; and even were not asham'd to contradict themselves by endeavoring at once to perswade all the several parties in the kingdom that they had just cause of complaint . they suggested to the rigid presbyterians , whose ungovern'd zeal made 'em capable of such impressions , that they ought not to support a prince who protected the church of england : and at the same time the toleration he had granted to dissenters , was made use of as a pretext to render him odious to the hottest asserters of episcopacy . he had already given us a sufficient intimation of his sentiments in this case , and of the maxims he intended to pursue ; when he declar'd in the beginning of his reign , that he wou'd be king of his people , and not of a faction . he lov'd moderate persons in all parties , and resolv'd to maintain all his subjects indifferently in the possession of their privileges and properties . he wou'd never permit any order or set of men to domineer over the rest of their fellow subjects ; but suted his maxims to the free and manly genius of his people , who love to be govern'd by law. he is naturally inclin'd to goodness and clemency ; and tho his temper alone were not sufficient to secure us against uneasie apprehensions , the consideration of his interest wou'd infallibly restrain him from abusing his authority . the preceding reign furnishes him with instructing examples , and his virtue is confirm'd by the faults of his predecessor . he was advanc'd in opposition to arbitrary power , and can never consent to the abolishing of those laws on which his authority is founded : nor can he endeavor to render himself absolute in one place , without ruining his interest in another ; for he is equally oblig'd to maintain the laws of england , that he may preserve his authority in holland ; and to preserve the liberty of the dutch , that he may maintain his power among us . never was the interest and happiness of a prince so inseparably united to that of his people ; and never had subjects less reason to be jealous of the authority of their soveraign . this is unquestion'd matter of fact , a truth that can neither be deny'd nor conceal'd ; nor can the conspirators themselves be suppos'd to be ignorant of it . and therefore , since they cannot discover , or so much as pretend to discover any faults in his majesty , to excuse their malice against him , they endeavor'd , under the shelter of his virtues , to carry on their execrable designs . the honesty and integrity of his temper makes him incapable of jealousy or distrust , and even seems to invite his enemies to conspire against him . besides , he has so great a regard to the laws , that he will not suffer 'em to be violated under any pretext whatsoever ; not even for the security of his person and government . and 't is this which encourag'd the conspirators to proceed with less caution and fear , as the reader will easily perceive by the continuation of the history of their proceedings . lunt was very active in performing his commission , and had made a considerable progress about the time when the french were expected in england . he had been at london , where he bought arms , carabins , swords , pistols , &c. which he sent to lancashire . he had also listed soldiers whom he sent to the same county ; and had receiv'd money for their subsistance from the lord molineux and others . and by his diligence and success he had insinuated himself so far into the favor and esteem of the party , that he was sent back to france , about a year after the action at la hogue . but , before i proceed to give an account of his voyage and return , it will not be improper to acquaint the reader with the state and disposition of the court of st. germains , about the time of his arrival there . 't is observable that the policy of the late king's council has always consisted in altering their measures according to the circumstances of their affairs . that this has been their constant practice , is plain from their conduct at the beginning of the revolution . for upon the news of the preparations in holland , he began to remove those instances of his arbitrary power that had render'd him odious to his people ; but as soon as he receiv'd advice of the pretended shipwrack of the dutch fleet , he repented his former design , and sent counter-orders to oxford . again , when he left the kingdom , he endeavour'd to amuse us with new promises , which were industriously dispers'd among the people , both in england and scotland : particularly , to oblige the scotch to support his falling interest , he assur'd 'em , that they and their posterity shou'd see the effect of the promises which he had so often made 'em , to maintain their religion , liberty and privileges . but no sooner was he at the head of his party in ireland , and in a condition to pursue his old maxims , than he seem'd to have lost the very remembrance of his promises , and began immediately to persecute the protestants . the defeat of his army made him afterwards change his note , and resume a language of sweetness and moderation : but after the preparations at la hogue had reviv'd his sinking hopes , he ventur'd once more to put off the mask , and talk'd of nothing but conquest and revenge . at last their were two parties form'd in his court ; and while one of 'em wou'd have engag'd him to oblige himself to preserve the antient laws of england , the other were still suggesting to him that 't wou'd be too mean a condescensien to enter into a treaty with his subjects . the two cabals were headed by middleton and melford , who enjoy'd their master's favor by turns , and were successively entrusted with the management of affairs , according to the variety of his circumstances . when he fancy'd himself in a condition to subdue the nation by force , melford was his favorite ; but when the posture of his affairs oblig'd him to have recourse to flattery and complaisance , middleton was the principal director of his counsels . the factions were directly opposite , and were distinguish'd both by their names and sentiments ; for the middletonians were usually known by the name of compounders , and the melfordians had the title of no compounders . melford had still a share in the management of affairs ; but his interest was sinking proportionably with the hope of conquering england , when , to recover his credit , he contriv'd the project of assassinating his majesty . he had already engag'd bromfield and griffin , who had their correspondents in england . and upon lunt's arrival , he propos'd the design to him , engag'd him in it , and sent him to dover to concert the means of executing it with captain noel , captain walter , captain roberts , pepper , and preston . they had promis'd to assassinate his majesty , and even sign'd an obligation to that effect : but after they had consulted with lunt about the means of executing it , they were seiz'd with horror and remorse , and resolv'd to atone for their crime by discovering it to the council . and that their information might neither be slighted nor suspected , they made use of one taff , who not long before had done a considerable service to the government , and consequently was neither unknown nor unwelcome at court. by this man lunt was introduc'd , and had an opportunity to make his discovery . some time after the council sent 'em both to lancashire with captain baker to seize and convict the conspirators in that county . the search and prosecution continu'd several months with various success . the accus'd persons , whose names 't is thought fit to conceal , absconded as soon as they were inform'd of the discovery , and the design that was on foot to bring 'em to justice . in the mean time their houses were search'd , and in them were found saddles , swords , carabines , great quantities of powder and bullets , standards , a commission from king james , &c. at the trial at manchester , octob. 17. 1694. the witnesses depos'd , that the persons whom they accus'd had receiv'd commissions from the late king to levy troops ; that they had listed soldiers , and form'd 'em into bodies , with a design to assist the french after their landing ; that the papists in lancashire contributed for the subsistence of these troops ; that they were furnish'd with officers , arms , and all sorts of ammunition for war , &c. but an unexpected accident put a stop to the further discovery of the conspiracy , and sav'd the traitors from the just punishment of their crimes . they had money to offer , and consequently cou'd neither want friends nor protection . the first whom they gain'd was taff : he had been well rewarded for his late service , and expected a new recompence for this discovery , tho he had contributed nothing towards it , but the assistance and testimony which he gave to the discover . the disappointment of his hopes made him listen to the advantageous offers of the faction , and resolve to save his new masters at the expence of his own reputation ; for he was not asham'd to declare that the lancashire plot was a fiction concerted betwixt lunt and himself , to ruine some gentlemen in that county . this declaration was follow'd by objections that were made against the witnesses . they were accus'd of corruption and misdemeanors ; some of the judges were preingag'd and possess'd with groundless prejudices against 'em , and care was taken to disguise the whole affair to the council . the witnesses were represented in the blackest colors that artful malice cou'd invent , and committed to newgate upon suspicion of having conspir'd against the lives and honor of the lancashire gentlemen . the affair was afterwards brought before both houses of parliament , who heard the witnesses , and others who gave in new informations . some of 'em discover'd the secret treaty betwixt taff and the conspirators ; and all of 'em justify'd i unt and his accusation . and after a full hearing and examination , that lasted about six weeks or two months , 't was declar'd by both houses , that there had been a horrible conspiracy against their majesties life and government , &c. this vote was an illustrious testimony that the witnesses were not only innocent , but merited the thanks of the nation ; yet the prejudice of those who ought to have protected 'em , and the interest of the faction they had offended , were so great , that the resolutions of a whole parliament cou'd neither put a stop to their prosecution , nor procure 'em a fair trial. they were indicted at the lancashire assizes , and , by the prevailing force of the secret springs that were employ'd against 'em , were found guilty of perjury . thus , by an unhappy and preposterous turn , the criminals were become witnesses ; and the horrible conspiracy against their majesties was reduc'd to a conspiracy against traitors . but their artifices were at last defeated , and truth prevail'd over the power and treachery of its enemies . the discoverers asserted their innocency by the testimony of forty new witnesses : the lancashire gentlemen cou'd not prove their allegations , and those who were guilty of no other crime than endeavoring to serve the government , were sent away with assurances of a sutable recompence . in the mean time tho the conspirators cou'd not succeed in their main design of discrediting the witnesses ; they had spread such a mist upon the whole affair that they hop'd they might easily conceal their intrigues for the future from the less penetrating part of mankind . the discoveries that had been made were imperfect and controverted , and serv'd only to give us a new instance of the difference betwixt the king and his enemies . he was so far from imitating either the arbitrary violence , or ungenerous politics of some princes in europe , that he openly protected those who had conspir'd against his life , so long as there was the least appearance of reason to doubt of their guilt . so dear is the life or honor of a subject to a king , that is ( what every soveraign ought to be ) the father of his country . on the other hand , the conspirators endeavor'd to prevent a new alarm , by the death of those whom they suspected . for , not to repeat what has been said concerning kelly , dodsworth was kill'd by two jacobite brothers after he had discover'd what he knew of the conspiracy : and redman was murder'd two days after he had communicated his design to one who betray'd him . while the jacobites in lancashire were pursuing their beloved project , of destroying the nation , with so much heat and diligence ; their friends in london were continually forming new designs against his majesty's life . when parker came to england , to execute the orders he had receiv'd from his master , he entertain'd an intimate correspondence with porter and goodman , two of the most zealous instruments and promoters of the treasonable designs of the party . the first was born a gentleman , and a protestant ; but had spent his estate , and renounc'd his religion . the other was a comedian by profession , and had been formerly try'd for endeavouring to poyson the dukes of northumberland and st. albans ; but either his interest , innocency , or subtilty had sav'd him from the punishment that is due to such a crime . parker gave 'em the two first companies in his regiment , with a large share in his confidence , and in the secrets of the faction ; but wou'd never acquaint 'em with some of the most mysterious circumstances of the design . he order'd 'em to take a house in , or near london , with large stables , fit to lodge and accommodate fifty or sixty horses ; that they might be in a condition to receive the troops of horse , that , from time to time , were to pass thro' london , in their march to the place of rendezvous . this is the account he thought fit to give them ; but if we consider what happen'd both before and afterwards , 't will perhaps appear to be more than a bare conjecture , that , since the design to assassinate his majesty was then on foot , these measures were taken to facilitate the execution of it . his imprisonment diverted his thoughts to other objects , and found new employment for his friends ; among whom , charnock and harrison , deserve a particular remembrance . the first , who went also by the name of robinson , was born and educated a protestant , but chang'd his religion , to merit the late king's favour ; which was the sure reward of those that were willing to deliver up their conscience , as a pledge of their loyalty . he and another , were the only persons who comply'd with king james's order to magdalen colledge ; and his complaisance , on that occasion , procur'd him the dignity of vice-president . but when honest men began to recover what they had lost ; 't was fit that persons of another character shou'd loose what they had gotten : the laws that were re-establish'd by the revolution , render'd him incapable of enjoying his place , and by depriving him of his new preferment , made him an enemy to the government , both by interest , and resentment . he had an equal aversion to the laws , to the people , and to their deliverer ; for after he had incurr'd the hatred of his countrey-men , he thought he cou'd neither recover his reputation , nor fortune , but by destroying their liberty . harrison , alias johnson , was a priest , who , for a considerable time , had been entrusted with the management of king james's affairs . he was a violent melfordian ; ●an active and zealous agent of the party , and so far from being troubl'd with the scruples , and checks of a tender conscience ; that he never look'd upon any thing as difficult or criminal , that might serve to promote the interest of the faction . he had entertain'd a long correspondence with melfort ; who lost his credit at the court of st. germains , upon the miscarriage of the intended invasion ; for , as we observ'd before , 't was the constant practice of the late king's council , in such iunctures , to advance middleton , in complaisance to the protestant jacobites . after melford's disgrace ; harrison chose caryl , the late queen's secretary , for his correspondent . he was the instrument of delivering colonel parker out of the tower ; which was an important service to the party . he agreed with those , who suffer'd him to make his escape , for five hundred pounds ; three hundred of which were paid , and the rest promis'd . charnock and harrison , were look'd upon by the court at st. germains , as persons in whom they might place an entire confidence . the project of assassinating the king was , doubtless , communicated to 'em by parker ; who is thought to be the first contriver of it . those who are engag'd in such barbarous designs , endeavor to find a sort of justification , or excuse , in the atrocity of their guilt . every new crime stretches their conscience , to make room for a sin of a larger size , and emboldens 'em both to contrive and commit the most horrible villanies . nor is it probable , that he conceal'd the design from porter and goodman , with whom , both before , and after his imprisonment , he entertain'd an intimate correspondence . however , 't is certain , that these four men , were either the first contrivers of the project , or at least consulted about the most proper ways , to put it in execution , after it was communicated to ' em . at first , they only mention'd , the seizing of the king , and the carrying of him to france ; either because they had no other intention at that time ; or because they fancy'd that even the faintest sense of honor and vertue , might make the conspirators , reject the startling proposal of an assassination . 't is plain from their proceedings afterwards , that their seeming moderation , on this occasion , was not the effect of any inclination they had to spare his majesty's life . that barbarous design was propos'd , under several , and very different notions , according to the characters of those to whom it was communicated : they usually contented themselves , with mentioning the carrying away of the king , when they imparted the project , to those in whom they found some unextinguish'd sparks of honor ; but they scrupl'd not to own the assassination in the broadest terms to those who , they perceiv'd , were transported by a brutish and ungovern'd fury . yet even those who had made the greatest progress in putting off all humanity cou'd not forbear discovering the inward horror that rack'd their guilty consciences . their minds were so agitated by a sense of the enormity of their crime , that they cou'd not fix upon the way of executing it . sometimes they concluded that the quickest way to bring in king james , and restore him to his crown was , by knocking king william on the head : sometimes they resolv'd to hurry the king away to rumney-marsh , and from thence to carry him over to france ; and in some of their consults 't was determin'd to carry him-alive into france if they cou'd , if they cou'd not take him alive then to assassinate him , and pretend it was done by a random shot . brice blair was one of the first to whom they communicated the design . he was a scotch-man by birth , and educated a presbyterian , but afterwards turn'd papist . all the time he had spent in the service cou'd not procure him a higher post than that of a lieutenant ▪ and therefore he resolv'd to take a nearer ( tho a more indirect ) way to preferment . yet neither his religion nor ambition cou'd make him so much an enemy to honor and virtue , as to be a fit companion for the conspirators . he was never present at those consults where 't was examin'd whether the assassination , or the carrying away of the king was the quickest or surest way to bring in king james and restore him to his crown ; for when charnock propos'd the design to him by the least odious name , he rejected it in such a manner that they durst never mention it to him afterwards . not long after porter and goodman communicated the project to sir george barelay , who was then in england , and just ready to go over to france . they desir'd him to acquaint king james with their design , that , if he appro'd it , he might send 'em a commission with a pardon included in it . it seems barclay did not send 'em the commission they expected : but , some time after , charnock told goodman that there was an order to seize the prince of orange , for so they usually call'd his majesty . upon this advice a consult was held , where charnock produc'd one waugh that was lately come from france , who told 'em that he expected a commission to seize the king. this was look'd upon as a sufficient encouragement to set all their engines at work in order to a vigorous prosecution of the grand design . they held meeting after meeting to concert the methods of executing it : in these consults some of the conspirators acquainted the rest with the intelligence they had at deal , where they resolv'd to secure a vessel . to this effect they sent for a man who offer'd to furnish 'em with one , but dismist him because they cou'd not agree about the price . then they resum'd their debates about the commission ; but since they had none to produce , they broke up without coming to a conclusion . some days after , charnock , porter and waugh met at brentford , where they consulted about the ways of executing the attempt . they view'd the ground , consider'd the houses ▪ where they shou'd place their men , and waited till his majesty shou'd return from richmond , that they might observe the guards who accompany'd him , and his usual way of travelling . they continu'd their meetings during the months of january , february and march 1694 / 5 ; and in one of their consults at the mitre-tavern in st. james's market , the design was communicated to lariie , whom they look'd upon as a person entirely devoted to the faction , because he had suffer'd a long and tedious imprisonment upon suspicion of holding intelligence with the enemies of the government . he embrac'd the proposal , and perhaps was really willing to be engag'd in it ; tho , if we reflect upon the manner and circumstances of his discovery , it may be presum'd that he only seem'd to comply with 'em , that the confidence they plac'd in him might enable him to acquaint the government with the dark intrigues of its treacherous enemies . the conspirators were all the while kept in expectation of a commission , which was retarded by several accidents . waugh had told king james that the earl of arran and the lord forbes were willing to be concern'd in the design to carry away the king ; but when he attempted to discourse with 'em on that subject , after his return from france , they both refus'd to have any thing to do with him . 't was reported among the conspirators , that the news of this disappointment stop'd the sending of the commission , which was already sign'd , and expected by every post . and besides , there was one crosby who went to france , and talk'd so freely and particularly of the design'd attempt , that 't was plain he was better acquainted with the secrets of the faction , than they either imagin'd or desir'd . parker wrote , upon this occasion , to porter and goodman , who assur'd him that they had never communicated the design to crosby : however it seems the court of st. germains were so alarm'd by this and other accidents , that they resolv'd to be more cautious and reserv'd for the future . in the mean time the conspirators were so afraid of loosing the present opportunity , that they resolv'd to pursue the design , without expecting a commission . to this end they provided men , arms and horses ; but wanted a vessel to transport the king to france , if it shou'd be resolv'd to carry him away , or to facilitate their own escape , if they shou'd agree upon the assassination , and therefore , to supply that defect , charnock was sent to deal , with recommendations to a captain of horse , who was acquainted with the design ; and la rue was appointed to accompanie him . but their measures were entirely broken by the unexpected haste of the kings departure for the netherl●nds . when they saw they had lost the opportunity of executing their design upon his majesties person ; they resum'd the project of the invasion . they entertain'd private emissaries in all the parts of the kingdom , who made it their business to studie the inclinations , and pry into the affairs of the people ; that they might afterwards attack 'em on the weak side , and strengthen the faction by the addition of a promiscuous multitude of all sorts of persons . by this means they engag'd a confus'd medley of disaffected persons : and besides , they depended upon the assistance of all the bigotted papists , and a considerable number of pretended protestants ; all the creatures of the late reign , those who had lost either their employments or expectations by the revolution , all the promoters of arbitrary power , several officers of the army that was dispers'd at salisbury , and some souldiers , who preferr'd a seditious idleness , and the ignoble dangers of plotting , before the honourable occasions of acquiring glory in the field . the whole design was carried on by a set of men , who had either lost , or never had , a sense of honour and vertue ; who look'd upon the laws and religion , as vain and empty names , and acted as if their private interest , and the recompences they expected had been a sufficient security for the public safety : men who had neither reputation to loose , nor estates to live upon ; who were equally indigent and idle , and were neither able to endure the usual hardships of poverty , nor willing to prevent 'em by an honest industry : turbulent and restless spirits , who delight in tumults and confusion , and repine at the quiet of their neighbors ; and , as a worthy reinforcement to the cabal , those who were not fit to appear in better company , i mean , such as were suspected of cowardice . for as no man has contributed more than his majesty to bring valor into credit and fashion , 't is his fate to be extremely hated by cowards , as he is generally respected , and in a manner ador'd by the brave . those who have the courage to aspire to glory , admire an example which they can never imitate ; and never was any prince so pelov'd by his own army , or so esteem'd by that of his enemies . there were two sorts of persons in whom the conspirators plac'd a particular confidence ; the new converts and the libertines whom they had drawn into the party ; those who had either no religion , or had embrac'd that of the faction . for they concluded that such persons as these wou'd always be ready to engage in a design , that tended to the destruction of all honest and good men. 't was one of their principal stratagems to cry down religion in general ; because they were sensible that the love of our religion kept us inseparably united to a prince that had preserv'd it . and at the same time they left no means unattempted to weaken and divide our church : for on the one hand , they endeavor'd to introduce a remissness and indifferency in matters of religion ; and on the other , they made it their business to foment our differences about certain new opinions , exasperating the zeal of our orthodox divines by artifices that need not be mention'd in this place . they endeavor'd to insinuate themselves into the confidence of those who seem'd to be dissatisfy'd with the court ; and oftentimes made use of 'em as tools for the carrying on of a design of which they were wholly ignorant . they admitted all that were willing to be engag'd , but were more than ordinarily careful to draw in those who might be useful to the faction ; flattering the interest of some , and the ambition of others , and enticing both with small presents and large promises . they endeavor'd to corrupt the officers of the fleet , army and militia ; and tamper'd with the clerks and secretaries of those who either were , or had been employ'd in eminent posts under the government , that by their means they might get intelligence of such things as they were desirous to know . thus they obtain'd an account of the naval forces of one , and a list of the army of another . ' twou'd be an endless labor to relate all their contrivances and machinations ; and therefore i shall content my self with taking notice of their general maxims . they were sensible that the english are generally possess'd with a natural antipathy against the french ; that we had been for a long time under perpetual apprehensions of the growing power of those incroaching neighbors , and that our jealousy and aversion were extremely heighten'd since the beginning of the war. and therefore to divert our hatred and suspicion to another object , they endeavor'd to possess us with an ill-grounded jealousy of the dutch. to this end , they were still putting us in mind of the dangers to which we expos'd our selves , by depending upon the friendship of a nation , that was wholly compos'd of presbyterians and republicans ; without considering that their being so makes it their interest that we shou'd never imitate their example ; since their provinces wou'd be quickly abandon'd , if their people cou'd find in this kingdom the religion , discipline and government to which they are inclin'd by birth and education . for 't is very natural to suppose , that if these impediments were remov'd , 〈◊〉 inhabitants of such a country as holland , wou'd embrace with joy the inviting opportunity of living in a fertile and pleasant land , where they might securely enjoy all the comforts and conveniencies of life , with infinitely less trouble and pains , and without the disadvantage of paying taxes in time of peace ; and to which they might easily transport both their trade and estates . another of their detestable contrivances was to make us forget , or , at least , to lessen our esteem for our deliverer . 't was for this reason they usually call'd him the dutch prince , and sometimes had the impudence to speak of him in base and scurrilous terms ; as when , at one of their traiterous meetings , they squeez'd an orange , and drank a health to the destruction of the squeez'd and rotten orange . 't was thus they were not asnam'd to treat a prince who sav'd europe by his courage and resolution , who inspires his armies with valor by his own inimitable example , and has made his subjects masters of the sea , and arbiters of the christian world. a prince to whom we owe all the hopes we can reasonably entertain , of an honorable and advantageous peace ; and who has rais'd the glory of the nation to its ancient reputation and splendor . sometimes they affected a seeming zeal for the public good , that they might have an opportunity to exclaim against the necessary charge of the war. those who were best acquainted with the interest of the nation , and most concern'd to promote it , had often demonstrated , what common sense suggests to every considering person , that the expending of our money , on this occasion , is the best instance we can give of our frugality ; that 't is both our duty and interest to give away part , that the whole may be preserv'd ; that his majesty's predecessors might , easily , and with little charge , have stopp'd the progress of their ambitious neighbor ; that 't is their fault we are now oblig'd to pay so dear for our preservation ; that if the french were masters of the netherlands , the present taxes wou'd not be sufficient for our necessary defence ; that if holland were also added to their conquests , the unavoidable charge of the war wou'd be still greater ; and that , at last , when we shou'd have no allies to support us , we must infallibly become a prey to the insolent cruelty of our enemies , and for ever groan under the insupportable yoke of popery and slavery . such reflections as these were made by several wise and judicious persons , and inculcated with all the force of reason and eloquence ; but 't was in vain to hope that reason wou'd have any influence upon those who were resolv'd to stop their ears against it , and made it their business to hinder others from hearing it . the conspirators , with their usual impudence , continu'd still to insist upon an objection that had been so often and so unanswerably confuted ; amusing the people with perpetual murmurings and complaints , and imagining that the groundless apprehensions , which they endeavor'd to raise in the minds of the unwary croud , wou'd , by degrees , make 'em lose the remembrance of the real and terrible dangers that threaten'd 'em in the preceding reign . but the subtlest and most dangerous of all their artifices , was that by which they cunningly impos'd upon the heedless credulity of some persons ; who neither approv'd their principles nor practices . for 't is certain that the party of those who really long for the establishment of arbitrary power and the destruction of the protestant religion , is in it self very small and inconsiderable , and wou'd be eternally the weakest , if it were not augmented and supported by an unthinking multitude who suffer themselves to be led they know not whither . this may be properly call'd , the listing of tools for the service of the faction . at first , to cajole the church-party , they employ'd the interest they had at court , in some of the preceding reigns , to raise a persecution against the dissenters ; but their seeming zeal for the preservation of the church that is establish'd by law was so little to be depended on , that , even then , they had titular prelates , who were actually engag'd in a conspiracy against the nation , and only waited for a favorable opportunity , to dispossess the protestant bishops ▪ in the late reign they seem'd to alter their measures , and began to court the non-conformists , that all the sects in the kingdom might think themselves oblig'd , both by gratitude and interest , to support a government that protected ' em . by this unexpected appearance of tenderness they insinuated themselves into the good opinion of a considerable number of the dissenters , who desir'd no more than a toleration to worship god after their own fashion : but while these deluded people were expressing their thankfulness to the court in fulsom and extravagant addresses ; those very persons who appear'd to be the most zealous promoters of a liberty of conscience here , employ'd all their interest to enflame the persecution in france , and were perpetually soliciting that monarch to compleat the ruine of his protestant subjects . since the revolution , it has been the constant endeavor of the faction to engage those who are always uneasie in time of war , by reason of the charge and inconveniencies that attend it : but in this , as in all other projects and contrivances , they were so far from making good their pretensions to a hearty zeal for the good of their country , that they made two desperate attempts to deliver it up to the revenge of an incens'd enemy . at present they take advantage of the dangerous folly of those who are still wishing for a peace , without considering either the terms or consequences of it . they believe , or at least wou'd make us believe , that every man is a declar'd enemy to a peace , who desires that it may be solid and advantageous . they wou'd fain perswade us that 't is the king who opposes it ; tho they are sensible we cannot be ignorant , that 't is his principal care , as well as his interest and glory , to procure the quiet and happiness of europe . the main drift of these pernicious insinuations is either to render his majesty odious to those who are unacquainted with their devices ; or , by a treacherous and ill-secur'd peace , to make way for a fatal and bloody war , against those very persons whom they now amuse with a pretended zeal for the interest of their country . for such wou'd be the dismal and inevitable consequences of their false politics , if the king and parliament wou'd renounce their wonted prudence in complaisance eicher to fools or knaves . it must be acknowledg'd that we cannot , without injustice , pronounce an equally severe sentence upon all who promote the designs of the faction . for 't is certain there are a considerable number of deluded and unthinking persons , who suffer themselves to be led by those who are superior to 'em both in wit and malice . but tho the simplicity of such undesigning tools may in some measure extenuate their guilt ; their obstinacy makes 'em as dangerous as the fiercest and most desperate traitors . for when one does what he can to destroy the laws , religion , and liberty of his country , the honesty of his intention can never atone for the fatal consequences of his error . this reflexion wou'd perhaps carry me beyond the limits of my intended moderation , if i were not resolv'd to give the most favorable treatment that can be allow'd to to those for whom his majesty retains a paternal affection , notwithstanding their repeated provocations . in imitation of so generous an example , all possible care shall be taken , to spare the names of those , whose crimes have not already render'd 'em incapable of such a favor . among these notorious criminals , we may justly reckon sir william parkins , sir john friend and sir john fenwick . the first was bred a lawyer , and never had so much as the name of a soldier , till he was made an officer by king james . he was treated by the court at st. germains , with a more than ordinary civility : they told him that they expected great things from him ; and ' ●is probable he expected great rewards from them . at first he had only a troop in parker's regiment ; but since they knew he had an estate , they quickly put him in a way to spend it , by sending him a commission to levy a regiment of horse . sir john friend was a citizen and brewer of london , oblig'd to the late king for an advantageous place in the excise . however , tho he was dissatisfy'd with the revolution , and refus'd to comply with the present government , he seem'd at first unwilling to engage in any plot or conspiracy against it . the little sense he had was sufficient to convince him , that 't was not his business to reform the works of providence , and much less to declare himself an enemy to his religion and country . but neither his judgment nor conscience was able to resist his vanity , which was strong enough to make him sacrifice both , for an empty complement . they show'd him a letter from melfort , by which it appeard that king james plac'd a great deal of confidence in him ; and the poor man was even ravish'd with joy at his old master's kindness . he wrote a letter to king james , and receiv'd so obliging an answer , that , to express his gratitude , he resolv'd to spend a good part of his estate in his service . in pursuance of this resolution , he advanc'd considerable sums of money , upon several occasions , which were pay'd in parchment , a sort of coin that pass'd currantly among persons of sir john friend's character , tho its intrinsic value was scarce equal to that of the irish brass-money . sir john receiv'd a commission to be colonel of horse , and brice blair , whom the party employ'd to draw him in , was made his lieutenant-colonel . the first had an estate , and the second was a soldier ; sir john was to be at the charge of raising the men , and blair was to instruct him in the duties of his new occupation . besides , fer●uson was one of sir john's particular friends , by whose agency he endeavor'd to draw in the presbyterians : and he was so confident of the success of that negotiation , that he prom●s'd to bring a considerable number of 'em to meet the late king at his landing . he entertain'd also an intimate correspondence with harrison , and the popish rebels in some counties , with whom he was ready to joyn in the intended massacre of the protestants ; tho , after all , if we may take his own word for 't , he had the good fortune to dye a martyr for the church and religion of england . sir j hn fenwick is a man of quality , and had a considerable estate . he was a colonel in the english troops , that were formerly sent to the assistance of the dutch ; and 't is said that he was cither dism●st from the service , or quitted it upon some disgu●● . his disgrace in holland serv'd to recommend him to the english court , and procur'd him the place of a licutona●t in the late king's gu●rds . since the revolution , he his sp●r'd neither pains nor cost to promote that prince's interest ; and as a ma●k of his zeal and fidelity ▪ undertook to levy a regiment of horse f r his service . yet tho the very name he bears is odious to protestants , tho his relations are papists , and his brother a priest , and tho he was always distinguish'd by the peculiar confidence which the faction plac'd in him ; among all the informations i have yet had occasion to see , there are none that charge him with having any hand in the conspiracy against his maj●sty's person : but either his confession or trial will soon unriddle the mystery , and clear all our doubts concerning him . these three men were each of 'em to levy a regiment of horse , and one tempest of durham had a commission to raise one of dragoons . besides , they depended on parker's regiment ; for tho the colonel was in france , there were commissions actually distributed to raise the troops . these were the five regiments of horse and dragoons , which the conspirators boasted they had in england . they expected also a body of horse from lancashire , where a considerable number ▪ of papists were still in a readiness to march to the rendezvous . sir john friend entertain'd a correspondence with 'em , and pay'd 'em subsistence-money , either upon his own account , or by order ▪ and 't was by the assistance of these imaginary forces , that the conspirators fancy'd themselves in a condition to undertake the conquest of great britain . some of ▪ em wou'd have perswaded the faction to try their fortune with their own forces , without waiting for the assistance they expected from france . they had taken so many ways to prepare the dispositions of the people , that they concluded 'em to be generally ripe for an insurrection . besides , the king was in flinders with his army ; and the conspirators were not much afraid of the small number of standing forces that were left for the defence of the kingdom . and as ten seditious and disaffected persons make a greater bustle than ten thousand men who live in quiet ; so the jacobites , who are scarce a handful to the honest party in the kingdom , make as much noise as all the rest of the nation . the impunity of their crimes lessen'd their remorse for 'em , and the clemency of the government encourag'd 'em to conspire against it ; but since 't wou'd have been a difficult task to bubble a whole nation , or to make 'em actors in their own destruction , the design of conquering england by an english army was rejected as impracticable ; and the conspirators found themselves oblig'd to depend upon the assistance of the french. 't was about the end of may , or the beginning of july , 1695. that some of the most considerable persons of the faction met to deliberate about the present posture of their affairs . the earl of aylesbury , the lord montgomery , son to the marquess of powis , sir john friend , sir william parkins , charnock , porter , goodman , cook , &c. were present at a consult which was held at the old king 's head tavern in leaden ▪ hall-street ; where they agreed to send charnock with a message to king james , entreating him to procure eight thousand foot , a thousand horse , and a thousand dragoons from the french king. charnock accepted the commission , but desir'd to know what number of forces he might offer in their names ; upon which they promis'd to meet king james at the head of two thousand horse , as soon as they shou'd receive the news of his landing . this was but a small force for so great an undertaking ; tho it will appear to be much above the strength of the faction , if we consider the ways they took to levy and subsist their secret militia . they tamper'd , indifferently , with all indigent and scandalous persons , especially the officers and soldiers who had contributed , in ireland , to the oppression of the protestants , or , in england , to the subversion of the laws . they gave money to the poorer sort for their present subsistence , but kept 'em still in a necessitous condition , that they might be oblig'd to depend upon the party . they endeavor'd to engage the officers , by flattering 'em with hopes of preferment ; making the ensigns captains , and promising regiments to those who were captains before . for 't is neither reason nor justice , but licentiousness and disorder , that advance the designs of a faction . of their troopers , some had money to buy horses , but there were few of this number ; some reckon'd to borrow 'em upon occasion , and others resolv'd to take 'em where they cou'd find ' em . sir john fenwick was the author of the last of these projects ; for , instead of rendering themselves suspected by providing a great number of horses , he advis'd 'em , when the design shou'd be ripe for execution , to seize on all the horses they cou'd find , in , or about london . and this advice was so well lik'd by the conspirators , that some of 'em took care to take a list of the horses . nor was this meerly the effect of sir john fenwick's prudence ; for he had already been so liberal a benefactor to the faction , that he found himself oblig'd to moderate his expences for the future . his creditors , to whom he had resign'd his estate , allow'd him an annuity , which was sufficient for his subsistence , but not for carrying on his designs . sir john friend was almost in the same condition ; for he had advanc'd such considerable summs for the subsistence of his men , that he was afraid , if the design of the invasion shou'd miscarry , he shou'd not have enough left to carry on his trade . sir william parkins had also put himself to a considerable charge , tho he had bought but thirty horses , which was a meer trifle in comparison to the number he wanted . and besides , the arms he had provided wou'd not have furnish'd the twentieth part of his regiment : however they were more than he durst own , and therefore he was forc'd to hide 'em in the country . to conclude , they cou'd not but foresee that those whom they had drawn in by supplying their present necessities , wou'd not be so ready to encounter the apparent dangers of the attempt , as they were to offer their service . 't is plain from these remarks that 't wou'd have been a hard task for the conspirators to make good their promise , to meet the late king at the head of two thousand horse . besides , the charge of carrying on the design was too heavy for those that were engag'd in it ; their money was spent in useless preparations , and a longer delay wou'd have been as dangerous as a rash and preposterous haste . charnock was a man of too much sense , and to well acquainted with the strength of the faction , to rely upon the promises they had made him : and therefore he desir'd another meeting , which was held at a tavern near sir john fenwick's lodgings , and consisted of the same persons that were present at the former , except the lord montgomery . there charnock desir'd to know whether they were resolv'd to make good their proposals , and upon the new assurances they gave him , he undertook the commission , and some days after , embark'd for france . but the late king's council did not think fit to answer their expectations : for the design was not yet ripe for execution , nor their affairs , either in england or france , in such a posture as they desir'd . they had sounded the inclinations of the parliament , people and army ; and by several vain attempts had endeavor'd to debauch their fidelity . 't was their interest and desire that either the whole army , or a considerable part of it , shou'd be disbanded by the parliament , that there might not be a sufficient number of standing forces left , to oppose the conspirators . to this end , their emissaries were instructed to exaggerate the unavoidable inconveniencies of the war , and to perswade the people , and especially their representatives , that 't wou'd be necessary to encrease our naval force , for the security of our trade , and at the same time to lessen an army that was useful to foreigners , but only chargeable to our selves . how is the nation cheated , was their usual cant , and what occasion is there for so vast an expence , as if so brave a fleet were not sufficient to defend us ? how are we degenerated from the valor of our ancestors , how basely do we injure their glorious memory , by dreading an enemy whom they have so often defeated , and how poorly it sounds in the mouth of an english-man to talk of an invasion from france ? by these and such like cunning insinuations they wou'd have perswaded us that we were oblig'd in honor to give our enemies all the advantages they cou'd desire ; and that 't was a mark of cowardice to put our selves in a posture of defence . but these artifices did not take effect , tho there were even some well-meaning persons who had learn'd the language , and promoted the designs of those who at the same time were plotting their ruine . they had endeavor'd to stir up the people to rebellion , or at least to try what might be expected from 'em if an insurrection shou'd be begun . in pursuance of this design , some facobites , taking advantage of the mildness of the laws , and the indulgency of the government , met at a noted tavern , where under pretext of a drunken frolic , which they hop'd wou'd be either slighted or excus'd , they assum'd the boldness to stop those who happen'd to pass that way , and to make 'em drink a health to king james and the pretended prince of wales . but at last the people were so incens'd , and broke into the house with so much fury , that the impudent rioteers , fearing to be torn in pieces by the rabble , were glad , for their own security , to be seiz'd and carry'd to newgate . they had also form'd a project to surprize the tower , to favor the intended insurrection ; but all the friends they had in it were not able to make 'em masters of that important place , nor cou'd they hope to keep it , if they shou'd have succeeded in the attempt . they had , in the last place , endeavor'd to corrupt the forces that were left in the kingdom , but had no great reason to boast of their success : for , except some troopers in the earl of oxford's regiment , and here and there an officer or a soldier in the militia , there were none who wou'd be engag'd in so black an enterprize . nor was the posture of their affairs in france more encouraging than in england . for lewis xiv . stood in need of all his forces to oppose the confederates whom he cou'd not hinder from making considerable conquests . we were masters of the sea , and were either preparing , or had actually begun , to bombard his sea-port towns. his fleet was coop'd up in the mediterranean and durst not venture to repass the streights : so that how welcome soever the proposals might be to the courts of versailles and st. germains , they cou'd not in such a juncture spare so many men as their friends in england desir'd . and therefore charnock was sent back with a compliment to the jacobites , and a promise of assistance upon the first convenient occasion . the last winter was the time they pitch'd upon to make good their promise . thirty batalions were order'd to march towards calais , and the late king left st germains to put himself at the head of ' em . three or four hundred transport ships were prepar'd with all possible secrecy and diligence to bring over their land-forces , under the convoy of a squadron of men of war , some of the men were already embark'd , and the rest were embarking , in order to make a descent upon this kingdom , before providence thought fit to discover the mysterious design of this expedition . any considering person that was not acquainted with the mystery of iniquity , wou'd have concluded the invasion of england to be as impracticable then , as it was the summer before . the french fleet was still at thoulon , and notwithstanding the advice we had of their design to re-pass the streights , we had no reason to be afraid of any attempt they cou'd make against us . for , in all humane probability , we seem'd to be equally secure , whether the squadron that was design'd to reinforce our fleet in the streights shou'd pursue their intended voyage or remain in our ports ; since their arrival there wou'd have prevented the return of the thoulon fleet into the ocean , and their staying here wou'd have enabl'd us to encounter with both the fleets of our enemies . and our apprehensions were extremely lessen'd by the daily expectation of our squadron from cadiz , which , we had all the reason in the world to believe , wou'd sail immediately after the french , since they had nothing to do in the mediterranean after their departure . besides , we know that the thoulon fleet cou'd not pass the streights without a favorable wind , and that even the quickest aud most prosperous voyage they cou'd expect , wou'd extremely retard the execution of their designs . our enemies knew before this time , that our squadron wou'd not sail to the mediterranean for that was so far from being kept secret , that 't was openly declar'd . nor cou'd they be ignorant that we had a very considerable number of men of war in our ports , and that the outward bound fleets of merchant ships with those that were daily expected , wou'd furnish us with a more than sufficient number of seamen to man them . before they cou'd execute their design against us , 't was necessary they shou'd embark their troops , pass the sea and make a descent in this kingdom : and after their landing , some time must have been spent in receiving the english rebels , forming a body of horse , entrenching their forces , and furnishing themselves with provisions and ammunition . now , supposing that all these preparations wou'd have requir'd no more than four or five days ; 't is plain from the event , that , even upon so short a warning , we cou'd have put our selves in a posture of defence . for not long after , they found to their cost , that we were able , in as little time , to bring fourscore men of war together ; and consequently wou'd have been equally in a condition to bring over a sufficient number of forces from flanders , and to hinder our enemies from sending a reinforcement to make good their descent . nor cou'd it be suppos'd that any jacobites , who had not entirely lost ●he use of their reason , wou'd ven●re to join an army of foreigners ●at wou'd have been in a manner besieg'd both by sea and land , and cou'd neither avoid nor resist the just fury of an injur'd nation . and besides , we shou'd have quickly rais'd a numerous and formidable army ; for the city of london alone offer'd to furnish the king with twenty thousand men , on that occasion . thus 't is plain that the design of invading england , in such a juncture , was either absolutely impracticable , or at least attended with unavoidable , and almost invincible difficulties , and consequently might have been justly look'd upon as the wild project of a distemper'd brain ; if the conspirators had not depended upon the success of an expedient which they had contriv'd to dissolve the parliament , and put the whole kingdom into a consternation that wou'd have made us incapable of defending our selves . they knew that his majesty was the life and soul of his subjects , that his wisdom secur'd 'em from the devices , as his valor protected 'em from the attempts of their enemies ; and therefore resolv'd upon the compendious way of destroying england in the person of its great defender . but before i proceed to give an account of that hellish enterprize , 't will be highly convenient to take a view of the preceding intrigues and contrivances of the faction . in france , they industriously exaggerated the number and power of the english jacobites . to perswade the people of that unhappy nation to endure , with a servile patience , the tyranny of their insolent oppressors , they gave out that the english were quite exhausted by the multiply'd taxes that were impos'd upon 'em , that they were not able to support the charge of the war any longer , and wou'd be quickly forc'd to submit to the mercy of lewis the great . and the same artifice was made use of , to encourage the french council to protect and assist the late king. it appears that the french king gave credit to those surmises ; for in a letter which he wrote to his ambassador at the court of sweden , he says expresly , that his troops were marching to the coasts , and ready to embark , as soon as the news of an insurrection in that kingdom shou'd confirm the advices he had so often receiv'd , &c. that the nation was generally dissatisfy'd with the prince of orange's government . but he was quickly made sensible of his mistake , and that too in a manner , which was equally glorious to the english nation , and mortifying to its most terrible enemy , for 't is certain , and must be acknowledg'd , even by those who saw it with grief and vexation , that never any subjects discover'd a more tender affection , and a more hearty and vigorous loyalty to their sovereign , than the parliament and people of england did , on this occasion , to his majesty . in the mean time the emissaries of the faction , who are dispers'd thro all europe , were industriously labouring to defame the english nation , and to render us either odious or suspected to the princes our allies , that they might look upon us as unworthy of their assistance , and leave us to the mercy of our enemies . they endeavor'd to put all the world in expectation of beholding new catastrophe's in a kingdom , which they usually stile , the land of revolutions , 〈…〉 th●y pretend that tumults and in●●rre●tions are the familiar recreations of the people to vindicate the honor of our country , and disc●●● the weakness and injustice of these spiteful aspersions , 't will be sufficient to observe , that it has been the constant practice of the faction , to fasten their own crimes upon us ; and to ascribe the disorders and divisions , which they kindle and soment among us , to the genius of the nation , and the humor of the people . nor will the parliament and people of england be accus'd of lightness and inconstancy by any unbya●s'd person that considers how much they have exceeded even their wisest and most wary neighbors , in securing their liberty and preserving an undisturb'd peace and tranquillity in their country , and how firmly they have adher'd to their own true interest , during the whole course of a war , which they maintain with equal glory , prudence and resolution . the roman-catholic princes were upbraided for entering into a confederacy with the enemies of their religion . but they were too wise , and too well acquainted with the designs of those who wou'd have perswaded 'em to sacrifice their interest to their superstition ; to suffer themselves to be impos'd upon by an artifice , which , twice in our memory , had almost prov'd fatal to europe . first , when , under pretext of promoting , or , at least , not opposing , the advancement of the roman-catholic religion , the french king was suffer'd to over-run the united provinces , and to extend his conquests so far that in the judgment of the least apprehensive minds it seem'd hardly possible to hinder him from making himself master of amsterdam , and , with it , of the fleet , army , credit , and money of that potent republic , which wou'd have render'd his power almost as boundless as his ambition . and , a second time , when , after the peace of nimeghen , the french found a way to keep us from looking abroad , by engaging us in unnecessary quarrels about religion at home , and by that means diverted the prudent jealousie of the only nation in europe that was able to curb their ambition ; for , by retaining the possession of pignerol , cazal , hunninghen , strasburg , montroyal , luxemburg , &c. they kept , at once italy , switzerland , germany and the netherlands under a kind of subjection ; and , in the general , all the princes and states of europe were over-aw'd by the severe politics and formidable power of an ambitious monarch , who , like an ill-natur'd neighbor , made every petty trespass or accidental slip , the pretext of a new invasion . if our deliverance had been deferr'd till the popish party had secur'd the plurality of voices in the parliament ▪ and modell'd an army to support their unjust usurpations : if the two kings had had time to execute the grand design of destroying holland , and extirpating the northern heresy ; the house of austria wou'd have been quickly sensible of the fatal consequences of this pretended advancement of the roman-catholic religion . but , to return to the kingdom that was doom'd to feel the first effects of these dismal alterations . the english jacobites , as well as the court of st. germains , were generally divided into melfordians and middletonians ; and while one of the parties declar'd openly for arbitrary power , the other insisted upon the necessity of entering into a kind of treaty with the nation . the former were entrusted with the secrets of the faction , and the command of the troops that were to be employ'd in the destruction of their country . all the colonels were animated with the spirit of melford : parker was engag'd in the most furious designs of the party ; and both parkins and friend are represented as violent melfordians , by a person in whom they plac'd a particular confidence . the lancashire papists both by inclination and interest , were zealous promoters of arbitrary power . porter , goodman , charnock , and the rest of the officers , who were to act either in the assassination or invasion , were influenc'd by the same principles , and ready to obey the most barbarous orders of their commanders . thus each of the opposite cabals apply'd themselves to their respective tasks : for while the middletonians were employ'd to amuse the people with flattering hopes , and assurances of a favorable treatment ; the melfordians , who were the sole masters of the forces and arms of the faction , were putting themselves in a condition to violate the promises of the former ; which made one say , that he was neither so much a fool , nor a villain , as to engage in the party . it seems the faction imagin'd that they cou'd easily betray the nation to the cruel ambition of a foreign and implacable enemy : but notwithstanding their confidence of success , they scrupl'd not to contrive the basest and most treacherous expedients to accomplish their unnatural design . the reader will find an evident confirmation of both these truths in a discourse that past between brice blair and harrison , as 't is related by the former upon oath ; i wen● , says he , to see mr. harrison , a little after sir george barclay came from france , who told me that there might be something done in a little time , which might be an introduction to king james's restoration . i ask'd him after what manner that business cou'd be effected ; and after some pause he told me , that if king james cou'd not come in time enough , that his friends might burn the navy victualling office , wherein the provisions for the mouth lay , which might retard the english fleet from getting to sea for a considerable time . i told him , being amaz'd to hear such words from a priest's month , that it was not practicable , and if it were , there wou'd be few found that wou'd run the risque . he told me that he wou'd have me as forward in the king's service as any man ; and that he was told by a gentleman , and a very good officer , that if he was sure of but a hundred horse , he wou'd end the war in a fortnights time , &c. 't was by proposing such expedients , that the conspirators endeavor'd to distinguish themselves ; since they found by experience that this was the only way to gain the favor and esteem of the party . melford himself was oblig'd to give 'em a new specimen of his barbarous politics , and even to strain the natural fierceness of his temper , to support his sinking credit . for after he had been dismist for some time , as a rash and furious person who was only fit to pursue violent methods , and incapable of that seeming moderation which the present juncture requir'd ; he was immediately restor'd to favor , as soon as the party was convinc'd of the feasibleness of the project he had contriv'd against the liberty of the nation , and the life of its deliverer . thus middleton was kept as a reserve for the day of adversity , while melford was cherish'd as their better genius , who alone had the art of improving an advantage , and making our yoke so heavy that we shou'd never afterwards be able to shake it off . they left no means unattempted to confirm the court of st. germains in these maxims . to this end , an ingenious jesuit was chosen to represent the affairs of england , and especially the late revolution , according to the instructions he had receiv'd from the party . it must be acknowledg'd that the work is adorn'd with all the embellishments of a beautiful stile ; and the management of the subject wou'd have been extremely sutable to the juncture , if the late king had been in as fair a way to remount the throne as they imagin'd . the author endeavors to exasperate that prince's revenge : he imploys all his art to convince him of the justice and usefulness of the melfordian principles , and , to render his arguments more agreeable , and consequently more effectual , his advices are always intermix'd with apologies and panegyrics . he commends king charles ii. for seizing the charter of london , and resolving at last to govern without a parliament ▪ and even has the confidence to tell us , that , for this reason , the four last years of his life were properly the only years of his reign ; and that he became the master of his subjects as soon as they perceiv'd that he was resolv'd to rule without a parliament . he exclaims against the presbyterians , whom he stiles , the natural enemies of the royal preogative , adding , that of all the protestants , they are the most furiously bent to extirpate the catholics ; and praises king charles for the care he took to suppress their meetings . yet not long after he becomes their advocate against the church of england , and brings in king james , telling the clergy , that the persecutions they had rais'd against the dissenters , made divers of his good subjects leave the kingdom . he derides the pretended contract betwixt a soveraign and his people , and reckons it a pernicious chimera ; or , which is the same thing , he puts these words into the mouth of those lords whose sentiments he approves . he speaks of the protestant cabal , and divides it into the episcopal and presbyterian cabals , as if the roman-catholics were the body of the nation . he endeavors to fix a stain upon the immortal memory of those illustrious defenders of the laws and liberty of england , who sacrific ▪ d their fortunes , for the safety of their country , and were neither afraid nor asham ▪ d to mount a scaffold in so glorious a cause . he speaks of a * matchless infidelity ; of perfidions designs , that cou d not be prevented by the most cautious prudence , of the unheard of treachery of so many persons of great quality , who abandon d a pri ce from whom they had receiv'd such signal favors ; of the shameful conspiracy of so many kings against him , and of the moderation with which he began his reign . he tell ▪ him that bad subjects can never be gain d by kindness , and that the event has taught him what measures he ought to have taken to prevent his misfortune . to conclude , he does what he can to inspire him with revenge , and to perswade him that cruelty and oppression are the two principal maxims of state which he ought to pursue for the future . at another time the faction wou d have taken more care to conceal their sentiments ; for we must do em the justice to acknowledge that they want neither wit nor prudence . but they look'd upon the conquest of england as so sure a project , and were so little apprehensive of its miscarriage , that they scrupl d not to discourse publickly of the new revolution . the news of the design were spread over all europe ; and even there were some who pretended to fix the time of its execution . some talk'd at easter , others mention d the beginning of the spring , and some put it off till the fleet from thoulo● shou'd join that which lay at brest . in the mean time their confident menaces were slighted as vain rhodo ▪ montades by all honest men , because they were not acquainted with their execrable design to assassinate his majesty . sir george barclay , a scotchman , lieutenant of king james 's guards , was the person that was chosen to command the assassins . he set out from st. germains in september , to execute his bloody commission , with the assistance of twenty or two and twenty men , who were appointed to obey his orders . some of that infamous troop came over with their leader : some went before , and others follow'd him . harris was one of the last , who in his deposition , april 15th 1696 , affirms upon oath , that he was an ensign of foot under the late king james in scotland , that he had serv d since in the second troop of his guards in france . that about the 14th of january last , new stile , king james sent for this informant , and michael hare his camerade . that king james spoke with them in the late queen 's bedchamber and told this informant , that he had an opportunity of doing something for him , being very sensible he had serv'd him well : that he would send him into england where he should be subsisted , and that he was to follow sir george barclay s orders , and in so doing he would take care of him . that he had order d them money for their journey , which they should receive from mr. caroll ( who is secretary to the late queen ) king james told this informant further , that he should sind sir george barclay every munday and thursday between six and seven at night , in covent garden-square , and that they might know him by a white handkerchief hanging out of his coat-pocket ; and king james pulling a list out of his pocket , told this informant , when he was in england , he must go by the name of jenkyns , and mr. hare by the name of guinney . colonel parker was by all the time when king james spoke to this informant , and by the king's order , colonel parker went with this informant and his camerade to mr. caroll's and mr. caroll told them , that the king had ordered them ten louis d' ors apiece , which would be enough to carry them over , and if they should chance to be wind bound , he had writ to the president tosse at calais , to furnish them with money , &c. the rest of the assassins that were sent over to assist sir george barclay , were either troopers in king james's guards , pensionaries of the court of st. germains , officers who expected preferment , or soldiers taken out of the regiments , to be employ'd in that execrable service . the faction made use of none but such as were persons of trust , and who , they believ'd , would not scruple to engage in the dire attempt . and , that the assassination might be look'd upon as a stratagem of war , those who were to act in it , were for the most part officers and soldiers . this infamous detachment set out from st. germains at several times , and under various pretex's : one gave out , that he was going to continue his studies in one of the colleges in scotland ; and another , that he was weary of the service . secresy was particularly recommended and enjoin d to every one of 'em : and least their absence shou d be taken notice of , and give occasion to various discourses and conjectures , * king ja●es declar'd at his levee , that 't was his pleasure that none should presume to talk of their departure , and that he wou d severely punish those who shou'd give him the least occasion to believe , that they were more curious to enquire into his designs , than zealous in obeying his orders . in the mean time sir george barclay arriv d at london , where he met with charnock , that faithful and zealous agent of the party , and afterwards with porter and goodman , who were easily prevail d with to engage in a design that was formerly propos'd by themselves . afterwards the conspirators engag d major lowick , knightley , bertram , chambers , durance a walloon , cranburn , kendrick , grimes , fisher , larue , sherburn and keys , who was formerly porter's servant , but was now become his confident and companion . and besides these , they reckon d themselves sure of pendergrass who was in the country , and plowden , whom they resolv'd to send for out of hampshire . they were all engag'd in the same design , acted upon the same principles , and were influenc'd by the same motives and expectations ; tho they made use of various pretexts to lessen the scandal of their crime , and to conceal the mercenary ends that engag'd 'em in it . * one of them shew'd the wounds he had receiv'd in the war , accusing his majesty as the cause of 'em ; another complain'd that he had lost his place by the revolution : but all in general , were possest with an immoderate desire to advance their fortunes , without considering either the danger or infamy of the ways they took to satisfy their ambition . there are still some seeds of virtue in the soul of man , some remaining strictures of her primitive lustre that cannot be blotted out with one dash . it requires time to finish a villain , as well as to form a hero ; the one must sink by degrees beneath , as the other must by successive steps ascend above , the common level of humane nature . the conspitators were sensible of this truth , and since they cou d not expect to find instruments ready made that were fit for such a work , they were forc d to undergo the trouble of fashioning their own tools . to this end , they conceal'd ▪ the blackest part of the design from those with whom they began to treat , and contented themselves with a general exhortation to contribute their assistance to restore their abdicated monarch , or , in somewhat plainer terms , to meet him at his expected landing : but after they had , by such insinuations as these , prepar d the dispositions of their proselytes for any violent attempt , they proceeded to disclose the bottom of the mysterious villany , and told 'em frankly , that the quickest way to bring in the late king was by knocking king william on the head , or , to give a softer turn to such a startling proposal , by making war upon him in his winter quarters . they pretended that such an attempt cou'd no more be reckon'd an assassination , than if they had kill d him in flanders , as he chang'd his quarters , and remove from one town to another : and barclay , to hide the infamy of the parricide , was wont to say , gentlemen , we are men of honor : we ll attack the prince of orange at the head of his guards . but since there are degrees in all sorts of crimes , and every traitor is not willing to become an assassin ; the conspirators had the mortification to find their proposals rejected by some , even of their own party . the two brothers , thomas and bevil higgins , tho violent jacobites , refus'd to have any hand in the design against his majesty s person . sir john friend was acquainted with the design , but dislik'd it , not from any honest principle , but because he was afraid it would ruine the interest of the faction . nor was this a groundless apprehension , since few have so mean an opinion of themselves , as to enter into the service of a party that wou'd engage 'em in such base and desperate attempts , and even refuses to acquaint 'em perfectly with the design of which they wou'd make 'em the instruments . sir william parkins was an active promoter of the design , but was not willing to act in it : and blair endeavor to disswade some of his friends from being concern d in it . the officers that were sent from france to obey an order which had never been communicated to 'em , cou d not forbear murmuring when they were acquainted with the business in which they were to be employ'd . they ask'd one another , whether this was the fine exploit they were sent to atchieve ; but all the scruples that virtue , conscience or honor cou d suggest to 'em , were not able to make 'em forget the positive order they had receiv'd major lowick was the first who declar'd that he wou d obey , because he was sure that sir george barclay wou'd not undertake any thing without orders . rookwood was of his opinion , insisting still upon this , that the king sent him to obey sir george barclay . bernard , harris , hare , and the rest , said , they wou d be govern'd by their companions . thus 't is plain that they thought themselves oblig d to obey , in a case , in which disobedience is the principal duty and distinguishing character of a man of honor. several ways were propos'd in their private meetings , to assassinate his majesty . brice blair in his deposition march 17th 1696 , takes notice of an attempt that was to have been executed by men that were to lie in wait for him on the road as he was going to embark for holland . he affirms that bertram told him , the last year , that charnock had engag'd him and others to assassinate the king on his way to flanders ; and that the design wou'd have been put in execution , if they had not receiv'd counter-orders from st. germains , the day before the king set out . tho the credit of this passage depends entirely on the discourse betwixt bertram and blair , since there are no other witnesses that attest it , nor any circumstances or presumptive evidence brought to confirm it ; i thought my self oblig'd to mention it , as a thing that is neither improbable , nor impertinent to the subject of this history . but since i have such a variety of matter before me , and every circumstance confirm d by unquestion'd evidence , i will not insist upon any thing that comes short of an undoubted truth . 't is certain that there were several projects set on foot , or at least propos'd by the conspirators to execute their design'd attempt against his majesty's person . in the beginning 't was thought fit by some , either to seize , or kill him at kensington , by attacking his guards , and forcing his palace in the night . another proposal was to murder him when he shou'd come on sunday to perform his devotions at st. james's chapel . two or three and thirty of the conspirators were to attack his guards , which usually do not exceed twenty or five and twenty ; while six men on foot , who were to have been conceal'd for that purpose in some of the neighbouring houses shou'd shut hide-park gate , and the rest assassinate his majesty . 't was agreed also to kill the coach-horses just as they were entering into the park , that , the passage being stopt , the guards might not be able to come up , till they had given the fatal blow . it appears that , after the committing of the execrable deed , they resolv'd to retire immediately to the tower , which , for that end , they propos'd to surprize . and 't is probable that the apparent difficulty or rather impossibillty of making themselves masters of that place , and the want of a secure retreat any where else , were the main reasons that made 'em lay aside the thoughts of performing the assassination this way . both these proposals were soon rejected by the conspirators ; but there were two other projects that were the subject of a longer deliberation , being look'd upon as more feasible , and obnoxious to fewer and less discouraging hazards . and therefore it will not be improper to give the reader a more particular account of ' em . the king has a house at richmond , whither he usually went to hunt every saturday , when free from the hurry of business , and the perpetual cares in which he had spent the week , he had leasure to divert himself with that innocent and manly recreation . near that place there is a little park that reaches to the river side ; the thames on one side , and the park-pales one the other , forming a kind of defilé or narrow lane , about 150 paces long , in the middle of which there is a gate that hinders coaches or horses from passing that way , when 't is shut . thro this lane the king usually return'd from hunting , and 't was here that the conspirators resolv'd to execute their barbarous design . the park , the river , the gate , and the pales , were all to be made subservient for facilitating the attempt . several persons on foot , well arm'd , were to be plac'd in ambuscade behind the hedges and pales . when the king's coach had pass'd the gate , it was to be shut upon the guards that follow'd him ; the coach was to be stopt by killing some of the horses , and the pales were to be saw d so far , that they might be broken down assoon as they enter'd upon action . in the mean time some horsemen were to attack six or seven of the guards , that go before the coach , and the party that lay in ambuscade were to fire on the body of the guards that were stopt by the gate , that the assassins might have time to murder the king and those who were with him . 't was also agreed that , after the assassination , such of the conspirators as were on horseback shou'd immediately disperse , and those of the ambuscade who were to act on foot , dress'd in countrymens habits , shou'd make their escape to the river-side , where there was to be a boat lying ready to receive ' em . this proposal was under deliberation for some time , during which some of the conspirators were sent to the place , in order to view the ground , and upon the account they gave of it the above mention dscheme wasfram'd . but after all their consultations , since sir george barclay was not sure of a sufficient number of horse to carry off those that were to lye in ambuscade , who , consequently , wou'd have been expos'd to very great dangers , before they cou'd have reach'd london , this project was also rejected by the cabal the last way that was propos'd to murder the king , was to assault him , as he return'd from richmond , in a place betwixt brentford and turnham green. in a bottom , where the ground is moorish and uneven , there is a bridge where divers roads meet and cross one another ; on the north-side there is a road that goes round brentford , and on the south a lane that leads to the river ; so that one may come thither from four several places . after you pass the bridge the road grows narrow , having on one side a foot-path , and on the other a tall and thick hedge . this was to have been the scene of the most dismal tragedy that ever was acted in england ; nor cou d they have chosen a more convenient time or place for executing their barbarous design . for the king us d to return late from hunting , and to cross the river at queensferry , by brentford , with five or six of his guards . 't was also his custom to go into the boat without coming out of his coach , and assoon as he landed on the other side , the coach drove on without expecting the rest of the guards , who cou'd not cross the river till the boat return'd to bring ▪ em over . in the mean time , the king , with his small attendance , wou'd have quickly arriv d at the bridge , which is at the other end of brentford next to london , and consequently wou'd have faln into the hands of the conspirators , who were to attack him on all sides . they were to be divided into three parties , one of which was to come from turnham green , another from the lane that leads to the river , and the third from the road that goes round brentford . one of these troops were to attack the guards on the front , and the other in the rear , while eight or ten detach'd men assaulted the coach , where his majesty wou'd have been assassinated before the guards whom he left on the other side of the river cou'd have come up to his assistance . after the assassination the conspirators were to have kept together till they came to hamersmith , a little town betwixt turnham green and london . there they intended to separate , and afterwards by several roads to enter the city , where they hop'd they might lurk securely , during the general consternation , till they shou'd be freed from danger by the sudden landing of the french. this proposal pleased the conspirators better than any of the former , porter , king , and knightly were sent to view the ground , and upon the report they made at their return , the business was finally agreed upon . sir george barclay had brought eight hundred pounds from france for the charge of the attempt , but finding that he cou'd not carry on the design with so small a sum , he complain'd to his friends , who soon found a way to supply that defect . for charnock undertook to provide eight men ready mounted and arm'd , porter seven , and sir william parkins five : so that barclay was only oblig'd to buy or hire twenty horses for the officers and soldiers he had brought from france . porter and rookwood commanded the two parties that were to attack the guards ; and sir george barclay reserv'd the honor of the assassination for himself . one of the conspirators was order'd to wait at queensferry till the guards appear'd , and then immediately to give notice to the rest , that they might have time to prepare themselves and take their respective posts , while the king was passing the river . ' they resolv'd to form themselves into several bodies , which were to advance with all possible diligence to the place appointed for the fatal rendezvous . they had omitted nothing that might serve to secure and facilitate the execution of their attempt . they had visited all the inns about brentford and turnham-green , and the places where they might set up their horses till the king shou'd return from hunting . they had also two spies , or orderly men , as they call'd 'em , who were posted at kensington : * one of 'em was to give notice when the king went out , and the other was to bring † an account when the guards began to march and that the assassination might pass under the notion of a military exploit , they produc'd an order to take up arms against the prince of orange and his adherents . there was some difference among the conspirators concerning the terms and expressions of the commission , even after they had confess'd their crime . for some of 'em acknowledg'd that it contain ▪ d an express order to kill the king ; whereas * others pretended that it only authoriz'd em , in the general , to levy war against the prince of orange and all his adherents . 't is the opinion of several judicious persons , that the most considerable discovery was made by those who endeavour'd to put the fairest construction on this execrable project . for to levy war against the king and his adherents , after such a manner , and in such circumstances , cou'd signifie nothing else than the murdering of the king and parliament , and of all that lov'd , and were resolv'd to maintain the laws , religion , and liberty of england . the fifteenth of february was chosen for the execution of the dire attempt : 't was on that fatal day that england , or rather europe , was to lose its deliverer , and with him , all its hopes of accomplishing the great work which he had so happily begun ; and 't was then that heaven was resolv'd to work a new miracle for our preservation . if we had foreseen the danger that threaten'd him , the remembrance of past hazards wou'd have only serv'd to heighten our apprehensions for the future ; his subjects cou'd hardly have welcom'd him , at his return from so glorious a campaign ; and instead of celebrating his victories , wou'd have trembl'd at his approaching fate . but we found , to our comfort , that the same providence which had so often cover ▪ d his head in the day of battle , and guarded him from the fiercest assaults of his enemies ▪ was also able to preserve him from the treacherous fury of assassins . to prevent suspicion , they dispos'd their men in different places of the town , and even in the remotest parts of it : barclay and rookwood expected the signal in holborn ; and porter , with some others , waited , upon the same account , at the blue posts in spring garden . charnock resolv'd to accompany the latter , either because he mistrusted him , and intended to animate him by his example ; or because he was willing to chuse a post that was least expos'd to danger , as * another of the conspirators suspected . and perhaps he had still so much reason left , notwithstanding the impetuous pa● on that disturb'd his judgment , as to decline acting in the most odious part of the tragedy . thus they lay expecting the news of the king's departure for richmond , but his majesty did not go out that day ; and some of the conspirators were so alarm'd at this disappointment , that they began to reflect either upon the danger or infamy to which such an attempt wou'd expose ' em . plowden , who came purposely to town to act under porter , went back to the country , and did not think fit to return , according to his promise . kenrick pretended that he was disabl'd by a fall , and appear'd for some days with his arm in a string : sherbourn started so many scruples , when the design was propos'd to him , that they did not think fit to press him further ; and even the fiercest and most harden d assassins began to be apprehensive of the success of their project . but , at last , concluding that their design was not discover'd , because they were not secur'd , sir george barclay , sir william parkins , captain porter and goodman , met on the 21st of february , and resolv'd to make a new attempt to execute their project , without altering the method of it . in pursuance of this resolution , the assassins were to be prepar'd for the bloody action , on saturday the 22d of february , which was to have been the last day of our liberty , and the fatal aera of the irrecoverable ruine of england . the morning was spent in an impatient expectation of advice from those whom they had appointed to give 'em notice when the king went out . charnock , who for some days had been very uneasy and full of jealousy and suspicion , sent a man to porter , for a list of those who were to act in the assassination . he seem'd particularly to doubt larue , and perhaps was desirous to have some satisfaction concerning him . the list was sent to him , with larue's name at the head of the rest ; and he sent it back again , after he had inserted the names of those whom he was to furnish . pendergrass was one of those who were with porter : they had sent for him out of the country , and wou'd have assign'd him a remarkable part in the assassination . porter had a musketoon that carry'd 6 or 8 bullets , with which pendergrass was to shoot at the king ; and they desir'd him not to be afraid of breaking the coach-glasses . the conspirators were disappointed a second time ; and the boldest of 'em cou'd not forbear discovering their fears , when keys acquainted 'em that the guards were come back all in a foam , and that there was an unusual muttering among the people . this unexpected piece of news put 'em all into a consternation ; the cabal was entirely dispers'd , and most of 'em endeavour'd to secure themselves by a speedy flight . nor was this meerly the effect of a panic dread or groundless apprehension ; for the conspiracy was actually detected . fisher , pendergrass , larue , and another had separately given information to different persons concerning it , tho they had not yet discover'd the particulars . captain fisher was the man whom god inclin'd to make the first discovery of this inhumane design . he went to the earl of portland , on the tenth of february , five days before the time that was appointed for the execution of it , and inform'd him of the intended enterprize , without acquainting him either with the time , manner , or circumstances , which were not yet agreed upon : but he promis'd to give him further notice as soon as they shou'd come to a positive resolution . and now we may justly reflect , with an equal amazement , upon the sedateness and generosity of his majesty's temper , who cou'd hardly be perswaded to suspect those who only waited for a convenient opportunity to murder him ; and the barbarous fury of his enemies , who scrupl d not to conspire the death of so good and so brave a prince . any other person wou'd have been startl'd at an advice of this nature , or at least wou'd have look'd upon it as too important to be neglected ; but the king , secure in his own vertue , conscious of no guilt , and consequently incapable of fear , was so far from being alarm'd at the discovery , that he wou'd not give credit to it , because the circumstances were not particularly mention'd . three days after , fisher return'd to whitehall , and gave the earl of portland an account not only of the design itself , but also of the method and order of its execution . yet tho he made a full discovery of the time , place , and other circumstances of the enterprize , he peremptorily refus'd to mèntion the names of the actors ; which confirm'd the king in his former opinion , and made him conclude that 't was a story contriv'd on purpose to fright him with a false alarm . but , the very day before the fatal blow was to be given , god , by a seasonable providence prevented our impending ruine , and deliver'd our king from his own generous incredulity . it happen'd that , on that very day , the earl of portland went to see the countess of essex , and , contrary to his custom , made his visit longer than he design'd . by good fortune he call'd to mind that he had promis'd to meet a certain person about a private affair ; and tho 't was already time for him to go to kensington , he resolv'd , according to his usual exactness in keeping his word , to go first to his lodgings at whitehall . as soon as he went in , he found an unknown person in his antichamber , who desir'd to speak with him about a matter of the highest importance , that cou'd not be deferr'd to another time . this was a sufficient argument to obtain what he ask'd , especially in such a juncture the earl made haste to dispatch the person whom he had order'd to wait upon him , and immediately admitted the stranger , who accosted him with this surprizing request , my lord , perswade the king to stay at home tomorrow ; for if he go abroad to hunt , he will be assassinated . afterwards he gave him a particular account of the conspiracy , with almost thesame circumstances that had already been discover'd by fisher . he added , that his name was pendergrass , that he was an irishman , and a catholic ; that they sent for him out of the country , without acquainting him with the reason that made 'em desirous to see him ; that afterwards they endeavour'd to engage him in the design , that he was struck with horror at the first proposal , and immediately resolv'd to discover it ; that his religion was accus'd for authorizing and encouraging such actions ; but that , for his part , he abhorr'd such principles , tho in all other respects he was a true catholick . thus his majesty began to receive the just reward of his clemency and moderation : for he is , and has always been , equally remarkable for his stedfast adhering to his own religion , and his indulgency to those of another perswasion . when he accepted the crown of scotland , he declar'd that he wou'd not be a persecntor ; and all his actions are so many illustrious testimonies of the sincerity of that resolution . never any papist , that was willing to live in peace , stood in need of an intecessor with him . he protected 'em in ireland against the angry counsels of some over-zealous protestants : he favour'd 'em as much as he cou'd without injuring the rest of his subjects , and treated ▪ em upon all occasions , with an indulgency that surpriz'd those who are not acquainted with the native goodness of his temper . 't is true , this may perhaps be reckon'd , in some measure , and effect of his complaisance to the family of austria , with whom he has entertain'd a long and intimate friendship , which has been endear'd by reciprocal good offices , and is confirm d and made necessary to 'em both , by the interest of their mutual preservation . but tho the papists were deprov'd of such powerful intercessors ; his virt e alone wou d supply that defect , and sufficiently recommend 'em to his favor and protection . and we have reason to believe that god is pleas'd with his mildness and clemency to the roman catholics in general , and to the irish in particular ; since by a wonderful providence , he made an irish papist the instrument of saving his life . pendergrass added , that he wou'd have gone straight to kensington , to make the discovery to the king himself , if he had not been afraid of being seen and taken notice of by the two orderly men whom the conspirators kept in that place ; and that since the nature of the business requir'd all possible dispatch , he thought he cou'd not make his address to a person that wou'd be more zealous and careful than his lordship . but tho no means were left unattempted to perswade him to name the conspirators , he resisted with an invincible constancy all the arguments that were made use of to that effect ; declaring that he wou'd never be prevail'd with to injure his friends , or betr●y those to whom he had been formerly oblig'd . it has been frequently observ'd that the most trivial accidents have given birth to the most memorable and important events : and , upon this occasion , it seem'd good to that supreme and over ruling providence which guides the world , that the preservation of a prince , in whose life the fate of europe is bound up , shou'd depend upon a visit that was made to the earl of portland at ten a clock at night . at his arrival at kensington , which , notwithstanding all the haste he cou'd make , was very late , he found that the king was already retir'd , and that he had given the necessary orders for his usual recreation the next morning . that vertuous and magnanimous prince was preparing to go to richmond , with as sedate and unconcern'd a mind as if he had not receiv'd intelligence of the bloody design that was to be executed near that place . and even the new confirmation he receiv'd of it cou'd scarce prevail with him to alter his resolution , till he was at last overcome by my lord portland's repeated importunities . in the mean time the number of the discoverers encreas ▪ d , and the informations they had given were confirm'd by the concurring testimony of another of the conspirators , who apply'd himself to sir william trumbal , one of his majesty's princicipal secretaries of state , and convinc'd him of the reality of the plot , tho he cou'd not acquaint him with the circumstances of it . for that minister had already receiv'd advice that the french were bringing together a great number of transport-ships , and making all the necessary preparations for an extraordinary design , which was kept very secret , tho , in all probability , the storm was like to fall upon england so that comparing these advices concerning a foreign invasion , with the account he had receiv'd of the design against his majestys person , he found that they confirm'd each other , tho he cou'd hardly look upon either of 'em as probable , when he consider'd 'em singly . and therefore he made all possible haste to communicate these discoveries to his majesty , with his usual zeal and fidelity . about the same time brigadier lewson acquainted the king , that one larue had inform'd him of a design that was on foot to assassinate his majesty . this last discoverer gave a very particular and circumstantial account of the whole intrigue ; but he , as well as the rest , seem'd obstinately resolv'd to conceal the names of the conspirators . the king , convinc'd by so many concurring informations , and perceiving that all the accounts he had receiv d agreed exactly with one another , began to believe the truth of the discovery . he order'd the earl of portland and sir william trumbal to make a more particular enquiry into the progress and circumstances of the design ; the former as having receiv d the first advice of the conspiracy against his person , and the latter as having been first acquainted with the plot against the nation . 't was a very difficult task to manage so nice an enquiry ; for tho they had four witnesses , they cou d not produce one legal evidence . they cou'd not stifle the informations they had receiv'd without exposing his majesty's life to the brutish fury of assassins , who wou d soon find another way to execute their detestable project : nor could they publish a discovery which they cou'd not prove , without running the hazard of being charg'd with the first invention of it and besides , the divulging of these advices wou'd have encourag'd the conspirators to carry on their design , and perhaps made 'em hasten the execution of it , least they shou ▪ d at last be entirely discover'd , and receive the just reward of their crimes in the mean time the king resolv'd to expose his life to all the dangers that threaten'd it , if it cou'd not be secur'd without violating the usual forms of justice . so that we were like to perish by those very laws that were contriv'd and establish'd for our preservation , if the earl of portland had not found out an expedient to ward off the blow without having recourse to any indirect of unwarrantable stratagem . he consider'd , that pendergrass and larue might be perswaded to discover the whole mystery , if the king himself shou'd speak to em , and that even tho they shou'd refuse to yield to his majesty s solicitations , the information they were willing to give might serve to convict the conspirators , if it were deliver'd in the presence of unexceptionable witnesses , who might depose it at their trials . the king himself cou'd not be an evidence ; and therefore 't was necessary that there shou'd be at least two witnesses present , when he discours'd with 'em he spoke to pendergrass and larue separately ; to the first before the earl of portland and the lord cutts , and to the second , in the presence of the same earl and brigadeer lewson . after he had assur'd 'em that he esteem'd their persons , and was extremely pleas'd with their proceedings ; he told 'em , that he own'd himself oblig d to 'em for the care they took to preserve his life ; but desir d 'em to consider , that the service they had done him by discovering the conspiracy cou d be of no use to him , so long as they conceal'd the names of the conspirators ; that he cou d neither punish nor so much as convict the criminals ; that the people wou d never be perswaded to believe that several persons had discover'd a conspiracy which they either cou'd not , or wou d not justify ; that , on the contrary , they wou'd imagine that he had invented a sham-plot to destroy his enemies , which wou'd render him odious to all the world ; that so general and imperfect a discovery wou'd expose his honor without securing his life , &c. these arguments produc d the desir d effect , and conquer'd the obstinacy of the discoverers : they cou'd not resist the awful eloquence of an injur d monarch , and were at last prevail'd with to make an atonement for their guilt by discovering their fellow-criminals . after his majesty was acquainted with the names and designs of the conspirators , he told the cabinet council , that he had for some time neglected the advices he had receiv'd of a conspiracy against his person ; but since by the favourable providence of god , he was fully convinc d of the truth of it , he wou'd not tamely suffer himself to be assassinated . he added that he was inform'd the french were peparing to invade the kingdom , but that he hop'd god wou'd enable him to frustrate their designs . not long after , he call'd the great council , and communicated the discovery to them . he receiv'd , from both , particular assurances of fidelity and affection , and immediately issued out a proclamation requiring all his loving subjects to apprehend the conspirators , and promising a reward of a thousand pounds for every one that shou d be seiz'd the parliament was not yet acquainted with the danger that threaten'd the nation ; but assoon as his majesty was convinc'd of the reality of the conspiracy , and cou'd produce witnesses to prove it , he went to westminster on the 24th of february , and made the following speech to both houses . my lords and gentlemen , i am come hither this day upon an extraordinary occasion which might have prov'd fatal , if it had not been disappointed by the singular mercy and goodness of god ; and may now , by the continuance of the same providence , and our own prudent endeavonrs be so improv'd , as to become a sufficient warning to vs to provide for our security against the pernicious practices and attempts of our enemies . i have receiv'd several concurring information of a design to assossinate me , and that our enemies , at the same time , are very forward in their preparations for a sudden invasion of this kingdom , and have therefore thought it necessary to lose no time in acquainting my parliament with these things , in which the safety of the kingdom and the public welfare are so nearly concern'd , that i assure my self , nothing will be omitted on your part , which may be thought proper for our present or future security . i have not been wanting to give the necessary orders for the fleet ; and i hope , we have such a strength of ships , and in such a readiness , as will be sufficient to disappoint the intentions of our enemies . i have also dispatch'd orders for bringing home such a number of our troops , as may secure vs from any attempt . some of the conspirators against my person are already in custody , and care is taken to apprehend so many of the rest as are discover'd : and such other orders are given , as the present exigency of affairs does absolutely require , at this time , for the public safety . my lords and gentlemen , having now acquainted you with the danger , which hath threaten'd vs , i cannot donbt of your readiness and zeal , to do every thing which you shall judge proper for our common safety : and i perswade my self , we must be all sensible , how necessary it is in our present circumstances , that all possible dispatch should be given to the business before you . the proclamation and his majesty's speech publish'd the conspiracy , and made us sensible of the dreadful ruine which we had so narrowly escap'd . all england was alarm d at the surprizing news : an universal horror was diffus'd thro the whole nation ; we trembl'd to think of the amazing danger which humane wisdom cou'd neither have foreseen nor prevented , and were scarcely capable of reflecting upon our present deliverance . the conspiracy was the only subject both of our thoughts and discourse : we look d upon the execrable design and the treacherous contrivers of it , with a just abhorrence and indignation , and every one ador'd a miraculous providence in which all were so nearly concern d ▪ some reflected upon the massacres , burnings and persecutions , and all the other dismal instances of the implacable rage of the faction in former times ; and concluded that the conspirators were afraid we had forgotten the sufferings of our ancestors , and intended to refresh our memory by re-acting the same barbarities . others entertain d themselves with the melancholy prospect of our future condition , if heaven , to punish our crimes , had suffer'd our enemies to deprive us of our glorious deliverer . and even the calmest minds cou'd not preserve their wonted tranquillity , when they consider'd that after we had sustain'd so vast an expence of blood and treasure to maintain our religion and liberty ; after we had been deliver'd from arbitrary power by the miraculous assistance of heaven , and ireland reduc'd by glorious victories ; after we had made our selves masters of the sea , and began to be conquerors on land ; that after these and so many other blessings of providence , we shou'd have been forc'd to resume our broken fetters , and submit to the insolent revenge of a baffl'd enemy . those who consider'd the posture of affairs abroad , were soon convinc'd that the exeution of this detestable project wou'd have been no less fatal to europe in general , than to england in particular . they were sensible that our disaster wou'd have broken the confederacy ; and that t wou'd have been equally dangerous to the allies , to conclude a peace , or continue the war. these were some of the reflexions , that were made upon this occasion , by particular persons , while all , in general , were employ'd in blessing god for their wonderful preservation , and admiring the adorable wisdom of providence , which had not only disappointed the designs of our enemies , but so over-rul'd their malice , that their projects serv'd only to confirm and strengthen the union betwixt the king and his people , by the interest of their mutual preservation . but , as our representatives in parliament are entrusted with the management of public affairs , and consequently have the deepest share in the general concerns of the nation ; so there were none that were more sensibly affected with the discovery , or made more serious reflexions upon his majesty s speech for both the interest and designs of the faction are entirely opposite to those of that illustrious body : the former is a secret cabal that has been long contriving our ruine , and the latter is a public council which studies the means to preserve us ; and therefore 't is no wonder that there shou'd be such a strong and lasting antipathy betwixt ' em . since the faction endeavor'd to destroy king james the i. and his parliament by the famous gun-powder conspiracy , they have been still intent upon the hellish design , and forming new projects to destroy us . 't is thought they were active promoters of the civil war , which disturb'd the reign of king charles the first , and was attended with consequences that will for ever be lamented by the nation . and none but those who are sorry for the bad success of their contrivances , will deny , that the son and immediate successor of that unfortunate monarch , was influenc'd by their pernicious councils ; that they made him jealous of his most faithful subjects , and at last perswaded him to undermine the very foundations of our liberty , by destroying the freedom of elections , and governing his people without the advice of his parliament . during the late reign they attack'd us with authority , and have been ever since endeavoring to regain the ground they lost by the revolution . the same design is still carry'd on , but with this happy difference , that loyalty is become at last the distinguishing mark of honest men , and traitors to their country are look'd upon as traitors to the government . for , tho treachery is usually said to be more dangerous than open violence ; yet after all a wise man wou'd rather chuse , that the enemies of his country shou'd be plotters than oppressors . the faction ( which , thanks to heaven , we can now call , the disaffected party ) cannot endure a prince , who not only will not help 'em to destroy the nation , but was the instrument whom god chose to preserve it ; and who , instead of relying upon the councils and assistance of the cabal , makes it his principal care to preserve an entire confidence and inseparable union betwixt him and his parliament . less than this wou d have been sufficient to make the faction dispute his title ; tho the very hatred of those who dispute it , may be justly look'd upon as an evident and unexceptionable confirmation of it . 't is to be presum'd that there are a considerable number of persons engag'd . in the party who have sense enough to perceive , that 't is impossible to controvert his majesty s right to the crown , without denying us the common and most essential privileges of a nation . for unless they pretend , with the most furiously bigotted papists , that the consent of the head of their church is necessary for the establishment of the secular power , or , suffer themselves to be so miserably deluded by a new sort of fanaticism as to imagine , that every race of kings is establish'd by an immediate oracle or supernatural revelation ; they cannot refuse to acknowledge that the safety and consent of the people were the primitive and most sacred foundations of soveraign authority ; and that the unanimous suffrages of those who thought fit to enter into societies for their own preservation , was the voice of god himself , in the first establishment of monarchy . 't is an undoubted and a remarkable truth , that those very persons who are angry with us for assuming a power to secure our liberty by modifying our laws , upon so extraordinary an occasion , pretend a right to the same privilege , and have more than once actually made use of it . 't is known that the estates of france regulated the succession , by making a far more considerable alteration in their ancient laws , than that for which we have been so often reproach'd , in the case of childeric iii. who was succeeded by pepin , and that tho * pope zachary pretended that this regulation was made by vertue of his approbation and authority , the people of that kingdom have always refus'd to acknowledge him as the author of that important alteration , and maintain'd that it was made by their own representatives . this remark may be further confirm d by the instance of † charles of lorrain , who was dethron'd for the good of the state : 𝄁 and 't is certain that since that time the french kings never had , nor have at this day , any title to the crown but what is founded on this establishment ; so that since a false title to a crown can never be rectify'd by prescription , 't is plain that , if king vvilliam be not our lawful and rightful soveraign , france has for several ages been govern'd by usurpers . † england has been always look'd upon as one of the most considerable kingdoms in europe ; but the it were the meanest and most contemptible nation in the world , it cou'd not be depriv'd of the most ancient and fundamental privilege of mankind , i mean that of self-preservation . 't is true , a people may be subdu'd and made slaves by a victorious invader ; but they can never be robb'd of their natural right , to endeavor the recovering of their liberty . and supposing that this was formerly a conquer'd kingdom , t is plain that the conqueror cou'd not become a lawful monarch , but by treating with the nation , and preserving its ancient privileges ; since a true king must be the governor of subjects , and not of slaves . ' twou'd be a direct overturning of the order of nature to pretend , with our enemies , that the soveraign authority in england is originally arbitrary , and that the people are only free by usurpation ; since , by the fundamental constitution of our government , the people are originally free , and the royal authority limited . the roman catholics were naturally dispos'd to embrace these pernicious notions : for 't is one of the principles of their religion , that the pope's jurisdiction extends over the temporal authority of kings , and the property of the people ; and that those whom he deposes or excommunicates , are , ipso facto , depriv'd of all their rights and privileges . 't is true this opinion has been look d upon as dangerous , even by the princes of that persuasion , who are not willing that their authority shou'd depend on the arbitrary will of one man. and from thence some have taken occasion to call those catholics who moderate the power of the see of rome , and only to give the name of papists to those who require an unlimited submission to the pope . but this distinction was never so generally known or teceiv'd in this kingdom as in other places . for in popish countries , 't is the interest of the prince to inspire his people with a less extravagant respect to the head of their church : whereas in england , where the roman catholics have neither a prince nor magistrate of their perswasion , they are wholly govern'd by their directors , and follow all their maxims , unless they have sense enough to perceive the dangerous consequences of these opinions , or by the mildness and integrity of their temper , are naturally inclin'd to detest such a barbarous and inhumane doctrin . but , in the general , they are easily perswaded to look upon protestants as men that have forfeited all their privileges , and are already doom'd to death , for the crimes of heresy and schism , by the repeated sentences of several councils . and 't is plain that those who are possest with such a prejudice will never heartily acknowledge the title of a protestant prince ; since they reckon our religion a sufficient ground to deprive a people of the natural privileges of a civil society . it has been , upon all cccasions , the constant practice of the faction , to accommodate their notions to the various humours and inclinations of those whom they endeavor to draw into their party . for as they entertain some of their proselytes , with projects to destroy the liberty and privileges of the nation , they insinuate themselves into the good opinion of others , by exclaiming against the prerogative of the crown . when they meet with persons that are fond of a popular government ▪ they pretend to be of the same opinion , exasperate their grievances , and perswade 'em that 't is the interest of the nation to weaken the power and authority of the king , that , upon the first occasion , they may be able , withless difficulty , to introduce a republican government . at the same time , they make use o other artifices to delude those who are superstitiously addicted to monarchy . they exasperate their zeal , fill their minds with unreasonable jealousies , and by scaring 'em with false alarms of the progress of the republican party , endeavour to secure their assistance for the introducing of arbitrary power , as the only way to keep out a common-wealth . for 't is their usual custom to tamper with the most violent persons of all parties , that , by animating 'em one against another , they may divide the nation into opposite and irreconcileable factions . they labour'd to perswade the world that the late king might justly assume an arbitrary power , that he might reign without a parliament , and absolutely renounce all contracts with his people . and even after he had deserted the kingdom , and was declar'd an enemy to our laws , religion and liberties , by the representatives of the nation ; they had the confidence to pretend that he was still our lawful king. but the artifice was too gross to pass upon a whole nation : for , in the first place , they must have perswaded us that we were not a people , but a multitude of rebels , that had forfeited all our privileges , that were condemn'd by our prince , and had neither laws nor parliaments to protect us ; that , like a company of robbers who had escap'd the execution of justice , we maintain'd our illegal possessions by an unjust force , and had no title either to our lives or estates ; that we were slaves by law , and proscrib'd malefactors , and cousequently were in a more wretched condition , than if we had been actually conquer'd and subdu'd . blessed be that almighty goodness which defeated the contrivances of our enemies , and gave us a king , upon whom they cou'd never fasten the least aspersion , who manages the reins of government with an equal and steddy hand ; who never was , and we have reason to believe , never will be guilty either of tyranny or remissness ; who will neither oppress us himself , nor suffer us to oppress one another ; and has always pursu'd such maxims as are most agreable to the admirable constitution of our government , which preserves the just mean betwixt the arbitrary tyranny of despotic power , and the tumultuary liccntiousness of anarchy or democracy ; and will neither suffer the parliament to make laws without the authority of the king , nor the king to govern without the advice of his parliament . but since they cou ▪ d not debauch the fidelity of his people , by controverting his title to the crown ; they made use of that pretext to encourage the desperate bravo's of the faction to murder him . they told 'em that they cou'd not be accus'd of conspiring against the life of a king ; * since the prince of orange had no right to that title : * and it appears that the same pretence was alledg ▪ d as one of the reasons for the design'd invasion . the whole nation was alarm'd with the common danger , and the parliament , especially , made serious reflexions upon the designs of our enemies . his majesty's speech to both houses was seconded by sir william trumbal , who , in a pathetic harangue before the house of commons , acquainted that illustrious body with the particular characters of the witnesses , the uniformity of their evidence , and the improbability of their conspiring together to deceive us ; and from all these considerations concluded that there was never less reason to doubt the truth of a conspiracy than of this. such a discourse as this was very seasonable , and even necessary at a time , when several persons were endeavoring to make the whole discovery pass for a fiction , either because they imagin ▪ d that the king and council had been impos'd upon , or perhaps because they wish'd that we had been convinc'd of the reality of the design by the execution of it . however , time and the confession of the criminals have stopt the mouths of those who wou'd have stifl'd the discovery . and the parliament , to express their zeal and affection , in such a dangerous juncture , made the following address to his majesty , which was presented by both houses in a body . we tour majesties most loyal and dutiful subjects , the lords spiritual and temporal , and commons in this present parliament aslembl'd , having taken into our serious consideration what tour majesty has been pleas'd to communicate to us this day , think it our duty , in the first place , to give tour majesty most humble thanks , for having acquainted tour parliament with the great danger tour sacred person hath been so nearly expos'd to , and the design of an invasion from our enemies abroad ; we heartily congratulate tour majesties happy preservation , and thankfully acknowledge the signal providence of god in it , and at the same time declare our detestation and abhorrence of so villanous and barbarous a design . and since the safety and welfare of tour majesties dominions do so entirely depend upon tour life , we most humbly beseech tour majesty to take more than ordinary care of tour royal person . and we take this occasion to assure your majesty of our utmost assistance to defend tour person , and support tour government against the late king james , and all other tour enemies both at home and abroad ; hereby declaring to all the world , that in case tour majesty shall come to any violent death ( which god forbid ) we will revenge the same upon all tour enemies and their adherents ; and , as an instance of our zeal for tour majestys service , we will give all possible dispatch to the public business . and we make it our desire to tour majesty to seize and secure all persons , horses and arms , that tour majesty may think fit to apprehend upon this occasion . his majesty receiv'd this address in a very obliging manner , and was pleas'd to return a most gracious answer in these words . my lords and gentlemen , i thank you heartily for this kind address ; on my part you may be assur'd that i will do all that is within my power for the preservation of this kingdom , to which i have so many obligations ; i will readily venture my life for preserving it , and recommend my self to the continuance of tour loyalty and good affections . at the same time both houses enter'd into an association to defend his majesty's life , and to revenge his death ; and , particularly the house of commons agreed to several important resolutions . 't was order'd , that leave should be given to bring in a bill to impower his majesty to secure and detain such persons as his majesty should suspect were conspiring against his person or government : and resolv'd , that an humble address shou'd be presented to his majesty , that he wou'd please to issue out his royal proclamation , to banish all papists from the cities of london and westminster , and ten miles from the same : that all the members of the house shou'd either sign the association , or declare their refusal so to do ; and that whosoever shou'd by writing , or otherwise affirm that the association was illegal , shou'd be look d upon ▪ as promoters of the designs of the late king and enemies of the laws and liberties of the kingdom . 't was also resolved nemine contradicente , that a bill shou'd be brought in for the better security of his majesty's person and ▪ government , with these clauses . 1. that such as shall refuse to take the oaths to his majesty , shall be subject to the forfeitures and penalties of popish recusants , convict . 2. to inflict a penalty on such as shall by writing , or otherwise declare , that king william is not lawful and rightful king of these realms , or that the late king james , or the pretended prince of wales , or any other person , than according to the act of settlement of the crown , has any right to the crown of these realm● . 3. to ratify and confirm the association enter'd into all his majestys good subjects , for the preservation of his majesty's person and government . 4. that no person shall be capable of any office of profit or trust , civil or military , that shall not sign the said association . and 5. that the same penalties be inflicted on such as come out of france , as upon those that go thither . nor must we forget that wise and important resolution of the same honorable body , in pursuance of which 't was enacted , that whenever it shall please god to afflict these realms by the death of his present majesty ▪ the parliament then in being shall not be dissolv d thereby , but shall continue until the next heir to the crown in succession , according to the late act of settlement , shall dissolve the same . 't was also order'd , that the speaker , upon presenting the association to his majesty , shou'd make it the request of the house , that his majesty wou'd please to order , that the said association of the house , and all other associations by the commons of england , be lodg'd among the records in the tower , to remain as a perpetual memorial of their loyalty and affection to his majesty . the associations of both houses were almost the same , as to the sense ; and therefore i shall content my self with inserting that of the house of commons , because of its conformity to the abovemention'd resolutions . whereas there has been a horrid and detestable conspiracy , formed and carried on by papists , and other wicked and traiterous persons , for assassinating his majesty's royal person , in order to incourage an invasion from france , to subvert our religion , laws , and liberty : we whose names are hereunto subscribed , do hertily , sincerely , and solemnly profess , testifie and declare , that his present majesty , king william , is rightful and lawful king of these realms . and we do mutually promise and engage to stand by and assist each other , to the utmost of our power , in the support and defence of his majesty's most sacred person and government , against the late king james , and all his adherents . and in case his majesty come to any violent or untimely death ( which god forbid ) we do hereby further freely and unanimously oblige our selves , to unite , associate , and stand by each other , in revenging the same upon his enemies , and their adherents ; and in supporting and defending the succession of the crown , according to an act made in the first year of the reign of king william and queen mary , intituled , an act declaring the rights and liberties of the subject , and settling the succession of the crown . his majesty receiv'd the association very graciously , and express d the sense he had of the zeal and affection of his subjects in these obliging terms . gentlemen , i take this as a most convincing and most acceptable evidence of your affection : and as you have freely associated your selves for our common safety , i do heartily enter into the same association ; and will be always ready with you and the rest of my good subjects , to venture my life against all who shall endeavour to subvert the religion , laws , and liberties of england . and afterwards his majesty was pleas'd to say , that he would take care , that this , and all other associations presented to him , shou'd be lodg'd among the records in the tower. while the parliament was taking such effectual measures for the security of his majesty and the nation ; 't was thought fit , in the most legal and regular manner , to satisfy offended justice , by the conviction and punishment of some of the most notorious conspirators . ' twou'd be needless to give the reader a particular account , either of the proceedings at the trials , or of the behaviour of the dying criminals ; since there can be nothing added to the public relations of the former , and there is nothing remarkable in the latter but hypocrisy and passion . this is the genuine character of the declarations they left us of their last thoughts . one of 'em owns the crime for which he was condemn'd with a kind of impious ostentation ; and yet , in another place of the same paper , he seems to acknowledge the infamy of it , by endeavouring to vindicate his party from having any hand in it . another , in spite of nature , wou'd act the part of a hero , and was not asham d to pretend that he dy'd a martyr , tho 't is plain both by his conviction and confession , that his punishment was the just reward of his treasonable practices to betray the nation to papists and foreigners . one of 'em is angry with the king , because he wou d not pardon a barbarous assassin , and was the first person that ever had the confidence to charge his majesty with cruelty : and another leaves us a terrible instance of the divine justice in hardening impenitent offenders , by ending his life in a transport of fury . but since nothing can excuse us from doing justice even to our most barbarous and implacable enemies , i think my self oblig'd to make a more honorable mention of sir william parkins . he acknowledges the assassination to be a crime , and repents that he was concern'd in it . he seems to have been acted by a mistaken notion of honor , and to have aim'd at an appearance of magnanimity , which he did not well understand . for he wou●d not be perswaded to name the complices of his crime , tho he had some reason to believe , that an ingenuous confession might have procur'd him a pardon . a generous principle , if it had been better plac'd , and if , by preserving his friends , he had not sav'd the enemies of his country . the convicted criminals receiv'd the sentence and punishment which the law appoints for traitors ; and their quarters were expos'd in the most oublic places , as a terrible example of the just severity of an injur'd nation , and an admonition to their traiterous friends , that those who are not capable of nobler sentiments might at least be restrain'd by fear . in the mean time the faction perceiving that all their pernicious artifices were either discover'd or defeated , resolv'd at least , to pay the last honors to their expiring cause . three jacobite clergy-men , pretending to be ministers of the church of england , under pretext of assisting sir john friend and sir william parkins a● their death , gave 'em a general absolution for all their sins , without obliging 'em either to confess or declare their abhorrence of the particular crime for which they suffer'd ; and by such an impudent and irregular action put a public affront upon the government and the nation . two of 'em were apprehended in order to be prosecuted for so heinous a misdeameanor ; and , in the mean time , the church , of which they pretended to be members condemn'd their proceedings in a public declaration of its judgment on that occasion , which was sign'd by fourteen bishops who were then in town , and approv'd by those who were absent . in that paper , they declare that they disclaim and detest the principles and practices both of the criminals , and the three ministers who assisted 'em ; that they disown and abhor 'em , as highly schismatical and seditious , dangerous both to the church and state , &c. thus while our enemies both at home and abroad , were mourning the fate of their blasted project , while they suffer'd all the horrors and torments of rage and despair , the constant attendants of disappointed revenge ; we had the pleasure to behold the happy period of the dismal tragedy , and the blest event of the blackest and most barbarous design that ever was set on foot . we observ'd , with inexpressible satisfaction , that our almighty protector had convinc'd our enemies , by a very unwelcome experience , of two important truths , which they cou'd never endure to believe , that his majesty's life is necessary for the preservation of his people ; and that his subjects are inseparably united to him , both by duty , interest , and inclination . this is a glorious confirmation of the title which they presume to controvert , and a convincing proof of the justice of his cause , which god himself has vouchsaf'd to establish and confirm , by the execrable projects that were form'd against him . the world has been so long accustom'd to see his majesty expose his life for the preservation of his subjects ; he has brav'd death so often , and run thro so many dangers in our defence , that it cannot be suppos'd we shou'd be surpriz'd at every new instance of his generosity . but that the preservation of his single life shou'd secure a whole nation from impending ruine ; that the rebels at home durst not attempt to disturb our quiet , because they knew that he was alive ; that our foreign enemies shou'd immediately retire upon the news of his deliverance ; that the whole nation shou'd place their only confidence in the person of their soveraign , and enter into a solemn and unanimous confederacy to defend his life , and revenge his death , there is something so surprizingly great in such a combination of wonders , and so conspicuous marks of the finger of god in the several instances of our happiness , that 't wou'd be equally impious and absurd , to ascribe our deliverance to a lucky concourse of fortuitous accidents . as his majesty's life is our only security , and the foundation of all our hopes ; the happy union that is now so firmly establish'd betwixt us and our soveraign , is of no less importance to the rest of europe . to this we owe the advantageous change in the posture of affairs , abroad ; 't is this that has reduc'd our enemies to more reasonable terms , and makes way for the conclusion of a general and solid peace . when the long expected time shall come , that the just desires of those who long to see peace and tranquility once more establish'd in europe shall be accomplish'd ; it will appear , and be acknowledg'd by the grateful world , that as england was deliver'd from slavery and oppression , by the blessing of god upon his majestys generous undertaking , so 't was england that had the greatest share in the general deliverance of the christian world. time and experience will ere long convince us of this great and important truth , and posterity will for ever acknowledge the immortal obligation . and even tho it were possible that future ages shou'd forget their great benefactor , the benefit will remain , notwithstanding their ingratitude , as long as there shall be laws in england , or a free people in europe . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a26368-e150 t●e people of england t●ank'd his majest● , ●y their r●presentatives , for their great and miracu●ous deliverance from p●pery and arbitrary power , of which he was the instrum●nt . s●e the parliament's address , may 18. 1689. the parliam●nt of scotland thank'd him also for th●ir deliv●rance and preservation , of which they acknowledg'd him next to god , to be the great and only instrum●nt . s●● the answer of the conv●ntion to his maje●●ie's l●tter , in 1689. history of the revolutions in england . book ii. pag. 437. see the preface to the third time of the history of the revolutions in england . when the people stopt his coach , at dort , and ask'd whether he was their statholder ; he reply'd that he was satisfy'd with the honors that were conferr'd upon him . but we are not answer'd the people , unless we have you for our governor . an. 1674. the d●puties of the nobility and 〈◊〉 representing the 〈…〉 of the dutchy of guelderland and county of zutphen , osser'd him the sover●ignty of the province , in the ●●me of their maste●s . 't is notoriously known that these proposals were made by france . * m. fage● wrote on this occa●ion to mr. stewart . and when the court of england endeavor'd to perswade the world that thus was a supposititious letter , and that it did not give a true a●●ur of their highnesses sentiments , having publish'd a book to that e●e●t call'd parlamentum pacificum ; mr. fagel complain'd openly of the d●singenuity of their proceedings , and by a second letter confirm'd the declaration he had formerly sent in their highnesses name . * after the death of charles ii. he rejected the advice and assistance of the late elector of brandenburg ; and when that prince wou'd have engag'd him to go over to england , he reply'd that he wou'd never make any attempt against the king his father in law , without an absolute necessity ; but at the same time he protested that if he cou'd not otherwise prevent the subversion of the laws and religion of england , he wou'd undertake the voyage , tho' he shou'd be oblig'd to embark in a fisher-boat . his enemies cou'd not forbear commending this effect of his moderation . see the history of the revolutions in engl. book ii. see the act 1 gulielm . & mariae , entitl'd , an act declaring the rights and privileges of the subjects to regulate the succession to the crown . history of the revolutions in engl. book ii. 1689 the discovery was made by a french protestant , who insinuated himself into the favour and confidence of the conspirators , by pretending to be engag'd in the same design . he was hinder'd , by several accidents , from giving such timely notice to the court , that the assassins might be apprehended . the discovery was communicated , in holland , to some zealous friends of the government ; and , in england , to my lord sydney . in this account i have neither magnify'd nor multiply'd the disorders that were committed by the government . they were either corrected by the late king himself , upon the news of the prince's expedition , or after his flight , by the convention . the laws that were made upon that occasion by the parliaments of england and scotland , are undoubted testimonies of the several attempts that were made to subvert our laws and religion ; nor will any reasonable person expect any other arguments to prove the truth of a matter of fact of which all the inhabitants of these nations were either eye or ear-witnesses . see his proclamation publish'd in that kingdom . dr. king , the present bishop of london-derry , then dean of dublin , in his book entitul'd , the state of the protestants of ireland under the government of the late king. the whole book is full of instances of this nature , of which i have not mention'd the twentieth part . * the duke of schomberg . 1690. 1691. * the magistrates of roterdam imprison'd a villain who offer'd to kill the french king. they sent an ac●ount of the project to mr. montausier , and offer'd to deliver up the offender . † another proposal of the same naturewas made to the king , when he was prince of orange . the person who offer'd to undertake the murder , gave an account of the place where he was to be sound ; and the prince sent mr. dickfelt immediately to acquaint the count d'avaux with the whole project . november 1691. december 1691. febr 1691 / 2. april 1692. history of the revolutions in england , book ii. history of the revolutions in england , book ii. p. 428. 1692. 1692. 1692. larue , in charnock 's tryal . 1692. history of the revolutions in engl. book ii. sr. edmundbury godfrey's murder , which cannot be reckon'd a fable , is a strong confirmation of , at least , part of that discovery . see , how they design'd to bring the irish over to england . the application of the rest of the particulars is obvious . history of the revolutions in england , book ii. p. 357. deposition of brice blair , march 12. 1695. see the character of the presbyterians , in the history of the revolutions in england , book ii. 1692. his depositions are in the hands of the government . see his letter to the lords and commons of that kingdom , dared from on board his ship. july 1693. decemb. 1693. january 1693. july 1694. july 14. 1694. july 17. 1694. octob. 17. 1694. sir william williams took post for london immediately after taff's declaration , and gave a horrible character of the witnesses ; having obstinately resus'd to hear any thing that was offer'd to be alledg'd in their favor , or to comply with some of the judges who wou'd have proceeded to the examination of other witnesses . see the votes of the house of commons on that occasion . 1695 ▪ goodman 's deposition , april 24. 1696. this agrees with the character , that brice blair , gives of him , in his depositions . good man 's deposition , april 2 d , 1696. brice blair's deposition , march 13th . 1696. goodman 's deposition , april 24 th . 1696 goodman 's deposition , april 24 th . 1696 captain porter 's deposition . april 24 th . 1696. goodman 's deposition , april 24. 1696. capt. porter 's deposition , april 15. 1696. larüe 's deposition , february 26th . 1696. capt. porter 's deposition , april 15. 1696 capt. porter 's deposition , april 15. 1696. this appears by capt. porter's deposition , april 15th . 1696. king james wrote several letters to him with his own hand . brice blair in his depositions . bertram 's deposition march 3. 169● . capt. porter 's deposition , march 3. 1695 / 6. la ruë 's deposition , febru . 26. 1695 / 6. the earl of aylesbury , and sir john friend . capt. porter 's deposition , march 14. 1695 / 6. goodman 's deposition , april 24. 1696. goodman 's deposition , april 24. 1696. brice blair's deposition , march 16. 1695 / 6. sweets 's deposition , march 18. 1695 / 6. la ruë 's deposition , febr. 26. 1695 / 6. james ewbanks 's deposition , march 23. 1695 / 6. goodman 's deposition , april 24. 1696. capt porter 's deposition , april 15. 1696. brice blair 's deposition , march 16. 1695 / 6. they represent us as an ●ntractable , seditious , and r belli●us people , always jealous of our neighbors , and seldom in quiet among ourselves . see the second book of the history of th● revolutions in england . brice blair in his deposition , march 9. 1695 / 6. brice blair 's deposition , march 9. 1695 / 6. father d'orleans wrote the history of the revolutions i● england , according to the memoirs and informations which he receiv'd from the earl of castlemain , skelton and sheridon an irish-man . and besides he tells us that he had the liberty to discourse with king james as long as he pleas'd see the advertisement before the third tome . book ii. p. 371. book ii. p. 370. 〈◊〉 ii. p. 471. ' twou'd have been thought ridiculous if , even before the late persecution of the protestants , one shou'd have talk'd of the popish cabal in france . * so he terms the vertue and magnanimity of 〈◊〉 who hazarded their lives and estates for the preservation of their country . they came over in a vessel , which usually past betwixt calais and rumney marsh , bringing over packets to the conspirators , with french goods , and certain jacobite passengers who were wont to go and come betwixt these two places . and among them there there were certain priests who oftentimes exported contraband goods , &c. james hunt s depositioh , april 6. 1696. george harris 's deposition , april 15. 1696. george harris 's deposition , april 15. 1696. * t was maxwell who acquainted the conspirators with this passage . * chambers knightly , april 2. 1696. francis de larue 's deposition , february 26. 1695 / 6. capt. george porter's deposition , march 3. 1695 / 6. brice blair 's deposition , march 9. 1695 / 6. george harris 's deposition , april 15. 1696. the brave grillon refus'd to assassinate the duke of guise , tho the proposal was made to him by his soveraign , henry iii. of france . and when king john of england , would have perswaded debray , the captain of his guards , to assassinate a prince that pretended a right to his crown ; that generous officer reply'd , that he was a gentleman , and not a flangman , and immediately retir'd to his house . richard fishers 's deposition , february 25. 1695 / 6. larne's deposition , february 26. 1695 / 6. capt. porter's declaration upon oath before a committee of the council , march 3. 1695 / 6. capt. porter , march 3. 1695 / 6. capt. george porter's deposition , march 3. 1695 / 6. larue 's deposition , february 25. 1695 / 6. * chambers . † durant . * sir william parkyn own'd that 〈◊〉 such a ●●mmisi●n ▪ which he understood to be king james's , that it had a seal to it , that he saw it in the hand of a friend , &c. see the votes of the house of commons , april 2. 169● . * king. francis de larue 's deposition , february 26. 1695 / 6. capt. porter 's deposition , march 3. 1695 / 6. febr. 13. febr. 14. the salic law which is said to be as ancient as pharamond , is an undeniable argument that the french suppos'd their government to be ( as it really was ) a hereditary monarchy . * mezeray says expresly , that if the french had ascrib'd that regulation to the pope , they would have discover'd themselves to be ignorant of their own right , abreg . chronol . p. 206. † mezeray affirms that the consent of the people of france was the best title which hugh capet , who succeeded charles , cou'd pretend to his crown , abreg . chron. p. 454. 𝄁 two races of kings have enjoy'd the crown of france , by virtue of these regulations that were made for the good of the state. † he deserves not the name of an englishman , who believes , with father d' orleans , that the power of the english monarchs is originally as absolute and arbitrary as any power can possibly be ; that 't is founded on a right of conquest , which the conqueror exercis'd and settl'd in its utmost extent ; that , at first , the parliaments were only seditious conventicles , erected upon the occasion of a successful revolt of the english nobility , who sinding themselves able to prescribe laws to their masters , assum'd the power of granting subsidies , &c. that afterwards the kings being oblig'd to call 'em , when they stood in need of supplies , these meetings began to be look'd upon as a lawful senate , and by degrees acquir'd an establish'd form , and the authority which they enjoy at present . history of the revolutions in england , book iii. p. 294. when father d' orleans declaims against the republicans , he usually runs to the opposite extremity , and commends the most pernicious maxims of despotic tyranny ; such as governing without a parliament is , and will always be reputed in this kingdom . see the history of the revolutions in england , book ii. * capt ▪ fisher's deposition . † see the bishop of soissons ▪ s order ▪ about the beginning of april . * capt ▪ fisher's deposition . charnock . sir john freind . rookwood . cranbourn . a declaration of the sense of archbishops , bishops , &c. a letter to mr. secretary trenchard discovering a conspiracy against the laws and ancient constitution of england : with reflections on the present pretended plot. ferguson, robert, d. 1714. 1694 approx. 206 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 24 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; 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(eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a41185) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 59017) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1503:32) a letter to mr. secretary trenchard discovering a conspiracy against the laws and ancient constitution of england : with reflections on the present pretended plot. ferguson, robert, d. 1714. 44 p. s.n., [london : 1694] caption title. attributed by wing to ferguson. place and date of publication suggested by wing. reproduction of original in the bodleian library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately 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markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng lancashire plot, 1689-1694. great britain -history -william and mary, 1689-1702. 2004-06 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2004-06 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2004-07 rachel losh sampled and proofread 2004-07 rachel losh text and markup reviewed and edited 2004-10 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a letter to mr. secretary trenchard , discovering a conspiracy against the laws and ancient constitution of england : with reflections on the present pretended plot . sir . as the character you are cloathed with entitleth you to all informations , both of what may preserve the government , and of what is contrived and carried on for the subversion of it ; so the employ you have taken upon you , in reference to the present pretended plot , tho neither agreeable to your office , nor to the title of a man of honour , gives you an indisputable right to the discovery i am about to make : and being indebted to you for the share you have been pleased to vouchsafe me in your la●e administration , i can think of no better a way of making my acknowledgments and of testifying my gratitude , than of rendering you a piece of service , which every one at your devotion is not qualified for , and very few have the integrity and fortitude either to undertake or perform . and seeing neither the honour of having been secretary of state , nor the wife and just discharge of that office are like to give you that name in history which you deserve , nor to perpetuate your fame to the extent and measure of your vanity and ambition ; permi● me to try whether i can enable fu●ure wr 〈…〉 rs to e 〈…〉 ze your memory in the registers of t●me , by han●ing to them brief memoirs of some actions peculiar to your self , and to a few more of your elevation in vertue and poli●icks : and which none , but one as much distinguished as you are from the rank of common state●men , as well as the several tribes of christians , would have had the artifice mixed with malice to have undertaken . and that you may engross to your self the whole benefit of this discovery , and not be obliged , as in other cases , where you have shared between you and the informer the salaries and pensions apply'd to the forging and inventing conspiracies against the state , tho set apart and issued out by the dispen●ers of the publick treasure only for detecting them : i do freely and entirely resign to you all my part and portion of it , whether arising from the generosity of the ministers , or due from their justice , which i hope will not be ●●welcome to you , nor come unseasonably towards the compleating your twenty thousand pounds purchase . for as it is impossible ( that confining your self to what either righteously or legally accrueth from the place and office of secretary ) you should have heaped together so large a sum in the circle o● little more than a year , so it is a charity to help to advance you above the mean tempta●ion of de 〈…〉 nding those 〈◊〉 creatures , who selling their souls at easy rates , to support forged accusations by perjury can 〈◊〉 〈…〉 th ●one so sneaking and ignoble as 〈◊〉 thing from the pri●● , except 〈◊〉 ●ho having 〈◊〉 a lo 〈…〉 〈◊〉 upon 〈…〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , d● value o●●er me 〈…〉 accordingly . a 〈…〉 gain therefore and advantage which this informa●ion can produce , i do chearfully consign and bequeath unto you , wishing that besides the prosi● of ●●at kind whic● it is calcul●ted to yield you , i may serve to raise your reputa●ion in the world , by giving ●he nation more generall 〈◊〉 understan● ( the old innocent ways o● administra●ion b● s●ate-affairs being unadapted and insuffic●ent to 〈…〉 e durable upholding of what was prec●pi●ately 〈◊〉 ●umultuous● raised ) how 〈◊〉 hi● w●do● hat● been 〈…〉 laced who recommended you to the po●t you fill , being ●o admirably qualifi●d ●o support the gover●ment 〈◊〉 trick● 〈◊〉 〈…〉 shoods of th●●●me k 〈…〉 ded and 〈…〉 ce with those by which t●e revolu 〈…〉 on w●s carr●ed on and effected you are ●oo c●nver●ant ●o t●citus to ●eed my 〈◊〉 〈…〉 ng to you 〈◊〉 saying of his , nemo imperium flagitio quesitum bonis 〈◊〉 exercuit , n 〈…〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 legally and we 〈…〉 that arrived at the government by fraud and injustice yet suffer m●●o 〈◊〉 in 〈…〉 e 〈…〉 ging of a french league and supposititio 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 w●les , lawful as well a● n●cessa●y ●or 〈…〉 e promo 〈…〉 g ●he designs in agi●ation anno 〈◊〉 cannot ●e thought ●o scrupulous 〈◊〉 〈…〉 ct disc 〈…〉 bly 〈◊〉 , ●f 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 exige 〈…〉 , ●tuey 〈◊〉 〈…〉 is tim● 〈◊〉 compr●●cy against ●●e government , and charge 〈◊〉 up 〈…〉 inn●cent m●n , who are willing to live peacea●ly if you would permit them . and as you know your own accession to the first , and have had th● fortune o●●e ●etter rewa●d●d tha 〈…〉 others that joined with you in that treachery and fraud , so i hope ●hat the vn●ica●ing to you ●he glo●y of the latter , wherein you have had so●e 〈◊〉 i 〈…〉 pe upon and share with you , ●●ll have a endency to your being exalted high●r than you 〈◊〉 , and quicken your receiving the recompences you have not yet attained , tho long ago so much your 〈…〉 e ▪ but is it not to ●eg 〈◊〉 into a despicable m●anness , an to make your●elf contemp 〈…〉 bly little , after you had been engaged for so many years in forming plo●s ag●inst kings , princes , and states you should at ●ast dwindle 〈◊〉 a consp●r●tor against mechanicks , reduced office●s , ●is●●n●e ce 〈…〉 ls , and private 〈…〉 lemen that from enrolling troops at ta●nton ●nd elsewhere , as your interest ●ay , and your province was allotted , for dethroning monarchs , and altering the legal course of the royal succession , you should shrink to the mustering mercenary rascals , for whom you have rak●d go●ls and kennels , to destroy a comp●ny of p●rsons who neither could endanger you , by perverting laws or altering their f●ame , nor ●us●●ve you ●y armed guards ●n● m●li●ary power . 〈…〉 o have undertaken to curb ●nd bridl● sovereigns , and 〈◊〉 dissolve and break the chain which the constitution as well as the statu●es of the real ▪ had made for regulating the com●ng to inherit crowns was 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 at the 〈◊〉 crim●nal and 〈◊〉 : bu● to hou●d o● messenge●s , b●ck'd with tro●p as well as fortifi●d with a●thority to 〈◊〉 the dwellings of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 innocent and naked , and upon 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 su●orn'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to seize g●n●l●m●n i● their houses , where he laws should 〈◊〉 special manner pro●ect them ; and ●o 〈…〉 ad them cap●ives through a gre 〈…〉 part of ●he kingdom , under the power of o 〈…〉 landish troopers , to ●ur●ish na●●er for a dutch tri 〈…〉 h , was sneak●ng and m●an as well as illegal and impious but i● is natural to those that hav● 〈◊〉 ●ra●ned u● an● habituated to any cou●se , to play at low game , rather than stand ou●●rom pract●sing what they have ●een in 〈…〉 d 〈◊〉 . h●wever , no man will suspect either your disposition or qualification , to be●parter , accuse and arraign li●tle people , having been bred and accustomed to 〈◊〉 and impeach p●inces : for they that could forge g 〈…〉 vances in governments , where ●here were 〈◊〉 bu● what ●heir own luxury , covetou●ness 〈◊〉 am●i●ion made , and who could tran●plant the gui●ean league from france to england , and mak● a prince's religion a crime , incapac 〈…〉 ng and disenabling him to enj●y his civil right can easily , either upon the suggestions of their fea● and coward●●e , or i●ci●● men's of pr●de and avarice , invent conspi●●cies ag●inst governments ( in the upholding whereof their hon●urs , ●ortunes and prospect he ) and lodge them on whom they will , especia●ly upon such against whom they entertain an inveterate malice , and seem furnished with probabilities and specious p●●tences of gaining credit ●o tha● wherewith they ch●rge them . but i find that as men grow in years they encrease in craft , tho they decay in bravour ; and that while they persevere in the like criminal methods they learn to lay ●he scene where there is le●s dan 〈…〉 , alb●● parallel gu●●t 〈◊〉 〈…〉 rly they made themselves ob●●xious unto : and no man knows better than you , that 't is much safer , as wel as mo●e beneficial to take upon you the uphol 〈…〉 and serving a governmen● by involving 〈◊〉 p●●ple in a forged 〈◊〉 , agai●st it , than to be in a real one your self for subver●ing it ; e●p●cially if the consp●racy must be ex●cu●ed by f●r●e and arms , and not to be conspas 〈…〉 and made effectual by tr●ac●ery , lyes an● calumnies . for tho in ●●e fo●me cas● you have the ●ea● law w●th ●he s●ncti●n of a feeble p●nalty against you ; yet it is too likely that you will have the liv●●g au●hority 〈◊〉 and vigorous for you : an● should your crime be made as evi●en● as it is heinous , ye● considering with wh●m the execu●ive p 〈…〉 r of ●●e law is lodged● you may reas●na●ly 〈◊〉 to be covered from 〈◊〉 punishment and publick disg●●ce and only to 〈◊〉 , have the ●●ct 〈◊〉 just 〈◊〉 , an● you● sel● p●blickly rewarded . but ●n the latter case , y●u are , besides 〈◊〉 ●●●ams ●ha● atte 〈…〉 the off●nce sure to have law bac●'d with p●wer , and m●ght autho●●z'd by law , t● destroy you , and impoverish you● posterity so that the h●zar● is much le●s t●o 〈◊〉 d●●grace be not , in persui●g that wherein 〈◊〉 are now embarqued than in prosecuting the plot wherein you were engaged , anno● 82 for tho you had been not only a wa●m f●m●nter , but a principal author of that con●pir●cy ag●●nst the then king and government , yet when your assistance wa● required , upon its com●ng to have been ex●cute● in november , your fear being awaken'd and ●●crea●ed , by the approach of the da●ger and your courage not b●ing answer●ble to your d●sl●yalty , you excu●ed h●th appearing your sel● & ●he giving the aid you had pr●mised , upon pretence of a disease that had over●aken you by an ●mor●us m 〈…〉 venture : which having been 〈◊〉 by the duke of monmou●h to some assembled for fixing 〈◊〉 day , and for determining the places and manner of the insurrection , after they had thereupon agreed to a●j●urn the execution of the design , it was pleasantly ●aid by one of the number , that he foun● dr. parker understood that mala●y better th●n was ●magined , and that he had not misnamed it in stiling it a lazy distemper . nor is the discovery of this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 b●trayi●g of secrets , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 obl●ga●●or upon 〈◊〉 to observe measu●es of decency with one , who , instead of attacking 〈◊〉 neighbours either by the allowed and 〈◊〉 m 〈…〉 ds of law an● justice , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 persuing them by an honour●ble and ●ai● 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 murder ●h●m by assassinates and banditti : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and worse i 〈…〉 le 〈◊〉 a●d 〈◊〉 w●●nesses . a●d sir , you must blam● your 〈◊〉 and no● me , if i know n● l●ws of decorum ●o b● ob●erved in treating of you . you are ou● of ●he purli●us of all that i● due in the way o● beins●ance , in that no● be●n● sa●●●fied ●o ●e● loo●● upon us ●uch in amou● mi●crean●s as you● bak●rs your king 〈…〉 your lunis and brereton &c ▪ you have 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 your brother hugh speake to inv●lv● us under all the g●ilt th●● 〈◊〉 madness and folly can invent , ●or his impudence fasten upon us either by himsel● o● others . howev●r , i will always 〈◊〉 my sel● and mankin●●hat righ● , as ●o say nothing of you bu● what is ●rue and necessary ( as you have flag●o your sel● . ) ●or 〈◊〉 world to know , and an honest man t● publish : though i will not und●r●●ke , that all i ●eclare wil● 〈◊〉 of the g 〈…〉 ●●●eding , and have that stamp of c●vility upon it . which i am known to exerci●● towards others . and till we can la● your un●●ghteous p●oceedings , and the unjust sufferings of those you have caused ●o apprehend and imprison , before a parli●ment , i● it is become ab●●lutely ne●dful , in order to the preserving the lives of the guiltless , and the vindication of their innocence , that we make our appeal to the k●ng●●m , and proclaim your administ●ation to 〈◊〉 and countrey . nor does the apprehending so many gentlemen , and confining them to prisons , or the fur●ous and general hunting after more , conduce in the ●east to the support of the government , or to the pr●serva●ion of the pu●lick pe●ce . i do know these are the ends you would be thought to a●m at , in your unrighteo●s , irregular and illegal proceedings ; and would have the persuit of them to legitimate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 m●ans by which you are in hopes 〈…〉 mpass and a 〈…〉 them . but a● you are bo●h m●rally and politically a bad man , and an ●ll member of the common-wealth , and a worse christian , to prosecute the best ends by any other means than what are just and legal ; so you are a very hallow and weak s●ates-ma● , if you reckon those methods ad●pted to what you calculate and design them for : seeing all to be expected from the paths you walk in , is not only to render those revengeful and desperate , who were before quiet and peaceable ; but , through your injuring so many of the subjects , to alarm all . for if innocency be not enough to protect and cover every 〈◊〉 , it will not be long judged sufficient to preserve and skreen any . and when all persons find , that they possess their liberties and lives by no other title than your pleasure , and the courtesy of your mercenary witnesses , they will be sure to endeavour all they can to ch●nge ●nd m●nd the tenure : and the impoverishing or destroying one whom you either call or believe an enemy to the present constitution , upon the deposition of suborned rascals , will change and transform all your friends that have wisdom or vertue into enemies , and thereby raise and creare you thousands , when formerly you had not scores . but though this be a topick proper enough to be inculcated and insisted upon , and on which it were easy so to enlarge as to expose your conduct and management , and make them ridiculous ; yet there are others , and those less thought of , to the displaying and enforcement of which i intend to confine my self , and i do not doubt but before i have gone through them i sh●ll demonstrate , from your administration , that you are both a traytor , either through ignorance or design , to k. william , whom you pretend to serve , and a subvertor of the government , which you take those impious and illegal courses to uphold . in order to whic● i premise three things , or rather propose them as postulata , which command an assent as soon as men●ioned . the first is , that whatever ●here was of an original contract between former k●ngs and the free people of these kingdoms , yet it is undeniable , there is a very fo●mal and ex●li cite one between k. willi●m and them . and , to declare ●ny opinion freely , without reserve or disguise , i do know o● none ●efore , besides that which was couched and im●lied in the constitution . and as it is impossi 〈…〉 e to produce or shew any other , so the very supposition of one , is not only inconsistent with the doct●ine both of our churchmen and lawyers , but re●ugnant to ●he drift and tenure of all our laws , and directly opposite to the express words as well as the sense of a great many statutes . for what can be more irreconcileable than a contract by which k●ngs are made deposible , or an● way , judicially censurable for miscarriages in their governmen● : and tho●e several acts o● parliament that do not only declare our pr●nces to be unaccountable to their people , whether taken collectiv●ly , distributively or repesen●atively ; but which do make it treason to take up arms against them , on any pretence whatsoever : and to imagine it either lawful or practicable to abdicate , forfeit or depose kings , without a liberty allowed of taking up arms against them , is a contradiction that none will pretend to reconcile , but they who are either lunatick or deeply hypocondriacal . and as for that contract ( if it might be called one ) which was involved and ●●citly wrapt up in the constitution , the whole import of it was , to declare the ends for which our princes were to rule , namely , the safety , peace and prosperity of their people , and to teach and instruct them , that they were to govern us by laws ; but it no ways provided , that they should be accountable unto , or arraignable by their subjects , if they did not ; leaving them for that only responsible to god , and no ways punishable here , saving by the stings and twinges of their own consciences . but the case is much other wise between k. william and u● : for as by his countenancing the abdication , and laying aside of k. james , upon pretended miscarriages in his government , he declared upon what terms he was willing to succeed him , and that he was contented to be accordingly dealt with if he should prove guilty either of those or the like ; so there wa● , upon his admission to the crown , bo●h an enumeration made of grievances by those tha● con●erred it , which they demanded that he would redress ; and a d●linca●●on of measures in and by wh●ch they did , as it were , stipulate how he should be bound to govern , 't is true , that they in scotland were more explici● and formal in what they did in this matter and k●nd than we were : yet there was enough done here to instruct him , that he is no otherwise king , than as he is upon his behaviour : and that he holds the crown , as the judges do their places , quam diu benese gesserit . and he may be ●ure , that they who could extort and wrest from the constitution , which gave no such allowance , and much less authority , a power and right to dethrone k. james , and transfer their own and the peoples allegiance from him , upon allegations which were never examined as to their weight and importance , nor proved as to their reality and truth , will be ready and forward enough when the humor and caprice takes them , to treat him in case of miscarriages after the same rate ; and will have that , bo●h to warrant the doing of it , and to justify it when it is done , which they wanted before . for besides the precedent they have made with his allowance , and by which he has taught them , that it is lawful as well as practicable , 't is but for the people , when ●●etted and ●nraged by disappointment of their hopes , loss of their estates , invasion upon their liberties and rights , and their having their lives brought into hazard wi●hout leg●l cause and provoca●ion , to have ●ecour●e to ●he contract and stipulation between him and them , and thence to furnish them●elves with reasons , upon those f●uls in the administration , which you , sir , more than any other , make it your business daily to commit , both for legitimating and authorising another revolution . the second is this , that through the not punishing any of the ministers of the late reign , who were by law the only persons accountable for mi●carriages in the government , you have made k w. and him alone , responsible for the pol●tical crimes of his civil officers . the wisdom of our ancestors made it an axiom of our gove●●ment and state , that the king could do no wrong ; and that therefore no accusation● of him could be justified , and much less any force against him lawful . and indeed , this was the basis of our constitution , and the chief source of peace between the sovereign and the subjects , that the king , th●ugh cloathed with the supream authori●y , and vested with all the executive power of the government , yet that doing all things by his ministers , he could thereupon himself do no inj●oy , but that they whom the law had entrusted with the execution of matters under him , were to answer and be liable to punishment for all that was illegal and oppressive . it was upon this weighty ground and foundation , that sir john markham told edward the 4th ( as is reported by judge huss●y , who was chief-justce under hen. 7th ) that he 〈◊〉 not arrest a man either for treason or felon ) as a subject might , because if the party so arrested had thereby injury done him , he could have no satisfaction against him . to which i might add many other authorities as that 16. h. 6. tit. 1. jurans de suite . & 22 h. 6. naton , when it was solemnly adjudged , that the king cannot command any one to be arrested , but an action of false imprisonment lies against him that arrests him . for hence it is that the king is said to do no wrong , because he does nothing immediatly himself , but does every thing by his officers of justice , state or war. and therefore , tho it never be allowed either to officers or people to resist , be the king'● commands what they will , yee they are permitted , and 't is a duty they owe both to god and to him , in some cases to refute to obey : for when the thing required of ministers is either immoral or illegal , it is not only extreamly laudable in it self , but the best service they can render their master , both as to his honour and interest , modestly to excuse themselves from executing what either through passion , misleading , ignorance , of his duty , or by mistaking wherein his own glory , and his peoples happiness consists , he was pleased to enjoin : for as a prince's salvation hereafter , as well as great and honourable fame here , depend more upon his wise administration and good government , than upon his private morals and good life ; so the goodness of his government depends exceeding much upon those that advise him , and those that execute under him ; tho they are always to yield unto their prince all the reputation arising from their wisest councels and best performances , and never to intercept the credit and honour of them from him . nor is there a more infallible maxim than this , namely , that he is not the worst king , who is the worst man ; but he who has the worst counsellors about him and instruments under him . now 〈◊〉 . james's ministers having escaped all publick accusation and chastisement , whom the law made the only persons obnoxious to be arraigned and punished , there is thereby another very unfavourable , and , as it may prove , a pernicious precedent made and established for k. w. for wherei● they in k. james's confidence , and at the head of his affairs , should have been only pitched upon to answer criminally for all those things that were called miscariages during his reign ; he whom both the constitution , and all the laws of the land made not only impunible but innocent , was ( as a learned and most worthy m●n expressed it once in a coffee-house selected as the se●pe-goat , to have all the off n●es of the ministers , and of the subordin●te tools of the government , transferred and said upon him and drove away , un●er the guilt and weigh● of them , into a wilderness and land of o●livion : which original , should it come to be copied , would too late , but unhappily to your master , shew what a bad minister you are to him . in contracting guilt which he may be made a sacrifice to expiate , and committing crimes misbecoming your character , and contrary to the duty of your office , that k. william m●y undergo the reproach , and bear the punishment of them . but to decline the persuing this head any fur●her , i sh●ll only take notice how the subjecting king james to suffer in the stead and room of his ministers , when the law had only marked them out as off●rings of atonement for his faults ( had he been guilty of any ) as well as their own , has exposed k. 〈◊〉 . to som● very ill-natur'd reflections , but it is hoped they are not so true , as they are piquant . one is , that notwithstanding all the glorious promises made to the nation in the prince of orange's declaration , dated at the hag●● , anno 1688 , and all the accusarions therein fastned upon , and menaces denounced against k. james's ministers , that yet it appears by the events , and the whol● tenour of transactions since , how neither the chastising of those ill men , nor the relieving the kingdom from pressures and oppressions , or the redressing what was called grievances , were the ends of the p. of o's coming hither , but that his main , if not whole design was to supplant his father-in-law and uncle , and to get the crown . to which they add another , name 〈…〉 ●hat k. w. having been mainly instrumental in saving and protecting the former ministers , who ought to have been punished , and not their master , was not only to prevent the discouraging , but to embolden those whom he employs himself under the like character to be the more willing to venture upon illegal things , and the less to hesitate at the executing of his own arbitrary commands . nor do they forbear to subjoin a third , viz. that those ill men came therefore to be overlook'd and cover'd , because they were the prince's pensioners and tools , while by their oaths and places they were k. james's ministers ; and that they were hired and instructed from abroad to betray and disserve their master at 〈…〉 ome , that the m●ght serve and furnish pretences for the prince's invasion . but i hasten to my third postulatum , which is , that most of those who serve this government , as well as all those who refuse allegiance to it , believe him on the throne to be only king de facto , but not de jure : not 〈◊〉 this meerly the opinion of your non-s 〈…〉 and those called jacobites , but it is the 〈◊〉 belief of two parts in three of your s 〈…〉 , who are vulgarly stiled williamites : for the utmost that either law or religion will allow them to acknowledge , is , that he is a king by exercise , but not by right . 't is in this that sherlock has many more followers than johnson ; the rich , great , learned being of the sentiments of the former , whereas few but ) our unthinking mob and downright republicans are of the belief of the latter . now all that this principle can carry any unto , when most under the impression and influence of it , is to serve the government upon the motives of convenience , but no● upon inducements of conscience . and to submit to it , and exteriorly own it , upon the foot of safety and interest , but not on the s●ore of duty and internal reverence . and those men being uneasy through the reproach that attends their inconsistency with themselves , and through the lashes which they receive from thei● own minds , for owning that , the righteousness whereof they do not approve , and swearing to uphold a constitution , which they believe to be not only illegal , but morally unlawful , they are thereupon both weary of the government , and would be rid of it . and all that hinders their co-operating openly to it's subversion , is an apprehension , that it cannot be effected without too much private and publick damage ; which restraining thought , in the opinion of some , though it may argue the goodness of their natural temper , yet it speaks a mean and ungenerous understanding . now all these , who are indeed the bulk of the nation , are extreamly pleased at the irtegularities , illegal excesses , and miscarriages of the ministerial conduct and management ; there being nothing that they do more cover , than to see the government loaded with infamy , and rendred odlous , as reckoning it a m●e● usurpation , and not a lawful establishment . so that , sir , your administration gratifies many thousands whom you call your friends , as well as it doth all your enemies , because the iniquity and badness of it gives the one and the other prospect and hopes of seeing the government pulled down , with more facility and resistance than it was set up : but how loyal you are to your master in the mean time , we shall discourse anon . and therefore having discharged the foregoing postulata , with all the brevity that the matter would admit , i shall now proceed to a more particular recapitulation of the miscarriages in the conduct of k. w's ministers , and chiefly of yours , which have far exceeded that of others in illegality , inhumamanities and barbarous practices : and i do challenge all mankind , ere i advance any further , to name so much as one thing called a grievance under the reign of k. james , that has not been repeated or out-gone since the reign of k. w. may be we have not had all the same things over again in specie , but we have had them to the full in the value and equivalent . and for those we have not had specifically repeated , it is not because they have been thought unlawful , but because the passions and inclinations of k w , and hi● ministers are of a disti●ct kind from those of k. james , and travel in a different road from what his did . but if the former king did in some things exceed the bounds which the law had chalked out as the measures of his government , that he might thereby have brought all his people to stand upon ●he same level of capaci●y , in reference to civil and military employs , and in order to putting a period to persecutions for matters of meer conscience and revealed religion , without damage to the church by law established , either in it's dignities , properties or jurisdictions , they were so noble and royal ends , as might have served to excuse , if not to justify , the little irregular excesses taken and persued for compassing of them : whereas we have since the revolution , not only seen the principal offices of honour and trust , rightfully due only to natural subjects , conferred and bestowed chiefly upon foreigners , but have had the misfortune to be often arbitrarily rob'd of our liberties , which is both the leaving us no legal bottom at all to stand upon , and infinitely worse in it self , than the having our countreymen , fellow-christians and neighbours brought , in the things fore-mentioned and practised under k. james's reign , to live upon the square with our selves . and the invasion upon our most essential right , as well as the first and most inseperable and valuable property , which is that of the freedom of our persons , and safety of our mansion-houses , has been so daring , notorious and often repeated , that the ministers of k. w. have been forced to solicit and procure divers acts of parliament sometimes , to legitimate them beforehand to commit rapine upon ou● liberties ; as in the dispensing oftner than once with the habeas corpus act , and at other times to indemnify them for the violences they had perpetrated without a previous allowance . and as we have had the same or the like oppressions and grievances renewed , which we pretended to be under , and so much complained of before ; so there are two very ill-favoured aggravations attend the latter , wherewith the former were no ways accompanied . one is , that we have increased our disease , where we expected our remedy ; and that those who set up for our physicians , have enlarged our wounds , in the stead of curing them , and that we have poyson administred to us in the room of healing medicines . all men know with what different pre-apprehensions in many of the people k. james and k. w. came to the crown , and the first as much exceeded our hopes , as the last has disappointed them . the other is , that whereas k. james erred upon example in most things , without seasonable and temperate caution given him in any , and upon the authority of the judges ( whose office it was to expound the laws to him ) in some : the illegallties of this reign , are , in contradiction to promises , in violation of stipulations , in defiance of warnings , without the countenance and concurrence of the judges , and with the improbation of the parliament , registered in divers of their addresses : from which it is very obvious for peevish people to draw a couple of unfriendly but very natural consequences ; namely , that as by repeating the worst of things chargeable upon king james's government , as well as by perpetrating those , of a more mischievous nature , than any it could be accused of , you have ridiculed all the motives of his abdication , and made it an act of insolent disloyalty , and perverseness of will , and not of zeal to preserve our laws , and vindicate our liberties ; tho had that been as real is it was pretended , it would not have justified the doing of it : so the ministers of k. w. by doing both the one and the other , have not only given occasion for , and provocation unto another revolution , but have made it vastly more needful , as well as more vindicable than that which was before . now tho the illegalities and miscarriages , whereof you are guilty in your ministerial administration and conduct , do ex●end to all the parts and branches of your office , both as you are a privy councellor , and a secretary of state , and be of no less compass than the vast latitude of affairs , wherein you have occasion to interpose , under the one capacity as well as t'other ; yet i shall not only confine my self at present to those offences , transgressions and crimes , whereof you are accusable as secretary of state , but even narrow them to such as meerly relate to your seizing , detaining , treating men while in hold , and prosecuting of them upon pretended criminal allegations of treason or misdemeanor against the government : and these are so variou for their quality , and many for their number , that i shall have both sufficiently represented you , and done what becomes me to awaken and alarm the kingdom , before i have gone through them ; which i purpose to do with all the brevity imaginable . and the first of this sort whereof i not only accuse and publish you guilty , but consign you over to the parliament to be impeached and prosecuted for it , is your hounding out the messengers of the government , armed with blank-warrants , by which they take upon them to apprehend and make a prey of whom rhey will ; which is in effect to furnish them with a pretence , if not to cloath them with an authority to bid every one stand , and deliver , whom they meet with . and were not the jacobites more tame , as well as peaceable , than you would have them be believed to be , they would long e're this , without becoming guilty by law , either of man-slaughter or murder . have stab●'d or pistoled some of your officers , who have assaulted and hall'd them to prison , under the countenance of your hand and seal , without the least mention of names , by which they ought to have been individually pointed forth as the perso is to be apprehended . for what is this but to commissionate your officers to go a mucking , which au●ho●zeth those that first can to knock them on the head , in order to secure the publick peace , and to prevent their going about as priviledged assassinates of out laws and freedom . for a badge and blank-warrant do , according to our laws and those of all nations besides , no more restrain me from resisting , and thereby defending and vindicating the liberty of my person , than the blew cloak and case of pistols of a dutch trooper do forbid my drawing upon him , when he violently assaults me in the street or road. nor does the issuing out of such warrants import any thing less than the furnishing fellows with a license to rob men ; seeing those whom they once seize , must before they recover their liberty pay down a ransom for it : which , to express it with all the modesty i can , is the transforming the office of a secretary of state , into that of licenser for picking of pockets . and as it is a rule among a certain tribe of men , that the holder and receiver is to have shares with the diver and taker ; so it gives too much ground for a suspicion , that either you or your clerks find your interest and advantage in this pillage . but to wave the giving this practice any further the character which it justly deserves , i shall only say that as it is highly illegal , so it is extreamly inhumane and barbarous . a second contempt of the law , as well as neglect of , and deviation from it , in the execution of your place , is , that tho you insert the names of those in your warrants whom you would have seiz'd , yet you do not always express and specify the crimes , for which you require them to be apprehended . nor is this method of your administration less arbitrary and criminal than the former was : for as no title you bear , or character you are cloathed with , empowers you to deseize any man of his liberty , but whom the law deseizeth , nor for any offence ( how much soever it may provoke and enrage mr. secretary trenchard ) but that which the law has made thereunto obnoxious ; so the commanding to apprehend men without mentioning their crimes , is the acting despotically , and the advancing your will and passions into the place and room of laws . it is an axiom in our constitution , that corpus and causa must go together , and where there is not that which the law accounts the last , no man , be his title what it will , is legally empowered to lay hands upon the other . the monarchy of england is not seignioral , but royal ; being a government under which we are freemen , having rights and properties ; not villains and slaves , who have neither right nor property in any thing : and therefore whatsoever the subject has a right in , he must both be entituled peaceably and securely to enjoy it , and have a remedy for the recovering it , if disseized and dispossessed . and without these , it 's in vain to talk of being governed by laws , all we are and have being subjected to will and pleasure . but so provident is the law in this matter , that the king 's writ under his great seal cannot imprison a subject , unless it shews a cause : and were a writ of that nature sent to a sheriff to be executed , he may return it without doing what is required , and he is no ways punishable for his disobedience or neglect , the writ having been void in law. and can we imagine , that the king's warrants , issued out by a secretary ought to have more power and efficacy by the law , than his writ under his brood seal hath ? surely , we must renounce sense and understanding ere we sink into such a belief . and if the law doth not give you a power over our lands and goods , nor any prerogative wherewith the kings of england are vested allows you to meddle with any man's estate or chattels ; much less can you in their name , and by their authority , imprison our persons , seeing scripture as well as reason do assure us , that the body is more worth than raiment , where , by raiment , according to all expositors as well as the canonists , every thing that is outward is meant , to distinguish it from corporal . for the common law hath so adjusted and circumscribed the king's prerogative , as that he cannot prejudice any man in his inheritance , and the greatest inheritance a man has , is the liberty of his person , all other things being subordinate and subservient to that . yea , so tender is the law of our liberty , that if a wrong be done to a man's person , it does not oblige him to sustain it , and afterwards accept a remedy ; this being a rule in law , that corporalis injuria non receipt estimationeme futuro , that no damages recovered by the injured person are a sufficient recompence for a wrong that is corporal . and therefore , where the law doth not deseize a man of his liberty , and render him imprisonable , it makes many things lawful in defence of it , which otherwise would in some particulars be trespasses , and in others very heinous offences . accordingly , it is a maxim in the law , quod quis ob●tutelam corporis sui fecerit , id jure fecisse existimatur , that whatsoever a man does in the necessary defence of his person , he is to be esteemed to have done it rightfully . nor can any man be innocent , that you from pique , revenge or avarice have a mind to make guilty , if your bare voting and pronouncing him so in a paper with your hand and seal to it shall subject him to be treated as if he really were . how often does it come to pass , that a matter which the law makes no offence , may give more provocation to a minister of state , than that which it declares and publishes a heinous crime ? must he therefore be allowed to wreck his spleen in punishing the former , more than he does imploy his justice in chastising the latter ? for example , should any one write a satyr on the present government , with the wit and acrimony that petronius arbiter writ one upon nero's court , there are few punishments so severe but the law would adjudge the author to them . whereas should the history of the last five or six years transactions be writ with the truth that becomes an honest man , and with that seasoning which may make it palatable to the age , the law would render this no crime , nor subject the writer to any penalty ; and yet some think , that such a history would more provoke and enrage the government , as well as render it more ridiculous and contemptible , than all the satyrs in the world would . so that when your ministers are most angry , there is not always the most legal cause for it . and therefore , if the reasons of every apprehension and commitment be not declared in the warrant , a man may be treated as a traytor against k. william , and a conspirator to overthrow the government , when at the bottom all that the gentleman is taken up and thrown into prison for , may be only a piece of banter upon the green-ribbon secretary , or a lampoon upon the mighty states-man , perfected in the politicks by the degrees he took at the rose-club . for it is not your knowing my name , and the inserting it into a warrant , that gives you a right over my person and freedom , but my being chatged with some offence , for which the law has made me forfeit my freedom , and rendered me imprisonable . and if my offence were not to be expressed in the warrant , i might come to lose my liberty , tho' innocent of any crime against the state , merely for being thought to know too much of the treachery and bribery of certain ministers , which an observing person must shut his eyes , and stop his ears , as well as avoid all conversation , to remain long a stranger unto . in a word , we hold not our liberties by law , but precariously , and at the discretion of our enemies , and are no more freemen but slaves , if we were not to be told why we were stript and divested of them . a third thing whereof you are accusable , as departing from and transgressing the law , in the execution of your office , i● , that tho you both specify persons and crimes in your warrants , yet you order the apprehending men for those crimes , upon bare and naked suspicion , without any proof or deposition upon oath before you of their being guilty of them . the common tenour of the warrants for a long time used to be , the empower●ng the taking up such and such , upon suspicion of treason and high misdemeanour against the government ; till this form of commitment coming to be argued at the king's bench bar , anno 1690. such persons were declared to be taken into durance contra legem terr 〈…〉 . for tho' according to law a person may be taken up upon suspicion , yet he cannot be legally detained and imprisoned upon suspicion , but where there appears no more against him , he is to be discharged , or at least admitted to bail : there being this difference between discharging and bailing , that the last is a kind of imprisonment , where●s the fi●st is a total delivery : in the one case the man walks abroad , dragging his chains after him , and as a prisoner upon parole to his sureties : in the other he is a perfect freeman , and may dispose of himself ( so as it is without injury to any ) as he will. but neither the illegality of the thing in it self , nor the declaration of the judges that it is so , has been sufficient to deter you from proceeding sometimes in the same method and course . nor will it sail sooner or later to rise in judgment against you , that having committed col. parker to the tower for high-treason , as you pretended , yet you told my l. lucas , that you had not witnesses against him , but were resolved to keep him in hold , till you could procure some : which that noble lord imparting to the collonel , either out of friendship or th●o indiscretion , he thereupon contrived and made his escape . for what less was this than to tell him , that how innocent soever he might be , yet he was to be destroyed , and made a sacrifice to malice and revenge , when he could not be to justice ; and that tho' he was not guilty , yet it was designed and concluded he should be made so : nor can any thing be more arbitrary and illegal , than without information upon oath to apprehend and commit men , and because you are pleased to suspect them to be guilty , to treat them therefore as if they were . surely , if suspicion be sufficient to render persons guilty , and subject them to be proceeded against as if they were , very few will be long safe , or accounted innocent . and as your most timourous creatures are always the most suspicious , which makes the ape and baboo● to fear and flee from the snail ; so , of all persons that ever exercised the office , which you are now honoured to do , you are the best qualified , through constitutional cowardice and fear , to entertain treasonable suspicions of all such whom you hate , and do therefore dread . but pray sir , how would you have stiled such a proceeding heretofore against your self ? seeing your memory cannot be so weak and treacherous , as that you should have forgotten , how during the several years that you were really guil●y of plotting and conspiring against king charles the second , you were nevertheless permitted to live at ease and peace , because the ministers of that government had not positive evidence against you : tho' they had all the while both suspicion enough , and too much ground for it . and is this the best return you make the nation for having been released and discharged out of the tower , after a short and gentle confinement , an. 1683. when hundreds , as well as your self , knew you were guilty to the highest degree , and yet discharged because there did not appear sufficient and credible evidence against you ? is this the blessed advantage we have attained unto by the laying aside those whom we stil'd tori●s , to introduce and imploy such who gloried in the name of whigs ? and are these the felicities we are to reap by a government under which all the grievances of former reigns were both promised and expected to be redressed , to find the fingers of the ministers of this , heavier than the loins of the worst of those that were imployed under the two last ? tho the woman that had been in the oven , might be excus'd for looking for her daughter there , yet it would have been unkind , as well as unn●tural and unjust , when she did not find her , to have accounted her guilty , and to have treated her accordingly , merely upon the remembrance of her own crime . however , it is from this illegal and villainous practice of apprehending and imprisoning persons upon naked suspicions , that you are forced to hawk after , bribe and suborn witnesses against them after you have taken them into custody , for this is that which you become in a manner necessitated unto , for the vindication of your wisdom and justice in having committed them , and they had need have a great deal of vertue , as well as honour , to enable them to escape the temptation to such villainies , who have run themselves into circumstances , that they must either get those destroyed , or be disgraced and punished themselves . is it not enough that your imprisoning any one for treason is equivalent to a si quis against him , to invite and allure all that can to come in and depose ; but that you must send through the 3 kingdoms , as well as the several coun●ies of england , to enroll and muster witnesses , and to allow more for levying one qualified for villany and impudence to do you service at the old-baily and westminster-hall , than for listing a whole foot-company to fight in flanders . and by setting a price upon the lives of innocent men , but whom you are pleased to suspect as criminal , you draw in the necessitous and mercenary to drag them by perjuries to scaffolds and gibbets . but to conclude this head , festus the heathen roman was better instructed in this matter , than some of our christian secretaries are under all their advantages of revelation , seeing he could say , as we have it recorded in the most infallible history , namely , acts the 25. ver . the last , that it was without reason to send a man to prison without cause . but i proceed to a fourth instance of your violation of the laws in the administration of your office , which is , that when you humble your self to assign the offences for which you order men to be apprehended , you frequently alledge and insert in your warrants , those matters for crimes which the law does no way account sufficient either for the seizing or detaining any . actions are stubborn and unpliable things , which it is in the power of none to alter or raise the value of beyond what the law has set them at , and stampt them for . so that tho you may make dutch skillings , which are not intrinsically worth two pence , to pass for an english six pence , yet you must not think of doing so by actions , tho really offensive ; and render that treasonable , which is but an undecency or at the most a misdemeanour . to piss at white-hall-gate may draw the guard upon one till he has paid his six-pence , which tho he be not obliged to do , yet he is willing to bestow , rather than draw a crowd about him and be houted at ; but it were to push such a matter too far , to send the man to newgate or to the gate-house for it : and yet i am very apt to believe , that should you produce it as an overt-act , whereby to prove the person guilty of having designed to murder k. w , or to blow up the tower , you might have some london juries that would both find the bill and convict him upon it . tho you be priviledg'd to bestow upon your own children ( whether begotten in wedlock or out of it ) what names you please , yet you are vested with no right of giving other titles to men's actions than what the law has conferr'd and fastened upon them . and to speak plainly , your committing persons ( as the usual tenour of your warrants run ) upon pretence of their having been aiding and assisting to k. william's enemies , without the condescending to mention the particulars wherein , which you seldom vouchsafe to do , are no legal commitments , but highly arbitrary . for besides , that the law admits no man to be divested and deseiz'd of his freedom upon general and indefinite allegations , without mentioning at the least the species of the crime , if not the individual act ; so there are innumerable cases , wherein a person very loyal to this government may be aiding and assisting to k. w's enemies , and in the mean time be neither guilty of treason nor misdemeanour . for suppose i were indebted to a banker or a merchant in paris the sum of ten thousand pounds for redeeming my wife and children , and ransoming four or five ships from jamaica or barbadoes , on which my whole estate and fortune had been imbarqued , which through the neglect of the government to protect our navigation and commerce , had been taken by french privateers , whilst our fleet was fooling away a campaign , and squandring the treasure of the nation upon the impracticable expeditions of bombing brest and callice , and blowing up dunkirk by your machine vessels ; this were an aiding k. w's enemies , as well as a relieving my self : and yet it would be so far from being any sort of crime , that it were a duty i ow'd my family , as well as a justice to my creditor . or suppose , that a general officer in our army , thro staying too long in the field to cover the escape of k. w. and to facilitate the flight or retreat of our troops at the battle of landen , and thereby coming to be wounded , made prisoner , and carried to namure , where , by luxemburg's order , he was better treated than he would have been at brussels , should , in recognition of the generous care that was taken of him , and in gratitude for the noble entertainment he had received , send to the mareschal , at the beginning of this campaign , 2 or 3 of the best horses he could purchase for money ; this were certainly to be aiding and assisting to the king's enemies , and yet none will believe it criminal , and much less a treasonable offence , unless they be both furnished with your morals , and enriched with your law and politicks . let us put the case , that one of the french king's physicians , or some other near his person and extreamly in his confidence , should offer to poyson him , provided k. w. or the commissioners of the treasury , would promise to pay them a sum of money ; most insallibly , the discovering this to lewis le grand , would be an aiding and assisting the only person in the world whom k. w. thinks most his enemy : and yet no man of sense , honour or vertue , would account it a crime ; seeing the roman consuls detecting the like to pyrrhus , when in actual war against the romans , in the very bowels of their countrey , was so far from being esteemed an offence against the senate and commonwealth of rome , that it had both the praise of that people then , and the commendation of all nations and ages since , of being a noble , brave and vertuous action . or suppose , that some of our almost ruined merchants , and particularly mr. — who lost shares and cargoes in 23 several ships , which the french have taken , notwithstanding the utmost care both of our royal navy , and our three and forty cruisers , appointed by act of parliament to secure and preserve our trade , i say , suppose that such persons shall ( after the pattern of the merchants of amsterdam and rotterdam ) make themselves freemen and burgesses of stockholen or copenhagen , and in that quality freely and boldly trade with france , this would not only be an aiding and assisting of the king's enemies , but the running counter to an express act of parliament , that makes it highly criminal ; yet i do not think that the government would do wisely to call it treason , and to prosecute it as any manner of crime : unless our ministers have a mind to sacrifice the whole nation to the interest of the dutch , and be embarqu'd in a design of breaking the exchange of london to enrich those of the seven provinces . for whatsoever our law doth make it , yet you cannot be ignorant , that it was within those few years accounted to be in the power of british subjects to transfer their allegiance to foreign states , this having been not only done , but justified in print by an eminent divine , and as famous a man , now dignified at salisbury , who under that plea , covert and protection , not only corresponded with the enemies of his natural prince , but plotted and conspired the highest and barest-fac'd treasons against him . and it were worth our knowing , whether he were not preferred to a bishoprick upon the merit of being subject to the states-general ; and whether he doth not sit in the house of lords ( where he pretends to have a mighty influence over debates ) under the qualification of the allegiance he swore to those high and mighty . but may be he has a peculiar priviledge , which other people claim not , of renouncing and re-assuming his allegiance as his interest guides him ; and that our laws are as pliable to that learned man's conveniencies as his own conscience is . for quo te 〈…〉 am vultum . and before i dismiss this head of your apprehending and imprisoning men , for what the law does not hold and account a sufficient cause for either ; i shall remind you of your late methods of procedure against col. parker , and mr. crosby , who being committed the one to the tower , the other to newgate : and having an assurance of their own innocence , and that you could legally charge them with no treasonable crime , did thereupon severally move by their councel , the last trinity-term , for their habeas corpus , and obtained it ; but when they expected and should have enjoyed the benefit of it the last day of the said term , you took care to deprive them of that favour , by causing to exhibit , and obtaining to have found two bills of high-treason against them , upon their having been in arms in ireland , for , and under k. james , which could be no legal ground for an indictment ; all such things ( if ever they were crimes ) having been pardoned by the articles of limerick , and by a treaty ratified and exchanged , made impunible : and accordingly you never durst since venture to try them upon those indictments , as knowing that they must have been acquitted , and the government have undergone the infamy of all the trouble and hazard which those gentlemen had been brought unto . so that instead of discharging your duty and office in this matter according to law , you set up to play tricks , in order to clude the laws , illude the nation , and oppress free-born subjects , and that of equal quality and education with your self ; for which it is hoped , both you , and such of k. w's councel at law as were concerned in it , as well as mr. aaron smith , will ere long be made accountable . and the parliament having , in their former meeting , begun to take notice of this irregular and illegal committing of persons , upon pretences of having aided and assisted the enemies of the government , when the practice neither reached to so many as it now does , nor was accompanied with so much scandalousness ; i shall therefore refer both the further enquiry into it , and the inflicting those suitable punishments for it which it deserves , to the next session of the two houses ; where it is little to be doubted , but that the dishonour and misery which the kingdom is sunk into , will in despight of your rich's and clarks , awaken them to be more careful of our lives and liberties , as well as of the old english constitution , than their giddy zeal , or at least an intemperate and mobbish noise , have allowed them hitherto to rhink of , with the circumspection and prudence which become them , in reference to themselves , their countrey and posterity . and therefore i advance to a fifth irregular and arbitrary thing , in the manner of your seizing and committing the free-born people of england , which is , that when you have both published the names of the persons whom you would have taken , and specified the crimes for which you authorise your messengers to apprehend them , yet you do not always declare , as you ought , that the legal transgressions for which you make them imprisonable were sworn and deposed upon oath before you . for it is not enough , that such and such things are sworn , but it ought to be express'd in the warrant , that they are so . and be your personal belief of their guiltiness of such and such facts never so well grounded , and be your credit as good as any can imagine or desire , to reconcile the faith of others to what you say , yet the rule , method and prescription of the law are to be obeyed and attended to ; and the law expresly requires , that you should not only mention in your warrants , that you are informed of such a persons having committed those and those criminal offences ; but that you have the whole matter , with the enhauncing circumstances of it , deposed upon oath before you , for so tender is the law of the subject's liberty , that it will not have it depend upon , or be forfeltable upon the most credible man's accusation , tho of never so heinous a crime , unless he both can and do actually swear to it . nay further , our freedom is of that preciousness , value and esteem in the eye of the law , that it will not allow a person 's being diseized and divested of it upon the single oath of any one , tho never so great and honourable ; but it expresly requires that there should be more , and that at the least there should be two. 't is true , that a man is liable to be taken up and brought before a secretary of state , or any other officer of justice , upon one oath ; but there must be no less than two , in order to confine and imprison him , and to preclude him from the benefit of bail : yea , treason it self , and the highest that can be imagined , sinks into bare misdemeanour , when there is but one testimony upon oath against the offender ; and that which is in it self capital , becomes in such a ease obnoxious only to lesser and and more trivial punishments . i do mention this , because of what was perpetrated by the ministers of the present government , an. 1692. when so many persons of all ranks and degrees in the nation were apprehended and committed without any deposition upon oath against them , or at the most upon a single one . and when some of the first quality of england , after they had made their application to the court of kings-bench in order to be bail'd , were remanded back to prison upon mr. aaron smith's deposing that he had evidence against them ; whereas it appeared by the issue afterwards , that the most he had ( if that ) against any one of them , was a single and individual witness ; which is no evidence for the detaining of men , and precluding of them from the habeas corpus act , because not legal and according to what the laws of the land do require . and it hath very much detracted from the reputation , justice and honour of the house of lords , that they tamely connived at such an injury done unto , and affront put upon their honourable fellow members , and that they did not both imprison the presumptuous and daring deposer , and order him to be prosecuted according to the utmost rigour of the law , or at the least , that they voted him not to be for ever uncapable of serving the government in any place or capacity whatsoever . but we hope they are by this time grown more sensible of their own dignity and jurisdiction , as well as what they owe to the kingdom , the ancient english constitution , and generations to come : so that they will treat him otherwise the next time he is handed unto and staged before them , which will speedily be done , if for nothing else , yet for the bills he preferr'd to the grand-iury against collonel parker and mr. crosby , in direct contempt and defiance of the articles of limerick , which had anull'd and superceeded all prosecutions of that kind , as well as in a visible subserviency both to involve ireland in a new war , and to shake the peace and tranquility of this kingdom . seeing , if stipulations and agreements be not so duly observed , as that people may rely upon them for their safety , they will think of finding better security , tho they must come to be indebted for it to their swords . however , so it is , that thro the parliaments over-looking the arbitrary and illegal proceedings of the ministers , an. 1692. you , sir , have been encouraged and emboldened to revive and repeat the same unjust practices in the year 1694. but we would humbly presume to expect that both the houses will think of hitting that blow now , which they took not that notice of then , which they ought . and it is in order thereunto , that we without doors publish our complaints in this manner to those wit●in ; that if they will not vouchsafe to hear and relieve , the whole kingdom may understand , both how precariously every man possesseth all that is valuable unto him , and how little care , particularly their representatives take of them . but i hasten to another grievance which the subject groaneth under in reference to his liberty , and which maketh the sixth illegality in the execution of your office , and in your administration of the affairs of the government , and this is , that your messengers do often search houses , and that by night as well as by day , without the presence and company of a constable or a headborough . so careful is the law , in relation to our liberty , and preservation of the free-hold that every one has in it , that as it will not suffer the house of a peer to be searched , nor his person there apprehended , without the presence of a justice of peace ; so it doth not allow the breaking into , and searching the house of the meanest commoner , without the aid and assistance of a constable , or one of parallel character , tho in some places otherwise stiled . those whom the court calls messengers are no civil officers , nor does our law know them by any title that empowereth them to meddle with mens persons or goods , farther than as they are secretary-office and council-chamber porters , to carry warrants and orders from thence to the justices of peace or constables , to get them executed . neither have the very secretaries any authority or jurisdiction over the liberty of the subject , in the quality and under the figure of secretaries , but merely as they are themselves justices of the peace : tho i know that in their own single persons , as well as towards others , mr. secretary doth often supplant mr. justice , and usurp over him . yet this i do affirm , that , according to our laws , all that they can pretend unto and claim under that character , is to write letters , hand the peoples petitions to their master , and his answers to them , and the like ; but they have no power to diseize men of their liberties , or take away their papers , &c. otherwise than as being justices of the peace . 't is true , there is another thing very much in fashion , which , for what i pretend to understand either of matters of law or state , their jurisdiction may extend unto ; and i am sure that some of them , thro the profit they make by it , find their interest in it , and that is the supplying your gazetteers and writers of news-letters with cargo of intelligence ; the honour whereof i do no wise envy those that practice it , being in my opinion no better , nor other , than the furnishing wind at a certain price to the speaking-trumpets and cra●k-farts of the nation . but , sir , besides the tyranny you exercise over us , by authorizing or by countenancing your messengers , to break into and search our houses , without their being accompanied with a legal and civil officer ( for all power that the law allows not , is tyrannous and usurped ; ) how many particular mischiefs are we subjected and enslaved unto by this one method of your administring your office. for your messengers being fellows that most people are wholly strangers unto , and whom very few know by face , and least of all they whom they are usually heunded out upon , how liable are we to be robb'd by such as they may either in friendship lend their badges unto , or by those that may counterfeit them , that being every way as feasible as counterfeiting the publick coin is , which is every day practised . nor while this course is allowed , are we out of danger of being murdered by ruffians , charactering themselves messengers , and furnished with the passport of a badge . and this is the more easily practicable , because those who are real messengers carry many times only blank warrants , and at other times ( especially towards meaner people ) refuse to produce and shew any at all . but let us suppose , that none do come to our houses , but such who truly are what they vouch themselves ( tho we can never be sure of it , while the method i have been mentioning is allowed or connived at ) yet if they exceed their bounds , and copy sir w. waller's originals , pray , in that case , how shall we be redress'd , or whom shall we attach for reparations ? for it is upon that account , as well as to keep the peace , that the law ordains and requires the presence of a constable , and of such a one as is of the neighbourhood ; that if we be either pillaged or otherways injured , we may know whom to sue and make responsible . and i am very suspicious what your messengers may do , in fingering and detaining what they ought not to meddle with , unless they be under the inspection and restraint of a civil officer , since the time that i heard a very odd and ungentile story of your self , which i have made that just inquiry into , that i undertake for the truth of it ; namely , that upon your being informed , that a certain gentleman about this town had the picture of the prince of wales ( which certainly is as lawful for any one to buy and keep , as it is the pictures of the emperour leopol● and k. william , ) you sent for him , i suppose : by that authority which you conceive vested in you as secretary , and having questioned him about it , and demanding a sight of it , upon his obeying your command , and gratifying your request , you put it immediately into your pocket , and have not to this day restored it again . now , pray , what is this but to rob by virtue of the seals of your office , and to teach those under you to do the like by your example : but it may be it was design'd for you as a pledge of k. james's grace and favour , and of your own reconcillation to him , and that the manner of your getting into possession of it , was only artifice to conceal the mystery of your having made your peace with that exiled prince , and to cover your remaining in the post you are , about k. w. in order to betray him , of which your whole administration seems strongly to smell . but i hasten to another miscarriage in your management , which as much declares your acting with arbitrariness and illegality , as any of those can do which i have mentioned already ; and that is , while you pretend to seize papers of treasonable and seditious importance , your officers take and carry with them the deeds of men's estates , their books of accounts relative to trade , and their letters of private conversation with their friends . all which , as they ought to be preserved secrets which none should presume to pry into , without consent of the owners ; so the law allows no man a right and authority to meddle with them . the disordering men's letters , in reference to common and private business , may sometimes be an inconveniency not easy to be redressed ; and the penetrating into the state and condition of their civil and secular affairs , may come so to affect their credits that the wrong is for ever irreparable . there are several , since this revolution , that will never emerge from under the inconveniencies and difficulties which were brought upon them , by the seizing and detaining their books and papers , till the attorney general , and mr. aaron smith , would be at leisure to look them over . i am far from complaining of any governments seizing asseciations against the state ; or letters of treasonable correspondence ; but it is illegal as well as rude , to heap a gentleman's papers together promiscuously , and to carry them away in the bulk . and as none of the messengers are qualified to distinguish those of dangerous importance from such as are not ; so they are commonly so hasty to be upon the scent of fresh game , that they will not allow themselves time to do it , if they could . and in the paraphrazing what passeth in writing between friends , there ought to be the largest allowances granted imaginable : for how many words and sentences may there be , in familiar letters , between intimate and ingenious acquaintance , that were very innocently intended , and yet by a malicious interpretation may be easily transformed into libels ? the earl of shaftsbury's catalogue of men worthy , and worthy men , imported no legal offence , and yet what a noise was made of it , even to an essay of grafting a plot upon it heretofore . there are few in the kingdom , of genteel learning , political observations , or of a large converse , but , were their studies ransack'd and pillag'd , there would be something met with that would displease a peevish & hypocondrycal states-man ; and yet they with whom they were found , may , notwithstanding that , be loyal even to bigottry . and , as if it were not highly illegal , as well as extreamly damageable to the person concerned , to have all his papers seized promiscuously , and in the gross , there is another thing commonly practised in these cases by your messengers , which is of most threatning , and may be of fatal consequence ; and that is their neither numbering nor marking them themselves , nor allowing those concern'd and from whom they seize them to do it ; which is to expose and make obnoxious those , with whom they were taken , to have others shuffied in among them that were not there before . and this is practicable so many ways , that , where this previous security is not vouchsafed , the prisoner is by the civil law , which is the law of nations , made unaccountable even for those very papers which were taken with him : for the law , that always favoureth the accused , will suppose that to be done by them who prosecute , which they have furnished themselves with so fair an occasion for the doing of . this preserved monsieur fouquett , when the late colbert , who was at that time the chief favourite of france , prosecuted him with all the art as well as all the malice he could . and while we not only prefer out own laws so much above theirs , but so infinitely extol the justice and mercy of k. w. beyond those of k. lewis , we might very well expect ( tho i cannot tell whether we may hope for it , if some ministers be hearkened unto ) that we may have the same equal dealing at london and westminster , which are met with at paris . for how easy is it for some ( where the fore-mentioned care is not had and observed ) by the aid and assistance of their old friend parson young , both to counterfeit what hands and forge what treasonable papers they please , and then to have it sworn by their bribed mercenaries , that they are the hand-writing of such or such a one , and taken in the custody of this or that man , whom they have a mind to have destroyed . so that upon this account , as well as that there were no papers taken about him , all the treasonable writings and correspondencies , with which mr. crosby is loaded , signify no more , in law to affect him , than if they were old almanacks ; and the crimes pretended to be witnessable by those papers , can , according to law , ( may he be but allowed the benefit of it ) no more hurt or prejudice him , than if they were bagatelles or stories of robin hood and little john. and our ministers , were they not in a conspiracy to waste the treasure of the nation , as ridiculously as well as uselessly , as myn heer meesters does it upon machines , might have spared the expence of bringing people from ireland to swear to the similitude of his hand , seeing while the kingdom remembers what a late favourite young was with some of our statesmen , and the service he employ'd himself about ; nothing like the similitude of hands can influence the belief of any man , that is not on the score of distraction and folly fit for bedlam , or upon the account of villainy for bridewell . nor will it be very grateful to the nation , instead of better divertisement given unto them , to have the tragedy of colonel algernoon sidney reacted before them . to which i shall subjoyn , under this head , that as several papers relating to mens trade and estates , &c. have been lost and embezled , before the secretaries could fall into the good humour , or so far recover the sence of justice and honour , as to order them to be returned ; so sometimes they have been wholly detained , and refused upon any terms to be restored . of this i have an instance in a particular friend , who having all his papers taken by a messenger , and carried to the secretary's office , he could never recover one of them , tho there was not a script among them of a treasonable or seditious importance : and the loss of them was not only an injury to the gentleman , as it was a robbing him of his goods and property , but as it was a depriving him of the means of getting bread to himself and family : there having been several of them prepared for the press , in order to convey to posterity the remembrance of actions that are past , and to remain as memoirs to assist such as may write the history of the two late reigns . and since they were withheld from the author , after they had been several times demanded , they have been either hired out for money , or lent abroad in courtesy to divers to be perused : but he from whom they were plundered hath this to comfort him , that the minister of state by whose order and authority they were taken , it a person sufficiently responsible ; and he may assure himself that the sufferer is not of that tame and pusillanimous temper , but that he will sooner or later make him account for them : and if he cannot obtain satisfaction by legal methods , he will make reprizals in the best ways he can , but in such as shall be always honourable and just . yea i may hereunto add , that your messengers , and those other persons whom you employ upon these errands , don't only carry away papers with them , which they have no right to meddle with , but they rob men of their money , as if it were treason for such as you stile jacobites to have silver or gold by them . of this we have a late as well as a famous instance , in that harry baker , accompanied with the dutch conservators of our liberties , did either feloniously rob , or militarily plunder mr. tildsley of a purse full of old gold , while they were ransacking his closet , in search ( as they pretended ) of treasonable and seditious papers . and these are the blessed fruits we reap , by retaining and luxurlously feeding these mirmidons in england , while our brittish troops are near starving in flanders , and dropping into another world by hundreds and thousands in defending the barrier of the seven previnees . but tho those holland troopers may be above the cognizance and animadversion of our laws , in compensation for their having r●s●ued and preserved them unto us , at a time when we were in as full and quiet enjoyment o● our properties as ever we were , save that in d●f●ren●e to the declaration dated at the h 〈…〉 〈◊〉 168● , we were bound in defiance of sence and experience to believe them to have been trampled upon and annulled : yet we hope that neither harry baker , nor you who commissionated him down to la●cahire and 〈◊〉 are above being made responsible for this and divers other criminal injuries there perpetrated . the next illegality which makes the eighth , whereof i accuse you in the execution of your office , is the detaining those whom your messengers have taken for a long time in custody , without vouchsafing to call for and examine them . you ought to know ( having been bred to the gown ) that every hours restraint , when there is no legal cause for it , is false imprisonment , which fastens a high trespass and misdemeanor upon the actor , and rendereth him obnoxious ●o punishment . nor is it enough to plead want of leisure to send for and question them ( which is your common excuse when addressed unto about it ) seeing he who is not at leisure to discharge the duty of his place , ought not to be allowed the priviledge to hold it for a day . and it is strange that you should have always time enough for issuing our your warrants to apprehend men , which is for the most part the doing them injustice , and you should want it for weeks and months , when you should not only do them and their families right , but the kingdom likewise . for tho the immediate wrong be done to particular persons , yet both the constitution cometh thereby to be reproached , and the whole community suffere●h in that pernicious example . and i cannot omi● bo●h the 〈…〉 g you , and the advertising the kingdom , that when you have l●●st wherewith to ●ha●g● the prisoner , you usually delay the l●nger 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 condescend to ●x●m●ne him : w 〈…〉 〈◊〉 ●ff●●t to say , th 〈…〉 〈◊〉 are resolved 〈◊〉 pu 〈…〉 h ●●m out 〈◊〉 m 〈…〉 , when you suffice 〈…〉 un 〈…〉 and that if you would al 〈…〉 him 〈…〉 of b●ing heard , you 〈◊〉 d 〈…〉 〈◊〉 . how criminal do you render your 〈◊〉 before god , and punishable as well as reproachable by men , by suffering a free-born subject to lie three or four months unheard at a messengers ; and at last when you condescend to examine him , to find your self under a necessity sometimes of discharging him immediately , and at other times of admitting him to bail : which is plainly to acknowledg that he was wrongfully kept in custody during all the time he was held in durance . and in the interi● , while he is thus illegally and unjustly treated ; if he was a tradesman he has lost his customers ; if a physician his patients ; if a lawyer his clients ; and is extreamly prejudiced , if not wholly ruined , of whatsoever course of life he was . and if i do not mistake , no man tho never so legally seized is to be sent to prison , until he hath been brought before some proper and competent magistrate , and hath been there examined . and i am sure that whatsoever the law prescribes in this matter , reason tells us it should be so ; seeing it is possible that a person may be taken up upon mistake , which his being examined may easily rectify . nor do we want examples , how sometimes , thro similitude , and at other times thro identity of names , a very innocent person has been apprehended in the stead of one that was criminal . and of this both the popish plot , and the consplracy in 1682 , have furnished us with several instances . which as nothing could adjust but an appearance before a magistrate , so it is absolutel● needful , in order to shew the equity and righteousness of your proceedings . and this is yet more indispensably necessary , when persons are seized upon blank warrants , where the envy or covetuousness of the messenger do more govern him in whom he apprehends , than the paper with a hand and seal annexed unto it , which you arbitrarily and illegally gave him . nay , it is possible that when there is no mistake committed in the person that is taken up , that yet he may be able so fully to convince you of your having been misinformed in the matters for which he was se●zed , that the bare examining of him will both vindicate his innoc●ncy , ●nd prevent your dishonouring the government , and the making your self punishable for keeping a guiltless person in durance . of this i could give you many inst●nces ; 〈◊〉 i shall only assign that of mr. matthew m●●d the minister , who was taken up in the year 1683 , not only upon grounds of just suspition , but upon positive information given in against him . and yet thro obtaining the justice as well as favour of being examined before the king in council , he did so well justify himself , and with that wit and presence of mind , that he was immediately discharged and dismissed home to his family . nor is it for the credit of king w's reign , under which we expected more fairness and generosity , as well as more justice , than were said by you and some others to be exercised under that of king charles , that the subjects should meet with harder measure in 94 , than they did in 83 ; and be worse treated now than they were th●n . but it seems we are disappointed of our expectations in this , as well as in most things else ; which makes some think that we are sunk back into the times of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , when all the laws in reference to the liberty of the subject were superceded and trampled upon , as well as those which related to the rightful enjoyment to the grown . and some do not forbear to 〈◊〉 . that there was more deco●um as well as justice observed under that usurpation , than there is under this conventional constituted gover 〈…〉 t. to which may be added , that the old 〈…〉 y secretary sir lionel i●nk●ns , had more sence , uprightness and honour , then to be guilty of those illegalities and oppressions , which his 〈…〉 g successor secretary 〈◊〉 commits without shame or remorse . but i advance to a ninth particular in your daily practice , whereof i do both accuse yo● , and do affirm it to be one of the ●ig●est oppressi●ns and greatest illegalities imaginable ; and that is your co●●●ning men to 〈◊〉 houses , which neither are , nor never ●ere , accounted legal prisons . and what is this , but to make your messengers such 〈◊〉 creatures , as that we cannot ●ell of what species they are ▪ surely it is needful that you should define 〈◊〉 , that we may know 〈◊〉 they are g 〈…〉 or mess●●gers , for ac 〈…〉 ing to l 〈…〉 they cannot be 〈◊〉 . for tho our la●●●●●not prevent n 〈…〉 ral , yet they do 〈◊〉 : no court 〈◊〉 : n●● are two s●xes twisted into o●e individ 〈…〉 so om 〈…〉 in the elementary world , 〈◊〉 s●c● 〈◊〉 in nations as messenger and goaler brought to c 〈…〉 r in one person are in civil and political states-for besides other mischiefs that may attend this common practice , there at three that are inseparable from it , and all of them inconsistent with , and destructive of , the subjects right unto his liberty . one is , that by this method of confining men , the judges , who by their places , employs and characters , are the guardians of every man's freedom , and the guarantees between king and people , are precluded from all regular ways of knowing who are taken into and kept under custody . whereas were all prisoners committed to legal goals , they could not miss having cognizance of them at the respective sessions here in town , and at the 〈◊〉 in the countrey . for the goalers being obliged at those times to give in a k 〈…〉 dar or li●t of all they have under their custody , it cannot then escape arriving at their knowledg who they are . and , as many are kept in captivity for months and years without the judges receiving any intelligence of them ; so if at any time they come to attain it , by the reports of those that visit them , and as a part of the common news , as i do not know they can judicially take notice of it , so i believe they are not by their duty obliged to it : and for them to meddle beyond that would be to have their sallaries paid worse than they are , which they are already ill enough . for tho they hold their places 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 bene s● g●ss●●int , yet as to the time of being paid their sallaries , they are under a 〈◊〉 . nor could an act be obtained to rectify this , and relieve them from a precarious dependance , tho a bill had past both houses , and was offered to king w. in order to the obtaining the royal as●ent for it : but he preferred his own interest to that of his people , and refused it . for among the many other blessings which we have attained by the late revolution that of having more negatives given to publick ●ills in five years , than had been given in thirty eight before , may be reck 〈…〉 for one , and that not of the smallest size . another mischief accompanying this practice of committing prisoners to messengers hou 〈…〉 s , is the robbing them of the priviledg and benefit of being delivered out of their thraldom and restored to their liberty with that conveniency and speed as otherwise they might : for those houses being out of the circle of a commission of oyer and terminer at the old baily , such as are coopt up in them do sue in vain for remedy at the sessions . of this we have had the misfortune to see many doleful instances , and some very lately . and applications of this nature being usually made the last day of the sessions , and after the dispatch of all the tryals , when the judges are seldom on the bench , honest salathiel , whose learning , wisdom and justice are all of a size , does not only reject them with scorn and contempt , but treats those who make the motions , with the pride and insolence which supply the room of other qualifications requisite for his place . nor can any give the dimensions of this grievance , but they who having been thrown into the dens of lyons at the beginning of a long vacation , have been forced to continue under their paws and teeth as well as remain deprived of their liberties , withheld from their familles , and shut out from all their business , till the last day of michaelmas term. to which i subjoin a third plague that inseparably cleaves to this way of commitment , namely , that it tempts the messengers to suborn rascally fellows in town and country to inform and depose against honest and quiet men , that they may have an opportunity administred of preying upon and fleecing of them . and considering the morals of most of them , it is more than probable in reference to many , and proof can be made of it in relation to some , how they employ setters to entangle persons into their clutches , and have their spaniels to start game for them to worry . nor is it much to be wondered at , that having purchased their places at dear rates , they should sell the devil as well as they had bought him . and their customary salaries being but ill paid , the government being usually a year or two in arrear to them , while german troops abroad , and dutch projectors , under the notion of incompatable artifis and ingeniers at home , swallow up our money even to the starving almost king iv's houshold ; few people will think it strange , if those blades , who have neither honour nor conscience to restrain them , should purvey for a subsistence in all the ways they possibly can , without regard to the justice of them . and i will further add upon this head , that if those who are forcibly detained in such hands and places shall make their escapes , the law neither doth nor can make any crime of it : for whatsoever cognizance it takes of escapes out of legal prisons , and whatsoever punishment it makes the officer in that case obnoxious unto ; yet it can annex no penalties where it hath made no establishments , nor inflict chastisement for not remaining , where it is so far from requiring , that it doth not allow that any man should be . and if the law of 1 ed. 2. de frangentibus prisonam , doth neither make 〈◊〉 person that breaks prison , nor the goaler that consents to it , ( tho he whom he had in custody were guilty of high treason ) corporally punishable , and much less with death , unless the warrant by which the said person was committed express and declare the cause of his commitment : by parity of reason , an escape out of an illegal prison , is as little punishable . seeing the law that hath ordered it to be always specified and declared for what cause men are taken into custody , hath taken no less care in providing whither they are to be sent , and in what places they are to be detained . but i hasten to a tenth grievance , under which the subject groans thro your illegal execution of your office towards those you apprehend and commit , and that is in the suffering if not encouraging and authorizing those called prisoners of state to be treated both in goals and in messengers houses with the utmost barbarity , rudeness and insolency . for whatsoever you do not either prevent or remedy , when you both ought and may , you must be thought to justify and allow , and ought accordingly to be made responsible for it . prisons are not by the law intended for punishments , but only for the detaining persons accused in safe custody till they come to be tried , and do either vindicate their innocency , or be convicted of their guilt . and as it is to be supposed in justice as well as charity , that every man , notwithstanding what is informed and deposed against him , may be innocent till he be proved and found guilty ; so he ought in the mean time to be treated with all the humanity and fairness that are consistent with the preserving him safe , and forth-coming to a tryal . but that it is wholy otherwise i shall endeavour to lay before the nation , in several particulars , that if they have any sence left of the rights of english-men , or any bowels towards their oppressed country-men and brethren , or any apprehension or prospect of what may be their own portion and lot , they may resent the injuries answerable to the weight and importance of them ; and by application to their representatives in parliament endeavour to get them both revenged and remedied . nor will i insist upon the little and mean injury , tho it be hainous enough to many in some circumstances , that is commonly practiced in all your goals , and particularly in newgate towards prisoners ; which is the denying them the liberty to purchase their bread and beer from abroad , but forcing them to buy them in the goal at those scanty and stinted measures which the goalers think fit to allow . and the sutier giving several hundreds of pounds for his place hath no other way to reimburse himself , and make provision for his family and posterity , than by abridging prisoners in the quantity , as well as by defrauding them in the kind of what they ought to have . but i shall reduce all i have to say on this head to the following particulars , and branch this one general grievance into five kinds of tyranny and oppression exercised over the subject in this matter ; whereof the first is the shutting up men without regard to their age , quality , natural or adventitious infirmities , or to the former method of their living , under close confinement , neither allowing them the freedom of the respective prisons , nor the benefit of that little air which those places afford . i do know that the law speaks of arcta custodia as well as libera , but as it is only either for some infamous facts , or for persons from whose ill character some attempt may be justly feared of making their escape , that the first is ordained ; so it is not intended by it , that men should be locked up weeks and moneths within narrow , moist , and dark rooms , with warders lying in their chambers all night , as well as centinels constantly at their doors , which is the method of your lieutenant of the tower towards his prisoners ; who tho he be a peer , may be said to be a stranger to the breeding and civility of an ordinary gentleman ; and of whom it may be affirmed without scandalum , that of the whole bench , whether earls or barons , he is worthiest for the character he bears , and the best adapted to it , having more of the true and proper qualities of a goaler ●hin others are ambitious of being endued with , or capable of attaining unto . and to convince all mankind that this is a piece of despotical tyranny , and not what the law requireth , or whereunto the goalers duty obligeth him , they both can and do dispence with much of this severity , and practice more humanity and gentleness , when they are liberally bribed to it ; which proclaims them either barbarous oppressors in the one case , or treacherous rogues in the other . for as upon the one hand , if the law restrains them from using that moderation , they are villains and traytors to those that trust them in exercising of it ; so upon the other , if the law exacteth all that civility and fairness of demeanour from them towards those who are their prisoners , which is consistent with the keeping them safe , then they are brutal tyranes , and worse than bashaws in refusing it . but besides this , there is a second sort of oppression practiced upon all your prisoners of state in whatsoever places they come to be confined ; and that is , the demanding and exacting from them illegal and exorbitant fees. i do not deny but the law alloweth some small thing , by way of fee , to the keepers of city and county goals , but it bears no proportion to what they require , and you sir , as secretary of state , countenance them to take . but for your messengers i do know no law that allows one farthing to them from the prisoner by way of fee : for being the immediate servants of the court , they are to expect their wages from those that set them at work , and whose drudgery they do . nor is it possible that according to law they can challenge any thing from those they detain in custody , seeing our laws know none bearing those names for goalers , nor acknowlege any such houses as theirs for prisons . as for your lieutenant of the tower , i am told that there is only a groat legally due to him ; and that if more be given him , it is meer gratuity , for which , tho never so little , he ought to make a leg , and be thankful . by what name then shall we call that exaction of exorbitant and illegal fees from prisoners of sta●e , which hath been more practised since the late revolution than ever it was before , and under your ministry than that of any other ? for extortion is too diminitive a title for it ; nor can it be otherwise accounted of , than as a higher degree of oppression than any perpetrated in the dominions of the grand seignior and great mogul . and it would seem that some of you ministers do reckon that you are in a state of war with the english at home , as well as with the french abroad ; and that you may treat the prisoners you make in the same manner as the soldiers do those of the enemies they take in the field , where all they find upon the captive is held lawful plunder . so excessive are the fees which are every where exacted of those called prisoners of state , that a very great fine inflicted for a high misdemeanour against the government , would not amount to so much , nor be so grievous , were the prisoners tryed and convicted immediately , as the lying five or six months in a messenger's hands , or in goal at newgate , ariseth unto in bare and naked fees. yea many , who when admitted to tryal are found innocent and acquitted , find themselves so impoverished thro paying for so long time the large fees that have been exacted of them , that they are for ever after disabled from getting bread for themselves and families . nor is the suffering and allowing this extortion any ways serviceable to the government , which you pretend to preserve and uphold ; seeing more are of the humour of the gascoign than you imagine , who told one of the kings of france , that tho the whole treasure of the kingdom could not bribe him to be disloyal , yet he did not know but that an affront or oppression might provoke him to turn rebel . for many will chuse rather to ●un the hazard of dying by the swords of ●our armed troops than to be eat up peice . 〈◊〉 and limb after limb by your messe●gers and g●●lers , which is like the being gnawn by 〈◊〉 and ●●●●s , instead of being devoured by 〈◊〉 ●ut you know in whose reign , and by whom it was said , sentiant se mori , let the● 〈…〉 e ; and that he was not so much in favour wi●h ●●ose he either feared or hated , as to ●●ow them the privilege of expiring spe 〈…〉 y. a 〈◊〉 barbarous 〈◊〉 exer●ised towards those you have in custody , is , the refusing their nearest relations , and most necessary friends , admission to them ; whose company , if needful and comfortable at any time , is while they are in such circumstances more especially so . this was a hardship seldom practised heretofore , tho grown much into fashion since the late revolution : nor was either the earl of shaftsbury or the earl of essex denied the attendance of their own servants , under the severe reign of king charles , and those we called his despotical ministers , as my lord molineux and the lancashire ge●tlemen are , under the gracious reign of k. 〈◊〉 . and easy administration of those he employs in the head of his civil affairs . for since the exchange was made of princes , some have stood confined for many months , if not years , and none suffered to go near them besides goalers . i do acknowledg that in some cases , and towards some prisoners , it may not be convenient that any should have the liberty of access to them , save in the presence of a keeper ; but with that proviso and that circumspection , there cannot be the least danger of giving their friends and relations admission to them at seasonable hours . for whatsoever can be vouchsafed a prisoner , without danger to the government , or in subserviency to the making an escape , the law requireth that it should not be denied him . and that it is not from any care of preserving the government , or apprehension of the prisoners contriving an escape , that this privilege is with-held from them , but from covetuousness to squeeze money out of them , is apparent from hence , that upon application for leave and paying down so much for an order of admi●tance from the secretary , the liberty which was before refused is then granted . but then the mischief is , that this order will for the most part give only a freedom of access to the prisoner for once , and that whosoever would go again ●ust pay down t●other fee to get it renewed : and this method is held , till you and your clerks have levied so many duyly or weekly taxes on the subject as satisfy your avarice , and then a general one is vouchsafed , by which either any person is allowed to see the prisoner , or at least that such and such may do it , as are therein mentioned and expressed . and this customary practise of some secretaries in oppressing the subject , encourageth goalers to do the like , which tho they cannot exemplify in the same manner , yet they imitate it as well as they can . so that even when the secretary does no way intend by his form of commitment , that the prisoner should be debarred the sight of his relations and friends , yet the goaler will not admit them , unless they make their address by guineas , and seek his favour by the intercession of angels , and then the doors fly open , and the prisoner may be seen and conversed with . to which may be added as a fourth illegal severity used towards prisoners under their confinements , that they are refused the having their counsellors and sollicitors admitted to them , when they need and desire them . for as if their conditions were not distressful enough , thro a shameful defect in our laws , in not allowing them the assistance of council at and upon their tryals for treasonable offences , which no laws in the world besides ours but allow . you , sir , render it more deplorable and worse by denying them to speak with their councel freely , and as often as they please before , which is the robbing them of a right , which the law under all its other deficiencies in this matter grants unto them . for a counsellor at law is the same thing to a person confined , and to be arraigned for a conspiracy against the government , that a physician is to one sick of a dangerous and malignant distemper ; nor ought the first be refused the coming to his client with the same freedom that the latter goes to his patient . i do the rather insist upon this , because of the unpresidented barbarity used towards mr. crosly , even after he had warning given him by mr. aaron smith to provide for his tryal . for tho mr. momp●sson , who is his council , and mr. barleigh , who is his sollicitor , had admission to see him , yet they neither were , nor yet are permitted to speak with him , but in the presence of a keeper . which is not only all one , but much worse than if they were not suffered to come near him at all ; so it does put him only to the expence of so many fees , without leaving him in a condition either to declare with safety his own case , or to receive their advice . and the fellows fastened upon him at those seasons are only so many spies , whose business is to observe what he does say , that so if he discover the least thing , which being known may do him hurt , they may be ready as witnesses and depose against him , and thereby supply the want that the government still laboureth under in that matter , after they have hunted through the three kingdoms to procure such as with any probability may swear him out of his life . and through this severity put upon prisoners for high treason , which most in both houses of parliament , as well as the generality of the kingdom , and even mr. secretary trenchard oftner than the rest have been guilty of , they are worse treated than felons , murtherers , and highway-men are ; that being never denied to the latter , which is thus scandalously refused the former . to which i subjoyn in the fifth and last place , as another hainous and intolerable grievance put upon state prisoners in some goals , and that this is the subjecting them to wear irons , unless they redeem themselves from the barbarity by money . for tho i cannot tell whether this inhumanity be exercised towards prisoners by your authority , or meerly by your conniance ; yet this i am sure of , that exercised it is , and that upon persons whose quality , education and character , equal them to your self in every thing , save that they are not advanced to the honour by being vested with the seals of the office. nor is this only a punishing of men before they be convicted , or proved guilty of the least crime ( seeing none will deny , but that the wearing irons is a punishment , and that as grievous as it is ignominious ) but it is a treating them as if they were actually sentenced and condemned to gallys , and not as such as are meerly put under confinement to be kept in safe custody until they can be brought to undergo a legal tryal . now this is so commonly practised upon all that are committed to newgate upon pretence of having conspired against the government , that i need not assign particular instances of it , tho divers very late ones are produceable ; and for which , if reparation cannot legally be obtained against tell the keeper , gentlemen will be tempted whensoever they recover their liberty to vindicate themselves by a cane , if not by a sword , from the dishonour that has been done them : however i do both lay this earbarity at your door unless remedied ; and offer it to the cognizance and animadversion of the parliament the next sessions . if they be not either so employed about ways and means for carrying on a vigorous war against france , that they cannot find leisure for what concerns the preserving our rights and liberties at home ; or that some of them have a mind to suffer poor jacobites to remain unrelieved in this particular , till some of the advocates for the merc● of this government , and who have laboured so strenuously for the redress of those grievances which we complained of under former , may come themselves to fall under this barbarity , which it is not impossible but that sooner or later they may . however this ignominious severity is not inflicted upon state prisoners in persuance either of common or statute law , seeing by bestowing a few guineas on the keeper they may either prevent it , or rescue themselves from it , when they please . but in the mean time i would desire to know , by what act of parliament , either fell , or any other goaler , becomes authorised to levy arbitrary and exorbitant taxes upon any of the people of england , and how our ministers either of justice or state can answer the conniving at it under a government that is legal , and not dispotical ? but it is now time to advance to the next grievance under which prisoners of state do suffer , which makes the eleventh illegality , which in the course of your administration you exercise towards them ; and that is , the refusing to admit them to bail in cases that are by law bailable , and the allowing none for sufficient bail , but such as mr. aaron smith thinks fit to approve of . it would extend this paper to an undue length , to call over and enlarge upon all the cases according as the weight and importance of them do require , in which you refuse to admit persons to bail , when you not only may , but ought to do it . as when men are taken up upon bare suspicion ; when the suggestions and informations made against them are ●rifling and frivolous ; when the depositions before you are not upon oath ; when there is only one witness that sweareth to what is deposed ; when such as swear , tho never so many are to your own knowlege suborned and infamous fellows ; or when the informations are not made to your self , but handed to you from a scotch secretary , who is allowed by our law to take no further cognisance of english affairs than as he sendeth those whom he finds capable to inform , either to your self , or to some other officer of justice , whom the laws have authorised to receive depositions against english-men . in all these cases , to mention to more , you are bound by the duty of your place to admit such as are apprehended to bail. but your practice in all of them is much otherwise ; yea , so little do you either value the liberty of your fellow subjects , o● regard the authority of the laws of england , or are apprehensive of the justice of a parliament , that when applied unto upon such occasions , you do with a scornful smile , which is as the oyling of your hone , bid them go and seek their relief at the old bailey , or at westminster-hall . but as every one you send to prison is not so well furnished in the pocket as to be at the charges of obtaining remedy in those places ; so for any to remain arbitrarily robbed of their liberty till opportunities offer there of recovering it , is a scandal to the government , and a high oppression of the subject . nor needs ther● more to unfold and display your guilt in this matter , and to apparel it with the most aggravating circumstances , than that after you have kept men many months in prison for high treason , but are at last forced to prosecute and bring them to a tryal , you do then either discharge them without the preferring of bills of any kind against them , or at most do dwindle them into bills for misdemeanor , or may be try them for drinking king james's health . whereas instead of making that a crime , it would become the wisdom of the government upon the score of interest , to get a prayer inserted into the lit●●gy for it , and to enjoyn it as a part of every mans dayly devotion ; seeing it is not from any satisfaction that the people have in the government , and much less from any love they bear to it , that under so many disappointments , such vast charges and inconceivable losses , they so quietly and with that tameness submit unto it . but it is from a vain dread of king james , thro an unjust as well as uncharitable apprehension , that his revenge will be proportionable to their guilt ; whereas whosoever allows himself liberty to think , will find that king james is no less calumniated in being represented revengeful in order to hinder and prevent his restoration , than he was here ofore in the matter of a french league , and a supposititious prince of wales , in the subserviency to the driving him from his throne . nor can that prince who was enriched with mercy to pardon mr. john trenchard , who had not only brought into the house of commons the bill by which he was to have been excluded from succession to the crown , but who had been involved in the duke of monmouth's invasion , an. 1685 , as well as in the plot about an insurrection 〈◊〉 1682 ; i say , that prince cannot be imagined to labour under deficiencies of grace and mercy for pardoning any of his people , even the most hainous offenders , that by returning to their duty will make themselves capable objects of it . but as your refusing to admit prisoners to bail , in cases that are by law bailable , is a great injustice in you , and a high oppression upon them ; so the allowing none to stand for bail in behalf of prisoners , 〈◊〉 such as mr. aaron smith will accept and recommend unto you , is an act of that tyranny and arbitrariness , that our language is too penurious to furnish words sufficient to express it . and i would here know on what law that office is founded , which he enricheth himself and oppresseth others in the execution of ; seeing by what i have either read , or could be in informed of , it was never heard of until the reign of king charles the second , that it had its first rise and original in mr. b●rton and mr. graham . and the season when it began , as well as the first essays of exercising it , being in reference to the sham plot wherein so many protestants were to have been involved , an. 1681 , might have served to have gotten it damned and suppressed under this reign , that was established to suppress grievances , if it had been but for the infamy of its original , and the sanguinary ends it was erected for . but it is too probable that this is what does recommend it to some people , and keeps them extreamly in love with it , and preserves it among the utili 〈…〉 inventa , instead of suffering it to sink down among the deperdita during this government , at least while your administration lasteth . and yet it was executed by those two gentlemen with greater temper and moderation , as well as with more regard to laws , and all the rules of good breeding , than it has been since , or ever will be , by mr. smith . for whatsoever was complained of then , remaineth not only still repeated , but accompanied with fresh and formerly unheard of injuries , to cause us both to renew our complaints , and to proclaim them louder : and indeed in hoc uno mario multi scill●● , we have many burtons and grahams in this one mr. aaron smith . and whosoever considers how he thrust himself into the office , by threatning the commissioners of the treasury , will not wonder if the man be not yet recovered of the rage and madness which had then overtaken him : for when mr. hambden , and some others who had been made commissioners of that board upon the revolution , demurred about electing him into the place , because of his insolent pride , and the brutalness of his humour , as well as by reason of some other qualities with which he is too well furnished , that sufficiently discouraged them ; he menaced them ; and particularly the gentleman that i have mentioned , ratisying his threatning with an oath , that in case he obtained it not , he would stab or pistol them ; being at the same time provided with instruments for doing it . nor is the truth of what i have here related to be questioned , there being so many about the town ready to attest it upon the authority of his own testimony ; who as he gloried in telling of it , so it has taught others a very probable method , in case those fail which favour of more humanity and better education , of gaining the kindness and favour of some cowardly ministers . but sir , what is this of your accepting or refusing persons for bail according as mr. aaren smith shall be pleased to character them , but the constituting him a sovereign judg of the reputations , fortunes and qualities , of the generality of the most valuable part of mankind : seeing they are not of the mob , but those of a higher rank in the world , that appear in the nature of sureties in behalf of their suffering acquaintance and friends . so that persons distinguished from the vulgar , must pass for poor or rich , for those of a fair or those of a sul●ied esteem , not according to what they are really and in themselves , but according to the representation that mr. smith is in the humour to give of them . this is such an unlimitted jurisdiction and power , as no judg in westminster hall is vested with an authority to parallel it . and to allow him this uncontroulable right which he usurps of determining concerning the credits of men , as well as their estates , is more than the cloathing him with an arbitrary power over their lives , and subjecting them to dye by every passionate p●ff of his venomous and fiery breath : seeing the former are much dearer to all that are framed of a better mold , than the latter are . nor is any thing more notorious , because customarily practised , than his blasting the credits of very substantial persons , thro refusing them for bail , when the sums in which they are to be bound , amount not to above two or three hundred pounds , and thereby ( at least so far as falls within his power ) diminishing their esteem in the places where they live , and draw their creditors every where upon them . for which as by law they have very good actions against him , so it is hoped that sooner or later they may recover lusty damages . yea , when the ill-natured man cannot except against persons upon the foot of their inability , he refuseth to admit them upon pretence of their being disloyal , and brandeth whomsoever he beareth a spleen unto , with the name of jacobites ; which besides the prejudice that it may do to the person that offereth to be surety , and stands excluded upon this allegation , it may often leave the prisoner under a necessity of remaining confined for want of bail ; seeing his acquaintance and interest may lye among no other but those whom aaron thus charactereth . nor is this an exception that a court ought to admit ; seeing all that the law prescribeth and requires in such a case , is , only th 〈…〉 the person be truly responsible to the government for so much as he is to be bound in , and not what his opinion is about the rights and ti●les of princes . and yet how often doth this lofty man , who alone and single is a whole court of inquisition , treat men in reference to the politicks , with no less rigour and uamercifulness in his way , than the great body of inq●isit●rs at rome and madrid handle those under their jurisdiction on the motive of what they stile heresie . but is it not to expose the government , to the utmost reproach , and that when a man of quality and condition is to appear at the secretary's office , and i am sorry i have occasion to say it , even at the king's bench , accompanied with knights , gentlemen , and citizens of the best figure , to stand bail for him , he must antecedently to his appearance , and to obviate his being remanded to prison , thro mr. smith's reprobating those as insufficient whom he brings along with him for sureties , be obliged to convey their nam●s to aaron ; and to understand his pleasure , whether he will admit them to pass muster , or nor . surely our ancestors have not been so careless , nor are our laws so defective , as to leave magistrates unprovided of rules for their conduct in this part of their administration ? no ; for the law in this case still is , and the method heretofore practised always was , that if the court of judicature , or justice of peace , did suspect any of those offered for sureties not to be responsible for so much as they were to become bound , they were in that case to be upon their oaths that they were really worth so much , all that they were at that time debtors for being paid . nor doth it look favourably upon those trusted now with the guardianship of our laws , and the administration of justice ; nor doth it prognosticate well to the ancient english conssitution , that so horrid and injurious an innovation , in a matter of so unconceivable moment and consequence , should be so tamely overlookt and connived at , and all for the gratifying a peevish man , and for the advancing him to wealth and opulency , who knows not what it is to be loyal from principle , but meerly out of interest ; as he was not formerly rebellious upon motives of reason , or out of zeal to preserve the constitution , but from discontent with his own condition , and revenge that he was not preferred and employed . and by this privilege granted unto him of passing sentence on the sufficiency or insufficiency of all that are to be admitted for bail in behalf of prisoners of state , he raiseth annually such a tax upon all that have occasion to sue for a habeas corpus , or are vouchsafed the favour to recover their liberty upon giving sureties for being forth coming to answer what they are charged with , as is not easily to be imagined or computed . and it is pity that we have not commissioners appointed to enquire after illegal exactions of this kind , as we have commissioners of accounts for examining how the publick moneys are issued out : se●ing i am very sure , that were there a report to be made of the first , as by virtue of an act of parliament there ought to be of the later , the one would be no less surprising than the other , and administer equal occasion of melancholy . for as the least that the prisoner is forced to give upon this occasion is two guineas ; so if he does suspect the passableness of any of those he has been able to procure to be bound for him , he must in that case advance five or t 〈…〉 ; and then be their condition never so mean , yet aaron can recommend them as able and sufficient sureties . for what his name-sake the ordinary of newgate does in the case of felons admitted to the benefit of their clergy , the same will this gentleman do in relation to those about whom his concerns lie , and that upon the like motive and inducement . nor is the first more arbitrary in pronouncing that such or such a one , legit or not legit ut clericus , than the latter is in legitimating or disclaiming persons for bail , according to the manner he hath been addressed . there are many other things that might be offered in reference to this matter ; as that mr. smith's office is a plain usurp●ion upon that of the attorney general , and that his province , as he manageth his employ , is to be a tutor to the secretaries of state , and a superintendant and guide to judicial courts . but let them either chuse to bear , or take courage to rescue and emancipate themselves from the slavery : it is enough for me to have said open the injury done by it to the free people of england , and to have detected the illegality and injustice of such an office , in relation to the community and body of the kingdom ; especially as it still is , and hath been all along executed by mr. aaron smith . so that from this i proceed to another grievance , which makes the twelfth that the subject hath reason extreamly to complain of , in the way that you administer your place ; and that is , your employing and ho●nding forth trepans , to decoy , entangle and ensnare , indiscreet but well-meaning people into crimes , which they would not otherwise have entertained a thought of . i do acknowlege that spies may be sometimes used by a very wise and temperate government , tho the employ be attended with that deserved ignominy , that a man of honour would chuse sooner to die than to undertake it . but for t●●pans , they are tools only-for a malicious government to make use of ; and the employing , of them is an infallible argument , that the government which ●●eth them , judgeth it self either illegal and unrighteous , or unsteady and weak ; and that being sensible of the badness of its title , or thro not knowing how to subsist by innocent , noble and generous methods , it applyeth to base artifice and tricks for its support . accordingly , the first time they were known and made use of in england , was under and during oliver's usurpation : and it is not for the honour of the present government to borrow from the precedents which that usurper made , rules for the ministers of this reign to act by . i confess their first original to be as antient as the reign of tiberius , but it is little for the reputation of the ministers of k. w. to revive an institution , which the historian tacitus brands with so indelible a reproach , in saying , delatores genus hominum publico exitio repertum , & paenis nunquam satis exercitum , perpraemia elici●bantur ; that trepans and informers which were at all times a plague and publick mischief to a governed community , and whom punishments at any time could hardly prevent and restrain , were then tempted and encouraged by sallaries and rewards . and it must be confessed , that you who are the ministers of this present reign , have those advantages for the inflaming and enraging the people to discontented , seditious and treasonable expressions , which those who served under former reigns were very much at a loss for , if not wholly destitute of . for without having recourse to lies , fictions and maliciously invented stories , whereby to run people not only upon raileries , but the most venomous and disloyal speeches : you need only give and recount to them the true and impartial history of transactions since the late revolution . so that instead of a league with france for extirpating the protestant religion , and the enslaving these kingdoms ; of a supposititiovs prince of wales , and several other things of the same complexion , which were the forged calumnies to undermine king james in the affections of his people , and to dispose them to receive and succour an invading prince , whose errand , as appears by the event , was to drive that monarch frum his throne : you need only tell them of thirty millions , as uselesly expended as if it had been thrown away at ducks and drakes ; of above four or five thousand ships , several of them of war , and the rest of traffick , lost by us and taken by the french ; of the trifling away a marine campaign in the mediterranian , with a vast loss of our seamen , without gaining either honour or profit ; of being busied to little purpose in flanders , tho furnished with an army of one hundred and thirty thousand men , and neither able to beat the french nor yet to get into the bowels of france ; of the dutch being countenanced and encouraged to supplant us every where in our trade ; o● the total decay of all our profitable as well as honourable commerce ; and of the ruine of the greatest of our substantial merchants : in all which , as there is not one word of falshood , so there is not the least exaggeration . and all this being fresh in your remembrance , you can neither be unprovided of topicks of discourse , wherewith to furnish your trepanning emissaries , nor they of means both of insinuating themselves into the fellowship and confidence of weak , credulous and oppressed people , and of haranguing them not only into shame and remorse for the change they were accessary to ; but into the cursing k. w. at least his ministers , and wishing a speedy deliverance from those , if not from him . nor is it improbable , but that some of the ministers contribute what they can to miscarriages in the government , that the informations of their witnesses may be the more easily believed , in reference to the scandalous , seditious and treasonable discourses of those whom they would have destroyed . for we cannot forget that of tacitus ; ●●evitabile ●rimen cum ex moribus principis 〈…〉 dissima quaeque deligeret accusator , object aretque 〈◊〉 , nam quia v●ra erant etiam dicta credebantur : men are then deprived of all means of defence , when accused of having spoken those things of which a government is guilty ; seeing there being true makes it the more ●redite● that they were ●●id . but by those methods which your trepans pursue , and you authorise , you may come to kindle a fire , that neither they nor you can quench ; and raise such a devil in the nation , as all the power of whitehall will not be able to lay again . sir , let me tell you , that the sending trepanning villains thro the kingdom , fraught with such heads of discourse , thereby to ensnare poor people , who tho they be not fully satisfied in your conduct , yet are willing to live quietly , is not very prudently done in reference to the government , and carrieth a great deal of malice in it towards those whom you seek to entangle . which brings to my remembrance another passage of tacitus , who complaining of the reign of tiberius says , multitudo periclitantium glisc●bat , cum omnis domus delatorum interpretationibus subverteretur ; that therefore such a multitude was brought into danger , because all m●n lay at the mercy , and stood obnoxious to the slanderous reports and informations of trepans . doth it savour of any deep policy ( for of vertue , religion and honour , it doth not ) to send your kingston now into one county , and then into another ; and sometimes in the habit of a parson , and assuming his character ; at another time in a lay garb , and personating in one place a phisician , and in another a discarded jacobite officer ; and all to try whether he can decoy any into a complacential hearing of a conspiracy against the government , and thereupon to speak favourably of it , and wish success to it , that you may thereby support the sinking reputation of your plot. but you have bubbled the nation so long with falshoods , that you have very near attained the reward and recompence of lyars ; which is not to be believed should you speak truth . nor is the licensing your emissaries to declaim against the government , the only method you confine your selves unto , in order to trepan and inveagle men to own and acknowlege something that may involve either themselves , or others , in a plot : but there are divers other artifices which you use , as accounting your selves of the number of those pro●i viri , who are privileged mentiri reipublicae causa . for sometimes you tell those whom you accost , that the persons whom you would have them accuse have themselves owned what you desire to have deposed against them . thus , you endeavoured to dec●y and trepan ●●me whom you had under examination before you , as to 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 having been in france at such a time as might both have brought him within the compass of the statute that makes it death to come out of france without leave , and have given umbrage to his having been engaged with the french chevalier for assassinating king william ; and to oblige them to own and depose it , you had the confidence to tell them that col. parker had himself acknowleged it , which provoked one of them to reply , ( tho then before you under the hardship of a charge of high treason ) that if the colonel had said so , he had standered and belied himself , seeing to his knowledge he was not then in france . at other times the course you take with those whom you attack , is to study to obtrude upon their belief , that you are fully appriced of the plot , in all the parts and dimensions of it , but that out of friendship and compassion to them , you have a great desire to preserve them from the punishment that is ready to overwhelm them ; and that you may be capable of doing them that service , your advice is that they would confess only in general , that there is a conspiracy carrying on against the present government : and that you will have that tenderness for their reputations , as not to require them to conde 〈…〉 d upon particulars , and much less expect from them so ignominious a thing , as that they should be witnesses against any man. this , sir , is the way , wherein some have been , and still are , very industrious , in assaulting a certain gentleman that is now in ●lose custody . for you know that as the obtaining credit to a plot in general , would in great measure enable you to fasten it upon such particular persons afterwards , as you apprehend the most danger from , and bear the greatest malice unto 〈◊〉 ●o it would serve both to amuse a great many in the nation , and to 〈◊〉 s●me , till you should w 〈…〉 le and bubble the kingdom out of 〈◊〉 or si● millions the next sessions of parliament . ●o that i do now proceed to the last thing , which i have 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ti●● 〈◊〉 ●a●●en upon you in the 〈◊〉 of your place , and in the administration of affairs of state : and that 〈◊〉 , your 〈…〉 ing and ●b●t●ing the 〈◊〉 of ●●●●mous 〈◊〉 , for t●●ir per 〈…〉 y ●●earing ●●●ocent and 〈◊〉 m●n out of their l 〈…〉 s : and though this villainy hath been already in some measure ●aid 〈◊〉 , and represented to the world in a letter to my lord chief justice holt ; yet the trouble and danger which divers gentlemen are brought into , arising from and being caused by those miscreants , i shall endeavour to pursue and detect that matter a little farther , but without quoting or borrowing any thing from the forementioned paper . and i shall use th● same method which that author hath done ; namely , to give an account first of a suborner and manager of evidence that was not there mentioned , and then to character some more of the bribed witnesses ; that the 〈…〉 tion may fully understand upon the oaths of what sort of rake-bells there is a design carried on for the destruction of honest gentlemen . and to begin with one , who tho he hath not hitherto set up for 〈◊〉 witness , yet valueth himself extreamly upon the having procured and brought in those th 〈…〉 are th● name , that neither this age no● those that are to come may be ignorant of him , is alexander johnstone , brother to the scotch s●●retary mr. james johnstospan● . for these brothers , and brothers in law of secretarie● 〈◊〉 ways of getting into employs , which s 〈…〉 e h●ve honour enough to ●corn and refuse as others wa●t interest to attain u 〈…〉 . of which 〈◊〉 ●peak● , and the person whom i have just now mentioned , are very remarkable inst 〈…〉 . and it is fit that each of the two british 〈◊〉 should furnish their respective quota's for the support and maintenance of the government . and tho england hath the 〈◊〉 of supplying the state with most of 〈◊〉 t 〈…〉 of this kind , yet scotland is 〈…〉 th to ●y● under the disgrace of not being ●●le to ob●ige the court with some qualified for this ●●ploy . and the reputation of doing the ministers , and in them the government , this piece of service 〈…〉 eth to the ●hare 〈◊〉 mr. alexand●● 〈◊〉 ; who 〈◊〉 his 〈…〉 ation office at the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 bel●● ●ha●ing 〈◊〉 , w●●re having 〈◊〉 and w 〈…〉 d th●se h● de 〈…〉 to make impress 〈…〉 upon with plenty of w 〈…〉 , he 〈◊〉 in the 〈◊〉 place 〈◊〉 them with the 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 ; and with 〈◊〉 either of ●●vil or ●ilitary employ● , if they will ●nder 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 swear such and such out of their lives . and it is to his art and industry , if we may believe himself , that the government is indebted for most of the scotch witnesses . for your bruces and seatons are said to be of his mustering , and so are your martins and sommerils ; the last of which decoyed mr. chambers into his company , and then betrayed him . and having mentioned mr. chambers , it were worth the knowing upon what mystery of state he should be refused the small allowance of four penee a day , which the other prisoners in the marshalsea with him have afforded them . but to return to mr. alexander johnstone , who lyeth under this prejudice , that all whom he enrols for this service will be thought allied to him in one quality , which all that know him affirm his being endowed with in so great a measure , that no man believes a word he says . for as his character among all his acquaintance is that of false and lying sandy ; so it passes for the badg of a weak man to give credit to any thing that mr. alexander johnstone declareth , tho he swear to it . but albeit the court hath been a sanctuary to him , all along since the revolution , to cover him from his creditors ; and whitehall hath been to him in the quality of a white-fryars ; yet it is hoped that no place will long shelter him from the punishments due to him as a suborner . nor is this trade of his of suborning witnesses to to swear to falshoods , and to depose perjuriously , an employment with him of a late date , seeing he set up the practice of it many years ago . so that whosoever will but take the pains to go to doctors commons , will find a large catalogue registred there of those he had bribed to swear to his marriage with one mr. perrier's daughter , and to many familiarities with her , which i shall not mention , of which that court after great enquiry , and a suit long depending , did not believe one word to be true . yea , the subornations whereof he had been in that case guilty , were so numerous , notorious and gross , that they not only determined it against him , but both then , and ever since whensoever he is named in presence of any who belong to that society , they brand him with the character of the boldest and most impudent sub 〈…〉 r that ever commenced or pursued a suit in that place . and the perjurles he had been accessary unto , were so many and apparent ; and the defamations he had fastned upon the young gentlewoman so scandalous and gross , that had he not withdrawn first for scotland , and then to ireland , he had been prosecuted in the courts at westminster , and brought to undergo an ignominious and corporal punishment . it is unwillingly , and with regret , that i do either call these things to remembrance , or publish them to the world ; but when the man is not satisfied in the enjoyment of a credit which he doth not deserve , but will upon a reputation that is only charitably connived at , set up to destroy innocent persons upon the testimony of bribed and perjured witnesses ; it is then indispensably incumbent upon such as know those things , to strip him of his mask and disguise , and to present him to the world in his natural image , and expose him to view in the best light they can . especially when he is growu up to that impudence , upon a presumption of merit by the many services of this kind which he hath done the government , as to tell sir george maxwell that he was to dye as 〈◊〉 traytor , and that his estate was offered to him ; which , by the way , is a much better estate than ever was forfelted from him , and the rest of his family by his father's attainder . and that it may appear with what intemperance , temerity and malice , mr. secretary johnstone hath engaged himself , if not in the forgery , yet at least in the support of this sham plot upon the credit ( as i am willing to believe ) of his brother , i shall lay before the kingdom one instance of it among many , and that a very late one ; namely , that the said mr. secretary being informed , or at least pretending to be so , by that suborned and mercenary fellow seoton , how one lieutenant drumond , who serves king william in one of the regiments in flanders , could be an evidence against colonel fountaine , he not only writ to have the said drumond sent immediately over from thence hither ; which king william ( whom you ministers have drawn into the belief of a conspiracy against him ) accordingly did , and that under a comm●●d of making so much haste to be here , that the gentleman had not so much time allowed him , as to fetch his linnen and cloaths from the place where they lay : but upon his arrival the said secretary would have at first wheedled , and at last endeavoured to huff him to appear as an evidence against the forementioned colonel fountain . and tho drumond averred to him upon the word of a gentleman , that he was so far from understanding any thing whereof the colonel was accused , that he did not so much as know him , nor was ever in his company , to the best of his remembrance ; yet the forenamed secretary continued not only to rail against colonel fountain as a hainous traytor that must dye , but both to in●inuate and affirm that drumond must know a great deal against him . which so provoked the gentleman upon the finding himself tempted and importuned to murther an innocent man , by a false and perjurious deposition ; that he told the said secretary , that as he neither could nor would be an evidence in that matter , so the secretary needed not be so earnest to suborn and debauch him , seeing he might easily furnish himself with enough of such witnesses about the town as he looked after for half a guinea a man. which as it declares how large and deep this conspiracy is , of those that serve the government , against the lives of gui●less persons ; so it both shews the hazard that colonel fountaine is in , upon no other foot save that of meer malice ; and unfolds unto us the methods taken and persued to draw in and muster witnesses . nor is it improbable but that drumond upon declining to forswear himself , to destroy both an innocent person , and one whom he doth no ways know , may not only have his commission taken from him , but be refused the payment of his arrears ; whereas had he complied to do what was required of him , he might have reckoned upon the being speedily preferred to a very considerable command , and that upon the score of the highest merit that is now in fashion . but can there need more to supplant the belief , and eternally to blast the credit of the present pretended plot , than that harry baker and alexander johnston are the procurers and managers of witnesses for the support of it . and i have been the rather obliged to give the character of this gentleman , because that as mr. secretary trenchard declares he knows very little more of this plot , than what mr. secretary johnston conveyed unto him , either immediately by himself , or by such witnesses as he sent him , so it is not improbable but that mr. secretary johnston had the intelligence of it from his brother alexander , and those whom he handed to him ; having first suborned them . so that this whole conspiracy , for which so many have been taken into custody , and more have been looked after , seems to have been first minted by harry baker , alexander johnston and hugh speak , and afterwards made current thro the kingdom , by the credit which the two secretaries johnston and trenchard have stampt upon it . for that noble and very honourable person , who filleth the place and beareth the title of english secretary , in conjunction with trenchard , is a perfect stranger to this whole plot ; farther than as they have involved him in the ignominious drudgery of pursuing it , by imperiously as well as craftily playing their witnesses upon him : and considering his great sense and honour , he cannot but resent the great affront and indignity done him by mr. secretary trenchard , in turning all the witnesses upon him to clamour men out of their lives , while he withdrew into the countrey to observe , at a distance , how the mine should spring which he and some others have been so long in digging and working at in powis house . or if it should reverberate on those that gave fire unto and stand near it , he might be out of the reach of the disaster , and have the pleasure of seeing the honourable person , whom he left here covered with the dirt and dust which it raiseth , if not buried under the ruines of it . however this trade of suborning witnesses is become so common , ( which it could not be were their not too much countenance given unto it by those in authority ) that every pitiful fellow that hath a mind to ingratiate himself into court-favour , and to obtain a pension , dare openly & with boldness venture uponit . for it is not long since that two bayliffs took the confidence to accost a third , and to tempt him to come in as an evidence against mr. tildsley , and another gentleman , and depose his having heard them speak treasonable words against their queen , and about the murder of her : tho the person thus accosted ( as he confessed to a friend whom he consulted about the matter ) never knew mr. tildsley nor 〈…〉 her gentleman , and much less heard them speak the words , or any like unto them , which the two suborners would have had him to have sworn against them . nor is it to be questioned , but that those two rascals , who endeavoured to inveagle their companion to be a false witness , will appear as evidences both against the two gentlemen i have mentioned , and against all such as they shall be hounded at . but tho secretaries may take up and imprison men , upon such testimony , yet i cannot apprehend ( albeit i have a very slender opinion of the sense , vertue and fortitude of many that are admitted upon pannels ) that any jury will give the least faith or credit to what such villains shall have the impudence to swear . yea this practice of subornation is grown so much into fashion , and receiveth such encouragement , that even those who are upon the list , and have the sallary of standing witnesses for the government , are not contented with the single province of being whitehall evidences , and to perjure themselves , but they interlope likewise upon alexander johnston and harry baker , and turn suborners of others to come in and forswear themselves ; whereof we have a remarkable instance in lunt , the much celebrated witness concerning the present ●lot , in his endeavouring to suborn those gentlemen , whom taffe had introduced into his company , for tho mr. bagshaw , of whom i made lately mention , declined meeting with lunt , from an apprehension of the dangerous consequences that might at●end the having been in the company of a person of his character , yet mr. bancks and mr. beresford ventured to me●● both lunt and taffe , at the ship ale-house , in butcher-ro● , by temple-●ar , on ●ryday the ●8th of september last , abou● three of the clock in the afternoon : at which yime and place , lunt upon the encouragement of taffe , taking those two gentlemen to be persons very proper for his purpose , told them without much ceremony or compliment , that he wanted some gentlemen of ●eputation to support his design , and that if they would be serviceable unto him , they should be plentifully provided for , seeing that for want of men of credi● , he was for●●d to maintain some s●●●d●lous fellows to keep his plot on 〈◊〉 : after which having produced a paper he called 〈◊〉 narrative of his plot , and caused 〈◊〉 to ●ead it unto them , lunt began to be very frank , and to declare how zealous he was to perfect the plot , relating withall how dextrous he had hitherto been in the managing of it . adding that as mr. lee of lime had a vast estate , so his business must be done ; and that he designed those two gentlemen mr. bancks and mr. beresford to do a particular service in that matter . in brief , he attempted to suborn them to be witnesses in relation to commissions granted by the late king james , for raising troop● to subvert the present government : telling them that the commissions must be wrote very plain and legible , and that he would take care to have them signed with king james's hand , as he usually wrote it . all this is deposed upon oath by the two forementioned gentlemen , and was not only shewed and imparted to my lord chief justice holt , but was likewise offered to be sworn before him . and if it be true , that any of the judges ( as is commonly sald of some of them , and fully known of my lord keeper ) have both perused the depositions against the gentlemen that are to be tryed , and discoursed with the witnesses , which i am sure by law they ought not to have done , b 〈…〉 have as well avoided all cognizance of the matte● , till it appear before them in court , 〈◊〉 all talking with the witnesses till they are produced at the bar : i will say that they might with as much honour and justice , yea , that they should in duty have been as ready antecedently to hear what can be said and sworn in favour and behalf of the accused , and for invalidating the testimonies of the villains that come in witnesses against them , however , this that i have recounted being insallibly true , it shews both how pretended commissions from king james come to be charged upon several gentlemen now in custody : and that there is no man in england can ●●y he is 〈◊〉 if this practice he not ●●eedily suppressed , and all those who are either directly gu●●ty of it , or have the least 〈◊〉 thereunto , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 punished with the utmost rigour that according to law can be inflicted upon them . nor are these the only persons whom lunt has been endeavouring to 〈◊〉 , but he ●ade 〈◊〉 like attempt upon one who was of the ●umbe● of those persons carried to 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 , and importuned him under promise of 〈◊〉 rewards , to swear that he had received money of mr. walmesley for the carrying on and promoting the service of king james ; and upon that persons answering that he had never seen mr. walmesley , the miscreant had nevertheless the impudence to tempt and entice him to own what was delivered to him the said lunt , and another , and that then they two would swear to it , and excuse the person whom they accosted from being an evidence . which the poor man likewise refusing , lunt thereupon grew enraged , and threatned him both with abridging the mean commons that were allowed him in prison , and with the greatest severities that could be inflicted in a goal . and as if the execution of all this to the full at chester had not been injustice and barbarity enough , they have haled the poor man hither to town , and thrown him with two other persons more into messengers hands , to be there wrought over and trained up for evidences ; which that they may the more easily and better effect , the messenger not only resuseth to admit any to come to them , but disowneth the having them in custody . which serveth farther to instruct us of the mischiefs that attend the confinement of prisoners to other places than legal goals . and it would seem that there are privileges belonging to the ministers of this government , that were never allowed to those of the former ; namely , that as they may without being made accountable press men for soldiers , when they will not of their own accord list themselves ; so they may torture men into the becoming witnesses , when they can neither wheedle nor bribe them to it . for i do account such a confinement as i have recounted , and the starving them thro not allowing them a sixth part of what their appetites crave , to be a torturing of them . nor do the scotch boots , which are the disgrace of that nation and the scorn of this , affect men in so sensible parts as the pinching them for weeks and months in their bellies doth . which will make me always dread the hearing some people threaten to touch their enemies in the most sensible part ; and the rather , when i find it executed upon such as they call so at home , instead of falling upon those that are so abroad . and we may easily imagine how admirably qualified some of your messengers are for to rack and torture poor men when they have taken them in custody , by the hostile and violent methods which they practice , and seem to be licensed to use , in their apprehending them . of which i crave leave to refresh . your memory with one remarkable example , whereof not having had seasonable intelligence . i could not insert it in its proper place , as otherwise i should ; namely , how that kitson breaking into a house in scroops court near s. andrew's church , where some quiet people were peaceably assembled to worship god , on the 30th of september last , and having seized several without either producing or having any warrant , and demanding the key of mr. grascom's closet to rifle for papers , which the said mr. grascom refusing to deliver , unless he might see his warrant , and know by what authority he stood empowered so to act ; the fore-mentioned kitson , pointing to his badge as his sole and sufficient warrant , pulled a pistol out of his pocket , and swore by god that he would shoot mr. grascom ( who is a learned and holy minister ) thro the head , unless he immediately surrendred the key of his study . hear o heavens ! and be astonished o earth ! that england , under pretence of having its rights and liberties rescued and vindicated , should be reduced into this worse than turkish bondage and slavery . and that under one whom a deluded nation entertained as a moses to redeem them out of a meer fancied egypt , they should be translated out of a ca●aan , where only too much safety , ease and plenty , made them complain , and brought into an unpresidented and intolerable thraldom . as if those things were again to be re-acted which made tacitus say , quantoque majore libertatis imagine tegebantur , tanto eruptura ad intensius servitium ; that the great pretence of the restoring us to liberty , was only that with the more facility we might be made the greater slaves . but it is worth enquiring , whether self-defence , in all the ways god and nature have enabled us , be not in such a case , as that of mr. grascom's , both lawful and necessary ? and whether i ought not in duty to god and my country , as well as i may by the law of the land , slab such a fellow as kitson who thus hastily assaults me ? and for the being resolved about it i do recommend all true englishmen to 〈◊〉 very eminent divines , and as singular casuists . namely , to the author of the measures of obedience that liveth at salisbury , who hath told us that when the laws of a constitution are publickly violated , how we may have recourse to the laws of nature , which put us upon a common level with those that were antecedently our rulers , and give us liberty to oppose them , and defend our selves and our government by laws established : to the celebrated inventor of that needful distinction of swearing to this government to hinder the growth of popery , and of not swearing to it to prevent a deluge of atheism , who resideth at litchfield : and to that great man who dwelleth on the other side of the river , whose divinity in 88 stood in direct contradiction to his theology in 83 ; as appears by comparing his admirable letter to the late lord russel with his many loyal and 〈…〉 ing s 〈…〉 s since the revolution . nor shall i at present insist further upon your suborners , being resolved to keep something in reserve undiscovered till this matter come to lie before a parliament ; and shall therefore proceed to the charactering some other of your witnesses that have not been hitherto staged and detected in any paper already in print . and had your self , and the rest of the cabal a● pawis house , been so prudent as to grow temperate in your conduct upon the advertisements published in the letter addressed to the right honourable my lord chief justice holt , you had prevented my falling under a necessity of exposing those that you seem to have an esteem for ; and thereby of bringing both your judgment , in 〈…〉 ty and honour into qu 〈…〉 n. and the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i shall unvail and de 〈…〉 and a 〈…〉 nation the diversion of viewing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 than the grand j 〈…〉 y a● hi 〈…〉 hall , 〈◊〉 advantage o● 〈…〉 ing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a 〈◊〉 of high , 〈…〉 son ag 〈…〉 〈◊〉 , is one b 〈…〉 or b 〈…〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of whose 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 only give a few y 〈…〉 a 〈…〉 〈◊〉 , w 〈…〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 wonder , that he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the t 〈…〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 astonishment 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his rep 〈…〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 have the 〈…〉 ing impudence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as a witness 〈◊〉 a court of judicature . for not to speak of his b●●king most , if not all , the persons in whose houses he had the favour to lodge , and running away by stealth without giving them notice , or paying what he had contracted for : seeing , whosoever hath a desire to be satisfied in this , need only go and enquire at mr. toor●s next door to the sun tavern in the strand ; at mr. terry's a taylor in holtford's alley in wild-street ; or at mr. salisbury's a hosier near kingsgate in holbourn : from all whose houses he went away clandestinely , without paying a farthing of what he was indebted un●o them for the rent of his chamber . i shall insist 〈◊〉 a little more particularly on his being guilty of a crime of a higher nature , and for which as the law makes him obnoxious to corporal punishment , so no man , even not mr. aaron smith , can have the face , after i have represented it , to judge him fit to be allowed for a legal and credible witness . in brief then , this captain brereton or brewerton , being entertained as a lodger at one mrs. cottons , that liveth in new-court near holbourn-bars , he not only inveigled a servant maid into such wicked and unclean commerce , that the mistress detecting it turned them both ●ut of doors ; but he was accessary in a little time after to the robbing of the said mrs. cotton of fifty guineas , 〈◊〉 gold watch , and of several other goods ; or rather of perpetrating the fact himself , which is the more probable : for search being made after the fore-mentioned goods , upon the loss of them , they were found in this brereton or brewerton's chamber yea in his pocket , at the sign of the three herrings in red-cross-sire●t . and the fellow being sensible of his guilt , and knowing the punishment he was liable unto , for so reproachful as well as heinous a crime , he fell upon his knees and begged of the gentlewoman that she would not prosecute him , seeing his reputation would be thereby ruined ; that is , as i suppose , he would be incapacitated to be a witness , which it is very probable he had then in prospect , as the last shift and trade to subsist by . it were superfluous after this to tell you , how that upon cl●ndestinely abandonning his lodging once in france , he left a trunk behind him filled with stones , hoping thereby to have imposed upon his landlord , as if he had not only left behind him above the value of what he owed , but that he intended to come again . but the french-man breaking open the trunk sooner than brereton conceived he would , and finding what treasure it was furnished with , immediately pursued , took , and carried him back ; and besides the treating him with the severity he deserved , he forced him to borrow money , and to pay his debt , before he let him go . nor need i assure you that he went under such an infamous character at st. g 〈…〉 ains , that when after his departure from thence , he was seized and stopt at lis●e , till some account could be had of him from king james's ministers ; who thereupon gave such a representation of him to those who had stopt and detained him , that he was upon the receit of it thrust out of lis●e , with the drum beating after him , as a mark of disgrace . yet this is the credible person upon whose testimony principally a bill of high treason was found at hi●k's hall the last sessions against cap● . william 〈…〉 n , and upon whose deposition he is to be tryed 〈◊〉 the old bail●y the next sessions . for the question properly is not whether capt. williamson was in france , but whether it legally appears that he was there within the time expressed , and limitted by the act ? and whether this brereton have the qualifications required by the law to render him capable and fit to testify it ? for according both to law , and all other sciences , de non apparentibus & non existentibus eadem est ratio , things that app●er not are to be accounted of as if they were not 〈◊〉 all . and suffer me to add upon this occasion , that i can never believe that the design of the parliament was to make it capital to go for f 〈…〉 e , when the errand thither might be both lawful and necessary . for that were to suppose the members of both houses ( or at least the majority ) to be in a combination to sacrifice the people , and interest of england , to our forein and co 〈…〉 erate neig 〈…〉 : seeing nothing is more certain than that the su●jects both of the se 〈…〉 p 〈…〉 and of the spanish n 〈…〉 s , have a dail 〈…〉 ercourse with 〈◊〉 , by g 〈…〉 g and return 〈…〉 g ; and that not only by connivance , but by the authority of publick 〈◊〉 whensoever they 〈…〉 e demanded . and f●r these that d 〈…〉 n to go from hence 〈◊〉 ●er upon any treasonable account , it were easy to effect it , without the governments being able to make it punishable , tho they should come to know of their having been there . for it is only to acquaint some of the french privateers before hand , that you are to embark on such a vessel for r 〈…〉 rdam , or ostend , and to desire them to intercept the ship. but this carrying with it an injustice to others , which few of those s●il●d 〈◊〉 are capable of being guilty of , there is a genteeler as well as more innocent way of going thither , and that is by your own pass . and you may be sure more have gon thither by the s 〈…〉 pass . than ever went elandestinely . for as you will not deny a pass to the hague , upon having so much money for it ; so it is eas● to obtain one from thence to brussels , and from brussels to li●le , at less charge than i can purchase one at whitehall for going from london to edenbrugh . but to return to the giving an account of some more of your witnesses , and of what reputation they ought to be esteemed by a court of judicature , and a jury . in the pursu●t of this i shall therefore , in the next place , give the world a representation of mr. slings●y , whom the ministers have brought out of ireland to be a witness against mr. crosby , and do extreamly value themselves upon the having one called a gentleman , and of some fortune in the world , to appear in the figure of an evidence : but by that time i have presented him by another handle than that of birth , and estate , by which the ministers lead him forth , and shew him ; i am much mistaken if they be not ashamed of sending for him upon such an account , and if he does not wish he had frayed where he was , and not come hither upon so ignominious an employ . and it extreamly detracts from the credibility of 〈…〉 ever he deposeth , that he comes over hired and bribed to do it . for his telling mr. 〈◊〉 , that one of the lords justices of 〈◊〉 had promised 〈◊〉 should be provided for all his life , in ca●e he 〈◊〉 ●e a witness against mr. cros●y , a nount 〈…〉 h to ●o less , b●●h in law and common sence , than that he 〈◊〉 scanda●ously hired to be an evidence . nor is his an unsuitable employ ●o a person who hath in many instar 〈…〉 discovered himself a common cheat. yea , so natural is a couzenage unto him , that he could not forbear practicing it even upon those in whose power he knew it was to crush him . witness his defrauding my lord renelaugh of sixty pounds , for which that lord treated him to his face , in the hearing of divers persons of condition , with no better titles than those of rogue and rascal . and it is notoriously known , that about the time of king james's withdrawing , he cheared the regiment ( to which he stood then in the relation of agent ) of several hundred pounds , as is ready to be attested by several officers , as well as private centinels , that suffered by his knavery . but that which brands him with indelible infamy , and ought to incapacitate him from being esteemed a credible and legal witness , is , his having fastned upon a gentleman a sham bill of fifty pounds , and of which he received fifteen before the cheat was detected . but the couzenage , and falsification , being discovered , e're he had received the rest , he was arrested and thrown into the counter ; from whence he got out upon sham bail , and so having escaped the punishment of one crime , by perpetrating another , he fled into ireland , whither it was not worth the while , nor at that time easy to pursue him . neither can any thing be so infamous , which this man will not commit ; seeing in contempt both of the laws of nature and revelation , and in violation of the duty and affection of a brother , he hath thrown his eldest brother into prison in order to defraud him of an estate . to which i crave leave to add , that having been bred a protestant , and continued so till of late years , he then turned papist ; tho as he declared to several at that time , and hath often repeated it since , that he did it not upon any conviction of mind , but meerly to comply with the desires , and to gratify the importunity of his relations : which speaks him to be a worse man , than if he were an avowed and down-right atheist . because while the one denies that there is a god , he doth in effect renounce him , at the same time that he pretended to believe there is one . for whosoever departs from a religion that he judges to be true , to embrace one of the truth whereof he hath no conviction upon his mind , doth no less than both despise , and implicitly disclaim that god whom he owneth and pretendeth to worship . nor is such a man's oath to be more valued , or what he declares upon it to be more credited , than one would rely upon the oath of a professed atheist , or believe him that ridicules a deity in what he swears . so that leaving this gentleman cloathed with infamy , and the court covered with dishonour , in offering to use him in the quality of a witness ; i shall advance to the representation of another of your powis house evidences . and that shall be lunt , whom i cannot overlook , without giving some additional and farther account of him than what the world is already furnished with ; either in the latter to my lord chief justice holt , which hath been so often mentioned , or in any former paragraph of these sheets . and it is a very shrewd presumption that he is bribed 〈◊〉 suborned , in that he who a few years 〈◊〉 wrought as a day labourer at highgate , 〈◊〉 cleansing the ponds for twelve pence a day , can now pull sixty or seventy guineas at a time out of his pocket , as he lately did ; and that for no other end than to publish his vanity , and shew how well he is stockt with money out of the exchequer . however as it proclaims him a great villain to be so well furnished , and yet to suffer his first wise , 〈◊〉 the two children he hath by her , to be ready to starve in st. alban's street in st. i 〈…〉 s's parish , and who would infallibly be famished , if the parish did not keep and maintain one of them ; so it declares what a profitable trade it is to swear men perjuriously out of their lives in favour of the government . nor can any thing more detect the villainy of the rascal , than that being asked by a poor man for a debt which he owed him , and which the creditor said he hoped he would pay him having gotten plenty of money ; he instead of that caused him to be apprehended as a traytor : so that he is now a close prisoner in a messengers , where none are allowed to speak with him , but they who have him in custody : and in the mean time , under this unmerciful and illegal restraint , all the methods of caress and menace are used towards him to gain him to be a witness . neither is that poor man the only person among his benefactors and creditors whom he has thus unthankfully and villainously rewarded : for mr. noel of dover having in december 93 , not only relieved him and his wife , at their landing there from flanders , in their passing thro which they said they had been robbed of 50 l. but having withal lent him 5 l. and given him 20 s. gratis to enable him to defray his own and wives charges to london ; the rog●e , in requital thereof , hath accused the said n 〈…〉 l of high treason ; and by swearing that he intended to murther king william , hath caused him to be turned out of a place which he enjoyed under the government , and to be taken into custody . yea , the miscreant having been recommended by the said mr. noel to mr. shelton at canterbury , and to mr. cross at rochester , for their affording him and his wife lodging and entertainment in their travelling hither , he borrowed of mr. shelton 50 s. and of mr. cross 20 s. and instead of repaying them hath sworn them both into the plot. and whereas there was but one man in the world , namely , mr. whitfield , at the knave of diamonds near leicester fields , that had taken compassion upon him at all times under his poverty , and who at several seasons had lent him to the sum of 40 l. for which he hath his bond ; the ungrateful and barbarous rascal hath , in return for his mony and manifold kindnesses , given an information of high treason against him , and caused him to be apprehended . but that which most signally discovers both the infamy of the miscreant , and the combination which some of the ministers and other inferiour officers of the government are confederated in for destroying innocent men , is , that the rogue standing indicted for felony for marrying a second wife , while the first by whom he hath two children is still alive , and for which being apprehended the 2d of this present october , by a legal and bench-warrant , granted under the hands and seals of mr. prideau● and mr. eyton , two justices of peace ; aaron smith did so hector both my lord mayor and the recorder , by telling them what a necessary and useful instrument this rascal was of the state , and how much they wanted him to support the belief of the plot , and for the conviction of those prisoners that were to be tryed for high treason ; that those two magistrates suffered themselves against all law and justice to be huffed into a complyance of admitting him to bail. and because none , who had any reputation to iose , could be found to be sureties for a fellow that is perjuriously engaged in making a plot , where all wife and dise●rning men ( save those of the sanguinary club at powis house ) both know and acknowlege that there is none . aaron himself , who is sufficiently dipt in all the parts of that villainy , together with one c●lliford ( who waits constantly upon aaron in the quality of his follower , and whom he employs to run into all companies to know what is said of him ) became bail for the rascal . and because the title of labourer or the stile of victualles , by which lunt designs himself in a judgment granted under his hand and seal , were too mean for one of king w's witnesses to go by , and too contemptible for a person of aaron's degree and haughtiness to own under either of those characters ; he caused insert him into the bail bond by the title of gentleman . and undoubtedly mr. smith who acteth as invested with a power to dispose of mens lives at he pleaseth , may conser honours on whom he will. and having made a gentleman of a rogueish peasant he may in a little time challenge the creating whom he thinks meet barons and earls : seeing these are more indebted to inclination and humour for their creation , than any are or can be in their being made or rendred gentlemen . for as king james the first said pleasantly enough to a certain person that had desired to be made a gentleman ; friend , i can make you a knight , but it is not in my power to make you a gentleman . but no behaviour of aaron's can be thought undecent , and much less insolent towards my lord mayor and the recorder , if we do but observe with what imperiousness at the end of a sessions , after the judges are withdrawn , he not only dictates unto them the fines they are to impose upon such as are convicted of misdemeanor ; but how they must over and above at his pleasure and back , bind such to their good behaviour as he thinks ●it . in a word , there was never such packing of juries , obstructing and perverting of justice , obliging persons both to high and supreamary bail , as since the nation fell under the grand vistership of mr. aaron smith . so that under burton and graham we may be said ( notwithstanding all our complaints ) to have lived in republica platonis ; whereas the best we can now pretend unto is to be in faece romuli . but in the mean time , where is law , government and justice , that a criminal indicted of felony , and taken into custody , should be thus rescued out of the hands of magistrates , and from under the power of the law , to be made use of as a witness to destroy those that are guiltless ? and this at such a season when the felon was to have come upon his own tryal , to receive the punishment due to his crime : with this further aggravation , that this was done by the imperious interposition of aaron smith , who being an officer under the government , should for the honour of k w. and credit of the court , have not only permitted the law to have its course , but ought to have assisted in preventing all obstructions in the execution of justice . but aaron knows where his interest lies , and that he gains more by the tryai of state-prisoners , than by the prosecution of felons . for the heaping up of money justly or unjustly , is what smith principally aims at ; and not being contented with sixteen thousand pounds payable into the treasury , which he hath gotten into his hands , and not paid one thousand of it ( being resolved as it seems to cheat the government of the rest ; ) he endeavours to give all the countenance he can to sham-plots , as finding them so subservient to his profit . and while he grows rich by other mens being suspected and taken up as guilty of treason ( every pretended plot being worth unto him some thousands of pounds ) he doth all that craft and malice can suggest , for the forging of conspiracies , and the pointing out such for criminals whom his covetousness makes him desirous to have believed traytors . and there is enough to be laid before the parliament to convince the most incredulous and obstinate , that he hath been a wilful and malicious encourager of this sham-conspiracy , as he is known to be the principal countenancer of suborners , and the chief supporter of perjured witnesses . but what can be expected that is either legal or righteous , from a man that makes it his business against the time of any tryals for state-crimes , to get the under-sheriff to return what grand and petty juries he pleases : and if his blood-thirsty desires be not readily complied with , he complains to the upper-sheriff , and never leaves swaggering and threatning till he gets it done . and as if this were not enough towards the compassing his sanguinary and cruel ends , he frequently sends for the lists of those that are to be returned upon the pannels , and strikes out and puts in whom he thinks meet . yea , he is risen to that heighth of unpresidented barbarity , as to take upon him to dictate to grand juries , when sworn and sitting , how they are to find the bills that lie before them , imposing upon them with an insolence peculiar to himself , that such and such both ought and must be made examples . nor will any man wonder at aaron's haughty impudence towards juries , that observes how he treats the very judges in his application unto them , as if he were in the place and had the authority of dictat● , and they only to be the executioners of his pleasure , with as implicit a faith as an obedience . nor does any one give that check to his imperiousness , pride and insolence , as the attorney general doth ; who finding of what profit and advantage it is to be as much as he can at the head of all treasonable causes , and to keep prosecutions of that nature under his own conduct , doth therefore whatsoever lies in his power to confine aaron to a shorter te●der than he is willing to be staked down unto : for which he talks of mr. attorney with the utmost contempt , detracting both from his knowlege and integrity in all companies . which misunderstanding i leave to be arbitrated between themselves , as being best acquainted with each others intellectual and moral qualifications . but why do i insist so much upon the unpresidented illegalities of aaron smith , when the very secretaries of state themselves , without regard to law , honour , justice or humanity , cause seize and apprehend both men and women , for no other offence alleged against them , but that they disc●ver what they know of the infamy of the witnesses , and take the methods which the laws have provided and chalk'd forth for bringing them to an accountableness for their crimes . and as the like was never practised under any of those reigns of which we did most complain , and as it appears since very unjustly ; so it is worthy of our observation , that when a pack of scandalous rascals had combined in the year 1681 , to involve a great many protestants in a conspiracy of seizing king charles , and for altering the government , yet no one was molested either for detecting the forgery of that plot , or for laying open and exposing the crimes , villainies and perjuries of those who were then stiled the king's evidences . yea , when three several discourses , all of them bearing the title of no protestant plot , were printed and published in vindication of the innocency of those that were suspected , as well as of those that were apprehended and imprisoned , and for detecting the scandalousness and legal improbity of the evidences , and withal the picquancy which the author of those discourses had either spirit or language to season them with ; yet they were not only read by every man with safety , but openly sold by most stationers about london , without animadversion or controul . nor can any age parallel such a commitment , or furnish us with a warrant of the tenor of that issued out by the present secretaries upon this occasion ; whereof i shall subjoin a copy , that this generation may see their misery , and the next laugh at our folly. namely ( afterwards of course in all warrants ) that they should apprehend and bring before them the persons of — — together with their papers , for conspiring and endeavouring to suborn witnesses against the lives and credit of several witnesses for their majesties , against persons charged with high treason , &c. which looks like a summoning all the malefactors in the several goals of the kingdom , to come in and list themselves witnesses for the government , with assurance not only of protections and rewards , but that they shall have the satisfaction and pleasure to see those imprisoned and punished , that shall dare to prosecute them for their crimes , tho they should be murders and burglaries as well as felonies . were not the matter before me too open to be exposed , as well as it is tempting to render me severe beyond my temper and inclinations , i would add more upon this theam . but tho nothing can be rude , and much less picquant enough against those that have had the indiscretion , if not the malice to issue out a warrant of this nature , yet i will so far both retain my passions , and regulate my heat , as only calmly to expostulate the matter in one word : is the rescuing our laws , and the vindicating our liberties , which were the pretences for the prince of orange's descent into england , and the great motives to the late revolution , issued in this ? that we have neither laws nor liberties left us , but that we must stand with our mouths shut , and our hands bound , till our lives be destroyed and our estates forfeited , upon the perjuries of the most notorious as well as hainous villains that that ever the earth bare . and let me tell you , that we think it much more eligible , that you should command your dutch dragoons to cut our throats ( if they can ) than that a design should be carried on , and thus countenanced , by authority of murthering us by forms of law. for as in the one case , we should be sure to sell our lives e're we lost them , and should we miscarry in our own defence , would hope to dye not only pitied , but expect to have our death 's revenged ; whereas in the other , we fall with disgrace ; and there are few have the honour , zeal and generosity , to resent the wrong and injustice that are done us . yet it may be ●hat when proximus ardet utalegon , every man will be allarm'd ; and that the methods which render quilibet homo reus , may in a little time make omnis homo miles . and as i am very well assured , that by the course you take to destroy some , all men are threatned ; so i do not know , but that the common hazard , may run the nation upon a defence as universal as the danger is . but i return to a representation of some more of your witnesses ; and he whom i shall next unmask is wilson , who was formerly a chamberlain at the bear inn in smithfield , but who i do suppose is by this time commenced gentleman , thro the grace and favour of aaron smith , who takes upon him to be the fountain of honours . but this fellow wilson having within these two years been tryed and convicted of felony before mr. baron turton for stealing four bullocks , and having thereupon been sentenced to be burnt in the hand , which was accordingly executed : i shall need to say no more to render him infamous to all the sober and impartial part of mankind . only i am sorry , sir , that that you , and the rest of the powis-house cabal , should make it your business so effectually to disgrace the government whereof you are ministers , as you apparently do in using , encouraging , and maintaining such a rascal for a witness , to destroy those whose persons you hate , and whose estates you covet . and as you cannot be ignorant of what i have now related concerning him ; so you might easily inform your selves , if you preserved any respect to justice , that at those seasons which wilson swears he was in lancashire , and upon the treasonable secrets of those gentlemen against whom he hath deposed , that he was at those times in lo 〈…〉 on in a very mean and servile employ . but i will say no more of him , seeing if what i have reported doth not render him infamous nothing will. i shall therefore proceed to the representation of a young sprig of an evideace , but who being placed for a few years under the cultivation of harry baker may grow up into an unquestionable witness for the state ; if treachery and forgery can make him so . his name that it may not be forgotten , when you , and ministers of your complexion , have occasion to make use of him , is , stephen chazall ; who having been formerly servant to mr. berionde , and dismissed by him about two years ago for fraud and infidellty , hath been ever since endeavouring to qualify himself to be an evidence : for soon after he was discharged from his masters ' service , he made his first essay of roguery in breaking open a trunk at the black swan tavern in bartholomew-lane , where being taken in the fact of robbing it , he had been prosecuted by the people of the house for felony , if mr. berionde had not by earnest intercession prevailed with them to overlook the crime , and to let him alone : but the graceless youth , instead of being thankful to mr. 〈…〉 ionde for saving him from the pillory . or the carts tail , did soon after forge his hand to two notes upon goldsmiths , the one upon mr. richard pierson for 25 l. the other upon mr. ●alg●ave for 50 l. which by good fortune , no● being immediately paid , the forgery camé to be detected e're he could receive the money . yet instead of being discouraged by the repeated discoveries of his villainles , from attempting the like , he grew more emboldened to proceed in his criminal practices ; and thereupon he not only again counterfeited mr. ●erionde's hand to two other notes , one to mr. poiterme at the george in pall mall , and the other to mr. pawlet at the ●●ew posts in the hay market , and both of them for wine ; but he likewise forged mr. l'espine's hand to a note to mr. bancks the draper for cloth : which bills and notes tho preserved , and ready to be produced , yet thro the too much compassion and humanity of those whom he would have cheared and defrauded , he escaped being prosecuted , and had only a reprimand given him , seconded with good counsel and advice . but according to the proverb , save a rogue from the gallows , and he will cut your throat ; so this young villain , advanced from forgery in order to rob and defraud them , to perjury in order to murther and destroy them . for hearing how tenderly those were cherished , and how ple●tifully they were maintained , that had set up to be witnesses in reference to a sham plot , he resolved to try whether he could not raise a fortune , or at least gain a subsistance by coining falshoods , and deposing them upon oath for truths , as well as your breretons and lunts have done . in order whereunto he gave an information of high treason upon oath against mr. b 〈…〉 d , mr. de hersee , and mr. sentiman ; on which they were all three taken up , had their papers and books seised , and were committed prisoners to a messenger 's . nor will the secretaries want business ( how honourable let them and the world judg ; ) nor quiet and peaceable people trouble , so long as subornations are countenanced , and perjuries rewarded . for who is there that lunt ( to mention one in the room of all ) will not swear against , rather than b● d●graded from a gentleman such as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 has made him , to be a victu●ller at 〈◊〉 , or a labourer at highgate ; or to be reduced from swaggering with sixty or seventy guineas in his pocket , to wo●k servile labour for 1 s. a day , as he was formerly accustomed to do . but being wearied as well as ashamed in sweeping kennels , and in ●aking thus long in dungh 〈…〉 , i shall therefore discharge my self from this drudgery , after i have given an account of one celebrated witness more , whom you , sir , have taken into your special care , favour , and protection , and are indebted to n●wgate for him . the person whom i mean , is , your friend and darling , william a●●lock ; who lived heretofore with dr. oates , that was of all mankind the fittest to instruct him in the forging of plots , and how to support the belief of them with unparalleled impudence and perjuries . now the dr. having having no farther occasion for this ashlock , since he got a female bed-fellow , the blade became servant to one mr. freeman , a barber , in throgmorton-street near the royal exchange : and having brought several good qualities along with him from the drs. the first proof he gave of the improvement he had made by the example and doctrine of his old master , was to rob freeman in hair and money to the value of about 30 l. and tho the fact was clandestinely committed , yet knowing where a●●lock had been formerly entertained and disciplined , he had a suspicion that he must be the thief that had robbed him : and therefore causing him to be apprehended , and carried before a justice of the peace , some of the money ( which his master could distinguish from all other ) was found about him , and the fellow thereupon committed by the justice to newgate , a little before whitsunday last : where he had not lain long , e're he gave a new testimony where he had been educated , and that he had been a very teachable scholar under so expert and famous a tutor . so that he took upon him to discover a plot , whereof he could not miss the making this the chief part , namely , that there was a design to kill her whom they call the queen . for the burthen of the doctor 's discovery heretofore being a conspiracy to murther king charles , he would copy his master's draught as near as he could , with the single change of a princess to be assassinated , instead of a prince . and to tread as much as possible in the steps of the first grand architect of forged conspiracies , having coined and framed a plot in his head , he in the next place wrote a narrative of it , and took care to have it sent to my lord mayor , sir william ashurst . which he not being so forward to give credit unto as ashlock expected , and who having sucked in a liberal share of the insolence and impudence of the doctor , and being willing it should appear how well he had profited under him , he sent to my lord mayor to know what he had done with his discovery and narrative ; which my lord being allarmed at , as foreseeing the consequences that might ensue upon it , he returned it unto him with a command , that he should attest before witnesses what he had writ , or else that his lordship would not farther meddle with it . and that being done by the rascal with all readiness ; my lord , to deliver himself both from the trouble and reproach of it , caused conveigh and deliver it to mr secretary trenchard , whom i take to be you , sir. nor did you think it enough to receive it ( as may be your place did oblige you ) but you had the indiscretion to entertain it with a great deal of fondness , and to say , he was a person might do you a great deal of service . and as a testimony both of your esteem of the fellow , for the good qualities i have mentioned , and of your being engaged in a design of murthering men by the worst and most infamous means and instruments imaginable , you gave order that he should not be prosecuted the sessions following for his felony . for to obstruct justice , and to pervert it , are the usual methods with you of administring your office. but mr. freeman having upon that disappointment consulted with a friend what he should do , being very desirous to recover his money , he was adviced to prosecute the rascal the next sessions that should ensue , and to complain in court if the law were not allowed its free course . upon which , sir , you began to think , that you should make a cheap purchase of a witness at the price of 30 l. and a w●ekly allowance ever since ; and therefore you took care to have freeman paid half his money before that sessions , and the other half within a little time after it . nor can it be but from a malicious design , that tho this fellow has not hitherto been prosecuted , nor likely to be by freeman , yet you keep him still in newgate . however in this , as in other things , you do but dance in a net ; seeing we plainly discern you , notwithstanding your cover . in brief , he is detained there not only as a spy , but to acquire some umbrage of credibility in what he is to be brought forth to swear against such there , as you have a mind to destroy . for tho he be admitted into conversation with none of the prisoners of state ; yet you hope that his walking in the press-yard among them , may give some reputation to what he shall perjuriously depose . and that you may supply that defect of evidence you laboured under when you sent several gentlemen thither into custody , by having one ready to swear that they are become guilty of treason since they were in hold . nor can i compare this discovery of ashlock's , after he was in newgate in danger of being hanged , to any thing more properly than to the detection which whitney pretended to make of a conspiracy for murthering king william ; in hopes , after all his crimes , and the sentence of death which he lay under , to have thereby escaped the gallows . and i tremble to think how many , and of what quality , that fellow offered to depose against ; and with what leachery his information was entertained , till my lord chief justice holt , from a horrour of the villainy he saw projected by whitney , and cherished by others , interposed with the zeal , justice and courage , that are natural to him , and got him hanged . and thanks be to god , that how ill natured so ever some of them were , who then filled the chief places of the ministry , yet we knew nothing at that time of a powis-house juncto , nor of a cabal instituted to form treasons , and who sit brooding to shed innocent blood. but surely we might have expected , that after the ignominy which the government fell under , for hearkening so far as they did to whitney about discovery of a plot , we should not have heard of another detection of a conspiracy from criminals and malefactors in newgate ; but some men when they cannot flectere superos , they will movere acheronta ; and apply to hell for support , when they despair , and that very justly , of the farther favour of heaven . and goals being the properest places to yield agreeable tools to the exigencies of the government , and most fertile of those of a vertue and credit proportionable to the good qualities of such as need and employ them ; and all the prisons of england not furnishing rogues enough of a character becoming royal evidences , the goals of other nations have been searched and ransacked in order to the obtaining a supply of witnesses , fit to pass muster against jacobites at the old baily , and to he credited by london juries . of which i shall recount one remarkable instance ; namely , that one bateman , and his wife , having perpetrated sac●i●ege , and theft , by robbing a church in flanders , and being thereupon apprehended and committed to prison , in order to be boiled to death according to the demerit of their crime , they were rescued thence , and transformed from being the worst of criminals there , to appear in the quality , and make the figure of good and legal witnesses here . for these two miscreants being sensible , that there was no way of escape for them , but by the intercession of king william , and knowing how to recommend themselves to his favour , and to merit a share in all the interest he had in the duke of bavaria , took care to get him informed , what mighty discoveries they were able and ready to make of a plot here in england against his person and government ; whereupon he immediately interposed with the elector , for their pardon ; and ordered their being defrayed and conveyed hither , to pass as witnesses against the lives of those , whom aaron smith , and others , should think fit to mark out to be murthered . and being consigned over to you , sir , it is known with what fondness you received them , and how you committed them to cooke the messenger , to be preserved fo●●hcoming as royal evidences upon all occasions ; and in the interim to be treated gently , and entertained with civility and friendship . but the wretches having compassed their end , thought fit to frustrate and disappoint you and aaron of yours . for finding an opportunity of robbing cooke , and his wife , of money and goods to a considerable value , they made their escape , to the sorrow and grief of some of you ministers , that reckoned upon mighty services from them . so that having dispatched all that i intend at present upon this subject , instead of a compliment before we do now part , i will ●ay before you three short remarks , and all of them suggested to me by tacitus ; for to a statesman , as you pretend to be , i will quote no other author . the first is in reference to king william who doth intrust and employ you , and who has thereby given matter of great suspicion to the kingdom , of his being of the humour and genius both of a certain emperour , and of one that was for a long time his chief favourite . for as the emperour in chusing his ministers , and principal officers of all kinds , was careful , and made it the master-piece of his politicks , never to prefer men of the most vertue and zeal for the liberties of their country : quia ex optimis peri●●l●m metueba● ; because he apprehended such would 〈◊〉 him in his arbitrary designs , and not be the ready tools of his craft and tyranny : so his favourite was endowed even so long ago with those modern qualities , that ejus voluntas nunquam nisi scelere quaerebatur ; no man could acquire his favour and confidence but by being villainous . and let me tell you , sir , that as the grand seignior hath no better instruments of his dispoticalness , than a renegado christian turned turk : so the fittest tools a prince can use that would enslave england and scotland , are such of the whigs as have neither honour nor probity . and that the whig faction is not barren in yielding enough of those characters for all kind of employs , is evident beyond contradiction by the practices of most of that denomination , who have been advanced to places since the revolution . and among whom should any prince that would be a sultan look for m●stys and bashaws , but among those where oliver cromwel found his c●aplains and major generals . the second is in order to instruct the people of england ( if they have not out-lived their wits , as well as their loyalty and estates ) how to form a character of your self , out of two passages of the same author ; whereof the one is , that there were some , qui gaudebant caedibus , tanquam s●met absolverent ; who took pleasure in the destruction and murther of others , that they might thereby appear loyal , which in truth they w 〈…〉 not . for when i call to mind the aspersions which heretofore you used to throw upon the prince of orange in relation to the murther of the de witts ; i can hardly forbear thinking , but that in order to your promoting a republican design , and the changing the monarchy into a commonwealth , you have concurred with others , that were always known unfriendly to kingship , in the contriving and persuing this plot against the lives of so many innocent men in england , that you may the better infect the minds of the people of these nation , with an opinion and belief of the prince's guilt in the assassination of those dutch gentlemen . and i do assure you , that the many sham plots since the revolution for murthering even by forms of law those that are guiltless , do not only leave very undecent impressions upon the spirits of all that give themselves leave to think , in relation to the forementioned massacre perpetrated at the hague , but awaken strange jealousies in them in reference to every man's safety in britain that will not come into the politicks of the court. and when i reflect upon the barbarous design of attempting to have procured not only all the papists , but all those protestants who were most remarkable , and steady in their loyalty to the king , to have been massacred by the mob , an. 1688 , upon spreading and diffusing thro the whole nation in one night , how the i ish were burning houses and cutting throats in all quarte●s and places of the kingdom ; i cannot avoid thinking , but that those persons who were capable of being accessory to so fro● less a lye , and of giving countenance to a contrivance that might have cost the lives of so many thousand innocents , will be always ready and disposed to authorise , as well as encourage , either private and personal assassinations , or more general and publick murthers , by forms of law , whensoever they find the one or the other subservient to their interest . nor am i surprised to find the brainless and unthinking universality of the kingdom , disposed to believe and swallow all that hath been lately noised of a plot against the government ; when i consider how forward they were to receive that hellish , impudent , and self-contradictious lye , of a few disarmed , disbanded , frightned , and intimidated irish , being firing and murthering in all places . and the barbarous massacre committed at glen●o , in the murthering a whole clan of scotch highlanders , without regard to age or sex , in one night , an. 1691 , except a very few , to whom the darkness of the night , the deepness of the snow , and the tempestuousness of the weather , afforded means of escaping , the being brutally as well as inhumanely slaughtered ; and this perpe●●ated not only upon naked and unarmed men , but upon such as had both taken the protection of the government , and with whom their bloody murtherers had been conversing as friends , and entertained by those poor souls , void of fear and jealousy , with all the frankness and plenty that the kindest guests could expect . i say , this barbarous massacre shews what some persons are capable of commanding , 〈◊〉 well as of countenancing ; and what others who serve this government are ready , and have the villainy to execute . for as i have seen an authentick copy of the orders under a great man's hand , requiring it to be done ; so i have heard those that perpetrated the bloody crime , justify the doing of it ; upon their having the command of their master for it , whom they declared themselves resolved in all things to obey , without respect to religion , law , justice , honour or humanity . but i advance to the other passage afforded me by tacitus , for the framing of your character , which is this , that reperies qui ob similitudinem morum aliena facta sibi objectari putent , etiam gloria & virtus intensos habent , ut nimis ex propinquo diversa arguens : there are some who having been often traytors themselves , do therefore think that they can pay an allegiance to none , unto whom such as have been of a different party from them are not disloyal ; and that when they can find nothing else to ●ate men for , they abhor them for their vertue , honour and probity , as reckoning their own crimes detected and exposed by the laudible qualities which others are possessed of . and as i am , my self , obliged to the author i have quoted , for sending me his pensil and colours to draw your picture , tho in little , yet so much to the life ; so i heartly wish it may serve to represent your interior longer to posterity , than any piece painted by the best master , can your external lineaments and figure . there is yet a third remark suggeste to me by tacitus , which i convey to you by way of advice , if you be capable of taking it ; which is , that levi post admissum sc●lus gratia , dein graviore odio , quia malorum facinorum . ministri quasi exprobrantes aspiciuntur . tho for a while you may be in favour , for involving innocent men under the guilt of a plot , yet you will i● a little time be the more detested , even by 〈◊〉 whom you have been endeavouring to serv● ; it being natural to princes to esteem themselves 〈◊〉 reproached , whensoever they look upon those 〈◊〉 either in complyance with their secret des●●es , 〈◊〉 in obedience to their publick commands , have 〈◊〉 their instruments and tools in criminal and villainous things . to which i will subjoin 〈◊〉 word more of the same author , speaking of tiberius , that tho scelerum ministros 〈◊〉 ab aliis nolebat , ita plerumque satiatus , & 〈◊〉 in eandem operam recentibus , veter●s & 〈◊〉 ad●●ixit . i kiss your hand , and am . october the 9th , 1694. sir , the most faithful of all your serv●nts , as being as much above flattering as fearing of you . a. b. the arraignment, tryal, and condemnation of peter cooke, gent. for high-treason, in endeavouring to procure forces from france to invade this kingdom, and conspiring to levy war in this realm for assisting and abetting the said invasion, in order to the deposing of his sacred majesty, king william, and restoring the late king who upon full evidence was found guilty at the sessions-house in the old-baily, on wednesday the 13th of may, 1696. and received sentence the same day. with the learned arguments both of the king's and prisoner's council upon the new act of parliament for regulating tryals in cases of treason. perused by the lord chief justice treby, and the council present at the tryal. cooke, peter, d. 1696. 1696 approx. 301 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 37 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2006-06 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a25874 wing a3757 estc r3080 99834090 99834090 38574 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a25874) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 38574) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1881:27) the arraignment, tryal, and condemnation of peter cooke, gent. for high-treason, in endeavouring to procure forces from france to invade this kingdom, and conspiring to levy war in this realm for assisting and abetting the said invasion, in order to the deposing of his sacred majesty, king william, and restoring the late king who upon full evidence was found guilty at the sessions-house in the old-baily, on wednesday the 13th of may, 1696. and received sentence the same day. with the learned arguments both of the king's and prisoner's council upon the new act of parliament for regulating tryals in cases of treason. perused by the lord chief justice treby, and the council present at the tryal. cooke, peter, d. 1696. england and wales. court of quarter sessions of the peace (middlesex) [4], 71, [1] p. printed for benjamin tooke at the middle-temple-gate in fleetstreet, london : mdcxcvi. [1696] with a preliminary order to print. reproduction of the original in the british library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng lancashire plot, 1689-1695 -early works to 1800. trials (treason) -england -early works to 1800. 2006-01 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2006-01 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2006-03 emma (leeson) huber sampled and proofread 2006-03 emma (leeson) huber text and markup reviewed and edited 2006-04 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the arraignment , tryal , and condemnation of peter cooke , gent. for high-treason , in endeavouring to procure forces from france to invade this kingdom , and conspiring to levy war in this realm for assisting and abetting the said invasion , in order to the deposing of his sacred majesty , king william , and restoring the late king. who upon full evidence was found guilty at the sessions-house in the old-baily , on wednesday the 13th of may , 1696. and received sentence the same day . with the learned arguments both of the king 's and prisoner's council upon the new act of parliament for regulating tryals in cases of treason . perused by the lord chief justice treby , and the council present at the tryal . london : printed for benjamin tooke at the middle-temple-gate in fleetstreet . mdcxcvi . die sabbati nono maii anno domini , 1696. annoque regni gulielmi tertii , octavo . at the sessions-house in the old-baily , london . dominus rex versus petrum cook. this day being appointed for the tryal of mr. peter cook , upon an indictment of high treason found against him by the grant jury for the city of london , upon the commission of goal-delivery of newgate , holden for the said city , upon which indictment he had been arraigned , and upon pleading not guilty , issue had been joyned , and the court having been adjourn'd unto this day for the tryal for publick proclamation in usual manner , the court was resumed , and the names of the men returned to serve on the jury , having been called over according to the pannel , and the defaulters recorded ; the court proceeded as follows . cl. of arr. set peter cook , the prisoner , to the bar : ( which was done . ) you the prisoner at the bar , those men that you shall hear called , and personally appear , are to pass between our sovereign lord the king and you , upon tryal of your life and death ; if therefore you will challenge them , or any of them , your time is to speak to them as they come to the book to be sworn , and before they be sworn . cook. sir , i desire you would not name them too fast , for my eyes are very bad . cl. of arr. john ewer . cook. who must i apply my self to , sir ? i desire to know , whether he is a freeholder in london ? cl. of arr. i know nothing to the contrary , sir , he is returned as such by the sheriff ; you had best ask him himself , he can best tell . cook. are you a freeholder in london , sir ? mr. ewer . yes , sir , i am a freeholder . cook. sir , i challenge you . cl. of arr. henry sherbrook . cook. sir , are you a freeholder in london ? mr. sherbrook . yes , sir , i am . cook. i challenge you . — no , sir , i beg your pardon , i do not challenge you . cl. of arr. then hold mr. sherbrook the book : ( which was done . ) look upon the prisoner : you shall well and truly try and true deliverance make between our sovereign lord the king , and the prisoner at the bar , whom you shall have in charge , according to your evidence , so help you god. cl. of arr. joseph billers . cook. are you a freeholder , sir , in london ? mr. billers . yes , i am . cook. i challenge you , sir. cl. of arr. john brand. cook. pray , sir , don't go too fast ; are you a freeholder in london , sir ? mr. brand. i am no freeholder in london . l. c. j. treby . what say you , mr. attorney ? mr. att. gen. my lord , i would not have any body that is not a freeholder serve ; so he was set by . cl. of arr. william hall. mr. hall. my lord , i am no freeholder in london . l. c. j. treby . why , what estate have you ? mr. hall. what i have , is in leases . l. c. j. treby . what , leases for years , or leases for lives ? mr. hall. leases for years , sir. l. c. j. treby . then he cannot serve upon the jury . cl. of arr. edward leeds . cook. hold , sir , let me see ; are you a freeholder in london , sir ? mr. leeds . yes , sir. cook. sir , i challenge you then . cl. of arr. thomas clark. cook. hold , sir , i pray let me look upon my paper . i challenge him . a st●nder●by , he does not appear . cl. of arr. nathan green. cook. where is he , sir ? are you a freeholder ? mr. green. yes , i am , sir. cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr. thomas emes . cook. are you a freeholder , sir ? mr. emes . yes , i am . cook. were you one of sir john friend's jury ? mr. emes . yes , i was . cook. then i challenge you for cause , and i give you my reason . mr. serj. darnall . i pray , let us hear your reason ; give your reason for your challenge . cook. it is for being of sir john friend's jury . mr. serj. darnall . then you challenge him for cause : cook. yes , that he was of sir john friend's jury . l. c. j. treby . well , brother darnall , how is that a cause of challenge ? you are the prisoner's council , let us hear what you say to it . mr. serj. darnall . my lord , what we have to say to it , is this ; here are some persons returned upon this pannel , that were formerly jurors in a cause that was try'd for the same species of treason that this gentleman , the prisoner , is charged with in this indictment ; and i think the witnesses at that tryal did mention in their evidence my client , as being present at those very consults , about which they gave their evidence ; these gentlemen gave credit to those witnesses , and found the verdict against the person then accused . we humbly submit it to your lordship and the court , whether we may not for this cause challenge this person as not indifferent , it being for the same cause and consult , that the other was try'd for . mr. att. gen. sure mr. serjeant is not in earnest in this objection . mr. serj. darnall . my client thinks it a very good objection , that he is not indifferent , and i desire he should be satisfied in it . mr. att. gen. if he thinks so , he may except against him , but if he insists upon it as a cause of challenge , we desire you would put the case , and my lords the judges determine it . mr. serj. darnall . i have told you what the case is . l. c. j. treby . but you hear the king's counsel insist upon it , to have you make it out in point of law. mr. serj. darnall . my lord , i have stated the case as my client desired , and we submit it to you . l. c. j. treby . well , there is nothing in it . mr. serj. darnall . then my client , if he will not have him serve , must challenge him peremptorily ; which he did . cl. of arr. francis byer . cook. sir , are you a freeholder ? mr. byer . yes , i am . cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr. james denew . mr. denew . i am no freeholder . cl. of arr. henry hunter . cook. hold , hold , my lord , i challenge him as being one of sir john freind 's jury . mr. baker . nay , that was not allowed in mr. emes's case ; but you challenged him peremptorily , and so you must now , if you have a mind to it . cook. i challenge him . cl. of arr. john hall. cook. are you a freeholder in london , sir ? mr. hall. yes , i am , sir. cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr. john cullum . cook. sir , are you a freeholder in london ? mr. cullum . yes , sir. cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr. john cox. mr. cox. my lord , i am no freeholder in london . cl. of arr. john hedges . cook. hold , i pray , sir , let me look upon my paper ; sir , are you a freeholder in london ? mr. hedges . yes , sir , i am . cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr. thomas james . mr. james . my lord , my name is not thomas . mr. sh. buckingham . he is returned , it seems , by a wrong name ; we did not know it . mr. serj. darnall . then you cannot swear him . cl. of arr. thomas poole . cook. are you a freeholder in london , sir ? mr. poole . yes , sir. cook. i challenge him , as being of sir john friend's jury . mr. att. gen. that has been over-ruled already . cook. i challenge him . cl. of arr. peter parker . cook. are you a freeholder in london ? mr. parker . yes , sir , i am . cook. i challenge you , sir , as being one of sir john friend's jury . mr. baker . nay , you can't offer it again . cook. i challenge him . cl. of arr. george grove . cook. where is he ? are you a freeholder in london , sir ? mr. grove . yes , sir. cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr. nathanael wyersdell . cook. are you a freeholder in london ? mr. wyersdell . yes , sir , i am . cook. i challenge you , sir. cl. of arr. samuel blewit . cook , hold , pray , are you a freeholder , sir ? mr. blewit . yes , i am . cook. i challenge him . cl. of arr. john wolfe . cook. i challenge him . cl. of arr. joseph wolfe . he did not appear , and was said to be no freeholder . cl. of arr. william smith . cook. are you a freeholder , sir ? mr. smith . yes , i am . cook. sir , i challenge you . cl. of arr. edward fenwick . cook. are you a freeholder , sir ? mr. fenwick . yes , sir , i am . cook. i do not challenge him . cl. of arr. then swear mr. fenwick . ( which was done . ) benjamin hooper . cook. stay , sir , pray stay a little , where is he ? cl. of arr. there he is , sir. cook. which is the gentleman ? are you a freeholder in london , sir ? mr. hooper . yes , sir. cook. i challenge you . mr. hooper . i thank you , sir. cl. of arr. nathanael long. cook. are you a freeholder , sir ? mr. long. yes , sir. cook. i challenge him , as being of sir john friend's jury . cl. of arr. the court has adjudged that no cause of challenge , therefore i take no notice of it , but as a peremptory challenge . cl. of arr. richard chiswell . cook. are you a freeholder in london , sir ? mr. chiswell . yes , sir. cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr. john child . cook. hold , pray , a moment ; i have not crost these last in my paper , but i challenge this man , being of sir john friend's jury . mr. baker . you have had that answer'd over and over again , as no objection ; it is nothing but a peremptory challenge . cl. of arr. william walker . mr. walker . i was one of sir john friend's jury . cook. i challenge him for the same reason . mr. att. gen. but that is no reason at all . cook. then i challenge him . cl. of arr. john wells . cook. sir , are you a freeholder ? mr. wells . yes , sir , i am . cook. sir , i challenge you . cl. of arr. john hibbert . cook which is he , sir ? cl. of arr. he stands upon your left hand ; the man in the black peruke . cook. are you a freeholder , sir ? mr. hibbert . yes , i am , sir. cook. i challenge him . cl. of arr. daniel wray . cook. stay , sir , are you mr. wray ? mr. wray . yes , sir , my name is wray . cook. are you a freeholder in london , sir ? mr. wray . yes , sir. cook. i challenge you . mr. wray . i thank you , sir. cl. of arr. john pettit . cook. which is he ? mr. pettit . i am the man , sir. cook. are you a freeholder in london , sir ? mr. pettit . yes , sir. cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr. john sherbrook . cook. i challenge him , as being one of sir john friend's jury . mr. baker . but you have heard that denied to be an exception over and over . cook. i challenge him . cl. of arr. stephen blackwell . cook. are you a freeholder , sir ? mr. blackwell . yes , i am . cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr. william hatch . cook. pray give me time to mark them ; pray , who is this man you now call ? cl. of arr. william hatch . cook. sir , are you a freeholder ? mr. hatch . yes , i am . cook. sir , i challenge you . cl. of arr. henry beadle . cook. are you a freeholder , sir ? mr. beadle . yes , i am . cook. i do not except against him . ( he was sworn . ) cl. of arr. john stredwick . mr. stredwick . my lord , as i apprehend , i am no freeholder . l. c. j. treby . why do you apprehend so ? mr. stredwick . it is my wife's estate , not mine . cl. of arr. then you wife has a freehold , it seems . mr. stredwick . yes , she has . l. c. j. treby . that is freehold enough ; for you have an estate for your wife's life . mr. baker . and after that too , for it is not given over to any body else , and she won't give it from him . cook. sir , are you a freeholder in london or no ? mr. stredwick . i apprehend , sir , i am not . mr. baker . he says he has an estate for his wife's life . cl. of arr. then he is a freeholder , what do you say to him ? cook. are you positive you are a freeholder in london upon your word ? mr. stredwick . i think not . mr. baker . why , your wife's estate is your's for your life . cook. my lord chief justice , if your lordship pleases , here is a man that says positively he thinks he is not freeholder , i desire your lordship's judgment , whether he be a freeholder or not ? l. c. j. treby . why , let him put his case , if he make a doubt of it . mr. stredwick . i am not possest of any estate my self . l. c. j. treby . but is not your wife an inheritrix ? mr. stredwick . yes , my lord , she is . l. c. j. treby . then you are seized of a freehold in her right ; and , mr. cook , your own council will tell you and satisfy you , that that is a freehold sufficient for this service . mr. baker . his wife's father settled it upon her and her heirs . l. c. j. treby . no question , it is a sufficient freehold if the wife be living . mr. baker . yes , she is . cook. i challenge him . cl. of arr. william prince . cook. i challenge him , as being of sir john friends jury . mr. prince . i thank you , sir. cl. of arr. john simmons . mr. att. gen. we challenge him for the king. cl. of arr. robert white . cook. are you a freeeholder , sir. mr. white . yes , i think so . cook. pray tell me whether you are , or not . mr. white . indeed i think so , sir. cook. i challenge him . cl. of arr. edward brewster . cook. where is mr. brewster ? are you a freeholder , sir , in london ? mr. brewster . yes , sir. cook. i challenge him . pray sir , i desire to know how many i have challenged . mr. baker . you have challenged thirty three . cook. how many besides those that are of sir john friend's jury ? mr. baker . you have but two more to challenge , sir. mr. serj. darnall . i thought you had heard the opinion of the court , mr. cook , that it will not hold as a cause of challenge that he was of sir john friena's jury , therefore those are all reckoned among the peremptory challenges , and you can challenge but two more in all . l. c. j. treby . not without cause , but as many more as you can have good cause against . cl. of arr. john reynolds . cook. i except not against him . ( he was sworn ) . cl. of arr. joseph brookbank . cook. i have nothing to say to him . ( he was sworn ) . cl. of arr. adam bellamy . mr. bellaney . my lord , i am no freeholder . l. c. j. treby . why , what estate have you ? mr. baker . he has estate enough , i know , for value . mr. bellamy . i have only a lease . l. c. j. treby . a lease for years ? mr. bellamy . yes , my lord. cl. of arr. david grill. mr. grill. i am no freeholder , my lord. cl. of arr. william rawlins . cook. i accept of him . ( he was sworn ) . cl. of arr. samuel roycroft . cook. are you a freeholder , sir ? mr. roycroft . yes , sir. cook. i challenge him . cl. of arr. thomas parker . cook. how many have i to challenge , do you say ? cl. of arr. but one sir ; what say you to mr. parker ? cook. i do not except against him . ( he was sworn ) . cl. of arr. james robinson . cook. i have nothing to say to him . ( he was sworn . ) cl. of arr. joseph morewood . cook. i challenge him . mr. baker . you have challenged all your number now . cl. of arr. my lord , we have gone through the pannel , we must now call the defaulters again . thomas clark. mr. clark. here. sir b. shower . was he here when he was called over ? mr. arr. gen. that 's nothing , he is here now . sir b. shower . but if there be a default of the jury , and the king's council have challenged any one , they ought to shew their cause ; therefore we desire that they may shew their cause why they challeng'd mr. simmons . l. c. j. treby . the king has power to challenge without shewing cause till the pannel be gone through ; but if there be a default of jurors when the king challenges , the king's council must shew cause . sir b. shower . here is a default of jurors , my lord. l. c. j. trebr . no body is recorded absolutely a defaulter , if he comes in time enough to be sworn . cl. of arr. swear mr. clark. ( which was done ) . l. c. j. treby . when there is an apparent default of jurors , then they must shew their cause ; but here his appearance , it seems , was recorded , and so he was no defaulter ; and you might have challenged him for cause still . cl. of arr. james dry. mr. dry. my name is not james . serj. darnall . then you cannot swear him : here are three mistaken in their names . l. c. j. treby . that is in the copy in your brief , brother , it may be . mr. serj. darnall . no , my lord , the officers admit it . mr. att. gen. my lord , we desire those gentlemen , that say they are no freeholders , may be sworn to that matter . ( which was accordingly done . ) and several of them that had staid , did deny the having of any freehold upon oath , and some were gone away . l. c. j. treby . pray take care to estreat the issues , and return greater issues the next time . mr. j. rokeby . truly the court must put some great penalty upon them for trifling with the court in respect of their duty that they owe to the king and country , in regard of their estates . cl. of arr. pray , let the officers be called who summoned this jury , mr. sheriff . ( which was done . ) and they examined concerning their summoning those who made default , and the issues of those who were recorded as defaulters were ordered to be estreated . then the court not being able to proceed for want of a jury , they ordered another pannel to be ready against wednesday next , to which time at seven in the morning , the court was by proclamation adjourned . die mercurii decimo tertio maii , anno dom. 1696. the court being met according to the adjournment , the pannel was called over , and the defaulters recorded , and several excused for absence upon sickness , and being out of town before the summons . then mr. serjeant darnall desired before the jury was called , to move something against the pannel : and made his motion thus ; mr. serj. darnall . if your lordship pleases , i have somewhat to offer to you before you go upon this new pannel ; and i confess , i think it is my duty to the court , as well as to the prisoner , to state the case as it is , and submit it upon the reason of law , and the authorities that i shall offer , whether the proceedings upon this new pannel will not be erroneous ? my lord , the question is , whether , as this case is , the prisoner has had a copy of the pannel of his jury by which he is to be tried , according as the late law requires , he had a copy of the former pannel , and upon that pannel nine were sworn , and their names all entred upon record , and made parcel of the record . thereof now the question is , whether he can be tried upon a new pannel ? we are in a case that rarely happens , and in a case of life and death . i know your lordship will be careful not to vary from the ancient practice , or to make a new president , because of the consequences . it must be agreed in this case , that the old pannel upon which the prisoner took his challenges , and of which nine was sworn , is parcel of the record . now , my lord , to add a new pannel , upon which twelve more shall be sworn , and all this appear upon record , and the prisoner tried upon the last pannel , will not this be error ? i offer this before the jury be called and sworn , because we desire to be fairly tried ; and we design to rest upon the fact in this case . if it should appear , that he is tried upon a pannel that is unduly made and return'd , that will be of evil consequence one way or other . and can this be duly made , if another appear upon record before it ? and can any body say it is quasht or abated ? or can it be so ? my lord , in stamford's pleas of the crown , p. 155. it is said , if any of the pannel dye after the return , and before their appearance , so that there are not enough left to make the jury , yet the pannel shall not be quasht , nor is it ●bated , but it is cause to grant a tales . and certainly , my lord , it is a stronger case , when by reason of challenges , which the law gives the prisoner liberty to make , there are not enough left , that there shall not be a new pannel , but that a tales shall be granted ; for if a new pannel might be made , it cannot appear who were challenged , or who were admitted . and if your lordship pleases to consider the intention of the law in giving the prisoner power to challenge , is , that he may have an indifferent jury ; but that would be prevented by such a practice as this ; for when it has been discovered upon the old pannel whom the prisoner chose , and whom he challenged upon the new pannel , the persons challenged may be set first , and those that were chosen may be omitted , or so postponed , that none of them whom he thought equal to try him , can serve upon the jury . and truly , my lord , if i am rightly informed , that is the case upon this new pannel , some of those that were admitted and sworn are left out , and most of them , i think , are put last in the pannel whom he thought equal men to try him , and all those whom he challenged peremptorily , are the first men in the pannel . this , my lord , is the case before you , and if this be admitted , the use and end of challenges , which are in be-benefit and favour of life wou'd be defeated . and for authorities in this case , besides the reason and ground of the law , many cannot be expected , because it is a fact that rarely happens . i find none of the ancient practicers ever knew it , but i find that a tales ought to be granted , so it is said in several books , as in stamford , 155. 156. when ever upon the principal pannel , all the jury does not appear , or so many of them do not , that there are not enough left to make a jury , which is our very case ; then in such case the pannel shall not be quasht or abated ; but a tales granted , so is 14 h. 7. 7. there the question was , whether there should be a greater number returned upon the tales then were in the principal pannel , and there the difference was insisted upon , and agreed , that where it is between party and party , where life is not concerned , it shall not , but where life is concerned , and the prisoner has power to challenge 35 peremptorily , there the judge may award as many upon the tales as he pleases , that there may be enough to remain after the challenges ; so that if this old pannel be not abated , and cou'd not be quasht , and a tales might be granted to consist of any number , i conceive the prisoner cannot be tryed upon this new pannel , but it will be erroneous ; and i humbly submit to your lordships , whether you will proceed upon it . sir b. shower , if your lordship pleases to spare me a word of the same side , with submission . we think there ought to have been an habeas corpora , with a tales , such as had been before sworn , being to be part of the jury now , and that is the proper way to bring the prisoner to his tryal in this case ; the kings counsel cannot expect we shou'd produce many presidents , for i believe this is the second of the kind that ever happened , at least , within memory , that a tryal in treason was put off pro defectu juratorum , though i have a president that i think is express in the case ; but we insist in the first place , that a tales does lie at common-law , in the case of life ; and so the book that mr. serjeant cited in stamford , is express ; and then we say , that the answer which we expect , that we are now before justices of goal delivery , is not sufficient , because the justices of goal-delivery , though they do not usually award process by way of writ , but before their coming , they command the sheriff to have his county ready there , and so in fact , it is a parol precept ; yet when it is return'd , then it is entred upon record , either preceptum est vice comiti quod venire faceret ; or , ideo veniat jurata ; and the jury are entred upon record : so that take it to be before justices of goal-delivery , yet the sheriff having returned a pannel , and that being upon the file , as appears before your eyes , in obedience to your command , and that copy of the pannel being delivered to us two days before saturday last , we humbly submit it to your lordship , whether by force of the common-law , and of the late act of parliament , we ought not to be tryed by that pannel ; we insist upon it , that the act intends , and expresly designed , that not only the prisoner shou'd have a copy of the pannel that the sheriff return'd at any time after , but that he shou'd be tryed by the pannel that we had a copy of at first ; for it is not said a copy , toties quoties the court shall think fit to award a precept for a new pannel , but the words of the act are a copy of the jury duly returned by the sheriff ; now this we had , and your lordship knows it is not a return'd pannel till it be in court , and then it becomes part of the record : my lord , i do agree the justices in some cases have quasht and set aside pannels and juries , and ordered new ones ; and i confess there was an extraordinary case in the time of king charles the second , which was upon the indictment against whitebread , where , after the jury charged , and evidence given , the jury was discharged , and a new pannel made the next sessions , upon which whitebread was tryed and convicted ; how just or regular that was , i will not insist upon now , but i am sure there were great complaints of that practice , and few presidents can be shewn of the like ; but besides the parties themselves waved it there , no objection being taken against it , but we insist upon it in this case , that this being upon record , is part of the record , and so appears to the court ; if the record indeed were to be made up upon a writ of error , perhaps it wou'd be no error ▪ because it may be they wou'd leave it out ; but here it appears there was a pannel of record before you , and this must either be quasht , or altered , or continued on by process , you have power to quash it , it it be unduely returned by the sheriff . if there be any evil practices for procuring the pannel , either by the prosecutor , or the prisoner , if there be no freeholders return'd , or the same happen in any other respect not to be legally done according to the command or precept of the court ; but because there is a default of appearance of jurors , no pannel was ever quasht upon that account ; then say we , if it be not quasht , this pannel must continue . for , what shall become of it , why should it not continue ? it is not within the act of parliament , that gives the justices power to make a new pannel , as in the case of a grand jury , when they are guilty of concealments , or refuse to find bills upon great evidence , but we have no such case before you , nor do i know any such rule as can reach this ; so that we take it , there is no difference between this case , as before justices of goal-delivery , and other justices ; that process does lie against the jury that does not appear even in treason and felony , there is no dispute , and it is very properly so , if it be before commissioners of oyer and terminer ; first a venire facias , and then upon default , a habeas corpora , that is the proper way ; then take it before justices of goal-delivery , there it is entered upon record , preceptum est vice comiti . &c. and here is a pannel returned by vertue of this precept , and some of the jury do not appear , and so there are not enough to try the prisoner after a great many sworn and challenged , and this entered upon record . what shall become of that pannel , it cannot be quasht , nor abated ? my lord , there is a case that does warrant that opinion of a tales in a case of felony ; and if there may be a tales , then there may be an habeas corpora , and there are directions how the jurors shall be sworn again , upon their appearance on the habeas corpora ; and that is wharton's case in telverton , 23. mr. j. powell , jun. do not dispute that , it is plain , that a tales does lie in felony , upon a commission of oyer and terminer ; but can you shew me . sir bartholomew , any where , that upon a commission of goal-delivery a tales does lie ? sir b. shower , sir. i can only shew the reason of the law , and i cannot find that does contradict what we now contend for . mr. j. powell ▪ i tell you sir bartholomew , there is no tales but with a habeas corpora to bring in the first jurors , and that cannot be upon a parol precept on a commission of oyer and terminer , there goes a venire facias , which is a writ upon which the habeas corpora may be grounded , but there is no venire facias upon a commission of goal-delivery . sir b. shower , why shou'd there not be a precept in nature of an habeas corpora for a jury return'd , upon a precept as well as on a writ ? mr. j. powell , no , it never was done , the commission of goal-delivery 〈◊〉 a general commission that does authorize the sheriff to impannel , and ●ave a jury ready at the day appointed , for the delivery of the goal , to try the prisoners ; it doth import in it self a general precept for that purpose , before issue joyned , which the sheriff cannot do in the case of a commission of cyer and terminer , but must have a writ of venire facias , after issue joyned . mr. sol. gen. in all the cases that they cite , there is a writ of venire facias , upon which the after process , by writ , may be grounded ; but here is no foundation for any future process by writ , because it is only by parol precept . mr. att. gen. sure these gentlemen don't think what they say , the pannel is not part of the record , and there is no record of it , nothing but the clerks entry in a paper , or note , for his own memorandum . mr. j. rokeby . brother darnal , have you any book that says , justices of goal-delivery must award a tales upon default of the jurors . mr. serj darnal , no my lord , i cannot say so . l c. j. treby , suppose all the jury had been challenged , or dy'd . mr. j. powell , there cou'd be no quashing of it , but it wou'd fall of it self , for want of a jury . mr. j. rokeby , if , according to your doctrine , we must keep to the first pannel , the consequence wou'd be , there wou'd be no tryal at all . sir b. shower , stamford makes no difference that i can see . mr. att. gen. but these gentlemen have been told the difference , upon which this matter is grounded , a tales cannot be without a habeas corpora , and a habeas corpora cannot be without a venire facias , but a commission of goal delivery cannot award a venire facias , because that is not to be awarded till issue joyned . mr. b. powis . the return of this pannel before justices of goal-delivery , is an act of the sheriff , by vertue of the commission , and nothing appears of record till the jury are sworn . mr. j. rokeby , they object that it is upon record l. c. j. treby . by the record , they mean the clerk's note . mr. att gen. if you please to look upon the indictment , there is no entry at all , and that is all the record before you mr. j. powell , does it appear upon record , that nine were sworn . mr. baker , no , there is nothing upon the record . c. of . arr. it does not appear till the record is made up , and nothing is entered till twelve are sworn . mr. serj. darnal . there will be a great inconvenience , if a pannel may be changed at any time . mr. j powel , this is a case that never happened before , and may be never may again . sir b. shower , the law will hold the same , in case it does appear upon record , as well as where it does not ; but we say , a pannel return'd in court is a record . mr. j. powell , no , it will not , because , when a jury does appear , and the twelve are sworn , then it becomes parcel of the record ; and therefore whitebread's case was quite another case , and was indeed held to be an extraordinary case , but that comes not up to this , for there a full jury was sworn , and evidence given . mr. serj. darnal , it may be the same jury will not be returned : mr. j. powell ▪ but if you have a copy of the jury , you are at no mischief . mr. serj. darnal , some that were in the former pannel are quite left out . mr. sher. buck. there are none left out , but what were not freeholders ▪ that i know of . mr. b. powis , he says the fact is not true as you have alledged it . mr. sher. buck. and mr. serjeant darnal has been pleased to reflect upon us , as if we had packt this jury , by altering the places of the names , which , my lord , we do utterly deny , and we only left out those that were not free-holders . mr. b. powis . the sheriff sayes he has not postponed any of them , and only left out those , that were not free-holders . mr. ser. darnal . if the law were as plain with us as the fact in that case , we should have a very good case of it . mr. sher. buckingham . mr. serjeant i have both the pannels here , they may be compared . mr. ser. darnal . i said no harm , mr. sheriff , nor meant any reflection upon you . mr. sher. buckingham . mr. serjeant was pleased to say , the excepted men were put in the front , and those that were sworn were put last . l. c. j. treby . there is nothing at all in the objection . mr. j. powel . really , because it was opened as a reflection , it will be proper for the sheriff to clear it . mr. sher. buckingham . my lord , the answer i give to it , is , that particularly one that was sworn last time , is now at the very beginning of the pannel , and in general they are mixt promiscuously , without any design or study in the least . he sayes we have left out those that served before . i solemnly protest , i know not one man returned upon the last pannel that is left out , unless it appeared that he is no free-holder , and we had no reason to put in them , that we knew could not serve . mr. serj. darnal . that can't appear to us , that they are not free-holders . mr. j. rokeby . but it appears to him , and therefore he did well to leave them out . mr. sher buckingham . what i say , i am ready to give upon my oath . mr. serj. darnal . i say there is one henry beadle left out , and he was one that was sworn . mr. sher. buckingham . i will not say for a particular man , i protest , that i did not know he was left out . if it be so , it was by mistake ; for i know mr. beadle very well , and i take him to be an honest man , and very well affected to the government , as any man. mr. serj. darnal . we desire to be tryed by men that are honest and well affected to the government . mr. sher. buckingham . there you have of them , sir. mr. serj. darnal those that were sworn are put last of all , and there is not above one of them that is within possibility of coming on again . mr. sher. buckingham . it will appear by mr. cooks challenges , and the other pannel , that they stood late before , and thomas clark , who was sworn the last time , stands tenth man upon the pannel . mr. ser. darnal . he was sworn after we had gone through the pannel , and took all our challenges , not appearing at first . mr. sher. buckingham . i tell you they stand for the most part as they did , for ought i know . mr. ser. darnal . there is but one in threescore and ten , that can be sworn now , of them that were sworn before , and there were nine of them then sworn . mr. attor . gen. that is a mistake . indeed there are a great many added to the pannel , because there was a defect the last time , and therefore now they may perhaps stand later . mr. ser. darnal . i do not speak to reflect upon the sheriffs : i go according to my instructions . mr. j. powel . if it had been so it had been well enough for you must be contented , the court must take it as the sheriff returns it , and you have a copy of it . mr. att. gen. here are four of them that were sworn before , that stood above sixty off in the old pannel . mr. sher. buck. the first man that was sworn , mr. sherbrook , stands within the first twelve now ( as well as before . ) mr. j. powell , if they had been all new , there had been nothing in that . mr. j. rokeby . truly , i can't see but that the sheriff hath done like an equal , just , fair , and honest officer . mr. att. gen. they may challenge as they will. l. c. j. treby . you are to consider , that this happens , because you run out as far as your utmost number , that time you challenged thirty five peremptorily , and divers others for cause ; so as not to leave enough for a jury , and from that alone arose a necessity of increasing the number of the pannel . mr. serj. darnal , it was our client that challenged them , we do not advise him whom to challenge . mr. j rokeby , but you must take the consequence of it , which causes this addition to the pannel . l c. j. treby , what do you complain of ? they that are returned , are put in the same order as they were before ; they that were sworn , were ( for the most part ) late in the pannel then , and so they are now . i do not find any thing done to the prejudice of the prisoner . mr. serj darnal , if the christian names had not been mistaken , there had been perhaps enough to have been sworn . l. c. j treby , that 's a good argument for a new pannel , because the christian names were mistaken before . mr. j powell , it was by defect of jurors , and therefore there was an absolute necessity of a new pannel . l. c. j treby , i am of the same opinion . wharton's case is well known . it was much cited , as to another point in bushel's case . it was a tryal at the king's bench bar at westminster by a jury of kent , upon an indictment of murther . and i think you say the case of h. 7. was between party and party in appeal . and i believe stamford's discourse , in the place cited , relates chiefly to appeals . i shall not deny that a tales may possibly be upon an indictment before justices of oyer and terminer . though 't is not usual , nor do you shew , or our experienced clerks know any such president . i agree , that in the mentioned cases , a tales was proper . for , in both those cases ( viz. of appeal and indictment removed into the king's bench ) the process for the jury was , as it ought to be , by writs of venire facias , &c. upon which a full jury not appearing , there must be a tales . but in proceeding to tryal before justices of oyer and terminer , on such indictment as is here , though i will not say but they may proceed by writ of venire facias : yet i do say , that the more known course is by precept , in nature of a venire facias . and the usage is , that after ( and never before ) the prisoner hath pleaded not guilty , there goes a precept to the sheriff under the seals of the said justices of oyer and terminer , returnable at such day as they shall adjourn to , for returning a jury to try it . ( as was done lately , upon advice , in the case of rookwood , &c. ) and upon the return of that , if , after challenges , there are not enough left to make a jury , whether those justices shall issue a precept in nature of a habeas corpora , or distringas with a tales , or another precept in the same form as before , and without taking notice of the former , is a question not in judgment before us . for , we are about proceeding to a tryal on an indictment in this court of goal-delivery , ( which is the court wherein generally all capital crimes are tryed , as well at this place , as at the assizes . ) and , i think , here cannot be a tales . i am sure it is not necessary . for , first , here is never any writ of venire facias , &c. secondly , nor ever a precept for returing a jury to try a particular issue . but this court takes the pannels of jurys returned by the sheriff without any particular precept to him . the course of proceeding by vertue of a commission of goal-delivery , which is the law in this case , is this , viz. there is , antecedent to the coming of the justices , a general commandment , or precept made in writing , to the sheriff by the said justices , to return juries against their coming , for the trying of all and singular prisoners in their goal , whether they have pleaded before , or shall after . and for that purpose it requires the sheriff to summon , out of all parts of his county , whence the prisoners come , a great number of freeholders , not a kin to the prisoners , to be at the time and place appointed for holding the court. the sheriff , by vertue of this general previous precept , summoneth many for jurors , and prepares divers several pannels of their names , either at first , or afterwards , as appears necessary , and returneth and delivereth in one or more of these pannels from time to time , as the court does need , and call for any . this , we know , in fact , is frequently done where the sessions of goal-delivery lasts several days , and there is occasion . though , in supposition of law , all these pannels are returned , and the tryals thereupon had the first day of the sessions ; and in law it is intended to be but that one day only . the return of this precept is thus , viz. executio istius precepti patet in quibusdam pann●llis huic precepto annexis , and the pannels are annexed , and there are often filed here divers pannels upon the same general precept , though sometimes but one. these pannels are thus delivered into court , and a jury taken out of them , as there is occasion , only upon a parol award , that is , barely the court 's calling for the same , without writ or precept in writing , or giving any day for the doing it . for , this proceeding is immediatè , for the speedy delivery of prisoners ; and the entry after setting forth that the prisoner being arraigned , pleads not guilty , is ideo immediatè veniat inde jurata ; or fiat inde jurata . and this court 's being instituted for the speedy delivery of prisoners , and warnings being given long before , of their coming , are the causes why it has been always held without doubt , that justices of goal-delivery might inquire and try the same day . if it fall out that , by reason of defaults , deaths , or challenges , there cannot be a full jury had out of a pannel , ( as here there wanted three ) which is an accident that the court cannot know , till they have gone through the pannel ; i think in this case , that pannel goes for nothing , is utterly lost and void , and to be cast away or cancelled ; for , it does not answer the award of the court , which was to have a jury to try the prisoner presently . it is meant an effectual pannel that should afford a full jury of twelve unacceptionable men. and every pannel that comes short in this , is to be laid aside as a void thing . and then the court takes and makes use of another immediately , which may not be deficient , whereby the award is observed , and the present service dispatched : object . it is objected , that the old pannel is parcel of the record in court , and , upon that , nine were sworn , and their names are all enter'd upon that record ; and now to add a new pannel , upon which twelve shall be sworn and try the prisoner ; all this appearing upon record , it will be error . answ . this objection stands upon two mistakes , both arising from not observing the difference between precepts and pannels , in a court of goal-delivery , and venire facias's , or precepts and pannels in other courts . 1. it supposes that here will be two pannels , which will appear to relate to the tryal of this prisoner mr. cook. 2. it supposes that both these will become records , or parcel of the record in court. if either of these suppositions prove to be a mistake , it will destroy the objection . i think both are mistakes . 1. here is not , nor will be , nay , there ought not to be any pannel purporting to be returned for the trying of mr. cook , or any particular prisoner or prisoners . for , the precept in this case is ( not like a venire facias which alwaies respects a particular issue between parties therein named , but ) general , requiring the sheriff to return jurors enough to try all the prisoners , not naming any . and the return , which is the answer to it by a pannel or pannels , is as general ; the title of every pannel , being nomina jurator ad triandum pro domino rege , and no more ; or nomina juratorum ad triandum inter dom. regem & prisonar ▪ ad barram , without naming any of the prisoners . and it were absurd if it should be otherwise . for , the precept goes to the sheriff before the sessions , and his return is supposed to be made at the beginning of the sessions , when it is not known who of the prisoners will be indicted ; or , if indicted , who will plead not guilty , or guilty , or a pardon , or other plea. when , for the tryal of a particular prisoner ( or divers prisoners that are thought fit to be put upon tryal by the same jury ) a jury is about to be taken out of any pannel , the clerk , as he goes along , may take a note in paper of the name of every one that is sworn , or he may ( and usually doth ) write , jur. on the said pannel against the name of every one sworn . but this note or mark is no part of the record ; it is not ex institutione legis ▪ it is but a voluntary memorandum , for the help of his memory . if he could safely trust to the strength of his memory , he need not write at all on this occasion ; i mean , not till a full jury is sworn , who try the prisoner . but then , indeed , the clerk must , ( from his notes , or memory ) write the names of all the twelve , entring them on the record of the indictment , in this manner , viz. just after the ideo immediatè veniat inde jurata coram prefatis justic ▪ &c. adding , et juratores jurate illius , &c. scil. a. b. &c. dicunt , &c. and it is by this only , that the names of those that are sworn , come to be of record ; and it is this entry upon the body of the indictment alone , that is the record , that shews who were jurors sworn , to try this , or that , or other prisoner , or prisoners . so that , if the old pannel were filed , and were a record , as the prisoner's council would suppose , yet it would not thereby be made appear , that the said pannel was returned , or used for , or in order to the tryal of this prisoner . 2. the old pannel is not filed among the records of the court , nor ought to be . when such a pannel does not produce a jury , the clerks may and use to throw it by , as a useless thing . but , however they use it , we cannot allow it to be a record . it was received de bene esse ; it is abortive and comes to nothing . and it is not every thing that passeth in court in order to a record , that comes to be so . a frivolous plea , that is rejected , is not recorded . a presentment or bill of indictment , before it is found , is not a record ▪ and if an ignoramus be returned upon a bill of indictment , it never can be a record . and , thereupon , the clerks do sometimes throw it away , tho sometimes they keep it and put it on the file , only taking care to cross it , but if they do forget to cross it , yet it is not a record . by all this it is apparent how great the difference is between a precept and pannels in this court , and a venire facias and a pannel returned thereupon , which is ever issued after issue joyned , and doth alwayes mention the particular parties and matter it relates to , and is a record , and a ground for an h●beas corpora wich a tales , to be returnable at a certain future day . but , in this case in this court , it is quite otherwise . sir b. shower . then , my lord , since there is a new pannel , we hope we stand in the same condition upon the act of parliament , to take exceptions to the indictment before this jury sworn , as we did before the other jury sworn , since all that is quite set aside . l. ch. j. treby . yes truly , i think that may be . mr. attorn , gen. but these gentlemen would have done well to have given notice of their exceptions . sir b. shewer . my lord , i shall not stand upon an exception which i think i might take to the word turmas in the indictment , which whether it be troops of men , or horses , or what it is does not appear ; but , i think , we have an exception to the cheif overt act laid in the indictment , and that we presume , if my brief be right , will be sufficient to set aside this indictment : the indictment charges , that mr. cook did agree with other traytors to send mr. chernock into france to the said late king james , and king jam●s is never mentioned before in all the indictment , that is one exception that we have , that there is no late k. james mentioned in the indictment before this , if my copy be right , if it be otherwise , i suppose , they will find it : it is laid , that mr. cook did agree to send cherneck as a messenger into france , eidem nuper regi jacobo , and no rex jacobus mentioned before . then there is another exception , and that 's this , they come and say , that whereas there was a war with france , which is only in the indictment by way of recital or rehearsal of an history , quod cum per magnum tempus suit & mode fit , &c. mr. cook the premisses knowing , did compass and imag●ne the kings death , and did adhere to the said kings enemies such a day . now , my lord , i do think , that this can never be maintained , for that cum quoddam bellum , &c. being an historical narrative , is not positive enough : for adhereing to the kings enemies , being one of the treasons laid in the charge , there ought to be a war at the time of the adhesion , and of necessity then that ought to be presented by the jury ; for tho your lordships can judicially take notice of war or peace , yet you cannot take notice of it at such a particular time , and the reason is from the notion that is in my lord coke in his 3d , institutes , cap. treason . that adhesions to rebels is not adhesion to the kings enemies ; for a rebel is not said to be an enemy , but it must be adhereing to such an enemy , as between whom and the king there was war at that time , and consequently it ought to be more positively averred in the indictment , than it here is : but as to the overt act of mr. cooks consulting and agreeing to send chernock over to the said late king james to give him notice of what was agreed upon between them , when king james is not named before , that can never be got over with submission mr. baker . it is a mistake of your copy , sir bartholomew shower . mr. att. gen. i have looked into the record , and it is jacobo secundo nuper regi , not dicto . sir b. shower . then with submission , my lord , they cannot try us now , for we ought to have a true copy of the indictment . mr. baker . upon demand . but you never demanded it . sir barth . shower . yes , it was demanded . mr. baker . who demanded it ? sir b. shower . our sollicitor burleigh . mr. baker . no , he did not , i gave it him officiously . mr. att. gen. with submission , my lord , it is no objection at all , that their copy is wrong . that should have been before the prisoner had pleaded ; for the words of the act are , that he shall have it so many days before , to enable him to plead , and he cannot be put to plead unless he have a copy of the indictment so long before : and at rookwood's tryal it was said by the court it could not be alleged after plea pleaded . mr. burleigh . the copy was given to me publickly in court. mr. soll. gen. why did not your sollicitor compare it with the indictment ? mr. att. gen. they might have compared it by the clerk's reading it to them ; but they will not admit the prisoner's sollicitor to see the original , because the act expresly says they shall not have a copy of the witnesses names . sir b. shower . the officer is to deliver a true copy of the indictment . mr. att. gen. no ; the party is to demand it by himself or his agent , and then he is to have it ; and if he be denied he ought to apply himself to the court , who will order the delivery of it ; but we stand upon it that they cannot take this exception now after they have pleaded , for the intent of the copy is to enable him to plead . l. c. j. treby . the copy , by the act of parliament , is to be delivered to the prisoner , his attorney , agent or sollicitor , if they require the same , and here it seems there was no requiring of it , but it was voluntarily given , and now you have lapsed your time of making the exception of wanting a copy by having pleaded to the indictment , whereby you have in effect admitted and declared , either that you had a true copy of it , or that you did not think fit to require one ; for the use of the copy is to better enable the prisoner to plead . but when you did plead , you took upon your self to be well able to plead without the help of a copy , which you might have had upon the asking for . sir b. shower . then , my lord , there is another thing in the indictment ▪ that in this overt-act there is a new time , and a new place , and a new verb , and a new fact alleged , and no nominative case ; it is alleged that peter cook at first with others did so and so ; and then the first of july to bring the treasons aforesaid to effect , there & alibi , &c. ( which is very loose , for i know not whence the venue must come ) did traiterously with chernock , friend , &c. consult to procure diversas turmas & legiones , &c. to join with them in england , and then it comes & ulterius such a day , year and place , did traiterously agree so and so , and not say who : now this is neither by express words nor rule of grammar to be referred to the prisoner at the bar , it does not say ipse idem petrus cook ; now , my lord , that the king's counsel thought it necessary in every overtact is plain , because those words are put in every other clause of the indictment , in those clauses that goe before and those clauses that come after ; then if they will take it , that this clause must refer to the next antecedent , that will not do , for the next precedent nominative case is either friend or chernock . so that this is without a nominative case , and the presidents in my lord coke's entries 361 , and all the other books have the nominative case repeated , where there is a new time , and a new place , and a new fact alleged : now it might be true that the prisoner at the bar might be present , and this same treason might be discoursed of and agitated , and there might be a consult about this business , and yet it is not necessarily implied that he must consent and agree to send chernock into france , upon which the great stress of the indictment lies : therefore we say , these words having no nominative case , the indictment cannot hold . mr. att. gen. my lord , as to this objection it will receive a very plain answer . our indictment begins and sets forth that peter cook , the prisoner at the bar , did imagine and compass the king's death , and did adhere to the king's enemies , and these are the treasons ; and then it sets forth the overt act , that in execution of the traiterous compassings , imaginations and adhesions aforesaid . ipse idem petrus cook together with sir william parkins , mr. chernock , sir john friend and others , did propose and consult to procure from the french king forces to invade this land & ulterius he and they did agree to send chernock to the late king james . mr. j. rookeby . there 's the first naming of james the second , late king of england , and there is no eidem jacobo i promise you . l. c. j. treby . well , that mistake is over . pray go on mr. attorney general . mr. att. gen. my lord , as to this objection of sir barth . shower , he would have ipse idem petrus repeated over again , and he says that we lay a distinct over-act with a different time and place . now that is a mistake too , it is not a different time and place , but the same time and place ; and it mentions that cum . r. chernock , j. friend , &c. & cum aliis proditoribus conveniebat . consultabat . &c. which he says may refer to sir j. friend or charnock : but if you look into the frame of the sentence that can never be . mr. j. rookeby . petrus cook is the nominative case that governs all the verbs . mr. att. gen. and there is no other nom. case in all the indictments but petrus cook except it be in a parenthesis , and that saves the rule of grammar if there were any thing in it , that it must refer to the last antecedent . sir b. shower . when it comes to the clause that he did procure horse and arms , there the nominative case is repeated . l. c. j. treby . it would not have made it worse , if they had made it so here , but the question is whether it be necessary . sir b. shower . indictments ought to be precisely certain , but this we say is not so . mr. att. gen. but here is as much certainty as to the person , as can be , that he did consult with such and such about such things , and further the same day did agree with the same traytors to do so and so . mr. j. powell . indictments it is true ought to be plain and clear , but i do not see but here is as much certainty as can be that he did such a day consult , and further the same day did agree with the same persons . sir. b. shower . vvho did agree , my lord ? mr. j. powell . he that did consult with them before , and that is peter cook. mr. att. gen. you 'd have had us to have put it to every verb , i believe . sir. b. shower . in indictments no presumption ought to be used , but the facts ought to be directly and positively alleged . mr. j. powell . it s true there should be no presumption , and there is none here , for certainly this is a plain assertion of fact. l. c. j. treby . here are two things that are set forth ; first , that peter cook did meet with sir john friend , sir william parkyns , and others , and then and there did consult with them , and consent to procure an invasion , and joyn an insurrection thereto . and , secondly , further with the said traytors did agree to send chernock into france . now , what is the nominative case to this agreement ? is it sir john friend , and sir william parkyns ? that 's impossible ; for they could not be said properly to meet and consult with themselves , every one of them with his own self and the rest : and then the number , if it had referr'd to them , should have been plural , but here it is singular [ agreavit ] and the sense is no more than this ; that then and there mr. cook did meet with such persons , and did consult with them about such and such matters , and further , did agree with them to do thus . sir b. shower . the meaning is not to be forced and strained by inference or presumption , but it ought to be express and plain . l. c. j. treby . nay , you cannot express it better ; you may make a tautology of it if you will. sir b. shower . the paragraph is long , my lord , and therefore requires the more care to have those repetitions that are necessary . l. c. j. treby . your objection to this paragraph is , that it is too long ; but repeating the same nominative case to every verb , would make it much longer . sir b. shower . it cannot be understood to mean peter cook without presumption , which ought not to be in an indictment . mr. att. gen. and as to sir bar. shower's first objection , his copy is right too , and he mistook the place . sir b. shower . you shou'd have given me that for an answer . mr. att. gen. nay , you should have taken more care , and not have made the objection . l. c. j. treby . truly , i think it is hardly possible to have made this better if it had been otherwise than it is . mr. serj. darnel . my lord , we think we have a good fact of it , which we rely upon , and therefore do not so much insist upon these exceptions , tho , in duty to our client , we mention that which we think is necessary , and we submit to your lordship . cl. of arr. set peter cook to the bar. [ which was done ] you , the prisoner at the bar , these good men which you shall hear called , and personally appear , are to pass between our sovereign lord the king and you , upon tryal of your life and death ; if therefore you wou'd challenge them , or any of them , your time is to speak unto them as they come to the book to be sworn , and before they be sworn . cryer . call sir john sweetapple . sir john swetapple . here. cook. my lord chief justice , if your lordship please , i am advised — l. c. j. treby . pray sir speak out that we may hear what you say , and let the cryer make proclamation for silence . [ which was done . ] cook. my lord , before the jury is called , i am advised , that if any of the jury have said already that i am guilty or they will find me guilty , or i shall suffer , or be hanged , or the like , they are not fit or proper men to be of the jury . l. c. j. treby . you say right , sir , it is a good cause of challenge . mr. j. rokeby . that will be a sufficient cause , if , when they come to the book , you object that , and be ready to prove it . cook. which is sir john sweetapple ? [ he was shewn to him . ] cl. of arr. there he is . cook. i challenge him . cl. of arr. william walker . cook. sir , have you said any such thing , that you believe me guilty ? mr. walker . no , sir. mr. baker . my lord , he is asking of the jury-man the question . mr. j. rokeby . that 's a fact the prisoner should prove upon him . mr. att. gen. my lord , he must not ask the jury that question , whether they have declared before , that they will find him guilty ; that is to make them guilty of a misdemeanor . mr. serj. darnall . is it any misdemeanor for me to say , i think or believe such a man is guilty . mr. att. gen. if he be summon'd to be of a jury , and declare his opinion before hand , it is a misdemeanor . mr. serj. darnall . but suppose it be before he was summon'd ? mr. att. gen. if you make any such objection , you must prove it , and not out of the jurymans own mouth . mr. serj. darnall . i think any man , my lord , that comes to serve upon the jury , may be ask'd any question that does not make him guilty of any offence or crime , or liable to any punishment : now if any of these gentlemen that are return'd upon this pannel , before the summons have declared their opinion , that the prisoner is guilty , or ought to suffer , with submission , the prisoner may ask such a question , whether he have said so , yea or no ? mr. j. powell . he cannot upon a voyer dire be ask'd any such question . mr. j. rokeby . it is not denyed to be a material objection , but it must be made out by proof . l. c. j. treby . you put it too large , brother daruall , you may ask upon a voyer dire , whether he have any interest in the cause ; nor shall we deny you liberty to ask whether he be fitly qualified , according to law , by having a freehold of sufficient value ; but that you can ask a juror or a witness every question that will not make him criminous , that 's too large : men have been ask'd whether they have been convicted and pardon'd for felony , or whether they have been whipt for petty lacinary ; but they have not been obliged to answer ; for , tho their answer in the affirmative will not make them criminal or subject them to punishment , yet they are matters of infamy ; and if it be an infamous thing , that 's enough to preserve a man from being bound to answer . a pardon'd man is not guilty , his crime is purged ; but merely for the reproach of it , it shall not be put upon him to answer a question whereon he will be forced to forswear or disgrace himself . so persons have been excused from answering whether they have been committed to bridewell as pilferers or vagrants , or to newgate for clipping or coining . &c. yet to be suspected or committed is only a misfortune and shame , no crime . the like has been observed in other cases of odious and infamous matters which were not crimes indictable . but to keep to our case ; 't is true , a juror may be challenged being an alien . or being a villain ; but where the matter apparently carries crime or shame , it should be proved ; the outlawry should be proved , and so should the being a villain . yet that is no crime , tho it be an ignominy . mr. serj. darnall . but , my lord , i take this to be no manner of infamy at all , there is nothing of crime , nor nothing of reproach , but only a declaring of a mans opinion . l. c. j. treby . truly , i think otherwise ; i take it to be at least a scandalous misbehaviour , and deservedly ill spoken of , for any man to pre-judge , especially in such a heinous matter . i think it is a very shameful discovery of a man's weakness and rashness ; if not malice , to judge before he hears the cause , and before the party that is accused could be tryed . but , it seems , by what the prisoner says that he would ask all the jurors , whether they have not said , that he was guilty , or that they would find him guilty , or that he should be hanged , or the like : which ( presuming him innocent ) is to ask whether they have not defamed and slandered him in the highest degree ; and to force them to discover that they have a mortal hatred to him , and come with a malicious resolution to convict him : which admitting they are not punishable by our law , yet are things so detestably wicked and so scandalous as are not fit to be required to be disclosed by and against themselves , mr. serj. darnall . pray , my lord , what is more common than for a man to say , before he is summoned to be upon a jury , when he hears a fact reported concerning such a one , to say i believe he is guilty , or i am of opinion he is , and i am sure he will be hanged , and yet there is no crime in this . l. c. j. treby . truly , bro. darnall , i know not how you may approve of such a man , but i 'll assure you i do not . i take the question not to be concerning a man's discoursing suppositively ; as , if upon hearing news , or a report of clear evidence , a man should say , supposing this to be true , such a man is guilty , and i should find him so if i were of his jury . this might not be sufficient to set aside a juror : for this has been a general discourse among the subjects upon occasion of this conspiracy ; and it imports that if evidence should not be true and clear , he would acquit him . and so he is , as he should be , indifferent . but if a man , qualified for a juror , affirm positively that such a prisoner is guilty , and that he will find him so whatever evidence or proof be given or made to the contrary , i think that may be a misdemeanour punishable as an owning and encouraging of falshood , perjury and injustice , and a contempt and scandal to the justice of the kingdom . tho i hope and believe that no man hath so demeaned himself . mr. j. powell . in a civil case it would be a good cause of challenge . if a man have given his opinion about the right one way or other , may you not upon a voire dire ask him whether he hath given his opinion one way or other ? i believe it may be ask in a civil cause because he may have been a refferree ; but if you make it criminal it cannot be askt , because a man is not bound to accuse himself ; now the difference lies in the nature of the cause , it is not criminal in a civil case for a man to say he was an arbitrator in such a case , and , upon what appeared before him , he was of such an opinion . mr. att. gen. but , my lord , it is a different case to give an opinion about the right between party and party where a man has been an arbitrator and so in the nature of a judge , and where a man is to go upon a jury in the case of life and death , and before the evidence given he declares his opinion without hearing the cause . sir b. shower . my lord , we know several of the tryals have been printed , and the names of several persons mentioned , and upon reading of the tryals or conversing about them , men are apt to give their opinions one way or other . mr. serj. darnall . it is only an objection in case he has done it . mr. j. rookeby . but , brother , how can you ask him the question ? mr. serj. darnal . if the court are of opinion that it is such a crime that it cannot be askt , as tending to make a man accuse himself of an infamous crime , then we submit it to you , and i confess we must not ask it ; but we cannot apprehend that there is either crime or infamy in it , tho we think it is an objection and a good cause of challenge . mr. b. powys . i think , tho it be not such a crime as infamous upon which a man is not to be credited , for that is infamy in the eye of the law , whereby a man is prejudiced in his credit ; yet however it is a shameful thing for a man to give his judgment before he hath heard the evidence and therefore i think you ought not to ask him it , to make him accuse himself , if it be an opprobrious matter upon him . mr. serj. darnall . truly , my lord , i always took it to be the rule , if the the thing asked to the person returned be not criminal nor infamous , the party that is askt ought to answer to it . l. c. j. treby . i would fain know , if you should ask any of the jury-men this question , whether he be guilty of all the crimes that are pardoned by the last act of grace , he be bound to answer it ? mr. serj. darnall . undoubtedly we cannot ask any such question ; no , not to any one of the things therein mentioned . l. c. j. treby . but yet you will force him to discover a crime ( if it be one ) that is unpardoned . mr. j. powell . certainly you go too far , brother , for no man is obliged to charge himself with what is criminal , but whether this be criminal to say , i believe such a one will be hanged , is of another consideration . mr. j. rookeby . but i think it must be proved upon him if any objection be made . sir b. shower . my lord , it will be no easy thing to bring witnesses to prove this matter , and therefore we would have it from his own mouth . mr. j. rookeby . and it is a very hard matter for a man to be put upon proving every discourse that he has had about the publick affairs of the time . mr. recorder . the reason of your exception is , that he has declared his opinion before hand , that the party would be hanged or would suffer , that 's a reproach and a reflection upon a wise man so to do ; and if they can prove it upon him let them do it : but whether you should ask him such a question , whether he be a fool or a knave for the giving an opinion one way or other , that 's the question before us . mr. serj. darnall . my lord , we do not offer it to the court as an objection that he is not a wise man. mr. att. gen. but what a man does utter imprudently may occasion a prejudice against him , and therefore ought to be proved , and not he to prove it himself . l. c. j. treby . especially being a freeholder of london , and taking notice of what is done in london ; and if he does take notice of the fact , and does previously give his opinion of a matter which he may be called upon a jury to try , this is an indiscretion and a reproach to him , and i think a misdemeanour . mr. serj. darnall . my lord , i acknowledge it is ill done of him , that is , indiscreetly and not wisely , and we would have discreet and wise men upon our jury . mr. cowper . my lord , mr. serj. darnall will make it so little a thing at last that it will amount to no cause of challenge , if it were even proved against him , which we insist it ought to be , it being their objection , and the party not being bound to prove it against himself ; but truly we think there is more in it than so , because it is an unjust prejudging of a man before he is tryed and heard , and if so , it is a thing that he ought not to accuse himself of , and therefore we oppose the asking any such question . mr. serj. darnall . our objection is not because it is an offence to declare a man's opinion upon a fact reported , but because it shews he has a settled opinion against the person of his guilt , and so he is not so equal a man to try him . l. c. j. treby . and is that like a honest man and a freeholder of london , ( who ought to be indifferent ) to come with a settled opinion against a man , when he is to be one of his jury ? mr. serj. darnall . well , my lord , we have been heard , and submit it to the judgment of the court. l. c. j. treby . truly i think it reflects both dishonesty and dishonour upon him , and therefore these questions ought not to be askt . the question is not whether a man ( if ever such a man there were ) that hath so resolved and declared shall be sworn ? no ; he is not fit to serve upon a jury . but the question is , how this shall be discovered , by his own oath or by other proof ? i think it ought to be made appear by other proof , if true . a man attainted of felony , forgery , false verdict , or perjury , ought not to serve on a jury , yet he shall not be examined concerning the same on a voire dire . and if there be in court a copy of such judgment carefully examined and kept by himself , he shall not be forced to answer whether it be a true copy ; tho his answer could not subject him to any further penalty . mr. serj. darnall . my lord , i hope no gentleman of the jury has done it . l. c. j. treby . i hope no freeholder of london is so indiscreet or so unjust . but if any man in this pannel have any particular displeasure to the prisoner , or be unindifferent , or have declared himself so , i do admonish and desire him to discover so much in general ; for , it is not fit , nor for the honour of the king's justice , that such a man should serve on the jury . mr. serj. darnall . we hope so too . we hope that all that are returned upon the jury are discreet and impartial men. cl. of arr. well , sir , what say you to this gentleman mr. walker ? cook. i challenge you , sir. cl. of arr. nathanael long. sir b. shower . my lord , we think he may ask if they have a freehold or no ; because the law requires that qualification , and the prisoner not being able to prove the nagative , it puts the proof of the affirmative upon the person himself . mr. att. gen. what does sir bartholomew mean ? would he have the jury-men bring their evidences with them to prove their free-hold ? l. c. j. treby . no sure , mr. attorney ; but to ask the question was allowed him the last time , and we will not deny him the same just favour now . cook. are you a free-holder , sir , in london of the value of 10 l. a year ? mr. long. yes , sir. cook. were you of the grand-jury when the bill was found against me ? mr. long. no , sir. cook. i challenge you , sir. cl. of arr. william carbonell . mr. carbonell . my lord , i am no free-holder . l. c. j. treby . what , does he say he has no free-hold ? cl. of arr. yes , my lord. l. c. j. treby . then he must be set aside . cl. of arr. joshua foster . mr. foster . my lord , i am no freeholder in london neither . mr. att. gen. my lord , we desire they may be sworn whether they have a free-hold or not . cl. of arr. hold mr. carbonell and mr. foster the book . ( which was done severally . ) you shall true answer make to all such questions as shall be askt you by the court. so help you god. mr. att. gen. ask him if he hath not a freehold in london ? mr. carbonell . no , i have not . cl. of arr. have you or any body in trust for you a freehold in london of the value of 10 l. a year ? mr. carbonell . no , sir. cl. of ar. joshua foster , have you or any in trust for you any estate of free-hold in london of the value of 10 l. a year ? mr. foster . no , sir. cl. of arr. joseph billers . cook. i desire they may be called in the order as they are in the pannel , you have not called john ewen , who is next . cl. of arr. i do call them in order : as for mr. ewen , one has made oath that he is sick , and is not able to come hither . what say you to mr. billers ? there he stands . cook. sir , are you a free-holder of 10 l. a year , within the city of london ? mr. billers . yes , sir. cook. was you of the grand-jury , sir , when the bill was found against me ? mr. billers . no , sir. cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr. john child . cook. sir , are you a free-holder within the city of london ? mr. child . yes , sir. cook. of 10 l. a year ? mr. child . yes , sir. cook. were you of the grand-jury , when the bill was found against me ? mr. child . no , sir. cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr. edward leeds . cook. sir , are you a freeholder within the city of london , of 10 l. a year ? mr. leeds . yes , sir. cook. were you of the grand-jury that found the bill against me ? mr. leeds . no , sir. cook. i challenge you . l. c. j. treby . what question was that he ask'd him ? cl. of arr. whether he were one of the grand-jury that found the bill . l. c. j. treby . a very proper question : for an indicter ought not to be a tryer. cl. of arr. thomas clark. cook. sir , are you a free-holder within the city of london of 10 l. a year ? mr. clark. yes , sir. cook. were you of the grand-jury that found the bill against me . mr. clark. no , sir. cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr. nathan green. cook. are you a free-holder , sir , within the city of london , of the value of 10 l. a year . mr. green. yes , sir. cook were you of the grandjury that found the bill against me . mr. green. no , sir. cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr. henry sherbroke . cook i have nothing to say against him . cl. of arr. then hold mr. sherbroke the book . ( which was done . ) look upon the prisoner . you shall well and truly try , and true deliverance make between our sovereign lord the king and the prisoner at the bar ( whom you shall have in charge ) according to your evidence . so help you god. ( then mr. sherbrooke was put into the place appointed for the jury . ) cl. of arr. henry dry. cook. sir , are you a free-holder in the city of london , of the value of 10 l. a year . mr. dry. yes , sir. cook were you of the grand-jury that found the bill against me ? mr. dry. no , sir. cook. sir , i challenge you . cl. of arr. joseph morewood . cook. sir , have you a free-hold in london , of the value of 10 l. a year ? mr. morewood . yes , sir. cook. were you of the grand-jury that found the bill against me ? mr. morewood . no , sir. cook. sir , i challenge you . cl. of ar. richard greenway . cook. are you a free-holder of 10 l. a year in london . mr. greenw . yes sir. cook. were you of the grand-jury that found the bill against me ? mr. greenway . no , sir. cook. sir , i challenge you . cl. of arr. john sherbrook . cook. sir , are you a free-holder in the city of london of 10 l. a year ? mr. sherbrook . yes , sir. cook. were you of the grand-jury that found the bill against me ? mr. sherbrok . no , sir. cook. sir , i challenge you . cl. of arr. thomas emmes . cook. are you a free-holder , sir , within the city of london of 10 l. a year ? mr. emmes . yes , sir. cook. were you of the grand-jury that found the bill against me ? mr. emmes . no , sir. cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr. samuel jackson . cook. sir , are you a free-holder within the city of london of 10 l. a year ? mr. jackson . yes , sir. cook. were you of the grand-jury that found the bill against me . mr. jackson . no , sir. cook. sir , i challenge you . cl. of arr. henry hunter . cook. are you a free-holder , sir , in london of the value of 10 l. a year ? mr. hunter . yes , sir. cook. were you of the grand jury that found the bill against me ? mr. hunter . no , sir. cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr. john deacle . cook. sir , are you a freeholder within the city of london , of the value of ten pounds a year ? mr. deacle . yes , sir. cook. were you of the grand jury that found the bill against me ? mr. deacle . no , sir. cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr john cullum . cook. i accept of him . ( he was sworn . ) cl. of arr. thomas shaw. cook. i accept of him . ( he was sworn . ) cl. of arr. george juyce . cook. sir , are you a freeholder within the city of london of ten pound a year ? mr. juyce . yes , sir. cook. were you of the grand jury that found the bill against me ? mr. juyce , no , sir. cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr. richard young. cook. i have nothing to say against him . ( he was sworn . ) cl. of arr. john hedges . cook. sir , are you a freeholder within the city of london , of ten pound a year ? mr. hedges . yes , sir. cook. were you of the grand jury that found the bill against me ? mr. hedges . no , sir. cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr. john james . cook. sir , are you a freeholder within the city of london of ten pound a year ? mr. james , yes , sir. cook. were you of the grand jury that found the bill against me ? mr. james , no , sir. cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr. thomas poole . cook. sir are you a freeholder within the city of london of ten pound a year ? mr. poole , yes , sir. cook. were you of the grand jury that found the bill against me ? mr. poole . no sir ? cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr. peter parker . cook. sir are you a freeholder in the city of london of ten pound a year ? mr. parker . yes , sir. cook. were you of the grand jury that found the bill against me ? mr. parker . no , sir. cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr. william wilkinson . mr. wilkinson . my lord , i am no freeholder in london . ( to which he was sworn . ) cl. of arr. henry mitchell . cook. hold , sir , here thomas man in my pannel is next . cl. of arr. there is oath made that he is sick in bad. what say you to mr. mitchell ? cook. sir , have you a freehold of 10 l. a year in the city of london ? mr. mitchell . no , sir. ( to which he was sworn . ) cl. of arr. richard ryder . cook. sir , have you a freehold of ten pound a year in the city of london ? mr. ryder , yes , i have , sir ; but i live in a parish that never serve upon any juries , nor ever did in the memory of any man. cl. of arr. but have you a freehold of 10 l. a year ? mr. ryder . yes , sir. cook. were you of the grand jury that found the bill against me ? mr. ryder . no , sir. cook. sir , i challenge you . cl. of arr. richard temple . mr. temple . my lord , i am no freeholder . ( to which he was sworn . ) cl. of arr. peter walker . cook. sir , are you a freeholder of the city of london , of ten pound a year ? mr. walker , yes , sir. cook. were you of the grand jury that found the bill against me ? mr. walker . no , sir. cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr. thomas pistol . mr. pistol . i am no freeholder . ( to which he was sworn . ) cl. of arr. john hunt. mr. hunt. my lord , my name is mistaken ; my name is william hunt. l. c. j. treby . then you must go on to another . cl. of arr. john hardret . mr. hardret . i am no freeholder of 10 l. a year . ( to which he was sworn . ) cl. of arr. john hammond . cook. are you a freeholder , sir , of 10 l. a year , in london ? mr. hammond . yes , sir. cook. were you of the grand jury that found the bill against me ? mr. hammond . no sir. cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr. john cooper . cook. i accept of him . ( he was sworn . ) cl. of arr. josselin roberts . cook. sir , are you a freeholder within the city of london of ten pound a year ? mr. roberts . yes , sir. cook. were you of the grand jury that found the bill against me ? mr. roberts . no , sir. cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr. jonathan micklethwait . cook. i have nothing to say against him . ( he was sworn . ) cl. of arr. richard chiswell . cook. sir , are you a freeholder within the city of london of ten pound a year ? mr. chiswel . yes , sir. cook. were you of the grand jury that found the bill against me ? mr. chiswell , no , sir. cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr. joseph thompson . cook. sir , are you a freeholder of the city of london , of ten pound a year ? mr. thompson . yes , sir. cook. were you of the grand jury that found the bill against me ? mr. thompson . i was returned upon the grand jury , but did not serve . cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr. edward brewster . cook. sir , are you a freeholder of the city of london , of ten pound a year ? mr. brewster . yes , sir. cook. were you of the grand jury that found the bill against me ? mr. brewster . no , sir. cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr. george gooday . mr. gooday . my lord , i am no freeholder . ( to which he was sworn . ) cl. of arr. abraham hickman . cook. sir , are you a freeholder of the city of london , of ten pound a year ? mr. hickman . yes , sir. cook. were you of the grand jury that found the bill against me . mr. hickman . no , sir. cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr george grove . cook. sir , are you a freeholder of the city of london , of ten pound a year ? mr. grove . yes , sir. cook. were you of the grand jury that found the bill against me ? mr. grove . no , sir. cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr. nathaniel wyersden . cook. sir , are you a freeholder of the city of london , of ten pound a year ? mr. wyersden . yes , sir. cook. were you of the grand jury that found the bill against me ? mr. wyersden . no , sir. cook. i challenge you . my lord , i desire to know how many i have excepted against . cl. of arr. one and thirty . mr. burleigh . write , write . cl. of arr. samuel blewitt . cook. sir , are you a freeholder of the city of london , of ten pound a year ? mr. blewitt . yes , sir. cook. were you of the grand jury that found the bill against me ? mr. blewitt . no , sir. cook. i challenge you . cl of arr. john wolfe . cook. i accept of him . ( he was sworn . ) cl. of arr. william smith . cook. sir , are you a freeholder of the city of london , of ten pound a year ? mr. smith . yes , sir. cook. were you of the grand jury that found the bill against me ? mr. smith . no , sir. cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr. john bickly . mr. bickly . my lord , i don't look upon my self as a freeholder ? l. c. j. treby . why so , sir. mr. bickly . i have a lease for one and fifty years , my lord , of my house , and there is a very little piece of ground adjoining to it that was very convenient for me to lay to my lease ; there is no way to it but through my house ; it is a thing that never was let for any thing , and it is not worth the building . l. c. j. treby . what estate have you in it ? do you pay a ground-rent for it ? mr. bickly . my lord , i bought that little piece of ground for the conveniency of my lease . l. c. j. treby . but did you purchase it for term of years , or to you and your heirs ? mr. bickly . nay , i bought it for ever , my lord. l. c. j. treby . then you have a freehold in it . what 's the value of it ? mr. bickly . truly very little , my lord. l. c. j. treby . i don't know any body can judge of the value of it but your self . is it worth ten pound a year ? mr. bickly . my lord , i can't value it at ten pound a year , it never cost me forty pound . l. c. j. treby . then for estate you are well enough , but for value you are a little under . cl. of arr. thomas collins . cook. i accept of him . ( he was sworn . ) cl. of arr. john watson . ( he was sworn . ) cook. i do not challenge him . cl. of arr. benjamin hooper . cook. i accept of him . ( he was sworn . ) cl. of arr. john wells . cook. sir , are you a freeholder of the city of london , of ten pound a year ? mr. wells . yes , sir. cook. were you of the grand jury that found the bill against me ? mr. wells . no , sir. cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr. john hibbart . cook. sir , are you a freeholder of the city of london , of ten pound a year ? mr. hibbart . yes , sir. cook. were you of the grand jury that found the bill against me ? mr. hibbart . no , sir. cook. i challenge you . cl. of arr. mr. cook you have challenged your full number . call daniel wray . ( he was sworn . ) cl. of arr. john pettit . ( he was sworn . ) cryer countez . henry sherbrook . cryer . one , &c. cl. of arr. john pettit . cryer . twelve good men and true , stand together and hear your evidence . the names of the twelve sworn are as follow : henry sherbrook , john cullum , thomas shaw , richard young , john cooper . jonathan micklethwait , john wolfe , thomas collins , john watson , benjamin hooper , daniel wray , and john pettit . cl. of arr. cryer , make proclamation . cryer . o yez , if any one can inform my lord , the king's justices , the king's serjeant , the king's attorney-general , or this inquest now to be taken of the high treason whereof peter cook the prisoner at the bar stands indicted , let them come forth and they shall be heard , for the now prisoner stands at the bar upon his deliverance ; and all others that are bound by recognizance to give evidence against the prisoner at the bar , let them come forth , and give their evidence , or they forfeit their recognizance . l. c. j. treby . you must make room for those twelve gentlemen that are sworn , that they may be at ease ; and for those that are not sworn , their attendance may be spared . cl. of arr. peter cook , hold up thy hand . ( which he did . ) gentlemen , you that are sworn , look upon the prisoner , and hearken to his cause . he stands indicted in london , by the name of peter cook , late of london , gentleman ; for that whereas an open and notoriously publick and most sharp and cruel war , for a great while hath been , and yet is by land and by sea , carried on , and prosecuted , by lewis the french king , against the most serene , most illustrious and most excellent prince , our sovereign lord william the third , by the grace of god , of england , scotland , france , and ireland , king , defender of the faith , &c. all which time , the said lewis the french king , and his subjects , were and yet are foes and enemies of our said lord the king that now is , william the third , and his subjects , he the said peter cook , a subject of the said lord the king that now is , of this his kingdom of england , well knowing the premises , not having the fear of god in his heart , nor weighing the duty of his allegiance , but being moved and seduced by the instigation of the devil , as a false traytor against the said most serene , most mild and most excellent prince , our sovereign lord william the third , now king of england , his supreme , true , rightful , lawful , and undoubted lord , the cordial love , and true and due obedience , fidelity , and allegiance , which every subject of the said lord the king that now is , towards him our said lord the king , should bear , and of right is bound to bear , withdrawing , and utterly to extinguish , intending and contriving , and with all his strength purposing and designing the government of this kingdom of england , under him our said lord the king that now is of right duly , happily , and very well establish'd , altogether to subvert , change and alter , and his faithful subjects , and the freemen of this kingdom of england , into intolerable and miserable servitude to the aforesaid french king to subdue and inthral ; the first day of july , in the seventh year of the reign of our said lord the king that now is , and divers days and times , as well before as after , at london , in the parish of st. peter cornhil , in the ward of limestreet , falsly , maliciously , devilishly , and trayterously did compass , imagine and contrive , purpose and intend , our said sovereign lord the king that now is , then his supreme , true , rightful and lawful lord , of and from the regal state , title , honour , power , crown , empire , and government of this kingdom of england , to depose , cast down , and utterly deprive , and the same our lord the king to death and final destruction to bring , and the aforesaid lewis the french king , by armies , soldiers , legions and his subjects , this kingdom of england to invade , fight with , conquer and subdue , to move , incite , procure and assist , and a miserable slaughter among the faithful subjects of our said lord king william , throughout this whole kingdom of england , to make and cause . and further , that the said peter cook , during the war aforesaid , to wit , the aforesaid first day of july , in the seventh year abovesaid , and divers other days and times before and after , at london aforesaid , in the parish and ward aforesaid , to the said foes and enemies of the same our lord the king , did adhere , and was assisting : and his aforesaid most wicked and devilish treasons , and trayterous compassings , contrivances , intentions , and purposes aforesaid , to fulfil , perfect , and bring to effect , and in prosecution , performance , and execution of that trayterous adhering , he the said peter cook , as such a false traytor , during the war aforesaid , to wit , the same first day of july , in the year abovesaid , at london aforesaid , in the parish and ward aforesaid , and divers other days and times , as well before as after , there , and elsewhere in london aforesaid , falsly , maliciously , advisedly , secretly , and trayterously , and by force and arms , with one robert chernock , sir john friend and sir william parkyns , knights , ( which said robert chernock , sir john friend , and sir william parkyns , were lately severally duly convicted and attainted of high treason , in contriving and conspiring the death of our said lord the king that now is ) and with divers other false traytors to the jurors unknown , did meet , propose , treat , consult , consent , and agree to procure from the aforesaid lewis the french king , of his subjects , forces and soldiers , then and yet foes and enemies of our said sovereign lord william , now king of england , &c. great numbers of soldiers and armed men , this kingdom of england to invade and fight with , and to levy , procure , and prepare great numbers of armed men , and troops , and legions against our said lord the king that now is , to rise up and be formed , and with those foes and enemies , at and upon such their invasion and entry within this kingdom of england , to join and unite , rebellion and war against our said lord the king that now is , within this kingdom of england , to make , levy , and carry on the same : our lord the king so , as aforesaid , to depose , and him to kill and murther : and further with the said false traytors , the same first day of july , in the year abovesaid , at london aforesaid , in the parish and ward aforesaid , trayterously did consult , consent , and agree to send the aforesaid robert chernock as a messenger from him the said peter cock , and the same other traytors , as far as , and into , the kingdom of france , in parts beyond the seas , unto james , the second , late king of england , to propose to him , and to request him to obtain from the aforesaid french king the aforesaid soldiers and armed men for the invasion aforesaid to be made , and intelligence and notice of such their trayterous intentions and adherings , to the said late king james the second , and the said other foes and enemies , and their adherents , to give and shew , and them to inform of other things , particulars , and circumstances thereunto referring , for the assistance , animating , comforting , and aid of the said foes and enemies of the said lord the king that now is , in the war aforesaid : and to stir up and procure those foes and enemies the readilier , and more boldly , this kingdom of england to invade , the treasons , and trayterous contrivances , compassings , imaginings , and purposes of the said peter cook aforesaid , to perfect and fulfil ; also the same first day of july , in the seventh year abovesaid , at london aforesaid , in the parish and ward aforesaid , he , the said peter cook , divers horses , and very many arms , guns , muskets , pistols , rapiers , and swords , and other weapons , ammunition , and warlike matters , and military instruments , falsly , maliciously , secretly , and trayterously , did obtain , buy , gather together , and procure ; and to be bought , gathered together , obtained , and procured , did cause , and in his custody had , and detained to that intent , to use the same in the said invasion , war , and rebellion against our said lord the king that now is , him , our said lord the king , of and from the regal state , crown , and government of this kingdom of england , to depose , cast down , and deprive , and him to kill and murther ; and the designs , intentions , and all the purposes of him the said peter cook aforesaid , to fulfil , perfect , and fully to bring to effect , against the duty of his allegiance , and against the peace of our said sovereign lord that now is , his crown and dignity , as also against the form of the statute in such case made and provided . upon this indictment he has been arraigned , and thereunto has pleaded not guilty , and for his tryal hath put himself upon god and his country , which country you are , your charge is to inquire whether he be guilty of the high-treason whereof he stands indicted , or not guilty ; if you find him guilty , you are to inquire what goods or chattels , lands or tenements , he had at the time of the high-treason committed , or at any time since ; if you find him not guilty , you are to inquire whether he fled for it ; if you find that he fled for it , you are to inquire of his goods and chattels as if you had sound him guilty ; if you find him not guilty , nor that he did fly for it , you are to say so , and no more , and hear your evidence . mr. mompesson . may it please your lordship , and you gentlemen that are sworn , this is an indictment for high treason against peter cook , the prisoner at the bar , and the indictment sets forth , that whereas there has been an open and cruel war for a long time , and still is between his majesty king william , and the french king , the prisoner at the bar not weighing the duty of his allegiance , the first of july in the seventh year of the king's reign , did compass and intend to depose and deprive the king of the title , honour , and dignity of the imperial crown of this realm , and likewise to put the king to death , and did adhere to the king's enemies ; and to fulfil these treasons , he did consult with chernock , and several other traytors who were mentioned , there , and some of whom have been found guilty of treason , and executed for it , to send over to the late king james , to perswade the french king to send over soldiers and arms to invade this kingdom , and to raise an insurrection and rebellion in it , and to deprive and put the king to death , and to compleat these treasons , it further sets forth , that the prisoner at the bar did provide several arms and horses , and this is laid to be against the duty of his allegiance , against the king's peace , crown and dignity , and against the form of the statute in that case made and provided ; to this he had pleaded not guilty , and for tryal put himself upon the country , and , gentlemen , if we prove these facts laid in the indictment , it s your duty to find him guilty . mr. att. gen. may it please your lordship , and you , gentlemen of the jury , the prisoner at the bar stands indicted for high treason . cook. my lord chief-justice , if your lordship pleases , before the witnesses are examined against me . i intreat you that they may not be both in court together , that one may not hear what the other swears , tho' i suppose it is the same thing ; for they have been together both now and the last day . l. c. j. treby . mr. cook , i must tell you it is not necessary to be granted for asking ; for we are not to discourage , or cast any suspicion upon , the witnesses , when there is nothing made out against them ; but it is a favour that the court may grant , and does grant sometimes , and now does it to you ; tho' it be not of necessity : they shall be examined apart , but at present this is not the time of examination ; for the king's counsel are now to open the evidence before they examine the witnesses ; but when the time comes for the witnesses to be called and examined , the court will , in favour to you , take care that your request be complied with . mr. att. gen. may it please your lordship , the prisoner stands indicted for high treason , in compassing and imagining the death and destruction of his majesty , and likewise in adhering to his majesty's enemies , these are the treasons specified in the indictment : the overt acts that are laid to prove these treasons are , that he with several other traitors , named in the indictment , did meet and consult , and agree to send over chernock into france , to invite the french king to make an invasion upon the kingdom , and did provide arms for that purpose . gentlemen , the nature of the evidence that you will have produced to prove the prisoner guilty of these treasons lies thus : it will appear to you that there has been for some time a conspiracy carried on by several traytors , and wicked persons , to subvert the established government of this kingdom , and destroy the constitution of england , by a foreign invasion of the french. you will hear that this conspiracy was laid wide , and consisted of several parts , one part was that of assassinating his majesty's royal person , and that was to be done first , as a preparation and encouragement to the french to invade the kingdom : the other part was the inviting the french king to invade us , and the prisoner at the bar is accused of being concerned in that part that relates to the invasion of this kingdom , by a french power ; and tho' it may be the other part , that of assassinating the king , be the blackest part of the conspiracy , yet if the prisoner at the bar has been ingaged in the inviting a foreign power to invade the kingdom , my lords , the judges , will tell you , in point of law , that is as much an overt act of the compassing the destruction of the king and people of england , and the subversion of our ancient good constitution , as if he had been concerned immediately in the other part , the assassination . but now , gentlemen , that the prisoner was ingaged in inviting the french to invade us , you will hear proved by several witnesses , that there having been a design last year , just before his majesty went to flanders , to expose his own person for our protection , and the protection of the liberties of europe , there was a conspiracy to murder him before he went to flanders , which , it seems , they were not ripe for then ; but immediately after he was gone to flanders , you will hear there were formal meetings of several gentlemen and persons of quality , among whom the prisoner at the barr was one : there was a meeting in may , last year , after the king was gone to flanders ; and this was at the old king's head in leaden-hall-street ; and there were present , my lord of aylesbury , my lord montgomery , sir william parkyns , sir john freind , mr. chernock , ( all which three last have suffered the punishment of-the law for their treason already ; ) and there were also mr. cook , the prisoner at the barr , mr. porter and mr. goodman ; these men did meet together ' to consider of the best ways and means of encouraging and inviting the french king with an armed force to invade this kingdom ; they considered that that was a proper opportunity , and did treat of several arguments that might perswade to it : first , that the king was gone to flanders , and so was not in person here to defend us ; and that the troops , to make good such defence , were in a great measure drawn thither , to assist the allies against the french power ; they did think likewise , that at that time there was a great discontent and dissatisfaction in the nation , though i think in that they were greatly mistaken ; and i believe and hope they will always find themselves so , to think that the people of england are so little sensible of that which is the means of their preservation , as to hearken to any discontents to incourage a french power to come into england to destroy our religion and liberties ; that indeed they did apprehend , though they were mistaken , and i believe they always will , when they go upon that ground . gentlemen , these persons thinking this a proper opportunity , did agree to send a messenger into france upon this message , to go to the late king james , and perswade him to desire and prevail with the french king to assist him with ten thousand men , 8000 foot , 1000 horse , and 1000 dragoons ; and to incourage him , they promised their assistance here , as soon as he came over ; and undertook , that between them , they could furnish , and wou'd raise 2000 horse to meet him at his landing , and joyn upon such an invasion . gentlemen , at this meeting this was agreed upon by all that were there , whereof the prisoner was one ; and they did agree to send mr. chernock , ( who has since been executed , and a principal incourager of the design , and actor in it ; ) he was the messenger that was appointed to go upon this errand , and mr. chernock was resolved to go , but desired another meeting of these gentlemen , to know if they continued in their former resolution , that he might have all the assurance that was reasonable to give the french king incouragement to make the invasion : accordingly another meeting was had of most of the same persons that were at the meeting before ; particularly the prisoner at the barr was at that second meeting , which was in covent-garden at one mrs. mountjoy's , who keeps a tavern next door to sir john fenwick's lodgings ; there they met upon the same design , and upon consultation had , and the question ask'd , they did agree to continue in the former resolution , and upon that immediately mr. chernock went into france to sollicit forces from thence to invade us ; but it happ'ned , as it seems , that the french king's forces were otherwise imployed , so that he cou'd not spare so many at that time ; and this return was brought by chernock to the gentlemen that imployed him ; that he had spoke with the late king , who gave him that answer , that the french king cou'd not spare so many men at that time , but he thank'd them for their kindness . gentlemen , this will be the nature of our evidence , to show , that the prisoner at the barr was concerned in that part of the conspiracy which relates to the french invasion ; and if he be guilty of that , in point of law , he is as much guilty of the conspiracy , to depose and murder the king , as if he had been concerned in the other part of assassinating his royal person ; and i believe no body can think that those that were to act in the assassination , wou'd have attempted to ingage in such a desperate design , if it had not been for the incouragement of the french invasion that was to second them afterwards , if they succeeded ; so that no body can extenuate the crime of the invasion , because as to the horridness of the attempt , it is less black than the other ; they are both crimes of a very high nature , and equally high-treason ; and if we prove the prisoner guilty of this part , we hope you will find him guilty . mr. soll. gen. my lord , we will call our witnesses and prove the matter , as it has been opened . call captain porter and mr. goodman . mr. serj. darnall . now , my lord , we must desire that that may be done which our client desired before , and which your lordship was favourably pleased to promise , that the witnesses may be examined a-part . l. c. j. treby . let it be so : who do you begin with ? mr. soll. gen. we begin with captain porter , my lord. l. c. j treby . then let mr. goodman withdraw . mr. baker . let mr. goodman go up stairs , and we will call him presently . mr. soll. gen. swear captain porter : ( which was done . ) captain porter , do you know mr. cook , the prisoner at the barr ? capt. porter . yes , my lord. mr. soll. gen. do you remember a meeting of some gentlemen at the king's-head tavern in leaden hall-street ? capt. porter . yes , i do , sir. mr. soll. gen. then pray give an account of the company that were there , the time when , and what passd . capt. porter . my lord , the last year we had two meetings ; the first was in may , the other was the latter end of may , or the beginning of june ; the first was at the kings-head in leaden-hall-street ; there were my lord of aylesbury , my lord montgomery , sir john fenwick , sir john freind , sir william parkyns , mr. chernock , mr. cook and my self ; mr. goodman came in after dinner ; at this meeting it was consulted which was the best way and the quickest to restore king james , and hasten his return into england ; several discourses and proposals there were ; at last it was agreed to send mr. chernock to the late king to borrow of the french king ten thousand men , 8000 foot , 1000 horse , and 1000 dragoons , to be sent over into england to assist the king's restoration . says mr. chernock thereupon , this the king can do without your sending , and i wou'd not go upon a foolish errand . what will you do to assist in this matter ? the company desir'd him to promise king james , that if he wou'd send word when he landed , and where , they wou'd be sure to meet him at his landing with a body of 2000 horse . mr. att. gen. was the prisoner at the barr in the company , and present at this resolution ? capt. porter . yes , he was . mr. att. gen. did all the company agree to it ? capt. porter . yes , they did . mr. att. gen. what signs were there of their agreement ? did they stand up severally and declare their agreement , or how ? capt. porter . my lord of aylesbury and sir john fenwick did rise up , and desired captain chernock , that he wou'd go upon this errand : and when the question was ask'd severally of all there present by mr. chernock , whether he might assure the king of what they had told him ? every one said yes , you may ; and mr. cook kneel'd indeed upon a chair , and said yes , you may . mr. att. gen. did he give his consent to it ? capt. porter . yes , he answer'd in those very words . mr. soll. gen. do you remember any meeting of any company at mrs. mountjoy's ? capt. porter . yes , that was a second meeting . mr. soll. gen. pray tell my lord and the jury , how you came to meet there then , what company were there , and what pass'd . capt. porter . mr. chernock desir'd another meeting , to see if the gentlemen kept to their former resolution ; and we met at mrs. mountjoy's eight or ten days after , and there were most of the company that was at the first meeting , and there all that were present did assure mr. chernock that they kept to their first resolution , and wou'd abide to what was agreed upon at the former meeting . mr. att. gen. who were present at the second meeting ? capt. porter . the prisoner at the barr was there at that second meeting . mr. att. gen. what was that second meeting for , do you say ? capt. porter . it was to give mr. chernock assurance , that we were agreed to stand by the resolution taken at the first meeting . mr. att. gen. what did mr. chernock do afterwards ? capt. porter . i went away from them ; there was sir william parkyns , sir john freind and captain chernock went to the queens-head tavern in fleetstreet , and captain chernock told me he wou'd go in two or three days , and i believe did so . mr. att. gen. when did you see him afterwards ? capt. porter . when i was a prisoner upon the account of the riot in drury-lane ; about two or three days after i came to newgate he came to see me , and said he had been in france ; and that king james thank'd us for our kind offer , but the french king cou'd not spare so many men that year ; and he told me he had been with my lord of aylesbury , and the rest of the gentlemen that had imploy'd him to go over , and had delivered them the several messages that he was ordered to do from the king. l. c. j. treby . captain porter , who were present at that second meeting , do you say ? capt. porter . my lord of aylesbury , sir john freind , sir william parkyns , captain chernock , mr. cook and my self ; i cannot tell whether my lord montgomery or mr. goodman were at that second meeting or no. mr. att. gen. captain porter , i wou'd ask you another question : you were concerned in the assassination with those other persons that ingaged in it ; pray what safety did you propose to your selves after the assassination was over ? capt. porter . my lord , i ask'd sir george barclay what we shou'd do after the fact was committed : says he , you need fear nothing , i will go away that night , i have a ship ready , and the king will be landed in five or six days afterwards ; if you 'll but keep selves close for so many days , all will do well . mr. soll. gen. if the prisoner or the counsel will ask him any questions , my lord , they may do it . sir b. shower . pray sir , can you recollect what time a day this was that this debate and resolution were had at the old king's-head in leaden-hall-street ? capt. porter . truly sir bartholomew , i can't tell . sir b. shower . pray , by what means do you recollect that this was in the month of may ? capt. porter . because captain chernock was absent at the dog-tavern riot , which was the tenth of june . sir b. shower . was it not in april ? capt. porter . no , sir ; to the best of my remembrance it was in may. sir b. shower . what makes you think it was in may rather than april ? capt. porter . i have told you sir , because both meetings were before the dog-tavern riot , the tenth of june , and mr. chernock was not there at that time ; but he told me afterwards he had been in france , and there were eight or ten days difference between the two meetings . mr. att. gen. my lord , if they have done with him , i wou'd ask him one question , to settle this matter in point of time. capt. porter , was the king gone to flanders when you had these meetings ? capt. porter . the king was gone , sir , before the first meeting . mr. att. gen. the king did not go till several days in may ; was mr. goodman there ? capt. porter . he was at the first meeting , but i can't tell whether he was at the second or no. mr. serj. darnall . pray what time was mr. goodman there at the first meeting ? capt. porter . he came up after dinner at the first meeting . mr. baker . then call down mr. goodman , who came in , and was sworn . mr. soll. gen. mr. goodman , pray will you give my lord and the jury an account what you know of an intended invasion upon this kingdom ; what were the circumstances of it , and who were concerned in it . mr. goodman . my lord , about the middle of may last , or thereabouts , captain porter sent to me , and told me there was a meeting of some gentlemen of our acquaintance at the king's-head in leaden-hall-street ; and he desired me that i wou'd be there , because it was about business : i told him i did not know whether i cou'd be there at dinner ; but however , i wou'd not fail of coming thither after dinner ; and accordingly i came . when i came into the house , i sent up my name to captain porter , and he came down and brought me up stairs , and there i saw my lord , montgomery , my lord of aylesbury , sir john fenwick , sir william parkyns , sir john freind , mr. chernock , and that gentleman at the barr , mr. cook : when we were there , the discourse was , that we did think king james's coming was retarded , and we wou'd do any thing to facilitate his restoration . cook. my lord chief justice . l. c. j. treby . what say you , mr. cook ? cook. my lord , if your lordship pleases , i desire the jury may not be talk'd to by any body ; and i understand there are some talking with the jury . l. c. j. treby . fye upon it , we will lay any body by the heels that do so , they must neither be disturbed , nor instructed by any body . cook. my lord , i am inform'd there was some-body talking to them , and telling them this was the same case with sir john freind . l. c. j. treby . do you but show us the man , and we will find another place for him ; we will send him to the goal , i 'll assure you . mr. burleigh . this gentleman , my lord , did hear such a discourse to the jury ( pointing to a gentleman there ) who stood up . my lord , i cannot positively swear to the man , but i did hear some discourse that it was the same evidence as in the former tryal . l. c. j. treby . if you can show us who it was , we will take care to punish him : i suppose he stands corrected ; and if we knew who he was , he shou'd stand committed . mr. att. gen. pray , mr. goodman , begin again , and tell what pass'd at that meeting , because the jury were interrupted from hearing by people's buzzing about them . mr. goodman . my lord , when captain porter brought me up into the room , i told you what gentlemen i found there ; after we were set down , there was a consultation , that considering the french king's wars retarded the affair of sending back king james , and the means of restoring him to the crown , it was fit we shou'd find out some way or method to facilitate his restoration , and it was thought convenient to have a messenger to send over to king james with proposals for that purpose ; to this effect , as near as i remember , that if king james cou'd prevail with the french king to furnish ten thousand men , whereof 8000 to be foot , 1000 horse , and 1000 dragoons , we wou'd endeavour to meet him at the head of as many horse as we cou'd raise , to sustain those forces at their landing : this was debated , in order to come to a resolution ; and much difficulty there was how many the number should be ; the man pitch'd upon to be sent , was mr. chernock ; and after some debate , how many thousand horse could be raised : says mr. chernock , don't let me go over upon a foolish errand , but let me know what i have to say exactly : thereupon it was concluded by all , that two thousand horse should be the number we cou'd promise , and the king might depend upon them ; and if we brought more , so much the better ; and sir john freind said , i believe he has so many friends here , that if he came himself , he might be welcome ; but that we did not think fit to trust to ; and no body wou'd advise any such thing : when the resolution of the thing and the number was thus fix'd , mr. chernock ask'd whether it were with all our consents ? and that he might assure the king , that this was our resolution thereupon ? we all rose up , and said to him , yes , you may , yes , you may , every one particularly ; and i remember one thing particularly concerning the prisoner mr. cook , that he kneel'd upon the chair when he said yes , you may ; and his elbows were upon the table : this is all that i know of that meeting . there was to be another meeting , as captain porter told me ; but i had business in the city : but whatsoever he promised on my behalf , as to the quota of men , i wou'd be sure to make it good ; and i was not at the second meeting . mr. att. gen. did you see mr. chernock afterwards ? mr. goodman . yes , i did , when he came back ; and he told me the things was not accepted , for the french king cou'd not spare men , and that he had been with the several gentlemen to carry them the complements that he had in charge from king james , who returned them thankes for their good affection ; and among the rest , he did me the honour to return me thanks too . sir b. shower . pray , mr. goodman , let me ask you a question : when was it that you saw mr. chernock after this ? mr. goodman . it was in arundel-street , at his lodgings . sir b. shower . but i ask you , sir , when it was ? was it before or after the tenth of june ? mr. goodman . it was after the tenth of june , sir. sir b. shower . how long after , pray . mr. goodman . i believe it was a month after the tenth of june . sir b. shower . did you see him here in england before mr. porter was discharged from the riot , and came out of newgate ? mr. goodman . i believe i did see him before capt. porter was discharged , long . mr. serj. darnall . who were the persons that were present at that meeting ? mr. goodman . my lord montgomery , my lord of aylesbury , sir john fenwick , sir john freind , sir wiliam parkyns , mr. chernock , capt. porter , and the prisoner at the barr , mr. cook. mr. serj. darnall . were you at dinner with them , sir ? mr. goodman . no , i came in after dinner . mr. serj. darnall . pray what house was it , do you say , this meeting was at ? mr. goodman . it was at the king's-head in leaden-hall-street . sir b. shower . can you tell what day of the week it was ? mr. goodman . no , nor the day of the month. sir b. shower . was you ever in the company of these gentlemen at any other time ? mr. goodman . no , this was the only time that i heard of this consultation ; i was not at the second meeting . cook. if your lordship pleases , may i ask mr. goodman any questions ? l. c. j. treby . yes , by all means ask him what you will. cook. mr. goodman , you are upon yor oath : but did you ever hear me speak ten words in your life ? was you ever in my company in any house , before or since ? mr. goodman . yes , sir ; i was in your company at the cock in bow-street , where you came in accidentally . cook. did you ever hear me talk of the government , or any thing of that nature ? mr. goodman . what the discourse was of , i cannot particularly say , but i am certain you was there : and as to the consultation that i now speak of , i remember very well you gave your consent in that manner as i have told the court. mr. att. gen. my lord , we have done at the present . l. c. j. treby . then , brother darnall , what say you for the prisoner ? mr. serj. darnall . may it please your lordship , and you gentlemen of the jury : i am counsel , in this case , for the prisoner at the bar , mr. cook , who stands indicted of a very great offence , no less , gentlemen , than high-treason ; and if he be guilty , his punishment will be as great : but because the punishment and the offence are both very great , the law requires exact positive proof , and that by two credible witnesses . there have been two indeed that have been produced to you ; and if you believe both of them , after what we shall offer to you against them ; and if what they swear be true , the prisoner is guilty : but if we satisfie you that either of them is not to be credited , so that you do not believe both of them , he must be acquitted . there is no doubt , gentlemen , but that here has been a villanous horrid plot ; there is no question of it ; and it was , as it has been opened , basely to assassinate one of the bravest men living ; and to make the happiest people in the world , if they know when they are so , the most miserable people upon earth , by bringing them under french tyranny and slavery . many of the traytors have been brought to just punishment for this treason ; nay , they have own'd the fact at their death's , so that there is no question of the truth of it ; and therefore , gentlemen , every honest man will endeavour to bring such as are plainly guilty , of such an abominable conspiracy , to just punishment ; but yet they will be as carefull not to let an innocent man suffer ; that , gentlemen , every honest man will take care of , and especially such as are upon their oaths : it concerns a jury highly to be satisfied , that he is not innocent , whom they bring in guilty ; for 't is better that twenty guilty men shou'd escape , than one innocent man suffer . but , gentlemen , if my brief be true , we shall give you such an account of one of these witnesses ; first , as to the man himself ; that he is not a man to be credited as a witness ; and then besides that , as to the evidence he gives in this case ; ( i say , if my brief be true ) it is false , and we shall prove it so ; and when you have heard our evidence , if you are satisfied that one of these witnesses is not to be credited , or that what he swears is not true , you are to acquit the prisoner . gentlemen , here has been one mr. goodman produced as a witness , one that never was produced before at the tryal of any of those that have suffered , so that the truth of their guilt does not at all depend upon his evidence , nor does it give any credit to it . this is this gentleman's first entry upon this stage ; and yet ( if my brief be true ) this is not the first bloody or cruel part that he has acted ; for we have a record of conviction against him , whereby it will appear to you , that he was indicted ( for endeavouring to poison two great dukes ) for giving forty guinea's to an italian emprick , one amidei , and promising two hundred pounds more when it was effected , to poison the late duke of graston and the present duke of northumberland ; and we shall shew you , that he was convicted of it , and fined a thousand pound for the offence ; which , considering the meanness of his circumstances at that time , was as much as twenty thousand pounds ; for he could as well have paid twenty , as one then ; and it appears too , that mr. goodman ( nay , it will not be denied by him himself ) was in this horrid plot ; and he that wou'd be concern'd to poison two dukes in a family , to which he had so many obligations — mr. goodman . my lord , i desire leave to speak to this matter that the serjeant mentions . mr. serj. darnall . pray , sir , let me go on ; you may talk anon ; i have seen the copy of the record of conviction , and have it ready to produce . mr. att. gen. mr. goodman , be quiet , and stay till by and by ; you will be defended , no doubt , on it ; but in the mean time let them go on , and don 't interrupt them . mr. serj. darnall . i say , my lord , he that wou'd be concern'd in so vile an act , as a contrivance to take away the lives of two great dukes , ( who were , in effect , his young mastes , ) that he shou'd go to poison them in a family to which he had been so much obliged ; and then , he that wou'd be concerned in so horrid a plot as this was , to destroy his country , and take away the life of the king ; sure it will be no difficult thing to think that this man will not stick at the little prisoner's life at the barr , especially when he has so great a temptation to it , as to save his own life by it . but perhaps some of you may doubt whether it is to save his own life or no : but i believe there are none of you would give any credit to him , if you thought so : therefore , to satisfie you of that fact , we shall produce you evidence of his own opinion of that matter , besides the general known circumstances he lay under ; as , that he was long in prison before he charged the prisoner with any thing , and the prisoner was at liberty , went every day abroad for a week after mr. chernock's tryal , and never absconded one minute , but lived publickly , openly and visibly to all his friends , and all strangers : but besides , gentlemen , that mr. goodman knew he must dye , and justly and deservedly for this horrid plot and treason himself ; and had no other way left to save his life , but to come in thus as an evidence and an accuser , which we think will shake his credit with you . i say , besides all this , ( if my brief be true , ) we shall prove that he has said himself , that either he must hang peter cook , or he must be hang'd himself . thus , gentlemen , he swears to save his own life , by taking away another's . this , gentlemen , is as to the man himself , that he is not to be credited . but now further , as to the evidence that he has given ; he tells you that he came into the tavern in leaden-hall-street , and that there he found such company ; he owns he came in after dinner ; and that the other gentleman , mr. porter , owns too ; he says there were present at this meeting , my lord montgomery , my lord of aylesbury , mr. cook , and several other gentlemen ; but ( if my brief be true ) we shall prove by three witnesses , that he was not there till they were gone ; and that will make an end of all the pretence of his evidence . mr. att. gen. nay , then we shall never have done . mr. serj. darn . i 'll assure you , sir , i have the names of three witnesses in my brief , to prove that my lord of ailesbury , my lord montgomery , and mr. cook , were gone before he came in , tho' if any , or either of them were gone , it destroys his testimony ; and if we prove this to you , i wou'd be loath to be one of the jury that should take away the prisoner's life upon this evidence ; no , it he were the vilest man alive , and much less the life of the prisoner at the bar ; for we shall prove ( if my brief be true . ) he is a man of morals , a man of virtue , one that has a great love for his country ; and this we shall prove by evidence undeniable ▪ persons of quality in their country , such as serve their country in parliament , as their representatives ; we shal shew it by such evidence , that there will be no room to doubt of it : he is a man without any stain or blot upon him , til this accusation ; he is the eldest son of his father , and heir to a great estate ; his father is a great officer , and a great getter under this government ; and can it be imagin'd , or believ'd , that such a man would be guilty of the worst of treasons , to destroy the religion he professes , to over-turn the state , to ruine his own estate , himself and his posterity , which must be the consequence of it ? nay , if two good witnesses cou'd be produc'd to testifie it , and if we had not had so much to take off the credit of goodman , i cou'd hardly believe it of any man that was in his right senses ; he must have been a mad-man if he had done it , one that stood so well with the present government , and of a family never tainted with disloyalty . certainly , gentlemen , when we make out this to you against mr. goodman , the prisoner can be in no danger of his life , from mr. goodman's evidence , tho' he is an unfortunate man to come under such an accusation ; but i cannot believe that any jury , upon such a man's evidence , will brand an honest family with the foulest , vilest , blackest treason that ever was hatch'd ; no , gentlemen , you are men of ability and understanding , and that is it we relie upon ; we doubt not but that you will consider the evidence , and consider your oaths , and not let the prisoner's blood lie at your doors ; therefore we shall go on and call our witnesses to make out what i have open'd . sir b. shower . my lord , we desire to call our witnesses , and i shall reserve my self to make some observations after we have given our evidence : mr. serj. has open'd as much as we can prove , and we will now produce our evidence ; first we will shew the conviction of goodman : mr. burleigh , where is the conviction ? mr. brul . here it is , sir ? sir. b. shower . where had you it , sir ? mr. burleigh , out of the treasury at westminster ? sir b. shower . is it a true copy , did you examine it there ? mr. burleigh . yes , it is a true copy , i did examine it with the record . sir b. shower . then read it , mr. tanner . cl. of arr. read — michaelmas term : tricesimo secundo caroli secundi . l. c. j. treby . read the record in english to the jury . cl. of arr. ( reads ) . be it remember'd , that sir robert sawyer , knight , attorney general of our lord the king that now is , who for the same our lord the king in this part sueth , came here in the court of our said lord the king , before the king himself at westminster , on thursday next after three weeks of st. michael , the same term ; and for the same our lord the king , brought here into the court of our said lord the king , before the said king , then and there , a certain information against cardell goodman , late of the parish of st. martin in the fields , in the country of middlesex , gentleman , which information follows in these words . scilicet , middlesex scilicet , be it remember'd that sir robert sawyer , knight , attorney general of our said lord the king that now is , who for the same our lord the king , in this behalf sueth , in his own proper person came here into the court of our said lord the king , before the king himself at westminster , on thursday next after three weeks of st. michael that same term , and for the same our lord the king , gives the court here to understand and be inform'd , that cardell goodman , late of the parish of st. martin in the fields , in the county of middlesex , gentleman , being a person of a wicked mind , and of an ungodly and devilish disposition , and conversation and contriving , practising , and falsely , maliciously and devilishly intending death , and poisoning and final destruction unto the right nobel henry , duke of grafton , and george , duke of northumberland , and that the aforesaid cardell goodman , his most wicked , most impious , and devilish intentions , contrivances and practices aforesaid , to fulfil , perfect , and bring to effect , the thirtieth day of september , in the six and thirtieth year of the reign of our lord charles the second , now king of england , &c. and diverse other days , and times , as well before as after , at the parish of st. martin in the fields , in the country of middlesex , with force and arms , &c. falsely , unlawfully unjustly , wickedly , and devilishly , by unlawful ways and means , did solicite , perswade , and endeavour to procure one alexander amydei , to prepare and procure two flasks of florence wine , to be mix'd with deadly poison , for the poisoning of the aforesaid right noble , henry , duke of grafton , and george , duke of northumberland , and his most impious , and devilish contrivances , practices and intentions aforesaid , to fulfil , perfect and the more to bring to effect , the aforesaid cardell goodman , the day and year abovesaid , at the parish aforesaid , in the country aforesaid , falsely , unlawfully , unjustly , maliciously and devilishly , did promise and agree , to give unto the aforesaid alexander amydei , forty pieces of guniea-gold , of the value of forty pound , of lawful money of england , if he the said alexander amydei wou'd prepare , procure and provide two flasks of florence wine , to be mix'd with deadly poison , for the poisoning of the aforesaid right noble henry , duke of grafton , and george , duke of northumberland ; and if the aforesaid poison with the wine aforesaid to be mix'd , shou'd effect the death of the aforesaid henry , duke of grafton , and george , duke of northumberland ; that then he the said cardell goodman , wou'd give unto the said alexander amydei , the summ of one hundred pounds , and that beyond sea he wou'd maintain the said alexander all the days of him the said alexander , to the evil and most pernicious example of all others in the like case offending , and against the peace of our said lord the king that now is , his crown and dignity , &c. — then here is process pray'd by the attorney general against mr. goodman , who comes , and by his attorney pleads not guilty , and here is issue joyn'd . sir b. shower . well , see for the verdict . cl. of arr. there was a tryal at ni●i prius , and the jury find that the said cardell goodman is guilty of the premisses in the information specify'd , as by the information is supposed against him . sir b. shower . now read the judgment . cl. of arr. thereupon it is consider'd , that the said cardell goodman do pay to the king , the summ of one thousand pounds , for his fine , impos'd upon him for the occasion a foresaid , and that the aforesaid cardell goodman be committed to the marshalsea of this court , in execution for his fine aforesaid , that he be safely kept there , till he pay his fine aforesaid ; and before that the said cardell goodman , is deliver'd out of the prison aforesaid , he shall give security to behave himself well , during his life , and also shall give security for the peace to be kept towards the said lord the king , and all his people , and particularly towards the right noble henry , duke of grafton , and george , duke of northumberland . mr. serj. darn . so , you hear the record of the information , conviction and judgment , for a very horrid , abominable crime . mr. att. gen. but i desire they may now go on , and read the whole of the record . cl. of arr. reads . and afterwards , to wit , on friday next after eight days of st. hilary , in the thirty sixth , and thirty seventh years of the reign of our said lord the king that now is , before our said lord the king at westminster came the aforesaid sir robert sawyer , knight , attorney general of the said lord the king that now is , and acknowledged that the said cardell goodman , has satisfy'd to our said lord the king that now is , of the judgment aforesaid against him , in form aforesaid given , therefore the said cardell goodman is thereof acquitted , and so forth . mr. serj. darn . call mr. charles edwards , william cock , christopher crawford , marry crawford , and mr. huntley . edwards appear'd upon a habeas corpus , directed to the keeper of newgate , where he was a prisoner . mr. baker . where is the warrant of his commitment ? what is he committed for ? tokefeild . he is committed for suspicion of treason , and treasonable practices . mr. baker . is he not committed for high-treason ? tokefeild . no , sir , he is not . mr. serj. darn . what discourse had you with mr. goodman , concerning the prisoner at the bar , what did you here him say ? mr. baker . he is not sworn yet , it seems this gentleman was dundee's chaplain in scotland . mr. attorn . gen. if he be not sworn , he can give no evidence . mr. serj. darn . my lord , we desire he may be sworn . l. c. j. treby . sware him , ( which was done ) . mr. serj. darn . pray , sir , will you tell the court , and the jury , what you know of any discourse of mr. goodman's , concerning the prisoner at the bar. edwards . my lord , i desire to know , being ignorant of the law , whether i am brought here by the common course of justice or not ? mr. serj. darn . sir , we have subpena'd you for the prisoner at the bar , to give evidence of the truth of you knowledge here upon oath . l. c. j. treby . would you have us tell you how you came here ? we suppose you came by due process of law , as a witness . edwards . then , my lord , i desire to speak but one word , that is a strange thing to me to consider , how words should be carried away that were privately spoken , as if it were to expose me to the reproaches of all my friends ; it is a thing that i did never expect to hear of again : however , seeing i am called here , and obliged upon my oath to declare what i know , i , by god's grace , will to the uttermost of my power , tell what has pass'd in this matter . l. c. j. treby . don't make any apologies for telling the truth ; you are obliged by your oath to do it , and the court expects it from you . edwards . among other discourses that pass'd betwixt mr. goodman and me , i ask'd him when mr. cook was to be arraigned , and when he was to be tryed ; says he , he is to be arraigned upon monday , and he is to be tryed upon thursday : i ask'd him whether it was for the assassination-plot , and he told me , no ; for what then , said i , as being concerned in sending mr. chernock into france ? who are the evidences against him , said i ? said he , capt. porter , and my self ; said i , i believe two witnesses will be found good , or by way of demonstration in law ; and i pity the poor gentleman's case . says he , he swore against me ; how comes it then , said i , that he is not come off , and has not a pardon , and would divulge no body else ? l. c. j. treby . who had not a pardon do you mean ? edwards . mr. cook. i ask'd how he had not a pardon ; says he , he wou'd give an account of no body else but me , and that was the reason he had no pardon ; said i to him , who are the evidences against him ? says he , capt. porter , and my self , and after this , says he , he , or i , must perish , or he , or i , must suffer , i believe the word was suffer ; but , says he , 't is a foolish thing to be hang'd ; all that 's said of a man that is hang'd , is , that he hang'd hansomly , or he dy'd bravely , that 's all the discourse that i can remember . mr. serj. darn . he said it was a foolish thing to be hang'd , and mr. goodman , it seems , had no mind to be hang'd ; and i believe so too : but he must not hang my client , to save his own life . edwards . now , by the same oath that i have sworn , i knew nothing of being brought hither , till my words were carry'd away privately from me , and has been consulted of , and return'd to me back again ; and i was far from suborning or carrying away a discourse privately to make any advantage of it . mr. serj. darn . now we will call crawford , and huntley , and cock. mr. attorn . gen. i desire that gentleman that was last examin'd may not go away . [ crawford , huntley , and cock were sworn . ] sir. b. shower . set up mr. crawford ( which was done ) pray , sir , will you recollect your self ; do you remember when my lord of ailesbury and capt. porter din'd at the king's head. crawford . yes ; it was about a twelve month ago . mr. serj. darn . what company was there ? crawford . my lord of ailesbury , sir john friend , sir john fenwick , sir william parkyns , capt. porter , and two or three more , i did not know their names . sir. b. shower . how many were there that din'd there ? crawford . i think about eight in all . sir. b. shower . was the room shut while they were there , or did the servants and drawers , go up and down commonly ? crawford . yes they did go up and down commonly . sir b. shower . after dinner did any body come to them while they were there ? crawford . no , not during my lord of ailesbury's stay , and my lord montgomery went away with him ? sir. b. shower . about time did my lord of ailesbury go away ? crawford . i think it was about four a clock . sir. b. shower . how can you tell it ? crawford . i did attend upon them the most part of the time . sir. b. shower . did you see him go away ? crawford . yes , i did . sir b. sh. was that gentleman , mr. goodman , there , when they went away ? crawford . i did not see him there , to my remembrance ; no body came in there before they went away , saving their own servants . mr. serj. darn . do you know mr. cook , the prisoner at the bar , was he one of the gentlemen that were at your house ? crawford . yes , i did not well remember or recollect , till i saw him on saturday last . mr. attorn . gen. was he one that went away ? crawford . i do not remember truly , sir. mr. att. gen. prav how long was it after dinner that they went away ? crawford . i think it was not an hour . mr. att. gen. was you there all the time , from the time of the dinner ? crawf . no , not all the while i was not in the room , but going to and fro . mr. serj. darn . you say mr. goodman did not come up till after they were gone ? crawford . no , i did not see him . mr. attorn . gen. did you see him at all ? crawford . no , i did not see him at all . mr. attorn . gen. just now it was said he did not come till they were gone , and now it seemes he did not see him at all . crawford . i do not know that he was there at all . l. c. j. tre. but , brother darnall , you open'd it , that mr. goodman came after my lord of ailesbury was gone , and now you will prove it that he came not at all . sir. b. shower . my lord , we do not pretend to falsifie his evidence for any thing more than is material for the prisoner ; we say mr. goodman was not in the room where they din'd till those persons went away , if in any particular we disprove him . it is sufficient for us ; if we can shew that he was not there till three of those that he had nam'd were gone away , that answers our end . we are not concerned if he came at four , five , or six a clock , and discours'd with chernock till twelve a clock at night . mr. att. gen. pray reserve your remarks , but only observe now what he says , that mr. goodman came not at all thither , and that is more than you pretended to open . mr. conyers . how many were there that were there at dinner ? crawf . about eight . mr. conyers . how many do you name that you know ? crawf . my lord of ailesbury , sir john friend , sir john fenwick , sir william parkyns , and capt. porter , there were several others ; two or three more , but i did not know their names . mr. conyers . did you see mr. goodman come in at any part of the day afterwards ? crawf . i do not know that mr. goodman . mr. cowper . mr. crawford , you say , that for an hour after dinner you were sometimes in the room and sometimes out ; when you were out of the room , were you always in the passage up to the room ? crawf . no , i was not . mr. cowper . cou'd any man come in or out without your seeing ? crawf . i should have known him above stairs when i came in again . mr. cowper . why , you say , there were two or three above that you did not know . crawf . i knew them by sight , if not their names . mr. cowper . were you always in sight then ? crawf . no , sir , i tell you i was up and down . sir. b. shower . was there any body came in before my lord of ailesbury went out , that is , any body besides those that din'd there ? crawf . no. sir b. shower . my lord , we are not contending now about a man's comeing up without his knowledge , but whether any such man , as mr. goodman , came up and staid there , during the consultation , and we insist upon it ; there was no body there , till my lord of ailesbury , my lord montgomery , and mr. cook were gone , but those that din'd there : now i would ask a question again of him , was there any body but who din'd there , till my lord of ailesbury went away ? crawf . no , there was not . mr. att. gen. why do you say so ? how do you know that ? crawf . i did not see any body . mr. sol. gen. did you attend upon other rooms , as well as that , at the same time ? crawf . yes , i did . mr. sol. gen. then how is it possible that he can swear that mr. goodman was not there ? sir b. shower . do you remember when my lord of alesbury and they went away ? crawford . it was about four a clock . sir b. shower . were you there in the room when they went away ? crawf . i went out with my lord to the coach. sir b. shower . did you see him come down stairs , or did you go up stairs then ? crawf . i went up stairs when the coach was called . sir b. shower . was then any body there but such as din'd there ? crawf . i did not see any body there but those that din'd there . mr. cowper . but , my lord , he does not know all that din'd there neither . l. c. j. treby . mr. crawford , you say my lord of ailesbury and others went away about four a clock ; pray how long did the rest of the company stay there ? crawf . i cannot remember . they stay'd there pretty late : it is a pretty while ago . l. c. j. treby . about what hour did they part ? crawf . i cannot remember what time the rest went away ; our house is fuller at night than at noon ; and i waited upon other companies . it was pretty late before they went away , that i am sure . l. c. j. treby . but he cannot remember whether it were five , or six , or twelve that they went away , only he can remember the hour of four , that my lord of ailesbury and they went away . mr. j. rokeby . was it light , or was it dark when they went away ? crawford . it was dark . l. c. j. treby . did you attend the company after my lord of aliesbury was gone ? crawford . i went up and down into that company as i did into others . l. c. j. treby . was you there several times after my lord of ailesbury was gone ? crawf . yes , i was there once or twice after my lord of ailesbury was gone , i am sure . l. c. j. treby . and did you never see mr. goodman there ? crawf . no , i never saw mr. goodman in my life , before i saw him on saturday last . sir b. shower . which is mr. huntley ? huntley . here i am , sir. sir b. shower . pray recollect your self , and tell my lord and the jury what you remember of any company that were with mr. porter , at the king's-head , and who din'd there . huntley . my lord of ailesbury , my lord montgomery , sir john fenwick , sir william parkyns , sir john friend , mr. porter and mr. chernock . sir b. shower . that was the company , you say , that din'd there : did mr. goodman dine there ? huntley . no , mr. goodman did not dine there . sir b. shower . pray , sir , recollect your self , when did any of this company part , or go away ? huntley . my lord of ailesbury , and my lord montgomery went away about four a clock . sir b. shower . sir , how do you know that ? huntley . i went down stairs after them , i was above stairs when they parted from the rest of the company . mr. serj. darn . pray mind , sir , was mr. goodman there at that time before they went away ? huntley . no , he was not . sir b. shower . are you sure of that , upon the oath you have taken ? huntley . yes , i take it upon my oath , he was not there . sir b. shower . did you attend them at dinner ? huntley . yes , i did attend them at dinner . sir b. shower . did you attend them all the while they were there ? huntley . i was call'd frequently , and was in and out of the room very much after dinner . sir b. shower . do you think if a fresh man had come in after dinner , you should not have known him ? huntley . yes , i should have known him . mr. att. gen. pray , friend , let me ask you one question . was mr. goodman there at all that day ? huntley . that i don't know , i did not see him at all . mr. sol. gen. did you attend upon any other rooms that day ? huntley . no , i attended only upon that company . mr. sol. gen. were you in the room all the time ? huntley . no , i went up and down . mr. sol. gen. what time did the last of the company go away ? huntley . it was about darkish , it was pretty late to the best of my remembrance . mr. att. gen. pray , did any body come to those gentlemen after dinner ? huntley . no , sir. mr. att. gen. did you ever see goodman before now ? huntley . never in my life , to my knowledge . mr. j. rokeby . did all the company , but my lord of ailesbury , and my lord montgomery , stay till it was duskish ? huntley . that i don't know . mr. j. rokeby . did you know all the company that was that day at dinner ? huntley . i knew all but one . mr. j. rokeby . and who was that ? huntley . that was mr. chernock . mr. j. rokeby . and yet you can't tell whether there was any body else that you did not know , how then can you tell that goodman was not there ? sir b. shower . he did not know him at that time , but he might remember him afterwards . mr. conyers . did not the same company use to meet at other times , at your house ? huntl . not to my remembrance . mr. con. how then came you , if they never had us'd to meet there , to know all these people's names ? huntley , i have seen sir john friend there , and sir william parkyns . mr. con. was sir john friend there , or no ? huntl . yes , he was . mr. con. my lord , he was the only man that was not nam'd before , you did not name sir john friend before , as i heard , but pray , did you ever see mr. chernock there , but at that time ? huntley . no , i did not . mr. con. how came you to know it was mr. chernock ? huntl . i knew very few of them before that time , and i ask'd their servants the names of all those persons that were there ? mr. con. did you know mr. porter , pray ? huntl . not before that time , i did see mr. porter , and i knew him again when i saw him , his black told me his name that day . sir b. shower . you , huntley , i would ask you one question more , was the door shut , or no ? huntl . no , it was not . sir b. shower . did the servants go up and down as they us'd to do ? huntl . yes , sir. mr. att. gen. sir bartholomew would make it that there was no consultation at all . sir b. shower . they wer very mad folks if they wou'd consult at that rate with the door open . pray call mr. william cock , ( who was sworn ) . mr. att. gen. sir john friend has own'd it , that 's dead . sir b. shower . sir john friend's confession is nothing to the prisoner . mr. att. gen. mr. serj. darnall did open , that the confession of those that dy'd , was an undeniable proof of the conspiracy ; but go on with your evidence . mr. sarj . darn . pray mr. cock , will you recollect your self , about the time when cap. porter , and some other gentlemen din'd at your house . w. cock. yes , very well . mr. serj. darn . pray , sir , can you tell who din'd there at that time ? w. cock. there were my lord of ailesbury , my lord montgomery , sir william parkyns , sir john fenwick , sir john friend , mr. chernock , cap. porter and mr. cook. mr. j. rokeby . was that all the company ? w. cock. yes , it was . mr. j. rokeby . one of them said there were eight . l. c. j. treby . and he has nam'd eight , brother . m. serj. darn . can you remember when any of the company went away , and who went away first ? cock. my lord of aylesbury and my lord montgomery went away in a hackney coach ; and their servants were frequently in the room , and waited afterwards in another room , after that they had waited at table at dinner ; and tho' the door was shut , as it used to be when any company is there , yet no body was forbid to come there at all . mr. att. gen. do you remember when mr. goodman came there ? cock. i never saw mr. goodman in my life before to day . mr. serj. darnall . did any body come to this company before my lord of aylesbury went away that did not dine there ? cock. i did not see any body there at all ; and my lord of aylesbury was about buying a hogshead of white-wine , but we could not agree about the price : and when my lord of aylesbury went away , i went down with my lord , and waited upon him to the coach ; and i told my lord , i hoped he would buy the wine still . but he answered , he could not tell whether he should or no. mr. serj. darnall . who else went with my lord of aylesbury ? cock. my lord montgomery . i don't remember any body else . mr. j. rokeby . did all the rest of the company go away at once ? cock. truly , my lord , i can't say they did . mr. j. rokeby . by what time did the rest go away ? cock. i believe it might be eight or nine a clock . mr. serj. darnall . you saw my lord of aylesbury when he parted : was mr. goodman there then ? cock. i did not see him . mr. b. powis . did mr. cook stay till the last ? cock. that i can't tell truly . mr. b. powis . i find they all swear to four a clock of my lord aylesbury's going , and go no further . mr. att. gen. pray , sir , let me ask you a question or two : did you ever see mr. goodman before now ? cock. no , i do not remember i did . mr. att. gen. when you went into the room after dinner , did you look about the room to see whether there were any new company ? cock. i did look about the room several times , and so did my servants , to see if there were any thing wanting . mr. att. gen. can you take it upon your oath , that he was not there whilst my lord of aylesbury staid ? cock. i do , and can take it upon my oath , he was not . mr. att. gen. then if you can , pray distinguish the time when he came in . cock. i do not remember that ever i saw him in my life before to day . mr. att. gen. why are you not as positive that he was not there at all , as that he was not there before my lord of aylesbury went away ? cock. he might come in , and i not see him . mr. att. gen. might he not as well come in before they went away , as after to come in and you not see him ? cock. no , i do not think he cou'd . mr. att. gen. why do you think so ? cock. because the servants were all about , and they did not go to dinner till two a clock ; and i believe those gentlemen that i named came in a quarter of an hour's time to dinner . mr. att. gen. we do not say he came there before dinner ; but cou'd he not come in after dinner , before my lord of aylesbury and my lord montgomery went away , without your seeing him ? cock. yes , sir. sir b. shower . then heark ye , sir , i wou'd ask you one question , did you see him , upon your oath , or not ? cock. no , i did not . sir b. shower . might not mr. goodman come in to them without your seeing him ? cock. it is possible , but i don't think it was so . mr. j. rokeby . how then can you be positive that he was not there till my lord of aylesbury went ? mr. sol. gen. you say you may be positive he was not there before my lord of aylesbury went : can you be as positive now , that he was not there before mr. cook went ? cock. i do not know when mr. cook went. mr. sol. gen. how can you be then positive he was not there before my lord of aylesbury went ? cock. there were no more than what dined there when my lord of aylesbury went away . mr. conyers . pray , sir , let me ask you a question : were you in the room at any time after dinner ? cock. yes , i was , sir. mr. conyers . pray , sir , how many times after dinner were you there ? cock. i believe half a dozen times . mr. sol. gen. and yet you do confess that mr. goodman might come in after dinner before my lord of aylesbury went , and you not see him ? sir b. shower . ay , but he could not stay there without his seeing him , if he was so often in the room ; you don't take mr. cock's evidence right . mr. att. gen. you named eight persons that dined at your house ; did you know them all personally before that day ? cock. yes , my lord , the most of them at least . mr. att. gen. did they use to meet at your house ? cock. commonly sir john friend did once a week . mr. chernock i knew when i was a drawer , and so i did sir william parkyns : the rest knew by hearing their names . mr. att. gen. did you know them before that day sir , i ask you ? cock. i had seen captain porter several times before that day , but i cannot say at my own house . sir b. shower . do you remember the treaty about the hogshead of white-wine ? cock. yes , sir , very well . sir b. shower . were you by when my lord of aylesbury went away , and spoke with him about it ? cock. yes , i was ; and told him , i hoped he would buy the wine still . sir b. shower . can you be positive that any body was there before my lord of aylesbury went away , that cou'd stay there any time , and did not dine there ? cock. i believe not , sir ; for i came in half a dozen times after dinner , and i believe if i had heard mr. goodman's name , or seen him there , i shou'd have remembred it ; but i did not see any body but those that dined there . mr. cowper . where was you when my lord of aylesbury went away ? where did you meet him going away ? cock. upon the stairs ; seeing my lord of aylesbury and my lord montgomery coming down , i met them . mr. cowper . where did you meet them ? at the middle , or the top of the stairs ? cock. my lord of aylesbury was at the top of the stairs . mr. cowper . did you meet him just coming out of the room ? cock. yes , sir , i saw the coach that was called for my lord ; and so i went up stairs , and met my lord at the top of the stairs coming down . mr. sol. gen. now how can you be positive who was in the room when he came out of the room ? cock. i went up into the room after my lord of aylesbury went away . mr. sol. gen. how long after my lord of aylesbury went away ? cock. it was presently after . mr. sol. gen. how long before my lord of aylesbury went away , had you been in the room ? cock. i had been there just before . mr. serj. darnall . call thomas peachy . ( who appeared , and was sworn . ) sir b. shower . my lord , we shall prove that after the plot broke out , and after mr. porter had made his discovery , there was no disturbance of mr. cook 'till a good while after chernock's trial ; and mr. cook was so far from being sensible or conscious of any guilt , that he never absconded , but continued for three weeks in his father's house , where he was taken by a messenger , pray mr. peachy will you tell my lord , and the jury , where mr. cook was taken , and when , and by whom ? peachy . he was taken at his father's house by a messenger , about seven a clock in the morning . sir b. shower . what day of the week was it he was taken ? peachy . upon a sunday morning , in his own room , in his father's house , at seven a clock in the morning . sir b. shower . did people come to him as they used to do ? peachy . yes , and he went frequently abroad as he used to do , and did never abscond from his father's house . mr. serj. darnall . pray swear mr. treganna . ( which was done . ) sir b. shower . mr. treganna , pray do you remember how long after the plot broke out did you see mr. cook ? treganna . after mr. chernock's trial a week he was at my chamber , after the plot broke out , he was concerned in a trial at winchester assizes , upon an issue out of chancery , mr. nicholls was the clerk in court , and went down to manage it at the assizes ; and mr. cook came to me a day or two after winchester assizes was over , and ask'd me if i had any news from the assizes ? this was long after the plot broke out , and i remember particularly that i saw him twice after the plot was discovered , at my chamber . sir b. shower . swear mr. nicholls . ( which was done . ) sir , pray will you tell my lord and the jury what you know of mr. cook 's appearing abroad after the plot was discovered ? mr. nicholls . i was sent down to the trial , i was present and did attend at two trials indeed , and i suppose mr. baron powis may remember that i attended at two trials at winchester assizes . mr. b. powis . possibly you might , sir ; i can't tell all the attendance at the assizes . mr. nicholls . and after my return from winchester assizes , mr. cook was with me several days , both at my office , and chamber , and at his father's office ; and i remember particularly that he threatned me that i was in trouble when i was at winchester , and therefore i remember it very well . sir. b. shower . mr. nicholls , you know mr. cook very well , pray what are his morals ? mr. nicholls . upon occasion of the cause in chancery that went to trial , i have had the knowledge of mr. cook five or six years , i always believed him to be as temperate a man as ever i met with . i think in five years time i was not above once with him in a tavern . sir b. shower . did you ever hear him swear ? mr. nicholls . no , never , nor vent a curse ; i believe he drank as little as any man , and was as godly a man ; i never heard him speak a foul word . sir b. shower . how do you know that , sir , that he was so godly a man ? mr. nicholls . upon occasion of this cause i was several times at sir miles cook 's , and at mr. cook 's lodgings there , and we were to go about business , and after he was drest , he has made me stay while he went into his closet and said his prayers . and he told me further , that he never went out of his father's doors without saying his prayers ; and i was forc'd to stay at the door while he perform'd his devotions , as he told me , and i believe he did . mr. serj. darnall . now , my lord , we will call some other witnesses to prove his good affection to his country , how he continually desired success to the fleet , and to the army . sir b. shower . so that really he had an aversion to it . swear mr. hamond . ( which was done . ) mr. serj. darnall . pray , sir , will you give an account what you know of the prisoner , concerning his judgment , and concerning his morals ? hamond . i have been for some time acquainted with mr. cook the prisoner at the bar , and to the best of my observation , i always took him to be a conscientious man , and i have heard him declare great detestation of a french force ; and three or four days before he was taken into custody , i ask'd him what he heard of intelligence ? he said he heard what was in the publick prints , and heard no more , and knew no more ; and he had a great abhorrence of the conspiracy , and thought it a very monstrous thing ; i never heard him speak a disrespectful word of the king's person or government in my life : and i say again , i have heard him several times declare in common conversation , that he had an aversion to a french power , and he had a dread of it . mr. serj. darnall . what have you heard him say about our fleet , or army ? hamond . my lord , i have heard him very much wish prosperity and success to our fleet. mr. j. rokeby . what fleet , pray sir ? hamond . to our fleet , king william's fleet against the french ; things to this purpose he has frequently said . mr. serj. darnall . then swear mrs. hunt. ( which was done ) but she was not examined . sir b. shower . my lord , we leave it here ; but i must beg the favour , that if they give any new evidence , and there be occasion , we may have liberty to answer it . and i have an observation or two to make when the evidence is over . mr. att. gen. my lord , if they have done with their evidence , i beg leave to observe that there is something arises upon that evidence , that will give us occasion to call a witness or two more . my lord , the first witness which they call was edwards , and he is in custody upon suspicion of high treason in newgate , and he gives an account of some discourse that he had with mr. goodman ; and for that it will be necessary for us to call mr. porter again , and mr. delarue , to shew that this edwards the witness , as he is committed for suspicion of high treason , so he was in the conspiracy for the assassination ; he was one in the list that was brought back by cranburne from mr. chernock to captain porter , as one of chernock's men , and he is in custody for it . then as to the other matter , they have called three witnesses to prove that mr. goodman was not in this place at this time . the councel indeed opened it that he was not at the tavern 'till after my lord of aylesbury and my lord montgomery were gone away , but their evidence goes further , that he was not there at all ; and the master of the house says , he was not there to his knowledge at any time . so that if their evidence prove any thing , they prove that he was not there at all , they do not remember that they saw him there ; so that the question will be , whether mr. goodman was there at that time , and it will be necessary to call mr. goodman again , and mr. porter , to confront these witnesses , who will tell you when he came in ; and particularly as to my lord of aylesbury , that he went with him to the stairs-head , and my lord would not let him go further , but he went back again when my lord of aylesbury went down stairs . we will begin with the witnesses , as to this edwards . swear mr. delarue . ( which was done . ) mr. conyers . mr. delarue , pray do you know mr. edwards that was here ? mr. delarue . he goes by several names , i know him by the name of douglas ; and last monday i came into the press-yard , and saluted him by the name of douglas , and he said he had taken his own name again , by which he was known at st. germains , and that was edwards or richards , as i remember , or some such name . mr. conyers . when was he at st. germains ? mr. delarue . about three or four years ago . mr. conyers . pray look upon him , see if you know him . mr. delarue . i know him very well , there he stands , that is the person in the black wig ; he was reputed at st. germains to be my late lord dundee's chaplain . mr. att. gen. what name did he go by at st. germains . mr. delarue . i can't very well tell ; but he said he had taken his own name again ; and i think he said it was edwards , or richards . mr. conyers . did he go formerly by the name of douglas ? mr. delarue . yes , here in england ; mr. porter knew him to go by that name . mr. att. gen. what else do you know of him ? mr. delarue . the list that mr. cranburn carried from mr. porter to mr. chernock , and which he brought back again from mr. chernock to mr. porter , had in it among the other names the name of douglas , which i understood to be that gentleman . mr. att. gen. did he go by that name at that time ? mr. delarue . yes he did . l. c. j. treby . pray repeat that again , sir , that we may understand it , and see whether it be evidence . mr. delarue . why , sir , the list that mr. cranburn brought from mr. chernock to mr. porter , at the foot of the list which mr. porter had sent to him , there were other names written , as i believe , in mr. chernock's hand ; and among those names there was the name of douglas , which i understood to be this mr. edwards , as he calls himself . and moreover , when mr. porter went out of town , going to doctor 's commons , i called at mr. chernock's and he had a great deal of company with him , 4 or 5 troopers , and among the rest this edwards or douglas was there sitting by him . here is a gentleman that i see upon the bench , i think he is a scotch-man , that knew him at st. germains as well as i. i think his name is mack donnel . mr. j. rokeby . what country-man did you take this edwards to be ? mr. delarue . a scotch-man , and chaplain to my lord dundee that was killed in scotland . mr. serj. darnall . did you see this gentleman in france , sir ? mackdonnel . i never was in france in my life . mr. att. gen. you can't ask him the question ; you know it tends to make him either accuse or excuse himself of a crime . pray call mr. porter again . but in the mean time , till he comes , we 'll examine mr. goodman , because he is here . mr. goodman , you were by , and heard what these drawers said concerning your being at the old king's-head in leadenhall-street that day . pray give an account when you came in , whether you saw my lord of aylesbury , and what passed between you at my lord of aylesbury's going away ? mr. goodman . mr. porter brought me up ; and when i came in they were all sitting ; and after salutation i sat down : and when they had consulted some time , they came to a resolution , as i have told you already . the fellows are so far in the right of it , that my lord of aylesbury and my lord montgomery went away first ; for i took my leave of them at the head of the stairs . says my lord of aylesbury to me , pray avoid ceremony , we will go away privately as we came , in a hackney coach. and as to the master of the house , who says , he does not know me , i have dined several times there , four or five times with sir john friend ; and one particular day above all the rest , i remember i was not well , and i went down stairs to the bar , and said , i pray can you get me a little brandy . he said , yes , he would help me to some of the best in england . and he brought me up some which i like very well : and thinking he had a quantity of it , i askt him what i shou'd give him a gallon for a parcel . but he said , he had but a little ; and i am sure he has seen me there five or six times . mr. att. gen. then set up that master of the house cock again . ( which was done ) come , sir , you hear what mr. goodman has sworn , and mind it , you are upon your oath . you said just now , that you never saw mr. goodman before . cock. no upon my word , sir , i don't know that ever i saw him before . mr. att. gen. do you remember nothing of his being with sir john friend at your house ? cock. no , upon my word , sir. mr. att. gen. nay , you are upon your oath . nor do you know nothing of your giving of him brandy ? cock. no , upon my oath , i do not remember any such thing . mr. att. gen. that is a very safe way of swearing , i profess . mr. conyers . he remembers the particular time when he was sick , and you offer'd to sell him some brandy . mr. att. gen. no , he askt him what he should give him for it a gallon . but , mr. cock , did you ever see goodman in your house since my lord of aylesbury and they were there ? cock. no , upon my word , sir , i did not ; and i never had but two gallons of brandy in my life at a time ; and i never had any cask , or any thing of that nature , to sell any out of . mr. att. gen. who used to be with sir john friend at your house ? cock. there used to be mr. richardson , and justice cash , and col. cash . mr. goodman . mr. richardson was there that day : i could almost have remembred the particular day , but i cannot be positive ; only we were in the same room where the consultation was , at the further part of the room . mr. j. rokeby . you , friend , the master of the house , you hear what mr. goodman says : he says he was with sir john friend at your house , and being not well , he askt for some brandy , and you told him , you 'd give him some of the best in england . and he propounded to you then to sell him some of it ; but it seems there was no bargain made . do you remember any such thing of one that was with sir john friend , that spoke of buying of brandy when he was sick ? cock. no , upon my word i do not . mr. att. gen. then set up mr. porter ( who stood up . ) pray mr. porter , look upon that man in the black perriwig ; what name did he use to go by ? mr. porter . he used to go by the name of edwards . mr. att. gen. had he any other name ? mr. porter . yes , douglas . mr. att. gen. he has so many names , that we don't know which his is true name . mr. porter , pray what else do you know of him touching his being concerned in the conspiracy ? mr. porter . i know not any thing of my own knowledge ; but his name was put down in the list that mr. chernock sent me of his men , and mr. delarue read his name there . mr. sol. gen. mr. porter , you were a witness upon the trials of sir john friend and sir william parkyns ; did you give evidence that mr. goodman was in the room at the same time when the consultation was ? mr. porter . yes , sir. mr. att. gen. well , you hear that these people have sworn , that mr. goodman did not come till my lord of aylesbury went away ; nay indeed , that he was not there at all . mr. porter . my lord , upon my oath he was there before my lord aylesbury went away , and mr. goodman bowed , and took leave of my lord as he went out of doors . mr. att. gen. what time did my lord of aylesbury go away ? mr. porter . it was about an hour and a half , or two hours after dinner , and he was in the room when my lord went away , for he took his leave of him at the door . mr. cowper . do you remember the manner of mr. goodman's coming in ? mr. porter . mr. goodman sent up his name to me , and i told the company , and promis'd for him , that he was a very honest man , and much in king james's interest ; and then with their consent i went down and brought him up . mr. j. powell . how long time do you think there was between mr. goodman's coming in , and my lord of aylesbury's going away ? mr. porter . i cannot tell that , i do not remember exactly how long it was . mr. j. powell . was it a quarter of an hour , or half an hour ? mr. porter . a great deal longer , for we had discoursed of the whole business after mr. goodman came into the room . mr. conyers . how long were they there after mr. goodman came in ? mr. porter . it was very near two hours after he came in , before they went away ; they did not go away 'till six a clock , and he came in at four , as near as i can remember . mr. att. gen. then , my lord , we have done . sir b. shower . then i beg the favour of a word or two , my lord. may it please your lordship , and you gentlemen of the jury , i am of counsel in this case for the prisoner at the bar , and i must beg your lordship's patience , and your favour , gentlemen , to make a few observations upon the evidence that has been given ; for we humbly insist upon it in point of law , that here is not sufficient evidence before you to convict the prisoner . you are , gentlemen , to have respect and regard to your consciences and the oaths which you have now taken to give a verdict , and make true deliverance between the king , and the prisoner ; you are not to go according to your own private opinions , nor according to publick fame , nor according to common report , nor according to the verdicts in other cases , nor according to the confessions or dying speeches of criminals who have been executed , whether made by themselves , or by others for them ; but you are to go by the testimony of credible witnesses , and if you have not the evidence of two credible witnesses before you , my lords the judges will inform you how the law stands . that by the statute of edward the sixth , and the new statute for trials of treasons , there must be two witnesses to prove the prisoner guilty of the overt act of the treason that is laid in the indictment ; and whether there have been two credible witnesses produced before you , is the question that you are to consider upon your oath and conscience ; that is , whether you are satisfied here be two such as the law requires . the question is not meerly whether mr. cook be guilty , but whether in your consciences he be legally prov'd guilty ; whether there be evidence to satisfie your consciences , according to the laws of the land , that he is guilty ; and we insist there is not ; and therefore i beg leave to recapitulate what was been sworn against him , that we may see how far it reaches , and wherein it is defective . gentlemen , mr. porter he swears that about the beginning or middle of may , he cannot tell which , there was this meeting at the old king's-head tavern in leaden-hall-street ; in which , i wou'd observe to you , that he confines himself to a certain month ; the reason is very plain , and therefore i ask'd him whether it was not in april ; for if he had said it had been then , there had been no danger to the prisoner , because of the act of indempnity , therefore he was careful to fix it in may ; and he wou'd not lay it in june , for the tenth of june is a famous day ; and then , or soon after , newgate had him ; he was confined there for a riot on that day , and so they have restrained it to a month , and the only month that he is capable of swearing to , as to any act done the last year 'till they came in january to the assassination plot , which the prisoner is not accused to have had any concern in ; but it shou'd seem he cannot tell what day of the week , or of the month , but about the beginning or the middle of may eight persons dined at this place , and then after dinner mr. goodman came in , and they discours'd about this matter . first , gentlemen , we insist upon it , that it is very improbable that engglish protestants of pious conversation and good morals , shou'd agree , as he says , to send such a message to the late king , to invite over a french popish force ; we may easily see the horrid and mischievous consequences that wou'd have followed such a practice , such as must affect every english-man with a concern , so that it is improbable a man of vertue and piety cou'd engage in such an enterprize ; and if it it be improbable , you will never believe it , unless the conviction or proof be irresistable : and if you have any other reasons to distrust this man's truth , then we hope you will go upon the side of probability ; and not let popular prejudice , common fame , or any thing else but legal and undeniable evidence have the ascendant over you . if you are not satisfied that mr. cook did assent ( as from the character of the man it is not probable he shou'd ) to send chernock into france , to perswade king lewis and king james to send ten thousand men to invade our country , then he is not guilty . in the next place , gentlemen , he is not guilty we say in the eye of the law , if they have not two witnesses ; and for that we say you have but one , or but one that is to be believed ; and if you have but one that is to be believed , that in law is but one , and consequently my client is not guilty ; so the king's councel agree , that if there be but one witness , he cannot be convicted , the law is plain in the case . now to make it out that here is but one witness at most , we have offered you several objections , and made them out by evidence , against the testimony of mr. goodman ; that he is not a person fit to be believed ; and if he be out of the case , then does mr. porter's stand alone , and all will amount but to one witness , suppose it shou'd be granted that his testimony were true . first , we have read a record of conviction against him , of a crime , one of the greatest next unto treason , that is known in our or any other law. that he hired a man to poison two dukes , branches of a noble family , to which he had such great obligations , as all mankind do know , and he himself cannot but acknowledge ; and if there were not that aggravation in it , of his obligations to that family , yet to lie in wait to murder and poyson , is such an offence as any age can seldom show the like . and the objection is not so very easily answer'd as they would have it ; nor can it be so soon passed over as they think , by saying he is a witness of a confederacy with which the prisoner is accus'd , a crime greater than the thing objected . it is true , none can bear testimony in such a business , but he that is a party : but , we say , if these persons , who come and set up themselves for witnesses , were not probi homines , and did not appear to be persons of indifferent credit between man and man , and did not stand impartial in the eye of the world in other respects before , then they are not to be believ'd , as to what they charge themselves and others to be guilty of . now , if mr. goodman stand convicted of such an offence as this that is alledg'd against him , tho' he is pardon'd by the act of parliament , or satisfaction acknowledg'd upon the record , tho' it be even the very next term , yet that does not purge him from the infamy and disgrace , or from the imputation of being concern'd in so villanous a design . it is impossible that he should be a good witness that wou'd be engag'd in such a matter ; especially when we have those various witnesses , and such a concurring testimony , that what he has sworn is absolutely false . gentlemen , if there were nothing but his own testimony in the case , there could be no question at all in it : and as to captain porter's testimony about his being there , we have produc'd three witnesses , who , if they be of credit , then mr. goodman is not to be believ'd , but is falsified throughout ; for , it is not the question , whether mr. cook went away before the consultation and the resolution ; for , if my lord of ailesbury , or my lord montgomery went away , mr. goodman is falsify'd in that , and consequently you ought not to believe him in the rest ; for he actually swears , that my lord of ailesbury , my lord mountgomery , and those other gentlemen , were all present , and at the consult , and did consent and agree to the resolution , by using these words ; yes , you may ; yes , you may . now , we say , there are three witnesses that swear , that my lord of ailesbury was gone before he came there . i do not care whether he came there , or not ; that is not material : if there were no body there when my lord of ailesbury was there but those that were at dinner , for then mr. goodman was not there at any such consultation , as they would insinuate was at that time , in that place , and that company . my lord , we have prov'd to you mr. cook 's abherrence and declaration , which , we think , ought to go a great way in satisfaction of his innocence , at least to induce you to the favourable side ; for , gentlemen , you are not brought hither to convict a man only , but to try and examine him ; and it is your duty to acquit , as well as convict , according as the evidence stands : it is your duty to go according to your consciences , and to declare whether he be guilty , or not guilty , upon the evidence you have before you : you are to examine the truth of the fact in all its circumstances , and upon your own consciences to declare , whether he is guilty or not guilty ; now we propose it to you , and submit it to your consciences , that here are three witnesses , that speak upon their oaths , against whom there is no objection , that ever they were guilty of lying in wait to poyson any body , nor in any plot for an assassination , nor any conspiracy for inviting an invasion from france , nor any other objection against them , but they stand upright in the face of the world , and they three swear , that he was not there at that time . the answer that we expect , is , that he might be there , and they not see him : and because it was possible he might be there , and they not see him , therefore it is no evidence : but , my lord , because it may be so , is no evidence that it is so ; that 's no objection , for you will take it as the nature of the thing will afford , and the matter itself allow . now there can be no better evidence than this ; that they went in and out continually ; the drawers , and the master of the house five or six times himself , were in the room , and they say , there was no such person there . why then it is very improbable , if not impossible , that any such man should be there . the one swears , he came down from my lord of ailesbury just before he went away ; and another says , he follow'd him out of the room ; and the master says , that he met my lord of ailesbury at the stairs-head . all which falsifies mr. goodman in that particular , that he was with my lord of ailesbury at the stairs-head , when he went away . these are incompatible ; and if we falsifie him in any one thing , he is not to be believ'd in any other . then , gentlemen , we offer to your consideration an answer to another objection : they say , these witnesses seem to swear , that he was not there at all . we are not concern'd whether he was there afterwards , or not : if you are satisfied , that he was not there , as our witnesses swear , while my lord of ailesbury was there , that 's enough . but then they make an objection , how comes the master of the house to remember my lord of ailesbury's going away , more than any body else ? gentlemen , you know the nature of the thing shows , that not only that it was more probable the master of the house should make his observations near the time of dinner , rather than afterwards at night , when there is more hurry : but it is more probable he should take notice of it from the quality of the person , from the discourse he had with him about the whitewine , which was a good medium to refresh a vintner's memory , it being a matter in his own trade , and that might make him call it to mind . therefore , gentlemen , we think these three witnesses stand free and clear in their credit ; and being so , are inconsistent with mr. goodman's testimony ; and , we hope , in favour of life , the credit inclines on their side , especially when the question is , whether a man shall be executed for treason who never fled for it , who was never charg'd with any treason or treasonable practises before ; nay , not so much as with any particular crime . or immorality : and , whether three witnesses shall be believ'd , against whom there is no objection , rather than two , against one of which there are such objections . my lord , we are not now debating or attacking the evidence of the plot , or arraigning the former judgments against the conspirators that have suffer'd ; but , gentlemen , we are putting you now upon a serious enquiry , ( as god and your own consciences shall incline you ) whether our clyent be guilty or not guilty upon this evidence ; that is , whether mr. goodman swears true , or not . we hope that we have given you sufficient satisfaction , that upon mr. goodman's part the evidence is insufficient ; and we hope you will accordingly find our clyent not guilty . mr. att. gen. if mr. cook have any thing to say himself , i desire he may say it now , before we begin . sir b. shower . no , pray go on , sir. l. c. j. treby . mr. cook , wou'd you say any thing yourself , before the king's councel sum up ? cook. the little i have to say , my lord , i 'll speak now , or by and by , which you please . l. c. j. treby . you must do it now , because after they have summ'd up , there is nothing more to be said by you . cook. my lord , i thank god , i have liv'd a life , i hope , as good as any man , and have often receiv'd the blessed sacrament ; i have done it constantly , and shall do it speedily , by the grace of god , as soon as i can have a minister come to administer it to me . i did offer it to my own father , when he came to me , and told me , if would confess this thing i should not come to tryal : i told my father , i would not for ten thousand worlds take away the blood of an innocent man to save mine . i thank god , i am in a very good way to dye ; i have , for at least this last year , frequently received the blessed sacrament ; and how i have liv'd , every body in the court that knows me can tell my life and conversation has been as regular as any man's , and i am as ready to dye to morrow , if occasion was for it ( i thank god ) as any one ; i will receive the blessed sacrament upon it ; and it is not for life that i would do any thing that is wrong or unjust : i do love my nation , and i love the quiet of the nation ; i never was for disturbing the government that now is ; and i ever was against foreign forces or an invasion , for i never thought of one , or heard of it , but with abhorrence and detestation : and i do assure faithfully , i shou'd be sorry to disparage mr. porter's evidence , because i would have every body that was concern'd in that horrid and barbarous crime to suffer ; in god's name , let them all suffer . i thank god , i never knew any thing of it , nor of a french invasion : and i would say more of it , but that i would not hurt mr. porter's evidence , whose discovery of that bloody business has done so much service . as for mr. goodman , as i hope to receive the blessed sacrament , and may i perish when i do it , if i speak an untruth ; i would not for any thing , no , not for the good of my country , have innocent blood spilt ; i would lay down my life to serve my country , but i would not have my blood be lightly lost ; and how little a man soever i am , my blood will lye as heavy upon the nation as any the weightiest man's can do . i do not doubt your lordship's justice , nor the jury's , but i pray , my lord , observe ; tho' it is usual not to own things at the bar , yet i do not make this denial as of course , but out of truth ; and i assure you , in the presence of the whole court , if i should suffer for this , i must at my last moments either confess or deny something : and , i say , i do assure , in the presence of the whole court , and i will take the blessed sacrament upon it , that i must , at my death , deny this whole matter , and that ever i did see mr. goodman at all there ; i do not think i saw him ; i do not remember i saw mr. goodman at all , except once in germain-street , when the coach broke , and that must be but in passing by neither , and he would have hurt or kill'd the coachman , and we kept him from it ; and i walk'd with him half the length of germain-street , before i knew who mr. goodman was . if ever a one of those gentlemen ▪ that are men of credit and honour , can say i was any ways so inclined , or that they ever saw me , or knew me , that i ever bought a pistol or a blunderbuss , or the like , may god sink and strike me dead ; and the blessed sacrament , which i intend to receive , be my curse and damnation , if i knew of king james's coming , till after the whole town rung of it : i had no hand in the invasion ; and , besides my abhorrence of introducing foreign force , i desire your lordship and the jury to consider the circumstances of my case , that i had but a very small allowance from my father , and therefore it is not probable i should take upon me to joyn with my lord of ailesbury , and my lord montgomery , and those other gentlemen , to send chernock into france , to invite over a foreign force : and i call god to witness i had no hand in it . i beg your lordships pardon for all this trouble ; i would not hurt mr. porter's evidence , for the reasons that i have told you ; but this is for my life , and i don 't so much value that as i do truth and sincerity ; and i shall receive the blessed sacrament , if i dye , that i never did do so . indeed , i never did take the oaths , nor did i ever refuse them , because they were never offer'd me ; but i wou'd take the oaths now if they were offer'd me . my lord , i beg your pardon for this trouble . l. c. j. treby . have you done , sir ? have you said all you would say ? cook. yes , my lord. l. c. j. treby . then , you gentlemen of the king's councel , will you conclude ? mr. sol. gen. may it please your lordship , and you gentlemen of the jury , i am of councel in this case for the king , and i could have been very glad that this gentleman's defence that he has made had been stronger than in truth it has been : and i should have been very glad too that his councel had been able to have made it better for him ; but that he and they may be satisfied as much is done as the case will bear ; they have had all the liberty in the world to make his defence they could desire , nay , more than in strictness could be allow'd them . gentlemen , our evidence is very positive against the prisoner at the bar , and for the highest crime that the king's subjects can be guilty of , by the confession of the gentleman himself , and of his councel . we have , i say , two positive witnesses against him ; they say , they are not legal ones : i must own , if we have not two witnesses , we have never an one ; for whatsoever falsifies mr. goodman's testimony , falsifies whatsoever mr. porter has sworn . now , the evidence that mr. porter has given against him , is this : he says , there was to be a meeting at the kings-head tavern in leaden-hall-street , and there they consulted of the methods to bring back k. james hither ; and it was thought the best way to send to king james to invite the french king to send 1000 horse , 1000 dragoous , and 8000 foot , to land here in this kingdom , where they would meet him with 2000 horse . they pitch'd upon a very proper messenger , mr. chernock , a person that has been attainted , and has suffer'd for high treason ; he was to be sent into france upon this errand ; mr. cook , the prisoner at the bar , was one of the persons that were there at that time , and he was consenting to this message ; and mr. porter gives you a particular token relating to the prisoner , for he remembers the prisoner did kneel upon the chair , and lean'd his elbows upon the table when he consented . mr. porter goes further , and tells you , that mr. chernock would have another meeting , to know and see whether all the company were of the same mind they had been ; and that afterwards they met at mrs. mountjoy's house , and there the prisoner at the bar was present , and consenting to the same thing : thereupon mr. chernock went into france , and came back again , and said , the french king could not spare so much force . mr. goodman gives the same evidence that mr. porter had given : it 's true , he was not at mrs. mountjoy's tavern , but he tells you withal , he spoke with mr. chernock when he came back from france , and chernock return'd him the same answer that he did to mr. porter , that the french king could not spare so many forces . this is the evidence in short , gentlemen , that is given against the prisoner ; and if this evidence be true , then is he guilty of the crime for which he is indicted . against these witnesses they have produced , first , a record of conviction against mr. goodman , and that was for hiring one amadea to poyson the duke of grafton , and the duke of northumberland : they have produc'd the record , whereby it appears , he was convicted and fined 1000 l. and was to find security for the good behaviour during life ; and he was no lye in prison till the fine paid , and security given : but it happens , in that very record it appears there was satisfaction acknowledg'd upon that even the very next term ; and that gives a great deal of suspicion to believe , that the evidence that was given was not much credited ; for , tho' the councel for the prisoner has said , that it was the payment of the 1000 l. that was the satisfaction ; no , it is not so , it is a satisfaction of the whole judgment , for finding security as well as the fine . they say he was not able to pay the fine ; and there is nothing appears of the other parts of the judgment being complied with , but the whole judgment is set aside . but all this does not make a man no legal witness ; if they thought this conviction tended to set aside his evidence , they would have produc'd it at another part of the tryal , than where they did : that is , when mr. goodman was first call'd to be sworn as a witness , then they should have produc'd this record , and said he had been no witness : but they knew well enough that that was no exception against the legality of his evidence , but tends only to his credit , and nothing else . now , tho' it be a black crime to endeavour to poyson another , yet that does not totally destroy any man's credit ; if it did , then the other gentleman , mr. porter , has confess'd himself guilty of a greater crime than that for which mr. goodman is convicted by this record ; for , he owns himself one that was in that design of assassinating the king. and mr. goodman owns himself too guilty of a greater crime that what 's objected to him , which is that of high treason ; and , i hope , if he may be believ'd , when he owns himself guilty of high treason , which is a greater crime than poysoning a private subject ; or guilty of such a design as the assassination of the king , which mr. porter has charg'd himself with , and notwithstanding which they have not offer'd that as an exception against mr. porter's evidence , ( for they very well know , his evidence has been receiv'd and credited : ) mr. goodman may be credited , tho' guilty of the crime objected to him : and the constant practise in all tryals of this kind hath been , that it does not take away the witnesses evidence , however it affects his credit , which in this case is supported by the concurrent testimony of mr. porter . and so then , i say , we have two legal witnesses , ( notwithstanding all the exceptions ) to prove mr. cook guilty of the crime for which he is indicted . then they go on further , and produce other witnesses : first , they produce one edwards , a person that is committed for high treason himself , and under suspicion of his being to be one of those that was to have a hand in the assassination ; but his evidence goes no further , than that mr. goodman told him he was to be a witness against mr. cook , and either he the witness , or mr. cook must suffer ; and , that it was a foolish thing to be hang'd . my lord , there is nothing at all in this matter that takes away mr. goodman's evidence : it is very plain mr. goodman had forfeited his life , and must do something to save it , and i think he could not do a better service to entitle himself to the king's mercy , than to discover those that were equally guilty with himself . 't was his duty to have done it , if he had not been in danger ; and if he hath done no more than what was his duty , i hope that is no objection against his testimony . they have produced likewise a drawer of the kings-head tavern , one crawford , and he says , he attended in this room while this company was there . but then he goes a little further than the councel or the prisoner would have had him ; for they called him to prove , that mr. goodman was not there when my lord of ailesbury , my lord montgomery , and mr. cook were there . but when the drawer comes , he knows nothing of mr. goodman's being there at all : he says , mr. cook was there , but not mr. goodman ; and yet he does acknowledge , that mr. goodman might be there , and he not see him come up . he acknowledges he attended upon other company as well as this ; so that it is plain in the nature of the thing , and his own confession , that goodman might be there . this cannot take off the positive evidence of mr. goodman and mr. porter , who both swear , that goodman was there . but then they produce another drawer , and that is one huntley ; and he gives the same account , only indeed he says , he was there all the while they were at dinner : but that is nothing , because it is acknowledg'd both by mr. porter and mr. goodman , that he was not there at dinner-time , but he might be there after dinner , and yet huntly could not see him at dinner : he tells you likewise , he pass'd up and down in the room afterwards , and did not see mr. goodman there ; but yet he might be there , and he not see him . then they produce the master of the house , and he gives much the same evidence in effect which his servants do , that he did not see mr. goodman there all the while ; but he says something that is a little incredible ; he can be positive that mr. goodman was not there while my lord of ailesbury was there , but he cannot be positive that he was not there afterwards . he tells you , he met my lord of ailesbury and my lord montgomery upon the middle of the stairs coming down , and he is sure mr. goodman was not in the room at that time . now , is that possible that he could be sure of that , when he owns , ( and cannot but own ) that mr. goodman might go into the room and he not see him ? so that he has made a strain in his evidence that it is very little to be credited , which was not designed so much for the advantage of mr. cook as for the advantage of somebody else : and , in itself , it is almost an impossible thing that it should be true , by what he offers as the reason of his evidence . but then , gentlemen , you are to consider , that all these three witnesses , if they swear true , do falsifie not only mr. goodman , who swears , that he was there ; but they likewise falsifie the evidence of mr. porter , and for that reason i ask'd mr. porter the question , whether he did not give the same evidence against sir john friend ? and if what he swears now be not true , neither was it true when sir john friend was try'd , for he was the only witness at that time against sir john friend , for this meeting ; and therefore these mens testimony tends to overthrow both witnesses as well as one : and i must tell you , that if mr. goodman be not a legal witness , because he has sworn a thing that is not true , then mr. porter is not a good witness , who has sworn the same thing , viz. that mr. goodman was there ; and then you ought to acquit the prisoner , because there is no witness against him at law ; for , there is the same evidence against mr. porter that there is against mr. goodman as to this matter . then , gentlemen , as for the character of mr. cook , they say he is a good english protestant , i hope he is so ▪ but it is plain , that religion does not vary the case : 't is within the reach of every man's memory that is here , that the same things have fallen upon other gentlemen that have had the same character , particularly sir john friend and sir william parkyns , who both ▪ said the same things , in the same place , that they were true protestants of the church of england . but that is no manner of evidence that will be of weight against positive oaths . now , gentlemen , it is fit likewise you should reflect upon another thing : what is it that should engage mr. porter and mr. goodman , or invite either of those two gentlemen to give a false evidence against the prisoner at the bar ? it does not appear that there was any injury done by him to them , to provoke them , to it ; so that it could be for nothing but for the sake of truth . it has been further said on the behalf of mr. cook , that he abhorred the french , and any invasion upon his country , and the like : it is a matter that is easily said ; and it has been said by others that have been in the same place where he now stands ; that they hated all plots , and they might punish them if ever they caught them . but these are only sayings , and nothing else . if there can be any constructions made of the evidence given by these two witnesses , that does not directly prove the indictment , then the prisoner ought to be acquitted : but if there can be no other construction made , but only , that there was a plain design to send chernock into france , to king james , to perswade him to prevail with the french king , to come and invade us with a foreign force : and if our witnesses are legal witnesses , ( as , i doubt not , my lords the judges will tell you they are ; if there be no exception to the credit of goodmen , but only that he was in such a design of poysoning the two dukes , which is really no objection of discredit to his testimony ; ) then , with submission , i think there is no room left for you , gentlemen of the jury , to doubt , but that the prisoner is as guilty of this crime laid to his charge , as any others that have been try'd and condemn'd for the same . and so , gentlemen , i leave it to you . l. c. j. treby . mr. conyers , and mr. cowper , will you say any thing to this matter . mr. conyers and mr. cowper . no , my lord , we submit it entirely to your lordships direction ; we have done on all sides , we think . l. c. j. treby . gentlemen of the jury , the prisoner at the bar , mr. cook , stands indicted here for high treason ; there are laid in the indictment two sorts of treason ; the one is , compassing and imagining the death of the king ; the other is , adhering to the king's enemies . the evidence to prove these treasons seems to be joynt ; for , as to that of compassing and imagining the king's death , as well as to the other , the overt acts are meeting and consulting about the treason , and then agreeing and resolving to invite and procure an invasion from france , and to meet that invasion with an insurrection here . and the evidence is apply'd entirely to prove these acts. gentlemen , that these are proper overt acts of compassing the king's death , i need not inform you , the law is very well known ; and the prisoner's own councel do acknowledge , that these are sufficient overt acts of compassing and imagining the king's death : so that all which they defend him by is , the improbability of the testimony given against him . now , gentlemen , you are to consider and weigh well the evidence that has been given . by law , it is true , as they observe , there must be two witnesses . here is no defect of number ; that 's acknowledg'd too , here are two witnesses ; but the question is , whether here be two witnesses that deserve credit , and upon whose testimony you can find that the prisoner is guilty . the witnesses , gentlemen , are mr. porter and mr. goodman . first , for the matter of their testimony , it is positive from them both ; that you 'll do well to observe . mr. porter tells , you , that 〈◊〉 may last , ( which is now just a twelve-month ) there was a meeting of eight persons , that is , my lord of ailesbury , my lord montgomery , sir john fenwick , sir william parkyns , sir john friend , mr. chernock , mr. cook the prisoner at the bar , and the witness himself mr. porter ; and this was at the kings-head tavern in leaden-hall-street , and there these eight dined , and this was in order to consult about an invasion , together with an insurrection intended to be made for the restoring of the late king. after dinner comes in mr. goodman , he says , and then they pursued this consultation , and came to a resolution , to send mr. chernock into france , and the message was agreed upon which he should carry ; and he was to go to the late king , and sollicite him to obtain 10000 soldiers from the french king , whereof 8000 should be foot , 1000 horse , and 1000 dragoons . these were to make up the 10000 men to invade this kingdom . and they resolved also , when this force should land , they should meet and assist this invasion with a joynt force , that should consist of 2000 horse . and to acquaint and assure him of this was the message . but , he says , that mr. chernock was very cautious in it , and would not presently go upon this errand , but he would have further assurance that they were in earnest , and would make good what they did send him to propose , therefore he would have a second meeting ; & a second meeting was had , & that was at mrs. mountjoy's tavern , and there they did renew the same resolution , and there were present my lord of ailesbury , sir william parkyns , sir john fenwick , sir john friend , mr. chernock , the prisoner at the bar , and himself ; he does not know or remember whether my lord montgomery , or mr. goodman was there . he says , mr. chernock did accordingly go into france , and he did return and bring back king james's thanks to them , but their desire could not be comply'd with ; and he had his share of the complements . now comes mr. goodman , & he says , that about the same time , viz. mid-may , mr. porter acquainted him , there would be a meeting of some of k. james ●s friends , at this tavern in leaden-hall street . he says , that he did tell mr. porter , he doubted he should not be there at dinner , but he would come as soon as he could after dinner ; and according to appointment , he did come after dinner , and there was this consultation and resolution that mr. porter speaks of , and says , that mr. chernock afterwards told him , he had been in france with the late king , and brought back the same answer that mr. porter speaks of ; and he had the honour of thanks from the late king too . gentlemen , i must observe one thing to you , which does go very much towards the confirming what these witnesses say , and that is the agreement in their testimonies , tho they were examin'd apart at the desire of the prisoner : you will find they agree in these several circumstances , in the time , that it was this time twelve-months ; in the place , that it was at this tavern ; in the number of persons that were there , which was eight before mr. goodman came in ; in the number of horse , foot , and dragoons that were to be brought from france , and in those horse that were to meet them here ; and besides , in those words of discourse upon the consultation and the resolution . and there is one circumstance more in which they do agree , and which is very particular ; that when they came to deliver their consent to this message that mr. chernock was to carry , the rest sate , and mr. cook the prisoner did kneel upon the chair , and lean'd upon the table . and this both of them do agree in . and after all the many questions ask'd in their separate examination , i do not find they disagree in any part of their evidence . so that , gentlemen , there can remain no question now , but whether these two witnesses are men of credit ; or , whether there has been opposed to them any such evidence as will make you believe , that ( if not both ) at least one of them has forsworn himself . they do produce nothing against mr. porter , whatsoever may have been produc'd at former tryals against his credit : perhaps what has been before , has satisfied the objectors , there is nothing appears against his credit ; but he is not only a competent but a very clear , good , credible , and undoubted witness . but against mr. goodman they offer several things which they say amount to a violent presumption , that he is not to be look'd upon as a credible witness : and first , they produce a record of a conviction upon an information against him , for attempting to poison two noble dukes : this he was convicted of , and fin'd 1000 l. and ordered to find sureties for his good behaviour during his life . but , to this it is answered , that it appears in the same record , that satisfaction was acknowledged of the 1000 l. and all the rest of the judgment the very next term , and he was forthwith discharged , and that without paying the mony , which ( 't was observ'd ) the prisoner's counsel said mr. goodman was not able to pay at that time , no more than he could 20000 l. and thereupon the king's counsel say , that the government was convinc'd that he was wrong'd by a causeless prosecution , and the evidence against him was found not to be credible . and besides , mr. goodman stands pardoned by several acts of pardons , as well as other subjects . then they produce one edwards , who is a prisoner here , and committed for suspicion of high treason , and for treasonable practices : he is , no doubt of it , a witness for all that : for that is but an accusation upon him , and does not take away his credit . he tells you of a discourse that he had with mr. goodman , and that goodman ask'd him when the prisoner was to be try'd ; and he told him he wou'd be try'd such a day ; and when it was ask'd what it was for , it was answer'd , not for the assassination , but for sending mr. chernock into france ? he ask'd then who were the witnesses against him ? mr. goodman said , mr. porter and himself . and further said , that he understood that mr. cook had sworn against him ( though he would give an account of no body else ) and had no pardon , and either he must hang , or himself . and then he talk'd lightly of the business of hanging , and said it was a foolish thing to be hang'd , for all that people wou'd say , was , that such an one hang'd handsomly , or dyed bravely . this indeed is a sort of discourse as if mr. goodman did apprehend himself in danger from mr. cook 's evidence ; and yet i cannot see that it does at all falsifie the evidence of mr. goodman : he may be a true witness , and yet he might say he was to give evidence against mr. cook , and it was in mr. cook 's power to give evidence against him , and that truly ; and if both were in the guilt , they were in danger of one another . but for a further answer , the king's counsel have produced mr. de-la-rue , who says , that he knew mr. edwards , and that he was a scotch man , and reputed chaplain to the viscount of dundee , that he went formerly by the name of dowglas , and by that name he was set down and described in the list that mr. chernock sent to captain porter ; and to that name he answer'd in the press-yard lately . now it is certain , that mr. chernock's putting of his name in that list , is no evidence of his being guilty in mr. chernock's treason . but his going by two names doth justly lay him under some suspicion . but the evidence that the prisoner seems to rely upon most , is what evidence has been produc'd against mr. goodman in that point of fact , by the master and the two drawers ; the first of the drawer's name was crawford , and he does tell you , that about 12 months ago there was this company at dinner there : my lord of aylesbury , my lord montgomery , sir john friend , sir john fenwick , sir william parkyns , captain porter , mr. chernock , and the prisoner , though he did not then know his name , or the name of one or two more of them . i observe by the way , that his testimony so far does verifie theirs , that there were eight of them there , but he says he did not see mr. goodman there , nor any but those that dined there . and my lord of aylesbury went away , as he thinks , about four a clock . he cannot say that the prisoner was there , or was gone at that time before mr. goodman came in ; for he did not see mr. goodman there at all , he was not in the room all the time , but he was to and fro attending till my lord of aylesbury and my lord montgomery went away in a coach that was called , and when they were gone , the rest of the company staid there a good while ; being urged to tell how long , at last he said it was dark , and that agrees with mr. porter , who says , it was about nine a-clock when they went away . he says he was there once or twice after my lord of aylesbury went away , but he never saw mr. goodman that he remembers at all , till last saturday , in all his life . as to this the king's counsel say , that it is only a negative evidence , and in which a man cannot be absolutely positive , but can only speak according to his observation and memory , which might not be perfect , and mr. goodman might be there in the mean time of his going in and out : that is possible ; and so it must be left to you to consider of it . then there is huntly the other drawer , and he says my lord of aylesbury went away about that time , and that he did not see mr. goodman there at all , nor ever in his life till now ; neither does he remember that any body came to them after dinner , and if any fresh man had then come in , he thinks he should ( going often in to them ) have known him ; and says , that he attended this company only : and he had seen sir john friend and sir william parkyns there before . then mr. cock , the master of the house was produced , and he names all the eight persons that did dine there , and so far he confirms the king's evidence : he thinks that my lord of aylesbury and my lord montgomery went away privately ( as it seems they had come ) in a hackney coach , and that it was about 4 a-clock ; and he says , he did not see mr. goodman there , and he does not know that he ever saw him till now : but when he was cross examined by the king's counsel , he does acknowledge that he might possibly come in after dinner , and before my lord of aylesbury went away , and he not see him , because he was not there all the time ; he says sir john friend used to dine at his house , and came to his house once a week ; and he had seen some of the rest , but they did not frequent his house as sir john friend did : he says , the company din'd about 2 a-clock , and the last of them staid till about 8 or 9 , and that the door was shut as is usual when company is in a room , but no body was forbid to come there . but to establish the credit of the evidence on the king's part , they did produce mr. goodman and mr. porter again : mr. goodman does acknowledge so far to be true , that my lord of aylesbury went away first ; but says , that himself was not wholly a stranger to this house , for he had dined there four or five times with sir john friend , and particularly one time , he being sick , and asking for some brandy , the master of the house said he would help him to some of the best in england , and mr. goodman would have bought some of him . but the master seems not to own that , and says , he does not remember any thing of it . but then comes mr. porter again , and he says positively , that mr. goodman was there , and that he did speak with the company , and complemented my lord of aylesbury when he went away , and went part of the way towards the stairs with him ; and he does well remember it by this token , that when mr. porter was told mr. goodman was below , he mentioned him in the company as a trusty man , that was fit for the conversation ; and then mr. porter went and fetch 't him up , and mr. goodman was there near two hours , and they discours'd all this matter in that time in the presence of the prisoner and the rest ; and he says it was about six a-clock before my lord of aylesbury and my lord montgomery went away , and then there was opportunity enough for this discourse , and consult that they speak of . the prisoner has offered another sort of evidence : first , the confidence of his own innocence , that he was abroad three weeks after this conspiracy was discovered ; and they have produced mr. treganna , mr. peachy , and mr. nichols , who prove that he never absconded , but was abroad and appeared openly ( for three weeks after ) till such time as he was taken . this the king's counsel say is no proof that he is not guilty , and their evidence untrue . they say he might have a confidence , and the rather because he is not charged with the assassination ; for , at that time these witnesses speak of nothing was discovered and publick but the assassination ; for it was before sir john friend's trial ; and then was the great discovery of the secret of the invasion . then he shews further as to his conversation , that he is a man of a very sober life , never was known to swear , that he drinks but little , and is a godly man , and often says his prayers . as to that , the king's counsel on the other side tell you , that has been pretended to by other people too ; and the question is not about religion , but this fact that you are now to try . whether he be so religious or no as he pretends , or whether he be sincere in his devotion , that is not so much the matter now , but the question is , whether he has offended in this kind as he stands accused . they produce a gentleman , one mr. hammond , and he says that he is a very consciencious man , and particularly is a great lover of his country ; and he has often heard him declare a detestation of an invasion by a french force , and wish success to the fleet ; but that which he remembers chiefly , was about the time of the discovery of this plot. the king's counsel answer to this , that a man may use such kind of expressions , perhaps to cover his guilt ; and in the reply to sir barth . showers observations it was taken notice of by mr. solicitor , ( what we all cannot but remember ) that the like evidence was given as to sir john friend , that he did detest an invasion , and was present at the common prayer when king william was pray'd for , and declared against plots ; and that if they catched him in the corn they might put him in the pound . these things a man might say , and it is the lightest evidence that can be given , being discourses out of mens own mouths , who will never proclaim their own guilt ; and therefore it is the weakest defence that can be offered . but gentlemen , you are to consider the other evidence that has been produc'd by the prisoner , given by several witnesses , and who are upon their oaths now as well as the king's witnesses . and his counsel say their witnesses , but particularly the three upon whom they chiefly rely , have no objection made out against them ; and no man's testimony ought to be presumed to be false . and it must be taken notice of , that they can speak only according to their belief , grounded on their observation and memory , that they did not so far as they observed or remember , see mr. goodman there , as 't was most probable they should if he had been . but 't is possible they might overlook or forget ; the rather for that they were not of the company , but in and out , up and down ; and mr. goodman was not there at dinner when their attendance was fixt and constant . it ought to be considered also , that here are several circumstances , some of which seem very pregnant . it is agreed on all hands , that the prisoner dined there with those other seven persons , concerning four of whom we must conclude nothing ; but concerning three of them we in this court may take notice , they are attainted of high treason , and so it is evident that the prisoner was for a long time a companion of three traytors , and had a conversation with them . i do not find that he had any occasion to be there ; nor any of the rest of the company . concerning my lord of aylesbury , indeed it is said he proposed to treat about a hogshead of white wine . but that seems to be casual , and not the end of his coming and dining with this company there . but , be that how it will , that relates to his lordship alone . but , for the others , i do not find they do pretend any occasion of meeting there ; and therefore it leaves it the more suspicious : and 't is the more so , because it was managed so privately and cautelously . they were not attended according to their qualities . the lords went away together in a hackney-coach that was called , as they had come thither in another . the rest thought fit to stay there till it was dark ; and as soon as it was so , went away . there was some extraordinary cause for all this . it did import the prisoner to shew , that it was for some good cause and purpose . and further , it is observable that this house was a place which , as the master says , none of this company did use to resort to , except sir john friend ; which makes it probable ( this being a house that sir john friend frequented and none of the others ) that he bespoke this place , and brought the rest thither : and if it were so , that makes it more probable that there was such a treason there to be hatch'd , as is evidenced by the king's witnesses ; for you may remember , and it appears by the record in this court , that sir john friend was indicted and attainted ( not for the assassination , but ) for the treason for which the prisoner is now a trying , an invasion that was to be supported with an insurrection . now if sir john friend was chiefly acquainted with this house , and brought this company together , it is very probable it was about this business which sir j. friend was so concerned in . and that he is attainted for it , appears upon the record before us ; which should be read , but that the prisoners counsel admit it , and are so far satisfied in it , that they won't arraign the verdict ; nay , they did acknowledge that there was a plot ; and there was no doubt of it , there was such a plot. now then gentlemen , here it is certainly proved by these two witnesses , ( and not gainsaid by the prisoners own witnesses , ) that there was such a meeting , and that the prisoner was there ; and they both have positively sworn that this treason was committed there . you have heard what has been objected to their credit ; they have delivered their testimony upon their oaths ; and so , gentlemen , are you upon your oaths : if you are satisfied , and can take it upon your consciences that these two witnesses are , or any one of them is , forsworn ( if such distinction can possibly be made in this case ) then you are to acquit the prisoner ; but if you are satisfied , and think they have sworn true , you are to find him guilty . mr. j. rokeby . nay , if one be forsworn both are ; for the evidence is entirely in all parts the same ; and if mr. goodman be perjured , mr. porter is so too . sir b. shower . forsworn and perjured are hard words ; we only say mistaken . mr. j. rokeby . well , that objection goes to one as well as t'other . l. c. j. treby . it must be so , since they speak of the same joint matter , viz. their being together in company . if mr. porter says true when he swears that mr. goodman was there with him and the rest , mr. goodman must say true when he swears that he was there with mr. porter and the rest . there was one thing that i forgot : sir b. shower observed , that it might be an invention of captain porter , because he fixeth it in point of time to the month of may , that he does not say it was in april ; for that then it would be within the pardon , which extends to april 29. last year ; nor would he lay it in june , for then he was in newgate , and others of them were disperst by reason of a riot committed in drury-lane ; and so there was no month left but may : and this sir b. shower alledges , was a piece of skill and contrivance . but , really , this is a piece of ingenuity in himself . for , besides that the king's witnesses affirm positively that it was in may , and remember it by a certain token , viz. that it was within a very few days after the king went beyond sea , one or two of the prisoner's witnesses ( crawford i am sure ) did say that this meeting was this time twelve-month , and you know we are now near mid may. mr. serjeant darnall . if you believe our drawers for part , you must believe them for all . mr. att. gen. no , not so : my lord speaks only where they concur with our evidence . it were strange to expect we should disbelieve or doubt what the witnesses on both sides affirm to be true : but , i do not think it would be to the advantage of the prisoner , if what his counsel proposeth were agreed to , viz. that the drawers ( and their master too ) should be believed for all they say , provided equally that the king's witnesses should , in like manner , be believ'd for what they say . for , the main thing controverted is , whether mr. goodman were at this meeting . these witnesses for the prisoner say , they did not see him there ; at least they do not remember it . mr. porter and mr. goodman himself say , he was there . now , these things agreed , and admitted , would make a very consistent clear evidence , that mr. goodman was there , though the master and drawers did not observe , or do not remember his being there . then an officer was sworn to keep the jury , who withdrew to consider of their verdict , and about three quarters of an hour after they returned into court. cl. of arr. gentlemen , answer to your names : henry sherbrook . mr. sherbrook . here : and so of the rest , &c. cl. of arr. are you all agreed of your verdict ? jury . yes . cl. of arr. who shall say for you ? jury . our foreman . cl. of arr. set peter cook to the bar ( which was done ) peter cook hold up thy hand ( which he did ) look upon the prisoner , how say you , is he guilty of the high treason whereof he stands indicted , or not guilty ? foreman . guilty . cl. of arr. what goods or chattels , lands or tenements had he at the time of the treason committed , or at any time since ? foreman . none to our knowledge . cl. of arr. then hearken to your verdict as the court has recorded it : you say that peter cook is guilty of the high treason whereof he stands indicted , but that he had no goods or chattels , lands or tenements at the time of the high treason committed , or at any time since to your knowledge , and so you say all . jury . yes . cl. of arr. gentlemen , the court dismisses you , and thanks you for your service . then the court adjourned till 5 a-clock in the evening . post meridiem . about six a-clock , the court being , by proclamation , resum'd , the prisoner convicted was brought to the bar , in order to judgment . cl. of arr. peter cook , hold up thy hand ( which he did ) thou stand'st convicted of high treason , for compassing and imagining the death of his majesty king william the third , and for adhering to the king's enemies ; what canst thou say for thy self , why the court should not give thee judgment to dye according to the law ? cook. my lord mayor , my eyes are very bad , therefore i desire your lordship would be pleased to take this paper , and that it may be read . cl. of arr. have you any thing to say in arrest of judgment ? cook. i desire my paper may be read . [ it was handed up to the court , and then delivered down to mr. att. general and the king's counsel , but not openly read . ] mr. recorder . mr. cook , the court have read your paper you sent up , and have communicated it to the king's counsel ; if you have any thing to move in arrest of judgment , this is your time , and we will hear you , but as for any representation of your case to any others , that must be considered of afterwards , you are now called to your judgment . cook. i did not know that i might offer any thing afterwards , but if your lordships think fit to communicate that to my lords justices , i submit it to you . mr. recorder . mr. cook , there is nothing appears upon this paper that is matter of law , and so not serviceable to you now , and therefore what you desire in it , the court will consider of afterwards . cook. i do not understand the law , my lord , but i have heard the court ought to be of counsel for the prisoner , and i desire i may not suffer by my ignorance . mr. recorder . i declare it , for my part , i know nothing that you can have any advantage of in arrest of judgment ; if i did , you should not lose the benefit of it , and you have had your counsel assigned , who have pleaded for you without restraint ; and if there had been any matter of law that would have availed you in arrest of judgment , no doubt , they would have laid hold of that advantage for you . cook. i can't tell , my lord , what is matter of law. mr. att. gen. your lordship observes , they took all the objections that they could to the indictment , but there was none that they could fix . cl. of arr. then cryer make proclamation . ( which was done on both sides of the court. ) cryer . oyez , all manner of persons are commanded to keep silence while judgment is in giving , upon pain of imprisonment . cook. my lord , may i have my paper again ? mr. recorder . if you think it may be of any service to you to leave it with the court , you may do so ; or if you desire it , you shall have it again . cook. i desire your lordship to keep it . mr. recorder . i will receive it , and it shall not be buryed , i assure you . cook. i don't hear what the court says . mr. recorder . you say you did not hear what was said to you : if you desire to have your paper again , you shall have it , but if you desire to have it communicated above , the court will consider it , and take care of that too . cook. i desire your lordship wou'd do it . then the recorder proceeded to give judgment thus . mr. cook , i think it useful to the publick , and also at this time to you , to observe , that the reign of the late king james , was throughout , one intire design and project form'd in conjunction with the french king , totally to subvert our religion , laws , and liberties , which grew so apparent to the subjects of these nations , in so many instances of fatal consequence , manag'd in such a method , and advanc'd so far , that the people of these kingdoms , of all qualities , ranks , and degrees , did find it absolutely necessary for the preservation of themselves and the neighbour nations now in alliance with us , to pray in aid of the then prince of orange , as a person , not only nearly allied to this crown ; but also intirely in the interest of these kingdoms , and those neighbouring princes , and countries that lay exposed to the violence and ambitious insults of france . and the love which that noble prince did bear , not only to us , but to our neighbours also , disposed him to embrace that invitation , upon whose arrival here , that predecessor , from motives that were invisible , declin'd the kingdom and the government ; and left the people to themselves ; whereupon his present majesty was necessarily and rightfully placed upon that throne he so well deserv'd : and this is now that king , for whose preservation all good people have associated , and spare neither lives nor treasure to support and to continue in the government ; and this is that king whom you have traiterously conspired , not only to dethrone , but also to destroy ; and this is that people that you would have to swim in blood , and lose their religion , liberty , and property . these matters need a history to relate at large , i only touch them shortly , to move good men to rejoyce in their deliverance , and to move you seriously to reflect upon the heinousness of your crime . mr. cook , you are an english man , and must needs know , that in this place we frequently condemn to death clippers , coiners , thieves and robbers , and other such like criminals , and that justly and necessarily too , for the preservation of the innocent , and for the common good. of what condemnation must you , and such as you , be worthy then , who have so horridly endeavour'd and design'd the fatal ruin and destruction of your own native country , and to render your fellow subjects a miserable prey , and at the best to become slaves and vassals to a foreign prince ? let me also mind you , that nothing is more sure , than that after this , you must receive a judgment in another world ; and if that pass against you too , that sentence will be most terrible , and your sufferings without end : and therefore i do advise you to imploy the few days you have yet to live , in preparation for your future happiness , which cannot be duly done without a full confession of this , as well as other crimes you have been guilty of ; i therefore charge it to you , as your duty , and leave it with you at your utmost peril , that you honestly and faithfully discover all you know of this inhuman and traiterous conspiracy , and all the persons that you do know to be guilty of it : this will be the greatest service you can do in this world , and will be the best preparatory step that you can take towards a better . and , sir , there now remains no more for me to say , but to pronounce that sentence on you which the law directs . and that is this , that you , peter cook , be taken hence to the place from whence you came ; and thence be drawn upon a hurdle to the place of execution , where you are to be hang'd by the neck , and cut down before you be dead ; that your bowels be taken out , and your privy members cut from your body , and both burnt in your sight ▪ that your head be cut off , and your body divided into four quarters , which head and quarters are to be at the king's disposal ; and god allmighty have mercy upon your soul. cook. i beg , if your lordship please , that i may have my relations and friends come to see me , and some divines , the better to prepare me for another world. mr. recorder . mr. cook , if you 'll give the names of those that you would have come to you , to the officer , care shall be taken in it ; and you will not be denyed any reasonable helps that may be had for your preparation for eternity . mr. att. gen. it is not fit he should be deny'd any reasonable help ; but in the mean time there is reason for the government to be cautious , upon the account of what has notoriously past in the case of some others . mr. recorder , if he give in the names , it will be considered of , and care taken that nothing be done , but what is reasonable , and safe . then the prisoner was taken from the bar , and the court proceeded to what was remaining of the business of the sessions . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a25874-e10270 rookwood's tryal 4. 13.