Eikåon vasilikåe tritåe, or, The picture of the late King James further drawn to the life in which is made manifest by several articles that the whole course of his life hath been a continued conspiracy against the Protestant religion, laws, and liberties of the three kingdoms : in a letter to himself : part the third / by Titus Oates ...

Article XXVI.

IN order to strengthen the Popish and French Interest, you were pleased to take to Wife the Daughter of the Duke of Modena, whom you have and hold to

this Day, which was in it self a Scoundrel Match; but that it might appear somewhat considerable, the French King declared her an adopted Daughter of France, and promised to give her a Portion sutable thereunto, for her Father could not give her a Groat: And whether he gave her a Portion or no at that time, I cannot tell; if he did not, I suppose you will eat it out before you leave St. Germains. Your Brother consented to the Match, without much difficulty, by a good Lord, a Friend of yours, who consummated the Marriage by the Royal Consent and Authority of your Brother, according to the Form used amongst Princes, as your good Protestant Brother was pleased to express it.

Before this precious Bit of Italian Flesh could arrive in England, your Conspi∣rators who advised this Marriage, perceived that the 20th of October would come, and that it might probably receive some Obstruction from the Parliament, and that some other things were prepared against their meeting for the curb∣ing your Rogues, who were grown (as observed to you in the First Part) dam∣nably Insolent; for the Check the Test-Bill had given, was far less than the In∣couragement from this wicked Marriage: And that a fatal Blow might be given to the Preparations of the then House of Commons in prejudice of your Con∣spirators, you procured a Prorogation to the 27th of October 1673, whereby to put an End to that Session, and all the Business unperfected in March 1671/3 should fall to the Ground. But pray what was the Matter? Why must some good Bills fall to the Ground that were so well prepared in March 1672/3? Why truly your Reasons for the Prorogation, if I am not much out, were these three.

1. To prevent and remove from your Brother all Temptations to break the in∣tended Marriage, and the French Alliance, the Parliament being like to use their utmost endeavour to hinder the Consummation of that Marriage, which might render the Popish Religion and the French Alliance impregnable. You know, Sir, that Cardinal Howard promoted the Match to serve the Catholicks, and the Catholick Religion was your end too, since you were converted to such a degree of Zeal, that Coleman your Secretary knew not his Head from his Heels, or whether he was awake, or in a Dream: and then to strengthen the Interest of the French King must be your design, since his Interest and yours were so insepa∣rably united, that he that was your Enemy, was an Enemy to his Interest; and he that was an Enemy to his, was to your Interest also. Now what a wicked Parliament was it that would have separated such an Interest, and oppose such a Religion, in endeavouring to prevent so hopeful a Match, whereby, 1. The Folly; 2. The Malice of you and your Party did appear?

(1.) The Folly of your Party did appear, for that Parliament did never fail to give Money whenever called for, if they were but indifferently well used; and the King was generally unwilling to let a Session go off without some Pocket-money for the modest Gentlewomen at Whitehall: therefore your Partisans should rather have adjourned the Marriage, than prorogued the Parliament, who having no∣tice of the Conspiracy, (which you had managed more like an Irish Teague than an English Statesman) were very angry at the King's breach of his Word and Royal Promise made to them in March before: Therefore notwithstanding the King's Speech, Octob. 20. for a swinging Supply for carrying on the War against the Dutch, the Parliament would vote nothing but an Address against this Match

of yours with the Daughter of Modena; for they considered the Nation was not able always to lie under the dispensation of parting with Money, to secure the Popish Religion, and French Interest: And as a preparation to the Address, you know they passed this Vote, viz. This House taking into consideration the Condition of the Nation, will not take into any further Debate or Consideration any Aid, Supply, or Charge upon the Subject, before the time of the Payment of the eighteen Months Asses∣ment, granted by a late Act of Parliament, intituled, An Act for raising the Sum of 1238750 l. for the Supply of his Majesty's present Occasions, be expired, un∣less it shall appear that the obstinacy of the Dutch shall render it necessary; nor before this Kingdom be effectually secured from the Danger of Popery, and Popish Counsels and Counsellors, and other present Grievances be redressed.

You having by your little Vermine given out with all Folly and Impudence, that you stood in no need of a Parliament but to give Money; by this Vote they were even with you, who with your Crew were so nettled at their Vote, that you were resolved to give them a remove from your Councils: but that it might not seem altogether upon the account of denying Money, you let the Parliament pro∣ceed, and the Address was prepared with Reasons against this Match of yours, which I have laid down in my first Part, and therefore wave them now; the Par∣liament being assured that this Marriage at that time was not so far concluded, but that for Reasons of State it might be rejected, as has been practised in di∣vers Nations, and even by the French themselves in several Examples, as mani∣festly appears in the French Histories.

I having an Opportunity of discoursing about the Match, the Jesuits condemned the Conduct of your Friends at St. James's, in deferring it till the Session was so nigh, and then putting the Parliament off; whereas the Marriage ought rather to have been suspended till the Parliament had given Money; and one Million well husbanded, would have enabled your Brother to set up Arbitrary Power, for the French King would have stood by him: And further, That your Coun∣sellors had been too open in the steps they took in this Match, and had too pub∣lickly boasted of the Advantage they should have by it, both as to France and Religion, and had too much undervalued the Parliament, since you could not at that Time subsist without one.

(2.) As your Party shewed their Folly, so their Malice; for as the King was unwilling to part without Money, and also to quit the French Interest, all the Grievances of the Nation must be postpon'd, which were judged by you to be but Trifles; if any difference did arise, it was their Faults to insist on such small things: therefore with Indignation you procured them to be prorogued, that they might recollect themselves, and basely comply with your wicked Designs of de∣stroying the Dutch, and advancing the Fr. Interest in this Match, that they might for the future be of no use to you; for a moderate Sum of Money, a Million or two, would, by the French King's Assistance, have been a competent Stock to open Shop withal, that our Laws, Liberties and Religion too, should have pe∣rished at one stroke, such was your Rage against us at that Day. Your Bullies a∣bout the Town had the aid of your Purse to swagger against the Parliament, and to admire the French King, and tell us how happy we were by being imbarked in the French Interest thrô this Match; and why should a damn'd Parliament

be suffered to sit till it was consummated beyond the Power of their interposing in it? And the King was not to be trusted in this Affair, if a Parliament were to sit, for he would be wheedled by the House of Commons, upon the account of Money, to break off this hopeful Match, yea, and with the King of France too; but keep him without a Parliament, and he would do any thing to please the French King or your self. Now, Sir, from all this we may conclude how foolish and malicious your Crew did shew themselves in the Prorogation of the Parli∣ament, that the King might not be engaged by them to break off that Match to the projudice of the Popish Religion, or the French Interest.

2. This was not the only Reason, for you had another before you, viz. The consideration that the Bill for ease of Protestant Dissenters (whereby a major part of them should have Liberty of Conscience, and be capable of Church-preferment) had passed the Commons, and was sent up to the Lords in March 1672/3, where it then remained, and would not long stick, as you and your Par∣ty feared, before it would obtain the Royal Assent; which if once effected, you foresaw the uniting the Protestant Interest would tend greatly to the suppression of Popery, and consequently no hopes of that Religion's being replanted here: but if you could any how prevent the passing that Bill, you doubted not for all the Parliament could do, to be safe amongst so many Dissenters, and drive on your Designs underhand for the destruction of all Protestants. From hence, Sir, let me observe,

(1.) That this was a time when you and your Party were not for Liberty of Conscience, because the uniting of Protestants by Liberty would be very fatal to you, and therefore you got the Parliament prorogued, that this Blessing might not fall upon you and your Friends. But how comes it to pass that you gave God thanks that it was always your Judgment that all Men ought to have the Liberty of their Consciences in Matters of Religion and Worship? Were not you a most no∣torious Hypocrite to say so?

(2.) You must needs be engaged in a most Hellish Design against the Prote∣stant Religion, and your Party be resolved to proceed-no farther in any other Work, but that must be destroyed, or else what needed so much Care for pro∣roguing the Parliament, that the Bill for Liberty of Conscience, then in the House of Lords, might of course come to nothing? By which Prorogation you so offended the Parliament, that you lost at least the Gift of a Million of Money.

(3.) It argued you certainly very full of Revenge, that because your Brother was forced to break his Declaration for Liberty of Conscience, you would pro∣cure the Prorogation of a Parliament to break the Bill for it, tho it was more legal and commendable in the Parliament, (notwithstanding the Loggerheaded Reasons given against it in 1664, in a Session of the same Parliament) for by it we saw plainly that an Arbitrary Declaration for Liberty of Conscience was the Sense of your Soul, but a legal Liberty of Conscience you hated from the bot∣tom of your Heart, and would rather incur the Displeasure of a Parliament, than they should have the doing of that which they would not suffer your Brother, your Self and wicked Party to do in a most illegal manner, without the Autho∣rity of Parliament.

(4.) I perceive at that time it was the Sense of the Lords, as well as of the Com∣mons,

that such a Bill was necessary to secure the Protestant Religion, and therefore it would have passed that House, and the King have given his Royal Assent to it, if there had been but a Million or 1200000 Pounds in the Case: Therefore that they might be better informed concerning the Conveniency of your Italian Match, and the Inconveniency of that Bill for Liberty of Consci∣ence, you obtained a Prorogation, tho your Brother, good Man, lost a swing∣ing Tax by the Bargain.

(5.) That you gained your Point in reference to Liberty of Conscience; for Time you know is often Life to a Cause: And as the Protestant Interest run high in the Session of Parliament in 1672/3, and this Act came from the Commons to the Lords in favour of them, who had passed it but for want of Time, and another Bill passed against Popery by which Clifford fell, and you and your Party put out of Humour; so that Clifford's Fall might be gentle, an end was put to that Session, the Declaration for Liberty of Conscience was broke or cancell'd; and in revenge you put a stop to the passing the Bill that would have established Liberty of Conscience by a Law, by breaking up the Parliament from Octob. 20. to 27. and then to Jan. 7. following. In this Recess you not only compleated the Italian Design, but so ordered the Matter, that when the Parliament met in January, all Favour to Dissenters was killed as dead as a Door-nail, and not one word of reviving the Bill for Liberty of Conscience was heard of; but on the contrary our Prickear'd Priests were instructed to preach this to be as true as the Gospel, that now there was no more Danger from the Papists, but that the Pha∣naticks were the only dangerous Enemy; and you and the Devil's Brokers had found out a Scots Lord, and 2 Men who then made a mighty Figure at Court, that were impudent and desperate enough to put the King's Affairs on so narrow and weak a Bottom: Nay, Old Lawderdale, rather than fail, becomes a Patron of the Church; and who but he with his Guts was cried up by our Parasitical Pul∣pit-hunters? Nay, I will say this for Clifford, that tho Villain enough, yet his Principles were very generous in comparison of your new Set of Juglers, whose Business it was to ruin those this Year they had supported but the last; nay, give them their due, they would never forgive a Man that had been but once in the Right. Those, Sir, were your trusty Cards, and they agreed with our Spiritual Guides, and Roger their Master, not only in Principles, but Passion too; there∣fore you presently joined with them in directing the Judges to put the Laws in Execution against Dissenters; which was done as you required.

(6.) Our Holy Church-men, as their Zeal was much increased by your In∣fluence to suppress the Dissenters, so their Zeal against Popery was to all Intents and Purposes extinguish'd, as if you and your Italian Mistress had been naturally dead: For if any of the young Fry had preached against it, he was rebuked as too Pragmatical and Sawcy; and truly so they were that presum'd to preach a∣gainst a Religion your Brother and you had ventur'd Soul and Body to advance, in order to pox the whole Nation, both Men and Women: for the French Dis¦ease was so Epidemical, that a Man could scarce find fair Quarter, no not in the-Church or Chancel, unless he was of the French Interest. Thus you may re∣member what Success attended your Design in proroguing the Parliament, by which the Liberty of Conscience intended was defeated, and how its Defeat,

with the Consequences thereof, prospered upon your Hands. But what signifies all this, since there was a French Interest, the Romish Religion, and an Italian Comrade to support all? So much for your second Reason for proroguing that Parliament.

3. And lastly, Your great Design in carrying on this Match by the Proroga∣tion of the Parliament, was to create a Jealousy between the King and them, exasperating him with their Impertinency; and by your prevailing with him to countenance that wicked Match, you exasperated the Parliament against the King: For tho that Parliament should for ever after that Match have denied to give Money, yet you were so sure of the French King, that you hoped by the help of his Forces to have brought Popery in upon us, and with it Arbitrary Government; the first of which your Popish Tools cried up as the best Religion, and our High Church-Rogues in conjunction with them, cried up the last as the best of Governments; yet at the same time they would deny it to be practicable here, unless it pleased God to find out some way for both these great Churches to unite together to suppress Phanaticism. But the Parliament saw into your Game, and observed your Steps: You sunk much in their Opinion, therefore you resolv'd they should sink in the King's Opinion, which occasioned so many Prorogations when you and your Party had any Villany in hand. I might have said more to this Point, but that I have spoken to it in my First Part.