A vindication of the English Catholiks from the pretended conspiracy against the life, and government of His Sacred Maiesty discovering the cheif lyes & contradictions contained in the narratiue of Titus Oates. The 2. edition with some additions: & an answer to two pamplets printed in defence of the narrative. Jtem a relation of some of Bedlows pranks in Spain, & Oate's letter concerning him.

CHAPTER V. Of the Congregation.

THere hauing been an account giuen to the publick of this Congregation, (which you impertinently call a Consult,) & no exception made against any part of it, as I am sure none can with Truth: I will giue a summary of it, which shall ground our tru Answers to your vntruths.

Prouincial Congregations all ouer the Society are held euery three yeares by their respectiue Prouincials. And the yeare 1678. was of course assigned for them. So the Congregation was nothing peculiar to England, for the same time like Congregations were held all ouer Europe in each Prouince of the Iesuits. And the like Congregations haue been held by the English Iesuits euery three yeares, since they were a Prouince by themselues, & will be, as long, as they continue so, vnlesse some very extraordinary thing hinder it.

The intent of these Congregations is exprest in these words of their Consti∣tutions: Ad eligendos tertio quoque anno Procuratores. Formulâ Congreg. Prou. c. 1. p. 51. to choose one whom they cal Procurator to go to Rome, to inform their General of their priuate affayres. For Confirmation of this I appeal to the Constitutions of the Iesuits which are in the hands of many Protestants & may be found in S. Paule's Church yard (as I hear) & to the Testimony of any Iesuit liuing.

The number of which it is Composed is not to exceede forty: which is made vp out of first the actuall superiors; secondly the Procurators of the Prouince: thirdly, so many of the ancientest Profest Fathers, as with the others make vp that number. And of iust so many that held in 1678. was composed.

This Congregation had but two meetings on the 24. & 26. of April, stilo veteri. And seuerall of those who met, on that very day 26. of April left the town: all hastned away assoon as possible. The Rector of Liege had the lon∣gest Iourny, yet was at that place on the 16. May stil•• vet. (as may be seen by the Day book of that Colledg) althô he had a very slow passage by sea, stayd one whole day at Roterdam, another at Antwerp, & a third at Brussels.

The truth of all these particulars concerning the Congregation will be at∣tested by all those, who were present at it, & are still aliue. I now return to reuiew what lyes our Deponent frames on this occasion.

Narrat. p. 18. §. 28. April the 24. 1678. stil. nou. F Warren, Rector of Liege, Sir Th. Preston Baronet, F. Marsh Rector of Gant, F. Williams Rector of Watten,

Sir Iohn Warner Baronet, Sir Robert Bret Baronet, F. Poole, Edward Neuil, in all with the Deponent about nine or ten, went from S. Omers towards London.

Obseru. Here you giue vs almost as many vntruths, as words. For first the Rector of Liege was not of the number, nor neer S. Omers. At Antwerp he took shipping for Holland see Attest. I.

2. Sir Thomas Preston neuer stirred all that time from Liege. see Attest. H.

3. Sir Iohn Watner remained at Watten, & supplyed the Rector's place. see Attest. F.

4. Sir Robert Bret, F. Pool, Edward Neuil, & you Mr. Oates, continued at S. Omers see Attest. D. E X.

I think it superfluous to mind the Reader of your contradiction in relating your fellow trauellors, hauing conuinced you of so many Periuryes already. How in Colman's trial p. 29. you make Pool a monk & one Charges of the number, yet I am assured there are no such men in the world. And you made of two Rectors four men, (or else your Arithmetick is like your sincerity) for soe you reckon: The Rector of Liege, F. Warren, the Rector of Watten, F. Williams. And you say they were nine, & vnlesse these two make four, there will be but se∣uen. I intend cheifly to examin your Narratiue, & soe passe that ouer.

Narrat. p. 18. §. 28. These met in London in Consult with Iohn Fenwick, F. Blundel, F. Gray, & others, to the number of Fifty Iesuits, at the White horse Tauerne in the strand.

Obseru. Here you Depose three vnthruths. The 1. that these three Person I named were of the Congregation. Not one of them was there.

The 2. that there were Fifty Iesuits. There was only forty, & according to their Constitutions could be no more. Form. Cong. Prou.

The 3. that they met as the White-horse Tauerne. They are all ready to swear they neuer met there: seuerall haue protested to me they did not know of any such Tauern in the strand till you informed them of it.

Narrat. Ibidem. At which Consult held in the month of May the Deponent was present to attend the Consulters, & deliuered their Concerns from Company to Company.

Obseruat. You aduance two vntruths here. One that the Consult, as you ca•••• it, was held in May. It was ended on the 26. of April. And very many of those assembled were at their respectiue Residences before May.

Another vntruth, is that you were there: you were all that time at S. Ome•• How you haue altred your story! Colman's triall p. 20. By a Patent from Iesuits yo•• were of the Consult. Now you are cited only by the common Letter, & are not o•• it but attend it as Letter carryer. It is strang the Iesuits, whose fac totum & gran•• Agent you were, should employ your rare talents in so mean an office, whic••

any boy, or common Porter would haue done! Or that your hygh spirit did not disdain that employment! But it seemes you would rather play small game, then sit out: so finding your story of the Patent, & your being of the Consult ridi∣culous, you thrust your self vpon it, as a mean Attendant. But if this were all your employment; what need of your calling from beyond seas? Those who had trusted Treasonable Letters so long together to Common Posts & their Factors, myght haue trusted these Concerns to the first Porter they met: or haue made vse of Honest William, or aukward Pickering, or some of those thousands, whom they had engaged in the Plot. I desire you to satisfy these doubts.

Narrat. Ibidem. A little after, they left the White-horse Tauern, & diuided themselues into soueral clubs, or Companys. All which did contriue the death of the King.

Obseru. You are so puzzled with studying to hammer out your Fables, that your head is giddy. Iust now, the Consultors were diuided into Companys in the Tauern, & you were busyed in carrying their Concerns from company to Company. The next line, they diuided into Companys, after they left the Tauern. But the real Truth is, they neuer diuided into, or met in seueral Companys, that being against the nature of a Congregation according to all Orders; & what soeuer had been in that nature acted, had been ipso facto null.

But what a fit subiect to deliberate on, doe you, the Taske-Master ap∣point them! you relate the King's death, as a thing resolued on about a twelue-month before, that all their Letters to France, Flandres, Spaine, Italy, Germany, Scotland, Ireland, & seuerall parts of England, spoke of it, as a thing resolued on: That men were hired to effect it by Pistol, by Gun, by Dagger, by Poyson: That some of these Ruffians had been punisht for not performing what they had vn∣dertaken. After all this, as Consult, forsooth is called Fifty of the Prime Iesuits summoned to meet, to resolue it. Iust as in som Barbarous nations, a man suspected is hanged, & then his cause examined, to see whether it were well don. When I consider our Nation capable to be imposed vpon by such ridiculous storys, I am half ashamed to own my self of it.

Narrat. Ibidem. Within three or four days after, the Deponent went to S. Omers with the Fathers, that came from the other side of the Water.

Obser. You could not return with them, first because you were not in England all that time. Secondly because those Fathers did not return together. The Rectors of Liege & Watten returned immediatly to their seueral stations, the one by France, the other by Holland. He of Gant stayd some days in England but far from London. And these three were all that came from beyond seas to the Congregation.

Thus much of the Congregation. The truth of the more essential parts, is

euidenced by the Attestations already drawn vp. The rest will be by others, when called for: there being not one word related by me, which is not known to many, who will depose it vpon Oath, when required.

To this Chapter of the Congregation I find little to the purpose, in these two Pamphlets, excepting rayling in P. & very disingenious representing my mind by Anonimus. Only the first p. 26. vrges that seing the meeting was not at the white-horse Tauern, the Iesuits should discouer where it was. And the later pag. 28. says a Traitor, & an English man are direct contradictions.

To the first I answer, I do not beleiue the Iesuits will satisfy his curiosity in that it would be an ill requital of the fauour receiued from him, who did not refuse their meeting vnder his roofe, which would render him obnoxious to a violent malicious Faction. It is enough for our purpose, that by shewing the meeting was not at the white horse Tauern, we conuince Oates's Periury in swearing it was there, & that he neuer was at it, seing he knows not where it was.

To the second, I answer it were happy for England that his words were tru, & that that Land had as great an Antipathy to Traytors as Ireland to venemous beasts. But sure he was in a dream when he writ this: & velut aegri somnia vanae finguntur species. Or else he dropt newly out of Viopia, & hearing all speak much of Loyalty (and those cheifly who are most disloyal in their harts) took all for gold that glisters. Were they not Englishmen, & euen the Repre∣sentatiue of all English men, the Parliament, who waged war on friuolous pretexts, against the Late King? And were they not Traitors? And are not those who in all appearance endeauour to act ouer againe the like tragedy, English men? Nay do they not arrogate to themselues that title, as peculiarly du to them, whilest they terme themselues tru Patriots, & blast all Loyall men with the odious names of Courtiers, Pensioners, &c? What opinion hath this good man of his Readers, who dares aduance such Paradoxes contrary to all sense, & experience, as if vpon his credit, we should beleiue it were bryght day at mid∣night! well: my vindication stands secure enough as long as it cannot be im∣pugned but by such non sense.