A Compleat collection of papers in twelve parts relating to the great revolutions in England and Scotland from the time of the seven bishops petitioning K. James II. against the dispensing power, June 8. 1688. to the coronation of King William and Queen Mary, April 11. 1689.

SATISFACTION tendred to all that pretend Conscience for Non-submission to our present Governours, and refusing of the New Oaths of FEALTY and ALLEGIANCE.

In a LETTER to a FRIEND, By R. B. late Rector of St. Michael Querne, London, And now Rector of Icklingham All-Saints, Suffolk.

SIR,

I Cannot but admire at the Stiffness, not to say Obstinacy of some, in not complying with the present Government, considering the late danger of Popery, and that an Arbitrary Power was exercised amongst us by our late Rulers, in asserting their Dis∣pensing Power, by the Mercenary Judges declared to be Law.

You may remember in our late Conference upon this Subject, you pleaded in Defence of your selves, and others, the Obligation you lay under to the Oath of Allegiance, with your Subscription to the Doctrine of the Church of England, contained in the 37th Arti∣cle, and the First Canon of the Church: but if it appear that all this is rather grounded upon Mistake, than any solid Reality, I will not question your ready Submission.

Oaths I confess are very strong Ties upon Men of Conscience, and they are to be tenderly dealt with until that Prejudice be removed; give me leave therefore with Sobriety and Meekness to enquire, Whether that Oath be still in Force, with the Obligation to it? if not, that Plea must vanish and disappear.

And here first, let me remind you of the occasion of imposing the Oath of Allegiance; it was injoyn'd to distinguish betwixt Church and Court, Loyal and Disloyal Papists, upon that horrid Gun∣powder-Treason, which hath left a Stain of Villany and Cruelty upon that Religion, never to be wiped off: Read over the Anatomy of that Oath, made by K. James the First in his Book of the Defence of it; And what is there in it that can stick upon any Protestant? except that Clause of denying all Foreign Jurisdiction, Prince, or Poten∣tate: And this you seem'd to hint at, when you said the Prince of Orange was a Foreign Prince.

Will you be pleased in answer to this, to fix your Thoughts upon that of the great Apostle St. Paul, he is excepted that put all things under him. So here, without Question, the King may divest him∣self of all Authority and Power, and when this is done the Obliga∣tion ceaseth, as if he were really Dead. The Preface to the New Oath is not an authoritative Abdication; but rather a Declaration of Matter of Fact, that the late King James hath abdicated. So that in fine the main of the Controversy lies here, Whether the late King did abdicate? For, if he did, without all Question the Obligation of all Oaths taken unto him is ceased. In confirmation of the Af∣firmative, I shall endeavour to make it clear that any King may, And secondly, That the late King did abdicate.

That Kings may denude themselves of their Princely Power and Sovereignty, appears from what was done by Charles the Fifth, Emperor of Germany, and King of Spain at the same time, who did abdicate both; and his Subjects took new Oaths of Fealty to other Princes. Some of those Times might question his Courage, but none did ever except against the Validity of it.

May it not seem something unjust to deny this Liberty to Princes, when they find themselves overcharged with the Weight of Govern∣ment, to retire into a Privacy for the better enjoyment of their in∣ward Peace and Quiet? But I presume no Man will deny this Hypo∣thesis. It remains to prove the Thesis, That the late King did abdicate.

1. I will not dwell upon what was done by the Metropolitan, and other Lords of the Council, upon his first withdrawing; they came into the City, and with the Lord Mayor sent for the Lieutenant of the Tower, seize upon the Keys, dispossess the Souldiers, place a new Garrison there, and desire the Prince of Orange to assume the Regen∣cy; Why all this, if he had not Abdicated? Upon what other ground durst they raise Arms, seize upon his Royal Fort? Or how can they excuse themselves from formal Rebellion and breach of Oaths, if this be not granted, and is not unpresidented, That Princes shall take up their Scepters again, when they have laid them down. But to pass by this.

2. I would willingly be resolv'd by any Thinking Man, whose Judgment and Testimony is most authentick in this Particular; Whether I am to resolve my self into the Judgment of the whole Nation, in a full and clear Representation in Parliament, or into the private Fancies or Opinion of a few Men? I remember what you once repli'd to this, That every Mans Conscience is to judg for himself in point of Practice. But do you not know when, and by whom this Principle was exploded, whilst some were prosecuted for meer Matters of Worship? And shall ••his be pleaded by those Men who so vigorously have acted against it, when in its own Na∣ture it is so destructive of the Civil Peace? A Line and a Line is an Abomination.

Did ever any Government upon the Pretence of Conscience dis∣pence with Disobedience in Things necessary to its Establishment? And can any Man expect to be excus'd from taking the Oaths, which is the only Moral Security the Government can expect or require; and upon this very Pretence, which if allowed, all Kingdoms must dissolve into Anarchy and Confusion; Religion and Conscience be∣ing the Common Pretentions of all Male-Contents. This may suf∣fice to satisfy any sober Rational Man, that is not resolv'd to main∣tain the Conclusion, be the Premises never so weak.

Some there are that presume their Subscription to the Doctrine of the Church of England, in her Book of Articles, will not permit them to yield their Obedience to these Alterations. But if this shall prove a Mistake, and our Obedience shall be conformable to our Principles, will it not rather be esteemed Peevishness than Conscience?

To discover the Mistake, let us consider when, and by whom, the Articles were composed; and refer the Practices of those Times to the

Articles, as an authentick and clear Interpretation of them, and this also will vanish like Smoak.

1. The Articles were made, or at least confirmed, in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, who was a constant asserter and maintainer of this Maxim, That it is lawful for a neighbouring Prince to relieve and defend the Subjects of another, when invaded in their Laws, Liberties, and Religion. Who was it that protected and assisted the Hugonets in France, against the Tyranny and Violence of their Princes? Was it not this Gracious and Heroick Queen? And who was it that protected the Netherlands against the Violence and Usur∣pations of the Spanish Monarch? And was all this contrary to the a∣vowed Doctrines of our Church, of which she was the Defender? Was not this defended, or at least allowed of, by the Church-Men of those Times? must it be now inconsistent with the Principles of our Times? Do they bind our Hands, so that if we are invaded we may not crave the like Protection? Let any sober scrupulous dissatis∣fied Person give a sober Answer and Resolution to these Queries. The Dutch Netherlands erected a new Model of Goverment under her Protection, after they had shaken off the Spanish Yoak.

2. Let it be granted, what ought not to be denied, That the late King did abdicate, and that the Government did devol e upon the People, and these in a full Representative of the whole Nation, whether in Parliament, or in a Convention, (it matters not which, whilst that was a free and fair Choice) have constituted these to be our Governours; Are we not to pay and swear Obedience unto them, as well as their Predecessors? And if this were rightly weigh'd, would answer an Objection from that Declaration, in the Act of Uniformity, I abhor that Traiterous Position, &c.

If after all this Men will fix all upon a Jus divinum, and fly to Scriptures, let them give plain positive Texts, for a general Form, with Rules universally relating unto, and obliging all Places and Men. If they cannot, let them confess that God hath left all Na∣tions and People, to be ruled by that Government and those Laws, which are most suitable to the Constitution and Temperament of the People; and this I lay down for a Foundation not to be over∣thrown. But to Answer: those places which are so much insisted upon, that of our Saviour's, St Paul's, and St Peter's, we need to make use of that absurd Assertion of some of the Romanists, That this was only enjoyn'd and to be performed until they had oppor∣tunity to make a Resistance.

This would stain the Glory of the Primitive Martyrs. Not a forced, but a voluntary Martyrdom deserves the Crown; however this gives a taste of the Loyalty of these Men and their Religion, to the maintaining of which the Popish Princes sacrifice all their Power and Policy.

But for a more Substantial Answer, by way of Satisfaction to these Scruples, let it be duly considered, that the Primitive Christians and we were under different and distinct Administrations; they liv'd under absolute Monarchs, their Grandeur was won by the Sword, and confirm'd by a pure Despotick Power; and therefore their Re∣sistance had been unlawful, contrary to the Rule and Force of their Government: but it is quite otherwise with us. We are setled up∣on a Gothick Model, our Princes make no Laws without our own Consent; they are obliged to the excution of Laws made by our selves with their Consent; they have no Power to dispense with the breach of them by others, nor to invade them themselves. This was own'd by the seven Bishops, declar'd by former Parliaments; so that no Man is bound to pay their Allegiance any further; Let Caesar have what is Caesar's, and the Subjects what is theirs, their Laws, their Birth-right. In some cases Moral positive Duties are superseded by what is naturally Moral, as in the Duties of the fourth Command, so here. Tho Government in general be founded upon Nature, yet this or that Form is but positive; and if it be not consistant with the end of Government, Self-preservation, Why should not it be either altered, or fixed in those who will prosecute the right end, the Preservation of the publick Peace and Liberties of the People?

To what hath been said, let me add, ex abundanti, the late King's retiring into France; if it amount not to an Abdication, it comes near unto a Forfeiture, and no Prince or State can have less Reason to indeavour to restore him to his Crown and Dignity, than that Monarch. Whence hath he his Claim but from Hugh Capet, and he from the Election of the great Men of the Kingdom? and why did they pretend to lay aside Charles Duke of Lorrain, whose Right it was by Succession, but meerly upon this ground, He had joyned himself to the Enemies of the Kingdom? and so they transfer the Crown unto another Family, that of the Capets. And does not all Christendom in general, and the English Nation in par∣ticular, look upon that great Man of France as a Common Enemy? shall not that which may hinder Succession, justify in part a translat∣ing

of it unto another? But (blessed be God) all these are cleared in an Abdication, and that asserted by the Representative Body of the whole Nation.

And now, good Sir, be perswaded to lay aside all Prejudice, sub∣mit your Sentiments to the Judgment of your Superiors, yield your Obedience and Fealty in taking the Oaths; this you see is your Du∣ty, and not only so, but your Interest. It is not long since we were apprehensive of Popery, and the Church-of-England-Men did set themselves in direct Opposition against it, and all the Accesses to∣ward it; for which the Generations to come shall call them blessed. But whence come these Apprensions to be lessened? can we expect a perfect Freedom from these Fears, should he be re-admitted to his Authority? It is not possible a Popish Soveraign should keep Pro∣mise with his Heretical Subjects, as they stile us; their words and Oaths, if Roman Catholicks, bind no further then stands with the Interest of their Religion, and we know who both can, and will dispence with Oaths and Promises made to Hereticks.

Would you fetter him by Laws? these have been, like Sampsons Cords, easily broken: Would you place him under Tutors and Go∣vernours? He is no minor, cannot submit; aut Caesar, aut Nullus. Men are but Men at the best, and Time, and Preferment may alter their Judgments. However these would make him a Prisoner, and no King. Should we submit in hopes of another Opportunity; Would he not settle a Correspondence with Male-contents at Home, and Foreign Princes Abroad? and if he prosper in the Design, hath that Common plea, That his Promises are Void, because made by him when under Restraint? And then, What will become of all that is dear unto us, Religion, Lives, Liberties, and Estates? This is prevented by an Abdication; so that if he return, it must be by Conquest, and then he will rule by the Sword, we shall all be in the same Condition, lie under the charge of Hereticks, Rebels and Traytors; the Government chang'd from a regulated Monarchy into an absolute Tyranny, our Religion abrogated; we shall be sold as Slaves, or burnt as Hereticks. If Men love Bonds and Imprison∣ments, Rapine and Sequestration, Racks and Tortures, Fire and Faggots, let them continue this Humor and Aversation; but if none of these be lovely, as indeed they are not, let us bless God who hath redeemed us from the Hand of our Enemies, and the Hand of all that hate us. Let us joyn issue with the Divine Providence (which

hath delivered us from all these Evils) in submitting and yielding our Obedience to our Soveraign Lord and Lady, by whose Conduct and Courage we are brought into a state of Freedom and Peace. Be not affrighted out of this by the false Rumors and Reports, spread abroad by evil-minded Men, but let us unite in our Submis∣sion to our present Rulers, that thereby we may strengthen their Hearts and Hands in our common Defence.

There remains one Prejudice, but no Objection arising from the vain Fears of some Men, that the Church begins to be shaken in her Authority, whilst matters of Religion fall under a Dispute, and no Convocation consulted with. But this, if fully considered, would swell a private Letter into too great a Bulk. Let me for the present desire you to consider, there is nothing design'd in Doctri∣nals, but meer Matters of Ceremony, and a relaxation of some Laws, not consistent with the greatest Interest of the Nation in this present Juncture, the Union of Protestants. And out of experience, that the severity of those Laws never reclaim'd one Dissenter, but rather did drive others out of the Pale of the Church; it is not un∣worthy of, but highly becoming the Wisdom of those worthy Pa∣triots to find out a Method, whereby all Protestants of every Form may be brought into an easy Condition. This Subject, if this Let∣ter find a candid Reception, may be more fully considered of, by

Your very Friend, Servant, and Brother, R. B.

To the Right Honourable the Lords Spi∣ritual and Temporal, And to the Hon∣ourable the Knights, Citizens, and Burgesses in this present PARLIA∣MENT Assembled; The Humble Petition of TITUS OATES, D. D.

Most Humbly sheweth,

THat your Petitioner in the Year 1678, discovered a horrid Popish Conspiracy for the Destruction of the late King Charles the Second, His Present Majesty, and the Prote∣stant Religion within these Kingdoms; and prov'd it so fully, that several Parliaments, and Courts of Justice, before whom he gave his Testimony, declared their Belief of it by publick Votes, and the Condemnation of several of the Conspirators. For which Reason, and because your Petitioner would not be terrified by their Threats, nor seduced by their Promises of great Rewards (with both which Temptations they often assulted him) to desist in his Discovery; the Jesuits and Papists pursued him with an implacable Malice, and endeavoured to take away his Fame and Life, by su∣borning Witnesses to accuse him of Capital Crimes: but being de∣feated in that Villanous Attempt, they first procured King Charles the Second to withdraw that Protection and Subsistence his Majesty had, at the Request of several Parliaments, allowed to your Petiti∣oner; and then instigated his Royal Highness the Duke of York to prosecute your Petitioner in an Action of Scandalum Magnatum, for speaking this notorious Truth, viz. That he the said Duke of York was reconciled to the Church of Rome; and that It is High Treason to be so reconciled: wherein a Verdict and Judgment for

one Hundred Thousand Pounds Damages were obtained against your Petitioner, and your Petitioner was committed to the King's Bench-Prison.

After this, the same Popish Party obtained leave from King Charles the second, to prefer two several Indictments against your Petitioner, for two pretended Perjuries in his Evidence concerning the said Conspiracy, which they brought on to Tryal in the Reign of King James the second; and your Petitioner was upon the E∣vidence of those very Witnesses, who had confronted him in three former Tryals, and were disbelieved; and through the Partial Beha∣haviour of the Chief Justice Jeffreys, in brow-beating his Witnes∣ses, and misleading the Juries, convicted of the said Pretended Per∣juries, and received this inhumane and unparallel'd Sentence follow∣ing, viz. [To pay two thousand Marks to the King: To be devested of his Canonical Habit: To be brought into Westminster-Hall with a Paper upon his Head, with this Inscription, Titus Oates convicted upon full Evidence of two horrid Perjuries: To stand in and upon the Pillory two several days, for the space of an Hour: To be whip'd by the comman Hang-man, from Aldgate to Newgate on Wednesday, and to be whip'd again on the Friday following from Newgate to Ti∣burn: To stand in and upon the Pillory five times in every Year of his Life; and to remain a Prisoner during his Life.] Which Sentence being intended, as your Petitioner hath just reason to believe, to murther him, was accordingly executed with all the Circumstances of Barbarity; he having suffered some thousands of Stripes where∣by he was put to unspeakable Tortures, and lay ten Weeks under the Surgeons Hands. Neither did their Cruelty cease here, but because your Petitioner, by God's Mercy miraculously supporting him, (and the extraordinary Skill of a Judicious Chirurgion) outlived that Bloody Usage, some of them afterwards got into your Petiti∣oner's Chamber whilst he was weak in his Bed, and attempted to pull off the Plaisters apply'd to cure his Back, and threatned to destroy him: And that nothing within their Power or Malice might be wanting to compleat your Petitioner's Misery, they procu∣red him to be loaded with Irons of excessive Weight for a whole Year, without any Intermission, even when his Legs were swoln with the Gout; and to be shut up in the Dungeon, or Hole of the Prison, whereby he became impair'd in his Limbs, and contracted Convulsion Fits, and other Distempers, to the great Hazard of his Life. All which illegal Proceedings, and barbarous Inhumanities,

your Petitioner humbly conceives were not only intended as a Re∣venge upon him, but likewise to cast a Reproach upon the Wisdom and Honour of four successive Parliaments who had given him Cre∣dit, and upon the Publick Justice of the Nation. And your Peti∣tioner humbly hopes that since the Papists themselves have verified and confirmed his Evidence by their late open and avowed Violations of our Religion, Laws, and Liberties, this Honourable House will vindicate the Proceedings of former Parliaments, and discharge your Petitioner from those Arbitrary and Scandalous Judgments, and the unjust Imprisonment he lies under.

Your Petitioner doth therefore most humbly beseech your Lordships and your Honours, to take his deplorable Case into your generous and tender Consideration, and to give him such Redress therein as to your Lordships and your Honours great Wisdom, Justice, and Goodness, shall seem meet: And your Petitioner shall ever pray, &c.