The Case Put, Concerning the SUCCESSION OF HIS Royal Highness THE DUKE of YORK.  
LONDON: Printed by M. Clark, for Henry Brome at the Gun in St. Paul's Churchyard. 1679.   

The Case Put, Concerning the SUCCESSION OF HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS The DUKE of YORK.  
THE Case of His Royal Highness' Succession (in regard of the present circumstances of Plots and Popery) has been, 
The Duke's Succession the Common subject of the Press.  of late, sufficiently agitated, Pro, and Con; while the Advocates of Both sides pretend equally to support themselves upon Arguments drawn from Nature, 
Law, and Scripture pretended on Both sides.  Scripture, Law, History, Custom, and Political Expedience. [Et Pila minantia Pilis] Now as it is utterly impossible for a Contradiction, to be Both ways in the Right; so the Difficulty will not be much less, for a Common man, in a Proposition of this Nicety, to distinguish betwixt the Truth, and the Paradox; and to determine, upon which side the Reason lies. Or what if the Contendents themselves should yet, in some degree, have left the very Pinch of the Point betwixt them? For it is not the bare Citing of a piece of Scripture, 
Texts, and Precedents may be misapplyed.  or a Record, that does the business; but the fair Expounding, and Applying of it, with a due Regard to the Context of Times, Persons, Interests, Occasions, and other Circumstances. There is a great difference betwixt the Counsels of Factious Times, and of Peaceable; of Usurpers, and of Lawful Princes; the Concessions of Kings in a Moral State of Liberty, and of Kings under a kind of Duresse. We should, in fine, distinguish betwixt the Sacred, and Inviolable Resolutions, that are founded upon Equity, and the Common Good, and those Temporary shifts, which are only Invented to serve a present Turn of State. 
Heresy, and Sedition, pretend Texts, and Precedents.  Was there ever any Sedition that did not recommend, and support itself upon some pretext of Law and Precedent? Was there ever any Heresy, or Schism, that did not advance itself under the Countenance of some Text? And yet Heaven forbid, that we should think ever the worse, either of the word of God, or of the Law of the Land, for being made use of as a Cloak to so much wickedness. He that has a mind to destroy the Discipline, the Order, or the very Doctrine of the Church of England, shall Quote ye twenty Texts for't; and as many Precedents, (if there shall be occasion) for Diverting, or Cutting off the Succession; nay for Deposing the King Himself, and Changing the very Form of the Government. This is no more than what has been actually done in the Memory of Man. 
Texts and Precedents to all purposes.  'Tis a hard matter to imagine a New Case: So that let the Instance be what it will, it is but looking back into Former Ages, to match it; where you shall be sure to find Choice of Precedents ready made to your hand (like clothes in a wholesale Shop) of all Sizes, and Colours.  
Wherefore we should have a care, 
Have a Care of perverted Authorities.  methinks, of dealing in perverted Texts, and Precedents. The Devil himself fishes with these Baits; and (as some body says) the Rabble swallow them whole, without either examining, or dreaming of the Danger, till they feel the Hook in their Guts. Or, if I may change my Metaphor; the Common people are caught just as we catch Larks; 'Tis but setting up a five Thing for a Wonderment, they all flock to't as far as they can see it, and never leave Flickering about it, till the Fowler has them in the Net. A Pomp of words, and Colours, to the Multitude; is but the Casting of the Sun in their Eyes from a Looking-Glass; the more they look at it, the less able are they to discern what the matter is: and the great mischief is this; they never take themselves to be so Clear-sighted, as in those cases wherein they are Stark-blind. They are akin to what d'ye call him's Monsters; their Eyes are in their Breasts, and their Brains in their Bellies: And therefore whoever would make an Interest with the Vulgar, applies himself not to their Understandings, but to their Passions, and Appetites. He comes with Absalon's Exclamation in his mouth, Oh! that I were made a judge in the Land! which seldom fails of being the Prologue to some approaching Tragedy. But let me try now, if I can find my way back again. 
The Dispute, Pro, and Con.   
There is an Assertion laid down, That all the Human Acts, and Powers in the world, cannot hinder the Descent of the Crown upon the Next Heir of the Blood. This Position, the Assertor undertakes to make Good by Scripture, Law, History, and Reason. And his Opponents, on the other side, undertake, upon the very same Authorities, to Overthrow it; and I find a very Extraordinary Pen engaged in the Controversy: We shall inquire, first, How this Question came at this time, to be set a Foot; and then, into the Quality of the Question itself. 
How the Question came to be set a Foot.   
There was a Bill brought into the House of Commons, in May last; (which was Twice read) for disabling His Royal Highness to Inherit this Imperial Crown, because of his Departure from Us to the Romish Communion. The matter going no further, and That Parliament being soon after Dissolved; there came forth, in Print, a Pretended Copy of that Bill; which was published by a Person (if a man's Affections may be judged by his Practices) that has as little kindness for His Majesty, as for his Royal Brother; and not one jot more for the Church of England, then for That of Rome: Of both which Aversions, there are Instances more then enough: Beside that in the very same Pamphlet, he carries an Inference, from the Case of Foreclosing the Duke, 
The King Removed by Consequence.  to the same Right of Removing the King himself; in case of disability (as he says) to do the Kingdom any Good. So that instead of pursuing the seeming ends of the said Bill; that is to say, the Preservation of His Majesty, and the Protestant Religion, by This Act of Exclusion; he very fairly, and for brevity sake, Sweeps all together. By the Character of the First Publisher, we may Imagine the Intent of That Publication: 
Who were the Aggressours.  And it is further to be noted, that the Anti-Ducal Party were the Aggressors; and it would have looked like a yielding of the Cause, to have let the Subject fall without a Reply. So that the Blame (if any shall arise from this Matter) must be laid at his door that moved the Question: which Question is briefly This.  
Whether the Parliament of England, 
The Case Put.  may by the Laws of England, Exclude the next Heir of the Blood from Succession to the Crown. Some are of opinion for it, others against it. But the Legality, or Illegality of such an Act, is a Point that I am not willing to meddle with, either one way, or other. For whether the thing may Lawfully be done, or not, there may be Danger yet, and Inconvenience, in the putting of the Question, So that, in the Order of Reasoning, 
A preposterous Question.  it should be first agreed, that this is a fit Question to be put, before we join Issue upon the Merits of the Main Cause. For my own part, I think it had been much better let alone; and that out of divers respects, in their due places to be considered.  
First, 
Reason's why the Question ought not to have been Put.  as to the Question itself; it is a Ticklish Point, to say, what a King of Great Britain, with his Two Houses of Parliament, either Can, or Cannot Lawfully do: when perhaps it would puzzle the Three Inns of Court, to State, and Determine the very Privileges of the Single House of Commons. Secondly, I do not know how far Private men may be allowed to pronounce upon the Power of that Government, to which they are Born Subject. Thirdly, This Particular Case renders the Undertaking more Invidious, and Dangerous: The King, 'tis true, calls the House of Commons to Consult, and Advise de Arduis Regui; (Of which Ardua That now in hand is undoubtedly the Chief) but I cannot yet learn that the Soluta Multitudo were ever joined with their Representatives in the Commission. Fourthly, what can be more Hazardous, than the Probable Effects of this Dispute? It Splits the People directly into Two Parties; One of which is certainly in the wrong: and the Public Peace endangered upon the Division. Beside that the People being made judges of a Case, that they do not one jot Understand; 
The People Incompetent Judges of the Case.  it looks as if they were not called upon, so much for their Opinion, as for their Help. The Publishing Manifesto's of this kind is not so much the Stating of a Case, as the Pre-engaging of an Interest; for it is not a Rush matter, to the Multitude, whether the thing be Lawful, or Not, 
An Error of dangerous Consequence.  according to the Law of the Land: Let but Them be once possessed, that it is Reasonable, and for the Common Good, (though in Truth, never so Inconvenient, and Unreasonable) the Old Story of Self-preservation, and Kings being Constituted for the Good of the People, (in their mistaken sense) will make it Lawful. And when it comes to That once, the Government is Lost. 
Great mischief, and  A Popular Error, upon the Matter here in Debate, must necessarily draw after it a train of dismal Consequences: as distraction of Thought, in the business of Conscience, and Duty; an Aversion to their Superiors; Irreverence to the Laws, and a Spirit of Opposition to all Public Acts of Civil Administration; if not an Usurpation of the Power itself. And all This is no more, then to pass a Sentence in a Case where we ourselves have given 'em the Chair. The very Exprosing of the Question, is a kind of Reference; as who should say, Gentlemen, can the Parliament disinherit the Duke or not? And This They take for an Authority, to proceed upon, to an Arbitration. 
No Benefit by the Question.  Now, on the Other side, I cannot find so much as one Colourable Pretence of Advantage, by the broaching of This Dispute, to Countervail all these Mischiefs.  
It is a great matter, 
The Dispute Justified.  you'll say, the Clearing of a Truth; especially of a Truth so necessary to be known; that the safety and well being of every Particular man; the Preservation of our King, Kingdom, and Religion, depends upon the People's understanding this matter aright. If either this suggestion be not put home, or that the matter here suggested can be made good, I shall submit myself to be better Instructed in it.  
First, 
The Question a Moot-Point.  as to the clearing of the Truth;— Magno judice se quisque tuetur. The very Question is a Moot-point. One Probable is set up against Another; and the Learned Themselves are Divided upon't. There are Precedents produced on Both sides; and Objections also on Both sides to Those Precedents. And in short, it must be the work of a Casuist, as well as of a Common Lawyer, to decide this Controversy. How shall the Common people come to distinguish between the Right, and the Wrong; where the Doctors themselves Differ? Or how is it possible, to make any thing Clear, to Those that want Capacities to Understand it? How shall They come to separate matter of Fact, from Right? To know what Precedents are Warrantable, or what Cases Parallel, and what not; without any sort of acquaintance, either with Law, or History; with the Intrigues of Parties and Factions; or the secret Ressorts of State? If it be said that These Books are written only for such as are Competent Judges of the Subject they Treat of; my Answer is, that it were well enough, if they could be kept from falling into Other hands. But lying open, indifferently, to All, it is to be feared that the Argument does more hurt where it is not throughly understood; then Good, where it is. And there is This further to be said; that in all Cases of Appeal to the People, whether they Understand them, or not, they never fall of siding with those Propositions, that Promise Liberty, to the Subject, and Fetter the Government. So that their Partiality, in One Case, is as bad as their Ignorance, in Another.  
If it be agreed, 
Not one of a Thousand understands the Point.  that a man cannot be the better for any thing that he does not Understand; (or at least, so far as he does not Understand it) and that not one man of a thousand understands the Stress of the Point here in Issue; the pretence of clearing the Truth falls to the ground: Or however, there is not one man of a Thousand the Better for't.  
But now on the Other side; 
Or what if the People did understand it?  let us suppose the people so wise, that every man that reads the Case sees through it. This might serve to set some people Right, and to Confirm Others. But Right? In What? In the Critical Explication of a Riddle of State: which would serve us just to as much purpose, as the Knack of Solving other Common Riddles. It would make us, (as many other Curiosities do) only a little more Learnedly, and Unprofitably Troublesome. It is not the Common people's Province, to dive into the Arcana Imperii; and it is as little, either their Duty, or their Interest, to intermeddle in the Mysteries of Government. As the Universe itself is compacted into one Body, by the Orderly Disposition, and Contiguity of Parts: So is every Political Society also bound up in One Community, by a Regular Distribution, and Subordination of Degrees, Offices, and Functions. And is not all This, the Work and Dictate of the same Almighty Providence? He that made the World, appointed the Order of it; and assigned to every Part, its proper Place, and Station.  
But to proceed now, upon the admittance of a Supposition, that the Subject matter of this Dispute is competently Understood. 
An Unprofitable Question.  'Tis as Broad as 'tis Long, take it which way ye please: And the very same thing, to the People, whether it goes For the Duke, or Against him. If they find that a Parliament Cannot Disinherit him, they are but where they were before; unless they should Impose it upon the Government by Force. And what, on the Other side, if the Parliament may Legally Do it? May they not as Legally yet Refuse it? So that the People are tied up This way, as well as the Other; without any manner of Benefit, beyond the bare knowledge whether the thing may be done, or not. If the Parliament will, they May; and if they will not, they may let it alone. But it many times falls out, that Overtures of this Nature serve rather as a Temptation to the doing of some thing at a Venture, than a simple, and candid Deliberation, whether a thing may be Lawfully done, or no. Or what if This thing may Lawfully be done? we are never the nearer yet: if His Majesty has not as well the Will to do it, as the Power: And it seems more reasonable to believe that he has not, then Otherwise; having so expressly declared his mind to the Two Houses of Parliament against it, in His most Gracious speech of May last, in the words following.  
I am as ready to join with you in all the ways, 
His Majesty's Speech.  and means, that may Establish as Firm a security of the Protestant Religion, as your own hearts can wish; and This not only during My time, (of which I am sure you have no fear) but in all future Ages, even to the end of the world: And therefore am come to assure you, that what Reasonable Bills you shall present, to be passed into Laws, to make you safe in the Reign of any Successor (so as they tend not to Impeach the Right of Succession, nor the Descent of the Crown in the True Line; and so as they Restrain not the Just Right of any Protestant Successor:) shall find from Me a ready Concurrence. And I desire you to think of some more effectual means for the Conviction of Popish Recusants, and to expedite your Counsels as fast as you can, that the world may see Our Unanimity; and that I may have the Opportunity of showing you how ready I am to do any thing, that may give Content and Satisfaction to such Loyal, and Dutiful Subjects.  
Now if so it be that the very Question itself, (though handled with all the Simplicity of Thought Imaginable) carries along with it so many Difficulties, and Inconveniences; and without any Benefit at all to the Public; as is already set forth: what shall we say if upon a Fair, and Temperate Examination of the Arguments employed for the support of this Disinheriting Proposition, 
It is a Question of dangerous Consequences.  it shall appear, upon Evident Reason, and a Natural Deduction of Consequences, that, whether the Duke Stands, or Falls, the mere Ventilation of the Question opens a Gap to let in all those Calamities upon us, by unavoidable Inferences, which we propound to avoid by a Preventional Exclusion? To say nothing either of the Boldness of the Argument, from a Private Pen, or of the Opposition of a Subject to the Solemn, and Declared Will of his Sovereign: And That Declaration too, recommended to Us by a Previous Grant of the Thing in the whole World which we would be thought to set the highest value upon, the Security of the Protestant Religion by all ways Imaginable, to This, and to Future Ages. Truly the Trumping up of This Question, has an Ill Visage any way; but the doing of it directly against His Majesty's Will, made known with his own Lips to the Contrary; This makes it look a great deal more Suspicious. For to what End is it to put ourselves in a Sweat, upon a Question, whether or no the King may Lawfully do such a Particular thing; when he has told us beforehand, that he Will not do it; and the thing cannot be done, Without him? And the Other way, it looks Worse; and carries such an Innuendo along with it, as who should say: Look ye, my Masters; Here's a thing the Government May do if they please; and it is absolutely necessary to be done: But if They Will not;— and so forth.  
There's no managing of this Discourse, without making frequent mention of his Royal Highness' Quality, and Title; and yet (saving my Duty to him in all his Capacities) I shall keep myself in these Papers, upon a Punctual Noutrality, as to His Pretensions: My business being only to Acquit myself, in what I owe to my Religion, my Prince, and my Country, where I find any of these Sacred Interests Concerned. 
The King wounded through the Duke.  As for Instance; where any Contemptuous Reflections are passed upon the Person of the Duke, His Majesty himself becomes a sufferer, through the Indignities that are cast upon his Brother. Or where the Same Argument, that is levelled at the Duke, strikes the King too and the Government. In These Cases I reckon myself to be at Liberty.  
The Motives, 
The Motives to the Bill of Exclusion.  or Inducements to This Project of Exclusion, together with the very Form itself; are set forth in the Pamphlet abovementioned, under the Title of A Copy of the Bill concerning the Duke of York, viz.  
That James Duke of York, 
The Excluding Clause of the pretended Bill.  Albany, and Ulster, having departed Openly from the Church of England, and having publicly prosest, and owned the Popish ligion, which hath notoriously given Birth, and Life to the most Damnable, and Hellish Plot, (by the most Gracious Providence of God lately brought to Light) shall be excluded, and disabled, and is hereby excluded, and disabled, for ever, from Possessing, Having, Holding, Inheriting, or Enjoying the Imperial Crowns and Governments of this Realm, and These Kingdoms; and of all Territories, Countries, and Dominions, now, or which shall hereafter be, under His Majesty's Subjection; and of, and from all Titles, Rights, Prerogatives, and Revenues with the said Crowns, now, or hereafter, to be enjoyed: And that upon the Demise, or Death of His Majesty, without Heirs of his Body (whom God long preserve) the Crowns, and Governments of these Kingdoms, and all Territories, Countries, and Dominions Now, or which shall Hereafter be, under His Majesty's Subjection, with all the Rights, Prerogatives, and Revenues, therewith of Right enjoyed, and to be enjoyed, shall devolve, and come upon such person who shall be next Lawful Heir of the same; and who shall have always been truly, and professedly, of the Protestant Religion now Established by Law within this Kingdom; as if the said Duke of York were actually dead, etc.  
Here is First, to be considered, 
The Ground and Extent of This Exclusion.  the Ground of This Exclusion; and Then, the Extent of it. The Ground of it is said to be the Duke's Departure from the Church of England, to the Romish Religion; as that which notoriously gave BIRTH, and LIFE to the PLOT.  
Now Dr. Tonge, 
The Duke gave neither Birth nor Life to the Plot.  that knows better, tells us, that this is No New Plot; but an Old one, Continued: and Dr. Oates, most Expressly, in the Twenty third Paragraph of his Narrative, 
Proved by Dr. Oates.  informs us, That the English Fathers of St. Omers, writing to Thomas Whitebread, and Other Fathers Here; prayed them to prosecute their Design of taking away the King; and if his Royal Highness should not comply with them, to dispatch Him too: For they did fear, that not any of the Stuarts were men for Effecting Their Purposes. And in this Letter. Instructions were given to the Fathers, to feel how his Royal Highness stood Affected. In the Paragraph following, the said Fathers render This Account to the aforesaid Letter, That they had found, that althô the Duke was a Good Catholic, yet he had a tender Affection to the King; 
They durst not Trust the Duke with the knowledge of any design.  and would scarcely be engaged in That Concern; and if they should once intimate their Designs, and Purposes unto Him, they might not only be frustrated of their Design, but also might lose his Favour. Which Letter the Deponent Saw, and Read in the Month of February. And Dr. Oates moreover, gives This Evidence against the Conspirators, upon the Trials of Ireland, Pickering, and Grove; Fol. 22. of the said Trial: that They did intend to dispose of the Duke too, 
The Duke to be dispatched too.  in Case he did not appear Vigorous in promoting of the Catholic Religion. And this is not All neither: For the Doctor aforesaid, in the Appendix to this Narrative, under the Head of The General Design of the POPE, Society of JESUS, and their Confederates in This Plot, Subjoins this further Testimony, Fol. 64.  
That in case the Duke of York will not accept these Crowns, 
Dr. Oats his Narrative Fol. 64.  as forfeited by his Brother unto the Pope; as of His Gift; and Settle such Prelates, and Dignitaries in the Church, and such Officers in Commands, and Places, Civil, Naval, Military, as He hath Commissioned; (as Above) Extirpate the Protestant Religion, and in order thereunto, ex post facto, consent to the Assassination of the King his Brother, Massacre of his Protestant Subjects; Firing of his Towns, etc. by Pardoning the Assassins', Murderers, and Incendiaries; 
The Duke to be Poisoned, or Destroyed.  That then, He be also Poisoned, or Destroyed, after they have for some time abused his Name and Title to Strengthen the Plot, etc. Proceeding in the same Page more Particularly, that the Royal Family of the Stuarts, are condemned to be cut off, Root and Branch; and namely the King, Duke of York, and Prince of Aurange; because that Family hath not answered their Expectations; nor have they any hopes that any of them will comply with this their bloody Design, 
No hopes of the Duke's Compliance.  when full discovered to them. And Fol. 65. As to the Duke of York; notwithstanding they acknowledge his Sincerity, and Affection to Their Religion, and to the Society; and his Demonstration thereof, by his taking Bedingfield (a jesuit) for his Confessor; they Design to dispose of Him as is abovesaid.  
How could the Duke's Change of Religion now, 
The Duke cleared by Dr. Oates.  give Birth to a Plot that was in Agitation, before That Change? And so for his giving Life to't; we have Proofs here of the Clear Contrary, under the Hand and Oath of the Prime, and Eminent Discoverer of the Plot itself. Here are First, Instructions from St. Omers Hither, for the feeling of the Duke's Pulse; and Secondly; it appears by the Return to Those Instructions, that they durst not give his Royal Highness the least hint of the Design. Beside, that in despair of the Duke's Compliance, they had marked out his R. H. for Slaughter, as well as His Majesty. A new, and unheard of way, certainly, of giving Life to a Plot, for a Prince to run the risk of being Assassinated himself, for fear he should disappoint it. This Calumny of State being removed, 
Security to his Religion.  That of Religion, I suppose, will not bear so much weight, as bordering too near upon a Doctrine, which all true Protestants do, with One voice, Condemn.  
As to the Extent of this Imaginary Exclusion, 
The Extent of This Exclusion.  we may take a Computation of it, partly from the Frame of This pretended Bill, and partly from a view of the Consequences that Attend it: For upon the Naked sight of the Bill, one would think that the Duke's Case were the single point in Question. But whosoever looks a little further, will find a Snake in the Grass; and that more Inconveniences may be grafted upon This Precedent; then the very Contrivers of the Project themselves were aware of, of which, by and by.  
For admitting the disinherison contended for, 
Suppose the Disinherison. Lawful.  to be Lawful; it must be either simply so, upon a kind of Omnipotent, and unaccountable Prerogative in Government; or Conditionally so; which needs no further Explanation; Then to refer, to it's known, Legal, Visible, and Intelligible Limitations. But if it be Lawful the former way; it is Lawful, without any respect to Crimes of State; Opinions in Religion; Personal Defects, or Inhabilities; Minorities; Families, or the Like. And then the Power may be as well transferred from One, to More, as from One to Another; for I do not know of any Law, that permits the One, 
The danger of Absolute, and Unknown Power.  and prohibits the Other. So that at this rate; this Hereditary Government may be turned into an Elective, into an Aristocracy, a democracy, or into a Medley of all these, at pleasure. And it is not to say, what? Do ye think that Kings, or Parliaments will be mad? We have heard of Parliamentum Insanum, and read of Princes that have been next door to it: and though we are safe enough at Present, it is not Impossible, but Posterity may come to have More of them. Wherefore it should be in State, as it is in Play; there should be some Common Rules Agreed upon, to keep shufflers, in Order, as well as fair Gamesters. 
A Necessity of Some known Fundamentals.  No Government can stand, without a Foundation; and That Foundation must be known too, and Stable; without Running to the Cabalistical Notions of Salus Populi, and Instinct. This is it, that preserves a Nation in a due Temperament of Dominion, and Subjection; where every man knows his Post in the Government, and stands Firm upon his Own bottom. The Foundations of Government should be like Those of the Earth; not to be moved: For Otherwise, our Lives, Liberties, and Estates, are but Precarious, and at Mercy. In a Popular Parliament, the Crown goes to wrack, in a Prerogative Parliament, the People. We have seen, and felt, the One; and there are those yet in Being, that have Herd of the Other. And from the Periods of these Distempers we furnish ourselves with Precedents, (as we have Occasion) either for Tyranny, or Sedition: as if the doing of an Ill thing Once, were an Authority for the Repeating of it. And from what Root is it that all these Disorders Spring; but the Spinning of the Thread too Fine; and Resolving the Plain and Practical Duties of Government, and Obedience, into Mystery, and Notion; without showing any State, or degree of men, what they are to Trust to? 
A thing may be Lawful and yet Inconvenient.  I do not speak in this place to the Legality of things, but to the Utility of them; and to Evince, that it is possible for a Thing to be Lawful, and yet Extremely Inconvenient. Suppose an Act of Parliament, to Prohibit the Making or Importing of any sort of Arms, or Ammunition; the Authority would not at all Excuse the Consequence. And the Consequence, in This matter, is the Main Import of the Question, what Good, or what Ill, will probably ensue upon it, either the One way, or the Other.  
But in our way to That Disquisition, 
Four Obstacles to be removed, before the King pass the Bill.  We should take Notice that there are Four Points to be all cleared, before we can reasonably expect His Majesty should come to a Resolution: That is to say; 1. The Lawfulness of the Thing. 2. Natural Affection. 3. Matter of Conscience. And 4. Reason of State. In the First Case of the Four the Learned in the Law may be Consulted; but in the Other Three the King himself is the only Competent judg.  
What if we should, for Quiet-sake now, let the First point pass for Granted, and suppose his Majesty convinced of the Legality of the Act? There is yet a Brother; a Prince; and a Friend in the Case: A Person that has as frankly ventured his Blood, for his King, and his Country, as the meanest Subject in His Majesty's Dominions. And there may be certain Stimulations of Honour, as well as Impulses of Natural Affection. Let but any Generous Subject make it his Own Case, and ask his Own heart, what he himself would do under these Circumstances? And who knows further, but a Scruple of Conscience may fall in too with this Tenderness of Nature, upon the thought of depriving a Legal Heir, by so extraordinary a way, of his Undoubted Birthright? If This should be the Rub, there's no getting Over it. Or if the way were Clear thus far; yet if His Majesty should see any thing in the Tendency of the Proposition, either Inconsistent with the Dignity of His Office, or with the Peace, and Security of His Government, and People; such Reason of State would undoubtedly put a Stop to any such Bill. How far These Reasons, or any of them, may prevail toward the Preventing, or Obstructing of This Project; we shall not presume to inquire. But as to the Manner of Promoting it, on the Other side; the Quality, the Force, and the Consequences of their Arguments; there are many things to be noted in them that seem worthy of Consideration.  
It is a strange thing, 
No Notice taken of Libels against His Majesty, and His Government.  in the Menage of This Cause, where the Honour, and Safety of the King appears to be the Main Point in Question: First, that men should be so Quicksighted, as to see things in their Consequences So Remote; and yet, at the same time, So Blind, as not to discern the Affronts; and Indignities that are daily offered to His Majesty's Authority, nearer hand; and the hazards that more directly strike at His Sacred Person. My Charity persuades me, that if some of them had taken notice of the dangerous Practices hereby intended; their Loyalty would have rendered them as Zealous, and Officious the Other way: For if a Prince be destroyed; 'tis the same Case to every good Subject, whether it be done by a Fanatic or a jesuit. And then the Honour they have for the King, in His Family, as well as in Himself, would have Interposed, in the Vindication of our Sovereign's Brother from the Malice, and Contempt that has been past by Several Pamphleteers upon the very Person of his Royal Highness. 'Tis like they would have had the Prudence too, not to have marked out unto the Rabble, all the Dissenters to this Bill, as Conspiraters, and the Betrayors of their Country, till they should have seen the Result of this next Parliament; for fear they should find Kings, Lords, and Commons under That Character. This is not Reasoning of the Case, but downright Setting the Dogs at a man.  
There is no doubt in the world but many an Honest man, 
A well meaning Mistake as Dangerous as a Malicious one.  and a wellwisher to his Prince and Country stands well enough Affected to this Bill; (as many did in 1641. to the Pretensions than a Foot) But when they found that Other people made Ill Use of Their Good meaning, and improved the Countenance of Reforming the Government to a Violent Dissolution of it; How many thousand Instances might a body produce of an unprofitable, and late Repentance, among those Credulous and well-minded Gentlemen? And it is to be considered also, that Their Mistakes contributed no less to the Ruin of the Church, and State, than the Malice of the most potent Conspirators: Nay More perhaps; for the Error of an Honest man misleads other Honest men by Example, and gives a kind of Authority to the wickedness. Now though this Parallel does not run upon all four; yet the Cases jump exactly in This; 
The Old Cause Revived.  the same Anti-Monarchical Principles which were the Groundwork of That Sedition, are now set a foot again in Concurrence with the present Proposition; and supported also by some of the Active Promoters of it. So that let the Design be never so Innocent, or Lawful in itself; if it be yet made use of to Introduce the Old Disloyal, and Republican Leaven; it is much the Case as if a man should set Fire to his House, for fear of Thiefs. Now whether the Liberties of the Press be so great, so foul, and so dangerous, or not, as I have represented them, it shall be seen in a few words, and left to the Reader to judge of the Intention of such desperate Positions, and what may be the Event of such Bold Beginnings, if not seasonably Prevented. Upon the Publication of these Papers I should be glad to find some of the Fierce Sticklers for the King's safety by the Exclusion of the Duke, as Nimble, on the Other side, for the Honour, and Safety of His Majesty, in Punishing the Authors, and Promoters of these Libels.  
There are some Irreverences toward the person of His Royal Highness which are not with Decency to be recited, 
Scandalous Reflections upon His Royal Highness.  and which for Other Reasons I am willing to pass over; contenting myself only with the modestest of a great many in the Author of the Plea to the Duke's Answers. Consider his Humours, (says he) So Fierce, Revengeful, and Resolute: But I'll say no more: who knows not how Improper it is to make a Wolf a Shepherd? Nay he goes further yet: If the Duke be a Papist, (as none deny him Now) he's an Heretic, as To, or From Us: And what shall we do? Not do by the Papists, as They would by Us? But what's That? He tells us Three or four lines before; That it is a Maxim among Papists, not only that the Pope may at his Pleasure Depose Kings, and dispose of Crowns: but further, That the People may ever choose a King, 
Seditious Positions.  when he should else be an Heretic, So that after the Pope's Example of Deposing Protestant Kings, We may Depose Popish. This is a Nail Home driven; and yet for fear it should not hold, he has be bestowed a Rivet upon it. I hope he will allow a Popish King to be an Ill one; and for That, he tells ye that when Kings themselves be Ill ones, God not only approves of their Removal, but even Himself does it. Which is a most Emphatical way of Expounding his Meaning: For not only ILL DUKES but KINGS (I perceive) THEMSELVES are as well to be removed, if they be ILL ones. There's Another Libel that takes the very same Bias too; he begins with the Duke, and Ends with the King: Laying it down for a Maxim, that the King May be removed for inability to Govern: And then for an Use of Application, he gives us the Late Instance of Portugal for a Precedent. Nay I have not found any man yet, so Cautious upon This Subject, but he has let fall something, Tantamount; And in truth the Question does Naturally lean That way. Some tell us that the People are the Source of Government; and that the Last Resort in All Cases of Principal Import must be to Them. Whereas, First, there was a Providential Power, before any Subject Actually in Being, for That Power to exercise itself Upon: Secondly; there is nothing more Common, then for a People to convey away what Right they have, beyond a Power of Revocation. And if a man desires to see the Covenants; the Answer is, that the Conditions are either Expressed, or Employed: Which word EMPLOYED serves to all Turns and Purposes Imaginable. By a Power Employed, a Protestant, as well as a Popish Successor may be Disinherited: A King in Possession, Deposed, whether Good, or Bad. For who can set forth the Terms and Condition of an Unknown, and an Unbounded Power. A Government, we are told, cannot be supposed Destitute of a Power to preserve itself, in Cases of Manifest, and Public Dangers. If we inquire where That Power of preserving the Government is placed; the Reply is This: That Governors are set up for the Good of the People; and when They fail of doing their Duty, the People may provide for themselves: That is to say, the People, by their Representatives in Parliament. But what if That Representative, should prove False too? The King was not pleased with the Parliament of 1641. nor the People with the Late Long Parliament: what's to be done Next; but only to go together by the Ears about it, and when they have their Bellies full, only Shuffle the Cards, and deal again. From these dark Reserves of Government, the point Rises by Degrees into Cases of Instance, and Illustration. As in the Case of Lunacy, or unfitness to Govern; of if a Prince be really bend to Alienate his Kingdom. In These Cases it is taken up for granted, that the people may Depose and Substitute Another Sovereign. But who shall judge now when such a Case arrives? If the People; they judge for Themselves; and only take the Government out of Other hands, to put it into their Own: what if they should say that This is the Case where it is not; Or that it is not, where it is? If the King do but keep a Guard to preserve His Person from an Assassin; or make a Foreign Alliance, upon the Common Terms of Privilege that all other Crowned Heads proceed upon; he lies at the Mercy of the People, if they shall think fit to Interpret This to be a Design upon an Arbitrary Power, or the Alienation of His Dominions; and that he is consequently Deposable.  
It carries a very Ill face with it, 
The King's Case, and the Dukes are unluckily Coupled.  that the Two Cases of Disinheriting the Duke, and Deposing the King should be so Unluckily Coupled, that you shall very rarely find the One without the Other: And little more than This Difference betwixt them: that the One IS to be done Forthwith, and the Other MAY be done (when the people please) at Leisure. If ever this Question should come to be taken up again; I do verily believe that the House of Commons will not thank the Refiners upon the Former Bill, for charging the Proposition with so many Suspicious Aggravations; as for aught any body knows, may endanger the whole Business. For These Venerable Patriots did only, out of an Excess of Zeal, Intent the Exclusion of the Duke, without Clogging the Bill with any subsequent Encumbrances, upon the Crown. There are some Qualifications, I know, that look as if they would be thought to stick to the single Matter of the Bill; and distinguish betwixt an Heir Presumptive, and Apparent, a King in Posse, and in Esse; and fortify themselves with Authorities to warrant the Proceeding. The Duke is a Subject, they say: and not properly an Heir of the Crown; but only in Possibility so to be. The Unwary Reader will Imagine now, that the Duke, being a SUBJECT, may be put By; but that if the KING were of the Romish Communion, they could not meddle with Him. And yet, according to the Propositions abovementioned, His Majesty's Case would be found no better than His Brothers. 
The King no safer, than the Duke.  And not only so neither, but the very saying that he is so, in Construction, makes him so, even though he should give up His Life, as His Father did, for the Reformed Profession.  
It is not to say that This is either Impossible or Unlikely: For, First, the Thing has been done already. That is to say, This Popular Power has been already laid down as a Fundamental Right in the People. 
The Dangerous Consequences of placing the Power in the People.  Secondly, That pretended Power has been exerted in a Formal Charge, of Popish, and Tyrannical Designs, upon a Prince, the most Innocent peradventure, in those Two Particulars, that ever Lived. And Thirdly, A sentence of Death, past, and Executed, upon That Innocent Person, in the Name, and by the Assumed Authorities of the Commons of England. So that This Imagination is not a Chimaera, but a True, and Tragical History of a Prince murdered, even in Our days, upon This Foundation. And then for the Probability of the same Thing over again, now in Agitation; we have the Writings of the very Persons Concerned, in Evidence against them, For notwithstanding their Formalizing upon the Lawfulness of the Thing, in regard That his Royal Highness is but a Subject; they are Now come up roundly to the Point of Opposing, and Rejecting him, even supposing that he were their Sovereign: and without the Ceremony of an Act of Parliament in the Case.  
The House of Commons passed a Vote upon May 11. last past, 
The Commons Vote.  that if His Majesty should come by any Violent Death (which God forbid) they would Revenge it to the Utmost, on the Papists: Which Vote they Explained in their Address of the 14, by saying that they would be ready to Revenge upon the Papists, any Violence offered by THEM to His Sacred Majesty: By THEM 'tis said, because it might be Understood Otherwise, that an Anabaptist might Commit the Crime, and a Papist suffer for't. This Vote, and Address, are Printed Both together in the same Pamphlet; and with a most Dangerous prospect upon His Majesty's Person: if Malice on either hand should take place. For the Edge of the Reasoning is turned against itself; while the One Faction is Provoked, and the Other Encouraged to the most Execrable Villainies Imaginable.  
The Libel Here Reflected upon, is called England's Safety: and said in the Title Page to be Published for Information of all True Protestants, that they may not be afraid, nor ashamed openly in Parliament to Act, and oppose any Popish Successor and his Adherents from Inheriting the Crown of England, in Case His Majesty's Life (which God forbid) be taken from him.  
This Preface was worded by somebody that knew well enough what he said; and without Dispute intended to be as good as his word. We shall not need to look any further for his Meaning than to Grammar, and Common Construction. The Question was put, 
The Question Changed, from Heir, to Successor.  in Case of the Presumptive Heir: And He has strained the Point already, and removed it to the Successor and his Adherents; From the Expectant to the Occupant, from the Duke, to the King; and so premeditates, and Encourages a Rebellion, in the very Body of his Proposition: For His Majesty that now is, must be Dead, before the Libelers Device against the Successor can take Effect; and King, and Successor, in This Case are all one. Now upon This Principle, there needs no more than to say, 
A desperate Consequence.  that any King is a Papist, to Depose him. Nay admitting This Power to be in the People; Acts of Parliament are but Matter of Course; and they may do the thing even as well, without giving any Reason for't; Upon the Ground of their unaccountable Prerogative. It would be known too, what his meaning is by the Parliament he speaks of, that is Openly to oppose the Successor. It cannot be understood of King, Lords, and Commons; for the King is the Party Opposed, and Excluded. And then I would as willingly learn what kind of Opposition it is, that he intends. It must be an Opposition, either of Force, and Violence, or an Opposition in the way of Argument, Counsels, and Debate. It cannot be the Latter sure; for what could be more ridiculous, then to expect that a Prince should pass a Bill for the Deposal of Himself. And if it be the Other, we are even Half-Seas-Over already, into a New Rebellion. There is not such a Monster in Nature as a Headless Parliament: We have had the Experience of it; and without Rubbing the Old Sore, or Reciting the Calamities it brought upon This Nation; I shall only say This; I cannot bethink myself of any sort of Oppression, either in Religion, Property, or Freedom; or of any One Crying sin, in that Impious, and Seditious Interval, that scaped us. I could add several other Instances, of the same Complexion with those above Recited; which I shall forbear, partly out of Respect, and in part to keep myself within Compass. For I must not Quit This Subject without giving further Evidence of a Confederacy against the King and Government; like those that Rob the House, under colour of Helping to Quench the Fire; and in the very Instant of Pretending to save the Kingdom, they are laying their Heads together how to Destroy it: Witness the most Audacious Libel (perhaps) that ever flew in the Face of any Government.  
It bears the Title of A Political Catechism, 
The Political Catechism.  concerning the Power, and Privileges of Parliament; taken, (as pretended) out of His Majesties Nineteen Propositions of June 2. 1642. with a Construction, and Application, much at the rate of the Devil's Gloss upon the Text to our Saviour upon the Pinnacle of the Temple. The Compiler of This Libel, makes His Majesty's Answer to be, Effectually, an Admittance of the Right, and Reason of the Propositions: and the Publisher of it recommends the Doctrine of 1642. to the Practice of 1679. We'll take a short View, First, of the Quality of the Propositions; Secondly, of the King's Sense upon them: And after That of our Catechists New model of Government. The main Scope of the Propositions is This.  
All Privy-Councellors and Ministers of State to be discharged; 
The Scope of the Ninteen Propositions.  and their places Supplied by direction, and Approbation of Both Houses: And all to be Under such an Oath, as They shall agree upon. The Great Affairs of the Nation to be Transacted in Parliament, and no Public Act of the Kings to be Valid, unless Subscribed by the Major part of the Council. (Chosen ut supra.) The Number of the Council to be Limited; and all Vacancies filled, by direction of Parliament. All the Great Officers, and judges to be so Chosen: The Militia acknowledged to be in the Two Houses; and They likewise to have the Approbation of the Tutors and Governors of the King's Children; and of Those that Attend them. All Forts, and Castles to be put into the hands of Persons approved of by the Two Houses. The King's Guards, and Military Forces to be Discharged (though the Rebellion was Now begun.) No Peers Created in time to come to Sat and Vote in Parliament, without the Consent of Both Houses, etc.  
There will need no Other Descant upon These Propositions, (being so Gross in themselves) but only the Citing of some Passages out of His late Majesty's Answer, in Reflection upon them.  
These Demands (says the Late King) are of That Nature, 
Husband's Collections Pag. 316.  that to Grant them were in Effect, at Once, to Depose both Ourselves, and Our Posterity. These things being past; we may be waited upon bareheaded; We may have Our hand kissed; the Style of Majesty Continued to Us; and the King's Authority declared by Both Houses of Parliament, may be still the Style of your Commands; We may have Swords and Maces carried before Us; and please Ourselves with the sight of a Crown, and Sceptre. (And yet even these Twigs would not Long flourish when the Stock upon which they grew are Dead) But as to True, and Real Power; We should remain but the Outside; but the Picture; but the Sign of a King, etc.  
And Again, Tho' we shall always weigh the Advices both of Our Great, and Privy-Councel, with the Proportionable Consideration due to them; yet we shall also look upon their Advices, as Advices, not as Commands, or Impositions; Upon Them, as Our Counsellors, not as Our Tutors, and Guardians; and upon Ourselves as their King, not as their Pupil, or Ward. Pag. 318. And Further Pag. 320. We call God to Witness, that as for Our Subject's sake these Rights are vested in Us; So for Their sakes as well as for Our Own we are resolved not to quit them; nor to subvert (though in a Parliamentary way) the Ancient, Equal, Happy, Well-poised, and never enough Commended Constitution of This Kingdom; Nor to make Ourselves of a King of England, a Duke of Venice, and This of a Kingdom a Republic. Moreover Pag. 322. The Common people, when they find that all was done By them, but not For them, will at last grow weary of Journeywork, and set up for themselves; call Parity, and Independence, Liberty; devouring the Estate which had devoured the Rest; Destroy all Rights, and Proprieties, all Distinctions of Families, and Merit; And by This means the splendid, and Excellently-distinguished Form of Government, end in a Dark, Equal Chaos of Confusion, and the Long Line of Our many Noble Ancestors, in a Jack Cade, or a Wat Tiler.  
After the Mockery of the Abovementioned Propositions, and the King's Just and Prophetical Judgement made upon them; we shall only Add, that the Ruin of the Late King, 
The King's Ruin was and is designed.  was as Certainly the Intent of Those undutiful Demands, as it was the Effect of them in the Execution of the Powers claimed Thereby: and we may as reasonably conclude, that the same Pretensions, now over again, are published with the same Ends; and that the Sufferance of This Licence will Naturally run into the same Consequences. For the whole work of moving a Rebellion is but, First, to possess the people with Ill Thoughts of the present Administration; (which is done Abundantly already in Swarms of Defamatory Libels, which we meet with every day in the street) Secondly, to possess the People with False Opinions, in the Matter of Government and Duty; which is the business of our Political Catechism: Thirdly, to Put those Principles and Thoughts in Execution; which is Expressed by the Drift of Another Pamphlet newly come out of the Press; Entitled, An Appeal from the Country, to the City, of which we shall say something in Course, taking only a Taste by the way of our Catechistical Positions.  
If the King be Regulated by the Law (say they) then is the King Accountable to the Law, 
Seditious Positions.  and not to God. Only. Pag. 1. The Immediate Original of the King's Power was from the People: and if so; then in questioned Cases the King is to produce his Grant, (for he hath no more than what was Granted) and not the People to show a Reservation; For All is presumed to be Reserved, which cannot be proved to be Granted away.  
Upon the Late Kings saying in his Answer to the Nineteen Propositions, Pag. 321. That the Power Legally placed in Both Houses is more than sufficient to prevent, and restrain the Power of Tyranny; our Politic Catechiser Infers, the Two Houses to be the Legal judges, when there is danger of Tyranny: And to have Legal Power to Command their judgement to be Obeyed, for Prevention, as well as Restraint of Tyranny. And not only when Arms are Actually raised against them; but when they discern, and accordingly declare a Preparation made Towards it. And that they have Legal Power in such times of Danger, to put into safe hands, such Forts, Ports, Magazines, Ships, and Power of the Militia, as are intended, or likely to be intended to Introduce a Tyranny. And a Legal Power also to Levy Money, Arms, Horse, and Ammunitions upon the Subjects, in such Cases of Danger even without, or against the King's Consent.  
These are his Positions in the very Terms; and the passing over of such Indignities upon His Majesty's Royal Office, and the Honour of the Monarchy itself, without either Punishment, or Reproof; looks like a Tacite Legitimation of the Utmost Violences upon his Sacred Person. And now Consider the Matchless Malice, 
A Malicious Inference.  and Absurdity of his Inference. The King having thus expounded himself in the same Page; The House of Commons (an Excellent Conserver of Liberty, but never intended for any share in Government, or for the Choosing of them that should Govern) is solely entrusted with the First Propositions of raising moneys, etc. And again the Lords being trusted with a judicatory Power, are an Excellent Screen, and Bank between the Prince and People.  
After This open, and Audacious way of Authorising a Commotion; it is but Natural for an Incendiary to blow the Coal, and to apply his Clamour to the People, to bid them Up and be doing. And that's the part our Boute-feu-Appellant has to play. 
A Scandalous Address to the City.  But how does this Scandalous Pamphlet address itself to the City; after so Fresh, so Loyal and so Generous an Instance from the whole Body of it, of their Scorn, and Detestation of a Seditious Practice. Why should a Wat Tyler expect better Quarter from a Lord Mayor under Charles the Second, 
Mr. Walworth.  than he had from a Lord Mayor under Richard the Second? Nay That very Rebellion of 1641. is most Injuriously charged upon the City of London; 
The City of London has been always Loyal.  for Gourney, Ricaut, Garraway, and the most Considerable of the Citizens, were not only against it in their Opinions, but Opposed it to the Utmost, with their Estates, and Persons. And That Honourable City has not yet forgotten, either the Calamities of the War; or the Methods and Instruments which brought so great a Reproach, and Mischief upon the City. Beside that it is as much their Interest as their Duty, and as much their Inclination as either, to support the Government. For by a War they must of Necessity suffer doubly; and not only in the Loss, or Abatement of their Trade; but in the deep Proportion of their Taxes to the Charge of the War. This Scribbler I perceive, has read Hodge upon the Monument; 
Hodge upon the Monument.  and writing after That Copy follows the same Fancy; of the Citizens looking about them from the Top of the Pyramid.  
First, 
The Libeler sets up for an Orator.  says he, Imagine you see the whole Town in a Flame occasioned this second time by the same Popish Malice which set it on Fire before. At the same Instant Fancy that among the distracted Crowd you behold Troops of Papists Ravishing your Wives and Daughters; dashing your little children's brains out against the Walls, Plundering your Houses, and Cutting your Own Throats by the name of Heretic Dogs. Then represent to yourselves the Tower playing off its Canon, and battering down your Houses about your Ears. Also Casting your Eye toward Smithfield, Imagine you see your Father, or your Mother, and some of your nearest and dearest Relations tied to a Stake, in the Midst of Flames; when with Hands and Eyes lifted up to Heaven they Skream, and Cry out to That God for whose Cause they Die; which was a frequent Spectacle the last time Popery reigned among us. Fancy you behold those beautiful Churches erected for the True Worship of God, abused and turned into Idolatrous Temples to the Dishonour of Christ, and Scandal of Religion. The Ministers of God's Holy Word torn in pieces before your Eyes; and their very best Friends not daring to speak in their behalf; your trading Bad, and in a manner Lost already; but Then the Only Commodity will be Fire and Sword: The Only Object; Women running with their Hair about their Ears; Men covered with Blood, etc.  
Now to Match this Dismal Prospect of Imaginary Calamities to Come, we shall mind this man of Frightful Apprehensions, with a Brief Summary of what this Nation has really suffered in Fact, and brought upon itself, by giving credit to such Stories as these, without any other Effect. See His Majesty's Declaration of Aug. 12. 1642. Collect. Pag. 540.  
One day the Tower of London is in danger to be taken; 
The Old Story.  and Information given that Great Multitudes, at least a Hundred, had that day resorted to visit a Priest, than a Prisoner there by Order of the Lords: and that about the time of the Information, about fifty or sixty were then there; and a Warder dispatched of purpose to give that notice: Upon Inquiry, but four persons were then found to be There, and but eight all that day, who had visited the Priest. Another day a Tailor in a Ditch overhears two passengers to Plot the Death of Mr. Pym, and of many other Members of Both Houses. Then Libellous Letters found in the Streets, without Names. (probably contrived by themselves; and by Their Power, Published, Printed, and Entered in their journals) and Intimations given of the Papists Training under ground, and of notable Provision of Ammunition in Houses; where, upon Examination, a Single Sword, and a Bow and Arrows are found. A Design of the Inhabitants of Covent-Garden to Murder the City of London. News from France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, of Armies ready to come for England. And again, Pag. 536. they cause Discourses to be Published, and Infusions to be made of Incredible Dangers to the City and Kingdom, by that our coming to the House: (in the case of the five Members) An Alarm was given to the City in the Dead time of the Night, that we were coming with Horse and Foot thither, and thereupon the whole City put in Arms: And howsoever the Envy seemed to be cast upon the Designs of the Papists, mention was only made of Actions of our own.  
Upon a fair understanding of the whole, this supposition of his is no more than the Counterpart of the old Story: And the Declamatory dangers that he foresees in Vision, were outdone by those sensible Cruelties and Oppressions that this poor Kingdom suffered in very deed. And now to bear him Company in his Fancy, we shall give you a Truth for his Imagination.  
First Imagine the whole Nation in a Flame, 
Truth for his Vision.  and brought to the Extremities of Fire and Sword by the Malice of the same Faction that embroiled us before; and at the same Instant, Fancy whole Droves of Cobblers, Draymen, Ostlers, Quartering upon your Wives and Daughters, till ye want bread to put in your children's Mouths; (which was the very Case) your Apprentices discharged of their Indentures by Ordinances; your Houses Rifled; your Accompt-Books Examined; Servants corrupted to betray their Masters; your Persons sent on Shipboard, transported, or thrown into nasty Dungeons; or in mercy, perhaps your Throats cut, by the Name of Popish Dogs, and Cavaliers. And all this only for refusing to Renounce God and your Sovereign. Then represent to yourselves the Thimble-maker, once again Lieutenant of the Tower; your Citizens clap up, orders for the Demolishing of your Gates and Chains; and nothing less than Military Execution threatened ye, unless you will Redeem yourselves with 100000 l. a Mouth Contribution, toward the perpetuating of your Slavery. Then cast your Eye toward Cheapside, Cornhill, Charing-Cross, Palace-yard, Tower-hill, nay, Whitehall itself; and there Imagine your Father, your Brother, your Citizens, the Nobility, Gentry; nay, the King himself, and his best Friends and Ministers under the hand of the Common Executioner; Appealing to God, for whose Cause they died. Which was a frequent spectacle, when the King reigned no longer among you. Fancy again that you behold those Beautiful Churches erected for the true Worship of God, abused and turned into Stables, and the Pulpits into juggling Boxes, to Hocus your Wives and your Daughters, out of their Bodkins and Thimbles: and there to hear nothing but Heresy and Sedition, to the Dishonour of Christ, and Scandal of Religion. Fancy the Ministers of God's Holy Word cast out of their Livings by Hundreds, and with their Wives and Children exposed to the wide World to beg their Bread. Your Women running with their Hair about their Ears, One half to the Works like Pioners, the other dancing attendance at some Merciless Committee to put in Bail for a Malignant Child, or Husband; men covered with Blood, lost Limbs, and mangled Bodies, with Horrors of Conscience over and above.  
If it be true, 
We should do well to look about us.  that these and forty times more Cruelties were committed: And that the People were frighted into these Precipices only by shadows: If it be true again, that those Glorious Pretenders when they had the King and his Papists (as they called his most Orthodox Friends) under foot; that these People, I say, never looked further after Religion; but fell presently to the sharing of the Church and Crown Revenues among themselves, It will concern every sober man to look well about him, and to make use of his Reason, as well as of his Faith, for these Fore-boders seldom Croak but before a Storm. This Subject has carried me too far already, but I shall be shorter in what follows.  
After his affected Image of the Tyranny and Desolation that is breaking in upon us, he does as good as nothing, without working up the People's Horror and Astonishment upon those apprehensions, into a Direct Rage and Desperation. And this he endeavours to bring about by undertaking so positively for his Majesty's Murder, as if he himself were of the Conspiracy: Very Peremptorily Issuing out his Orders to the City to be ready with their Arms at an hours warning.  
The first Hour (says he) wherein ye hear of the King's untimely End, 
He gives the King's Murder for granted.  let no other Noise be heard among you, but that of ARM, ARM; to revenge your Sovereign's Death, both upon his Murderers and their whole Party; For that there's no such thing as an English Papist, who is not in the Plot, at least in his good wishes. Let not fear of losing Part by your Action make you lose the whole by your Patience. Pag. 4. And then, Pag. 25. he points them out the very General to lead them; a respect which neither the City, nor the Illustrious Person himself, will thank him for, upon so disorderly an occasion: Enforcing his Proposition with this Inducement, That he who hath the worst Title ever makes the best King. Which is no Compliment at all to his Majesty himself; for an Usurper, it seems, would be better for His turn. So that without any If's or And's the thing is given for Granted; and upon this Instigation, the least Rumour in the World, that way, puts the people upon a General Massacre; as the bare Report lately of the French appearing before the Isle of Purbeck, had like to have done in several places. And then to the same Purpose, Pag. 23. They will vigorously, and speedily attempt the King's Ruin, unless he suddenly prevent it, by adhering to his Parliament, and ruining Them First. Whether this be the way to Expose the Life of his most Sacred Majesty, or to Preserve it, let the World judge: And of the Irreverence of handling so tender a Point at this Course rate. Nay, he does not only pronounce upon the Thoughts and Purposes of Men, but upon the most secret appointment of God himself. When God designs the Destruction of a King, or People, (says he) Pag. 11. he makes them deaf to all Discoveries. This Observation of his, I'm afraid is more to the purpose than he was aware of: For there are Discoveries of several sorts, that are Evident Enough, and yet not much taken notice of. To say nothing of the Censures he passes upon the King's Actions, and Public Resolutions of State: Only I wonder who made this Man a Judge in Israel. He quarrels his Majesty, Pag. 3. For Prorogations, and Dissolutions of Parliaments. And Pag. 4. upon another Point. Pag. 23. He Prejudges the Parliament, as if they would give his Majesty no Supplies, unless he takes off the Heads of the Popish Faction, exclude the Successlon, and consent to such Laws, as must of necessity ruin them. In his 6 th' Page, he shows himself so good an Englishman, that he Professes, he would rather be under a French Conqueror then under the Duke, as Successor. And he goes so far too toward the Dislike of the Government itself, that he says, no Government but Monarchy can in England, ever support, or favour Popery, P. 7. He tells the City, Pag. 5. that their Enemies are young beggarly Officers, Courtiers, Overhot Churchmen and Papists, and charges the three First with lessening the Plot; and resembling the times to 1641. Now how is it possible, but the Positions of 1641. should put us in mind of the Rebellion of 1641? He begins his 10 th' Page thus. After the Catholics had thus brought the Father's Head to the Block, and sent the young Princes into Exile, etc. Now to give the Devil his due, I cannot find so much as one Papist in the whole List of Regicides. He has, I confess, one admirable Fetch to prove His R. H. dangerous to his Majesty, because he is both a Friend, and a Brother, Pag. 17. as if the King were safer in the hands of his Enemies, then of his Friends. If his meaning be, that they are more dangerous in regard of Confidence, and Opportunities; there is no Fence against that Danger, but utterly to cast off all the Bonds, and Dictates, of Society, and good Nature. We must contract no Friendships, and trust no Relations for fear they should out our Throats. How much more wretched than Beasts has our Appealer made us at this rate, by poisoning the very Fountain of Human Comforts▪  
Though I have drawn out this Pamphlet already further than I intended▪ I must not close it yet without one General Observation upon the People we have to deal with in this Controversy.  
Calumny and Imposture have ever been the two main Pillars of their Cause; and if they can but wheedle the Vulgar, on the one hand, and defame the Friends of the Government, on the other, their business is done. There scarce passes a day without a Libel against both Church and State; without either Provocation, or Punishment: which both shows their Malice, and confirms them in their Insolence. There is nothing so Odious, and so Ridiculous together, as betwixt Droll, and Sophism, these People represent the Public Management of Affairs. And who can blame the Multitude now, under these Circumstances of Licence, and Delusion, if they either Forget, or Depart from their Duties? Is there not Law, and Power sufficient for the Preventing, or Suppressing these Indignities? Or is it a thing not worth the taking Notice of? for his Majesty to be told every day, in a Pamphlet, at his Palace-gate, that His Ministers are Traitors and Conspirators; His Courtiers a Pack of Knaves, and He himself but upon his Good Behaviour to his own Subjects? WILL it end Here? DID it end Here? But whence is it that all this Venom and Confidence proceeds? The Former is only a Fermentation of the Old Leaven (for we have our jesuits too) The Papal jesuit is an Enemy to Heretical Kings, and the Protestant jesuit will have no Kings at all, and then for their Confidence, they have both Impunity▪ and Encouragement: the former proves itself; and I shall now conclude with a word or two concerning the other.  
The bringing of this Devilish Plot upon the Stage, has struck all men of Piety, Loyalty, and Love to their Country, with Amazement, and Horror. The Murder of a Prince, the Subversion of our Government, and Religion; What can be more Exercrable? The thought of so Diabolical a Practice has justly transported the People to the highest degree of Rage against it, imaginable: And it is a Meritorious, and a Laudable Zeal too, so long as it contains itself within the Bounds of Law, and Duty: While the King, Council and Parliament are, in the mean time, sifting, and Examining the Design, and doing Justice upon the Offenders.  
Now there are a sort of men, 
One Plot under another.  that under the Countenance of This Plot advance another of their own, and 'tis but the Rubbing of a Libel with a little Anti-Popery, to give it the Popular smack; and any thing else against the Government goes down Current. If a man Writes, or Speaks, or Reasons against them, he is presently a favourer of the Papists, a Lessener of the Plot, and run down with Nonsense, and Clamour. A Person of Untainted Honour and Integrity, puts in for a Parliament-man; 'tis but any Little Fellows taking advantage of the Humour of the People, and Billing of him for having some Papist to his Kinsman, perhaps, or Visiting some Lord in the Tower; or under the common Scandal of a Courtier, or a Pensioner, and he's gone to all Intents and Purposes. This is the Character they give to every man that loves the King, the Church, or the Law. They serve them as Nero did the Christians; they put them into Bears-skins; that is to say, they call them Papists, Pensioners, Conspirators, and then deliver them up to be worried by the Rabble. Shall we never distinguish between Indubitable Truths, and Transparent Falsehoods? betwixt Words and Deeds, that stand in a direct Opposition, the One to the Other? What Privilege has a Fanatic to blow up a Government, more than a jesuit? It must be confessed, however, that he is the Braver Enemy of the two, for he scorns to sneak to the Execution of his Exploit with a Dark Lantern; and to take advantage of Authority by Surprise; but Arraigns' Princes, and puts them to death in the face of the Sun; and at this Instant, charges the Church openly with Idolatry, Superstition and Oppression; the State with Tyranny; and the Law itself, with Error and Insufficiency. His first work is to Accuse his Superiors of Misgovernment: And then he tells the People; next, that in Case of Misgovernment they may resume their Power. And what's all this to the PLOT?  
THE END.