Buchanan, in Scotland, Algernoon Sidney, in England, have fet their Names, and the latter bis Blood, to this Doctrine; and the Author of the True-born Englishman is worth quoting in the Cafe. "The Government's ungirt when Juftice dies, True-born Englishman, P. 74. This has been the avow'd Doctrine of the Diffenters, and is indeed the true Senfe of the Conftitution itself; pursuant to this Doctrine they thought they had a Right to oppofe Violence with Force, believing that when Kings break Coronation Oaths, the folemn Compact with their People, and encroach upon their Civil Rights, contrary to the Laws of the Land, by which they are fworn to rule, they ceafe to be the Lord's Anointed any longer, the Sanction of their Office is vanished, and they become Tyrants and Enemies of Mankind, and may be treated accordingly. Now it is no Wonder to find People of thefe Principles vigorously withftanding their Governors, when they tread upon the tender fore Places of the Conftitution; it is nothing but what they all along pretended to, and declared to be their Opinion. But to find the Church of England Men, whofe Loyalty has been the Subject of a thoufand learned Authors, and numberlefs Sermons; whofe Character and Mark of Diftinction has been chofen more for her fteady Adherence and Fidelity to her Prince, than to God Almighty; whofe Obedience to her Monarch has been declared to be inviolate and immoveable; and who pretends to be famous through the whole World for her Faithfulness to Kings; for her, as foon as ever the King did but, as it were, seem to aim at crufhing her Authority, as foon as he did but begin to call her Clergy to an Account, and clap up her golden Candlesticks for Difobedience, for her to winch and kick, fly to Foreign Princes for Protection, and rife in Arms against her Prince, O Pelin! O Brady! O Sherlock! O Hominem O Mares! Where Where is the worthy Dr. B- -ge's Loyalty now? His immoveable Loyalty, that, after all his abfolute Submiffion, is fo far from being a Martyr to his own Doctrine, that he could not lofe a fmall Benefice for it? Where is the famous Dr. Sk; who having stood out long in his old antiquated Doctrine of Paffive Obedience, and confirmed the Faith of his fuffering Brethren, by ftrong and wonderful Arguments, at laft, at the powerful Instigation of a Wife, and a good Salary, bas fold all his Loyalty for a Mefs of Pottage, folving his Honefty with the wretched Distinction of a Power de Fadlo, and a Power de Jure; as if the Church of England's Credit could be faved by fuch an impotent Shift, or as if he could make amends to the Prebendary for his helping him to facrifice his Brethren, to father his Converfion upon reading honeft Dr. Overall, whofe Doctrine, it is well known, the Doctor knew before; but that he was loth Dr. South fhould have the Honour of bringing him over to fuch old Phanatick Principles ? Behold the Loyalty of the Church of England; now let us examine their Confcience, as to taking Oaths; and if I do not bring them to be all Whigs, and forty-one Men, or elfe prove them all perjured, then I do nothing. The Clergy, all the Magiftrates and Officers of the Houthold, of the Civil or Military Government, were Members of the Church of England, otherwife they could not be employed; the Sacramental Test has done the Diffenters this Kindness, that it is plain all the managing Hands in the Kingdom were Difciples of the Church; and as an additional Circumftance, the Oath of Allegiance which they took, and which was (God be praised) of their own making, bound them to that fame abfolute blind Obedience which they profefs, and confin'd it to the King, his Heirs and Succeffors. If this Oath be confidered literally, I am content to be filenced, when one fair Argument can be brought to evade it. The Declaration followed it, wherein they deteft and abhor that devilish Doctrine, that it is lawful, on any Pretence whatsoever, (mark the Emphasis) to take up Arms against the King; this (equal to an Oath) is declared in the Prefence of God; and the Particulars being material to our Purpose, are as follows: I A. B. do declare and believe that it is not lawful, upon any Pretence whatsoever, to take up Arms against the King; and that I do abhor that traiterous Pofition of taking Arms by his Authority against those that are commiffioned by him. "So help me God." Notwithstanding this, you have taken up Arms againft, depofed, and, as far as you were able, put to Death your lawful King, the very King you fwore Allegiance to. Now pray, Gentlemen, give Commiffion to fome worthy Champion of your Church's Loyalty to bring you fairly off of your Oath and Declaration, if you can; and till you do, be not angry with us for making one of thefe Conclufions from the Premifes, and you fhall chufe for yourfelves. First, First, That this Doctrine of abfolute, paffive, and non-refiftant Obedience, is an Abfurdity in itself, contradictory to the Nature of Government and Allegiance, and politically introduced by State Engines into the Church of England, to abufe her, and betray her Members into unforeseen Mischiefs and Inconveniences. Or, Secondly, That the Members of the Church of England are all Apoftates from the very fundamental Doctrine of their Church, perjured in the Sight of God and Man, notorious Hypocrites and Deceivers; who having fworn Obedience without Referve to their Prince, are become Traitors, Rebels, and Murderers of the Lord's Anointed, and their lawful Sovereign, and not having the Fear of God before their Eyes, have depofed and traiteroufly dethroned their rightful King, God Almighty's Vicegerent, accountable to no earthly Power, Supreme under God, abfolute, and from divine Institution, undoubted fole Lord of them and their Country. Or, Laftly, That they only are the true Church of England, who according to their avowed Profeffion, have firmly adhered to their King in all his Sufferings and Solitude, have never blackened their Confciences, nor gone back from their Obedience, forgotten their Oaths, nor fullied their Reputation with the horrid Crimes of Treafon and Rebellion, as they think it to be. Now, as a fair Difputant, I am willing the Refpondent shall chufe which of these three Confequences he will stand by in Behalf of the Church of England's Loyalty; but if they would take Advice of a Friend to the bonest Part of them, I would recommend the firft Conclufion to be fittest for them for the following Reafons: 1. Because fince humane Infalibility is (and with good Reafon) difown'd by the Church of England, both for herself and every Body elfe, it can be no Diminution to her Reputation, which fhe has found herself miftaken, and impofed upon, to acknowledge her Error; a wife Man will always own, rather than defend a Miftake. 2. Because it is my Opinion that their Way is hedged up against any other Pretence, Evafion, or Refervation, and therefore it is with me the only Thing that Charity can fay for them, and muft remain fo, till I find fomething else faid that is more to the Purpose. But the Mifchief of all is, that if this be honeftly acknowledg'd (as is doubtless most true) that the Church of England was miftaken, and impofed upon, to espouse a fenflefs abfurd Principle, contrary to the Nature of Government and Allegiance, &c. why then they come over to this Confequence. That Government and Allegiance are both conditional, and Oaths of Subjects are always to be confidered in a conftructive Senfe, with Conditions of Protection, and the like; a Thing which is without Question the real Meaning of all Oaths of Allegiance; otherwife Subjects may be put under an abfolute Neceffity of Perjury, or State Martyrdom, by often swearing what may be impoffible for them to perform. VOL. III. C The The Town of Aeth in Flanders has been about fix Times, and the Town of Rinebergh in Gueldre about 12 Times, taken and retaken; and as often as new Masters had Poffeffion of the Place, fo often the poor Inhabitants have fworn to their new Lords: What can the Meaning of fuch an Oath be, but that they will be faithful to them fo long as they keep Poffeffion of the Place? It would be ridiculous to imagine the Impofers of the Oath required any more. If our zealous Churchmen worded an Oath contrary to the very Nature of fwearing Allegiance, let them anfwer for it, who firft made it, then took it, then broke it: But the Nature of the Thing can leave Room for no other Suggestion that I know of. Till then fome further Argument is produced, it must reft here, that the Church of England was miftaken, impofed upon, &, that he finds when the Laws are broken, the Right of the People invaded, the Root of the Government ftruck at, Church and State undermined, and defpotick Tyranny at the Door, the native Right of the People is Superior, and they may affume a Power to right themselves. And fo we are brought back to Whiggism and 41; and, Gentlemen, there is no Remedy for it, help it if ye can, Where now is the Difference between Church Loyalty and Whiggish Loyalty, Roundhead or Chavalier, Churchman or Diffenter, Whig or Tory; all are alike, they are pleafed, when legally governed; quarrelfome and unruly if oppreft, and will defend themselves if affaulted, tho' it be by their Kings, or any Body elfe. Why then is the Difference kept up? Methinks they might be all Friends together, for they are all alike; the Diffenters have been, in their Times as loyal, and the Church of England in their Time as difloyal as one another. Vice verfa; the Diffenters have, been, as difloyal, and the Churchmen as loyal as one another upon the fame Occafion; they have been both Sufferers, and have fubmitted to the Government, ay, and to the Oppreffions and Perfecutions of their Superiors and Sovereigns. And again, upon the like Occafions, they have both of them been Rebels, if their own Language may be fo far ufed; they have both of them, in their Turn, taken Arms against, and depofed their rightful and lawful Kings, So that in my Opinion, with a Latitude to all that think as they please, the Church of England, and their Neighbours the Diffenters, have nothing to quarrel with one another about, as to Loyalty; as to other Matters I have nothing to fay to them, nor fhall not mingle it with this Difcourfe. Nor do I think I am writing a Satyr against the Church of England, nor is it all intended to be fo; and to ftop all Pretences that Way, I take the Freedom to fay here has been no Crime, the Church of England has been in the Right of it; not in taking Arms, but the Error was in efpoufing, crying up, and pretending to a blind abfolute Obedience to Princes, be their Commands never fo abfolute, tyrannical or illegal; this neither the Doctrine nor Practice of the Church of England, nor of any Church or People in the Christian World, ever pretended to; and therefore the Fault lay in thofe People, People, who being themselves Members of the Church of England, fuffered themselves to be deluded by State Minifters, to fofter a Tenent upon the Church, which her original Conftitution never pretended to, and then call it the Doctrine of the Church of England. The first Beginning of their pretended Doctrine was found in Manwaring's and Sibthorp's Libels, in the Days of King Charles I. cajoling the King; and then to please him, endeavouring to wheedle the People into a Belief of the divine Right of kingly Government, and affirming, that the King was not obliged by the Laws in the Adminiftration of the Government. Upon this prepoftercus Foundation they built the illegitimate Structure of abfolute undisputed Obedience; for if kingly Power were once proved to be immediately derived from divine Authority, abfolute Obedience would be a Conféquence no Body could difpute, fince the fame Obedience without Referve would be due to the delegated Power, as to the Power delegating. And tho' this is a Point eafily enough confuted, yet being willing to keep the prefent Difpute within as fmall a Compafs as we can, I think our Argument has nothing at all to do with it. Whether Government be of divine Original or not, feems not the Queftion here; for if it be not fo, then, as before, the Church of England have been mistaken, and impofed upon; and if it be fo, then the Church of England has trampled under Foot their own Doctrine, turned Rebels to God, and Apoftates from the Faith they have profeft, have facrilegiously and traiterously taken up Arms against their Prince, affaulted the Lord's Anointed, refifted the Powers which are the Ordinance of God, depofed their lawful Sovereign, broken their Allegiance, and confequently are a Parcel of perjured Rebels; every Jót as bad as the worst Roundhead Regicide, and Rebel of the Year forty-one. What more or lefs can be faid I profefs I know not, and am in great Expectation of fomething in the Matter, for I cannot find in all the Writings I have met with any thing to contradict it. The bringing Government and Obedience to the proper Circumftances of mutual Compact between King and People, feems to me to be the only Method to unravel this Skein of entangled Principles; the Nature of Government has made it the neceffary Confequence of all Argument relating to Power; and I could give Inftances in all the Nations in the World, and fome Time or other, even the Right of Succeffion to Government, which must be as facred as the Power, has been interrupted and limited by the People, in Cafe of Tyranny and illegal Governing; and every Nation, and this among the reft, has oftentimes depofed their Princes for the Prefervation of the State, when either Incapacity for Government, tyrannical Ufurpation, or other Male Administration, has been the Cafe. But this I think alfo needlefs here; every one that is vers'd in Hiftory can read the numerous Examples in the Roman, Grecian and Perfian Hiftories, even facred Hiftories, where Kings were more particularly of Divine Right than any where, are full of them; the Hiftories of Spain, Portugal, France, Lombardy, the Empires of Germany and Muscovy, even the Papal Chair, have fuffer'd Convulfions and Revolutions, the depofing and difplacing their Sovereigns, C 2 |