III.

1688.

of Orange being inform'd by one Fullam put him in the TO M. Tower where he soon after ended his days, so that thō he could not repair the mischiefs he had contribited too in reference to his Prince, he did it in some measure in respect of his own reputation.

Army towards

Salisbury.

"

KING JAM:

Mon. To: 9.

pag. 233.

دو

وو

Assoon as the King had notice from Dover that the Enemys fleet had pass'd by there, he order'd three battalions of the Guards, his own regiment of Dragoons and a hundred Granadiers on horseback, to march with all expedition to Portsmouth for the further security of that place, with directions to go on towards Salisbury, if the Enemie went more Westward, which way all the rest of his Army march'd " likewise, except three battalions of Guards and Prince George's regiment of foot. The Hors and Dragoons were " divided into different bodys, Sr John Lanier commanded that which was order'd to Salisbury, S' John Fenwick an other which marched to Marlborough, and a therd was sent to Warminster whether S John Lanier was to advance, so soon as My Lord Feversham (to whom the King had given the Command of the Army under himself) should arriue at " Salisbury; his Majestys design being, that assoon as these different bodys of hors and Dragoons (being twenty Squadrons of the former and ten of the latter) were arriued at their respectiue quarters, to march on further westward and come up as close as possible to the Prince of Orange, not only to prevent his advanceing, but to hinder any dis- " afected persons from joining him till the whole Army could come up, which with the train of Artillery and baggage, was on its march towards Salisbury, all but the Scoth hors and Dragoons; and the Irish Dragoons which being newly arrived, and much fatigued, were left for some days behind to rest and refresh themselves.

TOM.

III.

1688.

The King

Lords, and Bisshops, about what was sayd in the P. of Orange's Declaration.

While this was a doeing, one Capt: Langham was Seiz'd with the Prince of Orange's Declarations about him, wherein he own'd that his comeing was at the earnest invitation of Divers Questions the Lords both Spiritual and Temporal; Langham was commited to prison, and his Majesty thought fit to enquire a little into the truth of that Assertion, so sent for such Lords as were then about town, My Lord Marq: of Halifax, the Earles of Notingham, Clarendon, Burlington, My Lord Alington, &c; who being examin'd about it disclaimd any share of that invitation, adding all imaginable protestations of Loyalty: the King thought when honour, Conscience, and Religion, was in every bodys mouth it should haue been in some peoples hearts too, which made him credit what they Said, but a few days more convinced him of his errour, and that the Divines themselves were not exempt from that duplicity; for upon the same occasion sending for the Arch Bisshop of Cantorbury, the Bisshops of London, Winchester, and two or three more, he put the same question he had done to the Lords, Whether they had invited the Prince of Orange as was said in his declaration? they were a little pussled what to answer, not being quite so artefull dissemblers as the others; but sayd at last, they would never own any other King while his Majesty lived, in which (thō some of them indeed kept their word) others shew'd soon after how little regard they had for truth, thō all this contest was about it: The King not too well Satisfyd with this equivocal answer, press'd them to sign an abhorrance at least of the Prince of Orange's invasion, but they demurring to it, he saw what he was like to expect from them, " and therefore thought fit to remind them of what he had sayd when they first petition'd him, that he belived they were not sencible of the harme they had done by it, both to "him and themselues, but that they had been imposed upon

KING JAM: Mon. TOM: 9. pag. 229.

66

66

1

"

TOM.

"

III.

1688.

Ibid: pag: 238.

"

"

وو

"

وو

by ill men, who design'd his and their ruin, that they had
rais'd a Devil they could not lay, and that when it was too
late they would repent their errour; and to convince them
that some of them had done it maliciously, he assur❜d them,
he kept the paper in his pocket, and yet coppies of it was
spread about which rais'd so furious a ferment against him:
He bid them therefore take notice, that what he then Sayd to
them, had in great measure proued true, and that therefore
they were now at least oblig'd to declare their dislike of the
invasion; and shew their zeal for Loyalty both in the Pulpits
and out of them, and proue themselves to be true Sons of "
the Church they profess'd to be Members of; that he
expected this from them as a thing of the last consequence
for his seruice, and as some amends for the harme they had
done him by their petition and behaviour after it; that he
was a going to head the Army and oppose the invader, and "
that if it pleas'd God to gave him success and victory over
his enimies, he assur'd them he would keep his promis; and
thō he had little reason to be satisfyd with many of them, yet
it should not hinder him from standing to the engagement he
had always made, of supporting them in the enjoyment of "
their Religion and possessions, being resolved to mentain "
Libertie of Conscience thō he were absolute Master to doe '
what he pleas'd: but notwithstanding all the King could Say,
and all he had done, to giue them Satisfaction, he could not
prevail with the Arch Bp: nor the majority of them to
declare their dislike of the invasion, thō the Bisshop of Win- "
chester and some others were for doeing it, nor did they take
care to rectify those errours in the People, they had indus-
triously contribited too; for the night before the King went
down to Salisbury, they waited upon him again with further "
proposalls, about assembling a Parliament and treating with
the Prince of Orange, and had got some temporal Lords to

TO M. " join with them, as the Dukes of Grafton and Ormonde (but “the M: of Halifax, E: of Notingham, and Several others

III.

1688.

66

posituely refused) all the King could say to it was, that it was too late, being then ten at night, and he to set out next 66 morning to Salisbury, and therefore could not giue them an "answer in writeing; that it was not a time fit to call a "Parliament, when Armys were in the field, nor proper for "him to send to treat with the Prince of Orange who had "invaded him without any provocation, against all the Laws "of God and man; and against the duty he ow'd to him as a Nephew and Son in law; and that it would much better "become them, who were Bisshops of the Church of England "to perform their obligation by instructing the people in "their duty to God and the King, than to be presenting petitions and giveing rules for. government and fomenting "that rebellious temper they had already begot in the

66

66

Nation, instead of declareing against the invasion, which "he found they could not be prevail'd upon to doe: By this the King saw that Religion which is the common cloke for rebellions, scarce proues a security against one: but they were not many months older before the Arch Bisshop and some other of his Breethren became sencible of their mistake, and repented themselves of haveing dealt so harshly with their Prince, who had at their request rectifyd in a manner all they had found fault with, whereas they could not even then, be prevail'd upon, to doe what both the Law. of God and of the Land, and the positiue tenets of their Church, oblig'd them too, thō the King had been the greatest Tyrant upon earth; who therefore was at last convinced, that the late Church of England doctrine of passiue Obedience was too Sandy a foundation for a Prince to build upon, since they so easily overlooked not only their own writeing but all the State laws, which if they had been stuck too, would haue

preserued the Constitution from all the convulsions it suffer'd afterwards; the King therefore caus'd a Proclamation to be published in answer to the false assertions of the Prince of Orange's Manifesto, assuring his people, That it was but too evident by a late Declaration published by that Prince, that notwithstanding the many specious and plausible pretences to colour his ambition, his design in the bottom did tend to nothing less, than an absolute usurpeing his Crown and Royal authority; as might fully apear by his assuming to himself in the said Declaration the Regal Stile, requireing the Peers of the Realm both Spiritual and temporal, and all persons of what degree soever to obey. and assist him in the execution of his design, a prerogatiue inseperable from the imperial Crown of the Realm; and that for a more undenyable proof of his immoderate Ambition, and that nothing could satisfy it but the immediate possession of the Crown itself, he call'd in question the legitimacy of the Prince of Wales, his Majestys Son and heire aparent; thō by the Providence of God there were present at his birth so many Witnesses of unquestionable credit, as if it seem'd the particular care of heaven, to disapoint so wicked and unparalell❜d an attempt: that in order to the efecting his ambitious designs, he seem'd to submit all to the determination of a Parliament, hopeing thereby to ingratiate himself with the people; thō nothing was more evident than that a Parliament could not be free So long as there was an Army of forreigners in the heart of the Kingdom; so that in truth he was the sole obstructer of such a free Parliament, his Majesty being fully resolved as he had already declared, so soon as by the blessing of God his Kingdoms should be deliver❜d from this invasion, to call a Parliament; which then could not be lyable to the least objection of not being freely chozen, since his Majesty had actually restored all the Boroughs and Corporations to their antient rights and priviledges: upon

TOM.

III.

1688.