THE Commons Address Against the DUKE of LAUDERDAIL, Presented to His Majesty, May 9. 1679.
WE your Majesties most Loyal and Dutiful Subjects, the Commons in this present Parliament Assembled, finding your Majesties Kingdoms involved in imminent dangers, and great difculties, by the evil designs and pernicious Councels of some, who have been, and still are in high places of Trust and Authority about your Royal Person, who contrary to the duty of their places, by their Arbitrary and destructive Counsels, tending to the Subversion of the Rights, Liberties, and Properties of your Subjects, and the alteration of the Protestant Religion Established, have endeavoured to alienate the hearts of your good Subjects from your Majesty and your Government, which we by our duty are bound to preserve. We have just reason to accuse John Duke of Lauderdail, for a chief Promoter of such Councels; and more particularly, for contriving and endeavouring to raise jealousies & Misunderstandings between this your Majesties Kingdom and Scotland, whereby Hostilities might have ensued and arisen between both Nations, if not prevented: wherefore we your Majesties most Loyal Subjects cannot but be sensibly affected and troubled to see such a person, notwithstanding the repeated Addresses of your late Paliament, continued in your Council at this time, when the Affairs of your Kingdom require none to be set in such imployments, but such as are of known Abilities, Interest, and Esteem [Page 2] in the Nation, without all suspition of either mistaking or betraying the true interest of the Kingdom, and consequently of Advsing your Majesty ill.
We do therefore beseech your Majesty, for the taking away the great Jealousies and dissatisfactions amongst your good Subjects, who are opprest with great grief and sorrow, that your Majesty will graciously be pleased to remove the Duke of Lauderdail from your Majesties Councils, in your Majesties Kingdoms of England and Scotland, and from all Offices, Imployments, and places of Trust, and from your Majesties presence for ever.
A Speech in the House of COMMONS, upon Reading the Bill against the D. of York, May 1679.
WE have now the weightiest matter under our Considerations that ever came before us, therefore we ought with the highest Zeal to speak our minds boldly for the King and Kingdom: for as the matter is of no less importance than to secure our Religion to Posterity, so much the rather should we apply our selves to manifest that we will not be discouraged by any seeming opposition whatsoever.
But as the Lord Chancellor lately told us, This is the time, so I must repeat it, That it is indeed the time; that is to say, the moment: which if we should suffer to slip from us, it may never be in our power to regain, and then our Children may be bound to Curse us: for I must tell you, That it will be utterly impossible ever to secure the Protestant Religion under a Popish Successor, unless you do totally disable him to inherit these Protestant Countries; and the Tyranny of the See of Rome will infallibly steal upon us.
For to think to restrain a King under the Power of a Penal Law, thereby to secure Religion, is no more than to bind Sampson with Cords, who as soon as 'tis said, The Philistims are upon thee, will break them all in pieces, and carry the Gates away with him, and leave you open to the Invasion of the Enemy; nothing therefore can be able to secure us, but to clip his Locks: [Page 3] For if the Papists do at this time designe to subvert our Religion under a Protestant Prince, how much more will they designe against us under a Popish Successor? What will not the Priests and Jesuits undertake, to procure our Destruction, when they shall have the favour of the Prince, and are secured that the Laws and Statutes made against them, shall not be put in Execution? for 'tis Coleman's Maxime, That if the Popish Religion stood upon an equal foot with the Protestant, the Popish Religion would get the better, as they would manage it; and then our Estates could never be secure, no, nor our very Lives; and Protestants would be discouraged, and hardly dare to speak their minds; and Massacres may be as frequent and as great here, as they were formerly at Paris: So that 'tis clear we can never restrain him.
The Lord Chancellor in his Speech tells you, That when His Majesty shall happen to dye, we shall have a convenient time to settle Religion and the Nation. Let me ask you, Must we act with the Successor, or without him? If we act with him, he will never consent to any thing we shall do against him; if without him, we act as a Common-Wealth; and that he will never suffer, but perhaps will send his Guards and turn us out of Doors, and what will become of us then?
One Reason laid down to us likewise is, That it is impossible for a Successor to raise Money, but by Consent of Parliament: that point may be easily answered by us, There are many small Burroughs and Towns who choose us, where there are but few Voices; how easie is it to purchase those Votes by Money? if he should lay out Ten or Twenty thousand pound for the purchase, they would soon give it him again; and then the whole Nation will be ruin'd without Redemption. The Speech of the Lord Chancellor is onely a Fig-leaf to cover our Nakedness, or rather Leaf-Gold to flatter us; or like a Mother who having a froward Child, and upon necessity must do something to pacifie it, she gives it any thing she hath, but lets it keep it no longer than she pleases.
Now I have shown you the necessity of this Bill, let us next consider, that the good which will come by it, is far greater than the evil that can ensue upon it; which I will thus demonstrate: If we give way to a Popish Successor, we give away [Page 4] Religion, and have Popish Tyranny for a Recompence; and then consequently, our Estates will be taken away; and for an English man to lose his Estate, is worse than to lose his Life, since he must continue in perpetual Bondage, and be worse than a Captive slave, and shall be Priest-ridden every day: therefore in my opinion, it is far better for us to resolve to maintain our Religion, and to secure our selves by opposing any Violence that shall be offered to us from abroad, than to be in danger of having our Throats cut every moment, by those that shall be amongst us.
Now let us consider, whether this may be effected by Law, or out of necessity. I will put the Case, That if a Prince be born to a Kingdome who is either Lunatick, or otherwise disabled to do the Kingdom any good, shall not the Subjects in this case proceed to chuse another who may preserve the Kingdom, when otherwise it must of necessity perish? As lately in the Case of Portugal, they chose another to succeed, because of the disability of the former; And shall not we then disable the Duke, who cannot possibly do the Nation any service, his Principles being so contrary and destructive to the Laws, Statutes, and Constitutions of this Government, as nothing but ruine can ensue thereby?
Now as to the Point of Law, I must say, that as for a private person to rise against his Prince is Rebellion; so on the contrary, when there is an Act of Parliament to disable him, and that upon such good grounds and reasons as we have heard read against him this day, we shall be justified by all the World in opposing his Claim; and we have had Presidents of this kind heretofore. And it was Enacted in Queen Elizabeths time, That those who durst any way dispute that the King and Parliament could not appoint a Successour, should be guilty of a Premunire.