now hypocrites? who fo forward to be avenged of them, that brought this guilt upon them, as they themselves? and how can the impofers be fecure of their friendship, whom they have taught to change with the times?

10. Such laws are fo far from benefiting the country, that the execution of them will be the affured ruin of it, in the revenues, and confequently in the power of it: for where there is a decay of families, there will be of trade; fo of wealth, and in the end of strength and power and if both kinds of relief fail, men, the prop of republicks; money, the stay of monarchies ; this, as requiring mercenaries; that, as needing freemen; farewell the intereft of England! 'tis true, the priests get (though that is but for a time) but the king and people lofe, as the event will fhew.

II. It ever was the prudence of wife magiftrates to oblige their people; but what comes fhorter of it than perfecution? what dearer to them than the liberty of their confcience? what cannot they better fpare than it? their peace confists in the enjoyment of it: and he that by compliance has lost it, carries his penalty with him, and is his own prifon. Surely fuch practices must render the government uneafy, and beget a great disrespect to the governors, in the hearts of the people.

12. But that which concludes our prudential part fhall be this, that after all their pains and good-will to stretch men to their measure, they never will be able to accomplish their end: and if he be an unwife man, that provides means where he defigns no end, how near is he of kin to him that proposes an end unobtainable. Experience has told us, 1. How invective it has made the impofed-on. 2. What distractions have enfued fuch attempts. 3. What reproach has followed to the Chriftian religion, when the profeffors of it have used a coercive power upon confcience. And lastly, That force never yet made either a good Christian, or a good subject.

Thirdly

Thirdly and laftly, Since the proceedings we argue against are proved fo deftructive to the juftice and prudence of government, we ought the lefs to wonder that they should hold the fame malignity against the end of it, which is felicity, fince the wonder would be to find it otherwise; and this is evident from these three confiderations:

1. Peace (the end of war and government, and its great happiness too) has been, is, and yet will be, broken by the frequent tumultuary disturbances that enfue the disquieting our meetings, and the eftreating fines upon our goods and eftates. And what these things may iffue in, concerneth the civil magiftrate to confider.

2. Plenty (another great end of government) will be converted into poverty, by the destruction of so many thousand families as refuse compliance and conformity, and that not only to the fufferers, but influentially to all the reft; a demonftration of which we have in all those places where the late act has been any thing confiderably put in execution. Befides, how great provocation fuch incharity and cruel ufage, as ftripping widows, fatherlefs, and poor, of their very neceffaries for human life, merely upon an account of faith or worship, muft needs be to the juft and righteous Lord of heaven and earth, fcriptures, and plenty of other hiftories, plainly fhew us.

3. Unity (not the leaft, but greatest end of government) is loft: for by feeking an unity of opinion, by the ways intended, the unity requifite to uphold us as a civil fociety, will be quite deftroyed. And fuch as relinquish that, to get the other, befides that they are unwife, will infallibly lose both in the end.

In short, we say that it is unreasonable we should not be entertained as men, because some think we are not as good Chriftians as they pretend to with us; or that we should be deprived of our liberties and properties, who never broke the laws that gave them to us: what can be harder, than to take that from us by a law. which the great indulgence and folicitude of our an

cestors

;

cestors took so much pains to intail upon us by law An. 18 Ed. 3. ftat. 3. alfo ftat. 20. Ed. 3. cap. I. Again, Petition of Right, An. 3. Car. and more fully in Magna Charta; farther, perufe 37 Ed. 3. chap. 8. 28. 42 Ed. 3. cap. 7.

And we are perfuaded, that no temporary fubfequential law whatever to our fundamental rights, (as this of force on confcience is) can invalidate fo effential a part of the government, as English liberty and property nor that it is in the power of any on earth to deprive us of them, till we have first done it ourfelves, by fuch enormous facts as thofe very laws prohibit, and make our forfeiture of that benefit we should otherwife receive by them: for thefe being fuch cardinal and fundamental points of English law-doctrine, individually, and by the collective body of the people, agreed to, and on which, as the moft folid basis, our fecondary legislative power, as well as executive, is built; it seems moft rational that the fuperftructure cannot quarrel or invalidate its own foundation, without manifeftly endangering its own fecurity: the effect is ever lefs noble than the caufe; the gift than the giver; and the fuperftructure than the foundation.

The fingle queftion to be refolved in the cafe, briefly will be this, whether any vifible authority (being founded in its primitive inftitution upon thofe fundamental laws, that inviolably preferve the people in all their just rights and privileges) may invalidate all, or any, of the faid laws, without an implicit fhaking of its own foundation, and a clear overthrow of its own conftitution of government, and fo reduce them to their Statu quo prius, or first principles? The refolution is every man's, at his own pleafure. Read Hen. 3. 9, 14, 29. 25 Ed. 3. Cook's inftit. 2. 19, 50, 51.

Thofe who intend us no fhare or intereft in the laws of England, as they relate to civil matters, unless we correfpond with them in points of faith and worship, mult do two things, Firft, it will lie heavy on their parts to prove, that the ancient compact and original

of

of our laws carries that provifo with it; elfe we are manifeftly diffeifed of our free-cuftoms.

Secondly, They are to prove the reafonableness of fuch proceedings to our understandings, that we may not be concluded by a law we know not how to understand for if I take the matter rightly (as I think I do) we must not buy or fell, unless of this or that perfuafion in religion; not confidering civil fociety was in the world before the Proteftant profeffion; men, as fuch, and in affairs peculiarly relative to them in an external and civil capacity, have fubfifted many ages under great variety of religious apprehenfions, and therefore not fo dependent on them as to receive any variation or revolution with them. What shall we say then? but that fome will not that we should live, breathe, and commerce as men, because we are not fuch modelled Christians as they coercively would have us they might with as much juftice and reputation to themfelves forbid us to look or fee unless our eyes were grey, black, brown, blue, or some one colour best fuiting theirs: for not to be able to give us faith, or fave our confciences harmless, and yet to perfecute us for refufing conformity, is intolerable hard measure.

In short, that coercive way of bringing all men to their height of persuasion, must either arise from exorbitant zeal and fuperftition, or from a consciousness of error and defect, which is unwilling any thing more fincere and reformed fhould take place; being of that cardinal's mind, who therefore would not hearken to a reformation, at the fitting of the council of Trent, because he would not fo far approve the reformers judgment (for having once condefcended to their apprehenfions, he thought it would for ever enflave them to their fenfe); though otherwife he faw, as much as any man, the grand neceflity of a reformation, both of the Roman doctrine and conversation.

Some

Some grand Objections in the Way must be confidered.

Objection 1. But you are a people that meet ⚫ with defigns to difaffect the people, and to ruin the ⚫ government.'

Answer. A furmife is no certainty; neither is a maybe, or conjecture, any proof: that from the first we have behaved ourselves inoffenfively, is a demonstration; that our meetings are open, where all may hear our matter, and have liberty to object or difcufs any point, is notorious. Ignorant calumnies are fandy foundations to build fo high a charge upon: let us be fairly heard in public conference, how far we can juftify our principles from being defervedly fufpected of fedition or disloyalty, and not over-run us with mere fuppofitions. We declare our readiness to obey the ordinance of man, which is only relative to human or civil matters, and not points of faith, or practice in worship: but if accufations must stand for proofs, we shall take it for granted that we must stand for criminals; but our fatisfaction will be, that we shall not deserve it, otherwife than as prejudice feeks to traduce us.

Object. 2. But you ftrike at the doctrine, at leaft the discipline, of the church; and confequently C are hereticks.

Anfw. This story is as old as the reformation: if we must be objected against out of pure reputation, let it be in fome other matter than what the Papists objected against the firft Proteftants; otherwise you do but hit yourselves in aiming at us? To fay you were in the right, but we are in the wrong, is but a mere begging of the question; for doubtless the Papifts faid the fame to you, and all that you can say to us. Your beft plea was, confcience, upon principles the most evident and rational to you: do not we the like? What