ters of mere religion: it has ever been directly contrary to our inclination, as we think it is to the interest of government; which it destroys by spoiling trade, depopulating countries, and discouraging strangers; and, finally, that it never obtained the end for which it was employed."

George Whitehead appears to have placed confidence in the king's sincerity; and perhaps he also thought, if the king succeeded in gaining admission for many of his Romish friends to offices even in the Established Church, that he would be able to support his views in regard to liberty of conscience.* "As for us," he says, "the people commonly called Quakers, and our ministers, having no such revenues as tithes, hire, or wages for preaching to lose, our Gospel being free, we were not so afraid of popery or a popish prince and clergy, as those who enjoy those great revenues which the popish Church and priesthood claim, and would gladly possess.

"The king having often seriously declared liberty of conscience to be his principle and persuasion, and we who had long deeply suffered partaking thereof, especially in the latter part of his reign, had great reason to be the more easy and thankful that we had some

It had been too obvious that the name of a protestant estab. lishment was no security against one of the worst features of popery-persecution; and had the king succeeded in his wishes, it is highly probable that, in the state of parties, he could have supported himself only by a general toleration of his protestant subjects; it was not, at any rate, surprizing, that those who had suffered so severely under the protestant establishment, should take this view of the subject, and perhaps underrate the danger which attended the king's designs. There is no doubt however, that many members of the Society, at that time, viewed with serious alarm the consequences to the country of the establishment of a popish prince and clergy, and who sincerely hailed that ever memorable providence, by which the truly protestant William and Mary were placed without bloodshed on the throne of England. To their reign, as Besse remarks in the preface to his book of Quaker Sufferings, "was reserved the glory of establishing to protestant dissenters, a general liberty of conscience in religious worship." Editor.

relief from those extreme hardships we had long suffered under.

"Howbeit, the king's aforesaid declaration not hav ing the sanction of an act of parliament for confirmation and continuance, we did not think our liberty secured to us thereby, any more than it was under the reign of his brother, king Charles the Second, but uncertain and precarious as it was before; when we had only that king's specious promises and declarations, which lasted but a little while, and were soon made void by the parliament and himself, and the many persecutors let loose upon us again, because the same liberty granted was not passed into a law."

George Whitehead does not think it his business to treat of the particular causes of the king's removal from the throne; they are, says he, "matters of state and government." He piously refers the whole affair to the counsels of " the Divine Majesty, the Searcher of Hearts, by whom the intentions and designs of men and princes are foreseen and known, who rules over the kingdoms of men and gives them to whomsoever He will,"

SECTION XVIII.

Proceedings in the reign of William and Mary-Respecting the act of toleration. The case of Friends suffering for contempts, &c. -The obtaining of an act for the admission of the solemn affirmation of Friends instead of an oath.

George Whitehead introduces his account of his own and his Friends' proceedings in the early part of the reign of William and Mary, with the following review.

The great and merciful providence of the Lord God Almighty towards us his people, is worthy to be for ever remembered. He gave us not over to the will of our enemies, who often breathed out cruelty against us, threatening our ruin and desolation; blessed be our God! who hath frustrated their cruel designs and restrained the remainder of their wrath, and contrary thereunto hath carried on his own work and prospered the same, to his own praise and his people's comfort; causing all to work together for good, to all them who truly love his Name and Power: blessed for ever be the same!

Although for the space of about twenty-five years, from 1660 to 1684, we had but small respite from some kind of persecution or other, notwithstanding the liberty of conscience so often promised and declared from the throne; yet the Truth lost no ground, but gained through all. The persecution time was a seed time, for the Truth and Gospel of Christ Jesus which we suffered for, and the faithful grew and multiplied. The good seed of the Gospel being sown and planted, the same increased and spread even in those suffering times, which neither the devil nor his instruments could ever root out. That Divine Presence attended us in our many deep sufferings, which reached and tenderly af

fected many hearts and souls, as they beheld and observed the patience and innocence wherein the Lord sustained us in our many trials and sufferings, whereby many were not only moved with compassion to us, but also to enquire after the Lord and his Truth, the cause for which we patiently suffered. As the more Israel was afflicted and oppressed under Pharaoh in Egypt, the more they multiplied and grew; so as the Lord's people have been persecuted and oppressed in this Gospel day, the more their number has increased and they multiplied; wherein still the merciful providence of Almighty God has appeared, to frustrate the evil designs of ungodly persecutors and wicked men.

And moreover, it is very remarkable and memorable, how the Lord God by his wisdom and power has appeared and wrought for his people, in gradually making way for that liberty of conscience so greatly laboured for; insomuch that the understandings of many in outward government, even of the supreme in authority, have been so far enlightened, as to see that liberty from persecution is not only most equal and consistent with a Christian spirit and temper, but also with their own safety and the peace of the government and nation. Yea, I have heard it declared by a great person of the Church of England, as in the name or person of the Church, viz. " Neither we nor you are safe without the toleration." And many that have formerly had a hand in persecution, are now willing that former sin of theirs should be covered, that they may be esteemed sincere for liberty of conscience against persecution. Others, even persons of note, have gloried and seemed to rejoice, in that they never had a hand in persecution, nor signed a warrant against any of us; it being generally, by men ingenuous and sober, deemed scandalous, or a brand of infamy, to be accounted a persecutor.

Hitherto then as the Lord our God hath been graciously pleased to help us through many deep sufferings, hardships, and trials, He hath also been at work in the

hearts of men in power; and in order to give his churches among us rest, He prepared the heart of the government, after the revolution, to allow us the sanction of a law for our liberty, together with other dissenting protestants, respecting our religious exercise in our public assemblies.

And therefore now I may give some brief account of the said act, and how I and others of our Friends were concerned about the same. It commonly goes by the title of "The Act of Toleration;" but the real title is, "An Act for exempting their majesties' Protestant subjects, dissenting from the Church of England, from the penalties of certain laws." Anno primo Gulielma & Mariæ.

The preamble is, viz. "Forasmuch as some ease to scrupulous consciences, in the exercise of religion, may be an effectual means to unite their majesties' protestant subjects in interest and affection, be it enacted," &c.

This act contains much of the substance, and divers clauses of the bill, entitled, "A bill of ease to all Protestant Dissenters;" which was endeavoured to have been passed by the parliament in king Charles the Second's time, 1680 and 1681, but not effected either in his reign, or in his brother's succeeding, as before related.

After a bill was brought into the parliament in order to the aforesaid act, entitled, " An Act for exempting their majesties' protestant subjects," &c.; divers of our Friends, with myself, had great care and concern upon our minds, that it might be effectual and clear, without being clogged or perplexed with any snare in it; so that we might be truly eased from persecution, and our religious liberties be uninterrupted.

Some of the terms in the said bill, required of protestant dissenters to prove themselves Christians, were, viz. "That all such who profess faith in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ his Eternal Son, the true God, and in the Holy Spirit, coequal with the Father and