Letter to Sir J--- B---, by birth a Swede, but naturaliz'd and a m----r of the present P---t: concerning the late Minehead doctrine which was established by a certain free parliament of Sweden, to the utter enslaving of that Kingdom.

Page 17

( 24 ) had but teen a nomanry and Common People, :A<Count of who not long ago had a Right of cbuf;ng fl.e­Sweden, prefentatives in par/lamfllt, of 1m,ng try d by a P· 117• 'Jury of twelve Mm, trild paying oifly fucb Taxet P. 4C• as thty confented to; but who at prefent flay_ often greater Taxes than the yearly Value of their Farms, are hang'd and punifh'd jufl M the Governour bas a mind to it ; and for Subfiflance Ib'd p .for thei~ families are fore' d to grind the Bark of 1 • ' 4 Trees to mix up with their Corn fa~ Bread. Ha_d they feen all this inexpre!Iible M1fcry of the1r Fellow-Creatures, who knew n?thiog of fuch Circumftances till the DoB:rme of Paj]ive obedience and the Divine 'Right of Kings, was eftabli!h'd in their Land; I cannot think that we lbould have had fuch Crouds of be Jotted Madmen paying Royal Honours to the Shame of bi.s Order and killing the Hem of an Jmpoftor's Garment' who has done and is doing all he can to fet up the fame Doctrine amongft them. . I rather believe thlit thofe Lords, Lad1es, Gentlemen Citizens, and Common People, would hav~ all cry'd out with one Voice for the fevereft 'Juftice againft fo notorious al). Of· fender and his impious Abet,tors. Butt after all that has---been now faid, a great many will be apt to ask, how is it pof. fible that a People lhould bear aU thi.s? The only reafon is, becaufe 'tis impo!Iible for ~hem to help themfelves. The King, my Lord B1!hop p, 1 10" tells us, knows very weU bow to ll!ake himfelf obey' d. That is, he has made Soldters of o~e half of his People, to keep t'other half u1 good Order. If you fee four Farm-Houfes together, )lnd lhould enquire whom th~y be· long ~o,., you would find that tWO; 1£ not · three ( 15 ) three; are polrefs'd by the King's 'troops that the other may live quietly. Befides th~ Governour or Lord Lieutenant of each Coun­ty has a very watchful Eye every where and the Laws and Oaths are made ufe of a; fome for£ of Fetters. But frill their chief Dependance lies in this following Pallage w~i~h I lhall quote e~ti~e from the Worthy Dtvme fo often mentiOn d ; 'tis in the 11 rth and n2th Pages of his Account of Sweden. '' Yet all this Power and Provifion is not by '' the Court it felf thought fufficient to keep '' an opprefs'd People from Diforders · nor " would i£. likely long d? fo, if the Ki;g did •: not by hts great Apphcation.s and Deferen. ' ces coun the Clergy, and by no fmall de­'' grees of<::ompliante w,ith ~h~m, not only in '' Ecclefialhcal but even 10 ClVII Affairs culti­" vate their fidelity and AffeB:ion: and this " becaufe the Priefts have very great and un~ " controulable Intereft and Authority among " the Common People (who only can make '' Difturbances) and can at their pleafure in­" flame or apreafe them.'' · If this Evidence is not fuffident to filence and convince all Gainfayers, I don't know what can do it. Here you have it ex ore Epif­copi, out of the mouth of a Bilhop and a true Church-Bilbop, 'That a People wbo ah opprefs'd after l~e IJioft barbarom manner, could not be kept from rijing to deliver thcmfel'lles out of tlleir in­tolerable Slavery, by Soldiers, Governors Laws and ?athf._ ~;~ 11ot ~he ,Clergy ajjift their Ty­r~ nt m matntatning h1s mfernal Dominion over h~ u~happy Subjefls, in conjideration of the Collrt that~ made to t~em (the Clergy and Priefts) not on!,Y m Ec~lejiajhcal, but alfo in Civil Matters! E ·~Give