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Show JO A Speech in f arliament touching A 5 eech ufed h, Sir Francis Bacen in the Lower Houfe of lartiament, s·· Jacobi, concer~ing_ th: Artiele, of gene·· rail Naturalirz..ation,ofths Scotn£h Natlon. . T 1 r. u ( Mr Sheilzer) Preface will I ufe none, but I may p ea1c yo , · r ) . . h. h 1 h b ut m Self, upon your good OptnJOns,. tow 1~ ave een ac~ufro~ed beyond my Dc~ervings. Nett her wtll I hold you in fuf ence, wbat way I will chvofe; But now, at the fi.rfi, d~~ clare ~ felf, tllat I mean to counfell the Houje, to naturalize this N t . YWherein neverthelefs, I have a requefr to make uRto aau tO; nw. hich is ofm ' ore E ffi cacy, toth e purl!o.f e, I h ave u. ~ Han. d, rh 11 that I iliall fay afterwards. And It IS the fame' whtch Den ~henes did more then once, in greatCaufes·ofEfrate, make t;7he People of Athens; Vt cum calculit SH.Jf!agiorum., jiintant lUagnanimitatem B..eip. _That 'Yhen _they took Ult? thetr Hands) the Balls, whereby to gtve thetr V m~es, ( ~ccordtng as the manner of them was; ) They woul~ ratfe .thet~· Thoughts? and lay alide thofe Conliderations, whtch thetr pnvate Vocations, and Degrees mought minifier, and reprefent unto the1n : And would t~ke, upon them, Cogitations, and Minds, agreeable to the Dignity, and Honour, ofthe Eflate. . For, Mr• speak._er, as it was aptly, an~ fharply fa1d, by Alexander, to Parmenio; when upo~ t~e Recual_l, of the great offers, whicl;} Darius made, P1.rmemo fatd \l~lto htm;. Iwoul1 accept thefe offers, were I 111 .Alexander:He !urned 1~ up~n htm ag~tn; So would 1, (faith he) were I~ Parmenzo. So, 1n thts cau~e, ~fan honefr Eng lifo /llerchant, (I _do not fingle QUt that State, In dtfgrace; For this Jjland ever held It Honourab~e; But onely for an Infiance, of a private profefiion:) If an E.n_glifiJ Merchant ilio?ld fay, Surely 1 wo11ld proceed no fttrther in the nmon, were I m tke Kmg; It mought be rcafonably anf wered; No more weuld the Kzng, were he tHan Englifh llderchant. And the like mCJy be faid ~f a Gentleman of the Cotmtrey, be he never fo worthy, and fuffictent; Or of a L~WJe", be he never Co wife and learned; Or of ~ny .otherparttcuJar Condition, in this Ki~gdome. For certainly, Mr. spea/zer, ~fa Man fhall be onely, or chiefly, fenfible, of thofe Refpe<:ts, wh~ch his particular Vocat~on~ ~nd Degree, £hall fuggefr,and mrufe,tnto him· And not enter tnto true, and worthy Confiderauons, of Efiate 'he ihall never be able aright to give Counfell, or take CounCell, in this Matte~. So that if this Requefi be graJ.Ued, I account the Caufe obtamed. But to proceed to the Matter it felf. All Confultat~on~, do refi, upon ~efiions Comparative; For when a Q!.ielbon ts, r:e r"'ero it is fimple ~For there is but one Truth: But when a QEefbon i~ De Bono, it is for the mofr part €omparative: For t~ere. be ddfenng The Natura/icz,ation oft be 8cotJ Nation. a 1 ~iffering Degrees, of Good,, and Evil/; And the befr, of the Good' ts to be preferred, and chofen; And the worfi of the EvilJ is to be declined, ~nd avoyded.. And therefore, in' a ~efl:ion ~f this Nat.ure, you may not look for Anf wers; proper to every Inconvenience, a~ledged: For fomewhat that c~nnot be fpecially anfwered, tnay, neverthelefs, be encountred, and over-weighed, by matter of greater moment. And therefore the Mottter, which I iliall fer forth unto you, will naturally receive this Difiributi . on of three part • Firfr, an A f wer, u.nto t~ofe Incdnveniences, wbich have been allfdged, to enfue, tf we lhould give way to this Naturalization: which, I fuppofe, you will find, not t~ be {~ gre~t, as they have been made : But that much Drofs, IS put Into the Ballance to help to make.weight. . , ~~condly, a? Encounter agaimfi the ~emain, of thofe Jnc.on· veme:nces, w ~tch can n~t properly ~e anG;trered; By much greater Incon veniences, which we fhalltncur, if we do not proceed to this N,zfllralization. ' Thirdly, an Encounter likewifc,but of another Nature.· That isl by the gain, and bene~t, whic~ we lhall draw, and pu'rchaf~ to our (elves, by proceedtng to tht3 Naturalizatio11. And }ret to avoid Confufion, which evermore followeth of too much Generality, it is n.cc~{bry for me, bef?re I proceed to perfwa6on, to ufe fome DiftnbutJOn of the Pomts, or Parts of Naturalizatio'lz: W hie h certainly c~n be no better, nor none other, than the anci. e~~ D.ifiribution, of Jus Civitat-h,.Jus Suffragii, vel Trihlll', ~nd Pe· tlt~onH,jive Ho1torum. For all Ability, and ~apacicy; is either o pnv~te In terefiJ of M~um &!Num,orof publtck Service. And the publtc~ confifteth chtefly, ctther in Voyce, or in Office. Now it Is d:e F trfi of thefe, Mr. Sp~after, that I will on ely handle at this Time, and in this Pl~ce; And referve the other two for a Comtnittee ·; Hecaufe they receive, more Difiinltion, a~dRefiricti· on. · To come therefore, to the 1_nconveniences, all edged on the other part. The firfi of them Is, that there may cnfue of this NAIHralization, a furcharge of people upon this Realm of Engla11d· whic}:J is fuppofed already, to have the full charge, and content~ & ther~fo~e, t~ere cannot be an admiffion of the adoptive, with· out a DtmmutJon,.of the Fortunes, and Conditions,of thofe that :tre Native SubjeCts of this Realme. A grave Objection, Mr. spea- , ~er,and verydutifull: For it proceedeth not, of any unkindnefs, to the Scottifb Nation, but of a Naturall Fafinefs to our felves. For that An f wer oft he Virgi1ts; Ne forte non foffieiat Vobil & Nobh, pto· c~eded, not out of any Envy=> or malign humour, but out of pro. vidence,and that origin all charity, which begins with our fc:lves. And I muft confefs, Mr. ~pea~r , that, as the Gentleman faid, w~~n .Abr~ha,n, and Lot, in regard of the Greatneis df their Fa~ o.uhes, grew pent,and ftraitened;it is true,that (Brethren though G 2 they |