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Show • 69~ • J67>· . v--v"-· Chap.U. England's 'Prefent Intereft Confider' d. Vo1.. I. fes either to have no Confcience at all, or to be hanged for having a Con· fci~ncc-nor farhionable: For, le"r them be Yirruolu, let th,em be Vici~u1, if they fall not in with that lHodc of Religion, they qtufi be reprobated t() all Civil and Ecclefiafiical Intents :snd Purpllfes. Srrange! that Men mutt ei· therdeny their Faith and Reafon, or be defiroyed for afli.ng a~cording to them, be they orherwife never io peaceable. l'Vhat Power ts th1s, orra_rher what Principle? But that Men arc to be pr~tetl'ed upon Favour, not nght o1 merit; and that no Merit ~ut of the publlck Church Drefs fhoul~ qnd Acce\'tance is fevere. We. Juftly blame that Father, th~t narrows hMi Pa .. rerna Lov; ro fame one of his Children, though the ~eft be not one To[ )efs Virtuou~ than the Favourite: Such Injuftice can never flow frem a ~ul a8ed by Reafon, hut a Mind govern'd by,Foncy, and enpaved to P<~ffions. Sixthly Confider Peace, Plenty, and ~Jfety, the tbae great Inducementr to any r;;untry to Honour the Prince, and Lo\'e .rbe Government, tU tf:tll ttl the bejt JI.Uuremtntr to Foreigners ro_tr,a~e witb Jt and tran.(port themftlvcr to it, ttre uller/y loft hy j!Jcb farttafltltr: fonnflead of ha;e~ Lave 11nd good NeigbbOurbood, beb_old Ammofiry and ~onreft_l One J\.et,gbkour tMtcbts another, and makes btm an Offender [or bn Conference; ~b;; drt!ida them their Families and .Acquaintance: perhaps, with them the Tou:ns and ViUn.les ubere they live: And mofl common_!y, rbe Sufferer barb the Piry, and the Perfeoutot the Odium of tbe .A1u/ruude. And truly when Peofle ]er Cruelty pra{/ifed upon their inoffenfive ]{ei~hhourr, by. a trollhle.J.om Jqrt of .iHm, anf t/Jofe coununanced by a Law, 11 bruileth ~~Blood ttgoz'l!fl rbe Government. Certainly, litzlrng People to Goals, hreaJung oprn tlmr H()11fu, jiezin.g (.If their Eft ares, and that .wirhour. a1l Prop~rtion; le:l\'ing Wi\•es without their Hufb.:lnds, and Children without thelr Parenrs, and their Families, Relations, Friends and Neighbours, under Amaze and Ttou .. ble is almoft as far from the Peace of a we1l~govern'd Kingdom, as it is fro~ the Meeknefs of Chriflianity. . . Plenty will be hereby exchanged for PQverty, by the .DefiruChon of many thoufar.d Familieswhhin this Realm, who are greatly mfl(umental for the carrying on of the mofi. fuhflantia!Corl!mcrce therein : Men of Vi~tut, f,"d Contrivance Great lnduftry; whofe Labours, not only keep the Pan{hes rom the Troubl~ and Charge of maintai~ng t\H~m and rhe~rs,, hut help to mai~ ... tain the Poor, and are great Colltrih!Jtors to the Kmt s Revenue ~y rhell Traffick. This very Severity will make more Ban/uupr 1 in the Kangdom of England in feven Years, than have been in. it upon all orh~r Accounts i_n \ Seven Ages: which Confcquence, how far H may confifi,with the Credit andlnterefi: of the Government, ) leave to bette:- judgments. Thi's Sort of (?feat Severity that hath been lat~ly._and fi~U is ufed a~ongft us, is like t? prove a great Ch.eck to that R7admeis, w_htch. orherwJfe w.e find iR Fore1gners to Trade With the lnh:thn~mts of thts -Kmgdom ; for 1f Men cannot call any Thing their Own, under a difFerent Exet cife of Con~ fcience from the National Way of Religion, their Correfponde~ts may jullly and \>rudendy fay, We wiU not furrber concent tJltT feivu mub .A~en tb~t fland upon fucb ticklijh Term1: FVhttt know tee k"t fuch Ptrfons ~re t rurn'd in tbe1r EjltZtes, by Reafon of their Non·Confon!lny, before j11ch T1me arwe jhall be reimbur/1 for .Money paid, or Goodsdehver'd: 1\_'ay, weflpom 1 not bow foon tboft n·bo are Conformiflsf may he Non-Conform1fts, or. u)Jitf Revo/ution1 of Councilt may happen, fince the Fu.ndamental Lawt, Jo ;calo11! of the PeopJe'r Proper:ty, are JO little val/Jed hy fome of t}Jeir onm A1Pgr· flrates) for tboug~ n·e are raid of very wo'}tby and excellent Laws in Eng..land, Jor the Stcurity of rhe Peo;le•s Rigbu, yet we art tdfo told, th4t rhcJ aiJ bttng at the Church's Girdlt, mJomuch m no Church-Confor~iry no Pro- . perry; tf)!Jicb is, No Churchman, No Englifhman. So tbat 111 E.lfdl tbt , Rtgbtt of their Country dtPfpd upon tkt Rigbu of tbtir Cburth; and tboft Chnrcbu 1h1Ve t11l>m their· T•rns fo t{ttn, that 4 B1Jdy htor.cs not ~ow I~ mannge one'.1 ftlf Jec11rely to one's own ..tlffitirr, in 4 Corrt{poni!ence fVJib o11J of t!Jem. For in King Henry tbe Eigl1tl?'r Day1, Popuy Wa¥ !be ~nly Orthodox 'I Religion, and Zuinglii.!.Sa.. Luther, Melan8bon, . Oecob~pad.lus, 8l:c. tf(rt · 11 grettl Vo1..L England's 'Prefent lnterefl Confider' d. treat Herttick.s. In Ed~atd tht' Sixrb's Timr, they r.cere Saints, and Popery was Idolatry. A few 1tars tt/ter, ~ueen. M_ary makes the Pap.ifts Jio(ll Church, a_nd Prote1bncy HertJi.e. 1llo"t.Stx 1ears complcatJ her Time, and t{_11cen Ebzabeth enters her Re1gn, m wbuh frotefiams are Good Chriftians an_d the Chnrch of ~orne the \Vhore ~f Babylfln, In Her ~cign, and th41 n[ Kmg James? and Kmg C~arles tl1e Ftr}l, Jprung the Purnans, who divided tbemjelve.s mro Prefbyterw:ns, and Independents. The Bijhops excl<~imtd a~ gainfltbemfoi-Schifmaticks, and rbtya1,ainjl tlu: Bi}hopr for PapifiicalaniJAn~ 'tichriftian. In the Lon~ Par1iamem's Tinu, the Prcfbyterian dnvcr out tbr Bifhop; q. Crom~cl defeating them, anil fending th~ Prefhyrerian to kerp (,omp_(tny wub the ~ijhop, confers it mo/1/y _flj'M the Independent and Ana· bapuft, uho. kept rt tkrou,gb the other Fn1{hons ~f Government, tilJ the Pref. byrer and B1fhop go~ lt from them: .And rLe IWhop nMc frotJJ tbe Prdby. ter; But bow long It Will refl rbut, who h.nows ? Thus a Foreigner may julllyargue. Nor is my Suppofition idle or improbable, unlefs Moderation take PJace of Severity, and Property the Room of Puni01mcm for Opinion ·; for thar muft be the Lafting Security, as wen as that it is the Fundamental Rig he of Ewglijh People. There is a1fo :1. farther Confideration, and that is, the rend ring jufi: and very good Debts defperare, borh at Home and Abroad, by giving Opporru .. nH:y to the Debtors of Di!fenters to detain their Dues. l~Jdeed it fcems a Natural Confequence wirh an, bur Men of Mercy and Integrity: Wbat Jhot~ld p.;e pay them for, may they fay, t h11t are not in a Capacity to demand or rc· aivr it, at !tajl to campti m? Nay, they may plead a fOn of Kindnefs ro their Creditors, and fay, We had tU good keep it, for if n•e pay it them, they fl)i/J {oon loje it; 'tis better to remain with tis, thanth(lltbey jhoJJIJ be pi!~ Jog'! of it by Jpfori11Crl; though Want fhould in the mean Time overtake the Right Owners and their Families. Nor is it unworthy of the moil: deliberate Thoughts of our Superiors, that the Land alret~dy Jwarms witb BtggJJrs, and that there is hardly fo ready a Courfe to increlfe their Number, as the fevere Profecudon ofDiffent~ ers, both by making them fuch, and rhofe that their Employs ha\'e kept from Begging aU this While: So that though they immediately fufl"CI, the Kingdom, in the End, mufl: be the Lofer. F9r bcfides a Decay of Trade, fSc. this driving away of Flod.s of Sheep, and HerJ.r of Cattel, Jti.zing of B~rn r full of Corn, bre(1k.ing open of Doors and Cbejl.r, takiug nwtty tht heft GooJ.r tbat tboft Injlru1f1elt/1 of Cruelty can find, fomnime.s All, even to a Bed, q Blanket, Wearing .Apparel, and the very Tools of Trade, by which People btJ~ ntfl'J laholl1' to get their Bread, till thty leave .Men, Women and Cbiklren, Jejlrtute of Subjijlence, wiD ncceffitttte an ~xrream Adva1rce af the Poor'.r Rate irz every Parijh of England, or they mufi be Starv'd. 0, that it would pleafe them that are in Authcritv, to put a Stop to this inhumane Ufagc, lell the Vengeance of the Juft G 0 D, break fonh farther again!t this poo< Land I S.ifery, :1norher Reqnifite to an Happy Government, mJJ.ft needs be at an End, where the Courfe oppugo'd is fo11owed, by tempting Peo~le to irre~ gular Method~ to be eafy, or to Quit the land. And uu.ly Jt is bur fame prudent Prince's ptoclaiming Liberty of Confcience wit bin his Territories, and a Door is opened for a Million of People to pafs ·our of their N:Jtive Soil, which is not fo extrcamly improved, that it fhou}d 'n9t wJnt 'l;'wo or Three Hundred Thoufand Families more than it hath, ro i!d\'ance it; ~ pecially ar this Time of Day, when our Foreign lfi:tnds Yearly take o£f fo many Inhabiranrs ftom us, ~ho, from Neceffiry, are nude unable to flay at Rome: And as of Contraries there is the fame Re1fon, fo let the Govern• ment of England bur give rhar Prudent Inviurion to Foreigners, anlf She maketh Her felf Milhefs of the Arts and M:1nufaS:ures of E'urope. N o~ thing elfe hath preferv'd Holland from Truckling un~er [l;l.c Sptmi/h r Olk, and being Rnin'd above Threefcote Yeats ago, and gm~m her thJt R1fc to Woalth and Glory. Sct•cntb.'.YJ 695. 16];. ~ |