Archbishop King's state of the proteftants of Ireland under king James II. confidered.

MANY and foul are the mifreprefentations of Irish catholics, exhibited in Archbishop King's state of the protestants of Ireland under King James II.; and although Mr. Lefley, a learned contemporary proteftant divine, has demonstratively proved most of his charges to be either abfolutely falfe, or greatly exagge rated (without any defence or reply from his grace, or his friends), yet the archbishop's book has passed, with applaufe, through feveral editions fince Mr. Lefley's deceafe, and is generally quoted as of unqueftionable authority, by all writers, foreign and domes tic, who have fince treated of that part of Irish history; while Mr. Lefley's refutation of it is hardly any where to be met with, having been fuppreffed by authority

authority in the first edition of it; and it was then so far ftifled in its birth, that it has never fince been reprinted.

Inftead of taking pains to extol Mr. Lefley's character for veracity, or to depreciate that of Dr. King for the want of it, I fhall make ufe of no other argument, for either purpose, but such as will naturally arife from the plain and certain evidence of facts, alleged and vouched by the former, but never difproved, nor fo much as contradicted, by the latter.

"No man," fays Mr. Lefley,' 66 was, or could be, an higher affertor of paffive obedience, than Dr. King had been all his life-time. Even at the beginning of the revolution, he told a perfon of honour, from whofe mouth I had it, "that if the Prince of Orange

'Anfw. to King, p. 113.

a It will, probably, be objected to this writer's teftimony, that he was a non-juror. But to this objection I fhall only anfwer in the words of Bishop Burnet, on a fimilar occafion. "I never," fays that prelate," think the worse of men for their different fentiments in fuch matters; I am fure I am bound to think much better of them for adhering ftrictly to the dictates of their confciences, when it is fo much to their lofs, and when to facred a thing as an oath is in the cafe. I wifh all who had the fame perfuafions, had acted with the same strictnefs and tenderness." See Defence of the Bp. of Worcester's Vindic. of the Church of Engl. p. 63.

Dr. Swift's teftimony of this writer's merits, in his preface to Bishop Burnet's Introduction to his Hiftory of the Reformation, is worthy of notice. "Without doubt," fays he, "Mr. Lefley is unhappily mifled in his politics; but he has given the world fuch a proof of his foundnefs in religion, as many a bishop ought to be proud of. I never faw the gentleman in my life: I know he is the fon of a great and excellent prelate, who, upon feveral accounts, was one of the most extraordinary men of his age. I verily believe, that he acted from a mistaken confcience (in refufing to fwear allegiance to king William), and therefore I diftinguish between the principles and the perfon. However, it is fome mortification to me, when I fee an avowed non-juror contribute more to the confounding of popery, than could ever be done by an hundred thoufand fuch introductions." Swift's Works, Dubl. edit. vol. vi. p. 118-19.

Orange came over for the crown, he prayed God might blaft his defigns." In a letter to a perfon of undoubted credit, in the year 1686, he faid, "the principle of non-refiftance, was a steady principle of loyalty; that it was intolerable for the members of any state, to flee to foreign fuccours, on pretence that their own governors had made laws against reason, confcience, and justice; yet this is one of his principal arguments, in the book above-mentioned, for juftifying the revolution." "What I have above-written," adds Lesley, "I have from the person to whom he wrote it, and if he defires it, his letters fhall be produced." But it does not appear that he ever did defire it.

By fuch feigned affurances of loyalty, which he had often given to king James, after his arrival in Ireland, "that king had once fo good an opinion of him," that he had him frequently in private, and trufted him in his affairs; until at last, he found he was holding correfpondence with his enemies in England, and in the north of Ireland, and he, thereupon, imprisoned him. But his old friend, Chief Juftice Herbert, was fo far mistaken in him, that he vouched for him at the council-table, with fo much zeal as to fay, that he was as loyal a man (to king James) as any that fat at the board; which did retrieve the doctor from fome inconveniences, and continued him for fome time longer in king James's good opinion."

CHA P. II.

a

The fame fubject continued in general. SUCH is Lefley's uncontroverted account of Dr. King, as a fubject and a man. His judgment of him, as author of the book in queftion, is partly as follows.

"I can't fay," proceeds he," that I have examined into every fingle matter of fact, which this author relates; I could not have the opportunity; but I am fure I have looked into the most material, and by these you will eafily judge of his fincerity in the reft. But this I can fay, that there is not one I have enquired into, but I have found it falfe in the whole, or in part; aggravated or mifreprefented, fo as to alter the whole face of the ftory, and give it perfectly another air and turn; infomuch, that though many things he fays are true, yet he has hardly spoken a true word, that is, told it truly and nakedly, without a warp. Mr. Lefley adds this particular caution, for those who perufe that book," "that where Dr. King feems most exact, and fets his quotations in the margent, that the reader might fufpect nothing, there he is to fufpect most, and stand upon his guard."

These are heavy accufations, of which, and several others, Mr. Lesley has exhibited many convincing proofs; and more fhall be added in the fequel, from VOL. II.

L

Anfw. to King, p. 105.

undeniable

a Wrote and published his Answer in England in 1692. It was, probably, from a conviction that this charge against himfelf was juft, that his grace in the year 1708, wrote to Dr. Swift on a fimilar occafion, with refpect to a pamphlet he had then published against the diffenters, in the following words: “I wifh fome facts had been well confidered, before vouched; if any one matter in it prove falfe, what do you think will come of the paper? In short, it will not be in the power of man to hinder it from a warm entertainment." Swift's Let.

undeniable authority. His grace's continued filence under them for more than thirty years, that he furvived the publication of this anfwer, is the more wonderful, on account of his folemn atteftation of the facred name of God, in the conclufion of his book, "that he had not mifreprefented or aggravated any thing therein, in prejudice to any body, or out of favour or affection to a party; or infifted on fuch particulars as might seem to ferve no other purpose, but to make his adverfaries odious."

CHA P. III.

Particular facts related in Archbishop King's book proved falfe, concerning popish judges and juries.

BUT to come now to the test of this folemn attestation; I mean his relation of particular facts. Dr. King tells us,' that no fooner had the papists of Ireland got judges and juries, that would believe them, but they began a trade of fwearing and ripping up, what they pretended their proteftant neighbours had faid of king James, whilft Duke of York, in the time of the popish plot; and that of these proteftants, many were found guilty, and exceffively fined; and fome of them imprisoned for their fines, not being able to fatisfy the king, who feized both their body and eftates.'

The doctor likewife informs us,2 "that these popish judges and juries connived at a wicked contrivance, which was difcovered to the very bottom, in the county of Meath, to carry on this trade of swearing against all the proteftant gentlemen in the country.'

But unfortunately for Dr. King's credit, as an hiftorian, that eminent and zealous proteftant nobleman, Henry

State of the Proteftants, &c. p. 75.

2

Ib. p. 76.