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CHA P. XIII.

The protestants of Ireland were not deprived of their churches by King James, as Dr. King fets forth.

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KING James, when in Ireland, was not actuated by that intemperate zeal for the re-establishment of the catholic religion, which he had before, on some occafions difcovered in England; probably because he had experienced the unhappy effects of it in the latter kingdom. Even when he fent the Earl of Clarendon lord lieutenant of Ireland, one of his inftructions to him was, "to confult the Archbishop of Canterbury in all

1 Clarend. State Lett. vol. i. p. 50.

"his

a The true cause and motive of King James's endeavours to reestablish the Roman catholic religion in England, seems not fo much to have any bigotted attachment to that religion (as is commonly thought) as," his fufficiently knowing, that he could never be in entire fafety, till the catholic religion was established in England, in such a manner as not to be ruined or destroyed." These were his own words in a private conference with Barillon, the French embaffador. And whoever confiders his recent and alarming remembrance of his father's murder, and of his brother's inceffant troubles during his whole reign, which were both caused principally by thofe very men who were the greatest enemies of that religion, and who imprudently called themselves the only true proteftants; will abate fomewhat of their wonder at these his endeavours to give fome establishment to his Roman catholic fubjects. See Sir John Dalrymp. Mem. vol. iii. p. 37.

That King James entertained no malicious defigns against proteftants, merely as fuch, appears from the following paffage.

About the year 1687, the French proteftants came in great numbers into England, to fhelter themselves from the perfecution that raged in their own country. They were received with great tenderness by the people, and with great kindness by the king, who granted them briefs for their relief, and gave them confiderable fums out of his privy purfe, which was looked upon as an artifice by fome, but highly commended by more impartial perfons." Continuation of Baker's Chronicle, f. 741.

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all the religious affairs of that kingdom." And Dr. King confeffes," that when he was there in perfon, he turned out the popifh mayor of Wexford, for not restoring a church of which the proteftants of that city had been difpoffeffed; and that he expreffed himself with more paffion on that occafion than was ufual to him." This was a fact fo notorioufly true, that the doctor was afhamed to deny or conceal it; but he was not afhamed to affirm and publifh what was as notorioufly untrue, viz. that in the diocefe of Dublin alone, twenty-fix churches and chapels were by him taken from the proteftants; and that his majefty could not, or rather would not, prevent the demolishing, defacing, or feizing of

nine churches out of ten."

King James had publifhed a proclamation, December 13th, 1689, againft meddling with any of the proteftant churches in Ireland, as a violation of the act of liberty of confcience. But his promifes to protect the proteftants of that kingdom," fays Dr. King, "were meer pretences; the popish priests having taken poffeffion of moft of the churches there, by his private permiffion."

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2 Ubi fupra.

3 State of the Proteft. &c. p. 177.
4 Ib. p. 174....

Mr.

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King James was hardly ever noted for duplicity of conduct ; this cannot be faid of his competitor for the crown. The Prince of Orange in a letter to the emperor, acquainting him with his intended expedition into England, fays, "I affure your imperial majesty, by this letter, that whatever reports may have been fpread, and notwithstanding thofe which may be spread for the future, I have not the leaft intention to do any hurt to his Britannic majefty, or to thofe who have a right to pretend to the fucceffion of his kingdoms, and ftill lefs to make an attempt upon the crown." And a little after; "I ought to intreat your imperial majesty to be affured, that, I will employ all my credit to provide, that the Roman catholics of that country may enjoy liberty of confcience, and be put out of fear of being perfecuted on account of their religion." Sir John Dalrymp. Mem. vol. iii. p. 170. See Append. Not only the emperor, but the pope himfelf, was cajoled by thefe deceitful aflurances.

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And yet Dr. King, at the fame time, confeffes," that the proteftants, in their application to government for the recovery

of

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Mr. Lesley treats this whole accufation, as a notorious untruth and calumny; he calls upon Dr. King to fhew even one proteftant church in Ireland, that was taken away, either by King James's order or connivance. He affirms that his majefty was fo very careful of the proteftants, in that point, that even, at Dublin, where he kept his court, neither the cathedral, nor any parish church in the whole city was taken from the proteftants; he owns that he took Chrift-church for his own ufe, because it was always reputed the king's chapel.d But Dr. King himfelf," adds he," and others then preached paffive obedience in their own pulpits in Dublin; and that to fuch a degree, as to give offence to fome of their proteftant hearers, who thought they ftretched even to flattery."

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Thefe pofitive affertions, publicly and grievoufly impeaching Dr. King's veracity, having never fince been contradicted, or even queftioned by him or his friends, afford the ftrongeft prefumption, that they were, at that time, generally known and acknowledged to be undeniably true.

Hope C HoAb P.

S Anfw. to King.

of fome churches, had the luck to gain feveral of the popith nobility to favour their fuits." Ubi fupra, p. 176. half

"King James, fays Macpherfon, was peculiarly unfortunate; he was charged by the proteftants of violence in favour of the papifts; he was accufed by the papifts of too much lenity to the proteftants." Hift. of Great Britain, vol. i. p. 564.

d Yet fome adverfe writers have taken the liberty to charge. K. James with violating his coronation oath. Was it for protecting the proteftants, or allowing the catholics the free exercise of their religion, they forged this calumny? For King James's Coronation Oath, fee the Append. ad finem.

Dr. King then ufed to fay, that perfecution never hurted religion bur that rebellion deftroyed it; and that it would be a glorious fight to fee a cartful of clergymen going to the stake for alerting the principles of religion, with regard to paffive obedience. Lelley, Asfy Prif

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King William's treatment of the epifcopal clergy in Scotland, compared with King James's behaviour towards the proteftant clergy in Ireland.

MR. Lefley has drawn a parallel between King Wi

liam's behaviour to the epifcopal clergy of Scotland, and King James's to thofe of the established church of Ireland, at the fame time, viz. in the year 1689; by which it appears, that the former did actually effect in Scotland, what the latter was only fufpected to have defigned in Ireland.:

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"When," fays he," the ftates of Scotland were convened by King William's circular letter of March 1689, the oaths required by the law to be taken by all members of parliament, or any judicature, before they can fit and vote there, being laid afide, the antimonarchical and fanatical party were admitted into the house; and thereby, becoming the greater number (when the major part of Scotland, and much the greater part of the nobility and gentry, were epifcopal) did afterwards frame an act of grace, pardoning and acquitting all thofe that had been concerned in the open and public rebellions of Pentland-hills and Bothwell-bridge; and thus thefe furies incarnate, the affaffinates of the Lord Archbishop of St. Andrew's, as many of them as were then

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a. On the 3d of May, 1670, Dr. Sharp, Archbishop of St. Andrew's, on his way to that city, was attacked by a party of thefe furious zealots. The most of his fervants were abfent; his daughter only accompanied him in his coach. Having fired on him in vain with their carabines, they difpatched him with their fwords. His murder was accompanied with circumstances of the utmost barbarity: when he ftretched forth his hand for -mercy to one of the affaffins whom he feemed to know, the inhuman villain almost cut it off with a ftroke of his fword. His daughter was wounded in feveral places, endeavouring to cover

her

then alive, were enabled to become members of parliament. The fanatical mob, that had rabbled the epifcopal clergy, were armed, and made the guard of this meeting of the eftates, and refolved to facrifice any who durft oppofe their defigns. They attacked the Archbishop of Glasgow in the ftreets of Edinburgh where the convention fate." b

"On the 31st of May 1689, King William fent inftructions to Duke Hamilton, commiffioner, in these words: "You are to pass an act, turning the meeting of the estates into a parliament, and the three estates are to confift of the noblemen, barons and burgeffes." Accordingly, the meeting, where the bishops formerly fate, was on the 5th of June, 1689, turned into a parliament, the bishops being first excluded. Two days after, that parliament paffed an act settling presbyterian church-government, and on the 22d of July following abolished epifcopacy. This was done in confequence of new inftructions fent to Duke Hamilton in these words: "you are to touch the act abolishing epifcopacy, as foon as you can; and to refcind all acts inconfiftent therewith." These instructions were figned by the King, at Whitehall, July 17th, 1689, and the act was touched at Edinburgh, on the 22d of the fame month; and thus fell epifcopacy in Scotland, two months and eleven days after King William and Mary

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her aged father from the murderers; they even mangled the dead body; they at length left the torn carcafe with every mark of indignity on the high way. Men were shocked at an enthusiasm that gave the name of a religious action to the worst of crimes. An univerfal joy followed the murder of Sharp among the adherents of the covenant, the pulpits thundered forth the applaufe of the affaffins, and even fome, who approved not of the manner of the deed, expreffed their gladness at the removal of the arch enemy of their forms." Macphers. Hift. of Great Britain, vol. i. p. 272.

The blow (fays Macpherson) which the royal prerogative received in Scotland, in the memorable 1688, established licencioufnefs, inftead of freedom in that kingdom. The parliament was placed in a fituation to make the most for themselves, at the hands of the king, while the people felt nothing from the alteration in government, but a change of tyrants." Hift. of Great Britain, vol. ii. p. 332.

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