326. The

duke of Monmouth to King James II

327. King

prince of

had some little more time; for truly sir, this is very short. I do beg of your Majesty, if it be possible, to let me have one day more, that I may go out of the world as a Christian ought. I had desired several times to speak with my lord Arundel of Wardour, which I do desire still. I hope your Majesty will grant it me; and I do beg of your Majesty to let me know by him if there is nothing in this world that can recal your sentence, or at least reprieve me for some time. I was in hopes I should have lived to have served you, which I think I could have done to a great degree; but your Majesty does not think it fit. Therefore, sir, I shall end my days with being satisfied that I had all the good intentions imaginable for it, and should have done it, being that I am your Majesty's most dutiful

MONMOUTH.

I hope your Majesty will give Doctor Tennison leave to come to me or any other that your Majesty will be pleased to grant me.

I have had yours of the 17th and now the duke of MonJames to the mouth is brought up hither with Lord Grey and the BrandenOrange burgher. The two first desired very earnestly to speak with me, (Whitehall, as having things of importance to say to me, which they did, July 14, 1685) but did not answer my expectation in what they said to me.

328. An assertion of the divine right of

kings (1681)

The duke of Monmouth seemed more concerned and desirous to live, and did behave himself not so well as I expected, nor so as one ought to have expected from one who had taken upon him to be king. I have signed the warrant for his execution to-morrow.

The old doctrine of the superiority of the king to the law still survived, as indicated by the following words written just before this time by Dr. Humphrey Gower, vice chancellor of the University of Cambridge.

We still believe and maintain that our kings derive not their titles from the people, but from God; that to him only they are accountable; that it belongs not to subjects either to create or censure, but to honor and obey, their sovereign,

who comes to be so by a fundamental hereditary right of succession, which no religion, no law, no fault or forfeiture, can alter or diminish.

IV. THE REVOLUTION

James II held much the same views as those given by Dr. Gower. Relying on these powers, angered by the opposition to his efforts to give to his fellow-Catholics a better position in England, and impressed with a belief in freedom of worship, he issued in 1687 the following even more complete declaration of indulgence than that of Charles II. This declaration was repeated in 1688.

It having pleased Almighty God not only to bring us to the 329. James' imperial crown of these kingdoms through the greatest diffi- Declaration of Indulgence culties, but to preserve us by a more than ordinary providence (April 4, upon the throne of our royal ancestors, there is nothing now 1687) that we so earnestly desire as to establish our government on such a foundation as may make our subjects happy, and unite them to us by inclination as well as duty. We think this can be done by no means so effectually as by granting to them the free exercise of their religion for the time to come, and adding that to the perfect enjoyment of their property, which has never been in any case invaded by us since our coming to the crown. These being the two things men value most, shall ever be preserved in these kingdoms, during our reign over them, as the truest methods of their peace and our glory.

matters of

religion

We cannot but heartily wish, as it will easily be believed, Freedom of that all the people of our dominions were members of the conscience in Catholic church; yet we humbly thank Almighty God, it is and has of long time been our constant sense and opinion (which upon divers occasions we have declared) that the conscience ought not to be constrained nor people forced in matters of mere religion. It has ever been directly contrary to our inclination, as we think it is to the interest of the government, which it destroys by spoiling trade, depopulating countries, and

discouraging strangers, and finally, that it never obtained the end for which it was employed. And in this we are the more confirmed by the reflections we have made upon the conduct of the four last reigns. For after all the frequent and pressing endeavors that were used in each of them to reduce this kingdom to an exact conformity in religion, it is visible that the success has not answered the design, and that the difficulty is invincible.

The agreeWe therefore, out of our princely care and affection unto all ment of our loving subjects, that they may live at ease and quiet, and parliament anticipated for the increase of trade and encouragement of strangers, havethought fit by virtue of our royal prerogative to issue forth this our declaration of indulgence, making no doubt of the concurrence of our two houses of parliament when we shall think it convenient for them to meet.

Suspension

of all laws

against freedom of worship

In the first place, we do declare that we will protect and maintain our archbishops, bishops, and clergy, and all other our subjects of the Church of England in the free exercise of their religion as by law established, and in the quiet and full enjoyment of all their possessions, without any molestation or disturbance whatsoever.

We do likewise declare that it is our royal will and pleasure that from henceforth the execution of all and all manner of penal laws in matters ecclesiastical, for not coming to church, or not receiving the sacraments, or for any other nonconformity to the religion established, or for or by reason of the exercise of religion in any manner whatsoever, be immediately suspended; and the further execution of the said penal laws and every of them is hereby suspended. . . .

And forasmuch as we are desirous to have the benefit of the service of all our loving subjects, which by the law of nature is inseparably annexed to and inherent in our royal person, and that none of our subjects may for the future be under any discouragement or disability (who are otherwise well inclined and fit to serve us) by reason of some oaths or tests that have been usually administered on such occasions, we do hereby further declare, that it is our royal will and pleasure that the oaths commonly called the Oaths of Supremacy and Allegiance, and

also the several tests and declarations mentioned in the acts of parliament made in the five-and-twentieth and thirtieth years of the reign of our late royal brother, King Charles II, shall not at any time hereafter be required to be taken, declared, or subscribed by any person or persons whatsoever, who is or shall be employed in any office or place of trust, either civil or military, or subscribed by any person or persons whatsoever, who is or shall be employed in any office or place of trust, either civil or military, under us or in our government.

the oaths to

And we do hereby further declare it to be our pleasure and Dispensaintention, from time to time hereafter, to grant our royal dis- tions from pensations under our great seal to all our loving subjects so to be granted be employed, who shall not take the said oaths, or subscribe or declare the said tests or declarations in the above-mentioned acts and every of them.

If the declaration of April, 1688, had simply been promulgated in the usual way, it would not have attracted so much attention, but the order of the king that it should be read in all the churches after sermon on two Sundays in May and June roused intense opposition, one form of which was the following respectful but firm petition from the archbishop of Canterbury and the bishops of St. Asaphs, Ely, Chichester, Bath and Wells, Peterborough, and Bristol.

of the seven

bishops

The humble petition of William, archbishop of Canterbury, 330. Petition and divers of the suffragan bishops of that province, (now present with him), in behalf of themselves and others of their absent brethren, and of the clergy of their respective dioceses.

Humbly sheweth, That the great averseness they find in themselves to the distributing and publishing in all their churches. your Majesty's late declaration for liberty of conscience proceeds neither from any want of duty and obedience to your Majesty, (our holy mother the Church of England, being both in her principles and in her constant practice unquestionably

loyal; and having, to her great honour, been more than once publickly acknowledg'd to be so by your gracious Majesty), nor yet from any want of due tenderness to Dissenters, in relation to whom they are willing to come to such a temper as shall be thought fit, when that matter shall be considered and settled in parliament and convocation. But, among many other considerations, from this especially, because that declaration is founded upon such a dispensing power as has been often declared illegal in parliament, and particularly in the years 1662 and 1672, and in the beginning of your Majesty's reign; and is a matter of so great moment and consequence to the whole nation, both in church and state, that your petitioners cannot in prudence, honour, or conscience so far make themselves parties to it, as the distribution of it all over the nation, and the solemn publication of it once and again, even in God's house and in the time of his divine service, must amount to in common and reasonable construction. Your petitioners therefore most humbly and earnestly beseech

your Majesty, that you will be graciously pleased, not to insist upon their distributing and reading your Majesty's said declaration.

And your petitioners, as in duty bound, shall ever pray.

WILL. CANT.

WILL. ASAPH

FR. ELY

Jo. CICESTR.

TH. BATHON. & WELLEN.

TH. PETERBURGEN.

JONATH. BRISTOL

The circumstances of the invasion of England by William of Orange are told by Bishop Burnet, who was on the expedition and had a good opportunity to know of the messages that came from England and of the difficulties that had to be overcome in bringing in a foreign army without raising the national antagonism.

The prince desired me to go along with him as his chaplain, to which I very readily agreed; for, being fully satisfied in my conscience that the undertaking was lawful and just, and