O yes! there is a God above, 1670. به Who unto Men is alfo nigh, On whofe unalterable Love Of whatsoever He shall fee Conducible unto our Blifs. What can of Pleasure him prevent, And in His Precepts Pleasure take, Domino Mens nixa quieta eft. The Mind which upon God is ftay'd, Shall with no Trouble be difmay'd, Kent, the 4th of the Seventh Month, 1670. T. E. A Copy 1670. A Copy of the foregoing Lines, inclofed in a Letter of Condolance, I fent by the firft Poft into Buckinghamshire, to my dear Friends the afflicted Parents; and upon my Return home, going to vifit them, we fate down and folemnly mixed our Sorrows and Tears together. About this Time (as I remember) it was, that fome Bickerings happening between fome Baptifts, and fome of the People called Quakers, in or about High-Wiccomb in Buckinghamshire, occafioned by fome reflecting Words a Baptift Preacher had publickly uttered in one of their Meetings there, against the Quakers in general, and William Penn in particular; it came at length to this Iffue, that a Meeting for a publick Difpute was appointed, to be holden at WestWiccomb, between Jeremy Ives, who efpoufed his Brother's Caufe, and William Penn. To this Meeting, it being fo near me, I went, rather to countenance the Caufe, than for any Delight I took in fuch Work; for indeed, I have rarely found the Advantage equivolent to the Trouble and Danger arifing from those Contests. For which Caufe I would not chufe them, as, being juftly engaged, I would not refuse them. The Iflue of this proved better than I expected. For Ives having undertaken an ill Cause, to argue against the divine Light and univerfal Grace, conferr'd by God on all Men; when he had fpeat his Stock of Arguments, which he brought with him on that Subject, finding his Work go on heavily, and the Auditory not well fatisfied, ftept down from his Seat Seat and departed, with purpose to have bro- 1670. ken up the Affembly. But, except fome few of his Party who followed him, the People generally staid, and were the more attentive to what was afterwards delivered amongst them. Which Ives understanding came in again, and in an angry railing Manner, expreffing his Dif like that we went not all away when he did, gave more Difguft to the People. After the Meeting was ended, I sent to my Friend Ifaac Penington (by his Son and Servant, who returned home, though it was late, that Evening) a fhort Account of the Business in the following Distich. Prævaluit VERITAS: Inimici Terga dedere: Which may be thus Englished. Truth hath prevail'd; the Enemies did fly : But both they and we had quickly other Work found us; it foon became a stormy Time. The Clouds had been long gathering and threatned a Tempest. The Parliament had fate fome Time before, and hatched that unaccountable Law, which was called The Conventicle Act: (If that may be allowed to be called a Law, by whom foever made) which was fo directly contrary to the Fundamental Laws of England, to common 1670. common Juftice, Equity and right Reafon, as this manifeftly was. For, First, It brake down and over-run the Bounds and Banks, anciently fet for the Defence and Security of Englishmens Lives, Liberties and Properties, viz. Trial by Juries. Inftead thereof, directing and authorizing Juftices of the Peace (and that too privately out of Seffions) to convict, fine, and by their Warrants diftrain upon Offenders against it; directly contrary to the Great Charter. Secondly, By that Act the Informers, who fwear for their own Advantage, as being thereby entituled to a third Part of the Fines, were many times concealed, driving on an underhand private Trade; fo that Men might be, and often were convicted and fined, without having any Notice or Knowledge of it, till the Officers came and took away their Goods, nor even then could they tell by whofe Evidence they were convicted. Than which, what could be more oppofite to common Juftice? which requires that every Man fhould be openly charged, and have his Accufer Face to Face, that he might both anfwer for himfelf before he be convicted, and object to the Validity of the Evidence given against him. Thirdly, By that Act, the Innocent were punished for the Offences of the Guilty. If the Wife or Child was convicted of having been at one of thofe Affemblies, which by that Act was adjudged unlawful; the Fire was levied on the Goods of the Husband or Father of fuch Wife or Child, Child, tho' he was neither prefent at fuch Affem- 1670. bly, nor was of the fame religious Perfwafion that they were of, but perhaps an Enemy to it. Fourthly, It was left in the arbitrary Pleasure of the Juftices, to lay half the Fine for the House or Ground where fuch Affembly was holden, and half the Fine for a pretended unknown Preacher; and the whole Fines of fuch and fo many of the Meeters as they fhould account Poor, upon any other or others of the People, who were present at the fame Meeting (not exceeding a certain limitted Sum ;) without any Regard to Equity or Reafon. And yet, fuch Blindness doth the Spirit of Perfecution bring on Men, otherwife fharp fighted enough, that this unlawful, unjuft, unequal, unreasonable and unrighteous Law took place in (almost) all Places, and was vigorously profecuted against the Meetings of Diffenters in general, though the Brunt of the Storm fell moft sharply on the People called Quakers; not that it feemed to be more particularly levelled at them, but that they flood more fair, steady and open, as a Butt to receive all the Shot that came, while some others found Means and Freedom to retire to Coverts for Shelter, No fooner had the Bishops obtained this Law, for fuppreffing all other Meetings but their own, but fome of the Clergy of moft Ranks, and fome others too, who were over-much bigotted to that Party, beftirr'd themfelves with Might and Main, to find out and encourage the most profligate Wretches to turn Informers; and to get |