In the next place, I fhall endeavour to fhew the prudence and reasonableness of a toleration, by the great benefits that follow it.

Toleration, which is an

admiffion of diffenting

worships, with impunity to the Diffenters,' fecures property, which is civil right; and that eminently the line and power of the monarchy: for if no man suffer in his civil right for the fake of such diffent, the point of fucceffion is fettled without a civil war, or a recantation; fince it were an abfurd thing to imagine, that a man born to five pounds a year, should not be liable to forfeit his inheritance for non-conformity, and yet a prince of the blood, and an heir to the imperial crown, should be made incapable of inheritance for his churchdiffent.

And

The fecurity then of property, or civil right, from being forfeitable for religious diffent, becomes a fecurity to the royal family, against the difficulties lately laboured under in the bufinefs of the fucceffion. though I have no commiffion for it, befides the great reason and equity of the thing itself, I dare fay, there can hardly be a Diffenter at this time of day fo void of fense and justice, as well as duty and loyalty, as not to be of the fame mind. Elfe it were to deny that to the prince, which he needs, and prays for, from him. Let us not forget the ftory of Sigifmund of Swedeland, of Henry the fourth of France, and efpecially of our own queen Mary. Had property been fixed, the line of those royal families could not have met with any let or interruption. It was this confideration that prevailed with judge Hales, though a ftrong Proteftant, after king Edward's death, to give his opinion for queen Mary's fucceffion, against that of all the reft of the judges to the contrary: which noble precedent was recompenfed in the loyalty of archbishop Heath, a Roman Catholick, in favour of the fucceffion of queen Elizabeth, and the fame thing would be done again, in the like case, by men of the fame integrity,

Y 4

I know

I know it may be faid,

That there is little reafon • now for the prince to regard this argument in favour of Diffenters, when it was fo little heeded in the case ' of the prefumptive heir to the crown.' But as this was the act and heat of conforming men within-doors, fo if it were, in counsel or defire, the folly and injustice of any Diffenters without doors, fhall many intire parties pay the reckoning of a few busy offenders? They would humbly hope, that the fingular mildness and clemency, which make up fo great a part of the king's publick affurances, will not leave him in his reflection here.

It is the mercies of princes, that, above all their works, give them the nearest resemblance to divinity in their adminiftration. Befides, it is their glory to measure their actions by the reason and confequence of things, and not by the paffions that poffefs and animate private breafts for it were fatal to the interest of a prince, that the folly or undutifulness of any of his fubjects fhould put him out of the way, or tempt him to be unsteady to his principle and intereft: and yet, with fubmiffion, I muft fay, it would be the confequence of coercion: for, by expofing property for opinion, the prince expofes the confciences and property of his own family, and plainly difarms them of all defence, upon any alteration of judgment. Let us remember, That several of the fame gentlemen, who at first sacrificed civil rights for non-conformity in common Diffenters, fell at last to make the fucceffion of the crown the price of diffent in the next heir of the royal blood. So dangerous a thing it is to hazard property to serve a turn for any party, or fuffer fuch examples in the case of the meaneft perfon in a kingdom.

Nor is this all the benefit that attends the crown by the preservation of civil rights; for the power of the monarchy is kept more intire by it. The king has the benefit of his whole people; and the reason of their fafety is owing to their civil, and not ecclefiaftical obedience: their loyalty to Cafar, and not conformity to the church. Whereas the other opinion would have

it, That no conformity to the church, no property in the state:' which is to clog and narrow the civil power; for at this rate, no church-man, no Englishman; and, no conformist, no fubject. A way to alien the king's people, and practise an exclufion upon him, from, it may be, a fourth part of his dominions. Thus it may happen, that the ableft ftatefman, the bravest captain, and the best citizen, may be disabled, and the prince forbid their employment to his fervice.

Some inftances of this we have had fince the late king's restoration for upon the first Dutch war, Sir William Penn being commanded to give in a list of the ableft fea officers in the kingdom, to ferve in that expedition, I do very well remember he prefented" our present king with a catalogue of knowingeft and braveft officers the age had bred, with this fubfcribed, • These men, if his majetty will please to admit of their perfuafions, I will anfwer for their skill, courage, and integrity.' He picked them by their ability, not their opinions; and he was in the right; for that was the best way of doing the king's business. And of my own knowledge, conformity robbed the king at that time of ten men, whofe greater knowledge and valour, than any other ten of that fleet, had, in their room, been able to have faved a battle, or perfected a victory. I will name three of them: the firft was old vice admiral Goodfon, than whom nobody was more ftout, or a feaman. The fecond, captain Hill, that in the Sapphire beat admiral Everfon hand to hand, who came to the relief of old Trump. The third, was captain Potter, who in the Conftant Warwick took captain Beach, after eight hours fmart difpute. And as evident it is, that if a war had proceeded between this kingdom and France seven years ago, the business of conformity had deprived the king of many land-officers, whom their fhare in the late wars of Europe had made knowing and able.

But, which is worst of all, fuch are not fafe, with their diffent, under their own extraordinary prince. For, though a man were a great honourer of his king,

a lover

a lover of his country, an admirer of the government; in the course of his life, fober, wife, industrious and useful; if a diffenter from the established form of worship, in that condition there is no liberty for his perfon, nor fecurity to his eftate: as useless to the publick, fo ruined in himfelf. For this net catches the best; men true to their confcience, and who, indulged, are most like to be fo to their prince; whilft the rest are left to cozen him by their change; for that is the unhappy end of forced conformity in the poor-fpirited compliers. And this must always be the confequence of neceffitating the prince to put more and other tests upon his people, than are requifite to fecure him of their loyalty.

And when we fhall be fo happy in our measures, as to confider this mischief to the monarchy, it is to be hoped it will be thought expedient to difintangle property from opinion, and cut the untoward knot fome men have tied, that hath fo long hampered and galled the prince as well as the people. It will be then, when civil punishments fhall no more follow church faults, that the civil tenure will be recovered to the government, and the natures of acts, rewards and punishments, fo diftinguished, as loyalty fhall be the fafety of diffent, and the whole people made useful to the government. It will, perhaps, be objected, That Diffenters can hardly be obliged to be true to the crown, and fo the crown unfafe in their very fervices; for they may. <eafily turn the power given them to ferve it, against it, to greaten themselves.' I am willing to obviate every thing, that may with any pretence be offered against our intreated indulgence. I fay, no; and appeal to the king himself (against whom the prejudices of our late times ran higheft, and who therefore has most reason to refent) if ever he was better loved or ferved, than by the old round-beaded feamen, the earl of Sandwich, Sir William Penn, Sir J. Lawson, Sir G. Afcue, Sir R. Stanier, Sir J. Smith, Sir J. Jordan, Sir J. Harmon, Sir Chriftopher Minns, captains Sanfum, Cuttins, Clark, Robinson, Molton, Wager,

Terns

Tern, Parker, Haward, Hubbard, Fen, Langhorn, Daws, Earl, White; to fay nothing of many yet living, of real merit, and many inferior officers expert and brave. And to do our prince juftice, he deferved it from them, by his humility, plainnefs, and courage, and the care and affection that he always fhewed them. If any fay, That most of these men were conformifts; I prefume to tell them, I know, as well as any man, they served the king never the better for that: on the contrary, it was all the ftrife that fome of them had in themselves, in the doing that fervice, that they muft not serve the king without it; and if in that they could have been indulged, they had performed it with the greatest alacrity. Intereft will not lie. Where people find their reckoning, they are fure to be true. For it is want of wit that makes any man false to himfelf. It was he that knew all mens hearts, that faid, "Where the treasure is, there will the heart be also." Let men be eafy, fafe, and upon their preferment with the prince, and they will be dutiful, loyal, and most affectionate.

Mankind by nature fears power, and melts at goodnefs. Pardon my zeal; I would not be thought to plead for Diffenters preferment; it is enough they keep what they have, and may live at their own charges. Only I am for having the prince have Room for his choice, and not be cramped and stinted by opinion; but employ those who are best able to ferve him: and, I think, out of fix parties, it is better picking than out of one, and therefore the prince's intereft is to be head of them all, which a toleration effects in a moment, fince thofe fix (divided interests within themselves) having but one civil bead, become one intire civil body to the prince. And, I am fure, I have monarchy on my fide, if Solomon and his wifdom may ftand for it, who tells us, "That the glory of a king is in the "multitude of his people."

Nor is this all; for the confequences of fuch an univerfal content would be of infinite moment to the fecurity of the monarchy, both at home and abroad.

At