THE

HISTORY

OF THE .

DESERTION,

OR

An Account of all the Publick Affairs

.:BUS IN
LE N G L A N D
From the beginning of September 1688. to the Twelfth

of February following.

WITH
AN ANSWER

To a Piece calld
The D e serTION Discussed :
In a Letter to a Country Gentleman.

By a Person of Quality. [B. Bohun]

Provida severitate cavisti, ne fundata legibus Civitas, everfa

legibus videretur, C. Plin. Pan. Trajan. Cap. XXXIV.

London, Printed for Ric. Chilwell at the Rose and

Crown in St. Paul's Church-yard. MDCLXXXIX.

Am perswaded, that those of tbe Church of Eng land, who now seem difcontented at the Present State of Affairs in England, are mistaken in the

matter of Fact ; and that they do imagine the Re: ligion, Laws, and Liberties of this Nation might have been secured to us, and our Posterity, by other, and those moré legal Methods. :

Now if this conceit of theirs were true, their Dissatiffačtion would not be wholly unreasonable ; but to me, who

have considered every step of this Great Revolution with m the utmost Attention of Mind, it seems altogether false I and groundless.

But whether they or I are mistaken, it is absolutely necessary that the matter of Faet should be truly and

fairly stated; which cannot be done, but by representing in Jone View all the Papers which passed on both sides, , with the A{tions which hapned, the present State of Af

fairs at home and abroad, when the Revolution began, and the temper of Mens Mmds in all the Occurrences as

they hapned: And this I have endeavoured to do with all o the Brevity, Perfpicuity, and Fidelity which was possible.

As I am the first that have attempted it, so it is not impossible there may be fome. Mistakes, Omis. fions, or Errors; but there is not one wilful Error, and I will rectifie any involuntary Stumble I may have made, upon the first Advice of it.

To have fully cleared this Question, it was perhaps necessary that I should have begun with the Year 166o. and the Restitution of Charles the Second, or at least at his Death ; but this would have taken too much time to have presently gone about it ; and if I find this is well received, and encouraged, I will in a convenient time do it ; especially if I may have the liberty of the Council-Book, and the Paper-Office, and such other helps. as are necessary.

And in the mean time, I conceive this short Abstračt of the Publick Printed Papers, is sufficient to convince any Man, that the Popish Party were resolved we should be Rebels, ( as they now account us) or Slaves';. and His late Majesty was so far prevailed upon by them, that he chose rather to desert his Throne, than to lose all the Posibilities of Establishing an absolute Soveraignty over the Nation, and Popery with it. . ... . . . . I suppose it is not pretended in England, His late Majejty-forfeited his Right to Govern by his Mifgovernment ; but that the sense of it prevaild upon him rather to throw up the Government; than to concur with an Eriglish Free-Parliament in all that was needful to

. re-establish