How the old parties of this country have become extinct.

*<<There hath been within the compass of few years much talk, and God knows, too many ill effects too of factions in this kingdom; and we have lived in our days to fee the two great parties of late known by the names of Whig and Tory directly change their ground; and thofe, who were formerly the anticourtiers become as pliant and obfequious, as ever they were, who had been the moft found fault with on that fcore. But we are humbly of opinion, that at this time of day neither of those parties have the game in their hands, as they have formerly perhaps fancied to themselves. But they, who shall be fo honeft and fo wife conftantly to prefer the true intereft of England to that of any other country or people, preferve the religion and the laws, protect and promote the trade of the nation, thriftily and providently administer the publick treasure, and study to maintain the fovereignty of our feas, fo naturally, so anciently, and fo juftly the true defence of this kingdom; that body, whomfoever it shall be compofed of, fhall have the weight of England on its fide; and if there can be any of another frame, they muft in the end prove many miferable rotten reeds."

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* Preface to Clarendon's Hift. p. 8.

The

The general idea of these horrid scenes of blood and devastation, which for twenty years together overwhelmed this unfortunate land, is faithfully expreffed by the noble hiftorian, who reports them. "Though the hand and judgment of God will be very visible in infatuating a people (as ripe and prepared for deftruction) into all the perverfe actions of folly and madness, making the weak to contribute to the designs of the wicked, and fuffering even thofe by degrees, out of confcience of their guilt, to grow more wicked than they intended to be; letting the wife to be imposed upon by men of small underftanding, and permitting the innocent to be poffeffed with laziness and sleep in the most vifible article of danger; uniting the ill, though of the most different opinions, oppofite interests, and distant affections, in a firm and conftant league of mifchiefs; and dividing thofe, whofe opinions and interefts. are the same, into faction and emulation more pernicious to the publick, than the treafon of the others; whilft the poor people under pretence of zeal to religion, law, liberty, and parliaments (words of pretious esteem in their juft fignification) are furiously, hurried into

+ Clarendon's Hift. of the Civil Wars, vol. i. p. 3 & 4.

actions

The ideas and

judgments of

our ancestors

of the rebellion

1

actions introducing atheism, and diffolving all the elements of chriftian religion; cancelling all obligations, and destroying all foundations of law and liberty, and rendring not only the privileges, but the very being of parliaments desperate and impracticable; I fay, though the immediate finger and wrath of God must be acknowledged in these perplexities and distractions, yet he, who shall diligently obferve the diftempers and conjunctions of time, the ambition, pride, and folly of perfons, and the fudden growth of wickedness, from want of care and circumfpection in the first impreffions, will find all thefe miferies to have proceeded, and to have been brought upon us from the same natural caufes and means, which have usually attended kingdoms fwoln with long plenty, pride, and excess, towards fome fignal mortiAnd it fication and caftigation of heaven. may be, upon the confideration how impoffible it was to foresee many things, that have happened, and of the neceffity of overlooking many other things, we may not yet find the cure fo defperate, but that by God's mercy the wounds may be again bound up; and then this profpect may not make the future peace less pleasant and durable.”

The real effects of this convulfive state of

ufurpation

ufurpation and tyranny could not be fo fenfibly felt, nor probably fo truly and pathetically expreffed, as by those refolute patriots * in 1659, who had seen and suffered the

* Notwithstanding I have endeavoured to fhew the tendency and the effects of certain principles and doctrines imported from Geneva into this country, as contradictory to and fubverfive of the fundamental principles of our government, yet I am far from concluding, that every person profeffing the prefbyterian religion, though it be generally supposed to have originated alfo from Geneva, is infected with them. They are in fact principles of ftate policy, not tenets of a revealed religion. Much lefs would I be supposed to intimate, that the profeffion of the presbyterian religion, as it is by law established in Scotland, or as it is tolerated in England, is in any manner incompatible with the ftricteft duties of a loyal fubject of this country. There cannot be a ftronger instance of this, than the part which the more refpectable members of the prefbyterians took in the restoration of king Charles the Second. So fays Lord Clarendon (vol. iii. p. 601) "With these commiffioners from the parliament and from the city, there came a company of their clergymen to the number of eight or ten, who would not be looked upon as chaplains to the reft, but being the popular preachers of the city (Reynolds, Calamy, Cafe, Manton, and others, the moft eminent of the prefbyterians) defired to be thought to reprefent that party. They intreated to be admitted all together to have a formal audience of his majesty; where they presented their duties, and magnified the affections of themfelves and their friends, who, they faid, had always, according to the obligation of their covenant, wifhed his majefty very well; and had lately, upon the opportunity, that God had put into their hands, informed the people of their duty;

4

The fentiments of those who brought about the restoration.

the whole series and rigour of them; by their bold and spirited declaration, they opened the deluded eyes, and rouzed the depressed spirits, of the nation to bear up manfully against the ftorm, and fo at length brought the shattered wreck of the ftate veffel fafe into harbour. * "They said, that fince God had fuffered the spirit of divifion to continue in this nation, which was left without any fettled foundation of religion, liberty, and property, the legislative power ufurped at pleasure, the army raised for its defence mifled by their fuperior officers, and no face of government remaining, that was lawfully constituted; therefore they being fenfible of their duty and utter ruin, if these distractions should continue, had taken arms in vindication of the freedom of parliaments, of the known laws, liberty, and property, and of the good people of this nation groaning under infupportable taxes; that they cannot defpair of the blessing of

which they prefumed, his majefty had heard had proved effe&tual, and been of great ufe to him. They thanked God for his conftancy to the proteftant religion, and profeffed, that they were no enemies to moderate epifcopacy, only defired, that fuch things might not be preffed upon them in God's worship, which in their judgment, who ufed them, were acknowledged to be matters indifferent, and by others were held unlawful."

* Clar. Hift. of the Civil Wars, b. xvi. vol. iii. p. 526.