the Catholic religion that he contrived to evade every
900
90 ECCLESIASTICAL COMMISSION.
attempt of Lord Castlemaine to enter upon business, by
affecting a violent fit of coughing whenever the conveisa-
tion took that turn. Yet even this coldness, on the part
of one necessarily so partial to his views, and so intimate-
ly concerned in the issue of his attempt, did not chill the
insane zeal of the English monarch.
To attain his purpose with some degree of grace from
Parliament, which, though he affected to despise it, he
was still desirous of conciliating, the King took the most
unconstitutional measures to influence the members of'
both houses. One mode was by admitting individuals to
private audiences, called Closetings, and using all the
personal arguments, promises, and threats, which his sit-
uation enabled him to enforce, for the purpose of induc-
ing the members to comply with his views. He extorted
also, from many of the royal burghs, both in England and
Scotland, the surrender of their charters, and substituted
others which placed the nomination of their representa-
tives to Parliament in the hands of the Crown j and he
persisted obstinately in removing Protestants from all
offices of honour and trust in the government, and in fill-
ing their situations with Papists. Even his own brothers-
in-law, the Earls of Clarendon and Rochester, were dis-
graced, or at least dismissed from their employments,
because they would not sacrifice their religious principles
to the King's arguments and promises.
Amid so many subjects of jealousy, all uniting to show,
that it was the purpose of the King to assume arbitrary
power, and by the force of tyranny over the rights and
Jives of his subjects, to achieve a change in tfie national
religion, those operations which immediately affected the
church, were the objects of peculiar attention.
As early in his unhappy career as 1686, lie year fol-
lowing that of his accession to the throne, James had
ventured to re-establish one of the most obnoxious insti-
tutions in his father's reign, namely, the Court of High
Ecclesiastical Commission, for trying all offences of the
clergy. This oppressive and vexatious judicature had
ueen aooiished in Charles the First's time, along with the
ATTACK ON THE UNIVERSITIES. 91
Star-Chamber, and it was declared by act of Parliament
that it should never be again erected. Yet the King, in
spite of experience and of law, recalled to life this op-
pressive court, in order to employ its arbitrary authority
in support of the cause of Popery. Sharpe, a clergyman
of London, had preached with vehemence in the contro-
versy between Protestants and Catholics, and some of the
expressions he made use of were interpreted to reflect
on the King. Sharpe endeavoured to apologize, but nev-
ertheless the Bishop of London received orders to sus-
pend the preacher from his functions. That prelate ex-
cused himself from obedience, because he had no power
to proceed thus summarily against a person not convicted
of any offence. The Bishop's excuse, as well as Sharpe's
apology, were disregarded, and both were suspended
from their functions by this illegal court ; the preacher,
because he exerted himself, as his profession required, in
combating the arguments by which many were seduced
from the Protestant faith ; the prelate, because he de-
clined to be an instrument of illegal oppression. The
people saw the result of this trial, with a deep sense of
the illegality shown, and the injustice inflicted.
The Universities were equally the object of the King's
unprovoked aggressions. It was in their bosom that the
youth of the kingdom, more especially those destined for
the clerical profession, received the necessary instruction,
and James naturally concluded, that to introduce the
Catholic influence into these two great and learned bodies,
would prove a most important step in his grand plan of
re-establishing that religion in England.
The experiment upon Cambridge was a slight one.
The King, by his mandate, required the University to
confer a degree of master of arts upon Father Francis,
a Benedictine monk. Academical honours of this kind
are generally conferred without respect to the religion ot
the party receiving them ; and indeed the University had,
not very long before, admitted a Mahomedan to the de-
gree of master of arts : but that was an honorary degree
only whereas what was demanded for the Benedictine
92 ATTACK ON THE UNIVERSITIES.
monk inferred a right to sit and vote in the elections of
the University, whose members, considering that the Pa-
pists so introduced might soon control the Protestants,
resolved to oppose the King's purpose in the commence-
ment, and refused to grant the degree required. The
Court of High Commission suspended the Vice-Chan-
cellor, but the University chose a man of the same de-
termined spirit in his room ; so that the King was not the
nearer to his object, which he was compelled for the
present to abandon.
Oxford, however, was attacked with more violence,
and the consequences were more important. That cele-
brated University had been distinguished by its unaltera-
ble attachment to the Royal cause. When Charles I.
was compelled to quit London, he found a retreat at
Oxford, where the various colleges expended in support-
ing his cause whatever wealth they possessed, while many
members of the University exposed their lives in his
service. In Charles the Second's time, Oxford, on ac-
count of its inflexible loyalty, had been chosen as the
place where the King convoked a short Parliament, when
the interest of the Whigs in the city of London was so
strong as to render him fearful of remaining in its vicin-
ity. It was less to the honour of the University, that
they had shown themselves the most zealous in express-
ing, and enforcing by their ordinances, the slavish tenets
of passive obedience and non-resistance to the royal au-
thority, which were then professed by many of the mem-
bers of the Church of England ; but it was an additional
proof, that their devotion to the King was almost unlimited.
But if James recollected anything whatever of these
marks of loyalty to the Crown, the remembrance served
only to encourage him in his attack upon the privileges 01
the University, in the belief that they would not be firmly
resisted. With ingratitude, therefore, as well as folly, he
proceeded to intrude his mandate on the society of Mag-
dalen College, commanding them to choose for their
president one of the new converts to the Catholic religion,
and on their refusil, expelled them from the college
PROSECUTION OF THE BISHOPS. 93
thus depriving them of their revenues and settlement in
life, beca ise they would not transgress the statutes, to
the observance of which they nad solemnly sworn.
A still more fatal error, which seems indeed to have
carried James's imprudence to the uttermost, was the
ever-memorable prosecution of the Bishops, which had
its origin in the following circumstances. In 1688, James
published a second declaration of indulgence, with an
order subjoined, by which it was appointed to be read in
all the churches. The greater part of the English bish-
ops, disapproving of the King's pretended prerogative of
dispensing with the test and penal laws, resolved to refuse
obedience to this order, which, as their sentiments were
well known, could only be intended to disgrace them in
the eyes of the people. Six of the most distinguished
of the prelates joined with the Archbishop of Canter-
bury in a humble petition to the King, praying his Majesty
would dispense with their causing to be published in their
diocesses a declaration founded upon the claim of royal
dispensation, which claim having been repeatedly declar-
ed illegal^ the petitioners could not, in prudence, honour,
or conscience, be accessary to distributing a paper, which
asserted its validity in so solemn a manner all over the
nation.
The King was highly incensed at this remonstrance,
and summoning the seven prelates before his Privy Coun-
cil, he demanded of them if they owned and adhered to
their petition. They at once acknowledged that they did
so, and were instantly committed to the Tower, upon a
charge of sedition. The rank and respectability of these
distinguished men, the nature of the charge against whom,
m the popular apprehension, was an attempt to punish
them for a bold, yet respectful discharge of their high
duties, coupled with the anxious dread of what might be
expected to follow such a violent procedure, wrought up
(he minds of the people to the highest pitch.
An immense multitude assembled on the banks of the
Thames, and beheld with grief and wonder those fathers
of the Church conveyed to prison in the boats appointed
94 PROSECUTION OF THE UISIIOI'S.
lor that purpose. The enthusiasm was extreme. The*
wept, they kneeled, they prayed for the safety of the
prisoners, which was only endangered hy the firmness
with which they had held fast their duty ; and the bene-
dictions which the persecuted divines distributed on every
side, were answered with the warmest wishes for theii
freedom, and the most unreserved avowal of their cause.
All this enthusiasm of popular feeling was insufficient to
open James's eyes to his madness. He urged on the
proceedings against the prelates, who, on the 17th June,
1688, were brought to trial, and, after a long and most
interesting hearing of their cause were fully acquitted.
The acclamations of the multitude were loud in propor-
tion to the universal anxiety which prevailed while the
case was in dependence ; and when the news reached
the camp at Hounslow, the extravagant rejoicings of the
soldiers, unchecked by the King's own presence, showed
that the army and the people were animated by the same
spirit.
Yet James was so little influenced by this universal
expression of adherence to the Protestant cause, that he
continued his headlong career with a degree of rapidity,
which compelled the reflecting part of the Catholics
themselves to doubt and fear the event. He renewed his
violent interference with the Universities, endeavoured to
thrust on Magdalen College a Popish Bishop, and resolv-
ed to prosecute every clergyman who would refuse to
read his declaration of indulgence, that is to say, with
the exception of an inconsiderable minority, the whole
Church of England.
While the kingdoms of Scotland and England were
ag'uated by these violent attempts to establish the Roman
Catholic religion, their fears were roused to the highest
pitch by observing with what gigantic strides the King
was advancing to the same object in Ireland, where, the
great body of the people being Catholics, he had no oc-
casion to disguise his purposes. Lord Tyrconnell, a
headstrong and violent man, and a Catholic of course
was appointed Viceroy, and proceeded to take every step
VIEWS OF THE PRINCE OF ORANGE. 95
necessary, by arming the Papists and depressing the
Protestants, to prepare for a total change, in which the
latter should be subjugated by a Catholic Parliament.
The violence of the King's conduct in a country where
he was not under the necessity of keeping any fair ap-
pearances, too plainly showed the Protestants of England
and Scotland, that the measure, presented to them as
one of general toleration for all Christian sects, was in
fact designed to achieve the supremacy of the Catholic
faith over heresy of every denomination.
During all this course of mal-administration, the sen-
sible and prudent part of the nation kept their eyes fixed
on William, Prince of Orange, married, as I have before
told you, to James's eldest daughter, Mary, and heir to
the throne, unless it happened that the King should have
a son by his present Queen. This was an event which
had been long held improbable, for the children which
the Queen had hitherto borne were of a very weak con-
stitution, and did not long survive their birth ; and James
himself was now an elderly man.
The Prince of Orange, therefore, having a fair pros-
pect of attaining the throne after his father-in-law's death,
observed great caution in his communications with the
numerous and various factions in England and Scotland ;
and even to those who expressed the greatest moderation
and the purest sentiments of patriotism, he replied with
a prudent reserve, exhorting them to patience, dissuading
from all hasty insurrections, and pointing out to them, that
the death of the King must put an end to the innovations
which he was attempting on the constitution.
Bat an event took place which entirely altered the
Prince of Orange's views and feelings, and forced him
upon an enterprise, one of the most remarkable in its
progress and consequences of any which the history d
the world affords. Mary, Queen of England, and wife
of James II., was delivered of a male child, on the 10th
of June, 168S. The Papists had long looked forward to
(his event as to one which should perpetuate the measures
of the King in favour of the Roman Catholics, after his
96 BIRTH OF THE PRINCE OF WALES.
own death. They had, therefore, ventured to prcphesy
that the expected infant would be a son, and they imput-
ed the fulfilment of their wishes to the intervention of the
Virgin Mary of Loretto, propitiated by prayers and pil-
grimage.
The Protestant party, on the other hand, were dispos-
ed to consider the alleged birth of the infant, which had
happened so seasonably for the Catholics, as the result
not of a miracle of the Popish saints, but of a trick at
court. They affirmed that the child was not really the
son of James and his wife, but a supposititious infant,
whom they were desirous to palm upon their subjects as
the legal heir of the throne, in order to defeat the claim
of the Protestant successors. This assertion, though
gravely swallowed by the people, and widely spread
amongst them, was totally without foundation ; nor was
it possible that there could exist more complete proof of
such a fact, than James himself published to the world
concerning the birth of this young Prince of Wales. But
the King's declarations, and the evidence which he at
length made public, were unable to bear down the cal-
umny which was so widely and anxiously circulated.
The leaders of the Protestant party, whatever they might
themselves believe, took care to make the rumour of the
alleged imposture as general as possible ; and many,
whose Tory principles would not have allowed them to
oppose the succession of a prince really descended ol
the blood royal, stood prepared to dispute the right of
the infant to succeed to the throne, on account of the
asserted doubtfiHness of his birth.
One thing, however, was certain, that whether the
child was supposititious or not, his birth was likely to
prolong the misgovernment under which the country
groaned. There now existed no longer the prospect that
James would be succeeded by his son-in-law, the Prince
of Orange, with whom the Protestant religion must ne-
cessarily have recovered its predominance. This infant
was of course to be trained up in the religion and princi-
ples of his father ; and the influence of the dreaded
PREPARATIONS FOR AN INVASION. 97
spirit of Popery, instead of terminating with the present
reign, would maintain and extend itself through that of a
youthful successor. The Prince of Orange, on his part,
seeing himself, by the birth and rights of this infant, ex-
cluded from the long-hoped-for succession to the Crown
of England, laid aside his caution, for a bold and active
interference in British politics.
He now publicly, though with decency, declared that
his sentiments were opposite to those on which his father-
in-law acted, and that though he was disposed to give a
hearty consent to repealing penal statutes in all cases, be-
ing of opinion that no one should be punished for his re-
ligious opinions, yet he could not acquiesce in the King's
claim to dispense with the lest, which only excluded from
public offices those whose consciences would not permit
them to conform to the established religion of the country
in which they lived. Having thus openly declared his
sentiments, the Prince of Orange was resorted to openly
or secretly, by all those, of whatever political opinions,
who joined in the general fear for the religious and civil
liberties of the country, which were threatened by the
bigotry of James. Encouraged by the universal senti-
ments of the English nation, a few Catholics excepted,
and by the urgent remonstrances of many of the leading
men of all the various parties, the Prince of Orange re-
solved to appear in England at the head of an armed force,
with the purpose of putting a stop to James's encroach-
ments on the constitution in church and state.
Under various plausible pretexts, therefore, the Prince
began to assemble a navy and army adequate to the bold
invasion which he meditated ; while neither the warning
of the King of France, who penetrated the purpose of
these preparations, nor a sense of the condition in which
he himself stood, could induce James to take any ade-
quate measures of defence.
The unfortunate Prince continued to follow the same
measures which had lost him the hearts of his subjects,
and every step he took encouraged and pr< mnpted disaf-
i*8 INEFFECTUAL APPEAL OF JAMES II.
fection. Dubioi s of the allegiance of his army, he en-
deavoured, by introducing Irish Catholics amongst them,
to (ill their ranks, in part at least, with men in whom he
might repose more confidence. But the Lieutenant-
Colonel and five Captains of the regiment in which the ex-
periment was first tried, refused to receive the proposed
recruits ; and though these officers Were cashiered for
doing so, yet their spirit was generally applauded by those
of their own profession.
Another experiment on the soldiery had a still mor
mortifying result. Although it is contrary to the British
constitution to engage soldiers under arms in the discus-
sion of any political doctrine, since they must be regarded
as the servants, not the counsellors, of the state ; never-
theless, James resolved, if possible, to obtain from the
army their approbation of the repeal of the test and the
penal statutes. By way of experiment, a single battal-
ion was drawn up in his own presence, and informed,
that they must either express their hearty acquiescence in
the King's purposes in respect to these laws, or lay down
their arms, such being the sole condition on which their
services would be received. On hearing this appeal, the
whole regiment, excepting two officers and a few Catholic
soldiers, laid down their arms. The King stood mute
with anger and disappointment, and at length told them,
in a sullen and offended tone, to take up their arms and
retire to their quarters, adding, that he would not again do
them the honour to ask their opinions.
While James was thus extorting from his very soldiers
opinions the most unfavourable to his measures, he sud-
denly received intelligence from his ambassador in Hol-
land, that the Prince of Orange was about to put to sea
with an army of fifteen thousand men, supplied by all the
States of Holland, and a fleet of five hundred sail.
Conscious that he had lost the best safeguard of a mon-
arch, namely, the love and affections of his subjects,
this news came upon James like a thunder-clap. He
hastened to retract all the measures which had rendered
his reign so unpopular ; but it was with a precipitation
TO THE ARMY. 99
which showed fear, not conviction, and the people were
persuaded that the concessions would be recalled as soon
as the danger was over.
In the meantime the Dutch fleet set sail. At first it
encountered a storm, and was driven back into harbour.
I3ut the damage sustained by some of the vessels being
speedily repaired, they again put to sea, and with so much
activity, that the short delay proved rather of service than
otherwise ; for the English fleet, which had also been
Driven into harbour by the storm, could not be got ready
to ineet the invaders. Steering for the west of England,
the Prince of Orange landed in Torbay, on the 5th No-
vember, 1688, being the anniversary of the Gunpowder
Plot, an era which seemed propitious to an enterprise com-
menced in opposition to the revival of Popery in Eng-
land.
Immediately on his landing, the Prince published a
manifesto, setting forth, in plain and strong terms, the va-
rious encroachments made by the reigning monarch upon
the British constitution, and upon the rights as well of the
church as of private persons and corporate bodies. He
came, he said, with an armed force, to protect his person
from the King's evil counsellors, but his only purpose was
to have a full and free Parliament assembled, in order to
procure a gerieral .settlement of religion, liberty, and
property.
Notwithstanding that so many persons of rank and in
fluence had privately encouraged the Prince of Orange
to this undertaking, there appeared at first very little alac-
rity to support him in carrying it through. The inhabi-
tants of the western counties where the Prince landed,
were overawed by recollection of the fearful punishment
inflicted upon those who had joined Monmouth, and the
Prince had advanced to Exeter ere he was joined by any
adherent of consequence. But from the time that one or
two gentlemen of consideration joined him, a general com-
motion took place all over England, and the nobility and
gentry assumed aims on every side for redress of the
grievances set forth in the Prince'.* manifesto.
1(0 INVASION OF THE PRINCE OF ORANGE.
In the midst of this universal defection, King James
gave orders to assemble his army, assigned Salisbury for
his head quarters, and announced his purpose of fighting
the invaders. But he was doomed to experience to what
extent he had alienated the affections of his subjects by
his bigoted and tyrannical conduct. Several noblemen
and officers of rank publicly deserted, and carried off to
the Prince's army numbers of their soldiers. Amongst
these was Lord Churchill, afterwards the celebrated Duke
of Marlborough. He was a particular favourite of the
unhappy King, who had bestowed a peerage on him, with
high rank in the army ; and his desertion to the Prince
on this occasion showed that the universal aversion to
King James's measures had alienated the affections of
those who would otherwise have been most devotedly at-
tached to him.
A still more striking defection seems to have destroyed
the remains of the unhappy monarch's resolution. His
second daughter, the Princess Anne, who was married to
a younger son of the King of Denmark, called Prince
George, escaped by night from London, under the pro-
tection of the Bishop of that city, who raised a body of
horse for her protection, and rode armed at their head.
She fled to Nottingham, where she was received by the
Earl of Dorset, and declared for a free Protestant Parlia-
ment. Her husband, and other persons of the first dis-
tinction, joined the Prince of Orange.
The sudden and unexpected dissolution of his power,
when every morning brought intelligence of some new
defection or insurrection, totally destroyed the firmness of
James, who, notwithstanding his folly and misconduct,
becomes, in this period of unmitigated calamity, an object
of our pity. At the tidings of his daughter's flight, he
exclaimed, with the agony of paternal feeling, " God help
me, my own children desert me !" In the extremity and
desolation of his distress, the unfortunate Monarch seems
to have lost all those qualities which had gained him in
earlier life the character of courage and sagacity ; and
the heedless rashness with which he had scorned the dis-
FLIGHT OF JAMES II. 101
tant danger, was only equalled by the prostrating degree
of intimidation which now overwhelmed him.
He dismissed his army, to the great increase of the
general confusion ; and, finally, terrified by the recollec-
tion of his father's fate, he resolved to withdraw himself
from his kingdom. It is probable that he could not have
taken any resolution which would have been so grateful
to the Prince of Orange. If James had remained in
Britain, the extremity of his misfortunes would probably
have awakened the popular compassion ; and the tenets
of the High Churchmen and Tories, although they had
given way to their apprehensions for the safety of religion
and liberty, might, when these were considered as safe,
have raised many partisans to the distressed monarch.
Besides, while King James remained in his dominions, it