AN APPEAL TO
Honour
and
Justice,
Tho' it be of His Worst ENEMIES.
By DANIEL DE FOE.
BEING A True Account of his Conduct in Publick Affairs.
JEREM. xviii. 18.
Come and let us smite him with the
Tongue,
and let us not give heed to any of his Words.
LONDON:
Printed for J. BAKER, at the
Black Boy
in
Pater-Noster-Row.
1715.
AN APPEAL TO
Honour
and
Justice,
&c.
I Hope the Time is come at last, when the Voice of moderate Principles may be heard; hitherto the Noise has been so great, and the Prejudices and Passions of Men so strong, that it had been but in vain to offer at any Argument, or for any Man to talk of giving a Reason for his Actions: And this alone has been the Cause why, when other Men, who, I think, have less to say in thier own Defence, are appealing to the Publick, and struggling to defend themselves, I alone have been silent under the infinite Clamours and Reproaches, causeless Curses, unusual Threatnings, and the most unjust and injurious Treatment in the World.
I hear much of Peoples calling out to punish the Guilty; but very few are concern'd to clear the Innocent. I hope some will be inclin'd to Judge impartially, and have yet reserv'd so much of the Christian, as to believe, and at least to hope, that a rational Creature cannot abandon himself so as to act without some Reason, and are willing not only to have me defend my self, but to be able to answer for me where they hear me causlesly insulted by others, and therefore are willing to have such just Arguments put into their Mouths as the Cause will bear.
As for those who are prepossess'd, and ac
ding to the modern Justice of Parties are
to be so,
Let them go,
I am not
them,
but against them;
they act so
to Justice, to Reason, to Religion,
to the Rules of Christians and of
Manners, that they are not to be argued
, but to be expos'd, or entirely neglected.
a Receipt against all the Uneasiness which it may be supposed to give me, and that is, to contemn Slander, and think it not worth the least Concern; neither should I think it worth while to give any Answer to
if it were not on some other Accounts, of which I shall speak as I go on.
If any
ask me, why I am in such hast to publish this Matter at this time? Among man
other good Reasons which I could give, these are some:
1. I think I have long enough been made
Fabula Vulgi,
and born the Weight of general Slander; and I should be wanting to Truth, to my Family, and to my Self, if I did not give a fair and true State of my Conduct for impartial Men to judge of, when I am no more in being to answer for my self.
2. By the Hints of Mortality, and by the Infirmities of a Life of Sorrow and Fatigue, I have Reason to think that I am not a great way off from, if not very near to the great Ocean of Eternity, and the time may not be long e're I embark on the last Voyage: Wherefore, I think, I should
even Accounts
with this World before I go, that no Actions (Slanders) may lie against my Heirs, Executors, Administrators, and Assigns, to disturb them in the peaceable Possession of their Father's (Character) Inheritance.
3. I fear,
God grant I have not a second Sight in it,
that this lucid Interval of Temper and Moderation which shines,
tho' dimly too
upon us at this time, will be but of short Continuance, and that some Men, who know not how to use the Advantage God has put into their Hands with Moderation, will p
sh, in spight of the best Prince in the World, at such extravagant Things, and act with such an intemperate Forwardness, as will revive the Heats and Animosities which wise and good Men were in hopes should be allay'd by the happy Accession of the King to the Throne.
It is and ever was my Opinion, that Moderation is the only Vertue by which the Peace and Tranquillity of this Nation can be preserv'd, even the King himself,
I believe his Majesty will allow me that Freedom,
can only be happy in the Enjoyment of the Crown by a moderate Administration, if his Majesty should be oblig'd, contrary to his known Disposition, to joyn with intemperate Councils; if it does not lessen his Security, I am perswaded it will lessen his Satisfaction. It cannot be pleasant or agreeable, and,
I think,
it cannot be safe to any just Prince to Rule over a divided People, split into incens'd and exasperated Parties: Tho' a skilful Mariner may have Courage to master a Tempest, and goes fearless thro' a Storm, yet he can never be said to delight in the Danger; a fresh fair Gale, and a quiet Sea, is the Pleasure of his Voyage, and we have a Saying worth Notice to them that are otherwise minded,
Qui amat periculum periibat in Illo.
To attain at the happy Calm, which, as I say, is the Safety of
Britain,
is the Question which should now move us all; and he would Merit to be call'd the Nation's Physician that could prescribe the Specifick for it. I think I may be allow'd to say, a
Conquest of Parties
will never do it;
a Ballance of Parties MAY.
Some are for
the former;
they talk high of Punishments, letting Blood, revenging the Treatment they have met with, and the like: If they,
not knowing what Spirit they are of,
think this the Course to be taken, let them try their Hands, I shall give them for lost, and look for their Downfal
from that time;
for the Ruin of all such Tempers slumbereth not.
It is many Years that I have profess'd my self an Enemy to all Precipitations in publick Administrations; and often I have attempted to shew, that hot Councils have ever been distructive to those who have made use of them: Indeed they have not always been a Disadvantage to the Nation, as in King
James
II's Reign, where, as I have often said in Print, his Precipitation was the Safety of us all; and if he had proceeded temperately and politickly, we had been undone,
Faelix quem faciunt.
But these things have been spoken when your Ferment has been too high for any thing to be heard; whether you will hear it now or not,
I know not,
and therefore it was that I said,
I fear
the present Cessation of Party-Arms will not hold long.
These are some of the Reasons why I think this is the proper Juncture for me to give some Account of my self, and of my past Conduct to the World; and that I may do this as effectually as I can, being perhaps never more to speak from the Press, I shall, as concisely as I can, give an Abridgment of my own History during the few unhappy Years I have employ'd my self, or been employ'd in Publick in the World.
Misfortunes in Business having unhing'd me from Matters of Trade, it was about the Year 1694. when I was invited by some Merchants, with whom I had corresponded abroad, and some also at home, to settle at
Cadiz
in
Spain,
and that with Offers of very good Commissions; but Providence, which had other Work for me to do, placed a secret Aversion in my Mind to quitting
England
upon any account, and made me refuse the best Offers of that kind, to be concern'd with some eminent Persons at home, in proposing
Ways
and
Means
to the Government for raising Money to supply the Occasions of the War then newly begun. Some time after this, I was, without the least Application of mine, and being then seventy Miles from
London,
sent for to be Accomptant to the Commissioners of the Glass Duty, in which Service I continued to the Determination of their Commission.
During this time, there came out a vile abhor'd Pamphlet, in very ill Verse, written by one Mr.
Tutchin,
and call'd, THE FOREIGNERS: In which the Author,
who he was I then knew not,
fell personally upon the King himself, and then upon the
Dutch
Nation; and after having reproach'd his Majesty with Crimes, that his worst Enemy could not think of without Horror, he sums up all in the odious Name of FOREIGNER.
This fill'd me with a kind of Rage against the Book, and gave birth to a Trifle which I never could hope should have met with so general an Acceptation as it did, I mean,
The True-Born-Englishman.
How this Poem was the Occasion of my being known to his Majesty; how I was afterwards receiv'd by him; how Employ'd; and how, above my Capacity of deserving, Rewarded, is no Part of the present Case, and is only mention'd here as I take all Occasions to do for the expressing the Honour I ever preserv'd for the Immortal and Glorious Memory of that Greatest and Best of Princes, and who it was my Honour and Advantage to call Master as well as Sovereign, whose Goodness to me I never forgot, neither can forget; and whose Memory I never patiently heard abused, nor ever can do so; and who had he liv'd, would never have suffered me to be treated as I have been in the World.
But Heaven for our Sins remov'd him in Judgment. How far the Treatment he met with, from the Nation he came to save, and whose Deliverance he finished, was admitted by Heaven to be a Means of his Death, I desire to forget for their sakes who are guilty; and if this calls any of it to mind, it is mention'd to move them to treat him better who is now with like Principles of Goodness and Clemency appointed by God, and the Constitution, to be their Sovereign; least he that protects righteous Princes, avenges the Injuries they receive from an ungrateful People, by giving them up to the Confusions their Madness leads them to.
And in their just acclamations at the happy accession of His present Majesty to the Throne, I cannot but advise them to look back, and call to mind who it was that first Guided them to the Family of
Hanover,
and to pass by all the Popish Branches of
Orleans
and
Savoy,
recognizing the just authority of Parliament, in the undoubted Right of Limiting the Succession, and Establishing that Glorious Maxim of our Settlement,
(viz.)
That
it is inconsistent with the Constitution of this Protestant Kingdom to be Govern'd by a Popish Prince.
I say let them cell to mind who it was that guided their Thoughts first to the Protestant Race of our own Kings in the House of
Hanover,
and that it is to King
William,
next to Heaven it self, to whom we owe the Enjoying a Protestant King at this time. I need not go back to the particulars of his Majesty's Conduct in that Affair, his Journey in Person to the Country of
Hanover,
and the Court of
Zell;
his particular management of the Affair afterwards at home, perfecting the Design, by naming the Illustrious Family to the Nation, and bringing about a Parliamentary Settlement to effect it, entailing thereby the Crown in so effectual a manner as we see has been sufficient to prevent the worst Designs of our
Jacobite
People in behalf of the Pretender; a Settlement, together with the subsequent Acts which followed it, and the Union with
Scotland
which made it unalterable, that gave a compleat Satisfaction to those who knew and understood it, and removed those terrible apprehensions of the Pretender (which some entertain'd) from the minds of others who were yet as zealous against him as it was possible for any to be: Upon this Settlement, as
I shall shew presently.
I grounded my Opinion,
which I often express'd, (viz.)
that I did not see it possible the Jacobites could ever set up their Idol here; and I think my Opinion abundantly justify'd in the Consequences, of which by and by.
This Digression, as a debt to the Glorious Memory of King
William,
I could not in Justice omit, and as the Reign of his present Majesty is esteem'd Happy, and look'd upon as a Blessing from Heaven by us, it will most necessarily lead us to bless the Memory of King
William
to whom we owe so much of it; How easily could his Majesty have led us to other Branches, whose Relation to the Crown might have had large pretences? What Prince but would have submitted to have Educated a Successor of their Race in the Protestant Religion for the sake of such a Crown—? But the King, who had our Happiness in View, and saw as far into it as any humane sight could Penetrate, who knew we were not to be Govern'd by unexperienc'd Youths; that the Protestant Religion was not to be Establish'd by Political Converts; and that Princes under
French
Influence, or Instructed in
French
Politicks, were not proper Instruments to preserve the Liberties of
Britain,
fixt his Eyes upon the Family who now possesses the Crown, as not only having an undoubted Relation to it by Blood, but as being first and principally Zealous and Powerful assertors of the Protestant Religion and Interest against Popery; And
Secondly,
stored with a visible Succession of worthy and promising Branches, who appear'd equal to the Weight of Government, quallified to fill a Throne, and guide a Nation which, without Reflection, are not famed to be the most easy to Rule in the World.
Whether the Consequence has been a Credit to King
William
's Judgment I need not say, I am not Writing Panegyricks here, but doing justice to the Memory of the King my Master, who I have had the Honour very often to hear express himself with great satisfaction, in having brought the Settlement of the Succession to so good an Issue; and to repeat his Majesty's own Words,
That he knew no Prince in
Europe
so fit to be King of
England,
as the Elector of
Hanover. I am persuaded, without any Flattery, that if it should not every way answer the Expectations his Majesty had of it, the fault will be our own: God Grant the King may have more Comfort of his Crown than we suffer'd King
William
to have.
The King being Dead, and the Queen Proclaim'd, the Hot Men of that Side, as Hot Men of all Sides do, Thinking the Game in their own Hands, and all other People under their Feet, began to run out into those mad Extreams, and precipitate themselves into such Measures, as according to the Fate of all intemperate Councils, ended in their own Confusions, and threw them at last out of the Saddle.
The Queen, who, tho' willing to favour the High Church Party, did not thereby design the Ruin of those who she did not Employ, was soon alarm'd at their wild Conduct, and turn'd them out, adhering to the moderate Councils of those who better understood, or more faithfully pursued her Majesty's and their Countries Interest.
In this Turn fell Sir
Edw. Seymour
's Party, for so the High Men were then call'd; and to this Turn, we owe the Converson of several other Great Men, who became
Whigs
upon that Occasion, which it is known they were not before; which Conversion afterwards bega
that unkind Distinction of Old Whig, and Modern Whig, which some of the former were with very little Justice pleased to run up afterwards to an Extreme very pernicious to both.
But I am gone too far in this Part. I return to my own Story. In the Interval of these Things, and during the Heat of the first Fury of High-slying, I fell a Sacrifice for writing against the Rage and Madness of that High Party, and in the Service of the Dissenters: What Justice I met with, and above all what Mercy, is too well known to need a Repetition.
This Introduction is made that it may bring me to what has been the Foundation of all my further Concern in publick Affairs, and will produce a sufficient Reason for my adhering to those whose Obligations upon me were too strong to be resisted, even when many things were done by them which I could not approve; and for this Reason it is that I think it is necessary to distinguish how far I did, or did not adhere to, or joyn in or with the Persons or Conduct of the late Government: And those who are willing to judge with Impartiality and Charity, will see reason to use me the more tenderly in their Thoughts, when they weigh the Particulars.
I will make no Reflections upon the Treatment I met with from the People I suffer'd for, or how I was abandon'd even in my Sufferings, at the same time that they acknowledg'd the Service it had been to their Cause; but I must mention it to let you know, that while I lay friendless and distress'd in the Prison of
Newgate,
my Family ruin'd, and my self, without Hope of Deliverance, a Message was brought me from a Person of Honour, who, till that time, I had never had the least Acquaintance with, or Knowledge of, other than by Fame, or by Sight, as we know Men of Quality by seeing them on publick Occasions. I gave no present Answer to the Person who brought it, having not duly weighed the Import of the Message; the Message was by Word of Month thus:
Pray ask that Gentleman, what I can do for him?
But in return to this kind and generous Message, I immediately took my Pen and Ink, and writ the Story of the blind Man in the Gospel, who follow'd our Saviour, and to whom our Blessed Lord put the Question,
What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?
Who, as if he had made it strange that such a Question should be ask'd, or as if he had said,
Lord, doest thou see that I am blind, and yet ask me what thou shalt do for me?
My Answer is plain in my Misery,
Lord, that I may receive my Sight.
I needed not to make the Application; and from this time, altho' I lay four Months in Prison after this, and heard no more of it, yet from this time, as I learn'd afterwards, this noble Person made it his Business to have my Case represented to Her Majesty, and Methods taken for my Deliverance.
I mention this Part, because I am no more to forget the Obligation upon me to the Queen, than to my first Benefactor.
When Her Majesty came to have the Truth of the Case laid before Her, I soon felt the Effects of her Royal Goodness and Compassion. And first, Her Majesty declar'd, That She left all that Matter to a certain Person, and did not think he would have used me in such a Manner. Perhaps these Words may seem imaginary to some, and the speaking them to be of no Value, and so they would have been if they had not been follow'd with farther and more convincing Proofs of what they imported, which were these, That Her Majesty was pleased particularly to enquire into my Circumstances and Family, and by my Lord Treasurer
Godolphin,
to send a considerable Supply to my Wife and Family, and to send me to the Prison Money to pay my Fine, and the Expences of my Discharge. Whether this be a just Foundation, let my Enemies judge.
Here is the Foundation on which I built my first Sense of Duty to Her Majesty's Person, and the indelible Bond of Gratitude to my first Benefactor.
Gratitude and Fidelity are inseparable from an honest Man. But to be thus oblig'd by a Stranger, by a Man of Quality and Honour, and after that by the Sovereign, under whose Administration I was suffering, let any one put himself in my stead, and examine upon what Principles I could ever act against either such a Queen, or such a Benefactor; and what must my own Heart reproach me with, what blushes must have cover'd my Face when I had look'd in, and call'd myself ungrateful to him that sav'd me thus from distress?
Or
Her that fetch'd me out of the Dungeon, and gave my Family Relief? Let any Man, who knows what Principles are, what Engagements of Honour and Gratitude are, make this Case his own, and say what I could have done less or more than I have done.
I must go on a little with the Detail of the Obligation, and then I shall descend to relate what I have done, and what I have not done in the Case.
Being deliver'd from the Distress I was in, Her Majesty, who was not satisfy'd to do me Good by a single Act of her Bounty, had the Goodness to think of taking me into her Service, and I had the Honour to be employ'd in several honourable, tho' secret Services, by the Interposition of my first Benefactor, who then appear'd as a Member in the publick Administration.
I had the Happiness to discharge my self in all these Trusts, so much to the Satisfaction of those who employ'd me, tho' often times with Difficulty and Danger, that my Lord Treasurer
Godolphin,
whose Memory I have always honour'd, was pleas'd to continue his Favour to me, and to do me all good Offices with Her Majesty, even after an unhappy Breach had separated him from my first Benefactor: The Particulars of which may not be improper to relate; and as it is not an Injustice to any, so I hope it will not be offensive.
When upon that fatal Breach, the Secretary of State was dismiss'd from the Service, I look'd upon my self as lost, it being a general Rule in such Cases, when a great Officer falls, that all who came in by his Interest fall with him. And resolving never to abandon the Fortunes of the Man to whom I ow'd so much of my own, I quitted the usual Applications which I had made to my Lord Treasurer.
But my generous Benefactor, when he understood it, frankly told me, That I should by no means do so; for, said he, in the most engaging terms, My Lord Treasurer will employ you in nothing but what is for the publick Service, and agreeable to your own Sentiments of Things: And besides, it is the Queen you are serving, who has been very good to you. Pray apply your self as you used to do; I shall not take it ill from you in the least.
Upon this I went to wait on my Lord Treasurer, who receiv'd me with great Freedom, and told me smiling,
He had not seen me along while.
I told his Lordship very frankly the Occasion, That the unhappy Breach that had fallen out, had made me doubtful whether I should be acceptable to his Lordship. That I knew it was usual, when great Persons fall, that all who were in their Interest fell with them. That his Lordship knew the Obligations I was under, and that I could not but fear my Interest in his Lordship was lessen'd on that Account.
Not at all Mr.
De Foe, reply'd his Lordship;
I always think a Man honest, till I find to the contrary.
Upon this I attended his Lordship as usual, and being resolved to remove all possible Ground of Suspicion that I kept any secret Correspondence, I never visited, or wrote to, or any way corresponded with my principal Benefactor for above three Years; which he so well knew the Reason of, and so well approv'd that punctual Behaviour in me, that he never took it ill from me at all.
In Consequence of this Reception, my Lord
Godolphin
had the Goodness not only to introduce me for the second time to her Majesty, and to the Honour of kissing her Hand, but obtain'd for me the Continuance of an Appointment which Her Majesty had been pleas'd to make me in Consideration of a former special Service I had done, and in which I had run as much risque of my Life, as a Grenadier upon the Counterscarp; and which Appointment however was first obtain'd for me at the Intercession of my said first Benefactor, and is all owing to that Intercession, and Her Majesty's Bounty. Upon this second Introduction Her Majesty was pleased to tell me with a Goodness peculiar to Her self, That she had such Satisfaction in my former Services, that she had appointed me for another Affair, which was something Nice, and that my Lord Treasurer should tell me the rest; and so I withdrew.
The next Day his Lordship having commanded me to attend, told me, That he must send me to
Scotland;
and gave me but three Days to prepare my self. Accordingly I went to
Scotland,
where neither my Business, nor the manner of my discharging it is material to this Tract, nor will it be ever any part of my Character that I reveal what should be concealed; and yet my Errand was such as was far from being unfit for a Sovereign to direct, or an honest Man to perform; and the Service I did on that Occasion, as it is not unknown to the greatest Man now in the Nation under the King and the Prince, so I dare say, his Grace was never displeased with the Part I had in it, and I hope will not forget it.
These things I mention upon this Account, and no other,
(viz.)
to state the Obligation I have been in all along to Her Majesty personally, and to my first Benefactor principally, by which,
I say I THINK,
I was at least obliged not to act against them even in those things which I might not approve. Whether I have acted with them farther than I ought, shall be spoken to by it self.
Having said thus much of the Obligations lay'd on me, and the Persons by whom, I have this only to add, That I think no Man will say a Subject could be under greater Bonds to his Prince, or a private Person to a Minister of State; and I shall ever preserve this Principle, that an honest Man cannot be ungrateful to his Benefactor.
But let no Man run away now with the Notion, that I am now intending to plead the Obligation that was upon me from Her Majesty, or from any other Person, to justify my doing any thing that is not otherwise to be justify'd in it self.
Nothing would be more injurious than such a Construction; and therefore I capitulate for so much Justice as to explain my self by this Declaration
(viz.)
That I only speak of these Obligations as binding me to a negative Conduct not to fly in the Face of, or concern my self in Disputes with those to whom I was under such Obligations, altho' I might not in my Judgment joyn in many things that were done. No Obligation could excuse me in calling Evil Good, or Good Evil; but I am of the Opinion, that I might justly think my self oblig'd to defend what I thought was to be defended, and to be silent in any thing which I might think was not.
If this is a Crime, I must plead guilty, and give in the History of my Obligation above-mention'd as an Extenuation, at least, if not a Justification of my Conduct; suppose a Man's Father was guilty of several things unlawful and unjustifiable, a Man may heartily detest the unjustifiable thing, and yet it ought not to be expected that he should expose his Father. I think the Case on my side exactly the same. Nor can the Duty to a Parent be more strongly obliging than the Obligation laid on me: But I must allow the Case on the other side not the same?
And this brings me to the Affirmative, and to enquire what the Matters of Fact are, what I have done, or have not done, on Account of these Obligations which I have been under.
It is a general Suggestion, and is affirm'd with such Assurance, that they tell me it is in vain to contradict it; That I have been employ'd by the Earl of
O
d,
late Lord Treasurer, in the late Disputes about Publick Affairs, to write for him, or to put it into their own Particulars, have written by his Direction, taken the Materials from him, been dictated to, or instructed by him, or by other Persons from him, by his Order, and the like; and that I have receiv'd a Pension, or Sallery, or Payment from his Lordship for such Services as these.
If I could put it into Words that would more fully express the Meaning of these People, I profess I would do it.
One would think it was impossible; but that since these things have been so confidently affirm'd, some Evidence might be produc'd, some Facts might appear, some one Body or other might be found that could speak of certain Knowledge: To say things have been carry'd too closely to be discover'd,
is saying nothing;
for then they must own,
that it is not discover'd:
And how then can they affirm it, as they do, with such an Assurance, as nothing ought to be affirm'd by honest Men, unless they were able to prove it?
To speak then to the Fact: Were the Reproach upon
me only
in this Particular, I should not mention it; I should not think it a Reproach to be directed by a Man to whom the Queen had at that time entrusted the Administration of the Government. But as it is a Reproach upon his Lordship, Justice requires that I do Right in this Case. The Thing is true or false, I would recommend it to those who would be call'd honest Men, to consider but one Thing,
(viz.)
What if it should not be true? Can they justify the Injury done to that Person, or to any Person concern'd? If it cannot be prov'd, if no Vestiges appear to ground it upon, how can they charge Men upon Rumours and Reports, and joyn to run Men's Characters down by the Stream of Clamour.
Sed quo rapit impetus undae.
In Answer to the Charge, I bear Witness to Posterity, that every Part of it is false and forg'd; and I do solemnly protest, in the
Fear
and
Presence
of him that shall Judge us all, both the Slanderers, and the Slandered, that I have not receiv'd any Instructions, Directions, Orders,
or let them call it what they will of that kind,
for the Writing any Part of what I have written, or any Materials for the putting together, for the Forming any Book or Pamphlet whatsoever from the said Earl of
O
d,
late Lord Treasurer, or from any Person, by his Order, or Direction, since the Time that the late Earl of
G
in
was Lord Treasurer: Neither did I ever shew, or cause to be shew'd to his Lordship, for his Approbation, Correction, Alteration, or for any other Cause, any Book, Paper, or Pamphlet, which I have Written and Publish'd before the same was Printed, work'd off at the Press, and Publish'd.
If any Man living can detect me of the least Prevarication in this, or in any Part of it, I desire him to do it by all means; and I challenge all the World to do it—
And if they cannot,
then I appeal,
as in my Title,
to the Honour and Justice of my worst Enemies, to know upon what Foundation of Truth or Conscience they can affirm these things, and for what it is that I bear these Reproaches.
In all my Writing, I ever capitulated for my Liberty to speak according to my own Judgment of Things; I ever had that Liberty allow'd me, nor was I ever imposed upon to write this way or that against my Judgment by any Person whatsoever.
I come now historically to the Point of Time when my Lord
Godolphin
was dismiss'd from his Employment, and the late unhappy Division broke out at Court; I waited on my Lord the Day he was displac'd, and humbly ask'd his Lordship's Direction, what Course I should take? His Lordship's Answer was,
That he had the same good Will to assist me, but not the same Power; That I was the Queen's Servant, and that all he had done for me, was by Her Majesty's special and particular Direction; and that whoever should succeed him, it was not material to me, he supposed I should be employ'd in nothing relating to the present Differences: My Business was to wait till I saw things settled, and then apply my self to the Ministers of State, to receive Her Majesty's Commands from them.
It occur'd to me immediately, as a Principle for my Conduct, that it was not material to me what Ministers Her Majesty was pleas'd to employ, my Duty was to go along with every Ministry, so far as they did not break in upon the Constitution, and the Laws and Liberties of my Country; my Part being only the Duty of a Subject,
(viz.)
to submit to all lawful Commands, and to enter into no Service which was not justifiable by the Laws: To all which I have exactly oblig'd my self.
By this I was providentially cast back upon my Original Benefactor, who, according to his wonted Goodness, was pleased to lay my Case before Her Majesty, and thereby I preserv'd my Interest in Her Majesty's Favour; but without any Engagement of Service.
As for Consideration, Pension, Gratification, or Reward, I declare to all the World I have had none; except only that old Appointment which Her Majesty was pleased to make me in the Days of the Ministry of my Lord
Godolphin:
Of which I have spoken already, and which was for Services done in a foreign Country some Years before. Neither have I been employ'd, or directed, or order'd, by my Lord T
r aforesaid, to do, or not to do, any thing in the Affairs of the unhappy Differences which have so long perplex'd us, and for which I have suffer'd so many, and such unjust Reproaches.
I come next to enter into the Matters of Fact, and what it is I have done, or not done; which may justify the Treatment I have met with. And first, for the Negative Part, what I have not done.
The first Thing in the unhappy Breaches which have fallen out, is helping up Scandal upon the Persons and Conduct of Men of Honour on one Side, as well
on the other; those unworthy Methods of falling upon one another by personal Calumny and Reproach. This I have often in print complain'd of as an unchristian, ungenerous and unjustifiable Practice. Not a Word can be found in all I have written reflecting on the Persons, or Conduct of any of the former Ministry, I serv'd Her Majesty under their Administration, they acted honourably and justly in every Transaction in which I had the Honour to be concern'd with them; and I never publish'd, or said any thing dishonourable of any of them in my Life: Nor can the worst Enemy I have produce any such thing against me. I always regretted the Change, and look'd upon it as a great Disaster to the Nation in general, I am sure it was so to me in particular; and the Divisions and Feuds among Parties, which follow'd that Change, were doubtless a Disaster to us all.
The next Thing which follow'd the Change was THE PEACE: No Man can say that ever I once said in my Life, that I approv'd of the Peace. I wrote a publick Paper at that time, and there it Remains upon Record against me, I printed it openly, and that so plainly, as others durst not do; That I did not like the Peace, neither that which was made, nor that which was before a making; That I I thought the Protestant Interest was not taken care of in either; That the Peace I was for, was such as should neither have given the
Spanish
Monarchy to the House of
Bourbon,
or the House of
Austria;
but that this Bone of Contention should have been broken to Pieces, that it should not have been dangerous to
Europe
on any Account, and that the Protestant Powers,
(viz.) Britain,
and the
States,
should have so strengthen'd and fortify'd their Interest by their sharing the Commerce and Strength of
Spain,
as should have made them no more afraid either of
France,
or the
Emperor:
So that the Protestant Interest should have been superior to all the Powers of
Europe,
and been in no more Danger of exhorbitant Power, whether
French
or
Austrian.
This was the Peace I always argued for, pursuant to the Design of King
William
in the Treaty of Partition, and pursuant to that Article of the Grand Alliance, which was directed by the same glorious Hand at the Beginning of this last War
(viz.)
That all we should conquer in the
Spanish-West-Indies
should be our own.
This was with a true Design that
England
and
Holland
should have turn'd their Naval Power, which were eminently superiour to those of
France,
to the Conquest of the
Spanish-West-Indies,
by which the Channel of Trade, and Return of Bullion, which now enriches the Enemies of both, had been ours; and as the Wealth, so the Strength of the World had been in Protestant Hands.
Spain,
whoever had it, must then have been dependant upon us; the House of
Bourbon
would have found it so poor without us, as to be scarce worth fighting for; and the People so averse to them for want of their Commerce, as not to make it ever likely
France
could keep it.
This was the Foundation I ever acted upon with relation to the Peace. It is true, that when it was made, and could not be otherwise, I thought our Business was to make the best of it, and rather to enquire what Improvements were to be made of it, than to be continually exclaiming at those who made it; and where the Objection lies against this Part I cannot yet see.
While I spoke of things in this manner, I bore infinite Reproaches from clamouring Pens of being in the
French
Interest, being hir'd and brib'd to defend a bad Peace, and the like; and most of this was upon a Supposition of my Writing, or being the Author of Abundance of Pamphlets which came out every Day, and which I had no hand in. And indeed, as I shall observe again by and by, this was one of the greatest Pieces of Injustice that could be done me, and which I labour still under without any redress; that whenever any Piece comes out which is not liked, I am immediately charg'd with being the Author, and very often the first Knowledge I have had of a Books being publish'd, has been from seeing my self abused for being the Author of it, in some other Pamphlet publish'd in Answer to it.
Finding my self treated in this manner, I declin'd writing at all; and for a great Part of a Year never set Pen to Paper, except in the publick Paper call'd the
Review.
After this I was long absent in the
North
of
England,
and observing the Insolence of the
Jacobite
Party, and how they insinuated fine things into the Heads of the Common People of the Right and Claim of the
Pretender
and of the great Things he would do for us if he was to come in; of his being to turn a Protestant, of his being resolved to maintain our Liberties, support our Funds, give Liberty to Dissenters, and the like; and finding that the People began to be deluded, and that the
Jacobites
gain'd ground among them by these Insinuations, I thought it the best Service I could do the Protestant Interest, and the best way to open the Peoples Eyes to the Advantages of the Protestant Succession, if I took some Course effectually to alarm the People with what they really ought to expect if the
Pretender
should come to be King. And this made me set Pen to Paper again.
And this brings me to the affirmative Part, or to what really I HAVE DONE; and in this I am sorry to say, I have one of the foulest, most unjust, and unchristian Clamours to complain of, that any Man has suffer'd, I believe, since the Days of the Tyranny of King
James
the Second. The Fact is thus.
In order to detect the Influence of
Jacobite
Emissaries, as above, the first thing I wrote was a small Tract, call'd,
A Seasonable Caution.
A Book sincerely written to open the Eyes of the poor ignorant Country People, and to warn them against the subtle Insinuations of the Emissaries of the
Pretender;
and that it might be effectual to that Purpose, I prevail'd with several of my Friends to give them away among the poor People all over
England,
especially in the
North;
and several thousands were actually given away, the Price being reduced so low, that the bare Expence of Paper and Press was only preserv'd, that every one might be convinc'd, that nothing of Gain was design'd, but a sincere Endeavour to do a publick Good, and assist to keep the People entirely in the Interest of the Protestant Succession.
Next to this, and with the same sincere Design, I wrote Two Pamphlets, one entituled,
What if the
Pretender
should come?
The other,
Reasons against the Succession of the House of
Hanover. Nothing can be more plain, than that the Titles of these Books were Amusements, in order to put the Books into the Hands of those People who the
Jacobites
had deluded, and to bring the Books to be read by them.
Previous to what I shall farther say of these Books, I must observe, that all these Books met with so general a Reception and Approbation among those who were most sincere for the Protestant Succession, that they sent them all over the Kingdom, and recommended them to the Peoples reading as excellent and useful Pieces, insomuch, that about Seven Editions of them were Printed, and they were Reprinted in other Places; and I do protest, had his present Majesty, then Elector of
Hanover,
given me a thousand Pounds to have written for the Interest of his Succession, and to expose and render the Interest of the
Pretender
odious and ridiculous, I could have done nothing more effectual to those Purposes than these Books were.
And that I may make my worst Enemies, to whom this is a fair Appeal, Judges of this, I must take leave by and by to repeat some of the Expressions in those Books which were direct, and need no Explication, and which, I think, no Man that was in the Interest of the
Pretender,
nay which no Man but one who was entirely in the Interest of the
Hanover
Succession, could write.
Nothing can be severer in the Fate of a Man than to act so between two Parties, that both Sides should be provok'd against him. It is certain, the
Jacobites
curs'd those Tracts and the Author; and when they came to read them,
being deluded by the Titles according to the Design,
they threw them by with the greatest Indignation imaginable: Had the
Pretender
ever come to the Throne, I could have expected nothing but Death, and all the Ignominy and Reproach that the most inveterate Enemy, of his Person and Claim could be suppos'd to suffer.
On the other hand, I leave it to any considering Man to Judge, what a Surprize it must be to me to meet with all the publick Clamour that Informers could invent,
being Guilty of writing against the
Hanover
Succession, and as having written several Pamphlets
in Favour of the
Pretender.
No Man in this Nation ever had a more riv
d Aversion to the
Pretender,
and to all the Family he pretended to come of,
than I:
A M
that had been in Arms under the Duke of
Monmouth,
against the Cruelty and Arbitrary Government of his pretended Father; That for twenty Years had, to my utmost, opposed him, (King
James
) and his Party after his Abdication; That had serv'd King
WILLIAM
to his Satisfaction, and the Friends of the Revolution after his Death, at all Hazards, and upon all Occasions; That had suffer'd and been ruin'd under the Administration of
Highfiyers
and
Jacobites.
of whom some are,
at this Day, COƲ NTERFEIT Whigs;
It could not be! the Nature of the Thing could by no means allow it, it must be monstrous; and that the Wonder may cease, I shall take leave to quote some of the Expressions out of these Books, of which the worst Enemy I have in the World is left to Judge, whether they are in Favour of the
Pretender,
or no; but of this in its Place.
For these Books I was prosecuted, taken into Custody, and oblig'd to give Eight hundred Pound Bail.
I do not in the least object here against, or design to reflect upon the Proceedings of the Judges which were subsequent to this; I acknowledg'd
then,
and
now
acknowledge
again,
that, upon the Information given, there was a sufficient Ground for all they did, and my unhappy entring upon my own Vindication in Print, while the Case was before their Lordships in a Judicial Way, was an Error which I neither understood, and which I did not foresee; and therefore, altho' I had great Reason to reflect upon the Informers, yet I was wrong in making that Defence in the Manner and Time I then made it, and which, when I found, I made no scruple afterward to Petition the Judges, and acknowledge, that they had just Ground to resent it: Upon which Petition and Acknowledgment, their Lordships were pleas'd, with particular Marks of Goodness, to release me, and not take the Advantage of an Error of Ignorance, as if it had been consider'd and premeditated.
But against the
INFORMERS,
I think, I have great Reason to complain; and against the Injustice of those Writers, who, in many Pamphlets, charged me with writing for the
Pretender;
and the Government, with pardoning an Author who wrote for the
Pretender;
and indeed the Justice of those Men can be in nothing more clearly stated, than in this Case of mine; where the Charge, in their Printed Papers and Publick Discourse was brought, not that they themselves believ'd me Guilty of the Crime, but because it was necessary to blacken the Man; That a general Reproach might serve for an Answer to whatever he should say that was not for their Turn: So that it was the Person, not the Crime they fell upon, and they may justly be said to persecute for the sake of Persecution,
as will thus appear.
This Matter making some Noise, People began to enquire into it, and to ask what
De Foe
was prosecuted for, seeing the Books were manifestly written against the
Pretender,
and for the Interest of the House of
Hanover?
And my Friends expostulated freely with some of the Men who appear'd in it, who answer'd,
with more Truth than Honesty,
That they knew this Book had nothing in it, and that it was meant another way; but that
De Foe
had disoblig'd them in other things, and they were resolv'd to take the Advantage they had, both to punish and expose him. They were no inconsiderable People who said this; and had the Case come to a Tryal, I had provided good Evidence to prove the Words.
This is the Christianity and Justice by which I have been treated; and this Injustice is the thing that I complain of,
Now as this was a Plot of a few Men to see if they could brand me in the World for a
Jacobite,
and perswade rash and ignorant People that I was turn'd about for the
Pretender, I think they might as easily have prov'd me to be a Mahometan;
therefore, I say, this obliges me to state that Matter as it really stands, that impartial Men may Judge whether those Books were written for, or against the
Pretender;
and this cannot be better done, than by the Account of what follow'd after the first Information, which in few Words is thus:
Upon the several Days appointed, I appear'd at the
Queen's Be
Bar
to discharge my Bail; and at last had an Indictment for High Crimes and Misdemeanours exhibited against me by Her Majesty's Attorney-General, which, as I was inform'd, contain'd two hundred Sheets of Paper.
What was the Substance of the Indictment I shall not mention here, neither could I enter upon it, having never seen the Particulars: But I was told, that I should be brought to Tryal the very next Term.
I was not ignorant that in such Cases it is easy to make any Book a Libel, and that the Jury must have found the Matter of Fact in the Indictment,
(viz.)
That I had written such Books, and then what might have follow'd I knew not: Wherefore I thought it was my only way to cast my self on the Clemency of her Majesty, whose Goodness I had had so much Experience of many ways; representing in my Petition, that I was far from the least Intention to favour the Interest of the
Pretender,
but that the Books were all written with a sincere Design to promote the Interest of the House of
Hanover;
and humbly laid before her Majesty, as I do now before the rest of the World, the Books themselves to plead in my behalf; representing farther, that I was maliciously inform'd against by those who were willing to put a Construction upon the Expressions different from my true Meaning, and therefore, flying to her Majesty's Goodness and Clemency, I entreated her Gracious PARDON.
It was not only the native Disposition of her Majesty to Acts of Clemency and Goodness, that obtain'd me this Pardon; but, as I was inform'd, her Majesty was pleas'd to express it in the Council,
She saw nothing but private Pique in the first Prosecution;
and therefore, I think, I cannot give a better and clearer Vindication of my self, than what is contain'd in the Preamble to the Pardon which her Majesty was pleas'd to grant me, and I must be allow'd to say, to those who are still willing to object, that, I think, what satisfy'd her Majesty might be sufficient to satisfy them; and I can assure them, that this Pardon was not granted without her Majesty's being specially and particularly acquainted with the things alledg'd in the Petition, the Books also being look'd in to find the Expressions quoted in the Petition. The Preamble to the Patent for a Pardon, as far as relates to the Matters of Fact, runs thus:
WHereas, in the Term of the
Holy Trinity
last past, our Artorney. General did exhibit an Information, in our Court of
Queens-Bench
at
Westminster,
against
DANIEL DE FOE,
late of
London,
Gent. for Writing, Printing, and Publishing, and causing to be Written, Printed, and Published, THREE LIBELS, the one entituled,
Reasons against the Succession of the House of
Hanover;
with an Enquiry, how far the Abdication of King
James,
supposing it to be legal, ought to affect the Person of the
Pretender. One other entituled,
And what if the
Pretender
should Come? Or some Considerations of the Advantages and real Consequences of the
Pretender
's possessing the Crown of
Great Britain. And one other entituled,
An Answer to a Question that nobody thinks of
(viz.)
What if the Queen should Die?
And whereas the said
Daniel De Foe
hath, by his humble Petition, represented to us, that he, with a sincere Design to propagate the Interest of the
Hanover Succession,
and to animate the People against the Designs of the
Pretender,
whom he always looked on as an Enemy to our Sacred Person and Government,
did publish
the said Pamphlets: In all which Books, altho' the Titles seem'd to look as if written in Favour of the
Pretender,
and several Expressions, as in all ironical Writing it must be, may be wrested against the true Design of the Whole, and turn'd to a Meaning quite different from the Intention of the Author, yet the Petitioner humbly assures us, in the solemnest Manner, that his true and only Design in all the said Books was, by an ironical Discourse of recommending the
Pretender,
in the strongest and most forcible Manner to expose his Designs, and the ruinous Consequences of his succeeding therein; which, as the Petitioner humbly represents, will appear to our Satisfaction by the Books themselves, where the following Expressions are very plain,
(viz.)
That the PRETENDER is recommended
as a Person proper to amass the
English
Liberties into his own Soveraignty, supply them with the Privileges of wearing WOODEN SHOES; easing them of the trouble of chusing Parliaments; and the Nobility and Gentry of the Hazard and Expence of Winter Journeys, by governing them in that more righteous Method of his ABSOLUTE WILL, and enforcing the Laws by a Glorious STANDING ARMY; paying all the Nations Debts at once by stopping the Funds, and shutting up the
Exchequer;
easing and quieting their Differences in Religion, by bringing them to the UNION of POPERY, or leaving them at Liberty to have no Religion at all:
That these were some of the very Expressions in the said Books which the Petitioner sincerely design'd to expose, and oppose as far as in him lies the
Interest
of the
Pretender,
and with no other Intention: NEVERTHELESS, the Petitioner, to his great Surprize, has been misrepresented, and his said Books misconstrued, as if written in Favour of the
Pretender,
and the Petitioner in now under Prosecution for the same; which Prosecution, if farther carried on, will be the utter Ruin of the Petitioner and his Family: Wherefore the Petitioner humbly assuring us of the Innocence of his Design, as aforesaid, files to our Clemency, and most humbly prays our most Gracious and Free Pardon. WE taking the Premisses, and the Circumstances aforesaid into our Royal Consideration, are graciously pleas'd,
&c.
Let any indifferent Man Judge whether I was not treated with particular Malice in this Matter, who was, notwithstanding this, reproach'd in the daily Publick Prints with having written treasonable Books, in behalf of the
Pretender;
nay, and in some of those Books, as before, the Queen her self, was rereproach'd,
with having granted her Pardon to an Author who writ for the
Pretender.
I think I might with much more Justice say, I was
the first Man
that ever was oblig'd to seek a Pardon for writing for the
Hanover
Succession; and
the first Man
that these People ever sought to Ruin for writing against the
Pretender:
For if ever a Book was sincerely design'd to farther and propogate the Affection and Zeal of the Nation against the
Pretender,
nay, and was made use of, and that with success too, for that purpose, THESE BOOKS
were so;
and I ask no more Favour of the World to determine the Opinion of honest Men for or against me than what is drawn constructively from these Books. Let one Word, either written or spoken by me, either publish'd, or not publish'd, be produced, that was in the least disrespectful to the Protestant Succession, or to any Branch of the Family of
Hanover,
or that can be judg'd to be favourable to the Interest or Person of the
Pretender,
and I will be willing to wave her Majesty's Pardon, and render my self to Publick Justice, to be punish'd for it as I should well deserve.
I freely and openly Challenge the worst of my Enemies to charge me with any Discourse, Conversation, or Behaviour in my whole Life, which had the least Word in it injurious to the Protestant Succession, unbecoming or disrespectful to any of the Persons of the Royal Family of
Hanover,
or the least favourable Word of the Person, the Designs, or Friends of the
Pretender.
If they can do it, let them stand forth and speak, no doubt but they may be heard; and I, for my part, will relinquish all Pleas, Pardons, and Defences, and cast my self into the Hands of Justice.
Nay, to go farther, I defy them to prove, that I ever kept Company, or had any Society, Friendship, or Conversation with any
Jacobite;
so averse have I been to the Interest, and to the People, that I have studiously avoided their Company upon all Occasions.
As nothing in the World has been more my Aversion than the Society of
Jacobites,
so nothing can be a greater Misfortune to me than to be accus'd, and publickly reproach'd with what is, of all things in the World, most abhorr'd by me, and which has made it the more afflicting is that this Charge arises from those very things, which I did, with the sincerest Design, to manifest the contrary.
But such is my present Fate, and I am to submit to it, which I do with Meekness and Calmness, as to a Judgment from Heaven, and am practising that Duty which I have studied long ago, of
Forgiving my Enemies,
and
praying for them that despitefully use me.
Having given this brief History of the Pardon,
&c.
I hope the Impartial part of the World will Grant me, That being thus Graciously Deliver'd a second Time from the Cruelty of my Implacable Enemies, and the Ruin of a Cruel and unjust Persecution, and that by the meer Clemency and Goodness of the Queen, my Obligation to her Majesty's Goodness, was far from being made less than it was before.
I have now run through the History of my Ohligation to her Majesty, and to the Person of my Benefactor aforesaid. I shall state every thing that follow'd this with all the Clearness I can, and leave my self lyable to as little Cavil as I may; for I see my self assaulted by a sort of People who will do me no justice. I hear a Great Noise made of Punishing those that are GUILTY, but as I said before not one Word of Clearing those that are INNOCENT; and I must say in this Part, they Treat me not only as I were no Christian, but as if they themselves were not Christians. They will neither prove the Charge, nor hear the Defence, which is the unjustest thing in the World.
I foresee what will be alledged to the Clause of my Obligation,
&c.
to Great Persons: And I resolve to give my Adversaries all the Advantage they can desire; by acknowledging beforehand, That
no Obligation to the QƲ EEN, or to any Benefactor, can justify any Man's acting against the Interest of his Country, against his Principles, his Conscience, and his former Profession.
I think this will Anticipate all that can be said upon that Head, and it will then remain to state the Fact as I am, or am not Chargeable with it; which I shall do as clearly as possible in few words.
It is none of my Work to enter into the Conduct of the Queen or of the Ministry in this Case, the Question is not what
they have done,
but what
I have done?
And tho' I am very far from thinking of them as some other People think, yet for the sake of the present Argument, I am to give them all up, and Suppose,
tho' not Granting,
that all which is suggested of them by the worst Temper, the most censorious Writer, the most scandalous Pamphlet or Lampoon should be True, and I'll go through some of the Particulars, as I meet with them in Publick.
1
st,
That they made a Scandalous Peace, unjustly Broke the Allyance, Betray'd the Confederates, and Sold us all to the
French.
God forbid it should be all Truth, in the manner that we see it in Print; But that, I say, is none of my Business.—
But what hand had I in all this?
I never wrote one word for the Peace
before it was made,
or to Justify it after
it was made,
let them produce it if they can; Nay, in a
Review
upon that Subject, while it was making I Printed it in plainer Words than other Men durst Speak it at that Time, That
I did not like the Peace,
nor did I like any Peace that was a making, since that of the PARTITION, and that the Protestant Interest was not taken Care of either in that or the Treaty of
Gertrudinburgh
before it.
It is true, that I did say, That since the Peace was made, and we could not help it, that it was our Business and our Duty to make the best of it, to make the utmost Advantage of it by Commerce, Navigation, and all kind of Improvement that we could, and this I SAY STILL; and I must think it is more our Duty to do so, than the Exclamations against the thing it self which it is not in our power to Retrieve. This is all that the worst Enemy I have can Charge me with:
After the Peace was made,
and the
Dutch
and the Emperor stood out, I gave my Opinion of what I foresaw would necessarily be the Consequence of that Difference,
(viz.)
That it would inevitably involve these Nations in a War with one or other of them;
any one
who was Master of Common Sense in the publick Affairs, might see that the standing out of the
Dutch
could have no other Event: For if the Confederates had Conquer'd the
French,
they would certainly have fallen upon us by way of Resentment, and there was no doubt, but the same Councils that led us to make a Peace, would Oblige us to maintain it, by preventing too great Impressions upon the
French.
On the other hand,
I alledged, that should the
French
prevail against the
Dutch,
unless he stopt at such Limitations of Conquest as the Treaty oblig'd him to do, we must have been under the same necessity to renew the War against
France;
and for this Reason, seeing we had made a Peace, we were oblig'd to bring the rest of the Confederates into it, and to bring the
French
to give them all such Terms as they ought to be satisfied with.
This way of Arguing was either so little Understood, or so much Malign'd, that I suffer'd innumerable Reproaches in Print, for having Written for a War with the
Dutch,
which was neither in the Expression, or ever in my Imagination: But I pass by these Injuries as small and trifling compar'd to others
I
suffer under.
However one thing
I
must say of the Peace,
Let it be Good or Ill in its self,
I cannot but think we have all reason to Rejoyce in behalf of his Present Majesty, That at his accession to the Crown, He found the Nation in Peace; and had the Hands of the King of
France
tied up by a Peace, so as not to be able, without the most infamous breach of Articles, to offer the least Disturbance to his taking a Quiet and Leisurely possession, or so much as to Countenance those that would.
Not but that
I
believe, if the War had been at the height, we should have been able to have preserved the Crown for his present Majesty, its only Rightful Lord: But
I
will not say it should have been so Easy, so Bloodless, so Undisputed as now, and all the Difference must be acknowledged to the Peace, and this is all the Good
I
ever yet said of the Peace.
I
come next to the general Clamour of
the Ministry being for the Pretender; I
must speak my Sentiments solemnly and plainly, as I always did in that matter,
(viz.)
That if it was so,
I
did not see it, nor did I ever see Reason to believe it; This
I
am sure of, that if it was so,
I
never took one step in that kind of Service, nor did
I
ever hear one Word spoken by any one of the Ministry that
I
had the Honour to know or Converse with, that favour'd the Pretender: But have had the Honour to hear them all Protest that there was no Design to Oppose the Succession of
Hanover
in the least.
It may be Objected to me, That they might be in the Interest of the Pretender for all that:
It is true they might;
But that is nothing to me,
I
am not Vindicating their Conduct, but my own; as
I
never was Employ'd in any thing that way, so
I
do still protest,
I
do not believe it was ever in their Design, and
I
have many Reasons to confirm my Thoughts in that Case, which are not material to the present Case: But be that as it will, it is enough to me that
I
acted nothing in any such Interest, neither did
I
ever Sin against the Protestant Succession of
Hanover
in Thought, Word, or Deed; and if the Ministry did,
I
did not see it, or so much as suspect them of it.
It was a Disaster to the Ministry, to be driven to the Necessity of taking that Set of Men by the hand, who, no body can deny, were in that Interest: But as the former Ministry answer'd, when they were charg'd with a Design to overthrow the Church, because they favour'd, joyn'd with, and were united to the
Dissenters;
I say they answer'd,
That they made use of the
Dissenters,
but granted them nothing
(WHICH BY THE WAY WAS TOO TRUE:) So these Gentlemen Answer,
That it is true, they made use of
Jacobites,
but did nothing for them.
But
this by the by.
Necessity is pleaded by both Parties for doing things which neither Side can justify. I wish both Sides would for ever avoid the Necessity of doing Evil; for certainly it is the worst Plea in the World, and generally made use of for the worst Things.
I have often lamented the Disaster which I saw, employing
Jacobites,
was to the late Ministry, and certainly it gave the greatest Handle to the Enemies of the Ministry to fix that universal Reproach upon them of being in the Interest of the
Pretender:
But there was no Medium. The
Whigs
refused to shew them a safe Retreat, or to give them the least Opportunity to take any other Measures but at the Risque of their own Destruction; and they ventur'd upon that Course, in hopes of being able to stand alone at last without help of either the one or the other, in which no doubt they were mistaken.
However, in this Part, as I was always assur'd, and have good Reason still to believe, that her Majesty was steady in the Interest of the House of
Hanover,
and that nothing was ever offer'd to me, or requir'd of me to the Prejudice of that Interest, On what Ground can I be reproach'd with the secret reserv'd Designs of any, if they had such Designs as I still verily believe they had not?
I see there are some Men who would fain perswade the World, that every Man that was in the Interest of the late Ministry, or employ'd by the late Government, or that serv'd the late Queen, was for the
Pretender.
God forbid this should be true; and I think there needs very little to be said in Answer to it. I can answer for my self, that it is notoriously false; and I think the easy and uninterrupted Accession of his Majesty to the Crown contradicts it: I see no End which such a Suggestion aims at, but to leave an Odium upon all that had any Duty or Regard to her late Majesty.
A Subject is not always Master of his Sovereign's Measures, nor always to examine what Persons or Parties the Prince he serves Employs; so be it that they break not in upon the Constitution; that they govern according to Law, and that he is employ'd in no illegal Act, or have nothing desir'd of him inconsistent with the Liberties and Laws of his Country: If this be not right, then a Servant of the King's is in a worse Case than a Servant to any private Person.
In all these things I have not err'd, neither have I acted or done any thing in the whole Course of my Life, either in the Service of her Majesty, or of her Ministry, that any one can say has the least Deviation from the strictest Regard to the Protestant Succession, and to the Laws and Liberties of my Country.
I never saw an Arbitrary Action offer'd at, a Law dispens'd with, Justice deny'd, or Oppression set up, either by Queen or Ministry, in any Branch of the Administration, wherein I had the least Concern.
If I have sin'd against the
Whigs,
it has been all NEGATIVELY,
(viz.)
that I have not joyn'd in the loud Exclamations against the Queen, and against the Ministry, and against the Measures; and if this be my Crime, my Plea is twofold.
1. I did not really see Cause for carrying their Complaints to that violent Degree.
2. Where I did see what, as before, I lamented and was sorry for, and could not joyn with, or approve, as joyning with
Jacobites,
the
Peace,
&c. My Obligation is my Plea for my silence.
I have all the good Thoughts of the Person, and good Wishes for the Prosperity of my Benefactor, that Charity, and that Gratitude, can inspire me with: I ever believ'd him to have the true Interest of the Protestant Religion, and of his Country in his view; if it should be otherwise, I should be very sorry. And I must repeat it again, that he always left me so entirely to my own Judgment in every thing I did, that he never prescrib'd to me what I should write, or should not write in my Life; neither did he ever concern himself to dictate to, or restrain me in any kind; nor did he see any one Tract that I ever wrote before it was Printed: So that all the Notion of my writing by his Direction, is as much a Slander upon him, as it is possible any thing of that kind can be; and if I have written any thing which is offensive, unjust, or untrue, I must do that Justice as to declare, He has had no hand in it; the Crime is my own.
As the Reproach of his directing me to write, is a Slander UPON THE PERSON I am speaking of; so that of my receiving Pensions and Payments from him for writing, is a Slander UPON ME; and I speak it with the greatest Sincerity, Seriousness, and Solemnity that it is possible for a Christian Man to speak, That except the Appointment I mention'd before, which her Majesty was pleas'd to make me formerly, and which I receiv'd during the time of my Lord
Godolphin
's Ministry, I have not receiv'd of the late Lord Treasurer, or of any one else by his Order, Knowledge, or Direction, one Farthing, or the Value of a Farthing, during his whole Administration; nor has all the Interest I have been suppos'd to have in his Lordship, been able to procure me the Arrears due to me in the time of the other Ministry. SO HELP ME GOD.
I am under no Necessity of making this Declaration. The Services I did, and for which her Majesty was pleas'd to make me a small Allowance, are known to the greatest Men in the present Administration; and some of them were then of the Opinion, and I hope are so still, that I was not unworthy of her Majesty's Favour. The Effect of those Services, however small, are enjoy'd by those Great Persons, and by the whole Nation to this Day; and I had the Honour once to be told,
That they should never be forgotten.
It is a Misfortune, that no Man can avoid, to forfeit for his Deference to the Person and Services of his Queen, to whom he was inexpressibly oblig'd: And if I am fallen under the Displeasure of the PRESENT Government, for any thing I ever did in Obedience to her Majesty in THE PAST, I may say it is my Disaster; but I can never say it is my Fault.
This brings me again to that other Oppression which as I said I suffer under, and which, I think, is of a Kind, that no Man ever suffer'd under so much as my self: And this is to have every Libel, every Pamphlet, be it ever so foolish, so malicious, so unmannerly, or so dangerous, be laid at my Door, and be call'd publickly by my Name. It has been in vain for me to struggle with this Injury; It has been in vain for me to protest, to declare solemnly, nay, if I would have sworn that I had no hand in such a Book, or Paper, never saw it, never read it, and the like, it was the same thing.
My Name has been hackney'd about the Street by the Hawkers, and about the Coffee-Houses by the Politicians, at such a rate, as no Patience could bear. One Man will swear to the Style; another to this or that Expression; another to the Way of Printing; and all so positive, that it is to no purpose to oppose it.
I publish'd once, to stop this way of using me, that I would Print nothing but what I set my Name to, and I held it for a Year or Two; but it was all one, I had the same Treatment. I now have resolv'd, for some time, to write nothing at all; and yet I find it the same thing. Two Books lately publish'd being call'd mine, for no other reason that I know of, than that, at the Request of the Printer, I revised two Sheets of them at the Press, and that they seem'd to be written in Favour of a certain Person; which Person also, as I have been assur'd, had no Hand in them, or any Knowledge of them, till they were publish'd in Print.
This is a Flail which I have no Fence against, but to complain of the Injustice of it, and that is but
the shortest Way
to be treated with more Injustice.
There is a mighty Charge against me for being Author and Publisher of a Paper call'd,
The MERCATOR.
I'll state the Fact first, and then speak to the Subject.
It is true, that being desir'd to give my Opinion in the Affair of the Commerce with
France,
I did, as I often had done in Print many Years before, declare, That it was my Opinion we ought to have an open Trade with
France,
because I did believe we might have the Advantage by such a Trade; and of this Opinion I am still. What Part I had in the
Mercator,
is well known; and would Men Answer with Argument, and not with personal Abuses, I would, at any time, defend every Part of the
Mercator
which was of my doing. But to say the
Mercator
was mine, is false; I neither was the Author of it, had the Property of it, the Printing of it, or the Profit by it. I had never any Payment or Reward for writing any Part of it; Nor had I the Power to put what I would into it: Yet the whole Clamour fell upon me, because they knew not who else to load with it. And when they came to Answer, the Method was, instead of Argument, to threaten, and reflect upon me; reproach me with private Circumstances and Misfortunes, and give Language which no Christian ought to give, and which no Gentleman ought to take.
I thought any
Englishman
had the Liberty to speak his Opinion in such things; for this had nothing to do with the Publick. The Press was open to me as well as to others; and how, or when I lost my
English
Liberty of speaking my Mind, I know not; neither how my speaking my Opinion without Fee or Reward could authorize them to call me Villain, Rascal, Traytor, and such opprobious Names.
It was ever my Opinion, and is so still, that were our Wooll kept from
France,
and our Manufactures spread in
France
upon reasonable Duties, all the Improvement which the
French
have made in Woolen Manufactures would decay, and in the End be little Worth, and consequently the Hurt they could do us by them, would be of little Moment.
It was my Opinion, and is so still, that the Ninth Article of the Treaty of
Commerce
was calculated for the Advantage of our Trade, let who will make it,
that is nothing to me:
My Reasons are, because it TYED up the
French
to open the Door to our Manufactures at a certain Duty of Importation THERE, and left the Parliament of
Britain
at Liberty to shut theirs out by as high Duties as they pleas'd HERE, there being no Limitation upon us as to Duties on
French
Goods;
but that other Nations should pay the same.
While the
French
were thus bound, and the
British
free, I always thought we must be in a Condition to Trade to Advantage, or it must be our own Fault: This was my Opinion, and IS SO STILL, and I would venture to maintain it against any Man upon a publick Stage, before a Jury of fifty Merchants, and venture my Life upon the Cause, if I were assured of fair Play in the Dispute. But that it was my Opinion, That we might carry on a Trade with
France
to our great Advantage, and that we ought for that reason to Trade with them, appears in the Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Volume of the
Reviews,
above Nine Year before the
Mercator
was thought of; it was not thought Criminal to say so then, how it comes to be Villainous to say so now God knows, I can give no account of it; I am still of the same Opinion, and shall never be brought to say otherwise, unless I see the state of Trade so altered, as to alter my Opinion; and if ever I do, I will be able to give good Reasons for it.
The Answer to these things, whether mine or no, was all pointed at me, and the Arguments were generally in the Terms of Villain, Rascal, Miscreant, Lyer, Bankrupt, Fellow, Hireling, Turn-Coat,
&c.
what the Arguments were better'd by these Methods, that I leave to others to Judge of. Also most of those things in the
Mercator,
for which I had such Usage, were such as I was not the Author of.
I do grant, had all the Books which have been called by my Name been written by me, I must of Necessity have exasperated every Side, and perhaps have deserved it; but I have the greatest Injustice imaginable in this Treatment, as I have in the perverting the Design of what really I have written. To sum up therefore my Complaint in few Words:
I was from my first entring into the Knowledge of publick Matters, and have ever been to this Day, a sincere Lover of the Constitution of my Country; zealous for Liberty, and the Protestant Interest; but a constant Follower of moderate Principles, a vigorous Opposer of hot Measures in all Parties: I never once changed my Opinion, my Principles, or my Party; and let what will be said of changing Sides, this I maintain, That I never once deviated from the Revolution Principles, nor from the Doctrine of Liberty and Property, on which it was founded.
I own I could never be convinc'd of the great
Danger
of the PRETENDER, in the Time of the late Ministry: Nor can I be now convinc'd of the great
Danger
of the CHURCH under this Ministry. I believe the Cries of one was politically made use of then to serve other Designs; and I plainly see the like Use made of the other now. I spoke my Mind freely then, and I have done the like now, in a small Tract to that purpose not yet made publick; and which, if I live to publish, I will publickly own, as I purpose to do, every thing I write, that my Friends may know when I am abused, and they impos'd on.
It has been the Disaster of all Parties in this Nation to be very HOT in their Turn, and as often as they have been SO, I have differed with them all, and ever must and shall do so. I'll repeat some of the Occasions on the
Whigs
Side, because from that Quarter the Accusation of my turning about comes.
The first Time
I had the Misfortune to differ with my Friends, was about the Year 1683. when the
Turks
were besieging
Vienna,
and the
Whigs
in
England,
generally speaking, were for the
Turks
taking it; which I having read the History of the Cruelty and perfidious Dealings of the
Turks
in their Wars, and how they had rooted out the Name of the Christian Religion in above Threescore and Ten Kingdoms, could by no means agree with: And tho' then but a young Man, and a younger Author, I opposed it, and wrote against it; which was taken very unkindly indeed.
The next Time
I differed with my Friends was when King
James
was wheedling the
Dissenters
to take off the Penal Laws and Test, which I could by no means come into: And as
in the first
I used to say, I had rather the Popish House of
Austria
should ruin the Protestants in
Hungaria,
than the Infidel House of
Ottoman
should ruin both Protestant and Papist, by over-running
Germany;
So in the other, I told the
Dissenters
I had rather th Church of
England
should pull our Cloaths off by Fines and Forfeitures, than the Papists should fall both upon the
Church,
and the
Dissenters,
and pull our Skins off by Fire and Fagot.
The next
Difference I had with good Men, was about the scandalous Practice of
Occasional Conformity,
in which I had the Misfortune to make many honest Men angry, rather because I had the better of the Argument, than because they disliked what I said.
And now I have lived to see the
Dissenters
themselves very quiet, if not very well pleased with an Act of Parliament to prevent it. Their
iends indeed laid it on; they would be Friends indeed if they would talk of taking it off again.
Again,
I had a Breach with honest Men for their Male treating King
William;
of which I say nothing: Because, I think, they are now opening their Eyes, and making what amends they can to his Memory.
The fifth
Difference I had with them, was about the
Treaty of Partition,
in which many honest Men were mistaken, and in which I told them plainly then, That they would at last End the War upon
worse Terms;
and so it is my Opinion they would have done, tho' the Treaty of
Gertrudenburgh
had taken Place.
The sixth Time
I differed with them, was when the
Old Whigs
fell upon the
Modern Whigs;
and when the Duke of
Marlborough
and my Lord
Godolphin
were used by the
Observator
in a Manner worse,
I must confess for the Time it
lasted,
than ever they were used since; nay, tho' it were by
Abel
and the
Examiner:
But the Success failed. In this Dispute my Lord
Godolphin
did me the Honour to tell me,
I had served him
and
his Grace also,
both
faithfully
and
successfully.
But his Lordship is Dead, and I have now no Testimony of it but what is to be found in the
Observator,
where I am plentifully abused for being an Enemy to my Country, by acting in the Interest of my Lord
Godolphin,
and the Duke of
Marlborough: What Weather-Cock can Turn with such Tempers as these!
I am now in
the seventh
Breach with them, and my Crime now is, That I will not believe and say the same things of the
Queen,
and the late
Treasurer,
which I could not believe before of my Lord
Godolphin,
and the Duke of
Marlborough,
and which in Truth I cannot believe, and therefore could not say it of either of them; and which, if I had believed, yet I ought not to have been the Man that should have said it, for the Reasons aforesaid.
In such Turns of Tempers and Times a Man must be tenfold
a Vicar of
Bray, or it is impossible but he must one Time or other be out with every Body. This is my present Condition, and for this I am reviled with having abandon'd my Principles, turn'd
Jacobite,
and what not: God Judge between me and these Men. Would they come to any Particulars with me, what real Guilt I may have I would freely acknowledge; and if they would produce any Evidence, of the Bribes, the Pensions, and the Rewards I have taken, I would declare honestly, whether they were true or no. If they would give a List of the Books which they charge me with, and the Reasons why they lay them at my Door, I would acknowledge any Mistake, own what I have done, and let them know what I have not done. But these Men neither shew Mercy, or leave place for Repentance, in which they act not only unlike their Maker, but contrary to his express Commands.
It is true, good Men have been used thus in former times; and all the Comfort I have is, that these Men have not the last Judgment in their Hands, if they had, dreadful would be the Case of those who oppose them. But that Day will shew many Men and Things also in a different State from what they may now appear in; some that now appear clear and fair, will then be seen to be black and foul; and some that are now thought black and foul, will then be approved and accepted; and thither I chearfully appeal, concluding this Part in the Words of the Prophet,
I heard the Defaming of many; Fear on every side; Report,
say they,
and we will Report it; All my Familiars watch'd for my halting, saying, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our Revenge on him,
Jerem. 20. 10.
Mr.
Pool's Annotations
has the following Remarks on these Lines, which, I think, are so much to that Part of my Case which is to follow, that I could not omit them. His Words are these.
'The Prophet,
says he,
here rendreth a Reason why he thought of giving over his Work as a Prophet; his Ears were continually filled with the Obloquies and Reproaches of such as reproached him; and besides, lie was afraid on all Hands, there were so many Traps laid for him, so many Devises devised against him. They did not only take Advantage against him, but sought Advantages, and invited others to raise Stories of him. Not only Strangers, but those that he might have expected the greatest Kindness from; those that pretended most courteously, they watch,
says he,
for opportunities to do me Mischief, and lay in wait for my Halting, desiring nothing more than that I might be enticed to speak, or do something which they might find Matter of a colourable Accusation, that so they might satisfie their Malice upon me. This hath always been the Genius of wicked Men;
Job
and
David,
both made Complaints much like this.'
These are Mr.
Pool's
Words.
And this leads me to several Particulars, in which my Case may, without any Arrogance, be likened to that of the Sacred Prophet; except only the vast Disparity of the Persons.
No sooner was the Queen Dead, and the King as Right required, proclaim'd, but the Rage of Men encreased upon me to that Degree, that the Threats and Insults I receiv'd were such as I am not able to express: If I offered to say a word in favour of the present Settlement, it was called fawning and turning round again; on the other hand, tho' I have meddled neither one way or other, nor written one Book since the Queen's Death, yet a great many things are call'd by my Name, and I bear every Day the Reproaches which all the Answerers of those Books cast as well upon the Subject as the Authors. I have not seen or spoken to my Lord of
Oxford
but once since the King's Landing, nor receiv'd the least Message, Order, or Writing from his Lordship, or any other way Corresponded with him, yet he bears the Reproach of my Writing in his Defence, and I the Rage of Men for doing it. I cannot say it is no Affliction to me to be thus used, tho' my being entirely clear of the Facts, is a true support to me.
I am unconcerned at the Rage and Clamour of
Party-men;
but I can not be unconcern'd to hear Men, who I think are good Men and good Christians, prepossess'd and mistaken about me: However I cannot doubt but some time or other It will please God to open such Mens Eyes. A constant, steady adhering to
Personal Vertue,
and to
Publick Peace,
which, I thank God, I can appeal to him, has always been my Practice; will AT LAST restore me to the Opinion of Sober and Impartial Men, and that is all I desire: What it will do with those who are resolutely Partial and Unjust I cannot say, neither is that much my Concern. But I cannot forbear giving one Example of the hard Treatment I receive, which has happened, even while I am Writing this Tract: I have six Children, I have Educated them as well as my Circumstances will permit, and so as I hope shall recommed them to better Usage than their Father meets with in the World. I am not indebted One Shilling in the World for any part of their Education, or for any thing else belonging to bringing them up; yet the Author of the
Flying-Post
Published lately, That I never pay'd for the Education of any of my Children. If an Man in
Britain
has a Shilling to demand of me for any part of their Education, or any thing belong to them, let them come for it.
But these Men care not what Injurious Things they Write, nor what they Say, whether Truth or Not, if it may but raise a Reproach on me, tho' it were to be my Ruine. I may well Appeal to the Honour and Justice of my worst Enemies in such Cases as this.
Conscia Mens Recti fama Mendacia Ridet.
CONCLUSION by the Publisher.
WHile this was at the Press, and the Copy thus far finish'd, the Author was seiz'd with a violent Fit of an Apoplexy, whereby he was disabled finishing what he design'd in his farther Defence, and continuing now for above Six Weeks in a Weak and Languishing Condition, neither able to go on, or likely to recover, at least in any short time, his Friends thought it not fit to delay the Publication of this any longer; if he recovers, he may be able to finish what he began; if not, it is the Opinion of most that know him, that the Treatment which he here complains of, and some others that he would have spoken of, have been the apparent Cause of his Disaster.
FINIS.