fraud us of our birth-rights? no defigns to diffeife us by violence? Would to God this were our happy ftate, and that there was no need to write in defence of liberty, or to excite Great-Britain to a becoming jealoufy and care that the doth not lose it.

BUT how many vifible fymptoms are there of danger? The nation is on all hands alarm'd with the growth of popery. The great prelate of our church hath warned his clergy of it by a circular letter: fome of our clergy, and many of the diffenting teachers, are carrying on publick lectures, in a very laudable manner, to warn their congregations against the spirit, doctrines and practices of this antichriftian fuperftition: authentick accounts from the north and weft of England, and from the principality of Wales, fpeak of large numbers of converts, of the increase of mass-houses, the publick appearance of popifh priests, and of the moft open refort to their places of worship. In the two great cities of London and Westminster, they enter into publick conferences and difputes in favour of popery, privately fpread amongst the people catechisms for the reception of converts, books of devotion, and fcandalous accounts of the reformed religion, and of those illuftrious and worthy men, who were the glorious inftruments of providence in planting and establishing it in this and other nations of Europe. The number of priests about this city, is faid, by a moderate computation, to be

no less than ten thousand; and the number of the Papifts in the kingdom to amount to fix hundred thousand. And are not these circumftances fufficient to excite us to a fenfe of our danger? Do they not loudly call on every Briton and Proteftant to put himself upon guard against so fatal and growing an evil?

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BUT to what can the growth of this abfurd and false religion be owing? A religion founded in flavery and ignorance, that tramples on all the rights of private judgment, and deftroys the liberties of nations wherever it prevails. If it increases among the inhabitants of this kingdom, it must proceed from this, amongst other caufes, that too many have loft the fenfe of liberty, and are ignorant of the true value of it; that they understand not the unalienable rights of confcience, the privileges of chriftianity, and thofe fubftantial principles upon which the reformation was founded, and originally fettled amongst us. 'Tis in the nature of things impoffible, that popery can prevail amongst any part of mankind, but flavery muft increase in proportion with it. Liberty and popery are two abfolute and irreconcileable contradictions; as oppofite to each other as light to darkness, and as heaven to hell.

THE first step which a convert to this religion must take, is the renouncing his senses and reafon, and facrificing his judgment and confcience to the authority and dictates of a proud and domineering priest; who, when he

hath

hath thus fecured the property of him, finds it an eafy work to retain him in eternal vaffalage, by prejudicing him against all means of conviction, and by inftilling into his mind a fuperftitious fear, that every thought and every attempt to free himself from his holy chains, is a mortal and damnable fin. Since therefore this growth of popery is a demonftrable proof that principles of flavery are advancing amongst us, what can be a more incumbent duty upon every Englishman, than to endeavour to revive the ancient zeal of the British nation against the incroachments of this accurfed evil, and to inspire them with the fentiments of CONSISTENT PROTESTANTS, by leading them to a thorough knowledge of thofe excellent principles, by which alone the protestant religion can be fupported and defended.

AND this is the more neceffary, because there are not wanting men amongst ourselves, who, tho' proteftants by profeffion, yet retain and inculcate the most dangerous principles of popery, and are for fetting up an independent power in this kingdom, fubverfive of his Majefty's prerogative, and all the valuable rights of the fubject; men, who envy Britons the privilege of thinking, judging, fpeaking, and writing for themselves; who are fworn enemies to the liberty of the prefs; who infolently face the civil government, and even threaten majefty itself, if it dares to dispute or B4

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contradict their humble advices, their facred commands.

As a proof of this, I appeal to a paffage published in the Weekly Mifcellany of Feb. 22. laft paft; a paper thought to have the countenance and affiftance of fome very great and able pens. The paffage is this, "The Rev. "Dr. R. who was lately difappointed of the b---p---k of G-----r, hath kiffed his Majesty's hand for a much more confiderable preferment in Ireland. From whence in justice it ought to be prefumed, that the "Doctor hath purged himself from what he was charged with in relation to his faith: "fince it cannot decently be supposed, that "under a government, fo tender of the rights of all the fubjects, any invasion shall "be made of the essential privileges of the chriftian church, or that those privileges, " which never yet have been violated in any part of christendom, fhould be facrificed to "the pleasure of any one man, in a manner, "that might give just offence to the whole "bench of bishops, and the body of the

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clergy, and all the orthodox members of "the churches of England and Ireland, "which his majesty hath so often declared "that he will protect and encourage."

'Tis very obfervable, that the author of this remarkable paffage, fays only, that it ought to be in juftice prefumed, that Dr. R. hath purged himself. The thing is not certain, 'tis but a prefumption at beft; but 'tis a

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prefumption, that, it seems, is founded in juftice. But who must judge whether there be any real justice to fupport it? To whom hath the doctor purged himself? Why doth not the purgation publickly appear? If this purgation of the doctor hath no fact to support the prefumption of it, if in reality he hath not purged himself, and ought not to purge himself of an infamous charge to our English inquifitors of the faith; why then, Britons, behold the character that is drawn of your prince by this prostituted pen, this advocate for the inquifitorial power, and for the fubjection of the crown itself to the lordly claims of the more facred priesthood! His majesty is, in the representation of this infolent writer, what I relate with horror, an invader of the effential privileges of the chriftian church, and one who bath facrificed thofe privileges, which never yet have been violated in any part of christendom. He hath given juft offence to the whole bench of bishops, the body of the clergy, and all the orthodox members of the churches of England and Ireland; and hath hereby broken his own promises to them, and his repeated declarations that he will protect and encourage them.

If this is not an endeavour to spread difaffection throughout the clergy, and members of the churches of England and Ireland, to his majesty's person and government, and setting up an authority wholly deftructive of the regal power, 'twill be hard to fay what is fo.

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