lives, fo the king has given us an illustrious example in his own perfon that excites us to it: for while he was a SUBJECT, he gave Cæfar his tribute, and now he is a CÆSAR, he gives GOD his due, viz. "the "fovereignty over confciences." It were a great 'fhame, then, for any Englishman (that profeffes Christianity) not to give God his due. By this grace he has relieved his diftreffed fubjects from their cruel fufferings, and raised to himself a new ' and lafting empire, by adding their affections to their duty and we pray God to continue the king in this noble refolution; for he is now upon a principle 'that has good-nature, Christianity, and the good of civil fociety on its fide; a fecurity to him beyond 'the little arts of government.

I would not that any fhould think, that we came hither with defign to fill the Gazette with our thanks; but as our fufferings would have moved ftones to compaffion, fo we should be HARDER, if we were not 'moved to GRATITUDE.

Now fince the king's mercy and goodnefs have reached to us throughout the kingdom of England, ' and principality of Wales, our general affembly from 'all, thofe parts, met at London about our church af'fairs, has appointed us to wait upon the king with our humble thanks, and me to deliver them; which I do, by this ADDRESS, with all the affection and respect of a dutiful subject.'

The A D DRESS.

'To King JAMES the Second, over ENGLAND, &c.' The Humble and Grateful Acknowledgment of his Peaceable Subjects called QUAKERS, in this Kingdom.

• From their usual YEARLY-MEETING in LONDON, the Nineteenth Day of the Third Month, vulgarly called May, 1687.

WE

E cannot but blefs and praise the name of
Almighty God, who hath the hearts of
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' princes in his hand, that he hath inclined the king to hear the cries of his fuffering fubjects for confcience fake: and we rejoice that inftead of troubling him with complaints of our fufferings, he hath given us fo eminent an occafion to prefent him with our thanks and fince it hath pleafed the king, out of his great compaffion, thus to commiferate our afflicted condition, which hath fo particularly appeared by his gracious proclamation, and warrants laft year, whereby twelve hundred prifoners were released from their fevere imprisonments, and many others from fpoil and ruin in their eftates and properties; and his princely fpeech in council, and Christian declaration for liberty of conscience, in which he doth not only exprefs his averfion to all force upon confcience, and grant all his diffenting fubjects an ample liberty to worship God, in the way they are perfuaded is moft agreeable to his will, but gives them his kingly word the fame fhall CONTINUE during his reign; we do (as our friends of this city have already done) render the king our humble, Chriftian, ⚫ and thankful acknowledgments, not only in behalf ' of ourselves, but with respect to our friends throughout England and Wales: and pray God, with all our hearts, to blefs and preserve thee, O king, and thofe under thee, in fo good a work: and as we can affure the king it is well accepted in the feveral • counties from whence we came, fo we hope the good effects thereof, for the peace, trade, and prosperity of the kingdom, will produce fuch a concurrence from the parliament, as may fecure it to our pofterity in after-times: and while we live, it fhall be our endeavour (through God's grace) to demean ourselves, as, in confcience to God, and duty to the King, we are obliged,

His Peceable, Loving, and Faithful Subjects.'

The

The KING's Anfwer,

GENTLEMEN,

Thank you heartily for your address: fome of

'I you know (I am fure you do, Mr. Penn) that

it was always my principle, "That confcience ought "not to be FORCED; and that all men ought to have "the LIBERTY of their confciences:" and what I have promised in my declaration, I will continue to 'perform as long as I live: and I hope, before I die, 'to fettle it fo, that after-ages fhall have no reason to 'alter it.'

Some have objected against the Quakers, and other diffenters, for addreffing King James upon the aforefaid declaration of indulgence, as though they had thereby countenanced the king's difpenfing with the laws in general: let fuch obferve their imputation, as to our author, and his friends the Quakers, fufficiently guarded against in that part of their address where they fay, We hope the good effects thereof, for the peace, trade, and profperity of the kingdom, may produce 'fuch a concurrence from the parliament, as will fe'cure it to our pofterity.' It is plain, therefore, they gratefully accepted of the fufpenfion of the penal laws, by the king's prerogative, (as who, in their cafe, would not?) a thing in itself just and reasonable, in hopes of having the fame afterward confirmed by the legislative authority; there being at that time much talk of an approaching parliament: and that their expectation centered not in the king's difpenfing power, is evident, by our author's continuing his endeavours to fhew the neceffity of abolishing the PENAL LAWS; for foon after this he writ a large tract, called, "Good "Advice to the Church of England, Roman Catho"licks, and Proteftant Diffenters;" in which he fhews the difannulling of those laws to be their general interest.

He wrote alfo, presently after this, a book entitled, "The Great and Populár Objection against the Repeal "of the Penal Laws, briefly ftated and confidered."

On the 27th of the month called April, 1688, King James renewed his declaration for liberty of confcience, with an order of council for the reading of it in churches; against which feven bishops petitioning, were committed to the Tower.

Our author labouring at this time under many jealoufies and reflections as a countenancer of the court proceedings, a particular friend of his, William Popple, fecretary to the plantation-office, fent him the following letter.

To the Honourable WILLIAM PENN, Efq; Proprietor ⚫ and Governor of Pennsylvania.

HONOURED SIR,

HOUGH the friendship with which you are

T'pleafed to honour me, doth afford me fuffi

cient opportunities of difcourfing with you upon any fubject, yet I chufe rather at this time to offer unto you in writing, fome reflections which have occurred to my thoughts, in a matter of no common import< ance. The importance of it doth, primarily and directly, refpect yourself, and your own private con<cernments; but it alfo, confequentially and effectually, regards the king, his government, and even the peace and fettlement of this whole nation. intreat you, therefore, to bear with me, if I endeavour in this manner to give fomewhat more weight ⚫unto my words than would be in a tranfient difcourfe, and leave them with you, as a subject that requires < your retired confideration.

I

You are not ignorant that the part you have been fuppofed to have had of late years in publick affairs, though without either the title, or honour, or profit of any publick office, and that especially your avowed endeavours to introduce amongst us a gene

ral

'ral and inviolable liberty of confcience in matters of mere religion, have occafioned the mistakes of fome 'men, provoked the malice of others, and, in the ' end, have raised against you a multitude of enemies, who have unworthily defamed you with fuch impu'tations, as, I am fure, you abhor. This I know you have been fufficiently informed of, though I doubt you have not made fufficient reflection upon it: the consciousness of your own innocence feems to me to have given you too great a contempt of fuch unjust and ill-grounded flanders: for however glorious it is, and reasonable, for a truly virtuous mind, whose inward peace is founded upon that rock of innocence, to defpife the empty noife of popular reproach, yet even that fublimity of fpirit may fometimes fwell to a reproveable excefs. To be fteady and immoveable in the profecution of wife and honeft refolutions, by all honeft and prudent means, is indeed a duty that admits of no exception: but nevertheless it ought not to hinder, that, at the fame time, there be alfo a due care taken of preferving a fair reputation. "A good name," fays the wife man, " is better than precious ointment.' It is a perfume that recommends the person whom it accompanies, that procures him every-where an eafy acceptance, and that facilitates the fuccefs of 'all his enterprizes: and for that reafon, though there 'were no other, I intreat you obferve, that "The "care of a man's reputation is an effential part of "that very fame duty that engages him in the pursuit "of any worthy defign."

But I must not entertain you with a declamation upon this general theme. My bufinefs is to reprefent to you, more particularly, thofe very imputations which are caft upon yourself, together with fome of their evident confequences; that, if poffi 'ble, I may thereby move you to labour after a remedy. The fource of all arifes from the ordinary ' access you have unto the king, the credit you are supposed to have with him, and the deep jealousy

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that