1662. A plot. Ibid. Echard. Ludlow, 'State-trials, t. II. p.474. About the end of the year a confpiracy was difcovered, formed by the fifth monarchy-men, and upon the informations of fome of the accomplices, fix were executed. Neverthelefs, many believed, this was only an artifice to excufe the feverity practifed against the nonconformifts. The ground III. p. 113. of this fufpicion was, that in a plot formed to feize and kill the king, the duke of York, and general Monk, and to seize the tower and caftle of Windfor, only fix confpirators were discovered, namely, George Phillips a ferjeant of foot, Thomas Tonge a diftiller, Francis Stubbs a cheefemonger, James Hind a gunner, John Sellers a compass maker, and Nathaniel Gibbs a felt maker. Few could believe that fuch men fhould ever think of fucceeding in a design of that nature. It is true, that to render the confpiracy more probable, it was faid, the old colonels were to affemble their difbanded forces, and Ludlow, then in Switzerland, to come Six confpi- and head them. But though fuch an undertaking required perfons of fome diftinction, yet only thefe fix wretches who were executed ", could be discovered. At least, if the confpiracy was real, the plotters had yet made no great progrefs w rators exe cuted. Dec. 22. Peace with October 5. To finish the most remarkable tranfactions of this year, Algier. I fhall briefly add, that after the earl of Sandwich left LifCollect. of bon, to conduct the queen into England, vice admiral Lawtreaties, fon, failed with a fquadron to Algier, and forced the Alget.III. p.264, rines to a peace with England. As the king was in poffef 267. 1662-3. fion of Tangier, they, doubtless, believed, it would not be advantageous to have him for their enemy. Shortly after, the king declared Tangier a free port, and invefted it with great privileges *. The king had already difcovered, how agreeable it would be to him to have the management of the uniformity act, The king's but the parliament had returned no anfwer to his defire. the prefby- Before this act, the prefbyterians had behaved in a manner which gave no juft caufe of complaint against them, and conduct to terians. u Only Phillips, Tonge, Gibbs, and Stubbs, were executed. John Sellers was afterwards made the king's Hydrographer, and publifhed feveral maps, charts &c. See Heath, p. 513. w However, as Ludlow obferves, this ferved the court for a pretence to feize five or fix hundred perfons; to dif arm all thofe they fufpected; to make thole they had taken give bonds not to take up arms against the king; and the to increase their ftandiug guards. tom. III. p. 114. x This year died Robert Saunderson, bishop of Lincoln; dr. John Gauden, bishop of Worcester, the reputed author of Eikon Bafilike. [See Kennet's reg. P. 773, &c.] As alfo William Fien nes, vifcount Say and Seal, lord privy feal; and, on Septem. 3, at Burford, William Lenthall, fpeaker of the long parliament.. Id. p. 671. the king had made them a pofitive promife, either that he 1662-3. would never confent to the act, or procure them a particular exemption, but he performed neither, his aim having been only to keep them united, by giving them hopes of his protection. After the act was paffed, he still continued to feed their expectations, and hence it was, that they addreffed the king and council, for a difpenfation from the penalties annexed to the act of uniformity. The petition would doubtlefs have been rejected, if the king had not fignified to the council the obligation he was under to grant their request. Some time after he published a declaration, A declaradated the 26th of December, but which appeared not till tion in their the beginning of January 1662-3. In the declaration, after Kennet's an affurance of his firm adherence to the act of uniformity, regifter, he faid however, that for the fake of others, he was willing p. 848. to difpenfe with fome matters in it". Upon the decla- Dec. 28. ration, mr. Calamy a prefbyterian minifter being in the Heath, church of Aldermanbury, of which he had the cure before P. 514. the execution of the act, and feeing the minifter, who was expected, did not come, afcended the pulpit and preached, for which he was committed to Newgate by the lord mayor of London. But in a few days, he was difcharged by the king's exprefs order. favour. Clarendon The king, as we have feen, meant to procure fome advantages for the prefbyterians, in order to procure the same for the papifts. This was his fcheme, and as it was directly The earl of contrary to the earl of Clarendon's principles, mortal ene begins to my of the prefbyterians, and no friend of the papifts, it is fink in his not furprifing, it fhould be formed without the privity of this credit. minifter, whofe credit, for that reafon, began now to decline. Nay, the king had plainly shown, he had not the fame af- The earl of fection for him, by obliging his intimate friend fecretary Ni- Arling on cholas, worn out with age, to refign his poft to the chancellor's profeffed enemy, fir Henry Bennet, afterwards earl of October 2. Arlington. This fufficiently difcovered, that his credit Kennet's with the king was fenfibly diminished. On the other hand, register, though the king affected a great zeal for the proteftant religion, the choice of Bennet to be fecretary of state, showed y His words are, "As for what "concerns the penalties upon thofe who(living peaceably) do not conform "through fcruple and tenderness of mil"guided confcience but modeftly, and "without fcandal, perform their devo"tions in their own way, we fhall "make it our fpecial care, without in Q3 his "vading the freedom of parliament, with a more, univerfal tatisfaction, made fecre tary of state. P. 788, 799. 1662-3. his inclination for the Roman catholicks, as Bennet was ftrongly fufpected of being a papift in his heart, and known Clarendon. for their protector. It is faid, he and the earl of Bristol had Echard, induced the king to change his religion at Fontarabia, and t. III. p. 95. that Bennet durft not return into England till after the death The king's defign in favouring terians. of the lord Culpeper, who had threatned him to discover it to the parliament. Be this as it will, Bennet being the chancellor's enemy, this laft could not but look upon his enemy's advancement to the post of his intimate friend, as a prelude to his difgrace. The king's declaration in favour of the prefbyterians, was a farther indication of the chancellor's fall. This declaration the prefby- had been refolved and prepared, without his knowledge, at Somerfet-house, where the queen mother refided, and probably by a catholick junto, or by fecret favourers of that religion. Those who knew the chancellor's principles, easily judged, he had no hand in it. They had reafon to be afterwards confirmed in that opinion, when every one evidently faw the king, in his pretended compaffion for the prefbyte rians, defigned only to procure a toleration for the catholicks. The chancellor, however, kept his poft for fome years, though with a great diminution of credit. Phillips. The king's fpeech to both houses tion. Ecard. The parliament meeting the 18th of February, the king made a speech to both houfes, in which he confined himfelf to one fingle point, namely, his declaration concerning the act of uniformity. His words were these : "To cure the diftempers, and compofe the different "minds among us, I fet forth my declaration of the 26th in favour of of December, in which you may fee, I am willing to fet his declarabounds to the hopes of fome, and to the fears of others; of which, when you fhall have examined well the grounds, "I doubt not but I fhall have your concurrence therein. "The truth is, I am, in my nature, an enemy to all feve"rity for religion and confcience, how mistaken foever it "be, when it extends to capital and fanguinary punishments, which I am told were begun in popith times: therefore, when I fay this, I hope I fhall not need to warn any 61 here, not to infer from hence, I mean to favour popery. I must confefs to you, there are many of that profeffion who having ferved my father and my felf very well, may fairly hope for fome part of that indulgence I would wil, lingly afford to others who diffent from us: but let me explain myfelf, left fome mistake me herein, as I hear they did in my declaration: I am far from meaning by this, Sa toleracion or qualifying them thereby to hold any offices or "or places in the government; nay, further, I defire fome 1662-3. "laws to be made to hinder the growth and progrefs of their "doctrines. I hope you have all fo good an opinion of "my zeal for the proteftant religion, as I need not tell you, "I will not yield to any therein, not to the bishops them"felves, nor in my liking the uniformity of it, as it is now "eftablished; which being the ftandard of our religion, "must be kept pure and uncorrupted, free from all other "mixtures: and yet, if the diffenters will demean themselves "peaceably and modeftly under the government, I could "heartily wifh, I had fuch a power of indulgence, to use "upon occafions, as might not needlefsly force them out of "the kingdom, or staying here, give them cause to conspire "against the peace of it. 66 "My lords and gentlemen, it would look like flattery "in me to tell you, to what degree I am confident of your wisdom and affection in all things, that relate to "the greatnefs and profperity of the kingdom. If you "confider well what is beft for us all, I dare fay we shall "not difagree.". Ibid. This fpeech, with the declaration of the 26th of Decem- The comber, alarmed the house of commons. It may almost be af- mons are firmed, that whatever the commons had done in favour of alarmed. the king, was only to procure his affent to the act of uniformity, and yet, they faw him not only dispense with that act, but even defire a power to dispense with it, that is, to fet it afide as often as he pleased: that this was not only in favour of the prefbyterians, who had a better claim to indulgence than the other fects, but moreover, in favour of all the nonconformifts. Nay, it was eafy to perceive, from what he said concerning the catholicks, that his intention. was to prevent their being diftinguished from the proteftant fects, in cafe his defires were complied with. This justice ought to be done to the highchurch party, that though their enemies frequently brand them for papifts, on account of their extreme attachment to certain forms and ceremonies, yet are they as far removed from the effence of popery, as the other epifcopalians, and even the prefbyterians themfelves. This they have demonftrated on several very remarkable occafions. The house of commons, which, as I faid, was chiefly compofed of highchurchmen, found in the king's demand, two articles equally oppofite to their principles, namely, indulgence for the prefbyterians, and indulgence for the catholicks. Wherefore, they refolved to prefent an address to 1662-3. Addrefs of the commons about the king's declaration, Feb. 27. Phillips. Kennet. Echard, the king, wherein, after the neceffary compliments, they proceeded in the following manner. 66 "It is with extreme unwillingness and reluctancy of "heart, that we are brought to differ from any thing which your majefty has thought fit to propofe: and though we do no way doubt, but that the unreafonable diftempers of fome mens fpirits, and the many mutinies and confpira"cies which were carried on during the late intervals of parliament, did reasonably incline your majefty to endeavour by your declaration, to give fome allay to thofe ill "humours, till the parliament affembled; and the hopes of indulgence, if the parliament fhould confent to it; efpecially feeing the pretenders to this indulgence, did feem to make fome titles to it, by virtue of your majefty's de"claration from Breda. Nevertheless, we your majesty's ❝ most dutiful and loyal fubjects, who are now returned to ferve in parliament from those several parts and places of your kingdom, for which we were chofen, do humbly of❝fer to your majefty's great wifdom, that it is in no fort adviseable, that there be any indulgence to fuch perfons who prefume to diffent from the act of uniformity, and the religion established: for these reasons we have confidered the nature of your majefty's declaration from Breda, and are humbly of opinion, that your majefty ought not to be preffed with it any farther; 1. Because it is not a "promife in itself, but only a gracious declaration of your majefty's intentions, to do what in you lay, and what a parliament should advise your majesty to do; and no fuch "advice was ever given or thought fit to be offered, nor "could it be otherwife understood, because there were laws "of uniformity then in being, which could not be difpenfed with but by act of parliament. 2. They who do pre❝tend a right to that fuppofed promise, put the right into the hands of their reprefentatives, whom they chose to "ferve for them in this parliament, who have paffed, and your majefty confented to the act of uniformity. If any fhall prefume to fay, that a right to the benefit of this declaration doth still remain after this act paffed; 3. It tends to diffolve the very bonds of government, and to fuppofe a difability in your majefty and the houfes of parliament, to make a law contrary to any part of your.majefty's declaration, though both houfes fhould advife your majefty to it. We have alfo confidered the nature of the indulgence propofed, with reference to thofe confequences which muft neceffarily |