The Genuine Speech of the Lord Lansdowne, against Repealing the Occasional and Schism Bills

by George Granville

---

 

The GENUINE

SPEECH

OF THE

Lord L————ne, &c.

 

---

The Genuine

SPEECH

OF THE

Lord L————NE,

AGAINST

REPEALING

THE

Occasional and Schism

BILLS.

---

 

---

LONDON:
Printed for John Smith, at the Black Boy in
Price 6 d.Cornhill, 1719.Price 6 d.

My Lords,

Aving never treſpaſs’d upon Your Patience before, I may hope for the readier Excuſe if I trouble You for once. I give you my Word, That no Indulgence ſhall encourage me to make a Cuſtom of it.

I Always underſtood, That the Toleration was meant as an Indulgence to Tender Conſciences, not a Licenſe for Hard’ned Ones.

The Act preventing Occaſional Conformity corrects only a particular Crime, of particular Men: It concerns no other Sect of Diſſenters but thoſe Followers of Judas, who come to the Lord’s Supper, only to Sell and Betray Him.

This Crime, however palliated or defended, even by ſo many Reverend Fathers of the Church, is no leſs than making the God of Truth, as it were in Perſon, ſubſervient to Acts of Hypocriſy: No leſs than ſacrificing the myſtical Body and Blood of our Saviour, to worldly and ſiniſter Purpoſes. An Impiety of the higheſt Nature! which, in Juſtice, call’d for Correction; and in Charity, for Prevention.

The bare Receiving the Holy Euchariſt, could never be intended, ſimply, as a Qualification for an Office, but as an open Declaration, an indubitable Proof of being, and remaining a ſincere Member of the Church. Whoever preſumes to Receive it with any other View, prophanes it; and may be ſaid to ſeek his Promotion in this World, by eating and drinking his own Damnation in the Next.

It is very ſurpriſing to hear the Merit of Diſſenters ſo highly extoll’d and magnify’d within theſe Walls: Who is there among us, bur can tell of ſome Anceſtor, either Sequeſtered or Murthered by them? Who voted the Lords uſeleſs? The Diſſenters: Who aboliſhed Epiſcopacy? The Diſſenters: Who deſtroy’d the Freedom of Parliaments, and introduced governing by Standing Armies? The Diſſenters: Who waſh’d their Hands in the Blood of their martyr’d Sovereign? The Diſſenters: Have they repented? No: They glory in their Wickedneſs at this Day.

A Very learned Lord has endeavoured to extenuate that Guilt, in Favour of the Preſbyterians; and would perſuade us, they performed good Offices at laſt to the Royal Family, and became Inſtruments in the Reſtoration.

What Offices? What Inſtruments? Upon what Terms did they reſort to the King? Upon no better, than their Brethren the Scots, invited him before. To have an inſignificant Tool of a King; a Cypher of a King to walk in their Leading-ſtrings; To reſtore themſelves, not their Prince, to Dominion, was their ſole Aim: They groan’d under the Oppreſſion of other Sectaries, after having been themſelves the great Oppreſſors of Mankind; nor had they any other Chance for Deliverance or Revenge, but by recovering Regal Power under a Nominal King. This General Monk well knew, who was privy to all their Intrigues; and hence aroſe every Difficulty that encumbered him in the Proſecution of his own Scheme: He was under a Neceſſity to make uſe of their Diſcontent, and could neither entirely truſt, nor throw them off: But that the Monarchy was reſtored free and independant; the Church reeſtabliſh’d pure and undefiled, was owing to his ſingle Vertue, Generoſity, and good Conduct. No Thanks to the Preſbyterians.

Nor was King Charles ſcarce warm in his Throne, before they broke out into new Rebellions. And continued inceſſant Diſturbers of His whole Reign, ſometimes with Sham Plots, and ſometimes with Real Ones.

It was likewiſe alledg’d by the ſame learned Lord, That they were Hardly Us’d, Fin’d, Baniſh’d, Impriſon’d, &c. But, by his Lordſhip’s Leave, never upon a Religious Account: They might be puniſh’d for Breach of the Law, for diſturbing the publick Peace; for illegal Meetings and Aſſemblies, and other State Crimes; and what was there more in That, than in the preſent Caſe of the Non-jurors?

The Clemency of that Reign, even to Diſſenters, has been ſufficiently vindicated by a noble Earl, who was called up by ſome Reflections which fell from a Reverend Prelate, to give an Account of the intended Comprehenſion. Whereas that Prelate was pleas’d to lay the whole Blame of Diſagreement upon the Court and the Church; the Truth has appear’d to be manifeſtly otherwiſe: The Church open’d Her Arms; the Clergy, the Biſhops, the King, condeſcended to invite them with all the Temptations of Indulgence and Chriſtian Charity: But, What was the Return? Nothing but moroſe, haughty Contradiction, or ſullen ſophiſtical Evaſion. They ſcorn’d to enter our Churches as Brethren and Fellow Chriſtians, but as Conquerors and Plunderers: They have no Grace but what is founded in Dominion!

Their Behaviour in the ſubſequent Reign is freſh in every One’s Memory: The unhappy Prince who ſucceeded, was Undone by giving Attention to their Addreſſes, and Depending upon their Promiſes.

That they have remain’d, as has been ſaid, not only Quiet, but appear’d Zealous in the preſent Eſtabliſhment, is no Wonder; for, Who but Themſelves, or their Favourers, have been thought worthy to be countenanced?

A Noble Earl, enquiring into the Reaſon of the preſent univerſal Diſcontent, (for ſuch I find it agreed to be on all Hands) has thought fit to impute it to Miſ-conduct in the Adminiſtration: A little unluckily, I confeſs, ſince it was anſwer’d, That at the Time when this Diſcontent moſt flam’d, his Lordſhip was at the Head of that Adminiſtration.

Another noble Earl, very deſervedly in a high Station, is pleas’d to charge it upon Fate, the Malignity of the Stars, a certain unaccountable Diſpoſition in the Heavens, for which there is no apparent Reaſon, nor Remedy.

The Reaſon is plain, is flagrant, is notorious. The early Impatience and Preſumption of the Diſſenters; their inſolent and undiſſembled Expectation; their open Inſults of the Clergy; their affixing Bills upon our very Church-Doors with this ſcandalous Inſcription, A Houſe to be Lett;—Their publick Vindication of the Murder of King Charles the Firſt, and their vile Reflections upon the Memory of Queen Anne, for ever dear to the People of England; beſides many other indecent and arrogant Provocations, too many to enumerate, was too much to bear: The Violences that enſued, let the Aggreſſors anſwer for: But their acting all this, not only with Impunity, but Rewards out of the publick Treaſure, was more than ſufficient Reaſon for Jealouſy: A Jealouſy for which this new Attempt to break down^[1] All the Fences and Boundaries of the Church, at once, will indeed be no Remedy.

A Noble Duke ſeems much offended at Catholicks and other Diſſenters being mentioned in this Debate, upon an Equality: For what Reaſon? Why, ſays his Grace, becauſe their Religion is High Treaſon; The Catholick Religion is High Treaſon. I never underſtood their Religion to be High Treaſon: I have heard it might be High Treaſon to make Converts to it; and by the ſame Rule the Reform’d Religion may be High Treaſon in a Popiſh Country. But if we may, without Offence, compare them upon a Foot of Merit with other Diſſenters (I mean only with reſpect to our Government) the Catholicks, as far as has been yet made to appear, are ſurely entitled to the Preference. To whom do we owe Magna Charta, but to our Popiſh Barons before the Reformation? And were there not as many and as frequent Struggles for Liberty, as we call it, in thoſe Catholick Times, as ſince? To whom do we owe the Revolution, but to Catholick Powers; the Pope himſelf, united to encourage and ſupport the Prince of Orange in his Undertaking? To whom do we owe our preſent Security in the Proteſtant Eſtabliſhment, but to the moſt Formidable, the moſt Arbitrary, the moſt Perſecuting of all Popiſh Powers; the moſt Inveterate, the moſt Implacable Enemies of the Proteſtant Perſwaſion, France, Savoy, and the Empire? Have not the Miniſters aſſured us, one after another, That thoſe mortal Enemies to our Souls in another World, are our only Guarantees for Salvation in This?

Our Proteſtant Brethren, the States, were neither entruſted, nor conſulted, but ſeem to have been left like Slaves to follow the Dictates of Great Britain and France, and to Acceed implicitly at their Peril. They have indeed continued hitherto to Diſſent, perhaps in Time they may Occaſionally Conform, as Circumſtances may happen to preſs, but ’till then, our only Truſty Allies, ſeem to be our good Catholick Friends.

The Reverend Prelates who have exerted their Zeal in this Debate, having been inſtructed only to fulminate againſt the Teſt, without being let in to the Secret of dropping that Queſtion, have unfortunately emptied their Quiver in the Air, and may gather up their Spiritual Arrows again, to ſhoot at that Mark ſome other Time. One, however, there is, who muſt not be paſs’d by, who, wandering beyond the reſt, in a long Hiſtorical Collection from Pamphlets and Libels, has let himſelf looſe againſt the Sacred Memory of the Royal Martyr. He has accus’d him, if not of all Popery, of half Popery, very near Popery, almoſt all Popery—Wretched Sophiſtry! what is this School-Diſtinction betwixt almoſt all a Papiſt, and quite a Papiſt? Hard Fate of the Beſt of Men and Kings! He, who renounced the Purple to preſerve the Lawn; who dy’d for the Church; who is commemorated as a Martyr, by the Church; is yet expoſed, almoſt an Age after his deſcent from the Scaffold to the Grave, to be murder’d over again in his Fame, even in the ſupream Court of Judicature, by a Succeſſor in That venerable Order, That very Epiſcopacy for which He ſacrificed His Liberty, His Life, and His Crown. The execrable Wretch who ſever’d His Head from His Body, performed the inhumane Office in a Mask; but this Holy Executioner, who cuts what the Axe could not hurt, what the Regicides could not take from Him, His good Name, has not been aſham’d to attempt it Barefaced!

It grieves me, that this Animadverſion ſhould fall to my Lot; to the Lot of any private Lord: I was in hopes a generous Indignation would have warm’d this noble Aſſembly to have made it their own Act, to reprehend ſuch ir-reverend Slander, as would much better have become a Deſcendant from Bradſhaw, than a Succeſſor of Laud.

But I ask Pardon—this unlucky Reflection may have tranſported me too far.

In a Word: That I may not appear Prejudiced to Merit in any Man, I will conclude with this Motion; That a Liſt be laid before us of ſuch Diſſenters, by Name, as have in any kind merited from the Publick, and I will moſt readily come into any Meaſures that may diſtinguiſh them, and their particular Service. God forbid but that they ſhould all have their Deſerts.

---

1. Occaſional Bill, Schiſm Bill, and Teſt Act.