1688. Wales on the Circumftances of the Queen's Bignefs and Delivery: Some honeft Roman Catholicks owning themfelves, that fo Important an Affair had been managed with great Supinity and Imprudence, during all the Time it was depending. Thole Circuittances were chiefly thefe : The Queen had never a contant Reckoning; the was brought to Bed after a fudden removing of her Lodgings, and at a Time when molt Proteftant Ladies were either a Bed or at Church, as if he had denga'd to avoid Witneffes; neither the Princes Anne of Denmark, the Archbithop of Canterbury, nor the Dutch Ambaffador, were prefent at Her Majefty's Labour, though they were the Three Perfens who ought principally to have been there; during Her Majetties Labour, the Bed fhe lay in was not left to open as it thould have been; whilt Her Majetty went with Child, fhe never fat.sfy'd the Princefs Anne of her Bignefs, either by letting her feel her Belly, or fee her Breafts, neither did the fhew the Princefs any of her Milk after her Lying in; and laftly, there was a Warming-Pan brought into the Room on Pretence of warming the Queen's Bed, which was altogether unneceffary, the Weather being extream hot, and the Room heated, befides, by a vatt Crowd of People let in, on purpose, as 'twas reported, to make the Juggle pafs undifcern'd in the Hurry. 'Twas anfwer'd, That nothing is more common than for Women, even those that have had feveral Children, to mistake in their Reckoning; and for those who do not miftake, to be often brought to Bed, fometimes one, fometimes two Months before the ufual Time, without any Prejudice to the Child; that the Queen was known to have ever had as eafie and as quick a Labour as any Woman in the Kingdom; to which her Talnefs not a little con、 tributed, and which was the Reafon that a great many Perfons, who were fent for, did not conie in Time to fee her deliver'd. That the Princess Ann's being at the Bath was a voluntary Action of hers; that the Court expected fhe would have affifted at the Queen's Labour, which might have been fuff " fufficient to convince her; and as for the Queen's 1588. Milk, which was never fhewn her, that it was no new thing to fee Women lofe it three or four Days I after they are brought to Bed. As to the Warming-Pan, they replied, That a Labour generally begins with quaking and trembling like an Ague-Fit, E for which fome People warm their Beds in the hotteft Weather; and befides, that it had been Impoffible to put a New-born Child, with the After-burden, in the narrow Compafs of a Warming-Pan, without ftifling it, All the other Objections were anfwer'd by faying; that the Imperious Spirit of the Queen, and the Infulting Triumphs of the Popish Cabal, made the Court look upon all Precautions as mean, which afterwards they were convinced would have been but prudential Condescentions. Some few Days after the Earl of Sunderland was removed from his Places of Prefident of the Council, and Principal Secretary of State, which made a mighty Noife in the World. The Occafion of his Difgrace was this: Skelton, to juftifie his Conduct in France, told the King, that having receiv'd Information of the Prince's Defigns from Mr. Bude de Verace, he had writ fix or feven Letters about it to the Earl, to which having no Answer, he had applied himself to the King of France, who thereupon difpatch'd Bonrepos to England, and fent Orders to his Ambaffador at the Hague to Expoftulate with the States the Reasons of their Warlike Preparations. This Account of Skelton began to raife Sufpicions against the Prime Minifter; which were foon after encreas'd by the Depofition of one Wickstead, formerly a Monk, who being feiz'd for holding Correfpondence with the King's Enemies, and examin'd before the Council, charged the Earl of Sunderland to his very Face, with revealing His Majefties Secrets to the Prince of Orange; whereupon Wickftoad was committed to the Cuitody of a Meffenger,from whence he made his Escape. This Accufation from a Man of his Character had been little regarded at another Juncture, but agreeing exactly with that of Skelton, the Earl's paft Con 1688. Conduct was more nicely fcann'd; and the King call'd to Mind, that the very fame Perfon who had all along advis'd him to Support his AuthoriThe Earl of ty by the Alliance and Power of France, had Sunderland's Dif made him reject that Afliftance, when he had moft Need of it; which perfuaded His Majetty that he grace, Octob. 28. was embark'd in another Intereit, and which occation'd the Farl's Removal from his aforefaid Places. 'Tis reported, that to convince the Earl, the King ask'd him for the Original of a certain Treaty, which he anfwer'd he had mislaid, and which the Earl's Enemies faid, he had tranfmitted to the Prince of Orange: This the Earl pofitively denied; and as for Skelton's Letters, if he gave no Account of them to the King, 'twas not becaufe he held Intelligence with the Prince of Orange, but because he had an invincible Contempt for Skelton, who, he was us'd to fay, never wrote but Secondband News. About this Time the Marquis of Albyville fent to the King a Copy of the Refolution of the States, containing the Reafons that had obligd them to affift his Highnefs the Prince of Orange with Ships, Men and Ammunition, in his intended Expedition into England; which Refolution they had communicated to all the Foreign Minifters at the Hague, except the French and English Ambaffadors, and wherein, befides the repeated Invitations his Highness had receiv'd from the English Nobility, Gentry and Clergy, they alledg'd, That the King of France had upon feveral Occafions fhew'd bimfelf diffatisfied with their State; which gave them Caufe to Fear and Apprehend, that in Cafe the King of Great-Britain (hould happen to compass his Defigns within his Kingdom, and obtain an abfolute Power over bis People, that then both Kings, out of the Interest of State, and Hatred and Zeal against the Proteftant Religion, would endeavour to bring their State to Confufion, and if poffible, quite to fubje& it. Whilft King James was providing for his Security, and endeavouring to remove the Fears and Jealoufies of his Proteftant Subjects, the Prince of Orange E 1 Orange was embarking his Troops with extraordi- 1688. 66 "The First contain'd an Enumeration of theGrie- The Prince vances of the English Nation,particularly His Maje- of Orange's "ities Arrogating to himself a Difpenfing Power, his Declarati "advancing Papifts to Civil, Ecclefiaftical and Mili-on, O.S. Sept. 30. tary Employments, and allowing them to fit in N. S. oct. the Privy-Council; his fetting up an illegal Com- 10. "miflion for Ecclefiaftical Affairs, (in which there 66 was one of His Majefties Minifters of State, "who made publick Profeffion of the Popish Re66 ligion, and who at the time of his firft Profef fing it, declar'd, that for a great while before "he had believ'd that to be the only true Religion ;) and by which not only the Bishop of London was Sufpended, but the Prefident and Fel"lows cf Magdalen Colledge arbitrarily turn'd out 66 66 66 &6 66 66 બ of their Freeholds, contrary to that exprefs Provifion in Magna Charta, That no Man hall lofe "Life or Goods but by the Law of the Land; His allowing Popish Monafteries and Colledges of Jefuits to be created; his turning out of publick Employments all fuch as would not concur with "His Majefty in the Repeal of the Teft and Penal "Laws; his invading the Priviledges, and feizing ' on the Charters of moft Corporations, and pla"cing Popish Magiftrates in fome of them; his fubjecting the Courts of Judicature to his Arbitrary and Defpotick Power, and putting the "Administration of Juftice into the hands of Pa"pifts; his not only Arming the Papists, in contempt of the Laws, but likewife raifing them up to the greatest Military Truft, both by Sea and Land, Strangers as well as Natives, and Irish as "well as English, that he might be in a Capacity "to enflave the Nation; His putting the whole "Government of Ireland into the Hands of Pa" pifts; his affuming an Abfolute and Arbitrary "Power in the Kingdom of Scotland, from which "it was apparent what was to be look'd for in "England. 66 66 Se 1688. Secondly, His Highness alledg'd, "That those great and infufferable Oppreffions, and the open "Contempt of all Law, together with the ap "prehenfions of the fad Confequences that mult certainly follow upon it, had made the Subjects "to look after fuch Remedies as are allow'd of in "all Nations, and in the moft Abfolute Monar"chies, all which had been without Effect; His "Majefties evil Counfellors having endeavour"ed to make all Men apprehend the lofs of their “Lives, Liberties, Honours and Estates, if they "fhould go about to preferve themselves from this Opprettion by Petitions and Reprefentations; 36 an Inftance of which was the Profecution of the *The Lord" Seven Bishops; That a Peer of the Realm was treated as a Criminal, only because he faid, "That the Subjects were not bound to obey the Orders of a Popish Justice of Peace, tho' it's evident that cc they being by Law render'd incapable of all "fuch Trufts, no regard is due to their Orders; "that both he and his Confort the Princefs, had "endeavour'd to fignifie, with Terms full of Re Lovelace. 66 66 fpect to the King, the juft and deep Regret, "which all thefe Proceedings had given them, "and declar'd what their Thoughts were, touching the Repealing of the Tefts and Penal Laws; but that these evil Counfellors had put fuch ill "Conftructions on their good Intentions, that they had endeavour'd to alienate the King more " and more from them. That the laft and great Remedy for all thefe Evils, was the calling of 66 a Parliament, which could not yet be compaft, nor could be easily brought about; for those "Men apprehending, that a lawful Parliament 66 would bring thein to account for all their open "Violations of Law, and for their Confpiracies 33 against the Proteftant Religion, and the Lives and Liberties of the Subjects, they had en "deavour'd, under the fpecious pretence of Liberty of Confcience, firft to fow Divifions between those "of the Church of England and Diffenters, with 36 Defign to engage Proteftants that are equally concern'd to preferve themselves from Popish 66 66 EC Op |