and fome loyal gentlemen were met, who were attacked by Geo. I. the difaffected party when they came out to drink the king's 1716. and the royal family's health at the bonfire. Provoked thefe affronts, the foldiers broke the windows of the difaffected, and committed fome other diforders. When the vice-chancellor and the mayor fent up their depofitions to court, they took no notice of the infults the officers and foldiers had met with, but only of what the foldiers had done by way of reprisals. As this affair came before the parliament, it will be mentioned more largely hereafter. reftored. On the 13th of June, general Maccartney, who had re- Maccartney turned to England fome time before, took his trial for the tried and pretended murder of the duke of Hamilton, Colonel Hamilton, who, in the queen's time, had given fuch a positive evidence, that he faw general Maccartney give the duke his mortal wound, now deviated from it, and only averred, that he faw his fword over the duke's fhoulder. The falfhood of which appeared by the evidence of the two park-keepers, who stood firm to their former depofitions, That they had taken the swords from general Maccartney and colonel Hamilton, when they went to the relief of the duke and lord Mohun.' And one of them depofed, that he had been offered two handfuls of gold, and a place of 100l. a year, by the lord Bolingbroke, if he would fwear, that Mr. Maccartney killed the duke. The jury acquitted Mr. Maccartney of the murder, and he was discharged of the manslaughter by the formality of a cold iron immediately made ufe of to prevent appeal. He was foon after reftored to his rank in the army, and had the earl of Orrery's regiment given him. made guar. The king, before his departure, appointed the prince of The prince Wales guardian of the realm, and his lieutenant, during his of Wales abfence. The titles of duke of York, and Albany, and earl dian of the of Ulfter, were given to prince Erneft, bishop of Ofnaburg, realm. the king's brother, who with prince Frederick, was alfo made knight of the garter. The duke of Devonshire was made prefident of the council, and his place of lord fteward of the houfhold was given to the duke of Kent. The earl of Portland was made marquis of Titchfield, and duke of Portland. These promotions were attended with unexpected disgraces. The duke of Argyle, and his brother the earl of Ilay, were removed from all their employments (f). They had both diftin (f) A lift of the duke's pofts and employments was made publick, to this effect: ia Geo. I. diftinguished themselves by their zeal and fervices for the go1716. vernment; and the king had in fome measure put his crown The king goes abroad. into their hands, by placing them at the head of his armies in Scotland. They had all along voted in the house of lords on the court-fide; and therefore their removal was the more ftrange. Whatever might be the caufe, their pofts were difpofed of, to fhew there was no room to expect being reftored. General Carpenter was made commander in chief of the forces in Scotland, and governor of Minorca and PortMahon, and the duke of Montrose was appointed lord clerkregifter of Scotland, in the room of the earl of Ilay. On the 7th of July, the king fet out from St. James's, took water at the Tower, and arrived about two in the afternoon at Gravefend, where he went on board the Carolina yacht (g). He was attended by Mr. fecretary Stanhope, Mr. Boscawen, comptroller of the houfhold, the officers of the green cloth, and most of his German minifters, who embarked in other yachts. In Margate Road they met a fquadron of men of war, commanded by admiral Aylmer; and they all made the coaft of Holland the 9th of July in the morning. About four in the afternoon, the king went afhore, and paffed through Holland incognito; lay at Voorts, the earl of Albemarle's feat, and arrived at Hanover the 15th of July; and, on the 20th, fet out for Pyrmont to drink the waters. in chief of all his majefty's in the king's abfence. The king was abfent fix months, during which, the fitua- Geo. I. tion of affairs in Great Britain remained much the fame, and 1716. all was at laft as quiet, as if he had himself been prefent. The prince (doubtless by his orders) fet feveral prifoners at Proceedings liberty, and reprieved others (a). The paffage from Dover to Calais was opened, and paffports no longer required to go from England to France. The king's enemies affected to believe and give out, that thefe proceedings were all owing to the prince's good difpofition, of which he would have fhewn many more proots, had it been in his power. This was carried fo far, that addrefles were preparing at Oxford and Gloucefter, and other places, to be prefented to the prince, to extol his wifdom in the adminiftration of affairs, and, in particular, his affability and gracioufnefs to all perfons without diftinction of parties.' It was foon perceived, (a) On the 4th of Auguft the earl of Wintoun made his efcape out of the Tower. On the 15th Mr. Farquharfon of Invercald was fet at liberty out of the Marfhalfea, as was likewise the fame day the laird of Mackintosh, out of the Fleet-Prifon. Mr. John Mackintosh, a lawyer, under fentence of death, was alfo releafed from Newgate; and Mr. James Drummond, who was taken prifoner at Dumblain, from the cuftody of a meffenger. About the fame time pardons paffed the feals for fome other prifoners, and in particular for Charles Radcliffe, brother to the late earl of Der ventwater, and for Mr. Wogan; as likewife a further reprieve of three months was granted to the other rebel prisoners under fentence of death. But Mr. Radcliffe, making fome difficulty of accepting the pardon, was detained in Newgate till he made his escape from thence on the 11th of December following; as Mr. Bruce, another of the rebel prifoners, had done on the 20th of Auguft. The lord DufVOL. XIX. fus, who, as captain of a man C that Geo. I. that this infinuated a reflection upon the king and his mini1716. ftry, and therefore it was declared, the prince would receive no addreffes that were not directly made to the throne. Seditious papers and riots. The papers and fpeeches of fome of the rebels that were executed, particularly of Mr. Hall and Mr. Paul, made great impreffion on many people. Their execution, instead of leffening, rather increafed the number of the Jacobites; nor were they deterred from declaring themselves. Seditious fermons were preached, and libels against the government were published (b). By thefe means a fpirit of mutiny and rebel (b) The most noted pamphlet was published by Lawrence Howel, (a nonjuring clergyman) intitled, The Cafe of Schifm in the Church of England truly flated;' wherein are the following paffages: The authority of the Church of England, and confequently the Church of England itself, was with the deprived bishops and clergy, and remains ftill with their fucceffors, who alone have immediately adhered to her true conftitutions and principles. That all, who depart from them, are, at leaft, in a state of fchifm. That the canonical metropolitan, archbishop Sancroft, was not only difplaced, but a fubjectprefbyter of his (Dr. Tillotfon) was hoifted into his room; and, when God had removed him, another (Dr. Tenifon) was fet up in his place, as head of the fchifm. And under the bishops, who actually did this, or thofe who approved what they had done, by joining in communion with them, in oppofition to the true canonical bishops, have all the parochial clergy acted, and joined with them, against the canonical bishops; and, being thus joined with them, they be. come fchifmatics; and thofe who have, or ftill do continue to join with these parochial clergy, do join in the fchifm, and thereby become guilty of fchifm. Let them therefore have been never so canonically ordained, and placed over a flock, yet, by clofing with fchifmatics, they have forfeited all, and cannot difpenfe the ordinances of God with any benefit, God's grace and influence, then and now, forfaking them. And to join communion with them, is not only to lose the benefit of the ordinance, but to join in the fchifm; is, to join with thofe, whom they ought to oppose with all their might, as violators and grand enemies of the unity and peace of God's Church.' In the conclufion, the author cites the fecond canon of the Church of England, and then proceeds to affirm: That by king, mentioned in this canon, is to be understood (according to the undoubted principles of the Church of England) that perfon, who is poffeffed of the throne, according to the civil inftitution of the English hereditary monarchy. Whofoever difowns his autho rity, rebellion was kept up among the diforderly rabble. So great was the difaffection to the government at Oxford, that fol rity, &c, by the canon, incurs the fentence of excommunica tion, ipfo facto. If king James II. had a tight, the revolutionists and compliers were excommunicated by this canon; for, in depriving their rightful king, they difowned his authority, &c. That he had a right, and continued claiming to his death, none can deny: Witnefs his perfonal affertion of his right in Ireland, his public manifefto at the treaty of Ryfwick, (wherein he declares to the world, that that peace was founded upon the ufurpation of his kingdoms) and other declarations to the fame purpofe; and his fon (whofe right, as a fon, is as inconteftable as his father's) hath often repeated the fame. Now, the violation of this fecond canon, by the revolutionifts transferring their allegiance from their lawful king to an ufurper (which is difowning the lawful and rightful king's authority) renders them, ipfo facto, excommunicates; and the nonjurors, who have faithfully adhered to the doctrine and principles, are the only true Church of England. The state of the cafe plainly appearing, it is no difficulty to find out the guilty perfons, who must be no other than thofe, that violated the canon, by breaking through their alle giance, and confequently are in an immediate ftate of excommunication; and, as fuch, they ought to be deemed, and treated by all, though no declaratory diers fentence be pronounced by the proper judges The words of the canon being pofitive, there is no farther occafion to inlarge on it. The only queftion then is, Whether there is fuch a notoriety in our cafe? And, truly, I think, there fcarce ever appeared in the world a more notorious and manifeft cafe. The matter of fact is evident to all; for, who is ignorant of the unnatural treatment of king James II, from his children and fubjects? How his authority was trampled on, despised, and denied; and, after feveral attempts to recover his undoubted right, how he was forced to live and die an exile? Nor is the cafe in the leaft altered now; for they, that pertinacioufly continued and gloried in their fin then, do the fame now; which makes the cafe fo notorious, that thefe of fenders ought to be treated as excommunicates, ipfo facto, upon the authority of the canon, without waiting for the declaratory fentence of a judge. Let us now confider the ftate and condition of an excommunicated perfon, which is dreadful to any man; but, when it falls to be a clergyman's lot, it makes fatal work; for, ift, it divefts him of the power of exercifing any ecclefiaftical jurif diction; which, if he should prefume to do, it renders his acts invalid and null. 2. Excommunication renders a clergyman, fo long as he continues in that ftate, incapable of any C 2 eccle Geo. I. 1716. |