AN ANSWER TO THE L [...]d H [...]ſham's SPEECH.

HAD the Subject of this Paper, been able to ſtay but one Week more, it had not been a Digreſſion; the determin'd Courſe of the Reviews, being then to Review to the Subject of Trade, and the general State of things; and as the daily Flux of Subject for this Paper is ſuch, that I diſpair to return yet a great while to my Original Deſign, as to France; I ſhall turn this Paper for the Preſent to be a Review of the State of the Nation; and I do not ob⯑lige my ſelf that the next Volume may not bear that Title.

I find a Paper Cry'd about Town, with an Unuſual Earneſtneſs; Entituled, the Lord H [...]ſham's Speech, in the Houſe of Peers—I think my ſelf oblig'd, before I enter upon the Particulars, to make a ſhort Introduction, relating to my manner of Treating the Caſe I am upon, which is expected to be an Anſwer to that Paper.

I am going to Anſwer my Lord H [...]ſham's Speech; but if I may ſay any thing to certain Points, hinted at in the Paper, call'd by that Title; they are welcome to call mine an Anſwer, or what elſe they pleaſe.

That the Lord H [...]ſham, made a Speech in the Houſe of Lords, is no part of my Enquiry, nor ſhall I meddle with what was Tranſ⯑acted there, I know the Duty of an Author, with Reſpect to what is done or ſaid in that Aſſembly.

The Paper Publiſh'd, I think, ſhows it ſelf in a double Capacity, as a Speech, and as a Pamphlet; as a Speech I have nothing to ſay to it; but as a Pamphlet with no Author's Name to it, it may be any bodies, [2] and may be Anſwer'd by any body; 'tis an Appeal to the People, a Challenge to every Reader; and I am at liberty, as well as another, to Remark upon it.

As a Pamphlet, I ſay, I may be concern'd with it, and no otherwiſe; the Anonymous Author is nothing to me, be it a Lord or a Tinker; there is no Name to it, to Vouch the Particulars; and I believe in⯑deed, no Man would ever ſet his Name to it, that valu'd the Repu⯑tation of his Character; either for Truth, Underſtanding, or Good Manners.

Let the Speech be what it will, and whoſe it will, I muſt confeſs, the Publication of it ſeems to me, to have ſomething in it, that I cannot allow, to be the Noble Lords doing; whatever has an Air in its Countenance, Calculated or ſcrew'd up to a pitch of Malecontent and Chagrin, as if it was done on purpoſe to ſower the Nation, can⯑not be Publiſh'd with a good deſign; let the Saying, or Speaking this any where, be done with what deſign it will, the Printing of it, can, in my Poor Opinion have no Meaning, but what is Miſchievous and Unpeaceable.

Having thus ſtated the Caſe, between the Review and the Pamphlet I ſpeak of, I ſhall lead my Reader no farther about.

I ſhall endeavour to ſpeak as plain, as the Deference and Regard due to Dignity and Quality of Perſons will permit; I wiſh the Noble Lord, who they ſay made this Speech, would give me leave to An⯑ſwer, Paragraph by Paragraph every Article, without taking the Ad⯑vantages, Laws and Power furniſhes him with, upon any reaſonable Penalty, if I did not give, what even the whole Houſe of Lords ſhould determine a full Anſwer.

But Limited by that Article of Quality, I ſhall refrain an Anſwer, as an Anſwer to this Speech, and only handle the Subject, without pointing at the Perſon.

The firſt Paragraph, in the Paper above, which is all I ſhall recite, makes the Author Addreſs in the Firſt Perſon My Lords, as Introdu⯑ctory to ſomething he has to ſay, Relating to the State of the Nation; and Nothing, that the beſt way of Preſerving the Liberty of Speech, is to make uſe of it; tells them, he will ſpeak to three or four Generals very plainly; if he had ſaid Courſly, he had ſaid [...]

Four Heads are treated of in this Paper; and I alſo purpoſe to treat of the ſame four Heads among many other; if my Lord H [...]ſham's Opinion and mine differ, I hope neither this Paper nor its Author, are bound to Sacri⯑fice his Judgment to his Manners; I ſhall treat the Name the Speech is call'd by, in no Terms beneath his Quality, and have nothing to ask his Lordſhip's Pardon for, but for diſcourſing of the ſame Points, with himſelf; which I hope his Lordſhip will allow me the Liberty to do; the Particulars are,

• 1. The Conſederate War.
• 2. The Trade of England.
• [3] 3. The Right of Princes, to take Notice of things done in Parliament, but not brought to their Knowledge, in a Parliamentary manner.
• 4. The bringing over the Preſumptive Heir of the Crown to reſide here.

I begin with the laſt of theſe, and I ſhall no more take Notice, that theſe have been the Subject of any Speech; nor do I know they have been; I know this Ar⯑ticle has been ſtarted in Print before now, by an Author, whoſe Principle is as well known as his Paper; and as his Propoſal I ſhall ſpeak to it, and of him I muſt ſay; as an Old Man ſaid to his Poor Nephew; who waited for his Death to come to his Eſtate; The young Fellow, Advis'd him to Remove to a certain Place in the Country for his Health, which, as he ſaid, was a better Air; I believe 'tis a better Air, ſays the Old Man, but I do not fanſie the Place: Why ſo, Sir, ſays the Nephew—Becauſe you Propoſe it, ſays he; for what can you get by my Livi [...]g?

Now, Mr. Politicus, as this Author would be call'd, we could be glad to ſee the Heir of the Crown among us, but we cannot fancy the Propoſal, becauſe you make it; for what can your Party get by it? What Advantage can it be to your Party, to bring thoſe over, that we know you hate? And how can you think but we muſt ſuſpect your Integrity? An Old Lyon, that by his Age and Infirmities was grown heavy, and could hardly get his Living as he uſed to do; his Joynts ſtiff with the Exceſſes of his Youth, his Claws broke, and his Teeth rotten, juſt as it fares with Mr. Mercurius Politicus's Party. To ſupply the Defects of his Power, with the Helps of his Cunning, feigns himſelf very ſick; and being near the point of Death, invites all his Subjects of the Horn and the Hoof, to come and viſit him; pretends he had great need of their Aſſiſtance; and withal, that it was very convenient to have them near him; and that he had ſeveral things to tell them for the publick Safety. Away comes the Inhabitants of the adjacent Woods, out of their Holes and ſecure places, where they were far enough out of his Reach, to Viſit this Old Devourer. When he had thus got them in⯑to his Power, he watches his Opportunity, flies upon them, and De⯑vours them all.

Theſe old Stories, and Fifty more ſuch I could tell them, might give us very good Caution when theſe Foxes preach to beware of the Geeſe; but of that by the way. The Propoſal of bringing over the Princeſs of Hannover, is ſpecious, and ſeems to lay a Difficulty in the way of a great many honeſt ſubjects, as if not complying with it, ſhould be ta⯑ken for a Diſreſpect to that Illuſtrious Houſe, which will beſt appear, when a little farther Examin'd into; for all things are not to be judg⯑ed of by their Outſides.

No Man more ſincerely joins in the Satlement of the Succeſſion, and rejoyces in the Safety of England on that head, than the Author of this Paper; and when we talk of Inviting the Princes of the Line Royal hither, all that deſire their Peaceable Enjoyment of the Crown would without doubt bid them welcome, and be glad to ſee them round the Throne, as ſome call it.

But when we talk of the Reſpect due to the Illuſtrious Branches of our Succeſſion, 'tis one thing; and when we talk of the Security and Safety of England, 'tis another: and in this Caſe, with all manner of Duty and Reſpect to the Succeſſors of the Engliſh Crown, I freely ſay, We are as ſecure without them as with them. To ſay it would be a fine [4] Court, or a pleaſant thing; if all the Houſe of Hannover was here, a great deal of Gallantry and ſome Trade might be the Conſequence; this has ſomething in it, and not much: But when we talk of Safety and Danger, 'tis not the Diſtance of our Princes can influence the Matter; an Engliſh Parliament is the Security of England, againſt all the inter⯑vening Accidents, and how eaſy is all that Pretence fallen to the Ground now, in one Vote of the Houſe of Lords?

Publick Safety is a fine gilded Pretence, and Sounds very popular; but it is not always meant moſt, where it is moſt talk'd of; and Secu⯑rity of the Queen, from the Heirs being at her Elbow; I cannot foreſee the Security of the Queen conſiſts in the hearts of her People, which I believe no Prince for ſome Ages has more intirely poſſeſs'd; and I can⯑not ſay the Queen had been more ſecure in the Life of the Duke of Glo⯑ceſter; it had been a Joy and Comfort both to the Queen and the whole Nation, if it had pleaſed God to have ſpared that Prince, whoſe Loſs is a Grief to all that reflect on it, and who have any value for their Sovereign.

But ſtill as to Safety, as to the Publick Security, it conſiſts not in Perſons, but in things; if God for our ſins ſhould take away every Branch of that Il⯑luſtrious Stock, from whence we hope for ſuch a Succeſſion of Princes; I am of Opinion, and think 'tis plain, the Foundation of the Engliſh Crown and Go⯑vernment ſtands too faſt to be ſhaken: 'Tis built upon this Fundemental Ma⯑xim of State, recorded in Parliament, and which all the Nation concurs in, That we will not have a Popiſh Prince to Reign over us.

The Parliament of England is our Security for the making this good; and it can neither add nor diminiſh to this Security, how or to what extent it may pleaſe God to lengthen the Lives of the Succeſſors to the Crown.

Nor does it ſeem to me a matter of any great Moment, the acquainting the Heir with the Engliſh Prelates; in our Caſe the preſent Preſumtive Heir being very unlikely to ſucceed; her Majeſty, God be praiſed, is in good Health, and much more likely to reign 30 or 40 years; God forbid I ſhould ſtint her Majeſty, than a Princeſs of above 70 is to ſucceed; and in this Caſe I would fain ask Mr. Politicus, Who would you have brought over? if you examine the Heirs to the Engliſh Crown, 'tis three to one againſt all the three alternate⯑ly wi [...] ſhall enjoy it; I mean as to reſpect of Age and natural Probabilities: 'Tis 20 to one againſt the old Lady, the immediate Preſumtive Heir; to what pur⯑poſe then would they bring that Princeſs over in her old Age, but to ſhortten her Days by changing the Air and her manner of Living? 'Tis then at leaſt an even Wa⯑ger againſt the Elector Regent, and I know no body ſo weak to talk of his Highneſs coming over, to quit his Soverign Dominion, and the Adminiſtration of his Affairs, to come hither to live in the Quality of an Engliſh Nobleman, and wait for the Queen Shoes who is, God be thank'd, likely to live as long as himſelf.

Then [...]ere is that young Elector Prince, and of him it is perhaps odds ſix to four, that ſome time [...] he may enjoy it; but 'tis at leaſt three to two that he does not enjoy it next to the Queen; and on what pretence can it be moved to ſend for this Prince over? if he were here when the Queen ſhould happen to die, he could be no Security, he could not act but by Commiſſion from his Father or Grandmother, unleſs by Name eſtabliſh'd in Parliament, as Lord Juſtice, or Commiſſ [...], or ſome other Title; and that's done already in naming ſeven or eight Lord Juſtices to act in [...]: ſo that any of theſe ways this Propoſal ſignifies juſt nothing, [...] Suſpicio [...], that ſome Snake lies hid in the Graſs; of which hereafter.