Free-holder's answer to the Pretender's declaration

your Service ; of lecatofe He cfiofe (o iubtitute in their
places t^ich Men who had diftinguifli’d themfelves by
their Zeal againft you, in the moil famous Battles, Ne¬
gotiations, and Debates.
* Tfye (econd Grievance yo'a xnentien is. That the glo-
iry of the late Queen has fuiflfer’di who y;pu inHimate, had
feclir’d to youth? EnjoyJnetitof that inheritance, out/
of whi6h you had been fo long kept. This may indeed
be a reafon why Her Meihory jhould be precious with
you, But you may be fure wa fliall think never the bet-,
ter of her, foi* her having your good Word, ?For the
fame Reafon it makes us jlare,1” when we hear it objeft-
ed to his prefent Majefty, That he is not kind to Her
faithful Servants ; fince, if We can believe what you your
felf fay, it is impofSble they-(hould be his faithful Ser¬
vants; And by the way many of your private Friends
here wifh you would forbear blabbing at this rate ; for
fo tell you a Secret, we are very apt to fufpe& that any
Etiglilh Man who deferves your Praife, deferves to be
Hanged.
The. ne&t grievance which you have a ifiighty mind
to redtefs among us, is the Parliament of Great Britain
againiiwhom yon brisg a fiale Accufation which has
been it fed by every Minority in the Memory of Man ;
nlamely, that it was procured by unwarrantable Influea-
tfesand Corruptions. We cannot indeed blame you for
being angry at thofe, who have fet fuch a round Price
upon your Head.. Your Accufatibn of our High Court
or Parliament, puts us in mind of a Story, often told
among us Free-holders, concerning a rattle-brained
yoiing fellow^ who being Indicted for two or three
Pranks upon the high Way, told the Judge he would
fwear the Peace agaigft hjhi, for putting him in fear
of his Life,
■p, The next Grievanire is fuch a one, that we are ami-
ied how it conic! come into your Head. Your Wards are
as follow. Whilft the principal Powers engaged in the
late Wars do enjoy the Blefiings of Peace, ami ate at¬
tentive to difchage their Debts, and cafe their People,
Great-Britain in the midft of Peace, feels all the Load
of Wat, N$w Debts are contracted, new Armies ate
railed at Home, Dutch Forces, are brought into thefe
Kingdoms. What in the Name ©f Wonder do you mean?
'Are ycm in earnen-, or do youdefign te banter uj? whom
is'the Nation ©bliged to for all this Load of War that
it feeH ? Had you been wife enough to have flept it
Bar-le-duc in a whole Skin, wefhoUldnot have contra¬
cted new Debts* raifed new Armies, Or brought over
Dutch Forces to make an Eitimple of you.
The mod pleafant Grievance is flin behind,' & indeed
^ mod proper one to clofe up this Article. King George
jj fits taken poffelEon of the Dutchy of Bremen, whereby
a Door is open’d t© let in an Inundation of Foreigners
from Abroad, and to reduce thefe Natiops to the State
of aProvince to one of the mod iticonfiderable Provinces
of the Empire* And do you then really believe the
Mob-Story that KingGeofge defigns to makea Bridge of
,Bone's from Flanover to Wapping ? We would have you
know that lome of us read Baker’s Chronicle, and don^t
find tha t William the Conqueror ever thought of making
England, a Province to his NativeDutchy of Normandy
siotwithdanding it lay fo much more convenient for
that Purpofe ; Nor that King James the Fird had ever
any Thoughts of feducing this Nation to the State of a
Province to his ancient Kingdom of Scotland, though
it lies upon the fame Continent. But pray how comes
it to pafs that the Electorate of Hanover, is become all
of a fuddcn one of the mod ineofifiderable Pfovinc.es of
the Empire ? If you undervalue it upon the Account of
its Religion, yon have fome Reafon for what you fay
tsho’ you fhould not tliitik we are fuch Strangers to
Gerke Printed, by Andrew Wel(h> add Thomas
Miipv ^ve ouf of the World, is to be
igUbraht that ii is for Power and Extent the fecond
Prdtedant-State in Germany ; and whether you know
it or no, “the P’rot'eftant-Reljgion i» the Empire, is
looked upon as. a fufficient Ballance againft Popery*
Bpfides^ you fhould have conddered that in your
Declaration upon the King’s coming to the Throne of
Gre3ft-Britain* you endeavour’d to terrify us from re
ceiving himFbV Repfefenting him as a powerful! fcr-
reign Prince, fupported by a nuitneross Army of his
own StabjHfL- Be that, as it wHl ; we are no more a-
fraid of being\i Province to Hanover, than the Hano¬
verians are apprehenOve of being a Province to BremenJ
We bave^ now taken Notice ©f thofe great Evils Which
you are come to refcue us from • But as they are fuch w
neither feel ncr fee, we defire you will put your felf to ik
further Trouble for cur fakes-
ycu afterwai Is begin a kind cf Te Deiimj before the
Time, in that remarkable Sentence, We adore the Witdpm
©f the Divine Providence, which has opened a Way to ©of
Reftoration, by the Succefs of thqfe very Meafures that were
laid to difappoint us for evstv are at a Lo/s what you
mean by this devout jargon jBut By what goes before and-
toUovfrs; Vve fuppofi; it to be this * That the comming of
King George to the Crown, has made many Malecontentss
and by that Means opened a Way to your Reft oral ion j
whereas you fhould confider that if he had hot fcothe to
the Crown, the Way had been open of it felf. In the feme'
pious Pi^agraph* you aloft earneftly conjiure us to purfue'
fhofe Methods for your ReftofadOn, which the Finger of
God feemS to Y’rjnt out to irs. Now the only Method*
Which we can make ufe of for that End^ ate Civil War*
Rapjne, Blcod.fhed Treafon and Perjury j Methods •which
we Proreftants do hlithhly conceive can never*be Pointed out
to us by the Finger of God, . ...
1 reft of ycur Dedaratiort.cbntair.s the EncouragementJ
^oii, give uS to JRehell- Firft you premife to fhare with us
all Dangers and Difftcullies which we fha 11 meet with in
this worthy Enterprise-. you afe very inuch in the Right'
bn’t, you lave nothing- tb lefeand hope to get a Crown, we"
don't hept’ for ary new Free.hoHs and only defire to keep
what We havb As therefore you ye in the fight to undergo-'
dangers an i Djffi ii'tier to makp your feif cur Mafter* wei
ftiall think cur felves as mtfch in the right to undergo Dan¬
gers and Ujifijulties to hinder you from being fo. *
Secondly ^cii promife to refer yoifr and ourlntereft to *
Scotch Parliament, which you are refolved to call Immedi;
arely, .We fuppofe you mean if the Frrft,holdsButSir.we are
certainly inform'd there is a Parliament now fitting at Weft-
minfter, that are hnfy at present in taking care both .of the
Scorch and Knglifh I ntereft, and have aftually done every
thing which you wauld let be dofte by our Reperfcntartive^l
in the High-! aods-
Thirdiy, V ou prorftife that if we will Rehell for you aganftv
our prefent Soveraign. you will remit and difeharge all crimes®
of Higl.-Tresfon, Mifpri'fion cf Treafon, and all other crimes,
apd ()ftences whatsoever ; done or commlted agninft you Or
your Eafher, But will ycu anfwer in this Caf^ that King\
fteelfge will forgive us? Otherwrie we befeech you to con¬
fider, What poor Comfort it would be fc^ a Bririfh Free.?
holder to be conveyed up'Holbourn, with your Pardon in hji.
Pocket. And hear We cannbt but remark, that the CondK
(ions of your Genefai Pardon ateCftinfed, as to fhow thifjt
you are very cautious your good Mature ftrould carry yoit
too Yeti exclude from theBesneftt cf it, all thofe who do;
not from the Time of your Landing lay hbldotf Mercy, anc|
return to their Duty and Allegiance* By this means ah Neu¬
ters and Lockers on ‘art to lie executed of Cotufe, / nd by
the fludied Ambiguity in which you ccucbthe Terms cf yep
gracious Pardon you ftill leave room to gransify your felf M
ail the Pfeafures of Tyranny and Revenge-
Cpon the Whole. We have fb had an Opinion of Rebehi&n'
as well as of your Motives tc it and Rewards for it that
you may reft (atrsfy'd, there are Lw Free*hoLders en this
liide the Forth who will engage jn it. And we verily believe
that you wtll fuddenly take a Refoluticn in your Cabinet of
High-Landers r-o fcamj^r eff with ycur new Crown, which1
we are told the Ladies cf.thofe Parts have fo generouSy
phibb.d for. And yen may affure your felf, that it is the orr
ly One you,, are ijke to get by this notable Expedition- AnF
io we bid you heartily Parewel*
Cotton, and are to be Sold by John Redwssdv