THe Case of the Evil and Good Man is very differing ; the first dares not bring his Deeds to the Light , because he is Conscious to himself of Guilt , and therefore flies Enquiry , because he fears Conviction . The Good Man quite Contrary loves the Light and he recurs to it , as the Witness of his Truth : he fears not to be tried , because he knows , his Innocency will acquit him 〈◇〉 , and that all Slander and Injustice help in the End to magnifie his Integrity and Reputation . 't is to this Light of Truth in all Consciences we appeal , against a late Calumny cast upon us by some Crafty , & Malicious , and ( believ'd by some ) Ignorant Men , viz. That the Quakers use Arts to Conceal the Papists . We shall first state the Fact , from whence such Ill or Weak Men pretend to borrow their Information ; and then offer our Reasons to detect the Report of Mischief , Folly and Untruth .

We the People called Quakers , having been for several Years severely prosecuted by Laws only made against Popish Recusants , as well as those enacted against Protestant Dissenters ( whereby several Industrious Families have been reduc'd to great Misery , and the Widow and the Orphan stript of common Conveniences for their Subsistance ) did make our Application and Complaint to the King & Council ; And that we might lay a Foundation for such an Address to stop those Cruel Prosecutions , we Examin'd the Pipe ; where we sound great Numbers intermixt throughout most Counties , Convicted upon the aforesaid Statutes . And because we knew not all the Names of our own Friends from Papists , we to dist●nguish our Friends from those Papists ( though indeed the Partial Seizures and Extravagant Levies made upon us had been enough to that Discovery ) did order several Letters to be writ unto the respective Counties , that they might inform us , which of them were reputed Quakers ; being then Cautiou● of the very thing , which has here befallen us . But it seems , by the Inadvertency of a Youth , who was ordered by our Usual Clark ( then forc'd to leave the Town by a long and extream Sickness , as we can prove ) to write into Glocester-shire for an Exact Account of the State of our Friends in Relation to this Prosecution , it was omitted , and the Account for the County inserted , as it was taken out of the Pipe ; which consisted but of Three Persons , whereof Two of them , it seems , are Papists , and the Third an Observer of the Jewish-Sabboth . And though these Men of Malice might as well have concluded us Jews as Papists from this Accident , yet because the Papist is become a more Scandalous Creature then the Jew , So the Accusation against us calls the Person that holds the seventh day Sabboth . that reflection would not have serv'd their End ; whose Contrivance it is to turn the Cry against the Papists upon the Quakers : And why ? but to save them ; at least to ruin us , the Design of those that are Papists , or Popishly Affected ; who by these Devices seek to amuse the People , and to make honest Men jealous one of another . But the Reasons to be offered , why the Story is Incredible , are these .

1. It cannot be thought , if we had design'd to Conceal the Papists , but that we would have spared our Care in the rest of the Counties , or have taken more care to have brought them in in other places ; which it is plain , we have not done .

But 2dly , It is not probable , that we should by Design bring in known Papists , and none of our own Friends amongst them ; for not one of them was presented with those Three persons in the List of Glocester-shire . Whereas had we intended such a thing , it had looked more like a Design , To have inserted them amongst the Names of our Friends , ( as we might have done in other Counties ) that so we might the better have screen'd them from common Observation , especially knowing the Mischief of such Attempts detected .

3dly , Men Generally propose some Advantage to themselves in what they do ; but there could redound no Benefit to us in the Earth by this Project , and even to the Papists a very small one : but the Danger of being Caught , would have been Fatal . So that we must have been greatly false to our own Interest , to run an Hazard of this Consequence to us for so Trivial a Benefit to them .

4thly , This was near Two Years ago , that the Omission happened in the first Copy of the List ; at what time it is easie to believe , that the Circumstances of the Papists were not so low or desperate , as that they should need the Quakers skill to put a Trick upon the Government for their Security : It is not hard to remember , that they then stood upon better Terms . But any thing it seems will serve ( be it never so False or Foolish ) that will but Bedirt us .

5thly , To be Modest , and yet to Defend our selves against such Injurious Apprehensions , as are entertained of us ; We must say , that we lay under the Furious Execution of those Laws against Popish-Recusants ( Sixty Pounds having been taken for Thirteen Pound , and not a Penny returned , as we made appear before the late Parliament ) to the Impoverishing of many Industrious and Peaceable People ; when scarce one Papist was toucht in whole Counties : Can any think , that the Papists needed us to hide them at that time of Day ? Or doth this Usage of us prove us Papists , when Papists were not toucht ?

6thly , It cannot be Reasonably conceiv'd , that we being to make good these Allegations in the last Parliament ( who appointed a Committee for that purpose ) should knowingly run our selves into such a Snare , as this was : And such was our Carriage and Evidence before them , both with respect to Persons and Things , that they declared their Satisfaction about us and our Suffering Friends , as those that Well deserv'd to be reputed Protestant-Dissenters .

7thly , It is good old Doctrine , That the Tree is known by its Fruit ; and it is plain , that among other things , in the Election of this present Parliament , we have not shown our selves to be Popishly Affected in the Disposal of our Voices ; perhaps we stand upon even Terms at least , with any of our Enemies , as to our good Affection to the Publick .

Lastly , We offer the Affixed Declaration , as our Testimony against Popery , and of our good Affection to the Protestant Religion , and Resolution to lead a Sober and Peaceable Life under the present Government .

TO Conclude ; We hope , that when it shall be Seriously consider'd , that our Principles and Practices carry a plain Contrariety to Rome , that we have always lived peaceably under the present Government , and that with patience we have under-gone all Plunderings , Beatings and Imprisonments ( of some even to Death ) and at whose Hands and by what Councils we have so suffered ? It will not be thought hard , that we Impeach the Inventors of this Story of Malice and Ungodliness , and the Believers of it of great Incharity and Injustice . And we doubt not , but in time God will Vindicate our Innocency before the whole World , and preserve us from the Envy and Rage of Evil Men , till we are better Understood .