HAving seen a Paper that goes under the name of your Petition to His Majesty for not insisting upon his Order for Reading his most Gracious Declaration in your Publick Assemblies . I confess I was not a little startled at it , that Men so long , and so much professing Loyalty should appear so miserably defective in that point . I challenge you ( after all your exclaiming against the poor Dissenters as Factious and Rebellious ) to give an instance of their Disobeying their Prince's Command in any such matter , what they stuck at was purely for Conscience sake , which you have not to Plead in this thing ; here was no assent nor consent requir'd , no interfering with any Law of God , but only a Publication of His Majesties most Pious design to set all his Subjects at liberty from that Bondage they so dolefully groan'd under . Now as Samuel Reasoned with Israel about their affairs then , pray my Lords give me leave to reason with you about this important affair now ; you are Men of Worth and Learning , you are Professors of the Gospel of Peace and Love , and it might therefore be well expected from you , that you should have put the King upon it before he did it , and improv'd your great Interest in his Majesty on the behalf of the sore oppressed and horridly abused Dissenters ; but alass altum silentium to say no more , what provoking and incensing the King there was against them you best know ; However after Heaven had inspir'd his Majesty with this Glorious Project we expected your rejoycing at it , your thanking the King for it , and hearty closing with him in it . But who could imagine the murmering , the grumbling , the discontent this Great Act of Goodness and Grace has raised among you , especially the unmannerly ( pardon the expression ) refusing to make it known to the People , though the King so absolutely commanded it . Pray my Lords let me ask you a Question . Suppose the King instead of his Declaration had issued out a Proclamation commanding Justices of the Peace , Cunstables , Informers , and all other persons to be more rigorous ( if possible ) against Dissenters , and doe their utmost to the perfect quelling and distroying them , and had order'd this to be read in your Churches in the time of Divine Service , would you have made any scruple of that ? Ah! no , Methinks I see your Chirping Parsons how brisk they look in the Desk with such a Paper in their hands as the second course after the first mess of Prayers is over , being a Dish more dainty than the rest , and how the Paraphrase upon it would furnish them with matter all the day after without being beholden to the Bible for any other Text .

Good my Lords consider , what can we or the whole World think of you , who are so averse to Mercy , and so eager to any thing of Rigour . You intimate in your Paper that you want no tenderness to Dissenters , strange and wonderful News if true , but pray my Lords tell us the meaning of this expression in plain English , for it is more intricate to us than Sampson's Riddle was to the Philistins ; an Interpreter the other day undertook to expound it thus , that your Lordships want no tenderness to Dissenters , because you never judg'd tenderness a thing fit for them ; and it must be carried some such way , for to take it in the literal sense , 't is a great untruth ( which we cannot suppose your Lordships guilty of ) to say you want no tenderness to Dissenters , when the whole Land knows you never shew'd any . How many scores of Prisons were fill'd with Dissenters not many Ages past and their Families suffering at home , nor did your Lordships out of your great Revenues ever send a Peny to relieve them , here would have been a notable proof of your tenderness , and to have been a Testimony against ( or at least using endeavours to prevent ) the horrible wrongs , oppressions , and abuses pu● upon them even to the ruining their Families . Something of this nature ( my Lords ) would have convinc'd this unbelieving Generation of your Tenderness . But hujus contrarium miserimum est .

My Lords , the design of this Letter is to offer you good and seasonable advice , and pray be not angry with me for my good will , I am a person that has suffer'd much , very much by the fury of that Church you sit at helm to guide , and yet God is my witness , I desire not an hair of your head should fall to the ground , so far am I from revenge ; and therefore pray my Lords for your own sake , for your Churches sake , for England's sake , and if all this will not do , then for God's sake debate the matter well you are now in hand with , weigh every thing in a right ballance , and consider thoroughly whether flying in your Sovereign's Face , and disobeying his most just command be a cause will bear you out in suffering . My Lords I pity you , and am really concern'd for you , retract , retract before it be too late , ask God and the King Pardon for your opposing the best of works , and give us ( who would fain have ) some ground to believe you inclinable to heal , as you have been to destroy . I think you have it in your Liturgy , From Pride , vain Glory and Hypocrisie , &c. A good Prayer , I pray God keep you all from it . My Lords , believe me if you can ( I am sure you may ) that I am