Chap. vnr. 1be HIs T 0 R y of the PuRITANS. 681 tion of .the prot~fl:ant relig~on at. this time before fath~r Simon, an eng- Ch~;=f II. lijh jefuit, publtcly declanng himfelf a r~man cath~lic; the reafon . of 1671 • which was, that the prefent queen havmg no children, the pap1fis ~ gave the duke to underfiand, that .they were capable to. ~ffeCl: ~is n~ajefiy's divorce, and to fet alide his fucc~ilion, by prov1dwg ~Im with another queen, which they would certa111ly attempt, unlefs he would make an open profeilion of the roman catholic religion, which he did accordingly. The houfe of commons was very lavilh of the nation's money this P,.ojeCls of fefi]on, for though there was no danger of an invafion from abroad, the CABAL thev voted the king two millions and a half, with whieh his rn, jelly ulb~/1 ' 1 " tang a 'Jo u t, maintained a fianding army, and called the parliament r e 10 e vbdner fo r almofi: two years. After the houfes were up, th< CAB ./1 L b-gan to profecute th eir fcheme of making the kiPg abft,mte ; in order to which, belides the two millions and half grante by parliament, they received from France the fum of feven hundred thou and pounds in two years, which not being fufficient to embark in a war with the dutch, the king declared in council, by the advice of Cl(fjird, that he was refolved to jhut up the Exchequer, wherein the bankers of London, (who had Exchequer furnilhed the king with money on all occaiions at great interefi,) hadfout up. lodged vafi fums of other people's calh depofited in their hands. By this means th~ bankers were obliged to make a ll:op, which interrupted the courfe of trade, and raifed a great clamour over the whole kingdom. The king endeavoured to foften the bankers, by telling them it fhou!d be only for a year, and that be would pay tbe arrears out of the next fubfidies of parliamen t; but he was worfe than his word; fo that great numbers of fami lies and orphans were reduced to beggary, while the king gained about one million four hundred thoufand pounds. · A fecond advance of the CABAL towards arbitrary power, was to Warwitb deflroy the dutch commonwealth; for this purpofe the triple all iance was to the dutch. be broken, and pretences to be found out for quarrelling with that trading people. The earl of Shciftjbury ufed this expreilion in his fpeech to the parliament for jull:ifying the war, delenda 1f carthago, that is, the dutch ~ommonwealth mufl be deflroyed; but an occalion was wanting to jull:ify . ~t to the WOi' ~. There had been a few fcurrilous prints and medals firuck 1n Holland? refleCl:ing on the king's amours, below the notice of the eng/i(b court, whic~ the dutch h?wever had caufed to be deflroyed. Complaints were al(o rev1ved of the mfolence of the dutch in the Eqfl Indies, and of the negleCl: of fl:riking the fl ag in the narrow feas to the king's yacht, paffing by the dutch fleet. The cabal mana<>ed tbefe complaints like men who were afraid of receiving fatis£action, or ~f giving the adverfary any umbrage to prepare for theftorm . The dutch therefore relying on the faith of V OL, H. 4 S treaties
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