Firft, The story of Matho and Spendius at Carthage, and the Mamalukes of Egypt.

Secondly, The hiftories of Strada and Bentivolio, where he will find what work nine thoufand Spaniards made in the feventeen provinces, though the country was full of fortified towns, poffeffed by the low country lords, and they had affiftance from Germany, England, and France.

1

Thirdly, The hiftory of Philip de Commines, where he will find that Lewis XIth enflaved the vast country of France, with 25,000 men, and that the raifing 500 horse by Philip of Burgundy, furnamed The Good, was the ruin of those provinces.

Fourthly, Ludlow's Memoirs, where he will find that an army raised to defend our liberties made footballs of that parliament, at whofe actions all Europe ftood amazed, and in a few years fet up ten forts of government contrary to the genius of the whole nation, and the opinion of half their own body; such is the influence of a general over an army, that he can make them act, like a piece of mechanism, whatever their private opinions are.

Laftly, Let him read the arguments against a standing army, the Discourse concerning Militias, the Militia Reformed, and the answers to them; but left all this should not fatisfy him, I will here give a fhort history of standing armies in England; I will trace this mystery of iniquity from the beginning, and shew the several steps by which it has crept upon us.

The first footsteps I find of a standing army in England fince the Romans left the island were in Richard the fecond's time, who raised 4000 archers in Cheshire, and fuffered them to plunder, live upon free quarter, beat, wound, ravish, and kill wherever they went; and afterwards he called a parliament encompassed them with his archers, forced them to give up the whole power of parliaments, and make it treason to endeavour to repeal any of the arbitrary conftitutions that were then made; but being afterwards obliged to go to Ireland to fupprefs a re

bellion

bellion there, the people took advantage of it, and dethroned him.

The nation had such a specimen in his reign of a standing army, that I do not find any king from him to Charles the firft, that attempted keeping up any forces in time of peace, except the yeomen of the guard, who were conftituted by Henry the seventh. And though there were feveral armies raised in that time for French, Scotch, Irish, and other foreign and domeftic wars, yet they were conftantly difbanded as foon as the occafion was over. And in all the wars of York and Lancaster, whatever party prevailed, we do not find they ever attempted to keep up a standing army.

In the year 1602 died queen Elizabeth, and with her all the virtue of the Plantagenets and Tudors: The made the English glory found through the whole earth; the firft taught her country the advantages of trade, fet bounds to the ambition of France and Spain, affifted the Dutch, but would neither permit them or France to build any great ships; kept the keys of the Maes and Scheld in her own hands; and died with an uncontrouled dominion of the feas, and arbitrefs of Christendom. All this" fhe did with a revenue not exceeding 300,000l. per annum, and had but inconfiderable taxes from her people.

No fooner was king James come to the crown, but all the reputation we had acquired in her glorious reign was eclipsed, and we became the fcorn of all nations about us, contemned even by that state we had created. He fquandered the public treasure, discountenanced all the great men who were raised in the glorious reign of his predeceffor, cut off Sir Walter Raleigh's head, advanced favourites of his own, men of no merit, to the highest preferment; and to maintain their profuseness, he granted them monopolies, infinite projects, prostituted honours for money, raised benevolences and loans without authority of parliament. And when thefe grievances were complained of there, he committed many of the principal members without bail or mainprize, as he did afterwards for prefuming to address him against the Spanish match. He pardoned the Earl of So

merfet

merfet and his wife for Sir Thomas Overbury's murder, after he had imprecated all the curfes of heaven upon himself and his pofterity. He permitted the proteftant intereft to be run down in Germany and France, while he was bubbled nine years together with the hopes of the Spanish match, and a great fortune. In this reign that ridiculous doctrine of kings being Jure Divino was coined, never before heard of even in the Eastern tyrannies. But our happiness was, that this prince was a great coward, and hated the fight of a foldier; so that he could not do much against us by open force. At laft he died (as many have believed) by poifon, to make room for his fon Charles I.

This king was a great bigot, which made him the darling of the clergy; but having no great reach of his own, and being governed by the priests (who have been always unfortunate when they have meddled with politics) with a true ecclefiaftic fury he drove on to the destruction of all the liberties of England. This king's whole reign was one continued act against the laws. He diffolved his first parliament for prefuming to enquire into his father's death, though he loft a great sum of money by it, which they had voted him: he entered at the fame time into a war with France and Spain, upon the private piques of Buckingham, who managed them to the eternal difhonour and reproach of the English nation. He delivered Pennington's fleet into the French hands, betrayed the poor Rochellers, and fuffered the protestant interest in France to be quite extirpated. He raifed loads, excifes, coat and conduct money, tonnage and poundage, knighthoods, and ship money, without authority of parliament; imprisoned great numbers of of the most confiderable gentry and merchants for not paying his arbitrary taxes; fome he fent beyond fea, and the poorer fort he preffed for foldiers. He kept soldiers upon free quarter, and executed martial law upon them. He erected arbitrary courts, and inlarged others, as the high commiffion-court, the ftar-chamber, court of honour, court of request, &c. and unfpeakable oppreffions were committed in them, even to men

of

of the first quality. He fupported all his arbitrary ministers against the parliament, telling them he wondered at the foolish impudence of any one to think he would part with the meanest of his fervants upon their account: and indeed in his fpeeches, or rather menaces, he treated them like his footman, calling them undutiful, feditious, and vipers. He brought unheard-of innovations into the church; preferred men of arbitrary principles, and inclinable to popery: he difpenfed with the laws against papifts, and both encouraged and preferred them. He called no parliament for twelve years together, and in that time governed as arbitrary as the Grand Seignior. It is endless to enumerate all the oppreffions of his reign; but having no army to fupport him, his tyranny was precarious, and at last terminated in his ruin. Though he extorted great fums from the people, yet it was with fo much difficulty, that it did him little good; befides, he spent fo much in foolish wars and expeditions, that he was always behind-hand, yet he often attempted to raife an army.

Upon pretence of the Spanish and French war he raised many thousand men, who lived upon free quarter, and robbed and destroyed wherever they came. But being unfuccefsful in his wars abroad, and pressed by the clamours of the people at home, he was forced to difband them. In 1627 he fent over 30,000l. to Holland, to raise 3000 German horse, to force his arbitrary taxes; but this matter taking wind, and being examined by the parliament, orders were fent to countermand them. In the 15th year of his reign he gave a commiffion to Strafford to raise 8000 Irish, to be brought into England; but before they could get hither, the Scots were in arms for the like oppreffions, and marched into Northumberland, which forcing him to call a parliament, prevented that defign, and so that army was difbanded. Soon after he raised an army in England to oppofe the Scots, and tampered with them to march to London, and diffolve the parliament: but this army being compofed for the moft part of the militia, and the matter being communicated to the house, the defign came to nothing. After this there was a

pacification

pacification between the king and the Scots; and in pursuance of it both armies were disbanded: then he went to Scotland, and endeavoured to prevail with them to invade England; but that not doing, he fent a meffage to the parliament, defiring their concurrence in the raifing 3000 Irish, to be lent to the king of Spain; to which the parliament refused to consent, believing he would made another ufe of them. When he came back to London, he picked 3 or 400 diffolute fellows out of taverns, gaming and brothel-houses, kept a table for them; and with this goodly guard, all armed, he entered the House of Commons, fat down in the speaker's chair, demanding the delivery of five members; but the citizens coming down by land and water with mufquets upon their fhoulders to defend the Parliament, he attempted no further. This fo enraged the house, that they chose a guard to defend themselves against future infults; and the king foon after left London.

Then the civil wars broke out between him and his people, in which many bloody battles were fought. At last, by the fate of the war, the king became a prifoner, and the parlia ment treated with him while in that condition; and at the fame time voted, that fome part of the army should be disbanded, and others fent to Ireland to reduce that kingdom; upon which the army chofe agitators among themselves, who prefented a petition to both houses, that they would proceed to settle the affairs of the kingdom, and declare that no part of the army fhould be difbanded till that was done. But finding their petition refented, they fent and feized the king's person from the parliament's commiffioners, drew up a charge of high_treafon against eleven principle members, for endeavouring to difband the army, entered into a private treaty with the king; but he not complying with their demands they feized London; and notwithstanding the parliament had voted the king's conceffions a ground for a future fettlement, they refolved to put him to death, and in order thereto purged the houfc, as they called it, that is placed guards upon them, and excluded all members that were for agreeing with the king; and then they cut off his head.

After