AN ESSAY At Removing
National Prejudices
AGAINST A UNION with
SCOTLAND.
To be continued during the Treaty here.
PART I.
LONDON:
Printed in the Year 1706.
AN ESSAY at removing National Prejudices,
&c.
HItherto all the Tracts I have seen upon the Subject of the Union serve only to Two Ends.
Either Historically to relate what has been done towards a Union in other and former Treaties, with the particular Obstructions on either Side.
Or to debate the present Question, What sort of Union is most proper for the Nations at this time?
The several Authors have done so much on the first of these, that nothing is wanting to be added to their Work; and on the second, their Reasonings are many on both Sides, which I shall abridge first, and then, perhaps, add something farther, which may not be useless in the Case; and which, as a Column erected on a prepar'd Pedestal, may rise up to a compleat Form, agreeable in Order and Beauty to the Design.
'Tis in vain to commence a Treaty of Union, and which must after be referr'd to the great collected Councils on either Side, while National Aversions remain unmov'd, and Immortal Prejudices fill the Minds of the People.
These are the Mountains, which must be levell'd, to make smooth this Valley of Peace; and this is the Feaver in the Blood, which, 'till 'tis abated, and the Inflammation carry'd off the great National Wound can never be cur'd.
A Temper to Peace must be found, or
if not found,
must be form'd in hoth Nations, as the great Preliminary to this Treaty; and without which it will be in vain to enter upon the greater Articles of it.
If this be wanting, to what purpose does the Queen invite, the Parliament prepare, and Commissioners meet, other than to furnish Authors to compleat their Historical Accounts, of what has been to little purpose attempted towards a Union.
And yet I am not speaking here of the Temper of the Commissioners, on either Hand, with Respect to Union; I make no Question, but they come on both Sides heartily inclin'd to the thing in general, I wish them as sincerely agreing in the Methods.
But as what they do, is to be recommended to, and laid before the Parliaments of both Kingdoms, whose Members, without any Reflection on them, may be variously influenc'd, from Causes too many to repeat here, and on whom the ancient Prejudices of the Times may have made too large Impressions.
For these Reasons, I cannot but think 'tis necessary to Essay the Removing those Prejudices, in the best manner I can, as a thing no Man has yet attempted, and as what is absolutely necessary to the great Work we are upon.
I believe I may be allow'd to say, without any Charge of Partiality, or Affectation to our selves, or of our real Merit, That there are not Two braver Nations in the World; or that have more shown their Courage and Gallantry, upon all Occasions, than the
English
and the
Scots.
And as these Two People inhabit one Island, neither seperated by dangerous Seas or unpassible Mountains, neither bounded with vast Deserts or great Rivers, by which either the Communications of Peace and Trade, or the Access of War might be rendred difficult, the on-looking World has beheld with no less Wonder than Pleasure, that they have not to this Day been able to unite in one Body.
Their Wonder must needs arise from its being the apparent Interest of both Nations, long since to have joyn'd Hands to their mutual Interest, and to have joyn'd their Force to their mutual Strength and Defence; no Nations in
Europe,
whom Nature had seem'd to prepare for such a Union, and laid up in store so many visible Advantages of Uniting, being to be supposed, so blind to their real Interests, without great Scandal even to their Understandings, or at least to their Temper. It cannot but have seem'd strange to all the Nations of the World, who see into the vast Advantages of a Union to both these Kingdoms, that they themselves, who have neither of them been counted among the foolishest Nations of the World, should not see it also; and that so many Revolutions of State and of Years, as have pass'd over their Heads, so many afflicting Circumstances, War, Blood, Devastation, and Destruction, have not yet been able to make them wise to their own Peace, and show them even by the contrary the Necessity, as well as the Profit, of a firm Union between them, such as may for ever shut the Door against the fatal Invasions, Depredations, and terrible Eruption of Blood and War, which, with but small Intermissions, have alternately afflicted both Kingdoms.
Nor has it been without some secret Satisfaction that our Neighbours have observ'd this, especially those of them as have either envy'd or apprehended the Addition of Strength such a Union would be to these Nations, and the formidable Encrease it would be to the
Britannick
Power. It cannot but have been very pleasing to the
French
and
Spanish
Governments, with whom we have been at open Wars, to observe how the National Animosities between the
English
and
Scots,
have always kept them embroyl'd, and by spending their Native Fury,
terrible to them,
upon one another, prevented the Mischiefs, and lessen'd the Powers,
of the English especially,
which, they had Reason to fear, might have otherwise been too formidable for them to oppose.
It would be too tedious here to recite the innumerable Instances, how the Divisions of these Nations have assisted to the rising Glory of our Neighbours; and he that has not read how
France,
under
Charles
the Dauphin, afterwards
Charles
the VIIth. when by the Conquest of
Henry
the Vth. she was almost entirely subjected to the
English,
recovered her self, chiefly by the Valour and Assistance of the
Scots,
must not pass with me for a Historian.
Had
Scotland
been then united to
England,
and the Thirty Thousand
Scots,
which at sundry Times went over to assist that dejected Prince, been sent thither to joyn the
English
Armies, then under the brave Duke of
Bedford,
Regent of
France,
and the best Generals
England
ever saw,
France
had, for ought we know, been entirely subjected to the
English
Power, and
Britain
had given Law to all these Parts of the World.
'T would be endless to trace Antiquity, and bring upon the Stage the very many Instances when
Scotland
has had the Fate of
England
in her Hand; and again, when
England
has put the Yoke upon the Neck of the
Scots
Power. The only useful Observation from which, to the present purpose, is, How these alternate Advantages over one another, have tended to the weakening both; and, by a Chain of Disasters, has helpt to reduce us both to the present Condition, and Danger of being overpower'd by our too potent Neighbours; who, had these Nations been long ago united under prudent and politick Measures had perhaps been always kept too low to have lookt us in the Face.
Now Disaster begins to make us wise; and though the Steps both Nations have made toward Union, have been very slow, yet it is a long time since they both saw it their Interest, and have exprest a Willingness to bring it to pass.
Whether Providence, for Ends yet unknown to us, or the Nature of things, has retarded it so long, is not for me to determine; but very small have been the Beginnings, and Progress of this Willingness to Unite.
The first Step towards a common Courtesy between the Nations, was in the Marriage of the Lady
Elizabeth,
Daughter of
Henry
the VIIth. to
James
the Fourth King of
Scotland;
and 'tis remarkable that wise Prince was the first in
England,
that foresaw an Advantage to
England
by a Union with
Scotland;
the Particulars of which we find noted in History,
viz.
That when the Match was proposed in Council, it met with great Opposition there from an Apprehension that one time other such an Alliance might bring the Crown of
England
into the Line of
Scotland—And what is it should,
says that wise Prince, with a Spirit one would think had been Prophetical,
If any such thing should happen I foresee that it will come to pass that our Kingdom of
England
will lose nothing thereby, because there will not be an Accession of
England
to
Scotland,
but on the contrary, of
Scotland
to
England,
as to that is by much the more noble Head of the whole Island.
Vide
Speed's
Chron. Reign of
Henry
the VIIth.
Had any Man been by the King, that had known what we now come by Length of Time to understand, they might have added, but it will be the certain Depressing and Ruin of
Scotland,
by removing her Court and Gentry, by losing the Concourse of Strangers, Residence of Ambassadors, and consequently the Expence of Money, and the Helps to Trade from her Capital City, by lessening her Interest in foreign Courts, and her Value in the World, with innumerable Mischiefs attending the Meanness of a Kingdom without a Head.
That
Scotland,
by this means, would rather seem a Province than a Kingdom, and yet remain without the proper Advantages of a Province of
England
also; as being treated like Aliens, in every thing injurious and detrimental to
England,
and as Subjects, in every thing advantageous to
England,
tho' prejudicial to
Scotland.
From this relative Union with
Scotland,
under
Henry
VIIth. a settled Peace with
Scotland
began, and saving some short Intervals under
Henry
the VIIIth. from a meer Capricio of that warm Prince, the long Peace between the Nations seem'd to prepare them on both Sides for more strict Engagements, by wearing out the Remembrance of former Injuries, and lessening the Native Animosities of the People.
Since this we have had four Conjunctures, in which the
oser Union we are now to treat about, has been in some more than common manner enter'd upon, and which I may say were especially proper to have brought it to pass.
1. The First under King
Edward
the VI. when the Protestant Religion being just settled here,
England
courted her Siser
Scotland
to joyn Hands, and become one Family, under that good Prince: It was the first Juncture that we read of, that
England
was governed by a young unmarry'd King, and
Scotland
by a young unmarry'd Queen; at the same time nothing was so natural, as that by Marriage the Kingdom would become one in the next Blood of both Races.
The
English
made the Offer first in
Henry
the VIIIth's time, and now renew'd it, and the Contempt the
Scots
seem'd to show of it, and which appear'd to be the Faction of the Popish Party, fearing the Reformation, provok'd the
English
to a War; in which the
Scots
were overthrown in the great Battel at
Pink
or
Muscelburgh.
'Twas at this time the famous Declaration was emitted by the Duke of
Somerset,
the
English
General, when though he was Conquerour, he told the
Scots,
he came not to conquer them, but unite with them, and to offer them all the Advantages of the
English
Amity. Some of the most significant Expressions of which Declaration, are such as these.
We Conquer, and yet we propose Peace; We gain Victory by War, and we offer Amity and Friendship by Peace; We seek not Conquest, but Alliance, that you may be united in all things with us, in Marriage, in Trade, and all the Advantages of a lasting Amity.
If any Man please to read the said Declaration at large, too long to be incerted here, he will easily see that Age had quite different Thoughts from us, concerning a Treaty with
Scotland;
that they knew a Possession of Conquest would never keep
Scotland;
and that Union, not Victory, was the common Interest of this Nation.
But the
Scots
then could not see their Interest, the Power of Popish Councils prevail'd upon them; and for Fear of Reformation, they rejected the just Advantages to the State, and sent away the Queen privately to
France.
The next Turn was more effectual, and this was at the Coming of King
James
the VIth. of
Scotland
to the Crown of
England:
The Prophetick Expressions, quoted before from the Mouth of
Henry
the VIIth. were now come to pass, and the Crown of
England
devolv'd upon the House of
Scotland.
Had K.
James
done Justice to his Native Country, had he thought of their future Prosperity; in short, had he thought of any thing but neglecting his own Kingdom, and suppressing the true Interest of it;—it was, without doubt, absolutely in his Power to have brought an entire Union to pass, and to have ended all the Difficulties, Disputes, and Quarrels, that afterward embroil'd these Kingdoms in bloody Wars, to their mutual Ruin and Destruction: But as there were People and Parties then to be found, who envy'd, and perhaps fear'd the publick Tranquility, so there has never since wanted a succeeding Race to inherit their Rancour; and who, on all Occasions, blow the Coals of Dissaffection between the two Nations.
How the good Endeavours of those People, who at the Death of Queen
Elizabeth
labour'd hard to begin the new Reign with a Union of Nations, came to be defeated, and the further Prosecution of it dropt; how King
James
forgetting the true Interest of his Country, instead of gratifying the
Scots
with what might have been for the general Good of the Kingdom, only brought a long Train of them hither, who gaping for Preferment, and equally neglecting their own Country, serv'd only to make the
English
jealous, and uneasy, and consequently averse to uniting. These are Stories too tedious and too remote to engage in here; 'tis enough to leave it to Posterity that the thing was attempted, but ill persued, the blessed healing Juncture being reserv'd to an Opportunity yet to come.
How after this, the
Scots
differ'd with K.
Charles
the Ist. on his Attempt to impose the
English
Service-book upon them: How they came to a Pacification without Blood, or with but a little: How afterwards they fully paid the ill Treatment of the Father K.
James
upon the Son; whose Ruin, their Army then entring,
England
compleated, by turning the Scale of the King's Affairs, and over-ballancing his Forces, at the Great Battel at
Marstonmoor,
I leave for those Gentlemen to consider, who upon all Occasions are for reckoning the
Scots for nothing
in their Calculations, and thinking they merit no Regard in the general Account of the Strengths of
Europe.
In the Interval of Affairs here, under the Parliament and
O. Cromwel,
we find a real Union between the Kingdoms, carried on to a kind of Settlement, though something imperfect; but whoever contriv'd it, such a Settlement it was, as, had the next Government thought fit to have built upon it, might have risen up to all the Parts of a compleat Union; but this dyed with the Times, and the Constitution of
Scotland
return'd to its full Exercise under King
Charles
the IId.
3. At the Revolution under King
William,
I must own the
Scots
had the fairest Opportunity of perfecting the thing, that perhaps they will ever again be trusted with.
The
English
Affairs were then in that Condition, that I cannot but say, the
Scots
might have almost forc'd it upon us, if they would: There could have been hardly any Article in the Matters of Trade, or Government, which the Crown of
England
would not have been in a manner very free to give up, to secure the
Scots
then in the Interest of the new establish'd Government, which for some time 'twas expected they would waver in; whether the
Scots
in the so speedy Concession, and falling in with the
English
Settlement, did not show more Generosity than Discretion; and whether they have been gratefully treated for it since, I purposely omit, because being to treat of a Union of the Two Kingdoms, with Design to prepare both Sides for it, I would
p up no old Sores, nor bring to Remembrance any thing that should tend to prepossess either Nation against the other.
This Opportunity has been lost, and now the last Juncture, perhaps, that ever may offer it self, for the closing this mortal Breach seems to appear.
What Steps were made toward it,
or rather from it,
in a late Commission, and
seeming Treaty,
I also purposely omit; and though the Umbrage taken here at the
Scots
Act of Security, the
preposterous Lav
made here, which was in its Nature a Declaration of War, the marching Troops to the North, fortifying of
Hull,
and the like, are things merit some Satyr; yet they, who consider this Nation then under the Influence of a Party,
and of such a Party,
as were especially known by their Aversion to
Scotland,
as well as
to Ʋ nion in general,
will easily forget these Things, as the Remains of a Temper always destructive to the Good of both Kingdoms; and as Indications only that this was not the proper Season for a Union.
But Time, and the Consequences of Things, have brought both the Nations to more healing Measures; and
England
now, under the Influence of better Counsels, has thought fit to show the
Scots
their Forwardness, to take away all just Pretences from those People, that willingly lay hold of them, to widen the Breaches of the Nations: In order to this, the Parliament has rescinded and abrogated that Act, which gave such Offence to the
Scots,
and without which, they had declar'd they could not Treat. And I cannot but observe, that the
Scots
not puting the Notice they took of that Act into their Bill in Parliament, but into an Address to the Queen,—and the
English
Parliament voluntarily repealing the Act, which was injurious to
Scotland,
in order to make way for this Treaty, seems to be two healing Steps, and such mutual Advances, as gives great Encouragement to those People, who hope for a good Issue of the present Treaty. By these Things those People were intirely disappointed, who waiting for an Advantage ov
the
Scots,
laid hold of the Case of
Green and his Crew,
exaggerating and exclaiming against the pretended Injustice of those Executions, as a sufficient Ground of a
National Quarrel,
though at the same time there were two
Scots
hang'd to one
English
Man, and those condemn'd by the Ordinary Forms of Justice and Legal Process; in which the forgot, that had they all been
English
Men, and had after appear'd to be perfectly innocent, yet, that as a Nation, the
Scots
can be answerable for no more than giving Persons a fair and legal Tryal, according to the ordinary Course of Justice; under which, if unhappy Circumstances invol d them, and they fell, yet, by the Law of Nations, no Publick Blame can by this be fixt upon the
Scots,
nor any Pretence of a Quarrel be justly rais'd upon that Foundation.
I know now nothing to hinder the good Issue and Conclusion of the present Treaty, no Cloud upon the Prospect of the Success of it; nothing to apprehend so much from real as imaginary Difficulties, that are raised and kept alive by those, that really are afraid so great a Blessing should befal this Nation.
In order therefore to remove the Mists and Vapours of Imagination, from the Eyes of the People, and prepare Mens Minds for Union, the Design of this Work is, To remove the Prejudices settled, or that seem to be settled, in the Minds of the Common People of both Nations against each other; that a Union of the Nations may, as already it is to all wise Men, be really desireable to both Sides.
As this is what no Man has yet attempted, I hope it may be an acceptable thing to both Sides, and may open our Eyes to a second Article,
viz.
the Advantage of a Union to both the Nations.
And having in this Tract gone thro' these Heads, I shall, in the subsequent Part of the Work, examine a little the Terms of a Union, remove the Difficulties, expose the Artifice of those that form Objections from needless Fears and Jealousies, show how a Union may be made without any Danger to, or clashing in the Interests of the Establish'd Churches of, or the tollerated Dissenters in either Nation, clear up their Eye-sight, who cannot see the Interest of their Native Country; and so go on to state the Fact in such proper Schemes of Eternal Peace, as may, backt with the Wisdom of both Nations, terminate in the lasting Tranquility and visible Encrease of the Power, Wealth, and Magnificence of the most powerful Island in the World.
1st. In removing the Prejudice on both Sides, I cannot but observe, There is a manifest Difference in such things as these, and a Difference which more than ordinarily influences the Success of such an Action, between coming to a Treaty WILLING, designing, and prepar'd TO REMOVE Difficulties, and bring the thing it self to a happy Conclusion: And on the other hand, coming PREPAR'D TO RAISE Difficulties, Cavil, Dispute, and Embarrass a Treaty, that in Time may end in a Rupture, vanish into Air, and come to nothing.
National Prejudices are some of the worst sort of Humane Antipathies, and, as they may be applyed, have frequently very bad Effects: And I cannot clear the
English
from the just Charge, of being the Nation in the World the most addicted to them; and when once they have entertain'd such unhappy Notions, are the hardest of any Nation in the World to be brought off from them again, tho' I hope they will not be so influenc'd here.
It is too long a Work here to examine this Particular, or to give Originals for inbred Antipathies of Nations; to say why the wild ungovern'd
Irish,
that mortally hate the very Name of an
English
Man, and have often, with the utmost Barbarity, murther'd Thousands of our People in cold Blood, are less hated by us than the
Dutch,
between whom and this Nation, mutual Engagements and National Kindnesses have frequently pass'd to the common Advantage of both; why the
French,
between whom and this Nation frequent, terrible, and bloody Wars have often happen'd, are more respected than the
Scots
who inhabit the same
Terra Firma,
Natives of the same Island, ally'd by Intermarriages, both in Kings, Nobility, and Common People, and who live
among one another,
trade together, speak the same Language, prosess the same Protestant Religion, and confederated together by a relative Union under the same Head.
'Tis true, former Wars, Invasions, and Depredation on either Side, have laid the Foundation of these Animo
ties which, 'tis impossible to say which Nation has acted with
Blame.
Blood, Devastation,
all sorts of
Cruelties,
Br
Fa
, Honour,
and the
Laws
of
Nations,
have been too common on both Sides; and that Action of King
Edward
the III
tho' otherwise a glorious Prince,
in hanging up the Two Sons of the Brave Governor of
Berwick, given as Hostages for the Surrender of the Town, if not reliev'd, before such a time,
only because he would not give up the Town before the Time was expir'd,
is a thing so detestable in its kind,
and such a Blot to the Memory of that great Conqueror, that if there were no other things to be mention'd against us, we ought for ever to be silent as to former Reproaches: An Action so horrid, that their own Mother, fill'd with Indigation at the Barbarity, came to her Husband, and entreated him, not to betray his Country into the Hands of so cruel an Enemy, to save her Children; justly arguing, that after he had thus broke his Faith with them in the Case of her Children, what Honour could they expect from him in the rest; that her Sons would die with Honour, and be an eternal Infamy to the Memory of the cruel Mutherer; that God might give them more Children, but their Country once betray'd, could never be recovered. One would therefore think Time should now race out the Remembrance of these Things on both Sides; and since the Injuries of War were always reciprocal, and the
Scots
had perhaps as much to complain of as we, it seems strange the Seeds of that antient Strife should remain, now the Generations concern'd are remov'd out of the way; and the several Occasions of those Animosities are absolutely buried in the Grave of Time, never to be reviv'd, but by the most unaccountable Folly and Madness this Age can be guilty of.
But not to enter too far back upon the ungrateful Task of examining our Forefathers Miscarriages, I shall come to the present National Prejudices, which, I think, seem to prepare the Minds of the People with unhappy Aversions to Union: And these I take to be such as follow.
I. On Our Side against the
Scots.
For,
1st.
Their Share in the last Civil War:
As to this, I can only say, 'tis too long a Quarrel to decide here, and merits on all Sides to be buried in Oblivion; since take it from Beginning to End, the
Scots
suffered deeply, had their Share in the blood and Ruin of their Kingdom, and, at last, suffer'd almost an entire Reduction to
England,
for attempting to restore our Monarchy: Of which by it self.
As to the vulgar Mob Charge of
selling the King,
which ignorant People,
and no other,
reproach them with: 'Tis needless to enter into the History of it, but refer the Objector to these few Observations.
1. They had no Power to have protected his Majesty, or to defend themselves against an inevitable War with
England:
which, with a potent and victorious Army threatned to fall upon them, if they had carried the King away.
2. They were under no Ties of Obligation to the King, as a Prisoner taken; They were in Arms against him, and he came and put himself into their Hands, to their great Surprize, which is a yielding at Discretion; and, by the Law of Arms, left them at Liberty to dispose of him as they thought fit; and his Majesty was sensible, the Necessity of their Affairs made it impossible for them to detain him, unless they would immediately have come over to his Cause, which they could not do, nor did the King expect they would, having been in Arms against it.
3. Nor did they take any Mony as a Price for the King, only agreed to depart, and deliver the King, who they durst not keep, and capitulated to have the Money paid them, which was due from the Parliament to them before.
4. And lastly, Nor did
they part with the King,
without making Articles with the
English
in his Behalf, that they should treat him with Freedom, Honour, and Safety; which Articles, if they had been kept, the King had been a Gainer by what the
Scots
did on his Behalf: And if these Agreements were after broken, and the King ill treated, 'tis the
English
must answer for that, not the
Scots;
who not only complain'd of it, but resented it so highly, that they took Arms against the Parliament on that very Score, to revenge his Death, and made great Attempts to restore his Son, even to their own Ruin, and the Subversion of their Constitution.
So that doing Justice, this Prejudice is absolutely groundless and unreasonable; and seems to be rais'd upon the
Scots,
only to extenuate what some People sell into, with respect to that Prince, and can therefore leave no just Reproach upon the
Scots,
who, 'tis evident, by the Ruin they brought upon themselves, in endeavouring to restore the Son, were no way capable of defending the Father.
Whether then shall we come for a Prejudice against the
Scots;
the most significant Objection we have, against uniting with them, is that they are Presbyterians; and
What if they were Papists?
Are Differences in Opinion incompatible with Union: How do we see the Numbers of
Roman
Catholicks in
Holland
no manner of Obstruction to the Union of the Provinces; the Popish and Protestant Cantons of the
Swiss
united in a perpetual Confederacy. All the Prejudices that arise from this Suggestion amount to no more than this, not that it impedes a Union, in the most absolute and extensive Meaning at all, but that 'tis with Reluctan
e that they should see it.
This, without any Injustice, I call Party-Prejudice; and now they begin to
us, the Danger of the Church of
England
will be brought upon the Stage again and that here will be an evident Proof of it, which no body can answer; and we begin already to be threatned with that Clamour.
To remove at least the Ground-work of this Pretence, I think, it may be proper a little to enter into a History of Probabilities and calculate the Strength of Parties here as briefly as possible.
There is indeed some Difference here not between Author and Author among our High Church Champions, but between Authors and themselves; sometimes they will have the Dissenters so inconsiderable a Party, that they can be eas
ly supprest, and ought to be so, to prevent growing Mischiefs; at other times, the same Authors will have them be so formidable, that they are every Day frighting their Children, with their running and overturning both Church and State: What shall we do with such People as these? If it serves their Turn to cry out of
the Danger of the Church,
and the fatal Plots of the Dissenters, then they are a formidable Party, and the Government must be warn'd against them; and the Church is call'd upon to stand fast, and quit themselves like Men,
and the like.
If they find it proper to vaunt a little, and insult the Dissenters, then they are a mean and contemptible Party, and not worth any Body's Notice.
Upon this Uncertainty 'tis evident there can no just Calculation be made from these People's Judgments; but let us come to the Case.
If we come to unite,
say these Gentlemen,
the Presbyterian Power of
Scotland,
joyn'd to the Dissenters in
England,
will be too strong for the Church; and we shall be overwhelm'd by the Party, and the Church destroy'd.
Let us see if
the Reverse of this
be not most probable: It is the general Opinion, that as to Numbers, the Dissenters in
England,
set against the Church, are not more than One to Twelve; as to Wealth, and Interest; in Trade, they are allow'd to be much more; but as to Numbers, 'tis all wise Mens Opinion, that one in Twelve is the Out-side. In
Scotland,
by the same general Calculations, the Episcopal Party, who I now call Dissenters, are at least accounted to; Now tho' the whole Number of
Scots
were joyned to the Dissenters in
England,
and were put in a Ballance of Numbers, 'tis certain they would fall short of being a Match for the Church; then add their Poverty to the rest, which is the certain and constant Destruction of great Designs, the Church can be in no Danger in Point of Strength, if Providence were to stand neuter, and the Arms of Flesh to try it out.
Let no Prejudices therefore fill our Minds, with respect to the Interest of the Church of
England;
the Wealth and Strength of
England,
whose Government is wholly a Church of
England
Establishment, is beyond all Comparison superior to the Power of the Dissenters, were they so bereav'd of their Senses, as to attempt to disturb it.
Whoever therefore forms Prejudices in the Heads of the People of
England,
concerning Dangers to the Church from this Union, must give me leave to say, it is done with a sinister Des gn against the publick Peace of both Nations, and without any manner of Foundation, grounded either upon Reason, Truth, or the Nature of Things.
Not but that there are other Reasons to prove, that the Church of
England
can take no Umbrage from this Union, which are drawn from the Interests of each Nation, and from the Circumstances of the
Scots,
which I omit here as not to this purpose.
But when we consult the Article of meer Strength, there is no Shaddow of Danger to the Church from the Union, but what at the same time will hold good to make us fear an entire Conquest of this Nation by the
Scots,
WITHOUT A UNION; which they will allow to be ridiculous.
If I was to turn the Argument, I confess I cannot speak with the same Assurance, that there is the same Safety to the
Scots
in the Case of their uniting with so powerful a Government as the Church of
England
Establishment in this Nation; what an encroaching Party here may not attempt, or at least what they would not attempt, if the
Sacred Postulata
of this Union should not be backt with the Protection of the Government, I will not answer for; but the Security of the Publick Faith will have some Reasons, besides the Hone
ty of such a Cause, to protect the
Scots
in all their just Rights: Of which I shall speak by it self.
I cannot imagine why it should remain as a Prejudice in the Minds of the People of either Nation, that they differ in some Articles of Religion, since a general Uniformity in Religious Matters is not so much as hoped for in this Nation, and can really justify the Prejudices against the
Scots,
no more, than it does our own unnatural Divisions one among another.
The Difference in both Nations is not
of Religion,
but in
Religious Circumstances;
both are Protestant both Orthodox in Principle, and equally opposite to Popery, and Antichristianism: The Establishments of either Nation have no manner of Occasion to interfere, and an alternate Toleration might easily make a Reconciliation of Charity be universal.
How foolish then must National Prejudices be, and how much to our own Detriment, as well as to the Encouragement of the Enemies of both Nations, in that they tend to keep disunited two Nations, whose Divisions have been the Destruction of so many hundred thousand brave stout Fellows, whose Force, employ'd against Foreign Nations, might have made
Britain
Mistress of half the Nations of
Europe.
II. The next Rank of Prejudices is, of the
Scots
Side against us.
These are such as our possessing their Sovereign, removing their Court, oppressing their Trade, neglecting them in our publick Treaties, excluding them in Advantages as Aliens, and using them as Natives in Cases to their Loss, ruining their Collony in
Da
ten,
seizing their East
India
Ships, and the like.
Of these I only say in general, as they are the proper Reasons why the
Scots
should desire this Union, so they cannot prejudice them against it, because by a Union they will be all remov'd; and in the pursuit of this Work, I shall undertake to show how they may be remov'd, to the general Satisfaction of both Nations.
I know there are Prejudices relating to Trade, and some People have entertain'd Opinions of the
Scots
ruining us, and enriching themselves by Encroachments upon our Trade; but if I make it appear that a Freedom of Trade is our Advantage, more than the
Scots,
that the
Scots
have been opprest by us in Trade; and that tho' they shall grow rich, it shall be also our Advantage, I shall then effectually remove this Prejudice: Of which by it self.
And this leads me of Course to examine the Advantages of this Union, on the Mistakes of which farther Prejudices are grounded; and tho' I cannot enter into the particular and separate Advantages, till I come to examine the Heads of Commerce, and the relative Consequences, with Respect to one another, and with Respect to our Neighbours; yet I cannot but a little consider the general Advantages which both Nations shall obtain in the Conclusion of this happy Union, in order to open Peoples Eyes to their own Felicity, and to move our Posterity to bless us, for putting an End to the ruinous Distempers of both Nations.
I am not ignorant, that in all Cases it is Natural for Men to examine, what Benefit, what Advantage shall fall to them by every thing they undertake? Nor is any Man that has consider'd, or discours d in
England
of this Union, ignorant, that
s labour'd very diligently
by some Men,
to fill our common Peoples Mouths with this Question,—What shall We,
We English-men get by it?
We don't doubt, but
Scotland
shall be the better by it, by being let into our Trade, and let into our Manufactures, and let into all the Advantages of an
English-man;
But what shall WE get by it?
If then the ensuing Sheets open this Scene to the View of the People, and prove to the common Understanding, that the Advantages of this Union
shall be greater
to
England than to Scotland,
it must of Course reconcile all unprejudic'd impartial People to the Union in general; and this Inference I purpose shall run through every Head of the ensuing Discourse.
And First,
after which if I was name no more, it was sufficient to move us all to desire this Union, above all National Blessings,
the inestimable Advantage
of GENERAL PEACE, a settled, a
Perpetual
Peace, a final End of Depredation, Ruin, Devastation and Blood; a
National Friendship
succeeding the most inveterate
National Feuds,
a general Tranqu
ty following unsettled and precarious Circumstances; which has so often broke out into fierce and destructive Wars, as has, at several times, been supposed to cost the Price of four Millions of the best Blood in
Chri
endom.
Can either Nation,
if in their Wits,
say this is not a sufficient Advantage to make us desire this Union: Let us lock back to the Fields of
Bannocksbourn,
, Muscelborough,
and
Dunbar,
and
, if the Fountains of Blood opened at those fatal Places, merit not to be stopt; and whether it is not the Wisdom of both Nations, to covet the preventing our Posterity running into the same Violence, and Excesses. Let the Nobility and Gentry, of both Nations, examine
the Line of their Families
back but a few Ages, and see what noble Branches of their Ancestors spilt their Blood on the desolate Borders, and how the Bones of their Noble Progenitors lie buried, blended with the Carcasses of the common People, and buried in the Ditches of
both Countries,
by the Hands of the Conquerors.
Let the Curious look back into History, and tell me, what has been the Consequences to the Northern Countries of
England,
from above three Hundred formal Invasions of the
Scots
Armies? In some of which, we have seen them on the Banks of the
Humber;
and in others, they have pierc'd even to the rich Valleys on the
Trent;
let them describe, if they know how, the Ruin and Destruction of the Country, the Burnings, Plunderings, Rapes, and Violences, which, in all Ages, are the Consequences of Armies ranging an open and defenceless Country: If they can find proper Epethets, (for I profess my self uncapable,) let them represent in moving and suited Expressions, the
Complaints
of the distress
d Country, the
Groans
of the murther'd Innocents, the Cries of the Widows and Mothers for their Husbands and Children, the
Despair
of flourishing Families, ruin'd and undone; with their Fields
over run,
their Barns and Houses
plunder'd and burnt,
their Cattle
driven away,
and their whole Substance
destroy'd.
Why should these things be less present with us? for the Circumstances being remote
as to time;
unless we were
throughly assur'd
it should never fall out so again.
If it were thus now, or if it be possible to suppose these things acting upon the present Stage of this Nation, if we were to suppose a
Scotch
Army enter'd upon the Northern Countries, What would be the Language of the Inhabitants? What their Request to an
English
Parliament?—
Let him that cannot guess,
look back no farther than to the Petition of the Country, in the Time of King
Charles
the Ist. when the
Scots
having given the
English
a Brush at the Passage of
Newnham
Bridge, possess'd themselves of
New-Castle,
and all the best and richest of the Northern Parts of
England;
—the Cry of the People was then, as it would be now, and as is most Natural to suppose,
PEACE, PEACE.
But some say, we are too strong for the
Scots
now, and there is no Fear that ever they shall invade our Country any mere; for that our Wealth and Strength is so much encreased, that we are able to crush them presently, and can always keep the War
out of our own Country;
that as we are become more powerful, the
Scots
are become weaker, as we are richer, they are poorer than
ver, and therefore the Case alters.
I shall speak more particularly to this, when I come to examine the separate Interests of both Nations; in which, perhaps, it may be necessary to make some Calculations, and compare Circumstances: And I only take Leave at present to assure the judicious, considering Reader of these Sheets, that even, comparing Circumstances, the
English
Nation has as much,
or perhaps more,
Reason to covet a lasting indissolvable Peace between the Nations, than the
Scots;
and consequently, to press for a National Union, as the only way effectually to bring it to pass.
But I am now upon
the General only,
in which, when I speak of Peace, as the Consequence of a General Union, methinks I should speak to the general Understanding of every Man: And without examining, whether we have more need of Peace than the
Scots,
—let me ask a few Questions.
1. Have our Northern Counties got any thing by the long Intervals of Peace, which, for the last 150 Years, has, with some Interruption, been establish'd between the Nations? Let any Man view the Borders, let them examine the Rents of Lands in
Northumberland
and
Cumberland,
and tell me, if they are not more than three times encreas'd in Value, besides the Differences in the general Value of things, since the Battel at
Muscelborough.
2. Is there any different Face upon the Out-sides of things,
since mutual Depredations laid and kept all things waste?
Are the
Scots
Borders waste? so were Ours: Are Ours improv'd? so might Theirs be: For I make no Question, the Country North by
Tweed
is as capable of Improvement, as that on the South of the same River: But as the present Difference
is owing to to another Cause,
I shall treat of that by it self; only I say, and I make no Question to prove, had the Lands from
Berwick
to
Edenburgh
been under the same Tenantry, but under
English
Articles of Possession, and Leases from the Landlord, as the Lands from
Berwick
to
New-Castle,
they would have been eq al in Value, both as to Landlord and Tenant, some few Mountains excepted, equally fruitful and pleasant; and the unhappy Circumstances, Customs, and Constitution of
Scotland,
not the Want of Native Wealth, Fruitfulness of Soil, or Industrious Inhabitants, makes her a poor and barren Nation; and which it is not yet too late to recover, whether this Union proceed or not.
General National Peace,
therefore, is a most desirable Article, and the greatest Advantage imaginable to both Nations:
To This,
to preserve what Wealth they have gain'd, and secure the flourishing Condition they are arriv'd to:
To That,
for recovering them from the Poverty and Decay of their Affairs; to which they want nothing but Freedom of Circumstances, and Peace, as the only thing which made us rise without them.
If Peace then shall be the Consequence of this Union, never let any Man ask me,
What We shall get by it?
We shall get the Security and quiet Possession of the Wealth and Improvements of our own Country, a thing which,
let us boast never so much of our Strength,
will be very precarious, and exposed to manifest Hazards
in Case of a War;
and as our Circumstances in
England
may be, and our Hands full another way,
as they are now,
may be impossible to defend.
I could here enter into the Inquiry of the strange
unproportion'd Circumstances
of a War, if ever that unhappy time should come in
England
between the Nations; and tho' we flatter our selves with reducing the
Scots
by Force; and some
very weak Debates
have pass'd on both Sides upon that Head; yet to come closer to the Matter, I must beg Pardon to tell my Warlike Readers, that such People may understand, for ought I know, what belongs to fighting with the
French,
or,
which they had rather be at,
with the
Dutch,
or,
which most of all they would be glad of,
with ONE ANOTHER, but they seem not at all to understand what it is
to fight with the SCOTS.
Perhaps therefore such will think these following Conclusions of mine strange Paradoxes, and for the present I shall leave them uninterpreted, not doubting, but knowing Men, on both Sides, will reach their Meaning, and for the rest I shall explain my self hereafter.
Supposing the present happy Temper of both Nations towards a Union, should,
to all our Misfortunes,
go off, and end, as to me it seems inevitably necessary, in a bloody War between the Nations.
1.
If the
Scots
should beat you,
invade
Northumberland,
pierce even into
Yorkshire,
rout your Forces, destroy the Country, and the like,
they would be
.
2.
If you invade
Scotland, beat their Armies, traverse the Country, and driving the
Scots
to their Inaccessibles and Retreats, make what you call a Conquest,
you are undone.
3. Every Victory you gain over them, in the Field,
you are beaten,
the
Scots
are Conquerors by it, and
you Losers.
4. If you will keep an Army upon them, to maintain your Conquest, and keep them in Subjection,
you make them,
and they shall thank you.
5. At the End of every War,
they shall have the better of you,
it shall cost you more to hold them, than to gain them, and more to lose them again,
than both.
There are more of these Paradoxes, which, in Time, I may enter upon the Explication of, and which, I doubt not, will be made plain to the Understandings of all those that can view Things with an impartial Judgment, and free from National Prejudices on either Side, by which it will appear, the Advantages of this Union will be greater to the
English,
than to the
Scots.
But to proceed
about this Article of Peace, there
is another Peace,
which, tho' equally a Blessing,
I doubt I am not talking to a People equally desirous of;
and such is our Unhappiness, that it is the Fear of
this Peace,
which, for ought I know, may be the greatest Obstruction to some Peoples Desire
of a Ʋ nion,
and this is
an Ecclesiastical Peace;
a Peace of Religion, or, rather,
a Church Peace.
I confess, I cannot but wonder at the Temper of those Christians,
they would be angry if I should not call them such,
who will have it be, that the Church of
England,
and the Church of
Scotland,
are Two Religions, or that the Nations profess Two Religions.
Such People, as first, they seem to know little what Religion means, and that it is indivissible in it self by any other Article than the Object of Religion,
so they will not understand,
that nothing can intitle any People to the Charge of professing a
different Religion,
but the Worship of a
differing Deity.
But some People will have Breaches seem wider than they really are, in order to fright the Lovers of Union, from the Attempt of closing.
I could heartily wish there were no such Thing as a Difference in the Opinions of Christians, worshipping the same Original Author and Maker of all Things; professing
the same Faith
in the
same Redeemer;
the same
Hope,
and on the
same Terms
with one another: But the Wisdom of inscrutable Providence, whose End in it 'tis
neither possible
nor
needful
for us to know, has even from the Beginning of the Christian Religion in the World, permitted it to be otherwise,
and who are we, that we should pretend to dispute it with him?
Perhaps these Things are suffer'd in the Church of
Christ,
for the Exercise of the Charity, Forbearance, and mutual Temper, of Christians, to prevent worse Inconveniencies, which from the Pride of Prosperity, the Power and Glory of an united Church, might, in Conjunction with Human Infirmity, have risen in the World; but whether this is a rational Conjecture or no, 'tis manifest, that these Offences must come, and tho' I will not subjoin the Text,
Woe be to him by whom they come,
I cannot refrain saying,
Woe be to him
by whom they are willfully increased and continued.
But to proceed,
for I desire to abridge the most needful Digressions, as much as possible, as to them that desire to widen
our Church Breaches,
God in his Mercy open their Eyes to judge better of Things, and to be more concern'd for the Peace of their Native Country on both Sides,
and there I leave them,
as a Sort of Incorrigibles, capable of no other Conviction than what shall proceed from the irresistable Force of an invisible Worker of as great Miracles as these,
and loe I turn to the Christians,
for these can hardly merit that Name.
To you,
Gentlemen of both Nations,
that desire to see the Protestant Churches of
Britain
flourish, that desire to see the Union of the Body,
under One united Head,
join'd in Charity, Forbearance, and Love;
that are zealous sor Christian Liberty,
as well as Civil Liberty, and that would rejoice to see differing Establishments, agree to go Hand in Hand,
the direct Road to Heaven;
you cannot but covet this Union; you cannot but foresee it will remove all the secret Grudgings, Repinings, and Jealousies between Two Nations, of whom never was Scripture better adapted to the Circumstances of both, than that of
Abraham
to
Lot, Let no Strife be between us, for we are Brethren,
Gen. 13. 8.
Would then those Gentlemen, who cry out of Persecution and Severities exercis'd upon their Episcopal Brethren in
Scotland, tho' those Things are far lesstrue than have been suggested,
would they obtain a settled legal Tolleration in
Scotland
for
Episcopal Dissenters,
founded in the Charity and Tenderness to them, on the Part of the Government, and their peaceable, obedient, and Christian Behaviour and Submission to the Laws on their Part, Things on which all Christian Governments do depend,
this would effect it.
Establishments, and National Churches, are here sixt on both Hands, and 'tis the farther establishing and fortifying those Settlements,
not the exposing them to change or invasion on either Hand,
which is the Principle End of all the Religious Part of a Union.
As for those People who expect the
Scots
to rescind their Settlement; restore a Church Government which they do not approve of, and subject National Principles to Foreign Constitution, they show indeed their Zeal for their own Opinion,
but not their Sense of the Circumstances of both Nations,
in which unalterable Establishments, both Civil and Religious, are already consented to, by the Legislature of each Kingdom; nor do these People seem to understand what the Union we are upon means;
'tis no Way the Business of a Ʋ nion, TO ALTER,
but
TO CONFIRM,
secure, and render impregnable, the present Settlements of both Kingdoms, that when we come to live as Brethren, under One Administration, there may be a
Noli me tangere
plac'd upon these Things, and they may be capable of no Invasion, Alteration, or Dissolution, either by the Power of the Strongest, or the Concessions of the Weakest.
The Constitutions and Establishment of Religious Matters, being thus settled, made Sacred and inviolable, a thoro' effectual legal Tolleration
of Orthodox Opinions,
dissenting from the Establishments in either Kingdom, will be
an Alternative
which no Christian Member on either Side
will debate,
being a Debt from
One
Kingdom
to the Other,
and
from Both,
to the Weakness and good Meaning of
their fellow Christians:
as also a due Homage paid to
the Sovereignty of Conscience,
which is, and ought to remain free and unimpos'd upon in all Things, the general Subjection to the Being and Authority of our Maker, and Acknowledgment of him by religious Worship only preserv'd and supported.
Shall any Man say to me, These Things are not Advantages sufficient to move us, on both Sides to a sincere
Concurrence in,
and
Pursuit of
a National Union: What shall they have to object, when all our Religious,
or rather Irreligious
Feuds shall die, and be buried under
the Immortal Column
of National Establishment, and Legal Tolleration; when Envy and Invasion shall be render'd impracticable, and the Doors be barr'd and secur'd by the Locks and Bolts of the Law, against all manner of Divisions that can be any Way fatal to the general Harmony of the Whole; when the Nations shall be united
in nothing wherein they ought to differ,
and differ
in nothing wherein they ought to unite,
when they shall unite in Affection, where they cannot unite in Opinion, and never differ in Charity, tho' they may differ in Judgment.
And I cannot but note here one Observation of my own: As a Man that is safely landed on a firm and high Rock, out of the Reach of the insulting Waves, by which he was in Danger of Shipwreck, surveys the distant Dangers with Inexpressible Satisfaction, from both the Sence of his own Security, and the more clear Discovery of the Reality of the Hazards he had run, which did not perfectly see before.
So it will not only be an inexpressible Pleasure to us to
look back,
and see the Dangers we shall be delivered from in
bot h Nations,
when this happy Union shall once be obtained; but we shall then, with Astonishment, see plainly such Rocks, such Shelves, and such inevitable Gulphs of Destruction avoided, as our keenest Understanding will not permit us now to imagine possible.
I have heard that when the
Spanish Armada
in 1588. was,
after all our fabulous Stories of Sir
Fra. Drake,
and his Wonders,
by the meer Hand of Providence, Storm and Tempest,
more than our Opposition,
disperss'd, scatter'd, and by various Disasters render'd useless to the Design, and the Expedition overthrown; Q.
Elizabeth
was often heard to say, that
had they enter'd the Mouth of the Thames,
and been joyn'd by the Duke of
Parma
from
Flanders,
who lay ready to come over with 32000 Men of the best Troops the World ever saw
England must have submitted,
and she had been undone, and her Majesty own'd
she say more of the Danger then, after
they were beaten
than she did before.
I have not Room to prove here that the Queen's Observation was just, which
any that knows
the History of those Times, that the D. of
Parma
who was one of the greatest Generals, and the
Spanish
Troops then the best Soldiers of that Age; and that the Queen's Forces were all raw, undisciplin'd, new rais'd, and rather Crowds of
Militia,
than a real Army,
will readily join in it.
But my Observation is from the Queen s reflecting back on this
more particularly after the Danger was over,
and the Nation delivered
than before.
And I firmly believe, if ever this happy Union of the Nations comes to a Conclusion, those Gentlemen that talk very slightly of it now, and seem rather willing to keep open the Breach than to close it, will see things with a different Aspect, will have their Opticks extended, and see the Gulphs and Precipices, which they, blinded by Ignorance and Prejudices, are now willing to push the Nations upon, not having Reach enough to discern the Danger.
But to go on with our Head of Advantages from a National Union.
3.
Safety and Security:
And by this Head I do not mean barely
against one another,
and the many unhappy Consequences of the present precarious Circumstances of both Nations, as they respect future War or Peace, but I mean also the mighty Additions of Strength and Security against any Foreign Enemy, when the Power of both Nations is twisted together, and interwoven one with another, by their mutual Interests; and in this I must be allow'd to say, without the least Partiality, that the Advantage is
wholly on Englands Side,
whose Power is by the Addition of
Scotland
so fortify'd, that it must be her own Fault, if she does not make a different Figure in all the Affairs of
Europe,
to what she ever did before.
Some have the ill Nature to object here, that this Union will
enrich Scotland,
which they think
no Advantage to England;
but if
Scotland
shall now become a Branch of
England,
and we are no more divided into Kingdoms, and Governments, but make one united Government of
Great Britainr▪ Whose shall be the Wealth?
And when shall the Consequences of that Accession terminate?
When I come to discuss the Articles of Trade, I shall make it evident, (1.) That indeed
Scotland
shall grow rich,
and so they may without a Ʋ nion, if you will do them Justice, and they persue the just Advantages Nature and Providence dictate to them.
(2.) That their Riches shall not be our Poverty, nor their Encrease any way interrupt or interfere with Ours, but rather add to it.
Suppose then the Scots to grow rich by the Ʋ nion,
what shall be the Consequence but this, among a thousand others, that their Lands shall obtain Improvements; and both these shall end in keeping their numerous Hands at home?
And whose shall be the Advantage of keeping those thousands of People at home, which now fill the Armies, and spread the Colonies of all the Nations in
Europe?
If the Wealth and Strength of a Nation consists in the Multitude of its Inhabitants, what Addition of Strength shall it be to this Nation, when the
Scots
shall be kept at home, and tempted by the Profits of their Labour to stay where they can live easy; which they would always do, if they could; and if so, shall for ever after be your Assistants and Defenders, bound by the Bonds of their own Interest.
Men never seek their Bread by Arms, nor by travelling into Foreign Countries,
generally speaking,
till some sort of Hardships, Want, or other Uneasinesses renders them a little desperate; and
living hardly at home,
they find themselves under Necessity of going abroad to avoid the Meannesses and Difficulties they meet with in theit own Country.
Improvements of Land, Application to Manufactures, Encrease of Trade, Fishing, Shipping, and the like, will certainly produce this Effect to
Scotland,
that it will kerp their People at home: Of which by it self.
And whose shall the Advantages of their Numbers be? To whom shall their Duty, their Power, and their Encrease of all kinds revolve, but to the Advantage of
England?
Some People have had the Vanity to say, We are in
England
a Match for the whole World; and our Naval Strength will defend us against all Invasion;
I pray God we may never find Occasion to put this to the Trial:
But, without doubt, were
Scotland
effectually united to
England,
peopled, improv'd, and strengthen'd, as it may
and ought to be,
it would in time more than double our Strength, and perhaps, at last, we might be an Over-match for any single Nation in the World.
We do not indeed seek or expect an immediate Addition of Wealth by a Union with the
Scots, tho' some are very fond of making the
Scots
seem poorer than they are.
But
Additions of Strength
are very good Equivalents, and very material to us, and as useful to preserve, as our Trade is to encrease our Wealth. What is it we fight for now in
Europe?
Not for Money, not to encrease our Wealth,
but to preserve that we have already got:
If an Addition of
Scotland
does not encrease our Wealth,
tho' I do not grant that neither,
if it does fortify us to keep and defend what we have already, 'tis an Article no wise Man will despise.
Scotland
is an inexhaustible Treasure of Men, as may be demonstrated by the vast Numbers they have in our Armies and Navy, and in the Armies of the
Swede,
the
Pole,
the
Muscovite,
the Emperor,
Holland,
and
France, what might not
England
now do,
had she in her Pay all the
Scots,
actually in the Service of these Princes, where they are daily cutting one anothers Throats; and at the Expence of their Country's Impoverishment, gain the empty Reputation of being the best Soldiers in the World.
This is a Treasure beyond the
Indies,
and what
few People know how to value;
and it has hitherto been our Happiness, that the
Scots
are thus dispeopled and impoverish'd; for had the
Scots
been
as rich as they are populous,
had they been as well furnish'd with
the Sinews,
as they have been with
the Humour
of War, had they
as much
Money as
Men,
and as much Design upon us, as Courage and Bravery to execute, we should long ago have sought this Union more eagerness than
we fancy
they seek it now.
'Tis therefore, without doubt, our Interest
to secure these Advantages now,
the Particulars of which I shall enter upon when I come to discourse of Improvements in Trade.
There are innumerable Advantages, which I cannot touch at here, on the
Scots
Side, as the Increase of
the Estates and Freehold of the Nobility and Gentry,
the Increase of their Trade, and the bringing their Country into a perfectly
new Posture,
both as to the Way and Manner of Living, Thriving, and growing Rich; not to talk of their
Fishing Trade,
which is an
India
at their own Door, a Treasure sent them from Heaven, which they cannot be long so weak, to let another Nation rob them of, as hitherto they have done.
Thus
Peace,
both Civil and Religious,
Safety, Strength,
and, by Consequence, the Increase both of
Trade
and
Wealth,
are the immediate general Advantages of this Union to both Nations.
3. I think there should seem but small Occasion, after all this, to enter upon the Necessity of this Union to either Nation: Advantages are real Necessities, and it may very properly be said, We cannot be without that, which we cannot be without but to our great Loss and Inconvenience.
I have not touch'd the Article of the Succession yet, nor have I room for it here. I am fully of Opinion, and belive I reflect on neither Nation, if I say, The Consequence of the present Dispute between the Nations, must be a firm effectual Union, or an open declar'd Rupture; and I would only tell those Gentlemen, who too hastily declare for the latter, that I could bring a great many Reasons to prove, that if ever this Matter should break out into a War, it will be the most bloody, implacable and cruel, that ever happen'd between the Nations..... The
Scots
are poor, and that may be allow'd beyond what we pretend to; but there are such Circumstances attending
Scotland,
and which render her a Nation which the other Powers of
Europe
will so gladly espouse, that we have unforeseen Events to encounter with in such a Breach; and they judge with small Discretion, that pretend to account for the Consequences▪ But I hope this Head is needless to inlarge upon.
I shall conclude this Tract,
which I design chiefly as an Introduction to the Work, and useful to prepare the Minds of the People to entertain the grateful Notion of General Union, with laying down the Scheme of my farther Design, in which, if I have leisure to pursue it, I shall attempt to examine the Terms of Union, which the Nature of Things and Circumstances of both the Nations seem to lead us directly upon.
I shall not undertake to examine the imperfect Schemes of other Men, nor assume the Vanity of being arriv'd to a Perfection in my own: I know there are Difficulties in a Thing so Nice; and where Prerogatives and Priviledges, both of Prince and People, seem to clash; where Emulations in Families, Honours, Trade, and Circumstances of State seem immovable, and Differences and Animosities of Religion and Parties have run high.
But a Propensity in both Sides to Union; a Sense of mutual Advantages, and a View of the absolute Necessity of a Union, will remove abundance of these Difficulties.
Trifles must not stand in the Way of superior Peace, and Things are justly call'd Trifles, with respect to Nations, and the weighty Concerns of the Blood of Ages, that are otherwise in themselves considerable.
I know some People are very fond of what they call a Federal Union, and abundance of Considerations move them to it, tho' I believe the greatest Reason most of them can give, is, because they cannot see thro' another, and think a general, intire, or incorporate Union impracticable, or, at least, that they think both Nations will not come up to it.
I shall prescribe nothing, but endeavour to show how both are feasible, and lay open the Articles of either, as plain as I can.
The HEADS now to be treated of, with respect to this Union, I take to be Three, RELIGION STATE and TRADE; and if in all these, I can, by Enquiry, find out such Mediums as may, to the mutual Advantages of both Nations, amount to a Settlement, I cannot but think we ought not to fall out about the Enqu
y, Whether those Advantages may seem to be more to one Nation than another.
And should that be the unkind Debate, the Gentlemen that raise it, will have this Misfortune, that in all the Three Articles mentioned, the Ballance of Advantage shall turn on our Side, and against their pretended Exceptions, which I make no question to prove, even in the Article of TRADE it self, in which some People are so very clamorous.
FINIS.