given us fome light into the disposition of each houfe: and befides, one of them is faid to be fo peculiar in the ftyle and matter, as might have made up in entertainment what it wanted in inftruction. NUMBER XXII. Thursday, January 4, 1710. Nullae funt occultiores infidiae, quam eae, quae latent in fimulatione officii, aut in aliquo neceffitudinis nomine. The following anfwer is written in the true Style, and with the usual candour of fuch pieces; which I have imitated to the best of my fkill, and doubt not but the reader will be extremely satisfied with it. I The EXAMINER cross-examined; or, F I durft be fo bold with this author, I would gladly ask him a familiar question; Pray, fir, who made you an examiner? He talks in one of his infipid papers of eight or nine thousand corruptions, while we were at the head of affairs; yet in all this time he hath hardly produced fifty : Parturiunt montes, etc. HOR. But I fhall confine myself at present to his last paper. He tells us, the queen began her reign with a noble benefaction to the church. Here's prieftcraft with a witness ! This is the conftant language of your high-fliers, to call thofe, who are hired to teach the religion of the magiftrate, by the name of the church. But this is not all ; for in the very next line he fays, it was hoped the nation would have followed this example. You fee the faction begins already to speak out: this is an open demand for the abby lands; this furious zealot would have us priest-ridden again, like our popish ancestors; but it is to be hoped the government will take timely care to fupprefs fuch audacious attempts; elfe we have spent so much blood and treasure to very little purpose in maintaining religion and the revolution. But what can we expect from a man, who at one blow endeavours to ruin our trade? A country, fays he, may flourish flourish (these are his own words) without being the common receptacle for all nations, religions, and languages. What! we must immediately banish, or murder the Palatines; forbid all foreign merchants not only the Exchange, but the kingdom; perfecute the diffenters with fire and faggot; and make it high-treafon to speak any other tongue but english. In another place he talks of a ferpent with feven beads, which is a manifeft corruption of the text; for the words, feven heads, are not mentioned in that verse. However, we know what Serpent he would mean; a ferpent with fourteen legs; or indeed no ferpent at all, but feven great men, who were the best minifters, the trueft proteftants, and the moft difinterefied patriots, that ever ferved a prince. But nothing is fo inconfiftent as this writer. I know not whether to call him a whig or a tory, a proteftant or a papift; he finds fault with convocations; fays, they are affemblies ftrangely contrived; and yet lays the fault upon us, that we bound their hands: I wish we could have bound their tongues too. But, as fast as their hands were bound, they could make a fhift a fhift to hold their pens, and have their share in the guilt of ruining the hopefullest party and ministry, that ever prescribed to a crown. This captious gentleman is angry to fee a majority of prelates cried up by thofe, who are enemies to the character: now I always thought, that the conceffions of enemies were more to a man's advantage, than the praise of his friends. Time and mortality, he says, can only remedy these inconveniencies in the church: that is, in other words, when certain bishops are dead, we fhall have others of our own ftamp. Not so fast: you are not yet fo fure of your game. We have already got one comfortable lofs in Spain, although by a general of our own: for joy of which our junto had a merry meeting at the house of their great profelyte, on the very day we received the happy news. One or two more fuch blows would perhaps fet us right again; and then we can employ mortality, as well as others. He concludes with wishing, that three letters, spoken when the prolocutor was prefented, were made publick. I fuppofe he would be content with one; and that is more than we shall humour humour him to grant. However, I hope he will allow it poffible to have grace, without either eloquence or latin; which is all I fhall fay to this malicious innuendo. Having thus, I hope, given a full and fatisfactory answer to the Examiner's last paper, I fhall now go on to a more important affair, which is, to prove by several undeniable inftances, that the late miniftry and their abettors were true friends to the church. It is yet, I confess, a secret to the clergy, wherein this friendship did confift. For information therefore of that reverend body, that they may never forget their benefactors, as well as of all others who may be equally ignorant, I have determined to display our merits to the world upon that weighty article. And I could wish, that what I am to fay were to be written in brafs for an eternal me morial; the rather, because for the future the church muft endeavour to ftand unfupported by those patrons, who expired in doing it their last good office, and will never rife to preserve it any more. Let us therefore produce the pious endeavours of these church defenders, who were |