Mr. FƲLLER's APPEAL TO Both Houses OF PARLIAMENT, WITH LETTERS, Relating to Sir JOHN FENWICK, and Himself.
By WILLIAM FƲLLER, Gent.
LONDON: Printed for the Author. 1697.
THE PREFACE TO THE READER.
I Hope the World doth not believe me so vain, as to love Writing for the Ambition of being the Talk of the Town, or to have my Nam'd bawld along [Page] the Streets; In short, I hate Writing: But I find now an absolute necessity in my own Defence; the Parliament not being at leisure to hear the Manifestation of what I humbly propos'd, I am constrain'd to answer the malicious Malecontents of this Kingdom, in this manner, for the Present; and really wish, I were permitted to do it more Authentickly; which I have great Reason to hope, I shortly shall.
I would willingly oblige all Mankind, though I get nothing by them; and once more I do positively [Page] Affirm, That I will maintain the Truth of my last Narratives, and prove it against all Opposers.
The Adherents of King James are indeed mightily transported, by Reason my Letter was not Read in the House of Commons; and have the good Assuranee (which they seldom want) to affirm, That consequently, and most certainly, all my Narrative of their Dear sham Prince of Wales, must be false.
How partial they are in their Sentence against me, in this Case, [Page] (as they have been in most others) I leave to the Judgment of my Impartial Readers, that shall peruse the following Relation.
To all that Love the present Government, I am a most Faithful Servant,
Mr. FULLER's APPEAL TO Both Houses OF PARLIAMENT, &c.
MY last Three Books having occasion'd some Disputes in the World, which I hop'd to have finally decided this Session of Parliament; and having intimated as much in my Narratives, I think it [Page 10] highly concerns Me, at this time, to let the World know, That I have not been negligent on my part; to perform every particular of my Promise, both as to what relates to the Confirmation of the Discoveries that I made, of the Designs of the Enemies of the Government, in the Years 1690. and 1691. as also the proving of the Suppositious Birth of the pretended Prince of Wales; and that he was the real Son of Mrs. Mary Gray, by which Name she was called, whilst I knew her; and her Brother, as she call'd him, the Secular Priest, lives yet at Callis, by the same Name.
How far I have urged for Leave to demonstrate the Truths of both these weighty Matters, you will plainly find by the following Letters, and Petitions, which were all delivered, though it was my Misfortune [Page 11] to present them at a Time, when Both Houses of Parliament were taken up with more weighty Affairs; and these Proposals of mine wou'd have taken so much of their Time, in the particular Examinations, as might have been Prejudicial to the King's Affairs, to which I shall ever have a due regard; and nothing but the intolerable Wrongs I have so long groan'd under, and the Tyrannick Insults of the Jacobites of this Kingdom, cou'd possibly have induced me to trouble the Parliament at such a time: Nor shall I desist to sue for Justice, and a fair Hearing on both sides, when I may possibly (without any Inconvenience to the Publick) obtain so great a Blessing.
For, I solemnly decIare to all the World, That, to be permitted to [Page 12] clear my Reputation, and to prove the Truths of all I have PubIish'd, is my greatest Ambition. And it hath pleased Almighty God to inable me so Plainly and fully to prove it, when required, that I do not fear, even now the High Court of Parliament is Sitting, to engage to forfeit my Life, in case of failure: Such Sacred Truths can fear no Factions, nor Parties whatever; nor can I ever, though hourly threatned by those poor Senseless, and Moneyless Animals, that call themselves Protestants, that wish for nothing so much as a French Government, and the Diversion of swimming in Troubled Waters; in which they hope by others Ruins to mend their own Condition.
[Page 13] I confess, in answer to Me, they may very justly affirm, That I have not got so much by the Government, as to boast of my Riches, or any thing else, unless in my Sufferings: I must ingeniously own, my hard Usage was not very agreeable to Flesh and Blood; but no power on Earth shou'd make me Disloyal to King William, or unfaithful to the Interest of England.
I am in Charity with all Mankind; yet I confess, it has been some satisfaction to me, to see my greatest Enemies, who unjustly Lorded it over me, fall from their Stations, and into Disgrace, by the same Measures that they made use of to ensnare me; and I have much Reason to bless God, for the good King's, and my Country's Sake: And [Page 14] that God will, I hope, as He has begun, deliver His Majesty, this Kingdom, Scotland, and Ireland, from all our Bosome Enemies, which heighten our Divisions, and are the greatest Curse we groan under; since from them, I may say, (almost alone) the French Tyrant receives those Hopes, (which have often failed him) that have occasion'd the Continuance of the War some time; nay, the French King's harsh Usage to the late King, and all with him, is a plain Demonstration, That he has no extraordinary Zeal for his Cause, only by Flattery from England.
[Page 15] Amongst our Zealous Protestant Jacobites, I would fain know, what Reward those Gentlemen think to have, who have been so earnest for a French Power, that they took the Oaths to King WILLIAM, to make themselves serviceable to King James, as they pretended; and had the Assurance to write to King James and his Queen, to tell them so. I am very certain that King James kept some of their Letters to this effect: And others of the same kind I thought good to secure in England, which with a great many more, had e're this time been publish'd to the World, only I was ambitious to have had them before the Parliament first: At least I hoped and pray'd in my Petition, (as you may see) That I might have Leave of either of the Houses, to have publish'd all I knew [Page 16] of that kind; which I shall yet endeavour to obtain.
I cannot omit making some Remarks on what happen'd upon my sending a Letter to the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Right Honourable Paul Foley, Esq It was, as you will also find, relating to Sir John Fenwick; not that I had any Prejudice against the Person of Sir John Fenwick, but an Abhorrence to his most detestable and barbarous Crimes. For the first two Years after the late King's Abdication, every time that I came to England, from St. Germains, I brought Letters to Sir John Fenwick, and was daily with him and other Gentlemen of the late King's Party, at their Meetings, to consult for to carry on their Designs against the present Government: And in those Unhappy Errors, Sir [Page 17] John Fenwick was as much involv'd as most of the same Pretenders, and gave the late King, and the French King, very large Promises of the wonderful effects of his Interest in the North of England; which was propos'd to be joyn'd with many others, and to make a considerable Army, near Scotland, where Sir John Fenwick was to act as Lieutenant-General, for which I brought him a Commission from the late King; who has often declar'd at St. Germains, That Sir John Fenwick was a good Horse-Officer, but had no extraordinary Opinion of his Management in other Cases, that requir'd a firm Resolution and a serious Conduct.
It had been Sir John's Misfortune very often to promise the French Court much, and perform nothing to their expectation; yet [Page 18] neither Sir John nor his Party ever omitted, by new Engagements, to atone for the Disappointments, which they often excused, by laying the Blame on some Roguish underhand informing Brother; affirming to King James, That the Discovery was sent from his Court; which made his late Majesty and his Queen very often jealous of all about them; and really, to speak truth of the Court of St. Germains, there is almost as many Factions as there is People; so that even King James's small Government there, is attended with much Difficulty.
During my Correspondence with Sir John Fenwick, on the late King's account, I was once in company with him and three others, at a Tavern in the City of London, where Sir John and the rest sign'd an Address to the French King, which was sign'd elsewhere [Page 19] by many others, and sent to France; the Contents were, to assure Lewis the Fourteenth, That they would remain faithful and loyal Subjects to King James, and his Successor the Prince of Wales; and that they would be ready, on any occasion, to joyn and assist the French Arms with their Lives and Fortunes, in England, against the Prince of Orange. They also paid all possible Thanks and Acknowledgments to the French King, for his great Kindness, in succouring their most distressed Prince, and for raising him above the Malice of his Enemies.
And one of Sir John Fenwick's Letters to K. James, soon after the Revolution, was, to advise him to inform the French King, That then there was an Opportunity for him to place many for his Interest in the Service of the Prince of Orange, there [Page 20] being a great many Places to be sold, &c.
This is what I knew, and could justly depose, against Sir John Fenwick. And having long since inform'd the King and the House of Commons of this matter, I thought it my Duty to offer to attest the same Face to Face with Sir John, at the Bar of the House of Commons, which occasion'd my writing to the Speaker.
It's true, Sir John Fenwick is now indicted for a much later Conspiracy against the King and Government, (which is of the same kind, and plainly prov'd by Captain Porter, &c.) and I dare presume to say, that there is no intelligible man, that is not partial in the matter, but what in their own Consciences does [Page 21] believe Sir John Fenwick really guilty. I must confess, in my own Opinion, there was no occasion of my being called, or any greater Proof than the Honourable House of Commons had before them; for which reason my self was not call'd.
Give me Leave to make one Observation more of my own Knowledge, which is, That Sir John Fenwick has often, in my Company, exclaim'd against the Persons he lately pretended to accuse, with the greatest Reproaches and Hatred imaginable; and I cannot hear of any body that ever knew him conversant with any of those Lords or Gentlemen since. And what is yet more strange to me, is, That Sir John Fenwick has not so much as mention'd (as I have been inform'd) the Names of one of those, who to my certain Knowledge, [Page 22] were actually concern'd with him for King James 's Interest, as they term it; no, he has not discover'd▪ any of those that sign'd the Address with him How Sir John was prevail'd on to be guilty of so great a piece of Folly, God knows. Only I must beg his Leave, with others, to believe it an Action very much unbecoming a person of his Rank, much less a Christian in his circumstances, and one that has so long ow'd his Life to the great Clemency of the present Government. I hope he will consider it himself, and remembring what he is, may, before it is too late, discharge his Conscience faithfully towards GOD, King William, and his Native Country; for, I presume, there is little Comfort in dying for a bad Cause: And for them at St. Germains, and those in England, of the French Interest, which wish [Page 23] him hang'd with all their Hearts, and are impatient for it, as they have often been on the same account.
I presume, the late King's desire of the death of such, was not meerly to encrease the number of his Friends in Heaven, that is impossible; for King James, that believes all Protestants are damn'd, cannot so much, after their Deaths, as have one Twelve-penny Mass said for their Souls. Therefore if King James have any Remorse, it must be the Subject of many Confessions, and cause of much Sorrow, to think, as his Faith obliges him, how many Souls are gone to Hell by his Engagement in a very bad Cause. I hope and pray, that no true Englishman, though never so much engag'd in the Interest of [Page 24] the present Government, will presume to judge so uncharitably of any of our greatest Enemies, that have died most justly, for endeavouring to murther the best of Kings, and to involve the Nation into Slavery and Misery.
By this the late King and the French Court shew little Charity; no, they're barbarous and inhuman, by engaging Protestants, nay, even by receiving them into their Service, with a design to expose their Lives, and so consequently their Souls.
This Argument truly weigh'd, (and a Thousand more there is to the same purpose) should, I think, be sufficient to disswade any Protestant from any manner of Engagement on the late King's or French Court's account.
[Page 25] Having thus given you a short and true Account of the Reasons of the delay of my Business, and of my Purpose, by God's Blessing, and by the Permittance and Justice of the Great Wisdom of the Nation; and also an impartial Relation of what I know of Sir John Fenwick, whose Oversight and Obstinacy I much commiserate; I shall proceed to give you the true Copy of my Petition and Letters, as followeth.
To the Right Honourable, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal; and to the Honourable the Commons of England in Parliament Assembled: The Humble Petition of WILLIAM FULLER,
THAT your Petitioner hath long groan'd under intolerable Misfortunes, occasion'd through the Immaturity of his Judgment, which was too easily impos'd on, by the Perfidiousness of Coll. [Page 28] Thomas Dalleval, and Mr. George Hayes; for whose Appearance your Petitioner engag'd to the Honourable House of Commons, (intentionally for the Nation's Service, tho' the Event prov'd contrary) and, for their Failure, incurr'd the Displeasure of the same.
Your Petitioner humbly presumes, That most in the House of Commons were present, when his Information was read; as also the Lord Preston's, and Mr. Crone's Confessions; which did Both Confirm, what your Petitioner Assirm'd; particularly Mr. Crone asserts it upon Oath.
Your Petitioner submissively flings himself on the Justice and Wisdom of Both Houses, now Assembled in Parliament; humbly conceiving, That he can have no Redress from the Wrongs he suffers, but by your Wise Examination of the Whole [Page 29] Management of the Affair, into which your Petitioner was so cunningly ensnared, by the Artifices of the French Court, and their private Adherents in this Kingdom; by whose subtle Device, the Ho [...]ourable House of Commons (as well as your Petitioner) was abus'd; It being, at that time, the greatest Design, and most for the Interest of the French Court, and their Friends in England, to stifle whatever Discovery should be then made: For, the April following they purposed an Invasion; and accordingly provided all necessary Provisions at la Hogue, &c.
And, forasmuch as your Petitioner can plainly prove, That Dalleval and Hayes did come over; and the Method of their whole Intrigue in this base Design, in which they had great Assistance in this Kingdom; as also the manner of their Going-off.
[Page 30] Your Petitioner, with entire Submission, most heartily wishes, (for the Nations Present, as well as Future Security) That, of your great Wisdom, you will examine into the Management of the whole Intrigue; which cost the French Court so much Pains and Mony.
By this Inspection it will be plainly prov'd, who They are that have so long betray'd, and part of them yet continue to betray His present Majesties Council, and this Kingdom in general.
That your Petitioner was the First, which discover'd to King William Colonel Parker's and Chevalier Granvil's Design of Assassinating His Most Sacred Majesty, your Petitioner can fully prove.
And, That his former Informations were a true Narrative, even of the last intended Invasion and Conspiracy, [Page 31] in most Particulars: And, That those Former, and these Latter Designs were much alike managed by the same Conspiring Hands and Hearts; will plainly appear on the Perusal of the said Information.
Your Petitioner, after all this, has been reduced to the most extream Miseries, and suffer'd Publick Disgrace, occasion'd by Others Villanies; and has also been expos'd to several hard Shifts and Extremities.
Your Petitioner therefore humbly Prays,
That (for the Nation's Good, as well as for his Vindication from the intolerable Injuries your said Petitioner has so long groan'd under) He, your Petitioner, may have some Redress, by Your Mature Consideration of his Unhappy Case; That Justice, and Truth, may appear on every Side; and, That such necessary [Page 32] Provision may be made for your Petitioner, (who left his Friends, Interest, and Imploy in France, to Serve this present Government) as to Your Highly judicious Wisdoms shall seem expedient:—Your Petitioner further prays, That he may have Leave to publish a full and perfect Account of all he knows, relating to the former Conspiracies against the present Government.
And your Petitioner, as in Duty bound, shall ever Pray, &c.
LETTER I.
To the Right Hon
ble, Paul Foley,
Esq Speaker of the House of Commons:
VVIth the inclosed, I present You with my Petition to the Honourable House of Commons; which I humbly pray, may be Read in the House.
I am very well assured, that my former Services, and continued Fidelity to the present Government, have exposed me to the most Extravagant Malice of too many in this Kingdom; I mean, the Bosom, as well as publick Enemies of the same; the former being as much concern'd in Invalidating me, as the latter by their assisting and permitting my Ruin; even to the great prejudice of the Government at that time, thereby to Lull the Kingdom into [Page 34] a Lethargy of Security; so that my Wrongs can bear no Comparison with the many Evils England hath, and yet suffers by the persidiousness of those ungrateful Traytors to the Government.
The late House of Commons was by their Endeavours, Imposed on, thro' my unhappy Credulity: Therefore, how much it concerns the present House to Detect them, I humbly commit to their Great Wisdom.
All I beg for my self, is Justice, in the Examination of that weighty Affair; and if I prove not my Wrongs, may I be (by the Censure of the House) Condem'd for ever:
I therefore fling my self entirely on the Impartiality of the Honourable House, now Sitting:
LETTER II.
[Being the Substance of the Letter, which was offer'd to the Honourable House to be Read; it being put to the Question, passed in the Negative.]
To the Right Honourable Paul Foley,
Esq &c.
I Never was desirous to be an Evidence against any Person, but in a Just Cause, where I might discharge my Duty faithfully to my Soveraign, and all Mankind. I formerly charged Sir John Fenwick, That I had brought several Letters from the Late King James, his Queen, and Others, at St. Germains to him; and that I had carried several Letters from Sir John to the Late King and Queen again: That I also brought Sir John Fenwick a Commission from the Late King: And was once present, when the said Sir John Fenwick, with Three others [Page 36] Sign'd an Address to the French King: And therefore, I humbly presume, that no Person, in the Interest of the present Government, can Inform the House more justly of Sir John Fenwick's Intrigues, than my self.
Therefore, if the Honourable House thinks fit to permit me the Justice of being heard at the Barr of the House, when Sir John Fenwick is present, I doubt not, but I shall plainly Demonstrate the Truth of my Charge against him, to the Satisfaction of all Impartial Men.
LETTER III.
To the Right Hon
ble, Sir John Sommers, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal; and Speaker of the House of Lords.
THe Artifices of the French Court, and the Immaturity of my own Iudgment, have so exposed me to the Displeasure of the House of Commons, and consequently to the severe Censure of all good Men, That, I hope, the Right Honourable the House of Lords will pardon me, for presuming to trouble Them; and be Graciously pleased to Receive my humble Petition, which I have sent with this inclosed to Your Lordship; Begging, that it may be speedily presented.
My Lord, All I beg is Justice, (and that without Favor) which I hope, will shew the Integrity of my Cause, and [Page 38] the Intolerable Wrongs I have so long groan'd under; and untill the be done, I cannot presume to Appeal to the King for any Mercy or Favor: Therefore I humbly fling my self on the Great Wisdom of the Parliament; Mine being a Case that concerns the Present, as well as Future Interest of the King and Government.
My Lord, I am not now, nor ever was fond of being an Evidence, only for His Majesties Service; but for as much as I did formerly Charge Sir John Fenwick, That I had brought and delivered to him several Letters from the Late King James, his Queen, and others; as also, a Commission; That I had likewise carried Letters from Sir John Fenwick to the Late King and Queen, at St. Germains; and, That I was once in Company with the said Sir John Fenwick, and Three others, when they Sign'd an Address to the French King, &c.
[Page 39] My Lord, This, I am ready to Prove, if Their Lordships think fit to hear me. I am,
LETTER IV.
To the Right Honourable, the Earl of Stamford.
I Hope, the Merit of my Cause, and Your Lordships Zeal for the Preservation of the present Government, will, in part, Plead my Excuses for this Presumption.
With this Inclosed, I have sent Your Lordship a Copy, both of my Petition [Page 40] to the House of Lords, and the Letter I purpose to send with it to morrow morning, to the Right Honourable the Lord Keeper of the Great Seal.
My Lord, I humbly presume. that no person has endeavour'd to serve the Government, more than I have done; if I may have Leave, I shall fully prove what ever I have offer'd in my Petition, or Letter, to the entire Satisfaction of the World: I therefore most humbly entreat Your Lordship, to speak to my Lord Keeper about this matter, and that it may not be Delay'd: I am,
LETTER V.
To the Right Honourable, the Earl of Monmouth.
VVIth this Inclosed, I have sent Your Lordship a Copy of my Petition to the Right Honourable the House of Lords; and also a Copy of the Letter, which I purpose to send with the said Petition to my Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, to morrow morning: And I do assure Your Lordship, that I am ready to Prove the Contents of both, by my self and others, if the Justice and Wisdom of the Nation thinks fit to hear me. I am,
LETTER VI.
To the Right Honourable, the Lord Lucas.
IT is my greatest Endeavours, to lay hold of all Helps, that may promote an entire overthrow to the wicked Designs of His Present Majesties, and His Kingdoms Enemies. Enclosed I have sent Your Lordship the Copy of My Petition to the House of Lords, and the Letter I sent with it to my Lord Keeper.
My Lord, As I desire nothing but common Justice, so I hope to find King William's Loyal Subjects, and every true Englishman my Friend, in a Cause that, I am sure, so nearly concerns them.
My Lord, I have been abused sufficiently by the malicious Endeavours of [Page 43] the Malecontents of this Kingdom; and I doubt not, but there will be fresh Endeavours made by some of that Party, to oppose me now: Therefore, I humbly fly to the Great Justice and Wisdom of the House of Lords; and hope, your Enemies will find it impossible to baffle me a second time.
I beg Leave to wait on Your Lordship suddenly, that I may inform You, as I have done Others, how plainly I shall make good my Assertions in my Petition and Letter.
I intreat Your Lordship's pardon, for this presumption. I am,
LETTER VII.
To the Hon
ble Anthony Bowyer,
Esq a Member of Parliament.
I Humbly presume, that every Free-Born Subject of England, has a Right to the Justice of his Country; and I hope few, but my self, have cause of Complaint to the contrary: How I have deserved it, I cannot imagine, since I know of no other Fault, but my want of cautionary Advertency, when I Engaged for Dalleval, and Hayes, which was Imposed on me by the Artifices of the French Court, and the late King James's Friends in England, as I have offered to prove by sufficient Witnesses, before the Parliament; and also, that the Management of that Affair cost the French King many Thousand Pounds, in order to invalidate me; [Page 45] which render'd my Case very hard, and a cruel Oppression; when even the very Enemies of the Government are allow'd to Expose me, because I betray'd their wicked Designes; and I am deny'd leave to prove my wrongs.
It was to serve King William, and these Kingdoms, that I went to France, after my first Discovery, and even into the French King's Closet, Exposing my Life to the Wheel, forsaking my nearest and dearest Friends, Interest, and Imploy, to serve the present Government, from those great Dangers that seem'd to threaten it: This is, Sir, what I am sure, you very well know; and also, that my Informations were Confirm'd by the Lord Preston's, and Mr. Crone's Confessions.
You were, Sir, of the Committee, Ordered by the House to Examine me, when Hayes and Dalleval went off▪ And you have been often pleased to express, how very hard you thought my usage was, on that account: My Sufferings have been more than I can [Page 46] Express; and my Concern is greater for my unhappy Country, than for my self; and if not for mine, yet for the Publick Good, I pray the House of Commons to Examine my Cause, that you may plainly know, what England has, and may suffer by those Devices and Instruments of the French Court: And if the House pleases to appoint a Committee to Examine me, and those I shall produce on this Account, to prove what I offer, I am confident, it will be extreamly to the Nations Satisfaction and Interest: And if not, be pleased, Sir, to move the House, that I may have leave to print my Case, and the Copies of all the Letters I brought from France, &c. For, since I was Voted against, by the former House, and an Address presented to the King, to Order the Attorney General to prosecute me, I dare not Appeal to His Majesty, (who is the best of Kings,) until I have Honourably convinc'd the world, how much I am wrong'd and misrepresented, by the subtil devices [Page 47] of King James's Adherents, who so easily imposed on my Judgment, and so Exposed me to the Displeasure of the Honourable House.
In a word, Sir, if I have done the King and Nation any Service, I hope my Request will be granted: And, if I have not, I desire to be Hang'd.
I have given my Original Petition to Collonel Thomas Doare, in hopes he will present it to the Honourable House; as I beg you will This.