And What if the Pretender should Come? Or Some Considerations of the Advantages and Real Consequences of the Pretender's Possessing the Crown of Great Britain

Let us then be no more rendered uneasy with the notions, that with the pretender we must entertain French methods of government, such as tyranny and arbitrary power; tyranny is no more tyranny, when improved for the subjects' advantage: perhaps when we have tried it we may find it as much for our good many ways, nay, and more too, than our present exorbitant liberties, especially unless we can make a better use of them, and enjoy them, without being always going by the ears about them, as we see daily, not only with our governors, but even with one another; a little French slavery, though it be a frightful word among us, that is, being made so by custom, yet may do us a great deal of good in the main, as it may teach us not to over (under) value our liberties when we have them, so much as sometimes we have done; and this is not one of the least advantages which we shall gain by the coming of the pretender, and consequently one of the good reasons why we should be very willing to receive him.

The next thing which they fill us with apprehensions of in the coming of the pretender, is the influence of French councils, which they construe thus, viz., That the pretender being restored here by the assistance of France, will not only rule us by French methods, viz., by French tyranny, but in gratitude to his restorer he will cause us to be always ready with English blood and treasure to assist and support the French ambition in the invasions he will ever be making upon Europe, and in the oppressions of other nations; till at last he obtain the superiority over them all, and turn upon us too, devouring the liberties of Europe in his so long purposed and resolved universal monarchy. As to the gratitude of the pretender to the king of France, why should you make that a crime? Are not all people bound in honour to retaliate kindness? And would you have your prince be ungrateful to him that brought him hither? By the same rule, you would expect he could be ungrateful to us that receive him; besides, if it be so great an advantage to us to have him brought in, we shall be all concerned also in gratitude to the king of France for helping us to him; and sure we shall not decline making a suitable return to him for the kindness; and is this anything more than common? Did we not pay the Dutch six hundred thousand pounds sterling for assisting the late King William? And did we not immediately embark with them in the war against the king of France? And has not that revolution cost the nation one hundred millions of British money to support it? And shall we grudge to support the pretender and his benefactor, at the same expense, if it should be needful, for carrying on the new scheme of French liberty, which when that time comes may be in a likely and forward way to prevail over the whole world, to the general happiness of Europe.

There seems to be but one thing more which those people, who make such a clamour at the fears of the pretender, take hold of, and this is religion; and they tell us that not only French government, and French influence, but French religion, that is to say, popery, will come upon us; but these people know not what they talk of, for it is evident that they shall be so far from being loaded with religion, that they will rather obtain that so long desired happiness, of having no religion at all. This we may easily make appear has been the advantage which has been long laboured for in this nation; and as the attainments we are arrived to of that kind are very considerable already, so we cannot doubt but that if once the pretender were settled quietly among us, an absolute subjection, as well of religious principles, as civil liberties, to the disposal of the sovereign, would take place. This is an advantage so fruitful of several other manifest improvements, that though we have not room in this place to enlarge upon the particulars, we cannot doubt but it must be a most grateful piece of news to a great part of the nation, who have long groaned under the oppressions and cruel severities of the clergy, occasioned by their own strict lives, and rigorous virtue, and their imposing such austerities and restraints upon the people; and in this particular the clamour of slavery will appear very scandalous in the nation, for the slavery of religion being taken off, and an universal freedom of vice being introduced, what greater liberty can we enjoy.

But we have yet greater advantages attending this nation by the coming of the pretender than any we have yet taken notice of; and though we have not room in this short tract to name them all, and enlarge upon them as the case may require, yet we cannot omit such due notice of them, as may serve to satisfy our readers, and convince them how much they ought to favour the coming of the pretender, as the great benefit to the whole nation; and therefore we shall begin with our brethren of Scotland; and here we may tell them, that they, of all the parts of this island, shall receive the most evident advantages, in that the setting the pretender upon the throne shall effectually set them free from the bondage they now groan under, in their abhorred subjection to England by the union, which may, no question, be declared void, and dissolved, as a violence upon the Scottish nation, as soon as ever the pretender shall be established upon the throne; a few words may serve to recommend this to the Scots, since we are very well satisfied we shall be sure to oblige every side there by it: the opposition all sides made to the union at the time of the transaction of the union in the parliament there, cannot but give us reason to think thus; and the present scruple, even the presbyterians themselves make, of taking the abjuration, if they do not, as some pretend, assure us that the said presbyterian nonjurors are in the interest of the pretender, yet they undeniably prove, and put it out of all question, that they are ill-pleased with the yoke of the union, and would embrace every just occasion of being quietly and freely discharged from the fetters which they believe they bear by the said union; now there is no doubt to be made, but that upon the very first appearance of the pretender, the ancient kingdom of Scotland should recover her former well-known condition, we mean, of being perfectly free, and depending upon none but the king of France. How inestimable an advantage this will be to Scotland, and how effectually he will support and defend the Scots against their ancient enemies, the English, forasmuch as we have not room to enlarge upon here, we may take occasion to make out more particularly on another occasion. But it may not be forgotten here, that the union was not only justly distasteful to the Scots themselves, but also to many good men, and noble patriots of the church, some of whom entered their protests against passing and confirming, or ratifying the same, such as the late Lord Hav – sham, and the right wise and right noble E – of Nott – , whose reasons for being against the said union, besides those they gave in the house of p – s, which we do by no means mean to reflect upon in the least in this place; we say, whose other reasons for opposing the said union were founded upon an implacable hatred to the Scots kirk, which has been established thereby: it may then not admit of any question, but that they would think it a very great advantage to be delivered from the same, as they would effectually be by the coming of the pretender; wherefore by the concurring judgment of these noble and wise persons, who on that account opposed the union, the coming of the pretender must be an inexpressible advantage to this nation; nor is the dissolving the union so desirable a thing, merely as that union was an establishing among us a wicked schismatical presbyterian generation, and giving the sanction of the laws to their odious constitution, which we esteem (you know) worse than popery; but even on civil accounts, as particularly on account of the p – s of Scotland, who many of them think themselves egregiously maltreated, and robbed of their birthright, as p – s, and have expressed themselves so in a something public manner. Now we cannot think that any of these will be at all offended that all this new establishment should be revoked; nay, we have heard it openly said, that the Scots are so little satisfied with the union at this time, that if it were now to be put to the vote, as it was before, whether they should unite with England, or no, there would not be one man in fifteen, throughout Scotland, that would vote for it. If then it appears that the whole nation thus seems to be averse to the union, and by the coming in of this most glorious pretender that union will be in all appearance dissolved, and the nation freed from the incumbrance of it, will any Scots man, who is against the union, refuse to be for the pretender? Sure it cannot be; I know it is alleged, that they will lay aside their discontent at the union, and unite together against the pretender, because that is to unite against popery; we will not say what a few, who have their eyes in their heads, may do; but as the generality of the people there are not so well reconciled together, as such a thing requires, it is not unlikely that such a uniting may be prevented, if the pretender's friends there can but play the game of dividing them farther, as they should do; to which end it cannot but be very serviceable to them to have the real advantages of receiving the pretender laid before them, which is the true intent and meaning of the present undertaking.