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and maintain the government according to this establishment in these Fundamental Constitutions."

CXVIII. Whatsoever alien shall, in this form, before any precinct register, subscribe these Fundamental Constitutions, shall be thereby naturalized.

CXIX. In the same manner shall every person, at his admittance into any office, subscribe these Fundamental Constitutions.

CXX. These Fundamental Constitutions, in number a hundred and twenty, and every part thereof, shall be and remain the sacred and unalterable form and rule of government of Carolina for ever. Witness our hands and seals, the first day of March, 1669.

RULES OF PRECEDENCY.

I. The lords proprietors; the eldest in age first, and so in order.

II. The eldest sons of the lords proprietors; the eldest in age first, and so in order.

III. The landgraves of the grand council; he that hath been longest of the grand council first, and so in order.

IV. The cassiques of the grand council; he that hath been longest of the grand council first, and so in order.

V. The seven commoners of the grand council that have been longest of the grand council; he that hath been longest of the grand council first, and so in order.

VI. The younger sons of the proprietors; the eldest first, and so in order.

VII. The landgraves; the eldest in age first, and so in order.

VIII. The seven commoners, who next to those be

fore-mentioned have been longest of the grand council, he that hath been longest of the grand council first, and so in order.

IX. The cassiques; the eldest in age first, and so in order.

X. The seven remaining commoners of the grand council; he that hath been longest of the grand council first, and so in order.

XI. The male line of the proprietors.

The rest shall be determined by the chamberlain's court.

Α

LETTER

FROM

A PERSON OF QUALITY

TO HIS

FRIEND IN THE COUNTRY;

GIVING

An Account of the Debates and Resolutions of the House of Lords, in April and May, 1675, concerning a Bill, entitled, "An Act to prevent the Dangers which may arise from Persons disaffected to the Government."

SIR,

THIS session being ended, and the bill of test being finished at the committee of the whole house; I can now give you a perfect account of this state masterpiece. It was first hatched (as almost all the mischiefs of the world have hitherto been) amongst the great churchmen; and is a project of several years standing, but found not ministers bold enough to go through with it, until these new ones, who wanting a better bottom to support them, betook themselves wholly to this; which is no small undertaking, if you consider it in its whole extent.

First, To make a distinct party from the rest of the nation of the high episcopal men and the old cavaliers; who are to swallow the hopes of enjoying all the power and offices of the kingdom; being also tempted by the advantage they may receive from overthrowing the act of oblivion; and not a little rejoicing to think, how valiant they should prove, if they could get any to fight the old quarrel over again, now they are possessed of the arms, forts, and ammunition of the nation.

Next, they design to have the government of the church sworn to as unalterable; and so tacitly owned to be of divine right; which, though inconsistent with the oath of supremacy, yet the churchmen easily break through all obligations whatsoever, to attain this sta tion, the advantage which the prelate of Rome hath sufficiently taught the world.

Then, in requital to the crown, they declare the government absolute and arbitrary; and allow monarchy, as well as episcopacy, to be jure divino, and not to be bounded or limited by any human laws.

And to secure all this, they resolve to take away the power and opportunity of parliaments to alter any thing in church or state; only leave them as an instrument to raise money, and to pass such laws as the court and church shall have a mind to; the attempt of any other, how necessary soever, must be no less a crime than perjury.

And as the top stone of the whole fabric, a pretence shall be taken from the jealousies they themselves have raised, and a real necessity from the smallness of their party, to increase and keep up a standing army: and then in due time the cavalier and churchman will be made greater fools, but as arrant slaves as the rest of the nation.

In order to this, the first step was made in the act for regulating corporations, wisely beginning that, in those lesser governments, which they meant afterwards to introduce upon the government of the nation; and making them swear to a declaration and belief of such propositions as they themselves afterwards, upon debate, were enforced to alter, and could not justify in those

words*; so that many of the wealthiest, worthiest, and soberest men, are still kept out of the magistracy of those places.

The next step was in the act of militia †, which went for most of the chiefest nobility, and gentry, being obliged as lords-lieutenants, deputy-lieutenants, &c. to swear to the same declaration and belief; with the addition only of these words, " in pursuance of such military commissions;" which makes the matter rather worse than better. Yet this went down smoothly, as an oath in fashion, a testimony of loyalty; and none adventuring freely to debate the matter, the humour of the age, like a strong tide, carries wise and good men down before it. This act is of a piece; for it establisheth a standing army by a law, and swears us into a military government.

Immediately after this, followeth the act of uniformity, by which all the clergy of England are obliged to subscribe, and declare what the corporations, nobility, and gentry had before sworn; but with this additional clause of the militia act omitted. This the clergy readily complied with; for you know, that sort of men are taught rather to obey than understand; and to use that learning they have, to justify, not to examine, what their superiors command. And yet that Bartholomewday was fatal to our church and religion, in throwing out a very great number of worthy, learned, pious, and orthodox divines, who could not come up to this, and other things in that act. And it is upon this occasion worth your knowledge, that so great was the zeal in carrying on this church affair, and so blind was the

*By the act for the well governing and regulating of corporations, passed in the year 1661, all persons bearing any office of magistracy, place of trust, or other employment, relating to the government of any city, corporation, borough, &c. were ordered to take the following oath :

"I A. B. do declare and believe, that it is not lawful, upon any pretence whatsoever, to take arms against the king; and that I do abhor that traitorous position of taking arms by his authority against his person, or against those that are commissioned by him."

The act for ordering the forces in the several counties of this kingdom.

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