[Sidenote: Right of resistance how to be understood.]
"These general rules of obedience may, upon a _real necessity,_ admit a lawful _exception_; and such a _necessary exception_ we assert the Revolution to be.
"'Tis with this view of _necessity_, only _absolute necessity_ of preserving our laws, liberties, and religion,--'tis with _this limitation_, that we desire to be understood, when any of us speak of resistance in general. The _necessity_ of the resistance at the Revolution was at that time obvious to every man."
I shall conclude these extracts with a reference to the Prince of Orange's Declaration, in which he gives the nation the fullest assurance that in his enterprise he was far from the intention of introducing any change whatever in the fundamental law and Constitution of the state. He considered the object of his enterprise not to be a precedent for further revolutions, but that it was the great end of his expedition to make such revolutions, so far as human power and wisdom could provide, unnecessary.
_Extracts from the Prince of Orange's Declaration_.
"_All magistrates, who have been_ unjustly turned out, shall _forthwith resume their former_ employments; as well as all the boroughs of England shall return again to _their ancient prescriptions and charters_, and, more particularly, that _the ancient_ charter of the great and famous city of London shall again be in force; and that the writs for the members of Parliament shall be addressed to the _proper officers, according to law and custom_."
"And for the doing of all other things which the two Houses of Parliament shall find necessary for the peace, honor, and safety of the nation, so that there may _be no more danger of the nation's falling, at any time hereafter, under arbitrary government_."
_Extract from the Prince of Oranges Additional Declaration_.
[Sidenote: Principal nobility and gentry well affected to the Church and crown, security against the design of innovation.]
"We are confident that no persons can have _such hard thoughts of us_ as to imagine that we have any other design in this undertaking than to procure a settlement of the _religion and of the liberties and properties of the subjects upon so sure a foundation that there may be no danger of the nation's relapsing into the like miseries at any time hereafter_. And as the forces that we have brought along with us are utterly disproportioned to that wicked design of conquering the nation, if we were capable of intending it, _so the great numbers of the principal nobility and gentry, that are men of eminent quality and estates, and persons of known integrity and zeal, both for the religion and government of England, many of them, also being distinguished by their constant fidelity to the crown_, who do both accompany us in this expedition and have earnestly solicited us to it, will cover us from all such malicious insinuations."