A Letter, Writ by Mijn Heer Fagel, Pensioner of Holland, To Mr. James Stewart, Advocate; Giving an Account of the Prince and Princess of Orange's Thoughts Concerning the Repeal of the Test, and the Penal Laws.
London: 1688. Hardcover : pp. 8 : [30 blank] : letter bound in stiff pale green boards with 30 blank leaves; black lettering to spine.
Pencil to front paste-down; toned e.p.s; age toned leaves; boards a little grubby. Very good. Item #4225
Gaspar Fagel (1634 – 1688) was a Dutch politician, jurist, and diplomat who authored correspondence from and on behalf of William III, Prince of Orange, during the English Revolution of 1688. This open letter was widely circulated in England in 1688; it confirmed tolerance for dissenters but did not require them to support repeal. Many dissenters viewed the act as essential for guaranteeing the primacy of the Protestant faith and Fagle confirmed the Dutch would support the softening of some laws only if: "... those Laws remain still in their full vigour by which the Roman Catholics are shut out of both Houses of Parliament, and out of all public employment; Ecclesiastical, Civil and Military: as likewise all those others, which confirm the Protestant Religion and which secures it against all the attempts of the Roman Catholic." (p.2).
The effect of this letter, and others, was to assure the Parliament that William III would not stand in the way of the Parliament's legislative agenda which manifested itself in the form of the Bill of Rights of 1689. [ESTC R203953; Wing F88].
Price: $500.00