Corporations Vindicated, Dedication
To my most dear and ever honoured friends, the Fellows of Peter-house in Cambridge.
Gentlemen of our ancient Society,
WHen I cast my eye upon your experienced great worth, and the unparallel'd happiness I have long enjoyed in my converses with you, I cannot but wish my self able to erect some lasting momument, whereon to engrave my deep sense of both to perpetuity.
But my short power sinking so infinitely beneath my own desire, and your desert. I am enforced rather then be altogether unfriutful, to present you with this barren Essay of my endeavours for our common freedom; which coming now to see the publike light, is (next to our general Protectors, to whose Honourable inspection over us, we must needs say, we owe our preservation) devoted to your service and acceptance.
I know you will a little wonder at this opener appearance of this Petition and Argument, which I think you never looked I would have been so adventurous as to have fuffered to see so much light as it did in your view before the Committee.
For, to appear against the interest of a man so generally befriended, by some upon point of ancient acquaintance, and opinion of his holiness; by others upon his high merit in the secession from his former Principles and party he was a head of, to an absolute complyance with the strongest sword, even to a preaching up the present powers Authority, out of the very same Texts and Principles which were formerly made use of by the Regal Parasites, to establish that blind ob…dience we all decla…ed and fought against; for a meer servant of principles to contend against a server of times, such a good loyall subject, and perfect tool of State, that hath like the complying Knight of old, confest even Boots and Spurs and all, and resolved all his former stiff principles into that one of a supple, servile obedience to the strongest sword, was, I know both you and all men else will say, a desperate attempt, and more smelling of juvenile heat, then a sedate wisdom.
I confess, if my love of Justice, and honourable esteem of our Judges integrity had not been much stronger then any humane hopes of success, I had never imployed my endeavours upon so improbable an adventure.
But you know my profest principle hath alwaies been, that a true Christians motions should be guided by that one single internal principle of righteousness, that where duty cals to action, there our work is simply to contribute an endeavour, leaving successes to him that is Lord of all: That that man is not worthy the name of a Christian, nor fit to be an instrument of any remarkable good, that will not prodigally adventure the loss of his repute, as well as labour in miscarriages, for the possible accomplishment of a righteous end.
Whereupon some of you may possibly remember, that when we were upon that first attempt of Petitioning the Committee against the Masters man, being made Fellow of our Colledge, and the intrusion of young Lads into the Colledge-government, though I both owned and cordially joyned with you in those (I think) just requests, yet I always said we were thus far comparatively unjust, in that we unbecomingly spent our pains in hewing at a few excrementitious branches, and did not rather lay the Ax to the root of the tree, viz. the Master himself, and his usurped prerogative, who by denying us our right of elections, had been the true original of all those mischiefs.
For as for those youngsters, they having no trust upon them to the contrary, if they did a little over-eagerly seek their own promotion, it was but a private error, a sin of their age, rather then judgement.
But for Doctor Seaman, a Patriarchiall pretender to Religion, and entrusted with the Patronage of the Colledge rights, to betray them and us to his own corrupt design of new modelling the Colledge, and molding up a party devoted to his own ends, was in him an unpardonable transgression, and in us especially, who had appeared against lesser offenders, not altogether excusable to suffer it without endeavouring a remedy.
Dat veniam Corvis, vexat censura Columbas.
But you perhaps not thinking fit to engage against an interest apparently too strong for us, or desisting upon other reasons best known to your wisdoms. I thought fit however to acquit my self from the blame of my own conscience by my single engagement against that destructive prerogative, which I was the rather willing to do upon my own single adventure, because if I prevailed, the Community would be a gainer; if not, the loss of labour, and the disrepute was only my own.
Besides, I was sure you were all throughly perswaded of my souls candor in the attempt, and that none of those by respects our Malignant and ungodly Master charged me with, but onelyonly the publike good was my sole and sincere aim, both in this and other transactions, wherein I have appeared cross to his designs. And so whatever error I might commit in the management of this affair, I promised my self from you, whose censure I only valued, an easie pardon.
Yet in all this prosecution of our cause of liberty, you see I have hitherto acted with such tenderness to him I opposed, as to aim onelyonly at the removeal of his hurtful prerogative, not his person: but seeing he hath to his former miscariages added this Capital transg…ssion, of seeking to cast a publike disgrace upon the President and whole Society, whose honor and immunities he was bound to defend. I hope it will not be thought injustice if that personal charge against him (which if produced before, would have come in onelyonly as a needless supernumerary motive to the enforce ment of my Petition) being reserved as yet intire, be in its due time, when some formalities yet wanting shall be ready, produced against him to his amotion.
And if it should ever be our good hap to discharge our selves of so unnecessary a burthen, I see for my own part no reason why the Kingly Office in Peter-House may not well be abolished, and he who shall as President be elected yearly to supply the place, content himself for his pains with the stipend allowed by the Founder, and so the State become exonerated of the charge of that augmentation.
Nor do I see why we should distrust that Government in our Corporation, of which all the Corporations throughout the whole Nation have such ample experience, especially we having found by a more then six years experience of our own, that all the good ends of Government have been attained with us by a President and Fellows in the Masters absence, much better then in his presence.
Yet I speak not this at all in relation to other Colledges, whose constitution may be different from ours, and who have perhaps found great benefit redounding to their Communities from their several Masters vigilancy and faithfulness to the common interest.
But I hope the Master of our Colledge will be so wise in his generation, as to cut off the Clue from these remote designs, by making use of that old Statute, de promotis, together with that present interest he hath in many Members of the Honorable Committee, to rid me first out of his way; a thing most of you know he hath oft threatned me with, but could never yet by such means get me to bate him one Ace of my open opposition to his designs, where my judgement engaged me to it.
I know moreover what obstruction he is able to lay in my way (without once being seen in it himself) whensoever I shall come to lay claim to my Lancashire inheritance; but it is my resolution, God willing, to go on as Justice shall call, straight forward, without looking aside, either to the right hand or to the left.
Nor shall the hazard either of my Fellowship, or five or six hundred pounds a year to boot, deter me from doing ought wherein I may advance a publike good, with respect to that worthy Society, to whom I shall, while I enjoy life, endeavour to approve my self
A most affectionate and faithful Servant, Ch. Hotham.