at such an attempt would
ever escape the vigilance of our magistrates, the faithful depositaries of
your majesty's authority.

But it may appear dangerous to some, that so many thousands of your
majesty's subjects should have a dependence upon one man, and be engaged to
a foreigner by motives of conscience and inclination; and it may seem,
that, in times of trouble and intestine divisions, the danger is still more
to be apprehended. In answer to this objection we beg leave to observe,
that, in your majesty's dominions, there are other religious orders far
more numerous than the Jesuits, and who, by their vow of obedience, have no
less dependence on their foreign generals; whence it is highly
unreasonable, that the Jesuits should be marked out as the only object of
our fears and jealousies on that account: to say the truth, there is no
society or body of men in the nation, who may not give trouble to the
state, and some cause of fear, {368} should they deviate from their duty,
or forget the obedience due to their lawful superiors. Are we then
immediately to suppress all these most serviceable corporations, and
deprive ourselves of that which is a real good and advantage to the whole
kingdom, for the apprehension of a remote and imaginary evil? The Jesuits
certainly are not less bound by your majesty's laws than the rest of your
subjects; and, if from things past we may be allowed to form a judgment of
their future behaviour, we have little or no reason to fear any disturbance
from that quarter. It is well known, that, in the year 1681, during our
disputes with Rome concerning benefices, the pope's briefs were conveyed
into the hands of the Jesuits in France, with express orders, both from his
holiness and from their general, to disperse them immediately about the
kingdom; but they, without much deliberation, on the 20th of June, produced
the packet in open court, and, by their candid behaviour in that critical
conjuncture, deserved that remarkable compliment from the first president,
M. de Novion, _that it was lucky those papers had fallen into the hands of
persons of their prudence and discretion: that they had too good heads to
be imposed upon, and hearts too loyal to be corrupted_[133]. We are also
assured by the general advocate, Talon, _that no one could reasonably tax
the Jesuits, whose behaviour on that occasion was fully justified by the
bitter reproach and severe reprimand they afterwards underwent, both from
the