AS much experience as We have had of the inveterate rancour, and high Insolence of the Malig­nant Party against Us, We never yet saw any expression come from them, so evidently decla­ring it, as the Declaration, entituled, A Declaration of the Lords and Commons assembled in Parliament, for the raising of all power and force, as well Trained­bands as others in severall Counties of this Kingdome, to leade against all Traytors, and their Adherents. &c. In which, that faction hath, as it were distilled, and contracted all their Falshood, Insolence, and Malice. There being in it not one Period, which is not either slanderous, or Treasonable. And no­thing can more grieve Us, then that by their infi­nite Arts, and Subtilty (employed by their perpe­tuall [Page 2] and indefatigable Industry) and by that Rab­ble of Brownists, and other Schismatickes, declared­ly ready to appeare at their Call, they should have been able so to draw away some, and drive away others of Our good Subjects from Our Parlia­ment, as to prevaile with the Major part remain­ing of both Houses (how much soever that Major part be the smaller in comparison of the whole) to suffer that name (whose Reverence by all meanes We desire to preserve) to be so soyl'd, as to be prefixed to a paper of this unsufferable na­ture; that tends not only to the Destruction of Our Person, but to the Dissolution of this Govern­ment, and of all Society; If at least this Declaration (which We rather see cause to hope it hath not) have so much as been seene in the Hou­ses, and be not the single worke of the same Om­nipotent Committee, to which is devolved the whole power of the Parliament, and which, as We understand, is trusted (without acquainting the Houses) to break up any mans house, and take away the Armes, and money intended to defend and feed him (if they shall see cause to suspect, that he meant to assist his Soveraigne with them) and may well be as fully and implicitly trusted to Declare, as to Act, whatsoever they please. And [Page 3] though We doubt not, but to their utmost, they will continue that Injurie to Us, and that violati­on of the Subjects Liberty, and of publike Right, to vex and imprison those, who shall publish any of Our Answers to their Declarations, (and in­deed whil'st they affirme against all truth, and command against all Law, it concernes them to take care, that nothing be heard but what they say) yet Our comfort is, that Our Jntentions, and the Duty of Our Subjects, are so well, and so gene­rally known to Our People, that we cannot feare (from whomsoever it come, and though no An­swer came out with it) that either, what is there said, should be believed, or what is there com­manded, should be obeyed. Who knows not that Our Commissions for horse and foot were not granted out, till not onely Our Prerogative, but Our Propriety, Our Goods, Armes, Townes, Mi­litia, and negative voice were taken from Us, and all the Kingdome commanded to be in Arms, and invited to bring in horse, plate, and money to frame an Army against Our command, and Pro­clamation, and till horse were rais'd and muste­red accordingly, and then, with no Intention (nor hath any Action in any of our Ministers given the [Page 4] least suspicion of such an Intention) by them to compell Our subjects to submit to Our Commis­sions of Array, or make use of them against the Parliament, but to regain Hull, held out in Rebelli­on against Us; And to suppresse all such, as with­out Our Authority, and against Our Commands should rayse forces in this Our Kingdome, and leavy war against Us, under pretence of any order or ordinance of one or both Houses: & such tray­terous Assemblies and Marches have been the on­ly lawfull and necessary Occasions of Our good subjects, which have not been so much as inter­rupted by any Troopes of Ours; And what is affir­med of the spoiling and killing them, as they were so travelling under Our Protection, and according to law, is a most malitious Affirmation, as well without truth, as without instance, invented at once to make Our Troopes terrible, and Us odi­ous to Our People. What care have we taken that by this meanes the power of the sword should not come into the hands of Papists, who have by Our Proclamation strictly charged that no Papist should presume to list himselfe, either as Officer, or Souldier in this Our Army, having directed how he should be discovered, if he did presume, and suffer, if he were discovered? What care have [Page 5] We taken to avoid Combustion, and Civill warre, offering to lay down Our Armes, when they shall have laid down theirs, in whom it was Treason to take them up, and restored Us those things, which could not without Treason, as well as in­justice be forced away, and kept from Us, Our Arms, Ships, Town, &c. And when we might meet both Our Houses in a safe and secure place to debate freely of all the differences in a Parlia­mentary way. And by whose Influences these Propositions were received, & whether the Pro­poser, or rejecters were most carefull to avoid this ruine and Desolation of the Kingdome, we leave all the world to judge, and whether they, who di­vert the men and money, collected for the reliefe of distressed Ireland, to raise forces against their Prince, (who asks the nothing, but what is le­gall, nor will deny them any thing that is) doe not joyne with the Popish and Jesuiticall faction in the bloudy Massacre of many Thousand Prote­stants in that miserable Kingdome. We propose likewise to every mans judgement, whether the declaring those to be Traytors, who execute Our Commission of Array (issued in so many Kings Raignes, agreed upon by Parliament, and there yeelded to by the King, to be setled, as now it is, [Page 6] as a matter of great grace. And since that time which was in the 5^o Hen. 4. In no Parliament complained of) whilst our good Subjects are vexed and imprisoned, not onely for resisting, but for humbly petitioning so, as may seeme but to insinuate something against their most illegall Commands concerning the Militia. (To which power of commanding no Title can be made by any Statute, or any Precedent, nor can we ever find by search, nor obtaine to be told, what those fundamentall Lawes are, by which it is pretended. So deepe those foundations are laid, beyond all meanes of discovery.) And the Decla­ring that those, who raise men, by vertue of Our Command, & Commission (the only legall way) traiterously and rebelliously leavy war against the King, and ordaining it to be lawfull for all Our Subjects by force of Arms to resist them, and their Accomplices, and the raising of forces by Autho­rity of Parliament (that is, by the remaining part of both Houses) never in the most outragious times before attempted, & commanding severall Persons, whom they call Lievtenants to lead, and giving them power to transport from one County to another, the forces of severall of Our Counties against them; and to kill and slay all such, as by [Page 7] force shall oppose them, Our Self not excepted, commanding all Our Officers and Subjects to be assisting to them, and undertaking to secure them for so doing, by the power and Authority of Par­liament (which is first to allow, and next to com­mand, & then to pardon Treason) be not to have already subverted, as much as in them lyes, the Li­berty of the Subject, the law of the Land, and alte­red the antient goverment of the Kingdome, lea­ving Our Subjects without all Rule to walke by, when the most cleere Lawes cannot direct and secure them, and they see all those antient bounds passed over, which were ever as much known to be the Duty of both Houses to observe, as it was Evident, that there were, and that it was necessary that there should be Two Houses of Parliament; and at once behold the law (which is to defend and protect the Subject) and Us, (who are to pro­tect and defend the Law) need Defence, and Pro­tection; We doubt not therefore, but all Our good Subjects will come in to Our Assistance, and that this wicked charge of intending to introduce Po­pery, Idolatry, and Arbitrary Government, laid by Implication upon us (because we defend Our Selves, and would recover Our own) will be so farre from being a Motive against Us, that this in­tolerable [Page 8] Indignity, and damnable scandall, (so daily and visibly confuted by all Our Professions and Actions) will encrease Our good Subjects zeal towards Us, and their Indignation against the Contrivers; And they will esteeme themselves obliged by the Religion of Almighty God, to op­pose this war, so impiously, so treasonably, and so groundlesly made upon Us their King, and his Annointed.

We therefore require all Our Commissioners of Array, Sheriffes, and all Our other Officers and Ministers to raise all the power and forces of their severall Counties to assist the Marquesse of Hert­ford, the Earle of Northampton, the Lord Willough­by of Eresby, the Lord Dunsmore, the Lord Paw­lett, the Lord Seymour, Henry Hastings Esquire, Sir Iohn Stowell, Sir Ralph Hopton, Iohn Digby Es­quire, and all other in the legall and necessary Ex­ecution of Our Commissions of Array, and in the raising and conducting of such Horse and Foot, as shall be rais'd by Our Commission: and by force of Armes to oppose the Earle of Essex, the Lord Say, and all other, that shall raise, or conduct any Forces raised by pretence of Authority of both Houses, and the Persons of all such Traitors, and their Adherents, and Accomplices to Arrest and [Page 9] Imprison, to the end they may be brought to a fayre and legall tryall, by their Peers, and accor­ding to the Law. And this we require from them, as they tender the Defence of Our Person, the true Religion, the Law of the Land, the Liberty, and Property of the Subject, and the true and just Pri­viledges of Parliament. And for so doing, they shall be defended and secured by Us, and by the Law; with whom, and with which, we doubt not but Our Subjects will sooner choose to live and dye, them with the Earle of Essex and his Adherents.