WHen I parted with you last, it was but for a little time, and with a resolution of meet­ing suddenly again. That alone was e­nough to satisfie My Friends that they need not fear, and My Enemies that they could not hope for a Breach between Us. I then told you, that the time of this short Recess should be employed in doing such things as might add to your Satis­faction. I hope I have done My part to­wards it: And if there be any thing else which you think wanting to secure Religion or Property, there is nothing which you shall reasonably propose, but I shall be ready to receive it. I do now expect you should do your parts too, for Our Enemies make vigorous preparations for War, and yet their chief hopes are to disunite us at home; 'tis their Common Discourse, and yet they reckon upon it as their best Relief.

My Lords and Gentlemen,

It is not possible for Me to doubt your Affections at any time, much less at such a time as this, when the Evidences of your Affe­ctions are become so necessary to us all. I desire you to consider, that as the War cannot be well made without a Supply, so neither can a good Peace be had without being in a posture of War. I am very far from being in love with War, for Wars sake; But if I saw [Page 4]and likelyhood of Peace without dishonour to My Self, and damage to You, I would soon embrace it. But no proposals of Peace have yet been offered, which can be imagined with intent to conclude, but only to amuse. Therefore the way to a good Peace is to set out a good Fleet, which We have time enough to do very effectual­ly, if the Supply be not delayed. If after this a Peace should fol­low, yet the Supply would be well given, for what ever remains of it, I am willing should be appropriated for building more Ships.

To conclude, a speedy, a proportionable, and above all a cheer­ful Ayd is now more necessary then ever, and I rely upon you for it.

I lately put you in mind of my Debt to the Goldsmiths; I hope a fit time will come to take that into consideration.

I cannot conclude without shewing the entire Confidence I have in you. I know you have heard much of My Alliance with France, and I believe it hath been very strangely misrepresented to you, as if there were certain secret Articles of dangerous Consequence; I will make no difficulty of letting the Treaties and all the Articles of them, without any the least reserve, to be seen by a small Com­mitee of both Houses, who may Report to you the true scope of them; And I assure you there is no other Treaty with France, ei­ther before or since, not already Printed, which shall not be made known. And having this freely trusted you, I do not doubt but you will have a care of My Honour, and the good of the Kingdom.

THe King hath already in Part, told you, What he hath done for you since the last Recess, What he is still ready to do, and What it is he doth now expect from you.

And this in Terms so full, and so Oblig­ing, so Generous, and so Satisfactory, That he whose Affections are not rais'd by that Discourse, He who cannot Acquiesce in the fulness of this Assurance, He whose Heart is not Establisht by it in such a Belief as may entirely Dis­pose him to the Service of the Crown, will hardly be recover'd to a better Disposition by any other Expedient.

For indeed what better way can be found to undeceive those who have been abus'd, The King refers you to the Time past, not to his Promises, but to his Performances, Gives men leave to Judge by what they See, of what they Hear, By what hath been done since the Last Session, of what is offer'd you Now, and what is like­ly to be done for the time to come.

And doth not every man See that the King hath given New life and motion to such Laws as were long dead, or fast asleep? That he hath once more repair'd the Hedge about our Vineyard, and made it a Fence indeed, Against all those who are Enemies to the Planting of it, who would be glad to see it Trodden down, or Root­ed up, and study how to Sap and undermine our very Foundations.

Do we not see that the King hath made it his care and his business to do all that is possible to preserve us in our Civil Rights too, That He makes the Laws of His Kingdom the mea­sures not only of his Power but his Prudence, That he suffers no man to be Wiser then the Law, That He thinks he cannot Judge of the Health or Sickness of his State by any better Indica­tion, [Page 6]then the Current of his Laws, and suffers nothing to remain that may in the Least measure hinder Justice from flowing in its due and proper Channels?

A very few instances, of many that might be used, will serve to Demonstrate it.

If the Convictions of all Recusants and bringing them under the the Penal Laws, can suppress Popery.

If without staying for the Forms of Law in Points of Convicti­on, The present forbidding all Papists, or reputed Papists to come to Court, and the Extending this Prohibition to his Royal Palace at St. James's be enough to Discountenance them,

If the not extending his Prerogative beyond its due Limits can secure your Liberties,

If his Majesties lessening and reducing all his Land forces, and maintaining so few Extraordinary, that they will scarce be enough to help to Mann his Fleet this Summer, can Extinguish the Fears of a Standing Army,

If a Rigorous and Severe prosecution at Law, of all the Officers and Souldiers in his Majesties Ordinary Guards when they misbe­have themselves towards the meanest Subject, can secure your Properties,

If the Abrogation of all the Priviledges from Arrests which were claim'd by his Majesties Servants Extraordinary, who are very Numerous, can prevent the Delays, and Obstructions of Justice.

Then surely his Majesty hath reason to believe, that nothing is wanting which can Lawfully be done, or modestly be Wisht, either for your Satisfaction or your Security.

These are not single and Transient Acts, but such Acts as flow from Habits, These are not Leaves and Blossoms, but true, solid, and Lasting Fruits, Long! Long! may that Royal Tree Live and Flourish, upon which these Fruits do Grow.

And yet His Majesties Indulgence to you rests not here, He gives you leave to study and contrive your own assurance, And if you think you want any further security, If any thing have escaped His Majesties care, who meditates nothing more then your Preser­vation, you see you have free Leave to make any Reasonable Pro­position, and His Gracious Promise that he will receive it.

This is a Satisfaction Equal to all your wishes. Now if ever your Joyes are full, There wants no more to the improvement of this happiness, but the wisdom of the Parliament to use these Ad­vantages with a due moderation.

If therefore upon Enquiry you shall think it needfull to apply any other Remedies, It is extreamly to be wisht that those Reme­dies may be few, And withall, that they may be Gentle and Easy too.

For they that are sick perish as often by too many Remedies as by none at all, But none fall so fatally and so finally, as they who being enter'd into some Degrees of Convalescence, Resolve to re­cover [Page 7]in an Instant, and had rather make some great Effort, or try some bold Experiment upon themselves, then observe the me­thods, or attend those Gradual progressions which are necessary to perfect that Health, and compleat that Recovery.

I must not omit one instance more of His Majesties Care for you, and that it is the great Industry and Application of mind which His Majesty hath us'd all along, in hopes to have obtain'd by this time, if it had been possible, an Honourable and a Just Peace.

A very few words will serve to give you the whole Deduction of it from the first original, to this present moment.

Much time was spent in agreeing the Place of Treaty, wherein the Dutch were gratifi'd in their desires, and the City of Cologne is accepted for the Place.

When His Majesties Ambassadours arriv'd there, the very first meeting with those from the States General made it Evident that their Plenipotentiaries came not with any Intention to Enter upon a Serious Treaty, But only to draw the matter out into Length un­till their affairs might meet with a better and more pleasing Con­jecture.

For their very Credentialls or Plenipotencies were so penn'd, That there were no less then four gross Equivocations in the body of them, which was so manifest, and without all reply, that they were fain to send to their Masters at the Hague to get them Amended.

But that which gave greatest offence of all, and was purposely done for that end, was the Preamble, wherein they take upon them to begg the Question, to Decide the Justice of the Cause, and to affirm such matters of Fact, as they had reason to believe would never be admitted.

No Arguments of Our Ambassadours, No instances of the Me­diators, though never so importunate, could prevail then, or yet can prevail, to have it altered.

The Treaty should Naturally have stopt here, But that His Majesty was resolved to Give a beginning to it, and (which was all that could be done) suffered His Ambassadors to enter upon it with a Protestaion.

Our Demands are no sooner given in, But presently two of the Dutch Ambassadours go away to the Hague on pretence to consult their Masters, where they staid a full Moneth without any kind of Answer given, or Exceptions taken to His Majesties Demands, or any the Least Stepp made in this Negotiation.

When they came back, their Answer was a Remonstrance rather then an Answer, and such a Remonstrance, as was fitter for a Rup­ture then a Treaty, There was scarce one Period in it which did not rather give Occasion of new offence, then any Satisfaction for what was past.

Their very Conversation from that time forward wanted much of its former Civility.

They waited for the Conclusion of a Treaty with Spain, where­in one Article was, that as soon as Spain had broke with France, they would presently break off the Treaty at Cologne.

And now this Article is in effect performed, For two of their Principal Ambassadours are actually gone away from Cologne, as they long threatned they would do, leaving only two other for Forms sake, who in all probability either must not, or will not Conclude without their Colleagues.

His Majesty notwithstanding hath not suffer'd himself to be Di­verted from using all the ways and means that were possible to Faci­litate a Peace. To this End he directed His Ambassadors from time to time, to Moderate their demands in such Particulars as were capable of it, And wholly relaxes some Points which were of high­est importance to the Dutch to gain, and very Considerable Abatements of His Majesties just Satisfaction.

A Condescention well receiv'd and Esteem'd by the Mediators, though it have not yet found any suitable Reception from the Duch Ministers, or their Superior Lords.

By this time they began to hope that the Subjects of England would grow weary of the War, and that they should be able to profit themselves very much by our Impatience.

To Encrease this as much as was possible, they prepare a Letter which they send by a Trumpeter, sitting the Parliament, or very neer it, and Cause it to be given out that nothing could be more desired, then they had offer'd.

His Majesty quickly made that Letter and His Answer to it, publick, and for that time defeated the Design of this Paper Stratagem.

Their next Recourse was to such Proposals as they could pro­cure the Spanish Ambassadours to deliver on their behalfs.

Wherein besides the Demands of Restitution of Prizes which was wholly impracticable, There was a Total Omission of any Re­gulation of Trade in the Indies, No mention made of Releasing His Majesties Subjects at Suriuam, whete they remain in a State of Bon­dage, No recompence offer'd, nor so much as Leave asked for the Libety of Fishing upon Our Coasts.

And yet the Right of our Sole Fishing is so cleer, That we find in our Ancient Rolls of Parliament in time of Richard the Second, a Tax laid upon all strangers who Fish in our Seas, and this not by way of Custom when they come into our Ports, but by way of Tribute for Fishing in Our Seas: And this Evidence of His Maje­sties Dominion within his own Seas, hath been in all Ages downward preserved in some measure, until the Time of the late Usurper, who for private reasons first abandon'd it.

As for that Satisfaction in the matter of the Flagg, which the Proposals mention, it is but reasonable to understand it in [Page 9]that sense wherein they sometimes used to express themseleves at Cologne.

That is the thing shall be done, whole Fleets shall strike their Sayls to Single Ships, and they shall do it out of His Majesties Seas too, But that of Right they ought so to do, will never be ac­knowledg'd.

So they desire to change the Ancient inheritance of the Crown into a New purchase, and to Turn that Purchase into a Matter of Civility, which they may Equally pay to all crown'd Heads, and Equally resume according to their good pleasure and Occasions.

Now though these Proposals have been backt with some kind of Intimation of a War with Spain in case of a Refusal, Yet His Ma­jesty who Knows the Articles of Peace between himself and that King, and His own care to preserve them, Who knows the useful­ness of His Allience to that King, and the many good Offices he hath alwaies been ready to do for him, and withal considers the great Wisdom and Prudence of that Councel, and how care­fully they use to Deliberate before they come to Great and im­portant Resolutions, will not Easily believe it possible for that King to proceed to such Extremities.

The rather because the Dutch themselves have since Departed from those very Proposals which they procur'd the Spanish Ambas­sadour so earnestly to recommend.

For they afterward sent the Ambassadour a Reply to His Maje­sties Answer to their Letter, wherein they abate much of what the Ambassadour had offer'd, and seek to reduce things to the State they were in at Breda.

So that 'tis hard to know by what kind of Proposals they intend to be bound, But 'tis most Reasonable to believe they intend those made by themselves, rather then those made for them.

And yet this Reply, besides the disrespect it Carry'd to Spain, whose Proposals it shrunk from, was so offensive to His Majesty, that the Ambassadour like a wise and great Minister, that is, like himself, thought it became him to send it back again without of­fering to present it.

Nevertheless this Paper hath since stollen into the Press, and is Printed at the Hague as a Letter delivered, and hath been sent hither under Covers to several members of the House of Com­mons, of that House of Commons whom they Libell'd in the former War for their Zeal, and now Pretend to Reverence for their Deliberation.

And all this in hopes you will not think them obstinate, who refuse to Treat at the Place of their Own Appointment, or to be well understood any were else. How is it possible to understand these Proceedings to be Real, and with a true desire of Peace, And if they should yet send during this Session any New Proposal, for who Knows the Designs of an Enemy; what form soever those [Page 10]Overtures may be drest in, we may justly suspect that their End is, if they cannot Divide us, at least to Amuse us and lessen our Care is Providing for the War.

Perhaps 'tis more then an Honourable War doth allow to go about to raise Sedition, though in the Country of an Enemy, But surely the Artifice of Appealing in a Manner to the people, and making them the Judges of Peace and War, is a little too plain and open to take any Effect here.

I have done with these few Instances of His Majesties care, those of His kindness are infinite, That which you have heard this morning is of a Transcendent, and indeed a very surprizing Nature, 'Tis an Act of so Entire a Confidence on His Majesties part, that it can never be repayed by any other Tribute on your part, but that of a True and Humble Assiance in Him.

I must now proceed to put you in mind That There are some other things which His Majesty with Great Justice and Great as­surance doth Expect from you again.

The first is a speedy and a Proportionable Supply, and this is of absolute necessity both for War and Peace.

Hs Majesty is well assur'd His Fleet is in such a forwardness, that if the Supply come in any reasonable Time, you will find no Time hath been lost in preparation; And it was no small matter to bring it to, pass that we may be as forward as our Enemies that if we please, or very neer it.

If the Supply be at all Delay'd, it will have as ill effect almost as if it were denied, For We may chance to be found like Archimedes, drawing Lines in the Dust while the Enemy is entring into our Ports. And if the further Progess of this Fleet be stopt for want your Concurrence, make Account all hopes of Peace are stopt too: For, though the Fruit of War be Peace, Yet its such a Fruit as we must not Hope to gather without our Arms, in our Hands.

Tis not the way to have a brave Peace, to shew our selves weary of the War; who ever Trusted to the good Nature of their Enemies; Tis a vigorous assistance of the Crown that must make not only your Arms considerable, but your Treaties too.

One the other side, if the putting your selves in a good Posture of War should produce a Peace, as possibly it may do, Yet you will have the best Account of your Supply your Hearts can Will, For His Majesty is content, it be appropriated to the building of more Ships.

Therefore if the Discourse upon this Subject be a little more Pres­sing then Ordinary, you may be sure the Occasion is so too.

There cannot be a Higher Gratification of your Enemies then to be backward in this Point; The very Opinion they have that you would be so, hath already done us so much harm, that perhaps it is one great Cause of the Continuance of the War.

Had the Enemy despair'd of any Division here, 'tis likely his Proceedings had been more Sincere, and our Peace had not been so far off as now it seems to be.

There is one thing more the King hath mention'd, and only mention'd to you, that is the Consideration of the Goldsmiths, which involves so many Persons and Families, that the Concern is little les then National, 'Tis an affair the King lays very much to Heart, and hopes a Proper time will come when a favourable Re­gard may be had of it.

My Lords and Gentlemen,

The King doth not onely assure himself of your Affections to him at this time, But from such Affections so Known and so Tri [...]d as yours, he doth yet Expect far greater things then these.

He doth Expect that you should do your Endeavours to restore and improve the mutual confidence between him and his Peo­ple, and that you should do it to such a Degree that it may re­cover its full strength, and quite Extinguish all their Fears, and Jealousies.

For the King takes Notice that the malice of his Enemies hath been very Active in Sowing so many Tares, as are almost enough to Spoyl that Harvest of Love, and Duty which His Majesty may justly Expect to reap from the good seed which He Himself had Sown.

Among the many Venemous Insinuations which have been made use of, the Fears and Jealousies of Religion and Liberty, are of the worst sort, and the most Dangerous Impressions.

Cetainly Malice was never more busie then it hath been in these Reports, and it hath been assisted by a great Deal of Invention.

But 'tis to be hoped that no Mans Judgement or affections will be either missed or Disturbed by such Reports.

For Calumnies and Slanders of this Nature are like Comets in the Air, they may seem perhaps, Especially to the fearfull, to be ill Prognosticasts, and the Direct forerunners of mischief, But in them­selves they are Vain Apparitions, and have no kind of Solidity, no Permanence or Duration at all. For after a little while the Vapour spends it self, and then the Base Exhalation quickly falls back a­gain into that Earth from whence it came.

Religion and Liberty stand secur'd by the most Sacred Tyes that are, Nay the King hath a greater Interest in the preservation of both, then you your selves; For as Religion, the Protestant Re­ligion, commends your indispensable obedience, so 'tis a Just and Lawful Liberty which swettens that command, and endears it to you.

Let other Princes therefore Glory in the most resign'd obedience of their Vassals, His Majesty values Himself upon the Hearts and affections of His people, and thinks His Throne within Seated there, better Established then the most Exalted. Soveraignty of those who tread upon the Necks of them that rise up against them.

Since the world stood, never any King had so great a Cause to rest upon this Security.

They were your Hearts that mourned in Secret for the absence [Page 12]of the King; They were your Hearts and affections to the King which Tyr'd out all the late Usurpations, by your invincible Pati­tience and fortitude; It was you that Taught our English World to See and Know that no Government could be setled here, but upon the true foundations of Honour and Allegeance.

This, This alone made way for all the happy Changes which have follow'd.

And yet Posterity will have cause to doubt, which was the great­er Felicity of the two, That Providence which restor'd the Crown, or that which sent us such a Parliament to preserve it when it was restor'd. What may not the King now hope from you? What may not you assure your selves from him? Can any thing be difficult to Hearts so united, To Interests so Twisted and interwoven together, as the Kings and yours are.

Doubtless the King will surpass himself at this time in Endeavou­ring to procure the good of the Kingdom, Do but you Excell your selves too in the continued Evidences of your affections, and then the Glory of Reviving this State will be entirely due to this Session.

Then they who Wait for the Languishing and Declination of the present Government, will be Amaz'd to see so happy a Crisis, so blest a Revolution.

And Ages to come will find cause to Celebrate your Memories, as the truest Physicians, the wisest Counsellors, the Noblest Pa­triots, and best Session of the best Parliament that ever King or Kingdom met with.