I Am very glad to meet so many of you together againe, and God be thanked for our meeting together in this Place; little time hath passed since we were almost in despair of having this Place left Us to meet in. You see the dis­mal Ruines the Fire hath made, and nothing but a Miracle of Gods mercy could have preserved what is left from the same Destruction. I need make no excuse to you for dispensing with your attendance in April, I am confident you all thanked Me for it; the truth is, I desire to put you to as little trouble as I can, and I can tell you truly I desire to put you to as little cost as is possible; I wish with all my heart, that I could bear the whole charge of this War my self, and that my Subjects should reap the benefit of it to themselves; but we have two very great [Page 4] and powerful Enemies, who use all the means they can, fair and fowl, to make all the World to concur with them, and the War is more chargeable (by that Conjunction) then any body thought it would have been: I need not tell you the success of this Summer, in which God hath given us great success, and no question the Enemy hath undergone great losses, and if it had pleased God to have with-held his late Judgment by Fire, we had been in no ill condition. You have given me very large Supplyes for the carrying on the War, and yet I must tell you, if I had not by anticipating my own Revenue raised a very great sum of Money, I had not been able to have set out the Fleet this last Spring, and I have some hope upon the same Cre­dit to be able to pay off the great Ships as they come in: You will consider what is to be done next when you are well informed of the expence, and I must leave it to your Wisdoms to find out the best Expedients for the carrying on this War, with as little burthen to the People as is possible. I shall add no more then to put you in mind, that Our Enemies are very insolent, and if they were able this last year to perswade their miserable People whom they mislead, that the Contagion had so wasted the Nati­on and impoverished Us, that We would not be able to set out any Fleet, how will they be exalted with this last impoverishment of this City, and contemn all reasonable Conditions of Peace; and therefore I cannot doubt but you will provide accordingly.