[Page] [Page] THE HVMBLE PETITION OF THE COMMONS OF KENT, Agreed upon at their Generall ASSIZES: Presented to His MAJESTIE the first of August, 1642.
With certaine Instructions from the County of Kent, to Mr Augustine Skinner, whereby the Desires of the said County may be presented by him to the Honourable House of Commons.
With His MAjESTIES Answer to the afore-said Petition.
At the Court at Yorke this fourth of August, 1642.
Printed at Yorke, and reprinted at Oxford by His Majesties speciall command. Anno Dom. 1642.
To the Kings most Excellent Majestie: The Humble Petition of the Commons of Kent, Agreed upon at their Generall ASSIZES.
WE doe with all thankefulnesse acknowledge Your great Grace and favour towards us, and the whole Kingdome, in passing many good Lawes for the benefit of Your Subjects; In promising to ease us of all our grievances; And gratiously inviting us by Your Letter directed to the Iudge of our Assize, full of Love and Care for Your Peoples good, to petition for redresse of them, promising a gratious Answer: And we should with all humility have presented them to Your Majestie at this time, did [Page 2] not the present great distractions and apprehension of a Civill warre (which we earnestly pray to God to divert) put us beyond all thought of other grievances. For prevention whereof, we have with all loyalty of heart to Your Sacred Majestie, with all Love and Faithfulnesse to our Countrey, presented our humble advice in certaine Instructions to one of our Knights of the Shire, now here present with a Committee from the House of Commons, to be presented by him to that Honourable House: The Copy whereof we make bold to annex unto this Petition.
Most humbly desiring Your Most Excellent Majestie, That if it shall please the Houses of Parliament to satisfie Your Majesties just desires in these particulars, That then Your Majestie would be graciously pleased to lay downe Your extraordinary Guards, and cheerfully meet Your Parliament in such a place where Your Sacred Majestie, and each Member of both Houses, may be free from tumultuary Assemblies.
And as in all duty bound, we shall daily pray for Your Majesties long life, and prosperous Reigne oven us.
Instructions from the County of KENT, to Master Augustine Skinner, whereby the desires of the said County may be presented by him to the Honourable House of COMMONS.
WHereas a Committee from the House of Commons is now sent downe to the Assizes, upon a credible information (as they say) that something should be done to the disturbance of the peace of this County; We, the Commons of Kent, require you Master Augustine Skinner (as our Servant) to certifie to that Honourable House, That you found the County in full peace, and that there is no ground for any such information; and that you desire in our names, to know the particulars of that Information, (of which it seems you are ignorant) and the Informer, that this County may have full reparations in Honour against so scandalous an aspersion cast upon them; and that the Informer, of what quality soever, may receive condigne punishment. And that the House of Commons may understand our desires, not onely to preserve the peace of this County, which [Page 4] (with Gods blessing, and the helpe of the good known Laws of this Kingdome) wee are confident wee shall maintain, but also of the whole Kingdome, being now in so great a distraction, that every man stands at a gaze, to see what the event is likely to be, and well weighing what a great fire a small sparke may kindle; abhorring and detesting the thought of a civill Warre: We farther require you to offer our humble advice, as faithfull and loyall Subjects to his Majestie, and good Patriots and lovers of our Countrey, for setling the Distractions of these times. One principall means to effect it, we conceive will be to give His Majestie full satisfaction in His just Desires, in these foure particulars.
- 1. In presently leaving the Towne of Hull in the same State it was before Sir Iohn Hothams entrance into it; And delivering His Majestie His Owne Magazine.
- 2. In laying aside the Militia, untill a good Law may be framed, wherein care may be taken as well for the Liberty of the Subjects, as the Defence of the Kingdome.
- 3. That the Parliament be adjourned to an indifferent place, where His Sacred Majestie, all the Lords [Page 5] and Members of Your House of Commons, may meet and treat with Honour, Freedome, and Safety.
- 4. That His Majesties Navie may be immediately restored to Him.
Our Reasons are these:
1. For with-drawing your Garrison out of the Towne of Hull, we are perswaded your feares and jealousies of forraigne forces, of French, or Danes, or of the Papists at home (an inconsiderable party, especially being disarmed) are long since vanished; the Magazine, or a great part of it being removed to London, we conceive Master Mayor of Hull may safely keep the Towne, as before.
2. For laying aside the Militia, wee are free from jealousies of Forraigne Forces, so that you may have time enough to frame a lasting Law, which notwithstanding, for feare of inconvenience to the Subjects Liberty, you may, if you so thinke fit, make the Law a Probationer. Besides, His Majestie, if occasion should be, is vested with sufficient power to raise Forces for the Defence of the Kingdome, for which onely we are confident His Majestie will employ them. And we should hold our selves worse then Infidels, [Page 6] if, after so many Protestations to maintaine the true Religion by Law established, the Subjects in the liberty of their Persons, and propriety of their Goods, and the Priviledges of Parliament, and that Hee will governe us by the knowne Lawes of the Land, we should not with full assurance beleeve in Him, and confide in Him.
3. For adjourning the Parliament to another place, His Majestie hath expressed the Reasons: That Hee was driven away by tumultuary Assemblies, and that he cannot returne thither with Honour and Safety: And divers of the Lords are absent, who promise to returne backe to the House, when they may sit with the liberty, and that condition that the Peerage of England formerly have done, secured from all menaces, or demanding any account of their particular Votes; which we conceive to be against the Freedome of Parliament, which by our Protestation we must maintain, and from tumultuary Assemblies. These having been the occasions, as we beleeve, that of neare five hundred in the House of Commons, there are but about one hundred and forty left to sit there, and the greater part of the Lords gone away.
4. For the restitution of the Navie, our Reason [Page 7] is, That the Neighbour Nations doe take notice, that His Majesties Navie is detained from Him, which if not suddenly restored, may turne to His Majesties dishonour; whose honour, by our Protestation, we are bound to maintaine.
Another meanes, we conceive, to settle the States and Mindes of the Subjects, is a free, generall, and large pardon: which since His Majesty hath so graciously offered, we desire and expect to receive; and if any man doe dislike it, he may be excepted, and the generality of the Subjects not hindered of their good, and His Majesties Grace and Goodnesse.
His Majesties Answer to the humble Petition of the Commons of Kent, agreed upon at their Generall Assizes, and presented to His Majestie the first of August.
HIS Majestie hath with great satisfaction in the loyalty and affection of the Petitioners considered this Petition, with the Instructions annexed to their Knight of the Shire, and hath expresly commanded me to returne this His Answer, in these words:
That the Petitioners are not more eased and satisfied with the good Lawes His Majestie hath passed, then His Majestie himselfe is pleased with that way of obliging His Subjects, neither hath He ever made the least promise or profession of repairing or redressing the grievances of His People, which he hath not beene, and alwayes will be ready to performe.
[Page 9] His Majestie cannot blame the Petitioners to be apprehensive of a civill War, since the present distractions (grounded upon no visible cause, to which His Majestie could, or can yet apply a remedy) threaten no lesse confusion. But His Majestie doubts not that the Petitioners and all His good Subjects doe well understand, That His Majestie hath left no way unattempted, which in honour or wisedome could be consented to, to prevent that confusion.
That after so many injuries and indignities offered to Him, so many combinations and conspiracies against Him, He departed so much from His owne Majestie, and the Iustice due to it; That He required no other reparation, then to have His Towne, Goods, and Navie (taken and kept by violence from and against Him) to be restored to Him: The power of making Lawes without Him, by the way of Ordinances (and that in particular, concerning the Militia) to be disavowed. And that a safe place might be agreed on, where He might be present with His great Councell, for the composing of all misunderstanding, and making the Kingdome happy.
That before any Answer returned to His Majestie (whil'st with all patience and hope His [Page 10] Majestie forbore any action or attempt of force, according to His promise) Sir Iohn Hotham issued out of Hull in the night, burned the Houses, and murthered the Persons of his fellow Subjects (though He knew His Majestie quietly expected an Answer to His reasonable and necessary demands) and hath since exercised most barbarous cruelty upon a Drummer, then taken Prisoner by him.
That those Propositions made by His Majestie, and mentioned by the Petitioners in their Instructions, are dissented from, and His Majestie not suffered to enjoy what is as unquestionably His owne, as any thing His Subjects can call most theirs, upon pretence there is some trust on foot to dispossesse His Majestie of them: Whether any such trust bee derived from the Petitioners, Themselves best know.
That a Generall is made to command His Subjects against Him, and Forces already marching with Canon towards Him, under the conduct of the Lord Brook, whil'st all Labour and Endeavour is used to cut off all Succour and Supply from His Majestie, as from a Forraigne Enemy.
When the Petitioners, and all other His Majesties [Page 11] Subjects have weighed this, and considered that these strange unheard of proceedings must bee the effects of desperate Resolutions, and that all this calamity is brought upon this Nation, to wrest from His Majestie His just Rights, when no sober man can see the want of any thing which is in His Majesties power to grant, and necessary for the peace and full happinesse of the Kingdome.
That when all encouragement is given, scandals raised, and provocations used to incense the People against His Majestie, and to publish Petitions and Declarations against the knowne Lawes, and established Government: The Petitioners, and all other His Majesties good Subjects (who out of a true sense of the distraction and ruine the Common-wealth must speedily fall into through these distempers, have prepared sober and moderate Petitions and Animadversions for the peace of the Kingdome) have beene discountenanced, censured, and imprisoned in a Lawlesse Arbitrary way, when no offence hath beene committed by them, of which the Law hath taken notice: That all their Rights, Interests, and Priviledges, which they were borne to, by the good knowne Lawes, are [Page 12] taken from them, or subjected to an unintelligible Arbitrary power and resolution, which destroyes their confidence and assurance even in Innocencie it selfe; They will thinke it time to provide for their owne security, by assisting His Majestie for the defence of His Person, preservation of the true Protestant Religion, and maintenance of the Law of the Land, and Liberty of the Subject; of the which, as the Petitioners care is very eminent, and deserves all protection, thanks, and estimation from His Majestie; So His Majestie will venture His Life and His Crowne with them in that Quarrell.
Lastly, lest any of the Petitioners may unjustly suffer for making or presenting this humble, dutifull, and modest Petition to His Majestie; His Majestie declares, That He will with His utmost power and assistance, protect and defend them against any power whatsoever, which shall question them for so doing; And to that purpose advertiseth them, That they are not obliged to yeild Obedience to any Pursuivants, Sergeants, or Messengers, who shall endeavour to molest them for doing their Duty, and discharging their Consciences therein. And that the whole County of Kent may know His Majesties [Page 13] gracious acceptance of this expression of their Duty and Affection unto Him: 'Tis His Majesties pleasure, that this His Answer, together with the Petition and Instructions, bee Read in all the Churches and Chappels of that County.