IN the way we are, wee have gone as farre as words can carry us: Wee have voted our owne Rights, and the Kings duty: No doubt there is a Relative Duty between a King and Subjects; Obe­dience from a Subject to a King, Protection from a King to his People. The present un­happy distance between His Majesty and the Parliament, makes the whole Kingdome [Page 2]stand amazed in a fearefull expectation of dis­mall Calamities to fall upon it: It deeply and conscionably concerns this House to compose and settle these threatning ruining distracti­ons. Mr. Speaker, I am touch'd, I am pierc'd with an apprehension of the Honour of the House, and successe of this Parliament. The best way to give a stop to these desperate, im­minent mischiefs is, To make a faire way for the Kings return hither; It will likewise give best satisfaction to the people, and will bee our best Iustification. M. Speaker, That we may the better consider the condition wee are now in, let us set our selves three yeers backe: If any man then, could have credibly told us That within three yeares the Queene shall be gone out of England into the Low-Coun­tries, for any cause whatsoever. The King shall remove from his Parliament, from London to York, declaring himself not to be safe here That there shall be a totall Rebellion in Ire­land, Such discords and distempers both in Church and State here, as now we finde; cer­tainly we should have trembled at the thought of it: Wherefore it is fit we should be sensible now we are in it.

[Page 3] On the other side, if any man then, could have credibly told us, That within three yeares yee shall have a Parliament, it would have beene good News; That Ship-monie shall be taken away by an Act of Parliament, the Reasons and Grounds of it so rooted out, as that neither it, nor any thing like it, can ever grow up againe; That Monopolies, the high-Commission Court, The Starre-Cham­ber, The Bishops Votes shall be taken away, The Counsell Table regulated and restraie­ned, The Forrests bounded and limitted; That yee shall have a Tryenniall Parliament; And more then that, A perpetuall Parliament, which none shall have power to dissolve without your selves, we should have thought this a dreame of happinesse; yet now wee are in the reall possession of it, we doe not enjoy it, although His Majestie hath promised and published hee will make all this good unto us: We stand chiefly upon further security; wher­as, the very having of these things, is a con­venient, fair security, mutually securing one another: there is more security offered, even in this last answer of the Kings, by removing [Page 4]the personall Votes of Popish Lords, By the Better Education of Papists children, by sup­plying the defects of Laws against Recusants, besides what else may be enlarged and impro­ved by a select Committee of both Houses, named for that purpose. Wherefore, Sir, let us beware we do not contend for such a hazar­dous unsafe security, as may endanger the losse of what we have already; let us not thinke we have nothing, because we have not all we desire; and though we had, yet wee cannot make a Mathematicall security; All humane Caution is susceptible of corruption and fai­ling, Gods providence will not be bound, suc­cesse must be his: He that observes the winde and raine, shall neither sow nor reap; if he do nothing till he can secure the weather, he will have but an ill harvest.

Mr. Speaker, It now behoves us to call up all the wisedome we have about us, but wee are at the very brinke of combustion and con­fusion: If blood once begin to touch blood, we shall Presently fall into a certaine miserie, and must attend an uncertaine successe, God knows when, and God knowes what. Every [Page 5]man here is bound in conscience to employ his uttermost endeavour, to prevent the effu­sion of bloud; bloud is a crying sin, it pollutes a Land; let us save our Liberties and our Estates, as wee may save our soules too. Now I have clearly delivered mine own conscience, I leave every man freely to his.