WERE you not by divine justice blin­ded, and hoodwinkt with more then ordinary stupidity, and carnall security, you would at last see the manifold mischieves and miseries that are comming on you, and your City; and in time provide for your safety, and be no more gulled with flim flams, and rest satisfied with delusive expressions, soft oyly answers to your Petitions, smooth silken words like Syrens songs to intice you to de­struction:—As Gentlemen, if you consider what Decla­rations, Protestations, Oathes, and Covenants, those Li­bertinismes have taken before God, and have broken, and altered their Principles, according to their successe, it will plainly appeare before God and man what Jugglers they are to both; therefore heare what they say, [Declar. Parl. May 26. 164 [...].] They doubt not that it shall in the end appeare to all the world, that their endeavoures have beene most hearty and sincere for the maintenance of the true Protestant Religion, the Kings just Prerogatives, the Lawes and liberties of the Land, and the Priviledges of Parliament; in which endeavours (by the grace of God) they would still persist, though they should perish in the worke.

Does it not appeare to all the world how they have ful­filled this promise concerning Religion; have they not suppressed the government by Bishops (as ancient as Chri­stianity it selfe) the Booke of Common-prayer, settled by five acts of Parliament, compiled by holy men, Reformers, and Martyrs, and practised in the time of foure Princes, [Page 3]though the Law formerly put one Penry to death [in Qu. Elizabeths time] for writing two scandalous Bookes a­gainst Church Government, who was indicted, araigned, attainted of treason, and executed at Tyborne.

Does it not appeare to all the World that this is true, and does it not appeare to all the World that they have against this profession, not onely altered the true Protestant establi­shed Religion, confounding all Government and Orders, but introduced and tolerated all manner of Heresies, Sects, Schismes, Anarchy, Libertinisme, and prophanesse, and the sam [...] Law as well deserves the same end as their Brother Penry did.

2. Does it not appeare to all the world, how they have mai [...]ayned the Kings just Prerogative or power, when a­gainst the oath of Allegeance, the oath of Supremacy, and their owne oathes and Covenants; they have divided His politicke capacity from his naturall person, and his power from his person, have wrested the sword out of his hands, with which he was invested withall at his Coronation, the Militia (that is the power of making peace and war) and is trusted only in the hands of the King; not only by the Laws of the Land, but by God himselfe, by whom Kings reigne, and Princes decree Justice: as one observes excellently, say­ing, The sword of the Lord and Gideon is but one two han­ded sword, and when wrested out of the hands of the King by Rebels, then God takes it into his owne hands, and with it will wound the hairy scalpes of his enemies. It appeares that they have (against their professions) wrested this sword out of his Majesties hands, and seized not only of his Maje­sties Revenue and Shipping, but of his Forts, Ports, and Ma­gazines of War, which is no other but high Treason by the Law; that they have counterfeited his Seale, signed Writs, and granted Patents and Commissions, and made Officers, Justices of Peace, and of Assize, without his consent, divest­ing the King and the Crown of the chiefe power and go­vernment, and established it upon themselves; voting no more addresses to be made unto his Majesty, nor Messages [Page 4]to be received from him; intending with the Army (as ap­pears plainely by their last Declaration) to settle a govern­ment without the King, and against him, and against all that take part with him. This makes all your Petitions for a per­sonall Treaty, and for his Majesties returne, to be so unwel­come to them. This appeares to all the world, and a little more, if the God of this world hath not blinded us, That to involve the people in this most execrable, damnable, and de­testable Apostacy from their faith & allegeance to God and the King, and more subtly to cary on their plots and designs to ruine Monarchy, they have framed a desperate ingage­ment, That no maner of person whatsoever, shall adhere to any other authority, but the two houses of Parliament; and to renounce the King his protection and government, and to submit to the usurpation of the Rebels at Westminster, or else to be adjudged as Traytors and Rebels to the State. And this desperate ingagement is by their Proselites caried into all the Counties of the Kingdom, and pressed upon the peo­ple in all Corporations. This is enough, and too much for the Kings Just Prerogative, which by the grace of God these zealous hypocrites would endeavour and persist in, though they should perish in the worke. Heer let the World behold their equivocations with God and man, and whether their owne words be not a thousand witnesses against them, and their base disloyalty, and manifest perjury, be not layd open to all the world, and whether this would not move all ma­ner of persons to oppose and fight against them, both for the defence and maintenance of the King and Crowne, and the established Government in the Kingdome.

3. How they have maintained the Lawes and Liberties of the Land: in the end it appeares what Lawes they have kept or broken: or whether they have not abrogated all the good and wholesome Lawes of the Land, and in [...]roduced in their places, a new brood of pernicious and banefull Ordi­nances, that have not the least reference to any of the ten Commandements? have they not put divers to death against Law? have they not against Law, the better to foment this [Page 5]ungodly war, and to enrich themselves, raysed Excize, Con­tributions, Sequestrations, Fifth parts, Twentieth parts, Meal-money, Sa [...]e of plundered goods, Loanes, Benevolen­ces, Collections upon their hypocriticall Fast-dayes, Imposi­tions upon Merchandizes, Guards maintained at the charge of private men, fifty Subsidies at once, Compositions, sale of Bishops lands; and as if all this were too little, Coals foure shillings the chaldron, Grindstones and Salt, and a thousand more trickes to impoverish and enslave free subjects? what guide have the subjects of this Land to direct them but the knowne Lawes? What meanes could they use to discerne what to follow, or what to avoyd, but the knowne Lawes? which requires all persons to assist their King? never before this age were any people or Nation criminally punished for what the letter of the Law commanded them?

Now fellow-subjects, does it not appeare to the world, what their endeavours have been for the maintenance of the Protestant Religion, and the Kings just Prerogatives, and the Lawes and Liberties of the Land; and consider how the case stands betweene his Majesty and you? Is not his case your owne? have ye not beene both alike abused, gulled and oppressed? Is not he deprived of his Crowne, and are not you deprived of your liberties and estates? Is it not plaine that his Prerogative and your freedome must fall to­gether? and is not a speedy settlement, the only meanes to preserve them? and is there any probability of setling till his Majesty be setled in his Throne? is there any way to ef­fect this, but by accommodation with his Majesty? And though all the loyall hearts of the Kingdome have given them to understand by way of Petition, that they are very sensible of their owne and his Majesties distressed conditi­on; yet how loath the Houses are to come to a personall Treaty, and how the people have beene put off with delaies, appeares to all the world, and if a Treaty voted, yet upon their owne conditions, that his Majesty shall have a re­straint upon him, and remaine still in the hands and pow­er of the Army; and therefore judge with what honour or [Page 6]freedome i [...] can be to His Majesty; Now at this present not allowing Him so much as a Secretary or Clerk to write for Him though they have such superfluity themselves.

4 For the Priviledge of Parliament, at the beginning of every Parliament all armes are or ought to be forbidden to be born in London, Westminster or the Suburbs, no guard or force to be upon them, or compell them to any thing, yet the King is suffered to be driven away by Tumults, so the Parliament is no Parliament, when the King with whom they should parley was driven away, nor can it be a Parli­ment so long as His Majesty is restrained as a prisoner, for the Houses severed from the King have no more power then the body hath being severed from the head, there is such an incorporation between them, (viz. King, Lords and Com­mons) that they cannot be dissolved without the destructi­on of all likewise between the King, the Lawes and King­dome.

Again, How have they maintained the just Priviledges of Parliament when they have chosen Members that were not resident in the County or Burroughs for which they were e­lected? besides they have ejected Members lawfully cho­sen, that have sitten and elected new ones of their own fa­ction in their places, against all Law or reason; for they can­not remove a man out of the House unduly returned, much lesse a man returned duly. Whether this be the just Priviledge of Parliament, to eject whom they think good and elect others, besides keeping strong guards of their army about them to hinder the people from prosecuting their just aggrievances, killing and murthering them, will appear to all the world, (whether by the Grace of God) (as they prophanely take his name in vain) they have not persisted and endeavoured what they promised for the Protestant Religion, the Kings just prerogatives, the Lawes and liber­ties of the Land, and the Priviledges of Parliament: Now let them consider, whether for acting contrary to their first Principles they deserve not to perish, and make good their own words concerning their former expressions, [Page 7]when they still persist in these execrable Designes.

That they intended to poyson, pistoll or murther the King, appeares to all the world; considering but these few parti­culars; 1 By seizing upon His Majesties Person at Hol­denby without the consent of Parliament.

2 When they made the engagement of the people (enti­tuled, Peoples freedoms, Souldiers Rights) at the Rendezvous near Ware, where they had plotted the dividing of the Army; and had hired one to kill the King, being then at Hampton Court.

3 When this plot faild that Cromwell and Ireton (as ap­pears to all the world by Major Huntingtons Narrative) in person juggled so with His Majesty (the scene lying too near London to murther him at Hampton) into the Isle of Wight on purpose to murther him there, which appears to all the world if we consider, that he was sent to Hammond an Independent, and one whose hands formerly had been imbrued in innocent blood.

4 It appears to all the world by the examination of Mr. Os­burn, Mr. Dowcet, and another witnesse against that inhu­mane Regicide Major Rolf, who by Cromwell and his con­federates in the Army and Houses was set on to pistoll, poy­son, or otherwise do (as the Independents say) that accep­table work, and remove the wicked from his Throne: Before this Martin, Challenor, Corbet, Mildmay, and two or three more of the unclean spirits of the House forged a Declarati­on, taxing the King with murthering His naturall and deare Father, and other shamfull and wicked slanders and oblo­quies to make His people hate him.

5 That they voted no more addresses to be made unto Him nor messages to be received from Him; which was nothing else but to un-King His Majesty to murther Him, and then to settle all power upon themselves, after they had seized on all His Revenues, His Forts and shipping, what can any fool think they could take more from Him but His precious life? This appears to all the world.

That they intended, nay do yet intend, to plunder, destroy [Page 8]and burn the City of London as appears by these few Ob­servations.

• 1 By their cowardly taking Southwark, and afterward the City of London.
• 2 By imprisoning the Aldermen, and chief merchants.
• 3 By divers Testimonies in Letters and witnesses from Windsor to the Common Councell of the City, that they in­tended to plunder and burn the City.
• 4 Which may appear the more evidently by Skippons pri­vately listing Independents every night, with all the priva­cy possibly can be imagined, having whole Troops of Hor­ses in all readinesse placed in holes and corners of the City and Arms in Independents Houses.
• 5 By Fairfax lying still before Colchester, till Skippou hath listed his number, and then to joyn with him for the Design.
• 6 By Wollaston, Atkins, Ven, Pennington (that enjoy great offices from the Parliament) and others sending continual­ly away their goods and mony into the country for security.

Therefore we make no doubt but the City of London will joyne with us for the restitution of his Majesty, and their City from apparent danger, the Lawes and freedomes of the people, the establishment of true Religion, the brin­ging of all offenders to exact tryall of the Lawes, the ob­taining of a personall Treaty, an act of oblivion, and the Souldiers their arreares, and every man his owne, with respect to be had to tender Consciences; also for procure­ment of the finall dissolution of war and discord, the joy­full acclamations of a happy and welcome Peace: these are our only aymes, which we will prosecute with our lives and fortunes, as God shall help us.

And wee doubt not of the cheerfull concurrence of all good people whatsoever in his Majestyes 3 Kingdomes, England, Scotland and Ireland, for the finishing this blessed work, that it may appeare to all the world that we ayme not at any private or particular Interest, but a generall good.