you of the Cabinet Counsell, wee wish you all Jewels to your Country, that when the work is done, that the Comonalty, [...]he Key of the Kingdome have looked at your hands, th [...]y may lock you into their own bo­somes and affections; where you may be safe, where you may be indempnified without the concurrence of any, a­gainst all, or any that shall demand of you what you have done. But we pray God you do not prove thornes in the sides, & blocks in the way of those that have and shall declare and stand up to their first solemne engagements, never to lay down the sword, till they have thrown down to the ground, all oppositions and tyrannies whatsoever, and in whomsoever they find th [...]m. When wee consider how highly and hotly you have contended with that Indian Diety, the King (whom you yet own) what affronts, oppositions by Pen and Sword have been made against him, what running? What hunting after him? What meanes have been used, and after what a manner, to bring him on his knees (notwithstanding you lay'd the fault on his evill Councellors) and to give him that fatall blow, [...]o cut off his force, power, and do­mineering greatensse over us, that would be free Commoners of Eng­land; whereby you might acquiesse, and cry, victory, victory: And we had thought to have the sound thereof runne through our streets, and into our houses; but behold the face of Warre! we hear the noise thereof, and shall truly feel the s [...]art thereof, except yee afore hand take this Alarum, and stand to your guard, see Centinels in every quar­ter of your Army, and of the whole Kingdome, and goe out and meet it in the very face, for it comes upon you unawares, and sweeps you a­way both root and branch. Wee had once thought that he that was faine to flee for his guilty conscience, as being a fraid of what his whole 16. years reign of cruelty and tyranny would produce upon him if he did not betake himselfe first to maintain (Vi et Armis) by force and power, what he had unjusty, [...]llegally and tyrannically manopoli­zed (from the people) into his own most cruell and bloudy hands; which he thought to have kept, no [...] only by right of succession; which is as much as to say, by right of conquest, or by right of donation; which is as much as to call us fools, and slaves, to give away our birth­rights and inheritance, into the hands of him that shall use it against us: [Page 2]but also to settle it upon himselfe and his posterity, by Charter and Act of his owne (if that would serve) such was his confidence in us, King-ridden & Priest ridden fools; we say, we had thought that the whole six­teen yeares Reigne, was declared by the Parliament, to be one continu­ed act of cruell oppression and tyranny; and thereupon was by their Declarations, engagements and promise [...], to aid, assist, helpe and stick close to, to live and dye together with the Commons of England, who first called them forth, & drew us out both in person and estates, lives and fortunes, to free our selves, not only from his said cruelty, oppres­sion and tyranny, but also from his insolent insulting Title over us, or any thing enjoyed by us and belonging to us; and therefore wee were invited, and called forth to use all means possible, not (verbis byss [...]is) in silken words to court him, but by soule meanes, that is, by meanes of the Sword, and force of Armes to bring him down, and proc [...]me him CHARLES no King, neither by the grace, or any concurrence of God, or the election of us free Commoners; defenders of his ins [...]lt­ing, Title of usurping conquest over us, by tyranny and blood: An e­nemy to the faith, to good men, and to goodnesse itselfe &c.

We had thought that we should not need this deal of doe, this striv­ing contending; and sending again and againe to our conquered ene­my. Wee did not expect that wee should have beene beholding to him, when once wee had brought him on his knees. To send proposi­tions, to passe an act for our Indempnity, and I know not what: Is this according to the law of Arms? According to the law of conquest? Is this the liberty of the Commons? We pray next send a Proposition, for him to passe for our Arrears, & next for out ears, to keep them on our heads, if that be the worst, declare, if he be not yet conquered but still must usurp that insolent Right and title, to the power of a negative Voyce: Why do we thus sit picking of strawes? How dare wee then to send Pro­positions, or contend with him, for ungranted, unlicensed priviledges; ay but he is in durance, truly so much the worse: Do ye not know what word he sent you from Holdenby? Is he in durance, and not conquered? Or if conquered, and yet must r [...]taine that power of a negative voyce: This is childrens play! This is fine sport indeed: If you had at first in­tended this, you or the Parliament, you might have told us so; you might have put it in one of your mellifluous Declarations, whereby yee drew us Commoners forth, and said thus much; Sirs, you see what the King is, what he intends, no good to us, but blood and misery; what he hath been from his first yeares reign to this time: you see now that thereupon, he being fearfull that he shall be called to an accompt, i [...] gone away; raised warre against us, to the utter ruine of us, our families and posterities after u▪ If we do not make timely resistance, [...] stand up [...]n our owne defence, and seek by all meanes to quell, abate, bring downe, and utterly exticipate his power and malice, for if wee doe not he will curb us to some purpose: handle us without mittinds; demand any of our persons when he please, and for what he please; violently [Page 3]wrest a way our rights and estate [...], and doe w [...]t seemeth best in his owne eyes, and according to hi [...] own malicious humour and passion; therefore looke to your selves every one of you, and betake you not only to resist, but cut off his power, force & greatnes, & when you have conquered him, and subdued all your enemies, yet you must retain his in solent hethenish lawes, usages & customs, that he hath violently introdu­ced upon us (which if we do, he may undeniably & unquestionably, from those his own Normand lawes; sue and recover what he had (though) forfited and lost) yet notwithstanding all this wee say and declare, that you must have an act of Indempnity from him, and must come cap in hand, and on your knees, to as [...] him forgivenesse, and pray him to passe an act thereto; do you think such a Declaration as this would not have relisht and taken well with the People? I warrant you it would to some purpose, taken away their [...]ffections and stomocks to fight with him, who though conquered, yet must ask him forgivenesse; you should have gone hoop for Souldiers for us, and for many others too, that now have done the worke, yet ha [...]e a new one now to begin; and when it will be at an end, the wifest know not; except yee juggle to­gether with the King; you and the Parliament make a compact, to send the Propositions, that will easily downe, when he has a hood for his swelling stomacke and malice, you may be sure they will easily take, when he sees their is no other helpe for him; but wee beleeve they will prove broken Reeds, run into the side of those that lean thereon.

Gentlemen, and dear friends, whom wee prize as the apple of our eye, who have preserved us from the raging insolent swelling waves of a prerogative negative voice, by the power of which, wee and our e­states might have gone to stake, if you had not stood in the way, to curb, cut off, and throw it down to the ground.

Concious, and confident wee are of your integrity, uprightnesse and valour, but let us tell you that the standers by may often times, per­ceive more then the gamsters, not but that wee honour your wisdomes and watchfulnesse for our good: but surely all is not at it should be; some viser then some; some more vigerous then some; as some of you to your everlasting honour be it spoken, have witnessed of those men who now appear, and stand up for common rights and freedome, in the Remonstrance of the CA [...]E OF THE ARMY, truly sta­ted by the Agents of sive Regiments; but let not your ioyning with them, he a hinderance to their proceedings; do not goe about to un­dermine or abstruct the worke that is begun; rouze up your spirits, and doe not give your selves u [...] nor the Kingdome, the rights [...]nd liber [...]ie [...] thereof, unto the sweeping power of a negative voice, to deny the passing an act for our good: If this most stand, and yee yeild up this, yeil up all; make us free now for ever, or absolute slaves, vil­lens and vassals.

What will you ma [...] your selves to be? Or what will your actions in contesting with such a Prince of your owne, prove you to be, but, Rebels and Traytors, that have forfeted your lives and estates? What will this Army be what will the Parliament be, but a rebellious Army, a rebellious and trayterous Parliament, and accordingly such shall be their reward? Or doe you intend to make your peace with him whom yee have overcome and brought in subjection, by making our liber­ties and priviledges to be of the Court fashion, and to have the royall stamp? And that wee shall give up and resigne the whole ware house of our liberties, with all the locks and keyes, into the power of a nega­tive voyce; what doe yee meane else by this your delatory and slow proceedings? What one good deed have you done, since your march through the City of London? Shew us if you can; the people cry none, now you have removed those that were in your way, and clockt neere the City? You would make us beleeve the worke is done; and as a fore you went a King catching, now yee will goe a King courting; is this faire play? This must not be, you will ruine us, your selves and families and the whole Kingdome: Doe but you your duty, remove all op­pressions, ease the Country, down with all monopolies, and tyrannous oppressions; draw up a Declaration fully to the People, and Remon­strate that this ye will doe for them, this yee will have, this yee have fought for, this you will maintaine, live and dye, for resolvedly: wee'le warrant you hobnailes and clouted shooes will give you harty thankes and help and assist you: You need not feare them, ease them of their oppressions, pitty their cries, redresse their grievances, and the work is done for them; for what say people, doe somthing or nothing; and if yee will not do it, tell the people so, if yee be faint-hearted after all your worthy, and honourable courage and valour for your Country, tell the people so; if it be so, give way, let others come in, whose firme resolutions will stand, to engage for common right and free­dome, for liberty and for justice unto bloud, doe not therefore hin­der others, those that now appeare, and those who shall joyne with them, but suffer us to free our selves, and the whole commonalty of the Kingdome, from such an intolerable burden and slavery; to shake and tumble downe that mountain of dishonour and oppression, that this Kingdome for so long time hath groaned under; which the flattery of succeeding times, and the servile slavishnesse of our times Have attri­buted to those grand usurpers, our Kings, and their domineering pro­genitors or successours: as though the Right, Title and power over us free Commoners, did run along in the vaines, in the loyne, and in the bloud, of our insolent usurpers and task-masters: Is this liberty? no­thing more insufferable to free Denizons, and to such as would be ac­counted other then the progeny of Cham: Therefore wee say, if you doe not wholy free us from, and take him off from this his insolent domination, and usurpation, and degrade him and his posterity, of that [Page 5]pretended usurping name, Right, power and Title, that he insultingly laies claime to, and that he hath so many yeares together truly execu­ted; you shall find and feele, hee'l shake it as a Rod over your heads one day; he will cry quit with you, and recover dammages of you to some purpose: Therefore wee professe seriously from our hearts; wee cannot owne you, nor your proceedings, nor should never have assisted you with so vast an expence of our treasure and bloud, if you were re­solved to keep up this Dagon amongst us and over us: For how can wee cordially receive or imbrace him, or any of his posterity, that shall lay claime to us after such a way and manner of usurpation, and domineering? How can wee love or fight for those lawes, which are imprisoned in the barbarous language of our enemies, and are ours on­ly by our enemies introduction, and are our disgrace instead of ho­nour, tokens and badges of servile slavery and subjectednesse to our ex­atick, exorbitant prerogative Lords and Task-masters, and as little heart have wee also to pray or wish for the safety and preservation of others, more sound and wholsome, more reasonable, sutable, and con­sonant to the commonalty of England, untill that grand, and yet neg­lected grievance and oppression of Normand, prerogative negative Voyce, of our usurping Lord, be removed and wholy taken away; and what if it be pleased that power is alone residing in him to passe or not passe, to consent: or not consent, to the good things agreed on by the Commons, and that it is inherent in him, by vertue of succession (that is, by a pretended right of conquest over us) for so argues the negative voyce; and all are Kings since the death of that perjured ba­stard, Duke William of Normand: r [...]kon the time of their reign, not from the time of their coronation, but death of their predecessours, and the prerogative royall Title, is attended with a POST CON­QUESTUM, as if dishonour, mischiefe, oppression and slavery, were to be invincibly entailed upon us and our posterityes, by a law, even by this law of their own making, and forcing it upon us: Yet let me tell you, his domination over us, is not such, as against the right & equity whereof there is no pleading, yea, but there is much pleading; for first, consider, (Vinci humanum est) no people but may be over­come, that may be born withall but (sub virtoria aquiessere, to lye snoar­ing in a captive and servile condition, as though wee were perpetuall slaves, eare-board slaves: Now we have after so vast an expence of bloud and treasure regained our liberties, from of our his cruell & bloud-thir­sty cluthes, now we have conquered him; subdued all the visible ene­mies in the Kingdome, and reduce [...] that power to it's proper center that at first was originally, naturally and legally inherent and residing in us the free Commoners of this Nation, & yet not withstanding we must still keepe up the usurper, and his usurpers power and greatnes over us, and must be beholding to his negative Voice, pray beseech and obsecrate for it's concurrence in an act of Indemp­nity, which is as much as to cry PECCAUI, and to come on your [Page 6]knees to him so conquered, and ask him forgivenesse, that he may grant and give you a pardone for what you have done, as though yee could not indemp [...]ify your selves, and save your selves harmlesse, but must be beholding to the conquered, to an enemy, to one that could eate your flesh; & drink your blood to a usurpor to indempni [...]y you, wee thanke you for nothing; you have brought your hogs to a sarre market have you not? And if he doth passe this Proposition to indempnify you, and to give free and full power to the representative body of the Commonalty to make Lawes, and repeale Lawes, (which he is as wil­ling to part with, as his eyes; witnesse his stiffe standing out still) Wee are then much bound to him, are wee not? He doth but give us a pig of our owne Sow; he gives us that which wee never yet forfited or lost, but hath been violently wrested from us; or if wee did, wee have since regained it, and therefore are no longer under the pleasure or disple­sure of the conquered; and therefore choose him whether he be wil­ling to part with it yea, or no, wee will no longer stand to his cour­tesie, wee have the best end of the Staffe, and he must be forced to let goe, when wee knock off his fingers: Therefore declare unto the Peo­ple, this you have gained, this you will keep.

Secondly, admit he were a conquerour of us, and that his right and Title was good by vertue of the Law of conquest, and consequently by the same Law, he had power in him to overtop all the powers and wils of his Subjects, and to stop all proceedings and that what he passes in the affirmitive, are but acts of meer grace and favour, revokable at plea­sure, and what he passeth in the negative must stand for a law, yet what is that now to us? We know him not, the case is altered now, there is now no pleading for that, but you are taken off, with a VICTUM EST, he is conquered and over come, and so subject unto us; and therefore our sending Propositions, asking an act of Indempnity, &c. is but super­fluous, more then we need do; & is but an argument of our clemency and goodnesse towards him, acts of our meere grace and favour: we had almost said, an argument of our willing mindednesse to slavery still, or of our own selfe-guikinesse: And professe we unto you Gentlemen, that if that Right and Title (which is but pretended and usurped at the best) must stand & remain in him or any of his consanguinians▪ [...] we so again receive him; we look to see our selves, you, and every honest man in the Kingdome, that is resolved to put himselfe in the gap, to stand up for common right and freedome, to fall and moulder away like durt; and he is a novice too, if he doe not in time cry quit with you, for what yee have thus many yeares together done towards him: I'le warrant you, he will thinke upon all, your carriages towards him, and bring you in such a bill of Items that shall breake your backs, and yet no [...]e of you be sensible of it, or know by whom it is done, but as you may ghuesse: and let us deale truly with you, what can yee expect lesse? Or how can yee gain say or contradict it, or in the least know how to help it? Or [Page 7]if you doe goe about to free your selves and the Nation, as you have already pretendedly done, what will you prove your selves to be, but Rebels and Traitors? And besides what will all your Propositions, and his passing of them, availe you, if that insolent, insulting, usurping Title and power that is claimed must stand? What good will his act of ob­livion? Your act of Indempnity doe you? What, send propositions to a conquerour, who dares doe it? What, to be your own carvers and choosers, and hourly lye at the mercy of your enemy and conquerour that has the prerogative power of a negative voice? Monstrum horren­dum. No, no, he may make you smart for this your boldness & presump­tion; be content, you are vassels, villen [...], slaves, [...]ar [...]bor'd slaves, uncapa­ble of enjoying any thing that is properly your owne, in as much as it is at the dispose of your prerogative Task-master; uncapable of enjoying free-hold land, though you purchase never so much, it be­longs to your absolute Lord, and conquerour, and his prerogative Creatures. Witnesse, the transplantation of colonies in other Coun­tries.

If this usurping power of a negative voice must yet stand (notwith­standing the incapability thereof as [...]eing conquered) what have we [...] fought for [...]ll this while, and so hotly contested with him, If we must still stand to his pleasure or displeasure, and stand or fall to his mercy, and act of grace, in passing in the aff [...]rmitive, or denying in the nega­tive, by this his tyrannicall prerogaive voice? Consider into what a pre­dicament, and miserable condition wee have cast our selves; such as makes us uncapable of acquiring, demanding, or asking any thing at his hands tending to our peace, well-fare, liberties and freedomes, and for [...] dis-inabling us to stan [...] in our own defence, to contest with him, either by word [...] sword, for any justice or freedome, or any thing else whatsoever, though in neerest relations to us, for as much as wee contend with him, and so have, done all this while, for un-granted priviledges; things that wee have no right to, either to sue for, ask or demand, seeing that his negative voyce must stand, by ver­tue of that insolent usurping right and Title, that he pretends to us and over us, and wee lye at his mercy and favour, insomuch as but for the meere and only asking or begging of a common boon, tending to the Kingdome, to our selves, or families, it may passe in the negative, and so wee shall be checked, controuled affronted, abused, fined; impriso­ned, and what not! and at last, have no remedy for this, or any where to goe for help; seeing wee ask wee know not what, things that belong not unto us; for our selves and all th [...]t belong unto us are at the dispo­sing of him, and his creatures; and if he be graciously pleased so farre to condiscend and demeane himselfe, as to extend his grace and fa­vour towards us, in passing any proposition for our good, it is more [Page 8]then he needs doe, or you can acquire, and moreover this, it is re­vocable at his pleasure, and but for durance, or gracious permittance for season, for so are all acts of grace that proceed from the prerogative power of a negative voice; which things should have been aboundantly proved: but that this was intended chiefly for an Allarum, to awa­ken the drowsie spirits of you, and those that ly [...] snoaring under the overtoping, insolent, swelling, and overgrown usurping power of a negative Voice, and therefore in a word, never talke of getting honour in re­gaining your and our Countries libertyes, except yee first unconquer your selves. a word to the intelligent man is sufficient.