I need not mention to you nor unto the world that I am a Prisoner, for walking in a peace­able, lawfull and warrantable way, in the claim of justice against you for the good of my Country, and for a righteous and just sa­tisfaction for my wrongs, and indeed it is a president of dangerous moment to stifle the Soveraigne affections, that God kindles in the people to righte­ousnesse and justice; it rases the foundations of natures just liber­ty, and doth in a speciall manner as it were raise a Battery, and draws in Battalia against Christian principles. Oh Sir, let not your greatnesse make you forget before whom you are, and shall be though you are so farre above and beyond me (as I acknow­ledge in the earthly glory) yet the Lord is not, nor will be a respecter of persons in judgement. Sir, shall a man see an evill and calamitie hang over the Nation after such a deluge of blood, and shall he not speak; may not you have Hamons and Achito­phels about you, that may seduce you to unworthy acts worthy repentance? would you have a man tormented again and again, and (if God doth not bestow a miracle upon him to make him patient) would you torment him because lie complains; Oh [Page 2] Sir, what just naturall liberty is here? What Christian Liberty is here? Where are the fundamental laws of England? Is there any thing that is done, by you, or countenanced by you, as done by any power on your behalf, that is unnatural, that is unchristiā, that is contrary to the just fundamentall laws of England, the Declarations of Parliament and Army, that doth or can conduce to your Fame and Honour: Have not you strook at the very Virals of liberty and freedome; truly Sir, as poore Mordicai, said, let not the Queen think shee shall escape in the Kings house, more then the rest of the Jews: so all those that are or ever shall be for the Rights of the People shall not escape the Lust, Wrath, and Vengeance of Oppressours; Sir, if the Parliament of Eng­land had walked, or had power to have walked against you, or the whole Army, by the same rules and principles, you and o­thers walk against me, then you and others had been even as I am, and in humane probabilitie this Nation had been made a Celdama, and Golgatha, a field of blood, and a place of Dead mens skuls: You complained against the injustices of men in Parliament, as if you would have brought forth impartiall righ­teousnesse. But Sir, whilest my Appeal was in the House, a Let­ter came from your self, or some other, by one of your Clerks, &c. This was condemned in the King, as is mentioned in King Charles his Case, as a way to subvert Justice: Moreover, I am committed unto your jurisdiction during pleasure (and so con­trarie to law) against whom I have appealed without any ju­diciall sole, supine, and impartiall hearing of my Cause; would you be delt so with? and would you think it just if a man should be set upon in the high way, and he should complain unto a Ju­stice of Peace, and the Justice of Peace should deliver, him over to him that would have injured him: And here I am told by my Keeper or Goaler, that I neither write to you nor to the Par­liament, nor to any of my Christian friends, but what he must see, or the Governour, or tyrannicall creature and head Goaler must view, who walks beyond the bonds of my commitment; and is not this hating the light? Oh horrible cruelty! contrary to the dealings of the Heathen Governour with Paul, Acts 24.23. And the Governour doth commit the Tyrany that so he may be the better accepted by you and the Parliament to perpe­tuate [Page 3] his honour and Tyrannie: Is it for your honour that I am [...] prisoner in appealing on the behalf of publike Right, and for par­ticular justice and redresse, the latter of which was formerly a­gainst the late King himself in the publique Courts of Justice in Westminster, very common before the blood of War, and that I should be overcome by force of your influence, and committed without a lawfull hearing of the Cause, would it have been just and honourable, that David should have imprisoned Nathan. because Nathan told him his evils and tyrannies in the sight of the Sun, in record to the world to all generations. And if my declaring your injustices and arbitrarinesse deserve more then a Prison. If a private or a publike Murther, let me say as Christ said to Judas, what you doe, do quickly, for I value my life no more then I value a straw in the Cause of righteousnes and pub­like Justice: How many addresses did I make in a Christian private manner unto you before I was publike, as my appeal ex­presses. And my former silence incouraged you to go on to deale unnaturally and cruelly with me, and so I could not but imagine might incourage you against other Members in the Common-weale: And indeed one of my Enemies could say to me that he did finde that you had a disaffection to me, because it was thought that I had an influence in the honest Country mens Petitions; Sir, if you strike in the Nations and my close enemies designes, I must needs appeale against you, for they themselves are not seen all the while, and they can make you beare any un­righteous burthen when they please; and indeed you must beare it in the sight of the Lord and Just men if you own their designs; they walk in the dark, and make you authorize their impieties designes and cruelties; and truly Sir, if I had not the Image of a man, or of your own kinde in Creation, but of another crea­ture you might have scarce dealt so with me, with reason: And truly Sir, such men that have had the credit and power to abuse the Common-wealth and Army in and with your Person, may subvert the very ends for which this Army was declared to be raised and solemnly engaged to stand to; Sir, I was fasted out of my right, in one of my causes, and after 420. miles riding and losses, could have no hearing or tryall, or Christian reference, as my App [...]ale express [...]s. And secondly, after all my labours ex­penses [Page 4] indebtements, and zealous affections to your particular Person and personall Conduct (in order and subserviency to the right of Country (as t [...]e Troops and my self did lately sub­scribe unto) which I must confesse, I deem supream to any personall honour (which is accounted by many of your favou­rites a dangerous, mutinous, seducing principle.) I challenge the greatest Machivilian or enemy to the peoples right to tax me with the contrary Judgement, Opinion, Practice, or Expres­sion.

But Sir, I delivered a second appeale unto the house to shew the illegality and unchristianesse of their commitment I could not have it read. The world cannot but in common reason see this vile in the presence of God and just men, And truly Sir you neede not aske who shall be Judge Mr. Solliciter Cooke shew­eth in King Charles his case there are indemonstrable principles, principles of nature ingraven in any mans heart and written in such legible Characters that hee that runs may read, and there is nothing but Corruption and interests is the bloody interposer and obstructer thereof or of an equall distribution of righte­ousnesse, And as for my just principles (confessed indeed also by the Parliament so that I am not left without witnesses) in its primtite and masculine constitution and divers times in their necessities of the people and also by the Army in their decla­rations: I had rather bee torne limbe from limbe by wild Horses and chopped as Herbes for the Pot as the Tyrants of old did, then lay the Testimonies of God, principles of righteous­nesse (the glory of any nation) at the foot of any flesh alive; And if I must be butchered masiacred or destroyed, bee kept from a legall hearing be kept from the free and uninterrupted society of my friends and the free declaring of my selfe in order to my cause which is the depth of Tyranny the will of the most high be done, and if possible I could (if I must be for­ceibly murthered by any of my fellow Souldiers) I would stand and see the bloud runne forth with delight for my Country till I had none left to support my Carkasse, and if I may not have impartiall judgement, and righteousnesse amongst men I shall leave my cause to him who will not bee satisfied with this answer that you are in the head of an Army and have power [Page 5] to tyrannize over mee obstruct, my right, and destroy mee in my tender yeares and liberties, and before whom when hee enters into judgement with all flesh this will not justifie you, that you shall say that such particular persons had a private in­fluence upon you to abuse you, or bee an occasion of your de­stroying any man, in life, liberty, or estate contrary unto reason or righteousnesse.

And now I addresse unto you in more particular manner from the Lord of Hoasts, the God of Armies, the God of Ju­stice and righteousnesse, the King, the Governour of the world, the everlasting God, the Judge, the Law-giver, who hath told mee perfectly in the Conscience by his spirituall and certaine testimony, that fithence you have overturned the face of all authorities, under a notion of righteousnesse and Justice, that the Lord will require all the innocent blood oppressions and cruelties from the day of the death of the late King, at your hands and at the hands of Lievtenant Generall Cromwell and and Commissary Generall Ireton in an especiall manner, and others that have pretended to Impartiall righteousnesse in the House of Commons; and the Lord hath inforced my spirit to tell you so and declare it to you divers times in my enjoyments of my God in my bonds, and the Lord hath ingaged himselfe to mee in my Cause, and will stand by mee, and hath commanded me to tell you, that I am in his name and for this his Nations sake, to demand reparations to for my unrighteous imprisonment, and freedome for it, and that I may have a free­speedy and judicial hearing of my cause, and that I may have the liberty of the choice of halfe of those men of the House that I shall deeme are impartiall and unbrased and not corrupt men for the hearing and triall of the businesse; and that the hearing may be open and publique in the sight of the Sunne, and that the obligation of impartiall righteousnesse may bee upon them according to the nature of just judgement, and that there bee writers on both sides to take exactly what is sayd on the be­halfe of the Common-weale, the Army and my owne right, and every one in one another; And the Lord hath ingaged him­selfe for mee and I know the Lord will support me and carry me forth to make it appeare, against you, or any of those that have seduced you to destroy me, and under me, even him that [Page 6] was the chiefe author of the Declarations of the Army, and the Lord will assist mee to make it appeare that the actions and dealings with mee are contrary to the law of nature in creation; The fundamentall Lawes of England, the solemne Declarations of the Parliament and Army, the Scriptures, and contrary to the glorious light of the most high in the Spirit; so I leave you to the Lord of righteousnesse, justice, goodnesse, and mercy, (who hath profest a care of Sparrowes and the haires of a mans head) and doe subscribe my selfe in faithfulnesse and truth.