My Lord, Gentlemen, and Fellow-Citizens,

THat I am after so long a time of Banishment, and al­most despair, returned again without fear into my native Country, I need not I think tell you how much I rejoyce at; but I cannot indeed tell you that unexpressible joy which I feel within my bosome, to find my poor distressed and distracted Country in some hopes of Settlement and Restoration to her pristine Glory, even then when she seem'd to be most overwhel­med and swallowed up, under the usurpation and tyranny of the most mean and Fanatick Spirits of the Nation.

Nor can I here forbear to burst out into Praises and Thanks to God for his so great a Mercy and Deliverance, That he hath at length been pleased to withdraw his afflicting hand in some measure from us; That he hath opened the eyes of the greatest part of this Nation, except those who are wilfully and obstinately blinded by their own pernicious and covetous Interests; That [Page 2]after we had wilfully run head-long into the Ditch of Ruine, he is pleased to lay to his hand to help us out.

'Tis well (my Lord) that though we have bought our Know­ledge and Repentance at so dear a rate, at the expence of so much Blood and Treasure, yet that we can repent at last, That we are at las: sensible of our Distractions, that now we are able to bear no more, we have one who will help us to throw off our Bur­thens, That we can now see our blindness, our errour, our folly, that whilst we endeavoured to free our selves from the pretend­ed Tyranny of our lawfull King, Soveraign, and Superiour, we subjected our selves under the Arbitrary will and power of our Equals, if not Inferiours.

I must confesse (my Lord) though 'tis well known to you all Gentlemen, that I was at the beginning of the late unhappy wars, blinded as well as others, yet I utterly disown that I ever had any design or intention to wrong my Printe, though I accounted it then the duty of every Freeborn Englishman to stand for the privilege of Parliament, as for his Native Birthright, so far I durst go, but no farther; for when I saw those, who before they had got the power into their hands, pretended to maintain Parliamentary privileges, pretended to settle the King in Glory, violently infringe the first, and murder the second, I could not but in reason and conscience protest against them.

Nor was the murdering of their King, or infringing the privi­leges of Parliament, the furthest those men went who had then got the power into their hands, and ruled only by Sword-law, but having given the Name of a Parliament to a select number of their Creatures, and some who durst do no otherwise than obey their Commands, they made Laws at their pleasure, disinheriting the lawfull Heir, and abolishing the power of the House of Lords, the chief part of a Parliamentary Grand Council, they sold the Kings, Queens, Bishops, Deans and Chapters Lands, to maintain their Violencies and Villanies, or to enrich themselves, making a prey of these Nations, and over-throwing the Funda­mental laws of the Land.

This my Lord you very well know was the Praemunire we had run our selves into. This was that we fought for, this was that for which we consumed so much Blood and Treasure: in short, we fought for Liberty that we might be enslaved, we fought for [Page 3]Religion that we might nourish Heresies, Sects and Schisms in the Church, we spent our Estates freely, to maintain a War amongst our selves under specious pretences, that we might have them prey'd upon by ravenous Wolves.

But when we had run our selves into all these miseries, under a piece of a Parliament, who had endeavoured all that lay in their power to establish their own Government, yet were they themselves at length turned out by their Servant, their General, (the just reward of their treachery to their Master) who Esta­blishes in himself that power, which he had before avowed as ty­rannical, and usurps to himself, though not fully the Title, yet more than the power of any King of England; so it fairly proved that he only defam'd Kingship as Tyrannical, that he might be a Tyrant.

The many changes and Alterations since in the English Go­vernment, are so new, that they need no recital, only thus much, that as all they in whose hands the Government was, were equal­ly guilty of the forementioned crimes, so though they did op­pose one another, yet they all agreed together in continuing and adding to the Nations Distractions, in preferment to imploy­ments, either in Church or State, such only as were either as guilty as themselves, or else possest with their Fanatick Opinions, in defaming the lawfull Heir, and endeavouring by Calumnies, to engender an odium of him in the peoples minds, which might have found its desired effect, had not the people for their Cheats and Delusions, conceived a just odium of them, so that the arrow they shot, returned again upon their own heads.

But many of the good people of England are still possest with their Calumnies, and believe many of them for truth, though against such clear and certain Evidences; Many understanding people of the Nation, convincing themselves by Imaginary cir­cumstances, that not only his Majesty, but his Brothers, the thrice Noble Dukes of York and Glocester, have left the Religion of their Fathers and Country, and are turned to the Fopperies of Romish Superstition and Idol try, which how false it is, the God of Heaven knows, and my self can witnesse his and his Brother, constant use and practice of the English Liturgie, and other Cus­toms of the best reformed Church of England, his constant en­couragement [Page 4]of such servants of his, as professe the true Protest­ant Religion, whether in Episcopacy or Presbytery, and his con­trary discoragement of all such who permit themselves to be in­veigled into Popish or Jesuitical opinions and tenents, being suf­ficient evidence, that he is so far from leaving of his true and mo­ther Church, that all possible encouragement is, will certainly be at all times given by him, to the true and sound professors of the Protestant Religion.

For those other Calumnies laid upon, and only setled in the hearts of the common Souldiers, (whom their Officers here have made believe, that they must expect nothing but death, if he should be admitted to his Crown) viz. that he is revengefull, cruel, never forgetting injuries, but though soothing for a time, yet at fit opportunities resolute in his revenge, all that know him, know to be false, for he is Gentle, Mercifull, Peaceable, and rather inclined to suffer injuries, than either to give or avenge them.

That he intends (as some say) to come with a Forein Force to regain his Right, and settle himself in his Throne, would be but what we might in justice expect, who have so long exposed him to the miseries of the wide world, and made him the pattern of Patience to future generations, it being lawfull both by the Laws of God and man for any one to use all means and en­deavours for the recovery of his own; yet so meek and patient hath he been, that it hath not so much as entred into his thoughts to acquist his Kingdom by force or violence, whilst he can hope to have it by the love of his Subjects; he therefore is resolvedly bent to attend the pleasure of a free Parliament, and wholly intent to accept of such conditions, as shall be proposed with honour by them, rather resolving to part with some of his Right, than to let these Nations run on into further distractions, or his Sub­jects be oppressed.

That we might as a just judgement of God have expected a forein force here amongst us for our obstinacy, we cannot but be sensible of, but that we have so mercifull a Prince, who rather waves his Right, and endures with patience his expulsion, than feeks or attempts to invade us by a Forein Power, by which, though he might gain revenge and satisfaction to himself, yet must it ne­cessarily [Page 5]be with our utter Ruine, and deserved destruction, we must acknowledge as a great mercy of Gods.

It is not unlikely that you my Lord, and these other Gentle­men my fellow-Citizens may admire somewhat, that I, who was once so far drawn on the other side, should now declaim so much against it, but experience hath now undeceived me, I was for the maintaining, not the infringing Privileges of Parliament. I was for the restoring, not murthering of the King, I was for them so long as they stood fast to the Oath they took in the Solemn League and Covenant, to maintain the King and his Posterity, not for them, when they had beheaded him, and banished his Posterity; I was for the moderation of a Kingly Go­verment, not for the erecting of Anarchichall Tyrannies, or Governments ad libitum.

But when I saw that those, who pretended that they acted on­ly for the Nations good, intended onely for their own, to di­stract and ruine these Nations, to depresse the Nobility and Gen­try, onely to raise themselves; that they began to oppresse and force unheard of impositions and burthens upon the Commo­nalty, to maintain their Villanies, and enrich themselves, to con­found and overthrow all Religion, under a pretence of settling and maintaining it, 'twas time to withdraw my self from, nor could my Conscience proceed any further with them, 'twas they (my Lord) that are changed, and not I.

What I at first declared for, and have already ventured my E­state for, that I still will, and shall maintain to the utmost drop of my blood, viz. to defend the Privileges of Parliament, without infringing the Royal Prerogative, to endeavour the maintaining the King, his Posterity, according to the Solemn League and Covenant, this I think (my Lord) was the first pretence of these mens raising War against his late Majesty, which at first drew so many honest men to their party; but what hath been the issue of these pretences, we have seen by too sad experience.

I think it was therefore the duty, my Lord, of every honest man to stand to those first Principles that he undertook, and not with the multitude (blinded by the ambition and self Interests of some particular men) run into those wickednesses and mischiefs which they have since perpetrated, and I think you my Lord, and the rest of [Page 6]my brethren and Fellow Citizens here, ought to take these things into consideration, and remember that Oath which I presume most of you took in the Solemn League and Covenant.

I think my Lord I need make no further apologie, either for my self or the cause I plead for, there's so much of justice in it, that it needs no Oratory to confirm, nor could that cause be ever con­futed but by the Sword, whose Tyrannical power we have suffi­ciently felt, and seen the difference, between a Government by usurping and perjured persons, and the Clemency of a too mild and gracious Prince.

I shall my Lord, adde no further, but onely conclude with this Prayer, That the God of Heaven would open your eyes, and the eyes of this whole Nation, and strengthen your hands in the set­tlement of these three distressed Nations in peace and quietnesse, which can no better be done than by your hearty prayers and en­deavours for the Restauration of the lawfull Heir to his Right: for how can we expect that he will ever let Justice flourish amongst us whilst we deny Justice to our Soveraegn.