AS there hath been no meanes left un­attempted by some seditious persons, which the malice and wit of rebellion could devise, to infect and poison the affections and loyalty of our good Sub­jects of our Kingdome of England, and to with-draw their hearts from us, by the most pernici­ous and desperate calumnies that could be invented, to [Page 2] under-value and lessen Our reputation with Forraigne Princes, by injuries and affronts upon their publick Mi­nisters, and by procuring Agents to be sent, qualified for negotiation, without Our consent; and thus to expose Us and Our Regall Authoritie to scorn and con­tempt, by assuming a power over Us: So these pernici­ous contrivers of these bloudy distempers, have not de­lighted in any art more, then in that by which they have hoped to stirre up Our good Subjects of that Our Na­tive Kingdome of Scotland to joyne with them, and to infuse into them a jealousie and dis-esteem of Our true affection, and Our gracious intentions towards that Na­tion. To this purpose they have used great industrie to convey into that Our Kingdome, and to scatter and dis­perse their diverse seditious pamphlets, framed and con­trived against Our Person and Government, and have procured Agents to be sent to reside there, and to pro­mote their designes. One of which lately resident there, one Pickering, These are Pickerings in­formations, which We hope [...]re [...]lse. by his Letters of the 9. of January, from Edinburgh to Master Pym, assures him of the concurrence of that Kingdome, and that the Ministers in the pulpits doe in down-right termes presse the taking up of Armes. And in a­nother of his Letters of the same date, to Sir John Clat­worthy, worthy, he sayes, That the trumpets sounded to the Battell, and all cryed, Arme, arme. With many other bold, scandalous, and seditious passages, very derogatorie from that dutie and affection which We are most confident Our good Subjects of that Our Native Kingdom bear unto Us. To this purpose they traduce Us with the raising and ma­king of Warre against Our Parliament; of having an Armie of Papists, and favouring that Religion; of endea­vouring to take away the libertie and propertie of Our Subjects. And upon these grounds they have procured [Page 3] a publick Declaration, to invite Our good Subjects of that Our Kingdome of Scotland, to joyne with them, and to take up Armes against Us their naturall Liege Lord. Lastly, to this purpose they endeavour aswell in publick, as by secret sly insinuation, to beget an appre­hension in them, That if we prevail so farre here, as by the blessing of God, to preserve Our Self from the ruine they have designed to Us, that the same will have a dan­gerous influence upon that Our Kingdome of Scotland, and the Peace established there; and that the good Laws lately consented to by Us, for the happinesse and wel­fare of that our Native Kingdome, will be no longer observed and maintained by Us, then the same necessity which they say extorted them from Us, hangs upon Us; but that We will turn all Our Forces against them: A calumnie so groundlesly and impiously raised, that if We are in any degree conscious to Our Self of such wicked intentions, We should not only not expect a du­tifull sense in that Our Native Kingdome of Our suffe­rings, but should think Our Self as unworthy of so great blessings and eminent protection, as We have received from the hands of the Almighty, to whom We know We must yeeld a dear accompt for any breach of trust, or failing of Our duty towards Our People.

But as We have taken especiall care from time to time to informe Our good Subjects of that Our Native Kingdome of the Occurrences here, particularly by Our Declaration of the 12 of August, wherein is a plain clear narration of the beginning and progresse of Our sufferings to that time; So the bold and unwarrantable proceedings of these seditious persons, have been so publique and visible to the world, that Our good Sub­jects of Scotland could not but take notice of them, and [Page 4] have observed, that after we had freely and voluntarily consented to so many Acts of Parliament, as not only repaired all former grievances, but also added whatsoe­ver was proposed to Us for the future benefit and secu­rity of Our Subjects, in so much as in truth there wan­ted nothing to make the Nation completely happy, but a just sense of their own excellent condition; a few discontented ambitious and factious persons, so far pre­vailed over the weaknesse of others, that in stead of re­ceiving that return of thanks and a knowledgment, which we expected and deserved, Our people were poysoned with seditious and scandalous feares and jea­lousies concerning Us; We were encountred with more importunate and unseasonable demands; and at last were driven by force and tumults, to flee from Our City of London for the safety of Our life: after which We were still pursued with unheard-of insolencies and indignities; and such members of either house, as refu­sed to joyne in those unjustifiable resolutions, likewise driven from those Counsels, contrary to the freedome and liberty of Parliament; in so much as above four parts of five of that Assembly were likewise forced, and are still kept from thence: Our Forts, Towns, Ships, and Arms were taken from Us; Our Money, Rents, and Revenue seized and detained; and that then a powerfull and formidable Army was raised and conducted against Us (a good part of which was raised and mustered before we had given Our Commissions for raising one man) That all this time we never denied any one thing that by the law we were required to grant, or asked one thing but what by the known law was unquestionably Our Own, That we earnestly pressed and desired a Treaty, that we might but know at what price we might prevent [Page 5] the miseries and desolation which were threatned; That this was absolutely and scornfully refused and rejected, and we compelled with the assistance of such of Our good Subjects as came to Our succour, to make use of Our defensive Arms for the safety of Our Life, and pre­servation of Our Posteritie. What hath since passed. That battell hath been given Us, Our own Person, and Our Children endeavoured to be destroyed, That unheard-of pressures have been exercised upon our poor Subjects, by rapine, plundring and prisonment, And that confusion which is since brought upon the whole excel­lent frame of Government of this Kingdome, is the dis­course of Christendome: We are very far from making a Warre with or against Our Parliament, of which We Our Self are an assentiall part; Our principall quarrell is for the Priviledges of Parliament, aswell those of the two Houses, as Our own; if a few persons had not by arts and force first awed, and then driven away the rest, these differences had never arisen, much lesse had they ever come to so bloudie a decision.

We have often accused these persons against whom Our quarrell is, and desire to bring them to no other tri­all, then what by the Law of the Land they ought to be tried: And we have been compelled to take up these defensive Arms for the safety of Our Life, assaulted by rebellious Arms, the defence of the true Reformed Pro­testant Religion, scornfully invaded by Brownists, A­nabaptists, and other independent Sectaries (who in truth are the principall Authors and sole Fomenters of this unnaturall civill Warre) for the maintenance of the libertie and proprietie of the Subject, maliciously viola­ted by a vast unlimited arbitrarie power, and for the pre­servation of the rights, dignitie and priviledges of Parli­ament, [Page 6] almost destroyed by tumults and faction. So what hath by violence bin taken from Us, being restored, & the freedom of meeting in Parliament being secured, We have lately offered (though We have not bin thought worthie of an Answer) to disband our Army, and leave all diffe­rences to the tryall of a full and peaceable convention in Parliament; and We cannot from Our Soul desire any blessing from Heaven more then We doe a peaceable and happy end of these unnaturall distractions. For the malicious groundlesse aspersion of Our having an Army of Papists, though in the condition and strait to which We were brought, no man had reason to won­der, if We received assistance from any of Our Sub­jects of what Religion soever, who by the Laws of the Land are bound to performe all offices of duty and al­legeance to Us; yet it is well known that we took all possible care by Our Proclamations to inhibit any of that Religion to repair to Us, which was precisely and straitly observed (notwithstanding even at that time We were traduced, as being attended on by none but Pa­pists, when there hath not in a moneth together not one Papist been near Our Court) though great numbers of that Religion have with all alacrity been entertained in that Rebellious Army against Us, and others have been endeavoured to be seduced, to whom We had formerly denied employment, as appeares by the examination of many prisoners, of whom We have taken twenty and thirty at a time of one Troup, or Company of that Re­ligion. What Our opinion is of the Popish Profession, Our often solemne Protestations before Almighty GOD, who knows Our heart, do manifest to all the World, and what Our practice is in Religion, is not unknown to Our good, Subjects of that Our Native [Page 7] Kingdome. And as We have omitted no way Our Conscience and Understanding could suggest to Us, for the advancing & promoting the true Protestant Re­ligion, having protested Our readines in a full & peace­able Convention of Parliament, to consent to whatso­ever shal be proposed to Us by Bill, for the better disco­verie and speedier conviction of Recusants, for the edu­cation of the Children of Papists by Protestants in the Protestant Religion, for the prevention of the practices of Papists against the State, And the due execution of the laws against them: So We shall further embrace any just Christian means, to suppresse Poperie in all Our Dominions: of which inclination and resolution of Ours, that Our Native Kingdome hath received good evidence.

For the other malicious and wicked insinuation, that Our successe here upon the Rebellious Arms raised a­gainst Us, to destroy Us, will have an influence upon Our Kingdome of Scotland, And that We will endea­vour to get loose from these wholesome laws which have been enacted by Us there: We can say no more, but that Our good Subjects of that Kingdome do well remember with what Deliberation, Our Self being pre­sent at the debates, We consented to these Acts. And We do assure Our good Subjects there, and call GOD Almighty to witnesse, of the uprightnesse and resoluti­on of Our heart in that point, That We shall alwayes use Our utmost endeavour to defend and maintain the Rights and Liberties of that Our Native Kingdome, ac­cording to the Laws Civill and Ecclesiasticall, establish­ed there, And shall no longer look for obedience, then We shall govern by the Laws. And We hope, that Our zeal and courage in the defence onely of the Lawes [Page 8] and Government of this Kingdome, And for the subject­ing Our self to so great hazard and danger, wil be no Ar­gument, that when that Work is done, We would passe through the same difficulties, to alter and invade the Constitutions of that Our other Kingdome: We finde disadvantages enough to struggle with, in the defence of the most upright, innocent, just cause of taking up Arms. And therefore if we wanted the Conscience, We cannot the discretion to tempt GOD in an unjust Quarrell: the Laws of that Our Kingdome shall be al­wayes sacred unto Us: We shall refuse no hazzard to defend them; but sure We shall run none to invade them.

And therefore We do conjure all Our good Subjects of that Our native Kingdome, By the long, happy, & un­interrupted Government of Us, and Our Royal Proge­nitours over them, By the memory of those many, large, and publick blessings they injoyed under Our dear Fa­ther, By these ample favours and benefits they have re­ceived from Us, By their own solemne Nationall Co­venant, and their obligation of Friendship and Brother­hood with the Kingdome of England, Not to suffer themselves to be mis-led or corrupted in their affecti­ons and duetie to Us, by the cunning malice and indu­strie of these seditious persons, and their adherents: but to look upon them as persons who would involve them in their guilt, and sacrifice the honour, fidelitie, and al­legeance of that Our Native Kingdome, to their private end and ambition. And We require Our good Subjects there, to consider, that the persons who have contrived, fomented, and do still maintain these bloudie distracti­ons, and this unnaturall Civill Warre, what pretence soever they make of the care of the true Reformed Pro­testant Religion, are in truth Brownists and Anabaptists, [Page 9] and other independent Sectaries. And though they seeme to desire an Uniformitie of Church-government with Our Kingdome of Scotland, do no more intend, and are als far from allowing the Church-government, by Law established there, or indeed any Church-go­vernment whatsoever, as they are from consenting to the Episcopall. And We cannot but expect a greater sense of Our sufferings, since the obligations Wee have laid upon that Our Native Kingdome, are used as argu­ments against Us here: And Our free consenting to some Acts of Grace and Favour there (which were asked of Us, by reason of Our necessary residence from thence) hath encouraged these ill affected persons, to en­deavour by force to obtain the same here, where Wee usually reside.

To conclude, We cannot doubt Our good Subjects there, will so far hearken to the treason and malice of Our enemies, as to interrupt their own present peace and happinesse. And God so deal [...]h Us and Our Poste­rity, as We inviolably observe the Laws and Statutes of that Our Native Kingdome, and the Protestations We have so often made to this, for the defence of the true reformed Protestant Religion, the Laws of the Land, and the just Priviledges and Freedome of Parliaments.