I Thanke you for your advertisements of the Affaires of England by the last Post, and whereas you desire my Opinion of them, and what I conceive may be the issue; It is yet very early dayes to make my judgement of the successe, which is like to depend upon the future management and pursuit of them; for certainely this great turne by the Army may produce great good and happinesse to the Kingdome, by setling a firme and well conditioned Peace, if it be really and cordially their intentions as they professe, and I am apt to beleeve it is; for as they seeme to be men led much by their Conscience, so there must be this right done unto them, that they have been very exact in point of their reputation, to have the Articles and Capitulations of their Trea­ties upon the rendring of places to be punctually performed; and have heretofore showne a great sence and dislike at the Houses vio­lation of them, and doe now insist to have them justly performed, and the former breaches of them to be repaired, which sheweth them to be people of truth, and of just dealing; and likewise to have honour in recommendation: if, I say, their intentions be [Page 2] the same which they yet pretend, which is a settlement of the peace of the Kingdome, (which useth not to be of the Souldiers Trade) God may make them the instruments of great blessings unto their Country, even to be Deliverers of it, not onely from the Sword, and Warre, but from the mercilesse Government of those, who under the shelter of their Power and Conquest, had usurped over them and the whole Kingdome an absolute Arby­trary Dominion, limited by no Lawes nor bounds, but by their owne wills, and at such a time when no humane prudence could tell from whence to looke for deliverance, which God hath now raised up and begun by them, and probably may be effected by them, if they hold themselves to their professed integrity, set private interests in the last place, and pursue these their begin­nings with that wisedome and expedition which truly by their former Actions may well be expected from them in this: But if they shall pretend one thing, and intend another, and make the usuall specious shewes of Liberty and Reformation, onely as the approaches to their Interests, Ambition, or Faction; my feares are that they will prove a Torrent quickly dryed up, and will in­volve this Kingdome againe in many great miseries, and a new effusion of Blood, and themselves in few moneths be reduced to a very sad condition; whereas (if such be Gods Will) they may probably be the Instruments of setling our happinesse in very few dayes, and without the spilling of one drop of blood; the way whereof which occurreth unto me is briefly this; That they send presently unto his Majesty honest and equitable Conditions, but such as may give unto the Kingdome good satisfaction, both in point of their ancient Liberties and Priviledges, and his Majesties new Concessions, with such inlargements as shall be thought fit; that not onely an Act of Oblivion and generall Pardon be agreed on, but such further security as after so great provocations un­derstanding people will expect, by the way of the se [...]ling the Militia for some time, and some other necessary provisions. That the King declaring his willingnesse to condescend to what is pro­pounded unto him, and giving his Royall Word for the perfor­mance thereof, they immediatly carry the King to London, that he may be in the condition of a Free man, for that all that he doth under actuall restraint will be of no validity. There let all [Page 5] particulars be debated and setled, and then let the Accusation of the Army be agitated, as likewise all other things that will require time for the debate and se ling of them; As for the Lawes of the Land, the Kings Revenue, and the right of the Crowne, all such as he doth not limit or passe away, will of course returne into their wonted Channell.

The King will be (there, as well as at Newmarket) under their pro­tection; But by this meanes the Kings power, that of the Houses of Parliament, and City of London, being all united, will pre­sently recover a generall reverence and obedience; Whereas on the other side, if there shall be any delay made in this settlement and conjunction of Powers, and time shall be spent in particular debates, betwixt the Army and the King, or the Army and the Houses, and things remaine in suspense; The Houses, which the Army must now judge their Enemies, and all that they do for their present satisfaction, is but in compliance with them, and by constraint, in regard of their present danger, and otherwise not reconcileable, having declared their Government Tyrannicall; and demanded that many of their leading Members shall be cal­led into judgement, and be sequestred (so high at breach of Pri­viledge, that when the King onely desired that some of them might be legally proceeded against by the course of Justice, they withstood it, and voted it the highest breach of Priviledge that had been offered to Parliaments.) If these distractions shall hin­der their conjunction, the Army will daily sinke in reputation, the Presbyterian Party will have time to gather courage, and to fit those places of strength, and the Navy which hold for them, and the King and his Party perhaps confiding in neither, will sus­spend their choyce; unto which Party it will be fit, in wisdome to adhere.

In the meane time the Kingdome of Scotland, with those speci­ous Arguments which they will have of upholding their Cove­nant which both [...]ingdomes are sworne unto, and the freeing of the person of their Native King, surprized by a mutinous Army, and held prisoner by them, as is publikely declared, with­out his former consent, or present approbation, will arme to a man, to returne into England, where they have been so well paid for their comming in, and their returne bought at so high a [Page 4] price. And to this purpose (if we be not here mis-informed in Paris) they have already voted the whole strength of their King­dome to be put presently in a readinesse, which they here affirme shall be of twenty thousand Foot, and six thousand Horse, within a short time to be ready to march. And in this quarrell they are there very confident, that my Lord of Mentrosse, and all the Kings Party in Scotland, will most readily joyne with them; in­somuch that it is in debate, if it be not further proceeded in, That the Prince be invited to come into Scotland, and to be Ge­nerall of their Army, to rescue his father out of the hands of the Army that have surprized him, and holdeth him under re­straint, and have forced the Parliament. And if you will have my opinion, it is, That if the Army proceed not speedily to unite the King and the City, and the Parliament (being purged or renewed in such sort as the Scots may not be invited in, and then the Counties may unitedly joyne against the Scots, if they shall invade this Kingdome, the Scots will prevaile, or at least a more bloody Warre will be revived, then that which we ho­ped had been ended. So that laying aside whatsoever may be said against the Army, for the seizing of the Kings Person, and declaring against the House, or against the Houses, for their assuming of absolute power, and using of it arbitrarily against all Law, without any Limits but their owne will; or against the Kings stiffnesse, in not yeelding to those things which he judg­eth against his Honour and Conscience. If the Army (in whom the meanes is onely now to do it,) shall not presently establish the King, moderate the Houses, cause the City intirely to joyne; The united power of the Kingdome of Scotland, with the adhe­rent party of their Covenanters, will bring in speedily more mi­series upon the Kingdome of England, then what it hath hithero suffered. As for the Shieres and Provinces of England, if the above­said union be once setled, there shall not need any great industry to unite them against the comming in of the Scots.

Thus (to satisfie your request) I have (in more haste then such a businesse requireth) set downe my opinion, or rather conje­cture, of the estate of the present affaires, which is, That if the Army proceed prudently, moderately, and speedily, in the set­tlement of them, they will procure a great deliverance to their [Page 5] Country; But if they goe staggeringly to worke, and spend the time in particular debates, or matters of interest, be­fore they have setled the generall, they will be but addi­tions to our former miseries, and the causers of their owne ruine in the end, specially if this present Parliament remaine in being. For if it recover Power and Autho­rity, the Army can never be secured; for whatsoever the Houses shall doe by Ordinances for their indempnity, which is the highest security they can give, will by them bee revocable every morning, and they will judge all pro­mises or policies that have been used for the dispersing of a mutinous Army very justifiable for them to do, and pu­nish afterward. So that the safety of the Army can consist in nothing but in the dissolving of the Parliament. Besides for the firme setling of all things that shall be agreed with the King, there will be a necessity of having a new and un­questionable Parliament: For certainly the wisdome of a State, for the confirmation of so great advantages and im­munities as they hope to obtaine from the King, will not relye upon the security of a Parliament, against which so much hath been objected, as that the King and Peers have been driven away by force and Tumults, and the Tumults and other proceedings have caused the freedome of it to be often questioned, which is the very essence and being of Parliaments. That the Members of the lower House doe fit by two severall sorts of Writs inconsistent together, some by the Kings Great Seale which is Voted downe, the other by their new Great Seale, which some of the former Judges and great Lawyers have heretofore, affirmed to be Treason to make, by the Statute of the 25. of Edw. 3. And now the Army having so declared against them for breach of Trust, and usurping an Arbitrary and Tyrannicall power; All which suggestions, although they should not amount to the making of an invalidity in their proceeding; yet certainely that which doth so highly concerne the King­dome in point of Peace, and the firme settlement for all future times of so many important things betwixt the King and Subject, as Pardon and Indempnity, and many other [Page 6] immunities ought to be by so cleare, and so unquestionable security, that neither for the present, nor in future times any scruple or doubt could be raised concerning it, which made our wise Brethren the Scots not admit that the great advantages and liberties which they obtained of the King should be setled in that Parliament, when the King first agreed unto them, because they conceived in regard of the Army, and some other distractions, that Parlia­ment might in future times be held dubious and questio­nable; and therefore having agreed the Articles, and got­ten them signed by the King, they dissolved that questio­nable Parliament, and obtained of the King that a new Parliament (against whose validity no doubt or scruple could be raised) should (within few dayes after the dis­solution of the former) be assembled, as it was; and all their Priviledges, and the Acts which they desired, were passed in that new Parliament. And it is to be conceived, that it will be likewise held necessary for England in this occasion to follow their example. And so, &c.

Paris, July 1. 11. 1647.