THat ever since the Engagement of the arrmy at New­market Heath, his Excellency, with the Generall Offi­cers, and Generall Councell of the Army [to which that Engagement refers] have beene doing their duty and b [...]st endeavours for the good of the army & king­dome, according to the ends of that Engagement, and the Declarations and other Papers that have since past from the army: and in this [according to their consciences, and the best of their un­derstandings] they have done the utmost they could without present destruction to the Parliament, which in their opinions would inevita­bly have put the Kingdom into bloud and confusion, and so both the Army and Kingdom into an incapacity or past all rationall hopes of at­taining or enjoying that satisfaction or security, for which the Engage­ment was entred into: and if they have neglected any thing, wherein they might have done better, They have been ready (as still they are) to be convinc'd thereof, and to amend the default, and to hearken to what any man would soberly offer for that purpose, or to lead them to any thing better.

That while they have thus been doing their duty [besides many o­ther interruptions or diversions, by the designes and workings of Ene­mies] they have of late found the greatest interruption to their pro­ceedings, by a few men, Members of the army, who [without any au­thority or just cause thereunto that we know of, assuming the name of Agents for severall Regiments] have [for whatends we know no [...]] [Page]taken upon them to act as a divided party from the said Councell and army, and associating themselves with, or rather [as we have just cause to believe] giving themselves up to be acted or guided by divers pri­vate persons that are not of the army] have endeavoured by various falshoods and scandals, raised & divulged in Print, & otherwise against the Generall, the General Officers and Councell, to possesse the Army & kingdome with jealousies of them, & prejudice against them [as if they were taln from their principles, had broken their Engagements & Declarations, & thereby forfeited their Trust, & were in their whole proceedings false and treacherous both to the army and Kingdome.] and by these & other practises, the said agents & their associates, have laboured to make parties and factions in the army, to raise discontents, muti [...]ies, and disorders therein, to divide the souldiers from the Offi­cers, & both Officers & souldiers amongst themselves, and to withdraw severall parts of the army from their duty & obedience to the Gene­rals Orders (and that) in things most necessary for the safety of the ar­my and Kingdome.

And thus while they causelesly cry out against breach of Engage­ments, and dividing the army, they themselves have made, or endeavou­red to make the greatest breaches of the Engagements, & greatest divi­ding of the army that can be; a dividing most truly contrary to the Engagement: a dividing, which is as bad & destructive, as disband­ing; even the dissolution of all that Order, Combination, and Govern­ment, which is the Essence of anarmy: and under false delusive preten­ces [that the Engagements have been broken] they have endeavoured really to loosen and draw the army off from its former Engagements, and to draw it into new Engagements, different from, and (in some things) destructive to the former; and have thus endangered the grea­test forfeiture of the Faith and Honour of the army, that ever it incur­red.

And whilest they cry out, that there is nothing done, they themselves have made the greatest obstructions, to the doing of any good for the army or Kingdome, both in the hinderances and delayes to our procee­dings, and the expence of time, which their workings have occasioned (either to have satisfied them, (if it had been possible) or else to solve and quiet those discontents and distractions which they have raised in the army) and also by the occasions which the Parliament and King­dome (yea even our best friends in both) have thus received, to discou­rage them from complyance with, or confidence in, an army, so uncer­tain, so unsetled, so divided.

For these Causes, the Gen. hath thought fit to Randezvouz the Army or such parts of it as are not fixt uppon necessary duty elsewhere. And having (with advice of the generall Councell,) sent to the Parliament more importunately then before, for speedy satisfaction to the Army in their just desires (especially in point of provision for constant pay, to a­void free Quarter, and of security for Arreares.) thought it best (with the same advice) to dismisse most of the Officers, and Agitators from the Head Quarters for a fortnight unto their respective Regiments to satisfie and compose those discontents and divisions which have thus been raised in them; and for ease to the Countrey and accomodation to the Souldiery (with respect to the season of the yeare) thought fit to contract the Quarters of the Army in three Brigades, and to draw them to three severall Randezvouzes, not far from each other, and this in order to one generall Randezvouz, if there should be any occasion: And, in this, the severall Regiments of Horse and Foote have been ap­pointed to constant Quarters in order to those severall Randezvouzes taking them directly in order as their severall Quarters lay before, without any other respect or consideration; but even these things the said pretended Agents and their Associates have laboured to pervert, &c. and make advantage of, to the aforesaid ends of discontent and di­straction, and to represent the same to the severall Regiments as done in pursuance of the same treacherous Councells and desi [...]n [...]s which they had before suggested, and what good they could not deny to be in the things, they assume to themselves, as gained by their procurement, and so greedily catched at the sole credit of it, as if the Gen. and his Councel, (but for them) had not done it, and by letters or Messages, contradicting the generall order, they have (under such scandalous pre­tenc [...]s) laboured to draw divers Regiments from the Quarters and Randezvouzes to which they were ordered; unto the first Randezvouz neare Ware, in a disorderly and confused manner to the oppression of the Countrey and disaccomodation (if not quarrelling and distraction) of the Souldiery quartering.

That without redresse of these abuses and disorders, his Excellency cannot nor will, any longer undergoe or undertake further to discharge his present Trust to the Parliament, the Army and Kingdom.

That though he is farre above any such lowe thoughts as to Court or wooe the Army to continue him their Generall, yet, to discharge himselfe to the utmost, and bring the businesse to a clear and certaine Issue, his Excellency does now declare.

That he is yet willing to adheare to and to conduct a [...]d live and dy with the Army in the lawfull prosecution of these things following viz.