THat you have no sooner received an answer to yours of the fourth of the last Moneth, you must impute to the length thereof and weight of the Argument, which J was re­solved to communicate to those upon whose Affections and Judgements you principally rely of any in this place; and of their Ap­probation and consent to your Proposition and your Reasons, J cannot give you such an account as I presume you expect, for I must tell you, as you of Lon­don grow more elate in your stile and mention of us here, as a poor people totally at your devotion, and to be preserved or ruined as you please to vouchsafe your consideration of us; so our sufferings and our wants have given us so much Courage and Pride, that we look upon you as our equalls, too negligent and unmindfull of your fellow Subjects: And Sr Iohn Clottworthyes own speciall friend said passionately at the reading your Letter, that he plainly saw, the in­tention of the House of Commons in England was, only that we should change our Masters not improve our conditions, and that all the compassions you seem to have of the miseries of Ireland. was but to get credit enough to work mischiefe in England. Truly Sir, the face of things, and dispositions of Persons are much altered since you left us, and what J now write to you, is the sense of all those (one only excepted) with whom you directed me to conferr.

Your other correspondent shew'd us the copy of the Petition you sent hither to be subscribed by the Protestants of this King­dome, against making or consenting to any Peace with the Rebells, and desired us to distribute our selves to severall Quarters for the getting of hands to it, telling us that his Neighbour (the Lectu­rer whom you used to frequent on Frydaies) had already gotten [Page 2]neare 200. hands to it, & that you expected it again in England by the twentieth of this Moneth, because you deferred the publishing your last Declaration concerning Ireland till then; upon perusall of it, we all wished it were in your hands again, or at least, that that Gentlemans zeale, to whom you committed it, had vouchsafed to have taken our advice before he made it so publique, for we are confident it will not only be disappointed of that consent and ap­probation you expect, but we feare it may make a contrary impres­sion in many, (and those of the greatest power, interest, and Re­putation) who have only borne the uneasinesse and calamity of a Warre, in hope of a speedy, safe, and honourable Peace, and what must these men think when they see a Protestation entred against Peace in generall without any consideration of the Iustice, Honour or security of it? Pardon me if I tell you in what Language the grief and sorrow of some very good men (even in your own Calendar) hath vented it selfe upon the view of this Petition: They say, you sit like a proud wanton People, upon a secure, fruitfull Hill, and barbarously inhumanely delight your selves with the prospect of Battailes, Contentions, Desolation and Famine in the Vallies: that you are gotten upon a safe and pleasant Rock, and recreate your selves with the miseries and destruction other men endure by Tempests, and Shipwracks about you. I beseech you (Sir) consi­der what it is you ad [...]se us to.

That all the Protestants in Ireland joyne in a Petition to His Ma­jesty, or to both Houses of Parliament in England (for you say you have not yet determined to whom the Petition shall be directed, that may be done when it comes to London) against making a Peace with the Rebells in Ireland. An excellent evidence and testimony of our Religion: have the protestants with so much acrimony and bitternesse differed amongst themselves so long about Formes and Circumstances, and can there be no expediment found out to unite and reconcile us, but a peremptory dislike of Peace? Good Sir, let such Petitions be framed and preserred by Turkes & Jnsidels which have no reverence of the pretions image of their Maker, but with the same temper behold the slaughter of a man and of a Horse, who have no principles of charity and brotherly compassion, or appre­hension of future punishment for the want of them. Let those whose Religion you say is Rebellion, and whose doctrine you ex­cuse [Page 3]to be inconsistant with Peace▪ preferre Petitions against Peace, God forbid the Protestants of any Kingdome should consent to such a Petition. If your Reformation of Religion must be made by blood and desolation, and your propagation of the Gospell by the extirpation of Nations, call it a progresse to any Religion, rather then of the Protestants, whose glory and custom hath alwayes been to give up their own, not the Lives of other men a sacrifice to the Truth they professe. What are the Argumen [...]s in Religion or Po­licy which you can give us, or that we can give His Majesty to per­swade Him, that a speedy Peace and Accommodation is not good for this miserable and distracted Kingdome.

You say they are Papists, and ought not to be suffered to live a­mongst us. I hope I may with more freedome speak in this Argu­ment then other men; for you know I have been alwaies passio­nately enclined against the growth of that Religion, and concurred with you in any proposition for the suppression thereof, I would to God you had vertuously used the advantages have been offered you to that purpose at least that you had not so much played with Re­ligion in your Votes and Declarations, and totally excluded it in your Actions: believe it (Sir) Good workes, which compre­hend Loyalty and Obedience will be never so much disgraced un­der the Imputation of Popery, as not to be thought an essentiall part of Christian Religion, into what Opinions soever distinguished. I may, without ostentation, tell you, no man hath spent more houres in Prayer, that it will please God to strike the hearts of this Nation with the true knowledge of his worship that we may be all of one mind both in the substance and circumstance of Religion; but you must pardon me if J doe not believe the way to remove the Errors, is to destroy the men, that the way to People Ireland with Prote­stants, is to cut the throats of all the Papists. Religion can never be fruitfull in that soyle which is tainted and over flowed with Ri­vers and streames of blood. Admit there were no consideration of Justice, of Christianity in the Case, no motion of those bowels which must yarne at the murthering and massacring of Mankind: doe you think it were a most prudent, a most politique position for His Majesty to publish. That He is resolved to have no Papist to live in any of His Dominions, if He were in a condition to ex­ecute such a sentence, and all men ready to give obedience to it; [Page 4]would he not robbe himselfe of an unvaluable Treasure & strength in the losse of so many Subjects. You seemed to take great care at the beginning of this Rebellion, that it should not be thought a Warre for Religion, you would not provoke all of that profession to think themselves concerned in it: and you did wisely: the Earle of Clenrickard hath as much reason to expect that Religion should be magnified in his Loyalty, as to find it suffer in the defection of my Lord Magu [...]yre; but you must take an equall care, that as you will not have it thought in them a Warre for Religion, so they must not think it a warre in you against Religion, that will produce the same danger. We that have enjoyed that full measure of pro­sperity and plenty in this Kingdome cannot doubt of enjoying the same in the same Company. Let the Lawes of the Land be judge of their Actions, and God in his good time will rectify or pardon their Opinions.

Why then must we have no Peace? because they are Rebells: Is this your Proposition? No Rebellion must be extinguished but with the blood & extirpation of the Rebells: put it to the Question. No man looks upon this Rebellion with more horror then I do, few men have felt sadder effects of it, either in the exercise of the sword or fire my Houses burned and my two Sonnes killed in cold blood; yet I doe beleive very many honest men have been cozened into this Action, by the power and perswasion of their Leaders, or frighted into it by the ill managery of affaires here, who never en­tertained disloyall thought towards their Soveraigne, or seditious thought towards their Country; And there are good men who imagine that there hath not been lesse skill and industry used by some of your friends in England and some of my friends in Ireland, to improve and continue this Rebellion, then were in the most act­ive Contrivers to begin it, otherwise why were the first Proclama­tions of Pardon sent out of England, with so much care concealed here, and unpublished but in two Counties, and such who within the time prefixed rendred themselves according to that Procla­mation, imprisoned, and used with that severity, as if they had been taken in the Act of Rebellion: beleive it (Sir) when all miscarriages of that kind shall be scann'd, unpardonable faults will be found in those who have cryed out most upon this Rebellion; but J am farre from excusing even those who have bin in truth missed, if there [Page 5]hath not bin an absence of Loyalty, then hath bin of Consci­ence, Courage, and Descretion, without which the other is but a dream; and no doubt the Contrivers of these distempers had in their purpose as much Confusion, Cruelty, and Inhumanity, as much Malice to the English Government, and the English Nation as can be imagined, and yet they make specious pretences, and arguments for all that they do. There was a Fryer taken in the last expedition into Conaight, about whom was found a Collection of all your Votes, Ordinances, and Declarations in England, very carefully perused and marked with short Marginall Notes by him, and out of them a large Manuscript; framed by himselfe, and entitled An Apology of the Catholiques of Jreland: or a Iustification, of their defensive Armes for the preservation of their Religion, the mainte­nance of his Majesties Rights and Prerogatives, the naturall and iust defence of their Lives and Estates, and the Liberty of their Coun­try, by the practise of the State of England, and the judgement and au­thority of both Houses of Parliament in England, in truth so unhap­pily penned, with so little variation of Language, that but for the al­teration of Ireland for England, and some great Persons of this Kingdom in the places of some named by you, your owne Clarke would hardly know it from one of your owne Declarations. All that they doe is for the good of the King and Kingdom. The King is trusted with the Forts, Magazines, Treasure and Offices for the good and safety of the People; if he doeth not discharge this Trust, but is advi­sed by Evill Counsellors, and Persons they cannot confide in, 'tis their duty to see this trust discharged, according to the Condition and true intent thereof; That they saw their Religion and Liberty in danger of extripation, and therefore they had reason to put themselves into a posture of defence; That they are ready to lay downe these defensive Armes, as soone as the great Offices of the Kingdome are put into such hands as they can confide in; with all those other common places which are so much insisted on by you in your severall Declarations. But admit this Rebellion were an intire Act of the whole Irish. Na­tion, that it was designed by an unanimous consent to free thēselves from the yoke of England, If they repented now of that Designe & having felt the smart of that Folly and Madnesse, desired to returne to their Allegiance: can there be no doore open to Mercy and Obli­vion? I beleive you would Vote him an Evill Councellour that [Page 6]should give the King that Councell in England: I am glad your Letter from the two Houses to our Iustices and Councell (the Co­pie of which I received inclosed in yours) hath miscarried, for I am sure 'tis not yet come to their hands. You will finde you are mista­ken in the temper of Our Board, and that they will not beare those reproches from Persons they are in no degree subject to. They think themselves as competent Iudges of their expressions in their own Acts of State, as you are of yours in your Votes and Ordinances and being imediately trusted by His Majesty with the Government of this Kingdom, understand better what is in order to the preser­vation and destruction of it then you do. You tell them, they must not conceive the charge of the Warre is onely referred to you, as if your part were to be our Bankers only to provide Money, and were not to advise and direct the managing of the Warre, which power you say was granted you by Act of Parliament, and you will assume it as the meanes to save this Kingdome. We know no such Act of Parliament, and we hope there is none, nay, the King must pardon us if we say there can be none. He is our Soveraigne, and we are his Subjects, he can no more give us away, and exclude us from His Protection, which if He excludes Himselfe from managing this Warre, or redeeming us from this Warre by Peace, He doth abso­lutely do, then we can put off our subjection, & say He shall be Our King no longer. Pray consider the condition you would have us un­derstand our selves to be in, you seeme to apprehend us in great streights, in great necessities, reduced into narrow circuits without Money, Victuall, or Munition, in that proportion to contend with our Adversaries. You do not pretend to have Authority to make a Peace for us be the termes never so honourable, and if He hath not power to do it neither, our portion must be an eternall VVarre, which is no comfortable thing to believe. You say you will bring those to condigne punishment who advised the late Commission, to heare what the Rebells can say or propound for their own advan­tage: If you can charge them with no other crime, but that Advice they will never feare the barre of Justice. Why are you offended? do you conceive the case of the Rebells to be such, as by any skill or managery in a free and publique debate may get credit: It were an austere reservednesse in the King, for which God Almighty would require a strict account of Him, when those He trusts here, [Page 7]present the misery of their condition to him, and implore his care and protection, and when those from whom all the mischiefes seem to proceed, pretend to do all those mischiefes in their own defence, and desire to be heard for themselves, if he should refuse to hear them because they are Rebells. Wee have seen a Declaration of yours, in which you seem with great vehemency to accuse the King, that He refused to receive a Petition from you, to hear what you could say for your selves; and it was a charge of so great weight, that we find the King taking much paines to free Himself from, by abso­lutely denying it, as conceiving it an unkingly thing not to heare what the worst Subject can alleadge in his own defence. How comes His Office to be so inverted? must the King of England re­ceive all Petitions, and the King of Ireland refuse all? Indeed if the King were guided by such sinister Rules of Policy and Craft, as go­vern your Actions, he would not now subject himself to the dif­ficulties and hazard of recovering what you have with so much In­dustry and Cunning made desperate, and would content himself that the blood of this poore People should be cast upon your Ac­count, and that Posterity might see that the losse of such a Kingdom was the fruit of a perpetual Parliament. But His Majesty is too much acquainted with the Royall duty of a King, to think he can depute His Office of protecting to other hands, and be excused, if by their ill managery, a Nation (committed to his care) be lost. I assure you all sober men here are so farre from repining at this Commission, which you are so scandalized with, that we look upon it as the daw­ning of that power, which for so many moneths hath been eclipsed by the interposition of a monstrous, and unnaturall Iurisdiction, and which we hope will every day break out with that brightnesse, that will dispell those Mists and Clouds of confusion, which hath so fatal­ly covered us, and that instead of the punishment you threaten, we shall have cause to erect Trophyes to that Counsell, which advised this blessed overture of Accommodation.

You will expect, I know, my Opinion of your New Covenant, which you have prepared for the three Kingdomes, and which you say will unite all your Party, and distinguish you from your Adversa­ries, I wish it would: I would there were so much sense of Re­ligion left, that for pietie and conscience sake, men would refuse the taking of any Oathes; your experience tells you the contrary, and [Page 8]you see your selves every day left by those of whom you thought you were very sure under that bond, they looking upon themselves as awed, and compelled to take it, and so absolved from the obligation at the instant they are forced to sweare; and in truth you might con­sider, that if they have heretofore sworne any thing that is contrary to this, you have no reason to expect that they should observe this Oath, who have broken the former; and I must tell you 'tis a shrewd evidence, that what you propose, is not the desire and solici­tation of the Kingdome, when you are put to these shifts, by Force and Fraude, by Threats and Promises to croude the free-born Sub­jects into a Faction: you see the King does not countermine you with these Arts and Preparatives, He applies no Anti-Covenants to His followers, not so much as reinforces the known lawfull Oathes of Allegiance and Supremacy; He is contented to depend upon the naturall fruits of Loyalty, Honour, and Generosity, under which Obligation, His handfull of men have swollen into thou­sands, and spread themselves almost over all the Kingdom, whil'st the Proselites under your Oathes, Covenants, and Protestations, waste daily and fall off, and are well neer shrunk from the foure quarters of the Realme which they possessed, within the verge of one City. And if you consider how many of those who have taken this new Covenant you have sent mee, even at the time of taking it de­sire in their hearts, That Episcopacy should still continue, and how many more, who hate Bishops, and think them Anti-Christian, would yet rather live under them, then under a Presbytery, which is the case of the Independents, and both these and many more (who are so farre from caring what Government of the Church is established, that they would be content all the Churches in England were pulled downe, and both Preaching and Praying put downe for seven yeers) are directly bound to set up the Presbytery. I lay, when you consider, that men of these severall and distinct tempers, with the same zeale take this Covenant, 'tis no wonder, that in stead of Union, you finde nothing but jealousie and Confusion amongst your selves, and instead of advancing the Religion you pretend to, you draw upon you a generall suspition, of having no Conscience or sense of Religion at all.

For the comming in of the Scots, which you say is your greatest and last hope, I confesse I think you will be deceived. But by the [Page 9]way, you are wonderfull kinde to us, to advise us to Petition a­gainst Peace, whilest you are labouring to draw so great a part of our Army as the Scots in Vister from assisting Vs, to serve you in Eng­land, 'tis too great a businesse for me to deliver an opinion in, but me thinks it should lessen very much your reputation with the Peo­ple, to see that after your charging the King so long with the pur­pose of bringing in Forraine Forces, which you have pressed as the most odious charge, and as a colour and ground for most of your Actions, you your selves at last call in Forraigne Ayde to helpe you to doe that, which you had, or can have no pretence of doing, but that all the people of England desire it, and doe not thinke, that say­ing they are your Brethren of Scotland, and your fellow Subjects, will make them be thought lesse Forraigne power, you will not be content that the King shall call in the Irish under the same conside­ration: and can you thinke it possible, if the Scots shall obey your desires herein (which after all their Vowes and Cove­nants of Loyalty, Duty, and Affection to their native KING, I cannot thinke they will ever doe) that the KING will not powre in all the Forces He can procure from all the parts of the World, both into that and the other Kingdome. No doubt he looks upon that Remedy, as the most grievous and most hazar­dous, and therefore with great mercy to His people, hath not suffe­red Himselfe to be tempted by all His wants, all His weak­nesse, and your example of entertaining so many Dutch, Walloones, and all Nations against him, to suffer such a supply; which infal­libly he might long since have had, but if you [...]ll be contented to give away your Countrey to strangers (for doe not thinke they will be as easily got out as they are brought in) and that you may be revenged of those you have injured, involve the whole Kingdom in such a lasting confusion; you [...] not wonder if stran­gers be brought in to beat out strangers, though all the mischief is to be done at the charge of your poor Countrey. I say, I cannot be­leeve (though some particular Persons may be concerned to keep up this distraction) that the Scotch Nation will engage themselves in a quarrell against their Native KING (to whom they have such generall and particular Obligations, and against the whole Nobili­ty and Gentry of England, for matters in no degree Relative to their own affaires and venture that blessed calme and Peace they now [Page 10]enjoy, only to kindle a fire amongst their Neighbours, which proba­bly will not be quenched, till it hath burned to their own habitati­ons. They know well the inveterate, mortall hatred this Nation of Ireland bears to them, and how glad they would be to be let loose to their revenge, and they are too wise to think the two Hou­ses (whose publike Faith stands so deeply engaged) will be as liberall and bountifull a Master to them, as their Royall Soveraign. Be not deceived. One of their principall Commanders (upon whose personall assistance you much depend) asked me, whether I thought them so sottish to declare themselves against their King, whilest the two Houses were governed by my Lord Say, who ha­ted their Religion, and the Army by the Earle of Essex, who hated both their Religion and Nation; and then told me the bitter inve­ctives made by the first against a Presbytery, and the sharpe and scornfull mention by the other of the Scots and Scotland. And in­truth if ever they enter into your Kingdome, the mischiefe and con­fusion they will bring, in not submitting to your Government (for what discipline soever they affect in the Church, they are assuredly for independency in the State) will be greater then the advan­tage and Ayde you will receive by their supplies. In a word (be­sides the perfect hatred you will finde from all the Northern parts which you have thrown away to them, and which must be inhabi­ted by them) you will finde your selves deserted by all men who have any desire of Peace, and are not willing to entayle this Warre from Generation to Generation.

DUBLIN this third of October. 1643.