WHereas about eight yeares since, a party of tu­multuous and discontented persons, abusing the name and priviledge of Parliament, by fair and specious pretences, and the assistance of the riotous City of London, drew the Subjects of England into a most violent and bloody Rebellion against their naturall Leige Lord, our deare and Royall Uncle, Charles the First, King of Great Britaine and Ireland, of most blessed and pious memory, which they carryed on with implacable hatred, and indefa­tigable devilish policies, pursuing all that did oppose them with blood and rapine, and wading up to the ankles and neck, through a whole red Sea of humane and Country bloud, to the accomplishment of their execrable and prodi­gious designes: Which having fully compassed, by getting His Majesties Sacred Person into their power; after a most inhumane manner they hurry him from one Prison to ano­ther, continually perplexing him with amphibolous Propo­sitions, such as neither in conscience became a Christian, nor in honour a King to grant. At length with Kisses and All-hailes in the fore-front of their Treason, they invite His Majesty to a Personall Treaty; who to manifest his passio­nate desire to peace, spread His Royall Selfe into acts of Grace and Favour; going beyond all His Predecessors in munificent Concessions: Yet even when he had yeelded be­yond their hope and expectation, and surrendred His most indisputable Rights and Prerogatives into their hands: with malice as inexorable as the grave, deep and bottomlesse as hell, they abruptly break off, and by force of Armes drag him to the Bar; where Vassals took upon them to judge [Page] [Page] [Page 2] their Soveraigne, and call him to an accompt, who owed an accompt to none but God alone, and having Blasphe­mously upbrayded him with the unjust infamies of Tyrant, Traytour, and Murderer; and sufficiently sported them­selves with scorne and contempt, after a small intervall of time, in Triumph they convey him to the Scaffold, which in aggravation of his sorrow, they had prepared at the en­trance into his Royall Pallace, where in the sight of his Sub­jects they committed a most Barbarous Assassination upon his Sacred Person, by severing his Royall Head from his Body, by the hands of the Common Hang-man; a pro­dition without a match, and such as hath filled even the ve­ry Souls of Heathens with horrour and amazement: For it was the most nefarious, facinorous, flagitious and incogi­table act of Persons neither generous, for there was no drop of ingenious bloud in them; Nor men, for they were for­saken of humanity, and had lost the Bowels of manly com­passion; Nor doggs, unlesse of the Brood of Cerberus; nor Tygers, nor Panthers, nor ravening Woolves, nor Shee­beares, nor any thing but the most unnaturall, strange, very incarnated and transanimated Devils, that ever usurpt hu­mane shape, to the vexatious torment and destruction of mankind: Nor have these sponges of bloud yet suckt their fill, but with implacable Malice they yet pursue his Royall Issue, and by force of Armes withhold from them their In­dubitate and successive Right, and have solemnly Proclaim­ed them Traytours in the chiefe streets of that Kingdomes Metropolis, and all other Cities and Corporations, and that it shall be lawfull for any man to kill them, wherever they shall meet them within the limits of those Territories as Spies and Enemies to the Common-wealth. And they have further declared and Proclaimed, That they will for ever abolish all Kingly-government, in England and Ireland, as chargable, unnecessary and Tyrannicall, and in stead thereof will establish an eternall Anarchy, (which they call [Page 3] a Common-wealth) perpetually enslaving the miserable people of those Kingdomes, to the Tyrannicall wills of them and their Posterity; and having broken the Diadems of State, and possessed themselves of the Regalia, are now by way of sale, sharing all the Lands and Revenues of the Crowne, with the appurtenances among themselves and their Favourits; Thus are they mounted to transcendents, not to be placed in the classes or Rankes of hitherto experi­enced or practised wickednesse; So that if all the Records and Chronicles ancient and Moderne, Divine & prophane, were throughly searcht by the most scrutinous eye, and all black and dire machinations, plots and conspiracies, either contrived or acted by Rebells and Traytours, against their Princes, were arithmatically cast up, here would be found the summa Totalis, Rebellion and Treason, being now brought to the fulnesse of perfection:

Nor are these Fedifragones, miscreants contented to im­brue, and bathe their hands in the Kings bloud, but they persecute all his relations; inriching themselves in the ruine of his illustrious Queen: inforcibly withholding from her that Dowry which the King and his Councell, in consideration of a large and vast Summe of Money, alloted for her maintenance: Whereby they have broak the anci­ent league between the Kingdomes, and given us faire occa­sion in hostile manner, with our Armies of Horse, and Foot, to invade that Kingdome; Nor can we conceal our deepe sence and just indignation, at those grosse and scandalous obloquies, which they daily cast upon the person and repu­tation of our deare Aunt, the Queen Dowager, by their libellous Pamphlets, those Messengers of their Malice, which like the plagues of Aegypt reduplicated and multi­plied, they daily send forth, by which Aegypticall flyes, they endeavour, what in them lyeth, to cause the sweet oynt­ment of her pretious name to stinke upon the face of the Earth; although her unparralelled vertues are so candid [Page 4] and general, that she may without flattery be stiled, The Pa­ragon of Queens, the Glory and miracle of her Sex, whose Honour and injuries, we are bound by the bonds of nature, and affinity, to vindicate and revenge.

And that they might macerate the whole world in bloud, and set all Christian Kingdomes into flames and com­bustion, they have dispacht their Incendiaries, like Locusts into all parts of Christendome, who by subdolous and slie insinuations and pretences of popular Liberty, and freedom from Monarchicall Tyranny, endeavour to carck the bonds of protection and fealty betweene Kings and their Subjects, as they have lately done in this our Kingdome, whereby Trumpeting sedition & Rebellion in the ears of our people, they lately stirred them up to mutinies and insurrections to the apparent hazard of our Royall person, Crowne and Dignities, which are now by Gods goodnesse appeased and allayed; by which policy of dividing Kings and their Sub­jects throughout Christendome, they hope to immerge all possibility of our ayde and assistance in restoring their pre­sent Soveraigne, and establish their hermaphroditicall Go­vernment with greater Security.

Having therefore upon very just grounds both of Con­science and reason, taken these premises into our Princely consideration, we have thought good, by the Nature and deliberate advice and consent of the most illustrious Lady the Queen Regent our Royall Mother, and of the Princes, Prelats and Parliaments of our Kingdome, to stop and for­bid all trade and commerce between the Subjects of our Kingdom and that Rebellious Nation; till they shall return to their due obedience to their Soveraigne; and by our Royall Proclamation which we have caused to be published in all our Cities and Towns Corporate, within this our Kingdome of France, &c. We have strictly prohibited all English Wool and woollen Cloth, or any other commo­dities to be brought into this Kingdome, and we have [Page 5] thereby Commanded all Sheriffs and Mayors, Balliffs and subordinate Officers to make diligent search in all Cities, Towns, and Ports within their severall Jurisdictions, and to seize upon and confiscate to our use, all such prohibited goods as they shall at any time hereafter finde in any part of our Dominions, and whosoever shall conceale any such prohibited goods so in their custody, and not discover them to the chief Magistrate, or some other subordinate Officer in the City, Towne or Port, where they dwell within the compasse of four and twenty hours, shall forfeit their Estates, and for the first fault, suffer one Years Imprison­ment; for the second, five Years; and for the Third, perpe­tuall Imprisonment without bayle or mainprise. And we have further by our said Proclamation commanded, that no Merchant or other Subject of our Kingdome, doc export or suffer to be exported by any English Merchant or others, any Corn, Wine, Oyle, Skins, Nuts, Chesnuts, Beef, Pork, or any other Merchandises into that Kingdome of England: and whosoever shall be found offending herein, shall incur the penalty of High Treason. And we have further com­manded all Englishmen, of what degree or quality soever, not warranted and protected by the King of England, or not naturalized Den zons of this Kingdom, to depart this King­dome by the 18 of October, next ensuing the Date of that our said Proclamation; and that no Englishman whatsoever not protected or naturalized as aforesaid doe presume to re­maine in any part of our Dominions, upon paine of being executed, as Spies, Enemies and Traytours, to this our Kingdome: And it shall be High Treason for any Subject of this our Kingdome, to conceal or harbour within their Houses any Englishman, not protected and naturalized as aforesaid, and not discover the said person to some Magi­strate or Justice of Peace within four and twenty Houres.

And conceiving our selves bound both as a Christian and a King, by the bonds of Religion and Nature, and the [Page 6] long continued League between the Kingdomes, to revenge the barbarous murder of the late King of England, of glorious memory, to repaire the injuries of our Royall Aunt, his Queen Dowager, and to restore King Charls the Second our Cosin, to the Thrones of his Kingdomes, and subdue his People to his obedience, we have Issued forth our Royall Commission under the greate Seale of our Kingdome, whereby we have authorized our Right trusty and welbe­loved Cosin the Count of Saint Paul, to raise eight Regi­ments of Horse, and twelve of Foot, each horse Regiment to consist of eight hundred, and the Foot of a thousand; and of our owne Free will and princely grace, we are pleased to advance two yeares pay out of our Royall treasury: and to furnish the said Count of Saint Paul, with a traine of Ar­tillery, and all other necessaries for martiall imployment; and have streightly commanded the said Count and all other Officers, and Souldiers of that Army, faithfully and obediently to observe all such commands, as they shall from time to time receive from our most intirely beloved Cosin the King of England: and that they be ready to en­ter any part his Majesties Dominions, as shall be thought most necessary by the said King and his Councell, and there to joyne with any of his Majesties Armies, and to fight with, kill and slay all that they shall finde in Rebellion a­gainst his said Majesty: And forasmuch as all Christian Kings are concerned herein, we have thought good to pub­lish this our Declaration, which we have caused to be translated into all Languages, that all the Kings and Princes of Christendome may take notice of our proceedings, and after our example, may contribute their utmost power and assistance for the restoring that injured King to his Domini­ons, and reducing his Subjects to his obedience.

Given at our Court at Paris, September 2^d. 1649.