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<DATE>2008-01-10</DATE>
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<NAME>Emma Leeson Huber</NAME>
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<STC T="T">669.f.21[68]</STC>
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<VID>163563</VID>
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<HEAD>An EXPRESS from the KNIGHTS and GENTLEMEN now engaged with Sir <HI>GEORGE BOOTH;</HI> To the CITY and CITIZENS of <HI>London,</HI> And all other FREE-MEN of <HI>ENGLAND.</HI></HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Worthy CITIZENS, and all other our Engli&s;h FREE-MEN and BRETHREN,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>AS we are <HI>Engli&s;h-men</HI> we are all incorporated into one Body, and though di&s;tinct and different Families, Fortunes, and Qualities, yet <HI>fellow Members</HI> and <HI>Coheirs</HI> of one and the &s;ame <HI>Birthright;</HI> not onely by <HI>nature,</HI> as we are the Sons of men, (nature obliging all in one Common and equal Bond of Freedom and Unity,) but by certain <HI>&s;acred Laws and Cu&s;tomes</HI> of peculiar and inherent Right to this Nation; <HI>general, equal, and impartial to all,</HI> without re&s;pect of per&s;ons, rank, quality, or degree, derived through all &s;ucce&s;&s;ions of Ages, by the blood Ju&s;tice and Prudence of our <HI>Fore-fathers</HI> to us their po&s;terity, as <HI>ours,</HI> and the <HI>Right</HI> of our <HI>Children after us,</HI> not <HI>di&s;inheritable:</HI> though this Age were wholly made up of Apo&s;tates and Traytors to Common Ju&s;tice and Freedom, and &s;hould make &s;ale of, and deliver up their Children as &s;laves and va&s;&s;ails, yet <HI>Engli&s;h Right abideth,</HI> to wit, <HI>our ju&s;t Lawes and Liberties,</HI> and may ju&s;tly be reinforced as opportunity may pre&s;ent; <HI>Sometimes they &s;leep but never dye,</HI> their <HI>total Extingui&s;hment</HI> is not to be imagined &s;o long as any <HI>Engli&s;h-man,</HI> or <HI>Engli&s;h-blood</HI> abideth: and whoever undertaketh, (though by Arms, or otherwi&s;e,) their recovery and redemption is ju&s;tified in that very Action by the Laws of God, of Nations, Nature, Rea&s;on, and by the Laws of the Land; and within the Bowels of our Nation among&s;t our &s;elves no War can be ju&s;tified, but upon <HI>that &s;core,</HI> the contrary is Sedition, Murder, Trea&s;on, Tyranny and what not, and the In&s;truments thereof no other in the Eye of <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Freedom and Right, but as Bears, Wolves, and other Bea&s;ts of prey.</P>
<P>Now right worthy and noble Citizens, and all other our <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Brethren, let us con&s;ider and lay to heart the &s;ad and deplorable condition of our native Countrey: Oppre&s;&s;ion, Inju&s;tice, and Tyranny raigneth; Divi&s;ion, Di&s;cord, and Di&s;&s;imulation fomented and fo&s;tered; Trade and indu&s;tery di&s;couraged, our Land rent into parties and factions, and the Common Band of Unity Cancell'd, our Fundamental Laws &s;upplanted, High Courts of Ju&s;tice introduced, the blood of War &s;hed in times of Peace; Arbitrary and illegal impri&s;onments, Pattents, Monopolies Exci&s;e, and other payments brought upon us, and continued Contrary to <HI>Magna Charta,</HI> and the Petition of Right; no form or face of Government of <HI>Engli&s;h Con&s;titution</HI> among&s;t us; the name and Authority of the People in Parliament u&s;urped and abu&s;ed, and the &s;tamp thereof put upon &s;trange and prodigious Actions, vexing and oppre&s;&s;ing the people with dayly Changes and Alterations in Government, as the Intere&s;t of &s;ome few ambitious Grandees alter and change, or get advantages one of another, and all under the <HI>Name of a Common-wealth,</HI> when as the <HI>Nature</HI> is not practi&s;ed or intended at all, it being utterly incon&s;i&s;tent with their very temper and intere&s;t; they are wrapt up and compounded of nothing but guilt blood and Tyranny; and Equal and Common Ju&s;tice (the E&s;&s;ence of a Common-wealth) are utterly repugnant thereto; and what&s;oever they can doe mu&s;t be planted and maintained by Sword and violence again&s;t the very Heart and Sence of the Nation; and they know not where nor how to centre an Oligarchy or &s;omething they would have to be Ma&s;ters of the People, and perpetuate their power and Tyranny, and therefore would amaze and confound us with their New Debates of a <HI>Coordinate Power,</HI> or <HI>Senate for Life,</HI> &s;uch as our <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Laws and Liberties know not of, and of pernitious Con&s;equence to this Nation; &s;o that from the&s;e men that thus handle the Sterne at <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter,</HI> there is no expectation of any ju&s;t Settle|ment of peace, or Freedom from oppre&s;&s;ion; e&s;pecially con&s;idering, the Apo&s;tacy, Hypocri&s;y, Deceipt, and Perjury of tho&s;e men, their manifold Sollemn Engagements, Oaths, Vows, Prote&s;tations, Appeals unto Heaven; Promi&s;es, Remon&s;trances, Declarations all by them broken again and again, never keeping Faith, Truce, or Oath, being unbounded, unlimited, Certain to nothing, not to be held either by the Law of God, of Man, of Con&s;cience, or Rea&s;on; <HI>and from &s;uch Per&s;ons in Government good Lord deliver us,</HI> and all the good people of <HI>England;</HI> and that all this is true of them, your own Con&s;ci|ences Noble Citizens, and all other the Free people of <HI>England</HI> can witne&s;s, there is no tongue, no pen is able to vindicate them in this point, it is known of all, owned by all, and can be denyed by none; how then can any hone&s;t or ju&s;t man &s;hed any blood in their Quarrel, or lend them A&s;&s;i&s;tance? &s;urely that blood will be required at their hands, and we doubt not but you will be careful what you do.</P>
<P>And therefore from tho&s;e Con&s;iderations and ju&s;t provocations we have taken up Arms in pur&s;uance of, and Inqui&s;ition after our Government, Laws, and Liberties, that every <HI>Engli&s;h-man</HI> may be protected and &s;ecured in his Religion, Liberty, and Property; and though it may be &s;ugge&s;ted, that we intend to introduce <HI>Pro&s;ecution for Con&s;cience</HI> into the Land again, we do hereby (in the pre&s;ence of Almighty God) prote&s;t and Declare <HI>again&s;t all Coercive Power in matters of Religion,</HI> and that to the utmo&s;t of our &s;trength (through Gods A&s;&s;i&s;tance) we will endevour to the hazzard of our Blood and Fortunes the Freedome and Protection of all virtuous and religious People, by what Name &s;oever differenced from us, Equal with our &s;elves: And that no For|raign or other other Authority &s;ave onely the Civil be exerci&s;ed in <HI>England:</HI> That the Practi&s;e of the Law be reformed; all Corrupt Statutes repealed; Annual Elections of all Officers and Magi&s;trates, with the Con&s;tant Succe&s;&s;ion of Parliaments re&s;tored; our Fundamental Laws cleared and a&s;&s;erted, and whatever is contrary there to to be aboli&s;hed: That no Tryals be admitted in <HI>England</HI> for Life, Limb, Liberty or E&s;tate but by the good old way of <HI>Juries,</HI> and that they be re&s;tored&punc; to their Original power&punc; and purity: That all Extrajudicial and Illegal proceedings by High-Courts of Ju&s;tice, or otherwi&s;e, with all Illegal and Arbitrary Committees be &s;trictly provided again&s;t: That the Exci&s;e, and all other Payments and Taxes &s;uch as our Ance&s;tors never knew of, together with all Monopolies and Pattents de&s;tructive to Trade and the Common Good of the Nation be al&s;o aboli&s;hed: And, that our Parliaments and Magi&s;trates be &s;ecured from all Force and Violence; and utterly cleared from all boundle&s;s Prerogative, and unlimited Priviledge: That the Right of the Poor in the Commons of <HI>England,</HI> all Donations for Charitable U&s;es, and all Lands formerly belonging to the People be re&s;tor'd again: And that Mercy and Ju&s;tice be truely e&s;tabli&s;hed among&s;t us. And for the&s;e ends, and what el&s;e may be of publick good to the Nation, we do de&s;ire, and indeed challenge as of <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Right, the &s;peedy Election of a <HI>New Free Parliament.</HI></P>
<P>And thus, Mo&s;t noble Citizens, Brethren and fellow Free-men of <HI>England,</HI> we have dealt truely and plainly with you, and given you the real Grounds and Rea&s;ons of our taking up Arms; looking upon you as the mo&s;t concern'd in the Nation, and therefore hold our &s;elves the more oblieged to give you this <HI>Early Advice</HI> of our Candid and Ju&s;t intentions in this Undertaking, that you may not be deluded or frighted (though fal&s;ly) into any &s;trange opinion of us, either through your own mi&s;take, or by the pollicy of tho&s;e men who will leave no means unattempted to render us as Publick Enemies, Rebels and Traitors, Plun|derers, Tyrants and Per&s;ecuters, or whatever is odious and mon&s;trous, to engage you in Blood.</P>
<P>Beleeve us, Right worthy Citizens, and Free-born <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Brethren, we have no De&s;igne of <HI>Fire or Sword,</HI> or of Evil toward you or your City, or any part of the Nation, or any per&s;on in it: We know there are thou&s;ands among&s;t you that are &s;atisfied in us; it may be indeed that many or mo&s;t of the Gathered Sepeate Churches may be fearful and jealous of us, and &s;o may be induced to Arms again&s;t us; but we do again and again prote&s;t before Almighty God, and the whole World, that we have no other purpo&s;e towards them, but that they with us, and we with them, may be bound up as Friends and Brethren in the Common Cau&s;e of our Countrey, that every <HI>Engli&s;h-man</HI> may have <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Freedom and Right; and we do not de&s;ire to wrong either Man, Woman, or Childe the worth of a Shooe-latchet: Therefore we hope you will fir&s;t well advi&s;e before you proceed in a new War, le&s;t you bring not only your own, but others blood on your heads (for we are re&s;olved to pro&s;ecute this to the la&s;t drop of our blood.) The <HI>Ca&s;e of England</HI> is laid before you, <HI>our Laws</HI> and <HI>Liberties,</HI> they are yours as well as ours, and for which we have all engaged in the fir&s;t War, and not to be &s;o &s;treightly vai<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">d as to be &s;et at &s;take again&s;t the private ends of &s;ome ambitious and corrupt per&s;ons: <HI>Salus Populi, Suprema Lex;</HI> Let the People live, and their Enemies peri&s;h.</P>
<P>Therefore we be&s;eech you, we conjure you as <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> men, to &s;tand by your <HI>Native</HI> Countrey, and your Countreys Cau&s;e: Our voyce is, and it is no other than the Con&s;ent and Voyce of the People, <HI>A New Free Parliament, A New Free Parliament;</HI> it is the <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> mans <HI>main Birthright,</HI> which we are re&s;olved to put the People in po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of, or to peri&s;h with our Swords in our hands. But if you will not joyn, but degenerate, we hope nothwith&s;tanding (by Gods ble&s;&s;ing) to carry on this Work: Yet to that ju&s;t and glorious Work we may challenge your concurrence, it being your duty as well as ours to endevour the procurement thereof: And therefore to you make it our Propo&s;all, to your <HI>Militia,</HI> to the Army, and the whole People, for the prevention of a New War, and the effu&s;ion of <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> blood, that you would be In&s;trumental with us for the &s;peedy Election of a <HI>New Free Parliament,</HI> for the ends afore&s;aid; and in the interim all ho&s;tility to be forborn&punc; and that a day may be appointed, and the People &s;uffered to go to their free Elections, and we &s;hall quietly &s;ubmit unto their Authority; heartily de&s;iring that all revenge, divi&s;ion, rancor, and animo&s;itie of &s;pirit may be for ever buried in one General <HI>Act of Oblivion;</HI> And that all Parties, Sects, and Sorts (now jarring, and making up intere&s;ts one again&s;t another) may reconcile, cement, and concenter in the common Brotherhood of <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Freedome and Right; in and for which we are</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="letter">
<HEAD>Sir GEORGE BOOTH to a Friend of his in <HI>London.</HI></HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>SIR,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>MY la&s;t to you of the &s;econd In&s;tant I under&s;tand you have committed to open view, the Publication whereof was of general Satisfaction to your Friends here, and for which we all hold our &s;elves obliged. I have &s;ent you here inclo&s;ed An <HI>Expre&s;s</HI> from the Knights and Gentlemen engaged with me, and beg this further addition to your former many Favours, that you would plea&s;e to take the care upon you, to get the &s;ame printed and publi&s;hed, for the undeceiving of tho&s;e among&s;t you, and all other that are yet doubtful or un&s;atisfied in us. This Me&s;&s;enger will inform you of the pre&s;ent State and Condition of Affairs with us, to whom I refer you. In ha&s;t I re&s;t,</P>
<CLOSER><SALUTE>SIR,</SALUTE>

<SIGNED>Your mo&s;t affectionate Friend and Servant George Booth.</SIGNED> <DATELINE>Manche&s;ter <DATE>Aug. 9. 1659.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
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