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<DATE>2007-11-02</DATE>
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<NAME>Emma Leeson Huber</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B071013.apex.</ITEM>
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<IDG S="marc" R="OX" ID="A82202">
<STC T="W">D727</STC>
<STC T="T">669.f.12[69]</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99869687</BIBNO>
<VID>162862</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB REF="1" MS="y"><!-- PDF PAGE 9 -->
<HEAD>A DECLARATION Of the Officers and Company of Sea-men abord His MAJFSTIES Ships, The <HI>Con&s;tant Reformation,</HI> the <HI>Convertine,</HI> the <HI>Swallow,</HI> the <HI>Antelope,</HI> the <HI>Sa|tisfaction,</HI> the <HI>Hynd,</HI> the <HI>Roe-buck,</HI> the <HI>Cre&s;cent,</HI> the <HI>Pellican,</HI> the <HI>Black|more Lady</HI> lately re&s;cued for His MAJESTIES &s;ervice, with an Invitation to the re&s;t of the Fleet, and their Brethren on Land to joyne with them in their ju&s;t undertakings.</HEAD>
<P>_WE have long expected with great impatience, an happy end of our wa&s;ting divi&s;ions by meanes of a Per&s;onall Treaty, &s;o often pre&s;&s;ed by our Brethren of <HI>Scotland,</HI> and earne&s;tly de&s;ired by the Generality of the Kingdome, as appeareth by the late &s;everall Petitions of the re&s;pective Counties to that purpo&s;e. But we find by &s;ad experience that the <HI>Independent</HI> party, in&s;tead of applying them&s;elves to the &s;ettlement and compo&s;ure of differences, according to their faith publiquely given to the whole Kingdome, (But mo&s;t &s;hamefully violated in their pro|po&s;als of the Army) have &s;eized into their hands, and Garri&s;oned all the &s;trong places of the Kingdome, overrunning, di&s;arming, and plundering the Country, as if it were a Conquered Nation. And all this for no other cau&s;e: But that they in an humble way had manife&s;ted their de&s;ires of Peace, and to have an end of tho&s;e heavy pre&s;&s;ures; which lay upon them, by the arbitrary power of Committees, and the unju&s;t continuation of the Acci&s;e and Land-taxes, after the utter defeat of the Kings party; from who&s;e fines and Compo&s;itions they drew money enough to have &s;atisfied mo&s;t part of the debtes of the Kingdome. And &s;eeing likewi&s;e that the Power and affaires of the Navy, were put into &s;uch hands, as were not onely enemies to the King and Kingdome, but even to Monarchy it &s;elfe, that the &s;tile of Commi&s;&s;ions at Sea were lately altered, leaving out the Kings name, and mentioning onely the Parliament and Army, which we under&s;tood to be a di&s;inheri&s;on of His Maje&s;ty and His Children, that we had no &s;etled forme of Divine wor&s;hip, no Communions, little or no Preaching on board but by illitterate and mechanique per&s;ons, that there was a de&s;igne of introducing Land Souldiers into every Ship to ma&s;ter and over-awe the Sea men, things &s;o contrary to the ancient Cu&s;tomes and orders of the Sea, that we thought our &s;elves bound in Con&s;cience to doe &s;omething for the recovery of our owne right &amp; re-&s;tabli&s;hment of Re|ligion according to the word of God, and the Covenant &s;olemnly taken, the Honor, pre&s;ervation, and freedome of His Maje&s;ty, the Priviledge of Parliament, and the Liberty of the Subject, and not be made any longer the unhappy In|&s;trument of the mi&s;ery of King and Kingdome, at which time God put it into our mindes, and incouraged our hearts, and &s;trengthened our hands, to remove Collonel <HI>Rainsburrow</HI> from the command of the Fleet, a man of mo&s;t de&s;tructive Principles both in Religion and Policy, and a knowne enemy to the Peace and Antient Government of this Kingdom, which we have &s;worne to uphold and maintaine with our lives and fortunes, de&s;iring all hone&s;t Sea-men not to be deluded any longer with words, but one and all, to joyne with us, and to put too their hands to &s;o hone&s;t a worke, the glory whereof (next under God) will be imputed to them, and the reward no que&s;tion will be proportionable, both in this world, and the world to come, we have been long pre&s;&s;ed in the Kings Name though again&s;t His will and Inte|re&s;t, let us now do Him &s;ome reall &s;ervice in this time of His great affliction, which God hath wonderfully enabled Him to bear, and will doubtle&s;&s;e in his good time re&s;tore Him to us, and us to our known Laws and Liberties, looke upon the Prince of <HI>Wales</HI> heir apparent of the three Crownes, and <HI>Generali&s;simo</HI> under His Royall Father of all Forces by Sea and Land. Looke upon the Duke of <HI>Yorke</HI> Lord high Admirall of <HI>England,</HI> Princes of &s;o much hope and forwardne&s;&s;e, that the world not the like, extracting from the highe&s;t blood in Chri&s;tendome, allied to, and befriended by all forraigne Potentates, invited by the <HI>Scotti&s;h Nation,</HI> and by the be&s;t part of ours to the recovering of their owne, who have had no hand in the mi&s;eries of this Kingdome, and con&s;ider with your &s;elves by what Law of God or man they can be thru&s;t out of their ju&s;t Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions into exile there to live as it were upon the almes of &s;trangers; Come in and joyne with us, and you &s;hall want nothing, we have good Ships, good hearts, good hands, and which is worth all, God, and the Law on our &s;ide. And the Almighty &s;earcher of all hearts &s;o pro&s;per us in our undertakings as we intend the advancement of his glory in the &s;ettlement of the true Prote&s;tant Religion, according to his holy word, the Honour freedome and ju&s;t rights of His Maje&s;ty, the confirmation of the Priviledges of Parliament, and the Li|berty of the Subject by an equall and well grounded Peace.</P>
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<DIV1 TYPE="colophon">
<P>Printed at <HI>Holland,</HI> and re-printed at <HI>London,</HI> 1648.</P>
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