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<ETS>
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<DATE>2007-11-06</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Mona Logarbo</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B071017.apex.</ITEM>
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<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A82238">
<STC T="W">D772</STC>
<STC T="T">669.f.12[85]</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99869717</BIBNO>
<VID>162878</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB REF="1" MS="y"><!-- PDF PAGE 4 -->
<HEAD>THE DECLARATION Of the Tovver Hamblets to the Lord Maior, Aldermen and Common Councell of the City of LONDON</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>My Lord,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>WEE are not <HI>Ignorant</HI> that wee are in a time werein it is far more &s;afe to &s;uffer or fly then to &s;peake of the &s;tate of things as they now &s;tand without offence, and that all wee can &s;peake at this <HI>pre&s;ent</HI> will either be &s;u&s;pected by tho&s;e, who have formerly endevour'd to make our actions <HI>Criminall,</HI> or by that <HI>party,</HI> which &s;o much ayms at their own privat <HI>intere&s;ts,</HI> that you wil imagine each word we &s;peake, a <HI>Bullet-Shot</HI> to bring ruine to the <HI>Common Wealth.</HI> Yet we mu&s;t needs &s;ay it is a matter (to hone&s;t hearts) hard to be very &s;ilent in &s;o great revolutions of affairs, &s;ince <HI>Nature</HI> hath not <HI>created</HI> us like <HI>Crocodiles,</HI> that we have only eyes to weep, &amp; no tongues to &s;peake or complaine, for wee perceive wee loo&s;e all, wee have of <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> in us. If wee all endeavour not your pre|vention of your <HI>Generall di&s;a&s;ters,</HI> which at this in&s;tant not only threa<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="missing" EXTENT="1 letter">en the ruine of this City, but the whole <HI>Kingdome</HI> in <HI>Generall,</HI> for whereas we &s;hould and ought to &s;trengthen our &s;elves by vniting all our power into one body again&s;t our common Enemy and their violence, we find wee have among&s;t us a people perver&s;e to peace, a froward and crooked generation, which act mo&s;t le&s;uitically for rule and authority that they may governe all by an arbitrary power, &s;uch we &s;ay as wee apparently &s;ee &s;eeke the <HI>Kingdomes goods,</HI> not <HI>good,</HI> &s;uch Birds of prey they are, that deceive all other Birds, &s;hould a&s;&s;emble to pull their plumes off, which they have &s;tolen from others to make great or good their ambi|tion, and &s;uch they are not as that valiant <HI>Turr<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">il,</HI> borne in <HI>France</HI> that after 32 <HI>yeares</HI> &s;ervice for the weale publicke (his own &s;ecretary acknowledgeth) he dyed almo&s;t as poore as he was borne, but tis true he had no other ayme, but the glory of God and the &s;ervice of his Country. But let us looke and ob&s;erve the ob&s;tructors of our peace, and wee &s;hall find them lik <HI>Salamanders</HI> which live in the fire of our mi&s;ery and affliction, &s;uch who have gotten great e&s;tates in the&s;e times of <HI>common calamity</HI> and di&s;traction, &s;uch as <HI>manibus pedibu&s;que obnixe</HI> labour and endevour by all wayes and means to bring to pa&s;&s;e their own de&s;ignes, whil&s;t wee &s;uppo&s;e the ju&s;tice of cau&s;e wil &s;upport us. And &s;uch they are as re&s;olve for the pre&s;ervation thereof, to doe any thing and rather hazard the ruine of all, then &s;uffer them&s;elves hereafter to bee called in <HI>que&s;tion</HI> for unju&s;t gotten goods&punc; Shall we &s;ay, &s;it &s;til and be contented, to do as m<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="missing" EXTENT="1 letter">n in thunder, every on pray the Thunderboult fall not on him or his Hou&s;e, and not regard or looke after our neighbours, we w<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="missing" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;h there be not &s;ome great ones here, who&s;e Dignity ought to put into their mouthes, good and forcible words for the defence of this <HI>City</HI> &amp; <HI>Kingdom,</HI> which do &s;atisfie them&s;elves with hopes to avoid the pre&s;ent blow &amp; expect &s;afety them&s;elves in our com|mon calamities. We therefore declare that we re&s;olve as one man to adventure our lives and fortuns, with the <HI>Comman|ders</HI> &amp; <HI>Common-Councel</HI> of this <HI>City</HI> in the pre&s;ervation of the <HI>Kings Per&s;on,</HI> the <HI>Parliament</HI> and <HI>City</HI> from al <HI>Riots, Mutinies</HI> or <HI>Tumults,</HI> which may ari&s;e from any party during the treaty, and we de&s;ire you will endeavour that by authority every Commander may in his divi&s;ion take the &s;ub&s;cription of &s;uch hands as will engage in that &s;ervice, and in ca&s;e the <HI>King and Parliament</HI> &s;hall not agree, to &s;tand again&s;t none but tho&s;e that &s;tand again&s;t the <HI>fundamentall Lawes, and Con&s;ti|tutions</HI> of this <HI>Land,</HI> and the good and freedome of this <HI>City</HI> according to &s;everall Ordinances of Parliament, and &s;o wee (the <HI>City</HI> and parts <HI>Adjacent)</HI> being joyned in one body according to our former de&s;ires keeping firme the&s;e our re|&s;olves, you, nor wee &s;hall have cau&s;e to feare the face of all our enemies, but both be a terrour to our enemies abroad, and an object of honour to our friends at home. And la&s;tly make tho&s;e our &s;ervants, that now endeavour to be our Ma&s;ters.</P>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
<BACK>
<DIV1 TYPE="colophon">
<P>LONDON Printed <HI>July</HI> 15, 1648.</P>
</DIV1>
</BACK>
</TEXT>
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