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<DATE>2008-04-16</DATE>
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<NAME>Elspeth Healey</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
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<P>THE ORDINANCE AND DECLARATION of the <HI>Lords</HI> and <HI>Commons,</HI> for the A&s;&s;e&s;&s;ing all &s;uch who have not con|tributed &s;ufficiently for rai&s;ing of <HI>Money, Plate, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>WITH <HI>HIS MAIESTIES</HI> DECLARATION TO ALL His loving Subjects upon <HI>occa&s;ion thereof.</HI></P>
<P>Charles R.</P>
<P>OUr expre&s;&s;e plea&s;ure is, That this Our De|claration be publi&s;hed in all Churches and Chappels within Our Kingdom of <HI>England</HI> and Dominion of <HI>Wales,</HI> by the Par&s;ons, Vicars or Cu|rates of the &s;ame.</P>
<P>SHREWSBURY, Printed by ROBERT BARKER, Printer to the Kings mo&s;t Excellent Maje&s;tie: And by the A&s;&s;ignes of JOHN BILL. 1642.</P>
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<DIV1 TYPE="text">
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<HEAD>An Ordinance and Declaration of the <HI>Lords and Commons in Parliament.</HI></HEAD>
<P>_WHereas the King, &s;educed by wicked Coun&s;ell, hath rai&s;ed an Army, and levied War again&s;t the Parliament, and great number of Forces are daily rai&s;ed under the commands of Pa|pi&s;ts and other ill affected per&s;ons, by Com|mi&s;&s;ions from His Maje&s;tie; And whereas divers Delinquents are protected from pub|like Ju&s;tice by His Maje&s;ties Army, and &s;undry outrages and rapines are daily committed by the Souldiers of the &s;aid Army, who have no re&s;pect to the Laws of God or the Land, but burn and plunder the Hou&s;es, &amp; &s;eize and de&s;troy the per&s;ons and goods of dive<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">s His Maje&s;ties good Subjects; And where|as for the maintenance of the &s;aid Army divers A&s;&s;e&s;&s;ements are made upon &s;everall Counties, and His Maje&s;ties Subjects are compelled by the Souldiers to pay the &s;ame; which &s;aid Army if it &s;hould continue, would &s;oon ruine and wa&s;te the whole Kingdom, and overthrow Religion, Law, and Liberty, For &s;uppre&s;&s;ing of which &s;aid Army and ill-affected per&s;ons, there is no probable way under God, but by the Army rai&s;ed by Authority of the Parliament; which &s;aid Army &s;o rai&s;ed, can|not be maintained without great &s;ummes of Money, yet for rai&s;ing &s;uch &s;ummes, by rea&s;on of His Maje&s;ties withdrawing him&s;elf from the advice of the Parliament, there can be no Act of Parliament pa&s;&s;ed with His Maje&s;ties a&s;&s;ent, albeit there is great ju&s;tice that the &s;aid Moneys &s;hould be rai&s;ed. The Lords and Commons in Parliament, having taken the &s;ame into their
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&s;erious con&s;ideration, and knowing that the &s;aid Army &s;o rai&s;ed by them, hath been hitherto for the mo&s;t part maintained by the voluntary contribution of divers well-affected per&s;ons, who have freely contributed according to their abilities.</P>
<P>But con&s;idering there are divers others within the Cities of <HI>London</HI> and <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter,</HI> and the Suburbs of the &s;ame, and al&s;o within the Borough of <HI>Southwark,</HI> that have not contributed at all towards the maintenance of the &s;aid Army, or if they have, yet not an&s;werable to their E&s;tates, who notwith&s;tanding re|ceive benefit and protection by the &s;ame Army, as well as any others, and therefore it's mo&s;t ju&s;t, that they &s;hould as well as others be charged to contribute to the maintenance thereof.</P>
<P>Be it therefore Ordained by the Lords and Commons in Parliament a&s;&s;embled, &amp; by Authority thereof, That <HI>I&s;aac Pen|nington</HI> Lord Major of the City of <HI>London,</HI> Sir <HI>Iohn Wolla&s;ton</HI> Knight and Aderman, Alderman <HI>Towes,</HI> Alderman <HI>Warner,</HI> Alderman <HI>Andrewes,</HI> Alderman <HI>Chambers,</HI> Alderman <HI>Fowkes,</HI> Sir <HI>Thomas Seham</HI> Knight and Alderman, <HI>Samuel Va&s;&s;ell, Iohn Ven, Morries Thomp&s;on,</HI> &amp; <HI>Richard Warrin,</HI> Citizens, or any four of them, &s;hall hereby have power and Authority to nominate, and appoint in every Ward within the City of <HI>London,</HI> &s;ix &s;uch Per&s;ons as they, or any four of them, &s;hall think fit, which &s;aid &s;ix &s;o nominated, or any four of them, &s;hall hereby have power to enquire of any that &s;hall remain, or be within the &s;aid &s;everall Wards that have not contributed upon the Propo&s;iti|ons of both Hou&s;es of Parliament, concerning the rai&s;ing of Money, Plate, Hor&s;e, Hor&s;emen, and Arms, for defence of the King and both Hou&s;es of Parliament, &amp; al&s;o of &s;uch as are able men, that have contributed, yet not according to their E&s;tates and Abilities. And the &s;aid &s;ix per&s;ons &s;o nominated, or any four of them within their &s;everall and re&s;pective wards and limits, &s;hall have power to a&s;&s;e&s;&s;e &s;uch per&s;on or per&s;ons as are of ability and have not contributed, and al&s;o &s;uch as have con|tributed, yet not according to their ability, to pay &s;uch &s;um or
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&s;ums of Money according to their E&s;tates, as the &s;aid A&s;&s;e&s;&s;ors or any four of them &s;hal think fit and rea&s;onable, &s;o as the &s;ame exceed not the twentieth part of their E&s;tates, and to nominate and appoint fit per&s;ons for the collection thereof. And if any per&s;on &s;o a&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed &s;hall refu&s;e to pay the Money a&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed upon him, it &s;hall be lawfull to and for the &s;aid A&s;&s;e&s;&s;ors and Col|lectors or any of them, to levy the &s;aid &s;umme &s;o a&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed by way of di&s;tre&s;&s;e and &s;ale of the goods of the per&s;on &s;o a&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed, and refu&s;ing: And if any per&s;on &s;o di&s;trained &s;hall make re|&s;i&s;tance, it &s;hall be lawfull to and for the re&s;pective A&s;&s;e&s;&s;ors and Collectors or any of them, to call to their a&s;&s;i&s;tance any the Trained bands of the &s;aid City of <HI>London,</HI> or any other His Maje&s;ties Subjects, who are hereby required to be ayding and a&s;&s;i&s;ting to the &s;aid A&s;&s;e&s;&s;ors and Collectors in the premi&s;&s;es. And it is hereby further ordained, That the re&s;pective Burge&s;&s;es of <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter</HI> and <HI>Southwark</HI>; together with the &s;everall Com|mittees appointed for the &s;ub&s;criptions of Money, Plate, Hor&s;e, Hor&s;emen and Arms within the &s;aid City and Borough, &s;hall re&s;pectively have power hereby to nominate Se&s;&s;ors for the &s;ame City and Borough, in &s;uch manner as the Lord Major, &amp;c. hath for the City of <HI>London,</HI> and the &s;aid A&s;&s;e&s;&s;ors, or any four of them, to name Collectors as afore&s;aid; which &s;aid A&s;&s;e&s;&s;ors and Collectors &s;hall have the &s;ame power re&s;pective|ly within their re&s;pective limits, as tho&s;e to be nominated within the &s;aid City of <HI>London</HI> have hereby limited to them. And for the Suburbs of <HI>London</HI> and <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter,</HI> the re&s;pective Knights of the Shires where the &s;aid Suburbs are &s;hall have hereby the like power to name A&s;&s;e&s;&s;ors, and they &s;o named, or any four of them, and the Collectors by them to be nomi|nated, or any of them within their re&s;pective limits, &s;hall have the like power re&s;pectively as the A&s;&s;e&s;&s;ors and Collectors for <HI>London</HI> have by vertue of this Ordinance. And be it ordained that the &s;ummes &s;o a&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed and levied as afore&s;aid &s;hall be paid in at Guild Hall <HI>London,</HI> to the hands of Sir <HI>Iohn Wolla&s;tone,</HI>
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Knight, <HI>Iohn Warner, Iohn Towes,</HI> and <HI>Thomas Andrewes</HI> Alder|men, or any two of them: And the A&s;&s;e&s;&s;ors and Collectors to be nominated by vertue hereof &s;hall weekly report to the Committee of the Hou&s;e of Commons, for the propo&s;itions afore&s;aid, what &s;ummes of money have been a&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed, and what &s;ummes have been levied weekly according to the pur|port hereof, and the &s;aid Moneys &s;o levied and paid in &s;halt be i&s;&s;ued forth in &s;uch &s;ort as the other Moneys rai&s;ed upon the propo&s;itions afore&s;aid, and not otherwi&s;e.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<OPENER><DATELINE><DATE>Die Martis, 29. Novemb. 1642</DATE>.</DATELINE></OPENER>
<P>WHereas a late Ordinance is pa&s;&s;ed by both Hou&s;es of Parliament, for the Rea&s;ons therein declared, for the A&s;&s;e&s;&s;ing of all &s;uch per&s;ons within the Cities of <HI>London</HI> and <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter</HI> and the Suburbs thereof, with the Borough of <HI>Southwark,</HI> as have not contributed upon the Propo&s;itions of both Hou&s;es of Parliament for rai&s;ing of Money, Plate, Hor&s;e, Hor&s;emen, and Arms, for defence of the King; Parliament and Kingdom, or have not contributed proportionably to their e&s;tates and abilities. And whereas it is thought fit, that &s;ome additions be made for further explanation and better executi|on of the &s;aid Ordinance. Be it further ordained and declared by the Lords and Commons a&s;&s;embled in Parliament, That &s;uch per&s;ons as &s;hall be a&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed by the re&s;pective A&s;&s;e&s;&s;ors in the &s;aid Ordinance appointed, and &s;hall within &s;ix dayes next after notice given them, or left at their &s;everall hou&s;es with|in the &s;aid Cities, Suburbs, or Borough, pay in the one moi|ty of the &s;aid &s;ums of Money &s;o a&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed, and within twelve dayes after the &s;aid notice given as afore&s;aid, the other moity there of, unto the Trea&s;urers of Money and Plate <HI>Guild Hall London,</HI> or unto the Collectors appointed by the &s;aid Ordi|nance, re&s;pectively to receive the &s;ame, that then the &s;aid Trea&s;urers, or Collectors, &s;hall give Acquittances for the &s;ame,
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as hath been done to &s;uch who have lent Moneys or Plate, up|on the Propo&s;itions of both Hou&s;es as afore&s;aid. And the &s;aid Moneys &s;o paid to the &s;aid Trea&s;urers, or to the &s;aid &s;eve|rall Collectors, &s;hall be repaid upon the Publike Faith, as all other Moneys lent upon the &s;aid Propo&s;itions of both Hou&s;es. And as for tho&s;e who &s;hall &s;o farre di&s;cover their di&s;affection, as not to bring in the &s;everall &s;ums of Money &s;o a&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed upon them to the per&s;ons before appointed, within the times limit|ed, that then their goods &s;hall be di&s;trained and &s;old accord|ing to the &s;aid Ordinance. And if no &s;ufficient Di&s;tre&s;&s;e be found, that then the &s;aid Collectors &s;hall re&s;pectively have power to enquire of any &s;um or &s;ums of Money due, or to be due unto them re&s;pectively &s;o a&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed from any per&s;on or per&s;ons for any Rents, Tithes, Goods, or Debts, or for any other thing or cau&s;e what&s;oever. And the &s;aid re&s;pective Collectors &s;hall have power by vertue of this Ordinance, to receive all, or any part of the &s;aid &s;ums due, or to be due unto them or any of them &s;o a&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed, untill the full value of the &s;um or &s;ums &s;o a&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed, and the charges in levying and recovering of the &s;ame &s;hall be received and &s;ati&s;fied. And the &s;aid re|&s;pective Collectors &s;hall have further power to compound for any of the &s;aid Rents, Tithes, Goods, or Debts due unto the &s;aid per&s;on &s;o a&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed re&s;pectively as afore&s;aid, with any per|&s;on or per&s;ons by whom the &s;aid Rents, Tithes, Goods, or Debts, are, or &s;hall be owing, as al&s;o to give full and ample di&s;|charge for the Money by them &s;o received, upon compo&s;ition or otherwi&s;e, which di&s;charges &s;hall be good and effectuall to all intents and purpo&s;es. And if the &s;umme or &s;ummes of Money &s;o a&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed cannot be levied by any of the&s;e meanes or wayes, then the per&s;ons &s;o re&s;pectively a&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed, &s;hall be im|pri&s;oned in &s;uch places of this Kingdom, and for &s;o long time as the Committee of the Hou&s;e of Commons for Examinati|ons, &s;hall appoint and order: And the families of all &s;uch per|&s;ons &s;o impri&s;oned, &s;hall no longer remain within the Cities of
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<HI>London</HI> and <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter</HI> the Suburbs &amp; the Counties adjacent.</P>
<P>And be it further Ordained, that all and every the A&s;&s;e&s;&s;ors and Collectors of the &s;aid &s;everall &s;ummes, &s;hall have the pro|tection of both Hou&s;es of Parliament for their indemnity indemnity in this &s;ervice, and receive &s;uch rea&s;onable allowances for their pains taken, and charges disbur&s;ed; or to be disbur&s;ed therein, as the Committee of Lords and Commons for advance of Money and other nece&s;&s;aries for the Army rai&s;ed by the Parli|ament, &s;hall apportion and appoint.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="ordinance">
<HEAD>An Ordinance of both Hou&s;es of Parliament, for the better Provi&s;ion of Victuals, and other Nece&s;&s;aries for the <HI>Army,</HI> and for payment and &s;atisfaction to be made for &s;uch Provi&s;ions.</HEAD>
<OPENER><DATELINE>Die Martis, <DATE>29. Novemb. 1642</DATE>.</DATELINE></OPENER>
<P>It is Ordered by the Lords and Commons in Parliament, That Committees &s;hall be named in all Counties, to take care for provi&s;ions of Victuals for the Army rai&s;ed by the Par|liament, as likewi&s;e for the taking up of Hor&s;es for &s;ervice in the Field, Dragoneers, and Draught-Hor&s;es; as likewi&s;e for borrowing of Money or Plate to &s;upply the Army. Which Committees, or any two or more of them, &s;hall have power and authority to value all kinde of Provi&s;ions both for Men and Hor&s;e, all kinde of Hor&s;e for Service or otherwi&s;e, which &s;hall be voluntarily offered to be lent upon the Publike Faith, or likewi&s;e to receive any Money or Plate to be lent as before; and that upon Certificate of any two of &s;uch Committees, the &s;ame provi&s;ions of Hor&s;es, Money, and Plate, and the value thereof &s;hall be entred by the Trea&s;urer of the Propo&s;itions, and &s;hall be repayed to the party from whom the &s;ame was re|ceived, with like Con&s;ideration as other Money lent.</P>
<P>And in ca&s;e the owners of &s;uch provi&s;ions, Money, Plate, and Hor&s;es, &s;hall refu&s;e or neglect to bring in the &s;ame upon
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Publike Faith, for the u&s;e of the Army, for the better prevent|ing the &s;poyle and embezeling of &s;uch provi&s;ions of Money, Plate, and Hor&s;es, by the di&s;order of the Souldiers, and that they may not come into the hands of the Enemies, It is further ordered, That the Committees afore mentioned, or any two of them, be hereby authorized and enabled to &s;end for &s;uch Provi&s;ions, Money, Plate, and Hor&s;es, and take the &s;ame into their cu&s;tody, and to &s;et an indifferent value and rate upon them; which value they &s;hall certifie to the Trea&s;urers for the Propo&s;itions, to be repaid at &s;uch time, and in &s;uch manner, as &s;hall be Ordered by both Hou&s;es of Parliament. It is like|wi&s;e Ordered, That the &s;aid Committees of the &s;everall and re&s;pective Counties &s;hall meet and con&s;ult with the Commit|tees of the adjacent and neighbour Counties, unto the place or places where the &s;aid Army, or any part thereof, &s;hall pa&s;&s;e and remain, concerning the receiving, procuring, valuing, and di&s;po&s;ing of &s;uch provi&s;ions, Hor&s;es, Money, and Plate. And if they cannot conveniently meet, that then it &s;hall be lawfull for any two, or more of the Committee, to execute the &s;eve|rall Services above mentioned in the adjoyning Counties, as well as in the County wherein he is named a Committee; and that &s;uch certificates as they &s;hall make of any Provi&s;ions, Hor&s;es, Money, or Plate, &s;hall be as effectuall for the &s;ecurities of the parties, as if the &s;ame were received and taken within the County for which he or they are named Committees. And the &s;aid Committees, or any two, or more of them, &s;hall cau&s;e the &s;aid provi&s;ions to be delivered to the Commi&s;&s;ary for the Victuals, or to his Deputy, and &s;uch other Officers of the Ar|my, who may be charged with the &s;ame upon their accompt, and &s;hall certifie the Trea&s;urer of the Army, or his Deputy, that &s;o defalcation of the value thereof may be made out of the pay of &s;uch Officers and Souldiers as &s;hall receive the &s;ame.</P>
<P><PB N="8" REF="11">And the &s;aid Committee &s;hall likewi&s;e cau&s;e all &s;uch Money and Plate to be delivered unto the Trea&s;urer of the Army, or his Deputy, who &s;hall take care to convey the Plate unto the Trea&s;urer for the Propo&s;itions, and &s;hall be charged with all &s;uch Money upon his ac|compt, as with other Money received from them.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="declaration">
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<HEAD>His MAIESTIES DECLARATION TO ALL HIS LOVING SUBJECTS, upon occa&s;ion of the afore&s;aid <HI>Ordinance</HI> and <HI>Declaration.</HI></HEAD>
<P>_It would not be beleeved (at lea&s;t great pains have been taken that it might not) that the pretended Ordinance of the <HI>Mi|litia</HI> (the fir&s;t attempt that ever was to make a Law by Ordinance without Our con&s;ent) or the keeping Vs out of <HI>Hull,</HI> and taking Our Arms and Muni|tion from Vs, could any way concern the Intere&s;t, Pro|perty, or Liberty of the Subject, and it was confe&s;&s;ed by that de&s;perate Declaration it &s;elf of the <HI>26,</HI> of <HI>May,</HI> that if they were found guilty of that charge of de&s;troying the title and intere&s;t of Our Subjects to their Lands and Goods, it were indeed a very great Crime. But it was a &s;trange fatall Lethargy which had &s;eized Our good People, and kept them from di&s;cerning, that the Nobi|lity, Gentry, Commonalty of <HI>England,</HI> were not onely &s;tripped of their Preeminences and Priviledges, but of their Liberties and E&s;tates, when Our ju&s;t Rights were denyed Vs; and that no Subject could from thence|forth expect to dwell at home, when We were driven from Our Hou&s;es and Our Towns. It was not po&s;&s;ible, that a Commi&s;&s;ion could be granted to the Earle of <HI>E&s;&s;ex,</HI> to rai&s;e an Army again&s;t Vs, and for the &s;afety of Our
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Per&s;on, and pre&s;ervation of the Peace of the Kingdom, to pur&s;ue, kill &amp; &s;tay Vs and all who wi&s;h well to Vs, but that in a &s;hort time inferior Commanders, by the &s;ame Authority, would require Our good Subjects for the maintenance of the Property of the Subject, to &s;upply them with &s;uch &s;ummes of Money as they think fit, up|on the penalty of being Plundred withall extremity of War (as the &s;tile of Sir <HI>Edward Baytons</HI> Warrant runs again&s;t Our poore Subjects in <HI>Wilt&s;hire</HI>) and by &s;uch Rules of unlimited Arbitrary Power, as are incon|&s;i&s;tent with the lea&s;t pretence or &s;hadow of that Property it would &s;eem to defend.</P>
<P>If there could be yet any under&s;tanding &s;o unskilfull and Supine to beleeve, That the&s;e Di&s;turbers of the publike peace do intend any thing but a generall confu&s;i|on, they have brought them a &s;ad Argument to their own doores to convince them; after this Ordinance and Declaration, 'tis not in any &s;ober mans power to be|leeve him&s;elf worth any thing, or that there is &s;uch a thing as Law, Liberty, Property left in <HI>England,</HI> under the Iurisdiction of the&s;e men, and the &s;ame power that robbs them now of the Twentieth part of their E&s;tates, hath by that but made a claime and entitled it &s;elf to the other Ninteen, when it &s;hall be thought fit to ha&s;ten the generall ruine. Sure, if the minds of all men be not &s;tubbornly prepared for Servitude, they will looke on this Ordinance as the greate&s;t Prodigie of Arbitrary Power and Tyranny that any Age hath brought forth in any Kingdom; other Grievances (and the greate&s;t) have been conceived intolerable, rather by the Logique and Con&s;equence, then by the Pre&s;&s;ure it &s;elf, this at once &s;weeps away all that the Wi&s;dom and Iu&s;tice of Parliaments have provided for them. Is their Pro|perty in their E&s;tates (&s;o carefully looked to by their An|ce&s;tors,
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and &s;o amply e&s;tabli&s;hed by Vs again&s;t any po&s;&s;i|bility of Inva&s;ion from the Crown) which makes the meane&s;t Subject as much a Lord of his own as the greate&s;t Peer, to be valued or con&s;idered? here is a Twentieth part of every mans Estate (or &s;o much more as four men will plea&s;e to call the Twentieth part) taken away at once, and yet a Power left to take a Twentieth &s;till of that which remains, and this to be levied by &s;uch circum&s;tances of &s;everity, as no Act of Parliament ever con&s;ented to. Is their liberty which di&s;tingui&s;hes Sub|jects from Slaves, and in which this free-born Nation hath the Advantage of all Chri&s;tendom, dear to them? they &s;hall not onely be impri&s;oned in &s;uch places of this Kingdom, (a latitude of Iudgement no Court can chal|lenge to it &s;elf in any Ca&s;es) but for &s;o long time as the Committee of the hou&s;e of Commons for examination &s;hall appoint and order; the Hou&s;e of Commons it &s;elf having never a&s;&s;umed, or in the lea&s;t degree pretended to a power of Iudicature, having no more Authority to ad|mini&s;ter an Oath (the onely way to di&s;cover and finde out the truth of facts) to, then to cut off the heads of any of Our Subjects; and this Committee being &s;o far from being a part of the Parliament, that it is de&s;tructive to the whole, by u&s;urping to it &s;elf all the power of King, Lords, &amp; Commons. All who know any thing of Parlia|ments, know, That a Committee of either Hou&s;e ought not by the Law to publi&s;h their own Re&s;ults, neither are their conclu&s;ions of any force without the Confirma|tion of the Hou&s;e, which hath the &s;ame power of con|trolling them as if the matter had never been debated; but that any Committee &s;hould be &s;o contracted (as this of Examination, a &s;tile no Committee ever bore before this Parliament) as to exclude the Members of the Hou&s;e, who are equally tru&s;ted by their Countrey, from
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being pre&s;ent at the Coun&s;ells, is &s;o mon&s;trous to the Priviledges of Parliament, that it is no more in the power of any man to give up that freedom, then of him|&s;elf to order, That from that time the place for which he &s;erves, &s;hall never more &s;end a Knight or Burge&s;&s;e to the Parliament; and in truth is no le&s;&s;e then to alter the whole frame of Government, to pull up Parliaments by the Roots, and to commit the Lives, Liberties, and E&s;tates of all the People of <HI>England</HI> to the Arbitrary power of a few unqualified Per&s;ons, who &s;hall di&s;po&s;e thereof according to their di&s;cretion, without account to any Rule or Authority what&s;oever.</P>
<P>Are their Friends, their Wives, and Children (the greate&s;t ble&s;&s;ings of Peace and the comforts of Life) pre|cious to them? would even their penury and impri&s;on|ment be le&s;&s;e grievous by tho&s;e cordialls? they &s;hall be devorced from them, bani&s;hed, and &s;hall no longer re|main within the Cities of <HI>London</HI> and <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter,</HI> the Suburbs and the Counties adjacent; and how far tho&s;e adjacent Counties &s;hall extend no man knows.</P>
<P>Is there any thing now left to enjoy, but Liberty to Rebell, and de&s;troy one another? are the outward ble&s;&s;ings onely of Peace, Property, and Liberty taken, and forced from Our Subjects? are their Con&s;ciences free and una&s;&s;aulted by the violence of the&s;e fire-brands? &s;ure the Liberty and freedom of Con&s;cience cannot &s;uf|fer by the&s;e men: Ala&s;&s;e! all the&s;e puni&s;hments are im|po&s;ed upon them, becau&s;e they will not &s;ubmit to Actions contrary to their naturall Loyalty, to their Oathes of Allegiance and Supremacy, and to their late volunta|ry Prote&s;tation, which obliges them to the care of Our Per&s;on and Our ju&s;t Rights. Now many Per&s;ons of Honour, Quality, and Reputation of the &s;everall Coun|ties of <HI>England,</HI> are now Impri&s;oned, without any ob|jection
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again&s;t them, but &s;u&s;picion of their Loyalty? how many of the grave&s;t and mo&s;t &s;ub&s;tantiall Citizens of <HI>London,</HI> by whom the Government and Di&s;cipline of that City was pre&s;erved, are di&s;graced, robbed, and im|pri&s;oned, without any Proce&s;&s;e of Law, or colour of ac|cu&s;ation, but of obedience to the Law and Government of the Kingdom? while&s;t Anabapti&s;ts and Browni&s;ts, with the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of vicious and debo&s;hed Per&s;ons, of de&s;perate Fortunes, take upon them to break up and rifle hou&s;es, as publike and avowed Mini&s;ters of a new in|vented Authority: How many godly, pious, and pain|full Divines, who&s;e Lives and Learning hath made them of reverend, E&s;timation, are now &s;tandered with inclination to Popery, di&s;countenanced, and impri&s;oned, for di&s;charging their Con&s;ciences in in&s;tructing the People in the Chri&s;tian duty of Religion and Obedi|ence, while&s;t Shi&s;maticall, Illiterate, and Scandalous Preachers till the Pulpits and Churches with Bla&s;|phemy. Irreverence, and Trea&s;on, and incite their Au|ditory to nothing but Murther and Rebellion. We pa&s;&s;e over the vulgar charm, by which they have captivated &s;uch who have been contented to di&s;pence with their Con&s;ciences for the pre&s;ervation of their E&s;tates, and by which they per&s;wade men cheerfully to part with this twentieth part of their E&s;tate to the good work in hand, for whoever will give what he hath, may &s;cape robbing; <HI>They &s;hall be repaid upon the Publike Faith, as all other Mo|neys lent upon the Propo&s;itions of both Hou&s;es</HI>; It may be &s;o, but men mu&s;t be condemned to a &s;trange unthrifti|ne&s;&s;e who will lend upon &s;uch Security. The Publike Faith indeed is as great an earne&s;t as the State can give, and engages the Honour, Reputation and Hone&s;ty of the Nation, and is the Act of the Kingdom, 'tis the Se|curity of the King, the Lords and Commons, which can
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never need an Executor, can never dye, never be Bank|rupt, and therefore We willingly con&s;ented to it for the Indemnity of Our good Subjects of <HI>Scotland,</HI> (who We hope will not thinke the worse of it for being &s;o often &amp; &s;o cheaply mentioned &s;ince.) But that a Vote of one or both Hou&s;es &s;hould be an engagement upon the Publike Faith, is as impo&s;&s;ible, as that the Committee of the House of Commons for Examinations, &s;hould be the High Court of Parliament.</P>
<P>And what is or can be &s;aid with the lea&s;t &s;hadow of reason to ju&s;tifie the&s;e Extravagances? We have not lately heard of the old fundamentall Laws which u&s;ed to warrant the Innovations, this needs a Refuge even be|low tho&s;e foundations: They will &s;ay they cannot man|nage their great undertakings without &s;uch extraordi|nary wayes; We think &s;o too, but that proves onely they have undertaken &s;omewhat they ought not to under|take, not that it is lawfull for them to do any thing that is convenient for those ends: We remembred them long agoe, and We cannot do it too often, of that excellent Speech of <HI>M. Pyms: The law is that which puts a difference betwixt good and evill, betwixt ju&s;t and unju&s;t if you take a|way the Law, all things will fall into a confu&s;ion, every man will become a Law unto him&s;elf, which in the depraved con|dition of humane nature, mu&s;t needs produce many great enor|mities, Lu&s;t will become a Law, and Envy will become a Law, Covetou&s;ne&s;&s;e and Ambition will become Laws, and what Dictates, what Deci&s;ions &s;uch Laws will produce may ea&s;i1y be di&s;cerned.</HI> It may indeed by the &s;ad In&s;tances over the whole Kingdom: But will Po&s;terity beleeve, that in the &s;ame Parliament this Doctrine was avowed with that Acclamation, and the&s;e In&s;tances after produced; That in the &s;ame Parliament &s;uch care was taken that no man &s;hould be committed in what ca&s;e &s;oever, with|out
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the cau&s;e of his Impri&s;onment expre&s;&s;ed, and that all men &s;hould be inmediately bayled in all Ca&s;es bayle|able, and during the &s;ame Parliament that Alderman <HI>Pennington,</HI> or indeed any body el&s;e, but the &s;worn Mi|ni&s;ters of Iu&s;tice, &s;hould impri&s;on whom they would, and for what they would, and for as long time as they would; That the King &s;hould be reproached with breach of Pri|viledge for accu&s;ing Sir <HI>Iohn Hotham</HI> of High Trea&s;on, when with force of Arms he kept Him out of <HI>Hull,</HI> and de&s;pi&s;ed Him to His face, because in no ca&s;e a Member of either Hou&s;e might be committed or accu&s;ed without leave of that Hou&s;e of which he is a Member, and yet that during the &s;ame Parliament, the &s;ame Alderman &s;hould commit the <HI>Earle</HI> of <HI>Middle&s;ex</HI> (a Peer of the Realm) &amp; the Lord <HI>Buckhur&s;t</HI> (a Member of the Hou&s;e of Commons) to the <HI>Counter,</HI> without reprehen&s;ion; That to be a Traitor (which is defined and every man un|der&s;tands) &s;hould be no crime, and to be called Malig|nant (which no body knows the meaning of) &s;hould be ground enough for clo&s;e Impri&s;onment; That a Law &s;hould be made, That who&s;oever &s;hould pre&s;ume to take Tunnage &amp; Poundage without an Act of Parliament, &s;hould incur the penalty of a Premunire, &amp; the &s;ame Par|liament, that the &s;ame impo&s;ition &s;hould be laid upon our Subjects, &amp; taken by an Order of both hou&s;es, without &amp; again&s;t Our con&s;ent. Lastly, that the &s;ame Parliament, a Law &s;hould be made to declare the proceedings &amp; judge|ment upon Ship-money to be illegall and void, and du|ring that Parliament, that an Order of both Hou&s;es &s;hall, upon pretence of nece&s;&s;ity, inable four men to take away the twentieth part of their E&s;tates from all their Neighbours, according to their di&s;cretion.</P>
<P>But Our good Subjects will no longer looke upon
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the&s;e and the like Re&s;ults, as upon the Coun&s;ells and conclu&s;ions of both Our Hou&s;es of Parliament; (though all the world knows even that Authority can never ju&s;ti|fie things unwarrantable by the Law) they well know how few of the Per&s;ons tru&s;ted by them are pre&s;ent at their Con&s;ultations, of above <HI>500</HI> not <HI>80.</HI> and of the Hou&s;e of Peers, not a fifth part, That they who are pre|&s;ent enjoy not the Priviledge and Freedom of Parlia|ment, but are be&s;ieged by an Army, and awed by the &s;ame Tumults which drave Vs and their fellow Mem|bers from thence, to con&s;ent to what &s;ome few Sediti|ous, Schi&s;maticall Per&s;ons amongst them do propo&s;e; These are the men, who joyning with the Anabapti&s;ts &amp; Browni&s;ts of <HI>London,</HI> fir&s;t changed the Government and Di&s;cipline of that City, and now by the pride and power of that City would undoe the Kingdom, whil&s;t their Lord Major (a Per&s;on accu&s;ed and known to be guilty of high Trea&s;on) by a new Legi&s;lative Power of his own, &s;uppre&s;&s;es and reviles the Book of Common-Prayer; robbs and impri&s;ons whom he thinks fit, and with the rabble of his Faction gives Laws to both Hou&s;es of Parliament, &amp; tells them, They will have no Accommo|dation while&s;t the Members &s;ent and entru&s;ted by their Countreys are expelled the House, or committed for re|fu&s;ing to take the Oath of A&s;&s;ociation, to live and dye with the <HI>Earle</HI> of <HI>E&s;&s;ex,</HI> as very lately Sir <HI>Sidney Mount|ague.</HI> The&s;e are the men who have pre&s;umed to &s;end Em|ba&s;&s;adors, and to enter into Treaties with Forraign States in their own behalfs, having at this time an Agent of their own with the States of <HI>Holland,</HI> to nego|ciate for them upon private In&s;tructions. The&s;e are the men, who not thinking they have yet brought mi&s;chief
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enough upon this Kingdom, at this time invite and &s;ol|licite Our Subjects of <HI>Scotland</HI> to enter this Land with an Army again&s;t Vs. In a word, the&s;e are the men who have made this la&s;t devouring Ordinance to take away all Law, Liberty, and Property from Our People, and have by it really acted that upon Our People, which with infinite malice, and no colour or ground, was la|boured to be infu&s;ed into them to have been Our Inten|tion by the Commi&s;&s;ions of <HI>Array.</HI></P>
<P>We have done; What Power and Authority the&s;e men have, or will have, We know not; for Our Self We chal|lenge none &s;uch. We looke upon the Pre&s;&s;ures and In|conveniences Our good Subjects bear, even by Vs and Our Army, (which the Army fir&s;t rai&s;ed by them enfor|ced Vs to levy in Our defence, and their refu&s;all of all offers and de&s;ires of Treaty enforceth Vs to keep) with very much &s;adne&s;&s;e of heart. We are &s;o farre from requi|ring a Twentieth part of their E&s;tates (though for their own vi&s;ible pre&s;ervation) that as We have already &s;old or pawned Our own Iewells, and coyned Our own Plate, &s;o We are willing to &s;ell all Our own Land, and Hou&s;es for their relief. Yet We do not doubt but Our good Subjects will &s;eriou&s;ly con&s;ider Our Condition and their own Duties, and think Our readine&s;&s;e to pro|tect them with the utmo&s;t hazard of Our Life, de&s;erves their readine&s;&s;e to a&s;&s;i&s;t Vs with &s;ome part of their For|tunes; and while&s;t other men give a Twentieth part of their E&s;tates, to enables them to forfeit the other Nine|teen, that they will extend them&s;elves to Vs in a libe|rall and free proportion for the pre&s;ervation of the re&s;t, and for the maintenance of Gods true Religion, the laws of the Land, the Liberty of the Subject, and the
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&s;afety and very being of Parliaments, and this King|dom: for if all the&s;e ever were, or can be in manife&s;t dan|ger, tis now in this pre&s;ent Rebellion again&s;t Vs.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, We will and require all Our loving Subjects of what degree or quality &s;oever, as they will an&s;wer it to God, to Vs and to Po&s;terity, by their Oathes of Alle|giance and Supremacy, as they would not be looked up|on now, and remembred hereafter as Betrayers of the Laws and Liberty they were born to, that they in no de|gree &s;ubmit to this wilde pretended Ordinance, and that they pre&s;ume not give any encouragement or a&s;&s;i|&s;tance to the Army now in Rebellion again&s;t Vs: which if notwith&s;tanding they &s;hall do, they mu&s;t expect from Vs the &s;evere&s;t puni&s;hment the Law can inflict, and a perpetuall In|famy with all good men.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
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</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
