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<DATE>2013-05-31</DATE>
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<NAME>Sarah Wingo</NAME>
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<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>THE DECLARATION Of His Excellency The Lord General <HI>FAIRFAX,</HI> AND HIS General Councel OF OFFICERS, Shewing the Grounds of the Armies Advance towards the City OF LONDON.</P>
<P><HI>BY the Appointment of His Excellency the Lord</HI> Fairfax, <HI>Lord General, and His General Councel of Officers, held at</HI> Wind&s;or, <HI>Nov.</HI> 30. 1648.</P>
<P>Signed, JOHN RUSHVVORTH Secr'</P>
<P><HI>London,</HI> Printed by <HI>John Field</HI> for <HI>John Partridge, Novemb.</HI> 1. 1648.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="declaration">
<PB REF="2">
<PB N="3" REF="2" MS="y">
<HEAD>The Declaration of His Excellency the Lord General <HI>Fairfax,</HI> and His Gene|ral Councel of Officers, &s;hewing the Grounds of the Armies advance to|wards the City of <HI>London.</HI></HEAD>
<P>BEing full of &s;ad Apprehen&s;ions concerning the danger and evil of the Treaty with the King, and of any Accommodation with Him, or Re&s;titution of Him thereupon, We did by our late Remon&s;trance, upon the Rea&s;ons and Grounds therein expre&s;&s;ed, make our Applica|tion thereby unto the pre&s;ent Hou&s;e of Commons, that the dangerous evil of that way might be avoided, and the Peace of the Kingdom &s;etled upon more righteous, &s;afe and hopeful Grounds, <HI>viz.</HI> a more equal di&s;pen&s;ing of Ju&s;tice and Mercy in relation to things done or &s;uffered in the late Wars, and the e&s;tabli&s;hing of the future Govern|ment of this Kingdom upon a &s;afe Succe&s;&s;ion and equal Con&s;titution of Parliaments, and that (for the ending of pre&s;ent, and avoiding of future Differences) to be Ratified by an Agreement and Sub&s;cription the people thereunto.</P>
<P>This cour&s;e we took, out of our tender care and earne&s;t de&s;ire, That all ways of Extremity might be avoided, and that tho&s;e matters of highe&s;t concernment to the publique Intere&s;t of this Nation, might be pur&s;ued and provided for (if po&s;&s;ible) by tho&s;e who&s;e proper Work and Tru&s;t in was. And herein we were willing to hope, That the per|&s;ons &s;o tru&s;ted, or the majority of them, might po&s;&s;ibly have been either driven into that de&s;tructive way by forcible Impul&s;ions, or lap&s;ed thereinto through &s;ome Incon&s;ideration, or Mi&s;apprehen&s;ions
<PB N="4" REF="3">and conceived Jealou&s;ies: And therefore we did carefully decline the in&s;i&s;ting upon any thing that might continue or renue any former Jea|lou&s;ies or Animo&s;ities, and kept onely to &s;uch things as were of nece&s;|&s;ity or advantage to the common Cau&s;e, and of common and equal concernment to tho&s;e that have engaged in it: Which things we pre&s;&s;ed in the way of Rea&s;on and Per&s;wa&s;ion onely, that they might be duly and timely con&s;idered. But to our grief we finde, in &s;tead of any Satisfaction or a rea&s;onable An&s;wer thereto, they are wholly rejected, without any con&s;ideration of what ever Rea&s;on or Ju|&s;tice might be in the things &s;et forth or propounded therein; for what le&s;s can be under&s;tood, when the things propounded were main|ly for the avoidance of evils appearing in the Treaty with the King: And yet they put off the con&s;ideration of them, till there &s;hould be no place left for any con&s;ideration at all: Fir&s;t, laying it a&s;ide till Monday la&s;t, by which time the Treaty (as then &s;uppo&s;ed) would have been concluded; but that failing, and two days more being added to the Treaty, the con&s;ideration of our <HI>Remon&s;trance,</HI> on the day appointed, was waved and laid a&s;ide; the Treaty, the mean while, going on in the former way and terms, and like to be concluded the very next day.</P>
<P>Now, though we are far from that pre&s;umption, that the things &s;hould therefore be an&s;wered or con&s;idered, becau&s;e propounded by us, &s;ave for the Rea&s;on, Ju&s;tice, or publique concernment therein; yet, having no An&s;wer, or any thing &s;hewed to us the contrary, we cannot but upon the grounds Remon&s;trated (and many more which might be added) remain confident in our former Apprehen&s;ions con|cerning them. And &s;eeing the prevailing part of tho&s;e, to whom we did apply, to have, as it were, their eyes wilfully &s;hut, and ears &s;topt, again&s;t any thing of Light or Rea&s;on offered to them, we finde no place left for our former charitable or hopeful Apprehen&s;ions, concerning their error in &s;uch evil ways; but remaining fully a&s;&s;ured of the danger and de&s;tructivene&s;s thereof, as to all tho&s;e publique ends for which they were intru&s;ted, and al&s;o of the ju&s;t advantage and nece&s;&s;ity which lye in the things we have propounded and in&s;i&s;t on, we now &s;ee nothing left, to which their engaging and per&s;i&s;ting in &s;uch ways, and rejection of the&s;e better things propounded, can rationally be attri|buted le&s;s then a treacherous or corrupt neglect of, and Apo&s;tacy from the publique Tru&s;t repo&s;ed in them; although we could wi&s;h from our &s;ouls, we might yet finde the contrary. Neverthele&s;s, we do not in the&s;e things a&s;&s;ume a &s;tanding Power of Judgement (as of Right or
<PB N="5" REF="3">Tru&s;t) to conclude others thereby, acknowledging that to lye mo&s;t properly in tho&s;e whom the people duly choo&s;e and tru&s;t to Judge for them: But con&s;idering that &s;uch power, where it is, is committed but in Tru&s;t, and that neither this, nor any other people, did ever give up their natural capacities of common Sence or Rea&s;on, as to the ends and fun|damentals of that Tru&s;t, and that as to the breach of &s;uch Tru&s;t, there is no higher formal power of man in being to Appeal unto for Judge|ment, in &s;uch ca&s;e (as all others concerned in &s;uch breaches of Tru&s;t will) &s;o as we cannot but exerci&s;e that Common Judgement which in our Natural Capacity is left to us: And though in &s;maller failers of &s;uch Tru&s;t, which might be born, without hazard of De&s;tructi|on to that Intere&s;t, and tho&s;e People, for which e&s;pecially the Tru&s;t is, or where the Tru&s;tees were of an indifferent equal con|&s;titution, in reference to the whole, or where we had an orderly and open way left for a ju&s;t &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of another formal and pro|per Judicature to be appealed unto in due time; we &s;hould not op|po&s;e or hold forth our private Judgements to the lea&s;t di&s;turbance of that orderly and peaceable cour&s;e of Judgement &s;o e&s;tabli&s;ht; yet in our pre&s;ent ca&s;e we are &s;o fully convinced of the greatne&s;s and de|&s;tructivene&s;s of tho&s;e evils we have declared again&s;t, and of the nece|&s;ity and e&s;&s;entiallity of tho&s;e better things we have de&s;ired and pro|pounded, and how incon&s;i&s;tent it is with the publique Tru&s;t, and fun|damental ends of it, &s;till to pur&s;ue the one, and reject the other, as that we dare with confidence appeal therein to the common Judgements of indifferent and uncorrupted men, and to the more righteous Judge|ment of God above all.</P>
<P>And as the incompetency of this Parliament, in its pre&s;ent con&s;titu|tion to give an ab&s;olute and conclu&s;ive Judgement for the whole (e&s;pe|cially to be the &s;ole Judges of their own performance, or breach of Tru&s;t) doth make the ju&s;ter way for &s;uch an Appeal, &s;o indeed we &s;ee no other way left for remedy, in regard the pre&s;ent unlimitted continuance of this Parliament doth exclude the orderly &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of any other more equal formal Judicature of men, to which we might hope in due time other ways to appeal.</P>
<P>Thus then we apprehend our &s;elves in the pre&s;ent ca&s;e, both nece&s;&s;i|tated to, and ju&s;tified in an Appeal from this Parliament, in the pre&s;ent con&s;titution as it &s;tands, unto the extraordinary Judgement of God and good people; and yet in the pro&s;ecution of this Appeal as we &s;hall drive it on, but to the &s;peedy obtaining of a more orderly and equal
<PB N="6" REF="4">Judicature of men, in a ju&s;t Repre&s;entative, according to our Remon|&s;trance (wherein to acquie&s;ce) &s;o in the pre&s;ent procuring of Ju&s;tice with the peoples ca&s;e and quiet, and in the &s;etling of the Kingdom up|on a due, &s;afe and hopeful &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of Parliaments: It is our hearts de&s;ire, and &s;hall be our endeavor, that &s;o much, both of the matter and form of the pre&s;ent Parliamentary Authority may be pre&s;erved, as can be &s;afe, or will be u&s;eful to the&s;e ends, until a ju&s;t and full Con&s;titu|tion thereof, both for matter and form (&s;uitable to the publique ends it &s;erves for) can be introduced.</P>
<P>And therefore fir&s;t, It &s;hould be our great rejoycing (if God &s;aw it good) that the majority of the pre&s;ent Hou&s;e of Commons were become &s;en&s;ible of the evil and de&s;tructivene&s;s of their late way, and would re&s;olvedly and vigorou&s;ly apply them&s;elves to the &s;peedy exe|cution of Ju&s;tice, with the righting and ea&s;ing of the oppre&s;&s;ed people, and to a ju&s;t and &s;afe &s;ettlement of the Kingdom upon &s;uch foundati|ons as have been propounded by us and others for that purpo&s;e, and would for the &s;peedier and &s;urer pro&s;ecution of the&s;e things, exclude from Communication in their Councels, all &s;uch corrupt and Apo&s;ta|tized Members as have appeared hitherto, but to ob&s;truct and hinder &s;uch matter of Ju&s;tice, Safety, and publique-Intere&s;t, and to pervert their Councels a contrary way, and have therein &s;o &s;hamefully both fal&s;ified and forfeited their Tru&s;t.</P>
<P>But however (if God &s;hall not &s;ee it good to vouch&s;afe that mer|cy to them and the Kingdom) we &s;hall, &s;econdly, de&s;ire, That &s;o many of them as God hath kept upright, and &s;hall touch with a ju&s;t &s;ence of tho&s;e things, would by Prote&s;tation, or otherwi&s;e, acquit them|&s;elves from &s;uch breach of Tru&s;t, and approve their faithfulne&s;s, by withdrawing from tho&s;e that per&s;i&s;t in the guilt thereof, and would apply them&s;elves to &s;uch a po&s;ture, whereby they may &s;peedily and ef|fectually pro&s;ecute tho&s;e nece&s;&s;ary and publique ends, without &s;uch Interruptions, Diver&s;ions, or Depravations of their Councels from the re&s;t, to their endle&s;s trouble, oppre&s;&s;ion and hazard of the Kingdom as Formerly, and for &s;o many of them, who&s;e hearts God &s;hal &s;tir up thus to do; we &s;hall therein, in this ca&s;e of extremity, look upon them as per&s;ons having materially the chief Tru&s;t of the kingdom remaining in them, and though not a formal &s;tanding power to be continued in them, or drawn into ordinary Pre&s;idents; yet the be&s;t and mo&s;t rightful that can be had, as the pre&s;ent &s;tate and exigence of Affairs now &s;tand; And we &s;hall accordingly own them, adhere to them,
<PB N="7" REF="4">and be guided by them in their faithful pro&s;ecution of that Tru&s;t, in order unto, and until the introducing of a more full and formal power in a ju&s;t Repre&s;entative to be &s;peedy endeavored.</P>
<P>Now yet further to take away all jealou&s;ies in relation to our &s;elves, which might withhold or di&s;cour&s;e any hone&s;t Members from this courage, as we have the witne&s;s of God in our hearts, that in the&s;e pro|ceedings we do not &s;eek, but even re&s;olve we will not take advantages to our &s;elves, either in point of Profit or Power; and that if God did open unto us a way, wherein with hone&s;ty and faithfulne&s;s to the publique Intere&s;t, and good people engaged for us, we might pre&s;ently be di&s;charged, &s;o as we might not in our pre&s;ent Employments look on, and be acce&s;&s;ory to, yea &s;upporters of the Parliament, in the pre|&s;ent corrupt, oppre&s;&s;ive and de&s;tructive proceedings, we &s;hould with rejoycing, and without more ado, embrace &s;uch a di&s;charge, rather then interpo&s;e in the&s;e things to our own va&s;t trouble and hazard; &s;o if we could but obtain a rational a&s;&s;urance for the effectual pro&s;ecu|tion of the&s;e things, we &s;hall give any proportionable a&s;&s;urance on our parts, concerning our laying down of Arms, when, and as we &s;hould be required: But for the pre&s;ent, as the ca&s;e &s;tands, we apprehend our &s;elves obliged in duty to God, this Kingdom, and good men there|in, to improve our utmo&s;t abilities in all hone&s;t ways, for the avoid|ing of the&s;e great evils we have Remon&s;trated, and for pro&s;ecution of the good things we have propounded; and al&s;o that &s;uch per&s;ons who were the Inviters of the late Inva&s;ion from <HI>Scotland,</HI> the In|&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ig<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ters and Incouragers of the late In&s;urrections within this King|dom, and (tho&s;e forcible ways <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="4 letters">ng) have &s;till pur&s;ued the &s;ame wicked De&s;igns by treacherous and corrupt Councels, may be brought to publique Ju&s;tice, according to their &s;everal demerits. For all the&s;e ends we are now drawing up with the Army to <HI>London,</HI> there to fol|low Providence as God &s;hall clear our way.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><HI>By the Appointment of His Excellency, the Lord</HI> Fairfax, <HI>Lord General, and his General Councel of Officers held at</HI> Wind&s;or, <DATE><HI>Nov.</HI> 30. 1648.</DATE></DATELINE>
<SIGNED>Signed, JOHN RUSHVVORTH Secr'.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="letter">
<PB N="8" REF="5">
<HEAD>For the Right Honorable, The Lord Major, Aldermen, and Common-Councel of the City of <HI>LONDON.</HI></HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>My Lord and Gentlemen,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>BEing upon an immediate Advance with the Army towards <HI>London,</HI> we thought good hereby to give you notice thereof. For the ground and nece&s;&s;ity leading us hereunto, we refer you to our late Remonstrance, and to our later Declaration concerning the &s;ame: We have onely this further to adde, That as we are far from the least thought of Plunder or other wrong to your City, or any the places ad|joyning (which we hope your former experiences of us will give you cau&s;e enough to credit us in) &s;o for the better prevention of any di&s;|order in the Soldiery, or of any abu&s;e or inconvenience to the inha|bitants in the Quartering of the Soldiery at private Hou&s;es, We earnestly De&s;ire, That you would take a pre&s;ent cour&s;e for the &s;upply of Money to pay the&s;e Forces, while we &s;hall be nece&s;&s;itated to stay there; upon which we a&s;&s;ure you, we &s;hall &s;o di&s;po&s;e of them into great and void Hou&s;es about the City as much as may be po&s;&s;ible, as that few or none of the Inhabitants &s;hall be troubled with Quartering of any Soldiers at all: And for this purpo&s;e, We de&s;ire that Forty thou|&s;and pounds may be forthwith provided upon the &s;ecurity of your Arrears, to be ready to be paid out to the Forces to morrow night if po&s;&s;ible: And we &s;hall be ready to receive from you any intimations for the further prevention of hurt or inconvenience to the City in this bu&s;ine&s;s. I remain,</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><HI>Wind&s;or,</HI> <DATE><HI>30 Nov. 1648.</HI></DATE></DATELINE>
<SIGNED>Your most a&s;&s;ured Friend and Servant, <HI>T. FAIRFAX.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
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