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<ETS>
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<DATE>2012-10-12</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Colm MacCrossan</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch Z120811.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="OX" ID="A82220">
<STC T="W">d746</STC>
<STC T="T">e811_6</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99866648</BIBNO>
<VID>167927</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>A DECLARATION OF The Proceedings of His Highne&s;s the Lord Pro|tector; And His Rea&s;on Touching the late Change and Revo|lution in Parliament; With the true and perfect Copy of the new TEST and Engagement, tendered to each Member, in order to the <HI>Government of the Church,</HI> the Liberties of the People, and the Laws of the <HI>Nation.</HI> With the <HI>Parliaments Declaration</HI> thereupon;</P>
<P><FIGURE>
<FIGDESC>portrait of Oliver Cromwell framed by laurels</FIGDESC>
</FIGURE></P>
<P><HI>London,</HI> printed by <HI>R. WOOD,</HI> 1654.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="declaration">
<PB REF="2">
<PB N="3" REF="2">
<HEAD>A Declaration of the proceedings of his Highne&s;s the Lord Protector; with His Rea&s;ons touching the late Change and Revolution in Parliament; and the true and perfect Copy of the Engagement: with the Parliaments Declaration ther|upon.</HEAD>
<P>HIs Highne&s;&s;e the Lord Protector having taken into &s;erious con&s;ideration the Re&s;ults and proceedings of the Parlia|ment, and their in&s;i&s;ting upon four days debate about the Government, without coming to any Que&s;tion thereupon, was plea&s;ed (to prevent the Evils that might en&s;ue through delay) to &s;end notice, That he intended in per&s;on to meet them in the Painted-Chamber; where divers Members re|paired; and his Highne&s;&s;e coming from White-Hall by water, entred the Room, and declared him|&s;elf as followeth:</P>
<PB N="4" REF="3">
<P>THat when he met them, and delivered his mind to them, in the &s;ame place the other day, he did it with much more hopes and comfort then now, That he was very &s;orry to find them fal|ling into heats and divi&s;ions; opened to them at large the mi&s;carriages of the former longParlia|ment, and by what meanes he came to the Govern|ment, and that the people had many wayes given con&s;ent thereunto. That when in his &s;peech the o|ther day, he told them they were a free Parliament, he did al&s;o con&s;ider there was a Reciprocation, for that the &s;ame Government that made them a Par|liament, made him Protector; and as they were in|tru&s;ted with &s;ome things, &s;o is he with other things. And that there were &s;ome things in the Govern|ment Fundamental, and could not be altered: As</P>
<P N="1">1 That the Government &s;hould be in one per|&s;on and a Parliament.</P>
<P N="2">2 That Parliaments &s;hould not be made perpe|tual; which would deprive the People of their Suc|ce&s;&s;ions: Nor that Parliaments &s;hould be alwayes &s;itting; that is, as &s;oon as one Parliament is up, that another &s;hould come and &s;it in their places the very next day, and that this could not be, without &s;ubje|cting the Nation to an Arbytrary power in gover|ning, becau&s;e Parliaments, as long as they &s;it, are ab|&s;olute
<PB N="5" REF="3">and unlimited.</P>
<P N="3">3 That the third Funda|mental was in the matter of the Militia; and there|fore, that for preventing the two afore-mentioned Inconveniences, The Militia was not to be tru&s;ted in any one Hand or Power; but &s;o to be di&s;po&s;ed, that as the Parliament ought to have a check upon the Protector, to prevent exce&s;&s;es in him; &s;o on the other hand, the Protector ought to have a check up|on the Parliament in the bu&s;ine&s;s of the Militia, to prevent exce&s;&s;es in them; becau&s;e if it were wholly in the Parliament, They m ght (when they would) perpetuate them&s;elves, but now the Militia being di&s;po&s;ed as it is, the one &s;tands as a Counter-poize to the other, and renders the Balance of Govern|ment the more even, and the Government it &s;elf the more firm and &s;table.</P>
<P N="4">4. The la&s;t was about a due Liberty of Con&s;cience in matter of Religion, wherein Bonuds and Limits ought to be &s;et, &s;o as to prevent per&s;ecution.</P>
<P>To this his Highne&s;s added, that the re&s;t of the things in the Government were ex|aminable and alterable, as the occa&s;ion and the &s;tate of affairs &s;hould require. And as
<PB N="6" REF="4">for a Negative voice, he claimed in not, &s;ave onely in the afore&s;aid particulars, That in all other things he had onely a deliberative Power, and if he did not pa&s;s &s;uch Lawes as were pre&s;ented to him, within 20 dayes after their Pre&s;entmena, they were to be Laws without his con&s;ent.</P>
<P>And therefore his Highne&s;s further declared, that things being thus, he was &s;orry to under&s;tand, That any of them &s;hould go about to overthrow what was &s;o &s;etled, contrary to their Tru&s;ts received from the People; which could not but bring on very great Inconveniences. To prevent which, he told them, he was nece&s;&s;itated to appoint a Te&s;t or Recognition of the Government, which was to be &s;igned by Them, before they went any more into the Hou&s;e. And &s;o his Highne&s;s di&s;mi&s;&s;ed Them.</P>
<P><FLOATEXT LANG="eng" TYPE="oath">
<HEAD>The TEST.</HEAD>
<P>I AB. do hereby promi&s;e and engage my &s;elf to be true and faithful to the Lord Protector, and the Common-wealth of England, Scotland and Ireland; and that according to the tenor of the Indenture,
<PB N="7" REF="4">whereby I am returned to &s;erve in this pre|&s;ent Parliament, I will not propo&s;e or give my con&s;ent, to alter the Government, as it is &s;ettled in one &s;ingle Per&s;on and a Parlia|ment.</P>
</FLOATEXT></P>
<P>This engro&s;&s;ed in Parchment, was pla|ced on a Table near the door of the Hou&s;e to be peru&s;ed by the Members, &amp; &s;ub&s;cri|bed before they went in. Above 140 of the Members forth with &s;igned it and took their places, and many more are hourly &s;igning.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="declaration">
<PB N="8" REF="5">
<HEAD>The Parliaments Declaration.</HEAD>
<P>THe Parliament doth Declare, that the Recognition of the Government by the Members of this Parlia|ment in the words following; viz.</P>
<P><HI>I do heaeby freely promi&s;e and Engage, to be true and Faith|full to the Lord Protector, and the Commonwealth of</HI> England. Scotland and Ireland, <HI>and &s;hall not (according to the Tenour of the Indenture, whereby I am returned to &s;erve in this pre&s;ent parliament) propo&s;e, or give my con&s;ent to altor the Government as it is &s;etled in one per&s;on, and a parliament.</HI></P>
<P>Doth not comprehend, or &s;hall be con&s;trued to com|prehend therein the whole Government, con&s;i&s;ting of Fourty two Articles; but that the &s;ame doth only include what concerns the Government of the Common-wealth by a &s;ingle per&s;on, and &s;ucce&s;&s;ive parliaments</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="order to print">
<P>ORdered by the Parliament that this Declara|tion be forthwith printed and publi&s;hed.</P>
<P><HI>Hen. Scobel,</HI> Clerk of the <HI>parliament.</HI></P>
<PB REF="5">
</DIV1>
</BODY>
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