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<DATE>2009-06-03</DATE>
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<NAME>Pip Willcox</NAME>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch Z090513.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<VID>136213</VID>
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<DIV1 TYPE="declaration">
<PB N="1" REF="1"><!-- PDF PAGE 22 -->
<HEAD>THE DECLARATION OF THE Rebels in Scotland;</HEAD>
<P>IT is not unknown to a great part of the world how happy the Church of <HI>Scotland</HI> was whil&s;t &s;he enjoyed the Ordinances of Je&s;us Chri&s;t in Purity and Power, of the which we have been deplorably deprived by the Re-e&s;tabli&s;hment of Prelacy; &s;o it is evident not only to impartial per&s;ons, but profe&s;&s;ed Enemies, with what unparallelled Patience and Con&s;tancy the People of God have Endured all Cruelties, Inju&s;tice and Oppre&s;&s;ion, that the Wit or Malice of Prelates and Malignants could In|vent or Exerci&s;e.</P>
<P>And being mo&s;t unwilling to any thing which might import Oppo&s;i|tion to lawful Authority, or Engage the Kingdom in War, although we have been a long time groaning under the overturning of the work of Reformation, Corruption of Doctrine, &s;lighting of Wor&s;hip, de&s;pi&s;ing of Ordinances, and the Changing of the Antient Church-Di&s;cipline and Go|vernment, thru&s;ting our &s;o many of our Faithful Mini&s;ters from their Charge, Confining, &s;traightly Impri&s;oning, Exiling, yea and putting to Death many of them; and introducing upon their Flocks a company of in&s;ufficient and &s;candalous per&s;ons.</P>
<P>And <HI>Fining, Confining, Impri&s;oning, Torturing, Tormenting,</HI> and <HI>Scourging, Stigmatizing Poor people, Plundring their Goods,</HI> and <HI>Quartering</HI> upon them <HI>Rude Souldiers, Selling of their Per&s;ons to foreign Plantations, horning,</HI> and
<PB N="2" REF="2"><!-- PDF PAGE 23 --><HI>intercommoning</HI> many, whereby great Numbers in divers Corners of the Land were forced to leave their Dwellings, Wives, Children and Relations, and made to wander as Pilgrims in hazard of their Lives, none daring to re&s;et (or receive them) harbo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters"> o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;upply them (though Starving) or &s;o much as &s;peak to them for fear of the &s;ame Puni&s;hments.</P>
<P>And the&s;e things acted under colour of Law and in Effect tending to Bani&s;h not only all &s;en&s;e of Religion, but al&s;o to extingui&s;h all Na|tural Affection, even among per&s;ons of the neare&s;t Relations; and likewi&s;e groaning under the Intollerable Yoke of Oppre&s;&s;ion in all our Civil Int<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">re&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">s, ou<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter"> Bodies, Lib<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">r<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">es and E&s;tat<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">s; &s;o <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">hat a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters"> n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters"> of O<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">trages have <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">een mo&s;t Arb<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">ra<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">ly Exerci&s;ed upon us through a Tract of divers Years by-pa&s;t, particularly in the Year 1678. by &s;ending again&s;t us an Armed Ho&s;t of barbarous Savages, contrary to all Law and Humanity; and by laying on us &s;everal Impo&s;itions and Taxes as formerly, &s;o, of late by a meeting of pre-limited and over|awed Members in a Convention of E&s;tates in <HI>July</HI> 1678. for Ke<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ping up of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">me<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter"> For<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">e intru&s;ted as to a great part of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> in <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">e hands of Avowed Papi&s;ts, or Favourers of them, by whom &s;undry Inva&s;ions have been made upon us, and mo&s;t Exorbitant Abu&s;es, with incre|dible in&s;olencies committed again&s;t.</P>
<P>And we being continually &s;ought after, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> for Diviner Wor&s;hip Mini&s;ters and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> Apprehended, and mo&s;t rigorou&s;ly <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> and &s;o being <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> Attend the Lords Ordinances in the Field even in the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> place, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> there often hunted out to the Eff<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;ion of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> amd <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> many of us&punc; &s;o that we were i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">itably <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> either <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> &s;elves by Arms at the&s;e Meetings, or be altogether deprived of the Go&s;|pel Preached by Chri&s;ts Faithful Mini&s;ters, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> slaves.</P>
<P>And at one of whe&s;e Meeting <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> on the fir&s;t of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> being the Lords Day, Captain <HI>Graham</HI> of <HI>Cla<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">ors</HI> being&punc; Warranted <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> late Proclamation to Kill whom&s;oever he <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ound in A<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">os at Field Con|venticles, did furiou&s;ly A&s;&s;ault the People A&s;&s;e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">ble<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter"> and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> provoke did <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="3 letters">elly bind like&punc; Bea&s;ts, a Mini&s;ter, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> other People whom he did that very Morning find <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">.</P>
<P>And &s;everal being killed on both &s;ides, and they knowing <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> that by their Law, if apprehended, they behoved <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> they <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> to their own defence and continued together, and there after <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">ny of our Friends and Country <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> being under the &s;ame <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> and expecting the &s;ame mea&s;ure, did freely offer their A&s;&s;i&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="4 letters">.</P>
<PB N="3" REF="2"><!-- PDF PAGE 23 -->
<P>We therefore being inevitably and of ab&s;olute Nece&s;&s;ity forced to take this la&s;t Remedy, the Magi&s;trates, having &s;hut the Door by a Law again&s;t any Application; That what&s;oever, our Grievances either in Ci|vil or Sacred Matters be, we had not the priviled<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters"> of a Supplicant or Petitioner.</P>
<P>Do judge our &s;elves bound to declame that the&s;e, with many other horrid grievances in Church and State, which we purpo&s;e to manife&s;t more fully hereafter, are the true Cau&s;es of this our Lawful and Innocent Self defence.</P>
<P>And we do mo&s;t &s;olemnly in the Pre&s;ence of Almighty God, the Searcher of Hearts, declare, that the true Rea&s;ons of our continuing in Arms, are candidly and &s;incerely the&s;e.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, The Defending and Securing the true Prote&s;tant Religion, and Presbyterial Government founded on the Word of God, and &s;um|marily comprehended in our Confe&s;&s;ion of Faith, and Catechi&s;ms, and e&s;tabli&s;hed by the Laws of this Land, to which the King, Nobles and People, are &s;olemnly engaged in our National and Solemn League and Covenant.</P>
<P>And more particularly, the defending and maintaining the kingly Authority of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t over his Church, again&s;t all &s;inful &s;upremacy deregatory thereto, and incroching thereupon.</P>
<P>Secondly, The pre&s;erving and defending the Kings Maje&s;ties Per&s;on and Authority in pre&s;ervation and defence of the true Religion of the Kingdom, that the world may bear witne&s;s with our con&s;ciences of our loyalty that we have no thoughts nor intentions to dimini&s;h his ju&s;t power and greatne&s;s.</P>
<P>Thirdly, The obtaining of a free and unlimited Parliament and a free General A&s;&s;embly in order to the redre&s;&s;ing the afore&s;aid Grie|vances for preventing the Eminent Danger of Popery and Extirpating Prelacy.</P>
<P>This therefore being the Cau&s;e we doe appeare for, and do Re&s;olve in Gods great name to own, hereby homologating or a&s;&s;enting to all the Te&s;timonies, of all the Faithful &s;ufferers for truth in <HI>Scotland</HI> the&s;e Eigh|teen Years by-gone.</P>
<P>We humbly reque&s;t the Kings Maje&s;ty would be plea&s;ed to re&s;tore all things as he found them, when God brought him home to his Crown and Kingdoms, and if that cannot be obtained then we heartily and humbly Invite, Intreat, Be&s;eech and Obte&s;t in the Bowels of Je&s;us Chri&s;t All who are under the &s;ame Bonds with us to Concur in the defence of this Common Cau&s;e and Intere&s;t, and that they would not &s;tand &s;till and
<PB N="4" REF="3"><!-- PDF PAGE 24 -->&s;ee, not only us oppre&s;&s;ed, the fore&s;aid Cau&s;e Ruined, Adver&s;aries highly and proudly in&s;ult again&s;t God, and all good men. Friends of the Truth di&s;couraged, yea the Prote&s;tant Religion in <HI>Brittane</HI> and <HI>Ireland,</HI> de&s;troyed; but even them&s;elves within a little while made a Prey of, or el&s;e force when we are broken, (which the good Lord prevent) dreadfully to wrong their own Con&s;cience.</P>
<P>Finally becau&s;e we de&s;ire no mans hurt or blood, we reque&s;t our Country men now the &s;tanding Forces of the Kingdom, &s;ome of them being our Friends and Kin&s;men not to fight again&s;t us lea&s;t in &s;o doing they be found fighting again&s;t God, who&s;e Cau&s;e and Quarrel we are &s;ure he will own and &s;ignally Countenance, &s;eeing we fight under his Banner who is the Lord of Ho&s;ts.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
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